"The third mission is here. Are you excited, Greenhouse Inhabitants?"
A smile was on Lee Soo-Hyuk's lips and his voice sounded a lot more humane. This was in contrast to the previously semi-monotonous, almost robot-like tone from before.
"I'm sure you are. So let us all watch this now."
When the face of the actor slash emcee turned small and got dragged to one corner of the screen, the center was replaced by a video. 12 people wearing comfortable shirts with numbers on them could be seen there.
Jun blinked once and then raised his right hand. "I think that's the video for the choreo of Golden Sun."
The MC visibly froze. "Really? Oh."
The contestants observed closely and then exclaimed. They held back the smiles that threatened to show up.
"It really is," Kato seconded.
Lee Soo-Hyuk looked at his cue card, scratched his head, and then grinned. After that, he laughed. "Actually, we did it on purpose. This is to show you that we're communicating with you live."
"Ahhh." The boys laughed along and nodded.
Jun also grinned as he held up his chin with one hand. He thought, 'I dare you not to edit this out then.'
The real mission for the third test revealed itself. This time, it would be a total war between the two sides.
"Both camps would be divided into groups composed of four members. There will be a total of three groups. As for what the three groups are for..."
Three boxes appeared in varying sizes and colors. Once the opening animation ended, three words flashed before everyone's eyes.
Vocal. Dance. Rap.
Kato, the one who had always been a quick mind, subconsciously blurted out, "So it will be the Inhabitants Vs the Landers in three categories."
'It is different this time too.' Jun held his breath for some time.
The mission was the same. But originally, there was no rap group. This was a weakness of BOI as none of the selected trainees particularly excelled at rapping. The pair from the Barren Land who rapped on the previous mission only sounded decent as they were simply 'imitating'. Plus, the rap there only took 15 to 20 seconds, too short to make a proper judgment of one's skills.
Were the producers insane again? Instead of hiding this fact, they were making it known to the country. Of course, people would suspect as much if only two categories remained. But at least, it would not be as bad as directly exposing this fact through a failed performance.
"There's rap," Juwon nudged Jun. "This time, it will probably be a proper rap-heavy song."
Min hesitantly asked around. "Is there anybody among us who trained long enough for it?"
As expected, the boys tilted their heads with a perplexed look on their faces. Then, when they realized that if they were not selected for vocals and dance, this rap group would be their destination, many bit their lips out of worry.
Nobody wanted to be assigned where they could not show their strengths.
"... not the rap group please," whispered Seth who even clasped his hands with closed eyes.
In the Barren Land, the ones there voiced the same worries as well.
"The condition this time is that if the Greenhouse Inhabitants win, there will be no elimination. If the Landers win, half of the slots will open up for them, meaning six Inhabitants will have to drop out of the Greenhouse. Contestants from both sides, we wish you all the best of luck."
The emcee's face disappeared, replaced by a presentation further explaining the details of the next mission.
...
Many hours passed and as night deepened, the contestants somehow managed to sleep, albeit while plagued with worries and anxiety.
In all honesty, life in either camp could really get boring. The participants could not access the internet. Their phones had been confiscated and even though the Greenhouse provided a new one for each Inhabitant, they could only do so much with pre-installed apps and games. Eating spree, you say? The dorms have posters about health and calorie intake requirements.
The program team had limited what they could do apart from practicing and doing missions. If they wanted to go out, it was not really allowed. In other words, fresh sunlight could only reach their skin through the glass window of the Greenhouse's top floor.
While other survival shows could have sports events, BOI could not do it because of the pandemic. Staff would have to facilitate it, but these people were scared of getting any contact with other people.
Thinking about it, BOI contestants were simply miserable. Sometimes, even Jun wondered what kicked him in the head to sign up for this.
But humanity has always been known for their excellent adaptability. If there were one thing humans were good at, it was finding ways to entertain themselves.
The outgoing Xavi gathered everyone in the pantry so early in the morning not to practice but to play a game.
"Come here, gentlemen. Our regular warm-up routine is effective but boring. Let us compete in terms of arm strength. Who is down for it?"
"Arm wrestling?" Hyeon-ju sat close to the other former Landers. His expression simply said that he planned not to take part at all.
Some hot-blooded boys excitedly went over and Xavi chortled as he officiated the matches.
When Jun lost, the loudest cheer echoed throughout the place, which made him very embarrassed.
Surprisingly, the winner was the one hailed as the imperial prince who possessed delicate handsomeness.
"Juwon! Juwon! Juwon!"
In contrast to Jun's awkward smile, the guy who won the brutal arm wrestling contest grinned from ear to ear to the point of irritating Jun. But the latter still fist-bumped Juwon.
"Congrats, bro."
"Hehe." Juwon simply rolled up his sleeves to flex his muscles. Jun clicked his tongue and did the same. He also had biceps to flaunt, but he got booed as soon as he showed them. For the other Inhabitants, nothing could change the fact that he lost miserably.
He laughed it off with a blushing face as he suggested. "How about another game?"
"What?"
"Trip to Jerusalem?" Jun replied after some time.
The game began with Jun playing and stopping the music. The others raced to the seats arranged in a circle. For each passing round, the number of chairs becomes one less than the number of players.
"This time, congrats to Sujin for winning."
"Wait, what's the prize?" The boy still seated on the last chair remaining laughed and asked.
Jun also laughed. "My first ever autograph."
Sujin shook his head like he was disgusted. "You're such a scammer, Jun. Who will want it?"
"My future fans?"
When the shorthand of the clock pointed at the number 8, the boys left the pantry and headed for the practice hall. One by one they sat down on the brown tiled floor facing each other in a circle.
The time to play around ended.
"Now it is time for us to face the current mission." Jun declared in a calm voice as his right hand held a pencil. On the floor, in front of him rested the printed version of the mission and a tablet.