Translator: Dreamscribe
PD Woo Han-suk's expression became curious at the unexpected information.
'Rojun ssi knows Japanese?? I never even considered that possibility.'
From that expression, PD Jung Soo-ryeong read something and asked again.
"Ah, did you not know?"
Woo Han-suk nodded.
"No, I didn't."
"Hmm. Understandable. Writer Kang may look straightforward at a glance, but he's a hard-to-grasp character. You know what I mean? That kind of guy who flips the board with a calm face. He did that a few times in 'Produce That 100!' too. And he gives off this vibe like he's hiding a bunch of secrets."
"I know. That's why he always manages to surprise people. If anything, it's part of his charm, and it's worked well for the broadcast too."
"I only found out when I talked to Writer Kang yesterday... Seems like nobody else knew either."
PD Jung Soo-ryeong, who had been recalling Kang Rojun, crossed her arms. A hint of curiosity appeared on her face.
"These days, when male or female idol trainees join, they start by learning the language of the target country, so why would he hide that? If he's thinking about becoming an idol, having language skills is definitely a plus, right?"
Woo Han-suk, thinking for a moment, pushed up his glasses.
"To be blunt, No. 1 never dreamed of being an idol or anything like that. Honestly, when we started, he didn't seem interested at all. I persuaded him with difficulty to get him to join 'Produce That 100!'"
"Oh- really? I didn't know that."
"It's like... despite that absurdly handsome face and physique, he didn't even think about the entertainment industry."
Here, PD Jung Soo-ryeong was slightly surprised. She didn't know the story behind Kang Rojun joining 'Produce That 100!'
'So he didn't even want to join in the first place??'
Recalling the first time he met Rojun, Woo Han-suk chuckled.
"Even when he joined, all he said was, 'I'll give it a try.' That was it."
"Totally fits him, so nonchalant."
"Anyway, I don't think he was hiding it, he's just not the type to mention stuff like that. He's not the kind to brag about what he's got. Or, like you heard, maybe he only knows the basics of Japanese."
"Hmm, yeah, Writer Kang did say he can speak a bit of Japanese. So maybe he's not at a high level, just has basic skills."
"Probably. Well, I should ask him about it at some point."
PD Woo Han-suk mentally counted the dates.
"Today's Monday, and with all the voting and chaos, I probably won't get to campus until Wednesday. I'll have to find Rojun ssi as soon as I get there."
At the same time, he was secretly pleased.
'With "Produce That 100!" targeting the Japanese market and overseas, it's not bad at all that Rojun ssi, the face of the program, knows Japanese.'
Even if it was just basic skills, knowing a foreign language versus not knowing it at all made a big difference. PD Woo Han-suk already knew that contestant No. 58 could speak Japanese.
He heard that during the first evaluation.
Among the dozens of participants, there was even a Japanese who had come to Korea dreaming of becoming an idol. That was No. 66. Both got 'Vocal' in the second evaluation, and PD Woo Han-suk intentionally paired 58 with 66.
The result was a victory for No. 58.
So when it came to advancing into Japan, 58 was already in the plans, to be used often for greetings and promotional comments aimed at Japan. But if Kang Rojun could speak at least basic Japanese too.
'Then of course I'll have to use both of them together.'
Naturally, Rojun had to be positioned at the forefront.
'But seriously, what's with Rojun ssi? The way his talents pop up exactly when needed, it almost feels like 'Produce That 100!' was created for him.'
Soon, PD Woo Han-suk changed the subject.
"Anyway, let's both double-check the Japanese thing. What's the status with that 'Rental Lover' project? When's the broadcast going up?"
"It's currently in pre-production, and the broadcast, maybe late September or early October at the earliest? That could still change depending on filming and editing schedules."
"Hmm. There's a chance we might go over the initially planned number of episodes too, as you know, the response has been really good so far. Anyway, I'll make sure No. 1 ssi can be involved in 'Rental Lover' as much as possible. Of course, if there's filming for 'Produce That 100!' or other schedules, it might be hard."
"I understand. Just consider the script meetings and when Writer Kang needs to film his role, that's all I ask."
The word "role" caught PD Woo Han-suk's attention.
"Acting... Has No. 1 ever done any acting before?"
"No, not at all. This will be his first time. That's why the role itself is designed to minimize lines and focus more on visuals."
"But what's the reason for including a foreign language in that role?"
"Writer Kang's role is a newly created character, and the setup requires a flaw. I thought adding a foreign language as that flaw might make the picture more colorful."
"I see. Got it. Once things take shape, I'm thinking of including a few shots of No. 1 writing in the 'Produce That 100!' episodes. As teasers. What do you think?"
"Sounds good. That would definitely stir curiosity and grab attention from the viewers."
"Then toward the latter half of 'Produce That 100!', I'm thinking of hinting at the 'Rental Lover' project."
The two, seasoned professionals, exchanged ideas smoothly and quickly. Then PD Jung Soo-ryeong took the baton.
"By that point, reporters will probably pick up on it and start churning out articles. Naturally, the hype will snowball among viewers. Our 'Rental Lover' show will probably air after 'Produce That 100!' ends, so I'm planning to link it with Writer Kang and start serious promotions and marketing around then."
"Yes, we'll try to support that on our end too. Even if the Korean broadcast is over, we still have the overseas version, and there are special episodes and other extensions in the works."
"We also have a few bombshells besides Writer Kang, though it's hard to say more now. Things that are unprecedented for a one-act drama."
"Hahaha, the game's really going to heat up soon."
Woo Han-suk and Jung Soo-ryeong coordinated for nearly an hour, and feeling that the discussion had wrapped up well enough, PD Jung Soo-ryeong stood up first.
She murmured a final confirmation.
"By the way, everything we discussed today-"
Of course, PD Woo Han-suk had already caught on.
"Yes. Until things are official, just the three of us, including No. 1, should know."
Meanwhile.
Like a volcanic eruption, 'Produce That 100!' exploded everywhere. It wasn't just that it surpassed a 17% viewership rating.
"'Produce That 100!' exceeds 17% ratings, soaring in explosive popularity, what's the secret to its success?"
The core content of 'Produce That 100!', the viewers' first voting round, created an enormous buzz. On social media and in online communities, the photos of the 20-member dance team from 'Produce That 100!' were plastered everywhere.
[Who did everyone vote for in this 'Produce That 100!' round??]
-You're supposed to vote for 10 people total but I was too lazy and only voted for No. 1
-I voted for No. 1 too ㅋㅋㅋㅋ and No. 21!
-Besides No. 1, I just picked randomly based on looks.
-Nobody picked No. 10?? T_T
-Honestly... No. 1 is just too unbeatable to vote for anyone else...
Everywhere, the topic of conversation was them.
As Monday faded and Tuesday dawned, nothing changed. Especially with the voting deadline being Tuesday at midnight, things were even hotter. In the meantime, the production team of 'Produce That 100!' uploaded a flood of edited clips related to Episode 3.
There were many videos, but the ones attracting the most attention were the vocal team's stage performances.
Among them.
-♨Hot Clip♨ Thought he was a villain, but he dropped a nuclear bomb on stage! No. 1's 'brake'｜Produce That 100!
It was Kang Rojun's 'brake' performance.
That's how hot it was, the official 'brake' music video on YouTube began to climb back up the charts, and even cover videos of the dance by other idols were being churned out.
When Tuesday midnight passed and Wednesday morning arrived, the first voting round of 'Produce That 100!' had come to an end.
PD Woo Han-suk and the writing team, who had practically pulled several all-nighters over the past few days.
"PD-nim, the voting results have been compiled."
"Okay. Make two versions, one for the announcement and one for the broadcast."
"Haa- that was really long. Starting with the vote page crashing, we had all kinds of mishaps... I thought I was going to die."
"More than that, the number of votes was insane. It went over three times our initial expectations."
They drafted the results table.
Then PD Woo Han-suk, after thanking the writers for their hard work, laid out the next steps.
"Tomorrow, Thursday, we announce the voting results and shoot the revival round, so get a few hours of sleep and let's head to campus around lunchtime."
Of course, those few hours of sleep felt like just five seconds.
Wednesday lunchtime, near the Paju campus.
Though several days had passed since Episode 3 aired, the atmosphere among the dozens of 'Produce That 100!' campus participants was still a mix of excitement and anxiety. The 20 participants from the 'Dance Team' who took part in this round of voting were especially on edge.
After all, the decision on whether they'd stay or leave the campus was imminent.
Because of that, the 'Dance Team' participants became noticeably less talkative. No. 10, with his bright red hair, even skipped lunch. The only one still full of energy was Kang Rojun. Seeing him like that only intensified the other participants' envy and jealousy.
"No. 1 is the only one who looks totally carefree."
"If I were him, I'd be the same. He killed it on stage, and the PD gave him a solid cut at the end. I hear there are quite a few complaints from other 'Dance Team' contestants."
"...Even though No. 1 barely had any screen time in Episode 3, the momentum just doesn't shift."
"When you drop a bomb like that at the end, it doesn't matter how much screen time you get."
"Seriously, how is it even fair for someone to have that insane visual, vocals, and dance?? Ha- I'm so jealous."
"Even when he pulls villain moves, he keeps getting results, so his popularity only grows. How do you beat that monster?"
Regardless of the talk, Rojun, carrying his laptop under his arm, was walking down the hallway, completely absorbed in looking himself up online.
'Oh, there are so many videos of me on Youtube now??'
Bit by bit, his impact was growing massive.
Meanwhile, in the lounge area, maybe because it was just after lunch, a lot of participants had gathered. Easily more than twenty. Most of those who still had relaxed expressions were from the upcoming broadcast's 'Vocal Team' and 'Rap Team'.
Among them sat No. 58, with baby-permed hair and from the same Room 105 as Kang Rojun.
"..."
Silently, giving off a slightly ominous vibe, he was writing something in a notebook. Turned out No. 58 was squeezing in some time to study Japanese. At that moment, a few participants at nearby tables looked at him and whispered or smirked. Then, a contestant with short hair and a face with a bit of a rough edge approached No. 58.
He spoke in slightly awkward Korean.
"No. 58, studying Japanese again?"
There was a simple reason his Korean sounded strange. He was a contestant from Japan. His number was 66. For reference, the two had faced off in the second evaluation 'Vocal Team', where 66 lost. That same 66 now casually grabbed 58's notebook as if snatching it.
No. 58 was caught off guard.
"Ah-"
In contrast, 66 glanced through the notebook full of diligent notes and chuckled. Then he spoke again in awkward Korean.
"You've been working really hard. Want me to help out?"
He smoothly switched to his native Japanese.
"Instead of doing it like this, you'll learn faster if you actually speak and practice. Try responding. I'll assess your level."
"..."
No. 58, clearly flustered and unsure what to do, eventually managed to respond in Japanese with difficulty. Of course, he was lacking confidence.
"...I'm still not very good. I'm not at a level to be evaluated."
"Haha, not bad though?"
"..."
All eyes in the lounge were now on them. No. 58 couldn't speak and lowered his gaze. No. 66 gave a faint smile. Since the conversation was in Japanese, the other nearby participants didn't quite understand what was being said. After returning the notebook he had taken, No. 66 once again asked No. 58 in Japanese.
"But No. 58, have you always been this gloomy? Watching you gives off a bit of a shut-in vibe."
Once again, baby-permed No. 58 didn't answer.
"..."
He simply pulled his notebook back toward himself. No. 66 shrugged his shoulders.
"You have to answer. If you're that lacking in confidence, your language skills won't improve."
At that moment, a low-toned voice speaking in Japanese rang out from the entrance of the lounge.
"Whether he's gloomy or shut-in. That's none of your business, is it?"
It was remarkably fluent. Startled, not only No. 58 and No. 66 but all the dozens of participants in the lounge turned their heads. It was only natural, suddenly hearing near-native level Japanese.
At the entrance stood Kang Rojun, with a radiant face and a laptop tucked under one arm.
-Swish.
He walked up to No. 66 and calmly murmured in Japanese.
"You should win with skill, not by mocking people behind their backs."
"Ah, no, I was just-"
"If you're upset about losing, you should practice more. Didn't you come to Korea because you wanted to be an idol?"
"...No. 1, I think there's a bit of misunderstanding here."
"Misunderstanding? Is calling someone gloomy and a shut-in a misunderstanding? Then-"
Switching from Japanese, Rojun suddenly spoke in Korean.
"How's your Korean? I've seen you a few times and it seems a bit awkward. Try it. I'll assess your level."
"..."
As the atmosphere grew tense, the other participants' expressions hardened. No. 58 looked extremely uneasy. On the other hand, the composed Kang Rojun stared calmly at the silent No. 66 and spoke again. This time, it was back in Japanese.
"If your skills aren't good enough, at least work on your looks so you can dominate with your face. What is this sneaky behavior from behind? It's pathetic."
In that moment, No. 66 flinched. He felt disgusted and upset, but unfortunately, the one standing in front of him was No. 1, a monster in both visuals and skills.
'Damn it, why did this guy suddenly show up?? And why the hell is he so good at Japanese??!'
It was hard to counterattack in any way. As No. 66 stood speechless, Rojun leaned in slightly and spoke, still in Japanese.
"You have to answer. If you're that lacking in confidence, your looks won't improve either."
*****
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