The Special Guests

Jun and Juwon went after Hyeon-ju, and the latter went back to the practice hall with them after some time. Prior to that, Juwon actually tried to do the talking to comfort Hyeon-Ju. But Jun signaled him to keep quiet. For almost half an hour, they were just like that, silently accompanying one another and gauging each other's thoughts, until Hyeon-Ju turned around and faced them.

The smile returned on Hyeon-Ju's face, radiant as usual. There were no traces of tears on the boy's face, so if they hadn't known of the conflict earlier, they would never have been able to guess that this youth was very aggrieved and depressed. He was the one who invited them to go back to the practice hall.

Did the atmosphere in that place improve after?

Not really. Jun did not say comforting words to Hyeon-Ju earlier since the boy was the type to prefer deep silence when angry or sad or sorting out his thoughts. But the guy appreciated it when others stayed by his side during his difficult moments, even if they were just quiet. So when they returned, Hyeon-ju's mood was relatively calm.

It was a different matter for Xavi, though. Once annoyed, this guy who usually talked and laughed a lot would sport a serious expression all day long and not hide his annoyance from you at all. He was an overly honest boy. However, Jun was not worried about the edits. Daeho was the one at fault, and even if the producing team tried to do something funny or hide the issue, the viewers would easily catch it if three people from the same team acted coldly toward Daeho.

Jun looked at Hyeon-Ju and then raised his hand. "I decided to go for a different part."

When he announced this, Daeho's face lit up, thinking their best contestant would side with him. "Part 3, right?"

Jun smiled, the type that did not reach the eyes. He glanced expressionlessly at Daeho, refusing to answer the question before he calmly told Seong-Hun.

"Leader, I realized Juwon would be a better fit for Part 2—Hyeon-Ju for Part 3. There's still no one else who can sing it better than him. You and Daeho can decide on the rest, but I will be doing Part 6."

"...Part 6?" Seong-Hun repeated, confirming if he did not hear wrongly.

"Yes." Jun nodded.

The color drained from the two's faces while surprise showed on Xavi's. Juwon kept a poker face while Hyeon-Ju gasped.

Xavi asked, "Why Part 6? It's practically a one-liner, with little to no highlights."

Jun laughed without taking away his gaze from the ashen-faced leader. "I know, but it's okay. I am actually thinking for the team. I have been holding nearly the same positions for the past missions. Our audience might be bored of always seeing me get prominent parts. Since this is a team battle, I think letting the audience see something fresh and different will give us a bit of the edge."

Jun proceeded to explain the other points that he thought about, like surprising everyone with the fact that Juwon was not one confined to elegant steps; he could also nail choreographies with powerful moves. Or Xavi taking advantage of his natural facial features to deliver the message of the song. Jun kept emphasizing and associating the keywords 'change' and 'adaptability' with the phrase 'elements of surprise.'

'Bullsh*t!'

Daeho and Seong-Hun fell silent as they listened. The two instantly tried to imagine what would happen if they performed with a lineup like this. Then Daeho felt angry.

What 'thinking the best for the team'? Element of surprise? Really?

How could a team with a main vocalist who did not fit the theme and an ace who took neither the main dancer nor center role win against Sujin's team, which had all the best dancers and vocalists?

Daeho wanted to protest again. He did not like that the others, except for him and Seong-Hun, appeared to be getting swayed by Jun's words.

He tried to signal Seong-Hun with his eyes, but the leader was not looking at him. Seong-Hun seemed so shocked. Daeho felt helpless and inwardly shook his head.

However, just when he was about to speak, he discovered that Jun's eyes were on him, and he felt scared because those seemingly calm eyes were mirthless and sending a warning to him.

'Why?' Daeho was stunned.

He felt that it was unreasonable, and a moment later, faint anger surged in his heart, which he naturally wanted to express. But in the end, he could not speak. The cold gaze that stayed on him made a thought flicker in his mind and sober him up. He realized one fact. That Jun, like Xavi, was very annoyed.

He angered Jun, and that was why he was doing this. The decision to switch parts was stupid; of course, Jun knew it, but he proceeded with it on purpose to get a message across.

If Daeho provoked his anger again, Jun might just really start to not care if the team won or lost. A slight fluctuation in rank was not something Jun would care about anyway. That is the confidence of somebody at the top.

'Damn.' Daeho's face momentarily darkened.

In this mission, only Daeho and Seong-Hun would completely suffer if they lost. They were among the least popular in the Greenhouse. The others were quite high up in ranks, which meant they had a lot of supporters and voters already.

"I guess it is settled." Jun beamed and clapped. "Leader and Daeho, which parts do you like between Part 4 and 5?"

...

A day passed.

Survival shows, regardless of whether they were part of a series or not, usually tried to attempt a different format or something unique. It was because people were naturally prone to liking new things. Or at least they easily felt bored when encountering stuff they had already seen before.

However, there was one staple that had never been removed from survival shows - the guesting of extremely popular celebrities, the so-called special mentors.

At exactly 10 am, an announcement rang throughout the whole Greenhouse.

"Inhabitants, please proceed to the main hall."

Lee Soo-Hyuk's voice immediately got the attention of the two teams, which were in different practice rooms.

Two minutes later, everyone gathered in the only place which embodied the building's name 'Greenhouse'. The boys saw that there was nothing on the gigantic screen, so they immediately guessed that they would have a visitor today.

Who could it be, though? They wondered.

After a minute, a figure finally appeared on the dark corridor, followed by another, and then three more. All five were tall and dressed in expensive-looking clothes and hairstyles, like fashion icons walking on the runway.

Finally, the five people stood before the Greenhouse Inhabitants, with smiles as radiant as the sun as they began to wave both hands at dumbstruck contestants.

The special guests of the Best of Idols had long been predicted to be from the parent company, Nova. But even then, not many thought that the corporation would send their biggest artists to this show.

Even Jun found it hard to believe.

The people in front of them now had greater renown than Drew and any other artists they met before. They are the current kings of the K-pop industry.

KAISER.