Standing onstage, Gang Rojun finished the first verse as though he were wailing, his voice thick with emotion. The instrumental interlude of “Bereavement” immediately filled the stage. The shot showed the judges’ startled faces.
The judges’ voices were laid in underneath.
-[“What? What is this?? Wow—what a twist!”]
Of course, that had been post-recorded and inserted during editing.
-[“Leaving aside how killer his vocals are, how is that the emotion of someone in his early twenties?”]
Once the judges’ brief exclamations ended, Gang Rojun appeared on-screen again, lifting the microphone. It was time to enter the second verse. Rojun’s vocals grew even denser than they had been in the first verse.
You could feel that clearly just by looking at the live open chat.
-This is insane... my ears are melting....
-Did they bring in an actual singer;;;
-Saying he sings well doesn’t feel like enough... his emotion is seriously crazy
-Fuck, if your face is insane you’re allowed to be bad at singing, come on, the world belongs to him alone
Gang Rojun’s “Bereavement” was quickly racing toward its end. Past the bridge, into the second chorus. Rojun and the members of Room 105 watched it.
“Even watching it again, No. 1’s ‘Bereavement’ stage is insane.”
“Agreed. Honestly, when I was watching No. 1 from the waiting room, I cursed a little... because it felt unfair.”
“That was me too......”
“Honestly, with No. 1’s visuals he was already an impossible wall, but then his vocals were crazy too, so I was really jealous.”
His fellow contestants now confessed so easily. Well, it didn’t particularly damage Gang Rojun. He had expected it to some extent.
‘I don’t remember it clearly, but everyone’s eyes in the successful contestants’ waiting room were kind of strange.’
Whatever the case, No. 19 was checking the real-time chat trends and clicking his tongue in amazement.
“It’s been overturned, seriously.”
“By tomorrow, it’s going to be several times crazier than when No. 1 first appeared.”
Gang Rojun stared closely at himself on-screen.
‘......So I was making that kind of expression—’
He felt both embarrassed and fascinated.
‘I don’t really remember my face crumpling like that, or gestures coming out during the high notes.’
It wasn’t as if “AI Automation” had intervened with Rojun onstage. Those were things that had come out naturally. Seeing it like this, he did look like a real singer even to himself.
‘It’s about to end.’
Soon, Rojun on-screen lowered his tone and recited the final lyric of “Bereavement.” Then Gang Rojun lowered the microphone. A brief moment of silence. It had been silent during filming too, and it seemed PD U Hanseok had used that cut exactly as it was.
As soon as Rojun’s stage ended, the live chat shook several times harder.
-Hah lol I was about to quit stanning.... You’re my bias starting today...
-I’m a guy, but I get why women fantasize now lol With that absurd face and vocals of this quality, it makes sense to lose your mind
-What the hell, he’s damn good at singing and his face is damn good too
-Is he insane? What kind of bastard is this??
-Wow... I was seriously absorbed watching...
-I’ll make a prophecy. If No. 1 debuts, he’ll become an invasive species that devours the idol scene
Everyone had unconsciously gotten lost in “Bereavement,” only returning to reality after the song ended.
Then the angle alternated between the stunned judges and dozens of contestants, and the host Jang Daehan, who had barely gathered his senses, lifted his microphone.
-[“I think my soul left my body for a moment there. It’s incredible right from the start.”]
He asked the judges for their evaluations. The hit-song maker, composer Song Mingun, was the fastest.
-[“No. 1, does that song, ‘Bereavement,’ happen to have a story behind it?”]
Gang Rojun’s answer onstage was calm and quick.
-[“Yes. It was a song my late parents liked.”]
At that, the live chat went wild again, and the screen closed in on Gang Rojun’s plain expression. It seemed they had inserted it because they thought it would make a story.
After that, the judges’ evaluations, filled with praise, continued one after another.
-[“Wow—from the verse on, I couldn’t move even once. That emotion was so firm and heavy, yet fragile, and it left a deep impression on me.”]
Pass, pass, pass.
-[“Yes! Congratulations! No. 1, final pass!!”]
Even though they already knew the result, the members of Room 105 applauded while looking at Rojun, and Gang Rojun, needlessly embarrassed, cleared his throat and expressed his thanks.
Gang Rojun on-screen was the same.
After bowing to the judges, he walked toward the back of the stage. The next contestant was waiting. During filming, it had been No. 2, but they had changed it through editing. Viewers looked at the next contestant with pity.
-That guy’s so damn pitiful....
-If it were me, I would’ve flipped No. 1 off. Can’t believe he’s enduring that
-You can tell just from his expression that he’s screwed
Gang Rojun moved to the successful contestants’ waiting room under the staff’s guidance. Rojun opened the door to the room and sat right in the center of the waiting room with the sofas. Very boldly. During filming, it had been at the staff’s request, but that seemed to have been cut.
-What the hell lol No. 1, this bastard sits right in the center like he’s the main character lolololol
-With that face, he is the main character lololol
-His personality seems like it has a subtle crazy streak
The shot that had been showing Gang Rojun changed to the next contestant standing onstage.
-[“No. 9, please remove your mask.”]
No. 9 took off his mask. Not a bad face. This, too, had been edited so that No. 2 and No. 9 were switched. Soon, one of the judges, Gong Jumi, gave a short comment.
-[“He’s handsome, but he looks ugly. What do we do? This is a problem.”]
Viewers agreed intensely as well.
-No. 9 got turned into a squid out of nowhere lololololololol
-Honestly, he’d be handsome in real life too lololol but coming after No. 1...... poor guy
-Simply put, No. 9 is the human realm and No. 1 is the untouchable heavenly realm
Unfortunately, No. 9 failed.
After that.
The broadcast of “Geubaekpeu” became a parade of failures. Before Gang Rojun’s appearance, the only person to pass had been No. 10. So the broadcast showed the red-haired, weasel-faced No. 10 and Rojun.
-[“Wow—No. 1! Earlier, I was watching No. 1’s ‘Bereavement’ on the monitor, and I just kept going, ‘Amazing, amazing.’”]
The overly energetic No. 10 and the quiet Gang Rojun.
-No. 10 is kind of showing off lololol I’m not really into that chatterbox type
-But No. 10 did dance pretty well lololol He has a really bright personality
-Wonder what his chemistry with No. 1 will be like
“Geubaekpeu” showed a cut that seemed to understand the viewers’ curiosity.
No. 10 stuck close to Gang Rojun and asked.
-[“How was my stage??”]
Rojun answered roughly.
-[“I enjoyed watching you too. Your singing.”]
-[“I danced, though??”]
-[“Your dancing.”]
-[“What?? What kind of dance did I do?”]
-[“An intense dance?”]
-[“......”]
The successful contestants’ room, occupied by only the two of them, quickly fell silent, but the real-time open chat did not.
-Lololol No. 1 is crazy lololololol He didn’t watch No. 10’s stage at all lololololol
-I don’t really like him. He’s rude
-No. 1 reeks of villain
-Seems like he doesn’t even see No. 10 as a rival lololol No. 1’s character is insane lolololol I love it lololololol
-Of course lololol Why would a god be interested in humans lololol
Meanwhile, PD Jeong Suryeong was watching “Geubaekpeu” at home. Perhaps because it was Saturday night, she had chicken and beer beside her as she muttered while watching Gang Rojun on TV.
“He wasn’t actually that kind of person, though. Well, it’s easy to create a character through directing. Did the production team decide to frame him as the villain?”
She recalled Rojun’s vocals from a little earlier.
“But still—to think he could even sing well. He’s really a proper cheat-code character. His visuals are untouchable, his writing is good, and on top of that, his vocals...... If he’s good at dancing or other things too, then he was just born to be a celebrity, wasn’t he?”
The countless actors she had seen while directing dramas. Of course, among them, there had been quite a few idol-turned-actors with both star quality and talent. But none of them surpassed that Gang Rojun.
Soon, PD Jeong Suryeong downed her canned beer in one shot and muttered.
“What would I have done if I hadn’t picked ‘Rental Lover’?”
The script of “Rental Lover” had allowed her to meet Gang Rojun. If she hadn’t picked it, she would never have been connected to Rojun, and the thought made PD Jeong Suryeong shudder.
Afterward, “Geubaekpeu” continued to showcase the contestants’ stages, and unlike the beginning, the number of successful contestants grew considerably. The waiting room, where only Gang Rojun and No. 10 had been, now contained around a dozen successful contestants. In the meantime, the red-haired No. 10, who had grown distant from Rojun, became friendly with the other successful contestants.
-[“No. 1? He really does have explosive presence, but when I tried talking to him, his personality seemed kind of bad.”]
-[“True—earlier, I greeted him too, and his expression was scary.”]
-[“With a face like his, of course. He can sing pretty well too. But if his character is bad, he’ll fall apart quickly.”]
Gang Rojun showed no major emotional change upon hearing people talk behind his back.
‘It did vaguely reach my ears, but were they saying things like that behind me?’
Rather, his roommates from Room 105 were more irritated.
“Wow, No. 10 was trash-talking him behind his back like that!”
“That’s kind of too much.”
“I was in Group 2, so I had no idea. Seriously.”
“...Me too.”
Like that, episode 2 of “Geubaekpeu” reached its middle-to-late part. During the actual filming, Groups 1 and 2 had been filmed separately, but in the broadcast, it had been edited as if they had been together. Right now, PD U Hanseok was briefing the fifty failed contestants from Groups 1 and 2.
-[“Everyone, in thirty minutes, you will take part in a revival round. You are free to show whatever you want.”]
A caption appeared, saying that twenty additional contestants would pass through the revival round, and that including those who had already passed, seventy people would survive the first round. The next screen changed, and this time, PD U Hanseok was speaking in the successful contestants’ room.
-[“Before informing you of the proceedings from here on, the successful contestants will choose the training they will receive before the next second evaluation.”]
He was briefing them about the training.
-Damn, I only watched thinking I’d just check it out, but it’s fun as hell lololololol
-Right, training is essential
-They’ll probably show the contestants’ characters more firmly during training
Soon, starting with Gang Rojun, the contestants’ faces appeared on-screen, and PD U Hanseok continued speaking.
-[“Vocal, choreography, rap. You can choose something you feel you’re lacking in, or you can put more strength into something you’re already good at.”]
After lightly revealing information about the second evaluation, PD U Hanseok stepped out. From here on, it was solo shots of the successful contestants. Training selection cuts.
-[“We’ll begin with No. 48, who passed last.”]
-[“I’ll do vocal.”]
A caption such as “Contestant No. 48: Vocal Training” appeared, and the contestants stated in a row what training they would receive. Before long, Gang Rojun, wearing the No. 1 number tag, appeared in the shot.
-What will he choose?? His vocals are insane, so he’ll choose something else, right?
-One vote for choreography
-I think he’ll pick rap lololol Usually if your vocals are good, you can’t rap
For a short while, Gang Rojun remained silent with a calm expression.
-[“......”]
At the sight, the viewers grew even more heated in their guesses. But Rojun’s choice was a twist.
-[“I won’t receive any training.”]
The smile disappeared from PD U Hanseok’s face. Of course, the viewers burst into dumbfounded question marks too.
-???? What is he saying??
-Wow lololololol He really is properly insane
-Huh??? That’s over the line???
-Annoying as hell
-He’s kind of lolololol arrogant lolololol
Soon, the faces of the successful contestants, each showing their own bafflement, appeared with their interview audio laid over them.
-[“No. 1? I just thought he was acting up because he trusted his face.”]
-[“What else would it be? He’s totally declaring he won’t get training to get screen time.”]
The angle changed back to the calm Gang Rojun, and he opened his mouth.
-[“If training is a compulsory system, then I’m sorry, but I’ll quit here.”]
The contestants and PD U Hanseok were shocked. The viewers were the same.
-He was a lunatic lolololololol He’s a total nutcase!!
-Villain confirmed lololololol You won’t receive training on a survival audition program???
-I’ve seriously never seen this before lololololol It’s dumb as hell, but he’s so damn handsome I laugh
-Seems like he’s seriously doing it just to create a TV moment
-He’s a really novel dumbass lolololololol Villain acknowledged
-The production team needs to grab him by the reins and put him in his place
However, the “Geubaekpeu” team accepted Gang Rojun’s crazy behavior.
-[“Understood. Then No. 1 will proceed without training.”]
The viewers flipped out several times harder.
Regardless, episode 2 of “Geubaekpeu” continued, and even the revival round aired. Twenty contestants who had died and come back to life, plus the fifty who had already passed, for a total of seventy contestants. Their photos flashed quickly across the screen. The final part of episode 2 showed the seventy survivors beginning their camp life.
-[“You’ll come out one by one and draw a ball, and after checking the assignment, you’ll hold it up so everyone can see it. That will be your assignment for the second evaluation.”]
It ended right before they drew the assignments for the second evaluation.
The next day, Sunday morning the 26th.
The “Geubaekpeu” campus in Paju. While dozens of contestants were fast asleep, Gang Rojun’s eyes flashed open on a single bed in Room 105. Because he had been in the habit of doing missions from early in the morning, he woke up early.
-Swish.
For some reason, today he immediately picked up his phone. What Rojun opened was a search site. Before he even searched anything, Gang Rojun’s eyes widened slightly at the article displayed on the main page.
《“Geubaekpeu” Episode 2 Official Ratings 15.3%, Properly Stirring Up a Frenzy!》
Because episode 2 of “Geubaekpeu” had surpassed 15% in viewership ratings.
‘Whoa—it went over 15%? At this rate, won’t it really pass 20% too??’
Feeling excited, Rojun naturally tried to search “Geubaekpeu No. 1” in the search bar. It was to check the reactions to him from the previous day’s episode 2 broadcast.
That was right then.
-Bzzzz.
The phone in his hand gave a short vibration. A familiar notification appeared on the screen. It was from the “AI Simulation” app. What was unusual was that the notifications were piling up all at once.
-[You have achieved the title mission “Monopolize the Public’s Attention”! As a gift, 30 coins have been issued.]
-[The title “Recognition Monster” has met the conditions and will be applied from now on!]
-[As the title “Recognition Monster” has been applied, 1 bonus coin will be added to coins acquired through missions.]
-[(Each title can be enhanced up to +5, and bonus coins for each title can also go up to 5)]
As soon as he saw the notifications, Gang Rojun unknowingly muttered to himself.
“Thirty coins is damn sweet, but—‘Recognition Monster’? All of a sudden??”
A new title had suddenly been unlocked.