How a Loan Shark Survives as an Actor Chapter 117

Chapter 117

 

For a moment, I just stood there blankly before my mind finally caught up.

‘Right.’

Ah, right. That happened.

Calling Team Leader Ahn because of Choo Seomok felt like something from a past life.

Yesterday’s shoot had been way too brutal…

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

When I simply stood at the entrance staring at him, Lee Yeonjae rose with a bewildered expression.

The sight felt strangely unfamiliar.

‘Lee Yeonjae is in my house.’

Even if I hadn’t been exhausted, would I have believed my own eyes?

“No. I’m just tired.”

Only then did I take off my shoes and head inside.

Even though it was still early enough that even morning people would be asleep, there wasn’t a trace of drowsiness in Lee Yeonjae’s eyes.

It was the complete opposite of Team Leader Ahn, who was sprawled out asleep on the couch.

“Why are you still awake?”

“I haven’t adjusted to the jet lag yet.”

Lee Yeonjae smiled softly.

Then, he carefully explained what Seomok had eaten and how much medicine he’d taken while I was gone.

“He even chatted with us for a bit before going to bed yesterday. I think you don’t need to worry anymore.”

“That’s a relief.”

He even said he’d checked up on him every hour just in case and that everything seemed fine.

I nodded.

“Were you acquainted with Choo Seomok before this?”

“I only met him once before. Jinbae hyung said he wanted to introduce me to his younger cousin.”

“…?”

Choo Seomok was Team Leader Ahn’s relative?

I blinked at the completely unexpected combination, and Lee Yeonjae made an awkward expression.

“You didn’t know?”

“No.”

“I shouldn’t have said anything.”

Lee Yeonjae let out a groan, so I shrugged.

“Don’t worry about it. It probably just wasn’t important enough to mention.”

I wasn’t saying that to comfort him. That was genuinely the most likely explanation.

If Team Leader Ahn had really wanted to hide it from me, he wouldn’t have brought Lee Yeonjae over in the first place.

“I guess that’s true.”

Lee Yeonjae smiled faintly.

For a moment, the expression overlapped with Team Leader Ahn’s smile.

“You’re tired, right? Go wash up.”

“Okay.”

I didn’t bother declining and headed straight for the bathroom.

After crying, fixing my makeup, crying again, and fixing it over and over, my face felt disgusting.

When I came out, breakfast had already been laid out across the table.

“……”

“You don’t have to force yourself to eat. I just brought it in case.”

When I merely blinked, Lee Yeonjae said awkwardly.

“No, thank you for preparing all this.”

I was hungry anyway, so I sat down immediately.

Golden toast buttered to perfection, soft scrambled eggs, well-drained bacon, and sliced tomatoes.

‘Seomok would’ve exploded if he saw this menu.’

But for someone like me who practically lived on hamburgers, this was a pretty happy breakfast.

I devoured everything before I knew it.

“You really eat well…”

Lee Yeonjae, who was drinking coffee across from me, muttered in admiration.

“Thank you for the meal.”

“Want more?”

“No. I’m full.”

As I wiped my mouth with a napkin, I asked if he always ate breakfast like an American.

“Haha, does it look American?”

“At least to Seomok it would. He’s a true Korean who’s obsessed with rice.”

Lee Yeonjae Choockled.

“Well, I actually prefer rice too. But living overseas, this is what happens.”

“Don’t they have plenty of Korean restaurants overseas?”

“There are. Especially in LA. But I can’t go out every time during filming, so I mostly eat boxed meals.”

Apparently, because they were meals designed for Americans, they usually consisted of bread, fruit, and cookies.

Listening to him, I thought:

‘Yeah, Seomok would lose his mind overseas.’

“You work hard.”

“It’s something I enjoy, so I don’t mind.”

Lee Yeonjae smiled and took a sip of coffee.

‘What am I even supposed to talk about?’

Honestly, I wanted to get up because I had nothing to say.

But even I felt guilty about eating breakfast and immediately leaving, so I forced myself to continue.

“What kind of project are you filming right now? You don’t have to tell me if it’s confidential.”

“It’s a crime drama. A new season of something I filmed two years ago.”

“Ah.”

I had no clue what he was talking about, but I pretended I did.

Since entering Yoo Seulho’s body, I’d only recently started watching Korean productions. Foreign works still felt unfamiliar.

The latest work of Lee Yeonjae that I knew was…

“I really enjoyed ‘Emberman’.”

“Thanks.”

Lee Yeonjae scratched the back of his neck shyly.

‘Emberman.’

A movie from OO Comics with a devoted fanbase in America, and one of the most popular superhero films of recent years.

The protagonist, a firefighter, gets caught in a mysterious explosion while fighting a fire. He survives when he should have died.

Afterward, an inextinguishable ember resides inside him, turning him into Emberman against his will.

‘Hwang Taejun had insisted we go watch it together.’

That was after we’d successfully closed a contract.

The youngest member of the organization, Hwang Taejun, made a huge fuss about celebrating with the hottest movie at the time.

Usually, a few punches would calm him down, but that day he absolutely wouldn’t settle.

In the end, I stuffed a handkerchief in his mouth and dragged him to the theater.

‘It was fun.’

It felt different from ordinary superhero movies.

The flashy action, grand music, and massive scale were all great, but what really caught my attention was Lee Yeonjae’s acting.

Everyone praised him as the first Korean actor to lead a Hollywood superhero film, but I didn’t care about that.

It was just…

‘He really looks like someone living inside the movie.’

I couldn’t stop watching because I couldn’t see the actor behind the character at all.

Of course, the details had faded soon after leaving the theater, but the impression remained vivid.

“How did you end up doing a superhero movie?”

“Well, I used to have prejudices about superhero films, so I wasn’t interested. But after meeting with the producers, I got intrigued.”

Lee Yeonjae had been on Hollywood’s radar since he was a minor and had delivered one hit after another in his mid-twenties.

That was probably why he could star in a superhero franchise that even actors with incredible Hollywood connections couldn’t touch.

No matter how much people talked about political correctness and changing times, Lee Yeonjae was still the only Asian actor with a fanbase like this in America.

“When I read the script, it wasn’t childish. More importantly, Emberman is a hero, but he’s still just a regular person.”

“Yes.”

“He struggles between those two identities. It reminded me of the time when I was confused between actor Lee Yeonjae and person Lee Yeonjae. So I thought I’d give it a try.”

He said it casually.

Naturally, from my perspective, it was a huge deal, but I answered calmly.

“I see.”

It wasn’t hard to tell that Lee Yeonjae disliked excessive praise.

There was a reason celebrities often said, “I’m just an ordinary person.”

Whenever I complimented him, his expressions revealed embarrassment and awkwardness.

If I pushed too hard, that awkwardness would quickly become discomfort.

‘Accepting admiration and worship directed at yourself isn’t easy.’

Unless you were someone naturally made for it, like Woo Junseo.

Most people would inevitably feel uncomfortable and create psychological distance.

“Doesn’t speaking English every day tire you out?”

I smoothly changed the subject, and Lee Yeonjae laughed silently.

“It was hard when I was younger, but now I’m used to it.”

When he said he’d been studying English seriously for over ten years, my eyebrows shot up.

‘Only ten years?’

Back when I was considering transferring to Wuyeon Entertainment, I’d searched around and found a video compilation titled ‘Lee Yeonjae’s Award Speeches Through the Years.’

I clicked it because I was curious how someone could have over an hour’s worth of acceptance speeches.

Toward the end, he spoke English more often than Korean.

‘Why is he so good?’

His pronunciation, gestures, and confidence made him look like a native speaker.

There had even been comments saying many Americans thought Lee Yeonjae was Korean-American.

Though only people who hadn’t watched his speeches from the beginning would make that mistake.

Because no matter where he stood, he always began with:

“Hello. I’m Lee Yeonjae.”

In Korean.

“Have you ever thought about acting overseas?”

“No. Not at all.”

My immediate answer made Lee Yeonjae’s eyes widen.

“Why?”

“English is hard.”

“Haha.”

He laughed as though my answer was too simple, but I was one hundred percent serious.

I’d learned some business phrases for dealing with foreign clients, but they never stuck.

‘Koreans only need to be good at Korean.’

And I knew just how casually foreigners could be racist.

Leaving home meant spending money, and I had no desire to pay my own money to suffer abroad and get discriminated against.

‘Of course, there are people who overcome that and change the world.’

Lee Yeonjae was one of them.

He was the man who shattered the prejudice that Asians could never become mainstream.

But I didn’t have that kind of determination or stamina.

‘I just want to make a lot of money in Korea.’

I wasn’t ashamed of that, though I figured he might think less of me.

But unexpectedly, Lee Yeonjae nodded in understanding.

“Some people say you’re only a great actor if the whole world recognizes you, but I don’t really agree. That’s not my goal either.”

“Really?”

“I’m just doing what I want to do.”

“Then are you planning to do Korean projects again?”

“Of course.”

He frowned as though the question itself was strange.

“If there’s a good project, I don’t care what country it’s from. There are so many talented people in Korea.”

I see.

Of course, even so, there probably wouldn’t be a day when Lee Yeonjae and I acted together.

Even if I climbed higher, it wouldn’t be easy to overcome the difference in acting ability.

Still, having a wealthy connection wouldn’t hurt, so I threw out a polite remark.

“I hope we get to act together someday.”

Lee Yeonjae smiled brightly.

“I’d love that.”

His elegant face softened.

Polite manners, a gentle voice, and kindness visible in every little action.

The image of “Celebrity Lee Yeonjae” that everyone knew.

It was such a familiar image that it was easy to accept it at face value.

But after meeting countless people throughout my life, the data I had accumulated whispered quietly.

‘Yeah.’

And I agreed with that whisper.

‘He looks like he’d have a damn filthy personality.’