The Japanese line Gang Rojun spat at No. 66 was.
“You have to answer. If you’re that lacking in confidence, your face skills won’t improve, will they?”
It was enough to turn No. 66’s face red. Rojun had quoted No. 66’s own words, except No. 66 had said “language skills,” not “face skills.”
Whatever the case, No. 66.
“······”
A faint irritation flashed across his face. But once again, he couldn’t lash out at Gang Rojun. It was impossible for No. 66 to surpass that damned handsome face. The same went for actual skill. On top of that, No. 1’s Japanese was unexpectedly top-tier.
Had they been unable to communicate, he might have been able to bluff his way out.
But right now, No. 66 was caught between a rock and a hard place.
In the end.
“···No. 1, it seems I unintentionally went a bit too far with my words.”
No. 66 had no choice but to admit it. Gang Rojun nodded.
“Yes, you did.”
The reason Rojun had created this situation?
It was simpler than one might think.
The word “gloomy” had come out of No. 66’s mouth. Gang Rojun had lived his whole life being called morbid, gloomy, and dreary. Rojun had also endured scenes of No. 66 sneering at No. 58 many times. Perhaps because of the old wounds, Gang Rojun found it hard to hold back.
‘If I don’t put a stop to this here, that No. 66 will just do the same thing again.’
By this point, the break room wasn’t occupied by only the participants, including Gang Rojun. Near the entrance stood PD Woo Hanseok and the “Produce 100” writers, including Kim Sehui, who had arrived at some point. Woo Hanseok’s eyes were particularly sparkling, his gaze fixed on Rojun.
Soon, sensing the unusual atmosphere, writer Kim Sehui lowered her voice and tugged on PD Woo Hanseok’s forearm.
“PD-nim. Shouldn’t we, shouldn’t we stop them?”
The other writers agreed.
“Exactly. If we leave them be, something big will happen.”
“If a fight breaks out, it’ll be an accident.”
But PD Woo Hanseok shook his head slightly, seemingly thinking otherwise.
“No, it’ll be fine.”
“Excuse me??”
“I said it’ll be fine.”
“Ah—”
If fists were flying, of course they’d have to intervene at once, but for now it was just a verbal argument. Additionally—
‘Mr. Rojun has the situation under control. The other participants are being overwhelmed by his presence. That No. 66 too.’
It was already a scene of Gang Rojun controlling the flow. PD Woo Hanseok had directed numerous survival auditions. Having experienced countless hot-blooded male and female participants, at this level, nothing major would happen unless Rojun went on a rampage.
The situation had ended the moment Gang Rojun appeared.
At this level, it was fine from a broadcasting angle too.
‘Yes, we need some conflict between the participants too.’
They absolutely had to use this cut. It could raise certain participants’ personalities or appeal, and more than anything, the sides Gang Rojun showed here were too good to waste.
‘The viewers will go wild over this, more than enough.’
Then Rojun spoke to No. 66 again in fluent Japanese.
“Regardless of your intention, such words are enough to hurt the other person. Isn’t that what you’re feeling right now, No. 66?”
PD Woo Hanseok involuntarily formed a dumbfounded smile.
‘Forget that—what the hell? A little? He knows a little Japanese? How does that look like just the basics to anyone? That’s basically native-level??’
It was because of Rojun’s absurd Japanese proficiency. For a moment, PD Jeong Suryeong’s face flashed across PD Woo Hanseok’s mind.
‘If PD Jeong saw this, he definitely would have gaped.’
Perhaps wanting to give PD Jeong Suryeong a shock as well, Woo Hanseok decided not to mention it.
“No. 66.”
Unaware that the production crew had arrived behind him, Rojun delivered his closing remark.
“The apology shouldn’t be to me, but to No. 58.”
No. 66, who had been looking at Gang Rojun for a moment, turned and bowed his head to No. 58. The apology came in awkward Korean, not Japanese.
“I’m sorry, No. 58.”
No. 58, with his baby perm, had a placid expression, having calmed down to some degree. Given his usual personality, one would have expected him to simply nod and leave it at that, but unexpectedly, No. 58 answered firmly.
“I felt very upset. I hope you won’t do that again in the future.”
Slightly surprised, No. 66 apologized again.
“Yes, I’m sorry.”
Around then, PD Woo Hanseok’s voice penetrated from behind.
“Did something happen?”
He had seen everything but pretended not to. Soon, dozens of participants’ eyes widened slightly, and Gang Rojun, who had glanced at No. 58, answered.
“No, it was nothing major.”
“Is that so?”
PD Woo Hanseok, smiling, replied to Gang Rojun.
“Then that’s fine. No. 1, could you talk with me for a moment?”
“Yes.”
Then PD Woo Hanseok and the writers left the break room, and as Gang Rojun was about to step away, No. 58, who had stood up, murmured softly.
“Thank you, No. 1.”
Rojun shrugged nonchalantly.
“You don’t need to. I was just acting up because I was in a bad mood.”
“Still, thank you.”
No. 58 expressed himself clearly. Gang Rojun scratched his chin while accepting it appropriately.
‘He’s quiet and doesn’t talk much, but it seems he speaks up when it matters. Well, he wouldn’t survive this battlefield otherwise.’
He left the break room. At that moment.
—Bzzzt.
A short vibration from the smartwatch on his wrist.
—[Hidden Mission ‘Gaining a Colleague’s Trust!’ has been completed! You have been gifted 15 Coins.]
The gift coins were deposited immediately.
Shortly after.
Gang Rojun, who had left the dorms, began walking with PD Woo Hanseok. The writers followed behind, and PD Woo Hanseok, who was looking at Rojun beside him, opened his mouth with a smile.
“What gives?”
“Excuse me?”
“The Japanese. You didn’t say anything like that at first? Well, you’re not the type to ramble, No. 1, but—I was surprised watching you in the break room. Your Japanese was almost native-level?”
Gang Rojun maintained a composed expression, but internally—
‘I can’t exactly talk about “AI Automation,” so I’ll just gloss over it.’
He answered appropriately.
“I just studied bit by bit.”
“Haha, a little again? The ‘little’ you see must be different from the ‘little’ normal people see.”
The writers, including Kim Sehui, cut in from behind.
“We were so, so surprised! No. 1 was speaking Japanese so fluently!”
“Be honest, No. 1. There’s nothing you can’t do, right??”
PD Woo Hanseok took the baton.
“Even if you don’t say it, you must have other abilities too.”
“······”
Gang Rojun fell silent. There was a high possibility he would display abilities he hadn’t shown yet. As Rojun held his tongue, PD Woo Hanseok’s smile deepened.
“Okay, I won’t pry. It’s more fun to watch.”
They had arrived in front of the hall building with the stage before they knew it. After telling the writers to go in first, PD Woo Hanseok fixed his gaze on Gang Rojun again.
“I met PD Jeong Suryeong. I heard about ‘Rental Lover’ and relayed our ‘Produce 100’ situation too. Both present and future.”
“Yes.”
“From what I heard, the scale of ‘Rental Lover’ is going to get quite big. Your popularity will explode one hundred percent within this year, No. 1.”
PD Woo Hanseok, speaking with assurance, gave a condensed explanation of his conversation with Jeong Suryeong. Not everything, but he dropped a few hints about the future of “Rental Lover” and “Produce 100.”
“Anyway, I’ll guarantee your activities related to ‘Rental Lover’ as much as possible. PD Jeong said you need to meet briefly Friday morning, two days from now.”
“Yes, for the setting and script confirmation of my character. He said he’d let me know what has been decided too.”
PD Woo Hanseok nodded and moved into the hall with Gang Rojun. Inside, dozens of staff members were busy with filming preparations. Filming was scheduled for tomorrow, Thursday. In the meantime, PD Woo Hanseok, who had called over a camera, spoke to Rojun.
“No. 1, want to try saying these lines I’m giving you in Japanese?”
“Understood.”
After telling him the lines, PD Woo Hanseok stepped back and gave some instructions to the staff member holding the camera. Soon, a camera was filming Rojun. PD Woo Hanseok, checking the monitor, sent a signal to Gang Rojun.
“Now.”
Gang Rojun spat out Japanese with a calm face.
“Hello, Japanese viewers. I heard our show has already been gaining a lot of buzz—‘Produce the 100!’ Please enjoy watching and show us lots of interest.”
At his fluent Japanese, not only the staff member with the camera, but also the eyes of the dozen or so personnel busily moving nearby widened.
“What the?? Why is No. 1 so good at Japanese?”
“The way the atmosphere gets calmer when he speaks Japanese is freaking sexy.”
It was just a simple shoot, but after checking Gang Rojun on the monitor, PD Woo Hanseok’s smile reached his ears. Already in PD Woo Hanseok’s mind—
‘How could they not go wild seeing this.’
He could clearly picture Japanese fans falling for Gang Rojun and going crazy.
The next morning, at the “Produce 100” campus.
As always, Gang Rojun dove into his missions the moment he opened his eyes. If there was anything different, it was the exercise form of the other participants following Rojun.
“Wow—damn, No. 1! An hour was intense, but now 30 minutes is possible??”
They had improved quite a bit. More than ten participants, including the room 105 trainees, were gradually adapting to Gang Rojun’s exercise pace. But it was still impossible for all of them to keep up completely.
Either way, 10 coins get for completing the mission.
After showering, Rojun checked his current status.
—[Held Coins: 375]
He proceeded with stat enhancement before eating.
—[Appearance (100/100) │ Vocal (11.1/100) │ Rap (5.3/100)]
[Dance (10.6/100) │ Talk (7.9/100) │ Acting (5.1/100)]
Smiling at his increased stats, Rojun moved to the cafeteria with his room 105 trainees. Here, No. 58 quietly stuck to Gang Rojun’s side. Wondering if he had something to say, Rojun put some distance between himself and the other trainees.
No. 58 spoke in a small voice.
“······No. 1. You were good at Japanese. I was surprised.”
“I tend to be interested in foreign languages.”
“I see— U-um, if it’s alright, could you talk with me in Japanese when you have time?”
Conversation? At a glance, he seemed to want to improve his Japanese skills. Gang Rojun slowly scratched his chin, honestly finding it a bit bothersome.
“Yes, if I have time.”
“Thank you. Even ten minutes when you have time is fine.”
“Yes.”
“In return... Since simply asking is a bit much. No. 1, do you happen to know how to compose?”
“Compose?”
“Yes. I enjoy making songs as a hobby... If you’re interested, I’ll teach you composition. I already have songs I’ve made and arrangements I’ve done. You can look at those and learn.”
Composition. That wasn’t bad.
‘I plan to learn lyrics writing, composition, and arrangement someday—but it’d be easier if I knew the basics first.’
Currently, Gang Rojun was completely unfamiliar with composition. He could just let “AI Automation” handle it, but if he had zero knowledge, it would obviously demand expensive coins.
‘There would be gaps too.’
Composition was a professional field that couldn’t be approached haphazardly. Furthermore, lyrics writing, composition, and arrangement were stats too. Currently, they were barely rising, but if he shared knowledge with No. 58, his stat scores would definitely increase.
For various reasons, it was better for Gang Rojun to learn the basics.
‘If I learn it, I’ll become several times more proficient at handling it too.’
Gang Rojun nodded to No. 58.
“Let’s try that too.”
No. 58’s expression brightened instantly.
“Yes, yes, please look at my songs and tell me if you like any. I’ll give them to you. Ah... though all the songs might be terrible.”
“No, just calm down for now.”
After finishing breakfast, Gang Rojun came out of room 105. Looking down the hallway, more than ten people were gathered. The “Dance Team” members who had finished voting. Among them was No. 10 with a serious face. No. 10 frowned and averted his eyes the moment he saw Rojun. Soon, a staff member muttered.
“Shall we move??”
As soon as all 20 gathered, the “Dance Team” moved to the main hall under the staff’s guidance. The hall with the stage was already finished with filming preparations, from dozens of staff to cameras, lights, and sound. The survival announcement filming for the 20-member “Dance Team” was about to begin.
Multiple lights turned on on the stage.
The set cameras also angled toward the stage, and several staff members receded like a tide behind the cameras. Then PD Woo Hanseok, with dark circles under his eyes, addressed the 20 participants.
“Everyone, get on stage.”
They had to stand with the opponents they had battled. Naturally, Gang Rojun stood next to the red-haired No. 10. Once things were roughly in position, PD Woo Hanseok announced the start of full filming and, lifting a tablet, briefed the participants.
“Voting for the ‘Dance Team’ is over. Your survival will be decided right here.”
The participants’ faces, including No. 10’s, grew serious. Regardless, PD Woo Hanseok continued.
“Among you, 10 will pass and remain where you are. Those who are eliminated, please leave ‘Produce 100’ immediately.”
PD Woo Hanseok tapped at the tablet.
“For your information, a total of 3 ‘Dance Team’ participants will survive through the revival round, and this time we didn’t select them through re-competition or by watching performances. Combining vote percentages, judges’ evaluations, viewer reactions, and production team opinions, we have already selected 3 from the ‘Dance Team.’ Exactly 7 will be eliminated.”
In other words, there would be 13 “passing” participants from this shoot, and the 7 “eliminated” had to leave the “Produce 100” campus immediately.
Having finished the briefing, PD Woo Hanseok opened his mouth again.
“First group, the song was ‘brake.’”
Several cameras quickly caught Gang Rojun and No. 10. PD Woo Hanseok’s clear voice followed.
“No. 1, you pass with an overwhelming first place in votes.”
Naturally, Gang Rojun survived. There was still hope for the defeated No. 10 too. He might survive as an additional qualifier in the revival round.
Because of that, No. 10 prayed.
‘Please, please!!’
However.
“No. 10.”
Something different spilled from PD Woo Hanseok’s mouth.
“No. 10, you are ‘eliminated.’ Please leave ‘Produce 100’ immediately.”
It was a death sentence for No. 10.