Life is Easier If You're Handsome novel Chapter 36

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The sound of bombing continued without end.

-“Those Western bastards are dropping crap from the sky again.”

A comrade who had once cracked jokes under the bombardment at the hilltop had died the other day.

The brief moment of joy when the war was declared over quickly faded, as the despair of one last all-out battle now awaited everyone.

"Revolutionary Hill! Revolutionary Hill!"

The man who used to chant those words, wearing his red armband, was silent now. He had realized with a bitter laugh that his hopes of making it back alive had been extinguished. Now, he moved weakly, following orders, but what did it all mean? They were all going to die anyway.

“But I won’t die.”

Even so, I intended to survive until the end.

To live for my sister’s sake, to find out why she had begged so desperately for a simple meal of rice and meat stew, to know why my family, who had found happiness even in our torn poverty, had to die.

I wanted to ask all of these things.

There were no answers here, in the North. So I wanted to ask the South.

I wanted to know if they really had what was worth fighting and dying for.

“I need to find that person.”

The student soldier’s eyes darted around, searching for a man amidst the endless bombardment.

A man who had approached them in their army uniform as if his own life meant nothing. A soldier who, despite being asked twice, had never answered his questions.

He fixed his gaze on Kim Soo-ha, the man whom Han Tae-gun would be portraying.

Click.

With only a few bullets left, he fixed a bayonet onto his rifle.

I will ask you, why did my sister have to die?

A student soldier, thrown into the war, but who had not learned a single thing in school, still wandering without having heard a simple answer even at the very end.

“Sister, I will bring back that answer when we meet.”

The student soldier moved.

Wham!

And just like that, I was pulled back into reality as soon as the script ended.

[Due to your Celestial Martial Body, you have fully mastered 'Bayonet Combat.']

Then a message from SIMS came through immediately. Knowledge of bayonet combat, which I had never learned before, flooded into my mind. I felt as though I could display skilled bayonet techniques right then if I wished.

‘Incredible.’

I was still amazed by the power of the Celestial Martial Body when—

Bzzt bzzt bzzt.

My phone alarm blared.

Dong-hoo, are you insane?! I missed the part where you were playing the piano back then... but you played it this well?!

I chuckled at Kim Soo-jin’s message.

Guess the reactions are pretty good, huh?

+++++

Even as Kim Dong-hoo continued filming Endless Frontline, time moved on. But time doesn’t always pass equally for everyone.

In recent weeks, KBC Drama Director Kim Cheol-do’s time had been dragging by agonizingly slowly.

“Zuhahaha...”

The days when his hearty laughter filled the air were long gone.

“After seeing the ratings for Episodes 1 and 2, I thought we had our signal to blow everyone else out of the water.”

The slight ratings increase for Episodes 3 and 4 was a bit of a disappointment. While any increase was welcome, it hadn’t matched the celebratory beef dinner he’d had.

It had been the same for Episode 5. So what about Episode 6, with Lee Jae’s appearance?

“It might be the same again.”

Seeing his face alone and hearing him play the piano without saying anything—one would think the latter might cause a ratings spike. But when had life ever been that simple? A smooth path in life was rare.

Crunch, crunch.

Even the cherry pie tasted like death today. Swallowing his bitterness, Drama Director Kim Cheol-do opened his phone.

The ratings for Episode 6 should be coming in by now, so there should be a message from PD Kim Young-mo.

“If only Lee Jae’s performance could raise it by another 2%...”

That would make it 15%. How great would that be?

Crunch, crunch.

As he mumbled to himself and nibbled on the cherry pie—

Bang!

PD Kim Young-mo kicked open the door to the drama director’s office. He entered with the presence of a victorious general, his expression as triumphant as a leader just before a successful coup. Kim Cheol-do was so startled by his grand entrance that he was left speechless.

“Director!!! Is this really the time to be sitting here?!”

“What... what is it?”

What intensity. Young-mo, this isn’t like you at all.

Kim Cheol-do was genuinely taken aback. And why was Young-mo wearing a golden bucket hat today?

‘It almost looks like a crown.’

That random thought crossed his mind just as—

“Episode 6!!! The ratings! Seventeen percent!”

The thunderous words from PD Kim Young-mo hit Kim Cheol-do like a lightning bolt to the head, a shockwave from his scalp down to his toes!

Zzzzap.

“Zuha... zuhahaha... zuhahahahahaha...!!!!”

Laughter bubbled up from within him.

Seventeen percent?!

That meant a nearly 3% increase in one leap. As he stood there in shock, grinning like a fool, Kim Young-mo continued quickly.

“The viewer message boards are in an uproar right now!”

“That’s right! They’re saying it’s hilarious that a handsome guy like him can sit there and play the piano without a word, and that just seeing him makes them want to laugh. They’re going nuts! Did you know? I was the one who cast him! That was my decision!”

In the midst of all this, Team Leader Shin Young-sook chimed in. But so what? It was a celebration, and who cared if another spoon joined the party?

“Want me to read you some headlines? High Dream, on a sharp growth trajectory. Other networks are on high alert!”

Zuha.

“Lee Jae’s magic! Does calm classical music work? What will High Dream’s ending be? Much anticipation!”

“A one-step retreat for a ten-step advance, the story of High Dream is just beginning. Monday-Tuesday drama domination in sight.”

“Eel! Eel sounds great. Our team has been working so hard on the additional shoots for High Dream lately...”

Crunch, crunch.

Tatatatatata.

Tatatata.

He had three monitors—one for writing, one for watching High Dream, and one for tracking the reactions to High Dream.

‘And we haven’t even gotten to La Campanella yet.’