How a Loan Shark Survives as an Actor Chapter 49

Chapter 49

 

After returning from Yoo Seulho’s family home, I spent several hectic days consumed by filming.

Once I finished the drama shoots, I was busy filming variety shows here and there.

‘At this point, aren’t they promoting me rather than the drama?’

That was honestly how it felt.

But it couldn’t be helped.

‘Woo Junseo hates both Choi Ran and me.’

At first, he’d tried to push the image of the three of us as friends.

But after filming “Today I’m a Freshman Too,” he started openly ignoring both Choi Ran and me.

More than anything, he’d completely lost any affection for the drama itself. Despite achieving the highest ratings of his entire career, he was refusing all promotional activities related to it.

Of course, no matter how he personally felt, he couldn’t simply ignore what was written in his contract.

‘Drama appearance contracts usually include clauses requiring participation in promotional activities.’

Mine did.

Choi Ran’s did.

And Woo Junseo’s did too.

Which meant that if the production team chose to pursue the matter legally, there wasn’t much Woo Junseo could do about it.

But Director Jang didn’t.

“Fuck it. Let that bastard do whatever he wants.”

A man who rarely swore ground his teeth together and said:

“I can’t stand the sight of him. Even if that kid becomes some huge Hallyu superstar in the future, I’m never working with him again. Do you have any idea how much hair I’ve lost because of him these past few days?”

And with that, he canceled every single one of Woo Junseo’s variety show appearances.

Honestly, with the drama nearing its final episode, the only thing capable of boosting ratings at the last minute was marketing.

Yet the head producer was canceling promotional activities for his own lead actor.

That alone showed just how serious the situation was.

‘Still, it’s awkward for just Choi Ran and me to keep appearing together.’

The male lead existed, after all.

It wasn’t exactly ideal for a supporting actor, not even the second male lead, to be going on variety shows alone with the female lead.

Most people knew by now that Choi Ran and Woo Junseo hated each other.

But people who didn’t spend much time online still watched the drama and excitedly talked about how good the two looked together.

Activities that could break viewers’ immersion were better avoided.

‘But I can’t just send Choi Ran alone either.’

Unless she changed agencies, there would always be limitations on her variety appearances.

If they wanted to continue marketing her as a pure, elegant beauty with a shy personality, minimizing her variety show exposure was the best option.

Honestly, I agreed.

‘No matter how good an actor you are, you can’t stay in character twenty-four hours a day.’

Whenever we filmed outdoors, Choi Ran did her best to maintain her expression.

But whenever she saw Woo Junseo, she slipped up more often than not.

The murderous desire to beat him to death showed far too clearly in her eyes.

I’d lost count of how many times I’d jumped between them to cover for her.

‘So in the end, the only solution is for me to go alone.’

Not that I was complaining.

No matter how much time a drama required, actors were paid per episode.

Variety shows, on the other hand, paid appearance fees immediately, even if filming only lasted a single day.

That made them far more satisfying.

‘Though I’d be even happier if my contract with the agency wasn’t such garbage.’

The contract Seulho had signed with Star Actors was absurdly unfavorable.

Of course, that would give me plenty of excuses when the time came to move to another agency.

Still, watching the agency take such a huge cut of my earnings was painful.

 

***

 

“Seulho, we’ll head straight to the next schedule.”

“Okay.”

“Want to stop at a rest area and grab something to eat? Should hyung buy you something?”

Hyun Jingae glanced at me through the rearview mirror.

If I didn’t know anything, I probably would’ve let his rain-soaked puppy expression slide.

‘Tsk.’

The thought that I might have ended up that naive irritated me.

“I don’t need anything.”

“Hey, you’re still mad? I seriously didn’t know anything. That’s why I said I didn’t know. You–”

“I already know it was Director Shin’s idea. Stop acting.”

The cold words made Hyun Jingae flinch.

His eyes, which had been darting around in the mirror, chose lies once again.

“D-Director Shin… did that?”

His voice cracked.

Painfully amateurish.

You really shouldn’t become an actor.

“Is that… really true? I–I had no idea–”

“Tell Director Shin to be careful not to get hit by eggs while walking around. If you’re willing to throw eggs at somebody else’s head, you should be prepared to get the same treatment in return.”

“…”

“Let’s just ride quietly. I want to eat a hot dog with you, hyung, but I’m holding back. What if Director Shin keeps a diary and writes things like, ‘Yoo Seulho’s favorite food is hot dogs’?”

Hyun Jingae completely froze.

He clearly hadn’t imagined I knew everything he’d been doing behind my back.

‘Originally I wasn’t planning on giving him hints.’

My initial plan was to act normally around him so Director Shin wouldn’t be able to accurately gauge my situation.

But after reading Seulho’s diary, I’d changed my mind.

After all, I was living inside the body of a guy who’d spent his entire life enduring everything in silence.

So…

An exorcism?

No, that wasn’t the right word.

Catharsis?

Maybe.

Whatever.

I decided not to keep bottling everything up anymore.

If words piled up inside you, they turned into poison.

Better to say what needed saying.

‘Come to think of it, the timing is perfect.’

I was planning to leave the agency as soon as the drama ended.

Pretending to know nothing until then and surprising everyone later would’ve been fun.

But showing signs of rebellion now would make gathering evidence much easier.

With that decision made, I fell asleep while we drove along the highway.

 

***

 

“Seulho, we’re at the rest stop.”

Hyun Jingae woke me midway and asked if I needed the bathroom.

I shook my head.

He said he’d go quickly by himself and got out of the car.

I closed my eyes again, trying to rest.

‘Man, all these food smells are making me hungry.’

Maybe I’d buy a hot dog from a convenience store after filming ended.

While I was thinking that, I noticed the smell of food growing stronger and stronger.

Something felt off.

I opened my eyes.

At some point, Hyun Jingae had returned and was holding out a hot dog toward me.

“What is this?”

“…You said you wanted a hot dog.”

Unable to meet my eyes, he mumbled awkwardly.

I stared silently at him without reacting.

Eventually, he muttered gloomily:

“I won’t tell anyone about this. So just eat it.”

‘Sigh.’

‘Turns out I had no right criticizing those kids.’

Not long ago, I’d been thinking that Joo Gyeongbeom and Hwang Taejun from the detective agency were too soft-hearted.

Tsk.

Looks like I wasn’t any better.

Maybe it was Seulho’s influence?

Ever since entering this body, I’d become more emotional.

“Thanks. I’ll eat it.”

“…!”

The moment I accepted the hot dog, Hyun Jingae’s face lit up.

I ignored the moist, emotional look in his eyes.

Honestly, he probably thought that was the best decision he could make if he wanted to survive at the company.

I understood that.

‘Still, selling out a twenty-five-year-old kid who’s way younger than you is a bit much.’

Granted, there was an old man more than ten years older inside that kid’s body.

But Hyun Jingae didn’t need to know that.

“Why didn’t you buy one for yourself? Let’s split it.”

I tore the hot dog in half and handed him a piece just as he was about to start driving again.

I ignored the way his eyes became even more emotional.

 

***

 

After driving for several more hours, we finally arrived at the filming location.

The schedule was brutal.

I’d been filming until dawn the day before and then immediately traveled to another region.

‘If this were my original body, I never would’ve survived it.’

Maybe it was because I was inside a body ten years younger.

Lately, I noticed the difference in stamina more and more often.

Of course, I’d taken decent care of myself even back when I was a loan shark.

It wasn’t like I had terrible endurance.

‘But it’s still different.’

No matter how well I’d maintained myself, I couldn’t compare to a twenty-five-year-old body.

I didn’t need coffee to stay awake.

I didn’t need stretching to move lightly.

‘The best part is how light my body feels.’

Seulho’s body was almost ten centimeters shorter than my original one and much slimmer.

In the past, I’d always thought skinny men looked pathetic.

Now I realized it depended on the person.

“Seulho-ssi, you’re here~!”

“Hello.”

The more I visited outdoor filming locations these days, the more obvious it became.

People’s attitudes toward Yoo Seulho had changed.

There were still plenty who looked at me unfavorably.

But it was impossible to ignore the fact that I was currently at the center of public attention.

Some people were even trying to curry favor with me.

‘This is how you raise your position.’

To do that, the drama needed to finish successfully.

And before I knew it, filming was over.

The twelve-episode drama had reached an astounding 8.2% viewership rating by Episode 11.

In an era where even blockbuster dramas with budgets in the tens of billions of won struggled to reach 4–6%, this was an enormous hit.

 

***

 

“One, two, three! Cheers!”

“Cheers!!”

An hour before Episode 12, the final episode aired, the entire production staff and cast gathered at a barbecue restaurant.

Everyone wore expressions that seemed to say:

“The road here was a complete fucking disaster, but we did it anyway!”

Glasses clinked.

The atmosphere grew more and more excited as drinks were poured.

Then…

“Hello?”

Woo Junseo, who had spent the entire evening sitting with the expression of someone chewing shit, answered a phone call.

Unfortunately, he’d come alone without his manager.

Today, he felt like a ticking time bomb.

‘Probably because he doesn’t have his servant around to cater to his mood.’

Director Jang had already cut ties with him the moment filming ended.

Without his manager, there was no one left willing to indulge him.

‘I wish he’d just go home.’

I didn’t care who was calling.

I just hoped they’d take Woo Junseo away.

But then…

“What? What article??”

The baffled words that left his mouth made everyone instantly turn their heads.

There was one word that everyone in this industry feared.

Article.

At the same time, phones all around the room began exploding with notifications.

Group chats were flooding with links.

The same article.

The headline read:

 

<[Exclusive] The Real Face of Actor Woo Junseo – “Treated Worse Than an Animal”>

<Former Manager Exposes Shocking Abuse of Power>

 

It was an article in which Woo Junseo’s manager revealed every ugly detail about him.

And that was the moment Director Jang finally exploded after enduring everything like a saint for months.

“W-What is this…? Junseo-ssi, what happened here?”

“…”

“You little bastard, answer me!!”

In front of him, Woo Junseo simply stared blankly.

His finger moved over the screen again and again as he reread the article.

Yet he looked like someone incapable of understanding the words in front of him.

All he could do was mutter:

“He said he was on vacation today…”

While he still hadn’t grasped the situation, everyone else descended into chaos.

“What do we do?!”

“PD-nim! The station director is calling!!”

People shouted in panic from every direction.

And then Choi Ran, sitting beside me, quietly murmured:

“It’s started.”

At those words, I turned toward the television mounted on the wall.

The final episode had begun.