Jia couldn't bear to watch June's reevaluation stage. And when he was given zero stars, she felt so bad that she wanted to turn back time and yell at the other mentors for being unfair to him.
"He lost his voice!" Jia defended. "Didn't mentor Jihyun make him sing over and over again? That's the reason why his voice had gone hoarse."
Wei chuckled and patted Jia's back. "Calm down, Jia. The mentors give out rankings based on their actual performance. Mentor Jihyun can't give him more stars just based on what he had shown during practice."
"But he did really improve in dancing, though," Na-ri said, trying to calm Jia down.
Jia crossed her arms in front of her chest and glared at the TV.
"I'm not watching anymore! It's like the whole world is against June," she pouted.
"Are you sure?" Soo-min teased. "We'll turn off the TV if you like."
Jia snatched the remote from Soo-min and clicked her tongue. "But, whatever. They won the signal song performance benefit anyway. Let's continue watching."
"She's gone insane," Na-ri whispered.
- Finally! That June guy got what he deserved.
- Zero-stars June, hehehe. I don't know why, but I really don't like this guy.
- It's because we can't see his face. That cat mask is hella weird.
- You guys are so mean. If he was handsome, then you wouldn't be throwing hate like this.
- This June guy is becoming my favorite. I don't like pretentious people.
"However, even if all classes are given the opportunity to shoot a performance video, it does not mean that you will have the same budget. Those with five stars will be given an unlimited budget for their performance, so they can use that for the costumes, effects, and the like. The budget for the video will lessen as the tiers go down," Minho said, and the ladies gasped.
"So, that's what happened?" Na-ri asked. "No wonder the quality regressed per star level. Zero-stars were lucky that they had a funny stage, though."
Jia clenched her fists in anger. June must have had such a hard time.
- Damn, Azure is really brutal.
- The zero-star trainees are both untalented and poor.
- I feel kind of bad for the lower-tier trainees.
- These two-stars kind of gave up, though. It's not that fun to see.
- I bet the zero-stars will be the same. They only have 500 dollars, pfft. Even my allowance is greater than that.
Jia rested her elbows on her lap and watched intently when the zero-stars' practice scene was being shown.
"Let's just rest," Jangmoon said. "I'm tired of practicing the song over and over again. It's not like I'm going to improve in just one day."
"Where's the 500 dollars?" C-jay asked. "Let's just use that to buy pizza and cheer ourselves up."
- Oh :/ I empathize with June.
- What the hell? Why are they speaking that way?
- June, cheer up!
- Why is June even trying so hard? They're going to lose anyway.
Na-ri sniffed as she watched the scene where June continuously attempted to get the zero-star trainees to work harder for their signal song performance.
Azure used the "sad" editing technique for the scene, so the viewers couldn't help but empathize with June.
"I feel so bad for him!" Soo-min said. "Why are they being like this?"
"My June," Jia whispered. "Really—he must be really sad underneath his mask."
She couldn't help but tear up as she watched the pitiful scene. It's as if he was the only one who wanted to continue on with their stage.
Meanwhile, in that scene, June was actually cursing the trainees under his breath. However, since he was wearing his mask, the big wide eyes of the cat made him look so pitiful.
"Ah, really! I have to scold these trainees," Wei said. "I hope tomorrow's going to get better."
As the next scenes were shown, the zero-stars' situation was, indeed, not any better.
There was only a day left for their performance, yet the trainees were still slacking off.
Intense piano music played as June stood up, seemingly fed up with their attitudes.
"Come here. All of you," June calmly said.
The girls collectively gasped. They've never heard June use such a voice before.
"Come. Here."
- Holy shit. Why is his aura so different?
- It's like he's a whole different person. Kind of scary.
- Damn, I kind of want to follow him too.
- Go, June! Show them who's boss.
June took a step forward, and the piano music became even more intense as he stood in front of Jangmoon.
- Are they going to fight?
- Hell yeah! I want to see them throwing fists.
"Link your arms together," June said, still serious.
"Huh?" Na-ri tilted her head to the side in confusion. "So suddenly?"
"I thought he was going to punch Jangmoon just now," Wei said.
"June wouldn't do that," Jia said. "He's a pure person."
"The world is a shitty place," June started with a curse word. However, it was bleeped out by the production crew.
The girls looked at each other with wide eyes. "Did he just curse?" Wei asked.
"What the hell," Na-ri started laughing. "That's a first! I can't believe they even aired that."
- HAHAHAHAHA, a trainee cursed in front of the cameras? This is gold!
- He's really growing on me.
- Tsk. No etiquette at all.
- Why do I like him so much?
"We're in a place where justice is only served for the rich. Some are given more resources. Some have nothing at all. However, what do we have most that they don't? Desperation."
The girls listened intently. Jia felt herself falling deeper in love with June with just those few words.
"Honestly, who doesn't want to win the benefit? I'm sure, deep inside your hearts, you want to be seen on TV while showing your talents. Why else would you come here and go through so much struggle? It's time for us to rise above mediocrity. We have the potential to be more than just trainees; we can be the best damn team this place has ever seen! But it starts with each and every one of us embracing our flaws."
"Let's Power Up! And let us always remember that true power lies not in strength alone but in the belief that we can achieve anything when we work together, refuse to give up, and strive for greatness. We can do this with just 500 dollars and a dream! So, who's with me?"
"Ah," Jia squealed. "That was so fucking cool!"
"Damn," Soo-min said. "Would you mind sharing your bias, Jia?"
"Go stick to Zeth," Jia said. "But I wouldn't mind if you give my June some extra stars," she giggled.
At that moment, the ratings were crazily rising. The people who used to be indifferent toward June started taking a liking to him and his blunt personality.
The other trainees watching at home were also fascinated by June's way of speaking.
Zeth, who had gathered with his members from the third round, couldn't help but curse as June's little speech ended.
"This June kid's so cool," he complimented.
Lin Zhi, on the other hand, frowned as the scene replayed over and over inside his head.
June's speech—it somehow sounded familiar.
It reminded him of someone he once knew.
