Chapter 39
Chapter 39
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: Episode 14. New Role (2)
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The subway molester incident that had erupted out of nowhere.
But the perpetrator tried to brazenly brush off his crime.
“Evidence? You got any evidence?!”
The man thought Kang Han-do was just cornering him based on suspicion alone.
However, Kang Han-do was more thorough and prepared than the man had imagined.
There were three fields in Korea known as the dirtiest.
Politics, the military, and the last one was the entertainment industry.
Having rolled around in that entertainment industry for over ten years, Kang Han-do could handle something like this without batting an eye.
“If it’s evidence you want, I’ve got it right here.”
Kang Han-do held up his smartphone. The moment the man saw it, his face darkened.
No matter how thick-skinned the man was, he knew that once hard evidence appeared instead of mere suspicion, there was no more dodging it.
“Do I need to show you the crime scene photo I took myself before you confess?”
“T-That’s……!”
He hadn’t expected Kang Han-do to film his crime with his smartphone, so he started stammering.
At that moment.
While the train was briefly stopped, police officers entered the car where the commotion had taken place and approached the man and Kang Han-do.
“We got a report and came over. What’s going on?”
Someone who had been watching the disturbance must have called it in.
‘Perfect timing.’
Kang Han-do pointed at the perpetrator.
“This man was sexually harassing the woman here.”
“Is that true?”
At the officer’s question, the woman nodded courageously.
With solid evidence in hand and the victim clearly willing to give a statement, there was no escaping it anymore. The man clicked his tongue briefly.
“Damn……!”
The man indirectly admitted to the crime without a fight.
The happiness value that had been soaring over 400 above his head just moments ago began plummeting exponentially.
Normally, when someone’s happiness value dropped, Kang Han-do’s mood would sour for no reason, but this moment was a delightful exception—the decline actually lifted his spirits.
* * *
After finishing their statements at the police station.
“Thank you so much for helping me.”
The woman finally looked relieved as she expressed her gratitude to Kang Han-do. He waved it off lightly, as if it were no big deal.
“No problem. More importantly, are you hurt anywhere?”
“It was just a few gropes on the butt—what’s the big deal? No injuries or anything. It just hurt my feelings a bit.”
“Hahaha.”
Contrary to her initial impression, she turned out to have a pretty cool side.
“Oh, could I get your number by any chance?”
Out of the blue, she asked for Kang Han-do’s personal contact info and even explained why.
“I want to thank you properly later. Dinner’s okay, right?”
“Sure, that’s fine, but…….”
He ended up giving her his number. Somehow, he’d gotten a pretty girl’s digits.
She nodded in satisfaction and sent him a text from the number she’d just gotten.
“It’s me. Add me.”
“Come to think of it, your name is…….”
“I’m Min A-rin.”
“Min A-rin. Oh, I’m Kang Han-do.”
“Got it. I’ll remember.”
She flashed a bright smile.
The more he looked at her, the more charming she seemed. She had a lively energy different from Choi Ye-hee.
As he chatted with this new type of woman, the sky was already starting to darken.
‘Oops. I need to head home early today.’
He had to monitor the Game World footage as soon as possible.
“Then let’s keep in touch later.”
“You’ve got something urgent?”
“Yeah. I’ve got some work today…….”
“I see. Well, let’s meet again next time.”
“Sure.”
A hint of regret crossed Min A-rin’s face.
She wanted to talk more with Kang Han-do, but she couldn’t keep holding onto a busy guy.
Besides, the two had only just met today.
They were just starting to form a connection, so she decided not to steal any more of his time and let him go quietly.
Leaving behind his brief encounter with A-rin, Kang Han-do walked on before realizing something late.
“I have to take the subway again?”
He finally noticed this wasn’t the station he’d originally planned to get off at.
* * *
Kang Han-do wrapped up his monitoring almost pulling an all-nighter.
It wasn’t until he saw the morning sun rising that he finished binge-watching every episode.
Game World was originally one of the short, laugh-out-loud corners on Pobokjeoldo, so the runtime wasn’t long. But since it had been ages since he’d performed on the Pobokjeoldo stage and this was a rare chance, he rewatched the episodes over and over.
He needed to nail down the unique features only Game World could offer and all the punchlines.
“Whew. This is tough, really tough.”
He rubbed his bleary eyes and let out a deep sigh.
Still, thanks to his youthful body from his younger days, recovery was quicker than in his pre-regression life.
“Youth really is great.”
He was once again struck by the wonders of youth.
After that, he headed to the kitchen for a breakfast-slash-lunch meal.
Moments later.
As if waiting for him to get up, his smartphone rang early in the morning.
“No way it’s Nemid again.”
He’d gotten her to promise not to visit in the mornings anymore.
Still, with her personality, she might show up saying, “Actually, that was a lie!”
Kang Han-do picked up his phone anxiously.
But the screen showed a completely different name.
“It’s Jo Woo-kim PD.”
Relieved it wasn’t Nemid, he pressed the call button.
-Hey? Han-do, it’s me.
“Yes. Hello, PD-nim.”
-Yeah. Sorry to call so early in the morning.
“No, it’s fine. What’s up?”
-Oh, well, here’s the thing. I’m trying to set up a time to introduce you to the current Game World corner members. When’s good for you? Today works too, FYI.
As the saying goes, pull the iron horns off while they’re hot.
With Pobokjeoldo recording next week, bonding quickly with the members sounded ideal, so Kang Han-do readily agreed.
“Today works great.”
-Then come to the studio by noon—we can grab lunch together.
“Yes, got it.”
After hanging up, he checked the time.
“9:30 a.m. No time for sleep, huh.”
On top of last night’s encounter with that woman Min A-rin, now he’d be meeting the Game World comedians too.
New connections were coming at Kang Han-do without a moment’s rest.
* * *
Kang Han-do arrived at BLT Broadcasting Station and bolted straight to the Pobokjeoldo studio.
“Here it is.”
He’d rushed there at what felt like his top speed.
Knock knock.
After knocking on the door, a voice—presumably Jo Woo-kim PD’s—came from inside.
-Who is it?
“It’s me, PD-nim.”
-Han-do? Come on in.
“Yes!”
Kang Han-do opened the door and entered the meeting room.
Three people greeted him warmly.
They were the Game World cast trio he’d watched so much during monitoring that he was sick of them, crudely put.
“Hello! I’m Kang Han-do! It’s an honor to share the stage with you seniors!”
“Haha, honor? Sit down first.”
“Yes!”
Of the three, Kim Sang-heon—the one playing the male player role—gestured for Kang Han-do to sit.
Kim Sang-heon. Among the Game World cast, he had the most experience and was the oldest.
Naturally, he took the leader role.
Next was Lee Yo-su, a female comedian on Pobokjeoldo who always played the beauty roles thanks to her standout looks.
She handled the female player role and came off as a tough, no-nonsense woman in the skit, but off-stage, she was known for being timid and introverted.
It wasn’t officially announced, but Kang Han-do remembered one fact about Lee Yo-su.
She was dating the Game World team leader, Kim Sang-heon.
As far as he knew, they’d end up getting married later.
And finally, Jang Seok-du.
He played the operator character in Game World, with a solid build and great talker skills.
Three comedians, each with distinct personalities and traits.
But they shared one thing in common.
Through Game World, they were finally breaking out of obscurity and starting to gain real attention and love from the public.
This corner was their golden chance to rise as popular comedians.
But midway, one team member got into a car accident, forcing them into a crisis where they needed new blood.
Whether they soared to success now depended on what Kang Han-do did.
Once Kang Han-do sat, Jo Woo-kim PD began introducing them one by one, starting with Kim Sang-heon.
“Han-do, you probably know, but from the left: Kim Sang-heon, Lee Yo-su, and Jang Seok-du. These three will be your Game World teammates going forward. Sang-heon and Yo-su…… 12th class, right?
“Yeah.”
“That’s right.”
Kim Sang-heon and Lee Yo-su nodded at Jo Woo-kim PD’s question.
Both were from the same batch and, like Kang Han-do, BLT public recruits.
“And Seok-du was 14th class public recruit.”
“Haha, PD-nim, I’m 13th.”
“Uh, was that right?”
Jo Woo-kim PD looked sheepish and apologized.
With the seniors’ brief intros done, it was Kang Han-do’s turn.
“I’m Kang Han-do, debuting in broadcasting via the 16th public recruitment. Nice to meet you all! Oh, and feel free to drop the formalities. I want to get close to you seniors fast, so use me however.”
Everyone gave light applause at his introduction.
Kim Sang-heon reassured him not to worry.
“Hahaha, we’re not the type to work rookies to death. Right?”
“Exactly, sunbae-nim.”
Jang Seok-du nodded in agreement to Kim Sang-heon’s question.
But that was just talk.
Kang Han-do’s gaze flicked toward Jang Seok-du.
‘Liar.’
Kim Sang-heon might not know, but Jang Seok-du was infamous among juniors for being a drill sergeant type.
Of course, Kim Sang-heon knew that too.
Still, by playing it off like “we’re nice guys,” it was to put Kang Han-do at ease.
They’d let Jang Seok-du crack the whip when the time was right, setting the mood.
That’s how it had been before Kang Han-do’s regression too.