An audience of over 1,500? At the completely unexpected situation, Gang Rojun was, of course—
‘Whoa—damn, this is really sudden.’
The rest of the contestants had no choice but to be startled as well. The murmuring in the practice room grew louder. Having expected this, PD U Hanseok calmly continued his explanation.
“First of all, on the day of filming for the fourth evaluation, we’ll be doubling the production crew we bring in. Including the judges, the total staff will easily exceed 200.”
PD U Hanseok took the tablet from writer Gim Sehui.
“As for the invited audience, our current estimate is the 76 contestants who were eliminated from ‘Geubaekpeu’ first. Then about 1,500 fans confirmed through audience applications. Three hundred standing close to the stage, and 1,200 in the installed seats.”
Including the staff, they were already well past 1,500. PD U Hanseok lowered the tablet he had been looking at, and the smile disappeared from his face. He spoke in a very serious tone.
“This is the first time I’m telling you this, but there’s something I’ve sent out to several entertainment companies in Korea. We haven’t had the meetings yet, and I can’t go into the details, but we’ll be meeting soon to finalize things. And on the day of the fourth evaluation, I’m thinking of inviting those entertainment companies as well.”
The contestants’ mouths fell open. They couldn’t be sure exactly which “several entertainment companies” PD U Hanseok was talking about, but they had a rough guess. Wasn’t this “Geubaekpeu,” which had surpassed 25% in viewership ratings? It was obvious that not only the top five entertainment companies in the country, but also officials from every major agency worth its name would come.
The scale was getting bigger and bigger.
PD U Hanseok, the one who had set up that scale, put strength into his voice.
“We’ll have to meet with the entertainment companies first, but on the day of the fourth evaluation, at least dozens of entertainment company officials will probably come. For their first face-to-face with you. Of course, we’ll prohibit any conversations between you and the companies.”
If the entertainment companies came, rather than the rap that was the evaluation assignment, they would be judging the contestants from head to toe. They were players in the idol market, after all. A contestant’s looks, physique, voice, eye line, composure, performance, charm, aura, and so on and so forth.
Seeing someone on broadcast and seeing them in person were worlds apart.
In any case, just adding up the people mentioned so far, it looked like they would easily exceed 2,000. In other words, countless audience members, including the general public, would be watching the fourth evaluation on-site. From this point on, most of the contestants froze.
The weight of the pressure.
Panic was etched in the eyes of No. 26, whose face was usually deeply expressionless, and baby-perm No. 58 was openly gaping. As for Gang Rojun?
“······”
For now, there was no change in his expression, but his heart was pounding wildly. PD U Hanseok, who had been observing the contestants’ overall reactions, regained his smile.
“In addition, on the day of the fourth evaluation, we plan to hand out slogans, fans, and other items with your faces printed on them to the audience. They’ve already been made.”
He was talking about something like merchandise.
“Mm—many of you seem nervous. But don’t get confused. The audience is just an audience. Don’t think of them as concertgoers; just go into it as an evaluation. This isn’t a performance, so the evaluation filming itself will be the same as usual.”
If concertgoers came to watch a performance, an artist had to show a flawless stage no matter what. But an audience was merely watching a predetermined filming site. So there was no need to be perfect, and it didn’t matter if they made mistakes. It was just the evaluation filming they had already been doing, with an audience added.
However.
‘Th-that’s easy to say! The situation isn’t the same as usual!’
‘How are we supposed to not think of them as concertgoers!!’
‘I get nervous even doing it in front of the staff, and now an audience······ and even entertainment companies on top of that!’
The contestants’ sense of pressure rapidly swelled.
Of course, this was exactly the picture PD U Hanseok had intended.
From the start, “Geubaekpeu” was a survival audition, and no one knew what kind of situation might arise. The conductor was PD U Hanseok. A bland picture was out of the question, and the contestants had to cling on somehow to the changing reality.
Quick thinking, nerve, adaptability, and so on.
Professional idols often faced problems dozens of times worse than this. In their eyes, the current situation would seem trivial. Whatever the case, PD U Hanseok continued his explanation.
“Plan the concept, movements, outfits, direction, and so on for the fourth evaluation with the presence of an audience in mind. For reference, you can think lightly about the outfits. As I said, it’s only an evaluation, not a performance.”
In other words, they didn’t need to be as flashy as actual stage outfits.
“But even if it isn’t a performance, it would be a shame if the first audience event for ‘Geubaekpeu’ ended after showing only the evaluation. So on the day of the evaluation, I’m thinking of showing the audience the ‘Produce’ stage as well. As a kind of event. You’ve already done it before, and if we just adjust the overall blocking a bit, it should be fine. Regarding the ‘Produce’ stage, we’ll hold a separate rehearsal the day before the evaluation, and judge I Hanna will be coming.”
As if the discussion was almost over, PD U Hanseok gave them a thumbs-up.
“I’m looking forward to it. Everyone else is too, right?”
After that.
About an hour later, new news appeared on the official “Geubaekpeu” website.
-[Invitation Event for the “Fourth Evaluation Site” Audience!]
Of course, the same news spread not only through the official website but also across various social media platforms and communities. Within minutes, reporters picked it up and copied it.
《[Issue Talk] “Geubaekpeu” Accepting Audience Applications for the First Time!》
Through the mouths and fingers of the public, it spread at a crazy speed.
-Wow!!! I’m applying right now!!!
-Hulllllll this is insane, I was wondering why Geubaekpeu never had an audience!!
-The fansite masters are gonna swarm like crazy lololololol
-I wanna goㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ No. 1ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
-Wow..... a chance to behold No. 1 in real life.... I can’t pass this up.... but I probably won’t get picked....
-lololololololol why am I already nervous when I haven’t even gone yet lololol
Whether positive or negative, the reaction exploded. The already hot “Geubaekpeu” climbed into an even bigger issue, fueled by praise and hate comments alike, and perhaps because of the sheer number of people flooding in, the official “Geubaekpeu” website, which had held up well until then, went down again.
Then, that same night.
The 24 contestants on the campus side, who would normally be getting ready to sleep in their rooms, were all absent from their rooms. Some were in the lounge, some in the hallway, some in the practice rooms. Not a single team was missing as they held in-depth discussions about the fourth evaluation. The already burdensome fourth evaluation had grown several times larger.
There was no way they could sleep.
Gang Rojun and No. 26 of Group 2’s Team A were the same. At present, the two were sitting facing each other in one of the narrower practice rooms. Around them lay a laptop, tablet, phones, notebooks, and so on, and the expressionless No. 26 looked at Rojun and said,
“I finished dividing the parts.”
He seemed somewhat serious. Gang Rojun cleared his throat and replied.
“That was fast.”
“It’s not difficult. More importantly, how’s practice for ‘Small Fry’ going?”
“Not bad.”
“What do you mean, not bad?”
“Just overall.”
No. 26 narrowed his eyes expressionlessly. What? Are you suspecting me or something? Rojun let out a small sigh.
“Listen, then.”
“Yeah. I’ll just hear the first verse for now.”
“Sure.”
No. 26, whose tone had become even drier than usual, placed his hand on the laptop.
‘I’d like it if he at least has the basic outline, even if he’s a bit lacking.’
After fiddling with it, No. 26 fixed his gaze on Gang Rojun.
“I’m turning it on.”
“Go.”
The rap “Small Fry” immediately rang out through the practice room. It began with the sound effect of a door opening. Then a fast beat was laid over it.
-♬♪
Now it was Rojun’s timing to come in. No. 26, who had been slowly bobbing his head, met Gang Rojun’s eyes.
-Swish.
As if he had been waiting, Rojun opened his mouth.
Before long, No. 26’s expressionless face cracked. His eyes widened slightly, and his brows furrowed. It was because of Gang Rojun, who sat there calmly while slicing the beat in a composed yet flashy manner. Soon, No. 26 shot his hand up and stopped “Small Fry,” which was still playing.
“Why did you lie?”
“What lie?”
“You said this was your first time rapping.”
“It is my first time.”
“······”
No. 26 answered as if he found it absurd.
“Your flow is insane, so what do you mean, first time??”
Meanwhile.
In the lounge, where quite a few contestants were gathered. Everyone was sitting face-to-face by team, busy preparing for the fourth evaluation. Among them, in a corner seat, baby-perm No. 58 could be seen. With a laptop and tablet in front of him, he had earphones in both ears. His face was exceedingly serious.
“······”
What was strange was that he was alone. Only No. 58 of Group 1’s Team A could be seen, and puppy-faced No. 71, who was on the same team, was nowhere in sight. In any case, No. 58 repeatedly listened quietly to something, then moved his fingers.
Ten minutes, fifteen minutes, thirty minutes.
Even as the contestants in the lounge gradually disappeared, No. 58 sat without budging, never breaking his concentration.
Had about an hour passed like that?
-Slide.
No. 58 pulled the earphones out of his ears and let out a long sigh while stretching out fully. Only now did his rigid face loosen a little. Then No. 58 looked at the laptop screen and murmured quietly.
“Composition finished.”
The commissioned composition.
“Fortunately, I didn’t have to stay up all night.”
It meant that No. 58’s “Geubaekpeu” theme song was complete.
Friday morning, September 11.
“Geubaekpeu” was still heating up the internet. “Geubaekpeu,” “Rental Lover,” “No. 1,” “Geubaekpeu audience,” and so on. No, it was even worse than yesterday. Episode 9 of “Geubaekpeu” would air tonight.
In the midst of that, the set of “Rental Lover” was also chaotic.
Perhaps because it was breakfast time before filming began in earnest, dozens of staff members were gathered here and there, eating boxed meals. It was noisy and bustling.
“Ah, ah! Today’s the day episode 9 of ‘Geubaekpeu’ airs, right??”
“I miss the writer since I haven’t seen him for a few days. Guess I’ll have to see him on ‘Geubaekpeu’ at least.”
“Ugh—Lighting Director! That’s gross.”
“What, man? It’s fan devotion, fan devotion.”
“But it’s already episode 9.”
“I took a quick look on my way here, and people were making a huge fuss about the ‘Geubaekpeu’ audience thing.”
“Ha··· if only we weren’t filming!”
“You’re curious too, Rina, right??”
“Yes, well.”
However, PD Jeong Suryeong was sitting alone at the monitor area.
“······”
She was reading a script with an extremely focused expression. The peculiar thing was that the script she was reading was not “Rental Lover.”
-Flap.
Even though the set was noisy, PD Jeong Suryeong read the script just fine. At that moment, she recalled Gang Rojun’s voice from the phone call a few days ago.
‘PD-nim, when the time comes, can I change my pen name from writer Gang Cheolsu to “Rojun”?’
Naturally, PD Jeong Suryeong already knew Gang Rojun’s real name. On top of that, changing a pen name was not difficult. PD Jeong Suryeong smiled faintly and murmured,
“Not No. 1 or writer Gang Cheolsu—writer Rojun. Why does that suit him so well?”
Thinking about it, the broadcast of “Geubaekpeu” had already passed the halfway point. It meant the day Gang Rojun’s name would be revealed to the world was approaching. When that time came, whether as an idol, writer, or actor, he would spread not as No. 1 but as “Rojun.”
Anticipation instantly spread through PD Jeong Suryeong’s entire body.
-Slide.
A woman in haggard makeup approached. No, it was top actress Choe Rina.
“PD-nim, what are you doing alone?”
“Mm? Ah—Star Choe. Why aren’t you eating?”
“No, the staff keep talking only about ‘Geubaekpeu,’ so I got a little bored.”
That was not true. Choe Rina had run away because she was afraid she might make a slip of the tongue about her “Geubaekpeu” fangirling. That Choe Rina threw out a question mark.
“But—where’s the writer? Is he not filming today either?”
“Writer Gang? Didn’t you hear? He won’t have any filming for a few days. Because of his ‘Geubaekpeu’ schedule.”
“Ah.”
With disappointment showing on her face, Choe Rina tilted her head.
“But what are you looking at?”
PD Jeong Suryeong answered simply.
“A script.”
“‘Rental Lover’?”
“No. Something else.”
“Huh? You’re reading another script on the set of ‘Rental Lover’? What is it?”
PD Jeong Suryeong curled one corner of her mouth and lowered her voice.
“Another script writer Gang Cheolsu wrote.”
In an instant, Choe Rina’s eyes widened enormously.
“The writer’s o-other script? He has something else he wrote??? What genre is it? How does it feel??”
As Choe Rina poured out question marks in a frenzy, PD Jeong Suryeong’s face turned somewhat meaningful.
“How does it feel?”
PD Jeong Suryeong looked down at Rojun’s other script in her hand.
“‘Rental Lover’ was just a palate cleanser.”
Her enigmatic smile deepened.
“To be blunt, this ranks in the top five scripts I’ve seen so far.”
Just then.
-Buzzz, buzzzz.
PD Jeong Suryeong’s phone, placed on the desk in front of her, let out a long vibration. She checked the phone screen casually, then tilted her head.
‘PD U Hanseok?’
It was because the caller was PD U Hanseok. They did contact each other now and then, but it was the first time he had called in the morning. Soon, PD Jeong Suryeong lowered the script and put the phone to her ear.
“Yes, PD-nim. Hello.”
PD U Hanseok first asked for her understanding.
“PD Jeong, is it all right to talk for a moment? Are you filming?”
“No. It’s fine, go ahead.”
“Yes, yes. It’s nothing else. I have a proposal for you.”
“A proposal?”
Soon, from the other side of the phone, came PD U Hanseok’s voice.
“The ‘Rental Lover’ team, including you and the actors.”
There was laughter mixed into it.
“Would you like to come as audience guests for the fourth evaluation of ‘Geubaekpeu’?”