Chapter 8
Chapter 8
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: Chapter 3. Happiness Level (1)
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"I'll show you something fun."
Leaving those words with Kang Han-do to watch for a moment, Sheridel approached the cat. She reached out and began stroking its head.
The cat's happiness level kept rising.
Just from Sheridel petting it, the cat's happiness level was climbing.
"You saw that, right? From now on, whenever you want, you'll be able to see the happiness levels of any living creature directly."
"Living creature... does that include plants too?"
"Yes."
"Hmm..."
He could probably see humans' happiness levels by default.
But seeing a plant's happiness level? It wasn't going to be all that helpful.
What advantage could there be in being able to check happiness levels?
Nothing came to mind right away.
In any case, whether seeing happiness levels directly would prove to be a big help down the line was anyone's guess.
Better to have the ability than not, Kang Han-do figured.
A question popped into his head midway through.
"Wouldn't it be better to calculate and display the average happiness level for the entire country rather than checking individuals one by one?"
"That would require compiling statistics, so we can't do it in real time. But don't worry. We'll provide periodic statistical data on a monthly basis."
"A month, huh."
It probably meant something like the statistics Sheridel had just shown him.
The national average happiness level was far more important than individuals'. That was the condition for resetting humanity, after all.
"Any other questions?"
"No, nothing in particular."
"If you need anything later, just call for me anytime. My aide will come by regularly to hear your thoughts."
"Your aide?"
"You'll meet them soon. I have my own duties up above, so I can't visit the human world all that often."
With that, Sheridel returned to her translucent form.
"Then I'll be off. See you later."
She vanished in a flash after those words.
Sheridel was gone before Kang Han-do could even say goodbye.
Staring blankly at the spot where she'd disappeared for a while, he muttered under his breath the one thing he hadn't managed to ask.
"Call for you? How exactly am I supposed to do that? Do you even have a smartphone or something?"
Even if she did, he didn't have her number, so no calls or texts.
* * *
8 a.m.
The first thing Kang Han-do did upon waking was send a text message.
Not to Sheridel—to Choi Ye-hee. He hadn't replied to the text she'd sent last night.
He'd meant to respond as soon as he saw it, but it was well past 2 a.m., so he'd held off.
That's why he got up as early as possible to send it now.
A morning text served multiple purposes: wake-up call and reply all in one. Killing two birds with one stone.
"The reply... should come later."
He washed up quickly first, then decided to organize the ideas he'd pitch at the public recruitment exam.
His convenience store night shifts resumed today, Monday.
Even if there weren't many customers during those hours, work was work. Better to prep now while he had time than try squeezing it in on the job.
"Let's see."
He needed to come up with three corners at once.
Parody, satire, and original.
The first two weren't so bad. For parody, just rip off a popular gag corner or recreate a famous ad or movie scene.
The key to parody was relatability. Go for well-known hits that everyone would recognize, not obscure stuff.
Satire was straightforward too.
South Korea had plenty of ripe targets.
Politics, for one.
It'd be great if they ran the country well, but unfortunately, most of the top officials were hopeless incompetents.
Tax evasion was child's play—then there were the sex scandals, bribery, you name it.
Politics gave endless material for satire.
Nailing concepts for parody and satire skits wasn't tough.
Originals, though—that was different.
"That's the hard part..."
Even in idea meetings back in the day, originals were where he'd sweat the most.
Coming up with original items was creative work, after all.
A flash of inspiration made it smooth sailing, but if nothing clicked, it dragged—such was the agony of creation.
Sadly, nothing was coming to him right now.
He had a stockpile of items from his debut days and broadcasting career, but he had to consider if they'd fit 2012.
Comedy was the most trend-sensitive field.
Fashion could cycle back with retro vibes, but comedy trends didn't do nostalgia.
Comedy reacted fastest to shifts in the zeitgeist.
"2012. 2012..."
First things first: adapt to the era.
Otherwise, he couldn't make the people living in it laugh.
"Let's start with parody and satire."
He picked up his pen again, steeling himself.
No room for a third strike!
For his path to success, he had to pass the first public recruitment exam, no matter what.
* * *
In the lecture hall, Choi Ye-hee stared at the blackboard before sneaking out her smartphone.
The professor was passionately lecturing on constitutional law up front. But Choi Ye-hee's attention wasn't on him.
Her eyes were fixed on the one text that had arrived that morning.
-Sorry about this. I was up late working on something until well past dawn, so I only saw your message then. Didn't want to wake you, so I waited till morning... If you're free, want to grab a coffee? Available anytime except weekday evenings.
'How should I reply?'
Kang Han-do was a stranger to her. With the world being so dangerous, meeting a strange guy alone called for caution—double caution.
Normally, she'd turn down an invite like this flat-out.
But something subtle was pulling at her.
He didn't give off that sleazy vibe from guys who'd leered at her openly.
It was just a woman's intuition, sure, but she found herself wanting to meet him anyway.
As she typed in her available time and date, a flyer on her desk fluttered slightly.
One corner of the flyer read faintly:
VQ Entertainment Open Audition!
'You can be a singer too!'
* * *
Kang Han-do and Oh Min-tae's practice continued right up until the BLT 16th Comedian Public Recruitment Exam a week away.
"The thing you need to focus on is your pronunciation. Botch that, and the skit's dead. Lines have to come through crystal clear. That's how we show the judges what our gag's about. Got it?"
"I know, but it's not sticking."
Kang Han-do pointed out Oh Min-tae's flaw once more.
Clear communication—that was the heart of any skit.
Sloppy diction killed the punchlines.
So pronunciation needed fixing first and foremost.
But there was something even more urgent: memorization.
"You have to memorize the whole script. You keep flubbing lines in practice. What happens if you screw up during judging?"
"It's a lot."
"It's not that many lines."
"Still..."
Oh Min-tae whined like he was scared.
As Kang Han-do said, the dialogue wasn't heavy.
But they'd committed to prepping three corners at once.
He was following Kang Han-do's lead, but the sheer volume was weighing on him.
"Memorize whenever you get a spare minute. You're always at the gym on the treadmill anyway—what else do you do there? Don't watch the TV; tape your lines to it instead. Run and recite. An hour a day, and it'll stick in no time."
"This guy's been so Spartan lately."
"If you wanna pass, do what I say."
"Fine, fine."
Pure physical comedy with no lines would be easier to memorize.
But time was tight.
As comedians, Kang Han-do and Oh Min-tae lacked standout quirks.
They had to win on ideas alone.
Sure, fifteen years as a nobody, but Kang Han-do had stuck it out as a comedian the whole time.
He wanted to prove those fifteen years weren't wasted.
"Alright, today's meeting's over. Practice tomorrow at 2, right?"
"Got it. See ya."
Comedy practice didn't fly in cafes. And they couldn't afford to rent an empty office as a studio.
The next best spot? Kang Han-do's studio apartment.
Practicing there meant no complaints from neighbors, at least.
Though too much noise could still draw heat.
After wrapping ideas, Kang Han-do stood first.
"I've got an appointment, so I'll head out."
"Appointment? With who?"
"Someone I know."
"Alright, later."
Oh Min-tae let him go without suspicion.
If he knew it was a pretty young woman, his eyes would probably pop out.