How a Loan Shark Survives as an Actor Chapter 84

Chapter 84

 

That’s right. The “friends” I came to meet today were the organization members.

It wasn’t me who requested the meeting first. They were the ones who contacted me.

‘We’d like to see you in person once. When would you have some free time?’

The moment I got Joo Gyeongbeom’s call a week ago, I frowned.

‘What could we possibly have to talk about?’

I’d already confirmed that my original body was still alive last time, and… well, there wasn’t any particular reason to meet.

I was busy enough as it was and didn’t want to waste time unnecessarily, so I turned them down and suggested we just talk over the phone.

But the next thing he said made me change my mind immediately.

‘There’s something I’d like to discuss, continuing from our previous conversation.’

Ah, then I had to meet them.

I checked my schedule right away and set up a meeting on a free day.

That day was today.

‘If it’s a continuation of our previous conversation, it’s obvious what this is about.’

During our last meeting, I had proposed that the organization members become Yoo Seulho’s supporters.

I asked them to help Yoo Seulho overcome all sorts of crises in the entertainment industry with the aid of the detective agency… in other words, with the support of Haru Finance.

I had persuaded them that once Yoo Seulho’s status rose much higher, the detective agency would also receive a larger share in return.

Well, I framed it as a win-win situation…

‘But honestly, it was a deal heavily tilted in my favor.’

Their true base wasn’t the detective agency but Haru Finance.

The detective agency had simply been created because they figured they might as well earn extra money while investigating celebrities.

Since the agency wasn’t their core business, they had no reason to invest in a celebrity and expand it.

‘And there’s no guarantee when I’ll actually rise in status.’

And honestly, even if I did become successful, that didn’t mean the members would be happy about it.

‘I’d be lucky if they didn’t stab me in the back.’

Of course, I wasn’t some psychopath. I had no reason to betray the men who had once eaten from the same pot as me.

But they’d never know that I had once been their boss, and from that perspective, there was no way they could trust me completely.

What if they supported me all the way to the top, only to be abandoned afterward?

‘There was practically no reason for them to accept the deal.’

The youngest probably wouldn’t think much about it, but Gyeongbeom definitely would’ve calculated all the risks.

Which meant that there was a ninety-nine percent chance I’d hear a rejection today.

‘The reason he insisted on meeting face-to-face is probably to threaten me.’

He likely wanted to warn me not to leak any information I knew about this place.

Which was why I absolutely had to persuade them.

Mindo Detective Agency was the most valuable card I possessed.

No matter what, I had to secure their assistance.

‘Once I became an actor on Lee Yeonjae’s level, detective agency fees would be pocket change.’

But I still had a long way to go before reaching that point, and more importantly, I would inevitably encounter countless lunatics on the way.

‘Paying investigation fees every time until then would be too much.’

In other words, I had a mission I absolutely had to accomplish today.

A mission to cloud their judgment and somehow get them to sign a deal that was disadvantageous to themselves.

Determined to succeed, I stepped out of the car.

“Have you been well?”

The youngest member, Hwang Taejun, greeted me with a bright smile.

“Yes. Same as always.”

When I answered indifferently, he grinned for some reason.

“Why are you smiling?”

“Because it’s fascinating.”

I raised one eyebrow to ask, ‘What’s so fascinating?’

His smile widened even more.

“Wow, this is incredible. Every time you open your mouth, it feels like I’m with Big Boss. Even the way you raise your eyebrow… our Big Boss used to–”

“Write that in your diary and show me the way first.”

“…Goosebumps. You’re really just like Big Boss. You two must’ve been really close.”

Watching him cover his mouth and beam with delight, I had a thought.

‘Should I hit him?’

Yoo Seulho didn’t really have any justification to punch Hwang Taejun right now, did he?

Even though I’d come to persuade them, at this moment all I wanted to do was smack the brat.

‘Stay rational.’

Thankfully, the youngest started guiding me before I got any angrier.

“But don’t you already know where the conference room is? You came before.”

“I’m still an outsider. It wouldn’t be proper for me to walk ahead like I own the place.”

Even such a casual remark made him go, “Wow, wow!” in admiration.

My fist trembled.

‘Ha.’

I was seriously considering forgetting the deal and punching him first when…

“It’s been a while, Yoo Seulho.”

My savior appeared.

Joo Gyeongbeom stood there with his usual cold expression.

The softness he’d shown near the end of our previous meeting had completely disappeared, and I nodded inwardly.

‘As expected.’

So he’d come to reject my proposal.

But I wasn’t worried.

I’d prepared countless scenarios for persuading them.

“Please, have a seat.”

Unlike the youngest, Gyeongbeom didn’t waste time on pleasantries.

Anticipating a long conversation, he asked the youngest to bring water.

“Here’s your water.”

Hwang Taejun handed me a mug filled to the brim.

I deliberately didn’t take it and spoke coldly.

“Sorry, but could I have a bottle instead? A sealed water bottle.”

One of those bottles you always stack in the corner of the office.

“…? Sure. One moment.”

Although puzzled, Hwang Taejun obediently did as I asked.

I took the bottle he brought and twisted the cap.

Crack.

The sound that only came from an unopened bottle rang out.

Of course, that alone didn’t mean I could completely relax.

These days, people could inject colorless and odorless substances with a syringe and reseal the bottle without leaving any traces.

‘If they’d gone that far… I’d just have to accept it.’

I still needed to drink water to live.

With that thought, I gulped it down.

Joo Gyeongbeom, who had remained silent while I refused the mug and demanded a bottle, suddenly spoke.

“What benefit would we gain from drugging you, Mr. Yoo Seulho?”

At his cold voice, I shrugged.

“How would I know? I’m not one of you.”

Joo Gyeongbeom let out a small sigh, sounding dumbfounded.

Naturally, I understood. He wasn’t really asking because he was curious.

He was expressing his displeasure at being viewed that way.

“Ah!”

Only then did the youngest realize why I’d asked for a bottle, and he opened his mouth wide before making an angry face.

Ha, Gyeongbeom. That one’s your responsibility.

“As you probably guessed, we asked to meet today to give you our answer regarding your proposal.”

Joo Gyeongbeom looked at the bottle in my hand.

“But seeing how little trust you place in us makes me reconsider things.”

“I think you’re mistaken.”

“…?”

“It’s true that I asked you to become my supporters. But I haven’t received your answer yet. Are you expecting me to trust you completely and entrust everything to you before then?”

You wouldn’t want to invest in someone that foolish, would you?

Joo Gyeongbeom fell silent.

“Trust between me and the detective agency can begin after we officially become partners.”

“…That’s true.”

He immediately grasped what I meant.

The unpleasant look disappeared from his face, and even the youngest, who had been looking back and forth between us, relaxed.

“Then let’s get straight to the point.”

“Fine.”

“Regarding the proposal you mentioned.”

As soon as Gyeongbeom trailed off, I nodded.

Yes. He was going to reject it.

“We accept. Let’s make the deal.”

“…Could you repeat that?”

“I said we accept.”

I thought I’d misheard him and asked again, but his answer only made me laugh in disbelief.

“Ha!”

Gyeongbeom, I trusted you. Even if I didn’t trust the youngest, I trusted you.

‘This is driving me crazy.’

My expression twisted from the wave of anger.

Instead of looking pleased, I rubbed my face, causing Gyeongbeom to tilt his head.

“Why that expression–”

“Why?”

“Huh?”

“Did you actually think this through?”

Grinding my teeth, I fired off words in rapid succession.

“Let’s say… just let’s say… you really judged me worthy of investing in. Even then, you shouldn’t immediately accept like this. Is this how the Boss taught you?”

The contract said that the detective agency would start profiting once my status rose.

But for that to work, the exact standard for what constituted “rising in status” had to be clearly defined.

And instead of merely raising investigation fees after that point, they should’ve steered the deal toward receiving a fixed percentage every month.

Without doing any basic calculations, they were basically saying, ”Once Seulho succeeds, please spend lots on investigation fees for us, heheh!”

‘I entrusted my business to idiots like these before I died?’

Well, technically I wasn’t dead.

But I had no intention of returning to being a loan shark, so to them, their boss was as good as dead.

‘This is suffocating.’

I couldn’t hold back my sigh.

But Joo Gyeongbeom frowned, offended at being treated like a child.

“I don’t know what you think of me, but of course all those details are in the contract.”

“Let me see it.”

The moment he handed me the papers, I snatched them and skimmed through them.

Then I sighed even louder.

“Ha… this is all the penalty I get if I violate the contract? A few tens of billions of won?”

“Huh?”

“Why do you live life so softly…”

I won’t be able to take care of you anymore.

You need to come to your senses and live properly. This world is full of lunatics.

‘Hoo.’

Suppressing my sorrow, I instructed them to revise part of the contract.

“The solution to making sure I don’t betray the detective agency after becoming successful is simple. Block the source of my income.”

“You mean…”

“Yes. If I violate the agreement, destroy Yoo Seulho’s career so he can no longer function as an entertainer.”

This much was necessary if they were going to invest in a deal that brought them nothing initially.

The two of them looked at me as though wondering why I was intentionally harming myself, but that thought itself was pathetic.

‘If I thought this was a loss, I wouldn’t have proposed the investment in the first place.’

Fortunately, the contract was revised before my insides rotted away from frustration.

Joo Gyeongbeom signed as the representative of the detective agency.

And just like that, the contract was concluded.

At last, I had official supporters.

Reliable supporters who wouldn’t cost me a single penny until I truly succeeded.