Life is Easier If You’re Handsome

In general, for historical dramas or action shoots, it was common to use stunts.

Why? Well, because it’s obviously dangerous!

If you can’t ride a horse well, you’ll break your back, and if you make a mistake during a sword duel, you could end up with a broken bone.

So, it was usually better to use professionally trained stunt actors as stand-ins.

There’s a downside that you can’t show your face during the action, but aside from that, filming could safely continue.

“If it’s an environment where you can use them, why not? I mean, what era is this? Who’s going to ignore the safety of the actors?”

In that sense, director Oh Jae-deok couldn’t believe what was happening right in front of him.

“Has actor Kim Donghu ever learned any special martial arts or anything?”

“Excuse me?”

“Well, I mean, look at the others—while they’re off participating in school sports days…”

Why is he the only one shooting at the Taereung Training Center?

In some ways, you could say he was the perfect fit for the role of Jawan.

From a young age, he already had that genius image—he was just so optimal for it!

But that’s a story for when it only has a certain range.

It’s not even about pretending to be a genius; just a hint of that would earn applause.

“How can you do a 720-degree kick like that? Isn’t that a bit excessive? Is it really right to be that agile?”

Scratching his head,

Director Oh Jae-deok glanced at the script.

Jawan’s childhood.

The storyline hinted at him passing harsh training with flying colors to enter the sword forest.

But this top score could be interpreted in different ways.

You really only needed the basics to get by.

If you made it impossible for the rest, the quality would naturally shine through.

But,

“The actor’s doing so well that the visuals are just lightening up.”

He didn’t need to try hard to stand out just to not overshadow the lead.

Why? Because no one could beat Kim Donghu, even if they gave it their all.

Among his peers, Kim Donghu was truly like a wolf among sheep.

A crane among chickens.

He had already conquered the surroundings with his looks,

Then overwhelmed the atmosphere again with his absurdly flashy movements.

Director Oh Jae-deok genuinely thought Jawan had popped out of the script.

Is that why?

“It’s fun.”

He felt thrilled filming a drama after such a long time.

Not just simply wondering about the ratings or how well the project would do, but the excitement of seeing a character he had put so much attention into come to life.

Whoosh!

Even while he was in that thought, Kim Donghu—no, Jawan’s exploits continued.

A spectacular display showcasing his amazing physical abilities through dazzling kicking moves.

“The stunt actor’s performance is amazing; it truly looks like they’re being kicked and flying!”

Director Oh Jae-deok praised the stunts’ performances,

“Y-yeah, indeed.”

The head of the Youth Stunt Team from the Korean Action Academy replied, sweat trickling down his face.

After spending a long time instructing kids,

Having witnessed plenty of stunt performances, he could tell.

“That’s not acting.”

He had definitely mentioned before that they could give it their all without holding back,

And they’d have put on protective gear to prepare comfortably for the hits.
They’re probably all set to take a hit and enjoy it too.

But once they got hit, their faces said it was nothing like they expected.

The shock on the stunt actors’ faces was real, not fake.

So, it’s no wonder they praised the acting.

“It’s not acting; it’s really getting hit and it hurts!”

How can you get hurt through protective gear?

Is that even possible? I didn’t even dare to voice that obvious question.

Well, considering they are in pain, it must be.

While everyone was marveling at Kim Donghu’s action…

“Um, can I try doing it without a stunt double later?”

Only the rival, Park Jin-hyeok, who was burning with competitive spirit, left director Oh Jae-deok in awe.

“It’s all because of Kim Donghu that the set is heating up.”

When a game-changer like him shows up, everything around him starts to grow explosively.

Like how an incredibly advanced civilization drives world development.

“As a director, I can’t just crush this ambition.”

But it wouldn’t make sense to throw someone into action scenes without prior checks.

“I get it, but if it seems too dangerous, I’ll pull you out. We’ll have the martial arts director test your skills first; is that alright?”

In short, it means it’s dangerous, so they want a skill test.

It’s like saying Kim Donghu can handle it, but everyone else has to pass a test, which could hurt Park Jin-hyeok’s pride, but he didn’t mind.

“I want to be good, just like Kim Donghu.”

The goal before his eyes made everything else fade away.

At that moment.

“I’ll definitely catch up.”

Park Jin-hyeok’s goal became to be like Kim Donghu.

+++++

A shoot without NGs is like…

“No stops at all.”

It was like racing down an open eight-lane asphalt road all alone.

The acting was incredibly smooth, so there was no need for directing.

All they needed to do was capture from different angles, and that was it.

This led to shorter shoot times, and naturally, progress was going smoothly.

After Jawan was recognized as a killer,

While watching over his father’s grave for the funeral,

He meets his father’s old connection, Jang Samo, disguises his identity,

And gets into a slum.

The purpose of the slum is to revive the Royal Guard protecting the king.

It was there that young Jawan and Baek Dong-su first encountered each other.

Baek Dong-su, who has high potential but still has a long way to grow.

And in contrast, Jawan, already showing brilliant genius.

Their conflict might have been foreseeable.

“Let’s just settle who’s better here!”

“Why me?”

With personalities that are total opposites, Baek Dong-su and Jawan,

Just talking to each other made their personalities clear.
“Hey! I was here first! I know way more people than you! So obviously, I should be above you!”

“What are you talking about? I don’t care about that stuff. You can do whatever, I don’t care if you’re above or below!”

Jawan casually looked around.

Surrounded by kids and facing off against Baek Dong-su with wooden swords, it felt ridiculous.

“You’re saying you don’t care, but you’re trying to assert dominance?!”

“Assert dominance? Me?”

No, it’s just that you’re weak, maybe.

“What?!”

Park Jin-hyeok, no, Baek Dong-su, flared up and lunged at Jawan.

‘I want to act cool like you.’

The agreed action was to exchange a total of three strikes with wooden swords.

Park Jin-hyeok showcased his swordsmanship he learned from the martial arts director, practicing it dozens of times.

Twang!

A light downward strike.

And then Jawan smoothly deflected it with his sword,

‘This really feels like Jawan and Baek Dong-su.’

Park Jin-hyeok couldn’t help but admire it in his heart.

‘So cool.’

Just as he was thinking that and was about to continue his attack…

Crumble.

Due to the poorly thawed ground, Park Jin-hyeok slipped.

Because of that, the sword moved on a completely different trajectory than planned.

‘No way!’

In a state where it was awkward to release or grab the sword due to inertia, the sword shot forward even faster due to the slip.

Where the sword was heading was none other than his head.

As everyone was panicking at the unexpected strike,

‘Deflect it.’

Only Kim Donghu calmly tracked the sword’s trajectory.

He had the talents of Cheonmu Jiche and Ilhui Sotang Hyeolyeomsanha.

Both talents told Kim Donghu to perfectly deflect that sword.

Deflecting the suddenly launched sword’s tip with his own,

He quickly burrowed inside Baek Dong-su’s offensive line.

With Baek Dong-su’s arms raised and Jawan getting inside,

Whoosh!

In that state, he rotated the blade,

making Baek Dong-su drop his sword.

“…Huh?”

It was truly the pinnacle of swordsmanship.

The true skills of Jawan, or rather Kim Donghu, revealed only in unexpected situations.

“Cut! Cut! Cuuuuut!!!”

The frantic Ok sign from director Oh Jae-deok rushed to the scene.

“Hey, what happened, huh?! What’s going on?! Was this agreed upon? That was way too dangerous!”

If mishaps occurred, the actors could have been hurt.

Director Oh Jae-deok demanded an explanation, clearly concerned, pushing for answers.

‘I-I need to confess that I made a mistake…’

Actor Park Jin-hyeok trembled, determined to muster the courage to confess.

But just then…

“I’m sorry. I was overly confident in my sword skills, which led to an unreasonable request towards actor Park Jin-hyeok.”

Kim Donghu calmly apologized.

“No, Kim Donghu! I mean Donghu! Regardless, this kind of thing needs to be agreed upon first! It was a huge shock! Thank goodness no one got hurt!”

It’s not just about getting a cool shot; no one can get hurt! Don’t do that again!
“See?! Don’t do that again!”

Despite the continuous scolding, Kim Donghu quietly lowered his head to apologize.

“Anyway, since the result is good, let’s just say this much,” he repeated several times.

In the midst of the surprise, they decided to take a brief break from filming.

While everyone was calming their surprised hearts, Park Jinhyuk approached Kim Donghu.

“Why did you do that?”

“Huh?”

“Anyone could see it was my mistake. But why did you cover for me?”

At those words, Kim Donghu looked at Park Jinhyuk.

Back when he was teased for being ugly and misunderstood for it, there wasn’t a single person to cover for his mistakes.

In those days when he had no one on his side, he vowed he wouldn’t be that kind of person.

‘I’m trembling in fear of getting scolded; how could I just stand there?’

Now that he was in a position to help others, he could do so.

Of course, he couldn’t say it outright, so he phrased it as gently as possible.

“I just wanted to be friends with you, sunbae.”

“Uh, okay?”

“I haven’t been acting for long, so I don’t have many friends yet.”

He wanted to make a good impression.

“…”

A guy who’s better at acting and better looking than me wants to be friends?

Why?

For a moment, Park Jinhyuk’s mind went blank.

What should I even say?

“Okay, okay, I get it. But don’t do that again; I can handle my own stuff.”

“Yes, sunbae.”

“Um… so, want to exchange phone numbers?”

Not really sure how to proceed, but let’s at least exchange numbers first.

+++++

As the filming for “Swordsman Baek Dong-su” was smoothly progressing, one place was ramping up its promotion.

“Who will be this year’s blockbuster at the Mise-en-scène Short Film Festival?”

“Searching for a special rookie! Is there really a superhuman on a white horse that can exist in a short film?”

While the Mise-en-scène Short Film Festival was beginning to make its presence known, strange rumors started to spread online.

“Hey, I heard Kim Donghu is going to be in this Mise-en-scène?”

“No way, that’s just made up, right? How could Kim Donghu be in it?”

“No, it’s true! A friend of a friend of mine knows someone involved, and they said Kim Donghu is in it!”

So the news that Kim Donghu filmed a short movie was stirring.

“Wait, is he doing both drama and film at the same time? He’s still just a rookie?”

“Wow, he’s making his screen debut with a short film? That means he must be the lead, right?”

Excitement was in the air.

Meanwhile, one director with a beard like Guan Yu was harshly denying reality.

“No, no! Our Donghu must debut with MY work! He should have debuted with MY work!”

“How could a short film rob Donghu’s first screen appearance? I will never forgive this!”

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