Chapter 348 The Vocal Team
Year-end performances.
It was the dream of plenty of idols to perform in such an esteemed event. Held by one of the biggest TV stations in Korea, SBBS, it was the most awaited event of the year.
The fact that EVE was included in the line-up was already a great honor.
It wasn't just an event where idols perform for their fans. Different sponsors also attended the show, scouting their new ambassadors for the year.
This may be the reason why companies push their idols to perform their best during the year-end show—to attract more brands and earn more money.
Aside from the usual idol stages, veterans also performed alongside these idols, providing an opportunity to mix the old and new. Undoubtedly, these performances were the most popular segments of the year-end show since the older generations also tuned in.
Every year, there were three special stages—a joint girl group performance, a joint boy group performance, and a performance with a well-known veteran in the industry.
Last year, MYAE, a popular girl group from Esper Entertainment, was given the opportunity to perform with SISTERZ, a 90's girl group that took South Korea by storm in their generation.
Their performance garnered over 10 million views and was well-loved by the public!
The year before that, popular boy group members had a rap performance with the iconic LION KJ. Again, it was the most popular performance to come out of the show.
This year, they were finally going to have a vocal performance—and June was fortunate enough to join their performance at the last minute.
"We're here," Jay said, parking the car in SBBS's building.
It was already the 28th, so the performance was in less than three days.
"Are you nervous?" Jay asked.
June shrugged, not particularly feeling anything at the moment. He would be lying if he said he wasn't excited, but he wasn't necessarily nervous, either.
He felt it was a great opportunity to finally show his vocal skills, especially since they were going to be performing with a very famous balladeer—Lee Sik. June knew plenty of his songs, which spoke well about the veteran's popularity.
"Are you not going to tell me about the other special people in this performance?" June asked.
"Well, then it wouldn't be so fun, right?" Jay asked. "They're mostly from groups who debuted before you, so make sure you greet them well, okay?"
June groaned before nodding.
"They've already had their practices during the 24th and 26th, so you might feel out of place for a while," Jay reminded. "I was only able to convince them to have you join on the 26th, so just be thankful they're still accommodating us."
"Yeah," June said, a bit disappointed since he would have practiced earlier if it wasn't been for Chul.
"This will also be your last practice, as per Mr. Lee Sik's schedule, so do your best," Jay said. "Although, I don't have to worry about that since I know you're a very good vocalist!"
June smiled.
"Let's go," Jay said.
"Wait," June said, opening his phone camera to take a quick picture.
"What was that for?" Jay asked.
"Nothing," June vaguely responded as he uploaded the picture on Navel. For now, his strategy was to post as many pictures of him as possible to convince his fans that he was, indeed, June.
Maybe then, he would be able to gain followers and accomplish his mission.
"Alright, let's go," June said, about to leave.
"Wait, no!" Jay shouted, causing him to halt.
Then, their manager went to June's door and opened it, even bowing like an esteemed butler.
June clicked his tongue. "You don't have to do this, you know?"
"But I want to," Jay smiled. "I promise to serve you well."
The two of them went to the practice room on the third floor, and only then did June feel the nervousness creep into his stomach.
Now that he thought about it, joining in after they'd already practiced meant that they had made some adjustments just for him.
"Well, I can't go inside," Jay said, patting June's back. "I'll be gossiping with the other managers while waiting for you. Just give me a call if you need something."
June nodded while Jay skipped to the lounge room, excited to extract more information.
June stood outside of the door for a while, taking a deep breath before knocking and making his way inside.
He could hear faint chuckles as he opened the door. However, they quickly stopped when he poked his head in.
June was met with three other people—two boys and one girl. The atmosphere quickly turned cold as he fully made his way inside.
'Oh my gosh. What is he doing here?' Mimi thought as she looked at the pink-haired idol before her.
When she first found out she was going to perform with the legendary Lee Sik for the year-end show, she was more elated with the fact she'd probably see June since EVE was also in the line-up.
When she also heard there was going to be another member added to the special performance's line-up even after they'd practiced, she felt pretty bitter since they had to rearrange the parts of the song.
However, seeing the new member made all of those bitter feelings go away.
It was June! The love of her life, June!
"Oh, hell no. It's you?" the man next to Mimi said.
Mimi clicked his tongue and nudged Nico's side.
"Be nice," she reprimanded.
"Nice to meet you all," June bowed. "I'm sorry for only coming this day."
"Damn right, you should be sorry," Nico scoffed.
Meanwhile, Mimi stood up and led June to one of the seats—the one next to her.
"You don't need to apologize. It must have been tough with the situation with your manager, right?" she asked.
June nodded. "Everything's alright now, though."
"That's good," Mimi said. "I was worried for you."
The three boys looked at her with raised eyebrows.
"For your team, of course!" Mimi awkwardly chuckled. "We're from the same show. How can I not worry about my own juniors?"
"I'm your junior, too," Nico said. "Why aren't you worried about me?"
Mimi ignored Nico's statement and turned to their other member. "Have you guys met before?" she asked.
June looked at the other guy and curtly nodded.
"We've seen each other," Tres said.
"It's good to see you," June said, to which Tres responded with a tight-lipped smile.
The atmosphere quickly turned awkward as they all sat in silence.
"Are we only waiting for Mr. Lee Sik now?" June asked.
"Yeah… but we're also waiting for another person," Mimi responded.
"There's one more?" June asked.
Mimi chuckled as she nodded, finding June cute. He was even more good-looking up close, and she was already palpitating just from the sight of his face!
"Didn't your manager tell you about the people in the line-up?" Mimi asked.
June shook his head.
"Well, we still have one more member. He's—"
Her statement was cut off when the door suddenly opened, signifying the arrival of their last member.
"There he is," Mimi smiled.
"Xion, our new member is here!"
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