"We'll probably have to launch 'Rental Lover' as well."
At the words of Tom Cavill, Executive Director of Netflix Japan, about half of the team leaders were surprised, while the other half maintained indifferent expressions. Among them, one male employee spoke in Japanese.
"You're thinking of bringing in a one-act drama...?"
Tom Cavill, who had shifted the leg he had crossed, let out a small sigh.
"If it caused a stir in Korea, then it's not just a typical one-act drama."
"Well, that's true, but-"
"On top of that, if the female lead is the top actress Choi Rina, then 'Rental Lover' has already gone beyond being a simple one-act drama."
"..."
All the employees slowly nodded. The mood was generally in agreement. Soon, one of the female employees chimed in.
"Come to think of it, isn't there also a Korean drama starring Choi Rina in the rankings right now?"
"That's right."
It was a valid point. Currently, a mini-series with Choi Rina as the female lead was in the Netflix Japan rankings. Naturally, it was a Korean drama. It was a work from two years ago. And it wasn't just that one. Recently, Korean dramas consistently appeared in the Netflix Japan rankings.
Even just looking at the top 10, up to five spots were sometimes occupied by Korean dramas or content.
Isn't 'Produce That 100!' currently number one?
At this point, seeing Korean content on the Japanese Netflix rankings no longer felt strange. Japanese viewers consume Korean content as a matter of course. It wasn't always like this. In the past, Japanese anime always dominated, and Japanese dramas or films took the lead.
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Occasionally, foreign works including those from the United States would appear.
But now, Korean movies, dramas, and variety shows are dominating. Although Japanese anime still frequently appears in the rankings, the number of featured Korean contents is comparable. This proves how rapidly Korean culture is taking over Japan.
"Is Japan nothing without anime? The real reason Korean content completely overwhelmed it"
While Japan's broadcasting and film industries try to resist the trend, everywhere else is already hugely influenced by the Korean Wave. The younger generation in Japan is extremely interested not only in Korean content but also in korean food, cosmetics, and more.
Especially, they are half-crazed over idols.
Now, Korean idols filling stadiums with tens of thousands of seats in Japan has become the norm. Yet even while knowing they're being overrun, Japan cannot imitate Korean idols.
Because of a deeply entrenched system.
With things like this, the Executive Director of Netflix Japan had no hesitation in confirming the launch of 'Produce That 100!' during a past meeting with PD Woo Han-suk.
That same Executive Director now spoke.
"At the current pace, 'Produce That 100!' will stay at number one for a long time, and the impact from just one mention of 'No. 1' in a single episode is already this huge. Even just monitoring SNS shows that countless fans are demanding 'Rental Lover' be brought in."
Of course, Executive Director Tom Cavill didn't make the decision based solely on public reactions.
"And considering the current surge of the Korean Wave in Japan, and the continued number one ranking of 'Produce That 100!', if the popularity of the show and 'No. 1' holds, then 'Rental Lover' will surely perform well too."
One male employee asked a question.
"What about checking the content of 'Rental Lover'-"
"Of course, verification is necessary, but I'm confident it'll be better than what's coming out of Japan's failing drama scene."
Executive Director Tom Cavill was among those who thought Japanese films and dramas were deteriorating. However, he wasn't one to only criticize, he wanted to encourage recovery. He hoped to identify problems and see improvement.
"Already, most Japanese films and dramas are just live-action versions of anime. The few pure contents that come out annually are too afraid of challenges, so only similar works get made. It's disappointing. I'll continue bringing in foreign content and achieving good results. Maybe then the market here, and its directors, might wake up."
After a momentary lull in the atmosphere. Trying to lift the mood, the Executive Director smiled.
"Anyway, for us, not bringing in 'Rental Lover' now would be a foolish move."
He gave instructions to the male team leader seated to his right.
"Get in touch with the 'Produce That 100!' and 'Rental Lover' teams. We'll need to go to Korea as soon as possible."
With arms crossed, he softly added.
"And if possible, I'd like to meet 'No. 1' too."
At the same time, Korea. Paju Campus.
The 'Produce That 100!' campus felt quite empty now, with the number of surviving participants reduced to 24. Regardless, Kang Rojun was running according to his usual morning routine. He had started his Daily Mission.
What was unusual was.
"Huff- ugh-"
The participant following behind Rojun. It wasn't someone from Room 105, just one person. No. 26, who had become his teammate the day before. He had come looking for him in the morning, saying he wanted to join at least once, and had tagged along. But now, his usual lifeless tone was nowhere to be found, and he was half-dying.
And they had only been running for 30 minutes.
Still, for his first time, he was keeping up reasonably well. When Kang Rojun looked back at No. 26, he of course felt nothing unusual.
'He's running better than I expected. I guess I can speed up a little.'
As the pace quickened, No. 26 gasped and panicked.
"Ugh- W-wait! What the hell. Are you a Terminator or something?"
Regardless of his cries, Kang Rojun began running twice as fast. Despair filled No. 26's eyes, but he gritted his teeth. Giving up wasn't in his nature. He somehow kept his legs moving and ran in a wobbling mess, and Rojun let out a chuckle as he glanced at him.
'That stubbornness is just like the construction site uncles.'
Normally, quite a few participants joined Rojun's workout routine. But the reason they were the only ones running now was simple. With only 24 participants left, and aside from Rojun and No. 26, the rest had been participating in team-specific rap training briefings since early morning an hour ago.
In short, the only ones left with free time at the campus right now were those two who had skipped the training.
About an hour later, Kang Rojun tilted his head and began cooling down. When he looked back, No. 26 was sprawled out on the ground, wheezing. Rojun walked over and asked.
"You still alive?"
Gasping, No. 26 answered harshly.
"I feel like I'm going to die, but I'm barely alive."
"What a shame."
"What?"
"Just kidding."
Kang Rojun held out his hand, and No. 26 struggled to his feet, resting his hands on his knees as he caught his breath.
"Huff- you do this hellish thing every day?"
"Yeah, every day."
"...Doing exercise on top of having that face is too much. You'll someday get stoned by men."
"I've got pretty good reflexes too."
Soon, Rojun resumed the remaining workout. No. 26, who had surrendered to the running, returned to the dorm. After finishing the Daily Mission, Kang Rojun moved to the shower room and checked his Coins.
-[Coins Owned: 647]
Earning 13 Coins a day, he didn't feel any loss even while using them for Enhancements and Learning. With a smile, Rojun immediately spent 20 Coins to continue Stat Enhancement. His Singing Ability, Dance, and Rap had all surpassed 20 points, so he was now aiming for 40, starting again with Singing Ability.
After several minutes, Kang Rojun gathered his laptop and other materials and entered a quiet practice room.
It wasn't very large, but perhaps because he was alone, it felt desolate. He placed his laptop and phone in front of the mirror and did a light warm-up. He operated the laptop to find the song he wanted. It was 'Small Fry', composed by No. 26 and selected as the evaluation rap for Rojun's Group 2 Team A.
-♬♪
Kang Rojun listened to 'Small Fry' once all the way through without doing anything. Then, preparing to start rapping, he cleared his throat. There was no hesitation. His Rap Stat was decent, and he had already completed Learning.
As 'Small Fry' played again.
Slightly nodding his head, Kang Rojun.
-Swish.
Began to rap in a relaxed voice while seated. He controlled the rhythm freely and played with the beat. His rap tone was distinctly different from vocals. It flowed like water and was also intense. Even his breathing sounded like a part of the rap. Kang Rojun delivered both the first and second verses of 'Small Fry', and the beat echoing through the practice room cut off sharply.
He took a moment to regulate his now slightly heavy breathing.
Then he smiled.
"Rap's pretty fun too."
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Anyone unaware of the context who saw this scene would have thought without a doubt that Rojun was a rapper.
Just then.
-Vrrr.
A short vibration buzzed from his wrist. As Kang Rojun checked it, his smile deepened.
-[You have completed the Hidden Mission 'Build-Up for an All-Rounder!' You have received 15 Coins as a reward.]
The 'AI Simulation' app had listened well and offered tribute. In high spirits, Rojun replayed 'Small Fry' several times, and once he was satisfied, he moved on to practicing vocals and dance.
Time flew by quickly.
Instead of returning to his room, he headed straight to the lounge. While other participants were staking their lives on the 4th evaluation, Kang Rojun was going through his usual schedule. The only difference was that a few rap sessions had been added.
Starting with composition study.
He reviewed what he had learned from No. 58 over the past few days and continued studying composition on his own. Once that was done, he moved on to writing a film script for which he had already completed the synopsis. Now it was time to work on fleshing out the characters.
'Creating characters is the most difficult, more than writing.'
Lastly came his time as a lyricist.
His method was to listen to the MR of any song, regardless of genre, and freely write lyrics. His 'Lyrics Folder' already held more than three completed sets of lyrics. (TL Note: MR here means Music Removed version or Instrumental version of a song)
Although Kang Rojun appeared to be the most relaxed person on campus, in reality, he was the busiest.
Possibly even busier than PD Woo Han-suk.
Meanwhile, No. 58 and the other 21 participants were divided into two groups and immersed in rap training. They took lessons from a professional rapper, demonstrated their skills, identified areas for improvement, and repeated the process.
No. 26, who had met Rojun in the morning, had locked himself in his room ever since.
He was busy doing something with his tablet, phone, and laptop while lying face down on his bed. He appeared to be working on dividing parts of 'Small Fry' related to the 4th evaluation.
At some point, he began thinking about No. 1.
"...I wonder if No. 1 is practicing rap right now?"
Muttering lifelessly, a bit of concern started to rise.
"I need to finish the part division quickly and go listen to No. 1's rap."
No. 1 had clearly said he had never rapped before. If his skills were below basic, starting today No. 26 would have to stick by his side.
"I need to get him to at least average level in a few days."
The only option was to drill him through relentless practice.
Afternoon.
While all the 'Produce That 100!' participants, including Kang Rojun, were busy, a sudden full summon was called by PD Woo Han-suk. As a result, the 24 participants stopped what they were doing and followed the staff's guidance.
They gathered not in the hall with the stage, but in a large practice room.
All 24 participants were packed into the practice room where the first dance of 'Produce' had been shown. From the room 105 members to No. 26 and even Rojun, everyone looked puzzled. It had only been a day since the announcement of the 4th evaluation, so another gathering felt sudden.
As Kang Rojun scanned the entire room, he thought to himself,
'Hmm- aside from the small cameras that were already installed, there's nothing else. So this isn't a formal shoot?'
At that moment, the practice room door opened, and PD Woo Han-suk and the writers entered. Soon, PD Woo Han-suk stood before the 24 participants and began to speak.
"Is everyone preparing well for the 4th evaluation?"
Answers were heard from here and there. PD Woo Han-suk, who smiled faintly at this, continued speaking.
"Hmm- the reason I called you all here is to determine the order of the 4th evaluation performances and to share some additional updates."
Deciding the performance order made sense, but what were the additional updates? As Rojun raised an internal question mark, PD Woo Han-suk raised his index finger and pointed to the right.
"Some of you may have noticed, but simple construction has begun in the hall. In preparation for the 4th evaluation, we're planning changes to the stage, and we're installing standing areas and seating around it."
The participants murmured. Understandably so. Standing areas and seats? Regardless, PD Woo Han-suk continued the briefing.
"This 4th evaluation will be similar to previous ones. The judges will participate and provide evaluations. Viewer voting will also be the same. However, this time we're adding a bit of excitement to the on-site experience."
Making eye contact with Rojun among the participants, PD Woo Han-suk's smile widened twice as much.
"For the filming of the 4th evaluation, we will be accepting audience applications from the public."
All the participants' eyes widened. Even Kang Rojun's. It meant viewers of 'Produce That 100!' would actually be coming here.
"Over 1,500 audience members will be invited."
*****