"All by myself?" June asked, feeling a bit hesitant.
"Well, of course!" Jay exclaimed. "Or do you want me to hold your hand while you're singing on stage?"
"June would like that," Casper chimed, earning him a slap on the back of the head.
"This is a great opportunity!" Ren exclaimed. "I've always imagined you going on that show."
"Me too!" Jisung chimed. "It's the perfect show to flaunt your vocal skills. Maybe then, people would stop underappreciating your vocals."
"June is known as a talented vocalist, though," Sehun said.
"I know," Jisung said. "However, I feel like his skills are still being overlooked! He's the fifth-generation vocal king! Yet, people on LikLok keep marking his vocals as 'unsupported.' It's so frustrating since other people actually believe them."
Jay shook his head. "I told you to stop watching those LikLok videos. They're from a bunch of people who don't know what they're talking about."
"But they're fun," Jisung muttered.?"Anyway! You'll kill on that show, bro! It's also very popular, so more people would get to know your vocal skills!"
June nodded, thinking back on how the show operated.
Disguise Surprise Singer was an up-and-coming show that had only been airing for two years. It was a prime-time noon show that aired every weekend, and it showcased singers of different calibers and styles.
It almost seemed like another survival show, which June has been a magnet of, but only focused around singing.
In each episode, four challengers step into the spotlight, each vying for the chance to dethrone the reigning champion known as the 'Disguised.' The 'Disguised' is the formidable singer who triumphed in the previous week's competition, concealed behind a clever disguise.
The stakes are high as the challengers strive to impress the audience and panel of judges, all while aiming to earn the opportunity to challenge the reigning 'Disguised' and claim the throne for themselves.
The 'Disguised' can retain their title and continue to defend their reign week after week, creating an ongoing narrative as new challengers emerge and the competition heats up.
The ultimate twist is that the challengers, as well as the 'Disguised', hide their identities until they are finally eliminated.?This element of the show made it popular since it kept the viewers guessing and engaged until the very end.
June sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "I'll be singing by myself, though."
"Yeah," Zeth said. "You're great at singing. Haven't you sung by yourself at all? I'm sure you've done trainee evaluations and such."
June frowned and thought back on all of the stages he curated and wondered if he had done a solo stage at all.
Then, he shook his head.
"Aside from the Little Meow Meow stage, I don't think I've sung by myself at all. I've always sung in groups. Even the 'Father' stage was with other artists."
"Well, there's a first time for everything, right?" Jay excitedly asked.?"The producers specifically asked for you, so we can't really back down on our word."
"We'll also watch the show and help you pick the songs to sing," Sehun added.
June nodded, still feeling hesitant but excited to take on the new challenge. It seemed like he also needed to go back to Magic Mama and upgrade his vocal skills before joining the show.
"When is it going to start?" June asked.
"Well, your comeback is in less than two weeks, so in a week!" Jay chimed.
June sighed and shook his head. He wasn't surprised at all now.
"I'm surprised you gave me a week to prepare," June deadpanned.
"Right? I should have told you the day before," Jay teased.
They finally arrived at the parking lot. However, Jaeyong continued reading the contents of the files that Jay had given him.
They were about to get out of the car when Jaeyong suddenly spoke.
"I thought these were the variety shows we needed to go to," he said.
Jay turned to him, confused.
"Yeah," he responded. "Do you have any objections regarding the shows?"
"No," Jaeyong said. "I do wish we would go on more so we could promote the album. However, I understand the limitations of the company."
"What's wrong then?" Jay asked.
"It's this," he said, showing the paper to Jay and his teammates.
The members of EVE craned their necks to get a glimpse of the paper, their eyebrows furrowing when they read the familiar name.
"MATCHSTIX? This is a new idol group, right?" Jaeyong asked. "I've seen them on TV from time to time."
"Right," Jay asked. "I forgot to remove that from the bunch."
Akira narrowed his eyes suspiciously at their manager. "Don't tell me you're monitoring underaged boys now."
"No!" Jay quickly denied it. "Heck no! You know I'm not a fan of minors debuting. I still stand by the fact that the idol life is not fit for those who are underage."
"Agreed," Jisung said.
"However, I got curious about their group since they came from a survival show like you guys," Jay continued.
"Right! That's where I saw them from," Sehun said. "I think the show did well on SBC. It was a company survival show, so only trainees from the company competed against each other. Even then, it was still pretty popular, especially with the Western audience."
"What can you expect?" Zeth asked. "This group is from Hypeman. They've already gained traction as soon as the line-
up was announced. I believe they even got a magazine front cover even when they haven't debuted yet."
"Oh, to be an idol in a big company," Akira sighed.
"Still," he continued, pointing an accusing finger at their manager. "This doesn't explain why you have their photo and details printed out. We've caught you in the act, mister."
Jay sighed in frustration.
"You're taking things out of context."
"I just wanted to monitor them since they're your competition," he remarked.
"They're a seven-member boy group whose oldest member is Jisung's age and youngest member is merely 16. I got curious about their skills and watched the show. Surprisingly, they were very good despite their young age," he continued.
"Aside from all of that, they're debuting around the same time as your comeback."
