Life is Easier If You’re Handsome

---

The roles of the minor characters were simple.

From the title, they were minor roles, and the assignments were quite intuitive.

‘Stepping on and dying Slave 1.’

Minor role Kim Hansu glanced to the side, recalling his character.

Swoosh!

There, he saw his wife, writhing in pain with her arm severed.

It was technically a scripted relationship, but seeing her struggle made him feel a pang of pain himself.

‘It’s just a prop, but it feels so intense.’

Kim Hansu had been involved in various minor roles in multiple places.

That’s why he knew how non-threatening a training sword could be.

Just a children’s toy pretending to be sharp.

It should be like that.

‘So why does it feel like a real sword?’

As it was in the hands of Kim Donghu, it felt like the chill of a blade standing ready.

The sharp gaze, as if it had cut through several people, slowly bore down on him.

Like he was being drowned,

He humorously felt that it was truly Kim Donghu holding the power over life and death.

Then, suddenly, at one moment.

Z2dKbDJFSCtSbEo3WFlpUEN0eDQxUlYxNEJNMzZqNjBTUHIxTXpaa2hqdnRqd1hQTUM4NXAzdWd0ZjBCcDFGTg

Tap.

The pressure vanished.

Then.

As if he was desperately gasping for air after being submerged,

Kim Hansu instinctively raised his head.

“Ugh…!”

There stood Kim Donghu, his face pristine and unmarred by a single drop of blood, grinning chillingly at him.

“I thought it only makes sense to watch the path of a child, isn’t that the law of heaven?”

Kim Donghu, or rather Lee Tae-seong, seemed to enjoy himself as he cast a sidelong glance.

What appeared next was his child, grotesquely lifeless.

In that brief moment, an unfathomable event had unfolded,

His child was drenched in blood from head to toe.

“…!”

Leaving the genuinely horrified Kim Hansu behind,

As if there was no more time left,

“I will truly miss the firewood you bring.”

Lee Tae-seong covered the eyes of minor role Kim Hansu,

Moving the sword at a precise angle allowed by the camera, as if to sever his neck.

“Cut! Good job!”

And immediately came the cut sign.

Director Yoon Seong-bin internally applauded Kim Donghu’s performance, overwhelmed by the experience.

‘No way, is it really this good?’

He had heard rumors,

Had seen the movies and dramas, but he never expected it to be like this.

Of course, he felt something unusual from the script reading onwards.

‘But I didn’t expect it would put so much pressure on everyone around.’

He was only seventeen.

Still a long way from reaching his potential.

‘He’s just above 180 cm.’

But his appearance was already near perfection.

No amount of praise for his looks would feel excessive,

And to act like that!

‘The costume suits him perfectly.’

To portray a wild young master,

They had just given him a white robe and a sword.

Yet the atmosphere he created was so lively.

Moreover, the slightly loose topknot enhanced the rebellious vibe.

But since his face was the very essence of a noble,

The imbalance created an incredible charm.

‘If he goes like this to the theater, many hearts will tremble.’

With the theater atmosphere clearly anticipated,

Director Yoon Seong-bin demanded a retake to capture an even better shot.

‘And without a single NG.’

Ironically, because he was so meticulous,

The minor roles were doing well, but their awkwardness was quite evident.

It felt like Kim Donghu alone was a person from the Joseon era,

While everyone else looked like strangers who had come from a time machine.

Moreover, the scariest part was that the more he acted, the better he seemed to get.

It was as if the character Lee Tae-seong was gradually emerging.

Director Yoon Seong-bin exchanged opinions with the staff,

Continuing the shoot amidst admiration.

“…Is that a training sword?”

“Yes, I’ve checked several times, and it’s a training sword.”

Especially in scenes using the sword, he would check multiple times if it was sharp.

The way he wielded it was impressively precise.

“…Did he just cut the rope with a training sword?”

“Uh… Ah, maybe the rope was just old and it snapped?”

“Right? That must be it. Let’s replace the rope and try it two or three more times.”

How long had they repeated the shooting?

“The day is starting to fade.”

“True, without natural light, the picture won’t come out right.”

“Then I guess we should wrap it up here for today.”

As they reluctantly approached the last shoot,

A bright, deep sunset light enveloped the set.

‘Oh, uh?’

Words failed him.

But Director Yoon Seong-bin unconsciously hurriedly lit a fire near the shooting location.

The sunset light stained the ashes from the bonfire,

And as ash fluttered like petals around the set.

Whirring.

The camera turned naturally,

“As the day feels lonely, I thought to ease it with a candy…”

In what felt like a trance,

Kim Donghu’s ad-lib began, as if he had been waiting for this moment.

No, it was hard to even see him as Kim Donghu anymore.

The robe, stained with ash and sunset, turned red,

As blood seemed to splatter with each swing of the sword.

And naturally, his slightly loosened topknot unraveled,

As he brushed his hair back, seeming annoyed at killing a slave.

“…Hng.”

Director Yoon Seong-bin stifled his urge to exclaim in amazement.

The ruffian clad in sunset-stained robes,

Lee Tae-seong had now truly appeared before him.

+++++

Thus, just after the shooting concluded with the day’s end.

“Donghu, you really worked hard!”

Seok-ho rushed to my side as if waiting for the moment.

“Wow, after so many takes, you didn’t even get a single NG!”

“Ah, hyung. With everyone here, how could I mess up, they’d hear.”

“Oh, really? Did I go overboard? Honestly, I thought a small mistake wouldn’t be a big deal…”

Did I really want to brag like that?

Hyung Seok-ho lowered his voice and handed me a water bottle.

“I heard lemon ginger tea is good in winter, so I brewed some.”

“…Hyung, do people know you’re my manager?”

“I am your manager, aren’t I? Didn’t we start as a one-person agency?”

Hyung Seok-ho seemed unconcerned by my words.

It seemed he even forgot he was the representative, as he poured lemon ginger tea into a thermos lid.

“And if we’re being technical, you’re the owner, remember our share from back then, huh?”

At Hyung Seok-ho’s quiet words, I sighed deeply.

‘I told him that as a minor, I shouldn’t be doing that yet.’

I had planned to discuss the shares again after turning 18.

But Hyung Seok-ho already thought of himself as the salaried boss.

Though, strictly speaking, he still had that stake!

‘Anyway, since you’re growing under me, isn’t it only right for you to act as the boss?’

As I recalled Hyung Seok-ho’s dizzying comments.

I sipped the lemon ginger tea.

“It’s good.”

“Right? And let’s eat near here, since it’s on the way home and traffic will be busy.”

“Sounds good to me. But what’s famous in Gyeongnam?”

“Well… oysters? Should we have oyster soup? Donghu, can you eat oysters?”

“I can eat anything.”

As we headed toward the van, chatting away,

“Can I join for the oyster soup too?”

Suddenly, someone interjected our conversation.

“Jin Yuseong?!”

At seok-ho’s startled exclamation, I turned to where Jin Yuseong was.

‘Oh right, he was here.’

Thinking back, I had completely forgotten while filming.

He had said he came out to hang out.

But his presence had been so subtle, I thought he had simply left.

“My manager left me and went up first, how about we have oyster soup together before heading to Seoul?”

Saying something that sounded clearly like a lie,

Jin Yuseong naturally synced his steps with ours.

‘…Am I supposed to refuse?’

‘Jin Yuseong hyung wants to eat oyster soup with us, how could I say no?’

‘That’s true.’

Hyung Seok-ho and I exchanged glances, noting the strange atmosphere,

And before it could get awkward, quickly nodded in agreement.

“Of course, there’s no trouble at all.”

But suddenly, why?

It was truly perplexing.

++++++

Back when the Theater Flame was all the rage.

-I need to switch agencies.

-Huh? Agency?

When Seo Jin-woo, who adored the role of a pilot and wore a pilot’s cap daily, met.

-Oh.

-Suddenly?

At the sudden announcement of switching nests, Jin Yuseong was taken aback.

He had always been unpredictable, but he had never gone this far.

But Seo Jin-woo spoke sincerely as if he truly meant it.

-Not suddenly, my contract is almost up.

-Where are you going?

-Hmm… Veritas?

-Veritas? Where’s that?

-Our maknae is there.

-Maknae? Who? Don’t tell me Kim Donghu?

-Yeah.

-You mean you’re just moving there because he’s there?

That crossed a line way too far.

An actor like Seo Jin-woo shouldn’t just switch agencies like that.

He should weigh his options, starting with contract amounts,

To see where they would offer more benefits and such.

It felt peculiar to just follow along because of a friend!

Regarding that question, Seo Jin-woo shrugged.

-When I’m next to him, the feeling is good.

-The feeling is good, you say?

-Doing the pilot role feels great, um… it’s like everything just flows, you know?

-Again with that feeling? Like the beast this and that? Still, that’s not it, hyung.

-You should see him act one time, and work with him once.

Then you’d understand what I’m talking about.

The conversation they had back then suddenly replayed in Jin Yuseong’s mind.

Why Jin-woo had said that,

Why he had praised Kim Donghu to the point of exhaustion made sense now.

In a place with a talent like that,

With a manager caring for him consistently,

In an agency that hadn’t seen a single failure and kept thriving,

‘How much time do I have left on my contract again?’

While I was deep in thought,

‘…Hyung, why is Jin Yuseong sunbaenim not eating the dish he ordered?’

‘Huh, I wonder, does he dislike hot food?’

Kim Donghu and Choi Seok-ho were surreptitiously devouring the oyster soup.

“Oh wow, you boys are incredibly handsome! Wait, but this young man looks familiar…?”

The server’s astonished gaze was an unexpected bonus.