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."
Chapter 41: She Tea
June sighed in frustration as he popped a gummy in his mouth under his mask. He was on his second pack of BenBen gummies. He's been addicted to them since he bought it last week.
However, he didn't even grow an inch! Those little kids said it could make people grow in just a day.
What a scam.
Everything was shitty.
The gummies are shitty (although they taste really good).
Their singing was shitty.
Their dancing was shitty.
The entire performance was shitty!
And Eli's continuous goat-like singing is the shittiest of them all!
And to make things worse, these people don't even want to listen! If June could use violence like he did in the gang, he might be able to get them to follow. But this was an idol survival show, and June was sure he was going to get kicked out if violence of any kind was imposed.
"Will you guys listen for a second?" June asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest.
Yet, his teammates remained stubborn. Hoon and Bin continued to polish the dance routine separately. Minx was busy learning his rap verses. C-Jay and Jangmoon were busy playing around, and Eli was still trying to sing June's part.
"Guys," June said, his voice getting louder this time. "We need to talk about what we could improve in our performance."
"Will you keep quiet?" Hoon snapped. "I'm trying to come up with new choreography here."
June bit his lip in frustration.
He looked at his teammates, and it appeared like they couldn't care less about their performance.
June wanted to rip his hair off but decided to walk out to calm himself down in the meantime. He sat down in the lounge area and leaned against the wall.
[Another side quest is open: The side quest is entitled: Lead the Way! Add aspect LEADERSHIP under the skills status window. Become more empathetic and lead the team to victory! Starting level: C. Do you want to accept the side quest?]
June looked at the new pop-up with wide eyes.
This is exactly what he needed!
Fu isn't as useless as he thought he would be.
'I accept,'
[Very well. Here is your mission: Comfort a person. Practice your leadership skills and comfort someone until they feel better. Deadline for the quest: 3 hours. Failure to fulfill the side quest leads to a regression of skill. Good luck!]
'Three hours?'
Before June could even think of where he would find a person to comfort, he suddenly heard a sniff coming from behind the wall. He frowned and peered over the source of the noise.
He saw Akira sitting on one of the seats, appearing to be down.
June smirked. It seemed like he didn't need to search far and wide after all.
June walked cautiously to RAVEN's Japanese member, sitting down next to him silently.
Akira lifted his head, unshed tears in his eyes. "What are you doing here?" he asked.
"Are ya alright?" June asked, scratching the back of his head.
Now that he thinks about it, he's not very good at comforting other people after all.
The only person he had comforted in his life was his sister—and that's when her favorite groups were disbanding, which included RAVEN.
"What do you think?" Akira asked. "Our team is a mess."
"Tell me about it," June sighed, leaning against the chair.
Akira glared at him. "What do you know?" he asked. "You're not even taking this competition seriously with your bright-ass mask and nonchalant personality. However, it's different for me. This is my last chance to debut."
"Do all RAVEN members think like that?" June asked. "Why do you all assume that I'm not taking this seriously?"
Akira looked at him with raised eyebrows.
"Look at your cat mask! Who the hell wears that for a competition?"
"I have my reasons," June explained. "And I have my reasons for joining the competition, too."
Mei Ling.
"The two of us may have different reasons as to why we want to stay here, and I'm sure it's difficult to take part in an idol survival show when you've already tasted what it's like to become an idol once. You must have gone through a lot to achieve your dreams, but it feels like you're going back to square one," June said, his mind lingering on thoughts about his sister.
"You did so much to protect the things you love, but it just seemed futile in the end—all the hard work, sacrifices, and kiss-assing you've done are all lost. But there's nothing we could do but face whatever's handed to us. Because in this way, we're protecting what we love, too. In your case—it's your dreams."
And in June's case, it's his sister.
Akira looked at him with an unreadable expression.
June cleared his throat and looked away. He hadn't spoken such a long statement since forever, so he felt awkward.
Akira felt like June was a completely different person right then and there. He had spoken to Jaeyong about June, and Jaeyong always told him that he's a typical guy who only wants to become an idol for shits and giggles.
But listening to him now, it seemed like June's actually a decent guy.
"I'm sorry," Akira muttered. "I'm just frustrated, I guess," he honestly said.
"Jaeyong and Evan are on the same team, but I'm stuck in a team that's bound to lose," he continued.
*In Japanese* "They're a bunch of idiots," Akira said in his mother tongue.
June chuckled. "They are," he responded in Japanese too.
Akira looked at him with wide eyes. "You know how to speak Japanese?"
June shrugged. He was well-versed in the language since he made a lot of negotiations with Japanese gangs, too. He's definitely not as good as Akira, though.
"You could say that," June said, still speaking in the foreign language.
"Oh my goodness! I've been looking for someone to speak my language with. So, are you of Japanese descent?"
"No," June shook his head. "Just happened to learn it."
"That's so cool," Akira said with bright eyes, visibly looking better.
[Congratulations, host! You have completed a side quest. You now have the aspect LEADERSHIP on your status window. Current grade: C]
June smiled under his mask.
"Let's go back to the practice room. I think it's time I knock some sense into their brains."
Akira nodded and also stood up. "I'll help you, my friend."
The two of them walked back to the training room, but June paused when he realized that Akira could help him with something else too.
"Hey," June said, holding onto his arm.
"Yes, brother?"
"Do you mind giving me your signature?"
[Mission Completed: Get a signature from a famous person/celebrity. Please pick an aspect to improve.]
'Dance.'
[Dance + 1. Current grade: C-]
CREATORS' THOUGHTS
SandKastle
SandKastle
Do ya'll understand the chapter title? ;)
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
200+ Power
Ranking 
265 Power
stone 
Paragraph comment