Life is Easier If You're Handsome-Chapter 299

Naturally, I had been in constant contact with Chisako.

We simply hadn’t met because our activities were happening too far apart.

Lately, Chisako’s popularity in Japan had skyrocketed.

“Didn’t she even hold a concert?”

And not just a joint performance with someone else.

She held a full solo concert and it was reportedly a huge success.

Her singing? Top tier.

Dancing? Excellent.

Looks? Flawless.

She was absolutely killing it in Japan without falling short in any category.

She even showed up frequently on YouTube Shorts.

And recently, she had apparently sparked a massive trend on Reels too.

From my perspective, it felt surreal just having her standing in front of me.

“How did you get here?”

“I won the role of standing by your side, oppa!”

“...Catwoman?”

“Ta-da!”

Watching her speak so brightly and playfully—

I was genuinely taken aback.

“You got through that competition? That’s incredible.”

“The director saw something good in me, that’s all.”

From what I’d heard, the competition for Catwoman had been insane.

Wasn’t it something like 30 to 1?

According to Seokho hyung, they had cut it down to 30 through the first round of paperwork, and then selected the rest based on acting.

And she’d made it through that?

They had said non-Western actors would probably struggle due to English pronunciation.

But she had pulled it off. That was seriously impressive.

“You must have had the skills to be seen in a good light.”

“Hehe, I worked so hard. My English pronunciation is perfect now!”

“I can tell just by looking. You’re amazing.”

“Eh~ It’s my first time being called amazing. I like it.”

It really hit me then—talking online and talking in person were totally different.

Even as we headed to the lodging, our conversation never stopped.

“This is your place, sunbae. I gave you a special guided tour.”

“Thanks, but are you sure this is okay? You’ve got time?”

“Of course! I came here pretty much just to chill anyway.”

“Huh? Really?”

“Yep!”

Apparently, Catwoman didn’t have a lot of scenes in Murcielago.

I mean, there were scenes, but nothing that required her to be on set constantly.

So Chisako decided to take this opportunity as a bit of a vacation.

She would stay in Hollywood until the Murcielago filming wrapped up.

“I’m in the room next to yours, oppa. Like, literally right next door. That okay?”

“Why are you asking me? I’m glad you are, actually.”

“Hehe~”

Come to think of it, I’d heard they cast someone as Harley Quinn too.

Who was it?

No one told me anything.

Even Catwoman—I’d only found out because Chisako showed up and told me.

The production team must be keeping everything extremely under wraps.

Our conversation paused as we opened the car trunk to unload our things.

We were planning to be here for at least eight months.

So we had quite a lot of luggage.

They said we could just buy what we needed, but we’d still packed everything we could from Korea.

“This house is amazing—it’s practically a mansion.”

The first thought that came to mind the moment I saw it was: Wow, this is really something.

About three times bigger than a normal house.

From what I knew, even the land itself was in a super expensive area.

If it was this level of quality, they must’ve dropped serious cash on it.

“Fufufu~”

As soon as I said that, Chisako giggled strangely behind me.

I was curious about the inside as I opened the front door—

Bang!

Ba-ba-ba-bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Fireworks exploded, perfectly timed as if they’d been waiting.

“Welcome to Hollywood!”

“Kim Donghu! We’ve been waiting for you!”

Then came the stream of congratulatory messages.

Turns out the Murcielago production team had planned a surprise party.

No wonder no one else had been at the airport besides Chisako.

“...Wow, honestly, I never expected something like this. Thank you so much. I’m really happy.”

“Haha! That’s not even the biggest surprise! This isn’t just a place to stay!”

“What?”

At Cristo’s words, a question mark popped above my head.

“This is your house.”

“...What?!”

The next words turned that question mark into an exclamation.

***

They hadn’t even properly seen Kim Donghu perform as Batman yet.

But instinctively, they knew—they couldn’t afford to lose him.

They seriously discussed what they could do to make sure he stayed.

The contract terms were already incredibly generous.

He’d been guaranteed a fat running royalty.

But it still felt like something was missing.

So after rounds of meetings, they reached a conclusion.

“Why don’t we just give him a house?”

“I like that idea.”

The plan was to buy a house and give it to him as a gift.

“Let’s take care of the taxes too. Everything under his name, clean and simple.”

“And throw a surprise party too.”

“Exactly. We have to highlight it—it’s not just any house. It’s the house we’re giving Batman.”

To create a sense of belonging, there needed to be a space like this.

And if they could provide that kind of space—how could he not feel attached?

With that in mind, they chose a property in Beverly Hills.

And this moment, right now, was the result of that plan.

That shocked face... and the sheer joy.

I mean, who wouldn’t be happy about being gifted a house?

Especially one in world-famous Beverly Hills.

“Those Disney bastards... They never would’ve guessed we were this serious.”

They spent a lot of money on it, no doubt.

But everyone agreed—it was a worthwhile investment.

As long as they could center Murcielago around Kim Donghu and make it a success,

It would be a profitable move, no question.

“I will truly give this movie everything I’ve got!”

“Wahoo!”

And with that declaration, the party atmosphere kicked up again.

Music started playing the moment Kim Donghu shouted his heartfelt line.

Drinks, dancing, laughter.

Even amid all the fun, ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ Director Cristo kept watching Kim Donghu.

“That body is perfect. Joker needs to be slimmer, but we’ll handle that with CGI.”

It wasn’t just that he was bulky—

His physique was absolutely flawless and solid.

He looked even more jacked than he had during Physical 300.

“Your body seems even better now.”

“Yeah, I changed up my diet recently.”

“Oh? What did you change?”

So, he asked for the secret.

“I decided to eat more. Doing that made my body denser, without gaining fat.”

“...Huh? What?”

“After that 17-hour eating session, I had a realization.”

“...”

That answer made zero sense.

Well, I guess stars are allowed to have at least one secret.

“I saw him eat for 17 hours... but still, saying his body got more compressed without gaining fat?”

Why even lie about something like that?

Cristo didn’t know—everything Kim Donghu said was true.

“Not that it matters.”

Letting the small stuff slide,

As the laughter and chatter continued,

Cristo pulled Kim Donghu aside, calling it “business talk.”

“I wanted to deliver this in a more discreet way, but I just couldn’t wait after finishing it.”

“Haha, I get the feeling.”

“...It’s the second revised script. For him.”

Him.

As soon as he heard that, Kim Donghu knew who it meant.

Joker.

He had expected it would be about Batman.

But no, the Joker.

Clearly, inspiration had struck hard.

“I got greedy about the set design, so we’ve added another month to the schedule. Sorry about that.”

“No worries at all. Shoot schedules always change.”

“Until then, we’ll polish the action sequences... Ah! But first, could I ask you to read the script and give me your thoughts?”

He must’ve poured his soul into it, to ask for instant feedback like that.

Understanding the creator’s passion,

Kim Donghu immediately—

Immersed.

He dove into the script.

***

A deck of playing cards contains 52 cards.

Typically, when playing card games, the Joker isn’t included.

That’s why no one ever considers the Joker during poker.

Because from the start, it’s not even part of the game.

“When someone’s playing poker... and a Joker suddenly shows up, people say: ‘Oh, this game doesn’t count. The Joker showed up.’”

But isn’t that what makes it fun?

That thought led to a more creative one:

What if all 52 cards were Jokers?

Even if a Joker crashes the table then—can you still say it doesn’t count?

When every card is already a joke?

“This isn’t... mm, it’s not revenge or anything. I’m not trying to take back what’s mine. That’s yours now, Jin Wayne.”

His gaze drifts to the tallest building in Gotham.

“Just because we have the same face, doesn’t mean I’m going to go looking for some hidden birth secret. That’d just be... boring.”

Dwelling on the past is like a rat drowning in a puddle.

Pathetic, pitiful, ugly.

“It’s just better to live in the now, isn’t it?”

He licks at the scar slicing through his mouth without even thinking.

Who did that again? Was it me? Or my mom? My dad? Grandma?

Or maybe it was the housemaid next door?

Ahh, I can’t quite remember.

But really—

It doesn’t matter.

What I’m about to say now has nothing to do with anything I just said.

So why did I say it?

No reason.

“Batman, there are too many people who hate you.”

So many that one day, I suddenly thought—maybe I could be like a genie who grants their wishes.

Tinker Bell from Peter Pan, the Wizard of Oz—something like that.

But man, everyone’s so scared.

If they were punished or maimed, I figured they’d resent me first.

But some of them... they just pissed themselves on the spot.

So, I gave them courage.

The courage to become like me.

I see faces—eyes red, bloodshot with madness.

I wanted the number to be just right, so I chose exactly 52.

Each one of them in clown makeup.

The brave ones.

“Let’s make Gotham fun.”

It’s simple, really.

Blow up every bridge that connects to Gotham.

Trap the city as an island, then kill the mayor and the police chief.

Once there’s no law, how will people choose to live?

What kind of games will they play?

That thought just kind of—

“There's no need to be so serious, right?”

I was curious.