From Thug to Idol: Transmigrating to a Survival Show

June closed his eyes and let out a deep breath as he stood before the practice room. He could already hear the girls' steps from inside the room, which escalated his resentment for Fu even more.

"I can't believe you're making me do this," he muttered.

[But you love your sister!]

"You kept her away from me for an entire year, and now you want me to interact with her?"

"You're even asking me to help her win the mission when I want her to live a peaceful life. Sometimes, I feel like you really hate me."

[Nobody loves the host more than Fu.]

[One day, you'll realize it.]

June shook his head. "Why can't you make me feel it now?"

"First, you were peeking through the door. Now, you're even talking to yourself. Are you really the top idol that everybody's talking about?"

June turned around and found Mei once again, making him internally curse.

Why was it that he was caught by his sister at the weirdest times?

June clicked his tongue and crossed his arms in front of my chest.

"I was tasked to evaluate your group today," he said, changing the subject.

Mei clicked her tongue and looked at her arms.

"Just our luck," she muttered.

June clicked his tongue, too, about to tell her to be grateful, when he suddenly saw a purplish bruise on her arm and on her wrist.

June's eyes widened, and he quickly went to her aid.

"What happened?" he asked in a concerned tone.

Mei glared at him before taking a step back.

"Why are people acting as if they know me?" she muttered.

Then, she placed her arms behind her back. "It doesn't matter what happened. You shouldn't be concerned about this."

June pursed his lips and also stepped back, realizing that he must have overstepped his boundaries.

However, that still didn't take away his concern for Mei.

"Look," he said. "I don't know what's going on in your living quarters, but I know how tough it is to thrive in the competition when you're lacking in skill."

"You shouldn't work yourself too hard."

Mei sighed. "This didn't come from practice," she muttered. Although, she was guilty of over-exerting herself in the competition.

June frowned as he continued observing Mei. It was fascinating how he could still read her expression even a year later.

"Someone hurt you," June said, his mind racing to the possible people who could have hurt Mei. "Who is it?"

Mei clicked her tongue and tried to play it off.

"Nobody," she said. "I just fell."

June sighed and raked his fingers through his hair.

"Let me give you some advice," June said, looking into her eyes.

Mei was about to brush him off, but he saw the serious concern in his eyes, compelling her to listen to him.

"Don't fully trust anyone in this place," he started off, making Mei frown.

"Don't get me wrong. You will make genuine friends in the show. I know I did. But there are more people who will want to take advantage of you," June started off.

"Don't trust them. Be wary. Make full use of the shitty security of Azure and take care of yourself," he seriously said.

"Be careful of people who want to take advantage of me?" Mei asked, her mind straying to Lin Zhi, who seemed to have had a crazy episode last night.

"Like you?" she asked before she could stop herself.

June took another step back, a small smile playing on his lips.

"I'm glad that you're wary even of me. Keep it up," June said.

Mei clicked her tongue and shook her head, finding a hard time deciphering June.

"Go inside," June said. "I'll go after you."

Mei pursed her lips and wordlessly followed his instruction.

As she entered their room, she paused for a moment when she saw that her team was still practicing in their respective subteams.

"Guys," Mei said, capturing their attention. "Someone's here."

They frowned in confusion; however, when they were graced with June, handsome as ever in his casual clothes, they couldn't help but squeal.

"June?"

"Omo."

Ara immediately went next to Mei and held onto her arms, squeezing for dear life.

"He's so handsome. This is my first time seeing him this close."

Mei clicked her tongue. "He's...alright," she muttered.

"Well, you stare at yourself every day in the mirror. I, too, would be immune to his good looks if I were you," she said.

"Good morning, ladies," June greeted with a small smile.

"Good morning, mentor," the girls greeted and bowed in respect.

"Come closer," he said. "You don't have to be so afraid of me."

The ladies looked at each other shyly, but Mina led them closer to June with her own red cheeks.

"I'm assuming you already know why I'm here," June said as he pulled a chair and sat next to the music player.

The girls murmured to each other, feeling anxious about being evaluated by none other than June.

"Again, you should not be too scared. I've been in your shoes, so I know how nerve-wracking it is. Just do your best, and I will give you my objective comments."

The cameraman, who had been filming Rising Stars in all five seasons, shook his head in amazement as he glanced back and forth at June and the monitor of his camera.

"His fans are going to go crazy with this clip," he muttered.

"Let's start," June said, setting the tone for the initial evaluation.

Mina nodded and led her teammates to go to their positions. However, only her subteam members followed.

Yeri noticed this and quickly led her subteam to do the same.

June tilted his head to the side as he tried to make out the atmosphere in their team.

Nonetheless, he didn't say anything and waited for them to settle down.

Once everyone was in their place, June played the music.

An upbeat, more girl-group, instrumental version of Fly High, Butterfly resonated in the room as the girls prepared themselves to perform what they had practiced so far.

Although June promised to be as objective as possible, he couldn't help but let his gaze stray to Mei.

His eyebrows raised in pleasant surprise when he saw that she was able to keep up with the dance. She still looked pretty awkward, but it seemed like she had memorized the routine pretty well.

Moreover, the lines that were given to her seemed to be in her range, so it was much better than her auditions.

However, aside from that, he also felt that something was...strange about their team.

There was no doubt that they were all charming despite some of them lacking skill more than the others—especially with Mei's subteam.

It was the reason why they were the 'trending' trainees anyway.

However, June didn't find their performance charming at all.

So, as soon as the music ended, he leaned his elbows against his knees and let out a long hum before looking up at the trainees.

"I don't like it."