Chapter 420 The Truth Prevails
Smiles adorned their faces as they made their way back to a line. The members of EVE and SPADES glanced at each other, feeling satisfied with their performance. Y turned to June from the opposite end, giving him a thumbs-up. In his mind, this was the most fun performance they had put out in a while—and none of it would have been possible if it weren't for June. It started out pretty rough, but it all turned out good in the end.
Some audience members saw Y's gesture. The trio of girls that Jia and her friends fought with also saw their interaction. They turned to each other with pursed lips, wondering if they thought wrong of the young idol. "Wow," Haemin exclaimed, calming the cheers of the audience. "I can't believe I got to witness that in real-time. It went by so fast; I want to watch it again!"
"Thank you, senior," Y bowed, and the others followed suit. "I should be the one saying thank you. It's an honor to watch your performance, and I'm sure the judges will agree with me. Isn't that right?" he asked, turning to the panel. Kang, Sunggi, and Baek knowingly glanced at each other. Sunggi took the mic to speak first. "That's right," he agreed with Haemin. "The panel and I have spoken—and we agree that this is our favorite performance of the night." The crowd clapped, acknowledging the performance that SPADES and EVE had put out. However, some of CHAOS' fans didn't clap for their team, feeling bitter that other groups were getting complimented.
"June," Sunggi called. "You're such a great rapper. I first saw you during your 'Father' performance, and you blew me away with your vocals then. I never expected you to be great at rapping, too."
June bowed in respect, feeling grateful for such a huge compliment. "Let me also take this time to mention the group's dancing," Kang butted in. "I observed that you've incorporated a lot of first-generation idol movements in your performance. It was very well-orchestrated, and it also took me back to the times when I was still an idol."
"This, truly, is a performance that could be enjoyed by K-pop fans from different generations," he ended. Baek was the last to take the mic, and June felt a bit nervous. Out of everyone in the panel, he had said the most criticisms so far. So, it wouldn't be strange for their performance to also receive some criticism. "I'm only going to point out one thing," Baek said, causing the members to pay more attention. "I think the vocals became weaker during the last chorus." The team nodded in acknowledgment, feeling a bit disappointed. "However, it was great that someone was able to support it in the end," he continued, taking away some of their disappointment. "Like Sunggi said, this is definitely my favorite stage of the night," Baek smiled. "I wish we could have some power over who will win this particular mission, but we have to leave it to the audience." "However, given the chance, I would definitely pick your team to be the winners." ***
EVE was now in their van, driving back to their dorm after a long day of filming. Despite feeling tired, they also felt satisfied. They had performed better than they had expected, and the feedback they got from the special judges was also the best among the participants. Jisung chuckled as he showed them a picture of June's new hair on his phone. "Your new hair color is already posted," Jisung pointed out. "Everyone's calling you an angel," Zeth chuckled. "If they only knew, you're far from being an angel." "June's an angel," Casper said, but they paid him no attention. "You suit your hair really well, though," Akira chimed. "I almost hit you this morning since I thought an intruder came in." "Who even did your hair?" Ren asked, playing with June's strands. "They did such a great job." June shrugged. "He told me not to disclose his identity to others." "Why not?" Ren frowned in confusion. "He claims he has to be 'sought' and not to be 'shared.' I don't get it. He's a weird guy," June said, remembering Kumo's words. "Some people are talking about a random guy under the trend, though," Jaeyong said. "Have you heard of this guy—Hi_ImJune_from_3V3?" Jisung sat straight, a small frown gracing his face. "I've heard of that guy! He's famous for impersonating June," he said. "Oh, that guy?" Akira asked. "It's a shame. I watched one of his covers and discovered he has a pretty voice, too. I think he could be famous if he stopped impersonating June." "I swear—he's such a creep," Ren said. "I saw some of his posts, and sometimes, it really does seem like he's in the same place as June. He's a creep." June's eyebrows furrowed as he listened to their words.
"Why are they talking about him now?" Sehun asked. "Well, he posted this photo a few hours ago—even before our live performance," Jaeyong said, showing them a blurry photo of a blonde scalp. They squinted their eyes to get a better look at the photo. "What the hell are we looking at?" Zeth asked. "It's hair," June deadpanned.
"Yeah," Jaeyong said. "He's showing off a new hairstyle—one that is identical to June's."
They all turned to June. "You don't find this strange at all?" Jaeyong asked. "What's so strange about it?" June defended. "He's just showing off his daily life like the rest of you. You guys share even weirder stuff. Remember when Zeth posted his toe because he claimed it looked handsome?" Zeth pursed his lips. "But it really did look handsome," he muttered. "That's different. You have a stalker," Akira said. "How come he knew about your hair color even before we went on stage?" Then, he dramatically gasped. "Don't tell me—was he hiding in our waiting room?" June shook his head in disappointment. "Why are you guys being so mean?" he asked.
"What do you mean?" Jaeyong asked. "We're just protecting you from a potential stalker."
"He's not a stalker," June sighed. "How do you even know that?" Zeth asked. "Because that guy is me."
