How a Loan Shark Survives as an Actor – Chapter 13

Author: Cireng

Chapter 13

What pounced on me was a huge dog.

“…Hello.”

Woof!

More precisely, it was an animal actor playing the heroine’s pet dog.

‘Do people really call this a puppy?’

No. This wasn’t a puppy… it was a dog. I mean, I know “dog” and “puppy” are technically the same kind of animal, but this definitely wasn’t a puppy.

‘This guy looks like he should be paying taxes.’

I was overwhelmed by its massive build and undeniable presence.

Not that I was worried about Woo Junseo, who would have to get tackled by this thing several times during filming later.

Actually, I was incredibly excited.

‘Hey, buddy. When the cameras start rolling later, do your absolute best to flatten Woo Junseo, okay?’

‘So damp.’

Unaware of the thoughts running through my head, the dog enthusiastically licked my face with its sticky tongue.

The tongue touching my face was much softer than I expected.

“Wooju!!!”

After enduring that for several seconds, a man who looked like the trainer came running over in a panic.

He immediately tried dragging the dog off me, but the animal whimpered pitifully.

Whine.

“Quiet! I’m so sorry, Actor-nim. I’m really sorry. Wooju has never done anything like this before. Are you hurt anywhere?”

“No. Fortunately, I’m fine. But I think you should keep a tighter hold on the leash. He’s strong.”

Whine, whine.

“I’m really sorry. He’s a large breed, so this could’ve turned into a major accident. He’s seriously never acted like this before. I’m so, so sorry.”

The man apologized over and over, looking as if he were on the verge of a panic attack.

He was apologizing far more intensely than I thought necessary, which left me somewhat bewildered, but when I noticed Director Jang and the staff watching from nearby, I understood.

‘If an animal actor can’t control itself, people are bound to get nervous.’

My palms stung slightly from the sudden fall, but I hid them inside my sleeves and pretended nothing was wrong.

After assuring him several times that I was fine, the trainer finally calmed down and began leading the dog away.

Or at least, he tried to.

“Wooju, we need to wait over there.”

Whine, whine.

“Jeon Wooju! Aren’t you listening?!”

Despite the trainer’s stern tone, the dog completely ignored him and kept staring at me.

‘He’s really huge.’

A long time ago, some of the guys in my organization had asked if they could keep a dog in the office.

Back then, Hwang Taejun had enthusiastically shown me pictures, saying things like, “How about this one?” and “What about this breed?”

None of them had been this big.

‘And aren’t dogs usually obedient to their owners?’

Contrary to my shallow understanding, the dog in front of me paid no attention whatsoever to its trainer and remained fixated on me.

Since it kept whining, I told the trainer I’d play with it for a bit.

“It’s probably tired from waiting around. Filming hasn’t started yet anyway, so it should be fine.”

“Ha… I’m really sorry. You might not believe me, but Wooju is usually incredibly well-behaved. He’s never done this before.”

They say every hedgehog thinks its own baby is beautiful.

Not wanting to embarrass a man desperately defending his child, I simply nodded and called the dog over.

“Come here.”

Woof!

The dog immediately sprinted toward me again with an absurdly happy expression.

Its tail wagged so violently that its entire body seemed to vibrate.

Watching the scene, the trainer muttered quietly,

“Wooju really likes you, Actor-nim. I’ve never seen him act like this before…”

“Can I pet him?”

“Of course! He’s been thoroughly trained not to bite, so you don’t need to worry!”

At that, I slowly reached out and stroked the dog’s back.

Then I froze.

Its fur was much softer than I had imagined.

It felt like an expensive towel.

“A Border Collie acting like a Golden Retriever. I heard these guys are supposed to be super smart.”

Choi Ran squatted down beside me and marveled.

Apparently this breed was called a Border Collie, not Broccoli.

“Yeah. He’s really cute.”

“I think he likes you.”

While talking with Choi Ran, I unconsciously stopped petting him for a moment.

The dog immediately whimpered and tapped my arm lightly with a paw.

At the same time, I could feel how carefully it had controlled its strength so it wouldn’t hurt me.

You really are smart.

“You’re pretty.”

Woof!

“Yeah. You’re pretty.”

Woof!

‘Are we actually having a conversation right now?’

As I continued petting him, the dog happily spun around in circles before eventually resting his chin on my knee.

A staff member in the distance began taking pictures while making a huge fuss.

Everything felt rather chaotic.

The adorable dog naturally attracted everyone’s attention.

And there was one person who clearly didn’t like that.

“…Why are you here, Sunbae-nim?”

Woo Junseo, looking as if he had just returned from the salon, stared down at me with a displeased expression.

Having to look up at that bastard from this angle was a serious blow to my pride.

Unfortunately, the dog sleeping with its chin on my knee made it impossible to stand up.

“I came to watch the filming. I wanted to see you and Ran act in person.”

“Ah. Right.”

Unable to openly pick a fight with me in front of so many people, Woo Junseo simply made a face that clearly said he disliked my presence and turned away.

As filming time approached, the staff gradually dispersed.

By the time only Choi Ran and I remained, busily petting the dog, Woo Junseo returned.

“Ran-ssi, can we talk? Actor to actor.”

“Hm?”

“I mean, people who actually act should have a conversation. It’s not exactly a light topic…”

Woo Junseo glanced at me before focusing on Choi Ran again.

His attitude made it obvious he didn’t consider me part of those “people who actually act.”

‘Surely he isn’t trying to provoke me with that?’

Honestly, getting tackled by the dog earlier had been far more impactful.

If that was his idea of picking a fight, he wasn’t worth responding to.

I pretended not to hear and lowered my gaze.

“By the way, why’s your name Wooju?”

Woof!

“Can’t speak human?”

I continued petting the grinning dog, who looked as though he was smiling while panting.

Since I ignored him, more force entered Woo Junseo’s voice.

“Ran-ssi. Hurry and–”

“You’re not calling him Sunbae-nim anymore?”

That was when Choi Ran, who had been silent the entire time, casually interrupted.

“Huh?”

“You called Seulho-oppa ‘Sunbae-nim’ just fine. So why are you calling me by name? I’ve been in the industry for a long time too.”

“Ah…”

Woo Junseo quickly adjusted his expression and apologized, but after that awkward silence, it didn’t feel particularly sincere.

“I’ll be more careful in the future.”

“Whatever. But what did you want to talk about? Just say it here.”

Perhaps offended by Choi Ran’s curt tone, Woo Junseo frowned slightly before speaking.

“Ran-ssi… no, Sunbae-nim… you’ve done plenty of romance projects, so you know how important chemistry between the leads is. It’s not enough to perform well only when the cameras are rolling.”

He pointed toward a camera quietly recording in the corner.

“Fans these days watch all the behind-the-scenes footage too. Wouldn’t people immerse themselves more if the leads chatted together even off-camera? We barely have enough time to build chemistry as it is, so why waste it chatting with a supporting actor?”

“There’s one right here.”

“…Ha.”

At Choi Ran’s response, Woo Junseo visibly lost motivation.

He let out a short sigh and simply turned around.

Instinctively, he had realized it.

He wasn’t going to win an argument against Choi Ran.

Watching his retreating back, Choi Ran casually whispered,

“He’s a weird guy. I’d heard some things, but still.”

I’d bet ten thousand won that she whispered not out of consideration for Woo Junseo, but because she didn’t want her manager to smack her across the back again.

“You okay?”

“With what?”

“You have to do romance scenes with him. Is it really okay to be that openly hostile?”

“We’re acting. What does it matter? It’s not like I’m actually going to fall in love with him.”

Choi Ran sounded completely uninterested as she continued petting the dog sleeping on my lap.

After silently stroking him for a while, she suddenly adopted a serious expression.

“The real problem is the kissing scene.”

“You don’t like the partner?”

“Well, that’s part of it, but I can deal with it. If I close my eyes, I won’t have to look at his face.”

Then she sighed.

“But my sister isn’t going to close hers.”

It seemed she was worried because this would be the first time her sister, now acting as her manager, would watch her perform.

And of all genres, it had to be a romance.

The unexpected concern made me laugh.

“That’s true. I can see why that’d bother you. By the way, how did Yoon-ssi end up becoming your manager?”

Even as I asked, I expected a response like:

‘Why are you asking that when we’re not even close?’

Instead, Choi Ran answered without hesitation.

Starting from how she began life as a child actor at age eight, how her parents’ ambitions had forced her to live alone in Seoul away from her family, how the money she earned had paid for her sister’s tuition despite their twelve-year age gap…

She told me everything.

According to her, Choi Yoon had been busy attending graduate school and studying hard when she finally discovered how badly her younger sister had been damaged by years of neglect.

Their parents still paid little attention to Choi Ran.

Feeling guilty, Choi Yoon had declared that she wanted to spend time with her sister and make up for all the years they’d lost.

She quit everything and volunteered to become Choi Ran’s manager.

Hearing that their parents had exploded, yelling, “Do you think we sent you to graduate school for this?” made me think:

‘Her family is just as much of a disaster as Yoo Seulho’s.’

“I told her she didn’t need to do that. But she said she’d already learned everything she wanted to learn because of me, and that finding a job was hard anyway. She told me not to push her away.”

“Did she?”

“But I know she’s lying. Apparently one of her papers was even referenced somewhere. Why would someone like that stay by my side? She’ll quit after a year or two.”

“I see.”

“I’m just waiting it out. She won’t last long. How hard do you think manager work is for someone who’s spent her whole life studying? Especially a female manager. Do you know how much they get looked down on?”

“That’s true.”

“…Why are you talking like you know anything? You don’t know a thing.”

Only after rambling nonstop did Choi Ran finally glare at me.

“I’ve worked in society too.”

“You’re only two years older than me.”

“There are things you don’t know, kid.”

“Wow. You sounded like a real old man just now.”

Well, that’s because I really am an old man.

Chuckling lightly, I reached over and rubbed another part of the dog that Choi Ran wasn’t petting.

The dog shivered with delight.

“Then why do you think your sister won’t last?”

I glanced toward Choi Yoon, who was busily running around in the distance.

Choi Ran’s gaze followed mine.

“You think your sister gave everything up just to stay with you, but how do you know that’s how she sees it? At least from where I’m standing, she looks happy. And she’s good at it too.”

“…”

“Look at her. Running around that busily. That takes talent too.”

Your sister’s no joke.

After I added that, Choi Ran puffed out her cheeks.

Then, after silently petting the dog for quite some time, she abruptly stood up.

“I’m leaving.”

And hurried off.

***

Up until then, everything had been perfect.

The dog on my lap was warm.

Talking with Choi Ran had been enjoyable.

I was just about to sit back and happily watch everyone else show off their acting skills.