Life is Easier If You're Handsome novel Chapter 323

Disney’s recent track record—bluntly speaking—hadn’t been great.

They’d leveraged ten years of accumulated IP power to push for aggressive expansion.

But in that bold expansion lay a disregard for mass appeal, all in the name of “diversity.”

Turning the original leads into complete idiots had basically become the norm.

And with too little time spent developing new protagonists, their backstories were... embarrassingly shallow.

Quick and easy.

New faces who, out of nowhere, suddenly ascended to world-class power rankings.

Meanwhile, the original cast had spent years building up narrative and strength.

Disney’s new works claimed the newbies were just as powerful—if not more so—which only bred betrayal in the audience that had been watching faithfully for years.

“...As long as it succeeded, none of that used to matter.”

Honestly, none of that would’ve mattered if the shows were fun.

But the most critical ingredient—entertainment—was overwhelmingly lacking.

The new works were, quite simply, just not as enjoyable as the old ones.

They failed to entertain, so they lost popularity. They lost popularity, so they hemorrhaged money.

This vicious cycle showed no signs of stopping.

The performance of their recent films? It didn’t even need to be looked up—it was obvious.

“All of it’s PC-ified garbage... even the dramas.”

Fwooo...

A long exhale, like smoke drifting from a cigarette.

The only relief? Disney wasn’t dead yet.

People said it was stumbling, sure.

But the company’s situation wasn’t as dire as it sounded. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Because it was the new projects that were flopping.

The old ones were still propping the company up.

Though even those were starting to hit their limits.

Murcielago.

Melvin Fai, president of Marvel Studios, thought of what was currently the greatest superhero movie.

An Asian Batman. An Asian Catwoman.

Just hearing those words might’ve triggered “PC” alarm bells—

“Kim Donghu... Chisako.”

But when every role was filled with stunningly attractive actors, no one even mentioned the “P” in PC.

On top of that, they were absurdly good at acting.

Single-take action scenes that made no sense in their complexity.

And wielding twin giant pistols in full akimbo style?

People were losing their minds over this new kind of hero.

But that wasn’t all.

“What if this isn’t just in the movies?”

What if the lead was actually that strong in real life?

Not just good—but literally titled “Earth’s Strongest”?

At that point—

It was harder not to be popular.

Skyrocketing market value was just the baseline.

He had become the universal standard for what it meant to be handsome.

Naturally, people idolized him.

Among customizable video game protagonists, the “Kim Donghu skin” was always the most downloaded.

And there were already rumors that some companies were building entire games around his likeness.

“Where was it again... HappyNote? Right, the CEO’s Korean too.”

“So much talent coming out of Korea.”

Melvin muttered as he anxiously tapped the table.

He clearly understood the gravity of the decision before him.

He’d been weighing it for a while.

But now—he had to make the call.

Click.

Melvin picked up the desk phone.

There was an unspoken rule in superhero cinema.

One choice no one had ever dared try before.

Something with more risk than reward—so risky, no one even considered it.

“...Ask Donghu Kim if he’d be willing to carry on Iron Man’s legacy.”

Offering a superhero role to someone already playing one?

Not unprecedented.

But what Melvin was about to do was different.

“...Even if he keeps playing Batman. That’s fine.”

He was proposing dual hero roles.

***

It wasn’t unheard of for actors to jump from DC to Marvel.

To make a new start in another universe.

But actors working simultaneously in both?

And not just working—but leading both franchises?

That was practically nonexistent.

Why? Because it was obvious—

The risk of brand conflict was massive.

There wasn’t a strict rule forbidding it—

But it was understood that leading roles should build hype for only one side.

Holding both banners was nearly unheard of.

And yet—

Melvin’s decision sent shockwaves through the industry.

After # Nоvеlight # all, this was going to come out eventually.

Melvin had officially offered Kim Donghu the role of the next Iron Man.

“But isn’t there already Ironheart?”

“Huh? That was a thing...?”

“So what are they gonna do with the backstory?”

“Marvel leaks everything anyway, we’ll find out soon.”

“Wait—he’s starring in both at the same time?!”

“Must mean they’re desperate~”

“Feels more like Marvel acting solo, Disney’s too busy chasing Star Wars.”

“Donghu using the Force 😱😱😱”

Public reaction was on fire.

Because if this actually went through—

Kim Donghu would become the first person to play Batman, Joker, and Iron Man.

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