"Wow, that was fun," Hyeon-ju sighed after they returned to their practice room.
"Now I know why they're thriving and have countless fans. They're incredibly professional and have the aura of kings," responded Juwon without hiding his admiration for the guests invited to BOI.
Jun's request was fulfilled, much to the joy of the Inhabitants. They got the precious chance to sing with their idols.
The staff improvised a game on the spot for them, where the Inhabitants and the KAISER members had to pass the mic alternately between the two sides whenever the alarm sounded. It was entirely up to the mic holder to decide whom to pass it to. Meanwhile, it was up to the producers to decide how long a person could hold it.
"By the way, you're quite lucky," Juwon remarked.
Hyeon-ju grinned from ear to ear.
As one of the proven vocalists of the show, Hyeon-ju received the mic twice. The only others who got this privilege were Sujin, Chulmoo, and Jun. Kato and the other dance-leaning contestants pulled Jin forward to dance with him, since they had long wanted to freestyle with the famous main dancer of KAISER.
When the selected song ended, the K-pop Kings waved them goodbye. The Inhabitants bowed in gratitude in the direction where KAISER disappeared. Afterwards, they returned to practice.
Xavi's rows of perfectly white teeth showed as he flashed a playful smile. "I might not have been chosen more than once for the mic game, but I can still say I'm a genius for bringing a pen. Look, I'm the only one with Levi's signature on my training shirt."
Xavi looked prouder upon seeing the stunned and then envious looks on his teammates' faces. "Heh. I secretly approached Rapper Levi before the Q&A ended to get this."
"…You cheater." Jun tried to grab the hem of Xavi's shirt, but the latter ran away quickly. "Hey, how about we exchange shirts? Or I can pay for yours!"
"No way!" Xavi chuckled.
Two minutes later, under the helpless watch of the leader Seong-Hun, the two finally stopped their cat-and-mouse game and joined their teammates, who were busy learning their parts.
However, Jun occasionally brought up the signed shirt offer, which Xavi casually ignored. Sometimes, the refusal was accompanied by eye-rolls or disdainful glances, reminding Jun that the guy didn't care about money.
So…
"Xavi, wrong step!"
"Xavi, wrong pitch and key!"
"Bro, if you keep moving to the left during this formation, you'll keep blocking Juwon. Observing proper distancing is the key."
Jun became stricter as he coached Xavi in one corner of the room.
The latter rolled his eyes, though he mentally noted the suggestions and pointers. Of course, Xavi was not one to let others bully him.
"Jun, your eyebags are so dark."
"Jun, check your pants — there's chewing gum on that side."
"Hey, I think your greatest mistake today was not getting your idol's autograph."
Jun could be seen smiling and laughing, but a second later, he headlocked Xavi and dragged him to practice the more complicated movements.
"What a guy." While watching them, Seong-Hun inhaled deeply. The boy focused on the coaching scene rather than the playful moments of those two. He couldn't help feeling frustrated because he was reminded of the part distribution again. "He has the confidence to teach, which means he's already mastered our song. But I can't understand why he's adamant about Part 6."
Daeho kept quiet, playing the song So Far Away. He listened to the guide vocals over and over again.
Seong-Hun quietly asked, "Do you think we can win?"
Daeho placidly replied, "Negative."
"You're so blunt."
Daeho raised his head and looked at their other teammates. Since yesterday, their team had been focusing on individual progress. There were group rehearsals, yet not many, and for Daeho, that alone was a red flag.
On this day, Jun focused on teaching Xavi. On the following day, Jun stuck with Hyeon-ju to finally start addressing their team's greatest issue.
Hyeon-ju, proud to have received the mic twice from the KAISER members, was immediately humbled when practice with Jun began.
"Hyeon-ju, you have an amazing voice with a pleasant vocal texture. However, in this song, you must belt your lungs out while still sounding and looking full of yourself."
Hyeon-ju listened with a smile. Jun placidly pointed out, "The problem is your habit of always smiling. Let's start training by not smiling. You're only allowed to smirk, like you're looking down on someone. Laughing is only okay if you can make yourself appear arrogant through it. The trick isn't just raising your chin; you must also be mindful of your eye expression."
Four people listened to Jun with interest. The last one wore a blank look, which gradually shifted into a confused one. Naturally, the last one was Hyeon-ju.
As time passed without hearing from him, Juwon turned to Jun and commented,
"Hyeon-ju's face seems to say you're not speaking human language right now, Jun."
"Should I repeat from the beginning?" The acting leader pondered how to make the explanation easier before opening his mouth again.
Daeho wore an expression that said, Of course this is going to happen. The older guy crossed his arms while seated on a monoblock chair.
"Self-hypnotize yourself into thinking you're the only human in this room and everyone else, including me, is an ant," Jun said, ignoring the doubtful eyes, patiently explaining. "Or that you're a nobleman and everyone else here is a slave."
"That sounds so arrogant," Hyeon-ju couldn't help laughing.
"Exactly how it should be!"
Then, when Hyeon-ju requested a sample, Jun readily demonstrated through an impromptu singing of lines for Part 3.
The two contestants continued with their training. The others in the Greenhouse and the Barren Land also did the same. Progress was there, but a lot still needed to be done — and there were only four days remaining.
…
Outside the survival show venue, the virtual world known as the internet, a wondrous place accessible to all sorts of people, buzzed with activity.
After the rigged Idol Camp 101 show, very few held an optimistic view of Best of Idol's ratings. The general populace had begun equating survival shows with scandals and vote manipulation. However, by the time Episode 3 finished airing, Best of Idol had somehow ranked first in its time slot among TV programs from different broadcasting stations.
The popular sentiment was that there were more attractive and exciting contestants here than in Idol Camp 101.
It seemed, regardless of allegations and predictions, once people heard something fascinating — or when others talked about it a lot — they just flocked to see why it was getting traction.
Inside a unit in an apartment complex near the building of K-star Entertainment, the company of famous singer Drew…
A sixteen-year-old girl exited the bathroom with a baby blue towel wrapped around her head. She wore an oversized black shirt and pink cotton shorts that only reached her mid-thigh, revealing a face and skin as fair as those of celebrities who seemed strict with their skincare routines or were regulars at spas, salons, and dermatologists.
The girl, whose looks rivaled some well-known female idols, opened her laptop before drying her hair. Then, once done with the blower, she brought the laptop to her bed and opened several tabs.
"Hm, Episode 3. I hope he gets more screen time."
As the episode's replay began, a beautiful smile formed on her lips whenever a particular contestant appeared on screen. It was Seth, the second youngest participant, whom she admired for being charismatic and talented in all idol-related areas despite his age.
"Seth is really a gifted performer. I hope more people discover him after this episode so he can fulfill his dreams."
Her smiles and the praises she gave Seth sharply contrasted with the disinterested look she had for other BOI contestants.
"Huh? Sujin sings whatever he's confident in without adding anything new to the song. He hasn't changed."
"Boring. When will Juwon stop relying on his visuals?"
"Gosh, once these guys debut, they'll instantly realize that besides looks, they're just average everywhere else."
"Wow. Neo can't even hold a tune at this point." The girl even rolled her eyes, wishing to fast-forward to her pick's interview or practice moments.
More and more criticisms poured out of her mouth, strangely directed only at ETM's future members. She was indifferent to contestants who didn't become ETM members.
Among the prominent BOI Inhabitants, there was only one person exempted from her whining and complaints, Jun.
Instead, whenever he appeared, confusion would cross her eyes.
"Hmm. The leader-candidate narrative is the same," she murmured, watching intently as Jun led his fellow Landers to the stage to perform their version of Golden Sun.
The girl propped her chin up with her hand and blinked twice before frowning.
"Oddly though, why hasn't it appeared yet — the 'raising hand eight times' scenario? Did I misremember which song they used for this stage? Also, why does he seem... more capable and talented than I remember?"