Producer Woo Hanseok made an additional request to the official from Jamsil Indoor Gymnasium.
“During the pre-game rehearsal, we’d like to secure as much time as possible.”
“Hmm—understood. We’ll try to prepare it that way.”
“Will the lighting and stage direction be possible as we delivered them?”
“Yes. No problem.”
Producer Woo Hanseok nodded and asked.
“How full do you think the audience will be for the volleyball match on the 26th?”
“Usually, it’s always over 70% full, but that day’s a popular match, so it’ll be even more packed.”
“I see.”
“But the performance being kept top secret applies not only to the audience, but also to the reporters who come, right?”
“If anything, we have to be even more careful with the reporters.”
The meeting ended in about thirty minutes, and the moment the gymnasium official left, writer Kim Sehui, who had been waiting in the back, came over.
“Producer!”
She waved her phone.
“The ratings, the ratings!”
Producer Woo Hanseok gave a small laugh.
“Yeah. What did they come out to?”
The writers, including Kim Sehui, shouted in unison.
“23.2%!”
It had broken past 23%. “P100” had once again renewed its own record, and reporters were already spreading the news.
《“P100” Heads Toward 25% Ratings, Episode 6 Officially Breaks Past 23%!》
First place among all variety shows, first in its time slot, and the song “Produce” was also first.
“P100,” in the middle of its first-place party, was truly a runaway train, and on SNS, countless communities, and public opinion at large, interest in the surprise performance that was the third evaluation exploded.
Netflix Korea did not miss this momentum.
-[Hello, this is Netflix Korea. Today, the center of the sensation, “Produce the 100!” will officially launch······]
Starting with its official SNS channels, Netflix Korea did not neglect its media push either.
《“P100” Finally Enters Netflix》
《Starting Tonight, “P100” Can Also Be Watched on Netflix··· Countdown to Overseas Expansion?》
At the same time, similar news appeared not only in Korea but also in Japan.
-It just came up officially in a Japanese article, P100 launches on Netflix Japan on the 31st yep
-Hulllll they’re already targeting Japan?
-Japanese kids are crazy interested in the Korean idol scene lolololololol
-P100’s already blowing up on Japanese SNS though
-Right lolololol the contestants’ pics are already being shared like crazy lololol No. 1 is the most shared
The launch dates for “P100” on Netflix in Korea and Japan had been confirmed. It was one piece of good news piled atop another. For reference, the Netflix Japan launch was the first of its kind for a Korean variety show. Naturally, that was more than enough to excite both domestic fans and Japanese fans.
“P100” then
《Japanese Fans Buzzing Over News of “P100” Officially Launching on Netflix Japan on the 31st》
took first place in real-time rankings on a famous Japanese SNS platform.
At the same time.
The contestants at the Paju campus were engrossed in practice. Of course, everyone except Gang Rojun. After completing his daily mission and even checking “P100”’s ratings, he headed straight to the lounge.
A laptop sat in front of Rojun, who was sitting alone.
“Hmm—”
The screen was filled with tightly packed text. They were the lyrics for the rap song “Witch.” He had already finished writing them, but he was doing one final check before handing them over to No. 58. Gang Rojun, arms crossed, focused on the lyrics he had written.
“······”
At a glance, the beginning of the lyrics for “Witch” went like this.
-[Wit—ch, the curse you cast is a vicious type, get that face out of my sight]
[Gritted teeth and bided time, you’re my only blemish, fail]
[You should’ve stayed in myths or fairy tales, why fuel my rage]
·
·
·
Naturally, he had not written them carelessly. Gang Rojun had studied in his own way, searching up information about lyric writing. On top of that, he had carefully read through quite a lot of rap lyrics. From there, it was a matter of Rojun’s own instinct and sense. Surprisingly, writing lyrics was easy for Gang Rojun. They had flowed out smoothly, much like when he wrote scripts.
‘Well, whether they’re any good or not is up to No. 58 to judge.’
Then Gang Rojun closed the laptop.
Meanwhile, at SBC’s drama department.
Producer Jeong Suryeong and the key staff had gathered in a meeting room. Most of the key staff who had attended the preliminary meeting were present. They were holding the final production meeting before the script reading.
Rather than a meeting, it was closer to a final inspection.
They had to reconfirm everything: the finalized filming sets, locations, actors’ costumes, filming schedule, and so on. Even after all this, once full-scale filming began, various issues would still inevitably erupt on set.
A break was called in the middle of the meeting.
The key staff stretched and left the meeting room for coffee or cigarettes, but Producer Jeong Suryeong, seated at the head of the ㅁ-shaped table,
“Hmm—”
was carefully looking down at the script for “Rental Lover” even as she tied up her rough, unkempt hair again. She looked deep in thought. Seeing this, a junior assistant director who was about to go to the restroom asked,
“What’s wrong?”
Producer Jeong Suryeong scratched her head.
“···About ‘Lover No. 4.’ From your perspective, does he seem all right?”
“I don’t see any problems.”
“There aren’t any problems. But I do think it’d be better to remove Lover No. 4’s English lines after all.”
“Why?”
Producer Jeong Suryeong answered the assistant director, who had tilted their head, while recalling Gang Rojun’s face.
“The writer is good at Japanese. Compared to that, his English is a bit ordinary. About the level of a regular person. But when they’re captured in the same frame, it ends up making his English look relatively lacking.”
The assistant director’s expression changed to one that said they understood.
“Hul, the writer is good at Japanese too? He’s seriously an overpowered character. When I saw the writer act at the preliminary meeting, I thought my jaw was going to drop. But it seems like the key staff didn’t get to see his acting at all?”
“Other than the cinematographer, no one had time to see it. We kept the writer’s identity hidden the whole time. They’re all going to see it at the script reading anyway.”
“Ahh. But if you remove English from the Lover No. 4 setup, doesn’t the character lose a bit of fun?”
Producer Jeong Suryeong let out a small sigh and agreed.
“He does. His charm drops too. The foreign languages are Lover No. 4’s hook, and the fun comes from the flaw where he can’t communicate with the female lead because of all those varied languages.”
“Right. But if the Japanese stands out too much, that would be strange in its own way. It would mess up the setup too.”
“Exactly. If he were fluent in both, there’d be no issue—but if only one stands out, then the English feels like something he practiced, and the character ends up floating out of place. It’s smoother to just go with Japanese.”
“Mm—still, it’s a shame for the character to lose some of his charm.”
“Hoo. For now, I’ll have to check again at the script reading. If it looks too glaring, just as I expect.”
After thinking it over, Producer Jeong Suryeong made her decision.
“We’ll steer toward removing the English.”
That same night. The “P100” campus.
Dozens of exhausted contestants were letting out groans from their rooms or the lounge. Most of them were from Group 1.
Then it happened. Over the entire dorm broadcast system,
“Thank you all for your hard work today.”
Producer Woo Hanseok’s voice rang out.
“We have an announcement for those in Group 1. Tomorrow, Sunday the 23rd, please gather after finishing breakfast. Only Group 1 is scheduled for the first evaluation and rehearsal of the group choreography for ‘Produce.’ I repeat······”
It meant that since the intensive training beyond individual practice was over, they would proceed with the final group choreography evaluation and rehearsal related to “Produce.” The group choreography practice for the thirteen contestants in Group 1 had already been underway, and Lee Hanna had already finished a certain amount of evaluation.
In effect, it was no different from the next step.
With only three days left until the surprise performance, excluding the 26th itself, it was going to become a series of rehearsals from now on. Whatever the case, the broadcast drew all kinds of reactions from the dozens of contestants. Despair and exhilaration, fear and anticipation, among many others.
Room 105 was the same.
No. 19, No. 37, and No. 58, who had been assigned to Group 2 or Group 3, glanced at Gang Rojun of Group 1. They wanted to see what expression he had. Rojun’s face was calm. Simply composed.
‘Tomorrow morning? Then I’ll have to wake up a bit earlier. To finish my daily mission.’
Because he was more worried about completing his mission.
For reference, aside from Group 1, which included Gang Rojun, Groups 2 and 3 were still in individual practice. The first evaluation for Groups 2 and 3 would start next Monday.
At any rate, by the time the entire dorm had grown noisy, Gang Rojun called over the baby-permed No. 58.
“No. 58.”
“···Yes?”
“Just a moment.”
Rojun left the room. No. 58, wondering what this was about, followed him. Once Gang Rojun came out into the hallway, he calmly said to No. 58,
“I finished writing the lyrics for ‘Witch.’ I actually finished them yesterday, but I did a final check today. I’ll send them to you on chat now, so take a look.”
No. 58 was visibly startled.
“A-Already?”
They had only talked about it on Wednesday afternoon. If he had finished yesterday, then he had completed it in only two days.
‘Is he serious? Th-that’s way too fast!’
Compared to No. 58, whose eyes had gone wide,
‘Don’t tell me he just scribbled down whatever came to mind without it feeling like a real writer’s work?’
Gang Rojun was nonchalant.
“I just did it moderately, so don’t expect too much.”
“No, you really finished it?”
“Yes. That’s how it turned out. It’s my first time writing lyrics, so it’s probably weird, but please take a look.”
“Uh······ all right.”
Then Gang Rojun sent the lyrics via chat, and No. 58, eyes still wide, looked down at his phone and went back into the room. Soon, Rojun stretched.
‘His expression is kind of hard to read. Well, even if No. 58 says my lyrics are total crap, there’s nothing I can do. I’m satisfied. Writing lyrics was pretty fun in its own way too.’
Once he actually tried it, lyric writing was clearly different in texture from writing scripts. To make a rough comparison, scripts had to unfold a story, while lyrics had to compress one. But neither was as difficult as Gang Rojun had expected.
At a glance, it seemed haphazard, but there was potential within it.
Having dealt with one matter, Rojun headed to the restroom to empty his bladder before bed, while No. 58, who had stopped in front of Room 105’s door, was slowly reading the lyrics Rojun had written.
Because he looked strange, No. 19 and No. 37 asked,
“No. 58, what are you doing?”
“Did you see some amazing article or something?”
“······”
No. 58 had no time to answer. He had been struck by a massive shock because of the newly created lyrics for the rap song “Witch” he had made.
‘···What the hell? They’re insanely good!’
The moment No. 58 read the lyrics Gang Rojun had made, they clicked perfectly with him. Until he heard Rojun say he had “just done it roughly,” No. 58 had not expected anything. On top of that, No. 1 had even said it was his first time writing lyrics, hadn’t he?
And yet, the result was.
‘This is the level of someone writing lyrics for the first time???’
It was enough to slap a professional lyricist across the face. Anyone who had not heard No. 1’s story would never think he was a beginner. It was a level even No. 58, who had been composing music for a long time, could not have imagined.
-Whoosh.
No. 58, shock written all over him, quickly left the room and came back out into the hallway. But Gang Rojun had disappeared somewhere. No. 58 turned his head left and right, looking for No. 1, then lowered his widened eyes back to his phone.
Then.
-Slide.
He murmured the lyrics Rojun had made under his breath. To be precise, he had begun unfolding the rap “Witch,” now complete with lyrics. If another contestant saw him, they might think No. 58 had gone mad, but as if he did not care, No. 58 finished the first verse of “Witch” according to the written lyrics.
Only then did No. 58 say,
“······I’m sure of it. He wrote this while thinking of the rhyme and flow too. And he even incorporated the concept of the rap ‘Witch.’”
It felt as though “Witch” had finally been completed.
“Does it even make sense that someone who’s never composed or written lyrics before wrote this?”
After standing there blankly for a while, No. 58 moved back into the room and pulled his composition practice notebooks out of his bag. Among them, he opened to the page where the rap “Witch” was written, then took out a pencil and wrote something at the very top.
-Composed by: No. 58 / Lyrics by: No. 1
Around then, Gang Rojun was washing his hands in the restroom.
At that moment.
-Bzzzz.
-Bzzzz.
Several short vibrations came from his wrist. Flinching, he immediately looked at his smartwatch. Several notifications had arrived.
-[As a side job has been added to the title “Side-Hustle Rich,” it is enhanced by +1!]
-[The title “Side-Hustle Rich” has reached +3 enhancement, and the bonus coins have increased to 3.]
-[You have achieved title enhancement +3! As a gift, you have been granted the item “AI Automation One-Time Free Use Voucher.”]
Apparently, “Side-Hustle Rich” had suddenly been enhanced.
‘Because I wrote lyrics?’
Here, Gang Rojun focused on the gift item he had just received.
“AI Automation One-Time Free Use Voucher?”
Anyone could tell it was an item that allowed him to use “AI Automation” once for free. Rojun’s eyes widened slightly.
“Seriously? One free use of ‘AI Automation’? Wait, then—”
A smile slowly spread across Gang Rojun’s face as, in his mind,
“I should use it on something ridiculously expensive. Was English 400 coins?”
English came to mind.