How a Loan Shark Survives as an Actor Chapter 45

Chapter 45

 

“…Director Shin?”

Director Shin Seungim.

So it was you.

‘Ha.’

The moment I learned who the real mastermind behind the egg incident was, anger surged through me.

Not because it was Director Shin.

I was angry at my own stupidity for failing to suspect him even after seeing Hyun Jingae’s reaction.

‘Why didn’t I think of him immediately?’

The answer would have been obvious if I had thought about it for even a moment.

While I was disappointed in myself, the man on the other end spoke as if he found the situation absurd.

[It was Director Shin’s idea from the start. He said it would be awkward for him to propose it directly, so I delivered it to the broadcasting station as the representative. Then I ended up taking all the blame. Ha. I got annoyed too and suggested we just drop the whole thing, but Director Shin kept pushing for it.]

According to the investor, the broadcasting station had opposed the idea so fiercely that even he felt uncomfortable proceeding with it.

Despite that, Director Shin insisted he would take responsibility.

He said he handled the actors anyway, so there was nothing to worry about.

[Since he said he’d handle everything himself, I assumed the actor had already agreed to it. Are you seriously hearing about this for the first time?]

“That’s correct.”

[Well, now I’m the one who’s surprised…]

You couldn’t tell whether someone was lying or telling the truth based solely on a voice over the phone.

Still, it didn’t sound like he was making everything up.

‘The fact that he specifically mentioned Director Shin, a real person, was part of it.’

When people lie, they usually deny any involvement whatsoever.

They don’t make these half-confessions.

[I honestly thought everything had already been discussed.]

“As far as you were concerned, it would have been natural to assume that. I apologize. Now that I’ve heard the full story, this should have been handled internally with my agency. I ended up disturbing you this late at night.”

The moment I finished organizing the facts in my head, I adjusted my tone.

Not too high.

Not too fast.

A moderate volume.

A serious tone.

It was a way of speaking that worked particularly well when trying to placate someone.

‘Well, in the end, this bastard was still one of the people responsible for putting an egg on my head.’

But the world didn’t operate solely on that principle.

As I wagged my tail a little, his voice quickly became friendlier as well.

[Come on, don’t call it rude. Anyone would have reacted like that. Still, you must’ve been pretty startled when you got hit by the egg. I’m sorry about that. You know how important ratings are for people in our position.]

“I understand. In that case, are you personally close with Director Shin?”

[Close…? You know his style. He’s good at buttering people up. He’s young, polite, and handles things well, so whenever I could help him out, I did. Not often, but every now and then he’d come to me when he needed something.]

“I see. If you ever have the time, please give me the opportunity to host you for a meal. I’d like to buy you a drink.”

[Why? You need a favor from me too?]

“Hmm… I can’t exactly say no to that.”

[What? Puhahaha!]

The man burst into laughter from the depths of his stomach.

A genuinely amused laugh.

pNow this is interesting. You’re nothing like what Director Shin told me. I had no idea you were this gutsy.]

“Thank you for thinking highly of me.”

[Right. Then let’s really have a drink together sometime. Least I can do after getting you hit with an egg.]

The call ended amid his cheerful laughter.

“Phew.”

So it was Director Shin.

‘That son of a bitch…’

He really saw me as a product.

The more I thought about it, the angrier I became, to the point I started laughing.

‘So Hyun Jingae already knew Director Shin was planning this.’

I could more or less guess how he found out.

He probably heard it while sucking up to him and fetching his golf balls.

‘Whatever. I never expected him to stop it.’

But couldn’t he at least have warned me beforehand?

I’d given Hyun Jingae plenty of grief over the things he’d done to Yoo Seulho.

Even so, I’d thought he wasn’t fundamentally a bad person.

Yet in the end, instead of protecting the celebrity he managed, he chose to protect his own position.

That disappointment hit harder than I expected.

‘I was even considering taking him with me when I changed agencies.’

The fact that I’d ever entertained that thought made me feel foolish.

‘Forget it.’

Neither Hyun Jingae nor Director Shin mattered.

I was leaving this cesspool no matter what.

And when the time came, anyone who tried to cling to my leg and stop me would be cleanly cut off.

‘Good thing I already hired someone to investigate Director Shin.’

If I hadn’t prepared in advance, this phone call would have left my head spinning.

Fortunately, I had already received a complete report from the private investigators detailing all of Director Shin’s weaknesses.

So rather than feeling troubled…

‘This is perfect.’

I saw an opportunity.

‘This might actually make switching agencies easier.’

Director Shin was practically one of the pillars of my current agency, Star Actors Entertainment.

He had cast most of the agency’s talents, including Yoo Seulho, and was involved in nearly every aspect of the business.

‘More importantly, he’s the CEO’s younger relative.’

When his problems eventually became public, the company wouldn’t be able to ignore them.

No matter how much they tried to say:

‘It was an employee’s fault.’

‘The company wasn’t involved.’

‘I didn’t read it.’

‘I don’t know anything about it.’

The fact that they had appointed an executive based on family ties alone would become a scandal in itself.

‘I’ll have to craft the narrative carefully.’

That meant there was something I needed to prepare starting now.

After making a plan, I immediately picked up my phone.

 

***

 

Episodes 7 and 8 of Our Space aired.

Ratings had risen dramatically thanks to the “Yoo Seulho Egg Attack Incident” from the previous week.

People were furious.

‘How could someone throw an egg at an actor just because of a drama character?’

At the same time, many found themselves wondering:

‘How good must his acting have been for someone to mistake it for reality?’

That curiosity translated directly into higher ratings.

The production team of Today, I’m a Freshman Too didn’t miss the opportunity and quickly released the variety-show episode.

During the opening, Yoo Seulho had appeared neat and well-groomed.

But from the moment he entered the university, he was suddenly wearing a cap.

Sharp-eyed viewers immediately figured out that the egg incident must have happened in between.

 

➝ Wow, so that expression at 5:20 was after he got hit with the egg? If nobody had said anything, I never would’ve noticed.

➝ He really is an actor for a reason. His facial control is insane.

↳ It feels like just yesterday people were calling him uselessㅠㅠ Now everyone acknowledges his actingㅠ I’m emotional.

↳ Who knows kek Depends on what role he gets next kek

↳ Huh? Even when he did the hidden-camera segment with Lee Seulgi, his acting was good.

↳ Variety shows and dramas are differentkek Too early to judgekek

↳ No, but where did you learn that pathetic way of ending every sentence with “kek”? Do Yoo Seulho antis attend classes on how to lower their IQ together??

↳ I have no idea what you’re talking about kek

↳ Why the hell are you all fighting in my comment thread? Get lost;

 

➝ Twenty years in the entertainment industry really makes a difference.

↳ He’s spent decades getting cursed at by the public. You think one egg would break his mental state? LOL.

↳ But he does feel different somehow. More like a mature man?

↳ Agreed. The way he just settled the matter and moved on too. He’s a real man.

 

The response was explosive.

Thousands of comments piled up in an instant.

The comment section once again descended into chaos thanks to antis moving even faster than Yoo Seulho’s fans.

Still, overall, there were more favorable comments than negative ones.

Watching Yoo Seulho’s expressions on the variety show, it was hard to believe he was someone who had just been hit by an egg out of nowhere.

In one word:

Strong.

People are instinctively drawn to strength.

Some leave hateful comments because they wonder what it would look like if someone that strong finally broke.

Others cheer because they want that strength to endure.

Without intending to, Yoo Seulho’s unconscious actions were creating both fans and anti-fans in real time.

 

***

 

‘Another day arriving safely at work.’

Ever since the egg incident, I had become much more careful during my commute.

Fortunately, the remaining scenes would all be filmed inside the studio, making things relatively safe from outsiders.

‘More importantly, filming is almost over.’

Our Space was originally a twelve-episode drama.

Because the response had been so overwhelmingly positive, the higher-ups had suggested extending it to fourteen episodes.

PD Jang reportedly rejected the idea without even a moment’s hesitation.

His reasoning was simple:

The schedule had already been insane since Episode 1.

If filming continued any longer, either an actor or a staff member would literally die from overwork.

‘Though I’m sure having to put up with more of Woo Junseo’s bullshit also played a part.’

Ever since the variety-show filming, Woo Junseo had practically become a different person.

Before, his hostility had mostly been directed at me.

Now he lashed out at anyone and everyone.

It was as though the mere act of filming this drama annoyed him.

He was especially rude to PD Jang.

More than once, he crossed the line with his remarks.

PD Jang’s face would turn bright red with rage, yet he would mutter to himself:

“It’s okay… not much longer now…”

And somehow suppress his anger.

As a result, while the drama’s ratings continued soaring, the atmosphere on set had become as cold as Siberia.

‘Woo Junseo wasn’t originally this stupid.’

He had always been childish.

But he’d at least known how to manage his image.

Especially around powerful figures like PD Jang.

If anything, he was annoyingly good at sucking up to them.

‘He changed after the livestream incident.’

More specifically, after seeing the reaction to it.

Perhaps he thought:

‘Huh? People still like me even after that?’

‘There are no consequences to my career?’

And as a result, he became even more arrogant.

“Junseo, are you thirsty? Want me to get you some water?”

“Shut up! I’m trying to get into character!”

“Ah, sorry…”

Park Sangin had taken the spot beside Woo Junseo after I stopped sitting there.

At first, Park Sangin had looked delighted to occupy the vacant seat.

But as Woo Junseo’s tantrums worsened, even he occasionally wore strange expressions.

Far from treating the one remaining lackey well, Woo Junseo looked as though he couldn’t even stand the sight of Park Sangin’s face.

‘What a battlefield.’

Amid that suffocating atmosphere, filming continued day after day.

Before I knew it, the weekend had arrived.

The day I was supposed to visit Yoo Seulho’s family home.