Life is Easier If You're Handsome-Chapter 261

The most important part of syncing during choreography—

—is not hesitating.

If both sides move like flowing water, hits during an action scene hurt less.

But even a moment’s hesitation often led to serious injury.

There was a reason why directors often shouted things like, “Just hit him! Do it hard!”

If the blocking was clearly laid out, what mattered was acting immediately.

That was the only way to reduce the risk of injury during an action scene.

But that’s easier said than done.

Normally, people hesitate when it comes to hitting another person.

Let alone hitting someone just for the sake of acting?

A person you don’t even have any personal grudge against?

It was natural to feel reluctant.

However—

Crack!

The Korean Spirit stunt team was currently in a situation far from normal.

Was it because the blade wasn’t sharpened?

The 2.5kg sword slammed down onto the floor, asserting its presence.

“Aren’t you here to kill me? Isn’t this supposed to be a fight to the death?”

Wait—was this really acting?

For a second, the Korean Spirit team couldn’t help but wonder.

Maybe this was all a dream.

Maybe this wasn’t a performance—maybe this was real.

How else could something feel this alive?

“Which one of you was planning to put a sword to my throat?”

Kim Donghu—

No, the moment Musashi finished speaking, the chill that ran through them—

Was it because of the winter air, or was it his sheer presence?

Probably the latter.

The Korean Spirit team, more tense than ever, began to move their bodies into formation,

relying on the endless rehearsals they had drilled.

Just like in the script.

Just like in the directing notes.

They slowly began closing in, surrounding Musashi.

And then—

“Was it you?”

Thud!

The stuntman at the very front clashed swords with Musashi.

The clash of two prop swords.

There shouldn’t have been any sparks, and yet it felt like there were.

What the hell is this strength...?!

The stuntman who crossed blades with him felt like he was dying.

Even though he knew Musashi was holding back—

The level of that “controlled” strength was still overwhelming.

He summoned strength he didn’t even know he had just to keep holding the line.

So after this, I take two steps back and move into the next beat, right?

Normally, you’d pull back gently so as not to disrupt the balance of power.

But in this situation, there was no need for that kind of consideration.

Chuk, chuk.

He had to actively brace himself just to avoid being knocked down.

As the stuntman was pushed back according to the planned choreography,

Musashi immediately hurled himself at the next person without hesitation.

One versus many.

To handle that kind of situation, you either fight in a tight space—

Or you create chaos. Musashi chose the latter.

Like a spinning top—

The short sword in Musashi’s left hand tore through his enemies’ thighs.

Slash!

Bodies collapsed.

Thud!

In the middle of it all, a blade stabbed into Musashi’s body.

But because of the short distance, it didn’t do much damage.

It wasn’t even worth reacting to—he could just keep swinging.

While everyone else was reeling in pain—

Slick.

Musashi’s eyes gleamed.

It’s not a strictly defined style of swordsmanship.

What mattered were just two things: precision and application.

What mattered were just two things:

Precision and application.

How freely can you wield two swords?

How definitively can you kill your opponent?

Tap.

He let go of the long sword in his right hand.

Any tool that wasn’t useful in the current situation was discarded without a second thought.

A sword wasn’t the soul of a warrior.

It was just a tool for cutting down people.

Slice.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

What remained was the short sword in his left hand—and the freedom of his right.

He drew enemies in close during the chaos of close-quarters combat—

And calmly drove the short blade into their throats.

One by one, he cut them down.

Killing, and killing again.

There was no stopping it.

Differences in weight class, differences in strength.

And the ability to dominate the space.

All of it blended together into pure chaos.

They couldn’t even push him back by swarming him.

How could a human being hope to restrain that kind of brute force?

No, but seriously—isn’t this too much?

He doesn’t feel like a person. It’s like he’s a different species.

This isn’t acting... I really need to break my fall, or I might get flung.

The stuntmen’s panic was written all over their faces.

In contrast, Musashi kept silently plunging the short sword into enemy throats.

A perfect, lethal strike.

And as he kept killing again and again—

Eventually, only one figure remained before him.

“You the final blade sent to take my life?”

Just one opponent left.

In front of a truly powerful being, numbers meant nothing.

Even a horde of rabbits wouldn’t scare a tiger.

That’s exactly how this felt.

The presence of one true predator who had slaughtered all the weak.

And because of that presence—

Thud.

The stuntman forgot his lines and collapsed as the strength drained from his legs.

Even though he knew it was fake blood,

Musashi, drenched head to toe in crimson, was terrifying.

Just like at the beginning—

His beaming smile still looked like a demon wearing a mask.

“U-uhh... uh...”

“United, you’re brave. Alone, you’re weak. What a disgraceful display.”

Clatter.

The empty right hand took hold of the long sword once more.

Even with blood splattered everywhere and corpses piled around him,

The blade that hadn’t even been fully used still gleamed cold and bright.

“No need to ask what school sent you.”

He’d just kill them all anyway.

With that, the long sword in his right hand drove straight through the enemy’s head.

A precise camera angle made the scene possible.

Thud!

There was no need to hold back on power here.

The thrust went clean through the prop wall.

“Cut!”

The shoot ended immediately.

The scripted world shattered and everything returned to reality in an instant.

Director Kiryuu realized something.

“...That was a one-take, wasn’t it?”

How the focus of one person could transform an entire film—

It was something he hadn’t experienced once in 40 years of directing.

And he wasn’t the only one feeling that way.

“Wow, I’ve done action with so many people, but this is a whole different level.”

“Insane. He even missed his line at the end and just ad-libbed through it like nothing.”

The stunt team was stunned by Kim Donghu’s overwhelming ability.

Even after decades of working in action stunts,

Just standing in front of Kim Donghu made it hard to even follow the choreography.

The gap in skill was impossible to measure.

But the most shocking part—

“Donghu-san, if you’re okay with it, {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} can we try a few more one-takes?”

“Sure, no problem.”

—was that ridiculous stamina.

No matter how hard stunts were,

The actor leading the one-take on camera was under way more pressure.

And yet he said it like it was just a morning stroll.

“Seriously, he’s not normal.”

The only word that came to mind: monster.

++++++

Fifteen hours of filming.

They repeated a cycle of shooting, meetings, re-adjustments—again and again.

At last—

“Okay! That’s a real cut! We got it!”

They finally captured the perfect one-take scene worth being proud of.

People collapsed praising the greatness of the Rakuraku mattress.

I, still relatively fine, splashed my face with cold water.

“...Donghu, are you seriously okay?”

“Of course. This is my job.”

Still, repeating one-takes for fifteen hours straight wasn’t completely fine.

Maybe because I was so focused, I did have a slight headache.

“Honestly, I just went all-in since I don’t have a schedule tomorrow.”

“Really? Then good. But if it gets too much, say the word—I’ll scrap everything.”

I laughed off Seokho hyung’s half-joking comment and got into the van.

“Tomorrow’s not booked, but there are a few things coming up or needing your confirmation. Want me to tell you now?”

“No, go ahead. Let’s talk on the way.”

“So first—your YouTube channel just hit 3 million subs. So now we’re getting flooded with PPLs and collab offers.”

“PPL, sure, but collabs?”

“Yeah, tons. I mean... these days, mukbang’s hot, so a lot of them are in that direction, and...”

Mukbang, huh.

Yeah, stuff like that was trending around this time.

None of it really fits with my current image, though.

With Musashi and The Pianist set to release soon,

It made sense to avoid anything too casual or down-to-earth.

Back in the day, I could just drop by a variety show for fun.

But now, with my status rising, I couldn’t just do whatever I wanted.

I’m holding a lot of people’s livelihoods in my hands now.

Still, it wasn’t all bad.

Responsibility has a way of making a person grow.

Anyway—

“...Nothing major to add beyond what’s already planned.”

“Really?”

“If anything, just uploading a YouTube video. But honestly, I think it’s better to rest right now.”

“Agreed.”

So for now, we decided not to take on anything extra besides filming.

And right then—

“Donghu, what do you think about shooting something the year after next?”

“...Sorry?”

Out of nowhere, Seokho hyung brought up something far off in the future.

“The year after next?”

“Yeah, specifically... second half of that year, probably.”

“What kind of project is it?”

“It’s for Netflix. I think it’s called Physical 300 or something like that...”

A show to find the most perfect physique.

But wouldn’t it feel weird if you weren’t in it?

The second I heard that, I let out a faint laugh.

No way, they’re already sending offers for that?

They’re trying to recruit me while it’s still in the planning phase?

If it’s two years from now... that could actually work.

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