How a Loan Shark Survives as an Actor Chapter 44

Chapter 44

 

“Seriously, I don’t know. Seulho, I’m telling the truth.”

“Who told you to do it?”

“I’m serious, I don’t know. I don’t know anything!”

“Who told you to do it?”

“Waaah, spare me. I really don’t know anything…”

“Who told you to do it?”

“…Sob.”

I repeated the same words expressionlessly, and Hyun Jingae started tearing up.

His eyes were clearly filled with fear as he looked at me, yet he still refused to reveal what he knew.

Like some mutt serving a different master.

That genuinely disgusted me.

‘It’s been a while since I got this angry.’

Feeling irritation rise inside me, I broke into a bright smile.

“…?”

“Why, why are you smiling?”

“Hyung, would you help me with something?”

“With what…?”

“My acting practice. I suddenly can’t immerse myself in Kang Min-woo’s character anymore. How do you act as a piece of trash who beats people? Help me practice. Like last time—”

“No, no. You’re already way too immersed! You’re giving me goosebumps right now! You don’t need any practice!”

Hyun Jingae flailed wildly.

Apparently he had suddenly remembered how much I beat him up under the excuse of “practice” shortly after I entered Yoo Seulho’s body.

I thought that much intimidation would make him talk.

But he still insisted he knew nothing.

‘This bastard really…’

At least pick the right person to fool.

A manager wasn’t a bodyguard.

He had no obligation to protect a celebrity from flying eggs.

Still, to calm someone down, you’d normally say something like, “Sorry that happened.”

But saying, “I’m sorry I couldn’t stop it”?

That was strange.

“Haa.”

At my deep sigh, Hyun Jingae hiccuped in fear.

Seeing that, I got the feeling that even if I actually beat him up, he still wouldn’t open his mouth.

‘Forget it.’

What was the point of wasting time here?

“Fine. I want to be alone, so leave.”

“O-okay? Then should I at least buy you something–”

“Get out.”

“Okay!”

Hyun Jingae hurriedly gathered his things and rushed out of the hotel room.

The room became quiet almost instantly.

I picked up my phone.

As expected, the internet was on fire.

 

<Citizen who threw a raw egg at Yoo Seulho found to be undergoing treatment for mental illness>

<Yoo Seulho’s side: “Settlement completed. We’d like to move on quietly.” Who was the man who threw the egg?>

<[Exclusive] Daylight egg attack caused by a drama villain character>

 

Articles kept pouring in.

The first articles had been uploaded only minutes after I got hit by the egg.

‘Was there a reporter there?’

How did they find out so quickly?

It was fascinating.

Since the media moved fast, YouTube rumor channels moved just as quickly.

 

<The crime of acting too well? Timeline of Yoo Seulho’s egg attack incident>

<Yoo Seulho gets hit by an egg right after shedding his “Deadweight” nickname; current status>

<Threw an egg because of domestic violence trauma? (No names mentioned)>

 

Every video was marked “New Video,” meaning more related uploads were constantly appearing.

I checked the comments.

People were furious.

 

➝ You’re supposed to separate dramas from reality. There are so many crazy people;

↳ Apparently the guy was mentally ill.

↳ So being sick excuses everything? Then if someone drinks and drives or commits murder and says they were sick, we should forgive them??

↳ Nobody got hurt though. It was just an egg.

↳ Getting hit by an egg still counts as assault, you know; and there was intent too lol. Yoo Seulho only let it slide because he’s a celebrity. If they’d done that to a normal person, they could’ve gotten criminal charges and been torn apart in civil court too.

↳ Why are you freaking out so much? Are you Yoo Seulho?

↳ No, damn it; if people like that are left alone, they’ll eventually hurt us too!!! Damn, it’s impossible to reason with you.

 

➝ I don’t even like Yoo Seulho, but criticizing him over a character he’s playing really doesn’t seem right….

↳ If you look at interviews with actors who specialize in villains, they used to say they couldn’t even walk around outside. People openly cursed at them lol.

↳ Middle-aged viewers who watch a lot of dramas are especially bad about that; my mom does it tooㅠ Ugh.

 

➝ Anyone with common sense should separate the role from the actor. You can tell just from his interviews.

↳ The character is complete trash, but the actual guy is cute.

↳ That gap is what drives people crazyㅠ My friend keeps asking if stanning Yoo Seulho is really okay, and honestly I don’t even know anymoreㅠㅠ

 

➝ My algorithm only shows me Yoo Seulho these days. I’m going insane.

↳ LOL same,,, I only watched one drama. How did my life end up like this?

 

➝ At least it was just an egg. Imagine if someone had shown up with a knife instead?

↳ Exactly. People were way too careless. Shouldn’t the agency be handling stuff like this? They seriously don’t seem to take care of their actors.

 

‘Oh ho.’

Reading that last comment felt like a light bulb turning on in my head.

‘I could use that later when I transfer agencies.’

By pure chance, I’d just gotten a hint about what kind of strategy to use for media play.

There were also reactions to the fact that I’d appeared on a variety show.

 

➝ But Yoo Seulho isn’t even the lead. Why does he keep appearing on variety shows with them? Isn’t it basically a social contract that only the leads promote romance dramas together? lol. Trusting his parents’ connections and acting all cocky.

↳ Guess you haven’t seen that video.

↳ ???

↳ Instead of hating on Yoo Seulho, watch that fan edit made from behind-the-scenes footage… I’m not even a fan, but after seeing it I can’t criticize him anymore… He works ridiculously hard in that environment.

 

I wondered what they meant and looked it up.

Apparently someone had taken only the shots featuring Choi Ran and Woo Jun-seo from the official behind-the-scenes videos and edited them together.

But the title of the video was:

“Editor, thank you for your hard work…”

The video exposed the official behind-the-scenes footage that the broadcasting station’s editor had painstakingly edited to make Choi Ran and Woo Junseo look friendly.

The editor had removed all the scenes where Choi Ran and Woo Junseo openly fought.

However, there was no way they could catch every tiny detail that accidentally slipped into frame.

A fan had collected all of those subtle moments into one video.

Judging by the high view count, it was extremely popular.

The comments were overflowing.

 

➝ Seriously professional lol. Look at Choi Ran’s face when she looks at Woo Jun-seo. She absolutely hates him kekeke

↳ That’s literally the same face I make when I see a cockroach.

↳ kekekekekekekekekeke

 

➝ Feels like watching ‘The Notebook’……. The actors there hated each other in real life too, but still filmed a romance.

↳ For real. The fact that they hate each other that much and it still doesn’t show in the drama proves they’re real actors.

 

The most-liked comment was actually a revelation posted by a minor actor.

They claimed to be a supporting actor who had briefly appeared in the early episodes of ‘Our Space’.

According to them, the drama wouldn’t have even reached halfway through filming without Yoo Seulho.

 

<Simple summary.>

Choi Ran: A silent doll

Woo Junseo: A princess with a severe tantrum problem

Yoo Seulho: A human being

 

There were replies saying people shouldn’t believe random rumors like that.

Still, the phrase ‘princess with a severe tantrum problem’ made me think there was a high probability this person was actually telling the truth.

Anyway, just looking at the ever-increasing comments and videos every time I refreshed was enough to show that our drama was currently the hottest topic around.

People kept saying they had never seen a drama with this many controversies before, but well.

‘There’s definitely less hate toward Yoo Seulho than there was last month.’

It felt a little as if I’d finally been recognized.

Now then, who was the one who arranged for someone to throw that egg?

‘Who would benefit from me getting hit by an egg?’

I was deep in thought when my phone buzzed.

A call.

“Hello.”

[Oh, Actor Seulho. It’s me.]

It was PD Jang.

I assumed he’d heard about the incident late and was calling about that, so I was about to give a casual response.

But PD Jang immediately got to the point.

[I’m sorry. About what happened today… I think one of our investors is responsible.]

“What?”

PD Jang explained.

Apparently, after the controversy surrounding my acting ability died down, one of the investors had complained that ratings would fall.

They said the drama needed another attention-grabbing incident.

Since the drama dealt with domestic violence, the investor suggested paying someone with related trauma and persuading them to throw an egg at me.

PD Jang had reportedly exploded in anger, thinking those crazy old men had finally lost their minds completely.

The broadcasting station executives present had also immediately rejected the idea.

[But when I saw the article today, I was shocked. I went straight to my department head, and apparently he’d already contacted the investor. But the old man flat-out denied everything. He said the idea had been rejected, so it never happened, and asked what nonsense we were talking about.]

“Who is this investor?”

After hesitating, PD Jang gave me the investor’s identity and phone number.

Even though it could cause trouble for him, he didn’t tell me to just let it go.

‘Well, if he were that kind of person, he wouldn’t have told me in the first place.’

I immediately called the number he gave me.

No answer.

So I sent a text saying:

“This is Yoo Seulho.”

Then I called again a minute later.

[…Hello.]

“Hello. This is Yoo Seulho.”

I greeted him as calmly as possible.

PD Jang probably thought I’d be furious.

But honestly, this wasn’t enough to make me completely lose my temper.

‘So what if I got hit by one egg?’

If it helped the drama succeed, I could take a hundred eggs.

But they could have informed me beforehand.

Why make me look like an idiot?

The fact that I, the person involved, had known absolutely nothing was the part that bothered me.

Politely, I told him that if there were ideas like this in the future, I would appreciate being informed.

I had no intention of making an enemy of an investor just because I got hit by one egg.

‘I was simply letting him know.’

A courtesy call to tell him not to treat me like a mere chess piece.

Of course, at my current position, saying something like that wouldn’t make an investor think:

‘Oh, I should definitely ask for his opinion next time!’

Still, it could leave the impression that I wasn’t some clueless kid.

And later, if I ever proposed doing business as an equal, it might become a small memory we could laugh about together.

‘That should be enough for him to understand.’

However, the response that came through the receiver was completely unexpected.

[What are you talking about?]

The man sounded genuinely baffled.

Then he continued:

[Does Director Shin not tell you anything?]