Chapter 5
Chapter 5
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Team Play (1)
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Entertainment God Descends Episode 5
Episode 2. Team Play (1)
Kang Han-do, brainstorming ideas whenever he had a break while preparing for the BLT 16th public recruitment comedian exam.
Only about two weeks remained now.
The key to conquering the public recruitment exam was thorough prior research and preparation. To achieve that, he had to constantly come up with ideas, over and over.
Being a comedian was an incredibly tough profession to begin with. They had to think harder than anyone else and be more meticulous than anyone else.
That was why people often said comedians were smart.
You needed brains to make people laugh. You had to grasp in real time what the punchlines were and what the trends were.
If you couldn't, you wouldn't be able to make anyone laugh. Amateurish gags would just chill the atmosphere.
A comedian who couldn't elicit laughs was doomed.
“Making people laugh is truly exhausting.”
Even though he was still unknown, Kang Han-do, who had worked as a comedian for 15 years, knew this fact all too well.
There were people who could naturally make others laugh.
That ability they possessed was called ‘talent.’
Among comedians, talent could mean a funny face or distinctive looks, or exceptional verbal skills.
Having talent was hugely important. Those with it could reach their goals easily without investing much time.
But those without it had to fill the gap with effort.
Because it took so much time, those with talent had a higher chance of success in the field.
If Kang Han-do had possessed talent, he wouldn't have endured 15 years as an unknown.
“Let’s think. I’ve already lived through several decades. I’m a pro.”
Of course, on the outside, Kang Han-do was just a comedian hopeful who hadn’t even debuted as a pro, but on the inside, he truly was one.
With 15 years of entertainment industry experience, he could surely produce something decent.
However, Kang Han-do couldn’t perform facial expression gags with a funny face. His looks weren’t particularly unique. Nor did he have confidence in voice impressions.
Gags were classified into slapstick comedy, so-called body gags; stand-up comedy from America and Europe; and Japanese-style manzai routines.
Slapstick was more of a relic from the past, popular in earlier eras rather than fitting modern gag trends.
Manzai suited Japanese sensibilities but didn’t mesh well with Korean ones.
In Korea, they generally used a mix of stand-up comedy and manzai-style elements.
The famous comedy program ‘Pobokjeoldo’ broadcast on BLT was the same.
“No choice, then.”
He picked up his smartphone and tried calling somewhere.
Riiiing, riiiing, riiiing.
After a few rings, a familiar voice reached Han-do’s ear.
- Han-do? What’s up.
Annoyance was blatantly transmitted through the smartphone.
It was the voice of Oh Min-tae, who was planning to take the BLT public recruitment exam in two weeks, just like Kang Han-do.
“You free today?”
-Today? Well…… I think I can make it.
“Then let’s meet up this evening.”
-For what.
“What do you mean, for what. We need to brainstorm ideas. We agreed to go in as a team, remember.”
-Oh, right.
Oh Min-tae was only now recalling the agreement they’d made at the national soup restaurant not long ago to enter as a team.
-Okay, how about 7? You got a free meal of soup last time, so I’ll buy dinner this time.
“Sounds good.”
-See you soon.
“Yeah.”
After hanging up, Kang Han-do lay back down on the floor and stared at the ceiling.
“…….”
If the two of them put their heads together, maybe a good idea would come up.
Still, holding a meeting without any preparation felt too half-hearted.
“Guess I should do some research.”
Relying solely on memory could lead to disaster.
Since he’d come back to the past, he at least needed to investigate materials usable as gag topics in the 2012 era.
Don’t rely only on memory. The most important thing in comedy is trends. To catch those trends, you need to study the era’s flow.
Only the thoroughly prepared could claim top-star status. He couldn’t forget that.
* * *
Kang Han-do, heading to a nearby PC bang with materials gathered on a portable drive.
No printer at home, so he had to print at the PC bang.
It would be most efficient to bring a laptop and show the materials he’d researched himself, but with his convenience store wage, even covering rent and living expenses was tight. He had virtually no spare cash for a laptop, so where would he get one?
At least he had enough for printing at the PC bang.
“Welcome.”
As he entered the PC bang, a young woman’s voice greeted Kang Han-do.
He was pulling the USB from his pocket to ask about the printer.
“Excuse me, could I use the printer for a bit…….”
Suddenly, Kang Han-do swallowed hard.
His eyes had met directly with the woman working the counter.
“……?”
Unlike the startled Kang Han-do, the woman tilted her head.
Wondering why he was staring at her in shock, she asked.
“Is there something on my face?”
“N-No! Nothing at all!”
Flustered, he waved it off, calming his racing heart inside.
A face he’d seen somewhere before.
The young woman working part-time at the PC bang had looks far too striking for an ordinary person.
Her figure was impressive too. That’s why she drew a lot of attention from the PC bang’s customers, including Kang Han-do on this brief visit.
The woman’s name was Choi Ye-hee.
And in the future…….
She would become Korea’s top diva.
‘Who would’ve thought that famous singer, Choi Ye-hee, was working part-time at this PC bang.’
Knowing the future, Han-do couldn’t help but be even more shocked by her current situation.
She, who always sang on dazzling stages, approached Kang Han-do.
Up close, she was breathtakingly beautiful.
The image didn’t suit this PC bang part-time gig at all.
‘Calm down. This is 22 years in the past. Choi Ye-hee wasn’t Korea’s national diva 22 years ago…… She’s at an age where part-time work is perfectly normal. Yeah, of course.’
Sorting his jumbled thoughts, he slowly brought up the reason for his visit.
“I’d like to do some printing.”
“Black and white is 50 won per sheet, color is 100 won. You can use it over here.”
“Ah…… Okay.”
He nodded stiffly and moved to the spot she indicated.
He connected the USB to the computer tower and started searching for files to print, but.
“…….”
He couldn’t help letting his gaze drift toward Choi Ye-hee.
Her past self boasted even greater beauty.
The future Choi Ye-hee was pretty too, but what Kang Han-do remembered was her in her 40s.
They’d crossed paths at the broadcasting station occasionally, but they weren’t close.
That made sense—she’d risen as Korea’s representative female solo singer, while he was just an unknown comedian.
How could the two mix?
That’s how stellar her success path would be.
But as with all things in life, no one’s journey is perfect.
‘She’ll suffer for a few years ahead due to a contract gone wrong with her agency.’
And that at the peak age for a female singer, her mid-to-late 20s.
It led to all sorts of bad press.
The articles hid certain details, but having worked in broadcasting, Kang Han-do had heard the full story through a chance encounter.
In short, her agency was at fault.
From the start, when signing the contract, they’d pushed clauses heavily unfavorable to Ye-hee.
Believing the agency’s promise to debut her young as a singer, Choi Ye-hee signed, only to pay dearly for that youthful mistake, her name dragged through the mud negatively for years.
“…….”
The printouts emerged one by one.
Staring blankly at the papers for a while, Kang Han-do clenched his fist as if resolved.
Soon, he headed to the counter with the prints.
“I’ll ring you up. Ten black and white, and color…….”
“Ye-hee-ssi!!”
“……Pardon?!”
Startled by her name being called out of nowhere, Ye-hee looked up from the prints with a blank expression.
Ignoring her reaction, Kang Han-do pressed on.
“Could I get your phone number, by any chance?”
“M-My phone number……? You mean mine?”
“Yes!”
A stranger demanding her number.
It screamed pickup attempt.
Being exceptionally beautiful, Choi Ye-hee had faced this plenty of times.
She’d always politely refused.
Even Kang Han-do wouldn’t be an exception.
“Sorry, but my number…….”
She tried to let him down as gently as possible, but his next words left her speechless.
“I just want to help make Ye-hee-ssi’s dream come true, nothing more. I know it sounds weird, and anyone would think so, but I swear it’s not impure motives—please believe me!”
“…….”
His claim of wanting to help with her dream particularly caught her off guard.
“How do you know what my dream is to say that…….”
A dream she’d never shared with anyone.
Not even friends, not even family—not once.
How could a stranger know?
He must’ve guessed to get her attention, Choi Ye-hee thought.
But Kang Han-do stated the answer as if it were obvious.
“I know your dream is to become a singer, Ye-hee-ssi.”
“……!”
A total stranger had pinpointed that her dream involved music.
Choi Ye-hee was at a loss for words for a long time.
In that moment, Han-do scribbled something on the back of a nearby coupon.
“My number. Please contact me later. I’ll be off, then.”
“Ah……!!”
Kang Han-do hurried out of the PC bang.
Staring blankly at his retreating figure, Choi Ye-hee looked at the coupon with his number.
She picked it up silently, then murmured softly as something occurred to her belatedly.
“Come to think of it, that guy…… how did he know my name? I never told him.”