Chapter 645

JC ENM’s new headquarters. Today, as always, Manager Ma was practically fused with his neck pillow, hard at work monitoring reactions. <Wait! It’s in Here>, featuring Cutie and Han Yohan, was scheduled to air soon.

[??Live Thread?? Let’s watch Wait! It’s in Here together. Today’s guests: Han Yeoreum, Han Yohan]

-Lmaoooo I have absolutely no idea what Han Yohan could possibly come on as

-I’m not worried about Han Yeoreum because she has good variety instincts T_T but this is an individual-play show, so I’m kinda nervous

-Please, Han Yohan, fight dirty

?How

?Bring Bopsun

?Fuck, why bring a completely unrelated dog lmaoooooo

?If he just brings Bopsun T_T he can at least bulldoze through with her looks

<Wait! It’s in Here> was undeniably a popular show. Five participants communicated solely through messages without knowing one another’s faces or voices.

The premise was that someone among them was a fake, giving the participants the fun of deduction while giving viewers, who already knew the answer, the amusement of watching the participants repeatedly bark up the wrong tree.

Of course, since it aired on a terrestrial network—and a public broadcaster at that—the editing itself wasn’t particularly provocative.

To put it nicely, it was classic.

To put it less nicely—

“Old-fashioned.”

Exactly. This was the age of short-form content.

These days, you needed to land a short, powerful impact if you wanted to ride the wave of virality. Of the three terrestrial broadcasters, KBC was in the weakest position when it came to promotion.

“But still.”

Manager Ma recalled what Han Yeoreum had said before appearing on the show.

“Could I possibly put together the cast list myself?”

“What do these people have in common?”

“I went through all the clips from that show in order of views, and Professor Noh Jeongyeon’s appearance....”

He had felt it ever since the beginning of her career, but Han Yeoreum—

“Well, Cutie is JC too.”

—knew how to create good television.

* * *

Aetami made a point of watching a variety show she normally wouldn’t have bothered with.

“KBC isn’t really my taste. But I don’t have a choice.”

Perhaps because of Han Yeoreum’s poor condition, the <Code Name: Time Seven> team hadn’t been nearly as enthusiastic about promotions as they had been for any of her previous works.

It was disappointing that there were only a handful of scheduled public appearances, but Aetami trusted Han Yeoreum.

“It’ll at least be decently entertaining.”

Surely she could compensate to some extent for the painfully unfunny Han Yohan and Jo Eunnara.

And three minutes after the broadcast began, her expectations went flying out the window.

Dressed neatly in a brown shirt, Han Yohan introduced himself.

“Hello. I’m actor Han Yohan.... It’s been a while since I last appeared on a variety show, so I’m a little nervous, but I’ll do my best.”

-Ah he’s already boring T_T

-Nobody expects Yohan-oppa to be funny anyway.. You can just take it easy and go home

-He absolutely looks like the eldest son-in-law your parents would approve of

Han Yohan’s calm voice made even his opening introduction sound a little dull. Aetami was seized by the urge to change the channel for a while and come back when it was Han Yeoreum’s turn.

“No. I can’t miss even one second....”

And just as she was about to give up on Han Yohan—

[Today’s theme: Find the fake among real Classical Chinese teachers]

-Ah fuck lmaoooooooo

-This is fucking hilarious I’m dying T_T

-Lmaoooooo Han Yohan picked such a fucking perfect theme

-This makes the difficulty fucking insane

Suddenly, anticipation began to build that Han Yohan might actually have something to show them.

[Please explain the origin of your respective nicknames.]

[Chocolate Rice Cake: I’m just really into chocolate rice cakes these days lolol]

[Baby Goats in a Row: A song my grandsons and granddaughters often sing...^^]

[Bulgwang-dong Roaring Tiger Teacher: My. students. gave. me. this. nickname. It is. a roar. filled with love... Though now. I am merely. a toothless tiger. lol]

[Tofu Two Hundred Won: I took it from the famous poets Du Fu and Li Bai. I tried adding a bit of wit of my own—what do you think? Haha]

[Kim Gwangtae: My name]

[Kim Gwangtae: That is]

-Ah fuck... This is so fucking unfunny I can’t even force out a laugh;

-Turning Du Fu into tofu doesn’t magically make it funny ah TT_TT lmaoooo

-Fuck, if you look closely, I think the shirt he’s wearing today is like a modernized hanbok? Maybe he wore it to be funny

?Knowing Han Yohan, absolutely...

It was powerful from the very beginning. Han Yohan blended in among the real Classical Chinese teachers so perfectly that it was genuinely impressive.

The unimaginable difficulty instantly seized the viewers’ attention, and the amount of buzz began climbing rapidly.

szq @mimimiiii

(Han Yohan screenshot.jpg)

This is basically camouflage at this point fuck

1,123 Retreats 3,221 Likes

?Just looking at the screenshot is fucking killing me ah lmaoooooo

?How the fuck are we supposed to find him

[The character?joy has three different readings and meanings. Please give the three readings and meanings according to context, along with an example of each.]

[Tofu Two Hundred Won: nak, meaning “joyful” (paradise); ak, meaning “music” (musical instrument); yo, meaning “to like” (finding pleasure in mountains and water)...^^ haha]

And Han Yohan was absolutely flying.

Not a single one of the panelists suspected Han Yohan of being the fake.

“Kim Gwangtae... seems most likely to be the fake.”

“I think he’s looking things up while we’re talking. His answers are strangely slow.”

“Even his nickname sounds deliberately old. Seems like he’s trying too hard to make himself look elderly. Perhaps he used his father’s name?”

-Fuck he’s literally just an old man who types slowly TT___TT

-Teacher Kim Gwangtae is already retired too lmaoooooo

-His own name mysteriously became his father’s name;

The person they were all zeroing in on was none other than Kim Gwangtae, who was simply slow at typing.

“Tofu Two Hundred Won, on the other hand, is definitely....”

“You can tell they’ve been teaching students for a long time.... It’s the kind of thing you simply can’t hide.”

“Hohoho. This is far too easy today, isn’t it? Didn’t you underestimate us just because we’re old?”

And just like that, Han Yohan completely seized the advantage.

Every time he calmly answered a Classical Chinese question correctly with that neat, composed face, his unexpected popularity grew.

-I’m losing it, I fucking love how obvious it is that he was raised by his grandpa

-Fuck that interview just now where he smiled is melting my heart

-Maybe I should’ve gotten a few wrong... Maybe I should’ve gotten a few wrong... Maybe I should’ve gotten a few wrong...

Then came Han Yohan’s final question.

[How is this character read?

cjk645]

-Huh what the hell is that

-Fuck lmaoooooo I’ve never seen that in my life

-Did the production team just make it up? It’s fucking filling the whole screen

Every viewer recoiled at the absurd difficulty. Even the veteran panelists narrowed their eyes, trying to work out the answer.

And then—

[Tofu Two Hundred Won: Isn’t it jeol, meaning “talkative”?]

-?

-???

-???????

-What the hell does that even mean

-Lmaooooooooooooo is he insane

Han Yohan had correctly answered an insanely difficult question.

At the same moment, the buzz exploded.

“No, seriously, is he insane?”

At some point, Aetami had stopped doing anything else and was now staring intently at the screen.

When it was finally time to identify the fake, still not a single person pointed to Han Yohan.

[Han Yohan wins!]

-Lmaooooooo

-Lmaoooo if you actually guessed him you’d have to be possessed by a god

-Lmaooo this was seriously fucking hilarious T_T lmaoooooo

-They seriously knew exactly what they were doing with this one, how the fuck did they come up with something like that for Han Yohan lmaoooooo

The comments raced by.

-Han Yeoreum’s is gonna be fucking hilarious too, right

-I can’t wait T_T Yeoreum hurry up and come on

And among them were plenty of people eagerly awaiting Han Yeoreum.

Aetami was waiting for Han Yeoreum too.

* * *

“What do you think will happen...?”

“Han Yohan just knocked it out of the park, so I don’t think they can both be funny.”

“We’ll have to wait and see.”

Meanwhile, at that very moment, the production team of <MB Couple> at MBS’s variety department was monitoring <Wait! It’s in Here>.

Han Yohan’s current batting average for laughs was something unprecedented since his debut. More than anything else, balance was crucial in variety shows.

“If she’s not going to be that funny....”

Gam Dajeong, who understood that better than anyone, had an ominous feeling.

“She’ll probably go in a different direction.”

Then she thought back to the most popular episodes of <Wait! It’s in Here>.

The highest-rated one had featured Noh Jeongyeon, one of the three great stars of the youth era.

[Find the fake among real cancer patients!]

The video alone had ten million views. The sheer number of comments it had attracted made it a legendary episode.

“You’re all going to become fakes too. Just like me.”

The production team’s intent and Noh Jeongyeon’s story had come together in perfect harmony. It might not have been trendy, but it had a flavor that only a KBC variety show could deliver.

And Gam Dajeong, as always—

[Today’s theme: Find the fake among real unknown actors]

“Ah....”

—had good instincts.

“We’re in trouble.”

[Panelist 2: How about we all just use our names as our nicknames? Haha. You probably won’t know each other even if we use our real names anyway T_T]

Han Yeoreum belonged to JC, and she knew how to create good television.

She had pinpointed exactly what people in the position of unknown actors wanted most, as well as what would move viewers the most.

- TT_TT Whoa, is she doing this on purpose so their names get shown one more time?

-Han Yeoreum is so nice

-But then whose name is Han Yeoreum supposed to use?

-Exactly, if she uses her real name she’ll get caught immediately

[Park Riyoon: My name is kinda unusual lolol so I did hesitate >//< but really, you probably don’t know my name anyway... so I’ll work up the courage and introduce myself first]

And so the unknown actors revealed their names.

[Kim Minji: My name is way too ordinary.. I was already wondering whether I should come up with a stage name or not]

[Lee Sanghyeok: I bragged so much to my family that I was going on this show lol It’s so nice that we’re using our names as nicknames]

[Choi Yeongsik: Hahaha is this how I do it? This is fascinating]

-But Han Yeoreum literally never had an unknown period, isn’t the difficulty fucking low?

-Exactly, the second that web drama blew up she went fucking viral lmao what’s she even gonna do here

“They picked the theme well.”

“Exactly.”

Unlike the viewers currently watching <Wait! It’s in Here>, however, the <MB Couple> production team thought this was actually quite difficult.

“Yeoreum... likes talking to unknown actors on set.”

And sure enough, Han Yeoreum was good at it.

[The hardest moment while filming]

[Lee Sanghyeok: When I got to the food truck late and there were no side dishes left T_T lolol]

[Kim Minji: Honestly everything else is fine, but maybe when they suddenly tell you your role’s been cut and you should go home?]

[Park Riyoon: When I passed an audition but then the whole project got canceled...]

[Choi Yeongsik: Outdoor shoots in winter T_T feels like my mouth is gonna freeze crooked]

Unlike the Classical Chinese teacher group from earlier, all the unknown actors typed quickly. Since their answers kept coming almost immediately, there was no time to stop and think.

Unless you actually worked as an unknown actor on sets regularly, there was no way to keep up with that pace.

[Typing: When you’re fully dressed and styled for a historical drama and suddenly need to use the bathroom, absolute hell]

But Han Yeoreum kept pace with them. Apparently they had all experienced the same thing, because the panelists looking at their phones nodded.

[Kim Minji: Ah so true lmaoooo the skirts are so long]

[Park Riyoon: And if you mess up the costume, the wardrobe team gets mad at you..]

-Lmaooo oh Han Yeoreum is good at this

-But surprisingly Han Yohan was funnier

Unlike during Han Yohan’s segment, the viewers’ reactions felt somewhat subdued. The editing also seemed more focused on letting the panelists tell their stories than on guessing who the fake was.

[What made you choose this career?]

[Kim Minji: A really long time ago, some actors were filming near my house and they looked so cool]

[Choi Yeongsik: There was this drama I loved, you know? I always watched every rerun too, and after seeing it over and over I started wondering what it’d be like if I appeared in something like that.. That became my goal]

[Lee Sanghyeok: My friend was a theater and film major, and hearing him talk about his classes every now and then made me want to try it too. But now that friend has an office job and I’m the only one still dreaming of becoming an actor haha]

[Park Riyoon: I was in a theater club in elementary school, and acting has been so much fun ever since!]

-TT_TT Ah this is kinda bittersweet, they all have their own stories

-Listening to this is making me cry...T_T I hope they all make it

-Huh? Lmao if it’s that hard just do something else with your life, why are you using the viewers as your emotional trash can? Everyone else gives up on their dreams and earns a living too

?What the hell is wrong with you

Since the segment focused more on their stories than on humor, the viewers naturally began losing focus.

Gong Baek @kkkkk123

(Han Yeoreum screenshot.jpg)

Hmm, putting an actress from a huge agency who was never unknown for even one second among actual unknown actors isn’t that basically deceiving the viewers? lol

1,123 Retreats 3,725 Likes

?Born on third base and lives thinking she hit a triple

?Facts

Reactions began slowly emerging that Han Yeoreum, despite never having experienced an unknown period herself, was deceiving everyone by pretending to be one among genuine unknown actors.

“Those are the people, right?”

“Yes. I wasn’t completely sure before, but now I am.”

And the production team of MBS’s <MB Couple> sighed.

[If you could go back, do you think you’d still choose this path?]

[Kim Minji: Absolutely]

[Choi Yeongsik: I’d agonize over it a thousand times and then choose it anyway... haha]

[Lee Sanghyeok: I don’t know. But I hope I never have to go back. I really like who I am now lol I didn’t have a dream before]

[Park Riyoon: Of course]

And finally, the last question appeared.

[If you had to choose the most successful project you’ve appeared in so far, your own signature work, what would it be?]

[Kim Minji: Mine was seriously a huge hit lmaoooo It’s from another network though, can I say it? T_T]

[Choi Yeongsik: I was just an extra, but I did have my own lines, and I felt proud every time articles came out about it lol]

[Park Riyoon: Ah I bragged about it so much to everyone around me, can I brag again here? lol I can, right?]

[Lee Sanghyeok: You’ll be surprised when you hear it... haha]

Gam Dajeong closed her eyes as though she had known this moment was coming.

[Kim Minji: Strange Tales!]

[Choi Yeongsik: Faster Than the Law 2 lol I’m technically a ten-million... actor...]

[Park Riyoon: I was in Disqualified Youth! One of the students in that huge fight during the cheerleading scene in Episode 1! >//<]

[Lee Sanghyeok: I’m Worker Guy No. 2 in The Great Garland haha]

[Lee Youngju: It’s a play, but The Academy of the Academy of the Academy for Interns]

-Whoa

-Huh??

-?????

-Aren’t those all from Han Yeoreum’s filmography?

-Ah I get it now

- TT____TT

Only then did the viewers realize.

[The partitions are coming down!]

“Aaaaaah!”

“Huh, what?!”

“Lee Youngju? You said you were Lee Youngju!”

“I seriously fell for it. I never even considered you.”

The unknown actors screamed the instant they saw Han Yeoreum sitting in the middle.

She was someone they could never have imagined would be sitting there.

“Uh... I was just bragging about being a ten-million actor. What do I do now?”

“This is seriously embarrassing.”

“Do you happen to know me? We met on set before. Back then.”

“Wow....”

And then—

“Actually, I’m the one who cast all of you today.”

Han Yeoreum unleashed the Spirit Bomb she had been saving up.

* * *

After the performance ended, Lee Youngju stared out at the darkened audience seats.

After everyone had gone home, the place was so desolate that anyone might have simply turned around and left.

But Lee Youngju always found herself lingering.

The stage.

She wanted to remain there, where the hot lights poured down over her head and people’s shining eyes were directed toward her, for even one second longer.

She knew it was meaningless, but out of habit, Lee Youngju slowly walked across the stage.

One step.

Then another.

Someday, on this very stage, she wanted to perform in a production where the audience was full of people who had come to see Lee Youngju alone.

On a day when everyone knew her name.

“...Good grief.”

Even she thought it was ridiculous.

And yet Lee Youngju didn’t stop crossing the stage.

Just as she took her final step toward the edge of the narrow stage—

Bzzz, bzzz, bzzz, bzzz.

Her phone vibrated.

[Whoa holy shit lmaoooo Lee Youngju’s a superstar now]

[Youngju, do you remember me? It’s been a while haha I saw you on TV... See more]

[Youngju unnie congrats congrats]

[Ohhh Lee Youngju~ look at you making it big~]

“What are they talking about?”

Bewildered, Lee Youngju clicked the message at the very top.

It contained a link to an article.

[Daily Media?Talk about loyalty~ The unknown actors Han Yeoreum introduced through <Wait! It’s in Here>]

On today’s broadcast of the variety program <Wait! It’s in Here>, a deduction mission unfolded in which the participants had to identify the “fake” among genuine unknown actors. Actress Han Yeoreum, appearing as the special panelist for the episode, astonished everyone by accurately describing the harsh realities of filming sets and even the habits of supporting actors, throwing the other panelists into confusion.

That day, Han Yeoreum revealed a surprising fact. All four of the unknown actors appearing as panelists had previously played minor roles or appeared as extras in works starring Han Yeoreum.

Han Yeoreum remembered everything from the passion and acting tone they had displayed on set during the mere seconds they appeared onscreen, to even the small conversations they had shared at the time. It was revealed that as soon as Han Yeoreum was informed of the concept for this episode, she personally recommended those who had quietly done their part on past sets and asked the production team to cast them...(omitted)

Among them, “Lee Youngju,” whose name Han Yeoreum used as her nickname, is an unknown actress whom she met in the Daehangno play <The Academy of the Academy of the Academy for Interns>. Lee Youngju currently continues to perform in Daehangno in the play <Fly, Bluebird>...(omitted)

Before Lee Youngju knew it, her vision had blurred.

Tears fell one after another onto her phone screen.

“What am I going to do? Now Yeoreum really won’t be able to come see the play anymore.”

The moment Han Yeoreum mentioned it, the tickets had sold out completely.

The power of terrestrial television was formidable indeed.

Han Yeoreum had begun pulling in every bit of the narrative that Goo Minho had possessed before Myeong Jeha swept it all away in <Only One Game>.

Pongdangi @pppongdang___e

(Unknown actors revealing their signature works.mp4)

Fuck what are we supposed to do with this movie-level direction

5,431 Retreats 12K Likes

?Why am I crying...

?This is so fucking touching seriously

Kim Byeonggwan Is That Really You @kimbeyounggwan

(Unknown actors bursting into tears after hearing Han Yeoreum personally cast them.mp4)

Is one woman really allowed to create one of those “true story that moved all of North America” moments

6,721 Retreats 11K Likes

INTUBE

[Find the fake among real unknown actors ( •??•? ) The moment that gave viewers chills in real time?Wait! It’s in Here] 03:22

213,445 views

The moment the broadcast ended, the buzz exploded.