Life is Easier If You're Handsome novel Chapter 329

Wearing the suit and charging into a gang's base was already insane enough—but now that I’d heard him scream, it was clear he’d even used the built-in weapons.

That idiot—he would've normally panicked and run just from standing at the entrance! 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

I didn’t know what kind of sudden inspiration hit him, but I could bet good money that scream came from failing to handle the weapon recoil properly.

Back at MIT, we’d worked on multiple research projects. Published a handful of papers. Earned scholarship money based on that.

People always asked us what we planned to do with the funds. We never said a word. Instead, we dumped every cent into building an Iron Suit.

Of course, no one but Harley and I knew. Why the hell would we advertise that we were developing an armed suit in the garage?

Anyway, the suit we ended up building—turned out very different from what we imagined.

—"Wait, hold up... how did Stark even build this?"

—"He hammered some metal together and got Mark 1, and ours is worse than that?"

—"The arc reactor... that’s the real problem. We have way too little data on it."

—"We might need to go with file ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) bunker-style reinforced impact instead."

—"At this point, it’s basically an Iron Fist, not an Iron Man."

—"Forget repulsor beams for now—let’s just be satisfied with a gun."

—"Should we try rigging a single bazooka shot, just in case?"

Free aerial movement became limited glide. Flashy repulsor-beam combat was compromised by mimicking War Machine-style firepower.

That’s why we sealed it away.

Because when the suit’s internal weapons were used, the physical strain transmitted directly to the body.

No matter how many shock absorbers we added, bone-rattling impact was always going to be a health hazard.

And yet he’d used it now. From the sound of it... it was probably the bazooka.

Of course it hurts like hell—he’s taking the recoil from an anti-tank weapon head-on!

No matter how much we tried to reduce impact, a prototype’s tech can only go so far.

Tatatak!

My pace quickened. Thinking through which sprint technique would let me move even faster, my body had already arrived at the entrance to the gang base.

"...Shit."

First thing I saw: the crumpled metal door. He’d literally just rammed through it.

Behind the door, a few gang members lay unconscious from the shockwave. Clearly, he hadn’t even given them a chance to react—there wasn’t a single bullet mark near the entrance.

He took them all down.

A tiny button attached to each of the gang members’ bodies—the shock button we spent countless nights developing.

I can’t yell to find him.

As much as I wanted to call out for Harley, screaming his real name in the middle of enemy territory would be suicidal.

Even I had my face covered. Given the circumstances, the best possible decision was:

“I’ll just run around and find him.”

I had to search physically. Calling the cops was out of the question.

If anyone found out we were building a combat suit in the garage, we’d be drafted by the government before nightfall.

That was the worst-case scenario—and I had to avoid it no matter what.

Tatadadak!

The base was just a ruined factory illegally remodeled into a gang hideout, so its layout was simple.

A tall ceiling and a two-story structure. In places like this, the boss is always in a corner room on the second floor.

I sprinted straight up the stairs. And right then—

BOOM!

Another thunderous blast.

“Aaaaaaaaargh!”

Harley’s scream again. Right where I expected the boss to be.

I ran in without a moment’s pause. The first thing I saw—

“P-please! Please, I’m begging you!”

The HateRip boss, flattened on the floor, begging for his life.

“I—I can’t control it! I think overloading the circuits by activating too many weapons at once!”

Tudududududu!

Harley, panic-analyzing the situation, was firing wildly into the air. Thanks—or no thanks—to budget constraints, we hadn’t loaded much ammo.

Click. Click. Click. Click.

He was out of bullets fast.

“What’s the fix?”

“I’m scared shitless right now! My brainwaves are unstable—probably what’s messing with the suit! If I pass out, it should stabilize!”

“Hey, you lunatics! Quit talking crazy and save me, dammit!”

I ignored the boss’s whining and scanned the room for a way to take Harley down.

Why didn’t we install a failsafe system...

An AI protocol that auto-identifies enemies within a range and reacts. Thanks to that, I couldn’t just charge in.

And sure enough—

Beep beep beep!

Click.

Click.

The suit detected the empty magazine and auto-checked the surroundings for compatible ammo. As soon as it found a match, it reloaded on its own.

“...Duck!”

“I know!”

Tudududududu!

Another storm of bullets.

“Waaah! Please, I’m begging you! Selling drugs isn’t worth dying for! I’ll go to jail, just don’t kill me!”

The boss was screaming like a little girl.

“Aaaaaargh!”

Harley was getting burned—the gun mounts were overheating. The barrel’s heat was transferring into the suit and scalding his skin.

There’s gotta be a way to end this...

I was racing through options. If this kept up, everyone would die.

He was spraying bullets now, but who knew when the weapon would aim properly?

I’ll tackle him.

I grabbed the sturdiest table in the room.

“Let’s see you shoot this!”

At this pace, it wouldn’t be long before they hit S+ tier.

“How’s the story this time?”

“It’s good. I like how it doesn’t make the protagonist super strong right off the bat. It’s a gradual climb. Feels relatable.”

“Yeah, that’s what’s trending these days. And besides, we’ve already got your ‘strong’ image handled elsewhere.”

“My strong image?”

“Oh yeah, Warner Bros contacted us. Murcielago 2’s first draft is almost done.”

“Ah.”

So I’d be filming ArcBorn and Murcielago 2 at the same time.

Even one of them was a huge blockbuster. Now I was starring in both—simultaneously.

Guess I’ll basically be living in Hollywood through mid-next year.

I was in for another wild ride. Thinking that, I sank into the couch.

I want to hang out with Seohyun, maybe see Kangshik and Mincheol too.

No time. There’s never enough time.

***

While Kim Donghu juggled his brutal schedule—Hollywood actors were panicking for an entirely different reason.

“Wait—you’re saying Donghu Kim is involved in casting decisions?”

“That’s correct. He’ll review all audition tapes, including freestyle acting.”

In a recent interview, Melvin had confirmed that Kim Donghu would directly oversee ArcBorn’s casting.

Donghu Kim judging your acting? How high do the standards have to be?

Sure, standing next to him is great, but now even getting there was going to be judged harshly?

“...They’re really making 100% of the roles go through auditions?”

No handpicked casting. No “recommended by” shortcuts.

It was pure skill—from start to finish. And they’d even openly stated that looks would be part of the criteria.

Some actors complained. Said it was discriminatory toward “unattractive female leads.”

Clickbait outlets twisted it with bad faith coverage.

But it all fizzled. People were getting sick of PC culture anyway.

About a month later—finally—

“...It’s today.”

The day of the public ArcBorn audition with Kim Donghu.

“...What the fuck.”

The actors arriving at the venue were stunned—surrounded by people with some of the highest market value right now.

Murmur murmur murmur

Everyone was memorizing scripts.

Seeing that—

So they’re swallowing their pride just to act alongside Donghu Kim?

The Iron Core production staff who’d snuck in froze in place. They knew the competition would be tough, but...

Not this tough.