The trainees in team 'Beside Me' welcomed June with encouraging smiles and nods. June also nodded in respect. It seemed like he picked the right decision.
After June, the 19th-ranked trainee entered the room. The trainees, especially those at the lower ranks, held their breaths when he guy stood before them. They wished fervently not to be pushed out, and fortunately, the 19th-ranked settled on 'Bodylicious,' where spots were still open.
Poor guy.
He doesn't know what he signed up for.
C-Jay and Jangmoon already looked like hyenas, ready to pounce on the currently highest-ranked trainee in their team.
Even with rituals and prayers going around, hoping not to get kicked out, luck didn't always favor the lower-ranked trainees. This was the reality of the situation.
The higher-ranked trainees had the power to kick out those lower down the ladder to secure their chosen songs. The cruel twist of this "kicking-out" system cast a shadow over the proceedings, serving as a constant reminder of the cutthroat nature of the competition.
"Sorry," Bin smiled at Seungwoo. "I really like this song, brother," he said.
Seungwoo disappointedly left his current song choice and went to 'Midnight Craze,' making the team full.
Alex went in, and his eyes naturally shifted to June. For him, June looked very familiar. However, the person he once knew had a whole different personality from him. So, he still wasn't sure.
His eyes left June and gravitated to the song choices. He wasted no time in going to the 'Vocal and Rap' section.
He mercilessly kicked Johnny out of their team, so the lad had no choice but to go to 'Electric Pulse.'
The 'kicking-out' system continued, and another trainee joined 'Electric Pulse,' also making the team full.
Among all of this, June remained in the fortunate position of not having been pushed out.
At this point, three 'Vocal and Dance' songs were finally full. However, amidst the tension for the song choices, there was one song that remained untouched. 'I Love You, Leave; I Don't Love You, Don't Leave' was empty. It was obvious that the trainees thought it would be the toughest song, perhaps uncertain about taking on the emotional depth that the ballad demanded.
Not until Lin Zhi entered the room.
June immediately felt annoyed as he strode in with a confident smirk. As if determined to fill the void, he stepped forward and claimed the first spot of the unclaimed song.
"Woah, he's picking that song?"
"As expected, the top ten trainees are indeed different."
"That'd be very tough, though."
After Lin Zhi picked the difficult song, the next trainees followed a similar pattern. Like clockwork, the next trainees picked 'I Love You, Leave; I Don't Love You, Don't Leave.'
Jisung, Yuri, and Leo all stood with Lin Zhi, their ranks intimidating the other teams.
"Damn," Akira whispered by June's side. "The lowest-ranked trainee on that team is the tenth-ranked. How unlucky we are for facing someone like them."
"I think our team is better, though," June honestly said.
Akira raised his eyebrows in surprise. "How do you say so?"
June shrugged. "It just seems a bit too much," he said, looking at the pasted ranks on their t-shirts.
Jaeyong entered the room, and he didn't even waste any time. He simply went to 'Shake it,' a rap and dance song that can showcase his rapping skills very well.
With only three trainees left, June started feeling more secure. Ren's voice was very well-fitted for a ballad. He was sure that he was going to pick 'I Love You, Leave; I Don't Love You, Don't Leave.'
Ren entered the room, and his eyes fixed on the 'Vocal and Dance' category. He hesitated for a while, closely looking at the choices. He situated himself in the middle, walking back and forth between 'Beside Me' and the ballad song. June's heart raced as he watched, a sense of unease settling in.
Was June wrong?
He saw a hint of uncertainty in Ren's eyes as he looked at the ranks of those under 'I Love You, Leave; I Don't Love You, Don't Leave.'
That's when June realized he was fucked.
And then it happened...
With a determined gaze, Ren went in front of June and pursed his lips.
"Sorry, I'm kicking you out," he coldly said, taking June's place in the team that had been his from the start.
Gasps were heard through the room, and Akira even let out a small "no."
However, June couldn't hear anything.
It felt like a hammer hit him in the head, making his ears ring and his mind blank.
As the room fell into a tense silence, C-Jay's and Jangmoon's voices broke through.
"Big brother, over here!"
"We still have one spot left! Brother, here. Come here!"
With only a few spots remaining and the song choices narrowing down, the tension in the room reached its peak. June found himself faced with a tough decision – there was one spot left for 'Bodylicious' and two spots for the challenging song that Lin Zhi had bravely chosen earlier.
So, in simple words...
June was fucked.
Both songs would be a nightmare to perform.
June definitely didn't want to perform the ballad, but he didn't want to perform with C-Jay and Jangmoon too. Along with that, 'Bodylicious' was a rap and dance song. That was two aspects that he still needed to improve.
"Ah, fuck it," he whispered, ruffling his hair and walking over to 'I Love You, Leave; I Don't Love You, Don't Leave.'
Jisung's smile widened as he patted June's back.
"I guess we still ended up in the same team, brother."
June absent-mindedly nodded, still in disbelief about the turn of events.
He didn't even notice Casper coming in and kicking out a trainee from 'Shake It,' causing him to go to Jangmoon's team.
As Zeth entered the room, the trainees started chattering among themselves.
"I kinda don't want him to be in our team."
"Yeah, I agree. He'll take the star benefits anyway."
"Well, 'Vocal and Dance' are safe. Zeth's a rapper, so..."
Yeah, Zeth is a rapper. He's known as a very powerful dancer and skilled rapper.
It's obvious that he's going to pick something that has to do with rap, right?
Right?
WRONG!
Because at that moment, Zeth confidently strode to the 'Vocal and Dance' section and stood next to June.
