How a Loan Shark Survives as an Actor Chapter 41

Chapter 41

 

The celebrity had done something that clearly deserved criticism, yet the issue was buried with far less controversy than expected.

Should he be happy about that?

‘And it’s not even one of those gray-area situations, either.’

There had been plenty of celebrities who made mistakes during livestreams, but Woo Junseo was the only one who had gotten angry at his fans, demanding to know what they had ever done for him.

The most off-putting part was that instead of looking for his own shortcomings as the reason the drama’s ratings had fallen, he believed it was because his fans had not worked hard enough.

It was the kind of thing that should have earned him endless criticism from the public.

Unfortunately, everyone’s attention had shifted to Yoo Seulho’s fans, and the insults directed at Woo Junseo disappeared almost instantly.

“Whew, I lost ten years off my life.”

“Thank goodness. I was seriously considering posting an apology statement.”

Woo Junseo’s agency and manager breathed sighs of relief, saying things had quietly blown over thanks to Yoo Seulho.

But Woo Junseo felt differently.

‘These bastards are looking down on me together now?’

Seriously, both celebrities and fans pissed him off.

To cool his boiling anger, he gulped down glass after glass of cold water.

The agency CEO had told him ridiculous things like, “At least call Yoo Seulho and thank him,” or “You should apologize for mentioning him during the livestream.”

Woo Junseo ignored every word.

‘Me? Apologize?’

If anything, he was the one who deserved an apology.

Woo Junseo genuinely believed that.

The agency CEO had no idea how much stress Yoo Seulho had been causing him lately.

‘He’s just a supporting actor, yet he’s acting like he’s more important than the lead.’

‘I specifically told him not to get ahead of himself…’

Woo Junseo recalled the first time he met Yoo Seulho.

No, he thought back even further… to when Park Sangin had suggested Yoo Seulho as the next target for entertainment.

‘He said he was an easy sucker, didn’t he?’

Woo Junseo had always believed himself to be a natural-born strong person.

Where there were strong people, there had to be weak ones.

In an industry where image management was everything, constantly pretending to be nice and smiling all day became unbearably boring at times.

When that happened, he needed a weaker person to torment.

This time, he thought that person would be Yoo Seulho.

‘A helpless little prince who can’t do anything on his own.’

That was the rumor he had heard.

How could he not be intrigued?

How pathetic did someone have to be to get beaten by his own manager?

Woo Junseo had been genuinely curious.

Of course, he had not forgotten that Yoo Seulho had Yoo Taeho and Lee Seulmyeong backing him.

Since his support system was powerful, he figured he shouldn’t bully him as harshly as his previous toy.

‘If he writes my name in a suicide note or something, I’d be screwed.’

So he had promised himself he would only torment Yoo Seulho moderately.

Besides, they were adults. Physical violence was something he never intended to use anyway.

Director Jang had been reluctant about casting Yoo Seulho, but after relentless pestering, he finally agreed.

The day they first met, Woo Junseo expected to see a frightened little animal walk in.

Instead, the Yoo Seulho he met was…

‘Hello, Senior Yoo Seulho. I’m Woo Junseo. Nice to meet you.’

‘Yes, hello.’

The moment Woo Junseo looked into his eyes, he hesitated.

‘…?’

He was definitely a beast.

But something felt off.

His instincts warned him that something was wrong, but Woo Junseo chose to ignore it.

Perhaps his pride simply wouldn’t allow him to trust his intuition.

But his instincts had been right.

From the day they first met until now, Yoo Seulho had never once acted according to Woo Junseo’s wishes.

‘Without me, he never would’ve gotten this much attention in the first place.’

Yet Yoo Seulho kept acting out of line without knowing his place.

There had been many times when that irritated him, but he always soothed himself with a single thought:

‘He’s just a supporting actor. I’m the protagonist.’

This time, however, even that magical phrase no longer worked.

‘Ha.’

Come to think of it, Park Sangin was the real problem.

Sure, Woo Junseo himself had only been able to rely on rumors before meeting Yoo Seulho.

But Park Sangin had met him in person before recommending him.

The guy constantly hovered around trying to get on his good side.

Pathetic, sure, but useful enough that Woo Junseo had left him alone.

‘Damn it, I’m pissed.’

His heart pounded heavily as his anger boiled over.

Anyone could tell he was barely holding himself back.

His manager and agency CEO watched him nervously.

Afraid he might erupt like a volcano, they did everything they could to calm him down.

Meanwhile, Episode 6 aired, and Woo Junseo finally received one piece of good news.

Whether his tantrum the previous day had helped or not, the ratings had risen significantly compared to Episode 5.

Because of that, an important scene in Episode 6 received a lot of attention.

But for Woo Junseo, it was no comfort at all.

Unfortunately for him, the scene everyone was talking about was…

[“We’re not strangers! We’re family!”]

Once again, Yoo Seulho was the main attraction.

 

***

 

Episode 6 of Our Space showed the male lead standing up to his older brother for the first time.

Following the female lead’s advice, he tried to be honest about his feelings.

At the same time, he thought:

‘If I get angry, my brother will definitely explode too.’

But contrary to expectations, his brother did not get angry.

[“…How could you do this to me?”]

Instead, he looked at him with wounded eyes.

When the male lead hesitated, Kang Minwoo immediately launched into a stream of words.

[“You’ve got no one but me. And I’ve got no one but you. We’re each other’s only family.”]

[“……”]

[“And you’re treating your family like this over some girl? You really…”]

Even though he was the one who had committed the violence, Kang Minwoo acted as though he were the victim.

[“We’re family, not strangers! Who treats family like this?”]

[“No, I…”]

[“If we were strangers, we would’ve moved out and lived separately a long time ago. We’re both adults, so why do we still live together? Because we’re family! That’s why we put up with each other even when things get hard. I put up with a lot from you too. So how could you do this to me? Seriously, don’t you think you’re being too much?”]

It was a barrage of suffocating words.

Lines that justified violence under the banner of family.

The same words that had tormented victims of domestic abuse for decades.

The male lead was bewildered.

‘Was I really too harsh?’

‘My brother’s the one who did wrong, so why do I feel like I’m the guilty one?’

Confused, he squeezed his eyes shut and shouted.

[“What about you?! Don’t you think what you’ve done to me all these years was too much?!”]

He said it with a determined expression, as if refusing to be controlled anymore.

But unlike his resolve, his voice trembled pitifully like winter branches.

Whether it was years of accumulated sorrow, fear of his brother, or some other complicated emotion, something shook him.

Kang Minwoo answered with a sad expression.

[“…You’re right. I did.”]

His lips moved.

As if thinking about what to say, he remained silent for a moment before letting out a short sigh.

His eyebrows had drooped, his eyes looked hollow, and the corners of his mouth hung low.

Then suddenly…

[“So what?”]

His expression completely changed.

Now he looked utterly annoyed to be having this argument.

[“……”]

His younger brother was rendered speechless by the abrupt shift.

While he stammered, Kang Minwoo lazily waved a hand as if shooing away a fly.

[“Ah, fuck it. Fine. I won’t mess with your girl. Happy now? I’m not so desperate that she’s the only girl in the world. I won’t touch her. There. Problem solved?”]

After saying it halfheartedly, he walked into his room as though exhausted.

The male lead was left standing alone in the living room.

He stood there for a long time.

His face was blank.

He looked like someone too shocked to think straight.

‘What have I… what have I been doing all this time…?’

There was a reason he had endured six years of abuse.

A reason he had studied tirelessly to enter the architecture department.

One day, he wanted to build a house for his family with his own hands.

His parents’ favorite saying had always been:

“Let’s live together as a family in our own home.”

For Koreans, a home carried that meaning.

Not merely a building or a piece of land.

It represented how securely one’s family could live and the future they hoped to have.

His parents had died before achieving that dream.

He desperately wanted to fulfill it for them.

To do that, he needed money.

He needed the ability to build a house.

And lastly, he needed family.

That was why he had worked part-time jobs from a young age.

Why he had studied hard enough to enter architecture school.

Why he had endured his brother’s violence and continued living with him.

Because he believed that someday his parents would forgive him.

‘What exactly… have I been doing all this time?’

The camera lingered on the male lead’s trembling eyes and captured his sorrow as well.

Then, with a look of determination, he set out to reclaim his life.

The first step was meeting the female lead.

The story continued from there, but viewers could not move on from that earlier scene.

Many were especially horrified by Kang Minwoo’s painfully realistic lines.

 

***

 

[Is the writer actually a victim of domestic abuse? Nobody knows those lines unless they’ve experienced it.]

[Never thought I’d hear the words I listened to my whole life in a drama….]

[Yoo Seulho is such a piece of trash!!! Just seeing his face pisses me off now.]

 

The reaction was far greater than the famous smiling scene from Episode 1.

It wasn’t even a scene where he could showcase his acting skills particularly well.

Yet because of how realistic the dialogue felt, people could not stop talking about it.

Now, instead of merely praising his acting, comment sections were overflowing with insults calling Yoo Seulho garbage.

Originally, he had been disliked because he was a bad actor.

Now he was disliked because he was too good at acting.

“The Nation’s Trash.”

Having earned the nickname reserved for only the greatest villain actors, Yoo Seulho eventually found himself experiencing something like this a few days later.

Splat!

“Drop dead, you bastard!”

Yoo Seulho ran a hand through his suddenly warm hair after an unidentified liquid struck him.

What his fingers found was eggshell.