Life is Easier If You're Handsome-Chapter 248
Times have changed.
It’s not necessary to shoot a Japanese film in Japan.
With modern CG technology, location doesn’t matter as much anymore.
But—
“...You’re building a set? A village?”
“Yes, it’ll take a little time.”
Director Kiryuu didn’t seem to be bothered at all.
“We don’t need a huge area. Just... well, we’ll set up a few buildings on some vacant land.”
“No, that...”
I was at a loss for words.
Normally, the director makes all these decisions, but the scale of building an entire village just to film a movie was unfamiliar to me.
“Wait, would it be similar to bringing in a small plane for an action scene...? Is it the same as getting a plane here?”
Still, would it be bigger than building a village?
I was genuinely surprised by the thought.
“It’s not quite the village feel you’re thinking of. It’s actually going to be a giant set.”
Initially, they’d planned to build it in Japan, but—
Director Kiryuu spoke with a touch of regret.
“If the movie becomes a huge hit and people know we filmed Musashi here... just imagine how many people would flock to the set, right?”
Especially since they were planning to show it at Cannes.
He sighed in frustration, tapping his chest a few times, then shrugged.
“If you don’t have the courage, you can’t pull off something big. It’s just the way it is.”
With that, Director Kiryuu handed me the script.
“As you know, I gave you the earlier parts before. This is the final version now.”
“Yes, I’ve been waiting for it. Haha.”
“I’m sorry. I meant to give it to you right away, but after hearing Donghu’s doing Musashi, I’ve been thinking a lot.”
“Thinking?”
“Yes, because if it’s you, Donghu... you’ll show something beyond what I’ve written.”
With that, Director Kiryuu added that this was the final version of the script, and without hesitation, I dove right into it.
The world had changed.
I finally understood why he hadn’t mentioned the name at first.
And why the movie’s title was Musashi.
For others, it seemed like a fleeting moment where all this clicked into place.
The world of blood and swords.
The resolve to walk the path of a warrior, with all the fear of death that came with it.
The memories tangled with the weakest, yet most tightly bound times of running away.
It all felt as if I had experienced it myself.
Engraved into my skin and soul.
And then came what was inevitably expected.
‘...But where’s the Sims message?’
There was no talent application download. It felt like something was wrong, just like last time.
Normally, when the immersion is complete, something related should appear.
But in this case, there was only one possibility.
‘If my talent is already more overwhelming than what’s written in the script.’
So, in a way, Sims was indirectly telling me:
“You can already use the Icheonilryu at your current level.”
Really?
I was taken aback.
Sure, I had gained a lot of skills related to swords.
But the talents mentioned in Musashi didn’t seem to be that.
Because, after all, other things were based on history to some degree.
‘But this... this is very different.’
Musashi leaned heavily on folk tales and rumors, blending creative elements into the story.
‘But hey, let’s see.’
It’s not like Sims had believed in anyone else.
Now it was time ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ to use everything I had learned and practice the swordplay.
“Director, could I get two swords to practice for a moment?”
“Oh, oh? As soon as you saw the script, something clicked? A burst of inspiration?!”
“Yes, yes?”
“Just like in the rebel scenes, right?”
I only said it lightly, but why was the reaction so intense?
In the middle of my thoughts, Director Kiryuu suddenly pushed ahead with the work.
“First, after the battle representing Icheonilryu... in the scene where you’re alone... refining your swordsmanship! That’s the feel, right?!”
Of course, it wasn’t.
I had only been trying to get a feel for the script.
But—
‘Why are your eyes sparkling like that? I can’t turn this down now.’
Before I knew it, the filming process was moving forward.
I think he misunderstood what I said.
“Yes, that’s right.”
I didn’t feel the need to clarify, so I just went with it.
After all, today’s schedule was filming anyway.
***
Watching Kim Donghu stretch in preparation for the shoot,
‘Of course! Of course! If it’s Donghu, I knew he’d be different!’
Director Kiryuu smiled brightly. Let’s face it, Kiryuu Sota was a director, not a swordsman.
Honestly, no matter how much research he did, and even if he consulted experts, and worked hard to perfect the script,
‘In front of a real swordsman, it’s child’s play.’
There was no way he could direct full-blown swordplay.
Would it even be possible to find someone who could teach swordsmanship for acting? That was laughable.
Who could incorporate Icheonilryu into acting?
Especially in the 21st century.
So the role of the actor became incredibly important.
And as expected,
‘The moment he looked at the script, he was ready to act out swordplay...!’
Musashi could only be done by Kim Donghu. Thinking that, I quickly wrapped up the preparations for the shoot.
It wasn’t hard.
Set up green panels around the area, and done. A blank white canvas where only the actor held the brush. It was a test of the actor’s full capabilities.
But even with that,
‘No hesitation.’
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
Standing before the camera, Kim Donghu looked completely calm. Even though it was his first time acting as Musashi, there was no sign of nervousness.
“How did I do it back then?”
Naturally, Japanese words spilled out, and Kim Donghu took his first step.
At first glance, his movements seemed quite normal. But at the same time, the two swords moved in entirely different ways.
“...Was this how I did it?”
It was clearly a blunt wooden sword, but as Kim Donghu swung it, it immediately looked like a real blade.
In the peaceful, uneventful everyday life, a quiet violence took root in the land.
Director Kiryuu Sota described the situation in this way. It was at that moment that Kim Donghu slowly moved.
With two wooden swords, as if dancing, he treated them like brushes and drew pictures in the air.
"The important thing is neither the form nor the posture."
He softly muttered the words.
"What remains in the end is the thread and the dragon."
In a world where life and death were common, what was necessary was not spirit or courage, but the means to kill the other with certainty. Only that would determine victory, granting the reward of survival.
"Light and sharp."
The sword in his left hand was a snake, the one in his right hand, a bull.
He distracts with the bull, then strikes with the snake. But most die from the bull.
Still stubbornly bound by form, Kim Donghu—no, Musashi danced.
Just like in the script.
No, something even more than that emerged.
In the midst of everyone admiring the scene, a camera was quietly running, unnoticed by anyone.
***
Where does the leak start from?
‘It’s done! It’s done!’
It obviously starts from the inside. No, that’s not it. Everyone here is trustworthy.
Even so, the unchangeable truth remains—
Leaks start from within.
This time, with Musashi, it was the same.
‘How many requests for failure have I gotten?’
The Japanese public opinion on Musashi was still poor.
And it worsened even more when Director Kiryuu said they’d be filming in Korea.
‘And now, top Japanese actors are joining the cast...’
Despite the negative public opinion, the mood was shifting in the opposite direction.
No Japanese production company would like this flow.
Because they wouldn’t be the ones filming it.
And even conservative companies weren’t thrilled by this.
Naturally, they hoped Musashi would fail.
But wait—
This wasn’t looking like it would fail after all.
So they hired someone to leak information.
Before the filming even properly started, leaking a scene from the movie? Was there any more devastating disruption than that?
I had wanted to stir up some gossip, but I gave up because I couldn’t even get close to Kim Donghu.
Anyway.
Tatatatat.
The spy who secretly filmed Donghu’s first scene did almost no editing.
‘Going straight for it.’
He uploaded the raw footage directly to YouTube.
Without giving anyone a chance to respond, he made sure they’d be shocked as soon as they saw it!
‘This kind of disruption will earn me a nice payout, right?’
***
The world of YouTube is vast and infinite. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
Millions of videos are uploaded every day, and YouTube regularly feeds them into its algorithm. If you’re lucky, you might get picked up by the algorithm and your views can skyrocket.
The video Kota uploaded was the same.
Of course, even without the algorithm, those hoping for Musashi to fail would share it relentlessly.
But even faster, YouTube’s algorithm spread the leak of Musashi.
But—
"Isn’t that Kim Donghu?"
"What? What’s this?"
"Why is Kim Donghu swinging two wooden swords?"
"What is this video? Why is he doing this?"
"Is this from Rebel? No, it’s too modern-looking, isn’t it?"
"It’s got a CG look too... what is it?"
The situation took a strange turn.
In reality, this was clearly Kota’s mistake. Musashi had only gotten hot in Japan and Korea. Other regions hadn’t even heard of it yet.
That means there was zero information. No one knew what the controversy was or what had caused it.
Then suddenly a video of Kim Donghu swinging swords gets uploaded? It wasn’t a devastating leak—but a near-fatal marketing move.
"So what is this? Is it a movie or what?"
"I don’t know what it is, but if Kim Donghu is in it... I’m definitely watching it."
It was as close to deadly promotion as you could get.
