An audience seat for Geubaekpeu’s fourth evaluation? Slightly surprised, PD Jeong Suryeong stood up from her seat, script in hand. Watching her step slightly away, Choe Rina tilted her head, and PD Jeong Suryeong, now a few steps away, spoke into her phone.
“Are you inviting us to watch from the audience?”
From the other end of the line, PD U Hanseok answered immediately.
“Yes, this fourth evaluation is going to have an event-style audience.”
“I saw the article. It’s the same one, right? What I saw in the article and what you’re talking about.”
“That’s right. We’re inviting you to the place you saw in the article. We expanded the scale to be a bit more provocative, and while we’re at it, I thought it’d be nice if the ‘Rental Lover’ team came too. An event within an event, you could say? Of course, if the schedule doesn’t work out, it can’t be helped.”
Their fields were different, but PD U Hanseok had also spent considerable time at the broadcasting station, so he wasn’t ignorant of the drama scene.
“Still, I was hoping you could make it even if it’s a bit of a stretch. Think of it as running your promotional schedule early.”
“Hmm—”
Actors of completed films and dramas place great importance on promotional schedules. They appear at movie premieres to greet audiences, appear on famous variety shows to introduce their works, and these days they actively use YouTube as well. Usually, one-act dramas don’t do much promotion, but ‘Rental Lover’ had a promotional schedule set.
It was only natural, as the female lead was top actress Choe Rina.
Moreover, the caliber of the other actors was far higher compared to other one-act dramas. PD U Hanseok was essentially telling them to get an early taste of ‘Rental Lover’s promotional schedule through Geubaekpeu.
“‘Rental Lover’ is deeply connected to ‘Number 1’ in Geubaekpeu—if the ‘Rental Lover’ team comes to watch, I think both sides will see some serious synergy explode.”
“‘Number 1,’ who is aimed at idols, and the team of the work written by that ‘Number 1’ coming to cheer at Geubaekpeu…… The picture certainly would come together nicely.”
It was only a few words, but PDs Jeong Suryeong and U Hanseok simultaneously glimpsed each other’s intentions and the buzz-worthy future that would explode. Something only possible because they were veterans in their respective fields.
Soon, PD Jeong Suryeong inwardly tapped on an abacus.
‘Just having Number 1 and the Rental Lover team caught in one shot will have a huge effect, and the curiosity it sparks in the public is a bonus.’
That curiosity directly connects to viewership ratings.
The situation was already chaotic domestically and even in Japan over Gang Rojun being the writer of ‘Rental Lover’; if more firewood was thrown on here, Geubaekpeu’s influence and scale would swell too. Both Korea and Japan.
At that moment, PD U Hanseok whispered through the phone in a lowered voice.
“The presence of ‘Number 4 Lover’ that will be revealed at the production press conference later will also double.”
The corners of PD Jeong Suryeong’s mouth curled up immediately.
“It’s hard to give an immediate answer, but I’ll think about it very, very positively.”
“Understood. Well, Ms. Choe Rina and your actors and staff have schedules too. However, we also have circumstances on our end, so please let us know by tomorrow.”
“I’ll call you today without even letting it drag until tomorrow.”
“Haha, thank you.”
Accordingly, PD Jeong Suryeong ended the call and turned around. Choe Rina, who had been looking at a hand mirror, was still standing there. PD Jeong Suryeong approached her and asked nonchalantly.
“Star Choe, what if you could go to the Geubaekpeu evaluation stage and watch from the audience?”
Whether her fan heart had exploded or what, Choe Rina answered instantly as if bewitched.
“I’ll go.”
“Huh—you didn’t think for even a second? Didn’t you say you weren’t interested in idols, Star Choe?”
Only then did Choe Rina come to her senses and clear her throat for no reason.
“Ah, no. Th—it’s not exactly a common opportunity, is it? From what I saw in the articles, the competition for audience seats is tremendous. And it’s Writer Gang’s project too.”
Choe Rina thought she had glossed it over well, and PD Jeong Suryeong, who let out a short laugh, nodded.
“Right, if not us, who would cheer for the writer?”
Soon, PD Jeong Suryeong brushed past Choe Rina and walked to where the staff were gathered, and the moment she said something.
“What?!!”
“Heol!!”
The staff erupted.
Around noon that day, at the Geubaekpeu campus.
While all the contestants were in chaos preparing for training or the fourth evaluation, Gang Rojun, in a black short-sleeved shirt and gray sweatpants, was walking down a quiet hallway. A natural yet striking appearance.
The place he arrived at was—
-Swish.
The Geubaekpeu studio recording room where he had previously met Song Mingeun. When Gang Rojun opened the door, he saw PD U Hanseok letting out a huge yawn—huaah—and Number 58. Number 58, wearing a headband over a baby perm, sat in front of the equipment, while PD U Hanseok sat in a chair in the back with his legs crossed.
As Rojun entered after bowing—
“Hello.”
PD U Hanseok waved his hand with a faint smile.
“Yeah, sit next to me.”
“Yes.”
Actually, Gang Rojun had been matching his flow with Number 26 on the rap “Small Fry” when he was called here by PD U Hanseok. As soon as Rojun sat down, PD U Hanseok opened his mouth.
“I called you because Number 58 said they’ve completed the theme song I requested.”
Ah, so the composition is finished. Meeting eyes with Number 58, Rojun nonchalantly showed his thumb.
“Good.”
Following Gang Rojun, U Hanseok also raised his thumb.
“Good, good.”
Perhaps the sudden thumbs-up was awkward, because Number 58 scratched his head for no reason.
“Th-thank you.”
However, just because the composition of the newly requested theme song was finished didn’t mean it would be officially adopted. PD U Hanseok, the decision-maker, lowered his thumbs and murmured.
“Then, shall we listen first?”
“Yes.”
Number 58 answered and worked the equipment together with the laptop in front of him. Within seconds, an unfamiliar melody filled the entire studio.
-♬♪
The intro began with a guitar sound that rang out like a rapid heartbeat. It gradually sped up. Then the drums joined in, shifting into an even more exciting melody. Number 58 explained that the vocals would enter around this point.
Vocals decorated the intro alongside the continuing heartbeat.
Soon the drums and guitar grew twice as intense as the intro, and even the piano joined in. In the verse, the breathing quickened, and at one point the guitar dropped out, letting the piano and drums delight the ear. It signaled that they were entering the chorus.
Listening to the song, Gang Rojun felt:
‘A feeling of dance and rock combined? The way it hooks into your ear from the intro is insanely addictive, this song.’
The song was good.
PD U Hanseok seemed to feel the same, savoring the song slowly with his eyes closed. After the first verse ended and the interlude, onto the second verse. From the second verse, an even greater sense of exhilaration was mixed in.
The moment the song ended—
“……So, what do you think?”
Number 58 asked carefully. Instead of answering, PD U Hanseok showed double thumbs-up again.
“Heart-fluttering, exhilarating, nerve-wracking, frightening, but I’m going to run. That’s the vibe, right? It’s killer, it came out in exactly the atmosphere I wanted. I got goosebumps, see here?”
PD U Hanseok kept patting Number 58’s shoulder and showering the song with praise. It wasn’t an exaggeration. Because even to Gang Rojun’s ears, it was quite good. If vocals, choreography, performance, and such were added on top of this, the explosive power would double. Rojun, who had been imagining this for a moment, became the center of attention.
The one who opened his mouth was PD U Hanseok.
“How was it for you, Number 1?”
Gang Rojun, wearing a faint smile, looked at Number 58 and answered immediately.
“I could put it in my playlist and loop it infinitely for a month.”
He had returned the praise.
PD U Hanseok laughed heartily and gave Number 58 a definitive answer.
“This doesn’t even need a meeting. Number 58, I’ve decided to make this song Geubaekpeu’s theme song.”
Number 58, who seemed to have been nervous and worried, flushed all at once and bowed repeatedly.
“Thank you!”
“No no no, I’m the one who’s thankful. For making such a high-quality song. It’s really been a while since I got chills listening to a song. I can already see the writers bouncing around when they hear it.”
PD U Hanseok took out his phone and was sending someone a message when he paused. He turned to Number 58, the corners of his mouth rising.
“I’ve already decided on the song title. ‘Survival 100.’ From now on, this song is Geubaekpeu’s official theme song, ‘Survival 100.’”
Then PD U Hanseok’s gaze shifted to Gang Rojun. The song was made, so now it was Rojun’s turn.
“Lyricist-nim? Please write lyrics that match the song well.”
Gang Rojun, who had felt lyrics springing forth from the intro of ‘Survival 100,’ swept back his black hair.
“I’ll write something killer.”
Next, Rojun threw a question at Number 58. About the song. Number 58 answered sincerely and enthusiastically. The atmosphere heated up quickly. PD U Hanseok, watching the two, felt like a father watching his children.
‘This is why I direct—the taste of watching a raw stone become a jewel.’
He imagined the not-so-distant future. One where ‘Survival 100’ swept first place on various music platforms.
-[1] Survival 100 / Composer: Number 58, Lyricist: Number 1
Afterwards.
Leaving the suddenly meeting Gang Rojun and Number 58 behind, PD U Hanseok left the studio. There was a Geubaekpeu broadcast tonight, and he was busy with editing and whatnot. On the other hand, Gang Rojun and Number 58 talked in the studio for about 30 minutes.
Soon, Number 58 sent the soon-to-be theme song ‘Survival 100’ to Rojun via message.
“Once the lyrics are done, show them to me first.”
As if telling him not to worry, Gang Rojun nodded nonchalantly.
Thus, another task was added to Rojun’s to-do list. A job was created right as the Song Mingeun matter ended, but he had been writing lyrics continuously anyway.
‘This is ten times more fun than doing songs with just instrumental tracks.’
Just like that, Gang Rojun and Number 58 left the studio and walked down the hallway.
“These days I haven’t been able to study Japanese conversation or composition much with you, Number 1.”
“The fourth evaluation is more important. We can start again after it’s over.”
“……That’s true.”
It was a strange sight. Gang Rojun and Number 58 were facing off in this fourth evaluation. Strictly speaking, they were rivals. However, Rojun was speaking under the assumption that Number 58 would survive. Somehow smiling bitterly, Number 58 suddenly muttered.
“S-so I heard you dropped honorifics with Number 26.”
“That’s right.”
“Sh-should I speak casually with you too?”
“That was an interesting mix.”
“…I’m sorry.”
“You can speak casually.”
“Thank you…… yo.”
“Is it hard?”
“It’s harder than I thought.”
“Just use half-honorifics and gradually drop them.”
“Yeah, I’ll do that.”
“I’m going to drop them.”
The two conversing dispersed to their respective teams.
Number 58 and Gang Rojun met again around 9 p.m. The location was Room 105. Number 37, who had a dark skin tone, was nowhere to be seen. Thanks to that, only Rojun and Number 58 began watching Geubaekpeu Episode 9. The setup was the same as before. Only the number of people had decreased.
Soon, from the tablet placed on Rojun’s bed—
-‘Produce That 100!’
Episode 9 of Geubaekpeu, which had just started, began playing. In the final moments of last week’s Episode 8, it had ended with the proclamation that Gang Rojun had written ‘Rental Lover.’ But at the start of Episode 9, Rojun was absent; it began straight with interview cuts of the eliminated contestants from Team 1.
-What theㅠㅠㅠ It’s not starting with Number 1ㅠㅠㅠ
-There was so much noise about whether Number 1 is the Rental Lover writer or notㅋㅋㅋㅋ it seems the PD just used the proclamation cut cleanly and ended it thereㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-You know what? Geubaekpeu launched on Netflix Japan too, and Japan is going crazy asking what Rental Lover isㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Guess it aired on Japan Netflix without any editing tooㅋㅋㅋㅋ??
Having already heated up the past week, they didn’t seem to pay much attention to the real-time open chat that had grown to 500,000 people. Anyway, the screen showed the evaluation scenes of Team 2 and Team 3, who had finished their surprise performances. Cold and harsh evaluations were spat out. Soon, along with photos of the Team 2 and Team 3 contestants, even their daily lives after the surprise performance were shown.
‘Number 1’ also appeared.
Scenes of him exercising or in the lounge.
-Number 1 is writing againㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Writer-nim…..
-Where do you find such a ridiculously handsome writer…
-Is he writing another drama? At this point I can’t even grasp what this guy is doing
-But we’ve never seen him practice, so why is he good at everything???
Five people had been eliminated from Team 1, which included Gang Rojun, and since Team 2 and Team 3 would soon face the same fate, the contestants caught on camera mostly had gloomy faces. At this point, a two-shot of Gang Rojun and Number 58 heading to the lounge appeared.
-These two look kinda cute when they’re togetherㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Rightㅋㅋㅋ Number 58 is kinda like a puppy raised by Number 1
-Number 58… pet dog of Number 1…..
Gang Rojun, who had been watching Geubaekpeu with Number 58, suddenly opened his mouth while keeping his eyes fixed on the tablet.
“Hey.”
Number 58 reacted and looked at Rojun’s profile with a questioning gaze.
“Huh?”
Rojun answered calmly.
“I was thinking about the lyrics for ‘Survival 100’ and something occurred to me.”
“Ah— yeah. I mean, yes.”
“‘Geubaekpeu’ is popular in Japan right now too.”
“Yeah, it’s no less than Korea.”
“Then couldn’t we release ‘Survival 100’ in Japan too?”
“Huh?”
Then Gang Rojun, taking his eyes off the tablet, met eyes with Number 58 and continued.
“Because I think I could write Japanese lyrics too.”