June couldn't help himself. Before he could comprehend his next actions, he had already slapped the back of Akira's head.
It wasn't the usual slap.
It felt like a bat was used to hit him.
Akira couldn't even make a loud sound when he felt the impact.
Instead, he slowly turned to June with wide eyes, wondering what had just happened.
Meanwhile, the other members also looked at him with wide eyes.
"What was that?" Akira asked. "I felt like I was sent to another dimension."
Jaeyong chuckled in amusement. Then, he turned to the television once more.
"She's very girl-next-door vibes. That must be why she appears very attractive. She's my type, too," he said.
Again, as if it was already an instinct, June slapped the back of his head.
"What the heck?" Jaeyong exclaimed, immediately clutching onto the back of his head. "What did I do?"
"Hey, June. You've met her, right? Do you think you can ask for her number?" Zeth asked, which led June to do the same action.
"Oww!" Zeth exclaimed. "What is your problem, man?"
Meanwhile, Akira, despite the ache in the back of his head, gazed at the screen with loving eyes.
"She's really pretty," he said in a dreamy tone.
Casper pursed his lips. "It looks like she'll spit on you if you approach her."
Akira smiled even wider. "Much better!"
June closed his eyes and held himself back from murdering Akira.
Goodness, Mei Ling was still a child in his eyes! How could they talk about her so freely like this?
"I think she's very pretty, too," Casper suddenly said, making June's eyes widen even more.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})"Even you?" June exclaimed as he looked at Casper.
Casper scratched the back of his head, looking at the screen and then at June.
"She's pretty because she looks like you," he said, causing his members to mimic his gaze.
They looked back and forth between Mei and June, their eyes showing recognition the more they compared the two with each other.
"What the heck!" Zeth exclaimed. "You really do look alike. Your eyes are the same."
"Yeah, they're both scary," Ren said. "Not in a bad way, though! It just feels like you're not afraid to lose anything."
"So, that must be why I also find her really pretty," Jisung smiled brightly. "It's because she looks like you!"
June closed his eyes once more, feeling like all the energy had just been drained from his body.
Just then, Jisung's eyes widened in recognition before turning to June, pointing at him with an accusing finger.
"Is she your type, too?" he asked, making June open his eyes and furrow his eyebrows.
"What are you talking about?" June exclaimed.
"Isn't that why you slapped the back of their heads? Do you like her too?"
June felt bile coming up his throat. He couldn't believe he was being accused of such!
June definitely does not support incest!
"Aww," Akira said, pouting to himself. "If June's my competitor, then I guess I have no choice. I'll step away like a real man."
"Yes," June said, wanting him to step away from Mei Ling.
However, he quickly shook his head. "No—wait, yes! No! I don't see her like that," he rambled.
Then, June sighed deeply as he calmed himself down.
"Yes—you should step away from him."
"But no, she's not my type. She can't be my type. I'm not your competitor."
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})Casper visibly sighed in relief, a small smile even playing on his lips.
"Oh, is she young?" Akira asked.
"Yes!" June exclaimed.
"But she's only a year younger," Jisung said, pointing at her profile on the screen.
June sighed and massaged the bridge of his nose.
"It doesn't matter. Nobody dare try something with her," he warned.
The others were still confused as to why June was being so protective, but it seemed like it didn't stem from any romantic feelings, so they let him be.
It was not like his words were going to stop Akira anyway.
Fortunately, the scene with Mei finally ended, and the show proceeded with the first auditions.
As expected, those who came from his members' companies did a good job.
"The girls from Harmony set a very high standard," Sehun remarked. "I wonder if they'd be able to top it."
When the Top Star contestants stepped on the stage for their performance, Zeth and Ren nodded in approval.
"The others need more training," Ren said. "But Mina's good to go."
"Yeah," Zeth nodded in agreement. "We entered the company at a similar time, so I'm rooting for her. Honestly, the company should have let her debut, too. However, they couldn't find anyone on the same skill set as her."
"Well, this is finally her chance," Casper said. "She's quite good."
Indeed, the Top Star trainees were the best among everyone who had auditioned so far.
Moreover, having their performance sandwiched between awful auditions amplified their performance even more.
- I already have two people whom I want to debut! Let's go, Mina and Ara!
- I'm rooting for the underrated trainees. Nana and Sana, let's go!
- I'm looking forward to the pretty girl's audition!
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})- What do you mean? They're all pretty.
- Jeemin hasn't auditioned yet, but I know that she already killed it!
- I'm really curious about Mei. She looks a lot like June.
- Holy crap! Now that you've mentioned it, I can't unsee it.
- I'm now looking forward to it even more!
Fortunately, the audience didn't have to wait for long as Mei was the next performer to go on the stage.
June glanced at the clock and saw that the show was already running for around an hour and a half. It meant that Mei was probably the very last one to be aired during this episode.
June let out a deep breath. The fact that they let her be the last auditionee already meant that she was going to have a lot of screen time.
"Goodness," June muttered, raking his fingers through his hair and biting his lip.
"Why are you being so charming?" he asked.
"It's finally her turn!" Akira said, now sitting on the edge of his seat to get a closer look at Mei.
The others were also looking forward to her audition, suddenly turning silent as they waited for her to sing.
However, they couldn't help but burst into chuckles every time she answered the mentors.
- This is honestly so eerie. Why does she remind me of June so much?
- I think about him everywhere I go. I went to a cinnamon shop a little earlier and saw the glaze. I somehow miss June because of it.
- Ay-yo? Keep your thoughts to yourself.
- I like her already (just based on her personality)
- What's more important is skill, of course!
Akira slapped his thigh as he pointed to the screen.
"She's got a great sense of humor, too!" he said. "I can already tell that she's going to be talented."
June sighed and turned his attention away from the screen.
He didn't know if he could handle watching her audition twice.
"Let's see!" Zeth said as the song finally played.
