"You're so cool, big brother!" Jangmoon sniffed as their scene finished. He cried like a baby when June told his little speech. "I'm so sorry for being like that at first! I was just devastated that we were given less when we're already at the bottom."
"Me too, brother," C-Jay said, attacking June with a hug and nuzzling his face in June's neck.
June pushed him away and glared at him.
"Alright, I get it. It's over now," June said. "Let's not talk about it anymore."
"But I'm really sorry!" Jangmoon insisted. "Here, have my kiss as my deepest form of apology."
June looked at him with horror and pushed Akira to the front, causing Jangmoon to kiss Akira's cheek instead.
"Fuck!" Akira screamed. "What the hell. Why is it so wet?"
"Brother, come here!" Jangmoon insisted, chasing June around the small room.
June got up and assumed a fighting stance.
The other four watched them in amusement.
Fortunately, Jangmoon got tired after a while, and they were back to watching the episode. The filming of the five-star trainees was currently being shown, yet the other guys were still not over June's little speech.
"But you were really cool right there, brother," Jisung said. "The other guys didn't give you an easy time."
Akira patted June's back. "Good job, June. You've worked harder than anybody else. I bet Jaeyong will have a change of heart once he sees the episode."
June frowned. "Right. Why does he even hate me?"
Akira shrugged. "Jaeyong's just like that. He's trained the longest out of all of us. He became a trainee at 14 years old and only debuted at 22. He witnessed a lot of younger and less talented trainees debut before him, so he doesn't like those who think being an idol is a just a joke."
"I don't think like that, though," June responded.
While it's true that June doesn't want to become an idol, he could never think of it as a joke.
Especially with Mei Ling's life on the line.
Akira chuckled. "I guess you came off that way during the beginning. Especially with your Little Meow Meow audition piece and bright pink mask."
"Right," Minx said. "You were wearing a mask during the preliminary interviews too. We were the last ones to be interviewed during that time. Why do you wear a mask when it's an idol survival competition?"
They anticipated June's answer.
June shrugged and answered nonchalantly.
"It's simple. I'm ugly," he said.
Well, he's definitely not ugly. But the wounds and bruises he had incurred made him look abused. His dark circles and acne marks didn't help with his appearance either. Moreover, since he was too poor, he was too skinny for his own sake.
This body looks much better now, though.
Although June hasn't really paid much attention to his appearance for the past few days. He just kept using the skin care products that Grandma had given him.
He's also planning to use his next level-up for his visuals just in time for the next battle. However, the last mission was much harder than he had thought since his height was something he couldn't really control!
Jangmoon went closer to him and stared into his eyes, scaring June a bit.
"You have really pretty eyes, though."
June pushed him away once more. "Just watch the show."
Akira and Jisung looked at June with pity.
Not only is he poor, he has self-esteem issues, too?
Poor June.
Akira wrapped his arms around June. "Don't worry, brother. You wouldn't be the first K-pop idol with mediocre looks. You can still make it to the group."
"Gee, thanks," June said.
"Hmm," Jisung hummed in agreement. "And there isn't an ugly person in this world! I'm sure you have your own merits."
June looked at their consoling faces and shook his head.
It seemed like they really believed him when he said he was ugly.
Well, whatever. June's not in the mood to explain that he was covering his face because of his wounds and bruises.
The show was nearing its end, and the performance video of the zero-stars was finally shown.
Initially, their performance was deemed humorous by the public. However, seeing the process of their hard work and effort, the public seemed to empathize with them more.
- I didn't realize this was such an emotional performance.
- The zero-stars :( They worked really hard.
- MyKittyJune: Where are the June haters now? They've grown quiet, huh?
- I have a newfound respect for June. I might give him some stars now. Although Ren still has my heart <3.
- Still ugly, though.
- Crazy commenter upstairs. You can't even see his face!
- Why would he cover it if he's handsome?
"They edited it so well," C-Jay said, touched. "I should give Yena and Ye-jin some gifts when we go back."
"Stupid," Jangmoon slapped the back of his head. "Do you want to be accused of bribery?"
"Ah, right. Sorry, sorry."
Their performance finally ended, and the scene where the YouWatch views had been tracked was shown. The zero-stars' video started off slow, with just 5,000 views in the first hour. However, as time progressed, their views escalated the most, creating a very dramatic finish.
The zero-star trainees couldn't help but cheer as they were hailed the winners.
"My mom is going to love this," C-Jay exclaimed.
June nonchalantly watched the show, popping another BenBen gummy under his mask.
[Congratulations, host! You have accomplished the mission: Increase height by at least one cm. Current height: 177 cm. Please pick an aspect to improve.]
When June saw that pop-up, he couldn't help but stand up in surprise. Before he even knew it, he clapped his hands and raised his hand in victory.
Those BenBen gummies are actually effective!
June smiled. He's finally more than the average height of Korean men!
The five other guys were surprised to see him stand up.
Jangmoon covered his mouth as he looked at June.
'Our big brother! He's secretly touched by our victory, too, huh? He was just acting cold a while ago.'
"You must really be happy, brother," C-Jay said. "You don't have to hide it from us."
Akira and Jisung smiled. Turns out, June was much more of a Tsundere than they had thought.
Ah, those idiots.
They didn't even know that June was celebrating a different victory.
"Visual," he muttered under his breath.
[Wise choice, host! Visual +1. Current grade: B-]
[Current stats:
- Vocals: A-
- Dance: C-
- Visual: B-
- Rap: E-
- Charm: E+
- Leadership: C]
