How a Loan Shark Survives as an Actor Chapter 121

Chapter 121

 

“Reset the set! Props team!”

“Director, is the backlighting on Camera 2 okay?”

“Man, this is rough.”

The moment “Cut!” was called, the set immediately burst into chatter.

The tension that had been stretched taut the whole time loosened all at once, and strength drained from my body.

‘Ugh.’

I frowned beneath the blanket Seomok draped over me as he came running over.

“Do you need anything?”

“Yeah. Take my clothes off for me.”

“If that’s all, I’ll be leaving.”

I glared at Seomok, who mercilessly cut off my nonsense.

“You don’t even play along with jokes anymore?”

“It wasn’t a joke.”

“…”

Damn brat’s too quick-witted.

Of course, even if Seomok took his shirt off too, he couldn’t do the filming in my place.

But at least there’d be one more shirtless guy besides me, so maybe it’d feel less embarrassing.

‘It’s better than I expected.’

Thankfully, preparing for this scene wasn’t nearly as bad as I’d imagined.

It wasn’t all that embarrassing either. I was just thirsty.

‘I want ramen too.’

Originally, I was supposed to film the ramen-eating scene together with Ajin, Seorae, and Seungmin.

But realistically, eating while shirtless wasn’t an option.

I couldn’t even drink water because they were trying to dry me out. What ramen?

So I could only pretend to eat while the other actors did the actual eating shots.

“How much longer do I have to stay half naked?”

“You can put your shirt back on when Ajin goes out to open the door for Hyewoo.”

Seomok said it’d take another hour at most and told me to hold on a little longer.

Some people might’ve found his words cold, but they helped me.

‘Just endure for one hour.’

I can drink water soon.

Now that I’d become conscious of my thirst, it only grew stronger, so I tried to think about something else.

‘Phew.’

Who knew taking off my shirt could be so complicated?

I’d never built muscles for the purpose of showing them off before.

‘I thought you just had to exercise a lot and eat protein.’

Reality was much harsher than I expected.

Apparently, actors preparing for shirtless scenes usually spent anywhere from several months to even a year getting ready.

Right before filming, they’d cut carbohydrates and salt to a minimum, and on the day of shooting, they’d even stop drinking water.

That way, the moisture beneath the skin would disappear and make the muscles look more defined.

‘Not easy.’

The shirtless scene wasn’t originally in the contract.

Up until then, the most we’d discussed was lifting my soaked shirt slightly or briefly exposing my abs while falling.

But a few days ago, the production staff came to persuade me.

“Slho-ssi, couldn’t we somehow make this work?”

At first, they brought up some nonsense about wanting to show that Junho wasn’t weak.

If someone that strong couldn’t handle the situation, wouldn’t that naturally heighten the audience’s fear?

It wasn’t completely unreasonable, but I knew that wasn’t the real reason.

“Just be honest. You’re trying to put it in the trailer, aren’t you?”

“…We just don’t want the movie to flop. This is our third project with Director Seo, and the previous ones all failed, so we’re anxious.”

The staff looked miserable.

At their honest confession that they wanted to attract Yoo Seulho’s female fans, I sighed.

I told them to get Director Seo’s permission first.

“If Director Seo says it’s okay, I’ll think about it again.”

That only made the staff look even sadder.

Director Seo was the kind of person whose pride never broke, even if his movies did.

No one knew better than the production staff that persuading him wouldn’t be easy.

‘He’ll definitely say no.’

Director Seo hated excessive exposure, saying shirtless scenes felt too perverted.

He didn’t want meaningless fan-service scenes inserted purely for publicity.

Whenever the staff argued that it would help the box office, he’d outright explode.

He ignored all their suggestions and lectured them about how random fan-service scenes ruined immersion.

‘Can they really convince him?’

I eagerly waited for the answer.

Of course, if they succeeded, I’d have to take my shirt off, but honestly, it wasn’t a big deal.

‘Look at how much I got paid.’

It wasn’t like they wanted me naked. I could handle being shirtless.

And somehow, they actually succeeded.

“We got Director Seo’s approval! You’ll think positively about it, right?”

The production staff returned with joy written all over their faces.

I hadn’t even agreed yet, but they were already hugging each other in celebration, so I asked what they had done.

“How’d you persuade him?”

“Hehe. It’s all thanks to Morae.”

Morae?

I almost asked what that was before remembering that Morae was the village chief’s cat.

The cat that always clung to me before getting handed over to Director Seo.

The staff explained that Director Seo became much gentler whenever he was holding Morae, so they chose the timing and asked while he was cuddling the cat.

‘These people are persistent too.’

They managed to persuade that stubborn guy with a cat.

It was impressive, but I also felt bad for Director Seo.

‘He wants to be a genius director, but what can he do?’

Jinki, you’ve just become a cat addict…

Anyway, I’d already said I would do it, so I ended up taking my shirt off.

There wasn’t much time left, but I hurriedly worked on my physique with a trainer.

I honestly wondered if it’d work, but according to the trainer, Yoo Seulho’s body was blessed.

He called it “a heavenly physique that reaches in three days what takes others forever.”

And just like he said, my body shaped up without much effort.

‘Unexpected.’

He used to collapse from exhaustion all the time, so I thought he was weak.

But an entertainer was still an entertainer. Building show muscles happened surprisingly fast.

‘Good for me, though.’

People said getting abs was pure agony, but it wasn’t as painful as I’d expected.

Maybe because I’d gradually increased my workouts before filming, I had no trouble with anything the trainer asked.

Though there had been some conflict over the diet.

The trainer initially proposed a no-carb diet, but Seomok threw such a fit that it had to be revised.

Ironically, I, the person involved, had remained quiet, but his opposition was too stubborn.

In the end, the trainer backed down before the rice fanatic.

“Aren’t you hungry?”

My manager, who cared more about my health than I did, asked.

“Of course I am. But I’m thirstier.”

“I’ll wet a handkerchief. Hold it against your lips.”

The damp handkerchief Seomok handed me immediately made me feel better.

My dry lips softened.

‘At least that’s something.’

Though the shirtless scene had been sudden, in the end, I thought this was better.

When we filmed the scene where my shirt accidentally lifted and revealed my abs before, I felt awkward and embarrassed.

I’d rather expose everything openly than pretend it wasn’t intentional and look like I was playing coy.

‘At least now there’s a reason.’

Junho had taken off his shirt because of Jaehyun’s seizure.

Everything had happened so suddenly that this felt more natural than digging through a bag for clothes.

I liked that the scene wasn’t mindless fan service, and more importantly, I liked the reactions.

‘Normally, girls would exchange glances or get embarrassed in movies like this.’

Honestly, that was ridiculous.

Their friend had disappeared, the car was gone, and they were in danger. Who’d be admiring a guy’s body?

“Wow, Oppa, your body is incredible.”

Well, that was true for the characters in the movie.

Reality was different.

Ajin gave me a thumbs-up.

“How much do you work out? You’re way more solid than I expected. Wow. Amazing.”

“You pervert?”

When I asked if she was sexually harassing me, she replied shamelessly,

“Sexual harassment? I’m just admiring you as a fellow human being.”

I chuckled at how unashamed she was.

“Thanks for the compliment.”

“I haven’t seen all your work, but you’ve never done this before, right? I think this is the first time.”

“Yeah. It is.”

Ajin clapped happily.

“Our movie’s going to do well. The chicks will love it.”

“…”

That word again.

I awkwardly looked away, pretending not to hear.

Ajin started chattering about working out too.

Soon, the other actors gathered and naturally joined the conversation.

‘We’ve really gotten close.’

Maybe because we’re all around the same age.

We treated each other more like friends than fellow actors.

‘Living together helps too.’

Sleeping and filming in the same place made it impossible not to grow close.

Seeing each other morning, noon, night, and even at dawn naturally made everyone close with both actors and staff.

‘…Except one.’

I glanced to one side.

There sat the actor playing Jaehyun, reading his script alone.

‘Strange.’

Why was he isolating himself like that?

I understood why he didn’t talk to me, but it was odd that he kept his distance from everyone else too.

It wasn’t that he was being ostracized.

It felt more like…

‘He’s ostracizing himself.’

Ironically, Ajin (the one I’d worried about at first) was getting along just fine.

Apparently, she even went out with the other actresses on days off.

At least on the surface, everything seemed fine.

‘Well, that’s his choice.’

Unlike Director Seo, he didn’t seem socially awkward.

He just looked like someone who preferred being alone.

And thanks to that, the actors playing Daon and Seungmin had started clinging to me instead.

After shaking off those brats who kept pestering me to go to a PC café that evening, I sat down.

‘He acted well yesterday.’

Watching Jaehyun’s seizure scene had surprised me.

He was much better than I’d expected.

His acting was enjoyable to watch, and I knew immediately.

‘He’s going to make it.’

It wouldn’t take long for that actor to become famous.

Whatever relationship he had with Yoo Taeho didn’t matter anymore.

Thinking that he’d become a rival naturally drew my attention to him.

‘What was his real name again?’

Now that filming had entered the middle stages, I’d memorized almost everyone’s names.

But I’d never really spoken to him, so I hadn’t bothered learning his.

‘I’ll ask Seomok later.’

While I was spacing out, a staff member approached.

“Seulho-ssi.”

“Yeah?”

“Director Seo asked me to teach you how to use this.”

The moment I saw what she was holding, realization dawned on me.

‘So I’m finally using this.’

When I told her I was ready, she smiled.

“Have you ever used fake blood before?”