Chapter 312: Not A Competition

June smiled widely as he stared at the now black screen. He felt satisfied with what they had put out. From the very first moment he saw the storyboard, he thought it was the perfect concept for the song he had produced.

It was about a group of friends living near the waters, growing up together, and celebrating the milestones of their lives. However, they, too, got caught up in the reality of life, and before they knew it, they started leaving the place they call home—their Oasis.

But somehow, the Oasis always stayed as their home...and they always came back.

June thought it was already good when he first read it.

However, since he incorporated the music box sound in the last part, he felt like something was missing.

And that's when he took the initiative to relay his suggestions to his teammates.

They loved it right away, so Chul (reluctantly) suggested it to the Creative Team, and they also agreed to employ the concept.

So, now, it gave birth to the music video that contained everything June loved.

Friendship.

Good music.

The cool breeze.

Murder.

Just kidding! June was already past that phase. He hasn't even thought about murder for two entire days!

"I like it so much," Jisung nearly sobbed. "I didn't think it could turn out this way."

"The editing team did such a great job," Ren said.

"And you did a great job, too, June," he patted June's back. "I'm glad we listened to your suggestions."

June smirked, leaning against the couch. "What can I say? You guys better listen to me from now on."

Akira raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Did June just act smug? Is that another emotion added to his list?"

June scoffed and shook his head.

He has always been smug. He never just showed it since he couldn't be bothered.

"Aww, I didn't see it!" Casper exclaimed. "Can you do it one more time?"

June glared at Casper before turning back to the screen. "I want to watch it again."

"Should we?" Ren asked. "I feel like it's the type of song and video that gets better when you watch it again."

"Wait!" Sehun interrupted their conversation. "Let's look at the charts before doing that."

Jaeyong scratched the back of his neck. "Yes, I almost forgot about that. How did we do?"

Sehun pulled out his Durian app and went to the real-time rankings. He smiled when he saw their group name on the very first on the search list.

"Well, for starters, we're first on the search list."

"Wooh!" Akira rejoiced. "It's off to a good start."

Sehun then clicked on the top 100 list. He couldn't see their song on the top five, which was honestly expected since it was very difficult to achieve such a high ranking.

For the past three years, popular girl groups have infiltrated the top five of the charts.

Balladeers like Woojin also managed to break through it.

Popular K-drama soundtracks even had an easier time.

Lil' Mil Woong, a top-tier trot artist who has a massive older fanbase, was also an artist who was guaranteed to break through the top five.

The boy group who always had top-one songs on Durian were now in the military to serve the country, so it has been a rough year for boy groups on the charts.

But of the current boy groups, only CHAOS was able to break through during the past two years. But even then, they were only able to catch the third spot.

"It's...20th," Sehun said, looking a bit disappointed.

June was pleasantly surprised. Entering the top 100 for their first song was already huge, so he didn't get why his other members looked down.

"What's wrong?" June asked.

Jaeyong cleared his throat, trying to lighten the atmosphere despite feeling disappointed.

"Yeah, what's wrong, guys? We did a great job!" Jaeyong excitedly said.

"I know," Akira said, sighing while placing his chin on his knees. "I saw OCTA's rank just now. They're 8th."

Ren chuckled lifelessly and shook his head in disbelief. "How can a debuting boy group land such a great number on the charts?"

"Our fans will be disappointed," Zeth said, fiddling with his fingers.

June sighed as he looked at his dejected teammates.

"Why are we even comparing ourselves with them?"

His teammates didn't respond and continued looking down at the ground.

June leaned against the couch, not looking at them anymore.

He tapped inside his heart and found the words he wanted to say.

Not only to his teammates.

But also to himself.

"I was also anxious while waiting for the music video," June confessed.

Jisung turned to him with wide eyes, not expecting the feeling of anxiousness coming from June. It felt like June was always calm, always reliable.

He didn't retaliate.

He didn't speak much.

He forgave easily (on the surface level).

But in the end, he was still human, and he felt various emotions, too.

He just wasn't used to expressing them well since he was never given a chance to when he was younger.

He continued speaking, staring at the ceiling.

"We often find ourselves caught in comparison. We measure our journey against the ascent of others. Their swift rise to success, which seems almost predestined, feels impossible to us."

"But there also exists a reality that reminds me that all of us embark on unique paths—for that is the essence of life. We all can't have the same journey. It's not some kind of game that has a fixed ending."

"The only rivals we have is ourselves," June said. "Are we a better version than yesterday? Did we give our best?"

"Did we have fun?"

"We did," Jaeyong said, finally smiling. "It was really fun with you guys. I've never laughed as hard when Zeth accidentally ate a pile of sand."

"That wasn't funny at all," Zeth said. "But aside from that part, I had fun too. When I was a trainee, I never thought I had any...friends."

"Poor Ren," Akira butted in, causing Ren to glare at him.

"No offense," Zeth quickly said. "Ren was a good companion. However, there had always been a barrier between us—some kind of competition. We were both anxious to debut, and we also knew that we could be each other's reason for not debuting."

"But, when I was with you on the beach, I thought our friendship had blossomed into something so beautiful."

"Aww, Zethy poo!" Akira almost screamed. "That's so cute!"

"I had fun, too," Jisung shyly admitted.

Before they knew it, the eight of them started talking about the fun times they shared during their shoots.

"I think that's what matters the most," June concluded. "Our journey will not be a relentless race against the footsteps of others. It is, instead, a journey with oneself."

"And at the end of the day, once the curtain closes, we finally realize that the world may be a competition, but only if we grant it the power to be."

"Perhaps the true competition lies not in outpacing others but in the realization of becoming the realest, the happiest version of ourselves."