C-Jay burst into laughter as he also read the slogan.
"Quite a fandom you got there," he teased June.
"Shut up," June said, already feeling stressed. Again, he had expected a cute slogan, at least.
His slogan looked like those ads you see on sketchy websites.
C-Jay continued to laugh, but deep inside, he felt a bit bummed out.
With a laugh, he scanned the room once more, looking for something in the crowd. However, there truly wasn't a slogan for him.
He knew June was stressed because of the contents of his slogan, but that was better than not having anything, right?
C-Jay masked his sadness with a mischievous smile as he continued to tease June.
However, his teasing quickly halted when Kang Minho entered the stage. The sadness in his heart was replaced with pure nervousness.
As he scanned his other teammates, C-Jay also sensed their profound nervousness, aside from one person—June. As usual, there was an unreadable expression on his face—one that C-Jay had always noticed during announcements like this.
Does he really not care at all?
In the trenches of June's mind, his pettiness had reached a new level.
'We better fucking win.'
For all the past missions, June had some kind of prediction during the winner announcement.
He had always been rational with his guesses, too. Winning during the first mission was practically impossible since his skills were still being developed, and the team they were going against was popular even before the start of the show.
During the second mission, he had already expected to win. Again, losing was practically impossible. With the ranks that his teammates had, it was obvious from the beginning.
However, today, he didn't want to make a guess.
June simply wanted to win.
No, June needed to win.
He could see Lin Zhi's face from here, and he wanted nothing but to see a look of defeat on his face. He stood at the very front of Team Risers as their leader, and he exuded an air of supreme confidence.
Lin Zhi stood tall, his posture showing an annoying sense of self-assuredness. His arms were crossed casually, and his lips curled into a smug half-smile. His eyes, framed by arched brows, scanned the room with an air of expectation as though he had already etched their victory in stone.
Fucking lip-syncing, drug-distributing, kiss-assing piece of shit.
Alright, maybe that was a bit too much.
But June couldn't help it. He felt extra annoyed today!
The atmosphere in the venue grew increasingly tense as Kang Minho stepped forward and cleared his throat into the mic. The room fell silent, and the audience was now on the edge of their seats.
"Who do you think will win?"
"I still don't know. I voted for the team that captured my heart.
"I can't breathe. It's so intense!"
"Can somebody turn off this beat? I'm palpitating!"
A suspenseful beat seemed to echo in everyone's hearts, making their pulses quicken.
June, who usually felt calm during these announcements, suddenly felt a rush of nerves like he had never experienced before.
Kang Minho's voice rang out, cutting through the tension. "And now, the moment we've all been waiting for," he declared. "I now have the name of the winner of the Concept Mission in my hands."
As the seconds stretched into eternity, the trainees held their breaths, waiting for Kang Minho to reveal the results.
The room was fraught with unbearable tension as the screen displayed the names of the competing teams, each accompanied by their corresponding number of votes. The lowest-ranked team was poised to be revealed first.
"The team with the lowest number of votes and in seventh place is... Team 'Thunder.'"
Jangmoon nodded and pursed his lips. Of course, he had already expected the outcome, but he still couldn't help but feel disappointed. Nonetheless, he smiled and clapped, genuinely rooting for his friends to win.
Xin, on the other hand, clenched his fists in anger. Of course, he also didn't expect to win. But coming in last place? That's unacceptable! Then, his eyes strayed toward the tallest trainee in their team.
It's Jangmoon's fault.
One by one, the remaining teams were announced, their fates hanging in the balance. The tension escalated with each reveal, and the room felt like a pressure cooker ready to burst.
'Break My Heart' and 'Brown Sugar Milktea' came in as a close third and fourth, with Team Sweet as Sugar taking the higher spot with less than a hundred vote gap.
Finally, only two team names remained on the screen— 'Skateboard Ride' and 'Tie Me Up.'
The atmosphere became even more suffocating, the anticipation reaching its zenith.
Everyone held their breath, their eyes locked onto the screen, awaiting the crucial moment that would determine the winner of the mission.
At this moment, Skateboard Ride was expected to win. Out of all the missions so far, Zeth had never lost. And with the amount of top-ranked trainees in their team, there was no way they'd lose.
Moreover, they were facing a team that had majority of its members in the 40th rank. They were projected to be the last-placing team during the beginning, so it was already remarkable that they got second place.
The silence in the venue was deafening as Minho prepared to reveal the ultimate verdict.
As the tension reached its peak, the audience couldn't help but engage in whispered discussions, trying to predict which of the remaining two teams would emerge victorious.
The room was divided, and the tension was so thick it couldn't be cut with a knife. Then, in a moment that seemed to defy expectations, the screen showed the final victor.
Tie Me Up: 589
Skateboard Ride: 491
As June stared at the screen, he couldn't internalize it at first. It seemed like he had forgotten even the most basic Math concepts as he stared at it in wonder.
Is 589 greater than 491?
[589 is greater than 491 by 98.]
They won.
But there was no time for June to dwell on the shock.
Because before he even knew it, he was being hoisted up in the air.
