Chapter 40: Interim Evaluation (2)
"Who wants to go first?" Gun asked.
Jaeyong quickly raised his hand. "We'll go first, mentor."
"Oh-ho," Woo-jin chuckled. "Such confidence. I like it. Take the stage then."
June's team stepped back, intimidated, but not making it too obvious. However, Hoon's shaking hands, Minx's sweaty forehead, and the zero-stars' nervous chattering gave them away.
June remained nonchalant amidst all of this.
He already acknowledges that winning against Jaeyong's team will be like asking for his phone battery to last all day.
It's quite impossible.
That ancient phone is practically hooked to a charger.
The familiar intro of Rebel Queens played, and the team assumed a pyramid formation, similar to a cheer-leading squad, earning them a series of amazed exclamations from the watchers.
Hoon nervously chuckled. "We're seriously fucked."
Casper's powerful rap voice resonated in the room, followed by Jaeyong's rhythmic flow. The other members danced behind as they did a back-and-forth. The other trainees sang their parts really well. However, there was something off about their performance.
It was good.
Arguably a very good performance.
However, it felt a bit underwhelming compared to Zeth's team. Aside from that, the elements that made Rebel Queens iconic are because it contained themes of women empowerment.
Having a bunch of men sing about how they were "queens" may leave a bad taste. Moreover, they tried to incorporate so much into the performance, making it a bit messy.
Their performance ended, and Gun nodded in approval.
"Skills-wise, I don't have anything to say to your team," he started off. "You are all very good with your individual skills. There are also some energy and breathing problems occurring in your team, but that's expected since you guys are still amateurs."
"Yes," Hyerin said. "I do have a problem with your concept, though. I like your formation at the beginning, but I didn't feel it all throughout the song."
"What do you guys think about changing some of the lyrics of the song? Instead of Rebel Queens, what if you call yourselves Rebel Kings instead?"
Jaeyong took note of everything they were suggesting.
"We'll take those into mind, mentors," Jaeyong said.
Casper felt quite disappointed that they didn't give a flawless performance. It somehow made him feel like it was his fault since he chose this song.
"Cheer up, boys," Minho said. "You still have four days. I'm sure you could fix your problems."
"Thank you, mentors," they bowed their heads before making way for June's team to go to the front.
As they stood before the mentors, Minho couldn't help but chuckle.
"Well, this is an interesting combination," he whispered to Gun.
"I have a lot of trainees I don't like on this team," Gun said. "I can't believe some of these guys won the TV benefit for the signal song performance when they don't even deserve it."
"It was funny," Hyerin joined in. "Even my mom laughed when she saw it on TV."
Gun shook his head. "It's whatever. I already have a bad feeling about this performance."
"Me too," Jihyun chimed. "They picked Mermaid Melodies."
Bone laughed. "Why does this June kid always end up with unusual songs?"
"He uncovered the song himself, too," Minho said. "He really must have golden poop hands."
Woo-jin chuckled and shook his head. "Whenever you're ready, trainees," he said.
The mentors focused their attention on June's team.
Honestly, they weren't expecting much.
And when the bubbly tune of Mermaid Melodies played, it seemed like their hunch was right.
The trainees awkwardly began their dance routine. To June's defense, Bin and Hoon had some conflict about the dance moves this morning. Hoon wanted to take the easy route and follow through with the same choreography of the original song and just make it masculine, while Bin wanted to tweak the dance moves so they could become more in sync.
As a result, it took some time before they learned the actual routine. And even now, Bin and Hoon seemed to be dancing differently, causing the group to crumble.
The song started with Eli's timid voice. He wanted to become the main vocalist, but June refused. However, he kept complaining in June's ear, so June gave him the iconic beginning part instead.
Gun grimaced as their tacky performance continued.
Hyerin had the urge to laugh, but then she realized that this performance was supposed to be performed in front of a live audience.
Jihyun shook her head. Not even June's voice could save this atrocity. It was too painful to watch, and Eli kept trying to sing over June's part, determined to show everyone he deserved to be the main vocalist.
Their moves were out of sync, resembling a group of marionettes with tangled strings.
"Is this some sort of parody?" Minho asked.
"This is Ursula's Melodies. Why the hell is that kid singing the whole song?" Woo-jin pointed at Eli.
"And that kid looks like he's about to die," he added, gesturing to Jangmoon, who was currently out of breath.
As C-Jay proceeded to the rap section, his delivery was nothing short of hilarious. The lines were mispronounced, and the rhythm was more akin to a nursery rhyme than a rap.
"Whispers echo through the night,
A deal is made, and stars align.
Underworld, a lethal dance,
She's bound by fate, entwined in chance."
And the band's sound felt like it came from a shitty musical instrument app! Why the hell was it arranged this way?
Finally, the trainees attempted to salvage the performance with their dance finale. However, their movements were more reminiscent of a comedic skit than polished choreography. Tripping over each other, mismatched steps and exaggerated expressions turned it into a laughable spectacle.
An awkward silence filled the room as they finished their performance.
"We've won," Evan, the main vocalist of RAVEN, said. "However, I feel bad for Akira here."
"Definitely," Hyunwoo smirked. "What a joke."
"Umm," Minho said, looking at each member one by one. "I don't have anything to say."
C-Jay clapped his hands since they got a comment similar to Zeth's team.
"That's not a good thing," Gun said, bursting his bubble.
C-Jay pursed his lips.
"Out of all the seasons I've been mentoring in," Jihyun said. "I'm afraid to say this might be the worst interim evaluation I've seen. I don't even know how it's salvageable."
Woo-jin sighed, disappointed. "It's bad. Awful, even."
Hyerin nodded in agreement. "It seems like you don't suit your parts well. And what's with the arrangement? It sounds so tacky."
Gun shook his head. "Who's the leader here?"
His members turned towards June.
Gun chucked, appalled. "Of course, it's you. Now, I see why the performance turned out like this."
June frowned.
"Well, good luck to you guys. I don't even think you're worth mentoring," he said in a cold voice, sending shivers down the trainees' spine. "Go back to your seats."
June let out a quiet sigh.
"Don't you have any recommendations for us?" he asked.
They gave so much constructive criticism to Zeth's and Jaeyong's teams, but they're ignoring a team that actually needs their input!
Talk about favoritism.
Gun scoffed.
"I said, go back to your seats."
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
200+ Power
Ranking 
274 Power
stone 
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