"Gosh. Why is it so hot these days?" Akira complained, cranking up their air conditioner.
After their long unresolved debate in the recording studio, they were now back in their dorm. Fortunately, after June burst out about the guys smelling like wet dogs, the dorm had been tidied up to an acceptable extent.
The eight of them sat on the couch. They had just finished eating, so they were now lazing around while watching TV. The news anchor speaking about the weather became their background sound.
Coincidentally, or maybe not, they were seated according to their title track preferences.
Zeth and Sehun.
Ren and Jisung.
Jaeyong and Akira.
June and Casper.
"Due to global warming and climate change, the weather has been becoming more difficult to predict. In this graph, we can see that the heat index has increased again this year and will continue to rise until the end of November. Hopefully, December will be a much cooler month," the weatherman said.
Jaeyong groaned in annoyance. "We have to endure this heat until November?"
"And it doesn't help that our air conditioning is shit," Akira added. "They didn't skimp on the rooms, but the electronics really suck."
Zeth clicked his tongue. "Stop complaining and think about your presentation for tomorrow. We're about to crush you at this point."
Jaeyong scoffed. "Oh, dream on, buddy. I heard what you were conceptualizing. A lunar eclipse? That's so predictable for a song called Red Moon."
Sehun glared at Jaeyong's team. "It's revolutionary," he defended. "At least it isn't a cafe theme for a song called Caffeine," he subtly called the other team out.
Ren clicked his tongue. "We're minding our own business here. Let's just see which song will win tomorrow. I'm pretty sure nothing's certain yet."
"I think it's already certain that Oasis is not going to be the title track, though," Zeth joked, causing the six members to chuckle.
They turned to June's and Casper's team and continued to tease them.
"Why did you even pick that song, June?" Ren asked. "I don't even remember it."
"Me too," Jisung shyly admitted. "It lacks impact for a debut song."
"You guys were just not listening," June said.
"Well, do you already have a concept for the song?" Sehun asked.
Casper and June remained silent. Before they could continue to tease the pair, June stood up from the couch, wiping his sweat with the back of his hand.
"It's so hot," June said, diverting the topic. "I'm going to wash my face."
"Sure, go ahead," Akira chuckled. "Maybe you'll get some inspiration then."
June ignored their teases and went to one of their shared bathrooms. June leaned on the sink, looking at his reflection.
It was so hot in their dorm that sweat had formed on his hairline. His cheeks were red from the warmth, too, and he felt uncomfortable just looking at himself.
So, he quickly opened the faucet so he could splash his face with some water.
However, it seemed like the world had it out for him since water didn't come out from the faucet.
Akira wasn't lying. The electronics and amenities in their dorm were all shitty. They had been told that this was BOYMYSTIC's dorm before and hasn't been repaired ever since.
"What the hell," he cursed under his breath, repeatedly turning the sink on and off.
Then, like the unlucky black cat he was, the water burst out from the sink full blast at the most unexpected moment, causing the water to splatter all over him and his shirt.
June cursed once more before turning off the sink. He took a step back and glanced at himself in the mirror.
His chin had become wet, and his white shirt had become transparent.
"Great," he chuckled coldly, already feeling annoyed since he just changed his shirt a while ago.
He was about to leave the bathroom but stopped when he caught a glimpse of his body in the mirror. He looked down and saw that his muscles had become more defined. When he had a shoot with Choi Pablo, he looked…softer.
However, now, the lines on his abdomen have become more noticeable. It seemed like being on Rising Stars was actually pretty beneficial for his body.
'I do look pretty cool like this,' he thought.
As he gazed at the water-soaked fabric clinging to his skin, something sparked within him. He couldn't quite explain it, but the sensation of being wet changed from being annoying to something oddly refreshing.
The lyrics of the song 'Oasis' began to echo in his mind, the words fitting perfectly with his current mood.
June sang softly to himself.
"A life lived in water, forever wanting more."
Then, like a bolt of lightning, another thought pierced through his consciousness. He remembered the news he had seen earlier in the morning—about the rapidly rising temperatures and scorching heat waves that would continue until November.
"The world's getting hotter, day by day," he whispered.
The convergence of these thoughts—the cooling sensation of his wet shirt, climate change, and an oasis.
June smirked, the annoyance leaving his system.
He went out of the restroom and shouted, "Casper, we need to talk!"
***
Chul yawned as the group of eight men entered the large conference room. The rookie idols bowed their heads when they saw it wasn't just their manager waiting in the room.
"Come in, boys," Chul said, "and take a seat."
The members quickly took their seats according to their teams.
"Let me introduce you to the team who will judge your presentations today," Chul started off. "We have two representatives from the A&R team—you've met them yesterday. We also have members from the Creative team who will focus on your concepts. Lastly, we have two people from the Marketing team to assess whether the comeback will be profitable."
Casper sighed when he saw the panel of serious-looking people.
"I hate this," he whispered to June. "I feel like I'm back at school."
June merely shook his head in amusement.
"Well, who wants to start?" Chul asked.
Without any hesitation, Zeth and Sehun raised their hands.
"We'll be going first," Zeth confidently said.
The staff were pleasantly surprised by their confidence. The two of them stood up and hooked their presentation to the screen.
"Good morning, everyone," Zeth started off, already oozing with charisma.
June had to give it to this kid—he was definitely born to become famous.
"We're here to show you the reasons why Red Moon should be the title track," Sehun continued.
"First," Zeth quickly added. "Werewolves—we can become sexy werewolves under the red moonlight!"
