The studio center turned silent with the utterance of Jangmoon's name.
June smirked as he watched the flabbergasted trainee get pushed to the stage by his fellow trainees. Then, his eyes strayed toward Xin, who looked like he had seen a ghost.
He was so focused on June that he almost forgot that his chances of staying in the show were very slim.
Jangmoon walked up the stage with wide eyes, still not processing everything that was happening.
C-Jay watched his friend with a smile on his face. However, deep inside his heart was also disappointment. It was true that Jangmoon had worked hard to get to where he is right now, and between him and C-Jay, Jangmoon definitely garnered a more positive response from the starlights.
"I—I don't know what to say," Jangmoon said, his hands shaking. He always had humor lingering in his words whenever he was called out during eliminations, but today, he couldn't utter a single joke.
"Thank you for believing in me," he said, trying his hardest not to cry. "I never knew I would get this far, but now that I am given the chance to continue on with the show, I'll try my best to make it until the end."
A soft applause filled the room, many still shocked because of Jangmoon's jump in ranks.
"Shit, he took my spot," one of them whispered. "You really can't guess what's going to happen next in Rising Stars."
"Now, let us go straight to the top 20!" Jihyun exclaimed.
June heard Sehun let out a deep breath, causing him to glance at the nervous trainee. June then looked at his other teammates and felt uncertain. Aside from Sehun, he wasn't sure if all of them were going to make it.
Now that he thought about it, 25 was such a small number. There were still a lot of popular trainees that weren't called out, so the chances of all of them making it into the top 25 were very slim.
However, if there was one person who could make it, then it would be Sehun.
"Trainee Sehun, congratulations! You are still in the running to become a member of the debut group!"
Sehun jumped in his seat as soon as his name was called. He looked at his teammates with wide eyes, and the group genuinely congratulated him. June and Sehun locked gazes, and although it felt pretty awkward because of June's ongoing rumors, Sehun managed a small smile.
"Thanks, June," he whispered. "I couldn't have done it without you."
June softly nodded before sitting back down.
The announcements went by surprisingly fast, with Robby and Jihyun giving brief descriptions about the trainees who made it.
Now, the 16th rank was about to be announced, and Akira was the most nervous of all. He was ranked 20th last week, so he was in an ambiguous spot. However, June was certain that the Japanese trainee would most likely survive. He became the main topic of their team, so there was a mere 1% chance of him not making it into the top 25.
"Trainee Akira, congratulations! Once again, you have jumped in the ranks and are now in the top 16. With this progress, you are getting closer to debuting."
Akira stood, a small smile playing on his lips. Jaeyong smiled at his former teammate, obviously looking proud. Akira went up to the stage and gave a small speech before going up to his seat.
The trainees announced after Akira were definitely expected.
"15th—Bin."
"14th—Jinsol."
13th place?
June expects his rank to have regressed by two places. Again, the scandal would have made his votes drop, but it wouldn't have dropped that much since he probably gained quite a lot of votes after their 'Tie Me Up' performance.
Robby frowned as he was given the cue card for the 13th trainee. It was getting nearer and nearer to the top 10, yet June's name still hasn't appeared. Meanwhile, Jihyun felt joy swell in her heart.
"13th—Steel," Robby reluctantly announced, glancing at June with a subtle glare.
June didn't notice Robby's action since he was also surprised by the turn of events.
Why could he always guess the others' ranks right, but never his?
"Onto the 11th trainee," Robby continued opening yet another cue card. He was aware that 11th place was June's last rank, and he would feel disappointed if ever he was to retain his place even after such a big blow to his name.
However, it would also make him feel a bit satisfied since he's still not in the debuting ranks.
Robby carefully opened the envelope, his face unreadable as he read the name inside.
"11th place—Yuri."
The announcement of the 11th-placed trainee garnered the most intense reaction yet.
"11th? What the hell? But he's always been in the top 10!"
"How can Yuri be kicked out of the top 10? It doesn't make sense. Unless…"
There was a common thought that circulated the room.
It must be June.
If June wasn't in 11th place, then it could only mean one thing—he had risen in ranks once more.
However, instead of his hard work and improvement being recognized, his connection with his "parents" became the most prominent reason for his rise.
June glanced around the room as he felt many judging eyes burning holes into his skin.
Shit. This was bad.
He should have dropped in the ranks.
Jihyun saw the slight distress on June's face, so she quickly picked up the microphone to announce the 10th place.
"10th—Lin Zhi."
However, even with the announcement of Lin Zhi's rank, their focus was still on June.
"He's not 10th? Just how much did he rise?"
"Do you think this is fair?"
"Why isn't the production crew doing anything?"
Robby opened the next envelope, and June, who wasn't a religious person, started praying to every god out there.
'Please let my name get called.'
'Please just let my name get called.'
Yet again, what did June expect? The gods had it out for him.
Because as Robby uttered the next name, the studio center practically turned upside down.
"9th—Ren."
The tired-looking trainee wasn't even shocked as his name was called. He calmly stood up and walked to the front, his dark under eyes making him look a bit pitiful. He gave a generic thank you speech before going up to the 9th seat.
At this point, June was cursing Fu in his mind.
[What do I even have to do with this?]
As the ranks continued to rise, Robby's frown became more evident on his face. And when he opened the next envelope, he felt a sense of relief yet resentment in his heart.
He picked up the mic, and let out a small sigh, before locking gazes with June.
"8th—June."
