The vast hall was still heated from the first performance by No. 58 and No. 71. The excitement from moments ago had yet to fade, and the thousands in the audience were busy chattering with those around them. They had shaken themselves so hard they were drenched in sweat.
“Wow—that was insane. What was that energy?”
“I know, right? It seriously felt like we came to a concert!”
“I’m so glad I came.”
Of course, compared to an actual idol concert, the venue was smaller and the crowd was fewer, but the audience was more than exhilarated enough.
“Honestly, I came with zero expectations, but I didn’t think the stage quality would be this good!”
It was the same for the hundreds in the standing area and the more than a thousand audience members seated around the hall. Naturally, those in the standing section, being right in front of the stage, were more excited, but watching from farther away wasn’t bad in its own way.
At that moment, the host, Jang Daehan, appeared onstage again.
“Fourth evaluation, it is now time for A Team of Group 2 to face A Team of Group 1!”
At his loud shout, the thousands in the audience, who had only just calmed down for a moment, screamed, and Jang Daehan, looking at his cue card, put even more force into his voice.
“A Team of Group 2! No. 1 and No. 26!”
A match between the A Teams of Group 1 and Group 2.
“Kyaaaaaaa!!!!!”
A shriek that seemed to tear through the hall. It was louder than any reaction so far. Even PD Woo Hanseok and the production staff of Geubaekpeu were startled.
“Whoa, that scared me.”
“We knew it already, but No. 1’s popularity is incredible.”
“A marquee star is a marquee star for a reason. Besides, there was that lyric-writing issue right before this, so it’s even more intense.”
“We’ll have to keep a close eye. When No. 1 comes out, the audience might get too excited and cause an accident.”
Around the time PD Woo Hanseok demanded the staff be especially vigilant, the entertainment industry people seated in the guest section all had determination blazing in their eyes. How should one put it? They looked like soldiers with morale running high before a war.
“So now it’s No. 1.”
“I only saw him briefly during the introductions earlier, but his visuals really are in a league of their own.”
“No need to even say it. Just in terms of face, he’s at the level of devouring even active idols.”
Looks, skill, recognition, influence, a villainous character, and so on. No. 1’s moves so far had been tremendous, and his future was even brighter, so the entertainment insiders straightened in their seats. Even as they did, they began predicting A Team of Group 2’s stage.
“Has No. 1 ever rapped on Geubaekpeu?”
“No. Only vocals and choreography. This is his first time rapping. No. 26 and No. 58 have rapped a few times.”
“Hmm, looking at his villain vibe, rap does suit him. I wonder how good he is.”
“If rap were his specialty, he would’ve shown it during the first evaluation. He’s probably weaker at it than vocals or dance.”
“True—this might even be his first time trying rap. I heard their practice period was short, and since his vocals and dance are so outstanding, it might look relatively weak.”
“If he’s even good at rap, then he’d be a proper all-rounder. Well, even if he slips up here, No. 1’s presence is already unrivaled, so he’ll be fine.”
PD Jeong Suryeong, who had caught a bit of their assessment from behind, folded her arms while looking toward the stage. At the same time, she recalled the Kang Rojun she had seen all this time.
‘Looking at the way the writer usually talks and the atmosphere around him, it really is hard to imagine him rapping.’
A slight regret quietly welled up.
‘Of all times, he had to be given an unverified rap stage when this many people are watching. If it were vocals, he would’ve torn the place apart.’
The actors and key staff of Rental Lover felt similarly. They whispered quietly, worrying about Rojun. The eliminated contestants of Geubaekpeu gathered at the very back were even more so, since they had seen Kang Rojun in person.
However.
“Still, it’s No. 1. You never know.”
“Right. He’s always pulled off some kind of twist.”
Because Rojun had always struck people from behind, there was anticipation as well.
At that moment.
“A Team of Group 2’s evaluation rap is an original rap! The title is ‘Small Fry’!”
After Jang Daehan’s shout, the rap information appeared on the various monitors in the hall.
-Title: Small Fry (Original Rap)
-Composed and written by: No. 26.
Praise for No. 26 rose from among the audience.
“No. 26 wrote and composed this rap??”
“That cold-handsome-guy vibe suits rap perfectly, right?? No. 26 is my bias!!”
“No. 26 is good at rap, isn’t he? No. 1 didn’t write the lyrics this time.”
“It must be a rap No. 26 already had!”
As the reactions grew louder, Jang Daehan gave the closing announcement.
“A Team of Group 2’s ‘Small Fry’ begins now!!”
The entire hall went dark again. Just as only the murmuring of thousands in the audience was spreading, the sound effect of a door opening suddenly echoed throughout the hall.
Click, creeeak—
The moment the sound effect ended, a heavy drum began repeating, and a beat that struck the ears started laying itself down. In the darkness, lights shone on the stage. But there was no one there.
Neither No. 1 nor No. 26 could be seen.
The stage was empty, but the beat continued.
What was this? The audience looked around, wondering if it was an accident. The production staff showed no movement.
Then a blunt, heavy-toned voice suddenly rang out.
“Not there—over here! What you’re looking at is the curtain. My evaluation’s gone twisted. This evaluation is for amateurs!”
Along with the thick rap, the lights shifted slightly away from the stage. To the side of the stage, where the production staff were, No. 26 walked while delivering his rap.
-♬♪
With gestures as if he were running around however he pleased, No. 26 slowly moved toward the stage. While breaking up the beat, he high-fived the audience in the standing area, and the mood of the rap was freewheeling.
Thanks to that, the response was at its maximum.
“Kyaa! Amazing!!”
If one were to summarize “Small Fry” in a phrase, it would be something like, “I’m me, so what are you going to do about it?” It seemed to be a rap No. 26 had composed while experiencing Geubaekpeu. After playing around below the stage for a while with a fast rap, No. 26 climbed onto the stage. He quite smoothly drew out the audience’s response.
At that sight, the entertainment insiders rubbed their chins.
‘He’s relaxed. He’s good at rap, too.’
‘At a glance, he looks like a professional. If we’re only talking rap, he might be No. 1 in Geubaekpeu.’
‘He has a different rap texture from No. 58. Rather than comparing the two, having them together would create good synergy.’
No. 26, with his delinquent-looking impression, seemed to have finished his part, because even though the beat continued, he lowered the mic. The audience members who noticed looked all over the stage. No. 1? Where was No. 1? But No. 1 was nowhere to be seen.
This time, a long sigh was heard from the opposite side of the stage.
“Ha—”
A tone distinctly different from No. 26’s.
Those in the standing area, slightly startled, all turned their heads, and the screams from the seated audience suddenly doubled. On the path leading to the stage—more precisely, at the end of the extended stage—No. 1 stood wearing a white shirt.
The lights poured down on Kang Rojun.
The moment Rojun appeared, standing upright, the flow of the beat changed slightly. The strong drums and the rhythms mixed between them grew faster. Kang Rojun straightened his shirt, then gradually let his body move to the beat.
As if starting an engine.
The gazes of thousands focused on Kang Rojun, standing at the end of the extended stage.
About half of them held looks that said, “Let’s see what you’ve got.”
Soon, No. 1 slowly lifted the handheld mic to his mouth. No—Kang Rojun naturally swept back his black hair and opened his mouth.
“A fantasy for women, they go crazy for me. This place is a battlefield. But every last one of them is small fry. I’m good; the bursting screams are soda that settles my bloated stomach.”
At the very first line, the audience in the standing area around the extended stage dropped their jaws.
“……Insane.”
“What is this? He’s freaking good.”
“Wow… no, wow—”
Compared to No. 26, the rhythm was slightly slower, but Kang Rojun’s rap mixed a firm tone with groove. More than anything, his posture was different. A faint smile fitted on his face, confidence that held his head high without any concern for pretension, gestures like sweeping back his black hair or brushing off his shirt in between, and communicating with audience members reaching out their hands as he walked little by little.
He was completely different from the rapper people commonly imagined.
Then the loudly ringing beat abruptly cut off. It wasn’t an audio accident. A rich cello melody immediately struck people’s ears. Meanwhile, Rojun didn’t do anything in particular. He simply lowered the mic and stood still beneath the lights as if they were sunlight.
“……”
He merely looked slowly around the entire hall.
It gave the feeling of, Yes, it’s fine to look at my face.
Naturally, it was a performance. No. 26 had planned it, and Kang Rojun carried it out. It was a cut that only Rojun, a visual monster, could properly pull off. From the point of view of the audience standing below the stage, it was a shocking scene.
“……Whoa.”
The dazzling lights, Kang Rojun’s face mingled within those lights, his gentle smile or eye-smile, the staging that was no different from a halo—those who happened to meet Rojun’s eyes felt as if their legs might give out.
The cello melody did not last long.
Once again, the beat containing the strong drums spread out.
-♬♪
Kang Rojun’s rap, as he had been sunbathing in the lights, began again. The speed was faster than at first. Even the breaths he took in between blended with the rap.
One step, two steps.
Kang Rojun, walking toward the main stage along with his rap, turned his gaze toward the guest seats to the side. The Rental Lover team came into view. After PD Jeong Suryeong, his eyes swept over Choi Rina. His tension did not change. No, if anything, he brushed past them with an even more lively momentum, as if he were playing around.
PD Jeong Suryeong’s mouth naturally fell open.
“……He’s insane.”
She understood why people became fans.
“When you see something that overwhelming… who could help but fall for him?”
And Choi Rina?
‘Amazing, seriously amazing!’
She was completely enthralled. In this moment, she was not a top actress, but simply a girl who had come to watch a performance. The dozens of entertainment insiders behind them were so shocked that—
-Swish.
Some held their heads with both hands or covered their mouths. Distracted, they even let out incredulous or hollow laughs. There were quite a few middle-aged men among them, but even they were swept up by Kang Rojun’s power. Around then, Kang Rojun arrived at the main stage.
At last, No. 1 and No. 26 met.
After both of their parts ended, they burst into the hook together.
Kang Rojun looked to the right side of the stage, while No. 26 looked to the left, raising the audience’s breathing for a long while.
-♬♪
It was clearly the opposite picture from the team of No. 58 and No. 71. If A Team of Group 1 had been dark and heavy, the current A Team of Group 2 felt like fireworks exploding one after another. What was most astonishing, above all, was—
“…No. 1—that monster. If his rap is even at that level, what are we supposed to do?”
Just as PD Woo Hanseok had purely marveled, Kang Rojun’s stage-tearing rap skill.
‘It was the same with his vocals, but his rap also has a color that belongs only to him.’
Then, like “Witch,” “Small Fry” went straight into the second verse without an instrumental break. Kang Rojun and No. 26 ran wild on the main stage, then once again walked toward the extended stage. The standing audience went into a frenzy. After they walked all the way out and Rojun and No. 26 returned to the main stage again—
“Music is our playground; even playing all night isn’t enough.”
The strong drums vanished like a lie.
The lights focused on Rojun and No. 26 as they breathed roughly.
“Small Fry” had ended.
But for some reason, the thousands of audience members gathered in the vast hall—
“……”
“……”
“……”
Were frozen as if their souls had left their bodies. All they did was stare at No. 1 and No. 26 onstage. In truth, everyone was dazed. Then—
“…Uh, uh. Is it over? It’s over??”
A few people began to come back to their senses.
“No—wow…… that was seriously insane.”
As if it were contagious, thousands of audience members clapped until their hands felt like they would break.
-Clap clap clap clap clap clap!
-Clap clap clap clap clap clap clap!!
The sound of applause poured out as if it would blow the hall away. Along with it came screams and cheers.
“Kyaaaaaaaa!!!”
Kang Rojun, keeping his gaze forward, steadied his breathing.
‘Is it over? Oh, it is over.’
He realized that the rap stage had come to an end. The applause and screams were chaotic, but for some reason, they sounded muffled in Rojun’s ears right now. As if he had dived underwater. No, perhaps he had fallen into a trance.
‘So this is what a stage is.’
It was not a concert reproduced one hundred percent. Even so, Kang Rojun had gotten a taste of it. In that instant, something an idol had once said on TV in the past flashed through Rojun’s mind. That the greatest catharsis came from standing at a concert.
Now he understood why.
‘This really is fun, something like this.’
Whether there was tension or not, as he breathed together with the audience, the stage had ended before he knew it. Time had vanished in an instant. Even regret was beginning to rise. Meanwhile, the audience’s screams tearing through the hall gained even more momentum, and Kang Rojun lightly poked No. 26, who was standing beside him, in the side. Only then did No. 26 come to his senses.
“Ah.”
Rojun and No. 26 bowed to the thousands in the audience.
“Thank you.”
The shouts became several times more intense.
“#(^%(*#(*%&%(*%!!!!”
“**&$#*&#$*&@(!*!!!”
With thousands of people shouting at once, the screams and words mixed together, making it hard to understand what they were even saying. The frenzy did not subside easily. The production staff, who needed to continue filming, were flustered, and PD Woo Hanseok instructed them to watch the situation for a moment.
And in the guest section, there was a group mixed with foreigners who had been watching the stage without any big reactions all along.
More precisely, the Netflix Japan team.
Their souls had left them as well, and Tom Cavill, the executive director with curly blond hair, looked at Kang Rojun onstage.
“Huh—”
Then he slowly looked around at the thousands in the audience. Every last one of them was half out of their mind. Goosebumps prickled across Tom Cavill’s skin. Because the thousands of Korean audience members now going berserk—
“T-this is the explosive power an amateur can produce?”
Looked like the future of the Japanese public.