Chapter 253 Three Days
But then again, that was easier said than done.
<nullb>Three days.
Three days were left until the finale, and June was still yet to find something that would bring Lin Zhi down to the pits of hell.
He was still looking for a way to find those lost footages, but there wasn't a lot of time left.
June's team had gathered once more for their practice, and it was evident that June's mood wasn't the best. However, he still tried his best to put on a good show for his teammates.
It was still obvious, though.
And Sehun was the very first to notice that.
"Hey, are you okay?" Sehun asked, sitting beside June.
June lost in his thoughts, looked up at the smiling trainee and nodded slightly.
"Yeah, just thinking about something," June said.
"That's good," Sehun said. "It's good to collect your thoughts sometime."
"Hmm," June hummed, then went back to being silent.
"You know," Sehun said, breaking the silence. "I can tell that you've carried a lot of burdens on your back, and that made you the strongest trainee in the competition…at least, for me, you are," he chuckled.
"We're also relying on you a lot for this performance, too," Sehun added. "But you've never crumbled under pressure. You always put on your best show, and in that way, I could tell that you'll be a very good idol."
June chuckled as he looked at Sehun. "Why are you telling this to me?"
Sehun shrugged. "I don't know. Just wanted to give you a little booster, I guess. You look quite down."
"Yeah," June sighed. "Kind of worried."
"Well, you can talk to me when you're worried," Sehun smiled.
June nodded in gratitude.
Just then, C-Jay's booming voice was heard in their practice room. "Why are you worried, bro? Do you want me to give you a massage?" he loudly asked.
June chuckled as he shook his head. "Shut up. You're making my head hurt."
C-Jay pouted as he sprawled his body across the floor. "You shouldn't be worried, bro. Your debut spot is already certain."
"Nothing's certain at this point," June said. "I'm in 12th place."
C-Jay clicked his tongue. "You're right. I still find that pretty weird, though. You performed a great stage last week. Why were you suddenly in 12th place?"
"Do you think there's any foul play going on?" Anthony asked.
June clenched his jaw.
<nulli>There definitely was.
"Hey, do you think we can talk about things like that?" Zachary asked.
C-Jay shrugged. "Why not? We're not slandering anyone's name. But, I do think it's still possible for a rigging incident to occur."
"Most definitely," Sehun agreed. "But I think there's a lesser chance this time. In the past few seasons, Azure was the one who counted the votes. They could have easily manipulated it to their liking for the sake of their favorite trainees. Now, we have an outside company doing that for us."
"That isn't a guarantee, though," Johnny said. "There might still be something going on with that company and other external companies."
C-Jay sat up, stretching his limbs. "But I heard from someone that the CEO of that company is a very honest man, though."
"Where did you hear this?" Sehun asked.
"Oh, I hear a lot of things. I'm your source for all gossip, basically! And I heard that the owner of the company has lots of other companies that work for good causes. So, I have high hopes for them. I really wish nothing weird happens with the votes this time around."
June paused, an idea suddenly dawning upon him.
He already tried asking for help from Azure…and that didn't turn out great at all. June knew not to make the same mistake again.
So, maybe he can ask help from someone who was actually closer to the votes.
"What's the name of the company again?" June asked, knowing C-Jay would have the answer.
"Mintellect," C-Jay responded.
***
"Mintellect," June muttered under his breath.
He was about to borrow Sehun's phone so he could research the company and find a way to meet its owner when an intern suddenly came into the room.
"Trainees, please proceed to the Audio Visual Room," he exclaimed. "We have something special in store for you."
With that, he closed the door, leaving the group of trainees confused.
Then, June's teammates stood up and started heading to the room. June entered, and he saw that the other team was already there.
A small smile played on his lips as his friends waved at him. It's been a while since they've seen each other like this since they were all busy preparing for the signal song performance.
However, his smile quickly dropped when he saw Lin Zhi sitting in the middle of the room, looking more arrogant than ever.
Lin Zhi smiled, his eyes creasing as he looked at June.
June ignored his presence and sat next to his teammates, settling at the very end of the line.
The trainees chattered among themselves, curious as to why they were asked to gather suddenly.
"What are we even doing here?" Jaeyong asked.
"We need to go and practice," Akira sighed worriedly.
"Hey, do you think it'll be that?" C-Jay suddenly asked.
Bin groaned. "Oh, please. I don't want to cry today."
Just then, all of the lights turned off, and a beautiful melody filled the room.
June sighed as he realized what was going on.
Towards the end of Rising Stars, the trainees were asked to gather so they could look back at the journey they have embarked on. This was usually the time when their auditions wereshown, and it was also an opportunity for the trainees to relay their sincere messages to their fellow trainees.
It was definitely an emotional time, and C-Jay was already sniffing when the intro was played.
It was a compilation of their performances, slowed down with a black-and-white filter.
And June couldn't deny that it was very well-edited, appearing like their lives were straight out of a movie.
Then, the segments that everyone dreaded finally came.
Akira was shown on screen, causing the Japanese trainee to hide his face with his hands.
"Umm," Akira on the screen said. "This feels awkward. A message for a trainee, huh? Do I have to say just one?"
Akira groaned. "I guess I'll go with our leader," he said. "Jaeyong, if you're watching this. I hope we still debut together. Not as RAVEN, but as a new group with new people. Let's debut, leader."
