How a Loan Shark Survives as an Actor Chapter 152

Chapter 152

 

When people hear the term loan shark, they usually picture gangsters.

That was probably because of how movies and dramas portrayed them.

Of course, people like that still existed.

But most private lending companies weren’t like that.

‘Usually, it’s a paperwork battle.’

Especially Haru Finance, the company I used to run.

It was a business that dealt exclusively with celebrities.

Since our clients were people with a certain level of fame, laying a hand on them was extremely rare.

Which meant… Getting stabbed on the job.

Getting smashed over the head with a soju bottle.

Getting boiling water poured directly over me.

All of those had happened before I became the company’s president.

‘Those days were certainly eventful.’

Back when I dealt with gangsters and debtors who handled large sums of money, incidents never stopped happening.

No one knew how someone cornered with nowhere left to run would react.

Whenever I knocked on someone’s door… I always factored that possibility into my calculations.

Baseball bats flying at me were the norm.

Days when soju bottles or tools came hurtling toward me weren’t uncommon either.

Once, a debtor who owned a restaurant tried to throw a pot of boiling water at the younger guys.

I stepped in to stop him, and ended up taking the full splash myself.

It had hit my right thigh.

Since it was covered by my pants, no one could tell how bad it was.

Thanks to that, I was able to pretend nothing had happened and calmly finish the job.

I only learned afterward that… When flesh is burned deeply enough… You actually lose sensation.

The doctor working for our organization decided it was too severe for simple treatment.

I ultimately had to undergo surgery.

The president of Haru Finance, the man I called “Boss” back then… Didn’t make me do any work while I was hospitalized.

‘He was the kind of man who threw away anything useless immediately.’

Thinking back on it, he really had cared about me.

‘…Well, anyway.’

The point was… Being a loan shark didn’t automatically mean you were good at fighting.

Ironically, even after becoming the president of Haru Finance, every now and then I’d still have to use my body.

Once our clients became celebrities… It wasn’t debtors attacking anymore.

It was other people.

‘Territory disputes were brutal.’

The biggest headaches came whenever another company held claims on the same debtor, or when someone stepped into another company’s territory.

It wasn’t unusual for someone to tail me by car, then surround me the moment I got out.

Nor was it uncommon to fend off low-level thugs charging at me with knives.

In the end, I had to fight if I wanted to survive.

And eventually I realized something.

The surest way not to get hit was to hit first.

 

***

 

“…Have you learned action before?”

About an hour into training… The martial arts director stared at me.

The look in his eyes was completely different from the unimpressed expression he’d worn when we first met.

‘Maybe I got a little too excited.’

This was the first time since waking up in Yoo Seulho’s body that I’d actually used it like this.

Until now, the closest thing had been weight training to build muscle.

Throwing people around, grabbing them, pinning them to the ground, for some reason… It made me feel alive.

‘How should I answer?’

There wasn’t much I could say while wearing Yoo Seulho’s skin.

After hesitating briefly, I simply smiled.

“Am I doing well?”

“Well? You’re not just good… You move like someone experienced. I wish my own trainees were even half as good as you.”

“That’s way too much praise. By the way, Director, you can speak casually to me.”

Seeing me speak so politely, the director grinned mischievously.

“Why? Because I look way older than you? I’m not that old.”

“Haha, no. I only meant that I’m far below you when it comes to using my body. Feel free to push me hard.”

The director gave me a look that seemed to say,

“Well, would you look at that.”

Anyone could tell he was looking at me much more favorably now.

‘People who work with their bodies are the same everywhere.’

Few places had a stricter hierarchy than groups full of men.

To them, I was an outsider.

Just another burden they’d have to teach for the next few months.

On top of that, actors already had a reputation for being arrogant.

They’d naturally have trouble treating me comfortably first.

One option would’ve been to lower myself from the very beginning.

Instead… I simply focused quietly on the training.

Trying to act friendly could wait until they praised me first.

‘Like right now.’

Perhaps he appreciated that attitude.

The martial arts director burst into hearty laughter.

“Well, thanks for saying that. Looking at you makes me excited for the first time in a while. How do you use your body this well?”

“Maybe all those years of weight training helped.”

“Nah. No way. Weight training and action are completely different.”

The martial arts director shook his head seriously.

“Lifting weights by yourself is hard too. But coordinating with another person’s body? That’s an entirely different field.”

Laughing, he continued,

“You have any idea how many male actors built like bodybuilders come here and wash out on the very first day? They embarrass themselves and run away all the time. You know Woo Junseo, right?”

“Ah… yes. I’ve worked with him before.”

Hearing a familiar name after so long made me pause.

The director snorted.

“That guy ran away after one hour.”

“…What?”

“He said he was going to the restroom. I let him go, and he never came back. I called him… no answer. The next day his agency contacted me instead.”

“What did they say?”

“Apparently I’d been too rough on him and hurt his feelings, so he couldn’t continue. Said he’d learn somewhere else instead. Fine by me. If you’ve got complaints, say them to my face. What a rude brat.”

A laugh escaped me.

‘He’s not even a fresh college graduate.’

A grown man acted that pathetically?

‘How much lower can you sink, Junseo?’

I really didn’t want to hear his name anymore.

Since I didn’t react much to the gossip… The martial arts director simply treated it as an amusing story and resumed training.

“Normally we spend the whole first day just learning how to fall properly. But with you… there’s nothing to teach.”

“Thank you.”

“Still, there’s one thing you need to fix. Your action is… how should I put it… too plain.”

“…Plain?”

The director pointed out that the way I fell and threw punches felt like actual combat.

“If this were a real fight, your style would be correct. No unnecessary wind-up. Short movements. Your heels stay planted.”

“Yes.”

“But in front of a camera, you need to exaggerate everything. You have to give the audience time to read your movements.”

Ah… I thought I understood.

“So if I move the way I just did, it’ll look flat on camera?”

“Exactly! You got it immediately. During action scenes, bigger movements always look cooler.”

He said the same applied to falling.

If I wanted the audience to feel the impact… My movements had to be much larger.

‘Interesting.’

In a real fight, if someone tried to throw you, you resisted with everything you had.

The moment you hit the ground… It was over.

But here, being able to fall well was itself a skill.

It was the complete opposite of the life I’d lived trying never to get hit or knocked down.

I didn’t mind.

No… Honestly… This was even more fun.

“Like this?”

“Oh, good! But let’s slow it down just a little. Right now you’re moving too fast.”

“Got it.”

In front of the martial arts director, I practiced choreographed exchanges with one of his assistants.

The assistant had greeted me rather indifferently at first.

But before long, He’d started clenching his teeth.

“Hyunsik, relax a little. Why are you getting worked up?”

“Ah… sorry.”

The assistant hurriedly wiped his face with a towel.

He seemed embarrassed that he’d gotten so excited while sparring with a beginner.

Several hours later… Training finally ended.

I leaned against the wall to catch my breath.

Someone came over and stood beside me.

“You’re really good.”

Looking up, I saw the very assistant I’d been practicing with.

“That’s thanks to you.”

Smiling, I offered a suitably modest response.

He asked,

“Did you learn boxing?”

“No.”

“Then jiu-jitsu?”

“No.”

“Other than weight training, I haven’t learned anything.”

“Hmm…”

The assistant admitted that, while we’d been exchanging punches, for a split second, he’d genuinely thought I was about to hit him.

“Sorry. I came in too quickly instead of keeping the proper rhythm.”

“That’s why choreography matters. Like you probably know, this isn’t really fighting. It’s closer to dancing. The punches have to come according to an agreed rhythm. But you…”

His eyes drifted over my body.

“Your body reacts first. You instinctively know, ‘If I strike now, it’ll land.’ But that kind of instinct doesn’t appear without experience.”

“…”

Bringing up weight training again clearly wouldn’t convince him.

So I kept my mouth shut.

The assistant asked once more what I’d trained.

“Seriously, nothing.”

“Everyone behind us was making bets. I put my money on jiu-jitsu. Someone else even guessed ssireum.”

“Haha.”

They’d actually been betting about me.

Still… Since it was rooted in praise, I laughed.

Continuing to deny everything would probably seem even more suspicious.

So I improvised.

“When I was in the military, one of my seniors was obsessed with MMA. I practiced drills with him all the time. Maybe that’s why.”

“Ah, mixed martial arts! Damn… nobody guessed that.”

The assistant looked genuinely disappointed.

The moment he turned around and made an X with his hands… Everyone gathered in the corner groaned together.

“Aww…”

“Doesn’t mine count halfway? Jiu-jitsu is part of MMA.”

“Quit trying to cheat.”

The men laughed together.

Just then… The martial arts director came back into the training hall and shouted,

“You little punks! You idiots were gambling again, weren’t you?”

He charged toward the assistant, aiming to flick him on the forehead.

The assistant, who’d been stoic the entire day, Immediately ran away like a little kid.

“Get back here, you brat!”

“Violence is bad!”

I couldn’t help laughing.

It had been a long time since I’d seen such innocent chaos.

As I wiped the sweat from my face with a towel… The martial arts director walked over, shaking his head as though they were hopeless.

“See you next week. Oh–and if you’re not busy, come tomorrow too. I don’t have anything scheduled.”

For him to offer his time so readily, meant he’d genuinely taken a liking to me.

Smiling, I answered,

“I’m busy, so I can’t.”

“…”

“Do you want to get hit too?”

Before the director’s hand could move… I bolted.

 

***

 

January melted away like snow under the sun.

Meeting Noh Hamrak to help him prepare for auditions.

Visiting Wooju every day.

Spending my days completely occupied at action school.

Before I knew it… It was already the end of January.

Which meant…

“Are you ready?”

“Yeah.”

The press conference for Director Baek’s film, What I Loved, was finally approaching.

Choo Seomok pointed out that my necktie was crooked.

I quietly glared at him.

“I did that on purpose.”

“Really?”

“…”

Without saying a word… I straightened my tie.

This was my first time facing reporters since the press conference for last year’s drama “Our Space”.

That experience hadn’t exactly ended well.

Without realizing it… I took a slow breath.

‘Whew.’

I wondered, What kind of trouble would be waiting for me this time?