Translator: Dreamscribe
-I thought No. 10 was good too ㅋㅋㅋ but after seeing No. 1's performance, I don't even remember him anymore ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Totally crushed it, seriously
-No. 1's dance… it feels so distinctive… That's not something you get from just practice
-No but WTF, how is No. 1 this insane at both vocals and dance and still hasn't debuted yet??????
-All the people who used to trash No. 1 are collectively confused now haha
-Ha-young? She danced well too, so her pairing with No. 1 looked beautiful ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
The viewers were going wild over Kang Rojun's 'brake' performance. The same went for 'Lime Some' in the van heading back to their dorm after finishing their schedule.
"Ha-young is completely in the spotlight!!"
"We told you this was going to blow up even on filming day! No. 1 flipped the whole stage!"
Every member of 'Lime Some', including Ha-young, was going crazy as they watched 'Produce That 100!' and the real-time open chat on their phones. It was only natural. For them, as a rookie girl group, this was the first time they'd received this much attention after debut.
Ha-young's heart was racing nonstop, completely dazed.
'This is insane, actually insane. I had no idea it'd look this dazzling in the final edit- '
Her affection for Kang Rojun skyrocketed by several levels. Thanks to the villainous narrative of No. 1, today's explosive moment had come to life. Soon, the excited chatter among the 'Lime Some' members shifted topics.
"But Ha-young's performance doesn't end here, right??"
"Right, that part change thing!! It's gonna air, right?"
"No way the PD wouldn't use that! Right? The energy during filming was unreal!"
Ha-young was thinking the same thing.
'It was kind of a rushed performance, but if I were the PD, I'd definitely include that shot.'
If possible. No, she was praying those cuts would make it in no matter what. They were already getting more attention than expected, but the more screen time, the better.
At this moment, Kang Rojun and Ha-young, who had performed spectacularly in the "Produce That 100!" stage, stood in the center of the stage.
-["Huff- Huff."]
The fast beat of the song 'brake' abruptly cut off.
The performance was over.
At the same time, the chat flooded with hundreds of thousands of viewers erupted with praise, and on screen, the judges, stunned moments earlier, started clapping.
-[Clap clap clap clap clap clap!]
Genuine admiration or exclamations from the judges.
Next, drenched in sweat, Kang Rojun, Ha-young, and No. 10 stood in a line on stage.
-That was honestly insane!! Way better than most idols out there!!!
-No. 10's expression is funny haha looks like he really didn't expect to get outshined
-Lime Some's Ha-young did great too!!!
-Agree agree, Ha-young or whatever her name is, she really nailed the female part
-Wow… No. 1 looks like a super handsome guy even covered in sweat ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
On screen, the judges continued their admiration, and then choreographer Lee Han-na took the mic.
-["It was an incredibly cool performance."]
She first praised Ha-young and No. 10, then turned her gaze to No. 1.
-["I mean, I often see pros and even perform on stage with them."]
Her smile deepened.
-["And among the performances I've seen lately, No. 1's is definitely at the top."]
In the open chat too, viewers were agreeing with the judges' evaluations, and choreographer Lee Han-na kept praising Kang Rojun. It wasn't just her. Yoon Seung-won and the other judges all showered him with compliments.
-No. 1's aura was insane, and the expression on his face like he was just having fun was unreal;;;
-Just like the female judge said, he was crazy sexy… No. 1 seems like someone who was just born to be a celebrity…
The camera caught Kang Rojun bowing deeply. Then it panned to Ha-young glancing at him.
-Looks like Ha-young's falling for No. 1 ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-For real, that look was serious.....honestly who wouldn't fall for him??
Next was No. 10, biting his lower lip. At that moment, judge Gong Joo-mi took the mic.
-["Hmm, before we decide between No. 1 or No. 10. May I make a sudden request?"]
Close-up on Gong Joo-mi's face. The viewers filled the chat with question marks.
-["It might be an opportunity for either No. 1 or No. 10. Could you two switch the first and second verse and perform again?"]
The unexpected request left No. 10 flustered, his face turning red with confusion.
-["...Huh??"]
In contrast, the viewers were in a celebratory mood.
-OMG!!! Gong Joo-mi knows what she's doing!!
-Yeah! They totally should try switching parts ㅋㅋㅋㅋ props to Gong Joo-mi ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-It is kind of a surprise though ㅋㅋㅋ how would either No. 1 or 10 pull this off? They probably only practiced their own parts
As she looked at the flustered No. 10, Gong Joo-mi then turned her gaze to Rojun.
-["What's wrong? Is it difficult? What about you, No. 1?"]
The camera switched from No. 10 to No. 1. Without a moment's hesitation, Kang Rojun nodded.
-["I don't mind."]
-["You don't mind? So it's okay to switch dance parts right now?"]
-["Yes."]
Eventually, No. 10 also agreed. The scene briefly showed the stage being rearranged, reactions from some contestants in the waiting room, and the production staff moving busily.
By this point, top actress Choi Rina was fully immersed in 'Produce That 100!', her eyes sparkling.
"Switching dance parts is a great idea! I love it!"
For some reason, her gaze was filled with fangirl energy.
At the same time.
-♬♪
On screen, 'brake' began playing once again.
Ha-young stood at center stage just like before.
-Swoosh.
But instead of No. 10, it was No. 1 Rojun appearing for the first verse. Although many viewers were concerned, Kang Rojun pulled it off effortlessly, as if 'brake' were his own song.
He was just as skilled and confident as he was during the second verse.
-Wow… No. 1 just leaves you speechless...
-Even after switching parts, No. 1 still completely crushed it hehe
-?_? Why is No. 1 so good at the first verse too???
-Ah;; this seals the deal...
However, No. 10 kept making mistakes.
Soon, all the judges unanimously chose Kang Rojun.
-["Yes!! The winner of the first dance team battle is No. 1!"]
The viewers also enthusiastically agreed.
Afterward.
Following Kang Rojun's stage, clips of judges being interviewed were shown. Every one of them was speechless with awe. Several contestants felt the same. Ha-young, the last one shown, earnestly praised No. 1.
-["I seriously practiced like crazy, but No. 1 was just so good… It was an incredible experience, and I'll be waiting for the day I can greet debuted No. 1 on a music show!"]
Thus ended the performance of 'brake', the opening act of the dance team. 'Produce That 100!' immediately moved on to the next performance, but the tens of thousands of viewers in the open chat were still busy talking about No. 1.
Things didn't calm down until the third performance.
Later in episode 3 of 'Produce That 100!', all 10 team performances were shown, followed by the display of 20 participants in the dance team. The narration was handled by a voice actor.
-["From this moment on, you will be the producers! Through viewer voting, the survival of each contestant will be determined…"]
The voice actor calmly explained how to vote. The voting page had already opened.
-["In next week's episode 4, performances by the 'vocal team' and 'rap team' will be shown, along with the survival results for the 'dance team'!"]
After the briefing ended, the angle showed dozens of participants who would perform next, including various 'dance team' participants including Kang Rojun, and then.
-'Produce That 100!'
The final title appeared on screen.
Episode 3 had ended.
Those who knew Kang Rojun went straight to the voting page for 'Produce That 100!' the moment episode 3 finished.
Including Choi Rina.
"Ah- so we vote for one person per team? Well, No. 1 is a given."
Ha-young and the members of 'Lime Some'. And the key staff of 'Rental Lover'.
"Huh?? The voting page isn't loading!"
"Seems like too many people rushed in all at once??"
"Tch- Anyway, we'll probably be seeing No. 1 in the entertainment industry real soon."
"Of course. After 'Produce That 100!' there's gonna be a flood of directors drooling over No. 1??"
PD Jung Soo-ryeong and others felt the same.
'When's the page going to be back up?? I was gonna vote for the writer right away. Seriously, this kid drops a bomb every week. It's confirmed the media and public opinion will be flooded with him again starting tomorrow.'
Late Friday night, right after episode 3 of 'Produce That 100!' aired, was incredibly hot. Like a molten furnace. Over at the Paju campus, even Kang Rojun thought:
'Didn't get much screen time in episode 3, but the stage performance was really clean. The broadcast ended but the open chat's even crazier now, isn't it??'
Room 105 dormmates, dozens of participants, everyone was in a complete frenzy. At this moment, the busiest of all were PD Woo Han-suk and the 'Produce That 100!' production staff.
"What the hell happened??! Why is the voting page suddenly frozen?!"
"It- It looks like too many people rushed in too fast!!"
Viewer interest had skyrocketed. To the point where the voting page actually crashed.
From late night into the early hours of dawn, SNS and various online communities couldn't stop talking about 'Produce That 100!', and articles poured in like a flood.
""No. 1 absolutely crushed it!" Viewers react to the 'Dance Team' performances in episode 3 of 'Produce That 100!'"
"'Produce That 100!' showcases the dazzling performances of 20 dance team contestants, but as expected, the standout star was No. 1 / Photo"
"[Issue Talk] 'Produce That 100!' creates a storm, voting page crashes after episode airs"
This situation became even more intense as dawn passed into Saturday morning, August 1st.
Around that time.
"'Produce That 100!' ratings rise again, official episode 3 rating hits 17.4%"
Episode 3's viewership rating had been made public.
"'Produce That 100!' surpasses 17% in just 3 episodes... On track to hit 20% next week!"
Having already passed 10%, it was rapidly approaching 20%. That's how massive Produce That 100!'s impact and traction had become. Online or offline, everyone was talking about it.
It was beyond a craze, reaching the level of a natural disaster.
The voting page for 'Produce That 100!' kept freezing and recovering.
"'Produce That 100!' Team says: "Voting page restored after crash, sorry for the inconvenience""
Still, voting continued one way or another. The production staff of 'Produce That 100!' were all stuck on the voting side, scrambling to update scores.
Saturday disappeared in a flash.
Of course, Sunday was just as hot and noisy with 'Produce That 100!' chatter. So over on campus, Kang Rojun was feeling pretty hyped up.
'Calm down, let's just finish the mission first.'
Forcing himself to calm down, he completed his Daily Mission. Along the way, bonus coin alert popped up for Rojun.
-[You have completed the Hidden Mission: 'Maintain Overwhelming Presence!' A reward of 20 coins has been awarded.]
Thanks to that, including the mission reward, he had collected 30 coins by morning.
-[Coins Owned: 320]
As planned, Kang Rojun invested the coins into his Rap stat. Just then.
-Bzzzz, bzzzzzz.
A call came in. The caller was PD Jung Soo-ryeong.
"Wow- Writer-nim. I watched the performance. You're good at dancing too?? I was completely shocked."
Feeling a bit embarrassed, Rojun scratched his chin as he replied.
"Thank you."
"I voted for you as soon as the broadcast ended. The page kept crashing, so it took some effort. But I'm pretty sure you're going to be the number one in votes. The survival depends on the viewer voting results too, right?"
"Yes, I think we'll be filming again sometime this week."
PD Jung Soo-ryeong responded with a light chuckle in her tone.
"I'm looking forward to it. Oh, but that's not actually why I called. During the 'Rental Lover' production meeting, one of the key staff came up with a good idea, so I wanted to ask you something."
"Please go ahead."
"It's about the 'Lover No. 4' role you'll be playing. So far, the concept we've outlined is that 'Lover No. 4' is insanely super handsome, but he doesn't just talk less, he basically doesn't talk at all, right?"
"Yes."
"It feels a bit plain, so we were thinking of adding some layers to it. By any chance, do you know any foreign languages? English, or anything else. I mean, lines can be practiced anyway, but it's easier if you already know some."
Foreign language? A faint smile appeared on Rojun's lips.
"I speak a bit of Japanese."
Monday, the 3rd, morning, at an officetel in Seoul.
In a fairly spacious officetel room, PD Woo Han-suk sat with heavy dark circles under his eyes. This was actually also the team office for PD Woo Han-suk. He seemed like he had been through a war the day before, slumped on the sofa.
"Ugh- I'm dead."
At the sound of the doorbell, he let out a groan and pulled himself up. He immediately opened the door.
-Swish.
Standing outside was PD Jung Soo-ryeong, smiling with her brown hair tied back.
"Hello, PD-nim."
"Yes, yes. Nice to meet you, I've heard a lot about you."
"Likewise."
"Come on in."
PD Jung Soo-ryeong entered, and the two exchanged business cards. Then PD Woo Han-suk led her to the table set up in the living room and handed her a canned coffee from the fridge.
"This is our office. Most of the team is currently at the broadcasting station. I just stepped out for a bit."
"Must be chaotic for you. I enjoyed episode 3 of 'Produce That 100!' The ratings were incredible."
"Haha. Thank you."
PD Woo Han-suk, now seated across from Jung Soo-ryeong, opened his canned coffee.
"Uh- where do I start? I guess we should begin with No. 1? I only recently heard that No. 1 is working as a writer."
"I've organized the story a bit. I think during the early stages of 'Produce That 100!', Writer-nim, or rather, No. 1, submitted a script to us. While we were in the judging phase for the contest, 'Produce That 100!' had already started filming."
As she murmured, PD Jung Soo-ryeong suddenly clapped both her hands as if something came to mind.
"Oh, right! When it comes to idols, there's the whole Korean wave and Japan's a given, and overseas markets are essential, so I don't know if he studied it or not. But I heard No. 1 speaks a little Japanese. Did you hear that too? How fluent is he?"
At that moment, thoughts of the upcoming Japan-related launch of 'Produce That 100!' and several other scheduled matters flashed through PD Woo Han-suk's mind, and he furrowed his brows.
'Rojun-ssi… knows Japanese?'
*****
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