From Thug to Idol: Transmigrating to a Survival Show

"I swear, if you keep doing this, I'll let you die first," June muttered as the two of them got up.

Jay's breath got caught in his throat as he internalized what June had said.

Well, that sounded very threatening—almost as if he really meant it.

With that, Jay slowly moved away and sat in the corner to reflect upon his actions.

June sighed in relief when it seemed like he wasn't going to interrupt them any time soon.

"So," June said. "Should we practice the last stage?"

"We shall!" Akira exclaimed. "I'm satisfied with all the performances except for that one. For some reason, it really feels like there's something lacking."

"It's the line distribution," June said.

Jaeyong scratched the back of his head.

"That's what I thought so, too," he sighed. "The line distribution is too unfair for it to be called a special song. Sehun only gets three seconds in the song. Our fans also think it's unfair," he said.

June hummed while nodding.

"We should just make the line distribution fair then," he said.

Jisung chuckled while playing with his shoelaces. "If only it was as simple as that," he muttered.

"It could be as simple as that," June chimed. "Let's just cut my parts and make it even."

Ren frowned. "Are you alright with that?"

"Of course," June said. "I'd be tired at the end of the concert anyway. Lesser lines are better for all of us."

"That's not really the question we should be asking," Zeth remarked. "The real question is—will the company be alright with it?"

Ren sighed while shaking his head. "That's the thing. They are the ones who control the line distribution, so let's just stick to what we're given."

"Except we don't have to," June said, passionately disagreeing with them. "Let's do this by ourselves. This is our song—written by Ren."

"If June wants to make the line distribution even, then we should make the line distribution even," Casper smiled, wrapping one arm around June.

June shook his head and pushed him away.

"Anyway," he said. "I've already thought about this after the mini-concert ended, so I'll be sending you guys the new line distribution soon."

Jisung chuckled. "Well, if it isn't obvious that you're really pushing for this."

Sehun, who had the least lines, was hesitant to speak.

"Is this really...alright?" he asked, still feeling skeptical.

They all turned to Jay, who was sitting in a dark corner with hollowed cheeks. It seemed like he wanted to say something but was holding himself back.

"You're awfully silent," Akira pointed out. "Usually, you would ask to follow what the company says at this time."

Jisung chuckled. "Well, he's on edge because Mr. Ong has been scolding him left and right these days."

Sehun shook his head. "Yeah, I'm also thinking about you, Jay. I'm sure Mr. Ong wouldn't like this. You'll get scolded again."

Jay stood and passionately shook his head. "This is fine! In fact, you guys should go right ahead with whatever you want," he said, making the members surprised.

"Are you...sure?" Sehun hesitantly asked.

"A hundred percent!" Jay exclaimed.

"Life is short. You're not harming anybody with what you're doing, so do what makes you happy! This is your concert. This is your time to shine. You are EVE—our ever-shining boy group that will remain as eight until the end!"

He ended his speech with his fist in the air, making the boys even more weirded-out.

"Well, if it's alright with Jay," he said.

"Then, let's go ahead and tweak our final performance."

***

The boys were now back in their dorms, and Jay was still with them.

"What is he still doing here?" Akira muttered.

"Why Akira?" Jay obnoxiously asked. "Can't I come here and sleep anymore?"

Akira scratched the back of his head. "Well, not really. You stopped sleeping here after you got that girlfriend that you spent all your money on."

"That is not my girlfriend! She stopped replying to me," he dejectedly said.

"And I still have some money," he chuckled. "Not a lot, but it's clean money! It's what I scrap from my dainty paycheck."

The boys shook their heads in amusement.

"Anyway," Jay continued. "I'm here because I want to sleep with June."

"What?" the members said in unison.

Casper raised his hand. "I want to sleep with June, too."

Zeth listened to their conversation and shook his head. "So, this is why shippers exist," he muttered.

"No!" Jay exclaimed. "This is my special time with June. I want to sleep with him," he said, wrapping his arms around June's bicep.

Jisung shook his head. "You're delusional if you think June would agree to your suggestion."

Casper sighed and nodded. "You're right. I've tried multiple times, and I've failed all those times."

June clicked his tongue, about to push Jay away when he realized something.

"Sure," he suddenly said, making them turn to him with wide eyes.

"Dang, I also believed you wouldn't agree to it," Jay muttered. "But I'm not complaining! No take-backs, alright?"

"Yeah," June nonchalantly said. "Let's sleep in my room together."

"What the heck?" Casper exclaimed, losing his cool. "What about me?"

June turned to him with one eyebrow raised. "What about you?"

"Can I come with you?"

June looked him dead in the eyes before slowly shaking his head.

"Nope," he said. "Just the two of us."

With that, June went to his room, with Jay trailing behind.

Jay turned around at the still-shocked members and stuck his tongue out at them.

Casper fell to his knees and placed his fist on his chest.

"What did I do wrong?"

Meanwhile, in June's room, Jay immediately plopped onto his bed.

June clicked his tongue and dragged him away, causing him to fall to the floor.

"You're dirty," he said. "You're not going to sleep on my bed."

"What?" Jay exclaimed. "But I thought you said we would sleep together like a bunch of good homies?"

"We're not," June said. "You're going to sleep on the floor."

Jay pursed his lips and hesitated to speak. Afterward, he nodded in agreement.

"That's better than nothing," he muttered.

"But don't sleep just yet," June said, rummaging through his closet to look for something.

"I have something to show you."

With that, June brought out a smaller briefcase that contained some information regarding Azure and Phoenix.

"What is that?" Jay asked with furrowed eyebrows.

"I'm entrusting this to you," June said, looking Jay in the eyes.

"I'll help you while I'm here...but once I'm gone, I want you to use this information to good use."

"For the betterment of EVE...for the happiness of the boys."