"We have to make a decision today," Lin Zhi said, gathering his members in a circle after they finished practicing for the ninth time.
The elephant in the room was yet to be addressed—who will be kicked out from their team?
Zeth groaned as he sat on the floor. "Why are they making us do this? We've been practicing hard for the performance, but they just want us to kick someone out?"
"We don't have a choice, unfortunately," Bin said. "And it's already 3 PM. The production crew needs the list of names by 4 PM."
Casper sighed and also took a seat. "Let's talk about it then."
As they formed a circle, none of them dared to talk. For a couple of minutes, they just sat there, thinking about the next words to say.
Lin Zho sighed and started the conversation. "There's currently nine of us here," he said, "ten if we include June. But only 8 of us will perform Skateboard Ride. That means two of us will need to leave and find another team."
"What are the teams that lack members again?" Steel asked.
"Tie Me Up needs the most members," Jaeyong responded. "They need about four new members. Brown Sugar Milktea and Break Me Up also need to kick out some members, so all the other songs lack some trainees, too."
Jaxon let out a deep breath. Even his bubbly personality couldn't handle the pressure of coming up with a decision.
"Should we vote on who to kick out?" Lin Zhi asked, making the others groan.
"Ugh, don't make us do this," Jaxon said.
"But we need to do it," Daeho quickly countered. "We don't want to waste any more time. Let's just go ahead and point at the person we think does not suit our team."
Despite their reluctance, the members decided to conform to the decision in the end.
They really couldn't do anything at this point.
As Lin Zhi gave the members some time to think, Xin bit his lip in nervousness.
He already had a feeling that he was going to be picked.
"Alright," Lin Zhi said. "Time's up. It's time to make a decision. Point to the trainee in 3…2…1…"
Xin's gut feeling was right. Almost all…no, scratch that. All of his members except for him, who decided to abstain from voting, pointed in his direction.
His breath got caught in the back of his throat.
"B—but why me?" he stammered, looking at the others with wide eyes.
Zeth pursed his lips and looked away from him. The others, too, couldn't face the eliminated trainee.
Daeho, the ever-logical one, sighed and looked him in the eyes.
"You're not putting as much effort into the team," he said. "Yes, you have a small part in the song, but that doesn't mean you can slack off."
Xin pursed his lips, not able to counter Daeho's statement. It was true. He didn't want to put as much effort into the performance since he wasn't going to be seen anyway. And it was already a guarantee that they'd win since all of the members had high ranks.
Lin Zhi sighed and patted Xin's back. "Sorry, Xin. I heard there's an open space for the main vocal on the song 'Thunder.' Why don't you try it out there?"
Xin clenched his fists together. Thunder was filled with trainees from the 20th-30th ranks! Even Jangmoon was there! They wouldn't have a chance against this team.
However, as he looked at his teammates' resolute expressions, he knew he couldn't do anything about it.
However, what he can do is drag someone along with him.
"Alright," he said, still trying to sound as pitiful as possible. "I wish you guys the best of luck then. I know you're going to kill the performance."
"But as a former teammate, I want to suggest something."
"Go ahead," Lin Zhi said.
"This is coming from a good place," he smiled. "I want the best for your performance, and I also don't want you guys to have a hard time deciding on who to kick out next."
The others listened attentively.
"So, why don't you kick June out instead?"
Zeth immediately complained. "What? June is an integral part of the team. We can't just kick him out."
Jaeyong nodded in agreement. "He received most of the compliments during the interim evaluation, so I think it's best if he stays."
"Yet where is he now?" Xin asked, looking around the room. "He's not here, isn't he? And there isn't a guarantee that he's even coming back during the performance."
Although Zeth wanted to perform with his precious little bro, he couldn't deny that Xin had made a great point.
"Uh," Jaxon scratched the back of his neck. "I think it's unfair, too," he said. "We can't leave a spot for him if we don't even know if he's coming back."
"Yeah," Xin said. "He should be here, right?"
Jaeyong glared at Xin. "June just got stabbed. It's not a situation he can avoid."
"Still," Xin insisted. "It'd be an insult to kick someone present."
Daeho sighed. "June is our Main Vocalist. Who's going to replace him then?"
"Me."
***
"Oh, come on!" June muttered under his breath as he was stuck between three grandmas who all had electric scooters on a narrow sidewalk.
Since the hospital was near the Azure building, he decided to run there to save some money. However, he didn't expect he'd run into a mishap! These three ladies were hogging the narrow sidewalk.
Their scooters moved at a turtle's pace, and the only way he could get past them was if he jumped over their scooters or if he walked on the road instead.
Both actions would probably get him arrested, so he decided to talk to them instead. He cleared his throat and spoke—" Umm, do you mind if I went ahead first?"
The three grandmas turned around, and at that moment, June realized he had made a grave mistake.
Their eyes brightened when they recognized the handsome young man.
"June? Is it really June?"
"Oh my! I voted for you. I commented on your video, too!"
"I was the 69-year-old grandma! Did you come and find me, June?"
June's eyes widened in horror as they suddenly reversed their electric scooters.
"Shit," he cursed.
"June! Answer us."
"June, can you please come to our nursing home and massage my back?"
Fuck this. June stepped on a pot and then leveraged himself on the sidewalk railings before propelling himself in front of the three grandmas.
"Maybe in the future!" he called out as he ran, still wanting to be respectful.
He could still hear their screams from behind him, but he ignored them and ran even faster.
June needed to go to the Azure building now!
After much struggle, he finally arrived. Without hesitation, he bolted to the Rising Stars' filming site and to their assigned practice room.
He was breathless and sweaty, but he didn't care at all.
June let out a sigh of relief when he finally saw their training room within his view. He ran to the door and twisted the knob, pushing it open.
Then, an unexpected scene played before his eyes.
June's team members were currently practicing the song.
Normal, right?
Sure!
If Lin Zhi wasn't in the center while singing June's part.
