Among the countless cameras and lights, the production crew of ‘Geubaekpeu’ and the twenty-four contestants gathered in the hall heard the first successful contestant announced.
“The first successful contestant is ‘Rojun.’ Congratulations.”
It was Kang Rojun. In an instant, every contestant’s gaze fixed on him, and most of the cameras did the same. But for some reason—
“······”
The protagonist, Rojun, showed no reaction, his expression calm. Thanks to that, several seconds of silence passed. Perhaps finding it strange, PD Woo Hanseok called Kang Rojun again.
“Mr. Rojun?”
“···Yes?”
“Did you hear that you passed?”
“Ah.”
Only then did Kang Rojun begin to function.
‘Right, I’m Rojun, aren’t I?’
He had been called only by his number—Number 1—for so long that the name ‘Rojun’ had momentarily felt distant. It was a little awkward, too.
‘It’s weird having my name called all of a sudden. I got way too used to being Number 1. Anyway, passing is freaking great.’
Scratching his black hair, Kang Rojun gave the camera a faint eye-smile.
“Thank you.”
“You look like you were expecting it.”
At PD Woo Hanseok’s question, was this the time to give off a villainous vibe? Rojun instinctively sensed that it was and replied, keeping his eye-smile in place.
“To a certain extent.”
The unspoken meaning was, ‘You all thought I was the one, too, didn’t you?’
Woo Hanseok shook his head from side to side, then smiled.
“That’s right. Mr. Rojun, please move to the successful contestants’ zone.”
After making brief eye contact with the contestants watching him, Kang Rojun turned around. He saw a space properly furnished to resemble theater seating. Already fitted with small cameras, it was where he headed, and Rojun took the first seat in the first row.
-Swish.
Once seated, his view felt strange.
‘It’s a little high. The setup forces me to look down at the contestants.’
Naturally, this was an arrangement intentionally designed by the production team—to make the successful contestants feel like kings. The remaining contestants looked up at the king with envious eyes. Kang Rojun felt awkward for no reason, but he did not avoid their gazes.
They were filming, so showing weakness was out of the question.
Then—
“We will continue with the announcements.”
PD Woo Hanseok once again raised his cue cards.
“For reference, you may think the order of the announcements corresponds to voting popularity. Now, the second successful contestant. Along with receiving a large number of votes, this contestant also received high scores from the production staff and judges.”
He made eye contact with an expressionless contestant.
“Mr. ‘Dogyeong,’ formerly Number 26. Congratulations, you passed.”
Number 26, who had performed ‘Little Fry’ together with Rojun. No—he would now be called Dogyeong. Dogyeong became the second contestant to board the successful contestants’ ship. Even he, who had an expressionless face, must have been somewhat nervous.
“Whew—”
He let out a breath without making it obvious and bowed at the waist.
“I’ll work hard. Thank you.”
After greeting them in a dry tone, Dogyeong moved to the successful contestants’ zone. He and Kang Rojun exchanged a brief conversation. Dogyeong started it.
“I didn’t know I’d come in second.”
“‘Little Fry’ got a good response.”
“That’s true, but—anyway, your name’s Rojun?”
“Yeah, and you’re Dogyeong.”
Calling him by his name still didn’t feel natural to Kang Rojun.
‘Numbers were easier to memorize. Until I get used to it, I should think of everyone with their number in front of their name. He’s 26 Dogyeong.’
The arbitrarily renamed 26 Dogyeong asked Rojun,
“But how old are you?”
For reference, from the moment the names were revealed, PD Woo Hanseok had permitted them to share their ages as well. Rojun revealed his age without much thought.
“Twenty-four.”
“Oh—”
“I’m older than you.”
“Yes, elder brother.”
“What was that? Just talk normally. Add ‘hyung’ and leave it at that. How old are you?”
“Okay, then I’ll call you hyung. I’m twenty.”
“Figured as much.”
Around the time he confirmed 26 Dogyeong’s age, the next successful contestant was announced by Woo Hanseok.
“Mr. ‘Kangmin,’ formerly Number 46. Congratulations, you passed.”
The third was Kangmin, who had an exotic handsomeness and had received the highest evaluation after Rojun from choreographer Lee Hanna. After finishing his greeting, he came up to the successful contestants’ zone. Kang Rojun renamed Kangmin in his head once again.
‘He’s 46 Kangmin.’
From the way he spoke with 26 Dogyeong, 46 Kangmin seemed to have a rather easygoing atmosphere about him.
“Number 1—no, Mr. Rojun. You’re twenty-four? I’m twenty-one.”
“Feel free to speak casually.”
“Okay, hyung. I will.”
At that moment, a sense of unease passed through Kang Rojun. Perhaps he was the oldest one there.
‘Still, there are idols in their mid-twenties.’
Twenty-four was indeed old for a trainee. In the idol industry, there were even elementary school trainees. But the market was not composed only of the young. The age range was fairly diverse. Besides, Kang Rojun was an exception. He did not need a trainee period, and above all, his face made up for everything.
Whatever the case, with the third successful contestant already announced—
‘Ugh, I’m nervous. There are only seven successful contestants left, right? What if I got eliminated???’
Number 58, the baby-permed Sihoo, was at the height of anxiety. For some reason, he genuinely felt as though he would be eliminated this time. He had competed against Kang Rojun in the fourth evaluation, and Rojun’s presence had been so overwhelming that Sihoo believed he had been overshadowed.
In fact, the puppy-faced Number 71, who had been on the same team as Sihoo, had not been called yet either.
‘I definitely emptied my mind, but······ damn, I really want to make it.’
That was when it happened.
“Mr. ‘Sihoo,’ formerly Number 58. Congratulations, you passed.”
Sihoo was called as the fourth successful contestant. His eyes flew wide, and he reacted far more dramatically than necessary.
“M-Me??!!”
“Yes. Mr. Sihoo, you passed.”
“Oh—ah!! Th-Thank you!!! Wow! Thank you so much!!”
Perhaps genuinely happy, he bowed repeatedly in every direction before running to the successful contestants’ zone. As expected, Kang Rojun renamed him first.
‘58 Sihoo.’
He was the first to congratulate him.
“Welcome.”
58 Sihoo’s face was flushed, and he could not stop smiling.
‘He’s so easy to read.’
The announcements continued, and in the end—
“That concludes the announcement. We have ten successful contestants.”
A total of ten people filled the successful contestants’ zone. To call them by number, they were 1, 15, 26, 33, 46, 49, 58, 71, 84, and 97. The fourteen who had not made the list remained where they were. The eliminated contestants’ expressions were far from ordinary. Some had gone rigid, some had reddened eyes, some covered their faces with both hands, and others had simply given up.
Lowering his cue cards, PD Woo Hanseok murmured,
“Eliminated contestants, please leave ‘Geubaekpeu.’”
After finishing the broadcast portion, he bowed toward the fourteen contestants. This was not for broadcast, and his manner was solemn.
“We sincerely thank you. You’ve all worked very hard.”
In the end, several of them shed tears. Number 37, who had been Number 105, was among them. The ten successful contestants avoided the eliminated contestants’ eyes as various emotions crossed their minds, but Kang Rojun did not.
“······”
He looked directly at the eliminated contestants, including Number 37. He was not being smug. Just as he had all along, he was taking up the baton while giving their final 모습 his full attention.
Soon, the fourteen eliminated contestants began leaving the hall one by one.
Even the few who could not bring themselves to move eventually disappeared. In a place filled with young people, it was a truly cruel sight. But it was also proof that this was a survival show—and that the entertainment industry was just as ruthless.
It was Woo Hanseok, as expected, who broke the silence in the hall, now quiet after so many people had left.
“Now, we’ll reorganize the dormitory rooms.”
After that—
The rooms were assigned randomly using square boxes. Three rooms were decided, with three, three, and four people in each. Kang Rojun was in the four-person room.
‘Me, 26 Dogyeong, 46 Kangmin, and 58 Sihoo. Is that how it is?’
Filming of the successful contestants’ announcement came to an end. It had begun in the morning, but before they knew it, lunch had passed and it was afternoon. The ten survivors were given time to move their belongings and left the hall.
-Swish.
As they walked toward the dormitory in groups of two and three, Kang Rojun heard some shocking information about 58 Sihoo.
“What? How old did you say? No, how old are you?”
“Why are you suddenly speaking formally··· I’m twenty-five.”
58 Sihoo was twenty-five years old.
Wow—this guy looked insanely young. Kang Rojun was genuinely shocked.
‘I thought he was twenty without a doubt!’
The other successful contestants also reacted with surprise. At the same time, Rojun felt relieved. There was someone else who was truly the eldest brother.
“No, wow—I can’t believe it.”
“J-Just speak comfortably. Like before.”
“Yeah, yeah. Hyung.”
Then—
-Bzzz.
A brief vibration against his wrist. Kang Rojun fell a few steps behind the group and checked his smartwatch. The ‘AI Simulation’ app had sent him a gift.
-[You have completed the hidden mission ‘The Uninterrupted Lone Leader!’ Fifteen coins have been awarded as a gift.]
Kang Rojun’s mood lifted, and he continued the move with heightened energy. In Room 101, which had been changed from Room 105, the three people Rojun had arbitrarily renamed—26 Dogyeong, 46 Kangmin, and 58 Sihoo—gathered together. The four of them, including Kang Rojun, clasped their hands with expressions more suited to generals than anything else.
“Rock, paper, scissors!”
They held their own game to decide the beds. Perhaps luck was on his side, because Kang Rojun won the single bed again.
‘Nice.’
At the same time, PD Woo Hanseok was busy. That was true from the perspective of ‘Geubaekpeu’s’ broadcast, but now that the contestants’ names had been revealed, there was something he needed to do first.
‘Sihoo first.’
The composer’s name for the theme song ‘Survival 100,’ which was preparing for release, needed to be changed, along with the credits on the ‘Geubaekpeu’ production side and Song Mingŭn’s side. Not Number 58, but ‘Sihoo.’ The same applied to ‘Witch.’ The broadcast footage would remain as it was, but all future videos, including those uploaded to NuTube, would list him as ‘Sihoo.’
‘Next is Rojun.’
Kang Rojun had more work to do than 58 Sihoo. The names of the lyricist, actor, and writer all had to be changed. Woo Hanseok first called PD Jeong Suryŏng.
“Yes, PD. It’s me.”
He passed along the information to Jeong Suryŏng.
“The broadcast revealing the contestants’ names will air this Friday. So please wait until after that before doing anything regarding ‘Rental Lover.’ Whether it’s media play or whatever.”
On the other end of the phone, PD Jeong Suryŏng sounded intensely pleased.
“Understood. Now I can finally call you Writer Rojun.”
The following day, Thursday morning. The set of ‘Rental Lover.’
Dozens of staff members, cameras, and lights focused on Choi Rina and the other actors in the filming zone. PD Jeong Suryŏng had his nose practically pressed against the monitor, his face stern. Choi Rina, the female lead of ‘Rental Lover,’ acted with a haggard expression.
“Cut, Ms. Rina. In that line, confusion would be better than excitement.”
“Understood.”
“Let’s do it again.”
The actors playing the other lovers, excluding ‘Lover Number 4,’ were also focused on their acting. Even the actors waiting for their turn. Action and cut repeated for hours. The atmosphere among the dozens of staff members felt especially heavy today.
“Action!”
Eventually, around three in the afternoon—
“······”
PD Jeong Suryŏng stared seriously at the actors on the monitor, then smiled faintly.
“···Cut. Okay.”
He rose from his seat and clapped without ceremony.
“That last cut was nice. Everyone, you’ve worked hard.”
Soon, the dozens of staff members shouted in celebration, while Choi Rina and the other actors greeted people here and there, exhaling sighs of relief.
“Good work—”
“Everyone, you worked so hard!!”
The set gradually grew louder and more boisterous. Amidst it all, Jeong Suryŏng shouted loudly,
“Alright, alright! Filming isn’t really over until we finish cleaning up! Hurry up and get everything organized! I reserved a place called ‘Honey Pig House’ right next door to celebrate! Let’s eat until we burst!”
As increasingly raucous cheers rang out, Jeong Suryŏng sent a message to Kang Rojun, smiling with a sense of both relief and lingering regret.
-[Writer Rojun, we just finished the entire shoot.]
It meant that the filming schedule for ‘Rental Lover’ had come to an end.
Meanwhile, at the ‘Geubaekpeu’ campus—
Kang Rojun could be found in the lounge. The ten survivors had been given the day off, and Rojun was sitting across from 58 Sihoo for the first time in a while, having a conversation in Japanese. Then a message arrived for Rojun. It was from PD Jeong Suryŏng.
After checking its contents, Kang Rojun thought,
‘The entire shoot is finished? Oh—I should call him in a little while.’
He felt strangely moved. The drama based on the script he had written had just finished filming. That meant that once the editing was done, all that remained was for it to actually air. Soon, 58 Sihoo asked Rojun, whose expression had changed,
“Why? Did something good happen?”
“Yeah. Something related to my writing.”
“Ahh—”
“More importantly, shouldn’t we start studying composition soon, hyung?”
“······Don’t call me that.”
“But I still can’t believe it. That you’re actually hyung.”
58 Sihoo awkwardly scratched his chin while setting up the laptop and tablet he had brought with him.
“I didn’t think I’d be able to do this with you again, Rojun.”
With the corners of his mouth slightly raised, 58 Sihoo began studying composition. They had not done it often, but there had been progress, thanks to Rojun studying on his own while writing lyrics. About thirty minutes later, 58 Sihoo remembered that he had a guitar at home.
“I should tell the PD and bring my guitar from home.”
“Guitar? You know how to play?”
“Yeah. A little.”
“Oh—”
At that moment, Kang Rojun’s phone vibrated again. He thought it would be PD Jeong Suryŏng once more, but it was not.
-[The ‘Composition’ stat among your status stats has been unlocked. From now on, you can increase or enhance ‘Composition’! Check your updated ‘Composition’ stat now!]
The ‘Composition’ stat had been unlocked.