How a Loan Shark Survives as an Actor Chapter 46

Chapter 46

 

Ding-dong.

Yoo Seulho’s family home (or more accurately, the house where Yoo Taeho and Lee Seulmyeong currently lived) stood in the middle of an affluent neighborhood.

I had expected the walls to be high, but they exceeded even my expectations.

They weren’t merely tall. They were so high that nobody would even think about peeking inside.

Ding-dong.

Most detached houses in wealthy districts looked similar, but this place felt different.

The walls looked thick enough to stop bullets.

The front gate seemed heavy enough that dozens of people pushing together wouldn’t move it an inch.

Everything was excessive, as though the people living here were desperately trying to hide something.

Ding-dong. Ding-dong.

There wasn’t a soul in sight.

Not even an ant.

The neighborhood was already quiet, and the distance between houses made it seem impossible for neighbors to ever become close.

Well, that was fortunate.

At least nobody was looking at me suspiciously.

Most people wouldn’t continue standing in front of a house after ringing the bell dozens of times without getting a response.

Ding-dong. Ding-dong. Ding-dong.

So Yoo Seulho had really knelt here for three days?

Tsk.

I wasn’t sure whether to call that determination or stupidity.

When Hyun Jingae first told me the story, I couldn’t believe it.

No matter how cold-hearted his parents were, they were both celebrities. People who supposedly valued their image more than anything.

Yet they had ignored their own son while he knelt outside?

Hadn’t they worried about neighbors seeing him and calling the police?

But now that I was here, I understood.

This place made it possible.

Even the entrance with the doorbell was completely hidden from public view.

No wonder nobody noticed when Yoo Seulho eventually collapsed from hunger.

No wonder nobody noticed when his manager finally came looking for him and carried him away.

I imagined him losing consciousness on this cold marble floor.

Even so, I didn’t stop pressing the bell.

Ding-dong. Ding-dong. Ding-dong. Ding-dong.

After what felt like the five-hundredth press…

Beep.

[Stop ringing the bell. It’s driving me insane.]

At last.

A response.

The irritated female voice coming through the intercom was unmistakably Lee Seulmyeong’s.

At least someone was home.

Then why pretend otherwise?

I kept my voice calm.

“Then open the gate.”

[Are you crazy? Go home.]

“I’m not leaving. Open it.”

[You really don’t understand words, do you? That’s never going to happen. Stop ringing the bell.]

The intercom cut off.

Only saying what she wanted to say.

Ridiculous.

Still, I wasn’t particularly bothered.

I’d never expected this visit to go smoothly.

There was no point ringing the bell any longer.

Besides, my finger hurt.

I took out my phone and made a call.

The line connected immediately.

No ringing.

As though he’d been waiting.

Still as reliable as ever.

“It’s me. Looks like I really will need your help.”

[Should I come to the location you mentioned yesterday?]

“Yes. How long?”

[Three seconds.]

The moment he finished speaking, a man wearing a black cap walked into view.

He ended the call and bowed.

“I thought you’d call again, so I waited outside.”

“Thank you. I need that gate opened.”

“Understood.”

The man quietly took a laptop out of his bag and began working.

Several minutes later…

“Security system disabled.”

Clunk.

The massive gate swung open.

Every time I saw his skills, I was impressed.

“Thank you.”

He simply bowed.

Then suddenly…

“You! What do you think you’re doing?!”

A woman’s horrified scream echoed from inside.

Footsteps thundered down the stairs.

A moment later, Lee Seulmyeong appeared.

“You–”

She looked ready to kill me.

Then she noticed the man beside me.

Her face immediately turned pale.

Yoo Taeho stepped in front of her.

“Honey, get behind me.”

He pulled her back and glared at me.

“Yoo Seulho. What exactly is going on here?”

“I came home, but nobody would open the gate. So I called a locksmith. Well, not exactly a locksmith.”

“…Are you making jokes right now?”

His expression hardened.

Interesting.

He was fifty-two, but his physique could still compete with someone in their twenties.

What surprised me more, though, was what he and Lee Seulmyeong were wearing.

Silk robes.

At home.

I’d never seen anyone dressed like that outside a drama.

“Those robes suit you.”

I tried to lighten the atmosphere.

All I received was a colder glare.

Yoo Taeho looked at me as if I were an intruder rather than his son.

“You know I can report this as trespassing, right? Family or not, one report and you’re finished.”

“Then call the police. The headlines should be entertaining.”

That made him pause.

Only then did he seem to notice the man beside me.

Probably worried about what stories might spread afterward.

Unfortunately for him, the man wasn’t someone who talked.

Back when I was a loan shark, I’d hired him several times.

As long as the money was good, he accepted any job and kept his mouth shut.

Still, there was no reason to tell them that.

“You can go. I’ll send the payment immediately.”

“Understood.”

After he left, I looked back at them.

“Shall we go inside?”

Neither of them answered.

They simply stared.

So I ignored them and walked in.

“You’ve changed a lot. Where did you learn to disrespect your parents like this?”

I ignored the comment.

They had started the silence first.

Once inside, I began looking around.

Which room had belonged to Yoo Seulho?

Considering how he’d been treated, it certainly wouldn’t be one of the better rooms.

The first floor was out.

Any room here was probably better than a studio apartment, but relatively speaking—

The room with the least sunlight.

The most isolated location.

Probably the furthest room on the second floor.

I carefully chose a door and opened it.

Bam.

Perfect.

The belongings inside clearly belonged to a young man.

Good.

I had wondered whether they’d gotten rid of his room after throwing him out a year ago.

The rest of the house was spotless.

This room, however, was covered in dust.

Even the cleaners apparently never entered.

That was even better.

Yoo Seulho’s traces were still intact.

I locked the door and began searching.

Expensive clothes.

Luxury accessories.

Enough money to make anyone tempted.

But those weren’t what I wanted.

I searched everywhere.

Under the bed.

Inside drawers.

Behind furniture.

Under the carpet.

Nothing.

Just as I was about to give up, I noticed a section of books sticking out slightly farther than the others.

I immediately pulled them out.

Bingo.

Hidden behind them was a stack of notebooks.

The moment I opened one, I found exactly what I was looking for.

I stuffed the notebooks under my shirt and secured them against my waist.

No visible bulge.

Perfect.

After checking my reflection, I headed downstairs.

Lee Seulmyeong and Yoo Taeho were waiting in the living room.

“So why are you here?”

“Does a son need a reason to visit his parents?”

“Stop talking back. You’re not here just to upset us.”

Lee Seulmyeong sipped her coffee elegantly.

Beside her, Yoo Taeho poured himself a cup.

I noticed something immediately.

They hadn’t even taken out a third cup.

Not even water.

If a stranger visited my house, I’d at least offer them a drink.

This wasn’t merely cold.

It was beyond that.

And yet they behaved as though it were perfectly normal.

As though this had always been the way they lived.

I could almost see the life Yoo Seulho had endured in this house.

“I came because I have something to say.”

I spoke more coldly than intended.

“What is it?”

I looked directly at both of them.

“From now on, stay out of my life.”