Suddenly, I Became Crazy Handsome, and the World Became Easy
Chapter 56.2: Declaration (3)

Time flew by quickly with all this.

Rehearsals had started in the morning, but before anyone noticed, it was already late afternoon. Although the staff rotated shifts, Lee Han-na and Teams 2 and 3 around the stage were still drenched in sweat.

Rehearsals finally ended after 8 p.m.

At the same time, voting for Team 1 also concluded.

PD Woo Han-suk and the 'Produce That 100!' production crew gathered again in the hall on Wednesday morning.

One thing had changed from the day before.

“……”

“……”

Both the staff and PD Woo Han-suk had become quieter, with serious looks on their faces. Soon, the filming setup was complete, and about a dozen contestants entered the hall. Among them was Kang Rojun.

'The atmosphere is heavy. Well, it's understandable.'

It was Team 1. PD Woo Han-suk, in a low voice, addressed the 13 members of Team 1.

“Everyone, please go up on stage.”

Team 1 swallowed nervously and climbed onto the stage, lining up in number order with Rojun standing first. The camera lights had already turned on. Filming had started. Soon, PD Woo Han-suk stood before Team 1 and raised his tablet as he began to speak.

“Voting for ‘Team 1’ has concluded. In my hand, I hold your survival results.”

The man scanned the thirteen contestants with a serious gaze for a moment before continuing the briefing.

“Out of the 13, five will be eliminated, and this time there will be no survivors from the revival round.”

From this point on, no contestant would be brought back through a revival.

“Those who pass may stay where you are. If you’re eliminated, please leave ‘Produce That 100!’ immediately.”

Though they had heard similar words multiple times before, the contestants’ hearts pounded violently. If they had been eliminated in the early rounds, it would have been one thing, but having come this far, the desire to survive was only natural. Regardless, PD Woo Han-suk slowly opened his mouth.

“No. 94, you are eliminated. Thank you for your efforts.”

The first to be called was No. 94. With his slightly pointed chin, No. 94 widened his eyes in disbelief.

“M-me?? I’m eliminated?!”

“Yes.”

“Ah... ah...”

His eyes turned red. But no amount of sadness could change an elimination into a pass. In the end, No. 94 gave a quick goodbye to the other contestants and the production staff before leaving the hall. PD Woo Han-suk then proceeded to announce the remaining eliminated contestants.

A total of five people stepped down from the stage.

Soon, on stage.

“Congratulations on surviving.”

Only eight contestants remained, including Kang Rojun.

About an hour later.

Though the filming of Team 1’s third evaluation results had ended, Kang Rojun remained in the vast hall. Of the eight survivors, he was the only one still there, and PD Woo Han-suk approached him.

“Ready? It won’t take long. Just a brief greeting to the viewers and say the line you prepared, and that’s it.”

“Yes, I understand.”

The reason Kang Rojun had stayed behind? Simple. It was to film the official statement for the viewers that he was indeed the writer of 'Rental Lover'. Just as discussed earlier. After finalizing the line with PD Woo Han-suk, he stepped back behind the camera, and once he signaled that filming had started, Rojun gave a polite bow to the front-facing camera.

"Hello, this is No. 1."

What came next made PD Woo Han-suk and the writers blink in disbelief.

“That-that’s it?”

Later that day, around 2 p.m., a basketball court in Goyang drew a huge crowd, and an announcement echoed before the game began.

“There will be a celebratory performance!!”

The lights dimmed completely and then brightened again. In the center of the basketball court stood around a dozen 'Produce That 100!' contestants. Team 2 had begun their surprise performance. Since Team 1 had already stirred up media and public buzz, the audience caught on quickly.

“Kyaaaaa!!”

“It’s ‘Produce That 100!’ It’s them!!!”

Screams erupted. The song 'Produce' echoed throughout the court. But this time, as soon as Team 2’s performance ended, Team 3 took over immediately. Thanks to the short and powerful surprise performances, the thousands in the audience were fired up to an extreme.

This news hit the internet instantly.

《‘Produce That 100!’ Teams 2 and 3! This time they appear in Goyang!》

Meanwhile, the buzz surrounding Kang Rojun was still boiling over. However, since a few days had passed, the issue gained more traction, but the tone had begun to shift slightly.

-Stop with the media play already ㅋㅋㅋㅋ stop churning out trash articles

-Looking at how quiet No. 1 and the Rental Lover side are, it’s probably fake ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-Reporters these days, seriously, pushing articles without fact-checking anything is a problem

-Huh?? Did No. 1 say he's not the writer of Rental Lover??

-↑Nah, not that, but it’s turning into one of those typical unfounded rumors

-It was never believable anyway ㅋㅋㅋㅋ like how is No. 1 a drama writer ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

A tone of skepticism had crept in. This sentiment held through Thursday, and as public opinion began to shift, the media followed with similar headlines.

《[Star Pick] The drama ‘Rental Lover’ said to be written by No. 1 of ‘Produce That 100!’ starring Choi Rina, turns out it wasn’t him?》

By Friday, things were even more heated.

As this state continued, night fell, and Episode 8 of 'Produce That 100!' was broadcast.

-Produce That 100!

After the title screen, Episode 8 continued to feature a lot of Teams 2 and 3 following Episode 7. Viewers saw Team 2 and 3’s first evaluation related to 'Produce', their first group dance practice, rehearsals in the practice room, and stage rehearsals, among other things.

-Oh, No. 48 dances really well hahaha

-No. 48 got an A+? Isn’t this the first time since No. 1 that Lee Han-na watched the second verse dance?

-The only ones who copied the choreography perfectly are No. 1 and No. 48, right?

-But No. 1 is just on another level ㅋㅋㅋㅋ though 48 has strong facial features and is super handsome too

Just as the number of open chat viewers approached 400,000 and the excitement was peaking, the screen switched to the basketball court.

Teams 2 and 3’s surprise performance.

-ㅠㅜㅠㅜㅠㅠ No. 58 is so cute

-Teams 2 and 3 are as good as Team 1!!

-Nah ㅋㅋㅋ honestly Team 1 did it best

-No no no Team 2 is better, Team 1 relies too much on No. 1

-But if you look at No. 58, he seem like a low-key all-rounder ㅋㅋㅋㅋ good at rap and vocals and even decent at dancing

-Am I the only one who thinks Team 3 did best??

-Yep, just you~

After the surprise performance ended, there were a few interview cuts from Team 2 and 3 participants. Then the camera angle changed again.

-[“Voting for ‘Team 1’ has concluded. In my hand, I hold your survival results.”]

PD Woo Han-suk appeared. After Team 1’s members, all wearing stiff expressions, appeared on screen, the elimination notice came down.

-[“No. 94, you are eliminated. Thank you for your efforts.”]

Viewers in the open chat began buzzing loudly.

-Goodbye No. 94... ㅠㅠ

-Honestly, I thought he’d get eliminated

-He's crying, he's crying ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-It must be disappointing to be eliminated after coming this far

Soon, five contestants left 'Produce That 100!' and the surviving members were shown starting with Kang Rojun.

-But No. 1 barely had any screen time in Episode 8

-The media and public are going crazy!! No. 1! Say something already!!

-What? That No. 1 is the writer of 'Rental Lover'?? I heard that was total BS ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-Yeah, it's fake

-It did seem off... Like suddenly No. 1 writes a drama?

Then it happened.

Suddenly, the stage cleared out and only Kang Rojun was standing alone in the shot.

-??? What is this??

-Why are they suddenly only showing No. 1?

-What’s going on! What is this!!

-WTF... My mom just saw No. 1 and gasped ㅋㅋㅋㅋ she said he’s ridiculously handsome

Kang Rojun- no, No. 1 faced the viewers and greeted them.

-[“Hello, I’m No. 1.”]

Rojun's next line, delivered calmly, was extremely brief.

-[“I wrote ‘Rental Lover.’”]

The open live chat exploded instantly.