June didn't get a wink of sleep last night.
There was still a dull ache in his heart, and despite being surrounded by good teammates, he can't help but feel a bit discouraged.
He even passed by Team Riser's practice room last night and he felt even...stranger. June knew he should think about his rap lyrics, but his mind couldn't concentrate.
In the end, he settled with the lyrics he quickly came up with in the back of his mind. He doesn't feel satisfied with it, but he feels that it's the best that he can do.
His alarm sounded, but he didn't have the motivation to get up.
Jisung went up to him and patted his shoulder.
"Time to get up, bro," he smiled. He had heard of what happened, and he felt bad for the brother he had admired from the start.
Usually, upon waking up, June's stare was blank or annoyed, but this time, he looked a bit lonely.
"Are you okay?" Jisung asked.
June sighed and got up. "Yeah," he muttered under his breath. "I need to head to practice now."
He lifelessly went to the bathroom to wash up. Akira and Jisung exchanged perplexed looks. Akira had been coming to their room more often after Hoon had been eliminated.
"Is he okay?" Akira asked.
"I don't know," Jisung answered. "He's not annoyed at his alarm today."
Just then Jaeyong came to the room after his morning work-out, a bit breathless.
Akira weirdly looked at him. "Did you run here?"
Jaeyong ignored his question and asked, "Is June awake now?"
Before Jisung or Akira could answer, June came out of the bathroom, wearing all black.
He made eye contact with Jaeyong, but he quickly averted his gaze.
Jaeyong continued to stare at him with guilt.
"Umm, good morning?" Jaeyong warily geeted.
"Good morning," June also greeted before quietly leaving the room.
The sound of the door closing echoed in the small room, causing the other three to freeze.
"Yeah, he's not okay," Akira said. "He actually greeted you today!"
***
"Good morning, brother!" C-Jay cheerily exclaimed as he wrapped his arm around June's neck in a headlock.
C-Jay always found it fun to mess with June since he was easily annoyed.
However, this morning was different.
June didn't retaliate at all. In fact, he just accepted C-Jay's teasing!
"Morning," June said, staring off into a distance.
C-Jay slowly let go of his neck and stared at his retreating back.
That's weird.
It didn't take long before all members arrived in the practice room. Unlike June's melancholic self, they all seemed pretty jolly.
They're the happiest teammates June has ever had. Despite being on the edge of elimination, they still practiced with smiles on their faces.
June didn't want to bring their moods down so he still did his best despite the strange feeling in his heart.
It had just turned 9 a.m when somebody came into the room. The trainees' eyes widened in surprise when they saw mentor Bone and another person come in.
June, however, stayed calm, not feeling anything.
Sun-Y, a K-rapper known for his romantic rapping and rhythmical flow, was a subject of many scandals in the industry. He had put out misogynist, sexist, and even racist comments before, causing his reputation to go down the drain.
However, he was like the roach of the industry. With his thick face and a "don't give a fuck attitude," he had kept his career until now.
All of the groups had a special mentor with them, and when the production crew saw that the 'Tie Me Up' team were comprised of nobodies, they decided to save some money and hire a rapper with a low appearance fee instead.
"Good morning, trainees," Mentor Bone greeted.
"Good morning, Mentors," Sehun greeted for the group.
"I see that you're practicing your dance quite hard," Bone said.
"Yes, Mentor," Sehun smiled. "We're doing our best despite losing and gaining new members."
"Ah, right," Bone said. "This team has the most new members, doesn't it? Well, I came here today with Sun-Y to look over your performance."
Sun-Y smugly smirked, still feeling proud that he was contacted by a big show like Rising Stars.
"Since I'm a real rapper, I'll evaluate your rap performance first," he said, his tone already unlikeable.
Sehun nodded and led the team into a line. Despite being the Main Rapper, June stood at the end of the line.
The music started, and Sehun opened the song. Before this mission, he was originally a dancer/vocalist. Actually, most of them were originally vocalists, but the Concept Mission forced them out of their usual positions.
"Tie me up, Tie me down,
I'm looking at the ground.
What am I doing here again?
Can't give up when you're around."
As soon as he opened his mouth, Sun-Y frowned, his face twisting into an ugly expression.
C-Jay continued with his two-verse line followed by Haesoo.
"I'm bound by ropes, can't escape.
Afraid of this leap of faith."
"But the ropes are tougher than before.
And I'm weak, can't take no more."
Taekyung takes the pre-chorus, and even until then, Sun-Y was still grimacing.
Mentor Bone, on the other hand, had a neutral look on his face, occasionally nodding in approval.
To be honest, their lyrics aren't too bad. Their delivery, too, had improved over the course of the practice. They still can't be called as "rappers," but they stayed on beat and their words were coherent.
For some reason, June didn't feel nervous when his turn came.
He just felt numb.
"Ties on my wrist makes me scream.
Patience bursting through the seams.
Can't escape now, there's no use.
Light can't turn on, I'm a broken fu—"
"Stop," Sun-Y loudly exclaimed, causing June to halt. "What am I listening to right now?"
With one statement, the tension rose in the room.
From the start, it was already apparent in Sun-Y's face that he didn't like their performance.
Bone stopped the music, and they were engulfed with silence.
Sun-Y, despite being disappointed at all of them, directed his hateful gaze at June.
Truthfully, he wasn't a fan of idols, especially idol rappers. However, like the spiteful person he is, he kept up with shows like these just to hate on them.
It was his joy in life...
In his miserable, miserable life.
And deep inside, he must admit, he was jealous of this kid for rising to fame so quickly despite being an individual trainee.
"11th place?" he asked in an incredulous voice. "You have to be kidding me. How can you be 11th place when you can't rap for shit?"
Their eyes widened in surprise when Sun-Y cursed. Even Bone raised his eyebrows.
"Sir," Sehun said in a soft voice, kindly interfering. "June is originally a very talented vocalist, and he just joined us late in the afternoon—"
"I don't care," Sun-Y sired. "He's a shitty rapper and a shitty performer. Someone like him isn't cut out to be a star."
