The woman gaped at the crowd, which looked to number well over several hundred, but thinking about it, it wasn’t strange at all. She herself had come this early in the morning, hadn’t she? Those hundreds of people were probably thinking the same thing. They had all come as early as possible to secure better seats.
Even now, the line of taxis showed no sign of ending.
—Screech!
Taxis continued to arrive, and the passengers who got out were startled by the crowd that had gathered long ago. The taxi drivers, too, clicked their tongues in amazement.
“Heh heh, look at all these people. Guess something’s going on here.”
Of course, there were also people who had run there after taking a bus, ridden bicycles, or driven their own cars. The crowd was swelling in real time. Those who arrived thinking they were the first to get there would then—
‘Wha—what is this?!’
—quickly blend into the crowd in dismay.
There were men here and there, but women overwhelmingly outnumbered them. Today’s filming for the fourth evaluation of *Produce the 100!* would begin around noon. That meant this crowd of several hundred had arrived approximately six hours early. There were even people who had failed to receive audience tickets.
“Don’t you think we might be able to get in if we hang around here?”
“Maybe. Let’s wait a little longer.”
“You’re being ridiculous. They’re definitely going to check everyone at the entrance.”
The location had only been available to those who won audience tickets, but it had secretly spread through online communities. As a result, the people gathered in front of the large campus entrance consisted of both ticket holders and those without tickets. The distinction between the two groups was obvious. Those with tickets had formed a line, while those without were scattered recklessly around it.
“What are we supposed to do? Do we have to line up? Or can we just wait?”
“Ah, if you have an audience ticket, I think you should line up first.”
“Oh my gosh. People came even though they didn’t win audience tickets?”
“There seem to be tons of them.”
It was absolutely teeming.
The people there were dressed in every conceivable manner. There were numerous groups of female high school students in uniforms, people carrying cameras with lenses like cannons, people wearing stuffed backpacks, and many who had already begun taking photos or videos. Some had even brought handmade slogans or posters. Slogans bearing the number 1 were by far the most common.
And that wasn’t all.
“I’ve just arrived in front of the *Produce the 100!* campus, and there are sooo many people here! It’s not even seven in the morning yet! Wow—this is seriously insane.”
There were even YouTubers holding action cameras.
The crowd continued to grow even at that moment, and just as order was gradually beginning to disappear—
—Swish.
The campus entrance opened, and over a hundred people rushed out. They were all wearing black short-sleeved shirts. They were staff members of *Produce the 100!*. Most were support staff, while one male staff member near the entrance lifted a megaphone after seeing the crowd of several hundred.
“Admission will begin at eight o’clock! Before entering, we’ll check the audience tickets sent to your phones! If you don’t have one, you will not be allowed inside!”
Lamentations erupted from every direction. Regardless, the staff member continued shouting.
“Your phones will be collected before you enter the hall! Small cameras and recording devices, apart from your phones, are prohibited, so you cannot bring them inside! In addition, you must sign a confidentiality agreement before entering!”
The staff had already sent the instructions to everyone’s phones, but they repeated the same information at the venue. Soon, confidentiality agreements were distributed only to those with audience tickets. At this point, several dozen people without tickets gave up and went home, but many still lingered nearby, holding on to hope.
About an hour later—
“Admission is beginning!”
The audience began entering the *Produce the 100!* campus in earnest. However, the line had already become tremendously long, and with each person needing to be checked individually, it was obvious that the process would take quite some time.
“Please show me your audience ticket and ID.”
“Yes.”
“What’s inside your bag?”
“Just... this and that.”
Normally, phones, cameras, recording devices, and the like were prohibited at recordings because of spoilers. However, even after repeated warnings and emphasis, there were always people who tried to sneak them in.
“Let me check for a moment.”
The inspection was strict.
Before long, an extraordinary scene unfolded.
“N-no, wait! Why is that in there?!”
“Recording devices aren’t allowed.”
Several people were caught with recording devices they had secretly hidden and had them confiscated by the staff. Others tried to brazenly bring in cameras and ended up arguing with the staff, while some threw tantrums, insisting that they had not received audience tickets. But the staff members, perhaps already accustomed to such situations, calmly went about their work.
As the audience continued filing in smoothly through the main entrance at Gate 1, about two hours passed.
“Whew—been a while since I’ve been here.”
Other figures were beginning to appear near the rear entrance at Gate 2. A tall, somewhat familiar-looking man had just passed through the back gate. He was contestant number 88, who had been eliminated from *Produce the 100!*. Behind him—
“Number 88!”
Contestant number 19 approached with a wave, her energy as high as ever. It was a reunion of the eliminated contestants from House 105.
“Wow, it’s been a while.”
“It really has. You’ve been well, right?”
Other eliminated contestants from *Produce the 100!* began appearing at the rear entrance one after another. They had been invited to attend the recording as well. Incidentally, Producer Woo Hanseok had sent word to all the guests that they should arrive earlier than the general audience—everyone from the eliminated contestants of *Produce the 100!* to entertainment-industry representatives.
Once the general audience began settling into the hall, things were likely to turn into complete chaos.
Thirty minutes later—
“Whew—so this is the *Produce the 100!* campus?”
The entertainment-industry representatives who had met with Producer Woo Hanseok and had come to assess the form of today’s *Produce the 100!* contestants began appearing one after another.
Another few dozen minutes passed before several black vans pulled into the parking lot near the rear entrance.
The first person to catch the eye was Producer Jung Suryeong, who had tied up her shaggy hair. Key staff members gathered around her, along with Choi Rina, wearing a mask over her long, straight hair. Several other actors were visible as well. The key staff members gazed at the enormous campus with excitement.
“Whoa—our writer is really here, right?”
“We actually made it.”
“What am I going to do? I’m so nervous.”
“What’s wrong with you? It hasn’t even started yet.”
“No! This is my first time attending something like this!”
Producer Jung Suryeong chuckled and spoke to Choi Rina, the top actress, who was standing beside her.
“Choi, you didn’t have to come. If you’re not interested in idols, you’ll be bored.”
The masked actress cleared her throat and shrugged.
“Well, everyone said they were coming, so it felt a little strange for me to be the only one left out. Besides, I’m curious. I wanted to see the writer’s performance. That’s all.”
She was putting on a brave front. At that moment, Choi Rina’s heart was on the verge of bursting.
‘Ugh, I was fine in the car on the way here! What’s wrong with me?! Calm down, heart!’
Her heartbeat was so loud that she worried Jung Suryeong might hear it. Fortunately, Producer Jung did not seem to notice and simply replied,
“Really? Well, seeing the writer’s performance is worth it. It’ll only become harder and harder to see him from now on.”
Soon, Producer Jung gave everyone a signal.
“Let’s get moving.”
The team from *Rental Lover* entered the campus.
Afterward—
The audience members who had entered the campus had to move in an orderly fashion according to the staff’s instructions. They gathered in the spacious area in front of the hall building where the stage was located. Event tents had already been set up in rows, and the *Produce the 100!* team was handing out slogans and fans they had made for the audience.
“Take them in order!”
“Ahh! Don’t push!”
“Ow! Who stepped on my foot?!”
“Over here! Number 1! Give me number 1’s!”
They had made the most of Kang Rojun’s popularity and produced the greatest number of his items, but they ran out almost immediately.
“Huh? There aren’t any number 1 ones left? Oh my gosh.”
The crowd was enormous. The atmosphere was reminiscent of the stalls set up at a huge festival. While the atmosphere outside was reaching a fever pitch, Producer Woo Hanseok was frantically busy inside the hall where the stage stood.
“Let’s check the lighting one last time!”
“Yes, sir!”
They continued checking everything until the very last moment. On the gigantic monitors installed all around the magnificent stage, one message was displayed over and over.
—[Important Information for Audience Members]
The information intended for the audience continued to scroll across the screens. Around that time, several dozen men entered the hall. They were the eliminated contestants of *Produce the 100!* whom Producer Woo had invited. Not all seventy-six had come, but at least fifty were present.
“Hello, Producer!”
“Long time no see!”
“Good afternoon!”
Producer Woo Hanseok smiled brightly and welcomed them from the stage.
“Ha ha ha, welcome. You’ve all been well, right?”
After exchanging a few words, the eliminated contestants took their seats in several hundred chairs set up separately on the right side of the stage. They were seated toward the back rather than in the front. In the meantime, they were busy looking around the entire hall. They had experienced this place themselves, but it was completely different from back then.
“Wow—look how much this place has changed.”
“Look at how much wider the stage is.”
“The main stage is one thing, but there wasn’t a runway-like extension stage before, was there?”
“Looks like they added it. The standing area is insanely wide too, and there are a lot more seats.”
What would it feel like to stand on that stage?
The eliminated contestants were filled with both intense regret and envy. But what could they do? All they could do now was cheer on the contestants who had survived.
Gradually, the empty seats inside the hall began to fill.
The hundreds of seats set aside behind the eliminated contestants were occupied one after another by entertainment-industry representatives, and within minutes, their number had grown to several dozen. A group with what appeared to be a foreigner among them arrived as well. The entertainment representatives tilted their heads in confusion.
“Who are they?”
“No idea. Hmm... they do look somewhat familiar.”
“More importantly, where are the contestants?”
The twenty-four contestants, including Kang Rojun, who were preparing for the fourth evaluation and would be taking the stage, were in the waiting room. Naturally, they were watching the situation inside the hall on monitors.
That was when—
“Huh?”
The entertainment representatives widened their eyes as they saw the group greeting Producer Woo Hanseok near the stage.
“Isn’t that Producer Jung Suryeong?”
“Producer Jung Suryeong? Oh? You’re right!”
“What’s Producer Jung Suryeong doing here...? Ah! *Rental Lover*!”
“Did she come to see number 1? Because she’s the writer of *Rental Lover*?”
“Wait a second, isn’t that woman wearing a mask behind her Choi Rina?!”
“Choi Rina?!”
The guest seating area became noisy. The eliminated contestants, infected by the excitement of the entertainment representatives, began craning their necks as well. As soon as the *Rental Lover* team approached, the entertainment representatives rose to their feet without exception.
“Hello, Producer Jung!”
“Oh? Team Leader Kim? You came too?”
“Ha ha ha, it turned out that way. It’s been a while, Miss Choi Rina.”
“Yes, hello.”
Countless greetings were exchanged in an instant between Choi Rina and the other actors, Producer Jung Suryeong, and the entertainment representatives. The eliminated contestants were captivated by the rare spectacle.
‘No way, that’s really Choi Rina.’
‘Wow—I’m actually seeing Choi Rina in person.’
‘The actors’ aura is incredible.’
With the arrival of the *Rental Lover* team, the several hundred guest seats that had been set aside were filled. Thirty minutes later, the general audience began entering the hall. First, the standing area around the main stage and the extension stage that connected to it like a road began to fill.
“Wow! This is amazing!”
“This is crazy! We’re so close!”
Next, the audience members crowded into the seats surrounding the stage. The crowd inside the hall, which had numbered in the hundreds, quickly swelled to several thousand. Every person held a slogan or fan bearing a contestant’s face. The murmur grew louder until it rang in their ears, and several dozen audience members recognized the actors from the *Rental Lover* team. Most of them were standing in the standing area.
“Ah! There are actors over there too!”
“Where, where?! Oh my gosh—they really are!”
“The one wearing a mask looks like Choi Rina.”
“Looks like the *Rental Lover* people came! Wow—I can’t believe we don’t have our phones!”
“It’s amazing that the writer being number 1 led to a situation like this.”
It took roughly an hour for all the audience members to find their places, and it was only around one in the afternoon, after noon had passed, that the hall finally settled down somewhat.
Viewed from the ceiling, it looked as though the entire place was packed with people.
At that moment, a staff member stepped onto the stage and called for everyone’s attention, raising the level of focus in the hall. He went over the audience guidelines once again as well. He concluded by announcing that filming would begin shortly. An explosive anticipation spread across the faces of the thousands of audience members.
Producer Woo Hanseok gave a signal from among the production crew positioned around the stage.
—Fwoosh.
The entire hall went dark. A few seconds later, the stage lights came on. At some point, Jang Daehan, a broadcaster and former idol who would serve as both host and emcee, had appeared onstage with cue cards in hand.
“*Produce the 100!* The fourth evaluation begins now!”
Cheers and applause poured forth. As the palpable sense of being there filled the hall, Jang Daehan shouted again.
“Let me introduce the judges first!”
The five judges who had been there since the first evaluation entered. Along with the familiar Song Mingeun and Lee Hanna, there were Yoon Seungwon, Gong Jumi, and Lee Dami. The judges’ seats were at the front of the guest section, and as soon as they took their seats, Jang Daehan flipped to another cue card.
“The twenty-four contestants of *Produce the 100!* who will be evaluated today!”
No sooner had he finished speaking than the twenty-four contestants ran out from backstage. They lined up in two rows without overlapping one another, filling the stage. Of course, the first person was number 1—or rather, Kang Rojun.
A scream loud enough to split the ears erupted throughout the hall.
“Kyaaaahhh!”
“Eeeek!”
The hundreds of people in the standing area closest to the stage went nearly wild with excitement. Producer Jung Suryeong gazed fondly at Rojun onstage.
‘Oh, look at his face. That face. He’s glowing, absolutely glowing.’
Choi Rina stared blankly with her mouth slightly open.
“......”
The entertainment representatives watched the twenty-four contestants with intense seriousness, as did the group that included the foreigner. The eliminated contestants applauded with envy mixed into their clapping. After the brief introductions, the twenty-four contestants, including Rojun, disappeared backstage.
Jang Daehan then announced the first team to undergo evaluation.
“The first team of the fourth evaluation is Group 1, Team A, contestants 58 and 71!”
Even as roars and screams spread through the hall, the faces of contestants 58 and 71 appeared on more than ten large monitors mounted around the ceiling and stage.
“Group 1, Team A’s evaluation rap is an original rap! Its title is *Witch*!”
As soon as the rap title was announced, the monitor screens displaying the faces of contestants 58 and 71 changed. Information about the original rap, *Witch*, appeared.
—Title: Witch (Original Rap)
—Composition: Contestant 58 / Lyrics: Contestant 1
The eyes of the thousands gathered in the hall fixed on the monitors. For some reason, the murmuring gradually grew louder, and the eyes of the dozens of entertainment representatives seated in the guest section widened. The *Rental Lover* team reacted the same way. Among them, Choi Rina unconsciously murmured as though entranced.
“The lyricist... is number 1?”