How a Loan Shark Survives as an Actor Chapter 29

Chapter 29

 

“That’s right.”

Ran stopped chewing and neatly spat out the bone from the chicken feet.

Then she nodded again, this time speaking much more clearly.

“You really were that good. Oppa, your acting today was seriously amazing.”

“See? Miranda is such a cold-hearted person. At least when it comes to acting, she never gives compliments she doesn’t mean.”

Seulgi pretended to cry, saying I couldn’t even imagine how harsh Choi Ran’s feedback had been back when she was still an aspiring actress.

“Sorry for repeating myself, but I was honestly shocked earlier. Even after hearing from Ran so many times that you’re good at acting, I still got surprised.”

“Ran said that?”

“Of course. These days all she talks about is opp–”

“Eat this.”

Choi Ran stuffed a mouthful of chicken feet into Seulgi’s mouth.

While Seulgi coughed and struggled to swallow it all, Ran offered me some chicken feet too.

“You should eat too, oppa.”

“Thanks. Sorry for unintentionally deceiving you today. It wasn’t really my choice.”

“That’s just how television works. You don’t need to apologize. Besides, I wasn’t fooled anyway.”

Ran answered calmly.

Before I could respond, Seulgi, who had finally managed to swallow the chicken feet, suddenly shouted.

“Hey, stop lying! You totally fell for it!”

“I didn’t.”

“Wow. You’d have better luck counting every pebble in the Han River. It was all caught on camera.”

“I said I didn’t.”

Ran shoved a glass in front of Seulgi’s mouth before she could continue.

Then, perhaps because she had no comeback herself, she hurriedly took a drink.

The sight made me chuckle.

“You two are really close. How did you meet?”

“We were friends in high school. In this brutal entertainment industry, she’s the only friend I can truly trust.”

“Nope.”

“Come on.”

Seulgi clicked her tongue at Ran.

“Are you allergic to wholesome moments? You can’t even let one happen without ruining it.”

“Why should I? You’re the one who tried to fool me.”

“Oh, were you really that upset? Because you thought I’d secretly gotten a boyfriend? Don’t worry. What kind of secret would your unnie ever keep from you?”

Seulgi grinned and pinched Ran’s cheek.

There wasn’t much, but I could hear a slight drunkenness creeping into her cheerful voice.

‘It’s probably time to wrap things up.’

Even Ran was picking at the chicken feet more slowly than before.

Looking at her cheeks, which were noticeably redder than when we’d started drinking, I suggested we get ready to head home.

“Mmm, okay. I can’t get completely drunk the first time we’re hanging out. Let’s spend more time together next time, oppa.”

“Sure.”

“Wow, though, how are you completely fine? The two of us each finished three bottles of soju.”

Seulgi shook her head in disbelief.

“Miranda’s always been a lightweight, so that’s one thing. But I’m usually pretty hard to beat when it comes to drinking. I’ve never met someone who doesn’t get drunk at all. Most people would at least be feeling it by now.”

Good question.

‘Looks like Yoo Seulho can hold his liquor too.’

Back when I was a loan shark, it had taken quite a bit of alcohol before I ever got drunk.

Given how many drinking gatherings came with that line of work, it had been a useful talent.

‘At least three bottles of soju is fine.’

Since I was in someone else’s body, I’d deliberately paced myself just in case.

But right now, I couldn’t feel even the slightest buzz.

I had no idea how much drinking I’d end up doing in Yoo Seulho’s body in the future, but this was reassuring.

Being able to drink well was much better than being weak.

“I’ve never even heard rumors of you going out drinking. So this is why. You don’t get drunk, so you think alcohol is a waste of money.”

“You really think everything is a waste. Come on, let’s get moving.”

I sent Choi Ran off first, since her face had become bright red.

Her manager, Choi Yoon, had specifically asked me not to put her in a taxi and to call her no matter what, so I did exactly that.

“See you on set, Ran. Ms. Yoon, get home safely.”

“Bye, Miranda~”

After saying goodbye together with Seulgi, I helped Ran into the car.

Her mumbling voice gradually faded into the distance, and before long only Seulgi and I were left standing by the road.

“What about you? Taking a taxi?”

“Ah, actually I’m meeting another friend for a second round, so I’m heading back inside.”

“You can still drink more?”

“It’s a little embarrassing saying this in front of you, oppa, but… I can drink quite a lot, you know? I’m only a little tipsy right now. It hasn’t even reached my liver yet.”

Seulgi laughed, saying she’d regret it all night if she went home now.

I wanted to tell her to stop and just go home, but she was an adult. Who was I to tell her what to do?

“Alright. Then I’m heading out first. Have fun, and stay safe.”

“Okay. Please take good care of our Miranda, oppa.”

Seulgi hesitated briefly before continuing.

“You know what Ran’s like. She’s not someone who opens her heart easily. She’s been hurt a lot too… So seeing her talk about you so often lately honestly made me relieved. It’s not easy to have someone dependable among coworkers you see every day on set.”

“I feel the same way. There isn’t anyone as dependable as Ran.”

“Really? If Miranda finds out I told you this, she’ll scold me. She’ll say I’m talking about pointless things. I know I’m being nosy, but I still wanted to thank you at least once.”

Seulgi bowed deeply.

She looked like she still had something more to say, but in the end she never voiced it.

‘That’s a relief.’

I wasn’t an idiot.

I knew exactly what she had swallowed back.

‘She thinks Choi Ran likes me.’

If that were true, then it was probably for the best that she hadn’t continued.

No matter how close best friends were, getting involved in someone else’s business crossed a line.

‘But…’

On the way back to the hotel after parting with Seulgi, I found myself thinking.

‘Does Choi Ran really like me?’

Throughout my entire life as a loan shark, romance had been something distant.

Sure, I’d pretended to date Seulgi today, but all I’d really done was imitate the male leads from romance dramas I’d watched over the years.

In the end, it was nothing more than imitation.

As Ran had once said, you didn’t need to be genuinely in love to act in love.

‘It’s strange that everyone got fooled when all I did was copy things from dramas.’

Maybe love really wasn’t that special.

‘Do people absolutely have to date?’

To begin with, Choi Ran was just a kid.

At least from my perspective.

Of course, that was entirely how I saw it.

To her, I wasn’t “a loan shark twelve years older than her.”

I was simply “Yoo Seulho, a fellow actor who’s only two years older.”

But even if I’d decided to continue living as Yoo Seulho, that didn’t mean I could ignore the past I’d spent as a loan shark.

‘Just because the outside looks fine doesn’t mean the inside is.’

It wasn’t like I could lecture Ran and tell her to raise her standards when choosing men.

…Wait.

Hold on.

‘This is bad.’

Not a little bad.

Very bad.

The fact that I was worrying about something like this when I wasn’t even sure she had any romantic interest in me was ridiculous.

‘Is this what they call a forty-something man syndrome?’

This is the worst.

Seriously.

For the first time in a long while, I felt genuinely disgusted with myself.

‘Let’s just pretend I was drunk…’

At times like this, the best thing was to clear my head and focus on the goal right in front of me.

My objective was to make Yoo Seulho a bigger celebrity and earn more money.

Dating and everything else were merely distractions.

‘I just hope Choi Ran meets a good person.’

Whether male or female, people were all the same.

Humans should be with other humans.

Not digging through garbage bins.

‘I’d better focus on tomorrow’s filming.’

After sending PD Myung a text thanking him for everything today, I opened my script.

There wasn’t much time left before the first broadcast.

 

***

 

D-DAY

Time passed, and at last the air date for Episode 1 of ”Our Space” arrived.

Coincidentally, we also had filming that day, so as soon as eight o’clock rolled around, everyone headed to a barbecue restaurant together.

“Our main cast sits here! Perfect for three people!”

PD Jang laughed as he seated me, Choi Ran, and Woo Junseo at the same table.

“PD-nim, why don’t you join us–”

“Oh wow, I’ve got a call. Hold on.”

I invited him to sit with us, but he pretended not to hear and escaped to another table.

“……”

Unlike the noisy tables around us, ours was completely quiet.

The reason was simple.

The two lead actors sat there silently eating meat without saying a word.

After fighting like crazy throughout filming, the two of them no longer even looked at each other.

‘This is actually better.’

It seemed they’d finally realized that saving their energy for acting was more productive than spending it fighting.

Every time their eyes met, they argued.

Only after agreeing to treat each other like invisible people whenever they weren’t filming did the set finally become peaceful.

“Seulho, I’m ordering more pork skin. Want some?”

“I’m okay. Ran, do you want more?”

“Yes. One serving.”

“Alright. Then let’s order two. Excuse me!”

I ended up spending even more time caught between them, but it was a sacrifice worth making for everyone’s peace.

And Choi Ran, whom I was seeing for the first time since the variety show recording…

“Oppa, can you pass me the ssamjang over there?”

“Sure.”

…was exactly the same as always.

Far from showing any romantic interest in me, she looked completely exhausted from the busy filming schedule.

Watching her, I felt embarrassed.

‘I really must have been drunk that day.’

Even though I knew I’d been completely sober, admitting otherwise was less humiliating.

Determined not to make a fool of myself again, I shoved another large piece of meat into my mouth.

Then…

“Oh! Our show is on!”

At a staff member’s shout, everyone’s eyes turned toward the television.

Before I knew it, it was already nine o’clock.

The broadcast had begun.

And for the first time, I was about to watch my own acting on TV.

‘Hmm.’

Even though I knew I barely had any screen time in Episode 1, I still found myself paying attention.

‘How did they edit it?’

‘What kind of reaction will everyone have?’