From Thug to Idol: Transmigrating to a Survival Show

"Those two teams are cheat sheets."

"I hope they compete with each other and not against us."

"Agreed. Strong teams should only go against strong teams. That's just how it is. I don't make the rules of life."

June, on the other hand, pursed his lips after calling the third trainee to the stage.

Mei was actually part of a strong team.

If this was a normal mission, then June would have been happy. With her current skill set, she was going to be pushed to the back with fewer lines and lesser time to shine.

At that point, the sole 'visuals' of the show tend to be forgotten by the public if they don't prove themselves to be worthy of their rank.

They might not be eliminated during the first elimination, but they were most likely eliminated during the second or third one, with most of them not making it to the finals.

However, June knew that this wasn't a normal mission.

The chosen trainees were finally done picking their teams, and the ten teams each stood before June in the order that they were formed.

With the groups formed, June revealed the ten songs they would be performing. Gasps of awe filled the room as the girls realized that all the songs were from famous girl groups.

June chuckled at their excited expressions. "I see you like the song choices," he remarked.

The girls started discussing among themselves, excitedly strategizing and planning their performances. June, meanwhile, picked two song choices that he felt would be the best to perform if he were a trainee.

'Hate Sick Men' by PBink and 'Leesh' by ToddlerMonster.

The former was a famous song that was released two years ago. It has a nostalgic instrumental and an explosive chorus, which makes it well-loved by the public.

On the other hand, Leesh was a new release by a rookie girl group that debuted this year. It was characterized by a simple chorus and 'spitting' rap verses, making listeners unable to skip the song when it randomly came up in streaming sites.

All in all, the two songs would undoubtedly be the most famous among the audience, too.

Then, from his peripheral vision, he saw a song perched at the very corner, a dark energy looming from the placard.

June felt a shiver run down his spine as he felt the song's energy. He was reminded of the time when he was a trainee and had to choose songs for their team.

For some reason, he never performed a song he ever liked. Well, he almost did once with Skateboard, but then he was kicked out of his team.

If he was participating in this season, then he was sure he was going to get that song, too.

Fly High, Butterfly by DOJAMS.

However, he quickly averted his gaze away since he felt creeped out just by looking at the placard.

"Now, please choose your representatives to compete in the race for the song choices," June said.

Mina's team all turned to Mei, who was the tallest among them.

"You already know what to do," Mina said, patting her shoulder.

Mei nodded and wordlessly went to the front, where she situated herself at the very end.

The other ladies started lining up too, and as expected, they started fighting for the middle area, where 'Leesh' and 'Hate Sick Women' were situated.

June shook his head in amusement. It seemed like his sister was confident in her running skills since she chose to stand at the side.

But then again, Mei had been a track and field athlete in high school, so she might just have this one in the bag.

As the girls took their positions, their teammates cheered them on.

June blew the whistle, and the girls took off, their footsteps echoing through the hall.

It was immediately clear that Mei was in the lead, her long strides carrying her effortlessly forward.

Her teammates watched in awe as she surged ahead and left the others trailing behind.

June shook his head in amusement as he watched Mei's performance.

As Mei approached the wall, the other ladies started giving up on their original song choice.

"I hope our second option doesn't get picked."

"I'll perform Hate Sick Men in another lifetime."

"We can still perform Leesh! They can only get one song."

"Well, at least she has better luck than I do," June muttered, knowing she was going to sing a song that her group actually liked.

However, much to everyone's surprise, Mei veered off course, heading in the opposite direction where most of the other girls were going.

June's eyebrows furrowed as he watched her approach a placard that no one else had even glanced at.

"Are you serious?" June whispered.

Mina's teammates turned to her with doubt, but Mina nodded in reassurance.

"This stage will get the most attention," she said before glancing at June.

She knew better than to choose a mainstream song for the first mission. It was actually harder to perform these songs since the public would undoubtedly compare them to the original artists.

It was human nature—no one could change that.

If this season had commenced last year, then Mina would have chosen the two popular songs, too.

However, June changed the normal trajectory of the show. He made it possible for non-trendy songs to trend once again by putting his own twist to it.

Mina believed that it was the reason why he was able to debut at the very top spot.

It was also the very reason why she chose the trendiest trainees despite some of them lacking talent.

So, with this song, Mina was determined to take the show by storm.

Meanwhile, June couldn't help but purse his lips as he watched Mei victoriously go to her team and place the placard on the post right in front of them.

He couldn't believe she chose the hardest song when she had the chance to literally take everything else!

The other girls also took their song placards, some of them appearing happier than others.

Heemin's team wasn't able to secure their desired song, but Heemin believed that she could make every song iconic, so anything was fine with them.

"Settle down," June said once they've all made it back, making the trainees go silent.

"I'm sure all of you are excited to perform your chosen songs," he continued.

Some cheered, while some were visibly disappointed.

"With this, let me formally announce the second mission of the show."

June paused to create some suspense before placing the mic back to his lips again.

"Sometimes, we do not need to look at the external to find our opponents. Most times, they're the people beside us."

The trainees started speculating June's vague words, some of them feeling weirdly nervous.

"This is the Team Kill Mission!"