Chapter 13
Chapter 13
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: Episode 4. 16th Public Recruitment Comedian Exam (4)
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Kang Han-do began mimicking the act of tapping on something with his hand extended horizontally.
It was a form of pantomime.
Since this was a public recruitment comedian exam, they couldn't perfectly recreate the entire stage setup. That was why comedians or comic actors had to use pantomime as much as possible to depict nonexistent objects or even the situation itself, letting the audience know what kind of backdrop the stage had.
‘That pose... he's pretending to type on a keyboard.’
Dressed in a full suit, he gave off the vibe of a salaryman handling office work.
But his expression and the finer details of his movements radiated more of an aura belonging to a high-ranking executive than a mere employee.
Kang Han-do kept up the keyboard-typing pantomime for a while.
Then, Oh Min-tae beside him mimed knocking.
“Knock knock.”
Miming the sound with his mouth, Oh Min-tae pretended to open the door and step inside.
“Hello, Executive Director Kang.”
“What brings you here?”
“With Chuseok coming up, I’ve prepared a small token of my appreciation to ask for your continued support for our company.”
“A token?”
“Here, please take this first.”
Oh Min-tae handed over a small box.
A label boldly reading ‘Apple Box’ was stuck right on it.
The judges’ eyes lit up with interest the moment they saw it.
They’d caught on to what scenario he was setting up.
It was a satirical take on the recent ‘apple box scandal’ in politics.
There had been a huge fuss when news broke that a certain assemblyman had received cash bribes hidden inside an apple box from a company.
Kang Han-do and Oh Min-tae were portraying that situation metaphorically.
“Hey now! You didn’t have to go to such lengths!”
“It’s just a small gesture from me. I’d be grateful if you’d accept it.”
“This is...”
His words carried a tone of reluctance, but his expression and body language said otherwise. His eyes were smiling.
He glanced around once, then pocketed the apple box.
Even through this process, Kang Han-do’s face perfectly conveyed comic mischief.
The moment he received the box, he opened it with eyes full of eager anticipation.
And at that instant!
“This is...!”
Kang Han-do’s eyes went wide as he raised his voice.
Right on cue, Min-tae amped up his volume and bellowed.
“When it comes to apples, it’s gotta be Chungju apples!”
Oh Min-tae, playing the proud company president, thrust up a thumbs-up with bold confidence.
Just as he said, the box contained real fruit, not cash.
Unlike the boastful Oh Min-tae, Kang Han-do flew into a furious act, hurling the apples mercilessly.
“Who told you to bring real apples?!”
“But Executive Director Kang! Aren’t apples the best for Chuseok gifts?”
“Look here, President Oh! Show some different kind of sincerity—no apples.”
“Different sincerity...? How about this?”
He slyly proffered a white envelope.
It screamed cash envelope at first glance. Kang Han-do took it without hesitation this time too.
But after checking the contents, he crumpled the white envelope in disgust.
“Did I ever say I wanted ‘cultural gift certificates’?!”
“Then maybe you wanted book vouchers...”
“Not vouchers, no! Something more direct! Cabbage leaves—you know, cabbage leaves!”
“So you wanted cabbage instead of apples!”
“No, not actual cabbage!”
With the envelope’s contents revealed, the judges’ lips twitched subtly.
They’d grasped the character setup.
The brazenly bribe-hungry Executive Director Kang. And the innocent President Oh, utterly clueless about corruption.
The comic hilarity emanating from that, combined with the satirical message, was the core of this situational comedy.
The two kept the stage going.
Finally, after finishing their prepared skit, they bowed their heads to the judges and ended the performance.
“That’s it, thank you for watching!”
“Thank you!!”
As they gathered their props and descended from the stage, Kang Han-do sneakily checked the judges’ happiness levels.
There wasn’t a huge shift, but the numbers had changed.
‘From the 250s to the 270s, huh.’
What those 20 points meant—pass or fail—he couldn’t tell yet.
But one thing was certain: they’d given their all on this stage.
Now all that was left...
Was to wait for the results.
* * *
Right after the public recruitment exam ended.
Settling into a café near Daehak-ro, Han-do gave an awkward smile.
“The results won’t be out immediately. With over 700 applicants, they said it’ll take some time.”
“I see. I thought they’d come right away.”
Choi Ye-hee, sitting across from Kang Han-do, let out a sigh of relief.
She’d been waiting solely for the exam results, but as Han-do said, there was no instant pass or fail announcement.
“Haha, you must’ve been really worried about me taking the exam.”
“I kept thinking about it. Even during my exam period, I couldn’t focus at all because of it.”
“Oh no, I should’ve told you sooner. Sorry about that.”
“No, it’s not something for you to apologize for, so don’t worry. Anyway, I hope the results turn out well.”
“Me too.”
When he’d come down from the stage, he’d checked the judges’ happiness levels, and they’d risen by an average of about 20 points.
But one uneasy factor lingered: the judges hadn’t openly laughed or reacted big to Kang Han-do and Oh Min-tae’s performance.
High happiness levels didn’t guarantee a pass. That was why he couldn’t confidently tell Choi Ye-hee here whether the exam had gone well or not.
“When do the results come out?”
“They said about a month from now.”
“That’s not too long, at least.”
“The longer it drags, the more it dries up the applicants’ blood.”
Better to get rejected fast if you’re going to fail.
That way, you could prepare for the next exam or decide early that this path wasn’t for you and pivot elsewhere.
For the applicants’ sake, Kang Han-do’s small wish was for the results to come as soon as possible.
‘No telling how it’ll turn out.’
For now, he’d poured in every effort he could.
All he could do was hope for good news.
* * *
Saturday evening at 7 PM.
Inside the studio airing the prime-time variety show *Can’t Live Without You!*.
“...Then let’s take a look at the VTR!”
With that cue from MC Oh Sin-hoon, one of the broadcast writers waiting up front scribbled ‘Applause’ on a sketchpad and showed it to the audience.
The audience clapped on cue. At the same time, the PD raised his voice.
“We’ll take 10 minutes and continue.”
The PD’s words halted the ongoing recording temporarily. Audience members stood from their seats to attend to their needs.
Some headed to the bathroom. Others did light stretches or wet their throats with drinks.
Of course, the host Oh Sin-hoon also used the brief 10-minute break to step offstage and grab some water to soothe his throat.
“Here you go, hyung.”
“Thanks.”
His manager handed him a bottle of water, and Oh Sin-hoon chugged it down in gulps.
As the host, he had to talk far more than the other participants.
His wit and hosting skills were already renowned across Korea.
Oh Sin-hoon, the celebrity so famous the title ‘National MC’ stuck to him like glue.
A familiar face approached him with a greeting.
“Hard at work as always.”
“Oh, isn’t that PD Jo? What brings you here?”
Jo Woo-kim PD, in charge of *Pobokjeoldo*, stroked his bushy beard as he approached Oh Sin-hoon.
Compared to Oh Sin-hoon’s crisp suit, Jo Woo-kim’s disheveled attire looked especially like a shut-in’s today.
“I was heading to the editing room and thought I’d pop in to say hi. Heard you were recording.”
“Haha, I see.”
“And who knows? You might work with me someday. Gotta butter up the nation’s top MC in advance.”
“You flatter me. I’ve still got a long way to go.”
Modest words, but Oh Sin-hoon was publicly recognized as the true top National MC.
With his pristine, spotless image free of any scandals, who could deny he was the best MC?
Any show he hosted was guaranteed above-average ratings.
That made Oh Sin-hoon a man every PD coveted.
A veritable box-office guarantee.
“By the way, I heard the 16th public recruitment comedian results are out. How’d it go?”
“Oh, that?”
About a month had passed since the recruitment test.
Tomorrow or the day after, applicants would receive pass/fail notices via text or mail.
Joy and sorrow would split them.
Some laughing in triumph. Others weeping in defeat and giving up.
But even so, passing wasn’t everything in life.
The moment a rookie comedian got cocky, it could all end there.
A pass was just the starting gun.
“I heard the good news will go out soon to those who’ll become the 16th public recruitment comedians.”
“I see.”
“Any applicant you particularly liked, Sin-hoon ssi?”
“Hmm... Well...”
Oh Sin-hoon pondered for a moment.
Soon, as if recalling someone, he continued slowly.
“The number escapes me, but that two-man satire team, right?”
“Applicant 222 and 223.”
“You know them exactly.”
“They caught my eye too, just like you.”
“Really?”
If forced to pick between ‘funny’ or ‘not funny’ for their stage, Jo Woo-kim PD would choose the latter without hesitation.
It wasn’t particularly funny.
But it was undeniably a team that stood out among the applicants.
Oh Sin-hoon reminisced about the exam scene once more, voicing his thoughts.
“Name was Kang Han-do, right? That guy’s comic acting really clicked with me. The witty way he performed even on a judging stage, and how he kept the skit going without flinching. What’s the word... He didn’t feel like an amateur.”
Jo Woo-kim PD nodded at Oh Sin-hoon’s assessment.
He was spot on.
Applicant 222, Kang Han-do: an amateur who didn’t act like one.
Since exam day, the three syllables of Kang Han-do had lingered firmly in the minds of Jo Woo-kim PD and Oh Sin-hoon.