How a Loan Shark Survives as an Actor Chapter 99

Chapter 99

 

Meeting the villa owner wasn’t easy to begin with.

When I suggested we meet and talk things over, the man shouted, “It still won’t change anything!” and hurriedly hung up.

No matter how many times I called afterward, he wouldn’t answer. It was only after I descended into true madness and called him dozens of times that I finally managed to secure an appointment.

“Hah, this place was perfect…”

The place we agreed to meet was the mountain villa itself.

Had the owner not suddenly changed his mind, this would’ve been the filming location.

Near the villa, some equipment the crew hadn’t managed to collect yet was still lying around.

‘They practically got kicked out.’

Just looking at the traces left behind, I could vividly imagine the bewildered expressions of the staff.

They had already finished negotiations and moved all their equipment in, only to suddenly be told to leave.

How absurd must that have been?

‘But why?’

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t understand.

Director Seo wasn’t the type to be stingy with money, and he must’ve offered an absurd amount.

‘Something money can’t solve?’

Impossible. The very foundation of my life philosophy was shaking.

At this point, the only explanation was that the villa owner had committed murder and hidden the body somewhere in the villa.

“Seomok. I’m going to talk to the owner alone, so wait here.”

“Yes.”

“But if I don’t contact you within thirty minutes, call the police immediately.”

“…Pardon?”

Choo Seomok blinked.

With such a solemn heart, I entered the villa. Before long, a middle-aged man arrived.

“Yoo Seulho?”

“Hello, sir.”

“Seriously, why are you so persistent? I’ve never met someone this stubborn before.”

As he walked toward the living room table where I was seated, the man didn’t stop talking for a second.

No matter what sweet words I used, his mind wouldn’t change. Just because I came here didn’t mean he’d change his mind, and so on.

“I really didn’t want to come, but I figured you’d only accept it after hearing it from my face. Got it?”

I smiled gently at the irritation in his voice.

“Thank you for coming, sir. And I’m sorry for troubling you.”

“If you knew it was troublesome, you shouldn’t have done it. Tsk.”

“I simply liked this place so much. The moment I came here with the director for a location scouting, I fell in love with it. I’ve been looking forward to filming here ever since.”

Smiling, I looked around.

I deliberately widened my eyes so that they’d look bright and sparkling from his perspective.

“I especially love the fireplace. You don’t see places with these anymore. That’s what I call style.”

“Well… that’s true.”

“Maybe because I had such high expectations, I was devastated when I heard the location had changed. If it’s not too rude, may I ask why you suddenly changed your mind?”

At my gentle question, the man coughed awkwardly.

My detailed compliments sounded so sincere that his expression visibly softened.

“Hm! This place is pretty, right? I suppose I can understand. I spent quite a lot on the interior. My youngest especially loves this place.”

“Oh, you have children?”

“Three already. They all take after my wife and are beautiful.”

The moment children came up, the man grinned and even showed me pictures.

His youngest was a boy, but he spent ages boasting about how even he was prettier than his sisters.

Only afterward did he come back to his senses.

“Ahem, I got off track.”

“Not at all. Seeing such adorable children made me happy too.”

“Anyway, Yoo Seulho-ssi, you seem like a good person, so I’ll tell you properly. I really won’t change my mind. Sorry.”

Compared to our first meeting, his attitude had clearly softened.

‘Then why won’t you agree?’

I’d already asked several times, but he never gave me a clear answer.

Instead of asking again, I chose another approach.

“Did perhaps Director Seo or any of our staff behave rudely toward you?”

“Huh…”

The man stared blankly at me as though I’d said something completely unexpected.

Then he suddenly nodded vigorously.

“That’s right! That’s it!”

“Ah, I thought so. What happened?”

“They–they don’t even know how much this place means to me, and they treat it so carelessly! They move the furniture around however they want. They walk in and out of every room!”

He fumed.

He said I had no idea how precious this place was to him. No amount of money would make him forgive people disrespecting his space.

His anger sounded sincere, and his reason was perfectly understandable.

‘Hmm.‘

But something felt suspicious.

The moment I suggested a “perfectly reasonable reason to refuse,” he immediately chose that answer.

If one of our staff had actually offended him, a talkative man like him would’ve complained about it from the beginning.

‘There’s no way someone this chatty wouldn’t have.’

I was curious about the real reason, but it seemed unlikely I’d hear it from his own mouth.

So I bowed deeply and apologized on behalf of the team.

The man waved his hands.

“Even though we can’t film here, thank you for making my eyes happy, sir. I think I’ll remember this place often.”

“I-it’s that special to you?”

Seeing my moist eyes, he grew emotional as well.

“You really like this place that much?”

No.

‘Honestly, it doesn’t look much different from any other pension.’

Suppressing those thoughts, I nodded earnestly.

“Yes. I feel like filming here would guarantee the movie’s success. That’s how much power this location has.”

“Thank you. You’re making me embarrassed. Filming here is still impossible… but if you ever want to stay here for personal reasons, let me know. I’ll lend it to you for three days.”

The man smiled warmly.

Part of me wanted to say, ‘How about three months instead of three days?’ but I held back.

Crossing the line any further would be meaningless.

“Oh my, it’s already this late. I have an appointment in Seoul, so I need to head back.”

“Would it be alright if I stayed here a little longer?”

He hesitated for a moment, but eventually gave in to my watery eyes.

After telling me to lock up properly before leaving, I cheerfully bid him goodbye.

“I hope we meet again sometime!”

“Yes. Sorry again.”

The moment he left, I immediately called Choo Seomok.

[Yes. Go ahead.]

“Come inside.”

[Pardon?]

I hung up at once and started searching the first floor.

Seeing me flat on the floor like some burglar, looking under the sofa, Choo Seomok, who had just come inside, was dumbfounded.

“…What are you doing?”

“Ah. Search the kitchen.”

“What exactly… am I searching for?”

Unlike his usual self, Choo Seomok replied sluggishly.

But I had no time to explain.

“We need to find out what the owner is hiding. Whether it’s expensive artwork, hidden treasure, or anything suspicious, find it.”

“Are you sure he’s hiding something? Maybe he just changed his mind.”

“No.”

There was definitely something else.

It was more like instinct.

Faced with my conviction, Choo Seomok reluctantly joined me.

“Seulho-ssi.”

“What?”

“Why do you look so experienced at searching houses?”

“…Spend less time talking and more time searching.”

After over thirty minutes combing through the first floor with no results, we went upstairs.

“There’s an attic too. Will we be able to search everything today?”

“We have to try. I’ll check here, you take over there.”

Splitting up, I entered a room.

Overall, the villa seemed ordinary.

In fact, there didn’t seem to be any place to hide something, and I started wondering if my instincts had been wrong.

“…?”

Something suddenly caught my eye.

Comparing the room in the farthest corner on the second floor with the hallway outside, the room felt much smaller than it should’ve been.

With a thought in mind, I pressed against the wall and touched various spots, knocking with my hand to determine whether there was concrete behind it.

Eventually…

Thud!

One spot produced an unexpectedly hollow sound.

The kind of sound that clearly indicated empty space behind the wall.

‘Bingo.’

A few minutes later, I even found the mechanism to open the hidden door.

“Tsk. No wonder money didn’t matter.”

Though it didn’t seem like an elaborately designed space, adding a secret room dramatically increased construction costs.

Someone wealthy enough to build a villa like this wouldn’t be desperate for Director Seo’s money.

‘What on earth was he hiding to go this far?’

Surely it wasn’t really a corpse?

Carefully entering inside, what I found was…

“…What?”

A bed.

Just an ordinary bed.

In the pitch-black room without windows, the bed looked unusually large.

I checked beneath and around it in case there was a body hidden there, but surprisingly, there was nothing.

“What is this?”

Turning on the lights and looking around, I spotted various clothes piled in one corner.

Flowing dresses.

Short T-shirts.

Jeans.

Judging from the designs and fabrics, they looked like clothes worn by women in their early twenties.

Beside them were cosmetics scattered everywhere.

Tilting my head in complete confusion…

“Whose things do you think these are?”

Ah, damn.

Choo Seomok’s voice right behind me nearly made me jump.

“When did you get here?”

“Just now. You really found something suspicious.”

“I told you there was something.”

Calling me amazing, Choo Seomok examined the room.

Even to his eyes, which always prioritized safety, nothing seemed dangerous.

“If this were a movie, we’d be in extreme danger right now. You know that, right?”

“Yeah. If a serial killer barges in, you handle him. I’m counting on you.”

“And you?”

“I’ll get in the car and run.”

Choo Seomok chuckled, apparently thinking I was joking.

“So whose clothes are these?”

“His girlfriend’s or wife’s, perhaps?”

“Did you see the owner earlier? He had to be at least sixty. No matter how much younger his wife is, she wouldn’t be wearing clothes like these.”

Besides, the wife in the family photo he’d shown me looked very dignified.

There was no way someone like that wore crop tops this short…

“…Ah.”

Suddenly, a thought pierced my mind.