Chapter 2
Chapter 2
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: Chapter 1. 15 Years of Obscurity (1)
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A sharp pain piercing the back of his head.
And the blood-red world that had unfolded at the very end.
“……!!”
Kang Han-do snapped his eyes open and abruptly shot up, his upper body rising.
Though he couldn’t fully grasp the situation through his eyes alone, he vividly remembered charging forward only to be struck by a truck, teetering on the brink of death.
He should have died for sure.
“I’m... alive...?!”
He looked down at his hands, feeling once more that he was alive.
There wasn’t even any pain.
He touched the back of his head, rubbed other parts of his body—no changes.
“How many days have I been asleep?”
The place where he had opened his eyes wasn’t a hospital.
It was the exact semi-basement rental room he had shared with his 15 years of obscurity.
Yet, something felt off.
The room itself was undoubtedly Kang Han-do’s room.
But how to put it.
“It’s weird.”
Kang Han-do slowly looked around.
At that moment.
“...?!”
He couldn’t believe his eyes.
“Why is the calendar set to 2012?”
That was 22 years ago.
2012 was the year when Han-do first challenged the public recruitment exam held by the broadcast channel BLT.
Starting from that time, he would fail the exam six times.
And on the seventh attempt, at the age of 29, he would finally pass as a 23rd-generation public recruitment comedian.
“Am I still drunk?”
But the situation was too vivid to dismiss as drunkenness.
Moreover, not just the calendar— all sorts of tools and items were exactly as they were in 2012.
The young days at 23, when he had given up university, lived off part-time jobs, and pursued only one goal: to become a comedian.
All the possessions from back then were displayed in the room just as they had been.
“Hidden camera? No way. That’s even more impossible. Who would pick a 44-year-old obscure entertainer as a hidden camera target?”
It was a sad truth, but that was reality.
Even if they chose hidden camera subjects, they’d go for recognizable, famous people to boost ratings.
Who would want to film an obscure comedian that even the owner of his regular hole-in-the-wall store didn’t recognize?
While fumbling for his phone, he absentmindedly picked up a mirror that came into his hand.
At the same time, a scream escaped Kang Han-do’s mouth.
“U, uwaaaah!!”
He had no choice but to be shocked.
Because reflected in the mirror was none other than 23-year-old Kang Han-do.
“N, no way!!”
It was impossible.
Wondering if someone had forcibly applied special makeup while he slept, he began touching his face.
But this face was definitely Kang Han-do’s.
Not just the appearance—the skin was far too firm and taut to belong to a 44-year-old.
“C, calm down. F, for now...”
The exterior and the room’s setup could be faked easily enough.
But there was one thing that couldn’t be deceived.
Kang Han-do snatched the remote and turned on the TV.
The moment he saw the TV, Kang Han-do’s jaw dropped.
“This is insane.”
A program from 22 years ago was broadcasting live.
* * *
“......”
After that, he groped around his surroundings several times, trying to ascertain his current situation.
The result.
“No way... I really went back 22 years?”
He had no choice but to believe it.
No, there was no other explanation.
“They called this phenomenon a time leap, right? I’ve seen it in movies.”
The movie Kang Han-do had seen went something like this.
The protagonist travels back to the past and lives a new life.
It was simple, yet it planted the thought: I’d love to experience that once.
Especially for Kang Han-do, who had endured six failures in comedian recruitment exams and 15 years of obscurity.
But now, it was happening to him for real.
Of course, he didn’t know the cause.
But the important thing was the result: he had returned to 22 years in the past.
This was an undeniable fact.
“October 15, 2012. That means...”
He hadn’t yet attempted his first comedian public recruitment exam.
BLT’s public recruitment exam began exactly one month later, on November 15.
His life as a comedian.
He had already tasted bitter failure once. That was why he lacked the courage to challenge it again rashly.
At that moment, the accident scene flashed through Han-do’s mind again.
Even after being hit by the truck, at the moment of death, he had harbored regret for not becoming a mega-star.
If a new life was given, and he gave up on the entertainment path out of fear of failure and chose another road?
Kang Han-do would meet the same end, left only with regrets.
“This might be my last chance from heaven.”
Even in his final moments with eyes closed, heaven had pitied Kang Han-do, who deeply cherished his aspiration to become a top star, and granted this opportunity.
He decided to believe that.
“This time, I’ll live without regrets!”
44-year-old Kang Han-do had returned to his 23-year-old past.
With youth on his side, nothing was frightening!
The moment he resolved himself, a strange phenomenon suddenly occurred before Han-do.
“W, what’s that?!”
The empty space warped, and with a pop! a flash of light burst forth.
As he slowly opened his closed eyes, a being draped in a white robe appeared in his cramped rental room.
“I saw your resolution well.”
“W, who are you?!”
“My name is Sheridel. I am the agent of God, ruling over the human realm.”
The aura emanating from her entire body exerted a pressure too intense for a human to bear.
“Even after suddenly returning 22 years to the past, you don’t panic. I’ll commend you highly for that.”
“Did you send me back to the past?”
“Yes.”
The woman smiled faintly and gave an affirmative answer.
Though she appeared as a human woman, Han-do instinctively knew the woman before him was no ordinary human.
“Why did you send me to the past?”
“To purify the human realm.”
“Purify...?”
It was an out-of-left-field response.
“Yes. For the purification project to succeed, there’s something I absolutely need you to do.”
The woman’s smile deepened.
“You must grow into a top star who brings laughter and joy to people from now on. If you fail, humanity will perish.”
* * *
“Humanity will perish??”
The facts he heard from Sheridel were jaw-dropping, to put it mildly.
No, more than that—how was his becoming a mega-star connected to humanity’s extinction?
“Could you explain it in a way that’s easier to understand?”
“To put it simply, it’s like this. The ‘God’ who rules this world has recently grown deeply disillusioned with humanity itself. Selfish mindsets, actions without a shred of conscience, selflessness is nowhere to be found. Especially in this country called South Korea—it’s particularly bad. The fact that a small act like treating an elderly person to a free meal makes the news says it all. In the past, humanity was so kind and good that such things were taken for granted. This selfishness has caused humanity’s happiness levels to plummet. If things continue like this, in the near future, humanity will sink into despair and self-destruct.”
“Hahaha......”
As if he’d know.
Kang Han-do, who barely knew customs from the Joseon era let alone prehistoric times, couldn’t relate at all to talk of ancient humanity.
“Anyway, for those reasons, God has decided whether to reset humanity based on this country, South Korea, where happiness levels are scraping the bottom. If happiness levels keep dropping, it means total annihilation.”
Normally, Han-do wouldn’t believe such cult-like nonsense.
But this time, he had no choice but to believe.
There was a reason he couldn’t deny it.
Hadn’t she sent him back to the past herself?
Sheridel’s mystical power was real. He wanted to think it was a hidden camera, but the scale was too massive for that.
In fact, after checking the TV channels, Kang Han-do had gone outside and looked around the neighborhood.
It was exactly as it was 22 years ago.
No matter how elaborate a hidden camera, they couldn’t perfectly recreate the outdoor scenery.
“So, you want me to become a mega-star and raise South Korea’s happiness levels?”
“Yes. To create a happy world. Happy World. Got it?”
“Haa.”
Bringing laughter and joy to people. As a comedian, it was a given.
But he was an obscure entertainer who hadn’t shone once in 15 years since debuting. How was he supposed to bring laughter to South Korea?
“Isn’t all the preparation to become a star already done?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“You’ve returned to 22 years in the past. 23-year-old Kang Han-do. But you’re no ordinary human. Just having all those future memories is a huge advantage, don’t you think?”
“......”
He couldn’t refute Sheridel’s words.
15 years of obscurity.
Kang Han-do possessed all those memories intact.
Even the memories of failing the comedian exam six times were still vividly etched in his brain.
He now knew exactly how to pass the comedian recruitment exam. He had that know-how.
If he utilized these...
There would be no more failures!
“Of course, if it gets too tough, I can provide some support.”
“What form of support exactly are you talking about?”
“We’ll discuss that when the time comes. It’s not the stage to talk about it now.”
With support from a higher-dimensional being like Sheridel, there was little to fear.
But setting that aside, there was one thing that particularly bothered him.
“If—and I mean if—I achieve the goal you demand, what happens then?”
“That sounds like you’re asking for a reward.”
“Yes, exactly.”
“You’re honest. Well, it would be too shameless to ask for free volunteer work. Do you want something?”
“Nothing specific right now.”
“Then how about a wish-granting ticket? One-time use. Sound good?”
“A wish, huh.”
For those conditions, it wasn’t bad.
An agent of God could surely grant any wish.
“Deal.”
Kang Han-do nodded vigorously.
With this, a contract for humanity’s survival was sealed.
The goal: raising humanity’s happiness levels!