By the time the editing for ‘Rental Lover’ wrapped up.
Though night had fallen, quite a few lights could be seen here and there in the buildings of the Geubaekpeu Campus. Lounges, practice rooms, dorms, and so on. Of course, the participants were all in the process of improving their skills in their own ways.
Kang Rojun was no different.
“Hoo—my eyes are a bit sore.”
He muttered in a low voice while looking in the mirror. Currently, Rojun was in a bathroom that doubled as a practice room. Standing in front of the sink. Water droplets dripped from his face, as if he had just splashed water on it. But today, too, his devastating visuals remained unchanged.
“Amazing.”
Kang Rojun traced his face from his sharp nose bridge, across both cheeks, to his razor-sharp jawline. It was a face he saw every day, but recently, a sense of wonder had been added.
“I mean, I don’t even get those common pimples—”
Recently, he had been swamped with work while juggling his main job and side job, and staying up all night for practice was frequent as well. But it only came with a bit of fatigue; not even the slightest inflammation appeared on his face. While other participants were breaking out here and there, only Rojun was perfectly fine.
*Sss, is this also because of the ‘AI Simulation’?? Anyway, this is a sweet deal.*
Rojun, who had been admiring his own visuals for a moment.
—Swish.
He picked up his phone. Then he played the most recently saved song.
—♬♪
The intro was a majestic melody interspersed with what sounded like noise, tension rising. It was reminiscent of the opening of a horror film.
The beat tempo was around medium.
Piano. No, this was closer to an organ. The organ melody amplified a slight chill. Then the melody gradually sped up. The organ likewise. From here on, someone’s voice was planned to be inserted like a narration.
What Kang Rojun was currently playing was the song confirmed for Geubaekpeu’s final evaluation.
The title had been set as ‘Daedamhan’.
The song ‘Daedamhan’ was composed by 58 Sihoo and the lyrics were by Rojun, but it was a song of a different style from what had come before. As soon as the low narration heightening the tension ended, it went straight into the rap part.
From the rap, the beat became intense but continued to maintain a majestic color.
In the first half, it expressed fear, horror, loneliness, and anxiety. But when the rap ended and the lead vocal’s turn arrived, unlike the beginning, it instilled courage. From the chorus—the main vocal section—high notes accompanied, conveying brilliance, magnificence, and joy.
Rojun liked ‘Daedamhan’, the final evaluation song.
*They captured the feeling that you can do anything even from fear.*
When listening to ‘Daedamhan’, strength naturally entered his strides. What could he call it—a feeling of powerful autosuggestion? A song that made him hallucinate that he himself looked cool for no reason, just by listening.
Kang Rojun, having listened to ‘Daedamhan’ a couple more times.
“Hoo—”
Let out his voice. Trying to sing ‘Daedamhan’, which he hadn’t learned yet. From the intro narration to rap, past the lead vocal to the main vocal part. It wasn’t bad. It wasn’t as perfect as ‘AI Automation’, but it was usable. Currently, Rojun’s stats other than ‘Vocal’ had mostly surpassed 40 points.
*At this level, I’d pass for an idol trainee.*
This was Kang Rojun’s assessment, and it was good enough to be called ‘good’. Though he wouldn’t stand out among the overwhelmingly numerous idol trainees.
Being good wasn’t enough.
*The world is crawling with trainees who are good enough to trip over.*
You had to be better than good, and even better than better. Only then could you barely stand out. And if you managed to get even better than that, there was yet another mountain to cross.
During the short—if short—Geubaekpeu period, Rojun had felt it himself.
The idol market was infinite competition.
A place where the term food chain fit perfectly.
*If I manage to be both an apex predator and an invasive species, it’ll work out somehow.*
Next, Rojun played a video. It was the choreography video selected for the song ‘Daedamhan’. It was created through the combined efforts of 46 Gangmin and a few others, and completed with Kang Rojun and the remaining participants fleshing it out.
Kang Rojun followed along with the choreography.
He missed some parts, but his body moved smoothly enough. It was truly a fun experience every time he did it—recognizing that his skills had improved, however slightly, compared to before.
He could feel it.
And so, Kang Rojun spent several tens of minutes singing ‘Daedamhan’ or moving his body. The other participants were probably undergoing similar practice. Recently, the choreography, parts, and such had been finalized; today was for individual practice, and from tomorrow until the final evaluation, it would be continuous group practice.
For now, Rojun used ‘AI Automation’.
—[‘AI Automation’ can derive desired results through analysis. What would you like to derive? (Only things related to the desired profession, idol, are possible)]
He learned the vocals and choreography for ‘Daedamhan’, the final evaluation song. More meticulously than usual, and this time he added a new command as well.
*Coins are cheaper on the vocal side, and the dance is a bit expensive.*
Anyway, he felt a stinging pain twice.
Along with that, everything about ‘Daedamhan’ gradually spread from his brain to his entire body.
Soon.
—♬♪
Kang Rojun played ‘Daedamhan’ once more.
A few days later, around the 29th.
With roughly four days left until the final evaluation. Dozens of Geubaekpeu staff crowded the large hall with the stage, bustling about. Camera setups, lighting, and filming preparations were in full swing.
“Cameras! Closer to the stage!”
PD Woo Hanseok, busy leading the charge, had heavy dark circles but overflowed with energy. The other staff were the same. The stage had changed since the 4th evaluation as well. More colorful. The stage size felt wider than before. Kang Rojun and the participants were nowhere to be seen near the stage.
Naturally.
They were currently filming interview cuts in the waiting room backstage. Around this time, the high-tension writer Kim Sehui and a few other writers gathered around PD Woo Hanseok. Kim Sehui was the one to break the ice.
“The final evaluation stage seems to have come out better than I thought.”
Other writers immediately agreed.
“Right. Expanding the thrust stage was really good, doesn’t it feel much more grand?”
“Ah—but it’s already the finals. Time is sooo fast.”
“I can’t believe Geubaekpeu is ending soon.”
“But did the participant kids prepare well for today’s rehearsal stage??”
Rehearsal stage. That’s right—today’s filming centered around rehearsal for the final stage. The occasion where they would first present a stage prepared solely by the participants, without staff intervention. Of course, Woo Hanseok had checked in on them from time to time, but he had left the big picture to the participants.
Woo Hanseok, staring at the stage with an expressionless face.
“······”
He didn’t show it, but he was slightly worried.
*Honestly, it is a bit of a gamble.*
The final evaluation was ‘free’, but the initial plan hadn’t been to not interfere at all. Well, having all 10 perform as one group was already way beyond expectations. Still, Woo Hanseok respected the participants’ choice. And so, he spoke to the writers.
“The evaluation song was good, the choreography wasn’t bad either. They’ll do well.”
On the other hand, Kim Sehui and the writers didn’t hide their concerns.
“W-we saw them working hard! But what if it’s not even broadcast-worthy?? There’s only 4 days left until the evaluation?!”
“Then......it’d really be a slaughter.”
“The kids are talented, but suddenly putting together a stage for 10 people—I think it’d be better if the production team stepped in even now.”
“What if the final evaluation falls flat, unlike the others?? It’s the final evaluation—if it’s lacking or like a deflated balloon......”
They were understandable, well-meaning concerns. Until now, pros among pros had helped put together evaluations and stages. But PD Woo Hanseok, arms crossed, didn’t budge an inch.
“It could be lacking. If they show a stage that’s lacking for a final evaluation, that’s something they’ll have to bear, and it’s up to the viewers to decide.”
“That may be true, but.”
“Geubaekpeu was designed to pick raw rookies with no entertainment industry experience from the start, so we’ll just show their rawness until the end.”
That was when.
“PD-nim!! The participants’ interviews are over!!”
At a staff member’s shout, the 10 kids entered on their own. Their outfits were the same as usual. Comfortable sportswear. Here, Woo Hanseok furrowed his brow looking at Kang Rojun.
*What is that in his hand.*
Only when Kang Rojun and the participants approached did Woo Hanseok realize what was in Rojun’s hand.
*...A megaphone?*
It was a white megaphone commonly seen on set. Soon, Woo Hanseok opened his mouth to the participants.
“Are you ready?”
“Yes—”
“Yes! PD-nim!”
Looking at Kang Rojun holding the megaphone in one hand, he asked.
“But what’s with the megaphone? Are you using it on stage?”
All eyes, from the participants to the writers, fell on Rojun, and Kang Rojun smiled and nodded.
“Yes. I’m going to use it on stage. We’ll show you directly.”
Just what were they trying to pull. Woo Hanseok blinked, then burst into a grin.
“Okay then. Let’s start the rehearsal. Get up on stage.”
“Excuse me—PD-nim.”
“Hm?”
“We decided something among ourselves.”
“Decided something? What is it?”
Woo Hanseok scanned from Kang Rojun to the other 9 participants. Their eyes sparkled with meaningful expressions. Amid the unusual atmosphere, Kang Rojun, who had taken the role of leader.
*Will he be a bit surprised?? I don’t know, I’ll just go for it.*
He answered in a manner quite befitting a villain character.
“We’re going to do the final evaluation stage live, not lip-synced.”
“......Live?”
“Yes.”
PD Woo Hanseok, slightly flustered, hesitated for a few seconds before checking again with the participants.
“Are you sure it’s live? Seriously?? It must have been tough preparing raw without production team help, and you’re going to do live on top of that?”
The surrounding writers also murmured openly. Regardless, Rojun, having briefly met eyes with the participants, smiled with his eyes.
“We’re going to try it live. Ah—will it be difficult to prepare since I sprang this on you suddenly?”
“No......that sort of thing can be done if we spend some time on it.”
“Then you can decide whether to go with it or not after seeing today’s rehearsal.”
“Huh—”
From the megaphone to going live—a continuous chain of shocks. But on the other hand, Woo Hanseok.
*This could be fun. A live stage for the finals—*
His curiosity was piqued.
*Yeah, if it’s completely useless like Rojun said, we can just cut it. Let’s see it once first.*
PD Woo Hanseok approved just like that.
“Wait in the waiting room for a bit, we’ll prepare right away.”
The 10 participants reappeared on stage about two hours later. From Rojun to everyone else, they were handed in-ear mics like those seen on music shows.
—Swish.
The participants who had finished setting up took their positions.
Before long.
—♬♪
The song ‘Daedamhan’ echoed throughout the hall. The writers, dozens of staff—all stared holes into the stage. Especially Woo Hanseok with crossed arms; his gaze was intense.
What was interesting was.
“Huh—”
That Woo Hanseok exclaimed within mere seconds.
“So that’s how you use a megaphone.”
And after exactly one minute of watching the participants perform live on stage, PD Woo Hanseok.
“Those brats...is this really their first time doing live??”
The corners of his mouth stretched into a crescent grin.
Afterward.
The days flew by like bullets. Before anyone knew it, October ended and November dawned; today was Monday, November 2nd. Late morning. Meanwhile, Geubaekpeu’s standing in the press and public opinion had grown even higher, and up to episode 15 had aired.
And just now, the Geubaekpeu Campus had finished setting up for a large-scale event.
What else could it be?
Today, the 2nd, filming for the final evaluation of Geubaekpeu’s 10 participants was starting. Thus, tension flowed among the many staff in the hall with the stage, and the judges who had begun sitting in the seats in front of the stage felt the same.
“The stage got bigger—whew, why am I nervous.”
“Me too. The first evaluation feels like yesterday, and yet it’s already the final evaluation.”
“Did you hear that for this final evaluation, the kids are doing it as one group of 10? A twist, if you will...honestly, I had expected individual performances.”
It seemed the news of this final evaluation had shocked the judges as well.
“I thought it would be individual or at most duets; I never imagined they’d prepare as a single team.”
“And I heard the kids did everything themselves, from song selection to composing, lyrics, choreography, and so on??”
“They even left all the producing to the participants.”
“I’m worried. PD Woo really...he should trust their spirit in moderation. What if he just left it to them raw?? He must have touched base with them appropriately, right?”
“I talked to him earlier, and he said he didn’t lay a hand on it.”
“The kids’ stage is really going to be a bust...no, I wonder if they won’t mess it up.”
Soon, the portly Song Mingeun leaned back deeply into his chair and smiled faintly.
“The story is interesting. Everyone knows Sihoo and Rojun’s composing and lyric writing skills. And looking at them individually, each one is talented, aren’t they? I’m looking forward to it.”
“But they’re still babies, making them handle producing and everything.”
“Well, we’ll know when we see the stage. Since it’s one song with a 10-person team, the evaluation will end quickly.”
About 40 minutes later.
“Standby!”
PD Woo Hanseok and the staff quickly exited the filming zone, and the signal that filming had begun was given. The lights in the entire hall dimmed. With all 10 participants as one group, the process was simple.
Soon, the 10 participants took the stage.
Their outfits had a street sensibility.
Some wore hats with loose tees or button-ups, some wore wide-leg pants; Kang Rojun was black from head to toe. A black cap, a loose tee, and black jeans.
—Shk.
They took their positions on their own. Six formed a circle with one step between them, three stood in a line above the circle the six made, and Rojun sat inside the circle. The judges narrowed their eyes looking at the seated Kang Rojun.
“......Rojun, what’s that—in his hand?”
“A megaphone? Looks like a megaphone?”
Then.
—♬♪
A low, tension-filled melody flowed. It was ‘Daedamhan’, the final evaluation song. At the same time, a piercing alarm sound mixed with noise. Red and blue lights crossed and shot across the dark stage, and the six forming the circle twitched in time with the steady alarm and noise.
Then, as the organ melody joined in, Kang Rojun inside the circle smoothly rose and escaped the circle, and when white light bathed the stage, he raised the megaphone and opened his mouth.
Between the chilling atmosphere, like a whisper, with a narration feel.
Soon, all five judges seated in front of the stage.
“Live??!”
“Th-they’re doing it live?”
Their pupils dilated. Song Mingeun was the same, but the shock was only momentary.
“......They’re good?”