The first filming day of 'Rental Lover' was absolute chaos, like a battlefield. It was all because of a suddenly released article.
"[Exclusive] The work suddenly chosen by top actress Choi Rina, the one-act drama 'Rental Lover', was written by 'No. 1' from 'Produce That 100!'"
The ones who reacted the fastest were the key staff members huddled around the assistant director, staring intensely at their phones.
"This, this article!! What?! How did this article go live right now??!"
"What is this? Which news outlet?? What's the reporter's name?"
"What's in the article?! Is it official?? It's not just a baseless rumor??!"
"Official or not, the problem is that something that was top secret is suddenly published as an article right now!!"
"Where the hell did this damn reporter get the info to publish this??!"
They were not just agitated, they were practically delirious, shouting and yelling in all directions.
"Who is it! Who leaked it?!"
From the looks of it, it made sense to suspect someone from the 'Rental Lover' team leaked it. Even though it was a one-act and had fewer staff than a full-length drama, there were still dozens of people. But that assumption was slightly shaky. The ones who knew about the writer Kang Chul-soo situation were the key staff members, including PD Jung Soo-ryeong, and the minor staff were only loosely informed this morning.
It was too tight a timeline for the staff to have leaked it, and if the key staff had blabbed, that would mean they breached the confidentiality clause in their contracts.
"Hey! Similar articles are starting to pop up!"
"Its about Rina ssi and writer-nim!! For something this juicy, of course every media outlet would jump on it immediately!"
The increasingly heated atmosphere spread throughout the entire 'Rental Lover' set. Dozens of staff who had been preparing for filming gathered around the jumping key staff members.
The first filming of 'Rental Lover' was spiraling into turmoil.
Top actress Choi Rina had concern in her eyes and glanced sideways at Kang Rojun nearby.
'Is this... okay? Thankfully the article doesn't mention that Writer-nim is 'Lover No. 4', but... wasn't the fact that he's the 'Rental Lover' writer revealed way too fast???'
She hadn't been directly briefed by PD Jung Soo-ryeong, but Choi Rina instinctively assumed that this information would only be released at the earliest after the filming was completed.
What was interesting was.
'But why is writer-nim so calm??'
While everyone was making a ruckus, the person at the center of it all, Kang Rojun, was.
"..."
Unbelievably calm. It even looked like he had a slight smile on his lips. It was strange. Shouldn't he be the one most flustered in this situation? Choi Rina knew that Kang Rojun usually gave off a laid-back vibe. But given the current state of things...
'Even the tiniest reaction would be normal, right??? He's way too quiet.'
Rojun should have at least reacted in some way.
However, he just kept staring at PD Jung Soo-ryeong.
As a result, all the key staff who had been watching Kang Rojun turned their eyes to PD Jung Soo-ryeong.
"PD-nim! Is everything okay??!"
"You should start calling the media right now and tell them to take the articles down, or issue a correction saying it's speculation, do something!"
"S-should we start by identifying the media outlets that published the articles???"
PD Jung Soo-ryeong was not particularly flustered either.
"The timing is perfect. Why not let it blow up."
The key staff blinked in confusion.
"...What??"
At the same time.
Various portal sites began flooding with articles about Kang Rojun by the second.
"The writer of 'Rental Lover', starring Choi Rina, is No. 1 from 'Produce That 100!'?"
"No. 1, the most popular contestant on 'Produce That 100!', is revealed to be the writer of 'Rental Lover'- Netizens are buzzing over the unexpected news"
The articles all had similar content, only the headlines were slightly different.
The rate at which they were being released was insanely fast. You didn't even need to check the newsrooms to know what was happening.
"'Rental Lover'??! Isn't that the one-act where Choi Rina is in the lead role??"
"Correct! That's the one-act that became hot because Choi Rina joined unexpectedly!!"
"But what's this about the writer of 'Rental Lover' being No. 1 from 'Produce That 100!'?? He's totally killing it on 'Produce That 100!' right now, isn't he?!"
"I-I don't know!"
"Ah- damn, just get the article out first! We can figure things out later!!"
Large-scale, mid-sized, or small, regardless of their size, media outlets were too busy gobbling up the juicy, oversized scoop to worry about anything else. Whether it was true or not didn't matter. What mattered was churning out more articles than their competitors, faster and in greater quantity.
Because they needed as many clicks from the public as possible.
As a result, the number of articles exploded exponentially and flooded the internet in no time.
After about an hour had passed.
"No. 1 from 'Produce That 100!' is a drama writer? As expected of the eye of the storm, the rumor spreads like wildfire"
Most of the top-ranking entertainment news was related to Kang Rojun. On top of that, 'Produce That 100!' had just broken its highest viewership rating with Episode 7, and with the show currently dominating the spotlight, including surprise performances by Team 1, which included the trending Kang Rojun, and the third round of voting, the exposure got a huge boost.
It was the weekend, so the impact was doubled.
The scoop that hit the press spread in the blink of an eye to all sorts of places. Public messenger apps, social media, online communities, YouTube, and not just the official board for 'Produce That 100!', but far beyond. The reaction wasn't just limited to media, it was now triggering a massive wave of public opinion.
Whether offline.
"Wow- look at this article!"
"Huh?? What is it?"
"You know No. 1 from 'Produce That 100!'?? Apparently, he's a drama writer?"
"Wait, what? What are you talking about?"
"You know, that one-act drama with Choi Rina! They say No. 1 wrote it!"
Or online.
-This is so random ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ but it sounds true because it's so unexpected
-Come on, what do you mean an idol is a writer ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-There are tons of articles about this now, is it official??
-But we've seen No. 1 writing several times on 'Produce That 100!'
-No. 1... with that face... that talent... and he writes well too???
-OMG!! That means Choi Rina is starring in a drama written by No. 1!
-Honestly if this is real ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ No. 1 is seriously an agent of chaos ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-An idol who's also a writer… it's a fresh concept but not a bad one…
-ㅠㅜㅠㅠㅜㅜㅜㅠㅜI want to see 'Rental Lover' already
-No way, how did he write a drama while filming 'Produce That 100!'
-↑ Maybe he wrote it beforehand?
-He's a villain, super handsome, and a writer ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ what even is he?
·
·
Everywhere, the snowball kept rolling with 'Rental Lover', 'Produce That 100!', No. 1, and Choi Rina at the center, growing the already high recognition of those keywords even further. Whether it was a tabloid or not, it was generating major results.
Not only 'Produce That 100!' but even 'Rental Lover' was now riding a terrifying wave of promotional success.
The entire domestic entertainment and broadcasting industry was turned on its head.
So how would those who knew Kang Rojun- no, No. 1, feel? Participants like No. 10 and No. 88, who had returned home after being eliminated from the 'Produce That 100!' campus, were left with their jaws hanging open. The rookie girl group 'Lime Some', who had worked with Rojun and others for the second round of evaluations, was thrown into chaos in a music show's waiting room.
Ha-young, who had performed with Kang Rojun on the 'brake' performance, wore the most visibly shocked expression.
"...Eh?? Seriously?"
About two hours later, Kang Rojun and Choi Rina's faces had taken over everywhere.
Yet the 'Rental Lover' filming site, which should've been ground zero of the uproar, was relatively calm and organized. All the cameras and lighting equipment had been set up, and dozens of staff who had stepped outside the shooting space had also settled down compared to the initial frenzy.
PD Jung Soo-ryeong sat at the station with the monitors lined up.
Top actress Choi Rina, with her makeup done, appeared on various camera angles. Then, in front of her.
-Swish.
Kang Rojun, dressed in a suit, stood. When the two briefly made eye contact, PD Jung Soo-ryeong, after confirming both of them on the monitor, shouted into the signal megaphone.
"Action!"
The first shoot of 'Rental Lover' had just begun.
Meanwhile, back at the 'Produce That 100!' campus in Paju.
All the participants, spending their time in their own ways, were talking about the same thing. Starting with the peers in Room 105.
"No. 1-nim is a writer?? What kind of fresh bullshit is that."
Everyone was buzzing about No. 1. Given what they had seen up to this point, it would be strange not to be surprised. Especially since Kang Rojun wasn't on campus at the moment, it only fueled the buzz.
By this point, the meeting room set up in the production team's dorm building was buzzing as well. The writing team, including hamster-like Kim Se-hee, and key staff from filming and sound departments had also seen the articles flooding the internet about Rojun.
"What is this!! Why are they going wild over something so ridiculous and baseless?!"
"Ha- seriously! The imagination is too much! They just threw it out there for clicks, and because No. 1 is so hot right now, it spread like wildfire without any brakes."
"That's it, right. There were clips of No. 1 writing on 'Produce That 100!', and now that 'Rental Lover' is trending again thanks to Choi Rina, they probably just lazily linked the two."
"What do we do?? The articles are exploding so fast, it feels too late to block them."
Amid the flustered mood, the writing team tried to offer ways to calm the situation.
"There's no way to block the articles now. The best and fastest thing would be to issue an official denial."
"Then let's act fast, shall we? PD-nim! As you know, there's no benefit in wasting time!"
"Totally agree."
PD Woo Han-suk, whose dark circles had drooped all the way down his jawline from repeated all-nighters, was noticeably more silent than the writers.
"..."
He simply continued reading the Rojun-related articles on his phone. Perhaps frustrated by his lack of urgency, the high-strung writer Kim Se-hee jumped in.
"PD-nim!! Did you hear me??! This is no time to be zoning out!!"
"I hear you, I hear you. My ears hurt, damn it."
"We need to take action!"
Woo Han-suk slowly scratched his chin and put his phone down.
"Hm- about that. There's really no need to issue a denial."
"What?"
With furrowed brows, the writers and key staff looked on as PD Woo Han-suk made his declaration.
"Because the article is true."
Everyone except PD Woo Han-suk was suddenly filled with question marks on their faces.
"Huh?"
"...??"
Woo Han-suk scratched his chin again and reaffirmed.
"It's true. The one-act 'Rental Lover' was indeed written by No. 1."
More than ten seconds of silence passed before Kim Se-hee cautiously asked,
"…PD-nim, are you, by any chance, trying to escape from reality??"
Letting out a small sigh, PD Woo Han-suk began explaining.
"Due to the circumstances, I had no choice but to explain now. Truth is, I've known since the early days of 'Produce That 100!' that No. 1 wrote 'Rental Lover', and I've met with the 'Rental Lover' directing team a few times."
He briefly summarized the connection between Kang Rojun and 'Rental Lover'. Of course, leaving out the part about 'Lover No. 4'.
"Most likely, the key staff of 'Rental Lover' and the actors including Choi Rina already know No. 1 is the writer. There was even a script reading recently."
"...What."
"Wait- hold on a sec."
The writers' faces twisted into expressions of utter confusion.
"Does that even make sense? How does an idol become a writer?"
"S-So... that thing No. 1 was working on in the break room, that was really 'Rental Lover'???"
"Probably. Or maybe it was another script. Either way, he's been actively writing."
"All those times he left the dorms."
"Were meetings with them."
Though they heard it, they still couldn't believe it.
"So- No. 1 was owning 'Produce That 100!' and simultaneously working as a writer, and the result of that is a drama starring top-tier actress Choi Rina?"
"There are some differences in the timeline, but more or less, yeah."
"That's too unreal to even process."
"Ugh… I'm getting goosebumps."
"No, writing a script isn't something that can be done in a day or two, it's a question of whether it can be done even if you write like crazy. And you're telling me he pulled that off while doing 'Produce That 100!'?"
Because they were broadcast writers themselves, their reactions were even more intense. Among them, Kim Se-hee, who had been sitting there slack-jawed the entire time, finally spoke up.
"If this isn't just a tabloid rumor but the real deal, then things are already explosive, and they're going to flip over a few more times. This is just too dreamy, precedent or not."
PD Woo Han-suk let out a short laugh and scratched his chin.
"As far as idols go, this guy is a real ecosystem disruptor. He's got the looks, the talent, and even a killer side job. If I look ahead at No. 1's future, I see someone who's going to break through everything in an unparalleled, one-of-a-kind way. No matter which industry."
"…Then when are we making the official announcement? We'll have to let people know it's true and not just a rumor."
PD Woo Han-suk did not immediately respond to the question thrown at him. Instead, he suddenly recalled a past conversation he had shared with PD Jung Soo-ryeong. It had started with PD Jung Soo-ryeong.
"We're definitely going to expand the scope. As for when to drop the bait that No. 1 is the writer of 'Rental Lover', I think the end of August, around the time of the first shoot for 'Rental Lover', would be ideal."
"For me, that timing's best too, since it lines up with the surprise performance in 'Produce That 100!' and the Netflix Japan launch. But isn't that a bit early?"
"On our side, things will be quite noisy too, since Choi Rina is confirmed as the female lead. So for the first bomb drop, the timing is just right. It'll hook audiences for both 'Rental Lover' and 'Produce That 100!' just right."
"Hmm. With such a big bait, both the press and public opinion will be in uproar, so how long will you leave it as is? It's good to drag the attention as much as possible."
"I agree completely."
In short, this whole situation had been orchestrated by PD Woo Han-suk and PD Jung Soo-ryeong. Naturally, the central figure, Kang Rojun, was also in the loop.
"Decide the official statement timing after discussing with the writer around that time."
"Of course."
"But for the first bomb, we'll only reveal that No. 1 is the writer of 'Rental Lover'. His participation as an actor in 'Rental Lover' will stay hidden for now. We need to save that for a final twist."
Back to reality, in the meeting room surrounded by writers, PD Woo Han-suk thought.
'After the first bomb, the revelation that Rojun is 'Lover No. 4' will drop right around the time of the 'Rental Lover' production presentation, just before it airs-'
He imagined the future as he muttered to himself.
'The setup is perfect.'
He had a clear image of Kang Rojun, surrounded by reporters.
·
·