Suddenly, I Became Crazy Handsome, and the World Became Easy
Chapter 42.2: Villain (4)

With Kang Rojun’s performance, the first evaluation for Team 1 concluded. As Team 1 gathered back on stage, Lee Han-na read out the assigned grades.

“No. 15, B.”

Although it started with a B, the rest were filled with Cs and Ds. What was strange was that Lee Han-na didn’t say a word about Rojun, to whom she had given an SSS.

“You can consider the grade you were called as reflecting your current skill level, and the amount of practice will be determined accordingly. Of course, whether it’s B, C, or D, you all need to practice like your lives depend on it. If you’re lacking, then stay up all night if you must. You’d better be prepared. There’s no time. Practice starts today, immediately.”

Lee Han-na gave instructions for Team 1 to gather at the practice room in an hour.

Naturally, Rojun was excluded.

Just as all of Team 1 started glancing at Kang Rojun, the first evaluation shoot concluded. As soon as PD Woo Han-suk finished his brief wrap-up, Team 1 disbanded. Rojun didn’t return to Room 105 right away but stopped by the restroom first.

To check the ‘AI Simulation’ app.

He saw that a notification had arrived.

-[You’ve completed the Hidden Mission ‘Captivate the Eyes of Giants!’ A reward of 20 coins has been granted.]

Smiling at the reward he received,

-[Coins Owned: 455]

He had already recovered the coins he spent on 'Produce'.

‘So sweet, seriously sweet.’

Rojun then invested some coins into stat enhancements.

-[Appearance (100/100)│Singing Ability (11.5/100)│Rap (8.8/100)]

[Dance (16.1/100)│Eloquence (9.3/100)│Acting (6.2/100)]

Afterward, he checked his messages. The first message he saw was from PD Jung Soo-ryeong. It roughly said, “The actors’ preliminary meeting is confirmed for next Monday.”

'If it's Monday, August 17th, that means there are 5 days left?'

In five days, he would meet the cast of 'Rental Lover', including S-Class top actress Choi Rina. Just thinking about meeting celebrities, and the fact that he would need to reveal his identity to them, made Kang Rojun’s heart start pounding.

“Whew- what kind of expression am I supposed to make?”

Ten minutes later, Rojun returned to Room 105 and found his peers getting ready to go out. But for some reason, No. 19, 37, 58, and 88 all wore somber expressions. As soon as they saw Rojun, No. 37 forced a smile.

“Ah, No. 1-nim, you’re done filming?”

“Yes. But where are you all going?”

No. 37 answered again.

“They said we’re about to film the voting results now……”

At that moment, Rojun recalled the ‘Dance Team’ shoot and went quiet. This time, it was the ‘Vocal Team’ and ‘Rap Team’ taking their turn. Once filming was done, one among those four might get eliminated.

“Good luck.”

About 30 minutes later, the fate of the ‘Vocal Team’ and ‘Rap Team’ was decided in the hall. Of course, Rojun didn’t know the result immediately. It wasn’t until about two hours later that he found out.

-Swish.

The peers who had finished filming returned to Room 105, and all four had gloomy faces. Especially No. 88, tall and lanky, looked the worst. No. 19, 37, and 58 entered the room without saying much, while No. 88 took a deep breath and greeted Rojun and the others.

“It’s been a pleasure.”

No. 88 was the one eliminated from Room 105. With reddened eyes, he spoke sincerely.

“I’ve felt it for weeks now, how lacking I really am.”

No. 88’s gaze traveled from the others to Rojun.

“Please make sure to win in my place and debut as an idol. I’ll be cheering you on as a viewer.”

“......”

Kang Rojun felt an unfamiliar burning sensation inside, and he gave No. 88 a low but resolute response.

“I’ve received the baton.”

A few days later, on Friday night, August 14th.

It was almost 9 p.m. Today was the broadcast of episode 5 of 'Produce That 100!' and only a few minutes remained before it aired. Normally, the campus would’ve been bustling with noise, but for some reason, the mood among the dozens of contestants gathered in the room was subdued.

Gloomy, one might say.

Because they had bid farewell to a roommate they had grown fond of. In some rooms, up to two members had been eliminated. This was true for Room 105, where Kang Rojun resided as well. The members of Room 105 had finished preparing to watch 'Produce That 100!' on their tablets. However, only four of them were present.

No. 88 had already packed his things and gone home.

“......”

“......”

The reason they weren’t speaking wasn’t so much because they were feeling down, but more out of consideration for No. 88. The absence of someone who was always there left a surprisingly large void. For reference, among the survivors, Nos. 19, 37, and 58, Nos. 19 and 58 were assigned to Team 2, while No. 37 was placed in Team 3. Like Rojun, they had heard the song 'Produce', but the practice videos wouldn’t be sent to them until the following week.

This was to stagger the timeline between teams.

At present, only 38 participants remained on the 'Produce That 100!' campus, 13 in Team 1, 13 in Team 2, and 12 in Team 3.

Around this time, the ads on the tablet ended, and the opening of 'Produce That 100!' began. Episode 5 had started. The members of Room 105 forced some smiles to lighten the mood.

"...It's starting"

“Wonder what kind of scenes they’ve filled this episode with-”

“No. 1-nim! Please turn the volume up!”

Raising the volume, Kang Rojun also wondered what Episode 5 would look like.

‘Whoa- over 300,000 people are in the live open chat. No way I can keep up with that.’

Whatever the case, once the title rolled, the first scene of Episode 5 showed the 13 members of Team 1 and their brief interviews, followed by interviews with the seven eliminated contestants.

-["I was just really unlucky, seriously. Of all people, I had to be up against No. 1. If it had been someone else, I would’ve survived."]

After bold claims from red-haired No. 10, footage followed showing the seven eliminated contestants leaving. Then the screen shifted again.

-["The first official theme song for ‘Produce That 100!’ has been completed."]

PD Woo Han-suk appeared, briefing Team 1.

-["This isn’t the only theme song."]

The caption “Theme Song” appeared, and the voiceover took over.

-["This theme song and those to be completed in the future will lead to... surprise performances in Korea! And a confirmed concert schedule in Japan too!"]

Viewers went wild with excitement.

-Wowww!!! Are they finally performing??

-ㅠㅜㅠㅠㅜㅠㅠ I don’t even know what kind of concert it is but I really want to see it.....

-But what’s this concert in Japan about??

-‘Produce That 100!’ is pretty hot in Japan right now, you know

-I heard rumors that it's going to be launched on Netflix Japan

Next, scenes showed the contestants going about their usual routines despite eliminations, talking about the eliminated contestants in the dorm, getting excited over the show’s viewership ratings, eating, going to training, and so on.

Then the camera angle shifted abruptly. And a caption appeared.

-[No. 1 is alone in the lounge.]

While all participants were in training, only No. 1 was sitting alone in the lounge. Busily typing on a laptop. To anyone watching, he exuded a strong aura not of someone dreaming of becoming an idol, but of a writer.

The caption changed.

-[What is No. 1 writing alone?]

Soon, the chat lit up.

-While everyone else is training, this guy’s just writing? ㅋㅋㅋ what’s he doing?

-Turns out he might actually be a writer ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Acting like a writer ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Nonsense, why?

-But even his focused expression is super handsome hahaha

-Writing’s a bit much, he's probably just writing a diary

-No. 1, what are you doing??

The viewers' curiosity exploded.

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