Life is Easier If You're Handsome-Chapter 256

How did it end up like this?

That doesn’t matter right now. freёwebnoѵel.com

What matters is—what am I going to do now?

Bang!

Thud!

The sound of a body colliding and the muzzle flashing happen simultaneously.

Of course, the druggie didn’t hit me.

Taking him down wasn’t all that difficult.

It was just like repeating what I’ve done countless times in the ring.

To make sure it was a complete takedown, I didn’t hold back.

A shot to the liver, then the temple, the jaw, and finally the solar plexus.

A relentless combo.

In under thirty seconds, the druggie was on the ground.

And immediately after, a strange thought occurred to me.

No message from Sims? Really?

Whether he snuck in at dawn or used some trick—

This guy was armed and lurking inside.

This is exactly the kind of situation Sims usually gives me a heads-up about.

He warned me about the stalker... and even that lighting mishap.

Was it different this time because I could handle it on my own?

That didn’t quite add up. Something felt off.

“Donghu Kim!!! Are you alright?!”

Leaving the collapsed druggie behind,

the crew rushed in.

Filming, of course, was over.

Securing the scene came first.

I went straight to check on Evelyn.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, I just... suddenly started crying... I’m sorry.”

“No need to apologize. Honestly, it helped. It gave me the opening I needed. Perfect timing.”

No visible injuries.

Didn’t look like she was hit by the stray shot either.

I felt relieved—but couldn’t stop thinking about Sims.

If there’s something coming... tell me already.

It’s like I’m an NPC in some game—

and someone just popped a random enemy out of the bathroom.

Could’ve been Evelyn’s stalker... but he was high. Doesn’t fit.

Just then—

Ding!

Ding!

Ding!

Sims’ message finally arrived.

—[Time is approaching.]

—[You have five years remaining.]

—[Once again, your fate is being tested.]

What the hell?

Five years left? My fate’s being tested again?

Wasn’t this only supposed to happen to my parents?

There’s more coming?

This message was hard to comprehend.

“I’ll take full responsibility and replace the entire security team—”

“No, no. That’s not necessary. I can’t explain everything, but... seriously, that won’t be needed.”

Before anything else, I made sure the security team didn’t get axed.

Because this wasn’t their fault for missing something during inspection.

In fact—

“We really didn’t see anything during our check. I think... he must’ve been hiding in the ceiling of the bathroom.”

Even the guards couldn’t explain it properly.

Of course they couldn’t.

This wasn’t something you could explain with logic.

While we waited to be interviewed,

I tried to decipher Sims’ message.

The clearest hint, obviously—

My fate is being tested again.

Five years left.

So if this is the starting point, that means it’s 2024?

What happened that year—

Ah.

Suddenly, it hit me.

There was something huge.

Something so obvious, I couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought of it.

It’s the year I regressed.

The second target fate wants to kill—

is me.

***

Thinking back, it’s not that strange.

If I regressed... then the past version of me must’ve vanished too.

But I didn’t think “vanished” meant dead.

And I definitely didn’t expect fate to try killing me in this way.

—[Frankly, it’s a stretch.]

—[If you want to nitpick, it’s a clumsy attempt to correct a failure.]

—[It won’t happen often, but you’ll see a few more events like this.]

—[In Korea, people call this kind of thing “forced drama.”]

With a weird bit of slang thrown in,

Sims summarized the situation in four lines.

“...Hah.”

So that’s what’s going on.

They can’t kill me yet.

There’s a rule that I must die at the ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) originally scheduled time.

So this mess is probably—

An attempt to weaken me, in case I stay on track and survive.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

I didn’t feel overwhelmed.

As long as I have Sims—

and everything I’ve built up to now—

I won’t go down easily.

Still, one thing did bother me:

If stuff like this keeps happening, it’s going to mess with the shoot.

Every time something goes wrong like this,

security gets blamed, people panic—

and it becomes a huge problem.

I can deal with getting attacked personally.

But dragging others into it? That’s a problem.

Even if it’s rare, there are a lot of people on this set.

If the police show up every time something happens—what then?

While I was thinking that—

—[If you prefer rough waves over still waters, I can arrange it.]

Another message from Sims.

But something felt... different.

It didn’t read like Sims’ usual tone.

Even if it’s not what I think—it’s still the right call.

If I just had to weather one rough wave—

I nodded to accept.

—[A salute to your choice.]

That was the last message.

The incident at the model house became a massive media storm.

It was too big to hide.

The upside? The shoot wasn’t affected.

We picked up from the first scene again,

and after that, no one interrupted us. Everything went smoothly.

A total of four acts, sixteen episodes.

The Pianist had launched its first signal flare, however rough.

And at the same time—

“...Hah.”

News broke of a unification match between the IBF and WBO heavyweight champions.

And I began to consider a possibility.

The winner of that match...

Might be the next big wave headed my way.

If fate wanted to stage a public, official accident—

what better place than a boxing ring?

That thought crossed my mind.

***

A few days after The Pianist wrapped filming—

“I heard you had a rough time in the States.”

I’d returned to Korea for the next project.

Having a private jet definitely made things easier—

Time wasn’t much of a constraint.

I could travel with family comfortably,

and didn’t have to worry about anyone watching.

No wonder rich people insist on flying private.

“Still, no one got hurt in the end, so it’s fine.”

“But are you really okay jumping into filming right away?”

“Of course. I went straight into The Pianist after that happened.”

Director Kiryu seemed concerned, but I flashed a genuine smile.

We’d fallen behind schedule after the intruder incident.

Right now, I had to keep moving without looking back.

“Musashi—I'm ready.”

“Ha ha... You really are tough.”

As he said that, Director Kiryu added that the female lead had been cast.

He brought her over to introduce her.

And that person was—

“Donghu-senpai! It’s been forever!”

“I’m still your senpai?”

“Of course! Once a senpai, always a senpai!”

It was Usami Chisako, my junior from high school.

She’d messaged me recently saying she landed a good role,

but I didn’t expect her to be cast as the female lead in Musashi.

“I think I’m the last piece in the puzzle, so I’ll do my best!”

“Huh?”

“Hehe, it’s just a vibe thing.”

I let her cryptic comment slide.

But it hit me—time had really passed.

Chisako used to be all mischief, just like how she talked.

But now...

She’s still lively, but her aura feels... graceful, almost traditional.

Like I should take off my shoes and sit down for tea.

“I noticed it during Cutting the Knot too, but your vibe changes instantly.”

“That’s a compliment, right?”

“Of course. I mean you really become the role you’re playing.”

Musashi’s partner—

It’s a tragic character.

Someone bound for life by a fleeting moment of pure affection.

Just like the protagonist, she walks a path of loneliness.

“Cutting the Knot was so good. I want to shoot another romance like that with you.”

“Isn’t Musashi kind of like that too?”

“No, I mean... not in a movie.”

She said it with a bright laugh.

I’d heard that Japanese people don’t usually come on so strong.

Guess everyone really is different.

“But Chisako, didn’t you say you were from Kyoto?”

“Y-yeah! But young people these days aren’t like that. That stuff is ancient history!”

“Really?”

“Yes, seriously... Okay, quiz time! If someone from Kyoto says, ‘Oh my, you’re so diligent,’ what do they really mean?”

“Isn’t that just a genuine compliment?”

“Nope. It means ‘Look at you, running around doing pointless things.’”

“...You just made that up.”

“My mom told me that, actually.”

Kyoto—scary place.

As I mumbled that, the mood had lightened a fair bit—

“Alright, let’s begin filming!”

Director Kiryu gave the signal.

From The Pianist to Musashi—

Time to change masks.

***

Kim Donghu’s acting has always been impressive.

He’s already reached the top of his craft—

there’s no point in praising it anymore.

Or so I thought.

What... is this?

Something felt off about what he was doing now.

It was as if he knew he was going to die.

Musashi is a man who lives knowing death is always near.

He lives on the battlefield.

He accepts he could die at any moment.

That’s who Musashi is.

But portraying that fully was nearly impossible.

Because that mindset—

It’s something only men from another era could truly grasp.

A modern person suddenly acting like they’re ready to die?

That’s not something directing can fix.

It’s something we’d mostly written off as unreachable.

But in this moment—

“I am fated to die on the battlefield.

And even so... you say you can love me?”

Kim Donghu speaks calmly, like a man resigned to death.

With unwavering resolve, he grips his sword.

“Then I’ll kill you myself.

If you’ll become a pest that gets in the way of my life... I’ll kill you.”

Musashi descends upon the set, eyes blazing.

Wearing what looks like rough cloth,

but the savage expression cuts through the lens.

He lost nearly 20kg for The Pianist and Musashi combined.

And now, with that lean frame, he holds his swords like a demon.

A long blade in one hand, a short one in the other.

Staring down at a kneeling woman with brutal contempt—

he growls:

“There’s nothing I cannot kill.”

Then, he raises his voice to the sky:

“Do you think I wouldn’t cut down even a woman who claims to love me?”

I am the one who will kill everything.