Life is Easier If You're Handsome novel Chapter 131

There’s a reason why people say, “Old habits die hard.”

It’s because one’s nature doesn’t change easily.

“I hate beating around the bush.”

But Kim Sujin had to live a life suppressing her true feelings, despite her nature.

That’s just how the entertainment industry was.

No, that’s how society worked.

There’s no such thing as a utopia where everyone can work with a smile.

Having debuted as a child actress, Kim Sujin realized this very early on.

It was a world where if you didn’t pull your weight, everyone suffered.

Living in such an environment made it increasingly difficult to speak her mind.

And that contributed a lot to her developing a rather dual personality.

Pretending not to like something even when she did,

acting petulant because it felt like revealing her true feelings wasn’t an option.

To put it nicely, she was a tsundere.

To put it bluntly, she was just prickly.

But even knowing this about herself, it wasn’t easy to change.

After all, she debuted as a child actress at the age of five.

From Dr. Giggles! to now.

She’d spent about 12 years in the entertainment industry.

Suppressing her true self had become so normal that it even felt comfortable now.

But—

“This is definitely not okay.”

For the first time, Kim Sujin let her true feelings show.

The reason was simple.

A photo of the person she liked smiling with another girl.

Seeing that made her feel absolutely awful.

“You could’ve hidden it better.”

Honestly, it had been hidden pretty well.

Tucked into a corner of the desk where it wasn’t immediately visible.

But the problem was—

“You should’ve just refused when I offered to clean your desk.”

When cleaning, you naturally end up wiping every nook and cranny,

and in the process, it’s only natural to uncover whatever’s hidden.

But really, she wasn’t in any position to blame anyone.

‘I’m not his girlfriend, just a childhood friend.’

Looking at it objectively, she had no right to feel this way.

This wasn’t something that could be dismissed as mere jealousy,

and to be honest, pushing him like this was stepping far beyond her role as a childhood friend—

it was practically overstepping boundaries.

So—

“I need to talk to you.”

Once again, Kim Sujin thoroughly hid her true feelings.

As long as she avoided the key word—

‘It’s fine.’

This wasn’t revealing her true feelings.

This was safe.

At least, that’s what Kim Sujin believed.

“....”

She could see Kim Donghu looking at her, his face unusually serious.

The thoughtful look in his eyes and the guilt that came from knowing and yet ignoring it.

She knew it all.

How could she not?

They weren’t the five-year-olds who used to play in daycare anymore.

They were also at an age where they were too busy to focus on anything else.

“Honestly, it’s funny, isn’t it? We’re just friends, and yet here I am nitpicking over every little thing.”

You must think I’m ridiculous.

Kim Sujin buried her true feelings even deeper and kept talking.

As long as she avoided that one word.

As long as she did that, nothing would change between them.

“I really hate phrases like ‘more than friends but less than lovers.’ If you’re friends, you’re friends. If you’re lovers, you’re lovers.”

Why does there have to be this awkward middle ground?

That’s why I don’t really like romantic comedies.

Even shoujo manga feels way too unrealistic.

If two people like each other, there’s no way they wouldn’t know.

And pretending not to know just means they don’t feel that strongly.

“Sorry for bringing this up out of nowhere, but... I just felt like saying it.”

You used to say that childhood friends should wake each other up like this in the morning!

And yet here I am now, having to talk about it like this.

This contradictory situation—

the fact that I created it myself—made me hate and resent myself.

“I just... I just want you to know why I’m acting like this. What kind of feelings I have for you.”

That’s it.

She couldn’t say any more.

Tears threatened to spill.

She just wanted him to understand.

‘Now isn’t the time for us to be in a relationship.’

We’re too busy.

This is the time for us to climb higher.

There’s no room for love in the middle of everything.

She knew all too well how devastating dating rumors could be for celebrities.

‘That’s just how gossip works.’

Even though actors’ private lives were relatively safe,

they were still public figures who earned money through attention.

Getting caught up in rumors over something trivial wasn’t a good look.

Of course, that didn’t mean she planned to give up on her feelings.

Once she and he—no, once they—

climbed higher and found stability,

then she’d tell him how she truly felt.

But for now, she drew a line.

Letting just a drop of her true feelings slip through,

she said—

“Kim Donghu, are you seriously going to make me do all the talking in a situation like this?”

This is insane.

She quickly tried to regain her composure.

No wonder her twin pigtails turned out so perfect today.

No wonder her makeup looked so good and she felt unusually sharp.

‘Was it all for this?’

She couldn’t help but laugh bitterly to herself.

Still, having said at least this much made her feel a little better.

What if her words just made things awkward?

She worried for a brief moment—

Thud. Pull!