Inside the restroom, which was practically Kang Rojun’s private practice room. Standing in front of the mirror, Rojun took a small deep breath.

“Hoo-”

He closed his eyes. Then he recalled the dancers who had dominated the stage with the dance of ‘Survival 100’ about an hour ago. Their facial expressions, hand and foot movements, dazzling motions, and so on. Although the practice video had already arrived, Kang Rojun intended to try the dance on his own first.

-Swish.

He began to move his body with rather large motions. Naturally, there were many segments where he hesitated. However, compared to the past Rojun, it was significant progress.

‘Not bad, let’s try once more.’

He skipped over the parts that were unclear in his memory. With the determination to just make it through with the moves engraved in his mind, he repeated the dance several times. A test he carried out four or five times. Kang Rojun’s breath became rough. But a smile spread across Rojun’s lips.

“Certainly, ‘Survival 100’ has harder choreography than ‘Produce’, but my body is moving surprisingly well. Easier than during ‘Produce’.”

At this point, even if he said he had no sense of rhythm, people wouldn’t believe it. On the contrary, ordinary people might evaluate him as “he can dance a bit?” Only then did Kang Rojun play the practice video. Not the group shot, but the solo shot. As Lee Han-na said, the practice format would probably be similar to ‘Produce’.

‘First, I’ll personally get used to the dance, and once my skills improve, we’ll move to group practice.’

He imagined the future.

A stage occupied by the 10 participants as idols. And a small concert, even if similar to a fan meeting, that he would experience for the first time. Even if the scale was very small, thousands of audience members would come. Rojun recalled the scenes he saw on TV or YouTube.

Idols shining on stage. And tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of fans cheering for them.

That would soon become a reality.

‘If I’m this nervous with thousands, how would I feel in front of tens of thousands?’

It was clear that even this current fantasy would soon become a reality. Following that, Kang Rojun spent over an hour adapting to the dance while watching the practice video.

And finally.

-[AI analysis in progress…… analysis complete!]

-[25 coins are needed to derive the desired result.]

He had learned the dance of ‘Survival 100’.

-[Applying…… application complete!]

The next day.

September had already ended, and it was the second day since October had begun. Today was Friday, October 2, and early in the morning, Kang Rojun, who had finished his daily mission, could be found in the large practice room. He wasn’t alone but was with all the other participants and Lee Han-na, and filming staff were visible in the back.

After chatting briefly with the participants.

“Then- shall we take a look at each person’s status one by one??”

She requested the ‘Survival 100’ dance that they would have practiced over the past day. The participants swallowed nervously. Their faces were full of worry and tension. Only Kang Rojun seemed composed.

Lee Han-na caught that.

‘Rojun’s making that unreadable face again… don’t tell me he copied the dance in just one day again??’

PD Woo Han-suk in the back was also looking forward to it. In any case, the 10 participants sat down a bit further back, and Lee Han-na placed a chair in front of them and called the first contestant.

“Let’s see- shall we start with Kang Min?”

46Kang Min, who had a exotically handsome appearance and was Rojun’s roommate, stood up and moved forward. During ‘Produce’, 46Kang Min had received the highest score after Kang Rojun, and Lee Han-na had that in mind when she called him first.

“You know this, but no pressure. Just show as much as you can comfortably.”

“Yes.”

When Lee Han-na gave a signal to PD Woo Han-suk, ‘Survival 100’ was quickly played in the practice room.

-♬♪

46 Kang Min began the dance. The intro moves were quite decent. A faint gasp was heard among the staff.

“Oh-”

“As expected of Kang Min. Doesn’t he feel similar to the dancers?”

“He got the second highest score after Rojun, in dance.”

Even Lee Han-na, with her arms crossed and expressionless, smiled inwardly.

‘Improved already? Is it because they’re young? Their skills are improving rapidly.’

In the end, 46Kang Min managed to get through the first verse even with occasional pauses.

“I’m sorry, the second verse is still hard for me.”

The second verse was generally lacking. But for an amateur to show this level of energy was something praiseworthy. In fact, even Lee Han-na offered encouragement.

“It’s okay. You did well, especially the first verse looked really good? You’ll probably copy it in no time.”

Next up was 58Si-hoo. The early part of his first verse wasn’t bad, but from the middle, he started to flounder, and the others who followed showed almost the same results. After watching up to the ninth contestant, 26Do-kyung, Lee Han-na wrote something on her tablet, satisfied in her own way.

‘They’re doing better than I expected. The pace is faster than during 'Produce'.’

And finally, the one who was called.

“Rojun.”

It was Kang Rojun. As he got up and walked with composure, Lee Han-na asked him with a slight smile.

“Wasn’t it difficult this time, Rojun?”

With a small smile at the corners of his lips, he nodded.

“It wasn't.”

“Seriously- you never change, never.”

Even if they’d become closer or gotten used to the atmosphere, he still needed to give off the scent of a villain. PD Woo Han-suk had asked Kang Rojun for that, and Rojun agreed with the idea. Anyway, with everyone’s eyes focused on him, Kang Rojun took position.

-Swish.

Soon, the song played in the practice room. At the same time, as if he had been waiting, Kang Rojun began the dance. Within just a few seconds, the 9 other participants, PD Woo Han-suk, and dozens of staff members had their mouths agape.

“......???”

In their eyes, question marks were thick and clear. And rightly so. The dance Kang Rojun performed was.

‘He, he’s exactly like the dancers??! No, isn’t he doing even better???’

Just like writer Kim Se-hee internally screamed, it was flawless. Of course, it was even more dazzling and smooth with Kang Rojun’s unique dance lines added. Watching Rojun effortlessly perform the dance for the first verse, Lee Han-na let out a scoff.

‘...What is this kid, really??’

There was no time to evaluate. It was closer to simply admiring Kang Rojun’s presence. Not just Lee Han-na, everyone in the practice room felt the same.

Even more astonishing was that Rojun.

-♬♪

was smoothly performing through the second verse as well. By this point, Lee Han-na’s gaze shifted from shock to awe, and when the ‘Survival 100’ song ended, a breathless Kang Rojun spoke.

“How was it?”

Snapping out of her daze and suddenly laughing, Lee Han-na asked right back.

“Wait, Rojun. You’re not using some kind of superpower, right??”

The question arose because she had just witnessed something absurd. Kang Rojun smiled with his eyes.

“Yes, I am.”

“What kind of superpower?”

“Just... superpower.”

“You’re even getting better at joking, and being born with that face is a superpower in itself.”

Shaking her head in disbelief, Lee Han-na became half-serious. Then she muttered to herself inwardly.

‘This isn’t just talent. He’s a genius.’

As a prominent choreographer, Lee Han-na had seen a few like that. Geniuses who soared in this field.

'A kid who could perfectly copy choreography right on the spot after seeing it once, I think I saw someone like that once in America?’

Even seasoned idols have high choreography copy abilities. They can somewhat mimic another team’s choreography after watching it once. But imitation and perfection are different. On top of that, Kang Rojun was still an amateur. Yet, in just one day, he had managed to copy the ‘Survival 100’ choreography to almost 100%.

‘If a monster like this were the enemy, I’d be crushed and demoralized, but as an ally, he’s the most reassuring thing in the world. Even if it’s temporary, for now, they’re all on the same side.’

Soon, Lee Han-na recalled something PD Woo Han-suk had mentioned to her yesterday.

‘I’m thinking of making Rojun the leader.’

Feeling he’d make a good role model, Lee Han-na made a request to Kang Rojun.

“Show us again, as the leader.”

Meanwhile, at the SBC Drama Department.

Inside the editing room, PD Jung Soo-ryeong could be seen with a headband on. Whether she had stayed up all night or not, her eyes were full of fatigue. A glance at the sofa in the back showed the assistant director fast asleep. Other staff members were nodding off too.

Only PD Jung Soo-ryeong had survived the night.

On several monitors, cuts from ‘Rental Lover’ were being played, and right now, PD Jung Soo-ryeong was staring intently at one monitor. A scene where ‘Lover No. 4’ was smiling with his eyes, in other words, Kang Rojun.

‘He’s terrifying, truly terrifying. No matter how many times I watch it, it’s unbelievable. That visual is just......’

PD Jung Soo-ryeong felt regret too.

‘It’s a regret that the camera can’t fully capture his real-life appearance.’

With current technology, it's impossible to fully capture Rojun’s visuals or his aura. Even so, what’s shown on screen is more than enough to mesmerize viewers. That said, is Rojun’s acting truly lacking, as the media and public opinion are now criticizing?

No, it was the opposite.

She had felt it on set, but PD Jung Soo-ryeong felt it even more acutely during editing.

'Looking at these eyes and facial expressions, the talk about his acting being shit goes away 100%.'

To be honest, out of all the actors who appeared in 'Rental Lover', Kang Rojun topped the list when it came to detailed emotions and facial expressions.

‘Even if he doesn’t have many lines, his eyes are full of emotion. You can feel he truly cherishes and loves the female lead.’

Viewers become immersed in the work through the protagonist. In short, to every viewer watching 'Rental Lover', Kang Rojun is their lover.

“......As expected, for this cut I should use a close-up shot that pulls tightly on his face instead of a bust shot.”

Who could resist being wrapped up in that loving gaze and visual? Chuckling gleefully for some reason, PD Jung Soo-ryeong muttered,

“Just imagining viewers being enchanted and crying out already makes me happy.”

Suddenly, the editing room door burst open. A bald man in his 50s entered, it was the head of the drama department.

“PD Jung. How about Friday, November 6 for the first broadcast of ‘Rental Lover’? No matter how we angle it, late October won’t work for the golden timeslot. It’s unreasonable to push back other shows.”

With November 6, that left about a month. Considering promotion and marketing, it was essentially less than a month. Though the schedule was tight, PD Jung Soo-ryeong had no problem with it. 'Rental Lover' was a one-act drama with a small number of episodes, so the editing period was shorter than for other mini-dramas. If PD Jung Soo-ryeong put her life into it, she could finish faster.

Having already prepared to sacrifice her life, PD Jung Soo-ryeong replied as if it was no big deal.

“November 6, Friday is OK. Let’s announce the premiere date sometime next week.”

Later.

On Friday night, October 2nd, 'Produce That 100!' was aired as PD Woo Han-suk had informed the participants.

-‘Produce That 100!’

It was broadcast as a special episode.

The content included unaired footage, the current and past appearances of the 10 surviving participants, interviews with eliminated contestants, behind-the-scenes clips of the evaluation stages, and more. A pretty well-composed special. Still, a special is just a special.

《Special episode of ‘Produce That 100!’ drops to 26% in viewership rating》

The ratings announced on Saturday, one day later, showed a roughly 5% drop. Of course, 26% was still an impressive figure, but the media focused their coverage on the drop in 'Produce That 100!' ratings. PD Woo Han-suk didn’t care at all.

‘It’s just temporary, temporary.’

He was confident that viewership would bounce back the moment episode 12 aired. No matter what, public opinion was quite noisy.

-Ah!!! Why a special episode all of a sudden!!

-Announcing the contestants' names and teasing the theme song with Rojun and Si-hoo and then airing a special? That’s too much……

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ I enjoyed it though??? They had great chemistry, I liked it

-No seriously, what’s happening with the theme song then!!!

-Ha.... the special was good, but how do we wait until next week....

-Feels like they’re taking a breather since it’s the second half now ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ???

.

.

.

Around that time, Kang Rojun and the 9 other participants at the campus were starting and ending their day with practice. Some were even staying up all night. Naturally, the subject was 'Survival 100'. They were distributing their time properly between vocal and dance practice. Though there was no group practice scheduled until the weekend, from the following Monday, group rehearsals would begin as well.

That Monday came in an instant.

The world was overflowing with countless issues, and for Kang Rojun and the participants, who were practicing like mad, the weekend vanished in a blink.

On the morning of the 5th, after finishing his run, Kang Rojun glanced at his phone and was slightly surprised.

‘Oh- this is out now.’

Because a major teaser related to 'Produce That 100!' had been released on Monday morning.

《[Issue Pick] ‘Produce That 100!’ Preparing a Small-Scale Domestic Concert》

《Rumors of a Small Concert for ‘Produce That 100!’, Related to Upcoming 5th Evaluation?》

《This Time It’s a Real Concert, Not Just an Audience Participation Event! Info on ‘Produce That 100!’ Preparing a Small-Scale Concert》

These articles seemed to float somewhere between facts and speculation. Still, there was no doubt it was exciting news that would drive the public wild.

But that wasn’t the end.

《After the 10 survivors’ domestic small concert, are they heading straight to Japan? ‘Produce That 100!’ staff says “high possibility”》

As soon as October began, 'Produce That 100!' ramped up its shaking of the media and public opinion.

《'Produce That 100!', beyond domestic, will there be small-scale concerts in Japan too?》

*****

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