250 Betrayal
Four days.
June's team was more fired up than ever. Their practice was going really well, with most of the details already implemented. June took the liberty to arrange their song, too, and his music production skills came in handy once again. The team had recorded their performance, and their smiles were visible in the video.
June nodded in satisfaction.
Their performance was almost complete.
"This is the best," Johnny said. "I'm so glad to be part of this performance."
"I can't imagine how epic this will be once the effects actually take place," C-Jay said, already stoked for the performance.
Meanwhile, the other team was struggling to practice their emotional performance. Lin Zhi came into the practice room in a very sour mood, and it seemed like he had also affected the other members.
"Lin Zhi," Ren sighed, having enough of his mood. "You're the center. Do better this time."
Lin Zhi sighed heavily, simply nodding.
However, even after that confrontation, nothing changed. The stripped-back piano that Ren had tastefully arranged now left a bitter taste in their mouths. With Lin Zhi singing and dancing with an angry expression, they looked like a bunch of amateurs.
Zeth sighed and stopped dancing, causing a ripple effect on the other members. They stopped dancing, too, and the atmosphere in the room became even more tense.
Lin Zhi noticed the silence in the room and stopped. After his conversation with June this morning, Lin Zhi had been on edge. His fingernails even had bite marks all over them due to his anxiousness.
"What's your problem?" Casper calmly asked, but Lin Zhi continued to be consumed by his thoughts.
<nulli>'Am I going to be eliminated?'
<nulli>'That June is much more tenacious than I thought.'
<nulli>'Fuck, fuck, fuck!'
"Lin Zhi," Daeho said loudly, causing Lin Zhi to snap out of his thoughts. Lin Zhi felt his vision darken as he looked at his teammates. They all looked annoying in his eyes, somehow. So, without saying anything, Lin Zhi left the room. The teammates he left looked at each other in confusion. Then, Ren sighed in disappointment. "Let's go back to practice."
***
A full day had passed with June's team practicing for their stage. They didn't want to settle for anything less than perfection. So, they rarely took any breaks.
Because of this, June didn't have any time to check on Lin Zhi and if he had finally received the retribution he deserved.
They were taking a break before they left the practice room, and in one corner of the room, C-Jay, Sehun, and Minx were laughing while scrolling through Navel. Suddenly, C-Jay let out a loud gasp, capturing everybody's attention in the room.
"What happened?" Anthony asked.
"Holy shit! Lin Zhi," C-Jay exclaimed, causing June to snap his gaze to them. Then, a small smirk appeared on his lips. <nulli>Was it finally time?
"He's trending on Navel," Sehun said.
"What? Really?" Johnny exclaimed. "Why would he even trend at this time?"
They all flocked to C-Jay's phone. June, on the other hand, walked calmly toward them.
"Look, June," C-Jay said, handing him the phone. June looked at the phone, expecting the worst. He read the title of the trending article—with over 25,000 likes at this point.
'Lin Zhi from Rising Stars—a genius producer?'
But then, it turned out to be the best.
<nulli>Young Trainee Lin Zhi Impresses with Godlike Producing Skills but Faces Narrow Defeat
<nulli>Enter Lin Zhi, a trainee who has taken the industry by storm with his godlike producing skills and lightning-fast pace that even seasoned professionals find awe-inspiring. Lin Zhi's recent project in the latest mission of 'Rising Stars' showcased his remarkable talents, producing a song that carried his teammates to new heights, but it was a bittersweet ending as another team emerged victorious.
<nulli>Lin Zhi has now captured the attention of the K-pop community with his remarkably fast-producing skills. We are looking forward to his improvement once he debuts...So go vote for him if you haven't yet, starlights! We need a godlike producer in the debut team.
It was posted by one of the largest fanbases of Rising Stars, dating even back to the very first season. The comments were disabled, though, which was once again strange.
June's eyebrows furrowed as he continued looking at the article. Meanwhile, his other teammates were discussing its contents.
"It's kind of strange that he's the one who got the article," Sehun said.
"It isn't an official account. Anything could be posted," Anthony said. "But then again, this account has more than 500,000 followers."
"I meant, it should have been June," Sehun said. "His song was the best, but it seemed like the article was saying that their team didn't deserve to win."
June couldn't hear anything except for a ringing sound that seemed to only grow louder with every passing second.
"Right, June?"
Every voice was muffled by the sound of his thoughts.
"June?"
June snapped back to reality. He stared at his teammates' eyes and suddenly felt like he couldn't take it.
"I'll see you guys tomorrow," June said, a murderous intent hidden in his voice. It sent shivers down everyone's spine, and they couldn't breathe until June left the room.
"Damn, that was scary," Minx sighed in relief as soon as he was gone.
June's hurried footsteps reverberated through the dimly lit hallways, casting long, eerie shadows with every step he took. The building was already silent, and it had dawned on him that their team had practiced until night.
He had one purpose in mind, one person he needed to confront—Tony.
Doubt gnawed at him; perhaps trusting Tony had been a grave mistake. June pushed forward, determined to find Mr. Klin so he could get a pass and reach the headquarters once again.
As he turned a corner, his heart leaped into his throat. Two shadowy figures stood at the end of the path, their features concealed by the enveloping darkness. An unsettling feeling of dread washed over him. Their presence was unmistakably familiar, and that familiarity only deepened his unease.
A ghastly light flickered, momentarily illuminating their faces. June clenched his jaw as the sinister truth was revealed.
It was Lin Zhi and Tony.
The person he loathed.
And the person he thought he could trust.
It seemed like time had ceased, and everything turned to slow motion in June's vision. Tony's hand descended on Lin Zhi's shoulder, an unsettling, creepy grin still etched on his face.
Then, as if Lin Zhi had magically noticed his presence, he turned his head to the side—where June was. And with mocking intent, Lin Zhi smiled.
"It's over," Lin Zhi mouthed.
