Cousin: I did it.
June smirked as he gazed at Jenny's latest text message.
June: Good.
Cousin: Good? That's it? After all of this, I could get fired, you know?
June: I'll send you some monthly allowance then.
Cousin: You better keep your word.
Cousin: But really, I think I'm going to get fired.
"June's smiling while texting! He has a girlfriend," Akira exclaimed, causing the others to turn to him.
June sighed and shook his head, placing his phone back into his pocket.
"I don't," June deadpanned.
"You're hiding something from us," Akira narrowed his eyes. "The guys said you weren't around for dinner last night. This morning, you smelled sweet, too. You must have been with a woman!"
Well, Akira wasn't wrong about that. Jia's sweet scent rubbed off on him, and it didn't go away even after he showered.
"You know, maybe the laxative they used should have been stronger," June said.
"Hey!" Akira said, offended.
"Agreed," the other members collectively said, making the team's joker slump in his seat.
"Whatever!" Akira exclaimed. "You're all saying that, but I know that you also want the culprit to be caught. Up until now, Jay still doesn't have a clue how he would catch the culprit without alerting the media or the police."
"Well, Azure's quite shitty, aren't they? They want their incompetencies to be hidden," Casper said. "If it wasn't written in the contract that we couldn't defame the company publicly, then I would have done so a long time ago."
Ted and Mari turned around and looked at the members with raised eyebrows.
"You know that we're here, right?" Ted asked.
Casper shrugged, not giving a damn in the world.
They were currently recording the song they wrote, and although it had been hectic for the past few days, they were finally able to finalize the song with full satisfaction. It was also the last song they had to record before they wrapped up their recording and proceeded to the other aspects of the comeback.
Zeth was the one in the booth, currently killing his rap verses.
June was the only one who hadn't recorded yet, so he was waiting patiently for his turn.
In the meantime, the members of EVE conversed about their sasaeng issue.
"I just wish someone, anyone, would help us with this one. We don't even know the identity of the sasaeng," Ren sighed.
'I already do,' June thought with a smile.
"I've become so paranoid these days. I don't even take out the trash anymore. I ask Nico to take it out," Jisung chimed.
"Why do you still look so calm?" Sehun asked, nudging June's shoulder.
"Do you even have to question that?" Jisung asked. "June's always calm. It makes me think he's older than me by a lot of years!"
June smirked, leaning against the couch.
He thought long and hard about how to execute his plan last night, and with Jenny's help, he was sure that Kim Sua would finally meet her demise.
"June, you're up next," Ted grumbled.
With that, June stood from the couch with a wide smile.
He glanced at his teammates and gestured to the door.
"You know, you don't have to wait for me, you know? You should go ahead and have lunch at the cafeteria downstairs."
"But we want to wait for you!" Akira exclaimed. "I heard they're serving shrimps this lunch, and we know how much you love seafood."
"But it's already past 12," June said, glancing at the clock.
"Ah, who cares," Ren said. "After this, we're done with the recording of the album! It's our turn to celebrate as a group."
Sehun nodded in agreement.
"Besides, we can't just leave you behind, can't we?"
A small smile appeared on June's lips as he directed his gaze to the ground.
He couldn't deny that, at first, he felt like the stage presence aspect would be the greatest advantage he could gain from getting rid of Sua.
However, seeing his teammates care for him made him feel like his sacrifices were all worth it.
June entered the room, still with a small smile, ready to record the love song they had curated.
It felt pretty nice singing a love song when you were in a good mood. So, as soon as the music started, June didn't even struggle to portray the feeling of giddiness.
The members were enamored as soon as June sang the words. It was only a moment ago when he was acting nonchalant, yet now, he was able to portray the love song effortlessly.
If the members of EVE were all chameleons, then June was the master of chameleons.
The way he could immerse himself in different concepts was truly impeccable.
"See that?" Akira whispered. "He's singing with so much love. He must have a girlfriend!"
Mari turned to Ted, who appeared to be concentrating on making June's voice better.
However, June didn't even need that much help. His voice was already a craft in itself.
"Do you have anything to say about his voice?" Mari asked, a small, knowing smirk playing on her lips.
Ted merely pursed his lips before shaking his head.
He hated to admit it, but June was one of the few idols that was on the way to mastering his artistry.
***
The eight members of EVE were currently in the building's cafeteria, mountains of food laid out on their table.
Shrimp shells were scattered on their table, and the boys continued to eat with their bare hands.
The people around glanced at them as they walked by. However, they weren't disgusted.
Instead, they were baffled by how handsome the group of men was despite their messy surroundings.
However, sitting as a sharp contrast among them was June, sitting in the corner with an unstained white cloth tucked into his shirt. He also had a fork and knife in his hands, not wanting to get himself dirty before their dance practice that afternoon.
It seemed like he was the only one being shined on with a ray of light, too, making him stand out against the dirty men.
"June is always so sophisticated," Jisung said in admiration.
His members continued complimenting him, with Casper even placing a peeled shrimp on his plate.
However, June continued to eat without minding them.
In fact, his mind was on another thing.
He was impatiently waiting for the impact of what Jenny had done to finally commence.
"Any minute now," he muttered, his eyes darting around the cafeteria where most of the employees were currently having their lunch.
Then, among the sound of utensils and useless chatter, a loud gasp broke through.
A small smirk appeared on June's face as he glanced at a woman who worked for the company's public relations.
After a while, people in the room started giving the same reactions.
The members of EVE, aside from June, observed their surroundings with confusion.
"Omo," Akira suddenly said.
"Is the new Banana Phone finally coming out?"
