Life is Easier If You’re Handsome - Chapter 11
{Third POV}
“… Is this Su-jin?”
“Well, well, you haven’t forgotten my voice, have you?”
“It was a demerit since you didn’t keep in touch until now, but I’ll give you points for recognizing my voice.”
As Kim Su-jin’s voice continued, Dong-hoo couldn’t gather his thoughts.
Just as he was wondering, ‘How did she get in touch with me?’, Su-jin answered his unspoken question.
“What do you think exchanging business cards is for?”
Honestly, Dong-hoo felt a bit unjustly accused.
No matter how you look at it, they knew each other since they were five years old.
Keeping in touch consistently just because they were kindergarten classmates?
That was absurd.
Moreover, from an ordinary person’s standpoint, reaching out to a top star was even more out of the question.
Unless the top star contacted him first.
He couldn’t just send a casual “What are you up to?” like friends do for any reason.
Besides, the ones who exchanged business cards were their mothers.
The idea that the mothers of kindergarten classmates—an ordinary person and a top star—would maintain contact after exchanging business cards was unlikely.
But the one who made that happen was none other than Su-jin’s mother, Kim Yoo-ryun.
Not often, but once or twice a year, Yoo-ryun had been in regular contact with Dong-hoo’s mother, Lee Yoo-hyun.
There were two reasons.
‘After all this time, it turns out that Dong-hoo is the most handsome.’
One reason was that her daughter’s first love was still ongoing.
The other was because of the brilliant talent she had glimpsed briefly.
One could tell that the boy was destined to live in front of the camera. He was born to act.
He was someone sculpted precisely to be an actor.
She wouldn’t let go of a connection with such talent.
But even so, she didn’t take on the role of connecting their children.
‘The kids will handle it themselves.’
And so, about ten years passed without much thought.
During that time, Yoo-ryun and Yoo-hyun had become quite close, to the point of sharing some personal stories.
It was the same that day—the day of their quarterly catch-up call.
The mothers enthusiastically talked about their children.
Suddenly, Yoo-hyun brought up a new topic.
“Come to think of it, my son said he made a Face… tum? Tom? What was it? Anyway, he said he made an account on that.”
“Oh my, really?”
Here’s where an unexpected variable occurred.
To take the call comfortably, Yoo-ryun switched the phone to speaker mode.
Just then, Su-jin came into the living room and overheard the conversation.
The sense of betrayal that Su-jin felt at that moment was beyond imagination.
Even if it appeared somewhat deliberate, the fact that her mother had been hiding this while she intermittently mentioned ‘Dong-hoo, Dong-hoo’ was unbelievable!
Right then and there, Su-jin urged her mother to get Dong-hoo’s number, which led to the current situation.
“Why didn’t you become an actor?”
In fact, there was a reason why Su-jin hadn’t actively sought out Dong-hoo.
She believed that, of course, if it was Dong-hoo, she would eventually see him at a broadcasting station.
“I naturally thought we’d meet in the same production someday, or at least in a similar one.”
But there was nothing.
As it turned out, he hadn’t done any work since that day.
“I was even worried that something might have happened.”
“No. It’s not like that…”
She could sense Dong-hoo’s flustered voice over the receiver.
‘Just hearing his voice isn’t enough.’
Even considering the high charges, she decided she needed to see his face.
Having come to that conclusion, Su-jin immediately switched the call to a video call.
“Ha, Kim Dong-hoo, you’re really something else, aren’t you?”
She could see a girl clinging right next to Dong-hoo.
“I have a lot to say, but I’ll hold back. You must message me on KakaoTalk tonight, got it?”
“Uh. Okay.”
“Then I’m hanging up.”
“Yeah.”
“Yeah? That’s it? Don’t you watch TV? Do you have any idea who’s calling you right now?”
‘She’s just the same as she was in kindergarten.’
Su-jin still knew very well that she was pretty.
An aloof princess who always got what she desired.
She hadn’t changed.
“It’s a great honor. I’ll contact you after this, so hang up. Judging by how you’re talking, it seems you have to go on air.”
“… Right. Make sure you really contact me! If you don’t reach out first, you’re dead!”
Click.
As soon as the hasty call with Su-jin ended.
“… Who were you just talking to?”
Ye-rim looked at Dong-hoo with wide eyes. She appeared shocked.
“Kim Su-jin, don’t you know her?”
“No. I know. That’s why I’m asking. You, you—you know Su-jin?”
“We went to kindergarten together.”
‘Does it make sense that you’d be close enough to have video calls because of that?’
Shin Ye-rim had an expression that suggested she was holding back from saying that.
“Are you going to become an actor?”
“Um. Not right now.”
It wasn’t the right time yet.
A bit later, when YouTube became more active and the full-fledged use of social media spread widely.
It wasn’t too late to make a move then.
For now, building recognition in various fields was sufficient.
It was still a time when an individual had limited power.
You had to do whatever the agency told you, without the strength to overcome unfair contracts.
It would take at least six more years before it was worth attempting to become an actor.
‘The key is to start moving at least when I’m twenty, when I become a legal adult.’
Until then, it was better for my mental health to just have fun and enjoy my school days.
It was still an era where real-time search rankings existed.
Would there ever be another time when public opinion shifted so easily?
The moment you appeared on the real-time search rankings—the so-called ‘hot searches’—and ended up on controversy lists, it was over.
‘It’s not the time yet.’
The goal was to debut not just as a rookie but as an experienced newcomer.
Dong-hoo needed to steadily prepare the groundwork for that.
“So you’re saying you’ll do it later?”
“That’s right.”
If he wanted to capitalize his looks, ultimately a lot of people needed to see him.
Isn’t the pinnacle of good looks exactly what a celebrity is?
Having been born for that, it would be foolish not to use his talent.
So, while chatting casually with Shin Ye-rim on their way home from school for quite some time.
“Excuse me, are you by any chance Kim Dong-hoo?”
“Yes?”
A woman he’d never seen before blocked his path.
“Oh. I’m not a suspicious person; I’m scout Jin Gyeong-mi from ST Entertainment.”
She said this while holding out a business card from ST Entertainment.
After receiving the ST Entertainment business card.
Scouts from entertainment companies started visiting every day or every other day.
Previously, it was just at the level of ‘You’re good-looking; want to try?’—a kind of random approach.
Now, they were formally introducing their business cards and even the company’s vision.
“No. I don’t intend to do it now.”
“Now? What do you mean you don’t intend to do it now? Does that mean you plan to do it later?”
‘Did I answer too ambiguously?’
‘Every time I replied, it was like this.’
But they really knew how to respect boundaries.
Dong-hoo guessed they’d scouted child actors a few times.
All the scouts stopped just short of being annoying.
Still, the fact that they came remained unchanged.
His reputation skyrocketed within Shinbit Middle School.
Since various scouts were regularly visiting and asking him to debut.
Who wouldn’t be interested?
At times, it was so bad that even if he wanted to go to the restroom during break, he couldn’t because of the stares.
The one most excited about all this attention wasn’t Dong-hoo but Kim Min-hyuk.
Maybe he was unable to break free from his old habit, he seemed to puff up naturally as I became more impressive.
“Dong-hoo, I knew you’d make it big. I’ll be your manager someday.”
“I’m thinking of hiring based on managerial ability.”
“Th-then I’ll be your driver. I’m good at driving; I even got a pro-level karting license.”
That did mean he was genuinely skilled.
‘But is that the same as in games?’
Still, it was endearing that the kid wanted to do something when he grew up, so Dong-hoo nodded.
“Sure. Go ahead.”
“Really? Then I’ll get my license as soon as I’m old enough!”
“Yeah.”
He glanced at Dong-hoo.
Hearing that, Shin Ye-rim, who had transferred to their class, stared at him intently.
She appeared like she wanted to say something but was holding back.
Maybe she’d say she wants to become a model?
But in the end, Shin Ye-rim didn’t say anything.
“I-I’m going to make an amazing game with you as the main character, Dong-hoo…”
As expected, Kang-sik declared he’d become a game developer.
At that moment, a vibe formed where everyone was sharing their dreams.
‘Wait a minute, doesn’t this mean it’s becoming a given that I’ll become an actor?’
Dong-hoo suddenly felt as if his career path had naturally been decided.
He might open various paths, but at the core, it would ultimately be acting.
‘Yeah. I should become an actor.’
At the moment he reached that conclusion.
Buzz!
Buzz!
Buzz!
Suddenly, Dong-hoo’s phone started vibrating.
It was on silent mode; how was it vibrating?
‘What is this?’
He glanced down.
As he lowered his head to check the message that piqued his curiosity.
“… I’ll just go to the restroom for a moment.”
“But class is about to start soon.”
“It’s urgent.”
Dong-hoo quickly stepped away from his seat.
— [Sims – Real Life]
It was because the sender’s name was extremely familiar.
‘Why is this here?’
Before checking the contents, he needed a secure place first.
As he thought about where to go, the first-floor staff bathroom came to mind.
It was the only place with a bidet.
He sat there and checked the message.
— [Sims – Real Life supports your second life.]
— [As your future career is set to be an actor, your life will be designed accordingly.]
— [Additionally, the tutorial is now complete due to the future setting.]
— [From now on, Sims – Real Life will actively assist in your life.]
What on earth is this?
‘So I didn’t just simply reincarnate?’
It’s not that he didn’t have doubts.
However, Dong-hoo didn’t think deeply about it because there had been no notifications for over a decade.
‘So is my life really going to proceed like The Sims?’
Having played for over 50,000 hours, he knew the mechanics of Sims inside out.
The most immediate thing that happened after the tutorial was…
— [Would you like to check some fragmented information about your future?]
You gain an omniscient view.