Veterans

Year 2023, Present time

There was no doubt.

This was the Lin Zhi that Jun Hao knew.

When he said he was going to Korea, this was what he was talking about? Becoming an idol? June wanted to laugh. This kid actually had such a dream?

Fucker.

'Did he have to kill me to get a house in Seoul?'

"Lin Zhi?" Jisung said beside him. "I've heard of Alex and Hyunwoo, but Lin Zhi must be a new trainee. He's pretty handsome, though."

"Handsome, my ass," June muttered; however, Jisung heard him. Jisung's eyes widened in surprise and gently slapped his shoulder.

"Don't say that, bro. The editors will have a field day if the cameras were able to catch it. We don't want to get evil-edited, do we?" he anxiously looked around. Jisung sighed in relief when he saw that their personal camera was filming RAVEN at that moment.

June pushed him away. "Don't do that, will ya?" he snapped. "I might hurt ya unknowingly or something."

June's "thug" accent came through, causing Jisung to become surprised. However, he chuckled not long after. "I don't think you can hurt me, brother. You're very delicate-looking."

June scowled. He wanted to teach this young kid a lesson right then and there. Joon-ho's body was indeed absolute shit. He doesn't have enough stamina, and his abs were a result from only eating one meal a day during his darkest times.

However, Jun Hao definitely still knew how to pack a punch.

"Oh, it's starting," Jisung exclaimed, causing June to snap out of his thoughts. He focused his gaze on Lin Zhi.

[Lin Zhi, born in 2000

- Vocals: C+

- Dance: B-

- Visual: B-

- Rap: C-

- Charm: B+]

June frowned when he realized something. This was bad.

"Stepping into the lights, the energy's ablaze,

Heart pounding, adrenaline never fades,

We're warriors on a mission, with fire in our souls,

To conquer every moment, to take full control."

With his skills, it was most likely he was going to end up in the same class as June.

"The crowd's anticipation, like thunder in the air,

We're ready for the challenge; we show them we don't care,

We'll rise above the doubts, we break the barricade,

With every move we make, we leave a lasting cascade."

Alex and Hyunwoo were definitely better. They had some As here and there and trained longer than Lin Zhi, so it was expected. However, June can't get his mind out of the worst-case scenario.

"We're killing the stage, leaving it all behind,

Every step we take, embracing the grind,

The spotlight's our weapon, passion's our guide,

We're killing the stage, where dreams collide."

June scoffed. Talk about irony. They were actually singing about killing the stage when they were with a literal killer.

The stage ended, and the crowd erupted into cheers. The judges deliberated shortly before giving out their star levels.

"Alex and Hyunwoo—you get five stars."

"Lin Zhi," Minho said. "You get three stars."

June wanted to scream. This is what he didn't want to happen! As much as he had a lot of unanswered questions, he knew that mingling with Lin Zhi will not be good for his future.

Suppose the media finds out that he was a former drug dealer and murderer. In that case, the people he associated with were going to be dead meat.

June already let his past life get ruined by the kid. He doesn't need him ruining his chances in this life, too. He needed to debut to make sure that Mei Ling was safe.

Lin Zhi's face morphed into a frown. However, he still accepted the results. June sighed in his seat. This was going to be troublesome.

[It's better to stay away from him, host.]

"That's what I plan on doing."

"Huh?" Jisung leaned closer. "Were you saying something, brother?"

June quickly shook his head. He really should practice speaking in his mind more. After seeing Lin Zhi, June wanted nothing but lie down and sleep. Thankfully, they were down to the last performers.

'Crystal Entertainment.'

The crowd buzzed once again.

"I still can't believe that RAVEN is participating in Rising Stars. Weren't they doing well?"

"It's because of their member's cheating scandal, right? They halted their comeback promotions because of that."

"It's unfair. They already have a big fan base from both the East and the West. How come they're joining now?"

It wasn't the first time for debuted idols to join Rising Stars. In fact, in the first three seasons, already debuted idols also participated. However, it seemed like RAVEN caused quite a controversy since they were really popular in 2020.

Most of the debuted idols that joined the show were "nugu" or quite unknown in the idol industry. That's why some of the trainees have problems with RAVEN suddenly joining. It was like throwing a well-trained dolphin back into the ocean.

The three trainees entered the stage. As far as June knows, they were once a four-member group. They were definitely on the rise to popularity, but one of their members, Luke, got into a cheating scandal which led to their downfall.

Minho's melancholic expression was shown on screen while the RAVEN members bowed their heads.

"Good day, mentors! We are trainees from Crystal Entertainment."

They lifted their heads, and one of them had teary eyes. It was a hard-to-swallow pill that they called themselves 'trainees' again.

"How have you been?" Minho asked.

Jaeyong, the leader, pursed his lips. "We've been good, senior."

"Ah, it's been a while," Minho said. In reality, the two of them were from the same company. Minho and Jaeyong were even good friends, so Minho knew the struggles he went through.

"RAVEN," Jihyun said. "I was a big fan of yours back then."

"Thank you, mentor," Evan, another member, said.

"I know most of us are thinking the same thing," Hyerin said. "But as far as I know, your group was doing well. You could have re-debuted instead of being here instead."

Jaeyong took the mic and sighed deeply. "I understand that it might seem unusual for someone who has already experienced success in the industry to join an idol survival show. However, we are on the same page with the other trainees. We still hold the dream of becoming idols. Long had been the days when people would cheer our names. It's already too difficult to break through in this harsh industry of well-promoted idols. It took us some time to decide whether to participate in the program, but we came to a decision that we don't want to give up on our dreams just yet."

"We came here intending to debut once more, and we're more serious than anyone else. We won't let anyone hinder our path, especially those who don't even seem serious about becoming an idol," he ended his mini-speech, glancing to his left.

Wait…

June stopped drinking water as he felt Jaeyong's gaze.

'Is he talking about me?'