"It's starting!" Akira excitedly exclaimed as the theme song finally ended.
There was still a little over an hour before EVE had to be called for the ending of the music show, which gave them plenty of time to watch Disguise Surprise Singer in their waiting room.
However, they weren't the only ones watching in the building. Since the show had become very popular due to Guitarman, almost all of the staff members and even some of the idols who were also waiting for the ending segment were watching in their respective waiting rooms.
"Didn't Kim San recognize you?" Jaeyong asked since he accompanied June to Quiz God last year.
"Nope," June said. "Frankly, I don't think anybody recognized me that night."
"How come?" Casper asked. "I think your voice is quite distinct."
"That's because you're obsessed with him," Zeth deadpanned. "Anyway, I think I'll be able to point out your voice. I think our fans would be able to recognize you too."
June smirked, crossing his arms in front of his chest.
"Let's see," he ambiguously said.
Just then, the first two contestants—Pearl Boy and Tongman, arrived on the stage.
The other members, except for Akira and Jisung, turned to June with wide eyes.
"What costume is that?" Zeth exclaimed.
"Ah, right. You guys haven't seen it yet," June nonchalantly said.
"A tong? Is that a tong?" Jaeyong asked, fearing for their group's reputation. "June, you're a good-looking guy, but I don't think you can pull off being what? Tongman?" he asked in disbelief.
"Yeah, that's exactly what I'm called—Tongman," June said, not acting like it was a big deal. Now that the shoot was over, he was just glad that he didn't have to wear a thong on his head.
- Tongman. Let that sink in.
- BWAHAHAAHA, THIS IS HILARIOUS. WHOEVER IS BEHIND THAT MASK IS A GENIUS!
- Okay, this didn't have any business being this funny.
- Man, I'm already rooting for him.
- Seeing him stand next to the expensive-looking pearl costume makes him look even more pathetic. Yet, weirdly, I like it.
The real-time comments were bursting with discussions about June's costume.
Akira smiled proudly as he nudged June's shoulder. "I told you—I did a great job, right? You're already the main topic when you haven't even sung yet!"
"I don't think that's necessarily a good thing," Jaeyong deadpanned.
- Who are these shrimps wanting to fight with our Guitarman?
- At this point, let's just end the show and call it 'Guitarman.' We would gladly watch this show if it was all about him.
- Well, where's the fun in that?
- I kind of want to see a singer who's on Guitarman's level. A lot of the previous contestants have been disappointing.
"Oof," Akira said, reading some of the posts about the show on his phone. "It looks like a lot of people have high expectations."
"That's only obvious," Sehun said. "They're going up against Guitarman."
"Well, I believe in June's skills!" Jisung proudly said. "Although, I'm still a little bit upset that you haven't told us about the results. You know we won't judge you if you lose, right? I know I wouldn't be able to make it past the first round if I was participating."
"Yeah," Akira chimed. "Just tell us."
June shook his head, leaning against his seat.
"It's more fun this way," he said.
His members sighed impatiently.
Fortunately, their performance began soon, so his members stopped pestering him about the outcome of the show.
Pearl Boy started singing, making his members nod in acknowledgment.
"Not bad. Not bad," Sehun said. "I feel like his voice doesn't suit this song, though."
"He sounds familiar," Jisung said. "Isn't he the kid with orange hair who was singing a while ago?"
"Oh yeah!" Ren said. "That kid in MATCHSTIX. What was his stage name again? Bruno? I honestly wouldn't let that pass if that stage name was given to me."
"Honestly, he deserves the name," Zeth said. "The kid looked down on me when we met at the restroom a while ago."
"Shh!"
Their conversation was cut short when Casper shushed them, wanting to hear June's voice without any interruption.
Tongman prepared to sing, and the reaction of the online audience was similar to that of the live one. However, as June began to sing, a lot of them were perplexed…even baffled.
- What the heck? He sounds so good.
- A rocker that sounds sweet? Who is this man?
- Goodness, I really like his voice.
- I hate to say this, but Guitarman has some competition this week.
- Eyy, he is good, but he's not at the level of Guitarman.
- You're right, my bad. He sounds so handsome, though. I'm a sucker for handsome voices.
"Finally, we have a good contestant," one of the producers, who was currently waiting for a performance to end, said.
"He's good," the producer beside him said. "Much better than what we've listened to throughout this day. Sometimes, these idols' voices make my ears hurt."
"Well, idols' vocals have been getting more stagnant these days. If only the idols of today's generation could sing like this guy," he remarked.
"Well, this day is definitely not an idol," the two of them chuckled.
Meanwhile, the members of EVE couldn't close their mouths as the performance continued.
Pearl Boy and Tongman were battling it out, but it seemed like a one-sided fight. June was practically slaughtering Pearl Boy with his voice!
"You sound like this now?" Akira asked, looking at June with wide eyes. "You didn't sound like that a while ago!"
"Well, we have a backtrack during music shows, so it's harder to hear my real voice," June said.
Jisung ignored June's response and held onto his shoulders.
"Bro, since when did you sound like this? You sound so much like yourself, but at the same time, you sound nothing like yourself at all! Does that make sense?"
"You summed it up really well," Ren said. "The tone of your voice is the same, but it sounds more…mature? Fuller? Ah, I don't know! But you sound like a veteran singer."
"I take back what I said earlier," Zeth said, his eyes focused on the screen. "If I didn't know that you were participating in the show, then I wouldn't even notice that it was you!"
"What do you mean?" Casper asked in confusion. "He sounds the same to me. Well, not technically, since his voice does sound fuller. I also haven't heard him sing a pure rock song like this before. However, he still sounds like June. I would be able to tell from a mile away."
The six members turned to him and simultaneously said—
"That's because you're obsessed with him!"
