I’m screwed. Seriously screwed.
The excitement from the title mission lasted only a moment; Kang Rojun was at a loss over the bolt-from-the-blue news.
‘Going first is too much—’
Because Kang Rojun was the opening shot of this massive survival audition variety show. When he’d received the number 1 name tag, he hadn’t thought much of it, but to think that it was both his name and his audition order. Rojun, who had already spent years avoiding people and shutting himself up at home, had only just stepped into the light and begun adapting.
His face had changed into a monster that could overwhelm everyone, but inside, he was still the gloomy, eerie Kang Rojun.
For someone like Rojun, just participating in “P100” had taken courage.
‘Damn it, this is so sudden.’
But what could he do? He had already entered a battlefield crawling with competitors, and he had drawn number 1 with his own hand. He was flustered, sure.
‘Hoo— Well, I have to go. I can’t keep stammering forever.’
Now he had to pull himself together. Still, because he was usually rather detached, Rojun recovered quickly, and Kang Rojun had already made a plan for the situation. What he needed to do right now was control his mind with a bit more boldness, just a little more daring.
He had to stay calm.
A faint breath slipped from Rojun’s mouth beneath the white mask. At the same time, he recalled something his late father used to say often.
‘The world is rough. What you always need equipped is the nerve to say, I’m me, so what are you gonna do about it?’
Right, he couldn’t live doing only the things he liked. Kang Rojun, who had lived more hideously than anyone for years, knew that well. Maybe this was actually a good thing.
‘Since it’s come to this, let’s really make a scene.’
His weapon was, as expected, his face. Plus a trained mindset.
Just then.
—Bzzzz, bzzzz.
The smartwatch on his wrist vibrated. It was a call, and an unknown number was displayed. This wasn’t important right now. Rojun lightly ignored the call. Then the vibration stopped, and a text arrived immediately after.
—[Hello, Writer Kang Cheolsu. This is SBC Broadcasting Station. We couldn’t reach you by phone, so we’re leaving a text. Your work has been selected as a candidate winner for this one-act drama script contest. Please contact us after checking this message.]
Kang Rojun didn’t know. Because the staff member who had been briefing them up front spoke again and called him.
“Number 1, please move this way.”
It meant: let’s go to your stage. Rojun stood up from his seat without much reaction. A camera immediately attached itself to him. With that camera as his companion, Kang Rojun left “Waiting Room 1.” Soon, the staff and Rojun disappeared, and the twenty-four participants left in the waiting room each had their own thoughts.
‘I feel bad for him, but it’s none of my business.’
‘Number 1’s calmer than I thought? If it were me, I’d be lamenting like crazy. Anyway, thank God.’
‘There are a hundred people total, but going first is seriously too much.’
As they did, they shifted their gazes to the large monitor installed at the front. The audition process of the other participants would probably be shown on that monitor. It would be the same not only for this waiting room, but for Waiting Room 2 next door as well. In reality, all forty-nine participants of Group 1, except Kang Rojun, were staring at the monitor.
‘Let’s at least watch carefully and see how the audition proceeds.’
For now, it felt like they were watching Number 1’s execution.
Meanwhile.
Kang Rojun, who had left the waiting room, was walking down the hallway with the camera. Of course, a staff member was guiding him from the front. Around then, Rojun’s mind wasn’t as complicated as he’d expected; it was surprisingly clear.
‘Is it because I haven’t seen the stage yet? This isn’t as bad as I thought.’
Maybe it was because he was wearing the white mask. His expression was hidden. Soon, the guide stopped before a set of double doors. The camera that had been following him all along brushed past Rojun and opened the doors. It looked like they were going to film Kang Rojun while walking backward.
At that moment, Rojun caught a glimpse of something.
‘What is that in there?’
A huge, majestic interior crowded with dozens of staff members. It was noisy. Was that the main stage? As if to say yes, the staff member gestured with his hand.
“This way.”
Following the staff member, he entered. At the same time, Kang Rojun unknowingly parted his lips a little.
‘Wow……’
Was this another world? It was a sight that made his eyes widen and his jaw drop. How should he put it? It was the kind of reaction that only came out when you saw something overwhelmingly tremendous.
‘This is insane. Seriously.’
A hall so enormous it was impossible to take in at a glance. A towering ceiling, countless lights hanging like stars, a huge stage taking up half the hall, colorful star-shaped structures shining around the stage, and the “Produce the 100!” logo displayed on massive screens on and behind the stage.
And was that all?
‘How many people are there, exactly?’
In the direction facing the stage, at least a hundred staff members were bustling about. There was also a lineup of filming equipment and sound devices he had never heard of or seen before.
Who could possibly look at this grand place and remain calm?
At this level, even an idol who had already debuted would naturally be nervous. So the trembling that had momentarily subsided in Rojun also raised its head again. However, this wasn’t fear or terror, but goosebumps born from awe.
‘……I’m going to stand here, and the viewers will watch.’
He could properly feel it. Kang Rojun’s life had truly become a spectacle.
It was just as he was looking around the hall.
“Number 1, this way.”
The staff member moved toward the back of the enormous stage, and Kang Rojun, glancing back at the hall once more as if reluctant to leave it, also stepped forward. The place Rojun arrived at was behind the stage, a temporary waiting room prepared for the participants to wait in. Though it was called a waiting room, it was really just an empty space with a chair. The staff member pointed at the chair.
“Please sit here for a moment. You’ll be going out soon.”
At that time.
Among the hundred or so staff members facing the stage, PD Woo Hanseok, the head of “P100” and the one directing the site, also confirmed Kang Rojun entering behind the stage.
‘So he’s Number 1— When it airs, we can just work around it with editing, so it doesn’t matter, but the atmosphere on set is flowing in a strange way.’
For PD Woo Hanseok, who had selected all one hundred participants, Kang Rojun was naturally a person of interest. Around then, the writers who knew Rojun, including Kim Sehui, gathered around PD Woo Hanseok. The whispering began with Writer Kim Sehui.
“If Rojun is Number 1…… the participants after him won’t even be visible, visually.”
“That’s what I’m saying. How did Rojun happen to draw Number 1?”
“I don’t know about his skills, but his face is so overwhelmingly out of reach… But then again, who knows? Since he was picked solely for his visuals, if his skills are lacking, the judges might give him really harsh scores.”
Kang Rojun had been chosen solely for his face. The focus had been on how much buzz he could generate. In any case, just as the writers were predicting the future—
—Srrk.
Four people entered the area where the staff had gathered. They were the judges of “P100,” having finished filming their interview cuts.
“Whoa— I did get a quick look earlier, but the stage is seriously well done.”
The first to speak was a short man in his fifties with a mischievous face. No, it was Yun Seungwon, a veteran singer who was celebrating his thirtieth year since debut this year. Behind him, a woman attached herself to the conversation.
“Just looking at the stage, you can tell how much PD Woo went all out.”
Her name was Gong Jumi, dressed in something like a white suit. She was from a famous first-generation girl group and was currently active as a musical actress.
The next to cut in was a plump man.
“Is that where we’re sitting? Right in front of the stage?”
Song Mingeun, an incredible composer and broadcaster who had created countless hit songs. Last was a woman who boasted a tall height and a slender figure.
“Won’t the participants hear us whispering among ourselves?”
Lee Dami, like Gong Jumi, was from a first-generation girl group. She was currently running a mid-sized entertainment company with active idols under its label.
These four were the official judges of “P100.”
Of course, the various trainers for vocals, choreography, rap, and so on were separate. In any case, the judges who had appeared exchanged brief greetings with PD Woo Hanseok, whose face was steeped in fatigue, and the staff before moving to the judges’ seats. The judges’ seats were placed quite close in front of the grand and splendid stage.
Close enough to see the participants’ faces at a glance.
As soon as the judges sat side by side in those seats, the staff handed them something. Profiles and other information on the fifty participants of Group 1 who would audition today. The moment they saw them, the judges clicked their tongues.
“Hoo— There are a lot.”
“But there aren’t even photos on the profiles?”
“When I looked earlier, all the participants had masks on. Apparently they take them off when they get onstage, and until then, their faces are a secret.”
“This is my first time seeing an audition variety show like this. It’s definitely fresh.”
“There are more blank spaces than filled ones. Then what’s the point of the profiles?”
There was a lot of material, but the participants’ profiles didn’t even include common things like names or photos. They were profiles no different from blank paper. Since there was nothing to look at, the judges began chatting, and a man in a suit who would serve as the host went up onto the stage.
The moment she saw him, Gong Jumi among the judges laughed.
“Hey, hey, Daehan. Aren’t you a little too stiff today? It’s awkward, awkward.”
The host and MC of “P100” was Jang Daehan, a former idol who was currently active as a broadcaster. He was in his thirties, the youngest compared to the judges, and as their much later junior, he scratched his head awkwardly as he answered.
“It’s been so long since I wore a suit that I’m dying of embarrassment too.”
With host Jang Daehan’s appearance, the stage rehearsal quickly proceeded. Lighting, sound, filming. The staff, who had busily moved around for a while, soon withdrew from the stage. The expressions of the hundred or so staff behind the various cameras shifted.
Among them, PD Woo Hanseok’s face was the most serious.
“Let’s start with Number 1.”
PD Woo Hanseok announced the official start of recording. The hall fell silent in an instant. The angles of the cameras focused on the stage, and Jang Daehan, who had been waiting, lifted the handheld microphone.
“An idol, which was my dream, and also the dream of ‘the 100’ who will stand on this stage! ‘Produce the 100!’ begins now!”
The moment he shouted the lines written on the cue card with vigor, the lighting changed. Various colors intersected and illuminated the stage, and the cameras grew busy. Afterward, Jang Daehan recited the system related to “P100.” How it would proceed, what format the auditions would take, the judging process, scores, the method of viewer participation, and more.
“For reference, all one hundred participants are wearing masks. The participants will be called not by name, but by the numbers distributed to them! The moment they step onstage, their faces will be revealed, and without any interview, they will immediately present what they have prepared!”
Jang Daehan turned over a cue card.
“Then shall we invite Number 1 first?”
As soon as his words ended, the lights throughout the hall, including the stage, darkened. It was as if night had fallen. However, the movement of someone in the darkness could be glimpsed faintly.
Right then.
—Flash!
Only a single white light shone down at the center of the dark stage. In a spot where no one had been, a man wearing a mask, with abundant black hair, stood all alone. His outfit was also extremely ordinary. A white T-shirt and jeans. Since they had invited something raw and unprocessed, the beginning had to be without decoration. That was PD Woo Hanseok’s intention.
Was that Number 1?
The moment they saw the man in the light onstage, the judges’ gazes changed. They had begun their assessment. Number 1 was silent. There was no visible trembling or sign of nervousness.
“……”
Several dozen seconds passed like that. The cameras sent signs that they had captured Number 1 from the front, side, back, and the entire stage, and host Jang Daehan lifted the handheld microphone again.
“Number 1, please remove your mask.”
The gazes of the hundred or so staff members in the hall, Jang Daehan, the judges, and the participants in the waiting rooms all focused on Number 1. Number 1 remained still for a brief moment before raising both hands.
At that moment, the four judges had some anticipation, but not much.
‘They said the target was ordinary people— So first of all, the visuals will be a bit plain. I’ll have to focus on skill.’
‘Why did they put masks on them? If they wear them and then take them off, the viewers will be even more disappointed.’
‘Number 1— I wonder how despairing he felt the moment he drew that number.’
They had spent so many years rolling around in the entertainment industry, after all.
Handsome, beautiful, outstandingly skilled, good at talking, overflowing with charm— how many countless idols had they seen? It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say they had brushed past everything there was to see and experience.
So it wasn’t strange that their excitement had shrunk.
Around then, Number 1 lowered his head and removed the white mask. Then he slowly raised his face.
“……”
The instant Number 1’s visuals were revealed to the entire world.
The first to react were the judges, who were looking at Number 1 head-on.
“…Huh?”
Their eyes widened without them realizing, or their mouths naturally fell open. All four judges, who had rolled around the entertainment industry as much as anyone, reacted that way. A moment of silence flowed just like that. Number 1 looked at the judges, and the judges stared at Number 1 as if bewitched.
Soon, Lee Dami, the former girl group member and entertainment company CEO among the judges, murmured softly.
“What is with that face…… Is that even real?”
Even Yun Seungwon, the singer with thirty years since debut, dropped the pen he had been twirling in his hand.
‘He’s handsome— No, he’d lightly trample over the handsome ones.’
The judges’ excessively shocked reactions were each different, but their thoughts were in agreement. That Number 1 would easily crush the top visual predators currently existing in the entertainment industry.
‘An invasive species.’
That was what his presence was.
Soon, veteran singer Yun Seungwon, who had been staring at Number 1 as if bewitched—
—Srrk.
Raised his gaze to the white light shining down on Number 1. Then he let out a hollow laugh.
“What is this, a halo?”
At the same time, Number 1’s low voice spread throughout the entire hall.
“Hello, I’m Number 1.”
He, Kang Rojun, stated what he would show them.
“I’ve prepared a song. The song I’ll be singing is ‘Parting by Death.’”