Cheat day

Sugar Man (7)

“Looks like everyone wants to hear more about Chan-yong. It was just a brief moment, but they say they could listen to him all day.”

“Oh, this guy’s popularity.”

“Pfft. Alright, let’s continue the conversation. According to YouTube Korea, the number of participants has exceeded 1.4 million. How do you manage that?”

“As I mentioned, we’ve just provided the opportunity. The people are the ones sustaining the event, so we don’t really manage it.”

“I see.”

“The reason we switched from an offline to an online format was also because of that. There’s no way to control a large group of people, and I don’t think we should even try.”

“That sounds like a good idea. You never know what kind of problems might arise.”

“Exactly. Even though we can’t be 100% assured online, it seems to be going as we hoped so far. I’m glad there are so many warm-hearted people in the world.”

“Indeed. Listeners, please write ‘I love you’ in the YouTube videos you enjoy. It will really help.”

Park Ha-im introduced the next topic.

“Speaking of the ‘Get Happy’ event, I recently saw an article ranking the top CF casting requests in the advertising industry. You must be busy, right? What does your daily routine look like?”

“On days when I have morning shoots for Baekban-ttara, I wake up around 5 AM. I start filming at 7 AM, and that day is mostly filled with shooting.”

“And on regular days?”

“I wake up around 8 AM, make breakfast, and go to the gym, which takes about until 9:30 AM. I work out for an hour, then head to work to prepare for that day’s broadcast or handle my schedule. I usually start my personal broadcasts around 4 PM and go until 8 or 9 PM.”

“So today you wrapped up that and then moved on to radio?”

“Today isn’t a broadcasting day, so I had a meeting with the Sadang Family. We’re about to start a new company.”

“You said it’s called Sugar Man Entertainment, right?”

“Yes.”

“What kind of work will you be doing there?”

“There’s a lot! We’re preparing a variety show, planning merchandise for a restaurant, and lots of other things.”

“That sounds super busy.”

I smiled.

“If you live that busily, your quality of life must suffer immensely.”

“You know that well, don’t you?”

“Yeah. No, I mean, do you ever get really depressed or tired?”

“Sometimes, yes. It happens occasionally, but I recover quickly. I have a lot of good people around me, and we lean on each other, so I can get through it well.”

“Have you always had good mental strength? Can you share how you manage your mental health?”

“First, you have to get moving. The weird thing is, there are times when I didn’t want to do anything or meet anyone. It felt like a hassle.”

“Right.”

“But once I start moving and spend time with like-minded people, I find there’s no room for me to feel down.”

“What’s that all about?”

Park Ha-im laughed.

“No, this is really important. I’ve experienced it firsthand: when a person is alone, they start to deteriorate.”

I saw on the Ujinious channel that prolonged periods of being alone can decrease brain function and even lead to dementia more quickly.

I took that to mean that a lonely life does not positively impact humans at all.

“Now that I think about it, I’ve spent a lot of time alone too. But now that I interact with the Sadang Family, my girlfriend, and my subscribers, I’ve improved.”

“It seems to me that you have the power to draw others in, Chan-yong.”

“Me?”

“Yes.”

“You’ve always been very kind to others, right? Isn’t it true that the Sadang Family was formed because of you?”

“I don’t think that’s the case.”

We both chuckled softly at the same time.

“See? The commonality between the Jimgun, the Heart Sutra, and Ujinious is that they all grew with Chan-yong managing the channels. They got to know each other through Chan-yong.”

“That’s true.”

“So my point stands.”

“Is that so?”

He tilted his head in curiosity.

“Helping others was initiated by Chan-yong too. It started with the lunch boxes, right?”

“That was possible because everyone helped out.”

“I heard from Woo-jin that everyone was tricked into starting it.”

“Oh. That’s because you need various things to run a business—like a storefront, chefs, suppliers for food materials, and so on. I just kept asking around, and that’s how Ji-seung, Ji-chan, and Woo-jin ended up helping.”

“So everyone helped each other.”

“Exactly.”

“Baek Woo-jin also said something like this: he thought he was crazy. He was doing all the hard work without making any money and instead was spending it, and he didn’t understand why he was doing it.”

“Haha!”

“But once he tried it, he realized. It was tough but rewarding and fun. After that experience, he was able to start ‘Walking to the Sky.’ Cha Ji-chan even mentioned it in an interview: seeing Ban-chan helping others made him want to be someone needed by someone else.”

I nodded.

“That’s how one or two people’s kind hearts have now made a global impact.”

“I guess I was quite an amazing person, huh?”

Laughter erupted.

“Yeah. I saw it on the Ujinious channel. We’re Homo sapiens, right? The video discusses how we managed to survive. Aren’t you curious?”

“To be honest, not really.”

“It’ll be interesting! There was a time during the Ice Age when only large animals survived. It wasn’t easy for Homo sapiens to hunt alone. So, they would hunt together and share the catch.”

“That’s cooperation.”

“Exactly. But while hunting together, something very important came up: there were people in the group who didn’t want to work.”

“Oh.”

“Those people were naturally ostracized from the group because they wanted to get meat without putting in any effort. They also wouldn’t follow the agreed-upon actions. They were considered traitors. Such individuals posed a danger to the group, so they had to be punished.”

“Like a law.”

“Right. Conversely, those who were proactive in hunting or helped out were highly valued in the group. Over time, genes that supported helping and cooperation survived more.”

Park Ha-im nodded.

“For survival, life together as a group must have been sustained. At this point, something significant occurs.”

“What is it?”

“The brains of Homo sapiens are said to be not very different from ours today. In fact, the brains of Neanderthals, who were contemporaries, were larger and physically stronger. Yet, Homo sapiens survived.”

“How did that happen?”

“Neanderthals didn’t have knowledge transmission. Even if someone came up with a good idea, they didn’t have enough of a concept of cooperation to teach or learn from one another. It’s like with monkeys.”

“Hm.”

“In contrast, Homo sapiens would replicate what someone developed. For example, if someone threw a stone and realized it made hunting easier without getting hurt, they would share that knowledge. They figured out that tying a string to a stick made it possible to shoot sharp objects far away.”

“Like a bow.”

“Exactly. When something good was discovered in the group, Homo sapiens would adopt it and spread that knowledge, leading to the development of collective knowledge. This is said to be the reason Homo sapiens were able to outcompete Neanderthals.”

“So, it all comes down to cooperation.”

“Right. That’s why events like ‘Happiness Up!’ and what I did last year were not just about helping others; ultimately, I benefited from it too. I actually earned quite a bit of money. Therefore, I feel I should continue to give back, because I have received help from millions of people to be where I am now. If I become greedy, I might get hit with a stone axe.”

“When you were a Homo sapiens, you really would have gotten hit with a stone axe.”

“Exactly.”

He chuckled softly.

“So, if I appear to be an amazing person, or if I have truly become one, it’s thanks to the people who helped me.”

“You’re incredibly humble.”

“It’s true. No matter how good I am at speaking or editing, I wonder if it’s worth billions. I don’t think so. There are many funnier people than me.”

“Then what do you think your value is?”

“I think I should earn at least a billion a year! Haha!”

“Hahaha!”

“Just kidding. Whether it’s luck, effort, or talent, none of these things would be possible without one another. But I believe that my success came because I was kind to my neighbors, and in return, they helped me even more. So I’m always grateful.”

“That’s wonderful. To be honest, I think if it weren’t for Chan-yong or Director Himura, I would have really struggled.”

He was referring to a past agency representative.

“That’s true. If Ha-im hadn’t treated me warmly, I probably wouldn’t have been able to help either.”

“Right?”

“People often think that helping someone means losing something of their own. In fact, I’ve thought that I shouldn’t live kindly after experiencing some really tough situations.”

“Hmm.”

“Yet despite that, we need to help each other even more. As I mentioned earlier, those who ride on others’ coattails or betray trust are punished. I believe the world becomes livable when the remaining people rely on one another. We should work towards creating such a world.”

***

“Bye!”

“Great job.”

After finishing the radio broadcast, I got into the car. After chatting for a while, I felt quite tired.

Mukeunji suggested having a road manager, but I declined because I thought it might feel uncomfortable. Yet on days like today, I wished someone could drive for me.

Once my excitement calmed down a bit, I planned to start driving and leaned the driver’s seat back while opening my phone.

I browsed through the comments on the video posted yesterday and couldn’t help but smile.

Thanks to these people, my side dish store, the Namsadangpae, and the Happiness Up! project are gaining recognition, and I’m at a loss for how to express my gratitude.

“Ugh.”

I gained energy to live hard again, so I need to do my best tomorrow too.

I turned on the car engine.

***

Brain size and intelligence are not related. Neural cell density is much more important.

The competition between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens was not a one-sided victory for Homo sapiens.

According to the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Neanderthal genes still exist in modern humans.

About 80% of modern humans carry Neanderthal genes, with 2% to a maximum of 4% of Neanderthal genes present in the bodies of modern individuals.

This is especially evident in genes that allow survival on limited food in harsh environments by quickly accumulating fat, which has led to problems like obesity and diabetes.

A lack of Neanderthal genes in pure African natives has resulted in few cases of obesity and diabetes, providing evidence of this. Indeed, Neanderthals are the ancestors of many modern human issues.

***

Reference:
The Pain of Hair Loss, Obesity, and Diabetes Was Caused by ‘These People’ [Sung Su-young’s Then and Now], October 8, 2022, Korea Economic Daily, Sung Su-young.