Meet PD Jeong Suryeong in person? Watching PD U Hanseok turn deliberately serious, Kang Rojun answered inwardly first.
‘Well, it would be faster for the two of them to meet and hash things out than for me to communicate back and forth between them one by one.’
Both of them were industry professionals with well over ten years of experience. There was a high chance that their conversation and work would move much faster than with Kang Rojun, who had only just begun learning the entertainment world. Sensing that, Rojun picked up his phone.
“Would you like to? Then I’ll contact her right away.”
They said to strike while the iron was hot. There was no need to drag things out. As Rojun moved swiftly, PD U Hanseok gave a small laugh and agreed.
“Not a bad idea. Go ahead and ask.”
“Yes.”
It was morning, but it wasn’t all that early. Still, just in case, Kang Rojun sent a message first, and whether she was already at work or not, PD Jeong Suryeong called him immediately. U Hanseok gestured for him to answer. Kang Rojun put the phone to his ear.
“Hello, PD.”
PD Jeong Suryeong’s voice over the phone carried a slight trace of fatigue.
“Mm, Writer. Is something going on?”
“It’s nothing else, but I told the PD of ‘Geubaekpeu.’ That I think I’ll be appearing in ‘Rental Lover.’”
When he explained the situation, PD Jeong Suryeong answered as if it were no big deal.
“Really? I was going to ask about that PD anyway. Is he beside you right now? Put him on.”
Kang Rojun handed the phone to U Hanseok, who was standing beside him. He took the call without seeming flustered.
“Yes, yes. Hello, PD Jeong Suryeong. I’m U Hanseok from ‘JTVM.’”
Was this because they were both pros? The conversation moved quickly. They ended the call by saying they should exchange contact information first. Then PD U Hanseok handed the phone back to Rojun, and Jeong Suryeong said to Kang Rojun,
“Could you pass my number to PD U Hanseok?”
“Understood.”
“Mm-hm.”
After the call ended, Rojun lowered his phone and gave U Hanseok the number. U Hanseok saved PD Jeong Suryeong’s number on his own phone, then lowered his voice.
“I’ll say it again, but keep this matter secret.”
“Yes.”
“For now, I’ll meet PD Jeong Suryeong, and if we discuss anything, I’ll let you know.”
PD U Hanseok walked away, telling him to exercise. Rojun watched his back for a moment before loosening up his legs for a run, and as he walked, PD U Hanseok looked at Jeong Suryeong’s saved number on his phone and muttered inwardly.
“‘Rental Lover,’ huh—if we do this right, we might be able to tie it into the final stretch of our ‘Geubaekpeu’ and aim for a big hit. While editing, we could also lightly sprinkle in some bait related to Rojun being a writer and draw hooks from that.”
He needed to coordinate the timing well with PD Jeong Suryeong. Soon, PD U Hanseok called the saved number right away. As if she had been waiting, Jeong Suryeong picked up, and the two set a time to meet.
“PD Jeong Suryeong, first—I’d like to meet you in person. As soon as possible.”
“Yes, I think that would be better too. Our ‘Rental Lover’ side has started pre-production as well, so we’re running out of time. When would be good for you? Since ‘Geubaekpeu’ is currently airing, do you have any gaps?”
PD U Hanseok briefly went over the dates. Today was Wednesday the 29th. Since his schedule was packed tight, PD U Hanseok gave the remaining available day.
“How about Monday, August 3rd, after episode 3 of ‘Geubaekpeu’ airs and the weekend passes?”
“Let’s see, Monday—Monday morning works for me.”
“Understood. Then let’s meet that morning. We can contact each other again about the location and exact time.”
“Yes. Take care.”
—Click.
After ending the call, PD U Hanseok turned around. Kang Rojun had already started running toward the park. Several participants followed behind him. Then PD U Hanseok looked at Rojun and inwardly clicked his tongue.
‘That presence he showed in “Geubaekpeu,” and—did he debut as a writer long before his official debut? He even managed to land a role in his own work. Does this career path even make sense?’
Even to PD U Hanseok, who had seen countless idols, Kang Rojun was a type he had never witnessed before in his life.
‘A proper ecosystem-disrupting species has appeared. He’s a monster, a monster.’
About an hour later.
After finishing his workout, Kang Rojun checked the condition of his body before showering.
‘My body feels like it’s getting sturdier. Did my shoulders get a little broader too?’
Since he did it without missing a single day, and exercised whenever he had time outside of the missions, it was only natural that his physique was improving. In any case, Kang Rojun completed his daily missions with exercise and “hearing someone say he was handsome.” His roommates had poured out praise for his face particularly heavily today.
After showering, Rojun headed straight to the cafeteria.
‘Oh—meat from breakfast!’
After filling his stomach with kimchi duruchigi, he moved to the restroom. The place he always used, where no one was around. First, he checked his coins.
-[Coins Held: 506]
As expected, with the mission-acquired coins at 8, his coins had surpassed 500 before he knew it. Smiling, Rojun immediately activated status stat enhancement. Starting today, he would invest not in singing ability but in choreography.
-[Appearance (100/100)│Singing Ability (10.3/100)│Rap (2/100)]
[Choreography (8.1/100)│Wit (6.9/100)│Acting (4.4/100)]
Choreography would also reach 10 points in a few days. Kang Rojun quietly scanned his stats for a moment, then sang a song and tried dancing.
‘My singing is definitely smoother, and I almost never go off-key anymore. With choreography too, it feels like my body has gotten more flexible somehow.’
Feeling himself improve day by day gave him a strange thrill. In a good mood, Kang Rojun was about to leave the restroom when he stopped. It was because he saw his face reflected in the mirror. At that moment, Rojun tried something different from usual.
—Swoosh.
Suddenly, he erased the smile from his face. It was the first facial acting he had ever tried. He gave up after exactly three seconds.
“Ugh, acting—no, this isn’t acting, it’s just dogshit.”
He had tried acting as “Lover No. 4” from “Rental Lover” as PD Jeong Suryeong had advised, but it was so trashy that an overwhelming sense of shame surged through Kang Rojun.
‘Well, acting was at 4 points in my stats, wasn’t it?’
For now, he decided to keep trying even if it felt awful. Maybe it felt even more disgusting because it was unfamiliar.
‘I could run “AI Automation” right away, but the “Lover No. 4” character isn’t even complete yet, and I do have some time.’
Kang Rojun left the restroom just like that, and by the time the other participants began training,
‘Start revision!’
he began tapping away on his laptop in the lounge.
Meanwhile, in a certain grand house.
It was a vast home with an impressive mostly white-toned interior, where the Han River was visible at a glance through the window. A slender woman appeared in the living room of that house. It was top actress Choe Rina, wearing beige pajamas, a hairband on her head, and a facial mask pack on her face. She glanced at the large poster of herself hanging on the wall, then sat on the soft sofa.
“Let’s see, let’s see—”
Choe Rina crossed her legs and picked up the stack of papers on the table. It was the script for the one-act “Rental Lover,” for which she had been confirmed as the female lead yesterday. Of course, she still hadn’t told the head of her agency. Choe Rina flipped through several pages of the “Rental Lover” script. After reading for a while, she murmured,
“It’s good, as expected.”
At that moment, Choe Rina recalled Writer Kang Cheolsu, whom she had seen yesterday wearing a mask and hat.
“He seems like a rookie, but his writing is good. Well, that’s probably why he caught the eye of PD Jeong, who’s extremely picky when it comes to works.”
At this point, the same question rose in her again.
‘But—what circumstances could he possibly have that made him hide his face so completely?’
However, the question mark that had floated up did not last long, and her interest shifted elsewhere. Who would the other actors in “Rental Lover” be? Things like that. Soon, Choe Rina rose from the sofa, peeled the mask pack off her face, and opened the refrigerator. As she drank water, she suddenly went,
“Hmm—”
and recalled something the head of her agency had said when she met him.
‘Have you watched “Geubaekpeu”?? It’s hot these days. Among the participants there, there’s one guy whose face looks like CG. He’s just incredible.’
And also what PD Jeong Suryeong had said right before parting yesterday.
‘If you have time, watch “Geubaekpeu.” It’s worth watching. The broadcasting world is going crazy over it these days.’
Was it that fun? Choe Rina, who had heard rumors that it was exploding in popularity, picked up her phone. What she searched was, of course, “Geubaekpeu.” Seeing the results, she let out an exclamation first.
“Wow—it was even more of a frenzy than I thought??”
The articles and the public’s reactions were enormous.
“It really must have blown up properly. Ah! Episode 2’s viewership rating went over 15%??”
Startled, Choe Rina placed the “Rental Lover” script in her hand back on the table, then turned on the large TV. It was to watch a rerun of “Geubaekpeu.” After manipulating the remote for a few minutes, episode 1 of “Geubaekpeu” appeared on the TV.
Choe Rina began watching without much thought.
“······”
Before she knew it, it was the final part of episode 1.
-[“‘No. 1,’ please take off your mask.”]
Participant No. 1, whom even the agency head had praised so highly, appeared. Soon, Participant No. 1 on the TV took off his mask. At that moment, top actress Choe Rina’s eyes widened dramatically.
Because of No. 1’s revealed visuals.
“Wow··· whoa.”
Choe Rina was purely shocked. Even to her, who had worked opposite numerous top male actors,
“It really looks like his face was made with Photoshop······”
No. 1’s visuals were incredible. She understood why the agency head had clicked his tongue. He was at a level where he could lightly trample male actors said to be good-looking. Choe Rina quickly fell into “Geubaekpeu,” and after hearing No. 1’s line, she reacted quietly.
“‘Bereavement’? I really love ‘Bereavement.’”
As soon as episode 1 ended, she played episode 2. And then.
-♬♪
Choe Rina listened as if possessed to No. 1 singing “Bereavement” passionately on stage. She froze in place, and both her cheeks turned slightly red. Of course, that No. 1 was the writer of “Rental Lover,” the script sitting on the table right in front of her.
“······”
There was no way Choe Rina could know that.
The next night. The “Geubaekpeu” campus in Paju.
Most of the “Geubaekpeu” participants, having finished a grueling day, were in their rooms. However, everyone was in high spirits.
“Episode 3 finally airs tomorrow.”
“How high do you think the viewership rating will be this time??”
“It’s been a whirlwind all week, so I think it’ll definitely be higher.”
Because tomorrow was the long-awaited broadcast day for episode 3 of “Geubaekpeu.” Around this time, Kang Rojun washed up and returned to Room 105. When he arrived, No. 19, No. 37, and No. 88 were absent, and only No. 58 was there. It seemed everyone else was still washing up. Kang Rojun glanced at No. 58 with the baby perm, who used the lower bunk of the bunk bed. He was lying on his stomach, writing something.
‘Is that an earphone in one ear? What’s he doing?’
Curious, Kang Rojun asked No. 58,
“What are you writing?”
Then No. 58, who showed no big reaction, answered quietly.
“···Studying.”
Even usually, No. 58 had a somewhat faint and gloomy presence, but the public who watched “Geubaekpeu” had judged him to be puppy-like and cute.
‘What was it they said? That he had an atmosphere that made you want to protect him?’
Unexpectedly, No. 58 had passed the first round of “Geubaekpeu” with rap, and in this second evaluation, he had won on the “vocal team.” In any case, at No. 58’s answer that he was studying, Rojun sat on his own bed and asked again.
“Studying? What kind? Composition, lyrics, something like that? Ah, you don’t have to answer if it makes you uncomfortable.”
No. 58 slowly sat up and showed him a small notebook.
“I study lyrics and composition too··· but right now it’s just a foreign language. Japanese. My dream is to go to Japan. I’ve been studying for about four years now, but I’m not improving much.”
“Ah—”
Indeed, the notebook he showed was packed with Japanese. Then No. 58, his voice growing even quieter, murmured,
“Should I try a little?”
Out of nowhere? He was kind of odd in his own way. Kang Rojun scratched his chin.
“Japanese? Well, yes, I’ll listen.”
Once permission was given, No. 58 recited Japanese in a tone lacking confidence. Inwardly, Kang Rojun gave an assessment along the lines of, ‘Oh—he’s pretty good.’ Then the high-tension No. 19 and No. 37 entered the room, and No. 58 abruptly stopped speaking Japanese.
No. 58 lay back down on his stomach.
‘When I look at him, it kind of feels like—I’m seeing a bit of my past self.’
After chatting for a while with No. 19 and No. 37, Kang Rojun also lay down on his bed.
Then, suddenly.
‘Japanese, huh—hm, can something like foreign languages be done with “AI Automation” too??’
Kang Rojun grew curious.
However, the fraudulent “AI Automation” had one condition. “Only things related to the desired occupation of idol are possible.” Rojun thought briefly.
‘Japanese or foreign languages are related to idols, aren’t they? Successful idols expand overseas and all that.’
He recalled things he had seen on TV in the past. Top-tier idols advancing overseas into Japan or America, that is. He had seen scenes on the news of tens of thousands of foreigners gathered in concert halls, wildly waving both hands and light sticks as they went crazy for Korean idols.
After thinking for a few seconds, Kang Rojun picked up his phone.
‘I’ll know if I test it.’
What he opened was, of course, the “AI Simulation” app. Soon, the character Kang Rojun appeared on the main screen, and the real Rojun touched the “AI Automation” button. A message popped up immediately.
-[Through “AI Automation” analysis, it is possible to derive the desired result. What would you like to derive? (Only things related to the desired occupation of idol are possible)]
For now, Kang Rojun wrote something suitable to test it in the blank.
-[AI Automation: I want to learn Japanese perfectly, to the point that I am no different from a Japanese person.]
Soon, the loading circle spun round and round on the phone screen, and before long, “AI Automation” spat out an answer.
-[AI analyzing······ Analysis complete!]
-[350 coins are required to derive the desired result.]
-[※The number of coins may vary depending on the difficulty of deriving the result.]
Kang Rojun’s eyes widened immediately.
‘It works??! I-I can have Japanese right now?!’
At that moment, his adrenaline surged.