Japan is currently half-crazy over 'Produce That 100!' That craze is only growing stronger with ti. Of course, Korea is a bigger market, but Japan is no joke either. Kang Rojun and No. 58, who regularly checked reactions both dostically and in Japan, knew this better than anyone.
On Japanese YouTube, the 'Produce' video had already surpassed several million views.
It wasn’t just 'Produce'. Every song used during the judging process was receiving the sa level of attention. So, what would happen if the the song 'Survival 100', composed and written by a 'Produce That 100!' contestant, were to blow up in Japan?
Right at that mont, No. 58 got chills after hearing what Kang Rojun said.
‘R-right. No. 1 is totally capable of writing lyrics in Japanese, isn’t he?’
Currently, in both Korea and Japan, Rojun is the undisputed face of 'Produce That 100!' Compared to other contestants, he has tens of tis more fans. If 'Survival 100' were released in Japan, and if the lyrics were rewritten in Japanese and it went viral.
‘The Japanese fans... they’ll go rabid for it.’
No. 58 imagined sothing imnse. But considering Rojun’s Japanese was on par with a native speaker, writing lyrics in Japanese didn’t seem difficult. No. 58’s imagination had a high chance of becoming reality.
No. 58's eyes widened with excitent.
“...Wow- That's right! Japanese lyrics! Why didn’t I think of that? But have you ever tried writing lyrics in Japanese? Ah- you said it was your first ti writing lyrics at all, right?"
“Yeah. I haven’t tried it, but I think I can do it.”
Kang Rojun answered the question. He had already mastered Japanese and English. There was no difference between him and a native speaker, and as long as he had the skill for writing lyrics, changing the language wouldn’t pose a huge problem.
‘Of course, it won’t be easy. I’ll have to carefully choose the words.’
Still, if he could complete both the Korean and Japanese lyrics for 'Survival 100', the usefulness of the the song would increase dramatically with two versions created by Rojun.
Right at that mont.
-Buzz.
Kang Rojun felt a vibration on his wrist. Upon checking, a notification popped up from the 'AI Simulation'. Imdiately, interest lit up in Rojun’s eyes.
-[Sudden Title Mission Activated!]
-[Related Titles: ‘Side Job Tycoon’, ‘Global Genius’]
-[Reward Upon Completion: 50 Coins]
-[Mission Condition: Complete Japanese Lyrics!]
A mission had just been thrown his way.
‘This kind of thing happened before with the ‘Side Job Tycoon’ title, right? My firepower is exploding.’
It felt as if even the 'AI Simulation' was rooting for the expansion of Kang Rojun’s world.
Then, Kang Rojun asked No. 58, who was sitting next to him.
“PD-nim will release 'Survival 100' as a digital single too, right? They did that with 'Produce' as well.”
“Probably. Not sure about the Japan side, though.”
“Anyway, when popular idols debut in Japan, they usually release Japanese versions of their songs, right?”
“Yeah. If the original song gets popular in Japan first, they release a Japanese version afterward. Sotis it's the other way around.”
“Oh, and I’ve seen cases where they release a Korean version later, even though the Japanese version was made first during Japan promotions.”
“Right. Sotis they plan from the start to make both Korean and Japanese versions.”
Though the examples were getting more complex, Kang Rojun simply shrugged and summarized it.
“For now, let’s write both Korean and Japanese versions of 'Survival 100', then release the Korean version in Japan first. Once popularity spikes, we can say the Japanese version was made as a thank-you gift and drop it.”
“That’s definitely the best approach.”
Rojun, who crossed his arms, recalled PD Woo Han-suk's face.
“Well, the final decision is up to PD-nim. If he thinks it’s bad or too difficult, then it won’t happen. Still, I better go ahead and write lyrics for both Korean and Japanese versions.”
“......”
“I’ll ask him when PD-nim cos in.”
“Yeah, okay.”
Even while answering, No. 58 once again thought No. 1 was a monster.
‘He’s got so much that even sothing that difficult sounds easy when he says it.’
No. 58 had been studying Japanese for quite a long ti, and his ultimate goal was to beco like the current Kang Rojun. Soone who could freely compose and write lyrics in Korean and other languages as if they were re tools.
‘Composing, I'm still in the learning stage, but if it’s No. 1, he’ll master composing in no ti. Then... he’ll really beco a total cheat character.’
For a mont, jealousy instinctively exploded in No. 58. But soon after, he shook his head slightly and turned that jealousy into motivation or determination.
‘Instead of being jealous, I’ll push myself even harder. I can’t get complacent just because I know a bit of composing. I need to keep grinding at Japanese too.’
Around this ti, episode 9 of 'Produce That 100!' on the tablet was already.
-["The voting for Group 2 and Group 3 has ended. I have your survival results in my hand."]
The elimination result scene for the remaining groups was now being shown.
Group 2 and Group 3 had stiff expressions.
PD Woo Han-suk was calmly making announcents.
-["I will announce Group 2 results first."]
-["...No. 19, you are eliminated."]
Soon the viewers' chat activity increased.
-No. 19 cut!
-Whoa, No. 19... eliminated? The number of people in Room 105 is dropping...
-No. 19’s skills were a bit lacking, but he was funny when he talked
Starting with No. 19, the eliminated contestants left 'Produce That 100!' one by one. After the elimination announcents ended, the screen displayed the 24 surviving contestants, including Group 1. One by one, the faces from No. 1 appeared on screen.
-Wow, 24 left now!!
-Looks like it went just as I predicted ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-What’s the next mission gonna be??
Changing the atmosphere, PD Woo Han-suk shouted to the contestants.
-["There’s a lot to decide from now on! First, we’ll reassign the teams!"]
After reorganizing 12 mbers each into Group 1 and Group 2, there was a briefing on the 4th round of evaluations. While explaining the team battle, a spinning roulette wheel was set up next to PD Woo Han-suk. It was to determine the task for the 4th evaluation. The wheel was spun with a swoosh, and viewers offered up many predictions. Eventually, the wheel stopped.
Then the task for the 4th evaluation was announced.
-["For the fourth evaluation, the 2-on-2 team battle task is ‘Rap’."]
A few seconds later, the screen went black.
Episode 9 of 'Produce That 100!' had ended.
-Nooo!!! Don’t end!!
-2-on-2 rap team battle!!! Seems like it'll be super fun!!
-Ahㅠㅜㅠㅜㅠㅜㅜㅠㅠ Are they picking audience mbers for the 4th evaluation this ti???ㅜㅜI wanna go...
-The competition for the 'Produce That 100!' audience tickets is gonna be insane ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Aside from No. 58, who else is good at rap?
-No. 26 is good too!!
-What about No. 1 this ti ㅋㅋㅋㅋ If he can rap too, he's truly an all-rounder???
-Ahhhhhh I wanna see No. 1 in real life!!! Please let win the audience spot!!!!!
Viewers went wild over the new evaluation task.
The next morning, Saturday, at SBC broadcasting station’s drama departnt.
Even though it was the weekend, drama departnt PDs who ca to work because of assignnts were noisily chatting.
“Wow- ‘Produce That 100!’ broke its own viewership record again??”
“25.8%??! Is that even a number you can see in this era?”
“Every ti you think it’s reached its peak, it breaks it again, crazy. At this rate, the final episode might even go past 30%.”
“Eh, 30% seems a bit too hard, don’t you think?”
“Why not? Totally possible.”
“Anyway, I’m jealous. So jealous. When will I ever break 20%?”
“You’ll retire from directing first.”
Amid the chatter, the PDs kept glancing toward a window-side seat for so reason. A female PD closely tied to 'Produce That 100!' was sitting alone there.
“Hey- PD Jung, your writer’s show broke its record again, and you’re not even reacting??”
It was PD Jung Soo-ryeong, wearing a cap pulled low over her disheveled hair. Sitting in her seat, she was focused on sothing and didn’t respond.
“......”
The reason she wasn’t at the filming site of 'Rental Lover' where she should have been was simple. She had a eting scheduled with the director and high-level executives from the broadcasting station. While she could ignore the director, the higher-ups were not so easy to dismiss. Whatever the case, PD Jung Soo-ryeong was reading a script while waiting for the eting.
Kang Rojun. No, not the script of writer Kang Chul-soo’s 'Rental Lover', but a different one.
She had already read Episode 1. This was Episode 2.
After focusing on the script for a while, PD Jung Soo-ryeong took off her hat. She ran her fingers through her hair and let out a dry laugh.
‘Is he really a monster?’
Her head was filled with Kang Rojun’s face.
'I don't know when he wrote this...... why has he been letting it rot until now??'
It seed like a sha that this script had only now ended up in her hands.
"Well, he just ca out into the world now with those crazy visual, so what about the script."
If he hadn’t been discovered as a writer, this script might have ended up being used as toilet paper. Knowing Rojun’s reserved personality, PD Jung Soo-ryeong thought just that. She slowly scanned the script in front of her, absorbing it.
‘A unique the, three-dinsional characters, cliches lted in at just the right spots, and yet, the cliches don’t feel obvious. Plus, there’s no room for boredom with this pace.’
It was a full-length script, so maybe he had the leeway to develop it, but the density was also packed. The result?
‘Of course, it’ll need a bit of polishing... but it’s good. So good I got sucked into it without realizing.’
The thought of this being used as toilet paper made PD Jung Soo-ryeong feel dizzy. And more than that.
“...This is only the first of the three scripts he sent.”
She was dumbfounded. Why is a kid aiming to be an idol so damn good with words, too? She still had two more scripts to read, and her smile deepened at the thought of producing them.
“Looks like I’ll have to move faster.”
Just then.
-Swish.
A bald man entered the drama departnt in a hurry. It was the departnt director, and he imdiately called for PD Jung Soo-ryeong.
“PD Jung!”
She looked up and tapped her wrist.
“Director-nim, I’ve been waiting 15 minutes. When’s the eting supposed to start?”
“We’re heading up now. But before that-”
The director approached the seated PD Jung Soo-ryeong with a serious look and lowered his voice.
"I just heard that inquiries about 'Rental Lover' ca in from Japan."
“...From Japan?”
“Yeah. About launching it.”
"Where in Japan?"
The director answered quickly.
“Netflix Japan.”
PD Jung Soo-ryeong, on the other hand, laughed as if she had expected it.
“Took longer than I thought.”
The director furrowed his brows and asked again.
“What???”
anwhile, at a different broadcasting station, not SBC.
It was ‘JTVM’, the top general and cable channel. Around the sa ti PD Jung Soo-ryeong was talking with the director, dozens of people were gathered in JTVM’s main conference room. The ㄷ-shaped table was filled with attendees, all busy chatting with one another.
The atmosphere was boisterous.
The ones chattering away were actually representatives from various dostic entertainnt companies.
From Top 5 entertainnt companies to those classified as large-scale. Mostly departnt heads or higher-ups. While they appeared to be smiling and chatting comfortably, since a truckload of competitors were present, every one of them was wearing a mask. All the words they exchanged were superficial.
"Haha, I heard Seo Jin-hee moved over to your side this ti?"
"Well, that's how it worked out."
“Congratulations. Your actor lineup’s getting solid.”
“Oh, not at all. Still a long way to go. Ah, I heard the ‘BMT’ kids are performing in the States?”
“Just rumors, haha. Nothing confird.”
No one revealed their true intentions.
About five minutes later, the door to the main conference room opened.
-Creak!
A man with deep dark circles appeared.
It was PD Woo Han-suk.
The previously noisy room fell silent, and dozens of representatives turned their attention to him. Standing at the head of the ㄷ-shaped table, PD Woo Han-suk offered a faint smile.
“Hello, I’m Woo Han-suk, director of ‘Produce That 100!’”
With a calm greeting, he scanned the seated attendees. So waved at him. They seed quite close. Soon, PD Woo Han-suk picked up a tablet from among the things he had brought.
“Thank you for coming. I’ll start by checking in with the agencies who arrived first.”
As if calling attendance, he began naming the entertainnt agencies he had sent ssages to. As a result.
“Yes, everyone is present.”
Not a single entertainnt company was missing from the conference room.
Just then, the doors opened again and caras entered. Looking closely, small caras had already been set up around the conference room. This eting, too, was part of the 'Produce That 100!' filming. Of course, prior consent had been obtained from all agencies.
“As ntioned in advance, this eting will also be recorded.”
Thus, dozens of entertainnt company representatives were captured on cara, and PD Woo Han-suk spoke with more emphasis in his voice as he looked at them.
"I know you're all busy, so I'll get straight to the point. First, the first thing. You probably saw in articles about the 4th evaluation’s audience invitation news, and I'm thinking of inviting you all that day too."
The conference room buzzed with murmurs.
“Of course, attending is entirely up to you. Any agencies who’d like to attend the 4th evaluation live and see the ‘Produce That 100!’ contestants in person, please raise your hand lightly.”
And then, without exception.
-Swish.
All the entertainnt company representatives raised their hands. Eyes full of ambition. As if he had expected this, PD Woo Han-suk smiled faintly.
“Noted. I'll consider everyone in attendance. If any issues arise, please let us know in advance. Next up, this one’s a bit more important. Let’s talk about how to connect the ‘Produce That 100!’ contestants with the dostic agencies gathered here today.”
All the representatives, their expressions hardening, focused their eyes on PD Woo Han-suk. He continued.
“‘Produce That 100!’ is a survival audition program. So naturally, this too should be a survival process. Ultimately, the agencies gathered here are not in the position to choose.”
After a slight pause, he opened his mouth again.
“You have to be chosen. Chosen by the ‘Produce That 100!’ kids.”
It was his way of saying: You’re the weaker side here.
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