Life is Easier If You're Handsome-Chapter 195

The Grand Bell Awards, despite being a highly prestigious film festival, had always been riddled with controversy.

From proxy acceptances to selling voting rights—

Even as recently as last year, in 2016, its credibility had been hanging by a thread.

So why did Director Lee Seong-deok decide to submit his film here?

“Whether we win or not, people will be talking about it.”

That was the key. Regardless of the festival’s reputation, it would serve as promotion for the film.

Actors just needed to deliver their performances as directed.

Directors not only had to capture those performances well but also—

“They have to sell them.”

It was the director’s job to ensure the film reached the audience in the best possible light.

No matter how well-made a movie was, if it sat collecting dust in a warehouse, what was the point?

No matter how famous a restaurant was, if no one could actually eat there, it was meaningless.

“In today’s world, promotion is everything.”

Lee Seong-deok never had high hopes for the Grand Bell Awards.

What he was really aiming for were two other awards:

The Blue Dragon Film Awards in early December and the Baeksang Arts Awards in May.

Flashes continued to go off as he tried to adjust.

Glancing at Kim Donghu beside him, he felt reassured.

“It’s like having a tiger with wings at my side.”

He had no idea why that old saying popped into his head—

But it perfectly described how he felt.

"Aha! Here we have True Hero's Kim Donghu and Director Lee Seong-deok arriving!"

"Please, over here! Yes, look to the left! Now the right...! And one for the front! Thank you!"

After walking the red carpet, the next step was the photo zone,

followed by a brief statement on how they felt about being there.

Then, they’d take their assigned seats and wait.

After that, it was just a matter of sitting through the event and awaiting the results.

The only thing to be careful about—

“No yawning when receiving an award. Donghu will handle himself just fine, but I need to stay sharp!”

The cameras would occasionally zoom out for wide shots, so he had to stay on guard.

As long as he avoided that mistake, everything else would be fine.

Of course, the internet was already dissecting every moment of the broadcast.

↳ "Wait, Lee Seong-deok looks way more nervous than I expected, lmao. He gives off this artsy vibe, but he's totally on edge."

↳ "HAHAHA, he straightens his shoulders every time he looks at Kim Donghu. It's hilarious."

↳ "Why does he keep staring at Donghu like he's his high school gang leader or something?"

↳ "Fact: It's worse than that."

↳ "Fact: When True Hero and Endless Frontline were both offered to him, Kim Donghu chose Hero over everything else."

↳ "Current stats: True Hero has surpassed 16 million viewers. Estimated to hit 19 million soon."

Since the event was being streamed live, reactions were pouring in instantly.

[Wait, doesn’t the Grand Bell Festival have a ton of proxy acceptances? Is this okay?]

Isn’t True Hero basically sweeping the awards? But only Kim Donghu and Lee Seong-deok are here?Based on its box office numbers alone, it should take everything; I bet there’ll be tons of proxy acceptances.↳ Han Taegun just arrived.

↳ His expression looks way too serious—he’s definitely preparing to roast someone.

↳ The Grand Bell is no match for the Blue Dragon these days.

↳ Judging by the atmosphere, it feels like Lee Seong-deok was the one who wanted to attend.

↳ He’s definitely making a statement by showing up during all this controversy.

↳ The confidence of a rookie director and a rookie actor, lol.

↳ Rookie director? (Mise-en-scène 4-time winner, debut commercial film at 16 million viewers) Rookie actor? (^That absurdly long title^)

[After tonight, Kim Donghu’s "Absurdly Long Title" Will Need an Update]

Oh god...!!!(^Triple 10-million box office + Korea’s all-time highest audience record (with widespread critic acclaim [※Park Dongjin 5, Lee Pyeongsik 4.5※]) Mise-en-scène 4-time winner, average variety show ratings 21.7%, drama ratings 46.2%, Olympic heavyweight boxing gold medalist, Red Honored Hespard Partner, Benz & Richard Mille ambassador, Louis Vuitton muse, fluent in English, Japanese, and French, proven top-tier chef on Please Take Care of My Refrigerator, flawless in Japanese dubbing, masterful piano and violin player, saved an entire concert’s lighting system, and now sweeping the Grand Bell Awards^)↳ I’m overwhelmed.

↳ This is exhausting to read, wtf.

↳ Donghu’s fan gallery is getting creepier by the day.

↳ My eyes hurt, you psycho.

↳ If he wins at the Blue Dragon and Baeksang too, this title is gonna be even longer.

↳ Asian Games gold medal is next on the list.

↳ The worst part? The fan gallery actually keeps this updated as an official pinned post.

Even though the Grand Bell wasn’t known for high ratings,

the live broadcast and Kim Donghu’s overwhelming popularity

had drawn in way more attention than expected.

And amidst all this—

"Best Cinematography! True Hero!

"Best Art Direction! True Hero!

"Best Costume Design! True Hero!

"Best Editing! True Hero!

"Best Planning! True Hero!

"Best Screenplay! True Hero!

The True Hero award sweep had begun.

***

"This is basically just True Hero getting handed everything."

A reporter from another entertainment outlet mumbled beside him.

"This isn’t favoritism. The critics love it... The audience is eating it up in real-time."

How could this possibly be favoritism?

Lee Jeong-geon, the Daily Happy entertainment editor, coughed pointedly.

"Ahem."

He wasn’t the type who usually did on-site reporting at events like this.

So why was he here at the Grand Bell Awards?

Obviously, because of Kim Donghu.

"I’m the only one who can cover him properly."

He had learned that lesson the hard way during the school violence scandal.

Kim Donghu wasn’t someone you could approach like a regular celebrity.

You had to be thorough—you had to dig deeper.

"How many people got burned trying to take sides back then?"

Targeting Kim Donghu wasn’t just targeting an actor.

It meant clashing with his entire corporate backing—

Ilyang Foods, FJ, Red Hon, Adihes, Louis Vuitton, Richard Mille, Benz...

So you had to be careful.

Lee Jeong-geon didn’t trust anyone but himself for a job like this.

He had already proven that he could handle it before.

And right now—

"If this keeps up, they’re taking Best Picture too."

Barring a few exceptions,

the cast of True Hero had the potential to sweep nearly every category.

And so far... they were winning.

"...Thank you. Every time I receive an award, it feels like a brand-new experience. I'm grateful to everyone who made this possible and to those who allowed me to stand here today."

A standard acceptance speech.

But then—

"However, I can’t say I feel completely happy in this moment, given the current reality."

Just like that, the Grand Bell Awards controversy was thrown into the spotlight.

The ceremony was being broadcast live.

No one could cut Han Taegun off mid-speech.

↳ "Wait, is Han Taegun calling them out?! ㄷㄷㄷ"

↳ "Lmao, this is the second year in a row we’re seeing this."

↳ "They’ve really hit rock bottom, huh?"

↳ "Gee, I wonder why there are so many proxy acceptances. 🙃"

↳ "Holy shit... this is intense."

↳ "That line was legendary. 'An award should bring joy to the recipient, pride to the giver, and smiles to those watching... but I can’t say I feel that way here.'

↳ "Damn. He really sharpened his knives for this one."

Han Taegun’s speech felt endless to the festival organizers.

But eventually, it was over.

Then came Best Supporting Actress and Best Director.

Lee Seong-deok silently accepted his award,

keeping his speech brief.

With Best Picture still on the horizon,

he knew he had to keep things short.

"And next up—"

The Best Actor Award.

Everyone had expected it.

But no one thought much of it.

Kim Donghu had never been the type to give long speeches.

He wasn’t the kind to make dramatic statements either.

"And this is his first time at the Grand Bell Awards."

Winning Best Actor on his first-ever attendance?

It was a huge deal.

But journalists assumed it would be a standard moment.

"No, no, you idiots."

Only Lee Jeong-geon had caught onto the impending storm.

He honestly didn’t get why people couldn’t see it.

Why they treated "Boxer Kim Donghu" and "Actor Kim Donghu" like they were two different people.

Why they said his personality changed depending on his role.

"He’s been a beast since High Dream. A straight-up monster."

His gaze fixed on the man standing at the microphone.

A calm face.

A steady voice.

Th𝓮 most uptodate nov𝑒ls are publish𝒆d on ƒreewebηoveℓ.com.

"Thank you for this award. I’m incredibly grateful to everyone who helped me stand here today. And I also share the same opinion."

A bombshell.

The same opinion.

He didn’t even have to clarify whose opinion.

Everyone already knew.

↳ "Did Kim Donghu just back ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ him up?"

**↳ "Not just that—he’s saying this while accepting his first Best Actor Award. **

↳ "They worked on the same movie, and he's instantly backing him up. ㄷㄷㄷ"

↳ "The bravery of Han Taegun... with the artillery support of Kim Donghu."

↳ "Holy shit, this guy has no fear, lmfao."

『"An Award That Doesn’t Feel Entirely Joyful" – Kim Donghu’s Standout Statement!』

『"A Senior Who Took a Stand, a Junior Who Had His Back – Han Taegun & Kim Donghu!"』

The moment he finished speaking,

news articles exploded onto the web.

"D-Donghu, are you sure about this?! Are you okay?! Did you clear this with your agency?!"

Even Han Taegun himself was stunned enough to ask him after the ceremony.

But Kim Donghu just shrugged, completely unfazed.

"I’m fine."

"But still... you’re young, you—"

"No, actually..."

Kim Donghu had heard exactly what the staff were muttering when Han Taegun gave his speech.

And even though the statement was nothing but constructive criticism,

he had also seen the way the judges glared at him.

"You can’t do that. If someone takes a stand to bring about change, they shouldn’t be met with hostility."

Giving them dirty looks for speaking up?

That was one thing Kim Donghu could never tolerate.

"...Honestly, I already felt the same way."

So he backed him up.

It was that simple.

***

Meanwhile, at the same time.

A group of people who had been watching the entire Grand Bell Awards from start to finish—

"Even after watching the highlight reel a few times, that was insane."

"Yeah. Kim Donghu’s got a hell of an arm."

"If the Asian Games are in August... that still leaves time for him to throw out a ceremonial pitch, right?"

"Good point. We should check."

"Look at that throwing form. Damn, I really wanna see him pitch."

A new faction was beginning to set its sights on Kim Donghu.