"Well, that just happened," Akira said before he could stop himself. His mbers threw him glares while he showed an apologetic peace sign. Hanbin sighed, sitting on the floor. "I already know things aren't going to go well since it's this song we're performing," he said. "Bro," Eric said, gesturing to the caras. Hanbin raised his head and subtly glared at the production crew. "Can you stop filming for a mont? I'm sure you already got the footage you wanted." The way he said it sent chills to the staff mbers' spines, so they quickly nodded. They were already satisfied with the clips anyway, so they reckoned leaving would be okay. "What do you an by that?" June asked as soon as the production crew left the room. Eric and Chan uneasily glanced at each other before nudging their oldest mber. "Can we tell them?" he asked. The mbers of EVE were the most confused they've ever been. Hanbin sighed. "Nah," he said. "It's not our story to tell. I'll call for Y since we want to finish learning the choreography today." Hanbin was about to leave the room when June placed a hand on his shoulder. The older idol looked at him, confused. "I'll do it," June offered. "What?" Chan asked, awkwardly chuckling. "I think it's best if Hanbin calls him." June shook his head. "I insist. I think I also have to apologize for the comnt that was aired last week." Hanbin's jaw tightened. "Yeah, we're still pretty annoyed by that." "Well, if it makes you feel better—I didn't actually say it," June honestly said. "You can ask my teammates. I would have never said that about any of the participants." Hanbin's gaze softened while Chan and Eric smiled at each other. "I had a hunch," Chan said. "I'm glad you cleared it up." "Yeah. I was waiting for the crew to leave before I told you guys," June said. "So, can I go and talk to senior Y for a mont? I'll make sure to bring him back in one piece." June asked. Hanbin chuckled, finally loosening up. "I think you should be more worried about staying in one piece." June smiled. "I'll be back in no ti."
June left the practice room, went to the restroom, and smirked. It didn't go exactly as he had planned, but he was glad he had the opportunity to talk to Y within the day. After his practice with Magic Mama, his vocal status went up from an S- to an S. However, June was presented with a faster way to get his vocal status to an SS—and that was to befriend a person with an SS status. In the competition, only two people had it—Y and Haruki. Haruki definitely had more SS stats, but June pondered it would be harder to befriend him than Y. Nonetheless, befriending Y was also a challenge, especially after the evil editing fiasco that SBC did. However, it seed like the universe was on his side when he found the perfect opportunity to befriend the older idol. ***
*Flashback to June's latest vocal lesson.*
"And I'm assuming he's the one in the photo?" June asked, pointing to the picture fra on the lowest part of the shelves. Magic Mama chuckled, albeit sadly. "I told you not to touch anything." "I just looked," June bluffed. "I can't help that I'm such an observant person and all." She shook her head and sighed. "Yeah," she said. "He's my son." "Where is he now?" June asked. "In the spotlight," Magic Mama said. "I loved watching him sing when he was a kid, and I still love watching him now—even from afar." "Why won't you reach out to him then?" "Because I don't think he wants to see ," she honestly said. "Why not?" June frowned. "My son is my greatest treasure," she smiled, looking at the distance. It seed like she was reminiscing about the tis when she was still with her son.
"I grew up from a poor family while my husband had always been rich. It wasn't all rainbows and sunshine in our relationship. His family was always against a poor woman marrying their one and only son," she started off. "However, we were determined to make it work…we wanted to fight for our love, for us. I thought we'd be able to do it—and we did. We had a good run for the first 11 years of my son's life," she chuckled. "But in the end, his love for his family triumphed. He basically didn't get any of their company's shares after he married , and he worked as an ordinary office worker. That was his driving point. He didn't want that kind of life." "In the end, he went back to his family—leaving behind," Magic Mama sadly smiled. June pursed his lips together and continued listening. "He gave a choice," she continued. "Actually, his family gave a choice. They wanted to know if I wanted to keep my son or not. I wanted to, of course. Like I said, he is my greatest treasure." "However," she breathed deeply. "They made feel like I wouldn't be able to raise him on my own. At that ti, I really thought I couldn't. I was a housewife while he was a salaryman. I sang in pubs from ti to ti, but that wasn't really enough to raise a child." "In the end, I didn't get to keep my treasure—and that's alright," she smiled in acceptance. "Because he's an idol—soone I can watch from afar." "My Jang Yang-Jin." ***
June snapped out of his thoughts when he finally reached the restroom. There, he saw Y washing his hands with a deep frown. June chuckled, causing Y to turn toward his way. Y sighed and wiped his hands off on his trousers. "I was about to head back," he coldly said. "You didn't have to fetch ." With that, Y started walking away, bypassing June and going to the door. "But then, I wouldn't have the opportunity to apologize for the comnt that aired last week," June said. "It doesn't matter whether you think we deserve to be here or not," Y said. "I've had enough of younger idols discrediting our work." "It was an evil edit," June explained. "I didn't say that about your group. I think it's cool that you're joining a competition like this." "Sure," Y chuckled in annoyance. "Keep telling that to yourself." Y reached for the door handle and was about to twist it open when June spoke once again. "I do think you're more on edge than usual because we're performing Pri," June said. Y paused. "What do you an?" "Isn't that the ti when you wrote your mom a letter?" June nonchalantly asked. "Isn't that right…Jang Yang-Jin?"
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