Chapter 395 Ace of Spades
Indeed, the staff locked EVE inside their respective waiting room. Akira, Jisung, and Jay pressed their ear against the door, trying to decipher any kind of sound that would reveal their opponents. However, it was no use. The rooms were soundproofed. Akira groaned in frustration. "When are we going to start filming? I'm dying of anticipation already." Jay sighed and sat on the floor. "Let's just wait for now." And so, they waited. Seconds turned into minutes...and an hour later, they were finally called by one of the producers to exit their room. The members sighed in relief, but they also felt a surge of nervousness in their hearts. They followed the staff member, walking warily as they made their way to the stage set-up they had seen in the show's trailer. June noticed the shoe marks on the smooth fiberglass floor and inferred they weren't the first people to arrive. A thick black-out curtain separated them from the stage, and they couldn't wait to enter. Just then, a loud horn resounded in the venue, startling most of the members. Afterward, a female robotic voice, the one heard in the trailer, spoke. "You may now enter the king's dungeon." Jaeyong, despite feeling nervous, let out a deep breath and opened the curtains, revealing a dazzling pathway that lit up as soon as they stepped inside. June was right behind Jaeyong, so he caught a glimpse of the stage right away. He was baffled by the LED screens that surrounded the area. It was as if they were some kind of simulation—truly, a king's dungeon. The members behind him also gawked at the electronic display, eyes wide and mouths slightly agape. June caught a movement from his peripheral vision, so he quickly looked to the side. They were so preoccupied with the venue that they didn't even realize the eight people sitting on the side of the aisle, covering their faces with their hands but miserably failing. "It's OCTA," June said, pointing to their direction. His members snapped out of their dazes and looked at their rival group with wide eyes. June chuckled when he saw Uno hiding behind Seven. However, his white hair made him very recognizable. "You know we could see you, right?" Akira chuckled, slowly walking to the familiar idol group. Uno cleared his throat and finally stopped hiding behind Seven's back. The other members quickly followed, finally revealing their faces. "Alright, that was kind of embarrassing," Cinco awkwardly said. "I thought you guys weren't going to recognize us."
"How can we not?" Zeth chuckled. "Uno's white hair was already a dead giveaway." Seven, however, continued hiding his face, thinking he was slick. However, he just looked ridiculous. Jisung silently scoffed at him. Ocho clicked his tongue and tapped their youngest member. "It's over. They know it's us." Seven finally removed his hands from his face, gazing at the members of EVE. His eyes automatically locked in on June, his smile widening. "Bro, it's you! It feels like we haven't seen each other in a long time," he greeted. June smiled and nodded at the teenager. "LEVEL-UP, please take a seat in your designated area," the female robot said, cutting their conversation short.
Their team's logo appeared on the seats right in front of OCTA, so they quickly sat. Just then, the loud horn sounded once more, startling some of the members. Akira placed his hand over his heart. "That's twice now," he whined. "I'm not going to let that horn fool me again." Then, familiar faces entered the room, and the two groups immediately stood to pay respects to their senior group. Jordan chuckled before gesturing for their junior groups to sit down.
"Good afternoon. Thank you for greeting us so enthusiastically," he happily said. Sunwoo nudged Moon's side. "We're in trouble," he whispered. "We're competing with two monster rookies."
Nico clicked his tongue once he heard this. "Don't you have any faith in our group? We have more than two years of experience under our belt." Moon chuckled. "I think you're the most tense, though. Stop looking at June and sit down already." Nico shook his head and sat next to his teammates. "I wasn't staring at him," Nico muttered. June wanted to applaud Azure once he saw BOYMYSTIC entering the room. Since they were from the same company, it would have been leaked that they were going to participate in the same show. However, the employees kept the secret very well. Nonetheless, June wasn't too surprised they were joining the show. BOYMYSTIC's contract was ending this year, so Azure was pushing as many projects for the group. His thoughts were once again interrupted when the annoying loud sound repeated. Akira, Jaeyong, and Jisung once again jumped in their seats. They were, in fact, fooled for the third time. This time, the group that entered wasn't too familiar to June—aside from one member. Zibo stood at the very back of the line, a small smirk playing on his lips.
Their group's name, MORPH3D, appeared on the screen behind them, and June finally recognized their group. They, too, debuted this year, but earlier than EVE and OCTA. They were a group that was heavily influenced by band and rock sounds, sometimes emotional pop, so they were quite popular with fans who liked the genre. They didn't get popular right away after their debut, but after one of their members, Rex, was shown belting a rock song, their fame skyrocketed. MORPH3D took the spot next to EVE, and just like that, they have now met three of their opponents. Jisung's hands shook, feeling a bit overwhelmed by the situation. Ren noticed this and threw him a comforting smile. However, it was also evident in Ren's expression that he, too, was nervous. June looked around the room and saw three spots still unfilled. "Three groups left," he muttered. The horn sounded once again, and fortunately, Akira was able to prepare himself this time. A group of four entered, and all of the groups immediately stood in respect. Murmurs were heard in the room. However, they were quickly silenced once the group's leader threw them stern looks. SPADES. June's eyebrows furrowed. 'What was a group who debuted in 2013 doing here?'
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