Life is Easier If You’re Handsome

Ryu Jaerin’s grandmother, Kim Bok-ja.

She has been watching Kim Donghu for a long time,

You could say she’s one of Kim Donghu’s early fans.

When Kim Donghu, at age six in kindergarten, constantly took care of her granddaughter,

the experienced Kim Bok-ja instinctively felt,

“Our granddaughter’s match is only Donghu!”

But what a surprise! I knew he was extraordinary from the start,

“Boy, this kid’s not just ordinary!”

I never dreamed he would be so active on television.

Of course, I didn’t think it was impossible.

His face alone could overshadow even a legendary old man’s prime,

and who on earth educated him to have such character?

But to think he could act so well!

Not just well, but so well it would leave you gasping!

Then one day,

“Grandma! I’m shooting a uniform ad with Donghu!”

“R-really?! Together with Donghu?!”

“Yep! Just for a year! Isn’t that awesome?!”

“Of course, of course! Awesome!”

When I heard my granddaughter had a chance to connect with Kim Donghu again, my joy was immeasurable.

That connection had begun back then and had led to this moment.

Can you believe how happy I am?

But wait, next door?

“He’s the best.”

So, at first, I planned to simply cook up something nice for him to show my gratitude.

It’d been a while since I got a chance to show off my cooking skills.

But then.

“I’m really hungry!”

The moment he said he was really hungry, all my plans went up in smoke.

What does it matter how good my cooking is? My son-in-law is hungry!

And a lot!

The fridge was bursting at the seams.

In the new house, everything should be abundant to thrive,

so I had stocked up on ingredients at the market a few days ago.

So what do I need to do now?

“Keep cooking!”

Wait, son-in-law, grandma’s going to make you a feast!

In Bok-ja’s kitchen, today feels like it’s going to be a fire!

+++++

“…You really don’t have to eat so much, it’s fine.”

Upon hearing the sounds of sizzling and chopping from the kitchen, Jaerin said,

“No, I’m really hungry and can eat a lot. It’s fine.”

I couldn’t care less and just decided to go all out.

Hey, now that I’m here,

“I’m not going to leave without giving grandma’s food a chance.”

I was feeling confident about how much I could eat,

and since it was just the two of us ladies in the house, I felt a bit relaxed.

“Grandma and Jaerin… neither of them are people who normally eat a lot.”

How much could possibly come out, right?

And precisely 23 minutes later, I realized how naive and foolish my thoughts were.

Thud!

A rice cooker fell onto the table.

As soon as the lid popped open, the most delicious smell wafted into the air.

But what caught my attention was the quantity.

“What the…?

Why is there so much? Did she cook an entire pot of rice?”

Such questions momentarily crossed my mind.

Suddenly—

Chop! Chop! Chop! Chop! Chop!

Side dishes started popping out like magic.

Starting with braised beef, then crab, grilled fish, etc.

Every side dish was fit for a main course.

“…Jaerin, what happened here?”

“Ah, well, I went shopping yesterday. Looks delicious, right?!”

“Uh, uh huh! Everything here is stuff I love!”

In that moment, I was relieved I had learned acting.

If there was even a hint of awkwardness in my reply,

it would have shown on my face.

“Calm down, calm down, Kim Donghu. I can eat all of this.”

I’ve been consistently working out since elementary school for a reason.

I’ve never truly had a full belly, I can do this.

Endless self-affirmation and the winning mentality that I can handle anything.

As long as I had those two, nothing could scare me.

“Bossam will take a little longer to prepare, so go ahead and eat!”

“Sure! Donghu, let’s eat quickly.”

“Uh, okay.”

Bossam too? So I have to eat bossam on top of all this?

But that wasn’t all.

“Good thing I got octopus yesterday; it’s rock octopus and tastes incredible. You know how to make hoe, right?”

“Y-yes! Yes, I do!”

“I’ll prepare half as hoe and half as pulpo.”

How does grandma know how to make pulpo?

That’s Spanish traditional food!

I couldn’t say a word.

I sent a subtle SOS to Jaerin with my eyes, but—

“Huh? Ah… that’s a bit embarrassing… okay, ah~”

Jaerin blushed and brought a piece of fish to my mouth.

This wasn’t what I wanted, this was unexpected.

‘Unless you touch the fish, you have to eat it all, so I intentionally avoided it.’

Alright, let’s eat.

Let’s see just how much I can eat today.

+++++

A full 24 hours after eating at Jaerin’s.

“Urp…!”

As I slowly recalled the past events, I opened my eyes.

“What? What happened?”

The first memory that hit me was right after finishing all the food.

There had been an incredible blood sugar spike.

“Right, I took digestive medicine right away… but the drowsiness wouldn’t stop.”

I was hit with a strong premonition that I wouldn’t be able to keep my eyes open soon.

I remembered a side full of stacked empty plates.

And then came the memory of,

“Can we have some fruit for dessert? In summer, it’s watermelon… should we try watermelon punch?”

I had been unable to process the dessert-and-watermelon-punch combo.

After continually shoving more and more food into my stomach,

having wiped out all food defenses,

“Luckily, Seok-ho called me.”

Thanks to that, I could avoid having dessert on top of dessert.

And as soon as I rushed home, I plopped down in a position good for digestion and passed out.

When I woke up, this was where I found myself.

“What kind of conversation did we have?”

I couldn’t remember properly due to the overwhelming drowsiness.

“I’ve got no choice.”

Sorry, but I have to ask again.

< Bro, I can't quite recall yesterday's phone conversation, could you explain it again? > Ah, that? They reached out for a variety show, and I was wondering what you thought about that.

> Did I not explain it well? You know the one—Don’t Walk! Run! Rush Man!

< I know, it's super famous. > They want us for a special feature on new talent! What do you think?

< I'd be up for it. > Okay! Got it!

A variety show, huh.

And at that moment, I realized my age was quite ambiguous.

‘At 17, it’s truly a confusing age.’

Not quite a child actor anymore, given I’ve grown too tall with a solid image.

Yet not an adult either, thus roles are quite limited.

In fact, there were no films or dramas I could appear in coming out the following year.

To do anything, I’d have to shake off the minor tag first.

‘So I have about three years left.’

Short if you think about it, long if you don’t.

The only thing I could engage in, apart from Seok-ho’s suggestion, was entertainment.

But actually, there was one more activity I could pursue right now.

‘Boxing.’

To qualify for national competitions, consistent placement in events like the National Sports Festival was necessary.

So why not participate in every tournament I can enter right now?

Plus, there were also piano competitions.

Just because there aren’t roles doesn’t mean I shouldn’t do anything.

I could explore other options and add more rich experiences to draw from when roles finally come my way.

‘So for now, maybe I should pursue entertainment and that.’

Things will overflow once I’m an adult.

Right now, I needed to set up a jump position for a solid first step.

‘Now that I think about it, didn’t Director Baek Sang-ha share a lot of insights about this?’

Even though I had forgotten most of it, that was fine.

I could simply ask again.

+++++

The next morning.

I contacted Director Baek Sang-ha and headed straight to the gym, where he greeted me with a bright smile as soon as he saw me.

‘This feels a little awkward.’

Sunday had always been a day off, but since I decided to come, he gladly opened the gym doors for me.

“Right, you never know, so it’s not bad to work out in between, right?”

“But you usually said we should do it consistently.”

“What’s important is to actually do something! So, are you curious about the competition?”

“Yes, if the schedule fits, I’d love to give it a try.”

“Oh, it’s perfect! The qualifiers are in September. Definitely worth participating!”

Director Baek Sang-ha seemed thrilled that I was considering entering the competition.

He casually wrapped bandages around my arms.

“You won’t have to hold back anymore.”

“Huh?”

What does he mean by that?

“Back then, the other kids were all middle schoolers, so you had to control your strength.”

But the kids in this qualifier are serious competitors, so you won’t have to hold back.

As I absorbed the director’s words, I immediately understood his intention.

He’s considering my growth.

‘But back then, I was also a middle schooler…’

It seems he now looks at me as an adult, or rather, a pro-level fighter.

Regardless, I warmed up and prepared to spar with the director after a long time.

Before the bell for the first round rang,

“Donghu, I’ve trained hard during this time. I’m going to be your best sparring partner! So push yourself to the limit with me!”

With that word of charging at full power,

“Yes!”

I immediately got ready to shift gears.

It was my time to bring out the 100% boxing skills I’d never shown before.

+++++

At the same time.

“When is Kim Donghu becoming an adult?”

“What of it? What are you planning when he does?”

“Obviously, you’d have to kneel and beg, saying, please let me see our movie script just once.”

There was another place hoping for Kim Donghu to become an adult.

“Just imagine, Kim Donghu coming out as a chaebol and saying those lines.”

“Those lines?”

“Yeah, the one written in the script.”

“Ah, this? You mean the scene where he’s turning the millstone?”

They had a script titled [Elite] laid out on the table as they talked.