From Thug to Idol: Transmigrating to a Survival Show

?"I can't believe I spent more money on these tickets than my tuition," Bora sighed as she slumped down in the front-row seat.

"You're a scholar," Nari pointed out.

Bora smirked, taking out the popcorn she hid in her bra and eating the stale snack. However, she still ate it deliciously despite its current state.

"Oh yeah," Bora said, her mouth full of chewed-up popcorn.

Soomin looked at her in disgust before shaking her head.

"I sometimes wonder why you're a scholar," she muttered.

"Shh," Jia shushed her friends, causing them to frown.

"It's noisy as hell in here," Bora said. "Who are you even shushing?"

Jia clicked her tongue and shook her head, appearing more nervous than the contestants backstage. For some reason, she felt really nervous about the results of the show.

While watching Rising Stars, she was pretty sure that June was going to make it.

However, she was unsure of EVE's ranking at this very moment. The prize for winning the show hasn't even been revealed, but Jia already wanted EVE to take the crown.

Just then, Haemin and Wonbin came to the stage, making the audience go crazy. It was the first time the two hosts were seen together in a live show, and their handsome visuals shook the entire venue.

They smiled widely as they greeted the audience.

"Ah, the studio is packed more than ever," Haemin started off.

"We also have more than one million viewers from all over the world on the livestream!"

Haemin added. "Please continue commenting and sending support to your favorite idols."

- Time to find out who's the best of the best, bitches!

- I think we already know who's going to win.

- The gap between CHAOS and EVE is really small. Please vote for CHAOS at all costs.

- I'm a casual watcher. I've been collecting voting tickets since the beginning and will only vote for the best performer at the very end!

- Honestly, I just want to watch these handsome boys grind on stage.

- I think you came to the wrong show.

Wonbin nodded excitedly. "It seems like everyone is dying to know who the final king will be in the end."

"Well, you're in luck. Today is the live finale of King of Kings—the moment all of you have been waiting for!" Haemin exclaimed.

"As of the moment, the votes are still coming in and will end ten minutes after the last performance!"

Jisung nervously turned to his teammates, suddenly feeling out of breath.

"Aren't we at a disadvantage?" he asked. "We'll only be able to perform in the end, so we'll get the least amount of time to have the audience vote for us."

"That doesn't matter," June nonchalantly exclaimed.

Jaeyong nodded despite feeling nervous, too. "I believe our performance will be enough to catch up to the possible gaps."

The others, too, started nodding in agreement, trying to keep their composure. In the end, Jisung had no choice but to calm down. However, that was nearly impossible when he saw familiar faces grace the screen.

"Wh—What are they doing here?" Jisung stammered.

"We have very special guests here with us!" Haemin exclaimed. "I honestly didn't expect such great faces to bless us with their presence, yet here they are!"

"That's right," Wonbin chimed. "We have the greatest K-pop stars of their generation with us tonight. They will be evaluating each performance fairly, and their scores will be added directly to the participants' votes."

Haemin smiled. "You heard that right! This week, not only will the audience's votes matter, but we will also take these experts' evaluations. They are given the privilege to score each performance from 1 to 10. Then, these scores will be multiplied by 10,000 before being added to the participants' votes."

The audience started murmuring to themselves.

"I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing," Soomin remarked.

"I think it's a good thing," Bora said. "EVE has always impressed the judges from the first episode. I believe they'll make a good impression on this set of judges, too."

"Are we sure?" Nari nervously asked. "They look so hard to please."

The expert idols were shown on the screen one by one.

J-Mope.

Liza.

These two idols were some of the greatest idol dancers in the industry. They had changed the meaning of what it was like to dance as an idol, and a lot of rookies admired them for their skill. Just the thought of being evaluated by the two was already nerve-wracking.

Bookwan.

Lendy.

Now, these two were considered vocal powerhouses, even exceeding their roles as idols and competing with pure singers in the entertainment industry. They reminded fans that the best idols were those who had great singing skills.

Bark Lee.

Soyeoff.

Aside from singing and dancing, rapping had become one of the staples of K-pop songs. These two idols broke away from idol stereotypes and showed that even good-looking people can compete in the rap industry.

Jang Wonold.

Park Hoonie.

The last two panel members weren't really known for their exceptional talent. However, people couldn't deny the charm that they had. Their looks and overall personality just drew people in, making them indispensable members of their groups.

- How much budget does SBC have? These powerhouses are out of the charts!

- Good luck to everyone! I hope the judges play fairly and choose who really deserves to be the king.

- Gosh, I would be trembling if I were one of the participants.

Truly, the participants backstage became even more nervous after the judges were announced.

Even CHAOS, a popular group, couldn't believe they were performing before these people. It was rare to see them all in one event, yet here they were!

Wonbin took the microphone once again for the next announcement.

"Now, let me announce the most awaited prize for King of Kings," he said.

The participants set aside their nervousness for a moment to focus on the prize that had been hidden from them from the very start.

Haemin and Wonbin looked at each other knowingly before the screen behind them lit up with an unfamiliar logo.

June tilted his head to the side in confusion.

"The King's Joker?" he muttered under his breath.

"Without further ado, we reveal to you—The King's Joker!" Haemin loudly exclaimed.

"A bi-monthly variety show that would air exclusively on SBC. This show will feature the winners' of King of Kings and give them more exposure on their very own show!"