How a Loan Shark Survives as an Actor Chapter 2

Chapter 2

 

‘A loan shark.’

People who make money by lending money despite not being financial institutions.

There was the more refined term ‘private lender’, but I never particularly liked using it.

‘Putting a cover over an envelope doesn’t hide the smell of garbage.’

Garbage is still garbage.

Smelly garbage that can’t even be recycled.

‘Pretending otherwise just makes it more disgusting.’

It’s better to admit you’re trash from the start.

Then you can simply think, “Ah, garbage is doing garbage things,” and quietly do your job.

Otherwise, it’s easy to get caught up in unnecessary thoughts.

Before I woke up in Yoo Seulho’s body, I was one of the more successful loan sharks around.

The reason I was successful wasn’t anything special.

It was because my clients weren’t ordinary people… they were ‘special’ clients.

Unlike regular people, who usually turned out to be nothing much when you dug into their lives, these clients were full of filthy secrets the deeper you looked.

That’s right.

All of my clients were celebrities.

 

***

 

‘To think I’d run into this bastard here.’

Woo Junseo was one of my regular customers.

Most celebrities, who generally made decent money, had dirty reasons for borrowing from me instead of a bank.

It was through this line of work that I learned the glamorous, bright-looking entertainment industry was crawling with trash no less disgusting than me.

And Woo Junseo was top-tier trash.

Seeing someone like him standing in front of Yoo Seulho, smiling and pretending to be a good person, was absurd.

“Seeing you in person, you’re really handsome. Wow, you look much better than you do on screen.”

“Thank you.”

I responded appropriately to the smiling Woo Junseo.

“You look much better in person too, Mr. Junseo.”

“…”

Woo Junseo paused for a moment before continuing to smile.

“I really enjoyed your previous work, Sunbaenim. It was only a short appearance, but your impact was incredible!”

“I see.”

“You have no idea how much I pestered Director Jang because I wanted to work with you. He kept saying it would be difficult, but I pushed and pushed. I even told him to create a role for you no matter how small it was.”

His grin was sly as he laughed about how all his whining had paid off.

The hidden meaning behind his words was obvious:

‘Do you really think you’d be sitting here without me?’

He kept calling me “Sunbaenim,” but anyone could hear the contempt dripping from his words.

I simply smiled.

“I see. Director Jang, have you ordered drinks?”

“Ah, yes. We already ordered earlier.”

“Then I’ll go order mine as well.”

With a polite smile, I bowed to Director Jang and turned away.

I ignored the look on Woo Junseo’s face as though he’d just been punched.

‘So the rumors were true.’

I’d heard that whenever he got bored, he’d pick someone and torment them relentlessly until they retired.

I knew every rumor surrounding Woo Junseo.

Not simply because of VIP client management.

Information was the greatest weapon when dealing with celebrity clients.

When people think of loan sharks, they usually imagine things like organ trafficking or kidnapping.

In reality, those topics rarely came up in my work.

Threatening a well-known celebrity physically was a loss for me.

Managers, agencies, business partners… There were too many people connected to them.

And creating a believable explanation for their sudden disappearance was a massive headache.

My clients knew that too, so threats of murder rarely happened.

In the end, my weapon was the thing they feared most:

Rumors.

The kind of devastating rumors that could completely destroy their ability to function as celebrities.

The fact that they borrowed from me instead of a bank was already proof that they cared about such things.

That was why it was important to know everything about them, as well as every rumor circulating throughout the entertainment industry.

And I knew everything about Woo Junseo.

Including the fact that, despite his image as a diligent and upright actor, he did all sorts of disgusting things behind the scenes.

And that he had a hobby of bullying mentally fragile colleagues.

‘Looks like Yoo Seulho is his latest target.’

Thinking that Yoo Seulho had been unlucky enough to get caught by someone like him, I ordered my tea.

 

***

 

“So, the reason I called you here today is…”

As soon as I returned to the table, Director Jang got straight to the point.

He passionately explained what kind of drama they would be filming, what role the lead actor Woo Junseo would be playing, how the drama would influence society, how much anticipation there was from the broadcasting station, and so on.

But since I’d rarely watched movies or dramas, everything he said felt like someone else’s business.

Every now and then, Woo Junseo would toss in comments carrying the message:

‘I’m amazing, and you should know your place.’

I cared even less about those.

There was only one thing I was interested in.

‘So how much are they paying me?’

I had come straight to this meeting knowing only the most basic information about Yoo Seulho.

I wasn’t entirely sure how far things had progressed.

From what I could gather, though, it seemed the contract had already been signed.

‘Hmm.’

I was thinking that I should immediately call the manager and check the contract after the meeting ended when…

“Sunbaenim, you’re not going to refuse, are you?”

“Hm?”

I tilted my head at Woo Junseo’s sudden question.

He smiled gently.

“I heard you’ve been worrying a lot about your acting lately. Don’t worry too much. You’re my Sunbaenim by far, so I’m sure you’ll do well. Besides, it’s not like it’s a role with a lot of pressure or screen time… you’ll be fine, right?”

What kind of nonsense was he talking about?

‘Of course I’ll be fine.’

They were offering me work and paying me.

Why would I refuse?

‘Acting isn’t exactly some grand, difficult profession.’

Some people might think being an actor was a noble occupation.

That was their opinion.

My previous job also required me to put on different masks depending on the client.

How was that any different from acting?

More importantly, I was currently in Yoo Seulho’s body.

‘Come to think of it, that’s actually fortunate.’

Even if I acted terribly, nobody would expect much from me anyway.

Ah, wait.

Yoo Seulho had parents.

And not just any parents… famous ones.

How was I supposed to deal with them?

Should I just treat them like older clients?

“–Sunbaenim. Sunbaenim?”

“Hm?”

“…Were you not listening?”

The corners of Woo Junseo’s eyes twitched.

Only after seeing the strained smile on his face did I realize I’d unintentionally ignored him.

“Ah, yes. Sure, I suppose.”

I gave a vague answer and focused entirely on Director Jang.

Honestly, I didn’t understand why Woo Junseo was even here.

It wasn’t like he was writing the script.

Perhaps because I was thoroughly ignoring him, he became even more obnoxious.

And I skillfully dealt with his antics.

My former profession had made me accustomed to dealing with people whose brains had been pickled by alcohol and drugs.

I brushed aside every comment he threw at me in an attempt to provoke or undermine me.

It was around then that…

‘…Huh?’

I noticed something strange.

The way Director Jang was looking at me had changed.

When I first entered the teahouse, his eyes had looked dead.

As if making direct eye contact with me would only piss him off, so he was intentionally keeping his eyes half-closed.

Yet at some point, he had begun looking at me with a curious spark in his gaze.

It felt odd.

‘What’s with him?’

All I wanted was for this meeting to end so I could see the numbers written in the contract.

Then Director Jang spoke.

“Mr. Seulho.”

“Yes.”

“I’m telling you in advance… if you act the way you did last time, I’ll never work with you again.”

“Ah…”

“I only contacted you because Actor Junseo insisted on working with you. But honestly? I’m not thrilled about it. You understand why I’m saying this, right? Things ended pretty badly last time.”

At Director Jang’s meaningful words, I quietly lowered my gaze.

The expression on Woo Junseo’s face during that moment was a sight to behold.

He was desperately trying to suppress a grin.

‘He’s having the time of his life.’

Even Director Jang’s choice of address was different.

Actor Junseo.

Mr. Seulho…

As far as I remembered, Yoo Seulho had debuted as a child actor and had been in the industry for over twenty years.

Yet he was being treated so differently from Woo Junseo, who hadn’t even debuted five years ago.

If I were the real Yoo Seulho, it probably would’ve hurt my pride.

Fortunately, I didn’t care at all.

‘I should ask the manager what happened between Yoo Seulho and Director Jang.’

Since I simply listened without protest, Director Jang’s tone softened considerably.

“Of course, I don’t expect your acting skills to improve overnight just because I say this. So let’s make it a win-win situation. What do you want?”

“What?”

“What kind of role do you think you’d perform best? Tell me. I’ll create a character that suits you.”

What was this?

It felt like receiving an unexpected gift.

For some reason, there was a reassuring sincerity in his offer to help Yoo Seulho.

Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who noticed.

Woo Junseo blinked in surprise.

“Director, wait–”

“But don’t expect much screen time.”

Director Jang shrugged and ignored him.

I thought for a moment.

‘Honestly, I’d love to ask him to make me a loan shark.’

I could give him the performance of a lifetime.

A truly terrifying method performance.

But compared to the drama’s overall tone that I’d heard described earlier, a loan shark would be too heavy a role.

In the end, this was all I could say.

“I don’t care what role it is. But I’d like it if you made a character people can absolutely hate.”

“Huh?”

“You know, the kind of trash character people want to punch. Everyone already dislikes me, so I think I’ll be more convincing playing an unlikeable character. Besides, I’m already getting plenty of hate. A little more won’t make much difference.”

“…”

Director Jang’s eyes widened in shock.

His expression practically screamed:

‘You knew that? No, wait… can you really say something like that so openly?’

“Uh…”

“You’re really okay with that?”

Director Jang cut off whatever Woo Junseo was about to say.

“Mr. Seulho, you’ve always played likable characters until now.”

“That’s fine.”

The pay wasn’t going to change.

Why should I care what kind of character it was?

At my indifferent answer, Director Jang smiled with satisfaction.

And just like that, the meeting ended.

 

***

 

“Take care on your way home, Director.”

After putting Director Jang into a taxi first, Woo Junseo and I were left alone.

“Sunbaenim, I’m going to have a cigarette. Could you wait a moment?”

Without waiting for my answer, Woo Junseo turned and walked away.

The moment Director Jang disappeared, he’d become bold again.

What a little brat.

I was briefly wondering how much longer I should tolerate his spoiled behavior when…

“YOO SEULHO!!”

A shout came from behind me.

I turned around.

A man I’d never seen before was charging toward me with a fierce expression.

Then he suddenly swung his hand at me.

“You little bastard–!”

Instinctively, I caught the hand that was about to strike my head.

Then I squeezed with all my strength.

“AAAGH!”

The man immediately screamed and started thrashing.

“L-let go! Let go! It hurts! It hurts! Seriously! Let go! Hurry up!”

He even dropped his umbrella onto the ground as tears welled in his eyes.

The pathetic sight made it difficult to keep a straight face.

‘And who the hell are you?’