Chapter 21
Chapter 21
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Episode 7. Three People, Three Colors (1)
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The moment he received the acceptance notice, Kang Han-do immediately shared the good news with Choi Ye-hee.
“Wow, so from now on, I’ll be able to see you on TV, Han-do-ssi?!”
Surprise spread across Choi Ye-hee’s face.
Kang Han-do, who had been sipping his coffee across from her, gave an awkward smile.
“Yes, that’s how it’ll be.”
“That’s amazing! I never imagined I’d get to see a celebrity right in front of my eyes...”
“It’s nothing special. Being a comedian has been my dream for a long time. Honestly, it would’ve been better if it had happened sooner. It’s a bit embarrassing.”
“Still, it’s cool. The courage to focus all your effort on just one dream. In my case, I want to be a singer, but I haven’t even told my parents.”
Choi Ye-hee wasn’t the bold type.
She was actually quite timid.
With a personality like that, how could she casually tell her parents she wanted to become a singer?
Her parents hoped she would enter the law department of a prestigious university and follow an elite path into the legal field.
Choi Ye-hee hadn’t uttered a single word of complaint and took the college entrance exam before enrolling in law school.
Her parents surely believed firmly that she was a good child who followed their words.
But imagine suddenly saying, ‘I want to be a singer.’ The moment those words came out, it wouldn’t just strain her relationship with her parents—the entire family atmosphere could shatter.
Knowing that full well, she hadn’t dared to voice her dream of becoming a singer.
From Kang Han-do’s perspective, Choi Ye-hee’s worries might not seem like a big deal.
Unlike her, he had grown up in a poor family.
Even if he went to university, there was no money to cover tuition. So, Kang Han-do had no trouble confessing his dream of becoming a comedian to his parents.
Giving up on university had actually freed him.
There were clear advantages to that.
“If they’re Ye-hee-ssi’s parents, they’ll definitely support their daughter’s dream.”
“Really... you think so?”
“Yes. I’ll vouch for it.”
It was just empty flattery in the style of Nemid.
However, Kang Han-do knew well that even a hollow word of encouragement could give great strength to someone lost in worry.
He, too, had received plenty of such support from those around him during his unknown days.
Perhaps drawing courage from Kang Han-do’s words,
Choi Ye-hee nodded vigorously.
“Got it. Then, like you said, Han-do-ssi, I’ll give it a try.”
“That’s a great attitude.”
“And once I get permission, I’ll apply for the VQ Entertainment audition first. The application period won’t last much longer, so soon...”
In that instant, Kang Han-do’s expression hardened.
He couldn’t just let Choi Ye-hee take the VQ Entertainment audition.
It would surely make her bleed in her entertainment career.
“Ye-hee-ssi. In my opinion, it’d be better to look into other entertainment agencies instead of VQ.”
“Isn’t VQ pretty well-regarded? I thought at least there wouldn’t be any scam worries...”
“They won’t scam applicants or anything. But...”
Even if he mentioned future events, would Choi Ye-hee believe him?
Of course, he had already proven some precognitive ability to her. Still, spilling too much future information to others didn’t sit well with him.
Memories of the future were, in a way, top secret.
Whether he revealed that information or not could drastically alter the future from this point.
Even so, he had shown his precognitive ability in front of Choi Ye-hee last time out of urgency.
He had to put out the fire in front of him first.
He needed to prove to Choi Ye-hee that he wasn’t just spouting nonsense.
For that reason, he had no choice but to reluctantly draw a bit more from his future memories and package it as precognition.
Thanks to that, he had earned some trust from her...
But the problem was what came next.
‘What should I do?’
He wanted to stop her.
He wanted to protect Choi Ye-hee, toward whom he had unknowingly harbored affectionate feelings for some time.
That desire moved Kang Han-do.
“Could you give me a little time?”
“Time?”
“Yes. There’s about two weeks until the audition application deadline, right? So, at least give me until this weekend. By then, I’ll clearly explain why I’m against you taking the VQ audition.”
“...”
From another angle, it might seem utterly unreasonable.
But waiting a week wasn’t hard.
And she could feel that Kang Han-do was desperately trying to say something for her sake, not his own.
Choi Ye-hee sensed it.
So, waiting a bit longer wouldn’t be bad.
“Alright. You showed me that ability last time, after all. I’ll trust you again, Han-do-ssi.”
“Thank you for believing me.”
“No. Besides, if you’re opposing it so strongly, there must be something to it, right?”
“I can’t explain everything in detail, but please know it’s all for your sake, Ye-hee-ssi.”
“Then I’ll wait quietly.”
To make someone believe, evidence was needed more than words.
He couldn’t keep using precognition as an excuse to leak future info forever.
He had to show Choi Ye-hee solid grounds to give up applying to VQ Entertainment.
‘It feels like I’ve been given an unexpected homework assignment.’
Still, he didn’t want to see a future where Choi Ye-hee suffered.
That was Kang Han-do’s honest feeling.
“Han-do-ssi...”
As the conversation wrapped up,
A sudden topic flew in that flustered Kang Han-do.
“Why are you looking out for me like this?”
A straight, direct question.
Of course. From Choi Ye-hee’s perspective, it might not make sense.
He worked part-time at a PC bang, suddenly asked for her number, cheered on her dream, and now was stepping in to check every audition application in detail.
It was hard to do with ordinary intentions.
What was the reason for such kindness?
Kang Han-do suddenly wavered on whether to confess his feelings.
“I... with Ye-hee-ssi...”
He clenched his fists tight.
He was a man, after all!
With that thought, he mustered all his courage, slowly opening his mouth to deliver words in the form of a ‘confession.’
A man’s resolve!
Having firmed his determination to bare his honest heart, Kang Han-do decided to confess to the woman he had liked for so long.
There was some haste, but the timing was perfect. Who knew when such a chance would come again? Seizing opportunities was a skill. Kang Han-do remembered missing many in the past. Even if it felt a bit early, he wanted to grab this one.
But Kang Han-do’s will didn’t come to pass.
-Ding ding ding!!
“...?!”
Suddenly, his smartphone on the table blared a loud ringtone.
The interruption at the moment of confession naturally furrowed Kang Han-do’s brow. Still, he had to check who was calling.
It might be from the broadcasting station.
“Damn...”
As expected. His prediction hit the mark.
It was a call from writer Lee Yeon-shin.
Kang Han-do decided to excuse himself to Choi Ye-hee.
“Sorry, Ye-hee-ssi. Mind if I take this call outside?”
“Sure, go ahead.”
What had Kang Han-do been about to say? Curiosity stirred, but she couldn’t hold him back, so she let him go quietly.
Stepping out of the cafe for a moment, Kang Han-do immediately hit the call button.
“Yes, this is Kang Han-do.”
-Hello. This is Lee Yeon-shin, writer from HSL. Are you free to talk?
“Of course. What’s the call about?”
-It’s about 4 PM News Table. We need to make some major changes to the scheduled character roles and settings. I’d like to have an idea meeting. Could you let me know your available times this week?
“This week... I’m free from Thursday through the weekend.”
-Weekend, got it. I’ll coordinate with the other cast members’ schedules and contact you again.
“Yes, thank you.”
The first idea meeting since the audition results.
Normally, since the format was already set, deep idea meetings might not be necessary.
But thanks to the outstanding qualities shown by the audition applicants midway, PD Oh Tae-hwan decided to overhaul the script entirely.
That put main writer Lee Yeon-shin, who was doubling as the 4 PM News Table writer, in a headache-inducing spot.
Even so, she thought a full revision was needed to raise the quality and better harmonize the characters with the comedians’ tastes.
So, the comprehensive overhaul of 4 PM News Table was decided without much opposition.
“Idea meeting, huh.”
When he became a comedian, idea meetings had been tediously routine.
Of course, the endless back-and-forth with Oh Min-tae to pass the 16th public recruitment comedian exam counted as one too. But a full-fledged professional idea meeting with comedians, writers, and PDs was his first since returning.
Even though it was something he’d done countless times, tension bubbled up in Kang Han-do unbeknownst.
Now, finally...
It felt like he could start buttoning up the effort to raise South Korea’s happiness index.
‘Still, getting interrupted during my confession attempt is a bit much.’
Just as he’d gathered the courage to confess to Choi Ye-hee, the call came at the perfect bad timing.
But in a way, it might be for the best.
Choi Ye-hee wasn’t quite ready to accept Kang Han-do’s feelings yet.
He’d missed one chance, but opportunities came again with effort. When the time arrived, he’d muster courage once more.
If he and Choi Ye-hee truly had a connection, he could confess again later and it would work out.
Looking forward to that day, Kang Han-do headed back into the cafe.