The judges sat at one long table, laughing to themselves as they conversed about the weird antics of the trainees.
"I have no faith in the zero-stars," Jihyun said. "It feels like they don't even want to be here."
"Same for the two-stars," Hyerin sighed. "I don't even know how I survived teaching them. They kept complaining about the difficulty of the dance."
"The five-star trainees are good," Woo-jin said. "They learn quite quickly."
"The four-stars, too," Gun added. "Some are definitely better than others, but I think they'll do a good job. The three-stars are kind of ambiguous. Some are good, some aren't."
"I agree," Jihyun said. "I found a trainee I really like. That mask boy has a really nice voice."
Gun frowned. "He couldn't keep up with the dance at all. He just stood there most of the time. I can't even decipher his expression because of his mask."
"Ah, really?" Woo-jin asked. "I was looking forward to him already. I guess you can never really have everything. Such a good voice does not have the fundamentals in dancing."
Gun nodded. "Let's see if he improves, though. But I don't have much hope."
"Shall we call the first trainee then?" Minho asked.
The mentors nodded, putting on their serious faces. The reevaluation sequence was going to be done through a draw, so there wasn't a particular order. Minho picked the first name—Hoon.
"Trainee Park Hoon, two stars. This guy's not that bad," Hyerin said. "He was one of the few people who I think are going to level up."
Hoon entered with a minimal introduction before starting his reevaluation. The trainees were watching through the screen, some cheering for their fellow trainee. June focused his gaze on the screen, wanting to see how good this punk kid actually was.
The song started. He moved to the beat, his movements amateurish but nonetheless complete. He sang the first lyrics, and June raised his eyebrows in surprise at his sudden improvement. The mentors nodded in approval as he finished the song.
"Trainee Park Hoon—three stars!"
"Next trainee—Jisung, three stars."
Jisung shyly entered the room, making the judges beam.
"You're quite handsome even with minimal make-up," Bone complimented. "I'm looking forward to your performance."
As the first notes played, Jisung broke into an elegant dance. The introduction part was pretty lengthy, so the mentors could already tell how a trainee's dance skills are based on the first part of the song.
Jisung definitely did not disappoint. He moved with grace, power, and precision. The trainees watched in awe as he commanded the stage. The shy boy turned into a dancing monster in a span of seconds! He sang the first notes, and his improvement was impeccable. Although he was singing the chorus at a lower pitch, it did not take away anything from the performance. Jisung was grateful for June's advice. He was so touched yesterday that he still taught him despite being tired. He finished the song and went back to his usual shy self.
The judges smiled satisfyingly. They discussed for a bit before giving him his reevaluation.
"Congratulations. You get four stars."
After Jisung, the other trainees weren't so memorable. They were either ranked two-stars or three-stars. As time passed by, the mentors also went through a rabbit hole of zero-star trainees. June thought it would be a perfect time to be called.
Minho let out a long sigh, making the other mentors chuckle.
"We're not even halfway through," Gun said. "My head is already hurting."
"Zero-stars are really…I'm not even going to finish the sentence," Hyerin said.
Woo-jin groaned. "I hope we have some five-star trainees now. I can't even imagine how the performance video for the zero-stars would be."
Minho picked another name and sighed in relief.
"Trainee Ren Yuan, five stars."
Ren entered the room, immediately brightening the atmosphere. He didn't waste any time and performed the song right away.
Different. It was definitely different. The five-star trainee showed the other trainees how the signal song was supposed to be done.
"Ah, I can't keep up with him."
"As expected, the five-stars are really different."
"So, that's how it's supposed to be like. I already forgot because of all the zero-star performances."
"That's my friend," Zeth boasted. "But I'm still better than him."
The other five-star trainees chuckled. June glanced at them and found their aura untouchable. Their stats were filled with A's, something June could only dream of at this time.
"Trainee Ren—you get five stars!"
After Ren, other five-star trainees were called. Like destiny, Zeth performed after him, and he had shown once again that he's deserving of a spot in the final group. Like Jisung, he sang the song in a lower register. Jisung and him had similar dancing skills, but Zeth's vocals were more developed.
"Trainee Zeth—you get five stars."
"Trainee Casper—five stars!"
"Five stars for Leo."
"Yuri, congratulations. You will be staying in five stars."
June sighed as wonderful performances kept coming. A while ago, he wanted to perform. However, right now, he wishes that his name would be called a little later. Performing after these monsters would only make him look far less talented.
However, when has June ever been lucky during the competition?
"Next up—Trainee June. Please enter the room."
The trainees glanced his way and couldn't help but look at him with pity. The others also laughed as he stood up.
"Good luck, cat boy!" Zeth exclaimed, causing the trainees to burst into laughter. June scowled and turned to him, the smiling cat face looking directly into Zeth's eyes.
Zeth chuckled. "I enjoyed watching the video. You were really cute there!"
June sighed and went to the room, ignoring their boisterous laughter.
[The set of missions is now reset. These are your new missions:
1. Donate money to charity
2. Increase height by at least one centimeter
3. Get an autograph from a famous person]
His mission box had now been reset after accomplishing the last set. It felt like the missions were getting more ridiculous as time passed by.
Donate to charity? June does not have any money!
Increase height? This body is already 21 years old. June was pretty sure his growth plates had been closed!
At least getting an autograph would be easy. He can just ask one of the mentors or something.
He then looked at his stats while he waited for the last trainee to move out of the reevaluation room.
[Current skill status:
- Vocals: A-
- Dance: D
- Visual: C+
- Rap: E-
- Charm: E+]
Last night, he was surprised to find he accomplished the two missions. However, when he woke up, he became the laughingstock of the dormitory. Apparently, the video of him on the train with the little girl hugging his leg was uploaded online, and it was entitled—"Weird Gangster Cat Cosplayer Is Actually A Softie."
It had 100k views in 24 hours and trended at #11 on Navel. It seemed like kids loved the video too, and they want to buy the cat mask he wore in the video! However, it wasn't too bad since he got to upgrade two aspects. He decided to upgrade his dance and visuals.
As Steel, who looked disappointed that he was promoted only one step to four stars, left the room, June quickly entered.
The mentors had varying reactions as he bowed his head. The vocal mentors were excited, while the dance mentors looked disappointed. Minho and Bone had neutral expressions, making them hard to read.
"Trainee June, you may start."
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