Chapter 108
Chapter 108
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 108
Chapter Title: Chapter 36: Seven Losses, Eight Wins (4)
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The recording of Seven Losses, Eight Wins finally began.
But Oh Min-tae, who was new to variety shows like this, couldn't help but freeze up completely.
Kang Han-do deliberately turned the spotlight on Oh Min-tae.
"Oh Min-tae, are you nervous by any chance?"
"N-Nervous? N-Not at all!"
The other members burst into laughter at Oh Min-tae's words not matching his actions.
"Haha! Anyone can see you're nervous!"
"Hey, hey, relax. Don't put so much pressure on yourself for the broadcast."
Team Bo and Shin Yong-woo chimed in one after another.
Whether Kang Han-do asked or Team Bo and Shin Yong-woo spoke up.
With comments flying from all directions, Oh Min-tae couldn't figure out which rhythm to follow.
This was Seven Losses, Eight Wins in a nutshell.
Kang Han-do asked Oh Min-tae again.
"You're really not nervous?"
"N-No, I'm not!"
"Then let's do a three-line poem."
"Huh? Why a three-line poem out of nowhere?"
"Because you're not nervous. Show us 'My condition is perfect!' with a three-line poem."
Oh Min-tae was flustered by Kang Han-do's random progression.
But the other members cheered at Kang Han-do's suggestion.
"Show us! Show us! Show us!"
"Show us your skills, Oh Min-tae!"
The atmosphere made it impossible to refuse.
Oh Min-tae swallowed hard.
"Then... what should I use?"
Kang Han-do opened his mouth right away, as if he'd been waiting.
"Use your own name, three syllables. Here we go. Oh!"
It started immediately, without giving him time to prepare.
Oh Min-tae decided to just blurt something out with a 'whatever!' mentality.
"'Oh'—today, working hard as always."
"Ooh~" came admiring sounds from around him.
Not bad for the first line.
"Min!"
"'Min'—this is Min-tae. Nice to meet you!"
"Tae!"
"Tae? Tae..."
The hurdle arrived.
Truth be told, the three-line poem ended at "Oh Min."
What to say for "Tae"?
"'Tae'—like the sun, working hard... so..."
"Aw!"
"Failed, total fail."
The members shook their heads.
Kang Han-do pulled out a slide whistle from somewhere and made a "ding!" sound.
"Oh Min-tae, is that all you've got?"
"Then you do it, Han-do."
"Me?"
Oh Min-tae counterattacked Kang Han-do.
No way he'd suffer alone. Your turn!
"Here we go. Kang!"
"'Kang'—a strong man."
"Han!"
"'Han'—it's Han-do. Nice to meet you."
The flow matched Oh Min-tae's earlier poem.
Now, what twist would he pull off?
"Do!"
"'Do'—I need your help. Viewers! Please watch Seven Losses, Eight Wins!"
"Ooooh!!!"
Even the staff joined the cast in cheering for Kang Han-do's poem.
Yang Ho gave Kang Han-do a thumbs-up.
"As expected from our MC! Kang God, Kang God!"
"Praise Kang God!"
Thanks to Kang Han-do, the atmosphere heated up.
Meanwhile, Kang Han-do patted Oh Min-tae's shoulder with the gaze of a victor.
"Learned something, right?"
"Teach me your ways, teacher... no, master!"
Oh Min-tae had no choice but to concede defeat.
The opening ended with Kang Han-do and Oh Min-tae's skit during the breather.
* * *
After finishing the opening remarks, Kang Han-do asked the members.
"We have a challenge to tackle today. Does anyone know what it is?"
"......"
"......"
The members fell silent in unison.
It wasn't silence from ignorance.
They were acting.
They'd known since before the pre-meeting what the first recording would entail.
A showdown between a packaging machine and humans!
But pretending not to know kept the fun alive.
The members put on bewildered expressions.
Kang Han-do beckoned them.
"Come on, let's go."
"Where to?"
Jeong Hak-gu asked on behalf of the group.
"You'll see once you follow. Hurry up."
"......?"
In the end, the members chose to follow Kang Han-do.
They had no choice; the show wouldn't progress otherwise.
They rode in cars to a certain factory.
After greeting the staff there, the members entered.
The camera focused on a machine wrapping gift boxes.
"Our opponent for today's showdown is right here!"
Team Bo pointed at the machine.
"No way... nah, it can't be."
"Hm? What do you mean, Team Bo?"
"You're saying we compete against a machine, right?"
"Exactly!"
The members reacted with strong opposition.
"Come on, that doesn't make sense! How are we supposed to beat a machine!"
"Wrap gifts? Us?"
"No way, no way. Absolutely not!"
"Hey, cancel the show! Why'd you call us for this!"
Excluding Oh Min-tae, the other four members gave appropriate reactions fitting their character concepts.
On the other hand, Oh Min-tae's reactions looked awkward.
It couldn't be helped. This was his first time on a variety show like this, after all.
Time would sort it out.
The challenge was simple.
Pairs of two would take turns wrapping more gift boxes than the machine in five minutes.
To that end, the members decided to undergo special training.
"First corner! Check this out, everyone."
Kang Han-do held up a roll of plastic wrap.
"As variety stars, you should know what this means the moment you see it. Oh Min-tae, do you know what we're about to do?"
"Plastic wrap... plastic wrapping?"
"Oh Min-tae, you're out of the variety world!"
He'd tried a dad joke, but it fell flat.
The correct answer was...
"Popping plastic wrap with your face. How don't you know this? It's the classic body gag."
Distort your face to make viewers laugh.
A common pattern.
But also the royal road of gags.
The first challengers were Shin Yong-woo and Jeong Hak-gu.
Both had faces hilarious enough not to lose anywhere for comedy.
"Ready... go!"
At Kang Han-do's signal, the two desperately tried to pop the wrap with their faces.
The camera close-upped their contorted faces.
Even the camera director burst out laughing at the hilarious scene.
The result: Shin Yong-woo's victory.
Next up: Kang Han-do and Oh Min-tae.
Kang Han-do had actually never done a face gag like this before.
Still, sometimes you had to be willing to debase yourself for big laughs.
Like now.
"Go!"
At Shin Yong-woo's signal, Kang Han-do and Oh Min-tae's face-popping began.
They put on a scene just as funny as the previous pair.
The result...
Kang Han-do's win.
The main MC showed his power.
He even pulled off a satisfying laugh moment.
But they still had a ways to go.
"Second corner for our battle against the packaging machine! Let's dive in!"
"Does this really help?"
Oh Min-tae landed a perfectly normal, fundamental jab.
Nice tackle.
"It does. Trust me!"
"Who should we trust?"
"The Variety God!"
Now was the time to trust the Variety God.
* * *
After three rounds of special training, they returned to the factory.
The site buzzed with tension ahead of the long-awaited first showdown.
"Ready!"
The first pair in: the 30s duo, Shin Yong-woo and Jeong Hak-gu.
Tweet!
With the whistle, the two men's challenge began.
Shin Yong-woo wrapped the gift boxes in paper, while Jeong Hak-gu secured them with tape.
They fought hard, but...
Speed-wise, the machine was faster.
"Switch!"
Team Bo and Yang Ho jumped in.
Compared to the 30s duo, their hands moved noticeably quicker.
The Team Bo-Yang Ho pair completed wraps at a fierce pace.
But soon they hit their physical limits.
"Switch!"
The final pair entered.
Kang Han-do and Oh Min-tae.
The young blood went all out.
"Fast, so fast!"
"That's it, you're doing great! Han-do!"
"Min-tae! Just a bit more!"
"Hang in there for 30 seconds, 30 seconds!"
"Not much left!"
The members' fervent cheers poured in.
Kang Han-do and Oh Min-tae poured out every ounce of strength.
However.
Tweet!
Time was up.
The score: 45 boxes vs. 30.
The packaging machine's victory.
It was the expected result.
Beating a machine wasn't easy. Still, showing their effort let viewers feel the passion and drive—that alone satisfied Kang Han-do.
Kang Han-do moved into the closing remarks.
"Every Saturday evening, we promise to greet you viewers. Thank you!"
"Thank you!"
The eventful first recording wrapped up.
Now, all that was left was waiting for the results.
* * *
After finishing the Seven Losses, Eight Wins recording, Kang Han-do gathered the Driving License Academy team for Pobac Absolute stage practice.
Hwang Yeon-ji tilted her head at the sight of Kang Han-do and Oh Min-tae.
"Oppa, what's that smell?"
"...Ah, this?"
Kang Han-do gave a wry smile.
"Salve smell."
It was quite strong.
It had to be.
Kang Han-do and Oh Min-tae had shown up with salve plastered on their waists, arms, and such.
One patch was pungent enough, but multiple patches on two people? The smell was intense.
"Whew. Let's open a window."
"Sorry, Yeon-ji."
"It's fine. But why salve all of a sudden? Did both of you get hurt at the same time?"
"Not hurt exactly. It's from the Seven Losses, Eight Wins recording."
"Really???"
Hearing the answer only confused her more.
"Isn't that a variety show? Is it actually a combat program? Am I wrong?"
"You're right. It's a variety show."
"Then why?"
"Well, you see..."
Normally, Kang Han-do didn't like spoiling recording contents even to acquaintances.
It might leak out.
But this time, he had to explain.
Staying silent would only worry Hwang Yeon-ji more.
After hearing everything.
Hwang Yeon-ji looked confused about what expression to make.
"Should I laugh or cry?"
If you just considered that the recording went off without a hitch, laughing was fine.
But considering the muscle pain it caused, crying might not be bad either.
Kang Han-do answered.
"Think laugh."
"No, it feels wrong laughing when you oppas are hurting. So how about practice today?"
"Stage practice is doable, so don't worry. Right, Min-tae?"
"Huh? Uh... okay. We can do it."
Driving License Academy wasn't a stage that required heavy physical movement.
Just sit and pretend to drive while exchanging lines.
Kang Han-do inwardly thanked that he hadn't made Driving License Academy a body-gag heavy corner.
If he had...
'I don't even want to imagine.'
He shook his head involuntarily.