Those in the Greenhouse and the Barren Land saw the same recording and went through the same thing. The two lowest-ranked contestants from both camps were selected as leaders. The keywords they received were also: Change, Adaptability, and Vigilance.
Instead of a Greenhouse Vs Barren Land battle, it would be an internal war where each group would have six members. The penalty for the losers had yet to be announced.
In the Greenhouse. The emcee's baritone voice rang in a speech with a practiced tone, diction, and even talking speed that made Jun amused. The youth wondered if Nova's former CEO Producer-Director Song got some complaints about the emcee and finally decided to spend some money on language tutors for actor Lee.
"Before we fill the two teams with members, here are the songs that the two leaders can choose from."
Lee Soo-Hyuk's face then disappeared. A blue-black CD replaced it, and below the moving image of the CD and the music notes coming from it were lyrics that the contestants found unfamiliar.
Everyone did not wait long before an unfamiliar but catchy instrumentals was played.
Aspiring idol singers tend to listen to various songs, so when they looked around and saw the same excited reactions from their peers, they grinned from ear to ear. The fact that nobody recognized the melody and the lyrics only meant one thing.
"Original? It's an original song, right?" Hyeon-ju wore a cheerful smile on his face, his eyes turning into half-crescent moons shining brightly.
Jun repeatedly blinked his eyes. Like everyone else, he looked happy, although for a different reason.
'Hallelujah!' In that instant, Jun pictured a much less stressful week ahead of him inside his mind. He knew the first song and he had a strong hunch that both songs that would be played today would be familiar to him despite being originals.
The second song immediately resounded throughout the place after the first song. Jun could not contain his excitement anymore. He laughed as he jammed to the music. He liked both songs and wore an expression of somebody enjoying his life to the fullest while his hands flicked or made random gestures following the beat.
"On our fourth mission, we are going to perform our original songs," Chul-moo, fairly popular contestant ranking second in vocal category, appeared moved and sentimental.
It meant a lot when people like them who had yet to formally debut could get a song like this where the public would remember them as the first performers.
Of course, the signal song was also an original one created for them, but it was a song where twelve people had to compete for lines and parts. Here, a team had exactly six people, meaning more lines, more parts, and more center moments.
"How are you feeling right now, Inhabitants?" One charming point about the mature actor-host was his deep dimples which showed when he was smiling.
Lee Soo-Hyuk maintained his wide smile before he raised his cue card and pointed it forward as if he was tapping something in the air. "I bet you are all beyond excited!"
Jun and the others yelled loudly, "Yes, we are!"
"Then let us go to the next step. Leaders, please step forward again."
The emcee made Dae-Hyun and Seong-Hun play a round of rock-paper-scissors game, tension palpable from their expression. This moment was the most important for them. Whoever won would get the priority selecting his members.
"Whoooooaaa! Roarrrrr!" When Seong-Hun won with his scissors against Dae-Hyun's paper, he growled excitedly and even knelt on the ground while doing a 'Yes' pose.
A second later, Seong-Hun happily jumped towards a certain someone, "Jun, my precious."
Laughter echoed from the others who wheezed so hard at the young man's exaggerated reaction.
Jun politely bowed and went to his leader's side. Earlier, the emcee had announced that nobody had the rights to refuse if they were selected.
Dae-Hyun was quite envious but nothing else could be done. He rolled his eyes before naturally calling Sujin with a playful smile and bow. "I summon thee, our great main vocalist."
Another round of laughter accompanied by applaused followed. Sujin grinned, looking forward to challenging Jun who ended up on the other team.
"Inhabitant Seong-Hun, please choose your next member," prompted a machine voice through the speakers.
Seong-Hun thought for a moment and then decided to get the best visual of the Greenhouse. "I choose Juwon next."
Juwon readily went to Seong-Hun's side.
"Hey, we're finally performing on the same unit again." Jun fist-bumped with his best friend, looking thrilled for the upcoming practice.
"Well, it has been two performances ago?" When the young man laughed, Jun pretended to be disgusted and said, "Stop laughing, you're blinding us."
"Inhabitant Dae-Hyun, please choose your next teammate."
Dae-Hyun did not hesitate to pull Chul-moo towards their side. After alternating his sight between Sujin and Chul-Moo, Seong-Hun felt alarmed and realized that the opposing team had the top two vocalists.
The machine voice rang again.
"... Hyeon-ju." When Seong-Hun spoke, he sounded like he had no choice but to choose the third best.
The one called batted his eyes once before he smiled radiantly as if he did not mind the slight hesitation that Seong-Hun showed.
Dae-Hyun chose the fourth member of his team after consulting with Sujin. "Min."
'It seems they decided on their main dancer already.'
Jun immediately guessed the other team's selection plan. However, even though he realized it, Jun still advised his leader to pick Xavi instead of any other since he really thought highly of the boy's unique raspy vocal tone. The guy was not really a rapper, well, not that anybody in the Greenhouse really majored in rap. But Xavi was the lead vocalist type who excels at harmonization since his voice went along well with others' voices.
Sujin's side cheered because they thought Seong-Hun would counter them by choosing Kato, who was also a great dancer. After Jun's side picked Xavi, they immediately chanted Kato's name.
Time switfly passed. The rest of the participants went to the leader that selected them.
Lee Soo-Hyuk's figure appeared on sight again, smiling as he continued instructing, "Since we're done with the team formation now, let us decide the songs each team would sing. Dae-Hyun, as the leader who lost the rock-paper-scissors game, you have the priority now on song selection."
Surprised looks and silent gasps came as reactions from all the Inhabitants. Sujin sported a serious expression as he swept his gaze on the other group. Afterward, he pulled Dae-Hyun to one side.
Actually, there was a reason why Seong-Hun hesitated when choosing a particular member a few minutes ago. When it was stated that due to having the team members priority, his opposition automatically got song selection priority, his eyes fell on this member, then at the two titles on the screen.
Jun looked around and saw that his two other group mates looked quite anxious. Just when he was tilting his head in confusion, Dae-Hyun, the leader of the other team, spoke.
"My teammates and I discussed about it and we agreed on choosing…" Dae-Hyun grinned as he paused on purpose. Then he said the song title, "House of Cards."
Right after, everyone's eyes went on Hyeon-ju. Meanwhile, Seong-Hun wore a helpless expression that undoubtedly wanted to say, 'I knew this would happen...'