Life is Easier If You're Handsome

$2.3 billion.

#4 at the all-time global box office.

That meant it had overtaken the classic Titanic. It had out-earned every movie except the Avatar series and Endgame.

😨😨😨😨😨😨😨

“My... my body... I just can’t control it...”

Once the weight of that reality hit, they all started trembling.

“Oooooh... I-I’m shaking too.”

“M-Me too!”

Murciélago had been the opening act of a brand-new Batman franchise. Of course, it had received massive investment—and they had spent all of it.

Marketing alone devoured a fortune. If the results weren’t good enough, the losses would’ve been enormous.

But now—The many sleepless nights, spent worrying what if this bombs?, were being rewarded all at once. Their fingers and toes curled involuntarily.

“Th-Then... is it even possible? Thirty... billion dollars?”

A voice let that fantasy slip.

“What? $30 billion...?”

“That’d make it the #1 movie of all time...?”

“You’re saying it’d beat Avatar?”

$3 billion.

Roughly ₩4.4 trillion.

One movie making ₩4.4 trillion?

Was that even a real number?

💻💻💻💻💻💻💻

Inside the Warner Bros. boardroom, the executives’ minds spun like calculators, running the math at lightning speed.

“The word is that Donghu Kim gave quite a lot of creative input during production. Is that true?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“...Then let’s keep that going. No—make it official. Put it in the next contract.”

Lock down Kim Donghu.

Letting him go? Not even on the table.

“Starting today, every major production company... especially Dazney... they’re going to come after our Donghu Kim. They’ll offer him anything.”

“Exactly. They’ll try to steal our actor!” 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Technically, Kim Donghu’s Hollywood debut was Tarzan.

So his first affiliation was with Dazney.

But Warner Bros. didn’t care.

To them now, Kim Donghu was their actor.

Still...

“They’re going to target the fact that we haven’t signed a series contract yet!”

“At this point, money is... meaningless. Sure, we’ll offer the best deal possible, but for someone like Donghu Kim, money isn’t everything.”

They were nervous. Because ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) he hadn’t signed anything yet.

“We have to go all out for convenience. Obviously, start with a visa... let his family visit anytime...”

“What if we open the Hollywood pipeline to other Veritas actors too?”

“I’ve heard Donghu Kim is the de facto head of Veritas. Owns equity too... He’d love that.”

“No no! What we need is something directly for Donghu Kim!”

A house? He has one.

A private jet? Got it.

A car? Don’t even need to say it.

The moment Murciélago succeeded, every auto company gifted him every car featured in the movie. A move to capitalize on the Batmobile premium.

“Doesn’t he already have everything?”

“This is actually dangerous.”

An actor with it all.

Before fame, you could tempt him with what he lacked.

But now—there’s nothing left to offer.

Which means...

“Well, it’s simple now.”

“Sorry?”

“Whether Donghu Kim says yes or no... that decides our fate.”

The entire franchise’s future now rested on one actor.

“Ah.”

At Director Cristo’s words, the executives’ eyes flew open.

They realized how foolish their previous thinking had been.

“It’s not about losing him or not.”

“Drop the exclusivity clause. Don’t put a single restriction on his film activities.”

“Remove all restrictions. Just ask him to be careful with spoilers.”

Earning $2.3 billion does not mean he’ll automatically do the next movie.

That kind of thinking is foolish.

This is Hollywood.

Everything can fall apart in an instant.

The cold truth slammed the calculator shut.

The sequel? The title? The final showdown between Batman and Joker? Even if they prepared it all—

If Donghu Kim suddenly said,

“I just don’t feel like it.”

That would be the end. No sequel. No sponsors. No funding.

DC was riding an unprecedented boom right now.

Any comic tied to Batman was selling like wildfire.

Even Murcielago’s comic version—preorders of preorders were already sold out.

An animated adaptation had been announced too.

They’d publicly committed to building a new cinematic universe around Murcielago. Dozens of staff were already working behind the scenes.

Not only that—

In cosplay circles, Batman was everywhere now.

‘Jin Wayne’—young, rich, handsome, and built like a god.

The perfect hero had lodged himself in people’s hearts.

What did that mean?

Kids loved him.

Which meant customers.

Which meant access to their parents’ wallets.

“Obviously, we’ll start with cereal ads...”

“Burger chain toys, action figures too.”

“Guns are flying off shelves—especially long-barreled ones.”

“Tonfa demand is up too. Self-defense brands are flooding us with collab offers.”

“T-shirts, LEGO sets, figurines... This spans all industries.”

“Phones, games, the works.”

“Games?”

“Yes. Mods turning Cyberpunk’s Johnny into Jin Wayne’s Batman. Skins for V...”

“Even GTA—if customization gets deep enough, everyone becomes Jin Wayne.”

It wasn’t just Murciélago’s story or directing that made it a legend.

One actor pulled it all together. Perfectly.

But if that actor says he’s out—

“If Donghu Kim says no, everything we just mentioned is gone.”

“Just one forever stand-alone movie... and we’ll get roasted for it.”

Lose Kim Donghu?

Give up Jin Wayne?

How dare you. Don’t even think about revival. You’d be the idiots who killed hope.

They could already hear the outrage coming. And it wasn’t just Batman they’d lose.

They’d lose Joker, too. And all the insane business tied to that.

So what now?

What could they possibly do to win Donghu Kim over?

Warner Bros. redirected the entire meeting. And then the answer came—simple, clean.

“We use public opinion.”

“Public opinion?”

“Yes. We build positive buzz... tell the world how much we want him back... and then we play our trump card.”

“Trump card? What is it?”

“We visit Korea.”

“You mean, go to Korea?”

“Yes. Go there, enjoy their culture, and appeal to them—Warner Bros. loves Korea... Warner Bros. wants Batman...”

“Are you seriously saying this out loud?”

“Yes.”

“You crazy bastard. Let’s do it. Get ready to fly to Korea.”

Why do Native American rain rituals never fail?

Because they keep dancing until it rains.

“We go with the prayer meta.”

Step 1: Fly to Korea.

That was the final decision.

***

January 2024.

Even though Murciélago was no longer in theaters, people still couldn’t stop talking about Jin Wayne.

“So what you’re saying is—UFC should take the backseat?”

UFC President Dayzon White—aka “White Boss”—was reading a rather insulting proposal.

“We’re not saying take a backseat. Just that, since this is a crossover match, the prize money is huge.”

“...And you want the UFC bout after?”

“Yes. Otherwise, we’re pulling out.”

WBA and WBC—boxing’s big leagues. And UFC—mixed martial arts.

All three had heavyweight champs. Now they wanted to unify them.

But boxing and MMA were totally different sports. One fight wouldn’t cut it.

So they proposed a two-match format.

One boxing.

One MMA.

Split by about six months.

So if the first match happened in June 2024, the second would be in December.

Naturally, everyone wanted the spotlight of the first match.

But boxing had the numbers. UFC was alone—at a disadvantage in negotiations.

Technically, the order could be changed based on the fighter’s wishes. But with boxing offering more money, who would say no?

So in the end—

“...Alright. We’ll go with that.”

“Smart decision. Truly.”

The plan was set: boxing first, then MMA.

June 2024.

News of the Kim Donghu vs. Zain Lance boxing match spread like wildfire.

It was 2024, and Kim Donghu fever was back in full swing.

And at that moment, the man himself—

“...I didn’t know you had a habit of clawing my back like that.”

“O-Oppa, you were just... too rough... I-I did ask you to go easier!”

“Yeah? You sure seemed like you wanted it when you stretched your legs and started teasing me.”

“I-It’s because you said you liked it like that...”

He was in bed.

With Catwoman. 😏🔥