Kang Rojun, seeing the notification on his smartwatch, tilted his head inwardly.
‘A lyric-writing stat is being unlocked?’
It was the first time he’d ever gotten a notification like this. Apparently, since Rojun was going to write lyrics for the song No. 58 had made, the “lyric-writing” stat had been unlocked.
‘Because I took an interest in writing lyrics? Or because I did some kind of similar activity?’
At any rate, he understood why stats like lyric-writing and composing hadn’t risen at all and had remained frozen until now. It seemed there had been some condition.
‘And that condition was just met.’
Kang Rojun wanted to open the “AI Simulation” app right away and check his status, but since No. 58 was right beside him, he held back for the time being.
‘Then even if I’d strengthened “lyric-writing” or something like that, the stat wouldn’t have gone up.’
Around the time Kang Rojun was organizing his thoughts, No. 58 in the seat next to him cut in, looking slightly surprised.
“No. 1—you’re going to try writing lyrics?”
Ah, right. The conversation had briefly stopped at the point where Rojun had said he’d try writing the lyrics. Kang Rojun calmly nodded and answered.
“Yes, if you’re okay with it, No. 58. If it makes you uncomfortable, then never mind.”
Baby-perm No. 58 quickly shook his head.
“No, I’m fine with it. Whoever writes them will probably do better than me… and you’re amazing in vocals and choreography too, No. 1, so I think you’ll do well. I feel like you’d learn composing quickly too.”
“I don’t know about that. I’ll have to try to find out.”
“You’re not just good-looking, No. 1. When I look at you, I can feel that you’re overflowing with flair and talent. An aura? Something like that. Your star quality is incredible too.”
Made awkward by the sudden praise, Kang Rojun changed the subject.
“Anyway, if you’re okay with me writing the lyrics, I’ll give it a try.”
“Yes. But have you written lyrics before?”
Could he possibly have?
“Not at all.”
He had merely mass-produced textual garbage. Though that was now being turned into a drama. Still, Kang Rojun felt like he could do it. It wasn’t that he was looking down on lyric-writing. It was closer to instinct.
‘And right now, trying anything will probably help.’
In fact, once he actually tried, the “lyric-writing” stat had been unlocked.
There would certainly be differences between writing a script and writing lyrics, but if he didn’t try, there would be no progress. No evolution. Soon, No. 58 gave a small laugh.
“Still, I’ll be counting on you.”
“Yes. Which song should I try writing lyrics for?”
“Mm—”
“What’s the most recent song you wrote?”
“Ah, this one.”
No. 58 picked up the cleanest practice notebook and opened it to show him. After looking at the song, Rojun spoke.
“Please explain the song to me.”
“It’s rap, but… I’m not sure what exactly I should explain.”
“Even if you didn’t write the lyrics, didn’t you make the song with some content in mind?”
“Ah! It has the feeling of blaming… a girlfriend who cheated.”
“So the rap lyrics should be the man blaming her. What’s the man’s personality like?”
“Personality? Uh—kind of like me?”
No. 58’s personality. Kang Rojun understood at once and answered.
“I get it. But if it’s rap lyrics, I have to write them to match the beat, right?”
“That’s true, but since you haven’t learned composing yet—just write the lyrics. I can break them up to match the beat.”
Maybe because it was something he liked doing, No. 58’s gloomy air had almost disappeared. He even looked a little proactive. Looking down at No. 58’s composing practice notebooks, Kang Rojun asked back.
“But just looking at these, it seems like you’ve composed a lot. You’re keeping all this without letting anyone hear it?”
“For now—it’s kind of just self-satisfaction…”
If left alone, would someone from “Produce the 100!” eventually notice on their own? Or he could subtly leak it to PD Woo Hanseok. Kang Rojun returned the practice notebook he had been looking at to No. 58.
“What’s the title of this rap song?”
“…‘Witch.’”
“‘Witch.’ Could I maybe listen to that rap?”
“Ah, I have a recording. Just a second.”
No. 58 picked up his phone. Soon, a beat echoed through the lounge. Since the volume had been lowered, it wasn’t loud.
-♬♪
“Witch,” with No. 58’s rap added over a chopped-up beat. Of course, since there were no fixed lyrics, No. 58’s rap was all filled with ah, mm, yeah, oh, and the like. But Rojun didn’t find it funny.
‘It’s good, though? How should I put it—it sticks in my ears. And No. 58 is good at rap.’
As expected of the skill that had gotten him through the first screening with rap.
Soon, No. 58 said,
“If you give me your number, I’ll send you the song.”
He handed “Witch” over to Rojun.
A little while later.
Kang Rojun and No. 58 began studying composition. Since they didn’t have time and could only do about thirty minutes, they had to touch on only the most basic things, starting with the terminology. Here, Rojun wondered if “composition” might also be unlocked after “lyric-writing,” but—
‘No notification for “composition” being unlocked. Well, it’s not urgent, so I’ll find out as time passes.’
There was absolutely no news about “composition.”
Leaving that disappointment behind, Kang Rojun entered the bathroom he always stopped by before showering. Sitting in a toilet stall, he picked up his phone and opened “AI Simulation.” What he needed to check was his status stats. Among them, “lyric-writing.”
The interesting thing was—
“Huh?”
The moment he saw the stat, Kang Rojun was quite surprised.
The reason was simple.
-[Lyric-writing (61.4/100)]
Because his lyric-writing stat was already over 60 points.
“What, what is this?”
Originally, it had been 0. But as soon as he received the stat-unlock notification, it had changed to over 60. That meant there was only one answer.
“Does this mean… my lyric-writing ability isn’t bad?”
In the first place, the stats in “AI Simulation” were based on Kang Rojun himself, as could be seen from his appearance being 100, and until now, he hadn’t touched the lyric-writing stat at all. Even so, the fact that it started at over 60 meant Rojun’s potential in lyric-writing was quite high.
What came to mind right away was naturally his side job as a “screenwriter.”
He had written while thinking of it as textual garbage, but once it actually entered the market, it had won the grand prize in a contest. On top of that, his lyric-writing stat started at over 60. In other words, the conclusion was that Rojun had possessed the ability to use written words from the beginning.
Soon, Kang Rojun wore a smile.
“Nice.”
Next, he pressed the strengthen button for the “composition” stat. As expected, a notification appeared.
-[The “composition” stat has not yet been unlocked.]
The “arrangement” stat beside it was the same.
“Okay, I get it for now.”
As if he understood, Kang Rojun left the bathroom and lay down on the bed in Room 105.
At the same time—
‘Blaming a girlfriend who cheated, huh—’
He began to think of lyrics.
After that.
As soon as Thursday morning dawned, Kang Rojun naturally started running. After completing his daily mission, Rojun expressed satisfaction with his own body and skimmed through “AI Simulation.”
-[Coins Owned: 545]
He also did not forget to strengthen his stats.
-[Appearance (100/100)│Singing Ability (12.1/100)│Rap (11/100)]
[Choreography (16.3/100)│Talk (9.7/100)│Acting (7.5/100)│Lyric-writing (61.4/100)]
Before he knew it, rap had passed 10 points.
‘Next, I’ll get choreography to 20 first, then move on to singing.’
When the decided Kang Rojun began his day, entertainment media outlets were enthusiastically spreading “Produce,” the theme song that had appeared in episode 5 of “Produce the 100!”
《“Produce the 100!” First Theme Song “Produce” Officially Released!》
《[Issue Talk] “Produce” from Produce the 100! Appears on Various Music Platforms—Public Reaction Is No Joke the Moment It Drops》
“Produce” had been officially opened on various music platforms. Since it had not been long since its release, they had to wait for the rankings to be announced, but it was certain that the reactions from the media and public opinion were hot.
The results fired off the next morning, Friday the 21st.
[1(new!)] Produce/Produce the 100! (Theme Song)
[2(↓1)] Male Friend/Kang Woojin
[3(↓1)] With You (Acoustic ver.)/Honeydeep
[4(↑1)] Sense of the Seasons/Im Jeonghan
·
·
“Produce,” released yesterday, took first place in one fell swoop.
《As Expected of the “Produce the 100!” Storm… Theme Song “Produce” Takes No. 1 on Music Platforms Just One Day After Release》
It had swept multiple platforms, including the No. 1 domestic music platform.
-The theme song is seriously so sleek and well-made lololololol in my opinion, it’s the best audition variety song ever!
-The song is so good❤
-I hope songs composed by the Produce the 100 contestants become theme songs too
-I’m looking forward to the Produce the 100 trainees dancing the choreography to this theme song lolololololololol
-Wow, straight to No. 1 as soon as the song was released!! The firepower is insane
-It’s No. 1 on Melon and Box too lolololol
-The melody is always so good from the intro ㅠㅠㅠㅠ I’m playing it on infinite repeat on my way to work....
-It’s listenable, yeah
Episode 6 of “Produce the 100!” was already scheduled to air tonight, and thanks to “Produce” devouring several music platforms, the destructive power of “Produce the 100!” could only grow larger.
Then night arrived.
Kang Rojun, the Paju campus, the people involved with “Rental Lover,” various broadcasting stations and entertainment agencies, countless members of the public, and so on and so forth all turned on channel “JTVM.”
Because episode 6 of “Produce the 100!” had begun.
-‘Produce the 100!’
After the title, episode 6 of “Produce the 100!” began with the explanation of Group 1’s third screening. “Produce” played as the BGM, and the faces of the Group 1 contestants listening to the briefing were shown in close-up. Of course, Kang Rojun had the most screen time.
Next came footage and interviews of the contestants eliminated from the “vocal team” and “rap team.”
-[“I used Room 105, and what I regret most is that I won’t be able to see my roommates again. But I feel relieved. The friends who remain will do well. But I can keep the No. 88 number tag, right?”]
After the photos of the 38 surviving contestants appeared again, the screen time was, as expected, largely focused on Group 1. It began with Lee Hanna, the director and choreographer of “Produce,” briefing Group 1 on the choreography.
-[“From now on, I’ll show you the choreography for the first theme song.”]
Naturally, the choreography for “Produce” was not broadcast. The focus was on Lee Hanna explaining and the contestants listening attentively. It went as far as saying that unless Lee Hanna gave her permission, they could not go up on the surprise performance. The faces of Group 1 were plainly tense.
And in this cut as well—
-[“No. 1, you look awfully relaxed. Does the choreography I made look easy to you?”]
-[“It doesn’t look difficult.”]
No. 1’s villainy shone.
-Lololololololol seriously insane lololololololololol
-No. 1 just has no brakes lolololol so refreshing
-I didn’t really like him at first.... but why does he look so cool now.....
-Lee Hanna is bewildered lolololololol
-Where’s that confidence coming from? This choreography was newly made, so learning it will take a while
-This time too, No. 1 will 100% do No. 1 things!!!
The viewers had, at some point, grown somewhat accustomed to villain No. 1, and as the scene crosscut, a practice video for “Produce” arrived for the thirteen members of Group 1. Watching that video, the Group 1 members each attempted individual practice. In this episode 6, there were more scenes related to the third screening than to the contestants’ daily lives.