Kang Rojun was gradually becoming a monster. And the corners of his mouth were raised endlessly.
‘This is seriously fun, whether it’s being an idol or this “AI Simulation.”’
On top of that, it had only been two months since he’d set foot in this industry. Of course, the same went for using the “AI Simulation.” If this was what he could do in two months, then what about after a year? After five years? Just imagining it was terrifying.
Filled with pleasure—or perhaps exhilaration—he moved his finger.
He tapped the “Mission” button.
What he wanted to check was this.
-[Title Bonus Coins +5]
From this moment on, whenever Kang Rojun completed his daily mission, he would receive 10 coins. Compared to two months ago, that was double.
‘There’s a big difference between 5 and 10.’
Kang Rojun’s smile deepened as he checked his current coins.
-[Coins Owned: 300]
The gift coins had come pouring in, and in just a few minutes, his coins had increased by 100. Deciding he might as well strengthen his stats while he was at it, Rojun invested 20 coins. Thanks to that, two of his stats had now surpassed 10 points.
-[Appearance (100/100)│Singing Ability (10.5/100)│Rap (2.1/100)]
[Choreography (10.2/100)│Wit (7.2/100)│Acting (4.6/100)]
Before he knew it, his singing ability and choreography had both gone over 10 points.
‘Next— I should raise rap. Acting is tempting too, but acting is more of a side job. I should start with being an idol, my main job.’
Now that he thought about it, rap was the most unfamiliar thing to Kang Rojun, even more than singing or dancing. He’d never tried it before. All he’d done was listen to a few rap songs he’d liked in the past. He couldn’t really imagine himself rapping, but still, his interest was piqued.
‘Right now, everything is fun.’
Just then.
“Number 1?”
The scrawny Number 19 approached.
“You said you were going to the bathroom. What are you doing here?”
“I went, then checked my phone for a bit.”
“Ah— Episode 3 of ‘Geubaekpeu’ just started the training part… but you barely have any screen time, Number 1.”
Really? Well, Rojun had expected that to some extent. PD Woo Hanseok had warned him beforehand too. Rojun nodded casually.
“That’s fine.”
After answering, he brushed past Number 19 and returned to Room 105.
Currently, Episode 3 of “Geubaekpeu” was at the part where—
‘So that’s how the training was done. I didn’t know because I never saw it.’
The contestants’ training cuts were in full swing.
At that same time.
The people who had recently become involved with Kang Rojun were also watching “Geubaekpeu.” Top actress Choi Rina, who hadn’t been interested in audition programs, had become completely hooked on “Geubaekpeu,” and PD Jeong Suryeong, who had officially begun pre-production for “Rental Lover,” was watching from SBC.
“Number 1 picked choreography, but can he dance at all?”
“Judging from how he exercises, he does seem flexible.”
“He sang ‘Bereavement’ well last time. I don’t know how he’ll do this time.”
In the middle of a production meeting with the key staff of “Rental Lover”—filming, lighting, makeup, art, and so on—their eyes were fixed on “Geubaekpeu.” The key staff gathered in the meeting room all seemed to be avid viewers of “Geubaekpeu,” throwing out various opinions.
“But Number 1, don’t you think he’ll get labeled a rising star pretty quickly once he officially debuts? He’s already hot, though.”
“Look at his visuals, his visuals. How could that not blow up? But I feel like he’s probably bad at dancing. Passing on the training last episode was just something he did for attention.”
“So he was drawing attention for the broadcast angle? Come on, they gathered a bunch of ordinary people. Would they already have that kind of sense?”
“Why not? It could happen. Maybe he just went for it recklessly out of bravado. He probably regretted it later.”
“Still, not taking training in a survival variety show is pretty weird, right?”
“In programs like that, training is a pretty core part of the screen time. Passing on it was a stupid move.”
“What do you think, PD Jeong?”
Soon, the key staff’s gazes landed on PD Jeong Suryeong. She scratched her chin.
‘That Number 1 is both the actor and the writer of the project we’re preparing right now. They’d all faint from shock if they knew.’
She answered moderately.
“Who knows? Either way, his face is insane— won’t he keep surviving?”
“That’s true. But PD, when are you going to show us the writer of ‘Rental Lover’? This is a project with none other than Choi Rina locked in as the female lead, so please show us the writer already! You’re making us curious!”
“Exactly! This is the first time I’ve gone into pre-production without seeing the writer even once.”
The staff’s complaints grew louder, but PD Jeong Suryeong smiled.
“Later, later. The writer is terribly shy, so what can we do? You’ll be able to see him eventually, when the time comes.”
As she imagined the day Writer Kang Cheolsu would stand before the key staff—or Choi Rina—as both an actor and a writer, PD Jeong Suryeong’s interest soared.
‘This is the first project that’s had this kind of fun. I’m glad I chose “Rental Lover.”’
Watching Writer Kang Cheolsu inside “Geubaekpeu,” she crossed her arms.
‘Anyway, is his choreography all right? He works out, so his body looks good and he seems flexible. Well, I’ll know once I see it.’
After that, Kang Rojun vanished from “Geubaekpeu” aside from a brief interview cut, and there were many shots of the other contestants. Cuts of them gathering in the training rooms according to their choices, cuts of them introducing themselves, cuts of them showing their skills, and so on.
For over thirty minutes, Rojun didn’t appear at all.
As a result, viewers’ interest in contestants other than Number 1 also grew. From PD Woo Hanseok’s perspective, it was in order of contestants with decent character appeal, but a variety of contestants were exposed to the camera in their own way.
-Why is Number 58 so cute?? He has this charm that makes you want to protect him.....
-Number 1’s presence is just on another level, but the rest of the guys have decent charm too lololol
-Number 88 is low-key funny, being so damn tall but basically a reaction bot lololol what a klutz
Episode 3 of “Geubaekpeu” mainly showed key training scenes without particularly revealing the dates, and all Kang Rojun got were occasional shots of him exercising or his back as he headed to the practice room.
Compared to Episodes 1 and 2, Rojun practically had no screen time.
Because of that, top actress Choi Rina, who was watching while constantly crunching on an apple, grumbled.
“What the heck, they’re not showing Number 1 practicing or anything?”
But Kang Rojun was almost nonexistent in “Geubaekpeu” until the middle and latter half, and they at least showed a cut of him talking with Hayoung before matching up with her. However, the actual practice was deleted. Of course, the same went for Number 10 and the other contestants.
Then the screen changed.
A grand stage appeared. It was quite different from the stage during the first evaluation, more glamorous and upgraded, and the judges’ conversation could be heard from the judging seats.
-[“Nice— the stage quality is so good I’d believe it if you said this was a concert!”]
The angle switched to the contestants gathered in the waiting room. The members of a total of 10 teams and the girl group members were mixed together. The introductions were done team by team, including Kang Rojun’s. Soon, conversations between the contestants played, and among them were Number 1 and Number 10.
-[“But Number 1, when do you practice? It doesn’t seem like anyone’s seen you.”]
-[“Around morning.”]
-[“I didn’t see you, so I thought you weren’t practicing at all.”]
The final rivalry setup.
-Number 10 keeps checking Number 1 every chance he gets lmfaooooo
-But what kind of guts does Number 1 have to skip practice???
-He probably did practice?? It just didn’t show up on the broadcast
-Nah nah nah I don’t think he did lololol starting from choreography, isn’t he just gonna push through with his face? lololol
The contestants’ footage ended right there.
A black screen suddenly appeared, then the stage lit by colorful lights was shown. MC Jang Daehan’s shout came as a bonus.
-[“This is the first team for choreography. The choreography song is ‘brake,’ right? Number 1, Number 10! And Hayoung.”]
At this point, the people watching the broadcast in Room 105 got excited.
“Keu— it’s starting now!”
“This is where Number 1 really tore it up, right?”
“All the viewers who were ignoring him are going to be speechless!”
Of course, Kang Rojun himself could feel his heart pounding.
‘I barely appeared in Episode 3, but if I turn things around at the end, it’ll be fine.’
Soon, on the screen, Kang Rojun, Hayoung, and Number 10 stood on the stage. MC Jang Daehan conducted a brief interview. Number 10’s ambition was shown first.
-[“Number 1 is good at vocals, but I think I can beat him in choreography! No, I will beat him!”]
Next was Kang Rojun.
-[“Neither the training nor Number 10 really counts as an obstacle.”]
Hayoung’s surprised face was shown in a close-up.
The viewers’ chat multiplied several times over.
-Is Number 1 seriously setting himself up as a proper villain? lolololololololol
-At this point, I kinda wanna see Number 10 crush Number 1 lololol
-But it’s true Number 1 keeps saving the broadcast angles lololol whenever it feels a bit bland, Number 1 does villain stuff
-How good can he possibly be without training lolololol
Afterward, as always, the mood shifted and a proper stage production appeared. The dazzling lights all turned off, and information on the song “brake” appeared at the bottom of the screen.
-♬♪
The beat of “brake” immediately began to play. Lights gradually brightened on the darkened stage. Hayoung appeared first at the center of the stage. She began the choreography with a gentle sway of her shoulders. A powerful drum announced the start of the verse. Hayoung’s choreography movements grew larger.
The judges gave brief comments.
-[“Hayoung is good.”]
At that moment, as the stage lighting changed color, Number 10 entered for the first verse part. With his red hair, he slowly walked forward and made brief eye contact with Hayoung.
Both of them showed powerful choreography.
-As expected, Number 10 is the choreography GOAT
-He’s kind of cocky, but Number 10 does dance well lolololololol
-Among the contestants, Number 10 seems the best at choreography
As a bonus, Kang Rojun’s side profile was shown for a few seconds as he waited to the side of the stage.
-He’s scared, huh??
-At this point, you can’t judge Number 1 by his expression alone anymore lololol
-Number 10 is doing way better than expected, so I think he’s definitely a little nervous
Soon, the aggressive and flashy stage characteristic of “brake” became intense. Among the viewers, praise for Number 10 increased. That was how impressive Number 10’s dancing was.
Then came the instrumental break signaling the end of the first verse.
-♬♪
Dozens of contestants watching the stage from the waiting room were shown.
It was after that that Kang Rojun appeared onstage.
The lights focused on him.
-National calisthenics on!!
-If he’s gonna dance awkwardly, it’s better to just go all-in on a ridiculous freestyle and make us laugh lololololololololol
-Is he suddenly gonna be like “I’ll pass on dancing the choreography”? lolololol
Kang Rojun swept back his black hair in a performance-like gesture. Then he made a simple gesture as if dusting off his clothes. In time with the rhythm, he took one large step after another. The camera closed in on Rojun’s face, which held a faint smile. With an atmosphere that was both smooth and roguish, he advanced to the center of the stage.
He had already begun the choreography, and from this point on, the viewers sensed that something was unusual.
-Huh?? His dance line is actually good???
-The start feels pretty decent lolololololol
-We don’t know yet lololol trainees can all do that much lololol
-Shit, no way... does this guy even have the basics down for dance too?
-If his vocals are high-tier and he can dance too, then Number 1 is... just a total cheat character
Whether they said so or not, the beat that had briefly stretched out on camera picked up speed, and after Rojun and Hayoung briefly exchanged gazes, they changed positions. Standing front and back, they launched into a rhythmic duet wave.
It was smooth and aggressive.
The moment that movement ended, a powerful warning sound rang out as if it would burst eardrums. In the middle of it, Hayoung moved back and Rojun stepped forward, using both arms and legs to unfold relaxed yet explosive movements. Kang Rojun’s expression, serious yet filled with passion, filled the screen.
Soon, the angle switched to a full shot.
Rojun was powerful and intense, while Hayoung was delicate and dazzling. The two performed the same choreography, yet with completely different feelings.
At that moment.
-....???
-Wow, Number 1, this bastard... he’s insane at dancing too??
-Lolololololol crazy lololololol he’s so damn good lolololololol
-??? ㄷㄷㄷㄷ Whoa
-Where did all the people trashing Number 1 go?????
-No... even for a rookie, isn’t he overwhelming even an active girl group member?
The open chat with more than 200,000 people shook, and in the meeting room where the key staff of “Rental Lover” were gathered, PD Jeong Suryeong unconsciously said,
“Whoa— my God.”
An exclamation rolled out of her open mouth.
“…He’s cool.”
It was filled with sincerity.
‘That’s way beyond the level of “he can dance a bit.” That guy really… is there anything he can’t do?’
And top actress Choi Rina also stopped with her hand holding the apple and murmured quietly, as if possessed.
“Whoa… what is this? I’ve got goosebumps.”
Kang Rojun had dropped a nuclear bomb on the stage and on the viewers.
And then came the climax.
-[“brake! brake! brake! brake!”]
Rojun, in a trance, freely seized and released the choreography at will. His control of intensity was perfect too. All of that was the assessment of the viewers who had exploded.
-Crazy..... his choreography is totally GOAT-tier too.....
-Why does the villain keep being so damn good?
-Number 10 just got crushed, this is facts, right??
-At this level, he can ignore training lolololololololololol
The hundreds of thousands of people in the open chat had no choice but to acknowledge the disruptor, or villain Number 1.
-His visuals are freaking unrealistic too lololol Number 1 was just a monster bastard lolololololol
But this was not the end.
-Ha.... I’m one person who desperately wants to see Number 1 dance the entire choreography for verse 1 and verse 2 of brake.....
-If that happened, seriously lololol Number 10 would just get ground into dust
-Even if it’s Number 1, the time was short, so the verse 1 part would probably be hard lolololol
There was still one shot left.