How a Loan Shark Survives as an Actor Chapter 15

Chapter 15

 

Today was the first day I would properly act in front of a camera as the male lead’s older brother, Kang Minwoo.

‘Let’s do this.’

After the script reading, I had been communicating continuously with Director Jang, rebuilding the character from the ground up.

Director Jang carefully explained details about Kang Minwoo that were never written in the script.

At first, I wondered why I needed to know things that would never even appear in the drama.

But once I started acting based on those details, I found myself capable of much more nuanced expressions.

And the results were genuinely better.

These details were also deeply related to ‘why Kang Minwoo abused his younger brother.’

When Director Jang first asked whether I was curious about the reason, I had responded by asking whether I was even supposed to be curious.

‘What reason could there be?’

Trash does trashy things.

Did I really need to know why trash was trash?

Still, in the end, knowing helped my acting.

According to Director Jang, the male lead, Kang Minjun, was somehow connected to the accident that killed their parents.

Because of that, Minjun carried severe guilt.

Even when his older brother abused him, he endured it silently because he believed he was the cause.

It was a setting never mentioned even once in the script, but after hearing the explanation, I finally understood the situation between the brothers.

‘Well, he’s still trash.’

Since the drama was a romantic comedy, they had decided that digging deeply into such a dark backstory didn’t fit the genre, so all references to it were removed from the script.

Besides, Kang Minwoo had been created in a hurry because of Yoo Seul-ho, so the character itself didn’t really match the tone of the drama.

‘I just need to do what I practiced.’

Taking a deep breath, I headed toward the set when cheerful conversation reached my ears.

‘Everyone’s in a good mood.’

Even though they hadn’t filmed much yet, the broadcast date was already right around the corner.

At this pace, by the time Episode 1 aired, they’d be filming material for Episode 3.

I had wondered why they’d created such an absurd schedule, only to secretly learn that another drama originally slated for the time slot had fallen through, and this one had been rushed in as a replacement.

‘No matter what, is a schedule like this even possible?’

“Well… we’ll have to make it possible.”

Lee Soeun, the staff member who had once smiled brightly during the script reading, had replied with completely dead eyes.

Anyway, in a situation like this, everyone should have been on edge.

Or at least, normally they would have been.

“Haha, so in my dream yesterday–”

Yet laughter echoed throughout the set.

The loudest voice belonged to Director Jang.

He had sounded excited on the phone yesterday too.

When he told me that investment funds had increased dramatically thanks to the shelter post, I remember thinking that a person’s voice really could go that high.

“Um… but what if Seulho can’t act?”

At that moment, a staff member who hadn’t realized I was there whispered quietly.

“What if the script reading was just beginner’s luck, and he acts like before once he’s in front of the camera?”

I was wondering whether to pretend I hadn’t heard it when Director Jang answered firmly.

“You think I’ve only seen his acting during the reading? You didn’t see what he did afterward, did you? That was even crazier.”

Director Jang dismissed the concern by telling them to trust him if they were that worried.

I silently counted a few seconds before walking onto the set.

“Hello.”

“Our Seulho is here?!”

Director Jang welcomed me with a bright smile.

The way he greeted me felt like he was welcoming a victorious general returning from war.

It made me feel awkward.

“Please take care of me today.”

“No, I should be the one saying that. Don’t be too nervous. Let’s work together as you and Junseo did during the script reading.”

Unlike Director Jang’s enthusiastic encouragement, Woo Junseo arrived five minutes later, glanced at me, and walked right past.

‘What’s his problem?’

At first I thought I was imagining it.

But when we started rehearsing lines in front of the camera, I realized it clearly.

‘He’s not even looking at me.’

Junseo wasn’t pretending to be a kind junior.

Nor was he openly picking a fight.

He simply acted as though I didn’t exist.

His cold attitude had a considerable impact on our line delivery.

“Haha, I’m already excited to see how amazing Junseo’s acting will be.”

Director Jang forced out a laugh as he tried to flatter him.

After a moment of consideration, I opened my mouth.

“I actually feel really fortunate that Junseo is here. Even if my acting is lacking, I’m confident Junseo will support me.”

“…?”

For the first time, Junseo looked at me.

His expression said he had just seen something strange.

Still, I didn’t back down and continued saying things like, “I’ll learn a lot from you today,” while trying my best to sound sincere.

During that time, my eyes briefly met Director Jang’s.

It looked as if he was thanking me with his gaze.

‘In the end, Junseo has to cooperate if we’re going to get a good scene.’

If Junseo refused to act professionally, his reputation would fall while mine would rise.

That might feel good in the short term.

But I absolutely had to escape the “Talentless Extra” label through this drama.

For that to happen, the drama needed to air on schedule.

Which meant today’s filming had to proceed smoothly.

I had to prioritize what was more important than my immediate feelings or pride.

“Well, suit yourself.”

Apparently, he hadn’t expected me to bow my head first.

One of Junseo’s eyebrows shot upward before he replied coldly.

Fortunately, after that, his attitude softened considerably, and he became much more cooperative.

Director Jang, who let out a small sigh that Junseo couldn’t hear, lightly patted my shoulder before stepping outside the camera frame.

“We’re rolling.”

Both Junseo and I took our positions in a corner of an alley.

The first scene featuring Kang Minwoo was supposed to be the “You’re still not dead?” scene we’d done during the script reading.

However, because of location rental issues, that scene would be filmed tomorrow afternoon.

Today’s scene was one where Kang Minwoo waited in an alley until his younger brother finished his part-time job and then took his paycheck.

The surroundings were filled with abandoned buildings.

Aside from Junseo, myself, and the production crew, there wasn’t a soul around.

“Stand by–”

Slowly, I lifted my head.

The camera’s red recording light.

The countless people watching me from behind it.

I took everything in.

‘…Let’s do this.’

The moment I swallowed hard…

A thunderous shout rang out.

“Action!”

 

***

 

A dark night.

A deserted alley.

In an alley illuminated precariously by a single streetlamp, I stood wearing an expression of endless boredom.

“Damn, when’s he coming out?”

Out of boredom, I kicked the streetlamp.

Then I heard the sound of someone stepping on a branch.

Turning my head immediately, I spotted Kang Minjun, who had noticed me at the same time.

“Little brother!”

I waved brightly.

Wearing a tired expression, Kang Minjun approached with equally exhausted footsteps.

“Hyung, I told you it causes problems when you come all the way to my workplace–”

“Money.”

“I’ll give it to you at home–”

“Money.”

Kang Minjun let out a quiet sigh before pulling out his phone.

Watching him make the bank transfer, I said in a cute voice,

“Please send it quickly~”

‘As soon as the money arrives, I’ll buy Mijin that handbag.’

The thought of showing off for once put me in a good mood.

But the moment I saw the amount transferred to my phone, my expression automatically twisted.

“What the hell is this? Why is it so little? Did you screw something up?”

“It’s a new semester, Hyung. I have group projects and stuff. I need money too.”

“…Are you insane?”

Without hesitation, I smacked the back of Kang Minjun’s head hard.

As he grabbed his head with a pained groan, I sneered.

“Hey. Sending you to college was already me being generous. I couldn’t even go to college and had to work in a factory, but I sent you because you’re my only little brother. Got it?”

“Sigh. I’m already working hard to pay living expenses. I’m working while sacrificing study time. I need to get scholarships too, so if you’d just let me keep the money for textbooks–”

“Then why the hell did you go to college in the first place?! You worthless bastard with no future!”

I smacked the back of his head again.

After being hit hard twice in a row, my brother clenched his fists.

A hollow laugh escaped me.

“Oh? What, you’re going to hit me now too?”

The moment he heard that, he abruptly raised his head.

And for the first time in a very long while, our eyes met.

‘…!’

The exhaustion in his eyes was deeper than I had expected.

A strange feeling surfaced as I remembered the faint image of the child he used to be.

The feeling caught me off guard.

So I hurriedly searched for something else to say.

“What? Are you going to kill me too?”

The moment those words left my mouth, my brother’s expression changed completely.

The resentment that had been visible vanished.

Guilt.

Emptiness.

Emotions like those burst forth and then collapsed all at once before my eyes.

Watching it was awkward even for me.

“…I’m sorry.”

After a long silence, he apologized in a dying voice.

I swallowed hard, unsure what expression I should make.

Then I forced out the coldest voice I could manage.

“I’m letting it slide this time, so hand over the full amount next time.”

Then I immediately turned my back.

The moment I turned away, my face twisted.

‘Fuck, that bastard… Ugh, this feels awful.’

 

***

 

“Cut!”

My senses returned immediately.

Kang Minwoo’s thoughts vanished in an instant, leaving only myself behind.

‘I’m screwed.’

I didn’t even have time to be annoyed about losing control of my acting again.

My head was filled with only one thought.

‘I added lines on my own.’

That was always the problem.

I needed to maintain some rationality while delivering lines.

Instead, I kept letting go of the steering wheel entirely.

No control whatsoever.

Damn.

Real actors probably never worried about things like this.

“I’m sorry!”

The moment I understood what had happened, I bowed deeply toward the production staff.

The performance had followed the script perfectly until I blurted out:

“What? Are you going to kill me too?”

That single line changed everything.

Originally, the scene was only supposed to reveal Kang Minwoo’s violent nature and Kang Minjun’s miserable situation.

Instead, I had implied there was some deeper history between them.

‘They specifically told me not to improvise without discussing it first.’

My goal wasn’t to increase my screen time right now.

It was to earn good evaluations from the production staff so that next time I could be offered a more meaningful role.

Even if my screen time increased now, I still couldn’t act properly.

It was safer to earn goodwill from the production team and gradually build my importance.

‘I can’t let them hate me just because I wanted a few extra scenes.’

I rapidly apologized to Director Jang, explaining that the line had slipped out unconsciously and that I hadn’t intended to improvise.

I even apologized to Woo Junseo for catching him off guard.

But both of their expressions were strange.

“Let’s… watch what we just filmed first.”

Director Jang checked the footage on the camera.

His expression became even stranger.

And Junseo’s reaction was no different.

“Um… it came out really well.”

“Right…? Damn it. What do I do? Should I throw this away? I should throw it away, but… how am I supposed to throw this away?”

Junseo replayed his own reaction to my improvised line several times.

Despite the unexpected improvisation, he had stayed immersed and delivered an even better performance than what was originally in the script.

He knew it too.

With greed written all over his face, he said:

“PD-nim, I want to keep this.”

“Ugh, I want to keep it too. But if we start adding this kind of backstory, it won’t fit the genre’s atmosphere.”

Director Jang answered, clearly conflicted.

Then the assistant writer, who had been quietly listening nearby, spoke up.

“But you know, Minjun is a fully grown adult. From the viewers’ perspective, it might be hard to understand why he’d endure abuse solely because they’re family. Some people might find it frustrating.”

“Oh? You think so?”

“Wouldn’t it be better for the story’s logic if we properly explained the circumstances? We can manage the pacing carefully so it doesn’t ruin the drama’s atmosphere. And after Minwoo’s scenes, we can immediately follow with scenes involving the female lead to heighten the contrast.”

“Hmm. Yeah. Let’s do that. Then we’ll increase Minwoo’s role and revise the script too. Which means…”

Director Jang laughed like a man who had lost his mind.

“…I won’t be going home today either!”

“Hahahaha!”

As I stared blankly at him…

I realized my screen time had increased in an instant.

Was this really happening?