How a Loan Shark Survives as an Actor Chapter 55

Chapter 55

 

‘He’s really tall.’

Ever since I ended up in Yoo Seulho’s body, there had hardly been any occasions where I had to look up at someone.

Curious, I subtly scanned him without making it obvious.

‘Maybe… around 192 cm?’

That meant he was about the same height as my original body.

‘Wow.’

Now I understood why the guys had been scared of me.

I recalled the gang members who always watched my mood no matter what I did.

‘At least I had the build of a loan shark.’

This guy was just an ordinary office worker.

The pressure he gave off was strong enough that I would’ve believed it if someone told me he was a gangster.

“Please have a seat. I’ve ordered both coffee and tea. Which would you prefer?”

“Are you fine with either, Team Leader?”

“Of course.”

“Then I’ll have coffee.”

The man nodded with a smile.

After sitting down, he neatly placed his business card on the table.

‘Ahn Jinbae.’

Even his name was unusual.

He looked anything but ordinary, making me choose my words more carefully.

Perhaps sensing that, he started some small talk to break the ice.

“I enjoyed your recent drama very much. The character Kang Minwoo that you portrayed was especially memorable.”

“Thank you. You can just call me Seulho.”

“Alright, Seulho.”

Just then, our drinks arrived.

After taking a sip and exchanging a few words, the atmosphere quickly became comfortable.

‘He looks stern, but he speaks gently.’

I’d never met someone whose first impression differed so much from their actual personality.

“That’s nice. Then who was the first celebrity you ever managed?”

I only intended to ask this much before getting to the main topic.

It was a casual question… honestly, I wasn’t even that curious.

But his answer surprised me.

“I managed actor Lee Yeonjae.”

“…Really?”

“Yes. He was still in elementary school back then. Time certainly flies.”

Team Leader Ahn smiled softly.

Lee Yeonjae was currently the most successful male actor in South Korea.

Ever since deciding to make serious money as Yoo Seulho, I had considered him something of a role model.

‘I heard his appearance fees are insane.’

While running Haru Finance, I’d heard stories about him a few times.

Because he was considered a celebrity among celebrities, all sorts of rumors circulated about him.

‘Most of them were meaningless.’

Things like how he liked drinking or liked women… nothing that would actually damage a celebrity’s career.

I had even thought, ‘If I earned that much money, I’d spend it immediately.’

‘I knew Lee Yeonjae belonged to Wooyeon Entertainment, but I never expected to meet one of his close associates.’

The man in front of me instantly became several times more interesting.

That meant…

He had personally witnessed an ordinary elementary school student become a top actor who practically swept in all the money.

Which also meant he probably knew a thing or two about how actors became successful.

From my perspective, as someone looking for a new agency, that wasn’t something I could ignore.

“I could recognize his talent immediately, even back then. At Wooyeon, acting ability is our highest priority when evaluating actors.”

Team Leader Ahn’s calm gaze landed on me.

“You debuted young as well, Seulho. It was a long time ago, but our CEO apparently met you once.”

“On a filming set?”

“No. At the Wooyeon Entertainment building. Yoo Taeho and Lee Seulmyeong visited our company once.”

There was something hidden beneath that last sentence.

The moment I caught the nuance in his tone, I smiled.

“Actually, there’s something I’d like to ask you. I heard that Wooyeon Entertainment and my parents have some history together, but unfortunately I don’t remember anything related to it.”

When I asked if he could tell me, Team Leader Ahn replied with a mature smile.

“If I remember correctly, it wasn’t exactly a pleasant story. Every actor has their own pride, and agencies have their own recruitment standards to consider. There were difficulties in those areas when Yoo Taeho and Lee Seulmyeong were discussing a transfer to Wooyeon Entertainment.”

He wrapped it in polite language, but the summary was simple.

‘Neither side was satisfied with the other.’

Yoo Taeho and Lee Seulmyeong disliked the compensation and contract terms offered by Wooyeon Entertainment, while Wooyeon didn’t value them nearly as highly as they valued themselves.

“So my parents once wanted to join Wooyeon Entertainment? That’s news to me.”

I spoke calmly, but inside I was dying to know.

Okay, neither side was satisfied.

So who rejected whom in the end?

‘Please let Wooyeon be the one who rejected them. Please.’

I had my pride too.

I didn’t want to pick up something that Yoo Seulho’s parents had thrown away.

Fortunately, Team Leader Ahn’s next words were exactly what I wanted to hear.

“I believe they would still be interested in joining Wooyeon if the contract terms could be negotiated favorably. They contacted us again last year.”

“I see. Then how likely is it that my parents could join Wooyeon Entertainment? If the chances are high, then I won’t be able to work with Wooyeon.”

“May I ask why?”

I couldn’t exactly tell someone I’d just met that I intended to cut ties with my parents.

So I put on the most professional expression I could and improvised.

“As you know, my parents are deeply tied to the image I’ve carried so far. If I want to escape the label of a nepo baby, the first thing I need to avoid is joining the same agency as them. I have to prevent any possible misunderstandings.”

“Then you have even less reason to worry.”

Team Leader Ahn smiled and lifted his teacup.

After silently taking a sip, he added quietly:

“Just as Yoo Taeho and Lee Seulmyeong have their pride, our CEO has pride as well.”

Interpreting his diplomatic explanation bluntly, it meant:

First, Yoo Taeho and Lee Seulmyeong had once visited Wooyeon Entertainment.

Second, during contract negotiations, the two became absolutely furious and hurled profanity at Wooyeon’s CEO.

Third, the language was so vulgar that even the secretary outside the CEO’s office had covered her mouth in shock.

Fourth, the commotion escalated so much that things were only calmed down right before someone called the police.

‘Huh.’

The more I listened, the harder it was to picture.

Yoo Taeho and Lee Seulmyeong might have been trash parents to Yoo Seulho, but as celebrities they were frighteningly skilled at managing their public image.

‘They were nothing like a child-level amateur such as Woo Junseo.’

The two people I had personally met at the family home were masters at hiding their true selves.

And those people had caused a disturbance serious enough to nearly require police intervention?

“Because the conflict was so severe, we assumed we’d never speak again. Yet around five years ago, we started receiving inquiries through their representatives. They asked whether contract terms could be discussed again.”

“Did you meet with them again?”

“No. The matter was settled by our CEO.”

I nodded.

Team Leader Ahn gave a bitter smile.

“I’m sorry to discuss your family this way. But if we were to become part of the same family, it could be something we’d need to address eventually.”

“Not at all. I was the one who asked.”

Still, I really wanted to know why Yoo Seulho’s parents had gotten so furious.

But Team Leader Ahn merely smiled, clearly unwilling to reveal any deeper information to an outsider.

“Because of that history, we’ve never considered signing you. Before joining Star Actors last year, you met with many agencies, but we weren’t among them. So we assumed you weren’t interested in Wooyeon either.”

Really?

‘Yoo Seulho never pursued Wooyeon?’

There was nothing about it in the diary, so I couldn’t know for sure.

‘Did Yoo Seulho know about the relationship between his parents and Wooyeon?’

Most likely.

Which made it even stranger.

Why didn’t he try to join Wooyeon?

‘Their management quality is practically top-tier.’

Wooyeon Entertainment was one of the three largest management companies in the industry.

Lee Yeonjae, Lee Junghyun, and numerous stars who dominated Korea belonged to it.

Its influence was enormous.

‘I joined Star Actors because I wanted somewhere my parents couldn’t reach.’

But if Wooyeon existed… a company infinitely better than that garbage agency… why hadn’t he even met with them?

I tilted my head in confusion before finally realizing.

‘Ah.’

The answer had already been hidden in something Team Leader Ahn said earlier.

“At Wooyeon, acting ability is our highest priority when evaluating actors.”

Of course.

‘Yoo Seulho wasn’t particularly good at acting.’

Thinking about the personality I’d learned through his diary made the answer even clearer.

‘He wasn’t shameless.’

Yoo Seulho wasn’t the type of person who would say, ‘Even if it doesn’t work out, let’s at least try meeting them.’

Now, if Yoo Seulho had possessed even one-quarter of one-quarter of one-quarter of one-quarter of one-quarter of one-quarter of one-quarter of Woo Junseo’s self-confidence, what would have happened?

One thing was certain.

He would’ve cut ties with his parents long ago.

While I was lost in thought, Team Leader Ahn gently returned to the main topic.

“So when Director Baek contacted me, I was rather surprised. I never imagined you’d be considering Wooyeon Entertainment.”

“It’s true that I was cautious in the past. But things are different now.”

I quickly ran the numbers in my head.

As soon as I reached a conclusion, I decided I needed to be direct.

“Team Leader, I’ll be straightforward. Right now, I want a company powerful enough to terminate my current contract early. A company like Wooyeon Entertainment.”

“Aren’t there many companies with that kind of influence besides us?”

“That’s true. But this is the only place where an actor can truly be an actor.”

Team Leader Ahn stared at me.

‘Tsk.’

‘Can he tell I’m bullshitting?’

I didn’t have any noble devotion to acting.

Honestly, I was changing agencies because I wanted to make more money.

That was all.

But instinctively, I understood what mattered to him.

‘This man is just as passionate about acting as actors themselves are.’

In that case, the right move was to act the part in front of him.

“Wooyeon Entertainment wants good actors, and I want a good agency. I already know Wooyeon is a good agency, but you’re probably still uncertain whether I’m a good actor.”

No matter how justified my reasons for leaving were, it wasn’t easy for an agency to prepare for conflict with another company.

And not just with my current agency… they could end up drawing the attention of many others as well.

Would I really be worth all that trouble?

He probably hadn’t decided yet.

“But the possibility isn’t zero, is it? If your interest in recruiting me was truly zero percent, you wouldn’t have come here today. I think you wanted to see me with your own eyes.”

I slowly leaned forward, closing the distance between us.

“So…”

The moment my reflection was fully visible in Team Leader Ahn’s eyes, I played my trump card.

“What do you think?”

“Are you convinced now?”