June was the first one back to the practice room.
The door opened, and his other teammates came in with smiles on their faces.
"Bro!" C-Jay cheerfully greeted. "You're back?"
"Yeah," June said, standing from the floor.
"Are you alright?" Sehun asked in a worried tone. "Do you need to have your incision re-sutured?"
"No need," June bluffed. "It's just a little bit sore."
"You should take it easy," Haesoo said. "You're still recovering."
"Besides," Jakob continued. "We're going in a pretty good direction, so you can rely on us a bit more. You've already done a lot for this team."
"Did something happen?" June asked since they looked unusually happy.
"We had our final evaluations a while ago," Sehun said, also looking brighter than before. "We were called for a final practice at the stage. We were sad that you weren't able to perform with us, but we did pretty well even without you. The mentors gave us some pretty good comments."
"Yeah!" C-Jay exclaimed. "They really liked our lyrics and concept change."
"Did the other teams watch your performance?" June asked.
"Yes," Jakob responded. "But they weren't paying much attention," he dejectedly added.
"Then, did you watch Skateboard Ride?"
"Hmm," C-Jay hummed, suddenly turning sullen. "Our performance was pretty damn good, but you can't really beat a team with that amount of talent. It's unfair having so many top-rankers in one group!"
"It feels like it's already a unanimous decision," Taekyung sighed. "Even the judges liked 'Skateboard Ride' the best. However, I still feel pretty satisfied since we got good comments. I'm sure we'll become even better once June actually raps!"
"Of course," Sehun said. "I heard June's been working really hard for this."
June clicked his tongue, not used to being acknowledged for his hard work.
"We're all working hard for this," he muttered. "So we must do our best to win."
"We'll give nothing but the best," Sehun smiled. "Why don't we practice once more, hmm? We have the performance tomorrow night, so we might as well end early today and get some good rest."
"Sounds good to me," C-Jay said.
"Let's get started," Sehun initiated. However, before they went to their formation, June pulled something from his pocket.
It was the white silk ties that he had gotten from Choi Pablo.
"What's this?" C-Jay asked. "Why'd you give us a rag?"
"A rag?" Jakob asked with wide eyes. "This isn't a rag. Do you see the tag on this thing? It's Hermit!"
"Holy!" C-Jay exclaimed. "Hermit? The luxury brand Hermit?"
"You're right," Sehun said. "These are from Hermit. Where did you get this, June? I'm assuming a tie like this will cost at least a hundred dollars."
June shrugged as he observed the smooth material. He didn't even notice that this, too, was a luxury item.
"Someone gave them to me," he vaguely answered.
"Well, you better thank that someone," C-Jay said. "He just dished out a thousand dollars for you, my dude."
June sighed and changed the topic.
"This will serve as our prop," he explained. "It's tiring practicing with the rough ropes," June said. "So, let's use this from now on."
Since the song was entitled 'Tie Me Up,' and there were some moments in the pre-made choreography that mimicked the action of getting tied up, June thought that it'd be best to do it...literally.
They originally used rough ropes that June got from the janitor's closet (the janitor is still looking for it until now), but it was pretty hard to practice it due to the roughness of the material.
Nonetheless, his teammates didn't complain and continued practicing earnestly.
That's why June thought of using the silk ties.
The music played, and they discarded the rough ropes to the side and used the soft material.
As they danced to the choreography, June nodded in approval as he watched the overall picture in the mirror.
The white silk ties created a better image for their choreography. It appeared to symbolize the delicate balance between surrender and control, adding an element of sophistication and eroticism to the overall presentation.
As they executed their moves, they entwined themselves in intricate patterns with the ties, creating visually captivating moments.
"It's so much better," C-Jay said, catching his breath after their tedious dance practice.
"It looks really good," Sehun said. "Our performance elevated once more. I believe we'll do even better on stage."
"I have high hopes for this," Seokhwa chimed. "Just as long as we deliver our lyrics well, the audience will definitely feel our desperation and talent."
"Let's go right ahead to the song then," Sehun said. "Then afterward, we'll practice the entire performance until the evening."
As June glanced at his optimistic teammates, he couldn't help but feel an incomprehensible feeling in his heart.
He couldn't pinpoint what it was, but it felt similar to the feeling he got when the mentors complimented his performance in 'Skateboard Ride.'
Is it...joy?
As much as June tried to deny it, a small smile appeared on his face as his teammates spat their lyrics.
The improvement was evident, and he felt quite proud of these kids.
They were determined to show their talents while proving the people who underestimated them wrong.
As his part got near, June took a deep breath.
Before he began his rap, June made eye contact with his teammates, and they had encouraging looks in their eyes—as if saying, "you can do it!"
To be honest, Sehun and the others were a bit worried about June. He had gotten the harshest criticism from Sun-Y, and he wasn't evaluated with them just a while ago.
Moreover, June was known for being a very good vocalist, arguably the best one on the show. June's rap skills, from what they had heard, relied a lot on his desire to win.
However, as June evaded his gaze, confidence surged within him.
June practiced on his way back to Azure, and he could feel the drastic change of the 6-step upgrade.
His flow seemed more natural, and he wasn't as out of breath at the end of each line.
As the beat of the second verse began to pulse through the speakers, June kept his gaze at the front. With a deep breath, he started his rap verse, and his words flowed effortlessly, like a newbie pro who had emerged from nowhere!
His voice, once gentle and melodic, had transformed into a rhythmic force to be reckoned with. He delivered his lines with a cadence that was razor-sharp, each word punctuated by the beat in a way that made it seem like he was born to rap.
His teammates, who had been holding their breaths, exchanged shocked glances. They couldn't believe what they were hearing. June wasn't just mediocre; he was actually good! He sounded like a natural rapper, effortlessly weaving intricate wordplay and clever metaphors into his verse.
As June's rap verse came to a close, a stunned silence hung in the air. His teammates were speechless, their jaws practically on the floor. They had expected something decent, but what they got was pure insanity.
C-Jay stared at June with wide eyes and a dropped jaw.
What the fuck?
Was he always this good?
