Chapter 106: The Unexpected Report Card

In conclusion, the filming of *Neighborhood Hyung* wrapped up successfully.

Tae-ha could tell from the atmosphere on set once the cameras stopped rolling. All the regular cast members approached him, offering generous words of praise. Among them, Kang Ho-deok’s compliment was particularly memorable.

“Tae-ha, you worked hard today. Come back again sometime.”

It was a simple compliment without flashy adjectives. However, it wasn’t difficult for Tae-ha to see the sincerity behind it. The wide smile on Kang Ho-deok’s face proved it.

Appearing as a solo guest on a program hosted by the National MC and receiving this much praise—it was something Tae-ha found incredibly gratifying, especially since he had been feeling inward pressure. It felt even better because he actually had a bit of an ambition for variety shows.

Because of that, Tae-ha struggled to open his mouth to reply politely, as he had been speaking informally for several hours according to the show’s concept.

“Thank you, Senior. I’ll see you again next time.”

After finishing the filming for *Neighborhood Hyung*, Tae-ha moved on to his next promotional schedule.

His next stops were Nutube content again. He appeared on shows titled *Hal-Byung-su* and *Fairy Dining Room*. Alongside the female lead, Han Seul-gi, he showed a decent performance.

Since he was appearing on a variety show with another actor, he didn’t try to dominate the scene alone. Instead, he made an effort to allocate screen time to Han Seul-gi. In other words, Tae-ha intentionally moderated his pace.

That didn’t mean the final result of the filming was poor. Rather, it allowed Han Seul-gi, who had been somewhat overshadowed by Tae-ha’s presence and unable to fully radiate her charm, to stand out.

This was exactly what Tae-ha intended. No matter how much Tae-ha was the solo lead of the drama, if the other actors like Han Seul-gi didn’t receive attention, the probability of the project’s success would decrease.

There was a saying in the drama industry: “If a drama is going to do well, even a passing mutt acts well.”

It was that important for experts in each field to give their all and radiate charm in a collaborative work. This applied to actors as well, which was why Tae-ha had to pay attention to how much spotlight the other actors received.

This was also the reason why Tae-ha didn’t strive to stand out alone during promotional schedules shared with other actors. He positioned himself to make his co-stars shine as much as possible.

Unlike when he appeared on other variety shows, his ‘Object of Immersion’ was set to an ‘entertainer who highlights the charm of his co-stars while still making significant contributions in the right places.’ Tae-ha believed this was the way to maintain the entertainment value of the content while also bringing out the charm of the actors appearing with him.

Fortunately, both *Hal-Byung-su* and *Fairy Dining Room* were filmed exactly as Tae-ha had intended.

The host of *Hal-Byung-su*, Park Byeong-su—who was once a titan of the industry known by nicknames like ‘Great Star’ and ‘Point-Five’—threw out a compliment in the middle of filming.

“Tae-ha, you’d be a great MC later. Your hosting is quite clean, isn’t it?”

Of course, it wasn’t just praise.

“Tae-ha! You say something too! This content will only do well if you talk a lot, damn it!”

He also got to hear Park Byeong-su’s signature shouting. However, since he knew this was also part of the variety show’s charm, Tae-ha didn’t mind. In fact, as a ‘Mudo Kid,’ he was delighted to hear the shouting of a former member of *Infinite Challenge*.

And that concluded all the promotional schedules Tae-ha had handled so far.

***

Now, all that remained was to wait and see the results of the promotion. And the results were beyond his expectations.

First, the video was uploaded to *That’s Your Business*.

**[(EN) Mudo Kids? That’s Your Business | EP.80-1]**
**[(EN) Mudo Kids? That’s Your Business | EP.80-2]**

Since the amount of footage was substantial this time, Tae-ha’s filming was split into two parts and released a week apart. Naturally, the response to the first video, which was uploaded first, was even better.

– I didn’t know Kang Tae-ha was also a Mudo Kid.
– Ah… his age is just right for it.
– Since he watched *Infinite Challenge* a lot, his chemistry with Ha Dong-hyeon seems great.
– His sociability is top-tier.
– It feels like he just naturally seeps into the group lol.
– His chemistry with Ji Seok-jun was good too. I wish he’d appear on *Battle Man*.
– ‘Outboxer’ lol. Seriously, what is that character? lol.
– The *Battle Man* black eye issue lol.
– Kang Tae-ha is really good at knowing when to step in and when to back off.
– It’s not easy to throw out comments like that among variety pros.
– Our Jae-seop-hyung created another perfect character for him this time ^^
– Is Kang Tae-ha playing a teacher instead of a student this time?
– *Fight School*? Is Kang Tae-ha acting as the writer again?
– No, he’s only acting this time lol.
– Kang Tae-ha as a teacher? Doesn’t he still feel too young?
– It’s probably because his ‘younger man’ image from *Twinkle* is so strong.
– I saw the teaser, and he looked okay as a teacher.
– Yeah, I thought it was fine too.
– Lol, Ha Dong-hyeon trying so hard to act like an MZ is hilarious lol.
– So, is *Fight School* really about beating up bullies?
– How could that be? Broadcast censorship is so strict lol.
– That’s a shame… it would’ve been fun if it was about ‘True Education.’
– Did Kang Tae-ha actually go to Ha Dong-hyeon’s restaurant for dinner?
– Ha Dong-hyeon just posted on MyStar lol. A photo with Yoo Jae-seop and Kang Tae-ha.
– In the end, Ha Dong-hyeon succeeded in bringing Kang Tae-ha to promote the shop.
– Lol, Kang Tae-ha left a comment on Ha Dong-hyeon’s MyStar. “Brother, why did you break your promise?” lol.
– Ha Dong-hyeon just liked the comment and ran away lol.
– What? lol. Is Kang Tae-ha part of the Yoo-line now?
– He’s appearing on *Neighborhood Hyung* this week too. That should be funny.
– Huh? Did Kang Tae-ha sing an OST this time?
– What? Is he going to be a singer now, following his writing career?
– I’m against a triple job;
– Aww, come on, he probably just sang it for promotion.
– I wonder if he’s good. Top 100 Ear Yoo Jae-seop’s reaction was no joke.
– They’re probably just hyping him up because they’re in the same line lol.
– Even Ha Dong-hyeon is praising his singing. How can that just be hype?
– Ha Dong-hyeon’s lip service is just a habit and a hobby lol. He’s from the Infinite Jae-seop Sect.
– True lol. He’s like the original sycophant lol.
– Then should we not expect much from Kang Tae-ha’s song…?
– He might be good ^^ At best, he’ll just be ‘good for an actor.’

The part where Yoo Jae-seop and Ha Dong-hyeon listened to Tae-ha’s song on *That’s Your Business* had been appropriately edited. The singing portion was completely removed.

It wasn’t something Tae-ha’s side had specifically requested. Tae-ha didn’t think the OST would be a huge help for promotion, so he didn’t mind if it was revealed early. However, the production team of *That’s Your Business* had omitted that part, perhaps out of concern that the OST would be released before the drama or out of simple consideration.

Consequently, only the reactions of Yoo Jae-seop and Ha Dong-hyeon after listening to the song were included in the video. Below them, a caption appeared: “Please check out the OST directly on *Fight School*.”

For Tae-ha, it wasn’t a bad thing. He hadn’t expected the song to be highlighted even for a moment, so he was satisfied that the OST got some promotion and focused on the other comments.

Fortunately, the response to his appearance on *That’s Your Business* was generally positive. He had felt that the filming went well, and his intuition proved correct.

‘With this,’ Tae-ha thought, ‘I’ve maxed out the promotional effect for *Fight School* through *That’s Your Business*.’

In fact, he had done enough to make the name *Fight School* known before it even aired. But the results of Tae-ha’s promotional activities didn’t end there. On Saturday of the same week, a massive aftershock hit at the same time his appearance on *Neighborhood Hyung* was broadcast.

**[Fight School’s Kang Tae-ha… Is his cousin really this person?]**
**[The unexpected ‘Secret of Birth’ of Kang Tae-ha revealed on Neighborhood Hyung]**
**[How Kang So-jeong made Kang Tae-ha a star]**
**[Unexpected connections! The reason Kang Ho-deok was shocked on Neighborhood Hyung]**
**[Kang So-jeong, ahead of the release of Ghost Ship, shocked by unexpected revelation!]**
**[We thought it was because of Lee Seok-hyun. The ‘real’ reason Kang Tae-ha made a cameo in Ghost Ship]**
**[He hid even this? The secret of Kang Tae-ha that keeps surprising the more you peel it back]**
**[Controversy over connection-based casting? How Kang Tae-ha was linked to Kang So-jeong!]**

It felt like sensationalist articles were being mass-produced endlessly. That was how much of an issue the fact that Tae-ha was Kang So-jeong’s cousin had become. It was a reaction even Tae-ha, who had intended to reveal this fact to promote both *Fight School* and *Ghost Ship*, hadn’t anticipated.

– He’s related to Kang So-jeong? What’s with those superior genes?
– He was hiding this all along lol. That’s crazy lol.
– But why did he hide it? He would’ve gotten famous faster if he’d let it be known.
– Probably because if people say you’re famous because of a celebrity relative, that tag follows you forever.
– Yeah, I think Kang Tae-ha was wise.
– His mouth must have been itching, but he held it in and finally got famous on his own.
– He’s a writer and an actor, and he has that bloodline. Kang Tae-ha’s life is insane.
– By the way, the story of how Kang Tae-ha was cast in *Twinkle* is crazy;
– So much fun.
– I didn’t know there was a backstory like that lol.
– How well did he have to act during the audition to go from an apprentice priest to Lee Jae-hyun?
– His acting skills warrant it.
– You have to admit Kang Tae-ha’s acting is top-tier.
– Bring Lee Jae-hyun back to life T_T Right now T_T
– I thought he did the *Ghost Ship* cameo because of Lee Seok-hyun, but I guess not.
– If Kang So-jeong helped him like that when he was a rookie, of course he should do a cameo.
– But with this much buzz, hasn’t Kang Tae-ha actually helped her more?
– Exactly lol. He’s promoting two projects with one appearance on *Neighborhood Hyung*.
– I guess I’ll watch *Fight School* for the drama and *Ghost Ship* for the movie lol.
– Kang Tae-ha is funny on *Neighborhood Hyung* too.
– He seems to have a talent for variety shows.
– Yeah, it feels like he perfectly grasped the concept of *Neighborhood Hyung*.
– From the moment he joined the Yoo-line and appeared on *Neighborhood Hyung*, it was already peak entertainment lol.
– Being a solo guest must’ve been burdensome, but he’s got thick skin and throws out good ad-libs.
– The more I see him, the more it feels like Kang Tae-ha is a natural-born star.
– Well… he creates an issue every time a new project comes out.

For Tae-ha, none of this was a negative. In fact, it was incredibly joyous news.

Not only had the promotion gone well enough to ensure a solid viewership rating for the first episode, but he had also succeeded in promoting *Ghost Ship*, which starred Kang So-jeong and Lee Seok-hyun. Perhaps thanks to this, the view counts for the subsequently released *Hal-Byung-su* and *Fairy Dining Room* videos were also skyrocketing.

The reaction was clearly extraordinary. Looking at this response, Tae-ha thought to himself.

‘I’m curious to see what kind of report card *Fight School* and *Ghost Ship* will receive.’

The first report card he could check was for *Fight School*, which was now only one week away from its premiere.

***

And finally, when the report card was announced…

“What is this?”

Tae-ha was staring, stunned by a result he had never even imagined.