Around 10 AM. Inside the Shinbundang Line subway.

There were a lot of people, but since the rush hour had passed, the situation was relatively better. A man with gray hair sat down in an empty seat. He was tall and had a delicate appearance.

Quite a few men and women stole glances at the gray-haired man.

Crossing his legs in his seat, the man enjoyed the attention.

'Choosing ash gray for my hair was a great decision. The color came out well, and this level of attention is exactly what I wanted.'

It seemed the man was well aware that his appearance was quite decent. Even the two female college students sitting across from him, whispering to each other, acknowledged it.

"Isn't the guy in front of us pretty nice?"

"Yeah. His hair color is pretty. You should ask for his number."

"Are you crazy? I just said he looks good, that's all."

It was then.

-Swish.

A man appeared, having just entered from the adjacent car. He glanced around on both sides before settling on an empty seat, right next to the gray-haired man.

The gray-haired man, who had been casually looking at his phone, absentmindedly turned his head to the right.

At that moment.

"!!!"

He gasped excessively.

'What the fuck!! Who the hell is this guy!!!'

The man unintentionally locked eyes with the one sitting to his right. He immediately averted his gaze, only to regret it right after. It felt like he had admitted defeat.

Then, he scanned the surroundings. Almost everyone was openly staring at the man to his right or sneaking glances at him.

The two female college students across from him had long lost interest in the gray-haired man.

"Wow... what is up with that god-like face?"

"Agreed. That ash-gray hair dude is officially a squid now."

"His face is insane. He has to be a celebrity. Do you know who he is?"

"Never seen him before. Maybe he's a trainee."

"This is crazy. If that god-like guy debuts, he's gonna dominate on looks alone."

The squid, no, the gray-haired man, awkwardly cleared his throat and moved seats. But no one paid attention to him anymore. The one monopolizing all the attention in the subway car was Kang Rojun. He kept a calm expression as he gazed into the air.

'Everyone's looking at me, huh? Where the hell am I supposed to look in a situation like this?'

Even he, who had accidentally made eye contact with an advertisement model, could feel the weight of the stares.

'Man, I can't get used to this.'

Still, no one approached him to ask for his number. He needed to get someone to ask for it, but all he was doing was attracting stares. He thought this mission would be easy, but it was proving to be harder than expected. Was it the location? Yeah, it made sense. Unless someone was extremely bold, they wouldn't just ask for a number inside a subway. Regardless, the subway arrived at Gangnam Station, and a flood of people poured out.

Kang Rojun was among them.

'Ugh- so many damn people.'

There were over a hundred people lined up at the escalators and stairs. After scanning his card at the turnstile, Rojun walked toward the exit. Shops were lined up on both sides and there were quite a few people brushing past.

'Gangnam, how long has it been since I last came here openly?'

He had always avoided such crowded places. That’s why he now found himself looking around in fascination.

Of course, even at this moment, he was still drawing all the attention from passersby.

A few steps ahead, a man and a woman were stopping people and striking up conversations.

"Oh my! You have such a good aura. Your face seems to be filled with fortune. Would you like to chat for a moment?"

It was a common sight in Gangnam. Any moment now, they would start asking if he knew about "The Way." Naturally, people ignored them.

But the two weren’t the type to give up. They quickly set their sights on a new target, Kang Rojun.

The woman, wearing a business-like smile, approached Rojun and started to speak. But as soon as she saw his face.

"Excuse me! You have such a..."

She abruptly stopped. As if possessed, she muttered:

"...ridiculously handsome face."

She went straight for the compliment?

Caught off guard, Kang Rojun bowed slightly with a composed expression.

"Uh- thank you."

The man and woman forgot their original purpose, struck speechless as they admired Rojun’s super-handsome face. That lasted for about ten seconds. Feeling awkward, Rojun slowly started preparing his escape.

"Well then, take care."

The man and woman, who had been staring blankly at Kang Rojun’s retreating figure, spoke in unison.

“Insanely handsome.”

“Ridiculously handsome.”

But Kang Rojun paid them no mind as he stepped out of the subway station via the stairs. Outside, an even larger crowd filled the streets.

‘Phew- stay calm.’

Taking a slow step forward, Rojun began striding through Gangnam. Ten minutes, thirty minutes, an hour. By now, Kang Rojun was beginning to feel as if he were walking on an entirely different planet. And it made perfect sense.

Just a few days ago, people would either avoid him because of his hideous appearance, give him strange looks, be suspicious of him, or at worst, hurl insults at him. There had also been an overwhelming air of cold indifference.

But now, everything was completely different.

The moment he stepped into a noticeable café, the female owner behind the counter greeted him with extreme enthusiasm.

“...Um, do you have a job right now? If not, would you like to work at our store? I'll pay you a really high hourly wage.”

“Just a coffee, please.”

“Really?? Oh, just in case, I’ll give you our shop’s business card. Even if it’s just for a week, if you’re interested, please contact me! Also, here’s a complimentary cookie!”

A man who accidentally bumped into his shoulder was actually the one who showed concern for Rojun.

“Ah- watch where you’re... Oh?”

“Yes, I’m sorry.”

“No, no, it happens. Are... are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

When he asked for directions, a group of college students personally escorted him to his destination.

And that wasn’t all.

As he walked, an interviewer suddenly approached him out of nowhere.

“Whoa! Whoa!!! Hello!”

"Yes?"

“We run a fashion-related YouTube channel! Could we interview you for a moment?”

“I suppose that’s possible.”

“Wow... Your face is absolutely insane. Look, people are gathering around!! This has never happened before! What’s your outfit concept for today? You look super hip.”

“I just wore whatever I had at home.”

“It’s the face. The ultimate key to fashion is definitely the face.”

Within just an hour, he had received Instagram-related offers, shopping mall modeling proposals, requests for photo shoots, and even business cards from agencies asking if he was already signed.

Before he knew it, Kang Rojun had moved past mere excitement, he was experiencing catharsis.

And on top of that.

-[Mission ‘Get 3 people (male or female) to ask for your number’ Completed! 1 Coin Awarded!]

The mission had been completed effortlessly.

As Kang Rojun made his way back to the subway, he muttered to himself, his words filled with genuine emotion.

‘The world is so damn easy now.’

The next day, Thursday, June 4th. Early morning.

Waking up in his semi-basement one-room apartment, Kang Rojun stared blankly at the ceiling for a moment before suddenly jolting up. Then, he rushed to the bathroom.

He needed to check the mirror. Just in case.

“Phew- still the same.”

A lingering fear, what if his face had reverted to how it was before?

But no, his god-tier, ridiculously handsome face and the ‘AI Simulation’ app remained unchanged.

“Thank god.”

Offering his gratitude to the heavens, Rojun stretched and loosened up his body.

“Let’s start with the workout mission.”

He immediately got to work, quickly completing two missions in no time.

-[Mission ‘Do 31 Push-ups’ Completed! 1 Coin Awarded!]-

-[Mission ‘Do 31 Sit-ups’ Completed! 1 Coin Awarded!]-

After changing into appropriate workout clothes, Kang Rojun headed to a nearby park for a run.

At the same time, he hummed a song, yet another mission.

Although he had already completed the missions, he continued running for a while longer. Running early in the morning just felt good.

Simply running, and yet he was this happy.

“Phew- should I head back now?”

Sweat poured down his face, but it no longer stung or itched. If anything, his appearance seemed to shine even more. The proof? The stunned gazes of fellow morning exercisers who stared at him, eyes wide with disbelief.

-Swish.

Back home, Kang Rojun was just about to head to the bathroom for a shower when.

-Bzzzz.

-Bzzzz.

His phone vibrated.

The phone vibrated urgently with short bursts.

Who could it be this early in the morning?

Tilting his head in curiosity, Kang Rojun checked the screen. Messages had arrived from an unknown number.

After reading them, he realized they were from the people who had asked for his number in Gangnam yesterday.

Letting out a small sigh, he scratched his chin.

"Hmm-"

He soon closed the messages and opened the ‘AI Simulation’ app to check his status and coins.

-[User: Kang Rojun / Age: 24 / Height: 182.8 cm / Desired Occupation: Idol / Coins: 28]

"28 coins, huh..."

Muttering to himself, Rojun scanned the various buttons in the app, ones he had already checked before. Then, he crossed his arms.

‘I could do anything, but I should probably start with becoming an idol, right?’

A sudden smirk formed on his lips. The thought he just had was so ridiculous.

‘Like becoming an idol is that easy?’

A few days ago, it was something he couldn’t even dream of. But now, he was nearly convinced it would happen.

Was this the buff of being ridiculously handsome?

Not that it mattered.

‘Then again, it doesn't seem that difficult either.’

With this face, not even trying would be downright idiotic. Besides, he had the ‘AI Simulation’ app.

Rojun spent a moment searching for information about idols on his phone. Countless articles and pieces of information flooded his screen.

“......”

As he read the articles seriously, he eventually started his shower.

The moment he was done, he got dressed. His outfit was different from yesterday’s, but still simple, a plain black short-sleeved T-shirt and jeans.

“Time to go.”

His destination for the day: Seongsu Station.

Around two hours later, near Seongsu Station.

Almost noon.

The area around Seongsu Station was bustling with people, likely because of lunchtime.

Among them was a group of women walking toward the station, chatting and laughing.

In the middle of their conversation, a girl who resembled a hamster suddenly widened her eyes dramatically.

“Woah-”

She stopped dead in her tracks and pointed ahead with her index finger.

“Hey, hey, look at that guy.”

Her friends followed the direction of her finger.

Their mouths dropped open simultaneously.

“Is he... a celebrity? Who is he?”

“No idea, but he’s ridiculously handsome.”

What had caught their attention was Kang Rojun, who had just arrived at Seongsu Station.

Like yesterday, he was here to complete the "Get Your Number Asked" mission.

Unaware of this, the hamster-like girl quickly snapped a photo of Rojun.

Then.

-Dash!

She bolted toward him with incredible urgency.

Rojun, who noticed her immediately, thought.

'Shit, that startled me. I almost screamed.'

Startled by her intensity, he instinctively took a step back.

But the hamster-like girl didn’t care. She held out her phone toward him, completely unfazed.

“Excuse me! Can you give me your number?!”

"...What?"

“Your number- wait, no, but seriously, you’re ridiculously, ridiculously handsome. You know that, right?”

“I have an idea.”

“No, no, just ‘having an idea’ isn’t enough. You’re on a level that could even outshine the top-tier predators!! What do you do? Are you an actor? A model? Or an idol??! I’ve never seen you before, so are you a trainee???”

Her energy was over the top. Way over the top.

It seemed like she was naturally this energetic.

Rojun responded as casually as possible, despite feeling slightly awkward.

“I’m just unemployed.”

“......Unemployed?”

“Yeah, unemployed.”

“No way. You’re hiding something, right?”

“Nope. I’m really unemployed. Well then.”

“Ah- ah!! Wait! Your number!!”

The girl eventually managed to get Kang Rojun’s number.

As she watched him slowly disappear into the distance, she muttered under her breath.

"Unemployed… with that face???"

Friday, June 5th.

In Sangam-dong, a familiar girl practically sprinted into a massive building.

It was the hamster-like girl who had gotten Kang Rojun’s number the day before.

What was interesting, though, was the large sign plastered on the building she entered.

-‘JTVM’

JTVM, the top broadcasting station among general programming and cable networks.

Yet, she casually entered the station as if it were nothing.

After quickly stepping out of the elevator, she arrived at the JTVM Variety Department.

The place was bustling, filled with different sections, each labeled with the name and logo of various variety shows.

Reaching her desk, she immediately noticed something.

"Wait, where is everyone?? Ah! They must be in a meeting!"

She swiftly made her way to the meeting rooms lined up in a row.

The moment she threw open a door, the people inside greeted her.

"Se-hee! You’re dead last!!"

Five women and three men sat around a ㄷ-shaped conference table.

The man at the head of the table, wearing glasses, looked to be the oldest.

Without hesitation, the girl, Kim Se-hee, shouted to the entire room.

"I found someone in Seongsu yesterday who’s insanely, ridiculously, unbelievably handsome!!!"

"Huh?? What’s with the sudden outburst??"

"I’m serious! If he debuts, he’ll redefine the entire standard of ‘handsome’!!"

Kim Se-hee was practically vibrating with excitement.

Meanwhile, the bespectacled man at the head of the table let out a deep sigh, as if he was all too familiar with this behavior.

"Sigh- she’s caught Face Lover Syndrome again. Someone put her to sleep. She’s too loud."

But the hamster-like girl quickly grabbed the man’s shoulder and shook him.

"No, PD-nim! I’m serious this time! This isn’t just Face Lover Syndrome!"

"Hey, hey, don’t shake me. It’s making me dizzy. And Kim Se-hee, you’re a broadcast writer, how about focusing on ideas instead of raving about some ridiculously handsome guy?"

That’s right, Kim Se-hee was a broadcast writer.

"Wa- this is unfair! Wait, wait! I took a picture!"

Kim Se-hee hurriedly opened her phone’s gallery and showed the bespectacled man the picture she had taken of Kang Rojun the day before.

At first, the man glanced at it with a bored expression, but then… his gaze changed slightly.

"Oh... Wait, this isn’t edited?"

"It’s not!! And his real-life visuals are beyond words. You have to see him in person!"

At that moment, one of the male staff members walked over to the whiteboard at the side of the meeting room.

It was filled with various keywords like "Idol" and "Audition".

He erased a number from the topmost section and rewrote it.

- ‘Produce That 100!’ D-day: 28 days

The countdown had changed from 29 to 28 days.

At the same time, Kim Se-hee jabbed her index finger at the picture of Kang Rojun on her phone.

Then, bursting with energy, she turned to the bespectacled man, the PD, and shouted.

"PD-nim! We absolutely HAVE to get this guy on our show!!!"