Life is Easier If You’re Handsome - Chapter 23

{Third POV}

‘What am I even watching right now?’  

Director Ji Jangmin didn’t realize that his eyes were bloodshot and red. 

He didn’t have time to blink—it was a moment too precious to miss. 

Every fiber of his being screamed at him to put down the camera and experience this moment directly.  

But his professional pride as a cinematographer held him back. He had lived for these moments, capturing the best on film, so he kept his focus through the camera lens.  

Kim Dong-hoo, or rather, Lee Jae, was completely absorbed.  

As he played the piano, emotions came alive, then he locked his gaze on the camera.  

‘Look at me. Focus only on me. If you look at anything inferior, I’ll destroy it.’  

‘Live my hatred.’  

Even without any knowledge of piano, Ji could feel it.  

Kim Dong-hoo, no, Lee Jae’s message was coming through loud and clear.  

And those watching in person, not through the camera, felt it even more intensely. 

“Whoa! Just watching him play gave me chills.”

PD Kim Young-mo momentarily felt as if he were attending a live concert.  

The perfect immersion.

This must be how it would feel if Lee Jae were real.  

Even though it was just a simple practice, there was no half-heartedness in it.  

Every day, Lee Jae faced his hatred and proved to himself that he was a genius. It was a vicious, infinite cycle.

The magnificent loneliness of a brilliant genius could be felt.  

And before long, the performance reached its climax.  

What sets a grand piano apart from an ordinary piano is the pedal, especially the sostenuto, the middle pedal, which controls the subtleties of the sound.  

Only Lee Jae, with his hatred, could press it and change the way the notes resonated.  

The difference in precision.  

Writer Minha, who knew the intricacies of this detail, was on the verge of fainting.  

‘Ah… Ah…’  

To be honest, there had been many times when characters she had written were brought to life through acting.  

Especially for a popular writer like her, it wasn’t unusual.  

But never like this.  

This wasn’t acting.  

Lee Jae had truly appeared. He was playing the piano.  

No matter how much applause he received from the audience,  

the ones he truly wanted applause from rejected him,  

and instead, he faced contempt.  

A flower grown from hatred.  

Lee Jae tore the script and came to life.  

‘I… I have to work with Kim Dong-hoo on my next project. No matter what, I’ll make him the lead. Kim Dong-hoo… I must work with him…’  

An indescribable catharsis coursed through her body, a state of extreme excitement which hovered on the edge of tension and release.  

The performance was slowly coming to an end.  

Lee Jae, who had poured out all his hatred through his fingers, began to quiet down.  

The sound gradually diminished, becoming more monotonous.  

Plink.

The final note was struck by Lee Jae’s tear.  

It was the sorrow of knowing that this hatred was abnormal. However, it couldn’t be suppressed.

The bitterness of never having been asked, “Are you okay?”  

How many tears had Lee Jae shed to reach this point?  

The single drop of tear, wrung out like blood from his heart, was his scream and his lifeblood.  

“Ah… Ahh…”  

‘What am I witnessing right now?’

Minha’s tension melted away.  

“Writer?! Writer!”  

Kim Young-mo, who was standing beside her, was startled.  

“Yes, yes?”  

‘Why are you calling me right now? The emotional aftershock is still lingering.’

Minha answered with a slight annoyance, but then she was startled by Kim Young-mo’s next words.  

“Your… Your nose is bleeding!”  

“Nosebleed?!”

“A nosebleed?”  

‘Wait. Why do I feel dizzy?’

Thud.

Minha lost her balance and collapsed into a chair.  

“Writer?!?!?!”  

A brief commotion followed.  

Meanwhile, Edward Park, the principal of the arts school, didn’t pay much attention to the fact that someone had fainted. Or, to be precise, he couldn’t pay attention.  

‘It’s clear.’  

Edward Park was certain that this young actor’s future did not lie in acting.  

The piano performance itself might not have been at the highest level,  

but the sheer intensity of emotion packed into it was unreal.  

With just a bit of refinement, just minor tweaks here and there—  

and as his piano skills matured over time—  

‘I see the future of a maestro.’  

That child wasn’t meant to be an actor.  

He was destined to play the piano.  

Edward Park was sure of it, and he made up his mind.  

Whether through a scholarship or a special recommendation.

He would do anything to ensure that this boy enrolled in his school.  

———

{Dong-hoo’s POV}

The performance ended.  

Whoosh!

‘Lee Jae’ gradually faded away.  

There were no lingering emotions.  

But I was exhausted.  

‘I didn’t realize playing the piano could be this exhausting.’  

The physical effort of a 14-year-old body giving everything it had—  

Even though I had trained for a long time, piano seemed to be a completely different challenge.  

‘Just a short break.’  

I took a deep breath.  

At the same time, I closed the piano lid to wrap things up.  

And then.

“Cut!!!”  

With the director’s intense OK signal.

Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!

A round of applause erupted.  

It was a clear sign that everyone had been satisfied with Lee Jae’s performance.  

‘I feel proud.’  

Just as I was about to stand up with a contented smile, someone rushed toward me.  

“After giving a performance like that, take your time, slowly let the emotions settle, or it will be hard on you.”  

It was senior actor Jang Gunho, who played the role of Principal Wang Ho.  

He patted my back and comforted me.  

“I’ve witnessed something truly rare.”  

“Indeed, Dong-hoo. I felt it before, but really…”  

Senior actress Kim Yoo-ryun had also come over and placed a bottle of water on the piano.  

It was her way of encouraging me to take my time to gather myself before drinking.  

But—  

‘I’m really fine, though.’  

To be honest, I felt completely okay.  

However, in a situation like this, it wouldn’t be appropriate to bluntly say that.  

So I nodded slowly, pretending to be tired.  

“… Thank you for your kindness.”  

“You don’t need to say anything.”  

“That’s right, Dong-hoo. Just focus on yourself right now.”  

The warmth and care from these industry veterans was appreciated, but at the same time.

‘I feel like the pressure is going to kill me.’  

It was overwhelming.  

———

{Third POV}

“What on earth did we just witness?”  

Kim Gilsan, the CEO of ST Entertainment, clicked his tongue as he watched the filming.  

He was only 14.

He was at an age where he had endless potential to grow even further.  

But to already be at this level of acting…  

‘Everyone’s completely intimidated.’  

Kim Gilsan, the CEO, glanced over at the actors playing the main and supporting roles of the Dream High members.  

‘We’re going to see a lot of NGs today.’  

Their faces were utterly crushed.  

Kim Gilsan knew exactly what it meant when idols with expressions like that stepped onto a stage.  

It wasn’t his first year in the entertainment business, and he could already predict the inevitable outcome.  

“Honestly, I’m starting to resent the writer.”

Lee Sanghak, the CEO of Full Ready, muttered beside him, sharing the same sentiment.  

Having raised countless actors, Sanghak could foresee how the atmosphere of the set was going to shift.  

“If you look at the script, our kids are supposed to eventually beat him in the end.”  

But was that even possible? Was it a realistic scenario?  

At first, he just thought Kim Dong-hoo was a very talented kid.  

But when they opened the lid, what they found inside was beyond imagination.  

Hoo.

A long sigh, like a trail of cigarette smoke, slipped out.  

But still, what’s done is done.  

Rustle. Rustle.

“What are you up to?”  

“What about you, hyung?”  

“Me? I’m getting my business card ready. Oh, and later, come say hello. I’ll introduce you to actor Kim Dong-hoo, the newest member of ST Entertainment, after the shoot.”  

Kim Gilsan’s sly remark was delivered with a weasel-like grin. It made Sanghak’s toad-like face twitch in frustration. 

“You’ve improved your acting skills, haven’t you? Quite the jokester. Kim Dong-hoo will be going with Full Ready.”  

“Says who?!”  

“Says who, hyung?! Who do you think you are?!”  

While the two CEOs bickered at a distance far enough not to disturb the shoot, another group further away was losing their minds.  

“Who is that? Who is he?”  

“Stop pushing! If you push again, I’m smashing the cameras!”  

“Move! I came here to shoot him!”  

“What a load of nonsense, you came to shoot Jin Soo-hyuk! You think we don’t know? Get lost!”  

It was the reporters who had gathered to capture the open filming.  

They had come for promotional purposes, hoping to get some good footage for the film production, but were now completely enthralled by the unexpected new star.  

But despite their chaos, the filming resumed quickly.  

With Lee Jae’s practice scene over, the next shot was the Dream High ensemble practice.  

Though they produced quite a pleasant sound, no one was impressed.  

It had been swallowed up.  

Lee Jae’s hatred-filled performance lingered in everyone’s ears, whispering throughout the entire shoot.

Talent can never be caught up to with effort alone.

And I’ll be sure to crush those who are inferior.

———-

{Dong-hoo’s POV}

After all the filming was finished.  

“Man, I’m exhausted.”  

I quickly sank into a taxi, my body drained from all the rejections.  

So many people had offered to drive me home.

And turning each of them down had left me utterly worn out.  

‘I guess I really need to find an agency.’  

There was no way I could keep coming to and from shoots alone like this forever.  

I needed an agency to handle these kinds of issues.  

Honestly, I wanted to entrust it all to Min-hyuk, who had earned his pro karting license.

But—  

‘Didn’t he say he’s seriously preparing to go pro in karting these days?’  

His words about honing his driving skills for precision still rang in my ears.  

Anyway, it was definitely time to find myself a home base.  

Bzzz. Bzzz. Bzzz.

My phone rang.  

“Dad?”  

-Yeah, son. Did the shoot go well?  

“Yeah, as usual. I’m all good.”  

-It’s nothing major, but could you stop by the building in Bundang?  

To sum up my dad’s words.

There was a new tenant who had moved in, and they had set up a dinner to say thanks for the good treatment.  

Curious about what the ‘good treatment’ was, my dad had found out that I always sent congratulatory flower arrangements when new tenants moved in.  

After praising me for such a thoughtful gesture.

My dad decided that I was the one who should go to the dinner.  

“Sure, no problem. I’ll do it.”  

-That’s my boy, thinking of such considerate things. You’ve really grown up.  

“Haha. Well, who’s son do you think I am?”  

My dad seemed in high spirits and spilled out months’ worth of conversation in one go.  

‘By the way, what was the name of the new tenant? Choi… Seok-ho?’ 

As that thought crossed my mind, my eyes widened.  

Although the building was under my name, my dad managed it, so I hadn’t paid much attention to it.  

‘I should have been more involved.’  

The agency I was about to join, sent by Sims – Real Life, was in my building.

Translator’s Note; Thank you for the patience and continued support! The regular release (3-5 chapters/week) will begin henceforth. Please don’t forget to leave a review on NovelUpdates.

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