Life is Easier If You're Handsome-Chapter 264

“They’re going with a season zero?”

“Yeah, looks like they want to drag out attention as long as possible.”

“Then the ending of Act 2 will change a bit, right?”

“Probably? But the writer agreed to it, so it shouldn’t be a big issue.”

After we successfully wrapped filming for Act 2 of The Pianist,

I got a call at the hotel from Seokho hyung.

“So that means the middle of my schedule just opened up all of a sudden.”

Originally, the entire second half of 2021 was blocked out for The Pianist.

But with things changing like this, the latter half of the year was suddenly wide open.

And the obvious conclusion was that I should fill that gap with YouTube.

“Then should I go with YouTube during the second half?”

“YouTube?”

“Yeah, I mean... these days it looks like people run YouTube channels almost like TV programs.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to just start a separate channel for that? Keep your own channel personal.”

Ah, yeah. That definitely made more sense.

Seokho hyung and I kept chatting about various things over the phone.

Originally, I planned to minimize my exposure until The Pianist and Musashi were released.

But since the schedule changed, the plan had to change too.

“Musashi and The Pianist are coming out next year, right?”

“More or less, yeah.”

Musashi and The Pianist were set for a first-half 2022 release.

Physical 300 was scheduled to shoot in the second half of 2022 and air in the first quarter of 2023.

Just looking at the timeline, it meant my schedule from the second half of this year through the first half of next year was wide open.

Of course, if things went well during that time, I might get a boxing match lined up.

But nothing had come in yet, so it was still up in the air.

Then—

“Can’t you just take a break?”

“Huh?”

Jaerin, who had been quietly listening to the call, suddenly spoke up.

“Do you really have to cram in another schedule? Isn’t it too much?”

“Oh... is it?”

“Right? Rest is important too. And didn’t you lose a ton of weight? You said you need to gain it back.”

“...”

She was right.

Why hadn’t I thought of taking a break?

“Once I start working, I really don’t think about stopping.”

Rest was really important too.

I stared at Jaerin and nodded.

“You’re right.”

“While you’re resting, couldn’t you just upload vacation stuff on your current YouTube channel?”

Her fans—and mine too—would probably want to know what we were up to even when we were resting.

And during that time, I could also do casual livestreams or Q&As.

It was all spot-on.

Honestly, it was such a good idea I couldn’t help but be impressed.

“You’re right. That really would work. What do you think, Seokho hyung?”

“...Huh? Oh, yeah, sounds good... wait, is Jaerin there with you?”

“Yeah, we’re hanging out together since filming ended and our schedules cleared up.”

“Ah, oh, okay okay... got it. I’ll get in touch if anything comes up.”

“Yep.”

And with that, the call ended.

Jaerin immediately clung to me.

“Didn’t you say you’d show me around?”

“Huh?”

“We’ve been stuck in the hotel all week.”

“You didn’t like the hotel tour?”

“Are you insane... Seriously, I can barely keep my back straight because of you, husband.”

“It was that bad?”

“Our poor little idol husband really doesn’t seem to get tired, huh. I’m officially activating idol body protection mode.”

“What a shame.”

We only got to fool around for about a week.

“So then, what do I need to do right now?”

I slowly got up and checked my schedule.

The filming itself wouldn’t be difficult.

There was only one thing I really needed to focus on right now.

“You’re hungry, right? I’ll cook.”

It was time to just relax and spend time with Jaerin.

“Time flies when I’m with you.”

“And that’s a bad thing?”

“It’s amazing.”

We killed time for a while,

then jumped straight back into prep for The Pianist.

Maybe because we were really in sync, time passed quickly.

“Thank you for your hard work!”

Filming for Act 2 of The Pianist wrapped up in the blink of an eye.

To be precise—

“Jaerin and I really have great chemistry.”

Because our performance chemistry, which was the heart of Act 2, was on point,

we pushed through without many NGs and kept up the pace.

Even though the ending had been revised

and several action scenes were added,

we wrapped up four episodes' worth in about two months.

Act 1 was already mostly done too.

So basically, the schedule for The Pianist was practically complete.

“All that’s left is CG and post-production stuff.”

“Right.”

The filming for The Pianist itself was honestly pretty boring.

All the emotion and atmosphere would come from post-production.

We wouldn’t know how it really looked until the edited version was ready.

“Honestly, we might even need reshoots because of that.”

But for now, things wrapped up neatly.

So we returned to Korea in early April.

Jaerin suddenly got scheduled for a talk show in the U.S., so we parted ways.

And I took in the Korean air for the first time in months.

“Alright, shall we head straight to the next shoot?”

Time to film the final scene of Musashi.

***

The key to an action film isn’t nonstop intensity.

“Pacing is everything—and the buildup is what makes it work.”

With that in mind, Director Kiryu marked out three essential highlights for Musashi:

The dojo duels.

The “Two Thousand Styles.”

And the duel with Sasaki Kojiro.

As long as those points were nailed,

everything else was just a passing anecdote.

And among those three, the most important was—

“The duel with Sasaki Kojiro.”

The final.

The showdown everyone was waiting for had to be perfect.

With the best Musashi in place, his opponent had to be the best too.

So Director Kiryu worked tirelessly to find the right actor,

and every candidate who got the opportunity gave it everything they had to land the role of “Sasaki Kojiro.”

And maybe that effort paid off,

because among the flood of applicants, Kiryu Sota finally—

“Found him.”

—discovered a gem.

A sharp, striking face and a cool, intense gaze.

It was like someone had pulled the image of Sasaki Kojiro straight from imagination into reality.

Fujino Ren.

To the point that people would say, “If Korea has Kim Donghu, then Japan has Fujino Ren!”

Fujino Ren’s status in Japan was absolutely enormous.

Looks? Check.

Acting? Check.

He lacked nothing.

Even his personality was polite and easygoing—people spoke highly of him.

And on top of that—

“Ren’s an exceptional man.”

Even the famously picky Usami Ken acknowledged him.

“Thank you.”

There was hardly a point in praising Fujino Ren any further—it was self-evident.

“You practiced a lot for this role, right?”

“Yes, it’s still not enough, but I trained hard in swordsmanship.”

And he had plenty of time to train.

Being the final scene, there was ample room in the schedule.

“Do you really think I’ll get eaten alive?”

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Maybe it was that extra time that made him comfortable enough to voice the question.

Kiryu turned to look at ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) him.

“Eaten alive?”

“I mean, that’s what everyone says. That Kim Donghu’s acting devours whoever he’s opposite.”

So I was genuinely curious, he said.

If even I might get eaten alive.

The moment Kiryu heard that—

“He really is young.”

Kiryu thought back to Fujino Ren’s career.

There’s a reason people called him the “Japanese Kim Donghu.”

He’d never once been part of a failed project.

More than that—he made the projects succeed.

Even as a supporting actor, he dominated his screen time.

As a lead, he carried entire productions.

Frankly, he’d earned the right to be arrogant.

But still—

“Wait... or could it be?”

In the end, bias leans inward.

Even if Kiryu liked Donghu, it was natural to feel drawn toward someone from your own country.

“Maybe... just maybe.”

Maybe the Japanese Kim Donghu really could surpass the real Kim Donghu.

Because Fujino Ren’s acting was that good.

Not just his acting—his presence, the way he seized the mood.

Everything about him was simply top-tier.

So if, in this final shoot for Musashi,

Fujino Ren managed to overpower Kim Donghu—

That alone would become a red-hot talking point.

And just as Kiryu was thinking that—

“Sorry I’m late. My flight got in a bit behind schedule.”

Kim Donghu arrived on set.

“Hahaha, your definition of late is wild. Showing up an hour early is late to you?”

“Well, the seniors are already here.”

With an easy smile, he bowed deeply in greeting.

And the moment he appeared, the atmosphere shifted.

“So I was wrong.”

Kiryu’s thoughts flipped instantly.

“I’d never actually seen them standing side by side before.”

He’d been under a major misconception.

Calling Fujino Ren “the Japanese Kim Donghu”

made it seem like he could match Donghu’s looks.

But now, seeing the two of them together—

“They’re on completely different levels.”

The difference was so stark, even national bias couldn’t tilt the scale.

“Am I the only one who needs to get ready?”

“Yeah.”

“Then I’ll go prep now.”

As Donghu wrapped up his greetings and moved to prepare,

Kiryu scanned the surroundings.

Korea had quite a few islands,

and one of them had been transformed into Ganryujima for this shoot.

This was where the duel would take place.

One man held a long katana.

The other wielded a wooden sword carved from an oar.

What kind of duel would unfold here?

What visual spectacle would captivate the audience?

That question rose in his mind.

And after some time had passed—

“I’m all set.”

Kim Donghu returned to the set, makeup complete.

Hair tousled, upper body bare,

holding a long wooden sword effortlessly in one hand.

“No problem if we go straight into it.”

And that calm confidence.

Kiryu’s eyes lit up—he looked like Musashi had stepped out of the script.

“...I have to face off with that guy?”

Fujino Ren was rattled.

Most rumors exaggerate people—but this?

“He’s an actual monster.”

A monster who dominated everything with his very presence.

It really felt like a sword demon had appeared in front of him, and it made his shoulders tense.

At that moment—

“Ren, you good? Think you can do it?”

“Yes.”

“Then let’s go. Cue!”

Kiryu’s signal rang out.

“If I cut you down, does that make me the strongest in the world?”

Musashi’s calm voice marked the beginning of the duel.

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