How a Loan Shark Survives as an Actor Chapter 119

Chapter 119

 

The final shoot ended more simply than expected.

Maybe because it was a scene with only me, Director Baek didn’t have much feedback.

“It’s already over.”

“I know. Time really flies. Seulho, you’ve worked hard all this time.”

“That’s right. I really suffered a lot.”

Director Baek chuckled at my answer.

It wasn’t even a lie, yet I stubbornly refused to deny it, so I could understand why he’d find me annoying, but seeing him simply laugh it off made me smile too.

Yeah. If you have a conscience, you can’t really complain.

“Noona and Hyung Duho still have filming left, right?”

“Right. They’ve still got a bit more.”

But even that wasn’t much, and he said the first part of the movie had already entered the editing phase.

“We’re aiming for a February release next year. I think we can barely make it.”

“That soon?”

I’d heard movies nowadays spent almost a year in editing after filming wrapped.

February next year wasn’t far away at all.

Wondering if it was realistically possible, I asked, and he answered calmly.

“As long as there’s a deadline, anything gets done. Nothing’s impossible in front of a deadline.”

“……”

Why did I suddenly feel bad for him?

Since they’d already agreed on the timeline with the production company, there wasn’t much choice.

All I could say was, “Good luck.”

Normally I didn’t use such meaningless words, but what else was there to say? He had to persevere.

“There was something I wanted to ask of you one last time, but now I don’t think I can.”

“Huh? What do you mea–No, Seulho! If you’re saying that, it means you’re going to ask anyway!”

He said that if I really couldn’t ask, I shouldn’t have brought it up in the first place.

I wrinkled my nose.

“That’s right. It was just a cushion phrase.”

“…Sigh, my life. So what did you want to say?”

“It’s nothing much. I just wanted you to make sure Noona doesn’t overwork herself during the remaining schedule.”

I carefully adjusted my tone and manner so it wouldn’t seem like I was overstepping with the director.

‘Even I think it’s a bit nosy.’

But after watching Dain for months, I couldn’t help worrying.

Maybe because she’d struggled through obscurity for so long, she tended to push herself too hard over the opportunity she’d barely managed to grasp.

“I know you like Noona, Director. I know you’ve been treating her well because of that.”

With Director Baek’s movie, Bae Dain would finally become widely known.

And for that brilliant beginning to be remembered for a long time, she’d have to shine for a long time as well.

I cautiously continued, asking him not to shave away too much of the life she still had left and turn it into art.

No matter how carefully I chose my words, it wasn’t something a director would enjoy hearing, so I spoke as cautiously as possible.

“Don’t worry, Seulho.”

Fortunately, Director Baek smiled and patted my shoulder.

“I want filming to end quickly too. Do you know how worried I was watching Dain lose weight?”

“I know.”

“Seriously, it’s just a movie. I don’t know why I’m getting so emotionally invested.”

Director Baek shook his head.

“There’s not much left, but I’ll take good care of Dain until it’s over. If she tries to overdo it, I’ll tell her it’s okay.”

“Director, you’re the best.”

“But are you two dat–”

“We’re not dating.”

I answered before he could even finish.

I thought it’d be annoying if he didn’t believe me, but unexpectedly, he immediately nodded.

“Yeah. I figured.”

“Huh?”

“I’ve watched you two for months. I’ve seen so many actors actually fall in love while filming movies. But you two really act like siblings.”

“Then why ask?”

“Well, actual siblings don’t worry that much…”

Director Baek scratched his head.

“Who cares if your real older sister overworks herself or collapses?”

“Director, do you have a sister?”

“Yeah.”

“…I see.”

I’d learned so many things today.

I argued that even family members could worry about each other, only to be met with a machine-gun reply.

“Seulho, you’re an only child, so you wouldn’t know.”

“Anyway, you’ve worked hard all this time. I’ll call you if we need any ADR.”

“Thank you.”

Director Baek whined that after seeing each other every day for months, it felt strange that today was the end.

So I told him we’d be seeing each other to death again when the movie release approached, and he should focus on the remaining shoots.

“You’re so cold, Seulho…”

With that, Director Baek returned to the set looking lonely.

Watching him, I stretched.

“Ugh.”

It’s finally over.

After Dogeon and Yeonhee truly broke up, he only appeared in one more scene.

Since I’d filmed that today, all that remained was to wait and see how it would be edited.

Which meant I could now focus entirely on the horror movie.

‘Life’s about to get easier.’

Lately, I couldn’t tell whether I was Dogeon, Junho, or Yoo Seulho.

The thoughts and values of several characters kept clashing in my head, and I found myself spacing out more often.

‘Like today.’

Filming Dogeon’s final scene had left me with complicated feelings.

Thinking that I might never take out and read about Dogeon again felt strange.

But at the same time, I was excited by the thought of acting another character.

‘…That doesn’t mean I’m serious about acting.’

Lee Yeonjae’s words kept coming back to me.

Ah, damn it.

‘Does he think everyone is like him?’

His acting as if he knew me annoyed me, yet I couldn’t easily ignore it.

‘No, why am I still thinking about this?’

Whether I’m sincere or not, what does it matter?

And even if I’m materialistic, of course I’d be sincere to some extent.

Isn’t it common sense to be serious about making money?

‘Hmph.’

I mentally flipped off Lee Yeonjae, who had probably already flown back to America.

“Shall we head home?”

At that moment, Choo Seomok approached carrying my things.

We weren’t leaving for the horror movie location until tomorrow, so I had no more plans for today.

‘Normally, I’d go home, but…’

After hesitating for a moment, I asked:

“Do you have anything planned tonight?”

“Huh?”

“Like meeting friends or something.”

“I don’t have any friends.”

“……”

For a moment, I felt a sense of camaraderie at Seomok’s calm answer, but quickly cut it off.

Don’t show it. At least in front of this brat, I have to maintain the image of having lots of friends.

“Why are you asking?”

“I was wondering if we could head down today instead of tomorrow. Might as well prepare early.”

“That’s fine. Let’s stop by the house and get your things first.”

As expected, Choo Seomok didn’t ask unnecessary questions.

I immediately got in the car at his straightforward answer.

‘Right.’

Forget everything else and focus on what’s right in front of me.

‘For now, just make money.’

That clear conclusion lightened my whole body.

 

***

Meowrrgh

“Yeah. Nice to see you too.”

The cat’s cry had become familiar now.

I grunted as I picked up the cat clinging to my leg.

‘The air’s nice too.’

Maybe I should retire to the countryside.

The air felt completely different from Seoul, soothing both body and mind.

Meow, meow!

“Yeah. I like it too.”

Holding the little cat that could fit in one hand, I headed to the lodging.

Since there wasn’t any special filming scheduled today, everyone was gathered in the common room.

“Huh? Oppa Junho!”

Ajin spotted me first and ran over.

“Weren’t you coming tomorrow?”

“I finished filming, so I came early. Thought I’d practice lines in advance.”

“Aww, what? I thought you came because you missed us. Are you here to practice again? Seriously, you’re obsessed.”

Ajin shivered dramatically.

Ignoring her exaggerated reaction, I walked inside.

“Everyone doing well?”

“Of course~”

“Hyung, wanna play X-game with me later? They say there’s a PC room in town!”

The actor playing Daon excitedly chattered away.

Ajin immediately jumped in, barking about what games people should be playing these days.

‘I thought the cat was enough.’

Who knew there were this many dogs here too?

After barely calming down the puppies begging me to play with them, I collapsed onto the sofa.

Ah, exhausting.

‘That bastard’s eyes haven’t changed.’

The actor playing Jaehyun still seemed to hate me.

Unlike before, he wasn’t openly staring at me.

This time, he simply refused to look at me at all.

Seriously.

‘Do whatever you want.’

Maybe because I’d spent days agonizing over Lee Yeonjae’s words, suddenly everything felt meaningless.

Eventually, both he and I would die anyway.

‘Forget about it.’

Who knew when we’d die?

No need to worry about what others thought.

Though, honestly, I didn’t think I’d ever lived worrying about others in the first place.

Anyway.

“The weather got colder.”

“Oppa, it’s not autumn anymore. It’s completely winter.”

The actress playing Seorae pouted.

“I wish we’d finish the location scenes and move to the studio already.”

“Same. Wearing sleeveless clothes in this weather is ridiculous.”

The actresses lamented together.

Of course, revealing outfits weren’t only their problem.

“Sigh, I want to stop wearing shorts too. It’s freezing.”

Daon shivered.

‘The one who wants to cry most is me, you brats…’

Junho had to search for everyone while drenched in sweat as things grew worse and worse.

If it had actually been hot, sweat would’ve come naturally.

But it was cold now.

So they had to spray water mixed with glycerin to create sweat.

‘Which makes it even more uncomfortable.’

Honestly, that much was manageable.

The real problem was their breath.

It was tolerable during the day, but at night temperatures dropped sharply and visible breath appeared.

Being deep in the mountains probably made it worse.

But the story took place in midsummer.

Seeing their breath would make no sense.

‘The worst parts will probably have to be erased with CGI.’

Fortunately, it wasn’t that bad yet.

So, they had…

 

***

 

“Ugh, my teeth hurt.”

“Mine too.”

The ice in my mouth made my head spin.

That’s right.

The solution we’d settled on was to keep ice in our mouths until right before filming.

“Hyuuung, save me.”

The actor playing Seungmin clung to me, whining that he was freezing to death.

When I recoiled in disgust, he laughed and clung even harder.

‘Seriously, he’s like a dog.’

Annoying, sure, but better than everyone being distant.

‘Coming early yesterday was a good idea.’

Now I was close with everyone except the actor playing Jaehyun.

Who knew what tricks that bastard might pull, so I planned to maintain as many connections as possible.

“Okay, we’re rolling! Spit out the ice!”

At Director Seo’s command, we immediately spat the ice into the containers the staff had prepared.

‘After spitting it out, we only have one minute at most…’

No time to prepare mentally.

Let’s do this.

“Ready, action!”