A barrage of notifications from the ‘AI Simulation’ app suddenly popped up. Lying down, Gang Rojun briefly checked the notifications. He had seen them before.
‘This— it’s the same as when I got ‘Side Hustle Tycoon’.’
The exact same notifications had popped up back when the already-active ‘Side Hustle Tycoon’ title was applied. A faint smile spread across Rojun’s lips.
‘I don’t know what it is, but did a title get applied this time too? This one—‘Recognition Monster’? That’s a terrifying name.’
The title applied following ‘Side Hustle Tycoon’ was ‘Recognition Monster.’ Gang Rojun immediately accessed the ‘AI Simulation’ app. His character standing on the main screen. The changes were visible at a glance.
-[Title: Side Hustle Tycoon +1 / Recognition Monster +1]
-[User: Gang Rojun / Age: 24 / Height: 182.8 / Desired Job: Idol / Coins Held: 452]
-[Side Job: [1] Screenwriter]
The increased coins and the added ‘Recognition Monster’ title.
‘There’s a strange satisfaction in seeing titles increase? Like the real fun of collecting in a game— anyway, does that mean I get 7 coins per day starting today?’
Rojun muttered internally and touched the ‘Mission’ button. As expected, the title bonus coin had increased by one.
-[Mission (5 per day only)]
-[Mission attempts available: 0/5]
-[Title Bonus Coins: +2]
Not bad. From 6 to 7. It was just one, but over a week or a month, that gap grew significantly. And on top of that.
‘If I strengthen both ‘Side Hustle Tycoon’ and ‘Recognition Monster’ to +5, the title bonus alone will be 10.’
Once both titles were strengthened to completion, the daily coins earned would jump to 15. Though it seemed trivial for now, obtaining the title itself was meaningful. There was no rush. Thinking he should take it step by step, Gang Rojun tossed and turned while lying down.
‘By the way, ‘Recognition Monster’— is it because of ‘Produce That 100!’ that started airing?’
It was 100% the reason. In both the premiere and yesterday’s episode 2, Gang Rojun was the main focus no matter who watched. Well, from the latter half of episode 2, his character had been set as a villain, but either way, the camera angles concentrated on Gang Rojun, and he was hot.
If so, then strengthening the ‘Recognition Monster’ title probably happened as recognition increased.
He couldn’t know the exact figure needed for strengthening, but if he kept doing what he had to while maintaining buzz and attention like now, the strengthening would probably happen on its own.
‘Well, let’s not think too hard. Just like before, yeah. Just keep doing what I was doing.’
Having reached a satisfactory conclusion, Gang Rojun touched the ‘Stats’ button since he had the ‘AI Simulation’ open anyway. He planned to strengthen his status stats early. Today too, he invested 10 coins. The numbers changed rapidly.
-[Visuals (100/100) | Singing (10.1/100) | Rap (1.8/100)]
[Dance (6.8/100) | Wit (6.6/100) | Acting (4/100)
While most had increased slightly, the most noticeable was definitely Singing.
‘Finally hit 10 in Singing.’
It was then.
“Ugh.”
A sharp sensation came from the smartwatch on his wrist. A familiar feeling. It subsided quickly, but Rojun tilted his head and rubbed his neck.
‘Did something apply now that I’ve hit 10 in a stat??’
Escaping tone-deafness now?
It was then that Gang Rojun got up from bed, full of anticipation.
-Bzzzt.
A short vibration rang again. This too was a notification from ‘AI Simulation.’
-[You have completed the Hidden Mission ‘First Achievement of a 10-Point Status Stat!’ As a gift, 15 coins have been awarded.]
Gang Rojun, whose mood was greatly lifted by the gift coins since morning, immediately changed into workout clothes.
‘Straight to missions.’
Today, his running steps were particularly light.
Afterward.
The mission completion coins awarded to Gang Rojun, who had completed all daily missions, were indeed 7. Thus, Rojun’s current coin status was as follows.
-[Coins Held: 464]
After washing up, he arrived at the cafeteria with his Room 105 peers, and dozens of participants came into view. Their expressions varied. There was likely a difference between those who had won and lost in the second round evaluation, but.
‘The atmosphere has gotten strange after watching the broadcast.’
It was largely thanks to the first broadcast and episode 2 of ‘Produce That 100!’. The broadcast airtime, editing they hadn’t thought of, etc.— it seemed everyone had a lot on their minds after actually watching the broadcast. Indeed, the dozens of participants eating were all looking at their phones.
Moreover, the gazes of the participants looking at Gang Rojun had become peculiar as well.
Though jealousy had always existed, after watching the broadcast, their feelings of envy and spite had grown. After all, no matter what anyone said, Gang Rojun had been the main focus of episodes 1 and 2 of ‘Produce That 100!’.
‘There were fewer participants exercising this morning too.’
Number 10, with his red hair, made eye contact with Rojun. He immediately averted his gaze. He was probably more worried about the gossip from yesterday’s broadcast than losing to Gang Rojun in the second round evaluation. On the other hand, Rojun didn’t care much.
Right now, he was simply hungry.
That said, the atmosphere at the ‘Produce That 100!’ campus wasn’t too down. About half were excited about yesterday’s broadcast and busy chattering loudly, and quite a few participants approached Gang Rojun to talk.
His Room 105 peers had been making a racket since earlier.
“10% was already a jackpot, but surpassing 15% viewership is legendary.”
“Number 1-nim’s presence was insane! The PD ended the first episode so curiously too. I appeared quite a lot in episode 2, so I’m satisfied!”
“The online communities seriously exploded. A ‘Produce That 100!’ gallery was already created, and I ended up going to bed past 3 a.m. yesterday reading it.”
“Ahh! I saw that too, they said the mentions of Number 1 were enormous, right??”
For reference, Skinny Number 19 and Baby Perm Number 58 had won in yesterday’s Vocal second round evaluation. Number 37 and Number 88 were scheduled to participate in today’s Rap second round evaluation.
Meanwhile, on the hall side with the stage.
“15% viewership!! How did it jump 5% in a single episode!!”
“PD-nim!! It really blew up properly!!!”
“Hahaha, who knew the day would come when I’d be dancing with my shoulders while preparing for filming!”
“The press is going crazy, all talking about whirlwinds and storms! It’s hot!!”
The mouths of the hundred-plus staff members preparing for filming for ‘Produce That 100!’ never stopped. They had every reason to be. 15% viewership was a record-breaking figure even when looking back at the broadcasting industry over the past few years.
Thanks to that, PD Woo Hanseok’s curved lips showed no signs of descending despite his deeply darkened under-eye circles.
“Now, now, calm down. Let’s keep throwing bait so we can maintain this explosive attention until next week!”
“Come on— you’re the most hyped, PD-nim??”
“But shouldn’t we give Number 1 some kind of gift?? He contributed a huge amount to this viewership, right?”
“That’s true, and while PD-nim edited it to make Number 1’s potential explode, his presence was phenomenal to begin with.”
“Right now, Number 1 is the only one with a firmly established character, right??”
The sight of staff members with exploding adrenaline.
Of course, on the internet, a storm dozens of times stronger than the staff’s tension was raging. Gang Rojun, having finished his meal, clicked his tongue at the endlessly multiplying articles.
‘It’s crazy, ugh, gives me chills.’
Starting with articles featuring his face.
《A Peerless Character Emerges in the Sensation ‘Produce That 100!’, ‘Number 1’ Participant Casually Passes First Round Evaluation/ Photo》
To contents that revealed the current prestige of ‘Produce That 100!’.
《Friday, Saturday Same Time Slot All-Kill! ‘Produce That 100!’ Surpasses 15% Viewership, Will It Break 20% Next Week?》
《Familiar Taste is Scary, ‘Produce That 100!’ Causes a Storm and Dominates SNS Search Rankings》
It was truly all ‘Produce That 100!’. SNS and online communities had already exploded like a nuclear bomb, and even on various music sites, ‘Parting’ was reverse-racing up the charts. Internet broadcasts likewise proved its popularity.
“‘Produce That 100!’? Of course I watched it. Number 1 is seriously freaking handsome. So what if he’s a villain? With that face, anything goes!!”
It was flying in and out of people’s mouths endlessly.
The more that happened, the recognition and momentum of Number 1, or Gang Rojun, rose exponentially. But because they didn’t know his name and had no information, the public became even more frantic. This was also the picture PD Woo Hanseok had intended.
Around the time the entire nation was frenzied over ‘Produce That 100!’.
“We will now begin the ‘Rap Team’ second round evaluation.”
At the Paju campus, filming for the Rap second round evaluation began following Dance and Vocal. Of course, the dozens of participants including Gang Rojun could be found in the designated waiting room. PD Woo Hanseok was giving them a briefing before the main filming.
“With the ‘Rap Team,’ filming for all second round evaluations will be concluded. And in next week’s episode 3, the evaluation footage of one team among Dance, Vocal, and Rap will be broadcast. Immediately after episode 3 airs, viewer voting will open, and the passers will be determined by the combined scores of the judges and viewer votes.”
This meant the first viewer voting was beginning.
“The remaining evaluation footage will be aired in episode 4, and similarly, viewer voting will take place immediately after the broadcast.”
PD Woo Hanseok did not reveal which of Dance, Vocal, or Rap would be broadcast first, and finished his explanation by saying that until episode 3 aired, the participants would follow the same schedule as before.
The expressions of dozens of participants became quite serious.
Naturally, since their survival would be decided in a week.
The expressions of participants including Number 10, who had lost in the second round evaluation, were dark. Although viewer votes were most important, the judges’ scores couldn’t be ignored either. Gang Rojun, as a winner, was relatively at ease.
‘Viewer votes— I wonder if they’ll tell us how many we got?’
Then, filming for the Rap Team’s second round evaluation didn’t finish until late at night, and Rojun and the other participants all returned to the dorms. However, the ‘Produce That 100!’ production crew became even busier despite having finished a major shoot. Work to maintain the current hot streak, building up hype for episode 3’s broadcast, preparing for viewer votes, and so on.
They had a mountain of things to do.
Monday morning, the 27th.
It was when Gang Rojun, who had started his daily missions the moment he opened his eyes, came out after washing up. His phone emitted a long vibration. It was a call, and the caller was PD Jeong Suryeong. Rojun, who had been slowly scratching his chin, muttered internally.
‘He probably watched it too, ‘Produce That 100!’’
He put the phone to his ear.
“Yes, PD-nim. Hello.”
PD Jeong Suryeong’s voice was laced with laughter.
“Writer-nim— no, should I call you Number 1-nim?? I watched ‘Produce That 100!’— you were amazing?”
“Thank you.”
“Wow, I expected you to become an idol, but I didn’t know you’d drop a nuclear bomb like this.”
“I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you beforehand.”
“What are you sorry for. You told me you had circumstances. Does the production crew over there know about ‘Rental Lover’?”
“I told them to some extent, even that I won the grand prize at the SBC contest.”
“Is that so?”
Then Gang Rojun answered while heading into the bathroom.
“I haven’t finished revising ‘Rental Lover’ because of recent filming, but I’m almost done so I’ll send it to you soon. As decided in our last meeting, I’ve added up to the 4th lover. I just need to lock down the setting and plot the story.”
“About that— I’m thinking of scaling it up a bit??”
Scale it up? What does that mean. Rojun tilted his head and asked back.
“What do you mean by scaling it up.”
PD Jeong Suryeong answered simply.
“Though it’s a single-episode drama, I’ll make it nearly as good as a miniseries.”
At this moment, at a large entertainment agency.
People could be seen working frantically. Into that office entered a woman wearing a cap. The staff immediately got up and greeted her upon seeing her, and the woman who showed a moderate smile.
-Swish.
Entered the room marked ‘CEO’s Office.’ The woman took off her cap. Her long hair made a rustling sound. Looking at her face, she was Choi Rina, an S-tier top actress.
A top actress active across dramas, movies, and more.
Choi Rina was widely recognized for her acting skills, and her recently released romantic comedy film had once again proven her popularity by surpassing 7 million moviegoers.
When she sat at a five-person table, a large man who appeared to be her manager handed her a bottle of water.
“Noona, the CEO will be here soon.”
“Yeah.”
Soon, a man in a suit appeared. Around early 50s in age. He was the CEO of this large entertainment company. The CEO took off his suit jacket, draped it over the chair, and spoke to Choi Rina.
“Your movie did well, why don’t you rest instead of coming out?”
Choi Rina shrugged.
“Just because. I was going to get skincare done, so I thought I’d have a meal with the CEO beforehand.”
“You have something to say, don’t you?”
“None. I really just wanted to eat.”
“Haha, alright, alright. Ah, did you watch ‘Produce That 100!’?? It’s hot these days, that show.”
“It was noisy, but I didn’t watch it.”
“Why?? Try watching it, it was fun. Among the participants, there’s a guy whose face is just like CG. Absolutely amazing. Argh— I should have found him first.”
“Forget it, I have no interest in idols or any of that.”
Hearing the answer, the CEO stopped putting on the suit jacket he had taken off. Then he picked up one of the many stacks of paper on the desk and held it out to Choi Rina.
“I forgot to give you this.”
“What is it? A script?”
“Yeah. It’s a single-episode drama that I circulated to our rookies.”
“Why are you giving that to me? I told you I’m taking a break??”
“I know, I know. But you said if it was PD Jeong Suryeong’s, you’d absolutely take a look.”
Choi Rina’s eyes widened as she snatched the script.
“It’s PD Jeong Suryeong’s?? Are you sure?”
“Yeah. It’s absurd though. That Jeong Suryeong doing a random single-episode drama. At 15 years in with such a brilliant filmography, he should be at a desk by now. I’ll look into it if you’re curious.”
“······”
No answer came from Choi Rina. She had already turned the first page of the single-episode script.
‘PD Jeong Suryeong... doing a single-episode drama???’