Suddenly, I Became Crazy Handsome, and the World Became Easy

Overall viewership rating 10.1%. It was the proud first broadcast rating of 'Produce That 100!'. As soon as he heard the rating, PD Woo Han-suk’s eyes widened, then quickly turned into a smiling face.

"10.1%, okay."

As soon as he responded to the junior over the phone, the writers including Kim Se-hee cheered. No, it was a scream closer to a shriek.

"Kyaaaah!! Is it real?? 10.1%?!"

"Amazing!! Amazing!!!"

"What the heck! What’s happening!! We surpassed 10% on the first broadcast??!!"

"......Pinch me, this doesn’t feel real."

"Wow- it’s my first time hitting a 10% rating!!"

Excited by the writers, the rest of the staff including those preparing for filming, sound, and lighting rushed over.

"They said the rating surpassed 10%!!!"

"Whaaat???! Re, really?!!"

"Waaaaaah!! 10%!! 10%!!"

Soon, the hall with the stage turned into a total frenzy. The thrill spread in an instant. All the hundred or so staff inside the hall jumped up and down.

It was truly a super-large-scale festival atmosphere.

The hall echoed with the staff's wild screams.

At this point, PD Woo Han-suk, the head of "Produce That 100!", smiled faintly as he looked around at the staff with satisfaction.

‘They’re so hyped, these brats.’

PD Woo Han-suk, who had over ten years of experience, had of course seen ratings in the 10% range before. But that was a story from quite a while ago. In the current era, where there's plenty to watch besides TV like Youtube and OTT, 10% had a different level of impact.

Moreover, "Produce That 100!" aired on JTVM, a general programming cable channel.

A 10% rating on a general programming cable channel? That was the equivalent of hitting a 20% rating on public broadcasting. No, maybe even more. These days, whether it's public broadcasting or not, fewer people watch TV, and the market is struggling. Crises abound across variety shows, dramas, news, documentaries, and more.

To have broken through that and reached a 10% rating might have been called a moderate success in the past, but now it was a huge hit.

At that moment.

"Breaking news, breaking news!!"

Writer Kim Se-hee, who received a call from the broadcasting center, shouted with high tension.

"'Produce That 100!' ranked number one in ratings during its Friday time slot!! And not just variety shows, it beat out dramas too!"

The cheers of the hundred or so production staff doubled in volume. In the broadcasting industry, Friday 9 PM is called the golden time slot. So many stations place their killer programs at that time. Whether it’s a variety show or drama. "Produce That 100!" had surpassed them all in ratings.

A result and figure more than worth savoring.

The staff of "Produce That 100!" felt catharsis as if all the hardships until now didn't exist. This is how the quality of a broadcast improves and reaches completion. But as if it wasn’t enough, the writers threw in more exciting bait to boost the energy.

"But this is just the beginning! We ended the last cut of the first episode on a real high note yesterday, and today is Saturday with two episodes airing back-to-back! It’s obvious the ratings will go even higher!!"

It was a valid point. Viewership ratings have a flow. A dying flow, a rising flow. "Produce That 100!" had clearly boarded a rising trend, and since today was a special back-to-back airing for the launch, the possibility of increased ratings was very high.

Then, PD Woo Han-suk gave instructions to the fired-up writers.

"Tell the center to pressure the reporters more, so we can double the number of articles from now!"

"Yes!!"

"And send out all the edited videos we’ve loaded for Youtube! Not just Youtube, hit every video platform, search site, everything!!"

As a veteran, PD Woo Han-suk had already prepared a ton of edited videos for Youtube and various video platforms and social media. And it seemed there was a pre-planned strategy, as the writers moved in perfect coordination.

"Oh, and also! Focus the edited clips mainly on ‘Number 1’!"

PD Woo Han-suk gave additional instructions.

"Don’t hold back the shorts or today’s teaser, release it all!"

About 30 minutes later.

While the staff in the hall were still in a frenzy, Kang Rojun was calmly running in the park next to the contestants’ dorm.

‘Even if I feel like I’m floating, I can’t miss a mission.’

Kang Rojun ran nonchalantly, his black hair swaying. But that didn’t mean he was calm on the inside. He was excited too, just pretending to be indifferent. Getting too carried away could lead to mistakes.

The funny thing was.

“Huff-huff- kuh-huff-”

“Wait a sec, ugh! I-I give up!”

More and more participants started running near Rojun. Originally, only the residents of Room 105 were participating, but maybe due to the first broadcast effect or something, the number of people running had easily surpassed a dozen. Of course, most of them ended up collapsing to the ground in less than 30 minutes. The Room 105 members had already given up as well.

Currently, only Kang Rojun was still running.

The Room 105 members, now huddled together, were all busy looking at their phones. Number 19, who was scrawny, and Number 37, who had a tanned skin tone, were showing excessive combativeness.

“Whoa shit!! New articles are popping up every second!”

“That’s what I’m saying! Every time I refresh ‘Neriver’, new articles are coming up!!”

“This is crazy, seriously!!”

In reality, the entertainment media was flooding with breaking news related to 'Produce That 100!'.

《Anticipated storm 'Produce That 100!' starts gloriously with 10.1% ratings, viewer reactions at furnace levels》

《Storm Expected: ‘Produce That 100!’ Starts Strong With 10.1% Rating, Viewer Reactions Like a Furnace》

《All Communities Now Flooded With ‘Produce That 100!’ / Photos》

While there were plenty of positive responses, there were also quite a few negative articles.

《How Long Will the Self-Cloning of Survival Audition Variety Shows Like ‘Produce That 100!’ Continue?》

《“It’s Boring, Why the Fuss?” Viewers Slam ‘Produce That 100!’》

Whichever side it was, it was still attention. The entertainment section of major search sites was pretty much dominated by 'Produce That 100!'.

“That 10% rating really was insane. I didn’t expect it to blow up like this.”

“This isn’t just a big hit, it’s a super super super super hit. Even SNS and communities are going nuts.”