Gang Rojun looked at the face of PD U Hanseok standing before him and thought.
‘Is he serious?’
Out of nowhere, he had asked him and No. 58 for none other than the Geubaekpeu theme song. As for the theme song currently selling, there was “Produce,” which was devouring the No. 1 spot and the upper ranks on every music platform.
On top of that, “Produce” was also the key song for this third evaluation.
‘It’s not like we can’t do it, but isn’t a theme song insanely important?? He’s leaving something like that to us?’
Thinking about it, it was a pretty huge deal.
The evaluation side also came to mind. Whether the subject was vocals, rap, choreography, or anything else, if the theme song was going to be used for evaluation, it shouldn’t be entrusted to Gang Rojun or No. 58. The core of this third evaluation related to “Produce” was adaptation and copying, and No. 58, who had composed the song, and Rojun would be able to carry out the evaluation fairly easily.
It was an issue where the contestants could raise questions of fairness.
In any case, slightly startled, Rojun glanced at No. 58 beside him. No. 58 was openly gaping. He was probably thinking something similar to Gang Rojun, but the shock seemed several times greater.
Soon, No. 58 stammered out in a flustered voice.
“M-Me and No. 1 are supposed to make the Geubaekpeu theme song??!”
No. 58, who was usually taciturn and spoke in a low tone, was quite agitated. On the other hand, PD U Hanseok, wearing a smile, nodded.
“Yes. I’d like to entrust it to No. 1 and No. 58.”
“How could we—”
“I think you can do it. Your lyric-writing and composition skills have been acknowledged by Judge Song Mingeun here, after all.”
The plump Song Mingeun, who had received their gazes, nodded.
“The two of them could do it and still have plenty to spare. It’s enough.”
Song Mingeun, a famous composer and broadcaster with many hit songs to his name. Thanks to his confidence, PD U Hanseok’s smile deepened.
“What do you think? Of course, I didn’t take this lightly. I thought about it quite a bit, but I really would like the two of you to make one theme song.”
“······”
Frozen stiff, No. 58 seemed unable to answer, as if he’d been rendered speechless. Gang Rojun thought he could do it, but for now, he observed the atmosphere. Then PD U Hanseok looked back and forth between Rojun and No. 58.
“You don’t need to think of it too grandly. I did ask you to make a song, but that doesn’t mean it’ll become the theme song with 100% certainty. We have to see the result, and situations always change.”
He added an explanation to lessen the burden.
“And even if your theme song is selected, it won’t be used for the evaluation. It’s not confirmed, but right now, I’m thinking of a stage of thanks dedicated to the viewers. The feeling would be that the Geubaekpeu contestants learn and practice the theme song made by No. 1 and No. 58, then present a stage stripped of the survival-show atmosphere.”
At that point, No. 58, who had a question mark over his head, asked.
“But if I… get eliminated in the third evaluation, what happens?”
At present, it was the voting period for Group 1. Groups 2 and 3 hadn’t even gone up for their surprise stages. No. 58, who was in Group 2, would have his survival decided next week. If he was eliminated before the composition was completed, he would have to pack his bags. PD U Hanseok, who was well aware of this, answered seriously.
“Right now, I’m making this offer more to Composer No. 58 than to Contestant No. 58. If you accept this matter, then even if you’re eliminated, you’ll have to complete the song. Even if the song isn’t selected as the theme song, the composition and lyric fees will be paid, and if it’s confirmed as the theme song, then of course we’ll discuss the music revenue separately.”
“Ah—”
“You can refuse. As I said, this is an offer, not an order. To be honest, I was originally going to request this from Judge Song Mingeun, but I changed my mind. The judge also said that would be better.”
If they separately contracted for music revenue, then this was a position as professionals rather than amateurs. If they said they would do it, then no matter what happened, the song had to be completed.
Song Mingeun, who had been listening to the conversation, cut in.
“It might feel like a bit of a burden, but I don’t think it’s a bad opportunity. Even if it isn’t selected, it’ll be experience, and if it’s confirmed as the theme song, it’ll become part of your career.”
Gang Rojun, whose current motto was “You don’t know unless you try; whatever it is, just charge in first,” had already made his decision. Go, even if there was nothing to gain. However, when he looked at No. 58, he still seemed to be deliberating. Well, at times like this, if someone stepped forward first, things tended to get sorted out.
Rojun accepted first in a calm tone.
“I’ll give it a try.”
No. 58, whose eyes widened slightly, looked at Gang Rojun, then raised his hand as if he had made up his mind.
“M-Me too! I’ll try it too.”
PD U Hanseok, giving them a thumbs-up, smiled again.
“Okay, you made a good decision. For reference, you’ve probably sensed it, but only the four of us can know about this.”
“Yes.”
“Understood!”
PD U Hanseok nodded, then fixed his gaze on No. 58 with the baby perm.
“The song should come before the lyrics, right? Naturally, it has to be a dance song, and something that can infuse everyone with energy…”
PD U Hanseok recited the atmosphere he wanted for the song. Finally, after saying he would organize what he had just said separately and send it again by message—
“That’s all for No. 58. I’m counting on you, Composer.”
No. 58 bowed two or three times and left the meeting room. Should I get up too? Just as Rojun moved, PD U Hanseok waved his hand.
“Ah, ah, ah, No. 1, you’re still staying.”
Next, Song Mingeun abruptly asked Gang Rojun.
“By the way, No. 1, are you really the writer of Rental Lover??”
PD U Hanseok stopped him.
“Judge? How many times did I tell you not to ask that question?”
“Hahaha. No, seeing him in person made me so curious it just came out.”
Scratching his head, Song Mingeun held something out to Rojun. Looking at it, it was a small USB drive.
“It’s a demo song. I want to separately ask No. 1 to write lyrics for it. Of course, you can consider it a formal offer.”
What was this now? Though slightly flustered inwardly, Gang Rojun asked back as calmly as possible.
“You’re saying this has nothing to do with Geubaekpeu?”
“Yeah. This is an offer from Song Mingeun the composer. I heard No. 1 wrote the lyrics for the rap song ‘Witch.’ And while you were in the middle of learning composition and lyric-writing, at that. But the quality was quite impressive. It piqued my curiosity.”
After muttering that, Song Mingeun handed the USB drive to Rojun.
“It’s hard to talk about the song information or story, so just listen to the demo and write the lyrics in your own style.”
There was no need to think about it too deeply. Usually, lyricists flocked to a major composer like Song Mingeun. Among them, Song Mingeun would choose the lyrics. Famous entertainment companies were similar in that regard. In other words, even if Rojun wrote the lyrics, whether they would be selected for this demo song was unknown.
‘If he’s not giving me song information, there must be some circumstances. Anyway, all I have to do is listen to the demo and write the lyrics, right?’
Gang Rojun, who had reached a simple conclusion, made his decision extremely quickly.
“Yes, I’ll try writing them.”
“Haha, you’re refreshing. Don’t think too much of it, and just write comfortably.”
Saying to contact him once he was done, Song Mingeun exchanged contact information with Gang Rojun. In a way, he became the first celebrity saved on Rojun’s phone.
‘Whoa—Song Mingeun’s number.’
Leaving behind Gang Rojun, who was filled with wonder, Song Mingeun rose from his seat.
“That’s it for my business.”
Once his own matter was finished, he too neatly left the meeting room. In an instant, Gang Rojun had ended up with two lyric-writing jobs. Since Rojun had already intended to keep trying lyric-writing anyway, he thought this worked out well, and PD U Hanseok sat down across from him. For some reason, worry shaded his expression as he opened his mouth.
“Are you really going to be okay? Acting, and now lyrics too. It can’t interfere with your Geubaekpeu activities.”
“I can manage it, for now.”
PD U Hanseok laughed and shook his head as if he were fed up.
“You know it’s strange to say you can manage it, right? Ordinary people can’t do that. Anyway, if there’s no problem, that’s a relief. And about the official announcement we mentioned earlier, that you’re the writer of Rental Lover.”
“Yes.”
“Have you thought of a comment?”
Whether he had one decided or not, Gang Rojun’s answer was quick.
“I plan to do it like ‘No. 1.’”
It smelled like a villain.
A little while later.
Gang Rojun, having left the meeting room, headed toward the contestants’ dormitory. He was calm, but he had a lot on his mind.
‘Two sets of lyrics, and I have to film Rental Lover too. I also decided to write something new as an author, right?’
On top of that, he couldn’t neglect the Geubaekpeu schedule either. Plus, the Japanese conversations with No. 58 and his composition studies were a bonus.
‘Why is there so much to do? Even if it was for a mission, it’s a good thing I built up my stamina.’
He wasn’t grumbling. Rather, Gang Rojun preferred being insanely busy. No, should it be called enjoyable? In the past, when his face had been hideous, he hadn’t been able to work even if he wanted to. A busy daily life was something Rojun had dreamed of. Though now, a lot of glamour had been added to it.
—Sssrk.
He entered the dormitory building. The contestants were nowhere to be seen. They were probably all focused on training. No. 58 also seemed to have joined them right away. In particular, Groups 2 and 3, to which No. 58 belonged, would be busy. Groups 2 and 3 were soon scheduled to have surprise performances similar to Group 1’s.
In any case, Gang Rojun headed not to Room 105, but to the restroom he always used.
Standing in front of the restroom mirror, the same one as in the practice room, Rojun—
‘First, vocals and choreography.’
—began by testing the stats that had surpassed 20 points. After lowering the decibels and singing a few songs, he shook his body around. The change was definite. Even though it felt like he was doing it roughly, his form was somehow far from ordinary.
‘It feels like my throat has opened up, and my body’s smoother too. It’s better than when they were in the 10s.’
His brain had developed as well. After all, the amount of knowledge it contained had increased. Whether vocals or choreography, watching a video and following along was no longer difficult for him. He also stumbled much less. There was probably a difference in experience too, but the stat enhancement was likely the biggest factor. It was awkward for Gang Rojun to judge himself, but from the outside, it felt like he was good even among ordinary people.
Compared to his past self, who had been tone-deaf and had two left feet, it was an incredible improvement.
Then Rojun took out his phone and accessed “AI Simulation.”
What he checked was the “Rap” stat.
—[Rap (14.4/100)]
With the recent enhancement, it had surpassed 10 points. Soon, Gang Rojun manipulated his phone and played a song.
—♬♪
It was “Witch,” the rap song composed by No. 58, for which Gang Rojun had written the lyrics. Slowly bobbing his head, he opened his mouth. He was performing the rap song “Witch.” There was still a slightly awkward feeling, but one thing was clear.
‘It works. I can rap now too.’
His rap skills had risen quite a bit as well.
A few hours later, around noon. Tokyo, Japan.
A large café near Tokyo Station, crowded with people. Inside the two-story café, tourists could be seen, but most were still Japanese.
The café was almost full.
Perhaps because there were so many people, the extremely noisy café had customers of various ages. However, more than 70% were in their twenties and thirties. In particular, there were many tables formed by groups of women. Japanese could be heard from here and there.
The customers at the tables chatted excitedly even as they drank their beverages.
“Isn’t it way too hot today??”
“Right? I can’t go outside.”
All of them had phones in their hands. They were openly looking at their phones while conversing. What was unusual was—
“I’m so looking forward to Geubaekpeu.”
“Me too, me too. Watching only on Neotube just doesn’t satisfy me anymore.”
“Who do you like?”
“No. 1, obviously! Don’t you?”
“My No. 1 is No. 1 too! He seems like a tsundere, but his face is ridiculously handsome! No. 58 and No. 15 are cute too.”
—the fact that talk of Korea’s Geubaekpeu was coming from several tables simultaneously. It wasn’t just casual mention; it was quite heated. It was proof that the Hallyu fever in Japan was currently hot, and that Geubaekpeu’s popularity was considerable.
“Ha—when are the Geubaekpeu guys coming to Japan?”
“Geubaekpeu is coming to Japan?”
“I saw it on Neotube. Was it the Geubaekpeu PD? That person said there’d be a Japan performance too.”
“Really???”
And around one o’clock—
Suddenly.
“It’s time!”
“It’s one??”
“Yeah, yeah!”
The same movement was spotted at many tables in the large café. They stopped their conversations and all focused on their phones. It wasn’t just one or two tables; more than half did so.
“Is it up on Netflex??”
What they were accessing was the same as well. It was “Netflex Japan.” The reason was simple.
“Geubaekpeu definitely opens at one, right?”
“Definitely.”
Because one o’clock was the time Geubaekpeu would officially land in Japan. To be more precise, from now on, Geubaekpeu would be uploaded to Netflex Japan every Monday at one o’clock.
Soon, more than 70% of the Japanese public inside the café—
“Geubaekpeu is up, it’s up! Thank you, Netflex!”
“Whew—I have no idea how long I’ve been waiting. Let’s watch from episode one together!”
“Does No. 1 appear from the first episode??”
“He should.”
—began watching the officially launched Geubaekpeu.
And the next morning, Tuesday, September 1.
News from Japan reached Korea, which was already filled with articles about “No. 1,” “Geubaekpeu,” “Rental Lover,” and more.
《[Issue Talk] Geubaekpeu Continues Its Sensation in Japan, Hits No. 1 on Japan’s Netflex Immediately Upon Launch!》