Chapter 123: Second Live Eliminations
"Fucking hell. They're really going to put us through this shit again?"
"I swear, if the next special MC uses that same slow technique of announcing as Jordan Lee, I'll be dropping out on the show."
"You're ranked 69th. You're going to be dropped out no matter what."
The trainees have settled in the wide familiar studio, where the live eliminations will be taking place. Everybody seemed to be more on edge than the first eliminations because they were in the middle of practicing their Concept Mission songs.
They were currently seated according to their previous teams, and June didn't feel the nervous energy in Team Aces compared to when he was seated with Team Abyss back then.
It must be the confidence that they're definitely going to make it.
"Little bro, let's sit together," Zeth exclaimed after arriving with Ren. Jisung glanced at Zeth and smiled as he sat next to June on the other side.
After all the trainees were seated, the production team wasted no time in calling out the mentor announcer for the week.
The automatic sliding doors opened and revealed Hyerin, who was wearing a short black dress and her waist-length hair straightened. Her make-up was characterized by a red lip, and the trainees couldn't help but exclaim as they laid their eyes on her.
They see Hyerin almost every week, but seeing her under this light was still fascinating.
As Hyerin glanced around the room, she felt a sense of satisfaction go through her veins.
Being born pretty, she's always had a superiority complex. Of course, she was well aware of it.
After becoming an idol, her "princess syndrome" developed too, and she believes that there's not a single man on this Earth that wouldn't be attracted to her.
At least, Hyerin thought there wasn't...
Until June came around.
As her eyes settled on the black-haired trainee, Hyerin subtly frowned when she saw he still wasn't looking at her. Instead, he appeared to be deep in thought.
'I'll forgive you for now,' Hyerin said in the back of her mind. 'You seem to be nervous about the elimination.'
Meanwhile, in the trenches of June's mind...
'I miss my BenBen gummies.'
As the trainees settled down from their excitement, the production team didn't give them any time to breathe as the sliding doors opened again, revealing the night's special MC.
Hyerin, who wasn't aware of who it was, also turned around with a friendly smile on her face.
However, her smile quickly faltered when she saw who it was.
Exclaims of excitement, arguably even louder than before, resonated in the studio.
"It's Nana! This is my first time seeing her in person."
"Damn, she's really pretty."
"She can punch me in the face, spit in my mouth, tell me I'm worthless, and I'll gladly accept it."
Hyerin clenched her jaw as her rival idol stood next to her. The two of them standing side-by-side looked like a painting straight out of the Renaissance period. Their innocent images were both praised online and seeing them in real life was an out-of-body experience for most of the trainees.
Hyerin observed Nana and saw that her eyes were directed at the seemingly uninterested trainee. Hyerin narrowed her eyes slightly. They really do have similar tastes.
"Good evening, trainees," Hyerin started off, going back to her professional self. "From 100 to 75, and now we're going down to 50."
"The second live elimination marks another start in your journey as idols. And although this will be the end for some of you, I want you to know that things never really end...it just marks a new beginning," Nana said, a heartfelt smile on her face.
The trainees were awed in response, feeling touched by her sincerity.
Hyerin wanted to scoff and roll her eyes. It was obviously a scripted line!
"Right at this moment, the starlights are still dropping in their votes. But in the count of ten, the votings will officially close."
The countdown flashed on screen, each number being shown accompanied by a booming sound. The sound echoed in their ears, mimicking the loud sound of their hearts.
As the screen showed zero, Hyerin and Nana both faced the front once more.
"Let the eliminations begin!" they said in unison, and Azure's signature tension-filled background music filled the studio.
"I can never get used to this," Jisung said by June's side.
June patted his back once to comfort him. "You'll survive."
"Let us first start off with the 49th place," Nana announced.
June couldn't help but glance at C-Jay and Jangmoon. As much as he found the two annoying, they were actually pretty good people. And being ranked only in the 50s and 70s, June felt like this was going to be the last time he's going to see the other two.
"This trainee is from Bodylicious," Nana characterized, and June raised his eyebrows in surprise. The spotlight was placed on their team, each of them looking pale and sweaty, like they needed to take a huge, watery dump.
"He has surprised the mentors with his sudden improvement, proving their original notions to be false. He was also a rapper in the second mission," she added, which meant C-Jay could be one of them.
"Trainee C-Jay! Please come up the stage," she excitedly said, and the trainees erupted into applause.
C-Jay stayed seated, not believing his ears. Jangmoon nudged his shoulder with a teary smile. "It's you, bro. You've made it."
"Holy shit!" C-Jay exclaimed out loud, and because this was a live stream, the production crew wasn't able to censor it. Yena and Yejin's facepalmed on the side of the stage.
- HAHAHAHA. Did this guy actually make it? Good for him. He looks happy.
- I gave some of my bonus stars to him because he is June's friend!
- He's always so funny on the show. Sucks that he's not that talented, but I'm glad he made it!
C-Jay was still elated as he made his way to his seat, a huge smile on his face. However, he caught a glimpse of Jangmoon's sad smile from his seat, and he felt something tug at his heart.
This tall, tree-like bastard should make it.
The eliminations flashed by fast this time, and June was thankful that Nana and Hyerin didn't drag it out like Gun and Jordan Lee.
"Now, we're down to the top 25!"