How a Loan Shark Survives as an Actor – Chapter 133

Author: Cireng

Chapter 133

I lost consciousness.

Every time I opened my eyes, blurry scenes flickered past my vision.

Dozens of Ajins smiling as they stroked me…

Ajin is dragging me down the mountain…

“Ugh.”

I clutched my head as a splitting headache assaulted me.

Even without opening my eyes, I could tell my surroundings were bright.

‘Don’t tell me…’

Had morning already come?

Hope surged through me for an instant, and I quickly opened my eyes.

Unfortunately, the sky was still pitch black.

The bright light I’d mistaken for sunlight was coming from a blazing bonfire.

“……”

I no longer had the strength to resist.

Nor the strength to run.

Still seated on the ground, I blankly looked around.

I saw the pile of corpses I’d noticed before climbing the mountain.

‘So… he died after all.’

Seungmin lay limply with his eyes open. Anyone could tell he was no longer alive.

On top of Seungmin’s body rested Seorae… the same Seorae I’d found in the bathroom earlier.

‘…What’s that?’

I didn’t know whether it had been added while I was unconscious or whether I’d simply failed to notice it earlier, but there was something that looked like a ritual altar.

I narrowed my eyes, wondering why it was there.

Squelch… squelch…

Someone approached, their footsteps sinking into the damp earth.

“…!”

The moment I saw the person’s face, my mouth fell open. If I could’ve, I would’ve shouted,

“Y-you…!”

But I was so exhausted that no words came out.

“You’ve worked hard.”

The old man approached me with a gentle smile.

He was the owner of the villa… the one who had handed me the key when we first arrived.

“You’ve really been through a lot.”

Unlike yesterday’s cold and unfriendly demeanor, he now wore a peaceful expression.

He gently patted my head as though I were his grandchild before walking toward the altar.

Or rather… Toward Ajin, who was standing before it.

“O Great One!”

Then he knelt before her.

A rough, hoarse voice burst from the old man’s mouth.

“This is the sixth night I offer You a sacrifice!”

“……”

Ajin stared blankly as she listened.

Only moments ago, she’d been consumed by madness while fighting me.

Now she stood there like a candle whose flame had gone out.

The old man smiled brightly.

“Please… enjoy this feast!”

The moment he finished speaking, one of Ajin’s arms suddenly shot upward.

Unlike the rest of her limp body, only her raised arm remained unnaturally rigid.

It looked as though someone invisible in the air was pulling it upward.

There was a knife in her hand.

And then…

“Hrk!!”

Without the slightest hesitation…

She drove it into her own abdomen.

At that instant, Ajin gasped as though awakening from a coma.

Color instantly returned to her pale face.

Tears rapidly filled her vacant eyes.

She looked down in utter disbelief.

As though she couldn’t believe there was a knife sticking out of her stomach.

But her hand repeated the motion.

Thrust! Thrust! Thrust!

“Ghk… ugh… hhk…”

Ajin desperately tried to stop herself with her other hand. It was useless.

She looked around, holding back her tears, and our eyes met as I stood there, staring blankly at the scene.

“J-Junho… Oppa…”

“……”

Those were her last words.

After dozens of stabs, Ajin finally coughed up blood.

Every movement stopped.

The old man slowly approached her lifeless body.

“Don’t touch–”

Just as I instinctively shouted at him not to touch me, the old man gently stroked Ajin’s cheek with an affectionate expression.

It wasn’t a romantic gesture. It was the same kind of gentle touch he had shown me… as though she were his grandchild.

While I hesitated, the old man picked Ajin up and carefully laid her atop the pile of corpses.

Then, he slowly walked toward me.

In his hand was the knife Ajin had used to stab herself.

‘No… don’t come any closer.’

Even after everything that had happened, I was still afraid of dying.

Terrified that the knife would plunge into my stomach at any moment, I scrambled backward while sitting on the ground.

“Shhh…”

The old man smiled gently, as if telling me not to be afraid.

Breathing heavily, as though soothing a crying newborn, he knelt in front of me and began rummaging through my pockets.

I was too exhausted to resist.

“…Ah.”

A single tear rolled down his cheek as he pulled the villa key from my pocket.

It was a strange tear.

It looked joyful, yet relieved at the same time.

He sobbed with overwhelming happiness before smiling and wiping away his tears.

“Thank you. Thank you so much.”

He clasped my hand, repeating his gratitude over and over.

“Here, everyone is equal. The moment you become connected to Him, all ties to the outside world are severed. You become His.”

“…What?”

“Everyone outside will forget you. No one can help you escape this place.”

The old man whispered hurriedly.

“Just like what happened to me.”

Looking at me with pity, he gently stroked my cheek again.

“Don’t worry. Once you’ve offered six sacrifices, you’ll finally be free. Only then will you truly be liberated.”

Despite the joy in his voice, I barely managed to speak.

“You… you practically killed us.”

Even though it was an accusation, the old man showed no sign of offense.

“I warned you. I told you not to go outside after sunset.”

“…”

“I told you not to go out, even if someone called your name from outside.”

“…”

“I clearly said that even if you didn’t go looking for the mountain… the mountain would come looking for you.”

A memory I’d buried because I’d been too busy suddenly resurfaced.

The villa owner’s words as he handed me the keys while the children unloaded the luggage.

The words I’d dismissed, mocking him as some old man obsessed with role-playing, now echoed back to me… soaked in blood.

“You were the ones who broke the warning first.”

“…”

Seeing me speechless, the old man chuckled.

Then he forcibly opened my hand and placed the villa key into my palm.

“Remember this. You can’t die just because you want to. To become free… You must offer a sacrifice.”

“Six times. Exactly six times.”

The words sounded like the devil’s whisper.

I frowned, unable to make any sense of them.

Then…

“…!”

Without the slightest hesitation, the old man drove the knife into his own neck.

A horrifying gurgle escaped him.

Yet, ironically, he wore a radiant smile.

Even with a knife lodged in his throat, he didn’t die immediately.

He struggled for breath, writhing in agony… and eventually died with that same smile still on his face.

“…Ha.”

When I came back to my senses, everything around me was drenched in blood.

Even the one person I could still speak to had taken his own life before my eyes.

Faced with a scene that refused to feel real, all I could do was…

“…”

…sit there.

I couldn’t think.

I couldn’t move.

I simply remained there as time slipped by.

At some point, the light disappeared.

Then morning came.

“…Huh?”

Still dazed, I slowly looked around.

Everything had been cleaned up.

The piles of corpses.

The altar.

The charred remains of wood.

Everything was gone.

Even the blood and wounds covering my body had vanished without a trace.

Only a single key remained in my hand.

Without hesitation, I hurled it as far toward the mountain as I could.

“Please… let me wake up. Please. Please.”

Pressing my forehead against the ground, I prayed over and over.

Later, no matter how many times I slammed my head into the floor while wishing to wake up… I never escaped the dream.

Morning gradually brightened into full daylight.

“…Let’s go down.”

Muttering blankly, I forced myself to stand.

Even as I staggered, my feet never stopped carrying me down the mountain.

Yet no matter how far I descended… whenever I came to my senses, I was standing in front of the villa again.

“Fuck! What the hell did I do wrong?! You bastards!!”

I screamed.

I cursed.

I struggled.

None of it mattered.

Later, I crawled down the mountain in tears.

Even then…

I could never escape the villa.

I simply writhed in despair.

Clatter.

Something fell to the floor.

The sound instantly drew my attention.

“…”

The key I’d thrown toward the mountain… had somehow returned to my pocket.

It was as though that tiny key were whispering to me.

‘You can never leave this place.’

***

“Great work, everyone!”

“That’s a wrap!”

Perhaps because I’d spent the entire shoot surrounded by people, filming the scenes where Junho struggled alone felt especially lonely.

“Hyung, you really worked hard.”

Director Seo jogged over and patted me on the back.

My head throbbed after hours of nonstop crying and screaming.

‘Ugh… that was rough.’

It was the kind of role that drained every ounce of emotional energy.

Especially since I’d come straight to the set after spending two days running through the mountains, I could feel every bit of my strength had been wrung dry.

“The only thing left is the scene set one year later, right?”

“Yep! Hang in there just a little longer!”

The movie cuts to black on Junho’s despairing expression before jumping ahead one year.

Just as Junho’s group had once arrived at the villa full of excitement, another seemingly happy family now arrives for a vacation.

“Mom! There’s a swing here too!”

“Jihu! Don’t run!”

“Haha!”

Surrounded by beautiful scenery and fresh mountain air, the family laughs happily.

Watching his children run around, the father suddenly notices someone standing beside him.

“Ah, you’re the owner, right?”

He greets him with a smile.

But the villa owner doesn’t smile back.