"Zeth, congratulations! With 3,567,891 stars, you've retained your position as the number one trainee. Casper fell short by 120,000 stars but is still ranked the number two trainee in the competition. Congratulations to the two of you!" Jordan exclaimed.
"Damn, three million votes? I only have six digits."
"These two are monsters, really."
"I can't dare touch these top ten trainees."
June intently looked at the numbers displayed on the screen. They both got three million stars, while he just barely passed the one million mark.
Of course, that's still a huge number of votes.
June can't even imagine having one million people in a stadium. It was insane how he even got that amount of votes.
However, if he wanted to secure a debut position, he needed to at least go past the two million mark. June doesn't even think of competing with Zeth and Casper since they were on another level.
Placing tenth will be more than enough for June.
It's still a long journey, but the competition is only starting.
[Congratulations, host! You have completed the mission: Rise through ranks (at least 5 ranks). Please pick an aspect to improve.]
June thought hard about this one.
He was already one of the best singers in the competition, but it couldn't be denied that his dancing skills still lag behind the top-ranked trainees. He also has a hard time getting choreography down, so maybe the level-up could help him with that.
'Dance.'
[Wise choice! Dance +1. Current grade: C+]
June waited for his missions to be reset. However, nothing popped up.
June frowned. 'Where's the other missions?'
Fu did not respond.
What the hell? Did his missions run out or something? Can't he upgrade his skills now?
"Last but not least, let us find out the trainee who ranked 75th! He will be the last trainee to continue on with Rising Stars."
"The two trainees, ranked 75th and 76th, will be shown on screen," Gun said. "Let us all find out who they are!"
June's thoughts were interrupted when Jangmoon and Eli were both shown on the screen, with nervous expressions on their faces.
- Azure is so cruel. Why would you give the other trainee hope?
- Damn, I would simply pass out if I were in their shoes.
June pursed his lips. This means that one of his teammates wouldn't continue with them after this.
"There are two bright men on the screen, yet only one of them can continue on this journey with the rest of us," Jordan Lee announced, his voice sounding empathetic.
As the moment of truth arrived, Eli and Jangmoon's faces twisted into sorrow, and the tension in the room couldn't be cut with a knife. The studio held its breath as the name was finally called.
Jangmoon's name appeared on the screen, securing his place at the bottom rank.
C-Jay sighed in relief as his partner-in-crime was called.
June also felt quite happy about the outcome. Even if he still wanted to strangle Jangmoon every chance he got, he couldn't deny that the annoying boy had grown close to him.
Jangmoon stood up, his expression somber. However, as he got on stage, he let out a dramatic wail that resonated through the room like an opera singer hitting a high note.
June shook his head.
Still as crazy as ever.
Jangmoon's face twisted into an expression of comedic despair, his body hunching over dramatically as he unleashed a bucket of tears.
At this point, it felt like he was the one who got first place!
The unexpected display of emotions sent bouts of laughter through the room.
"Eli, my man," Jangmoon managed to say between exaggerated sobs. "It's been an honor sharing this journey with you! Even if your voice almost busted my ear drum in the practice room, I'm still thankful for having a zero-star brother."
"I also thank all the starlights," he continued. "Because of you, I get to stay with my brothers, especially my very handsome big brother—June. I almost fell out of my seat when you showed your face, brother."
- Kekeke, he's thankful that he gets to ogle June now?
- He's not even thinking of the competition anymore HAHAHA.
- This dude's hilarious too.
As Jangmoon sat on the 75th seat, the trainees were finally complete. Gun gestured for them to stand up and bow to the starlights.
"Thank you, starlights."
After that, the goodbyes began. June awkwardly stood at the corner while the others said their goodbyes. Most trainees looked at his face as they passed by, but June kept his expression nonchalant.
Just then, someone patted him on the back, so he turned around. He saw Eli standing behind him with a sincere look on his face.
"Hey, June," Eli started off.
June cleared his throat. "Hey," he briefly responded.
"Umm, I just wanted to take this time to thank you, brother."
June frowned. "Thank me for what?" he asked.
"I thought I was the most passionate about singing before coming here, but after you made me rap during our mission, something shifted inside me. I want you to know that I want to take rapping seriously this time. And maybe, one day, we'll get to see each other on stage."
June scratched the back of his head.
He never expected anyone to be inspired by his words, and he really didn't know how to respond.
"It's...alright," he awkwardly said. "I'm rooting for you."
Eli chuckled. "I wish you'd never change! I hope we'd gotten more closer, but I guess this is it. Thanks for everything, brother."
June merely nodded. "Good luck."
With a final nod of mutual respect, Eli turned away, leaving June all alone.
However, his alone time was quickly disrupted when C-Jay wrapped his arm around his neck.
"Ah, really! I still can't stop thinking about your face reveal. You stole the fucking show, brother," he cursed.
Jisung nodded. "You're not ugly at all! Well, even if you were, it's alright. Nobody's ugly in this world. As they say, beauty is in the eye of the—"
"I get it," June said.
"Big brother!" Jangmoon wailed as he leaned against June's shoulder. "You're really unfair! You told us you were ugly, but you actually looked like this. Now, you left C-Jay all alone as the ugly guy in our friend group."
C-Jay slapped the back of Jangmoon's head. "Oh, shut up. You're the ugliest here."
June shook his head while the others chuckled. However, there was one person who wasn't acting like they usually did.
June's eyes met with Akira, but the latter quickly looked away, a flush of pink on his cheeks.
Then, it dawned on June.
That fucking 'I love you.'
"Hey," June said, patting Akira's arm. "About what I said earlier, I said it as a friend."
Akira looked at him with wide eyes before clearing his throat. "Oh, of course," he chuckled. "I wasn't thinking about anything else at all...," he trailed off.
June nodded. "Good."
As they made their way back to their rooms, a pop-up suddenly appeared.
[BONUS ROUND! Accomplish this mission, and upgrade all your skills by one grade all at once!]
