How a Loan Shark Survives as an Actor Chapter 72

Chapter 72

 

“The female lead is completely confirmed now… Dain signed the contract and everything!”

Director Baek shouted cheerfully.

I let out a sigh of relief at those words.

‘That’s good.’

The only reason Bae Dain, who had no representative work to her name, had even been considered for the female lead role was that the male lead had originally been the famous Woo Junseo.

I’d been worried that with Woo Junseo out of the picture, Dain’s casting might fall through as well.

‘Though that didn’t mean I was planning to leave Woo Junseo alone.’

Still, it’d be awkward if my interference ended up costing her the role.

“This is all thanks to you, Seulho.”

Director Baek grinned.

“I think the investors now believe I have a good eye for actors because of this whole incident. And they aren’t wrong! I cast you, after all!”

“Even if you praise me like that, I don’t really have anything to give you.”

“Come on! Without you we’d all be finished! Anyway, now that we’ve gotten past the crisis, they told me to go ahead and use the actress I wanted for the female lead.”

Director Baek’s voice was full of confidence.

If he hadn’t seen some sort of potential in Bae Dain, he wouldn’t have sounded so certain.

Sure enough, he brought up the beer commercial.

“Dain got mentioned quite a lot this time, didn’t she? People said she, and you looked really good together.”

“Did they?”

“Of course! Some people were even asking for you two to do a proper romance together. Imagine the attention a movie where you play an actual couple would get.”

Well, that was true.

But…

“I’m not even the real male lead. You considered all that too, right?”

“The ending doesn’t matter. Once they enter the theater, that’s game over! Marketing is what matters most.”

That was surprisingly realistic and materialistic.

It wasn’t the sort of thing I’d heard from Producer Jang, whom I’d worked with before, but honestly, it suited me better.

Right. Nobody survives by eating dirt.

Money had to be made.

“Dain must’ve been really happy.”

“She was. I called her yesterday and told her she didn’t have to worry anymore. She burst into tears.”

Director Baek smiled warmly.

“The more I think about it, Dain is perfect for the female lead. She’s not too beautiful… just pretty enough!”

“……”

I couldn’t think of an appropriate response, so I remained silent.

Apparently thinking I didn’t understand, Director Baek excitedly elaborated.

“You know, Seulho, after reading the script you understand that the female lead needs that fragile kind of beauty, right? But if she’s too beautiful, that atmosphere gets overshadowed.”

“Really? Ran seemed to carry the mood just fine.”

“Choi Ran’s acting is great. But as the female lead I envisioned… no. She’s too beautiful.”

I see.

If that was how he felt, there wasn’t much for me to add.

So I said calmly,

“It’s good that she’s to your liking. Besides, this is just something we’re talking about among ourselves.”

“Hm?”

“You wouldn’t say it directly to the actress, would you? That she’s not too pretty and that’s why she’s perfect.”

“……Ah, of course not! Really, Seulho, what do you take me for?”

Director Baek laughed.

But from the forced smile he gave for a split second, the way his eyes subtly avoided mine, and the awkward twitch at the corner of his mouth, I immediately understood.

‘He already said it.’

What a shame.

I’d tried to stop him beforehand.

‘Hmm.’

If I pushed any harder here, things would only become awkward.

Director Baek was easygoing and liked jokes, but at the end of the day, a director was still a director.

I’d seen plenty of people get kicked aside after becoming too comfortable and crossing the line.

With people like this, keeping proper boundaries was most important.

“Of course you wouldn’t say something like that, Director. Sorry. I just tend to overthink things. It’s probably why I feel awkward dealing with actresses sometimes.”

“You? That’s surprising.”

At my respectful tone, Director Baek’s eyes widened.

Inside, I thought, ‘Feeling awkward around the opposite sex is perfectly normal.’

But outwardly, I blushed shyly.

“I still have a lot to learn from you, Director. Please take care of me in the future.”

“Ah, forget it. I’m still learning too.”

Director Baek scratched his head.

Then after a while, he quietly added,

“I really should be more careful with comments about appearances. Next time I see Dain, I’ll just tell her she’s exactly the female lead I imagined.”

“As expected, very wise.”

At my meaningless praise, Director Baek beamed.

‘How should I put it?’

He wasn’t a bad person…

Just a little immature.

Not that it caused me any problems.

People like him were far easier to deal with than picky, sensitive types.

‘But Dain won’t have it so easy.’

After so many years as a nobody, she had to be carrying a lot of insecurity.

She’d be overwhelmed by suddenly becoming a movie lead, while desperately clinging to the miracle she’d been given.

Even if she was treated unfairly on set, I could easily picture her smiling through it and saying nothing.

‘It’s not like I have any reason to protect her.’

It was someone else’s business.

But for some reason, she reminded me of Choi Ran and Choi Yoon.

And as a man, I felt embarrassed enough that I figured I should at least intervene that much.

“So what are you doing about the male lead?”

“The actor we were originally about to sign. Byeon Duho. We’re going with him.”

Ah.

‘Solid choice.’

Even I had heard his name a few times.

He wasn’t as popular as Woo Junseo, but he was an actor who had steadily built up his skills.

“He’s the only one in his thirties, so I feel a bit guilty about it, but what can I do? There just aren’t many usable actors in their twenties. You know, the kind you’d feel safe handing a leading role to.”

“True.”

“But Dooho and Dain looked good together. Their visuals match nicely. I think this movie’s going to do well!”

Director Baek’s voice brimmed with hope.

I nodded enthusiastically beside him.

‘Hopefully it does.’

If it’s successful, I’ll get running royalties.

 

***

 

After leaving Director Baek’s office, I stopped by the company.

After sharing the results of the meeting with Team Leader Ahn, I collapsed onto the sofa.

“You worked hard. Once the movie schedule gets fixed, I’ll set up the audition for that horror film I mentioned.”

“Okay. But is it really okay for me to do that?”

“Hm?”

Team Leader Ahn raised an eyebrow curiously.

Looking at the scar on his eyebrow, I continued.

“That horror movie director. Didn’t you say both of his previous films failed? What if this one flops too?”

Wasn’t Wooyeon Entertainment the type that prioritized careers over money?

What if I took some random movie just because they paid a lot and the agency abandoned me?

“Haha.”

But my sincere concern only made him laugh.

“How can someone only make hit movies? Sure, it’s important not to be called a disaster, but as long as the movie breaks even, that’s good enough.”

“But there’s no reason to deliberately choose something likely to fail.”

“Don’t get obsessed with the word possibility. It doesn’t mean anything.”

Team Leader Ahn smiled.

“If you think like that, then movies that are likely to become huge hits should always become huge hits too. But they don’t. Possibility is just possibility.”

“That makes sense.”

“And besides, you’re not betting everything on the horror movie. You’ll be filming Director Baek’s movie too.”

He added that while Director Baek seemed goofy in person, he was still a director with respectable achievements in the film industry.

“And you read the horror movie synopsis, right? The story’s good. Of course, directing is another issue, but I don’t think you’ll lose anything by doing it.”

“Got it. Then let me know once the audition gets scheduled. Until then, I’ll focus on Director Baek’s movie.”

“Okay.”

Team Leader Ahn nodded, then suddenly froze.

“Oh, right. You don’t have anything this afternoon, do you?”

“No.”

“Then let’s move.”

“Huh?”

I shot up from the sofa.

“Sorry. I wanted to get you a place right after you changed agencies, but there were some security issues, so it got delayed.”

“It’s okay.”

I waved my hand.

Of course, that was a lie.

Every time I thought about the hotel expenses piling up daily, my teeth clenched.

“They said you can move in today, so go pack your things. Let’s head over.”

“Okay.”

 

***

 

After returning to the hotel, I packed everything.

Thankfully, I didn’t have much luggage.

Moving was easy.

“Seulho, should I put this over here?”

“Yeah.”

I answered Seomok and looked around.

‘So this is where I’ll be living from now on.’

The apartment was ridiculously spacious for one person.

Even when I was making huge money as a loan shark, I hadn’t lived somewhere this nice.

‘Should I ask them to move me somewhere smaller?’

And then ask them to give me the money they’d save on rent instead.

I was indulging in such miserly thoughts when Seomok said goodbye.

“Okay. Go.”

I answered absentmindedly, then hurriedly stopped him a few seconds later.

“Ah, hey. Seomok.”

“Yes?”

He turned around after reaching the entrance.

“Where do you live?”

I’d never been curious about it before.

Whether he lived with family or alone… I still didn’t really care.

I just wanted to know how far his place was from mine.

‘That way I can keep it in mind when I make him do stuff.’

But the answer was unexpected.

“I sleep in the company’s security room.”

“What?”

What kind of answer was that?

Seeing my expression, Seomok hesitated before speaking as briefly as possible.

After leaving the military, his family had kicked him out.

And if Team Leader Ahn hadn’t offered him a job as a manager, he’d probably have been sleeping on the streets.

“But you get paid, don’t you?”

“With my current salary, I can’t afford rent in Seoul. I need to save money quickly too, so I asked the company and have been sleeping in the duty room.”

“……What about showers?”

“There’s a gym near the company.”

After answering stiffly, Seo Mok suddenly glanced at me and hurriedly added,

“I work out there too. I don’t just use it for showers.”

“You paid for it, so what’s wrong with only using the showers? And why are you explaining yourself to me?”

“Just in case.”

“Why did your family throw you out?”

“……”

Seo Mok hesitated for a long time.

I didn’t want to invade his privacy, but I couldn’t not ask.

Perhaps sensing that I genuinely wanted an answer, he shut his eyes tightly and said,

“My entire family served in the military. And… I’m the only one who was discharged dishonorably.”

“Yeah. You don’t have to explain further.”

That alone was enough.

‘Ha.’

There was something I wanted to say.

Or rather, I was hesitating because I didn’t want to say it.

‘It’s none of my business. Someone else’s problem.’

I repeated that to myself over and over.

But I just couldn’t bring myself to send him away like this.

Over the past month, Seo Mok had done an excellent job as my manager.

And I was highly satisfied with his work.

‘Most importantly, he’s just a kid the same age as Yoo Seulho.’

A kid that age had been kicked out by his family and was living at the office.

‘If his family hadn’t abandoned him, I could ignore it…’

That was my one weakness.

Most of the gang members I’d picked up had been the same.

‘Whew.’

I slowly looked around the apartment.

No matter how I looked at it, it was far too big for one person.

‘……Fuck.’

Closing my eyes tightly, I spoke.

“Pack your things and bring them here.”

“Pardon?”

“Let’s live here together. We go to work together anyway.”

Turning my head, I saw Seo Mok staring at me with wide eyes.

And just like that…

I unexpectedly gained a housemate.