Suddenly, I Became Crazy Handsome, and the World Became Easy
Chapter 57.1: Declaration (4)

The final cut of Episode 8 of 'Produce That 100!'

-["Hello, I’m No. 1."]

Kang Rojun standing alone in front of the stage was calmly making his declaration.

-["I wrote 'Rental Lover'."]

The camera angle slowly zooms in on Rojun's face for about three seconds. Then immediately cuts to black. Right after, commercials begin playing.

In other words, Episode 8 of 'Produce That 100!' had ended.

However, the hundreds of thousands of viewers in the real-time open chat showed no signs of dispersing.

-Huh?????

-What just happened at the end??

-Whoa????

-So it’s true No. 1 wrote Rental Lover??!

-Hold on!! How can it end like this!!

-Wow... insane...

-It ends like this???

Rather, the reactions were several times more heated than during the broadcast.

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ I seriously didn’t expect this

-He really made the declaration on Produce That 100! ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ and so damn assertively ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-So villain-like, that super short statement ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-He openly admitted it, so Rental Lover was definitely written by No. 1

-Where did all those people who called it fake run off to?? haha

-For real, No. 1 has star quality ㅋㅋㅋㅋ I’ve never seen this happen in the idol scene ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-Wait, so No. 1 was not only dominating Produce That 100! but also writing scripts???; crazy

-Seriously a disruptor ㅋㅋㅋㅋ vocals, dance, his face doesn’t even seem human and now he’s a writer too???

-↑ He works out like crazy too so his body is amazing ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-Ha... this is why I can’t quit fangirling...

Even though the show had ended, the viewer reactions showed no sign of stopping. It was the kind of performance that warranted it. After all, No. 1 himself had addressed the hot topic that had been stirring things up for about a week, directly and clearly, on 'Produce That 100!'.

Those who knew Kang Rojun reacted similarly.

Especially chaotic was the set of ‘Rental Lover’.

The 'Rental Lover' team had been watching 'Produce That 100!' briefly during a break in filming, and they couldn’t help but gasp at the last cut showing Kang Rojun’s declaration.

“Wow- so straightforward.”

“That was refreshing?? I was wondering how he’d make an official statement, and he went and did it on Produce That 100!”

“Whoever thought of this idea, it’s definitely going to pull in some real attention!”

“Needless to say. Reporters are probably hammering out articles like crazy right now.”

“This is good. It not only highlights our writer-nim's character but also pulls attention in.”

“This way, writer-nim gets spotlighted, and 'Rental Lover' gets another boost!”

Amid the chaos, PD Jung Soo-ryeong was also smiling.

‘Aha- so that’s how you played it? Was it PD Woo Han-suk’s idea? No, judging from how bold it was, maybe it was Rojun’s. Either way, it’s simple and to the point. This will definitely stir things up for a few more days.’

It was an incredible promotional effect. After a week of chaos with rumors and controversy, this kind of attention-grabbing performance was set to keep the buzz alive well into the following week.

Next to PD Jung Soo-ryeong, Choi Rina was surprised but also relieved.

‘Now the media won’t keep pestering writer-nim! I feel so relieved!’

Apparently, she hadn’t been happy about the media and public opinion subtly attacking Kang Rojun. Meanwhile, over at the Paju Campus dorms, where dozens of contestants were watching Episode 8 of 'Produce That 100!', chaos broke out.

“Huh?? No. 1 is, actually the writer of Rental Lover??!”

“Wow...... that’s insane.”

“PD-nim told us before not to get swept up by pointless rumors, so I really didn’t expect this!”

“Wait... what’s up with No. 1?? We’re barely making time to practice, and he’s been doing all his schedules and writing too?”

“...Should we go ask him?”

“I feel like other dorms are thinking the same thing.”

“L-let’s wait for now. If we cause trouble for No. 1, the production team might give us a warning.”

Naturally, the eyes of the people in Room 105, which included Kang Rojun, were all fixed on him. No. 19, No. 37, No. 58.

“......”

“......”

With their mouths hanging open or their eyes wide as saucers, the three of them stared silently at Kang Rojun, who cleared his throat.

“Yes, that’s how it is.”

"Is this... really true??"

“Yes.”

“Whoa- shit.”

The high-energy No. 19 and No. 37 bombarded Kang Rojun with a flurry of questions, and Rojun answered them moderately. Although No. 58 with the baby perm didn’t ask any questions, he still seemed to be in shock.

‘Calling him a genius doesn’t even cover it. What is this person really???’

It was especially true for No. 58, who had recently been astonished by Rojun’s lyrics writing. While the entire 'Produce That 100!' cast, who didn’t know the full details about No. 1, was in an uproar.

《‘No. 1’ appears at the end of ‘Produce That 100!’ Episode 8 and declares, ‘I wrote 'Rental Lover' / Photo》

As if they had been waiting, articles began flooding out.

《‘Produce That 100!’ star ‘No. 1’ acknowledges on broadcast that he’s the writer of ‘Rental Lover’!》

The firepower was overwhelming. With 'Produce That 100!' already pulling viewership ratings well over 20%, it was a show that regularly triggered an explosion of articles. But now with No. 1’s major revelation, the volume seemed to have doubled.

《[Issue Talk] ‘Rental Lover’ starring top actress Choi Rina was indeed written by ‘No. 1’ from Produce That 100!》

《‘Rental Lover', starring top actress Choi Rina...public interest explodes following No. 1's declaration》

This wasn’t just a reaction to a contestant from an audition variety show being a writer. It was because that contestant was Kang Rojun, someone already on par with rising stars in terms of recognition, whose path was completely unprecedented in the idol industry, and because the female lead of 'Rental Lover' was one of Korea’s top actresses, Choi Rina.

The rarity of it all and the strategies of PD Jung Soo-ryeong and PD Woo Han-suk had clearly worked as a bonus.

As a result, not only news articles but also social media, online communities, and YouTube were soon dominated by 'Produce That 100!' and No. 1.

-The scene in Episode 8 of Produce That 100! where No. 1 admits he's the writer of Rental Lover!!｜LivingRoomIssueTV

-The endless rumors about No. 1 from Produce That 100! being a writer, he confirmed it himself!｜KimLecker

With such explosive content, there was no way the media and public opinion would just move on.

-OMGGGGG so it was real??

-↑Yeah, No. 1 confirmed it himself in Episode 8 of Produce That 100

-No. 1 is seriously legendary ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ did he debut as a writer before even debuting as an idol??

-Normally, idols debut first and then try their hand at acting ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ what’s up with No. 1’s career path

-I also thought for sure he’d start with acting after seeing his insane visuals ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-But maybe that’s why it’s even more eye-catching ㅋㅋㅋㅋ an idol who writes scripts?? So refreshing!!

-There’s no idol who’s a writer, right?

-Maybe No. 1 knows his acting is weak but his writing is strong so he built that up first ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-Damn... now that No. 1 said he wrote it, I’m super curious about Rental Lover ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-Agreed agreed, I want to watch Rental Lover too ㅋㅋㅋㅋ and it’s even better with Choi Rina as the female lead

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