Chapter 36: Avengers
The 100 boys changed into their black shirts after the airing of the first episode. They weren't divided by their star levels anymore, and now, they were going to form another team for their very first performance with a live audience.
June wandered his eyes around the familiar room that he always saw on TV.
In front of the trainees was a wide wall with multiple covered cue cards on them.
The song mission cards.
June was familiar with them. Some songs were definitely more popular than others. There will be some unexpected songs among the bunch, and it would either be criticized for being a "bad" performance or become iconic since a group of well-known and talented trainees performed it.
"Line up according to your ranks!" Yena instructed, and the trainees with lower ranks were devastated.
Hoon clicked his tongue as he stood beside June. He hated the fact that his rank was lower than his!
Kang Minho entered the room, and the trainees burst into applause.
"He's still so handsome whenever I see him."
"I wonder what it's like to live with such a face."
"I think I need to be reborn if I want to live a life like his."
"Good evening, trainees," Minho said.
"Good evening, mentor."
"How was the first episode?" he asked.
Different reactions were heard across the room.
"That's nice. With the airing of the first episode, your dreams of becoming a worldwide idol are finally within your reach!" Minho enthusiastically said.
"However, you will have to complete a series of challenges before you reach the top. Today, the first mission will commence. It is entitled—Artist Battle!"
"Artist Battle?" June whispered.
The other trainees were also unfamiliar with the concept. The first mission was always a song battle! Girl seasons were given girl group songs, while boy seasons were given boy group songs.
What the hell was an artist battle?
"Settle down, trainees. I'll explain it to you."
The cloth was let down, and numerous artists were shown. For one artist, two cue cards with different colors were on the wall.
LUMINOUS
GIRLS' EVOLUTION
THUNDER
CRXSS
ROMANTIX
CHAOS
In total, 12 cue cards with 6 different groups were shown.
"Chaos? That's a guaranteed win!"
"Why is there a girl group here?"
"Damn, I don't want Romantix's song. They're unpopular."
Different opinions were heard in the room. Some songs were more wanted than others, and it seemed like GIRLS' EVOLUTION was the least popular among the male trainees.
"You shall battle with two different songs from the same artist! So, you must choose your teams and songs wisely because the winner between the two teams will get 50,000 stars each! And get this, the highest ranked trainee will get an additional 50,000 stars."
"A total of 100,000 stars? That's unfair! They're basically debuting," some complained.
"I'm definitely going to win this," some exclaimed, confident that they were going to take the points.
"And the team with the highest score out of all will get another 50,000 stars!"
"But before we get to the song reveals, you shall form your teams first. I think you already know who the first person to pick will be!"
Everybody glanced at Zeth. Zeth smiled, his charisma unhidden despite the simple shirt he was wearing.
"Zeth, can you please come here," Minho said.
"You shall pick your teammates first. Four teams will have nine members, while the other eight will have eight. The chosen picker would have the power to decide the number of his teammates too. Zeth, are you ready to pick your team?"
"Yup," Zeth said, his happy-go-lucky personality coming through. He scanned the room with his eyes, and some of the trainees swelled with hope, wanting to be picked by the number one trainee.
It was almost a guaranteed win if they were picked by Zeth. Each season, there was an "Avengers" team, and it usually had the person who was voted first on the pilot episode.
On the other hand, June didn't want to be a part of the Avengers team. With his current skills, he definitely would fall behind and look like a fish out of water.
"You may start with picking your teammates," Minho said.
Zeth already knew whom he would pick. He already had a team and song in mind, so it wasn't too difficult for him.
"Ren," he said with a smile.
"You again?" Ren teasingly said, but he was happy to be a part of a good team.
"Yuri."
Yuri smirked. It was already shaping up to be such a good team. With Ren's and Yuri's top-notch vocals, a good performance was guaranteed to be shown.
"Jaxon."
A good dancer with a sexy charisma.
"Steel."
A well-rounded trainee with choreography skills.
"Alex."
Out of all the trainees called, he's definitely the least talented one. But he has a unique voice that could add something special to the team.
"Lin Zhi."
"Leo."
"Jisung. He's the last member of our team."
Jisung gasped loudly, and he bowed his head in gratefulness. It seemed like he really wanted to be with the Avengers.
"Ah, this is unfair! They've already won."
"We have to avoid them at all costs."
"The next trainee to pick will be chosen through a lucky draw," Minho said.
The trainees exclaimed excitedly. The zero-stars still had some hope that they could pick some good teammates.
Minho rummaged through a ball of names and quickly picked one out. June wanted to be called because he wanted to pick his teammates.
"Jaeyong."
June shook his head. Truly, this was a lucky draw. The third placer still ended up having the privilege of choosing a team!
"That's hella unfair," a trainee whispered.
"He's going to take all the other talented trainees."
Jaeyong went to the front. This might potentially become another set of Avengers—maybe like the Justice League.
June definitely wasn't expecting to be picked. This guy still hates his guts for whatever reason.
"Evan."
As expected, Jaeyong picked a member from RAVEN.
"Casper."
June frowned. It was surprising. Casper and Jaeyong both have rapper positions, and their styles are quite similar too. Jaeyong will have a hard time securing the top spot with Casper in his team.
"Hyunwoo."
"Daeho."
"Zachary."
"Jinsol."
"Youngmin."
"This is really unfair. Jaeyong took all the good trainees!"
"What the hell? There are two teams I'd like to avoid already."
Minho looked at the newly formed team and nodded in approval.
"It's time to form the third team," he said, rummaging through the balls.
June wanted to get picked this time around. Based on the past seasons, the third team wasn't the most "stand-out" group, but their performance would also become well-loved since a number of talented trainees were also included in them.
"C-Jay."
Or not.
June definitely doesn't want to get picked now.
The zero-star trainees cheered, while others avoided his eyes.
C-Jay excitedly went to the front and scanned the room, his eyes shining with a mischievous smirk.
"Of course, I have to pick my boy Jangmoon!" he excitedly exclaimed.
Jangmoon practically bolted to the front, fist-bumping with C-Jay as he went beside him.
"And Eli, too! Don't be so down even when you're the only one with a three-digit rank, brother."
Minho chuckled while some trainees laughed.
The three zero-star trainees appeared excited on the platform.
Doomed.
June knew that their team was already doomed! How could three-zero star trainees be in the third group when there were still a lot of options to choose from?
"Akira."
RAVEN's Japanese member tried to smile when he was called, but it was obvious that he dreaded being part of the team.
"I always wanted a little brother, so Minx," he called the youngest trainee.
Minx couldn't hide his disappointment, but he still stood next to Akira.
"Bin."
C-Jay's picks are actually getting better, but June still wanted to avoid the team.
"Hoon."
Oh, he definitely wants to avoid this team.
Hoon cursed under his breath before going to the front.
"And last but definitely not the least..."
Everybody held their breaths while waiting for the last trainee to be called.
June looked down at the ground and prayed he wouldn't get picked. However, as he lifted his head, his eyes were met with C-Jay's enthusiastic smile.
"June."
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Chapter 37: Run, Baby, Run
All the teams had been formed, and it was time to pick their songs.
"Let's go with CHAOS," Zeth said. "They're the most popular group right now, and all their songs are hits.
His group mates nodded in agreement.
"I hope we get their song Daybreak," Ren said. "It has a lot of cool elements that we could play with."
"Let's avoid GIRLS' EVOLUTION at all costs," Leo said. "I don't think we should do a cute concept on the first mission."
A series of agreements were heard.
It was clear that CHAOS was the most popular out of all the groups, and C-Jay also wanted to perform a song of theirs.
"Who's good at running here?" he asked.
Nobody responded.
"Oh, come on, guys. I have the shortest legs here. How about you, Jangmoon? You're the tallest here," C-Jay said.
"I have asthma," Jangmoon sheepishly said.
C-Jay glanced at June and was about to ask him but quickly shook his head. This big brother helped him so much already! He should only sit still and look pretty while the other members run for a song card.
"You do it," C-Jay said, patting Minx's back.
Minx looked at him with wide eyes.
"You're the youngest, right? You do it. Grab a CHAOS card for us, alright? I'm sure a 16-year-old has the best stamina out of all of us."
Hoon scoffed, still bitter that he was chosen into a team with four zero-stars. For him, the last team formed is even better than this one!
Minx was already shaking in his boots. Ever since he joined the competition, he had lost confidence in himself. And now, he was given such a big responsibility.
June felt bad for the little kid. Once again, he was reminded of himself when he was younger. This kid doesn't seem like he's ready for the idol life yet.
Since June remembered that this guy helped him accomplish one of his missions, he patted his back.
"It's alright, kid," he said. "You could grab anything that's available."
Minx nodded, thankful to the masked guy that he always thought was weird.
On the other side of the room, Jaeyong's team was conversing.
"I have a group in mind already," Jaeyong said.
"We're listening," Casper said.
"What do you guys think about choosing a GIRLS' EVOLUTION song?"
Daeho's eyes widened in surprise. "GIRLS' EVOLUTION?" he asked. "Are you alright, brother? Do you think we'll fit their cutesy concept?"
"It's a controversial pick," Jaeyong said. "More people would tune in if we pick such an artist. Besides, not every song from GIRLS' EVOLUTION is cutesy. Their latest comeback is hip-hop inspired."
There were still some hesitance within the group, but with Casper's utterance, everyone listened closely.
"Jaeyong's right," he said. "We could create a more iconic stage with an unexpected song. I'm confident we can make a girl group song work by adjusting it to our style."
"Alright," the other trainees started to agree.
"But what if we're unlucky enough to get a cute song?"
"I'll run," Casper said. "I suggested it, so I'll take responsibility for it."
The team decided to place their trust in Casper.
"Alright, will the chosen trainees please come to the line? Like every other season, the cue cards will be chosen through speed!" Minho said through the mic.
The trainees lined up and waited until the signal was given.
Minho blew the whistle, and they scrambled to get to the music cards. Zeth, with his tall and lean physique, led the pack.
He took the CHAOS card, which put off the other runners. They wanted to pick the CHAOS card, but they also didn't want to compete with the Avengers team.
"Take ROMANTIX!"
"Take CRXSS!"
They shouted to their teammates. The group scrambled to get to the other boy group songs.
Casper, on the other hand, walked calmly to GIRLS' EVOLUTION. He looked at the two cue cards and placed his hand under his chin.
After thinking for a while, he took the blue card and walked back to his teammates.
"Where the hell is that little kid?" Jangmoon asked.
"I don't see him," C-Jay said, squinting his eyes to get a better look.
"There he is!" Bin said, pointing at Minx, who was currently on the floor.
June pursed his lips. He felt bad for the kid, but at this point, he also felt bad for the team. The choices were getting snatched left and right.
And before they even knew it, only CHAOS and GIRLS' EVOLUTION were left on the board.
The guy representing the last-formed team stood in front of the two choices with hesitancy.
Minx, on the other hand, was still recovering on the floor.
"Get up!" Hoon exclaimed. "Take the boy group song!"
"Take CHAOS!" C-Jay screamed.
Minx got up and started running toward the cards.
The other group discussed among themselves. It was a tough decision since both songs were going to be performed by the best teams.
Avengers vs. Justice League
"Can we go against Zeth?" one of them whispered.
"Definitely not. But we can't go against Casper too," another said.
"Then again, it's better to perform a boy group song."
"Take CHAOS!" they screamed.
Minx was shaking as he ran, and he could see the CHAOS card within his reach.
However, just as he reached his hand to take their card, the other guy quickly snatched it from the wall.
And Minx fell to the ground once again.
His teammates collectively sighed.
Looks like they're performing a GIRLS' EVOLUTION song.
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