How a Loan Shark Survives as an Actor Chapter 73

Chapter 73

 

It was the day of the preliminary meeting for Director Baek’s film ‘What I Loved’.

Normally, all the cast and production staff would gather for a script reading and go over the lines together, but today was just for the key members to meet and introduce themselves.

‘She’s already here.’

Through the frosted glass of the meeting room, I could see Bae Dain sitting inside.

I thought I’d come early enough, but seeing that she had already arrived and finished preparing made me feel oddly sheepish.

“Dain noona, long time no see.”

“Senior!!”

The moment the tense-looking Bae Dain saw me, her expression completely relaxed.

Then she hurried over and bombarded me with questions… whether I’d been doing well, whether I had trouble getting here, and so on. She was so friendly that it almost caught me off guard.

‘What?’

‘Were we this close?’

We had exchanged messages a few times, but the only time I had actually met her face-to-face was during the commercial shoot.

I was confused for a moment, but after thinking about it, it made sense.

‘Well.’

Director Baek was the director, so she’d naturally feel uncomfortable around him.

And she’d be meeting the male lead for the first time today, so he’d be awkward too.

Among all the people she’d see today, I was probably the most familiar… someone she had contacted often and who wasn’t much older.

‘She said she was one year older than Yoo Seulho, right?’

Maybe because those twenty years of Yoo Seulho’s career weren’t really mine, I wasn’t exactly thrilled to be called ‘Senior’.

Since we’d have to interact comfortably once filming started anyway, I did some calculations in my head before speaking.

“Dain noona, should we just speak casually?”

“W-What? How could I do that with Senior? Especially with my benefactor.”

“…Benefactor, my ass. Please don’t.”

Realizing I was genuinely uncomfortable with that, Bae Dain immediately nodded.

“Then… Seulho? I-Is this okay?”

“Yeah. Just do whatever’s comfortable for you, noona.”

Here I was, at this age, calling a woman in her twenties ‘noona’.

Feeling disgusted with myself, I kept reminding myself that I was Yoo Seulho now.

‘Get a grip. Do you not want to make money?’

“Ahem, Seulho. Do you know what we’re doing today?”

“Nothing special, probably. You, Duho hyung, and I are going to be filming together for a long time, so they probably just set this up so we could get acquainted.”

“Duho hyung? You’ve met him?”

“Yeah. Last week.”

I’d actually ended up having a meal with the male lead, Byeon Duho, before.

It started when I contacted him first after the casting was finalized.

‘We’ll be working together for months, so at least saying hello is basic courtesy.’

Besides, he was seven years older than Yoo Seulho.

Between the two of us, I should obviously be the one to make the first call.

‘Confucian hierarchy exists for a reason.’

But the moment he picked up, Byeon Duho sounded overjoyed and immediately arranged to meet.

After unintentionally sharing a meal, getting treated, and even lighting cigarettes for him, I got a rough idea of what kind of person he was.

“He’s dependable. Seems like someone who values loyalty. Kind of… the type who absolutely keeps his word.”

“Really? Hmm.”

Bae Dain looked puzzled.

At least from my perspective, having experienced Woo Junseo first, he seemed like an excellent coworker.

“Excuse me~.”

Speak of the tiger, and it appears.

Byeon Duho entered the room.

“Oh? Ho-ya! You came early!”

“Hyung.”

He energetically gave me a high-five before belatedly noticing Bae Dain.

“Oh! Hello. You’re Dain, right?”

“Yes! I’m Bae Dain! Please take care of me!”

Bowing deeply, she greeted him loudly.

Byeon Duho waved his hands frantically, telling her not to do that, then looked back and forth between us.

“You two are such a handsome pair! And I’m supposed to come between such a lovely couple? I’m already feeling guilty.”

“If we tell you not to come between us, will you stop?”

“Oh, come on~. They’re paying me. I gotta do my job. Hahaha.”

While Duho and I chatted comfortably, Bae Dain, caught in the middle, awkwardly smiled.

Right then, Director Baek and the head writer entered.

“What? The three of you are already here? This picture’s perfect. It’s like a princess with her two bodyguards!”

“Bodyguards? Director, maybe me, but Seulho should at least be the prince.”

Grumbling, Byeon Duho quickly walked over and gave Director Baek a light hug.

Meanwhile, I was already carrying the head writer’s luggage for her.

“Oh my~ What good manners. Thank you.”

“It was nothing.”

The atmosphere was warm and lively overall.

Bae Dain smiled brightly and tried to blend into the atmosphere, but perhaps because she was nervous, she kept picking at her fingernails.

“Your hand, noona.”

“Hm? Ah, right.”

At my words, Bae Dain quickly stopped.

Maybe because of these clumsy habits, she felt even younger than Choi Ran.

“Shall we sit and talk?”

At Director Baek’s words, everyone sat around one table.

Excitement, anxiety, anticipation, nervousness… the emotions that usually surrounded people preparing for a major project filled the room.

‘I just hope it doesn’t drag on forever.’

According to Choi Ran, filming periods varied wildly depending on the director.

I was curious what Director Baek’s style would be.

‘I can’t spend half a year on just this.’

I had no idea how long Yoo Seulho would continue receiving offers.

I couldn’t devote all my time to one project.

Even if it meant sleeping less, I had to juggle as many projects as possible.

“You’ve all read the script, right? Since we’ve been preparing for a long time, I think we can start filming as early as this month.”

“Sounds good.”

“For two whole hours, it’ll basically just be the three of you appearing nonstop, so take good care of yourselves during filming. Especially you, Seulho. You need to look sensitive and worn down, so don’t gain weight. Watch your swelling too.”

Director Baek smiled as he rattled off one instruction after another.

I’d met him alone before, but seeing him like this, he had more authority than I expected.

I deliberately answered enthusiastically.

“Yes, sir! I won’t even dream about eating ramen until filming’s over!”

“I like that attitude!”

Director Baek gave me a thumbs-up.

Everything that followed was more or less expected.

Eventually, even Bae Dain started talking enthusiastically with her natural friendliness, and Duho got along with everyone so well that before long, everyone was speaking casually.

“Hyung, see you at the script reading.”

“Sure~. See you next time too, Dain!”

“Yes!”

And then everyone except Bae Dain left.

Since she was the youngest, she seemed determined to stay until all the elders had gone.

But even after everyone left, she didn’t seem to have any intention of leaving.

“Aren’t you going home?”

“Huh? Ah! Right! I should! I should!”

The absentminded Bae Dain shot up to her feet.

Then she strode confidently out of the room.

I sighed.

“Noona, your bag.”

“Ah! Right!”

Bae Dain hurried back in panic.

‘Tsk.’

I’m already tired.

People this scatterbrained are best ignored.

Unfortunately, she was going to play my girlfriend.

‘At least her real self is different from the role.’

In real life, Bae Dain was clumsy and absent-minded.

But the character she’d portray, Yeonhee, was a sharp and decisive woman whom everyone praised for being competent.

As someone who naturally liked capable people, Yeonhee resembled my ideal type.

“Oh dear, sorry. I can’t think straight lately. I still can’t believe I actually have schedules.”

“You still have to keep it together. Where’s your phone?”

“In my bag… ah! I left it in the restroom!”

‘Tsk, nice one.’

I almost clicked my tongue.

‘Maybe after we get closer.’

If she became discouraged because of something I said and it affected her acting, that’d be a disaster.

Even as I swallowed my thoughts, I found myself curious.

‘How does someone like this play someone as sharp as Yeonhee?’

The script reading hadn’t happened yet, and during the commercial shoot, there hadn’t really been scenes that let me gauge Bae Dain’s acting.

‘Well, Director Baek did pass her audition.’

Actors really were strange.

‘I only intended to get paid and finish things.’

But now that I was curious about how Bae Dain would act, I found myself actually looking forward to filming.

Had I ever felt this way in my life before?

Just as that thought crossed my mind…

“Ah! I forgot my hairpin!”

…Bae Dain made sure it evaporated immediately.

Seriously?

 

***

 

The filming schedule for ‘What I Loved’ was officially finalized.

With only a few days left before the script reading, Team Leader Ahn scheduled the horror movie audition for one week later.

“It’ll be a little rough, but I think it’ll be easier for you to focus if you settle whether you’ll be doing that movie first.”

“Sounds good to me.”

Whether there was one week or two before the audition, it didn’t really matter.

I wasn’t a real actor.

It wasn’t like my skills would dramatically improve in such a short period.

“So I just need to practice the scenes they sent over? Or should I prepare something else?”

“You should prepare a free performance too. One to three minutes.”

Team Leader Ahn gave me every audition tip he could think of.

He seemed to have immediately realized this was my first audition from how I questioned him about every little thing.

‘Did Yoo Seulho ever do auditions?’

Even if his parents had pulled strings, surely he must’ve auditioned at the beginning.

Fortunately, that was decades ago.

‘I don’t have to pretend to be experienced.’

According to Team Leader Ahn, it wasn’t common for someone with twenty years in the industry to audition in the first place.

People with that level of experience usually just had casual meetings instead.

“Don’t stress too much. If it doesn’t work out, then it doesn’t. No need to pressure yourself.”

“Yes. Don’t worry.”

Taking the script Team Leader Ahn handed me, I stood up.

There wasn’t much else to talk about, and I was about to head home when he unexpectedly spoke.

“Oh, right. The CEO just got back from her trip. Want to see her before you leave?”