As Team Adorbz walked backstage to wait for their time to perform, the crew members couldn't help but look at the pink energy that stood out among his team.
June was covered by his tall teammates, but his pink hair glared at the onlookers.
As he continued walking, he suddenly saw a color similar to his hair in his peripheral vision.
He stopped for a moment and glanced to the side.
He raised his eyebrows in surprise when he saw Mr. Klin holding a brand-new mop. However, instead of his usual yellow mop, this one was covered in pink, sparkly details.
June couldn't help but smile as Mr. Klin showed him a thumbs-up. 'Good luck,' he mouthed.
June nodded in appreciation before catching up to his teammates.
At this point, the fourth team was still performing, so they waited patiently while trying to shake the nerves away.
The team had been pretty confident with their performance, especially since June appeared to have gotten more comfortable being their center. But little did they know June was yet to unleash the power of the lessons he received from Mr. Klin.
"I'm actually pretty nervous," Casper suddenly said, causing his members to look at him with surprise.
Casper, the ever-calm trainee who always had an air of confidence around him, was actually nervous?
"Bro, don't say that," Jangmoon said, slapping his shoulder. "If you're nervous, then I feel like I should be nervous too."
Ren also started shaking his hands in nervousness. "It's going to be alright, right? Gosh, I'm feeling the pressure of being the last performer."
"Fuck," Daeho cursed under his breath. "Why are you guys suddenly being like this? Now, I'm doubting if I can perform well on stage."
June sighed as he looked at his trembling teammates.
"What are you even nervous for?" he asked, causing the four of them to turn to him.
"Failure? Bad feedback? Messing up?" June asked. "You know, you'll most likely mess up if your mindset is already like that. The world gives you what you manifest."
That wasn't true. Up until now, June still hasn't gotten a new phone.
Jangmoon scratched the back of his neck. "I guess it's better to not have any expectations after all, right? That way, we wouldn't be disappointed."
June clicked his tongue. "That's a statement only applicable to those who aren't ready. We worked hard for this, so naturally, we'd expect something good with our performance."
Casper sighed, looking down at the ground. "I guess the nerves are just getting to us. I can't believe this is our last mission before the finale."
"Exactly," June said, smiling at them. "We've come a long way, and that's for no good reason. For the past missions, we worked our hardest to give the audience a satisfying stage."
"For now, why don't we perform for ourselves? This stage requires us to have fun—because this, too, will be a memory for us in the future. Let's make it memorable, shall we?"
"Damn," Jangmoon muttered. "I should have said that."
June shook his head. "We practiced for this more than a hundred times now. It's going to be okay," he assured them, turning to Ren since he knew he needed the most assurance.
"You did great with the revisions for the production," June complimented, causing Ren to beam, his nervousness quickly fading away.
Just then, the song of the other team halted and was replaced by the loud cheers of the crowd. The team all looked at the stage with determined gazes.
"This is it," Casper said, more motivated than before.
"Let's do this," Daeho said, clapping his hands as the other team exited the stage.
As the other team walked away, they couldn't help but sigh in disappointment. There had been quite a number of mistakes in their stage, and their last practice was also better than their actual performance.
"We could have done a better job," Leo said, massaging the bridge of his nose.
Sehun patted his back. "We did the best we can," he comforted their leader. "It seems like the audience still loved our performance., so it's alright."
"Yeah, we did great!" his other members chimed, alleviating the heaviness in Leo's chest.
However, as they passed by June's team, they suddenly halted, looking back at them, who were now standing on the very dark stage.
"Wait," Leo exclaimed, tilting his head to the side in confusion. "Is it just me, or is one of them pink?"
Meanwhile, the stage was veiled in inky blackness, and all that could be seen were five shadow figures standing in a tight-knit group.
The starlights, despite not seeing the faces of the trainees, erupted into deafening roars and screams. They already knew who the last performer was.
The mentors covered their ears as the cheers continued.
Jia, too, couldn't believe what she was hearing. She had been there from the very first live performances, and the difference in June's fans was phenomenal. If back then, Jia felt like she was the only one cheering for him, now, it seemed like more than half of the audience held his banners.
In the control room backstage, Minho's voice boomed through the speakers, silencing the crowd as they got ready to watch the performance.
"This is the last, but certainly not the least team, performing one of our favorite genres—Bubblegum Pop," he declared."Get ready for a burst of charming flavor that will leave you craving for more. Let us all welcome —Team Adorbz!"
The audience once again became noisy after the introduction.
"Shit. Casper's going to perform a cute song?"
"Nah, Casper can pull it off. But June? June actually chose to perform this?"
"Did June see that post about him not being cute or something?"
"What was their team name again?"
Even Doctor Kim, who was currently in the crowd, waited in anticipation. He wanted to see just how botched this June trainee's face was.
His content had been falling for the last couple of months, and he had only gained impeccable traction when he started talking about the trainees—especially June.
So, Doctor Kim was more than excited to watch their performance and make yet another trending topic.
As the sound of their mic checks echoed in the room, the audience turned silent.
At that moment, it seemed like the studio was filled with hearts beating as one, waiting for the well-anticipated performance to finally start.
Once again, Minho's voice pierced through the air.
"This is—Memories."
The lights in the studio blinked, and then, burst into dazzling brilliance.
June smiled as the spotlight illuminated their figures.
"It's showtime."
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