"Team Kingz shall start first," Minho said, causing the crowd to erupt into cheers once more.
Abyss left the stage yet Jia still felt her heart beating fast in her chest.
What the hell was that?
She placed her hand over her heart to try and calm it down. The trainee, June, didn't even expose his face, yet why does Jia feel like such a wreck when the two of them made eye contact?
It's probably because his eyes were more evident in this mask than his past one. The bright pink cat mask made him look like a mascot in a children's show.
"Did somebody catch your eye, Jia?" Soo-min asked, causing her friends to look at her.
Her cheeks reddened and she quickly shook her head. "Nope," she lied. "It's just very hot in here."
"I saw you looking at June," Wei teased. "Don't worry. It's alright to fall for an idol trainee! Now, you'll understand what we're feeling."
"Although I don't know why you'd like a masked idol," Na-ri said.
"Shh," Soo-min silenced them. "It's time for Kingz's stage. I wonder what their song will be."
Kingz took centerstage, and they started their performance in a pyramid formation. Right off the bat, it was already very overwhelming.
The title "Rebel Kingz" was shown on screen, and the crowd became excited to watch their rendition of GIRLS' EVOLUTION hit hip-hop song.
The familiar strong intro of the song boomed through the speakers, and Casper's rap started the performance.
The girl beside Jia suddenly screamed so loudly, causing Jia to jump in surprise. She was so quiet a while ago, but now she's screaming like a lunatic!
"We arise from the shadows, fearless and bold,
Rebel kingz with hearts of gold.
Breaking the chains, defying the norms,
A force to reckon, in every storm."
"Casper! Casper!"
The girl beside her continued to cheer while Casper finished his rap. Then, she was back to normal when Jaeyong sang the next few lines.
"With crowns of fire, we rule the night,
Hearts burning bright, refusing to be confined.
Boundaries never holding us down,
Scars in battle like a royal gown."
The crowd went crazy as the synchronous and powerful performance was shown. Jia couldn't deny that this bunch was very talented.
They seemed like already-debuted idols. Jia had heard of this song before. Sure, she didn't like the idol culture, but she does listen to idol group songs—especially girl group songs.
So, this particular stage was more enjoyable than the rest.
Evan and Hyunwoo sang the chorus, their voices filling the stage. The crowd sang along with them, creating a more dramatic effect.
"Oh, rebel kingz, hear our battle cry,
Together we fly, we touch the sky.
With courage and fierceness, our spirits ignite,
In a world of darkness, we shine so bright."
The performance highlighted their individual strengths very well, and Jaeyong's leadership definitely shined through.
The concept they've picked resonated well with the audience, too. It felt like a bunch of royal rebels that wanted to break the norms. Their prince-like visuals amplified their concepts as well.
As the bridge approached, the cheers hushed down, giving Zachary and Daeho the moment to shine with their baritone voices.
"Through trials and pain, we stand tall,
Legends that shall never fall.
Empowered voices, we unite,
Guided by justice, we fight the fight."
With the last chorus, the crowd was in shambles.
"Jaeyong, marry me!"
"Evan, I love you!"
"Zachary, please step on me!'
Jia looked around her, weirded out. Why are there so many weird people in this studio?
"Oh, rebel kingz, hear our battle cry,
Together we fly, we touch the sky.
With courage and fierceness, our spirits ignite,
In a world of darkness, we shine so bright."
Their performance finally ended, and the camera panned to their faces one-by-one for the ending fairy shot.
Screams after screams were heard, and the trainees backstage were overwhelmed by their performance.
"Wow," Jisung said. "That was really cool."
"It's over. It's definitely over!"
"If I were June's team, I would just go home right now."
The other trainees chuckled. "Well, if its anything like their interim evaluation, then they might go home after being thrown tomatoes on stage."
"Well, June's their leader. It must be a tacky performance," Jiyong said.
Team Abyss, who was watching their performance backstage, felt even more nervous as team Kingz finished their performance.
June nodded in approval. He had to give props to Jaeyong's team. They did a very good job.
When he turned to his teammates, he saw them looking at the screen with pale faces and trembling hands.
June cleared his throat. "It's our turn," he said. "Don't let all our hard work go to waste."
His members snapped out of their dazed states.
"I'm nervous, brother!" Eli exclaimed. "This is my first time rapping in a performance."
"Just do what you did during practice," June said.
Akira nodded in agreement. "Don't think about Kingz's performance anymore. We prepared for this a lot, so make sure we show the audience what we're made of, alright?"
Hoon clicked his tongue. "None of you better mess up."
Somehow, his threatening encouragement led the other members to calm their nerves down.
The team went up the stage, and the response was quite lukewarm. After such an overwhelming performance from Kingz, they really didn't expect much from a group of zero-star trainees.
They still had a number of fans, though, courtesy of Akira and Bin, so that seemed to lift up the atmosphere.
The lights suddenly turned black, causing the crowd to whisper among themselves.
"What's this? Why is it so dark?"
"Are they going to sing Dark Love?" Soo-min asked.
"Or perhaps—Shadows?" Na-ri suggested. "It's the only dark songs I know from GIRLS' EVOLUTION."
"Such a shame," Wei said. "I like those songs, but this is such a predictable way to perform it."
"Agreed," her friends said.
However, as the song name appeared on screen, everybody appeared perplexed.
"Mermaid Melodies."
Jia's eyes widened in surprise.
They're going to be performing Mermaid Melodies in these all-black suits?
Just then, the song intro played, and it rendered the audience speechless.
Sure, it sounded like Mermaid Melodies, but they've turned a bright song into something so dark!
The spotlights turned on, and the crowd was finally able to see how their stage was set up.
They became even more surprised.
This didn't look like Mermaid Melodies.
"Mafia Melodies," June whispered as the dark music played, and just like that, all eyes were on them.