Chapter 76
Chapter 76
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 76
Chapter Title: Bittersweet Farewell (1)
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On the way to Busan, Kang Han-do kept the recent updates talk going inside the bus.
Without Kang Han-do, proper conversation just didn’t happen. That was why an MC’s presence was essential.
“You’ve been topping the buzz charts since debut up to now. Your title track shot straight to number three on the music charts the moment it dropped. How did that feel? Leader, want to share?”
Eun-young nodded.
“First off… at the beginning, it didn’t really sink in. During the debut stage, I barely remember how I sang or danced. Looking back later, it felt like a reward for all the hardships our members had endured up to that point.”
“That’s right. You all went through a lot before debuting.”
Kang Han-do knew well how much they’d suffered. He hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, but he was well aware of plenty of anecdotes from VSLine’s nameless days.
“Come to think of it, didn’t you do a ceremonial pitch not long ago?”
“Yes, that’s right!”
The members’ energy picked up again.
The members had thrown the first pitch at Jamsil Baseball Stadium. Kang Han-do had watched VSLine’s ceremonial pitch on broadcast.
He even knew which member had thrown the ball. Still, Kang Han-do pretended not to know and asked the members.
It was to give them a chance to say even one more line.
“Who threw the ball?”
“Me!”
The one who shot her hand up was So-ha, VSLine’s visual rep and main dancer.
She was already ranking high on female idol popularity polls, drawing massive attention.
Overwhelming visuals. And not just that—her quirky, fourth-dimensional charm. Fans had no choice but to multiply.
Plus, she’d thrown a great pitch.
“It went right into the strike zone. You play baseball before?”
“I did a bit in middle school. My older brother wanted to be a pro baseball player back then.”
“Oh, really?”
“He dragged me out to practice so many times, against my will.”
“What’s your brother up to now?”
“He gave up baseball and is prepping for the civil service exam.”
“Still, thanks to your brother, the pitch was a success. You should thank him at least. Have you?”
“I bought him a meal instead.”
“Good job. That’s our So-ha.”
The recent updates talk unfolding in the bus mostly brought up bright stories. Truth be told, they could’ve pulled out dark topics too. They had plenty of grim tales from their nameless days.
But Kang Han-do deliberately avoided those.
Because.
‘I need to bring up the real talk properly tonight.’
He decided to save it for later.
* * *
With Kang Han-do’s hosting, they tackled various games at Gwangalli Beach.
While filming, people who recognized them started gathering in small groups.
Something they couldn’t have dreamed of in their nameless days.
When the camera briefly turned off, VSLine showered fans who recognized them with autographs and photos, holding nothing back.
Kang Han-do asked them.
“Not tired? You could rest when the camera’s off.”
Eun-young shook her head.
“Our CEO said something once.”
“What was it?”
“Always be grateful to the fans. The drive that lets you climb up isn’t just from singing or dancing well—it’s because the fans like you.”
“Sounds like a good guy.”
He’d seemed a bit flighty at first glance. But he turned out to be a man with surprisingly deep thoughts.
Kang Han-do watched VSLine provide fan service without reservation.
“Min PD-nim.”
“Yes?”
“Could we air that scene too, maybe?”
“This one right now?”
“Yeah. Showing them working hard on fan service—don’t you think fans would love it?”
“Ah, yeah, you’re right.”
Min Hye-young PD was one of VSLine’s fans too. She hadn’t started out that way. She’d only taken on producing VS Together because her superiors told her to.
But as filming progressed, Min Hye-young PD fell for VSLine’s charm. These days, she was both a PD and a fan.
A girl group with the power to captivate people. That’s how Min Hye-young PD wanted to describe VSLine.
At Kang Han-do’s suggestion, Min Hye-young PD quietly instructed the camera director to keep rolling.
“Film without the members noticing.”
“Got it.”
She wanted to capture a natural fan service moment—that was Min Hye-young PD’s hope.
Kang Han-do nodded instinctively.
‘This’ll make a great scene.’
* * *
The production team moved to a pension with a yard.
For the final dinner of VS Together, they settled on barbecue.
Kang Han-do, who’d lit the fire himself, volunteered to grill the meat too.
“Your oppa here will grill it up nice and tasty, so sit tight.”
“Wow, Han-do oppa! You look like the pension owner like this.”
“For real!”
“Aren’t you too good at this?”
It was only natural.
Before becoming a comedian, Kang Han-do had handled all sorts of odd jobs.
Lighting a barbecue was a piece of cake for him.
Thanks to his butcher shop part-time gig, he knew how to grill meat perfectly.
The meat sizzled deliciously. Normally, he’d just toss it on haphazardly, but this time, for the cameras, he artfully arranged samgyeopsal, neck meat, and short rib next to each other, balancing the heat.
Show-off placement for broadcast.
He pulled the fully cooked meat aside separately.
“Rinna-ya. Pass me a plate?”
“Sure!”
Rinna bounded over energetically in response. Kang Han-do piled the plate she brought high with meat, sausages, shrimp, and garlic.
“Let’s eat well!”
The meat Kang Han-do grilled elevated the whole meal.
Eun-young wrapped a tasty-looking ssam and approached him.
“Han-do oppa. Say ahh~ Ahh~”
“Ahh~”
He opened wide and stuffed in the meat ssam she’d made.
“How is it?”
After swallowing the ssam, Kang Han-do gave a thumbs-up.
“Tastes even better when you wrap it.”
His words sparked the members’ competitive spirits.
“I can make a tastier ssam than Unnie!”
“Me too!”
Suddenly, a meat ssam battle erupted.
Titled “Who Can Feed the Tastiest Meat Ssam?”
Before he knew it, Kang Han-do had to devour seven rounds in a row.
Normally, the grill master ends up eating the least. They’re too busy flipping meat nonstop.
But Kang Han-do felt like he’d eaten more than all the seated members combined.
* * *
After the barbecue, they gathered firewood for a small campfire.
This was truly the final shoot.
“Kinda sad. Knowing it’s the end.”
“Yeah.”
The members’ faces grew heavy.
They couldn’t help being attached to VS Together. It was the first TV program where they were the main stars.
Kang Han-do felt the regret too.
Still, their achievements weren’t lacking. Ratings had neared 4%. On par with popular cable shows.
Such high ratings for a girl group reality show was exceptionally rare.
They’d already proven their buzz, so if there was bandwidth, a follow-up was always possible.
He decided to be satisfied with that.
“This isn’t in the script.”
Kang Han-do tossed them a surprise question.
“You must have goals in the industry. Where you want to go, what you want to do. Anything set?”
“We want to make music that everyone enjoys, that pumps you up just hearing it.”
The desire to cheer people on.
The desire to give courage.
That was VSLine’s direction.
They were doing it faithfully. Thanks to VSLine’s songs, Korea’s average happiness index had ticked up, however slightly.
Kang Han-do hoped they’d keep making such joyful music.
It was time to wrap up the talk segment.
Finally, Kang Han-do had a parting gift ready for them.
“Got a farewell present.”
“Huh?!”
“What is it?”
“Hold on a sec.”
He unfolded a small frame handed over by a staffer.
“Our first shoot. After wrapping episode one, we took a group photo, right? I printed it and had this custom frame made. Hang it in your dorm.”
“Han-do oppa…”
The moment they saw the frame, the members’ eyes welled up.
The gift conveyed how much Kang Han-do truly cherished them.
Even the leader Eun-young, who’d never shed a tear, finally broke down.
Kang Han-do was the flustered one.
“Anyone got tissues?”
He ended up handing out tissues one by one to each member after grabbing some from staff.
Only after they calmed a bit could Kang Han-do continue.
“Alright, time to wrap. Last greetings—with smiles, okay?”
“Yeah!”
“One, two, three!”
“Thanks for watching! We love you!”
With their energetic farewell.
VS Together came to the end of its long journey.
* * *
After the finale of VS Together aired, fans couldn’t hide their regret.
Requests for a season two flooded in.
A sign of how massive the interest in VS Together had been.
Kang Han-do, deeply attached to the show, shared plenty of his own regrets on SNS.
With one program wrapped.
It was time to focus on others.
‘HSL recording starts next week, right?’
This was HSL’s final season too.
Kang Han-do and Oh Min-tae would handle the slimmed-down 4 PM News Table without Jeon Yoo-hyun.
They’d considered something new but decided to end the last season with 4 PM News Table.
‘Without Seonbae Jeon Yoo-hyun, Min-tae and I need to step up more.’
His lines had increased too.
Even with more dialogue, Kang Han-do was confident he could memorize it easily.
He was a bit worried about Oh Min-tae.
Just in case, he texted to check on recording prep.
Oh Min-tae’s reply was super positive.
-Already all memorized in my head.
Oh Min-tae had grown. He no longer needed Kang Han-do holding his hand every step—he could handle his own now.
‘With that confidence, we two should be fine leading 4 PM News Table.’
VS Together ended. HSL ended.
The two programs Kang Han-do handled wrapped back-to-back.
His packed schedule suddenly felt empty.
‘Want to pick up another one.’
His workaholic itch flared up.