When one's hard work had to be discarded, asking someone not to be disappointed would be extremely rude and unfeeling. So Jun was guilty and said sorry multiple times.
Thankfully, Xavi was the sunshine kind of boy who always tried to see the good in everything. It did not even take him a minute to recover from sadness.
The Australian boy exhaled and then raised his hand. "Okay. If we are going to tackle it in that direction, I think we should include everyone's experiences. Everyone from Greenhouse. For example, in my case, my parents actually cannot understand why I flew all the way here from Australia. It was my maternal grandmother who told me I should pursue what I wanted. She was the one who helped me process my documents. Then, my dad and mom send money regularly since they do not want me to starve here. Hehe."
Seth nodded, but he bowed his head and looked away.
"What do your parents and other family members do for a living?" Daeho curiously asked, tilting his head like a cute, overgrown puppy.
"They both work in the same office," Xavi plainly answered.
"Even before they got married?" inquired Daeho.
Xavi nodded and let out a silly laugh.
Jun blinked and then sipped at his coffee mug. He knew that Xavi had omitted something important, that the boy was one of the richest participants since Xavi's parents were the president and vice president of a rich company in Australia. They also possessed multiple properties in their home country.
"Xavi, so before you joined Best of Idols, did you live alone since your family is abroad?
The boy shook his head. "No, my maternal grandmother followed me here. She has been supporting me since the beginning. I have a pet dog, Susie, and now that I am here, Granny is the one looking after her."
Jun nodded and commented, "You are lucky to have such a caring and open-minded grandmother."
"I know, right!" Xavi's smile was very broad and genuine. "I love her so much."
"How about you, Seth?" asked Daeho to their youngest.
A shy smile formed on Seth's lips. The boy swallowed the sandwich in his mouth before he shared, "Dreaming of being an idol started because of my sister, she's so obsessed with KAISER even when they just debuted. Because their music always plays at home, I became curious about them and checked out their music videos and performance videos."
"You must have found their dance interesting," Jun commented.
"I think all of us here started like that." Seth laughed and Xavi copied him. The 15-year-old boy added, "My sister is my number one supporter now. When I auditioned for Best of Idols months ago, she accompanied me and cheered for me. She thinks I'm very talented, especially at singing. Although her salary as a junior officer in our municipality is not that high, she got me a vocal trainer."
Jun widened his eyes, "You weren't in any company before?"
"Nope," Seth answered.
Since the beginning, the boy never mentioned his parents, and none of them were insensitive enough to ask about it when Seth showed an obvious aversion to the word when they were discussing Xavi's parents. However, they remained puzzled as to why a talented kid never joined a trainee agency, especially a big one that offer free training.
"As for me, I was not a K-pop fan until 4 years ago. It is Drew who inspired me and made me audition. Thankfully, a good company approved of my talent. However, 4 years of training made people who know me skeptical about whether I have a future in this field. I told them a lot of trainees take 7 years to debut. Nonetheless, all they can see is my age."
Seth tilted his head at Daeho. "But brother, you're not that old."
Daeho awkwardly smiled, "That's what I thought too. My family is worried, though. While others go to college for a degree, here I am at 22 years old, still chasing a dream knowing no guarantee of success."
A moment of silence took over. The boys, especially those who were the same age as the regular university-goers, cast emphatic gazes at Daeho. The idol industry was overly saturated, and debuting early would be for the best. Yet what could they do if sometimes things were up to luck and fate?
"I'm not sure if I am supposed to say this. I was supposed to debut with a boy group last year. But a new recruit with much better talent than me snatched the spot. I am not resentful. I know whoever is better should debut. But I feel bitter because I feel like I am slowly being left behind."
'... I will pray for this to get edited out.'
Jun patted Daeho on the shoulder after discreetly looking at the camera.
"You're good, Daeho. Everyone acknowledged you in the first test. You also proved yourself when you made it back to Greenhouse for this round."
The latter smiled, at least this time it did not look forced. "Thanks. It's my friends, including you, who keep me going."
Jun grinned.
Sujin sat down next to him and asked, "How about you, Jun?"
"My family." He did not hesitate to answer. Jun's eyes twinkled as he recalled the ever-so familiar faces of his beloved ones. "They're the sweetest in the world. Ever since I was in elementary school, they have encouraged me to do things that make me happy. When they discovered my passion for dancing, they did not care if all their acquaintances told them it was foolish to send me to a Performing Arts School."
"Your family must be doing well if they can send you to a school like that."
"We qualified for a full scholarship. We're in the same class." The voice came from the doorway and when they looked behind, they saw Juwon entering.
'Ooohs' echoed for a few seconds. The term 'full scholarship' sounded amazing to all of them.
Juwon sat on the seat next to Sujin since two people already occupied the seats beside Jun. "Sujin, for me, you're more amazing, though. You're an ace through and through without attending a Performing Arts School yet."
It was no secret in their former agency that the top performer in every monthly evaluation was from a regular high school. This contributed to why Sujin was so admired by many and why other trainees feared him. Compared to those who were in specialized schools, people attending regular academic classes essentially had fewer practice opportunities than them. Yet the guy still managed to get ahead of them there.
Sujin merely grinned. "In this program, though, there are many friends who are better than me. There are three people I won't dare challenge to a dance battle. In singing, too, I don't feel like three are inferior to me."
The ones listening pondered who the three in each category were, and several names appeared in their minds. Those who stood out in dance were Neo, Kato, Min, and Jun. If they counted elegance and appeal, Juwon was also up there. Those who showcased outstanding vocals were Sujin, Hyeon-ju, Chul-moo... and Jun.
Not a lie; when Sujin offered to switch groups with Jun and the latter refused, some of them inwardly sighed in relief.
Thinking of this, one edge of Daeho's lips almost twitched. "Our first and second rankers are monsters."