How a Loan Shark Survives as an Actor Chapter 18

Chapter 18

 

“What did I… No, Junseo.”

Park Sangin still looked completely unable to grasp the situation. Which was understandable.

‘It’s not easy to get into this kind of fight when you’re a grown adult.’

Even in the media, these kinds of childish conflicts were usually portrayed as something teenage girls did.

But as someone who had stolen countless VIP customers through manipulation and preferential treatment in real life, I could confidently say this:

‘Men are even foxier.’

This was why media bias was so scary.

People watched all sorts of dramas and said women were frightening, but that was only something you could say if you had never experienced the world of men.

Men… especially within a group of men… had invisible hierarchies.

You could commonly find them among friends from school or people who met in society during their early twenties.

And once those hierarchies formed, they rarely changed even after everyone grew older.

The subtle tension between ranks.

Someone had to swallow their pride according to their position.

Someone else had to work even harder to maintain theirs.

Nowadays, more and more guys got tired of that nonsense and left the group entirely, choosing to hang out one-on-one with friends instead.

‘But Woo Junseo isn’t that type.’

He was a man who enjoyed feeling superior.

He needed women displayed beside him like trophies.

And he needed male lackeys who would cater to him.

Until now, Park Sangin had filled that role.

Naturally, Sangin must have gained something in exchange for swallowing his pride.

For example…

“Who are you to tell Yoo Seulho whether he should learn acting from me or not? He said he wanted to learn from me. Who do you think you are? You forgot that I’m the one who got you that position, didn’t you? You’re betraying me like this?”

“No, that’s not it. Junseo.”

Right.

Just as I thought.

I had expected this ever since hearing that Woo Junseo had actively pushed for Yoo Seulho’s casting.

A guy who dragged his own plaything into the workplace would never neglect his lackey.

Perhaps realizing he wasn’t exactly in a position to speak proudly either, Junseo kept his voice low while snapping back.

“If that’s not it, then what is it? The moment I left, what were you planning to say to Yoo Seulho?”

“I mean, I…”

Flustered, Park Sangin stammered.

He probably hadn’t come over because he had some important business or grand speech prepared.

He was likely curious why I had treated him coldly earlier.

And since his pride was hurt, he probably wanted to pick a small fight.

Whether because he’d been cornered unexpectedly, or because he was embarrassed to admit he’d come over to hassle Yoo Seulho, he merely fumbled for words.

Then he made the worst possible choice.

“No, what he said isn’t true! Junseo! He’s lying!”

His voice rose loud enough to be heard from a hundred meters away.

Perhaps because he felt wronged, he completely lost control of his volume.

People had already been sneaking glances our way because the three of us were standing there talking with grim expressions.

Now the stares felt almost painful.

“Hey, lower your voice. What are you so proud of?”

I hurriedly tried to calm down the increasingly furious Junseo.

“Junseo, Sangin. Let’s both calm down first. This is my fault. I made a slip of the tongue without realizing Junseo might hear it.”

“What, you crazy bastard–!!”

Horrified by my words, Park Sangin shouted even louder.

This time he even cursed.

Director Jang approached with an irritated expression.

“What’s going on over there?”

“Ah, sorry, PD-nim.”

The moment he spotted Director Jang, Junseo quickly smoothed out his expression.

“We were just talking, and things got a little…”

“I know you guys are comfortable with each other since you’re the same age, but try to avoid swearing on set. We’re about to shoot immediately, so save personal conversations for after filming.”

“Sorry.”

“Alright, let’s move! Everyone, get ready!”

At Director Jang’s words, Junseo and I quickly headed back into the set.

Park Sangin looked completely dumbfounded, as though frustration might drive him insane, but he was still just another working adult.

“Aren’t you filming?”

At a staff member’s urging, Park Sangin returned to his position.

Afterward, Sangin’s scenes finished, but Junseo and I still had plenty left to shoot.

Sangin waited around the set for about an hour before leaving first.

Only after confirming he had completely gone home did I mutter bitterly:

“I was too tactless. I shouldn’t have brought up Sangin to someone unrelated to the situation.”

“How am I unrelated? He basically said he was a better actor than me and that you should learn from him.”

“Sangin didn’t say that exactly. It was just the feeling I got from the way he talked. From his perspective, he might feel wronged.”

“Ah, that bastard’s always slithered his way out like a snake. I know how he is. The fact that he’d even pull that crap with me crosses the line. You don’t need to make excuses for him.”

Complaining that friends were useless no matter how much you looked after them, Junseo grumbled irritably.

“From now on, if Park Sangin says anything to you, ignore him. I’m not dealing with him either.”

“Got it.”

I answered obediently, like a loyal servant receiving orders.

That day, Woo Junseo stayed by my side until filming ended.

 

***

 

“Woof!”

The moment I arrived on set, someone tackled me together with a familiar bark.

Expecting it, I calmly performed a breakfall and safely fell backward.

“Hey there, Wooju.”

“Pant, pant.”

The dog licked my face repeatedly in greeting.

Since I hadn’t put on makeup yet, I let him do whatever he wanted.

“Oh my, Jeon Wooju. Do you like the actor that much?”

The trainer, who had once been nervous around me, had completely changed after learning about Yoo Seulho’s hidden connection to the dog.

I appreciated the trustworthy look he gave me.

Though honestly…

Couldn’t he at least stop the dog from tackling me every time?

“Could you give me a hand?”

“Ah, yes.”

Grabbing the trainer’s belatedly extended hand, I finally got back to my feet.

The dog, who only came up to my knees, ran excited circles around me.

“Oh my, look over there.”

The staff giggled while watching us.

The trainer smiled proudly.

“Wooju is the most obedient dog among all the animals we manage. He’s so smart that sometimes I think he’s better than people. That’s why I was really troubled when he wouldn’t listen during the scene with Actor Woo Junseo. I even wondered whether acting was really right for Wooju moving forward.”

“Really? Was it that serious? He did fine with Ran.”

“Even if the production staff is understanding because he’s an animal that can’t understand human language, there’s a limit. Being uncontrollable is a fatal problem. But once I found out he had that kind of history with Actor Seulho, I smacked my forehead.”

The trainer lightly punched my shoulder, saying I should have told him sooner.

“I heard Wooju’s name was originally Kkamangi before he was adopted. If calling him Kkamangi is more comfortable for you, you can do that.”

“No. I should call him by his current name. It’ll probably be easier for him.”

“Ah, that’s true.”

To me, Kkamangi and Wooju were equally unfamiliar names anyway.

I quietly looked into the dog’s eyes as he stared at me.

“Pant, pant.”

Seeing him grin happily, I smiled back.

Sorry I’m not the real Yoo Seulho.

“Let’s work well together today.”

“Woof!”

I gently petted the dog as his tail wagged nonstop.

Today’s scene wasn’t originally in the script.

It had been added because the role of Kang Minwoo, the character I played, had suddenly expanded.

‘Originally, Kang Minwoo never encountered the heroine’s dog.’

Before the script revisions, Kang Minwoo was a piece of trash who abused his younger brother and harassed the heroine.

That was the entirety of his role.

But after the male lead’s tragic family background was added, Kang Minwoo was also given a backstory in which he had lost his parents because of his younger brother.

That didn’t mean the story was trying to justify him.

Giving a trash character a tragic backstory could easily come across as defending him, so Director Jang and I had discussed the issue seriously.

The safest option would have been to remove the villain’s backstory altogether.

It was safer to make him someone viewers could comfortably hate… a hopeless piece of garbage from the beginning rather than a human being like everyone else.

‘But people have two sides.’

Kang Minwoo wasn’t trash twenty-four hours a day, three hundred sixty-five days a year.

Reality wasn’t like that.

Not everything a terrible person did was evil.

Nor did all their actions harm everyone.

Sometimes coincidences overlapped, and one evil act ended up saving someone.

‘Not every piece of trash is born trash.’

Director Jang said that if you erased the reasons why villains became villains, eventually you became someone who only saw what they wanted to see.

Ordinary people could become villains because of a single turning point.

And if you understood those turning points, you could prevent the precious people around you from becoming villains too.

There was value in understanding a villain’s story if you wanted to avoid becoming trash yourself.

After all, we had to make different choices.

‘But that’s the director’s job.’

My job was simply to portray the character completely.

Director Jang told me to leave the editing to him and simply show the Kang Minwoo I envisioned.

“Sorry I’m late!”

Choi Ran, delayed because her previous schedule had run long, came running from afar while apologizing to the staff.

And her manager, Choi Yoon, was bowing so deeply it looked like she was about to plow the ground with her forehead.

“I’m sorry! We tried to get here as fast as possible…! I’m really sorry!”

Watching Choi Yoon’s tearful expression, I clicked my tongue internally.

‘You shouldn’t act like that.’

It wasn’t even another project.

They were late because they had been filming a different scene for Our Space.

There was no need to apologize so excessively.

Just as it was bad to stand stiffly like Yoo Seulho when an apology was needed, this wasn’t good either.

“Ms. Yoon!”

Worried she might end up becoming everyone’s easy target, I hurried over.

“I heard the morning shoot got delayed because the props weren’t ready. I already got the message. You worked really hard.”

I intentionally spoke loudly.

The other staff members immediately chimed in with similar comments.

Wiping the sweat from her forehead, Choi Yoon looked visibly relieved and murmured her thanks.

“Let’s have Ms. Ran get changed and go to makeup first. We’ll shoot Seulho and Wooju’s scene beforehand.”

At the staff member’s words, everyone moved busily.

All eyes nervously followed the dog’s constantly wagging tail.

“Will Wooju be okay? He likes Actor Seulho so much…”

The trainer muttered anxiously.

The dog, unable to understand human speech, merely panted while looking up at me.

But I wasn’t worried.

“Wooju.”

I whispered quietly so no one else could hear.

“Just act the way you did with Woo Junseo last time.”

“Pant, pant.”

The dog grinned as though he understood exactly what I meant.