As somebody who had already experienced the professional life of a famous idol, Jun should logically not be surprised by KAISER's sudden visit, or even if he was, it should only be a reaction done on purpose to get some screen time.
However, oddly, his shocked expression was not a pretense. He was genuinely stunned, and it was not only because the guests had changed in this lifetime but also because he got to see this legendary group in person with complete members.
In Jun's original timeline, when the survival show BOI aired, and even after it ended, KAISER never made an appearance. This group was busy touring the Western world and the Asian countries on top of preparing for their last comeback. Months later, the
Jun grabbed the side of his neck, staring blankly ahead. He absentmindedly murmured to himself, "It seems the ratings of the show satisfied the producers and motivated them to work harder, or somebody increased the budget."
Previously, the one who appeared was the leader of the girl group ADAH. They were also a popular senior from the same company. Yet, they were only big domestically, with modest fame in Japan and other Asian countries. Of course, it was still a good accomplishment, but nothing compared to what the men before him had achieved.
He wondered how much the production team paid to get the world's busiest and most booked group. Or did PD Song, AKA former Nova CEO, personally order them to appear in Best of Idol?
If so, it seemed that the potential PD Song saw in the BOI contestants exceeded expectations; hence, he sent KAISER to increase the show's popularity.
"Hi, boys!"
KAISER's Leader and Main Rapper, Levi, a tall man with auburn-dyed hair, waved at them with a grin on his handsome face.
"Hello, how are you doing, guys!" Another member, Jin, the second oldest and the group's main dancer, greeted them with a smile. "Nice to meet you all!"
An individual introduction from the others was not needed. The voices that rang made every contestant regain their senses, and not long after, they began to scream the members' names, cheering wildly like the typical fanboys that they were.
"KAISER! Oh my god! KAISER is here!"
Today marked the noisiest day that the place had been.
For this event, more cameras were installed in the main hall. Yet none of the Inhabitants gave a damn as they continued shouting their idols' names.
Which of the BOI participants did not dream of becoming an idol because of KAISER?
Certainly, there were idol aspirants inspired by other big groups, but at least in this survival show created and produced by Nova, no contestants did not look up to KAISER.
Among them, Jun was surprisingly the one who respected them the most. As a regressor, he knew that KAISER remained the most influential group, even during the members' military enlistment. ETM? Well, they were in the top 3 of the 4th generation and the top 10 of all active boy groups. But funnily, even the top 1 of the active boy groups could not topple a KAISER that was on hiatus, much less ETM. Knowing this, how could Jun not admire and, of course, envy them?
After the shouts and excitement subsided, which took quite a long time, Levi and his fellow members shook hands with the contestants. Then, another round of dramatic reactions from the overly excited boys ensued.
Most definitely, the editors would give this scene a cringe-worthy subtitle in the episode that this meeting would produce.
[Witness the 'KAISER effect' on trainees who started dreaming of becoming idols because of them.]
"So, we heard from the staff, and they said they already gave you the songs for your next mission," began the leader, Levi. "But don't worry, this is not an interim check, guys."
Jin playfully pushed Levi's left shoulder, "Why did you even mention the first part?"
Levi pretended not to hear from his teammate; his eyes stared at the participants before him.
"Actually, we will be having a Q&A session, and the ones allowed to ask their questions are those who would win our simple game."
At the famous rapper's words, the eyes of every Inhabitant glimmered with excitement and competitiveness.
"Will it be a Quiz Bee about KAISER?" asked Jun curiously.
Astonished gazes fell on the teenage boy.
"Whoa. How did you guess it so fast?" exclaimed the main vocalist, a blonde resembling Sujin. He went by the stage name JK.
Jun simply referenced the BOI participants' meeting with ADAH's leader in the previous timeline. He did not expect that the staff would proceed with the same game. The praises and claps he received from KAISER members made him bow his head in embarrassment.
"I just guessed randomly and got lucky."
"You're Jun, right?" Curiosity gleamed from Levi's stare.
Jun nodded, "Yes."
Levi explained to his members, "I know that some of the participants were formerly from Nova. However, we never got to see them before today because of our busy schedule. Jun should be one of our former juniors there."
'Yup, you guys must be insanely busy if you can't meet us despite training there for more than two years,' Jun smirked inwardly.
"Ah. That sounds cool. We're like relatives living in the same province, only seeing each other in a clan reunion," nodded Lee Ho-Seok, arguably the most handsome member of KAISER. He went viral in the US for his looks and wide shoulders when he filmed a car advertisement there. The man's facial features perfectly conformed to the insane beauty standards in SK, and he looked masculine enough for international fans.
"I heard of them as well. One time, our main stylist told me he met someone in the headquarters who looks like me," said JK.
Ho-Seok did not search long to see who fit JK's statement. "Ooh, wait. You're right."
All eyes went to Sujin. The guy calmly smiled at their seniors, although he did not manage to keep unbothered by the stares for long. A burst of laughter echoed when somebody pointed at Sujin's red ears.
The KAISER members no longer dwelled on the topic, probably aware that paying more attention to their former Nova juniors would bring them more harm than benefits.
The game began. Jun thought that he already had enough screen time from this event, so he did not actively compete with the others.
The quiz questions flashed on the screen, usually information from the publicly available members' profiles or the titles of notable songs that entered the chart and won first places on music shows. Meanwhile, the participants who won usually asked for advice on improving their skills or what to do in a particular scenario.
For example, Kato asked, "Seniors, what do you do in a situation where you find yourself lacking in confidence? Like, you are tasked to do something not in your area of expertise?"
The advice he got went like this: 'Sometimes, lack of confidence stems from lack of experience or practice. So still try, do it, enjoy the process, and after it ends, constantly recall the lessons that it taught you.'
Some questions made the KAISER members ponder before answering, while others simply made them chuckle.
One of the most memorable and semi-nonsensical queries they heard today was from Juwon.
"Senior Eujin, I watched a lot of your clips and fancams. You inspired my hairstyle. Your fringes are the same as mine. But what do you do to make them look soft yet unmoving, especially while dancing?"
The place was filled with boisterous laughter and booing. It became louder when Juwon angrily retorted that this question meant a lot to him. Jun clapped manically and giggled so hard that he fell from his chair.
The senior he asked smiled and held the mic, "First of all, Inhabitant Juwon, I want to say that you are so handsome." Then he cleared his throat and calmly added, "And the answer to your question is to ask your stylist for hair spray."
When Juwon accepted the advice with a seemingly enlightened expression, Jun clutched his stomach as he convulsed with laughter. He struggled to say, "My God, Juwon. You're so... hopeless."
Thirty minutes passed just like that.
"Ah, it's been a while since we enjoyed a talk like this with good and funny juniors like them, right?" The lead vocalist, Eujin, who was probably the only introvert among them, sighed.
Levi put his hands together and slightly bowed before he said, "We had a great time chatting with you boys. We didn't expect you guys to be so fun to be with. Thank you very much for having us. We look forward to seeing you all debut as idols soon."
Reluctance showed on the contestants' faces.
"Are you guys leaving already?"
"Stay for a little longer, please. We haven't asked about your latest songs!"
One by one, the boys tried to appeal to their idols to stay longer. However, the staff had begun to raise cue boards at them at the doorway. KAISER's main rapper smiled wryly, discreetly pointing to the production team nearby using his thumb.
Jun noticed the look on his friends' faces, so he raised his hand before saying his request, "Seniors, before you go, how about we all at least sing or dance to one of your songs? Just once, please."