Chapter 331 Finalist
June could still remember what he felt right at that moment.
He thought he was seeing things.
However, when a bald man wearing an all-pink uniform passed by behind the audience, June couldn't stop his heart from racing.
His eyes tried to follow the man. However, it seemed like he disappeared in a split second.
Could it be?
"June," Kim San repeated, snapping June out of his daze. "Please raise your board."
June pursed his lips and decided to let it go at that moment. Even though the man strangely looked like Mr. Klin, he still had a show to film.
Zibo smirked by his side, almost certain that he was going to win the show.
Everyone seemed to hold their breaths as June raised his board. Zibo, too, adjusted his position so he could see June's answer clearly.
'Yuan, Ming, Qing'
A buzzing sound was heard in the room, followed by murmurs of surprise.
Akira nearly slapped June's face but held back and lightly pushed his shoulder again.
"How the hell do you even know that?" he incredulously asked.
"I learned it," June said.
"Where?" Zeth asked. "I don't recall having those kinds of subjects in school."
"Maybe you just weren't listening," June deadpanned.
- Alright, this is getting out of hand. Maybe this isn't luck after all.
- It hasn't been luck for a while, bud.
- Who the hell exposed June's grades? They were definitely lying. My boy is smart.
- Is there anything June can't do?
Zibo's jaw dropped. Even the eliminated contestants couldn't believe what they were watching.
Kei and Fei looked at each other with wide eyes, feeling a bit ashamed that they had called June dumb just a while ago.
Who were they calling dumb?
June was more of a genius!
Ocho clicked his tongue while Seven gazed at June with sparkling eyes.
"So cool," he whispered.
Seven then turned to Jaeyong and squeezed his shoulders.
"Oww, what?" Jaeyong asked, snapping out of his amazement.
"Can you give me June's number?"
Jaeyong suspiciously narrowed his eyes at the younger idol. "Why?"
"I think he just became my idol," Seven smiled.
Jaeyong chuckled and shook his head. It seemed like June gained yet another fan. Jisung will have a field day with this one!
As expected, the crew didn't miss to include the clip on the actual show, causing Jisung to frown.
"Are you guys close now?" Jisung asked, turning to June.
June shrugged. "I gave him my number."
Jisung pursed his lips before crossing his arms in front of his chest. Akira chuckled and patted their youngest member's head.
"Don't worry, Ji. I won't cheat on you," Akira seriously said.
Jisung stared him in the eyes. "I don't care if you do."
Akira gasped as he looked at Jisung with betrayal.
"Shh," Casper said. "It's getting good."
They turned their attention back to the screen. Now, Zibo and June were asked to sit on the showdown table, where they were now facing each other with the Quiz God sitting right in the middle.
- It's been a while since the showdown table was used. I bet the ratings are soaring at this point!
- For the first time, I caved into my mom's request to watch Quiz God. I always thought it was pretty boring. But then, I saw June! Now, I'm a new fan. My mom's slowly turning into one, too.
- Zibo's going to win anyway.
- I'm still not sure whether June is smart or not.
- You guys are just in denial at this point. Someone's grades don't fully reflect their intellect. Maybe June was just a busy trainee back then!
The two sat, locking gazes as the music in the background intensified. Two smoke screens were in front of them, making the setting more thrilling.
"After three weeks, we're back to the showdown table! I've missed being here," Kim San started off. "Since it has been a while, let me brief you on the mechanics."
"Every round, we will play 'rock, paper, scissors' to determine who can choose the category. The categories won't be reset. So, the ones left on the screen will be used. However, you can choose one category multiple times."
June pursed his lips.
There was still one category in the roster he wasn't confident in.
"Every question is equivalent to one point. Instead of writing down the answer, press the button before you and say the answer. You will be given ten seconds to answer, and if you fail to give the correct answer during this time, your opponent will automatically get the chance to answer."
"The first person who scores three points will be declared as the Quiz King, and they'll be taking home 1,000 dollars!"
June's eyes brightened with the mention of the prize money. Zibo, too, became even more fired up.
"Let us start with the very first question."
The two boys laid out their fists to play 'rock, paper, scissors.'
June pursed his lips in frustration as his scissors were completely obliterated by Zibo's rock.
Sehun let out a chuckle.
"You really have no luck," he said.
"Let's go with another General Knowledge question," he said.
"General Knowledge!" Kim San exclaimed. "Here it is—Who was the first human to journey into space?"
Zibo pressed the buzzer before June could comprehend the question.
"Neil Armstrong," Zibo confidently answered.
"Ah, that was so easy!" Akira exclaimed. "I could have gotten that in a split second."
"Idiot," Jaeyong muttered under his breath.
"Neil Armstrong," Kim San said. "Unfortunately, that answer is incorrect. June, you are given the chance to answer."
"What?" Zeth exclaimed. "It's not Neil Armstrong? My whole life has been a lie!"
June leaned closer to the microphone.
"Yuri Gagarin."
The smoke screens exploded, signifying that June had given the correct answer.
"Who the hell is that?" Akira asked.
June leaned back against his seat.
"The first person in space is Yuri Gagarin. Neil Armstrong was the first person on the moon," he said.
Akira looked at him with wide eyes. "Omo. You're really smart."
Zibo pursed his lips as the people rejoiced at June's correct answer. At the start, it felt like he had more people rooting for him. However, now, the cheers for June were similar to those for a concert.
"Let's play another round!" Kim San excitedly announced.
As expected, June lost this round of 'rock, paper, scissors,' too, causing his members to laugh at his dejected expression being shown on screen. However, they quickly turned serious as Zibo thought of a category to pick.
At this point, everybody was holding their breaths. This was definitely one of the most exciting episodes Quiz God had put out!
However, Zibo decided to be an absolute shit and pick 'English' for the next two rounds.
As a result, he was now leading with one point.
"Bro, why aren't you pressing the buzzer?" Ren frustratedly asked.
The answer was simple—June simply didn't know the answer.
Before he could even read the question, Zibo had already pressed the buzzer!
Reading the unfamiliar English letters was difficult for June, so he lost those two points really quickly.
For the third round, Zibo once again won the 'rock, paper, scissors' game.
"Damn," Akira said. "Will you win even one round of this?"
"No," June blatantly said.
"Let's go with another English question," Zibo said.
June sighed in frustration while Zibo smirked. It seemed like he had finally found June's weakness.
"Ah, this is quite difficult," Kim San said, making the audience grow nervous. "This is actually a special question."
The whiteboards made their way to the two finalists, causing them to frown.
"The spelling must be correct for it to be considered right," Kim San said. "However, you will be given 30 seconds for this particular question. If you both answered correctly, then the first person who raises the board will take the point."
'Well, shit,' June said in his mind.
"If Player Zibo answers correctly, then he wins this week's title of Quiz King!"
June held his breath as Kim San read the next question.
"Who collaborated with Karl Marx to produce 'The Communist Manifesto'?"
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