Lin Zhi felt prouder than anyone else as he revealed his well-defined abs to the public. The fangirls screamed at his feet, feeding onto his already high ego.
This was the life he wanted to live.
He could still remember the days when he dreamed of becoming an idol.
You see, Lin Zhi never had a lot growing up. He was born in the slums of Shanghai, and his parents both worked low-income jobs. He had a lot of ambitions, but his parents always made excuses.
"Next time, my child."
"When I hit it big, I'll buy you something."
"We're sorry, son. We can't afford to send you to school anymore."
"Just a little bit more. We can make it."
Because of those words, Lin Zhi always questioned his existence. Why was he born with parents who weren't ready to raise a child? Why were others born with significantly more while he was stuck with nearly nothing?
Life was fucking unfair.
So, he ran away. He joined the White Tiger gang to finally live his dream. From a young age, he always wanted to go into entertainment. He wasn't interested in singing, dancing, acting, and the like.
But for him, being a celebrity meant that he'd finally get attention—the level of attention he craved from his parents.
Then, Lin Zhi became a slave to attention.
So when K-Pop idols suddenly went viral worldwide, he knew that it'd be the best way to get all that attention…and maybe some good money, too.
Thus, Lin Zhi did everything he could. Fortunately, Laohu gave him the opportunity to become a drug distributor, and not those measly errand boys in their gang.
Even as a newcomer, he was given quite a lot of privileges.
He understood that it was unfair.
But life was unfair, and his members just had to deal with it.
He worked his ass off for more than a year yet his money still wasn't enough to take him to Korea and have a good life. He couldn't get recruited by a decent company, and he was miserable.
So, when an opportunity was placed before him, he had no choice but to accept it.
Even if it meant betraying the people who trusted him.
Even if it meant killing Jun Hao.
Because, then again, life was unfair.
And for Lin Zhi, life was just paying him back for the unfairness he experienced when he was a child.
It's been more than a year since he killed that guy—Jun Hao. For Lin Zhi, he was honestly a very good brother, but he understood why Laohu wanted to kill him.
That guy had been in the gang for years, and he knew the ups and downs of White Tiger more than anyone else…probably even more than Laohu himself. They had their eyes on Jun Hao for a while now, and Laohu even promoted that poor bastard…only to observe him closer.
And maybe it was for his own enjoyment too.
It was more fun to see people crumble when they were at their highest.
So, even if Lin Zhi remembered Jun Hao's face from time to time, he just brushed it off and continued with his life.
In the end, he was able to live his dream because of his death.
A part of him will always be grateful for Jun Hao, but a bigger part of him believed that he deserved to live this kind of life.
And now, he was so close to it.
Top 25—he knew he would get it this far. And taking off his shirt was definitely the push he needed to get him to the finals.
With a final bow, his team left the stage with the sound of lingering screams from the background. Lin Zhi's heart swelled with pride as most of the audience screamed his name.
He got this one in the bag.
Meanwhile, inside Team Adorbz's dressing room…
They all stood while watching Lin Zhi bathe in all the attention.
"Umm, I think we might actually lose," Jangmoon suddenly said, holding onto his abdomen. "How the hell did he get such a well-defined six pack?"
"It's unfair," Jangmoon continued to whine. "That's like a cheat sheet! Their team might just win right now."
June merely sighed as he continued watching the show.
The next team, Jisung's team, started performing on stage.
For their performance, the stage was bathed in a kaleidoscope of beaming lights. They performed their song 'Retro Revive' with a 90s concept. Their well-gelled hair shimmered under the spotlight, and their pastel-colored outfits and neon accessories elevated their performance. As it reached the last chorus, the crowd began to sing along to their easy lyrics.
However, even with all of that, it seemed like their performance became lackluster, with the audience already expecting them to do something as drastic as what Lin Zhi did.
June sat at the couch and continued watching the rest of the performances. His teammates, too, turned silent as their performance got nearer.
The next team also did well.
Zeth's team, 'TrapKings,' plunged into darkness, punctuated only by the occasional flash of strobe lights. The atmosphere shifted to something more 'street' and 'cool.' Zeth's rap in the beginning, accompanied by the thumping bass, captured the audience in an instant. They were yet another contender for first place.
Now, there was only one team left until Team Adorbz's performance, and this one was significantly less exciting than the rest of the stages.
"Hey," Daeho suddenly said as he looked at his phone. "That doctor who dissed some of the trainees is posting various shit on his Navel account."
"Doctor Kim?" June frowned.
"Yeah, him," Daeho said, showing them his screen. "It seems like he came to watch the live show. He has almost 30,000 likes on this one. That's ridiculous. He's spouting nonsense again."
They gathered around Daeho and read what the doctor had posted.
DoctorK: See? I told you this trainee got a lot of plastic surgery. His lips are not even moving. It's because his face is stiff with all the silicone.
DoctorK: I think June's performance is up next. I'll make an in depth analysis of his face while watching the performance. He's the one who got the most plastic surgery among everyone, so I wonder how he's going to perform.
Casper clicked his tongue and shook his head. "Isn't he a doctor? Why is he posting content like this?"
June sighed and turned off Daeho's phone. "Let's not waste our time with people like those."
Jangmoon and Ren nodded.
Just then, the door opened, and a male intern poked his head through the door.
"Team Adorbz?" the intern said, his tone turning hesitant as he read their team name.
"Please head backstage and get ready for your performance."
