How a Loan Shark Survives as an Actor Chapter 59

Chapter 059

 

Director Shin refused to back down.

‘Yoo Seulho… how could you do this to me?’

The only reason a company like Wooyeon Entertainment would ever become interested in someone like him was that ‘Our Space’ had existed.

And the person who had made that drama a massive hit was none other than himself.

‘I was the one who negotiated with the investors, the one who stirred up attention with the egg incident, the one who managed the actors!’

Burning with anger, Director Shin couldn’t bring himself to hand Yoo Seulho over so easily.

Once he left, there wasn’t a single remaining celebrity under their agency worth presenting as a trophy.

“We absolutely cannot settle. Let’s just sue them instead!”

“What?”

Fueled by the mindset of ‘if I can’t have Yoo Seulho, then I’ll ruin him’, Director Shin snarled.

“Do you seriously not understand the situation right now? If those videos get released to the media, we’re finished. Forget Yoo Seulho… every artist we still have is going to demand contract termination. Are you confident you can handle that?”

“That’s your problem as CEO! And what does the company going under have to do with me? I’ll just change jobs.”

To be blunt, plenty of agencies would gladly recruit Director Shin.

“How can you say that to me…?”

Even in front of the stunned CEO, Director Shin remained brazen.

“You already owe me for helping grow this company all these years. Whatever. I’ll handle it myself if I have to.”

And with that, Director Shin went alone to Wooyeon Entertainment’s headquarters.

In case anything happened, he turned on the recording function on his phone.

And considering the possibility that his phone might be taken away, he had also clipped a fountain pen equipped with a recording device to his chest pocket.

Click.

After activating the pen recorder, Director Shin strode confidently into the building.

“Excuse me. May I have your name, please?”

Director Shin gritted his teeth at the unnecessarily polite receptionist.

“I’m from Star Actors. I’d like to speak with someone named Team Leader Ahn Jinbae. It’s urgent, so hurry it up.”

He impatiently demanded immediate attention while mentioning the name he had seen in the courier documents.

He had even come prepared to cause a scene in the lobby if they tried to turn him away.

Yet unexpectedly, permission was granted without resistance.

“Hello, Director Shin. I’ll escort you personally.”

An employee appeared and guided him inside.

As he followed the employee toward the elevator, Director Shin felt slightly intimidated by the atmosphere of wealth permeating the entire building.

‘These bastards must be making a fortune.’

While grumbling internally, a thought suddenly crossed his mind.

‘Should I ask them to take both Yoo Seulho and me?’

Really, when he thought about it…

The only advantage of Star Actors was that his cousin happened to be the CEO, making work somewhat convenient.

It wasn’t exactly a place where he could earn truly serious money.

He had already considered which agencies he might transfer to if Star Actors ever collapsed.

‘A company like Wooyeon Entertainment would recognize my value.’

Director Shin’s brain began spinning rapidly.

‘Yoo Seulho and I got along fine until that day, didn’t we?’

Sure, he’d thrown an ashtray and various other objects at Yoo Seulho that day.

But before then, he had never physically laid hands on him.

‘This is why people should live honestly.’

He had arrived overflowing with anger.

Yet after seeing the luxurious building, a completely different mindset began taking root.

Whatever misunderstandings Yoo Seulho might have about him could be resolved through conversation.

‘All I have to do is convince him that everything I did was ultimately for his benefit.’

With that thought, Director Shin immediately revised his plans.

 

***

 

Knock knock.

“Team Leader, Director Shin has arrived.”

“Send him in.”

Hearing the arrogant voice from behind the door, Director Shin unconsciously frowned before quickly relaxing his expression.

‘That’s supposed to be my line.’

It irritated him slightly, but making an enemy of this team leader wasn’t part of the current plan.

Once he entered, he saw an unfamiliar man standing there.

Beside him sat Yoo Seulho, calm and composed.

“Seulho, you’ve worked hard.”

Director Shin warmly greeted Yoo Seulho first before immediately extending a hand toward the other man.

“You must be Team Leader Ahn. It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Shin Seungim, Director at Star Actors.”

As Director Shin offered his hand with a slightly deferential attitude, Team Leader Ahn smiled gently and shook it.

“Yes. Nice to meet you.”

“I apologize for coming without contacting you in advance. Given the circumstances… and more importantly, I’m here in a capacity separate from the company, so I couldn’t exactly call beforehand.”

“Separate from the company?”

At Team Leader Ahn’s question, Director Shin began acting.

“I’ve reviewed the video evidence you sent. The CEO and employees of Star Actors treated Seulho terribly all this time. I had my suspicions, but seeing the footage shocked me. It made me realize I couldn’t continue working in such an unethical environment.”

“What you’re saying is…”

“Yes. I’ve resigned.”

Director Shin lied without hesitation.

“I sincerely want to thank Wooyeon Entertainment for your courage and for protecting our Seulho. And while I’m here, I’d also like to discuss everything I’ve done for Seulho’s sake.”

There was a reason he had managed to win over so many powerful people using nothing but his mouth.

With dazzling eloquence, Director Shin repeatedly emphasized how deeply devoted he was to helping entertainers.

‘Even Yoo Seulho can’t argue with this.’

Yoo Seulho sat quietly in the corner.

He didn’t refute a single word.

If anything, he occasionally nodded as if thinking:

‘Well, that’s true. Director Shin really was good at his job.’

“To think someone in Star Actors worked with such dedication. That’s impressive.”

Hearing the favorable tone in Team Leader Ahn’s voice, Director Shin started feeling excited.

‘Maybe this isn’t impossible after all.’

Suppressing his excitement, he adopted the expression of a man whose sole concern was Yoo Seulho.

“I’m also worried that Seulho might feel intimidated here where he doesn’t know anyone. If Wooyeon Entertainment is willing… how about letting me work here alongside him?”

“Huh?”

“Shouldn’t we also consider how the public will perceive the agency transfer? It won’t look particularly good if Seulho suddenly jumps to Wooyeon Entertainment in the middle of his contract.”

But what if the director who worked with him transferred as well?

And what if that director actively testified about how terrible the previous agency had been?

“If there are two victims instead of one, credibility skyrockets. It’ll look much more convincing when I testify alongside Seulho instead of him claiming mistreatment by himself.”

As Director Shin confidently presented his plan, Team Leader Ahn quietly nodded.

“That’s a valid point.”

“Right?!”

Director Shin’s eyes lit up.

At that moment…

“Director.”

Yoo Seulho, who had remained silent the entire time, rose from his chair.

Wearing a remarkably gentle expression, he walked over and lightly brushed Director Shin’s shoulder.

“…?”

The gesture felt strangely ambiguous.

It was like a friend dusting something off your suit.

At the same time, it felt like the magnanimity of a superior looking after a subordinate.

Whatever the case, this wasn’t a situation where Director Shin could afford to frown.

“W-What is it, Seulho?”

He forced the corners of his eyes into a smile.

The man who had spent three days earlier throwing objects and screaming at Yoo Seulho inside his office no longer existed.

Yoo Seulho smiled calmly.

Director Shin smiled back.

Then the next words instantly wiped the smile from his face.

“Do you remember the hit-and-run incident in 20XX?”

“…”

For a moment, Director Shin stopped breathing.

His frozen lips trembled.

The color drained from his face in an instant.

Watching that transformation unfold before his eyes, Yoo Seulho’s eyes sparkled with curiosity.

“It rained heavily that day, didn’t it? Did you get home safely?”

“You…”

Director Shin couldn’t say anything.

He looked like a man incapable of doing anything except blinking.

“I spent a long time thinking about what I should bring up first. Should I mention the woman you’re seeing behind your wife’s back? Or the ghost contracts you used to siphon company money?”

“S-Seulho…”

“But no matter how serious adultery or embezzlement might be… neither of them can beat a hit-and-run, can they? Especially when the victim was a child. Right?”

“Seulho! Seulho!!!”

Breathing harder and harder, Director Shin suddenly dropped to his knees.

Like a man who had completely abandoned dignity and pride, he frantically rubbed his hands together.

“I was wrong! I was wrong! I’ll never show my face in front of you again! I’ll go back to the company right now and tell them not to touch you! I’ll clean everything up, so please don’t say anything about that. Please. Huh?”

Director Shin trembled with fear.

How did this kid know?

Alarm bells screamed inside his confused mind.

“Please, Seulho. I was wrong. I was really wrong.”

This wasn’t the easy target he had always looked down upon.

Faced with what felt like a monster, Director Shin desperately begged.

“I’ll spend the rest of my life making amends. I feel terrible about that child too. I’ll atone until the day I die, so please let this go just once. Please. I’m begging you!”

Despite not even knowing what evidence Yoo Seulho possessed, Director Shin didn’t attempt to deny anything.

He simply sat there, completely overwhelmed, pleading.

Seeing such a pitiful sight, Yoo Seulho winced.

“Oh, dear. That’s troublesome.”

Once again, Yoo Seulho lightly brushed Director Shin’s shoulder.

Then he slowly lowered his hand and pulled the fountain pen from Director Shin’s chest pocket.

“You know something? Recording a conversation that you’re personally participating in isn’t illegal.”

“…!”

Director Shin hurriedly tried to snatch the pen back.

But the door opened first.

Security personnel rushed in and swiftly dragged Director Shin outside.

“Seulho! Seulho!!”

His desperate screams vanished a few seconds later.

Yoo Seulho quietly watched the employees effortlessly subdue the intruder.

“Good work, Mr. Seulho.”

“You too, Team Leader.”

“He really did ask to work here just like you predicted? I thought there was no way. How did you know?”

“People like him are easy to figure out.”

Together with the fountain pen handed over by Yoo Seulho, Team Leader Ahn delivered all the materials to the police.

Since Team Leader Ahn happened to know someone within the police department, the case progressed incredibly quickly.

When Yoo Seulho asked, “How do you even know a police officer?”

Team Leader Ahn merely replied with a somewhat meaningful answer.

“I had experiences that made it inevitable.”

 

<Caught after 10 years: Suspect arrested in long-unsolved hit-and-run case>

<Victim’s family waited ten years without giving up, finally breaks into tears>

<Was the informant an actor? Timeline of a drama-like cold case>

 

The following day, the internet exploded with news about a criminal who had finally been caught after ten years.

What drew particular attention was the fact that the informant who helped identify the culprit was a celebrity.

And it didn’t take long before people discovered that celebrity was Yoo Seulho.