"Dance?" Kim San?repeated in a shocked voice. "Tongman is going to dance for us?"
"Yes," June responded.
He thought of playing an instrument like Guitarman did. However, he believed that the production crew couldn't really bring up a grand piano on stage.
Aside from that, he also thought of rapping since he was pretty confident at it, too. However, his rapping skills hadn't improved much since King of Kings, so people were probably going to find out about his identity if he rapped for his talent.
So, he settled with dancing instead.
"Alright," Kim San?said, pleasantly surprised. "What song are you going to dance to? We'll have our sound team play it for you right away."
"Oa—"
June quickly stopped himself when he realized he was about to blurt out their debut title track. Dancing to EVE's song will also be an obvious reveal of his identity, and fortunately, he was able to stop himself before he could say the full title.
Then, he searched his mind for a dance he knew aside from EVE's songs. To be frank, he didn't know a lot of dances—let's rephrase that—he hasn't memorized any choreographies other than that of EVE and the performances he did during Rising Stars.
"Tongman?" San?asked, making him snap out of his thoughts. "Do you already have a song in mind?"
Then, it suddenly hit him.
He had learned a dance not that long ago.
"Boom-up," he said before he could stop himself.
"Boom-up?" San?asked, looking at the production crew. "Is that by MOOMOO by any chance?"
"Yes," June answered.
"He's going to dance to a girl group song?" the others chuckled.
"I really can't understand this man's choices. He's so unpredictable!"
Jia was stunned as June stood centerstage. San and Sunshine Lady waited in anticipation at the side of the stage, wondering if Tongman was going to show a serious talent or if he was going for the humorous route.
The music started at the pre-chorus, and Tongman merely nodded to the beat as he waited for the chorus to come in.
Then, the chorus finally hit, and June busted out the moves he learned from Gun's studio a while back. Some people expected Tongman to dance as ridiculously as his costume.
Moreover, the fact that almost none of them thought of him as an idol only added to the perception that Tongman was a bad dancer.
However, as he executed the movements effortlessly, the panel and audience were stunned for the third time of the night.
"He's…good."
"What the heck? Is he a dancer, too?"
"Omo! Maybe he's a backup dancer who wants to become a singer, so he came here to show off his skills?"
"Don't tell me—is this Gun? The mentor from Rising Stars?"
"That's actually a pretty good guess!"
"The dance is so simple, yet why does it still look so good?"
Tongman's performance ended with the people still at a loss for who he truly was.
Sunshine Lady found herself becoming a fan. At this point, she wanted to lose so she could watch more of Tongman's performance.
Kim San clapped loudly as June went back to his original place.
"Goodness, lad," San said, patting his back. "I thought you were going to give us a good laugh, but you were actually great. Is dancing part of your profession?"
"I guess so," June vaguely answered.
Mimi shook her head, looking intently at Tongman. Then, she turned to her panel members, bringing down the hand-held microphone to her lap before asking them a question.
"He can sing and dance well," she said, causing the other judges to turn to her. "Do you think he's an idol?"
The panel was silent for a couple of moments. They stared at each other for a good fifteen seconds before Ji-Hyun broke the silence.
"Eyy, there's no way," Ji-hyun said. "His vocal skills aren't that of an idol."
Mimi tilted her head to the side in confusion. "How do you say so?"
"If he was an idol, then I'm sure I would know of him right away," Ji-hyun said. "An idol like him would already be on international news if he was this good."
"Yes!" another judge chimed. "I haven't met an idol like him. I still feel like singing is his one and only profession. He's way too advanced to become an idol."
"Is he really not an idol?" Mimi asked herself.
"Well, that ends the second round," Kim Sansaid. "For now, let us look at the results of the votes!"
Again, two numbers showed up on the screen before finally revealing the final score.
32-87.
"...and Tongman reigns as our victor!" San exclaimed while the audience burst into applause.
"Hey, I—," Cindy started off.
"I get it," Jia said, cutting her mother off. "You voted for Sunshine Lady again."
"I didn't," Cindy said. "I voted for Tongman this time around."
Jia raised one eyebrow in surprise. "But I thought you didn't want Guitarman to face a good competitor?"
Cindy smiled sheepishly. "That's what I thought so in the beginning. However, now, I think that Guitarman would like to face a worthy opponent. Besides, his dancing got me. You know I'm a sucker for good dancers."
Jia rolled her eyes. "Do you think other people think the same way?"
"Yeah," Cindy said. "However, aside from that, I think people want a battle worth watching. I'm sure that's what the production crew wants, too. Besides, I'm really curious about what Tongman is going to sing next."
Jia smiled. "Me too."
Sunshine Lady, despite losing, bowed gracefully to the panel and the audience. Honestly, she also believed that Tongman deserved the victory, so she didn't feel any bitterness in her heart.
"And with that, we'll have Tongman sing another song for the third round—the 'Disguised' round. However, for now, let us bid our farewell and thanks to Sunshine Lady for singing for us tonight."
The crowd cheered loudly as Sunshine Lady took another bow.
"Then, after her identity is revealed, we'll go to the most awaited performance of the night!"
The audience burst into cheers—the loudest they had ever cheered in the night.
June's eardrums rang as the cheers started quieting down. Then, he glanced at the person who was the reason behind the excited shouts.
'Finally, a formidable opponent,' June thought.
"Get yourselves ready for Guitarman's performance!"
