A brief silence followed.
After that heavy silence passed, the three hosts snapped out of it as if waking up from hibernation. With bewildered expressions, the three men exchanged American-style greetings with Tae-ha.
Once the greetings were finished and Tae-ha sat in his designated seat, Kim Yong-ju spoke up after letting out a lingering “Wow, wow, wow” in admiration.
“Wow. I don’t know what you’re thinking, but we’ve met quite a few really famous guests before, you know?”
Tae-ha nodded and replied, “I know. That’s why I was pretty nervous. I was worried I might be a nuisance to such a great show.”
“Not at all. The moment you appeared, we were all caught off guard.”
“You were?”
“Yeah. Should I say you were glowing? I was just overwhelmed by the atmosphere, and I found myself speechless.”
Lee Yun-su, another host from Ulsan who was famous for his flavorful use of dialect, chimed in after Kim Yong-ju.
“I just felt like some kind of energy was completely hitting me. What was that?”
Park Jae-hyeong, famous for his unique comedy style and incredible mimicry, also nodded in agreement.
“Is it because Tae-ha is handsome? It felt like something different from just that, though.”
“It does feel different. Master Kang Jae-won was a real visual powerhouse too, but it wasn’t like this.”
“What on earth do you have to eat to give off an aura like this? What did you have for breakfast this morning?”
Tae-ha tilted his head at Lee Yun-su’s question, which was filled with pure admiration, and replied.
“Wait, what? Is this really your first official question?”
The set erupted in laughter at Tae-ha’s witty response. Lee Yun-su also couldn’t hide his grin as he spoke.
“Yeah. I’m genuinely curious. I want to eat whatever you ate.”
“Oh. I just ate a single roll of kimbap that my manager bought for me. I usually eat a salad for breakfast, but the schedule here was very early. Is it because you guys have something to do later?”
At Tae-ha’s sharp follow-up question, Lee Yun-su nodded with a dazed expression.
“Uh… yeah. That’s right.”
Kim Yong-ju and Park Jae-hyeong burst into embarrassed laughter at the overly honest answer. It was a relaxed opening, perfectly fitting for the *Are You Kidding Show*.
***
The *Are You Kidding Show* was famous for asking many unusual questions. Perhaps because of that, Tae-ha received many unexpected inquiries as well.
“You worked with guys like Han Yun-seong, Seon Min-gi, and Lee Seok-hyun in a row, right?”
“Yes, I did.”
“You’re even famous for being close to all three of them. What is your secret to being loved by the older actors?”
“Oh. Well, I wonder.”
“Do you have a strategy for everyone? Is it limited to older men?”
“It’s not like that. I had no choice but to get close to them because I was on-site so often. Especially with Min-gi, we played something like sworn brothers, and with Seok-hyun, we were the two leads, so that made us even closer.”
“What about Han Yun-seong? Were you not close at first? Was it because of the problem of not being able to concentrate on your main job?”
“I’ve already officially stated on other programs that it was a misunderstanding. Yun-seong was actually the one who reached out to me first. Later, we were able to become deeply close after meeting as a writer and an actor. Besides, a different kind of camaraderie develops between a writer and an actor.”
“Is that different from the bond between actors?”
“It’s a bit different. A writer and an actor inevitably have differences in how they view the work, and the process of sharing those views is how we become close.”
“So you become close while finding common ground within those differences.”
“Exactly. That’s how it is.”
The unique thing was that even while discussing this, they didn’t ask the question of who he liked best among Han Yun-seong, Seon Min-gi, and Lee Seok-hyun. Tae-ha had been troubled because that question came up every time he appeared on a program. It was simply too difficult to choose one person.
As a result, he would always get tongue-tied, and the atmosphere would inevitably sink a little. However, the three hosts of the *Are You Kidding Show* seemed to know this and didn’t ask that question at all. Instead, in the time they would have spent on that, they threw out a question like this:
“You had a strong image as a thriller specialist since you only appeared in and wrote thrillers. Did you write *Your Brilliant Sparkle* with that in mind? There were even rumors that Kang Tae-ha wouldn’t be able to pull off romantic eyes.”
This was something many people were curious about. Many wondered why Tae-ha, who seemed to excel only in thrillers, had written *Your Brilliant Sparkle*. While no one actually thought he wrote it just because he was conscious of his image, it was a witty way for the *Are You Kidding Show* to phrase it.
Tae-ha thought this part was interesting and answered the question.
“That’s true. There were people who said that. But I didn’t write *Your Brilliant Sparkle* because I was particularly conscious of those opinions.”
“Then why?”
“Opinions may vary, but personally, I felt the character development in *The Virus* was a bit lacking. Especially the construction of No Ji-hee’s narrative.”
“Really? That’s quite unexpected. I really liked the character of No Ji-hee in *The Virus*. She was pure evil.”
“That’s right. No Ji-hee is a character who received a lot of love. It’s just how I felt as a writer. I strategically chose to make No Ji-hee pure evil, but I found myself questioning if that was due to a lack of my own capability.”
“Ah. So you were worried that the choice was somewhat forced.”
“Exactly. So for this project, I wanted a work where the characters could be more closely connected through their narratives. And as I looked for such a work, I thought I should write a love story.”
“But why a campus youth drama? Even if it’s a love story, you could have written something else.”
“From the beginning, I wrote this piece with the intention of starring in it myself. Because of that, I thought it would be better to write a character I could play at my current age.”
“Oh. That’s very smart.”
However, among the many questions on the *Are You Kidding Show*, the most impressive one was the following:
“At a young age, you’re becoming successful incredibly fast. You’re even walking the unprecedented path of being both a writer and an actor at the same time. If you have a goal, what would it be? Can you tell me?”
“A goal…”
“You don’t have to give a grand answer. If it’s difficult, we can move on to another question.”
“No, I’ll answer. People sometimes think I’m walking a very new and difficult path, but it’s not really like that. There are just two boys inside me. One boy who desperately wanted to be a writer, and one boy who desperately wanted to be an actor. I plan to just let these two boys continue on their paths. I won’t stop them; I’ll let them keep moving forward. Occasionally, I’ll have them stop to give each other a hug. And I’ll tell them. You’re doing well. You did a great job. And then, we’ll keep walking again.”
After that, they spent a long time exchanging jokes and silly answers.
A week later, a video of Tae-ha was uploaded to the *Are You Kidding Show*.
[(Subtitled) Asking Kang Tae-ha everything except who he likes most among Han Yun-seong, Seon Min-gi, and Lee Seok-hyun]
That was the title of the video.
***
A few days after finishing the filming for the *Are You Kidding Show*…
Tae-ha appeared on the Nutube content *That’s Your Business*, hosted by the national star Yoo Jae-seop.
“Oh! Our Actor Kang is here. Haha, haha. Come and sit over here. Actor Kang, what kind of coffee would you like to drink?”
From their first meeting, Tae-ha felt that Yoo Jae-seop was the top star for a reason. Even though they had only briefly greeted each other once at the Baek-am Art Awards, he welcomed Tae-ha with great warmth.
The atmosphere was also set up perfectly for a comfortable talk. To ensure there were no gaps in the audio, Ji Seok-jun had appeared as a guest. Ji Seok-jun, who was famous for his close friendship with Yoo Jae-seop, often played a major role in livening up the atmosphere by appearing as a guest on *That’s Your Business*.
“Tae-ha, nice to meet you. I’m quite a bit older than you, so would it be okay if I spoke casually?”
At Ji Seok-jun’s comment, Yoo Jae-seop, who had gone to order coffee, returned in a hurry, looking disgusted. He immediately began nagging Ji Seok-jun.
“No, Brother. You just met him, and you’re already trying to speak casually to Actor Kang?”
“It’s just because he looks so kind, like a younger brother.”
“What do you mean, younger brother? Actor Kang wouldn’t have someone like you as an older brother.”
“Someone like me? What does that mean, you punk?”
“What else? A weak person with a big nose. Someone living a fake life.”
“Why do you keep telling me I’m living a fake life? People will actually believe it.”
“What if they do? It’s true. Anyway, don’t speak casually to our Actor Kang. It’s forbidden.”
“Who are you to forbid it? Let me get close to him too.”
“No, I’m telling you, Actor Kang can’t be friends with someone like you. He hangs out with kids like Yun-seong, Min-gi, and Seok-hyun.”
“Oh, really? Then that’s perfect. Those guys are all like younger brothers to me too.”
“Don’t make me laugh. I saw you using formal speech with Seok-hyun the other day.”
“Oh, you saw that? Hahaha. You saw that too.”
The opening of *That’s Your Business* felt comfortable in a different way than the *Are You Kidding Show*. While the *Are You Kidding Show* created a relaxed atmosphere through the unique wit of the three hosts, *That’s Your Business* offered the comfort of feeling like you had stepped directly into the television. A familiar scene was unfolding right before his eyes.
The hosting continued even after a few donuts arrived, which Yoo Jae-seop seemed to have ordered along with Tae-ha’s coffee.
“Actor Kang. Are you going to eat that?”
Ji Seok-jun asked this, as if he were eyeing the donut. Seeing this, Yoo Jae-seop couldn’t hold back his laughter, and Tae-ha also spoke as he handed the donut to Ji Seok-jun.
“Would you like to have it, Senior?”
“Then shall I try one?”
Ji Seok-jun took the donut from Tae-ha and took a bite.
“Mmm. It’s strawberry flavored.”
He put the donut back on the table as if he didn’t like it, which triggered a second wave of laughter on set.
It was a comfortable atmosphere that didn’t feel like they were recording together for the first time. In fact, it was an atmosphere Tae-ha had intended. Unlike during the *Are You Kidding Show*, Tae-ha was activating his Immersion Ability today to portray the image of a ‘polite and diligent, yet popular younger brother who says everything on his mind.’
This was the mood Tae-ha envisioned for *That’s Your Business*.