Chapter 113 Sixth Episode (1)
After days of grueling battle, Jia finally wore a smile on her face. Her dark under eyes were so dark they could counter the inside of a man's belly button.
"War is over," Bora said, looking the same as Jia.
The two had become closer ever after the second mission live performances. Since her friends/roommates were still out of town before the next semester started, Bora came to her dorm almost every day.
Although Bora was still a full-blown Ren stan, she couldn't deny that June had also crept into her heart.
The two of them had been going on a battle for the past two days—not on a battlefield, of course. Although the internet can be called a battlefield of its own.
They did their best to debunk the bullying rumors surrounding June, but as college students, they could only do so much. So, when they saw MinMin's post on Navel, they shared it on all social media platforms, making it grow traction until it became the number one trending topic in the whole world.
Their eyes were bloodshot, their hair greasy, and their sanity was definitely on the brink of breaking.
However, knowing June's name had been cleared made them feel refreshed. They felt well-rested, squeaky clean, and sane (not really).
"Now, only the issue with Zeth is left," Bora sighed, plopping on the couch. "Those Zeth fans always have something to say. Just because Zeth is in first place, they also think they're unbeatable! The episode hasn't even aired yet."
"It's airing tonight," Jia said. "Let's wait until then."
"I don't want June to go through that again," Bora whined. "What if it turns out he really said those words to Zeth?"
Jia pursed his lips, not knowing what to say.
Eight hours were too long for them to wait for the sixth episode of the show.
***
"Bora! It's starting," Jia screamed, turning the TV to the brightest setting and the highest volume.
"Gee," Bora said. "Don't be in such a rush. We all know they're going to be shown last."
Jia sighed and slumped her shoulders. "You're right. We have to wait an extra two hours for their performance."
The two of them reluctantly watched the other performances, but when it got to Alex's and Hyunwoo's performance, they couldn't help but pay attention.
Their team had the shortest screen time yet. The behind-the-scenes only showed the three other trainees aside from Alex and Hyunwoo. The two Phoenix trainees were blurred out like an adult Japanese film, and it brought immense satisfaction to the two.
The comments were also roasting them as the performance was shown. It was quite devastating for the other trainees since their performance seemed lackluster and incomplete.
- Blurred Druggies.
- Forever Young? How about forever in jail?
- They really thought they'd get away with this, huh?
- Have fun in jail, losers!
Thankfully, the other performances passed by like a breeze, and Team Aces' segment was finally airing. Everybody seemed to anticipate their performance the most, and the hate for Alex and Hyunwoo was quickly replaced with excited comments as well as hate comments for June.
- Here it is. It's finally starting.
- Azure and their marketing play. They always have to save the best team for last, don't they?
- Fuck June. He's finally going to be exposed for being mean. He may have escaped the accusations of Alex and Hyunwoo, but he's not going to escape the wrath of Zetheralists.
Zethealist is Zeth's fandom name.
As the camera panned to the practice room, Jia and Bora exchanged anxious glances. The scene appeared to be tension-filled, with the members of Team Aces not coming to an agreement. They worked separately like they weren't a team, and their argument was also edited in a way where they seemed to really hate each other.
Jia's fingers nervously tapped against the remote control, her eyes fixed on the screen. "Bora, this doesn't look good," she murmured, her voice edged with worry.
Bora nodded, her brows furrowed. "Yeah, I thought June would blend in better with his team. But it seems like they're having trouble synchronizing everything. Their live performance was so good. How come this looks so bad?"
Their interim evaluations with Hwan were shown, and their hearts beat in nervousness with the legendary artist's comment. "Bora, should we... turn it off? This is really hard to watch."
- Shit. I would have bawled right then and there.
- It's June's fault. He should have never been on this team.
- Bitch? He didn't even do anything!
- Exactly. He's feeding off of his teammates. Have you seen him speak up throughout their practice?
- It isn't over yet.
- Blah blah. June is a fucking freeloader.
"Okay, this is really bad," Bora said, although her eyes were still glued on the screen, becoming a slave to the drama being shown.
The interim evaluations ended, and they were now back in the practice room. The tension was even more uncomfortable this time around. Nobody dared to speak at first, but then, another fight broke out.
- I'm starting to get tired of them. I feel like their performance will go down the drain as one of the shittiest performances of all time.
- It's the very first time a good group would actually have a bad performance.
- And it's all thanks to June. That piece of shit is still not saying anything.
However, like June had heard them from the screen, he began to speak up.
"If you don't stop, I'm going to bang your heads together until you all become incapable of thinking," June's voice resonated in the practice room.
Jia and Bora were stunned to silence, glancing at each other to confirm that what they heard was real.
"Ya'll are blind and deaf if you think only one person has something to do with the outcome of the interim evaluations," he continued, and the two watched the screen with beating hearts and utmost concentration.
The way he scolded the trainees was both endearing and scary at the same time. His criticisms were on point, and the other team members appeared to be listening to him well.
Then, their rehearsal with Mentor Jihyun, where they were asked to switch parts, was shown.
June sang, his voice sounding like the opening gates to heaven. And just like that, the haters were all stunned to silence.
- I hate to say this...but he's a really good singer.
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