SCT-Novel Chapter 114: Enter (2)
Chapter 114: Enter (2)
The reason why six of the seven remaining participants in front of the stage gave resigned smiles was simple. Because Kang Rojun’s name had not been called yet among the seven. Rojun had already proven his overwhelming popularity in various vote results, and his recognition was unmatched both domestically and in Japan.His name.
“The final winner!!! Rojun!!”
Resounded loudly throughout the entire hall. The six participants, who had accepted reality the moment Kang Rojun remained, clapped toward Rojun while somehow maintaining faint smiles. However.
‘......It’s over.’
'I wanted to become one too.'
'Ah- I wanted so desperately to be among the winners...ugh- I'm about to cry.'
The deep regret, frustration, and emptiness bursting from the depths of their hearts were inevitable. It was already impressive just to have come this far, but because they had made it here, they wanted to be the final winner. However, none of the six names were called.
Some of the participants clapping had eyes that became moist.
Kang Rojun, receiving the attention of dozens of staff and cameras while watching those participants, lightly clenched one fist.
‘Nice!!’
Even though he had heard people say things like ‘You’re a guaranteed winner', there was still a clear catharsis in experiencing that moment firsthand.
Final winner Kang Rojun.
Just before officially becoming an idol.
Compared to his hideous face days before, he now shone excessively. After bowing deeply to the camera, Rojun turned his body and made eye contact one by one with the six participants clapping for him. Then he murmured quietly.
“Let’s meet again at work.”
He implied that they would meet again on the field soon. The participants, feeling a strange kind of camaraderie like that of comrades, gave thumbs up to Kang Rojun.
“Yeah, congrats, Rojun hyung.”
“I should debut before you, hyung.”
“Even if you debut first, you think you’ll have higher recognition than hyung?”
“No way, hyung’s just on another level.”
Brief conversations exchanged. At this moment, PD Woo Han-suk, who had been watching, made a request.
“Rojun, please come up on the stage.”
Kang Rojun left behind the six and went up to the stage. Si-hoo, Do-kyung, and Kang Min were waiting. Rojun’s spot was the first among the four positions. Only after Kang Rojun took his place was the perfect picture of the four completed.
-Whoooooosh!
-Pop!
Fireworks exploded around the stage, and something like flower petals scattered from the ceiling. On the giant screen at the back of the stage, the faces of Rojun, followed by Si-hoo, Do-kyung, and Kang Min, were being displayed. Around this time, a reward arrived for Rojun. Of course, it came from the ‘AI Simulation’ app.
-[You have completed the hidden mission ‘I’m the Final Winner!’ You have been awarded 50 Coins as a reward.]
The cameras filmed the final winners, including Kang Rojun, for a long time. Left, right, front, back, full shots, bust shots, etc. Of course, there were also cameras filming the six eliminated participants. These participants now had to leave ‘Produce That 100!', and PD Woo Han-suk addressed them off-air, not for broadcast.
“You’ve only been eliminated from ‘Produce That 100!', but as idols, this is just the beginning. Let’s meet again soon.”
The eliminated participants left the hall after giving farewells to Woo Han-suk, each with different expressions, teary, plain, bitter. After that, the shooting focused on the four final winners. They posed for commemorative shots and individual interviews of the successful ones were conducted as part of the intended directing.
Si-hoo, Do-kyung, and Kang Min, who at first couldn’t believe it, were now smiling brightly.
Because the reality of being final winners had hit them deeply.
Then, the four final winners gathered in front of PD Woo Han-suk. With a deep smile, PD Woo Han-suk ran his hand through his disheveled hair.
"I'm deeply moved. Congratulations once again.”
The staff behind made a fuss. As congratulatory shouts spread, PD Woo Han-suk’s voice shifted to a much more serious tone.
“As you know, the ‘Produce That 100!’ schedule isn’t over yet. The name of our program is ‘Produce That 100!’ and there’s still one producing left by the viewers. Choosing where the final winners will settle.”
Several cameras moved in from the side.
“Before I inform you about the upcoming schedule, let me make one thing clear. Originally, you were supposed to carry out a few months of schedules under ‘Produce That 100!’ even after the broadcast ended, but that plan has been canceled. You’ve already shown far more than the original plan, and that’s enough.”
The initial plan for ‘Produce That 100!’ was up to episode 16. However, two extra episodes were added, and from the mini-concert to the unexpected release of a theme song, many things happened that weren’t originally scheduled. Of course, this also included all the buzz that was stirred up due to Kang Rojun’s various talents. In short, they had received a lot already, and to expect more would be greedy.
The broadcasting station ‘JTVM’ had wanted more, but PD Woo Han-suk had firmly opposed it.
“In other words, once filming for ‘Produce That 100!’ ends, you’ll move straight to your assigned entertainment agencies. Of course, there will be a brief adjustment period.”
Although the separation was earlier than expected, PD Woo Han-suk, who had no time to feel sentimental, continued speaking.
“Well, what comes later can wait until later. Next, we’ll proceed with filming alongside the selected entertainment agencies. We received countless applications from various agencies and narrowed it down to ten. They’ll present briefings to you including self-PR, future plans, and more. Just like you participants fought a survival battle, now the agencies will wage war, and it will be included in this week’s episode 17.”
This meant that the agencies’ PRs would also be broadcast nationwide.
“While you’re contemplating deeply, the agencies that finish their PRs will also receive votes from viewers. These votes are simply meant to help the four of you make your choice, and for that reason, the voting period will be shorter than usual. It will begin Friday night after episode 17 airs and end on Sunday. The results will be revealed next Monday.”
The image of the agencies as perceived by viewers was quite important. It felt like a pre-survey for that.
“The final selection day is Friday, November 20. That day is the air date of episode 18, the final episode of ‘Produce That 100!', and the last broadcast will be live.”
Live broadcast? The eyes of Kang Rojun and the other three widened. They hadn’t even imagined a live broadcast. Kang Rojun was quick to ask the question.
“If you say live broadcast, you mean the one we think-”
“That’s right. Live broadcast, live stream, real-time. Viewers will watch your final choice in the final episode as it airs live. So yes, choosing is important, but you’ll also need to prepare performances for that day. Think of it as a final greeting to viewers as the winners.”
Soon, Do-kyung raised his hand and asked in a expressionless tone.
“When do we film with those agencies?”
PD Woo Han-suk checked the time and answered right away.
“This afternoon. We’ve got about four hours left.”
A little later.
Kang Rojun, Si-hoo, Do-kyung, and Kang Min moved to same dorm room after finishing their final winner shoot. The time had passed noon. The six eliminated participants were nowhere to be seen, and Si-hoo, who threw himself onto a bottom bunk, let out a long breath.
“In this huge place, i-it’s just the four of us now.”
Do-kyung, who sat hugging a chair, scratched his head roughly.
“Agh- I still can’t get used to this.”
Kang Min, who was standing beside them, agreed.
“Right. Doesn’t it feel like PD-nim will suddenly barge in and go, ‘This was a prank!’?”
“If that happens, I’ll be genuinely pissed.”
The oldest among them, Si-hoo, raised his lying body.
“Anyway, starting today, the four of us are a group.”
“Yeah. Let’s do our best.”
"Ah- I'm already getting nervous. I can't even imagine the future because it's so dark ahead."
“But Rojun hyung. Why are you so quiet?”
Soon, the eyes of all three turned to Kang Rojun, who was sitting on a single bed with his legs crossed. Rojun, too, had been lost in thoughts about the future like the others.
“No, I was just thinking, idol life? Or the entertainment industry? Either way, it’s gonna be a total jungle, right?”
At that thrown-out comment, Si-hoo, Do-kyung, and Kang Min grew serious.
"I heard it's like Animal Kingdom. Honestly, I’m half-excited, half-scared. Hazing... will there be such things?"
“Probably. I saw on some community posts that rookies get subtly ostracized and bullied. What if they retaliate against us? We did dominate the recent music charts.”
“Eh- that’s a bit much. I’m more worried about music show PDs ignoring rookies. I’ve heard they do that a lot.”
“Then what do we do? Just fight back??”
"Then what? Just charge at them??" "......Do-kyung. Do you want to ruin things in your first year of debut? We just have to endure. What do you mean fight back."
While various speculations were pouring out, the eldest, Si-hoo, summed it up.
“I don’t really know about idol hazing, but when it comes to PDs, even if it does exist, it’s probably not that bad. We’re not total unknown rookies with nothing. Right, Rojun?”
Why are you asking me? Kang Rojun then realized that he was the one with the most outdoor experience among them, drama shoots and so on. Still, it felt too complicated to explain everything, so he decided to keep it simple.
“Whatever it is, just charging straight in is the answer.”
“......Huh?”
“That’s what I always think. We won't die, so let's just charge ahead."
“Ah-”
Despite having different personalities, they nodded seriously as if Rojun’s words had struck a chord. Though their expressions still showed lingering concern. Perhaps to shift the mood, Kang Rojun changed the subject.
“More than that, let’s talk about the agencies.”
“Ah! Right!!”
Si-hoo pulled out a sheet of paper he received from PD Woo Han-suk. The paper listed the ten final selected agencies.
-[Participating Entertainment Agencies]
1. GN Entertainment
2. EY Entertainment
3. Big Star Entertainment
4. KRO Entertainment
5. Harmony Entertainment
.
.
.
.
Each had their pros and cons, but all ten were considered major domestic agencies. Naturally, all three besides Rojun were familiar with them.
“Whoa- amazing. This agency lineup is seriously epic.”
“They’re actually coming to the shoot just to get picked by us??”
"My hands are shaking, I can't do it."
Si-hoo, Do-kyung, and Kang Min were hit with a wave of nervousness, but comparatively, Kang Rojun remained calm. Maybe it was because he hadn’t thought deeply about it before?
‘I mean, I became an idol all of a sudden, but these guys probably imagined this moment for a long time. So they must know a lot about the agencies too.’
As if proving Rojun’s assumption, the three quickly began pouring out information about the agencies. Do-kyung started.
“GN, EY, and Big Star are the undisputed big three.”
“KRO’s big too. Harmony’s not bad either.”
“Still, in the idol market, the big three are GN, EY, and Big Star.”
“GN was originally an actor-focused company that added idols later, so aren’t they a latecomer?”
“True, but they’ve got tons of money. Both their male and female idol groups launched successfully.”
“Big Star’s been kind of off their game lately though.”
An overwhelming amount of information flooded in. Kang Rojun didn’t even have a chance to join in.
'Let's just stay quiet.'
The only agency he was even somewhat familiar with was ‘Culture Drawer'. Anyway, there were about two weeks left before deciding on an agency, and a serious decision could wait until after today’s shoot with the agencies. Around 30 minutes passed while they talked about the agencies, and then Kang Min brought up a new topic.
“This might be getting ahead of ourselves, but should we come up with a group name?”
“Group name? All of a sudden?”
“Well, we’ve got some time before the next shoot, and it sounds fun, right? It’s not official or anything, just us deciding on a name.”
“Why not?”
“Si-hoo hyung, you go first.”
“M-me?? Uh- hmm...”
After folding his arms and thinking deeply, Si-hoo slowly raised his head.
“Bad Guys.”
Kang Rojun responded immediately.
“That idea is really bad, hyung.”
The others joined in.
“Bad Guys? That’s harsh.”
“Seriously bad, hyung.”
“T-then you guys try!”
Kang Min said,
“Hmm- how about Big Four? Big Four.”
Do-kyung threw out some names as they came to mind.
“I say... ‘Rosikangdo'. Combining just the first letters of Ro-jun, Si-hoo, Kang-min, and Do-kyung.”
Rojun shook his head.
“Is all this meaningless conversation really necessary?”
“Why- Big Four sounds good, Big Four.”
“What are we, dried squid snacks or something?”
“Hyung, what about Rosikangdo?”
“Sounds like a knife-wielding gang.”
Then Kang Min and Do-kyung almost simultaneously said,
“Hyung, you give us one. Say something too.”
“Isn’t that something the agency decides later anyway?”
“Still!”
“......Hmm.”
Kang Rojun scratched his chin and, a bit annoyed, just said the first thing that came to mind.
“GreenBee.” (TL Note: It doesn't translate exactly as Bee but GreenBi but in english I thing having GreenBee is better. But if you guys don't like it that way I can switch to GreenBi.)
Do-kyung quickly asked back,
“GreenBee? What is that? Green-colored rain??”
“No.”
Rojun explained the meaning behind ‘GreenBee’.
“It’s pure Korean. It means ‘a longed-for man’.”
The three blinked, then reacted at the same time.
“...That’s nice??!”
Meanwhile.
Vans were steadily entering the ‘Produce That 100!’ campus. Some had lettering on the sides.
-‘GN Entertainment’
Hoping to be chosen by Kang Rojun and the other three finalists.
-Vroooom!!
Ten entertainment agencies in total.
*****
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