How a Loan Shark Survives as an Actor Chapter 28

Chapter 28

 

For the first time since the drinking gathering began, Choi Ran stopped eating and looked up.

“What do I think?”

“Yeah. Didn’t you say something earlier too? About how his expression was completely different?”

“Ah.”

Choi Ran stared at me in silence.

Her gaze lingered for quite a while.

Then she slowly opened her mouth.

“Honestly?”

“Yeah.”

“I still don’t really get it.”

“What?”

“At first I thought you were actually dating.”

“….”

“But after hearing it was a prank camera, that made no sense too.”

The atmosphere became oddly quiet.

Lee Seulgi burst into laughter.

“What’s with that? Then what do you think it was?”

“I don’t know.”

Choi Ran picked up a piece of chicken feet and chewed on it.

Then, while still chewing, she muttered,

“It’s just weird.”

“Weird?”

“Yeah.”

Her eyes turned toward me again.

“When I looked at you, it didn’t feel like you were acting.”

“….”

“So I thought there was really something going on.”

A faint frown appeared between her brows.

“But if it wasn’t real, then that means it was acting.”

“And?”

“But then that doesn’t make sense either.”

“What doesn’t?”

“You.”

The answer came immediately.

“Your acting has always sucked.”

“Pfft!”

Lee Seulgi sprayed out the beer she was drinking.

I silently handed her a tissue.

Choi Ran continued speaking as if nothing had happened.

“I’m serious. If it had been another actor, I’d just think, ‘Wow, they’re really good at acting.’ But because it was you, I can’t figure it out.”

“Hey.”

“It’s true.”

“Hey!”

“Why? Did I say something wrong?”

“No, but you could’ve said it more nicely.”

Lee Seulgi looked genuinely flustered.

Meanwhile, Choi Ran remained perfectly calm.

“Anyway.”

She pointed at me with her chopsticks.

“You were weird today.”

“Thanks for the compliment.”

“It wasn’t a compliment.”

“It sounds like one.”

“It wasn’t.”

“You said my acting looked real.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Then what did you mean?”

“I’m saying you were creepy.”

“…What?”

“You looked like someone actually in love.”

The atmosphere froze for a second.

Then Lee Seulgi slammed the table and laughed.

“Hahahaha! Creepy, she says!”

“Why are you laughing?”

“No, it’s just so funny!”

“I’m being serious.”

“You’re always serious, that’s the problem.”

Lee Seulgi wiped away tears forming at the corners of her eyes.

Meanwhile, Choi Ran looked at me and asked,

“So was it really acting?”

“What kind of question is that?”

“I’m asking because I’m curious.”

“I was acting.”

“Hmm.”

She narrowed her eyes.

That expression clearly said she wasn’t entirely convinced.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“You don’t believe me?”

“I said it’s nothing.”

“Then why do you keep looking at me like that?”

“Because it’s fascinating.”

“What is?”

“You.”

What kind of answer was that?

As I stared at her blankly, Choi Ran casually picked up another piece of chicken feet.

Then she muttered,

“You’ve been weird lately.”

“Maybe I’ve just gotten better.”

“At acting?”

“At life.”

For the first time, Choi Ran laughed.

It was a very brief smile.

“Maybe.”

That was all she said.

After that, the conversation drifted elsewhere.

Lee Seulgi talked endlessly about funny stories from variety shows.

I listened and occasionally responded.

Choi Ran quietly focused on eating.

The drinking gathering continued peacefully.

For the first time in a long while, it felt like a genuinely comfortable night.

 

***

 

The next morning.

The moment I opened my eyes, my phone was vibrating nonstop.

Bzzzz.

Bzzzz.

Bzzzz.

“What now?”

Half-asleep, I checked the screen.

There were dozens of messages.

Most were from people involved in the drama.

Among them, the one that caught my attention first was from Director Jang.

[Seulho actor!!!!]

[Did you see it?!

[No, you’re probably asleep right now.]

[Wake up and call me immediately.]

[Immediately!!!!]

“….”

A bad feeling washed over me.

I opened the internet.

Then I immediately understood why everyone was making such a fuss.

A single video clip was spreading like wildfire across every community site.

The title was simple.

 

[Actor Yoo Seulho’s Acting at Yesterday’s Variety Show Was Seriously Crazy]

 

“…What?”

I tapped the video.

The screen showed Lee Seulgi and me standing in front of the snack counter.

Then…

“Don’t! There’s cucumber in that!”

My own voice burst out.

The comments beneath the clip were already exploding.

 

[Wait, wasn’t Yoo Seulho supposed to be bad at acting?]

[No seriously, what was that reaction?]

[The way his eyes shook was insane.]

[For a second I actually thought they were dating.]

[What is this? Why is he good?]

[Am I the only one getting butterflies?]

[That look was ridiculous.]

[This is the same Yoo Seulho…?]

 

“….”

I watched the clip in silence.

Then I read the comments again.

And again.

And again.

Finally, I let out a long sigh.

“…This is going to be annoying.”

Because I could already tell.

The situation was about to get much bigger.