Chapter 27: Zero Star Crisis
It was a warm sunny day. The five-star trainees sat on the floor in a circle, excited to talk about their upcoming signal song performance.
"Sweet! We don't have a budget limit," Zeth exclaimed. "The possibilities are endless with our performance. May I suggest we add some platforms to the stage to make it more dramatic?"
Ren nodded in agreement. "Artificial indoor fireworks would be good too, or maybe some fire at the end may be better."
"We can do both," Jaeyong said. "We don't have a budget limit anyway. Let's do our best to get the most views in 24 hours."
"Then, shall we ask the production crew to make the platforms move? I'm sure the other levels wouldn't be able to afford that," Casper suggested.
"Good idea," Leo said. "And since we're singing live, let's ask them for higher-quality speakers."
The other trainees nodded.
"And should we stick to the iconic schoolboy outfits for this performance?" Hyunwoo asked. "It's a signature for the signal song."
Zeth nodded. "Yes. I think that would be good. What do you guys think?"
The other five-star trainees exclaimed in agreement. Everyone was amicable to the schoolboy concept.
"That's good," Jaeyong, their leader, said. "I've written down your suggestions and will take them to the production crew later."
"Thanks, bro," Jaxon said, patting Jaeyong's back. "You're a lifesaver."
Jaeyong smiled and nodded. "There's one thing we need to establish, though. Who will be our center?"
***
The four-star trainees excitedly exclaimed as a briefcase filled with 10,000 dollars was handed to their leader, Steel.
"Damn! Imagine what we could do with that amount of money. Let's go all out for our performance!" Daeho exclaimed.
"I'm sure the five-star trainees are also going all out," Alex said. "However, I think we're pretty similar in skill. We have some famous trainees here, too. It's worth fighting for the benefit."
"Then, do you have any suggestions on what we can do?" Steel asked.
"Let's accentuate the stage," Zachary suggested. "I think a pyramid would be nice. The center can take the highest part."
"Oh, that's good," Lin Zhi smirked, speaking for the first time. "Then, can I try out for the center position later?"
"We'll do that later," Steel said. "For now, do you have any other suggestions?"
"How about fireworks?" Sejun suggested.
"I don't think we can afford that anymore," Steel said. "The pyramid stage would already cost quite a lot."
"Then, how about flower petals?" Jisung shyly said, a pink tint on his cheeks. "It'd look pretty."
Hums of approval were heard in the room.
"Flower petals are good," Steel said. "And lastly, do you have any ideas for our outfits?"
"Of course, it's supposed to be schoolboy outfits!" Zachary said. "It won't be a signal song performance without schoolboy outfits."
***
The three-stars stared at the 5,000 dollars in front of them.
"It's a lot more than I had expected," Hoon said.
"Really, brother?" Minx, the youngest trainee, asked. "Then do we have a chance to win the benefit?"
"Of course," Hoon boasted. "Right, Jiyong?"
His fellow independent trainee nodded.
"Just let me take the lead," Hoon said. "Then, we can win the benefit! I'll be your leader! Unless you guys want another one," he gazed at all of them.
The other trainees looked a bit hesitant. However, none of them had the courage to oppose Hoon's passion.
"It's decided then," Hoon smirked. "I'll be the leader. I'll also be the center."
Minx bit his lip. He wanted to be the center too, but there were too many older trainees that he couldn't find the courage to speak. His fellow company-mates were already promoted to four stars, so he felt even more bashful.
"Don't worry about the outfits," Hoon said. "My mom is a costume supplier. We'll get the schoolboy outfits from her store."
***
The two-star trainees couldn't help but sigh as they looked at the 3,000 dollars on the floor. They had the highest amount of trainees, over thirty, so they wondered if their budget would be enough.
"Ah, let's give up," Xin said, plopping on the floor. "We can't have any decent stage effects with such a small amount of money."
"You're right," Chul agreed. "We don't have a chance against the popular trainees anyway. Let's just rent schoolboy outfits, then call it a day. At least we're still given a chance to perform."
While the other two-star trainees wanted to do their best, they were quickly dragged down by the gloomy atmosphere.
In the end, they decided to give up.
***
June blankly started at the measly 500-dollar bill in his hand. The two-star trainees got 3,000 dollars! How did the budget reduce so much? It's like the production crew want the zero-star trainees to fail so badly.
"This is ridiculous," he muttered.
Like a joke, his voice was now back.
Well, thanks, world.
He already got his zero stars. June looked around the room and sighed.
The young trainees looked down at the ground, obviously lacking confidence and drive.
June sighed and placed the 500-dollar bill in his pocket. "So, what do you guys want to do now?"
"I don't think we can do anything," C-Jay, the self-proclaimed rapper, said. "What's 500 dollars going to buy? That's not even enough for my groceries."
"C-Jay is right," Eli said. "There are 11 of us. That can't even buy a decent outfit for each of us. Schoolboy outfits are already out of the picture. Let's just wear our casual clothes."
Chany hummed. "What's the point? We're at the bottom of the food chain. We can't even have good outfits, effects, and fan support. Let's just forfeit this one and do our best on the next mission."
"Let's just rest," Jangmoon said. "I'm tired of practicing the song over and over again. It's not like I'm going to improve in just one day."
June stared at them blankly. However, it really wasn't obvious with his mask.
The atmosphere was gloomy, and it seemed like they had already given up.
"Where's the 500 dollars?" C-jay asked. "Let's just use that to buy pizza and cheer ourselves up."
"Yeah!"
"Let's do that."
"We deserve it."
A series of agreements were heard in the room.
June let out a big sigh.
These guys are more troublesome than he had thought.
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Chapter 28: Booster for Losers
June felt more tired than usual. He entered their shared room and dropped down on his bed. He'd usually wash up first but was too damn tired to get up.
Hoon's boisterous laughter filled the room. "I'm the center of the three-star level," he boasted. "I'm also the leader. Can you believe it? I'm such a vital person to our group."
"You have a lot of responsibility, brother," Jisung said with awe. This kid is really innocent. He doesn't even notice that Hoon is just boasting.
"Of course," Hoon said. "Our level wants to win. So, watch out, brothers. Even if you have more money than us, we can beat you."
Jisung and Jaeyong chuckled.
"I'm not letting you," Jaeyong joked. "How's it going in four-stars, brother?"
He asked Jisung an innocent question. However, Jaeyong had the hidden objective to know about their current status. Then, he would know what to improve with the five-star performance.
"I tried to be the center for four stars, but Brother Lin Zhi was a better fit," he shyly said. "He seemed to want it more than anyone else too."
June wanted to laugh out loud. That kid probably gaslit some of the trainees into giving him the center part. Lin Zhi's definitely not as good as Jisung or Steel.
"We have also started preparing our stage effects and outfits. It's quite fun doing all of those."
"What outfits are you going to wear?" Hoon asked.
Jisung chuckled and nudged his shoulder. "I won't tell you, of course. You'll have to see on the day of the performance."
Hoon pouted and crossed his arms in front of his chest.
"What about you, senior?" Jisung asked. "Is everything going well with the five stars?"
"Of course it is!" Hoon responded for Jaeyong. "They have an unlimited budget. They must be having a field day at their level."
"Yeah, the budget is not a problem at all," Jaeyong said. "But we haven't settled on who the center will be yet. Everyone seems to want to do it."
"Oh, that's expected. There are a lot of excellent brothers in five-stars," Jisung said.
"How about you, June?" Jisung suddenly asked. June could feel their gazes on him despite his face being buried in his pillow.
He sighed, not bothering to lift his face. "I don't even want to talk about it."
***
It was another day, and June was all alone in the training room. They had agreed to start practicing at 10 AM, but the trainees only started coming in 30 minutes later.
June had enough. They couldn't go on like this. He wouldn't end up debuting at this point.
He clapped his hands, causing the discouraged trainees to look his way.
"Alright. It's time for us to talk about our stage. We can buy our outfits with the 500 dollars at least. The default stage lighting is already built-in, so that wouldn't be a problem. We just need to show a good performance to the mentors and the starlights." he said. People who vote for the rising stars are called starlights.
"What's the point?" Jangmoon whined. "The five-stars will win anyway. The trainees there are naturally talented and have fandoms already. Who would even watch a video of a bunch of untalented trainees?"
June sighed, trying his best to stay patient. "Then, let's establish the center," he said, hoping they'd cooperate this time.
"You do it," C-Jay said. "You're the only one who has experienced being in three-stars. And you seem to be the most enthusiastic out of all of us."
"Brother June would be great," Chany said. "You're the only one who can hit the high notes. That is if your voice is already fine."
Eli chuckled. "Yeah, you do it. Maybe we'd earn some views from your pink cat mask," he joked. The trainees burst into laughter and exclaimed in agreement.
"That'd be hilarious!" C-Jay exclaimed. "Imagine a cat as the center of the performance."
They chuckled once more.
They thought of it as a joke.
However, June found himself pondering upon Eli's statement.
Genius!
If they can't win through popularity, they might be able to win through other ways.
Only three kinds of videos got popular during these idol survival shows:
1. Handsome idols. It would be a bonus if they were talented, but they must be handsome in the end.
2. Pitiful idols with sad backstories. Tearjerkers always get the media. Mei Ling herself is a victim of this trend. She cried endlessly when she found out a trainee had been training for more than 3 years with their family disapproving of their dream. It's quite ironic since the siblings' past could also be considered pitiful. This body, Choi Joon-ho, is quite pitiful too. If she's watching now, she must be bursting into tears if the real Joon-ho participated.
3. Funny moments. If one's lucky, this would be the biggest hit of all categories. Normies who aren't fans of the idol industry might even tune in if the moment is too funny or ridiculous.
June already had an idea in mind. However, he needed the zero-star trainees to cooperate for his plan to push through.
If only he had something to boost their spirits…even if it's just temporary.
Ah, Eureka!
June stood up and paced back and forth, surprising most of the trainees.
"What time are we shooting tomorrow?" he asked.
"10 AM," Mike responded. "We'll be the first to perform since the other groups probably have quite extravagant stages. Why?"
June glanced at the wall clock and smirked.
11:11 AM.
Perfect.
'Fu, prepare the Power Up! booster.'
[Power Up! booster preparing.]
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