Life is Easier If You're Handsome novel Chapter 289

"Think about it seriously."

–...Is this really something to think about seriously? Isn’t this... way too out there? 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"You've already played with celebs before—rappers, YouTubers. So why can’t it be an actor this time?"

–It can be, but...

"Then please consider it seriously. I mean it."

–Still, a running back? And you’re saying on your team?

"That arrogant bastard doesn’t even want to play in exhibition matches, right? Says he’s not a clown."

If you're living well thanks to fan popularity and collecting a fat paycheck for it—what’s that if not being a clown? What the hell does he do that’s so productive anyway? Getting paid that much to dribble a ball and act like he’s elite—where does that sense of superiority even come from?

Kade furrowed his brow, letting the words pour out.Then, realizing it was pointless, he circled back to the main point.

"Exhibition match. Kim Donghu. On our team. Running back. Full time. If we say it’s for charity, the rich will dump cash into it for tax benefits."

–Alright, I’ll try pushing it. But this is gonna take a while. Even if it goes through, it’ll be the year after next.

"By then, he won’t be playing Tarzan anymore. It'll be Batman."

Click.

Call over, Kade exhaled deeply.

‘Always talking about staying ahead of the curve, and this is what they’re conservative about?’

He wasn’t even demanding Kim Donghu be locked into the match. Just saying they should float a proposal to his agency. That’s it. And yet...

Was his voice really this weak now? That thought stung a little.

“Isn’t it stupid not to ride this momentum?”

Muttering to himself, Kade Walker pulled up Physical 300’s rankings.

Real-time global rank: #1. English-speaking countries, non-English-speaking countries—everywhere.

In short: #1 in the world. Could there be anything dumber than not capitalizing on that?

‘They’ll hit him up soon enough. They’re not idiots.’

Why do leagues want wins? Why do they pay the best athletes top dollar?

Because that’s how you pull in even more money. And in that sense, Physical 300 was walking money right now.

Even in this very moment, DMs were flooding in nonstop. His agency was drowning in ad offers, trying to sort through the best ones.

The forerunner of a brand-new trend. And the first person to feel that trend—

"Dad, are you really friends with Tarzan?"

—was his wide-eyed son, looking up at him with sparkling eyes.

"Of course. We exchanged numbers and... hey, we even FaceTimed."

"But... still! I mean, what if it was all business?"

"..."

Maybe because his dad was famous, but even though he was only seven, he had scary good instincts.

Kade shook his head and pulled up Kim Donghu’s Instagram again.

"See? We follow each other."

"But I heard Tarzan’s super nice and follows everyone..."

"..."

What’s the point in hiding it? His kid was a fan of Kim Donghu.

More precisely—of Tarzan. Though now that he was gonna be Batman too, the kid was even happier.

Anyway.

They were just spending some casual father-son time when—

"Dad, so who won between Kim Donghu and Angus?!"

The boy shot the question.

"That’s a Netflix contract violation, so I can’t say a single word."

"..."

Kade answered coolly. Not because he was salty about his son only caring about Kim Donghu.

Seriously.

***

Kim Donghu vs {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} Angus. Episode 2 ended without revealing the outcome. And because of that, people couldn’t stop predicting the result whenever they had time.

"Manager Kim, did you see that Physical show?"

"Yeah, I saw it."

"Who do you think wins?"

"Angus, no question. He locked in a choke. No one escapes that."

"But like, come on. It’s Kim Donghu. He’s Tarzan. And Batman! You don’t think he could just—sha-sha-shak! And escape?"

In one company’s break room, Deputy Director Park demonstrated his version of an escape move. Manager Kim just smirked.

"Director Park, put me in the choke Angus did."

"Me?!"

"If I do it to you, it’ll be insubordination. Go ahead—both arms."

"L-Like this?"

"Yeah. Now if you just apply a little pressure— cough! kgh! Tap, tap!"

"S-Sorry!"

"See? My face is red already. You’re not escaping this."

"Whoa... So Angus wins?"

"I mean, if someone put a bomb collar around my neck, I’d still bet on Kim Donghu."

"Huh? What the hell?"

Just a second ago he said Angus would win. But Manager Kim just quietly stirred his coffee.

Two packets of instant mix. He handed one to Director Park.

"I’m the kind of guy who dies for loyalty, remember?"

"Huh? You and Kim Donghu are tight?"

"Korean loyalty."

"Oh, if it’s that—count me in too."

They shared a wholesome laugh. But they were the rare exceptions.

Until Episode 3 of Netflix dropped, for that whole week, dozens of MMA YouTubers seized the moment to pump out analysis videos.

—"Hello! There’s this hot show right now, right? And actor Kim Donghu gets caught in a choke..."

—"Can you escape a choke? Honestly, no. It’s the most reliable move in the UFC..."

—"It’s the move where even a woman can take down a fully grown man..."

—"A strongman’s choke could break wooden boards! Is that actually true?"

Anyone trained in combat sports knows this truth: A properly locked choke is impossible to break.

Even a mythical lion beast couldn’t escape Hercules’ choke. So obviously—

Yeah, even if that was a one-arm choke in the video... That arm’s bigger than most women’s thighs. It doesn’t matter.

So what’s the conclusion?

—"Kim Donghu is definitely going to lose. Regrettably, but yeah."

Kim Donghu = 100% loss.

But that was strictly from the “expert” standpoint. From a variety show perspective, opinions were split.

ㄴIt’s a show, but y’all treat it like a docu-series again 😂

ㄴThen why do you think the preview was edited like that?

ㄴObviously because Donghu wins, and they wanted to make it look close 😂

Under the theory that Netflix would never throw away Kim Donghu, some even speculated Angus would be disqualified for breaking the rules.

Failing to escape a choke? Fine, that’s fair.

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