How a Loan Shark Survives as an Actor Chapter 74

Chapter 74

 

“Come with me.”

I followed Team Leader Ahn down the luxurious hallway.

Everything I looked at gleamed. I figured that if an outsider visited, they’d naturally feel intimidated.

“Chief Han, hello.”

“Oh! Team Leader.”

The man sitting in front of the CEO’s office greeted us with a bright smile.

He looked very much like the CEO’s secretary.

“You came to see the CEO? He’s not at his desk right now.”

“Huh? But when I called him just now, he told me to come up.”

“…Good grief, he’s trying to prank you again.”

The man called Chief Han shook his head.

“Team Leader, just play along with him. If he’s inside, he’ll come out soon. Just please pretend to be surprised when he appears.”

“Haha, okay.”

Laughing, Team Leader Ahn flung open the office door.

Watching him stride confidently into the owner’s office, I was slightly surprised.

‘Is he always this informal with his boss?’

Judging by the conversation with Chief Han, he didn’t seem intimidated by the CEO at all.

Considering he was the head of one of Korea’s top entertainment companies, it wasn’t easy to understand.

‘he seemed normal in interviews.’

Before transferring to Wooyeon Entertainment, I’d looked up several interviews he had done.

Every single one had been flawless.

His professionalism was obvious from how he never gave anyone anything to nitpick.

He even reminded me of myself back when I worked at Haru Finance.

…Though my subordinates certainly hadn’t treated me this comfortably.

“You must be pretty close with the CEO.”

“I’ve been at Wooyeon Entertainment for a long time. I joined as the lowest-ranking manager on Team 1 and became the team leader. A lot happened in between.”

Team Leader Ahn smiled softly.

As I looked around, the CEO’s office was unexpectedly plain.

Aside from a shelf displaying several trophies, there were hardly any decorative items. Compared to the flashy hallway outside, it was rather simple.

“The interior is very different from outside.”

“Outsiders don’t come in here. Usually, we bring them only to the door and then send them down to a meeting room.”

“Why?”

“It’s a kind of performance. If people think, ‘This is a place nobody can enter,’ they naturally start wondering, ‘What do I need to do to get inside there?’”

And that naturally made them more favorable toward the CEO.

I nodded at the clever use of psychology.

“He sounds wise.”

“When it comes to work, she’s so good that I wouldn’t even compare her to other agencies. I’d stake my position on it.”

If the boss was competent, what else mattered?

I had once been a boss myself, and nothing was more useless than worrying about employee benefits.

The best boss was one who gave little work and paid well.

And if they could protect their employees when something happened, even better.

“It’d be nice if he’s a good person. But I doubt I’ll be meeting him that often anyway, so I don’t really expect anything.”

“Really? The CEO actually takes good care of the actors.”

“It’s not that I doubt that. But wouldn’t it be more efficient to spend time talking with your flagship actors instead of me?”

I knew my place.

Even though Yoo Seulho’s acting had finally begun earning recognition and offers were coming in, he still had a long way to go before becoming the face of the company.

Wooyeon Entertainment’s flagship actor was currently Lee Yeonjae.

‘And she’s still young. She’ll probably stay active for another thirty years.’

I had no desire to take her place.

My goal wasn’t to become an actor as great as Lee Yeonjae.

I just wanted to earn as much money as she did.

‘I can’t act like that.’

I didn’t know how this would sound, but honestly, I didn’t even want to.

‘What if I die young?’

Lee Yeonjae was famous for dedicating her life entirely to acting, sparing neither her body nor her health.

She even did most action scenes herself.

That was completely at odds with my philosophy of taking the easy road when possible.

“Hmm, really?”

Team Leader Ahn tilted his head with a smile.

“Whenever you say things like that, you remind me of the CEO.”

“The CEO?”

Despite my puzzled look, Team Leader Ahn merely smiled silently.

Then…

“Ta-da!”

A middle-aged man suddenly shouted right beside us.

However, both Team Leader Ahn and I had already spotted him sneaking over from the corner of our vision.

‘Guess I should humor him.’

Remembering Chief Han’s warning, Team Leader Ahn and I reacted simultaneously.

“Oh, what a surprise.”

“That startled me.”

“…Forget it. Hmph, no fun.”

Clicking his tongue, the man turned toward me.

Then, with a mature smile, he pulled out a business card from his suit.

“You’re Seulho, right? I’ve heard a lot about you from Team Leader Ahn. I’m Jang Wooyeon, CEO of Wooyeon Entertainment.”

“CEO, trying to act cool now won’t make you look cool.”

“You stay out of this.”

CEO Jang glared at Team Leader Ahn.

I awkwardly smiled and accepted the card.

“I’m Yoo Seulho. It’s nice to meet you.”

“This isn’t our first meeting. Ah, maybe you don’t remember. I saw you when you were little. Technically, it was right outside here.”

CEO Jang smiled mischievously.

Thanks to the deep dimples in his cheeks, he gave off a boyish vibe despite being middle-aged.

“Team Leader Ahn told me I visited Wooyeon Entertainment with my parents once. Unfortunately, I don’t remember.”

“That’s a relief. If you remembered, you probably wouldn’t have signed with us. I acted like such a cheapskate back then.”

He laughed sheepishly, still embarrassed.

‘I’ve always wondered.’

What exactly had happened that made Yoo Taeho and Lee Seulmyeong lose their dignity and start shouting?

I wanted to know how to get under their skin.

After sitting down on the sofa at the CEO’s invitation, I cautiously asked about that day.

“Hmm, it’s your parents, though… It feels awkward badmouthing them in front of their child.”

“I haven’t been in contact with them for various reasons. More accurately, I’d say I’ve mostly severed ties.”

“Really?”

He sounded surprised, but his eyes weren’t.

They looked like he already knew.

Seeing that, I spoke more freely.

“Of course, since they’re both actors, it’s impossible never to see them again. Whenever that happens, I’ll just act appropriately so people won’t think anything strange.”

“And what if they do? Anyone who matters probably already figured things out the moment you joined us instead of their company.”

He shrugged.

“I was traveling back then, but I gave your recruitment a lot of thought. You’re not exactly an ordinary actor. Both your parents are famous actors.”

“That’s true.”

“And I’ve personally clashed with Yoo Taeho and Lee Seulmyeong before. I considered all sorts of possibilities, including them messing with your image later. They’re absolutely the type to do that.”

Oh?

That was exactly what worried me too.

Since we were all celebrities, they understood better than anyone that image was our greatest strength… and weakness.

And in a parent-child relationship, the weaker side was always the child.

“That’s my concern too. I can’t explain family matters to the public in detail. If they start media-playing me as an ungrateful son who abandoned his parents, I’d be at a complete disadvantage.”

“True. But even the bleakest stories can become completely different when they meet great writers.”

CEO Jang explained that his company had many excellent storytellers.

“I love people who are good at their jobs. Team Leader Ahn here, too. Everyone here works well. You’ll experience it someday.”

“I hope so.”

“The fact that not a single article came out after I had a shouting match with Yoo Taeho and Lee Seulmyeong should tell you how competent my staff is.”

Then CEO Jang slowly continued.

“Actually, back then…”

The story I’d imagined was simple.

He offered them terrible pay, and they got angry and fought.

‘Though Yoo Taeho and Lee Seulmyeong were too rational for that.’

Still, what else could make grown adults fight like that?

But what came out of CEO Jang’s mouth completely defied my expectations.

“I was worried about you.”

“What?”

“They brought you along, and they treated you terribly. I was shocked speechless, but that little kid… you… just sat there smiling like you were used to it.”

What was he talking about?

As I blinked in confusion, CEO Jang frowned, recalling the memory.

“This may sound strange, but I even investigated whether you were their biological son. But amazingly, you were. Incredible…”

“How did you even… Wait, you really fought with my parents because of me?”

“Technically, I picked the fight first. I said it wasn’t right to speak badly about a child right in front of him. Then Lee Seulmyeong… what did she say? Something about how it was rude for outsiders to interfere with how she raised her child.”

Scratching his head, he tried to remember.

“I think I replied, ‘If you raise him like that, the child will have a hard time.’ The moment I pushed back, she got furious.”

I immediately agreed.

Yeah.

She definitely had that side to her.

“Yoo Taeho demanded to know what the child had to do with our contract, while Lee Seulmyeong said, ‘He’s mine anyway, so why should you care what I say to him?’”

“That must’ve been exhausting.”

“It wasn’t easy. But honestly, if someone doesn’t listen, you just deal with them and send them away, right? The contract had already fallen apart anyway.”

CEO Jang laughed awkwardly.

“But Yeonjae was still in elementary school back then… or middle school? Anyway, she was very young.”

“Actor Lee Yeonjae?”

“Yeah. You reminded me of her, so what could I do? She’d still talk back even when scared, but you… sigh. You looked like if I ignored you, something terrible would happen. I just couldn’t look away.”

I fell silent.

Impossible though it was, I wished Yoo Seulho could switch consciousness with me, even for a moment, and hear these words himself.

I wanted to tell him this:

Back then, when it felt like nobody was on your side… someone had actually cared about you.