The moment Gang Rojun crossed the hall for the press conference of “Rental Lover,” the hundred or so reporters hammered their camera shutters like mad, and yet—
—Papapapapak!
They had no choice but to be struck speechless by Rojun’s absurdly unreal face.
“Holy shit, is that face even real??”
“······That makes no sense. It really doesn’t.”
“Wow—he’s just unbelievable, isn’t he???”
“He’s several times more overwhelming in person than he was on ‘Geubaekpeu.’”
“That’s what I’m saying. He’s insanely handsome.”
“Even on broadcast, it was ridiculous··· but seeing him in person, I get why people say he isn’t human.”
As entertainment reporters, they knew the physiology of this industry inside and out. But the monstrous visual before them now was a fresh shock unlike anything they had ever experienced.
On top of that.
“Look at that relaxed gaze. His posture and attitude are so upright, too. It feels like he’s tossed nerves to the dogs, and that makes his aura stand out even more??”
“Is that guy really someone who hasn’t even debuted yet???”
“······He’s lived with that face for over twenty years. Of course his confidence is fully charged.”
“Huh—this is bewildering.”
Perhaps because Gang Rojun’s appearance was so intensely confident, question marks rose among the hundred or so reporters. Meanwhile, Gang Rojun himself was—
‘Agh!! It’s blinding!!!’
—having a hard time. It was his first time seeing a hundred reporters, and thanks to the barrage of flashing lights, he could hardly see in front of him. Still, he did not lose his faint eye-smile or smile, nor his composed demeanor.
‘Focus, focus!!’
The words PD Jeong Suryeong had given him before he entered helped. Advice along the lines of, “Once you go in, don’t do anything else—just smile.” For Rojun, whose tension had risen to his chin, that became his final objective.
Smile at the reporters.
Since the goal was simple, it was manageable.
That caused the error of making it look like leisure to the reporters, but what did it matter? Gang Rojun’s unrivaled visuals were shining more than ever, so there was no problem. In fact, the dozens of female reporters in the hall were dazed.
“······.”
“······.”
Some reporters could even be seen staring blankly at Rojun, having forgotten to take pictures. Watching the reporters thrown into an uproar, PD Jeong Suryeong, already on the platform, let out a small laugh as if she understood.
“They’re enchanted, that’s all.”
Veteran drama PD Jeong Suryeong recalled the moment she had first seen Gang Rojun. She had been so shocked that she had cursed out loud.
‘The moment they see Writer Rojun, it’ll feel like time has stopped. It was like that for me too. Call it Rojun magic, I guess? Something like that.’
Rojun magic. No matter who the other person was, the moment they saw Gang Rojun’s face, they went blank. Among those thoroughly experiencing that Rojun magic, the bespectacled female reporter who had claimed the idol scene was her specialty changed her mind in an instant.
“······He’s insane. Just insane. Actor’s atmosphere or whatever—none of it can even compare in front of overwhelming visuals.”
In the meantime, PD Jeong Suryeong and the actors, including Choe Rina, stood in order at the front, and Gang Rojun, who had entered last, also reached the platform.
‘I’m here. Seriously, that felt like a hundred years.’
Naturally, the scene up to now was being broadcast vividly in real time.
—[LIVE] “Rental Lover” Production Press Conference! Live Broadcast!!
The number of viewers, which had been in the thousands before it began, had already surpassed tens of thousands. The chat window, which had been noisy ever since Choe Rina and the actors appeared, was now—
—???? Fuck, he’s seriously insanely handsome
—That... I’m not a fan, but... he really looks like a live-action romance fantasy....
—The moment Rojun walked in I seriously cursed lololololol wow lolololol insanely handsome
—Rojun’s hair, makeup, and styling are perfect todayㅠㅠㅜㅠㅠ He already has a heavenly face even if he does nothing, so what am I supposed to do when he dresses up!!
—He’s just a crazy bastard
—When Rojun gets serious, he turns the actors into squids lolololololololololol
A nuclear bomb had dropped.
—What are we supposed to do about those decadent eyes???
—Of course he’s handsome, but the person himself is just sexy as hell lololol
—Wow, he’s seriously soooooooo damn handsome
—I’m a man and I got chills
—Put this entrance scene in the TOP 3, no matter what!!
—He’s so absurdly handsome I’m actually laughing in disbelief lololololol
—ㅠㅜㅠㅜㅠㅠㅜ Ah, I seriously want to go there and worship him in person
It was a situation perfectly described as utter chaos.
Especially since the fans had always only watched “Geubaekpeu,” they were going even more berserk at seeing Gang Rojun appear for another schedule. Then, when Rojun arrived at the platform—
“Writer?”
PD Jeong Suryeong, by the first chair, called Gang Rojun.
“Writer Rojun, this way.”
She meant for him not to stand at the end, but to come beside her. Rojun nodded and moved to the second chair, while Choe Rina and the actors shifted over one space each. Once the seating arrangement was reasonably settled, famous comedian Hwang Seokgu, who was serving as the host, called out.
“Yes! Then we’ll begin the press conference for ‘Rental Lover’! First, introductions from our main cast!”
The hundred or so reporters, who had been madly pressing their shutters, barely managed to calm down. Soon, the handheld microphone was passed to PD Jeong Suryeong.
“Hello, I’m Jeong Suryeong, the director of ‘Rental Lover.’”
After a brief greeting, she handed the microphone to Gang Rojun beside her. Rising from his chair, he bowed and spoke in a low voice.
“I’m Rojun, the writer of ‘Rental Lover.’”
The real-time live chat shook once more. And the reporters seated closest to the platform—
—Swoosh.
—looked at the other male actors of “Rental Lover,” then fixed their eyes again on Rojun, who was standing. As if they had all planned it together, they let out dry laughs.
“The male actors who made a living off their faces look like ordinary people now.”
At the same time.
There were more than enough people watching the live broadcast of the “Rental Lover” press conference. In particular, the “Geubaekpeu” campus side, which could be said to be closest to Gang Rojun, was in an uproar.
“Wow—It’s really Rojun hyung!!”
“Awesome. This hyung was already crazy, but once he dresses up, he just crushes the other actors??”
“It’s kind of fascinating, but I’m jealous too—”
Some were in practice rooms, some in break rooms, and some in their dorm rooms. Since the contestants had currently been given their next mission, they were watching the live broadcast in the middle of throwing themselves into various practices. Of course, 58 Sihu, 46 Gangmin, and 26 Dogyeong, who shared a room with Rojun, also stopped practicing and buried their noses in their phones.
26 Dogyeong, in his dry tone, spoke first.
“He looks cool. Calling himself a writer makes him seem like he has something more going on, too.”
46 Gangmin, handsome in an exotic way, added.
“But seriously, Rojun hyung is way too much of a cheat character. If you think about it, this is basically already a debut, isn’t it?”
“Still, debuting as an idol is different. Rojun hyung said writing is his side job.”
58 Sihu exhaled softly.
“Let’s stop watching and practice. If we keep looking at Rojun, we’ll only get intimidated. I tried it myself, and you really have to practice like you’re dying just to barely hold your own against him.”
“······”
“······”
Since both 26 Dogyeong and 46 Gangmin had experienced Gang Rojun, they turned off their phones with expressions of acknowledgment. Around the time they entered practice again, the “Geubaekpeu” teams, including PD U Hanseok, had also stopped editing and were watching the live broadcast.
As expected, the writers’ reactions were big.
“Yep, visually, Rojun-ssi is just devouring everyone.”
“Whew—but seeing Rojun-ssi somewhere else makes me feel proud and regretful at the same time.”
“Why? Feels like he’s been stolen?”
“A little??”
“What are you talking about? Anyway, let’s take lots of screenshots. It’s our Writer Rojun’s debut day!”
PD U Hanseok glanced at those writers and muttered inwardly.
‘These kids are going to be so shocked they’ll puke when they hear about “Lover No. 4.”’
Other broadcasting stations were also closely watching the “Rental Lover” press conference. Was that all? The “Geubaekpeu” judges, including Song Mingeun, and various celebrities connected to Rojun, including the great singer Bak Hyeonjeong, and so on.
Above all, the dozens of entertainment agencies that had been invited to the fourth evaluation—
“Wow—Rojun really is something else, something else. His visuals are one thing, but this picture itself is seriously fresh.”
“That’s why the CEO keeps singing Rojun, Rojun.”
“······Hoo—but I’m going crazy wanting him too.”
—were drooling excessively as they watched Gang Rojun in the live broadcast. The ripple effect of Gang Rojun, who hadn’t even debuted and wasn’t even a trainee, was terrifying.
Japan was not much different.
Japanese fans who had already obtained the information had stormed into the live broadcast. In fact, quite a bit of Japanese was being included in the exploding chat. Whether they knew a little Korean or none at all, it didn’t matter. The Japanese fans simply wanted to see Gang Rojun as a writer.
Meanwhile, in the hall where the “Rental Lover” press conference was in full swing—
“It’s the story of a shut-in female lead who encounters rental lovers, and as you can tell from the premise, it has a very distinctive story.”
PD Jeong Suryeong was, as the representative, explaining the content of “Rental Lover.” Soon, host Hwang Seokgu looked at his cue card and asked Choe Rina a question.
“Actress Choe Rina. Your appearance in ‘Rental Lover’ became a hot topic. May I ask why you chose ‘Rental Lover’?”
“Mm, first of all, the script Writer Rojun wrote was so much fun. I read it in one sitting right where I was.”
“Oh—”
“And PD Jeong Suryeong’s directing. There was no reason to hesitate.”
Similar questions went to the other actors. Next, it was Gang Rojun’s turn.
“Then! Our incredibly hot writer these days! How did ‘Rental Lover’ come about??”
How did it come about? Rojun answered inwardly first.
‘I just cranked out some random writing.’
Even the person who wrote it had regarded it as textual garbage, so what grand process could there have been? But saying, “I wrote it roughly, like the textual garbage it is,” at this press conference would be going too far. Using PD Jeong Suryeong’s advice as reference, Rojun answered with a faint smile.
“It was something I wrote lightly, so this situation feels very bewildering.”
“You have tremendous talent.”
Rojun’s eye-smile drove the already-shaking chat window into a frenzy.
—Don’t smile!! I’ll die!!!
—lolololol All he did was smile, but the reporters flinching is so funny lololololololololol
—But Rojun seriously has insane talent;;
—Agreed agreed, he’s such a cheat character he feels unreal
The host was itching to bring up “Geubaekpeu,” but held back. It wouldn’t be polite. The reporters would pour those questions out anyway. After that, the prepared questions were exchanged. After several dozen minutes had passed, host Hwang Seokgu turned his head toward the hundred or so reporters.
“Now it’s time for the reporters in attendance. Who would like to ask a question?”
Most of the hundred people raised their hands high. Quite a few reporters even stood up from their seats. PD Jeong Suryeong pointed to one of them. It was a male reporter wearing a short-sleeved shirt.
“Rojun-nim! While doing activities for ‘Geubaekpeu,’ were you also working as a writer at the same time??”
“Yes.”
“How is that possible? You must barely have enough time just to practice.”
“It was manageable.”
“Huh—”
The next reporter’s target was also Rojun.
“By any chance, are you writing your next work as a writer too?!”
After exchanging glances with PD Jeong Suryeong, Gang Rojun nodded.
“Yes. To be honest, I already have scripts for my next works.”
The reporters murmured.
“Scripts? He just said scripts, didn’t he??”
“Then that means there isn’t just one, right?”
Questions continued to be thrown at Rojun. PD Jeong Suryeong handled cutting off anything related to “Geubaekpeu” or songwriting, and Gang Rojun answered only what seemed all right. At this point, host Hwang Seokgu seemed to decide this wouldn’t do and instructed them to ask questions to the “Rental Lover” actors, including Choe Rina.
Only then were the other actors able to pick up their microphones.
It was not that they were outside the sphere of interest, but rather a phenomenon caused by the fact that Gang Rojun’s ability to draw attention was currently far too powerful.
After passing by several actors, the microphone arrived at Choe Rina, who had a beauty mark beside her nose.
“A memorable scene? Hmm—most of them were powerful, but for me, the actors’ preliminary meeting is the clearest. That was when I first saw Writer Rojun in person.”
“Ah, that must have been surprising.”
“The writer was so, so incredibly handsome. I froze for a few seconds.”
It was around then that the heat inside the hall, and among the tens of thousands of viewers watching the live broadcast, was gradually overheating. At the request to ask a question related to the work, the bespectacled female reporter was chosen. She voiced what had been spilling out from all hundred or so reporters.
“I looked at the planning proposal.”
She tapped the brief press-conference proposal with her index finger and asked.
“The other actors are written down clearly, so why is only the actor’s name for the role of ‘Lover No. 4’ missing? Is it a mistake?”
As if they had had the same curiosity, the other reporters nodded one after another. In response, PD Jeong Suryeong picked up the microphone as if the moment she had been waiting for had arrived.
“Ah—That isn’t a mistake. It’s because we wanted to tell you directly. A surprise we prepared?”
“A, a surprise??”
The corners of her mouth lifted crookedly.
On the other hand, the reporters tilted their heads. Countless question marks also filled the real-time chat window.
—???? What is this all of a sudden
—Surprise lololololololol It’s 100% going to be nothing
—Huh??
—What’s Lover No. 4 even supposed to be lolololol The role name is weird
—They probably just left the name out because the actor came late or couldn’t attend lolololol
—100000% chance it’s boring
Whether they did or not, PD Jeong Suryeong calmly continued.
“The role of ‘Lover No. 4’ is a character with an unusual color and strong impact. Actually, the actor playing ‘Lover No. 4’ is already here.”
“Pardon?? He’s here? Where······.”
At that moment.
—Swoosh.
Gang Rojun suddenly rose slowly from his chair. Then he bowed toward the reporters and the tens of thousands of viewers watching the live broadcast.
“I’m Rojun, playing the role of ‘Lover No. 4.’”
In that instant, the vast hall packed with a hundred or so reporters was—
“······.”
“······.”
—simply silent, without a single sound.