Minjun burst into laughter as he watched the zero-star video on his grandmother's phone. He decided to visit June now that he was home. The trainees are given some time off until the airing of the first episode. After that, they'll pretty much continue filming for the next two months.
Minjun and his grandma couldn't stop laughing as the lousy dancing of the zero-star trainees was shown. June watched them with a tired look. He had already watched it himself, and he wondered if the concept was a bad idea after all.
[HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.]
And worse, Fu couldn't stop laughing inside his head. This damn system. Sometimes June wonders if he really wants him to debut or not.
The music continued to resonate in his small room, and he watched from behind as his fellow trainees danced with serious enthusiasm, executing quirky yet synchronous moves that matched their respective animal outfits. The bear clumsily attempted a breakdance move while the bunny hopped around with boundless energy.
Aside from June, there were a few vocal cracks here and there. C-Jay, dressed like a lion, even growled during one of his notes, but it came out as a cheesy bark.
The video finished, and Grandma and Minjun couldn't stop laughing.
"When Minjun said you were going to join an idol show, I almost couldn't believe it," Grandma said. "But you were serious."
June gave them a dead look. "Stop playing that," he said, snatching the phone from the little kid's hand. He glanced at the view count and saw that it was stuck on 5,600 views. He clicked Azure's channel and saw that the five-stars had more than 100,000 views already. Even the two-stars passed the 20,000 mark.
June sighed. He definitely failed this time. He clicked on the zero-star video again and read some of the comments.
- Kekeke, what is this?! A school talent show?
- It's like watching a group of inflatable tube men at a car dealership.
- A guy with a mask on an idol survival show? What a joke!
- HHAHAHAH fuck, I can't stop laughing.
- Hey! Isn't this the guy on the bus with the little kid? So, he's actually going to film for Rising Stars during that time?
- I think I just got motion sickness from watching them.
June sighed once more and completely turned off the phone before tossing it on the couch.
"You sang quite well, big brother," Minjun said, giving him a thumbs up. "I'll ask my friends to watch your video tomorrow so your level can win."
June ruffled Minjun's hair. "Thanks, kid."
"Minjun's right," Grandma said. "You do sing pretty well. I was surprised when you first sang."
"Thanks, I guess," he grumbled. It doesn't take away the fact that their performance was horrendous and downright embarrassing, though.
"By the way. How long are you planning on wearing a cat mask on the show? You're a good-looking lad," Grandma said.
"My wounds," he said. "They're not healed yet."
"Oh, that's right," Grandma said, inspecting his face. "I'll give you a cream and a pack of face masks tomorrow. Apply the cream on your wounds so they can heal faster. Then, wear a mask every other day so your complexion brightens too. And make sure to eat more; you need more meat on your cheeks."
June nodded. "I'll do that, Grandma."
Just then, Minjun yawned, so Grandma held onto his hand. "We'll sleep first. I'll see you tomorrow, alright? Come down to eat some lunch with us."
"Yes, good night, Grandma. Good night, twerp."
With that, the two of them left his apartment. However, before they left, Minjun turned around and smiled at him.
"We'll only watch your video, big brother!" Minjun said. "I'm sure the other videos aren't as funny as yours."
June scoffed. "Just go to sleep, kid."
He closed the door and locked it before opening his phone and tracking the views once again.
5,765.
A whopping 165 views were added in the span of minutes.
Ah, whatever.
June went inside his room and plopped onto his bed. Practicing and filming for the last couple of days felt quite tiring, so he's been itching to rest. He's definitely going to sleep until noon tomorrow.
After a few seconds, he was able to fall into slumber.
***
June's sleep was interrupted by his phone's loud, continuous beeps. He groaned and glanced at the bedside clock.
10:07 AM.
He was determined to get more sleep! Who are the little shits that disrupted his sleep?
He squinted his eyes as he looked at the multiple texts from Jangmoon and C-Jay. There were a couple more texts from the other zero-star trainees, too. He frowned. Since when did they decide to act all friendly with June?
June was surprised that they were still excited despite the Power Up! booster expiring. It's like they attached themselves to June after the performance. They even kept pestering him for his number, so he had no choice in the end.
He opened the texts and immediately sat up.
- Brother, it's insane!
- I think we're going to win!
- The response to our performance video is crazy!
June quickly left the messaging app and went to Youwatch. His eyes widened in surprise when he looked at the number of views on their video.
6,567,890.
He rubbed his eyes and made sure he was indeed looking at their video. He couldn't be mistaken. It's really theirs. June then looked at the other levels' view count and saw that the five-star trainees just passed 3 million views.
"What the heck?" he muttered as he clicked on the video.
He went straight to the comments.
- My child thinks this is hilarious~
- HAHAHAHA shit. I'm not even a fan of idols, but this is hilarious.
- People actually watch this shit?
- Ah, the guy with the cat mask has a good voice ^_^
- I might actually tune in to Rising Stars.
- Holy! Already 5 million views?
- This isn't a viral video. This is a virus video.
He let go of his phone, the video playing in the background. Then, a smirk appeared on his face.
His plan actually worked.
They're definitely going to see their performance on TV.