June entered the training room and sighed when he saw they were still in the same state when he left them. However, there seemed to be something different.
June looked at them one by one and was able to see their frustrated looks. His hearing had also become more keen. He heard how Minx tried to rap C-Jay's part, and it didn't sound too bad. He also heard Eli's singing and how the verses sounded like a rap.
That flow…
It didn't sound bad.
C-Jay and Jangmoon were jokingly singing the song, but the blending of their voice sounded harmonious.
And with Bin and Hoon facing away from each other and doing the choreography simultaneously, there was some type of unity in how they moved.
"Hmm," June hummed, assessing the situation once more.
He might be able to do something about this.
June clapped his hands loudly, yet they still didn't pay attention to him. He sighed and went to the music player, turning it off.
His teammates finally looked toward his way.
"What the hell? We were practicing." Hoon cursed.
"It's time we have a little chat," June said, his voice firm. C-Jay, Jangmoon, and Eli looked at him with wide eyes.
There it was again.
He was using the voice that subdued the entire zero-stars' class into obedience. The three of them lined up instantly. Bin and Minx also noticed the urgency of the three members, so they stood next to them.
"Hoon," June calmly said. "Come here. Right now."
Hoon felt a shiver run down his spine. Is it just him, or did June become more authoritative?
"Geez, you don't have to be so pissy about it," he said, but nonetheless, lined up with his other teammates.
June stood before them, his arms crossed in front of his chest. "We're going in completely different directions, and we're definitely going to show a ruined stage if we continue like this."
Akira nodded in agreement.
"We need to change everything," June said. "Starting with the parts."
"Change everything?" C-Jay asked. "But our parts are already perfect enough! I was even able to blow the mentors away with my good rapping skills."
June remained serious. "That's not what the mentors said a while ago. They didn't even give us any feedback, so I'm taking this time to say this all to you."
"Bin and Hoon, you should work together more. Your choreographies are quite similar to each other, and bringing them together would make a more harmonious stage."
"Akira will retain his part and take the center role," he continued. "I believe he's the most talented out of all of us here."
Akira shyly smiled. "Thanks, brother."
"Minx, you're going to take the main rapper position."
"What?" C-Jay and Minx said at the same time.
"I–I'll be the main rapper?" Minx softly asked.
June nodded. "I heard you rap C-Jay's part a while ago. You sounded good. You have talent in rapping, kid."
C-Jay shook his head. "Brother, you know that I like you very much, but I'm not going to be a sub-rapper."
"You're not," June nonchalantly said. "You're going to take Eli's part and become a sub-vocalist."
"WHAT?"
This time, it was Eli who refused to do so.
"I'm a vocalist! What am I going to do then?"
"You'll rap," June chimed. "The way you sing sounds like you're rapping anyway, and you have a good sense of rhythm. You'll do a good job at it."
"I'll remain the main vocalist, and Jangmoon will also retain his part," June said.
"But—"
"No more exceptions," he firmly said. "We only have less than four days for our performance."
June played the music and pointed at C-Jay, not giving them any time to argue.
"Now, start the song."
Despite his reluctance, C-Jay started singing the first words. His teammates looked at him with surprise.
He actually has a decent voice?
Then why the hell has he been trying to rap all this time?
The song shifted to C-Jay's original rap part. Minx started without confidence, but as June nodded in approval, he became more composed.
There was no doubt that Minx was better than C-Jay, and the other members thought so too.
Akira's voice filled the pre-chorus, and as much as Hoon hated to admit it, their performance was coming together after June's changes. He still doesn't like June, though.
As the chorus approached and June's soft yet powerful voice echoed in the room, the members started feeling more confident with their stage.
By the end of it all, they even saw themselves nodding their heads to the beat and enjoying how they sounded together.
Bin and Hoon also tried conceptualizing some dance moves, and they were surprised when they suddenly moved in unison during the dance break.
"That was a good move," Bin said.
Hoon smiled confidently. "Of course, I came up with it."
Bin shook his head in amusement.
The song was nearing its end, yet they only made a few mistakes. As the last notes faded, Minx looked at the older trainees with bright eyes.
"That was…good," he shyly said.
"Hmm," June nodded. "Definitely better. We can combine the dances you've made, too. Don't make it too complicated since we don't have much time to learn it."
Bin nodded while Hoon kept quiet.
"There's one thing left to think about, though," Akira suddenly said. "I think we need to change our concept. The band idea isn't working well for all of us."
"I agree," June said.
Surprisingly, all of the members agreed too.
"Do you guys have any ideas?" June asked.
They all stayed silent. Truly, it was hard to think of a concept for a song named—"Mermaid Melodies."
*In Japanese.* "Ah, this is hard," Akira said.
"Hmm," June hummed, looking over the lyric sheet. "The lyrics are quite dark," he said in Japanese too.
His members looked at June with wide eyes.
June lifted his head when he felt their gazes on his face.
"What?" he asked.
"What the hell? You can speak Japanese?" C-Jay asked.
"Oh," June said, not even realizing that he did. "I guess so."
"You guess so? You're so cool, big brother!" Jangmoon gave him a thumbs up. "I learn new things about you every day."
"You sounded so cool!" Eli exclaimed. "It reminded me of those Japanese Yakuza dramas I watched back in the day."
June smirked. Well, of course, he had talked to a lot of Japanese Yakuza members when he was still in White Tiger.
"I was just about to say that," Akira said. "Your accent reminds me so much of those action dramas—one where Yakuzas roam the streets and fight with other gangs."
"Whispers echo through the night,
A deal is made, and stars align.
Underworld, a lethal dance,
She's bound by fate, entwined in chance," June whispered, reading the lyrics of the song.
Wait…
"What do you guys think of this concept?"