Inside the bathroom, which was practically Gang Rojun’s private practice room. Standing before the mirror, Rojun took a small deep breath.
“Whew—”
He closed his eyes. Then he recalled the dancers he had seen about an hour ago, dominating the stage with the choreography for “Survival 100.” Their expressions, the gestures of their hands and feet, their dazzling movements, and so on. The practice video had already arrived, but Gang Rojun intended to try the choreography on his own first.
—Swish.
He began moving his body with motions that were fairly big for him. Naturally, there were many sections where he hesitated. But compared to the Rojun of the past, it was a tremendous improvement.
‘Not bad. Let’s try it one more time.’
He skipped over the parts his memory wasn’t clear on. With the mindset of just making it to the end using the movements engraved in his mind, he repeated the choreography several times. An experiment he ran four or five times. Gang Rojun’s breathing grew rough. But a smile spread across Rojun’s lips.
“‘Survival 100’ is definitely harder than ‘Produce,’ but my body’s moving pretty well. It’s easier than during ‘Produce.’”
Now, even if he said he was stiff as a board, no one would believe him. If anything, ordinary people might evaluate him as, “He’s got some moves?” Only then did Gang Rojun play the practice video. Not the group shot, but the solo shot. As Lee Hanna had said, the practice format would be similar to “Produce.”
‘First, we’ll each adjust to the choreography individually, and once our skills come up a bit, we’ll move on to group practice.’
He imagined the future.
A stage decorated by ten contestants turned idols. And a concert he would experience for the first time, even if it was small, similar to a fan meeting. Even if the scale was quite small, thousands of audience members would come. Rojun recalled scenes he had seen on TV or NewTube.
Idols shining on stage. Tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, of audience members cheering for them.
That was now arriving as reality.
‘If I’m this nervous over thousands, how would it feel if the audience was in the hundreds of thousands?’
This daydream too would surely become reality before long. After that, Gang Rojun spent over an hour adjusting to the choreography while watching the practice video.
And at the end.
—[AI analyzing······Analysis complete!]
—[25 coins are required to derive your desired result.]
He learned the choreography for “Survival 100.”
—[Applying······Application complete!]
The next day.
Before he knew it, September had ended and October was already on its second day. Today was Friday, October 2nd, and Gang Rojun, who had finished his daily missions early in the morning, could be found in a spacious practice room. He wasn’t alone; all the other contestants and Lee Hanna were there as well, and the staff filming in the back could also be seen.
After speaking to the contestants about this and that for a while, Lee Hanna said,
“Then—shall we take a look at everyone’s condition one by one first?”
She ordered them to show the “Survival 100” choreography they should have practiced all day yesterday. The contestants swallowed hard. Their faces were filled with worry and tension. Only Gang Rojun felt calm.
Lee Hanna caught that.
‘Rojun’s making that hard-to-read face again··· Don’t tell me he copied the choreography in just one day again?’
Producer U Hanseok in the back was also expectant. In any case, the ten contestants moved back a little and sat down, and Lee Hanna, who had placed a chair in front of them, called the first player.
“First—shall we start with Gangmin?”
46 Gangmin, the exotic-looking handsome one who shared a room with Rojun, got up and moved forward. 46 Gangmin had received the highest score after Gang Rojun during “Produce,” and Lee Hanna had called him first with that in mind.
“As you know, don’t feel pressured. For now, just show me as much as you can comfortably do.”
“Yes.”
When Lee Hanna gave Producer U Hanseok a glance, “Survival 100” soon began playing in the practice room.
—♬♪
46 Gangmin performed the choreography. The intro movements were fairly solid. Faint exclamations came from among the staff.
“Oh—”
“As expected of Gangmin. Doesn’t he feel kind of similar to the dancers?”
“He had the highest choreography score after Rojun.”
Lee Hanna, arms crossed, remained expressionless, but inwardly, she smiled.
‘Did he improve a bit already? Is it because they’re young? Their skills are growing fast.’
In the end, although 46 Gangmin stopped little by little, he somehow managed to get through the first verse.
“I’m sorry, the second verse is still difficult for me.”
The second verse was generally lacking. But for an amateur to show this level of tension and energy was something deserving of praise. Lee Hanna actually encouraged him.
“It’s fine. You did well. The first verse in particular had really decent form. You’ll copy it soon.”
Next was 58 Sihu’s turn. He wasn’t bad in the beginning of the first verse, but from the middle onward he became flustered, and the other contestants who came in after him were mostly similar. After checking the choreography up to 26 Dokyeong, who was ninth, Lee Hanna wrote something on her tablet while feeling fairly satisfied.
‘They’re doing better than I expected. This will move faster than during “Produce.”’
Then the last one called was.
“Rojun.”
It was Gang Rojun. As he calmly got up and walked over, Lee Hanna asked him with a hint of a smile.
“Was it not difficult this time either, Rojun?”
Likewise, he lifted the corner of his mouth slightly and nodded.
“That’s right.”
“Honestly—your character doesn’t change, it really doesn’t.”
Even if he had gotten closer to them, even if he had adapted to the atmosphere, he still needed to give off the scent of a villain. Producer U Hanseok had also requested that of Gang Rojun, and Rojun thought the same. In any case, with everyone’s eyes focused on him, Gang Rojun got into position.
—Swish.
Soon, the song echoed through the practice room. At the same time, as if he had been waiting, Gang Rojun began the choreography. In just a few seconds, the nine contestants and the dozens of staff members, including U Hanseok, gaped.
“······???”
Their eyes were mostly filled with question marks. Naturally so. The choreography Gang Rojun was performing was—
‘It, it’s exactly the same as the dancers’??! No, isn’t he even better???’
Just as Writer Gim Sehui was screaming inwardly right now, it was perfect. Of course, with Gang Rojun’s own dance lines added in, it was even more dazzling and smooth. Watching Rojun perform the first-verse choreography as if it were nothing, Lee Hanna let out a hollow laugh.
‘···What the hell is he, really??’
There was no time to evaluate. It was closer to simply admiring Gang Rojun’s form. Not only Lee Hanna, but everyone in this practice room was the same.
Rojun even—
—♬♪
He was smoothly handling not just the first verse, but the second verse as well. By this point, the shock in Lee Hanna’s eyes had changed into awe, and when the song “Survival 100” ended, Gang Rojun, his breathing rough, asked,
“How was it?”
After spacing out for a moment, Lee Hanna suddenly laughed and immediately asked,
“No, Rojun. You’re not using something like superpowers, are you?”
It was a question that came out because what she had witnessed was that absurd. Gang Rojun smiled with his eyes.
“Yes, I am.”
“What kind of superpower?”
“Just a superpower.”
“You’re getting better and better at joking—and being born with that face is a superpower in itself.”
Lee Hanna, who had been shaking her head, grew deliberately serious. Then she muttered inwardly.
‘This kid isn’t a matter of talent or anything. He’s just a genius.’
Even Lee Hanna, a big name as a choreographer, had seen a few of them before. Geniuses who had soared freely in this field.
‘There was probably one kid I saw in America who could watch choreography once and copy it perfectly right there on the spot, wasn’t there?’
Idols with long careers also had high choreography-copying ability. It was possible for them to watch another team’s choreography once and follow along decently. But imitation and perfection were different. On top of that, Gang Rojun was still an amateur. Even so, in just one day, he had copied the “Survival 100” choreography to nearly 100%.
‘If a monster like this were your enemy, you’d despair and collapse, but if he’s on your side, there’s nothing more reassuring. Even if it’s temporary, right now these kids are all on the same side.’
Soon, Lee Hanna recalled something she had heard from Producer U Hanseok around yesterday.
‘I’m thinking of making Rojun the leader.’
Thinking he would serve as a good example, Lee Hanna asked Gang Rojun,
“Show us one more time, as the leader.”
Meanwhile, at SBC’s drama department.
Producer Jeong Suryeong, wearing a hairband, could be seen in the editing room. Whether she had stayed up all night or not, her eyes were full of fatigue. Looking at the sofa behind her, the assistant director was fast asleep. The other staff members were also nodding off.
The only survivor was Producer Jeong Suryeong.
On several monitors, cuts from “Rental Lover” were being displayed, and right now, Producer Jeong Suryeong was staring intently at one monitor. It was a scene where “Lover No. 4” was smiling with his eyes. In other words, Gang Rojun.
‘Terrifying. Absolutely terrifying. No matter how many times I look, it’s absurd. His visuals are really······’
Producer Jeong Suryeong also felt regretful.
‘It’s truly the regret of a lifetime that we can’t capture the real thing on camera.’
With current technology, it was impossible to capture all of Rojun’s visuals and aura. Still, what was being displayed right now was enough to enchant viewers. Then was Rojun’s acting lacking, as the media and public opinion were currently chewing him out for?
No, it was the opposite.
She had felt it on set too, but after checking it in the edit, it hit Producer Jeong Suryeong even more deeply.
‘Once they see this gaze, this facial acting, all talk about his acting being crap will vanish 100%.’
In her honest opinion, among all the actors who appeared in “Rental Lover,” Gang Rojun was the best at detailed emotions and facial expressions.
‘Even if he has few lines, his eyes are full of emotion. He really loves and cherishes the female lead.’
Viewers assimilate into the work as the protagonist. In other words, to every viewer watching “Rental Lover,” Gang Rojun would be their lover.
“······As expected, for this cut, I should use the close-up that pulls right in on his face rather than the bust shot.”
With Rojun’s visuals, with that affectionate gaze wrapping around them, who could possibly endure it? Perhaps something excited her, because Producer Jeong Suryeong laughed, heh heh heh.
“I can already see the viewers wailing after getting completely bewitched.”
Suddenly, the door to the editing room burst open. The one who appeared was a bald man in his fifties. He was the director of the drama department.
“Producer Jeong. How about Friday, November 6th for the first broadcast of ‘Rental Lover’? No matter how we angle it, late October is hard for a prime-time slot. It makes no sense to push out another work.”
If it was November 6th, there was about a month left. Considering promotion and marketing, it was effectively less than a month. It was tight, but Producer Jeong Suryeong didn’t care. In any case, “Rental Lover” was a one-act drama, so it had fewer episodes, and compared to other miniseries, its editing period was short. If Producer Jeong Suryeong ground her life away, it would be even faster.
Producer Jeong Suryeong, who was fully prepared to grind away something as trivial as her life, answered as if there were no problem.
“Friday, November 6th, OK. Let’s announce the premiere date around next week.”
After that.
On the night of Friday, October 2nd, “PT100,” which aired as Producer U Hanseok had informed the contestants,
—“Produce That 100!”
was scheduled as a special episode.
Its content included unaired footage, the ten surviving contestants’ pasts up to the present, interviews with eliminated contestants, behind-the-scenes footage from the judging stages, and more. It was quite a substantial composition. Still, a special episode was a special episode.
《“PT100” Airs Special Episode, Ratings Plunge to the 26% Range》
The ratings announced on Saturday, one day later, had dropped by roughly 5%. Well, 26% was still an amazing figure, but the media focused on “PT100,” whose ratings had fallen. Whether they did or not, Producer U Hanseok didn’t care.
‘It’s only temporary, only temporary.’
Because he was certain it would recover the moment episode 12 aired. In any case, public opinion was quite angry.
—Ah!!! Why a special episode all of a sudden!!
—Announcing the kids’ names and then throwing out bait about Rojun and Sihu and the theme song before doing a special episode is just too much......
—Whyyy lololol I thought it was super fun??? I liked that there was a lot of chemistry between the kids
—No, so what happens with the theme song!!!
—Ha.... The special episode was good too.... but how am I supposed to wait until next week....
—Seems like they’re catching their breath because it’s slowly reaching the latter half lolololol?
·
·
·
Around that time, Gang Rojun and the nine contestants on campus were beginning their day with practice and ending it with practice. There were even some who stayed up all night. Naturally, the subject was “Survival 100.” They were appropriately dividing time between vocals and choreography. There would be no group formation practice until the end of this weekend, but starting Monday a few days later, group practice would also be included.
That Monday arrived in the blink of an eye.
The world surged with countless issues, and because Gang Rojun and the contestants practiced to death, the weekend was quickly erased.
On the morning of the 5th, Gang Rojun, who had finished his run, was looking at his phone when he was slightly surprised.
‘Oh—this is out.’
Because a huge piece of bait related to “PT100” had been thrown out starting Monday morning.
《[Issue Pick] “PT100” Preparing Small Domestic Concert》
《Rumors Swirling of a Small Concert for “PT100,” Related to Next Fifth Evaluation?》
《This Time It’s Not an Audience Recording, But an Actual Concert! Info on the Small Concert “PT100” Is Said to Be Preparing》
The articles seemed somewhere between fact and speculation. Of course, it was definitely news that would send countless members of the public into a frenzy.
But this was not the end.
《After the Ten Survivors Finish Small Domestic Concert, Will They Head Straight to Japan? “PT100” Official Says “Highly Likely”》
As soon as October began, “PT100” stepped up its shaking of the media and public opinion.
《Will “PT100” Hold Small Concerts Not Only Domestically, But in Japan as Well?》