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.”

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.”

*****

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