Life is Easier If You’re Handsome-Chapter 338

As a result.
‘It’s not like I can see the lines or anything.’
There wasn’t any special effect like in a manga.
If I had to put it into words, it was more like I gained the sense that I could draw those lines at will?
The one thing that was clear was that even if I couldn’t see the lines,
I could perform everything else at 100%.
‘My ankle flexibility’s increased absurdly.’
How should I describe this?
Like I gained a few extra joints and ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) a more refined sense of control?
Maybe it’s because it’s been a while since I got an app-based talent, but it feels kind of new.
Thud!
The spikes on the football cleats dug into the ground.
And in that moment, my body felt light, like I was floating.
It was like entering zero gravity for a brief second.
The harder you push off, the more powerfully you can move forward.
So I stomped hard enough to leave a deep mark on the ground.
Whoosh!
I launched forward just like that.
My body, which already soared during the Olympics thanks to its ridiculous physical abilities,
Was now evolving once more—this time, to run on the NFL field.
‘Come to think of it, they said the match would be run in a pretty simplified format.’
If I had to explain it, the rules were technically flag football,
But the game content itself was played more like real football... I guess?
Like mini-football?
‘To run a proper game, each team would need a 48-person roster minimum, and that’s just impossible.’
Eleven offense, eleven defense is just the start.
And you need at least two backup players per position in American football.
But when were they going to recruit that many celebrities?
Even if they somehow managed to gather them all, there’d be no way to showcase everyone during an event match.
So playing it in a simplified format was the most effective approach.
Where all 11 players had to take on both offense and defense.
Naturally, that meant the game time would have to be shorter.
Which led, inevitably, to the mini-football format.
Originally, I think they really wanted to do it properly.
But if they did, the Super Bowl itself would end up getting overshadowed.
MatchTo contacted me directly and told me this was the most reasonable solution.
‘Well, I don’t care either way, as long as I get to play.’
In any case, what I needed to focus on now—
Was the practice for the Super Bowl that was about four weeks away.
If it were up to me, I’d like to practice with the people who ended up on my team.
That would be the most efficient way.
But unfortunately, the team hadn’t been announced yet.
You can’t really do anything until you know who your teammates are.
“Donghu! Donghu!”
“Yes?”
“They just contacted us! The teams have been decided!”
“Oh, really?”
And then, perfect timing—the team assignment news came in.
But Seokho hyung, who brought the news, didn’t look happy at all.
Normally, that meant one of two things.
Either he needed to take a dump—
Or—
‘Something unfair happened to me.’
But it didn’t make sense for something unfair to happen just because of the team assignments.
So maybe it was the former?
I guess I really do have too much free time these days—thinking about nonsense like this.
While I was having those pointless thoughts, I waited for Seokho hyung to walk over.
“The, the team! Isn’t this totally messed up?! It’s basically sabotage!”
Seokho hyung stormed over and held out the team list, face filled with rage.
“There’s way too few experienced players on our side! Isn’t this totally unfair?!”
Sure enough, looking at the two teams split into 11 players each—
Our team had significantly fewer people with football experience.
The other team had 10 out of 11 players with American football experience.
Our team had only 4 out of 11—including me.
And even I wasn’t really experienced.
And those 4? None of them had played all that long, either.
“Anyone can see this is malicious. I mean, seriously... Just to beat you, they’re pulling this shit?!”
Normally I’d be stunned and furious too.
But since Seokho hyung was getting mad enough for the both of us, I found myself staying calm instead.
Also, there were some very familiar names on the list—names I couldn’t ignore.
“For an event match, Kade’s on the other team?”
“Exactly! And that’s insane! The guy has to play in the Super Bowl tomorrow, so why’s he even in the event match?!”
How does that make sense? Why would his team even allow it?!
Why would an active pro willingly show up in an exhibition match?!
And even if he did show up, shouldn’t he be put on our team to balance it out?! Why’d they stick him on the other team, huh?! Should I file a formal complaint?! Should I really do it?!
If this were a manga, this would’ve taken up a full two-page spread.
“Hyung, please calm down. Your face is completely red right now.”
After calming Seokho hyung down—
“But it’s too late to complain now, isn’t it? Only four weeks left, and practice’ll eat up time.”
“No, still... I really think someone needs to yell about this, seriously. Donghu! This is too intentional!”
I analyzed the situation calmly.
To be honest, the imbalance really was unfair enough to argue over.
But I also thought... maybe this could be a good opportunity.
‘Every sport I’ve played until now has been a solo competition.’
So how far could I take a team game—on my own strength?
‘Since it’s just an exhibition match anyway, this is the perfect testbed for something like that.’
And also, there was one name on my team I found extremely unfamiliar.
Natalie Beltman.
A strange person.
I couldn’t exactly define how she was strange.
But even though it was our first meeting, she felt oddly familiar?
The way she looked at me so directly—so upright.
There was a strong sense of purpose.
And yet she managed to hide it completely, which was impressive.
‘I mean... I did end up noticing, so now I’m suspicious of her.’
That’s also part of why I didn’t object to the team assignment.
I was genuinely curious what her goal was.
If she just wanted to seduce me, she’d have tried something already—
And I’d have turned her down, and that would’ve been it.
She’s a real mystery.
Plus, she was the only woman among the 22 football players participating in the event.
“I mean, if they were going to include a woman... huh? For balance’s sake, shouldn’t they have put her on the other team?”
“Yeah, that’s true... It’s frustrating, but what can we do. Honestly, it’s too late to make changes now.”
And the biggest reason I’d decided not to argue about changing the lineup—
‘It’s been a while, Edward... Zain Lance.’
They weren’t even bothering to hide it anymore.
The people who’d once been my rivals were standing proudly on the other side.
A matchup that could only be described as the work of Fate itself.
It was so blatantly staged that it was almost laughable.
‘Still haven’t come to your senses?’
Then I’ll just have to stomp you.
++++++
Time passed quickly, and the day of the Super Bowl event match arrived.
The match was scheduled to happen exactly one day before the actual Super Bowl.
And since it was set for Saturday evening—
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!
OOOH!!! OOOH!!! OOOH!!! OOOH!!!
AAAH!!! AAAH!!! AAAH!!! AAAH!!!
The media exposure was no joke.
And with the massive fanbases of the 22 event players—
The stadium’s energy was nearly on par with the actual Super Bowl.
“This is unbelievable! I can’t believe my eyes! Entering the Super Bowl event match stadium right now is—Donghu Kim!”
“Ah... Donghu Kim! Just looking at him on screen, you can tell how insanely handsome he is—he’s practically glowing!”
“A man who is also many! Murcielago, Joker, and ArcBorn! All roads lead to Donghu Kim!”
Even the international commentators were pumped up by the heat of the moment, gripping their mics with force.
The energy kept rising, never cooling down—
The roar of the crowd shook the entire stadium.
“Since Donghu Kim has entered first, we’ll begin the team introductions! Entering from center field—Team Kim!”
“We heard they trained like crazy. Can’t wait to see what they show us.”
“That’s right. Most of them are football rookies, so even learning the rules was tough, right?”
“But still! Still—we believe they can do it! With Donghu Kim as the center, Team Kim is basically a Super Saiyan team!”
The enthusiastic introduction ended—
But in contrast, a gloomy future loomed over Team Kim.
Right after, Kade Walker entered the field, waving.
“An upset! A huge upset! A current pro! Not just any pro, but the strongest linebacker—scheduled to play in the Super Bowl tomorrow—Kade Walker!”
“He forced his schedule around just to face Donghu Kim—even if it’s a small event match, he made it work!”
“Introducing! Team Walker!”
“They say he deliberately refused to do joint practices with Team Kim, just to crush them.”
“Yes, he actually trained with college teams instead, to refine their strategy even further.”
“Of course, Kade Walker didn’t participate in those practices... but he’s a pro and did his own, so it’s not an issue, right?”
“Exactly! Which is why everyone—everyone—is predicting Kim’s defeat today.”
“A team packed with ex-pros... Team Walker!”
After both teams were introduced—
They lined up facing each other, and the difference in strength became even more apparent.
And then, the match actually began.
“All right, everyone! The moment you’ve been waiting for! The match begins now!”
“Note that although it’s usually divided into four quarters, since this is a simplified match, we’ll only have first and second halves!”
As soon as the game started—
“Oh! Just 31 seconds into the match! Team Walker scores the first touchdown!”
The skill gap was even more brutal than expected—it showed immediately in the score.
We couldn’t stop them.
You could say I couldn’t handle it alone.
This is a game with 11 people running at once.
How could one person control all of that?
Before I knew it—
“36 to 0! They haven’t even attempted a ball steal yet! Team Kim! Everyone looks flustered!”
“There’s no helping it. The momentum from pro Kade Walker is no joke!”
We were being one-sidedly crushed.
Even worse—
“Oh no... Even Team Kim’s captain, Donghu Kim, isn’t able to show his full strength!”
“He’s trying something, but it just doesn’t seem to be working, right?”
Even I—who had wondered if I could carry the whole team on my back—
Was getting pushed back.
‘Maybe I really can’t.’
Would this become my first official loss?
Even as that thought crossed my mind, I kept moving, trying to somehow turn the situation around.
If I could just get the ball—
Then with the talent from Eyeshield 21, somehow—
‘We’re getting steamrolled, but it’s still only the middle of the first half.’
If I could just make something happen from here, maybe a comeback was possible.
Just as I thought that, I looked up and saw Team Walker’s quarterback throwing a long pass—
‘Huh?’
A new possibility appeared—something I hadn’t noticed before.
For some reason, I had a sense that if I’d just moved a few steps forward—
I could’ve intercepted that throw.
‘What was that?’
Did the talent evolve? That can’t be it.
While I was briefly pondering that—
“Team Walker! Another touchdown!”
We lost more points in the blink of an eye.
Looking at the scoreboard where the numbers screamed of our defeat—
‘Ah.’
I realized something.
‘So that’s what it was.’
The talent I’d received—
The true nature of Eyeshield 21—
Wasn’t just about the character Eyeshield 21 himself.
‘...It was the entirety of the talents that appeared in that manga.’
It brought in everything about American football.
The reason I hadn’t realized it until now was because I’d thought it was limited to just one character.
And at the exact moment that shift in perspective occurred—
‘Ha.’
A smile formed on my lips.
Even in this overwhelmingly losing situation—
‘I can see it.’
I saw a clear path to victory.