"Thongman?" June asked, looking at Akira with narrowed eyes.
"Guitarman is the current winner. Who else can beat him but Thongman?" Akira chimed like he didn't just suggest the most outrageous costume ever.
"Umm, a thong is an undergarment, right?" Jisung asked, unsure of what the item was.
"Yup! I have one in my closet. Do you want me to show you?" Akira asked.
"Sure--"
"No one's going to show anyone a thong," June loudly exclaimed.
"So, what do you think of the idea?" Akira excitedly asked.
"It's shit," June sincerely said.
"Well, dang," Jisung muttered.
Meanwhile, Akira frowned in confusion.
"What do you mean? It's a recipe for success! Who else are they going to talk about rather than 'Thongman' all week? Not your opponents, I tell you," Akira ranted.
"And, even if you lose, you'll leave a mark in the hearts of the viewers. Then, we'd get more engagement for our comeback once it's revealed that it's you under the mask."
"I don't think people are going to take me seriously with a thong over my head," June deadpanned.
Jisung scratched the back of his head. "If it's really the underwear I'm thinking of, then I agree with June. He'll look like a pervert on stage."
Akira sighed in frustration. "What are we going to do then? Jay has already told his mom."
"Call him and tell him to cancel it," June bluntly said.
"But," Akira tried to argue, but June threw him a glare, causing him to sigh in defeat.
Then, he dialed Jay's number. It didn't even ring once, yet Jay already answered the call.
"Hey," Jay worriedly asked. "Why did you call? Do you need anything? Did June escape again?"
"No," Akira said. "He's here. There's nothing to worry about."
Jay sighed in relief. "What is it then?"
"About June's costume," Akira merely prefaced.
However, with the utterance of those three words, Jay suddenly started ranting excitedly.
"Ah, you want to know about the progress? It's almost done!" he said.
Akira froze as he turned to June, who was still glaring at him.
"My mom worked really hard on it for the past week. She told me that her fingers got pricked a good hundred times, but it was all worth it. She just needs to add some finishing touches!"
"About that," Akira scratched the back of his head. "Is it really Thongman?"
"Yeah!" Jay excitedly responded.
June froze before placing his hand over Akira's shoulder, urging him to get Jay to change the costume as soon as possible.
"Again, my mom was pretty confused at first, but she was really committed! She stayed up all week and said that she'd do a good job for June. Isn't that adorable?"
With each passing statement, June pressed harder on Akira's shoulder. However, the latter endured the pain and continued listening to Jay's statements.
"Absolutely adorable!" Akira squeaked, feeling June's grip on his bones.
"So, what do you want to ask me about the costume?" Jay asked.
Akira glanced at June, who now looked more serious than ever. It seemed like he was really determined to change his costume.
"Well," Akira hesitated. "I just want to praise your mom for STAYING UP ALL NIGHT and SACRIFICING HER TIME without ANY PAY just for JUNE. Yeah, JUST FOR JUNE!" he said louder than usual to make June feel guilty.
"So, yeah. I'm looking forward to the costume. June says he already likes it very much," Akira said in one breath before turning off the call.
June's eyes widened as Akira placed his phone under his butt before looking away like he didn't do anything wrong.
"Akira," June warned.
Akira pursed his lips before turning to June. "I'm innocent!" he exclaimed, raising both arms in the air.
June groaned in frustration. "You know I can't be Thongman! I have a reputation to keep."
"Your reputation was gone the moment you wore the cat mask in Rising Stars."
June paused as soon as his cat mask was mentioned.
"You can't wear that," Jisung remarked. "People would find out that it's you right away."
June groaned once more since he knew that Jisung was right.
"I still can't be Thongman!" he exasperated.
"Come on," Akira said, patting his shoulder. "Trust me on this one. I've been analyzing the show, and this is another tactic to increase your chances of winning."
"Sure, people wouldn't take you as seriously in the beginning, but that also means that they're going to let their guards down. Once that happens, they'll be more blown away with your unexpected singing skills."
"Besides, the costume was made by Jay's mother. Didn't you hear his stories a while ago? His momma is really excited for you to wear her creation. Will you shatter an old lady's dream like that, huh?" Akira egged him on.
"She will be very sad," Jisung nodded, merely adding more fuel to the fire.
"I shouldn't have talked to you, guys," June muttered, already regretting their conversation.
"Oh," Jisung suddenly said, looking at the announcement of the new 'Disguised.'
"It's still Guitarman," he said in amazement. "He's actually won ten times now. Looks like you really have some tough competition."
June sighed deeply.
"Not only am I going to wear a Thongman costume tomorrow, but I also missed Guitarman's performance. I ought to smack you on the head," June said, glaring at Akira.
Akira quickly shielded his body yet did not fail to throw June a sheepish smile.
"Well, in exchange for all the inconvenience I've caused, here's a piece of advice—they don't know who you are, so capitalize on that. Take this time to gain insights from people who don't know that you're June."
"So, don't play safe. Bring out the big guns and blow them away!"
***
It was early in the morning when June entered their group's van. He was still pretty grumpy since he didn't get much sleep last night.
A running thong whose objective was to strangle him appeared in his dreams, which haunted him until dawn.
"Well, you look grumpy," Jay observed.
"But don't be!" he exclaimed. "This is a beautiful day to be alive. You're going on Surprise Disguise Singer!"
"Yay," June sarcastically said, feeling that his voice was a bit hoarse.
He clicked his tongue and held onto his throat. The lack of sleep and the intense practice were actually getting to him.
"Before we go," Jay said, causing June to focus his gaze on him.
"I have your costume at the back!" he exclaimed.
June froze, feeling like a cold bucket of water was thrown over his body.
'Thong, thong, thong,' echoed in his mind, and the image of the murderous thong once again appeared in his visions.
"My mom worked really hard on it, and she hopes you like it! At first, I was hesitant to follow Akira's suggestion, but then I realized—you remind me of this item."
"I do?" June asked, already feeling out of it.
"Yeah! You pick things up really fast, and you're a good item to have in any occasion."
"Huh?" June asked, feeling confused.
That didn't sound like a description for thongs.
"Look," Jay said, pointing at the backseat.
"My mom prepared you a Tongman costume!"
