An Unwelcomed Surprise

When Sujin offered to switch groups with Jun, but the latter refused, some Inhabitants inwardly sighed in relief. 

Thinking of this, one edge of Daeho's lips almost twitched. "Our first and second rankers are monsters."

The ranking announced last mission was only for the Inhabitants, and Sujin placed first there, followed by Kato, Min, and Hyeon-ju. But everyone knew who the absolute first place was. 

The completeness of Jun's Golden Sun performance was hard to match. If there were a ranking of stage acting, gestures, and facial and eye expressions in BOI, Jun would be the undisputed number one, and there was no close second — at least not yet. Kato and Xavi were the next best when it came to expressiveness. 

Jun said, "Back to the task. I am also considering asking others from the vocal and dance groups for input. The more information, the more variety, the more material we can use for our lyrics. What do you guys think?"

"Sure, why not?" answered Daeho. 

So, Jun split the rap team into two. "Xavi can go to the vocal team with Seth. Daeho and I will visit the dance team." 

"Accompany me then," Juwon giggled and stood up. "Just a second, I'll grab a snack and drink."

"We also have Mr. vocal leader here."

While waiting for Juwon, the rap team quickly finished their breakfast. When the guy returned to the table, they left their seats one by one for the practice rooms of the two other groups.

Time quickly passed as the Inhabitants went about with their practice and activities.

The following day dawned. 

When Juwon woke up, it was around 6 a.m. The dance team agreed to meet an hour later, so he woke up early to wash up and eat breakfast. 

He saw his friend still underneath the comforter on the bed a meter away from his. 

"What the..." The youth's traces of sleepiness then flew away as he exclaimed in shock. "When did Jun get possessed by a raccoon?" 

When he came to his senses, he failed to suppress his laughter and took his staff-provided semi-useless phone to take a picture. In the photo, his roommate sleeping sideways still looked handsome with flawless skin and semi-messy hair. But Jun's eyes were half-opened. Underneath these half-opened eyes were eyebags as big and dark as a raccoon's. 

...

Yesterday, ideas flooded Jun's mind when the rap team finished collecting stories from their fellow Inhabitants. Before he knew it, he finished the lyrics by lunch break, and then Xavi did some trial and error to find the beat they all liked. Around 2 p.m., they were already practicing it with the two chorus guys. 

The four stayed up late to make up for the day they lost fumbling for their concept. Music blasted the rap team's training area even when the lights in the two other practice rooms died down. What time did they finish? Was it 3 a.m.? or 4 a.m.? Jun was too tired, so he fell asleep right after his head came into contact with the grey pillow. 

His eyes shone with deep resentment when the alarm resounded from the semi-useless staff-provided phone. He begrudgingly reached out to stop the annoying, loud ringtone and listlessly got out of bed. Juwon was long gone. 

Half an hour later, Jun left the room and headed directly to the rap team's practice hall. 

"We all look like ghosts." Hollow laughter came from behind. 

Jun glanced past his shoulders to see a yawning Xavi. "Correction, we all look like vampires."

"Do vampire eyes become red whenever they lack sleep?"

"Maybe?"

Daeho chimed in as he entered the room, "According to various lore materials, a vampire's eyes only redden when hungry. Ghosts too."

"Ahh, whatever." Jun threw his hands up before he sat down on the floor with the printed lyrics spread on it. The other boys giggled at him, and when he acted annoyed, they laughed louder.

Seth arrived the earliest, set up the speaker, and started playing the music. Xavi sat next to Jun to help analyze the lyrics. 

Thirty minutes later, amid their first rehearsal of the day, visitors knocked on the door and entered. 

This time, even Jun was shocked. 'Mid-check already? On the morning of the third day?' His expression became awkward as he covertly bit his left lower lip. 

"Hi, Greenhouse's Rap Team." The greetings came from Keys, dressed casually in denim shorts and oversized black shirts. His somewhat chubby face had a mischievous expression as he entertained himself with the contestant's nervous and surprised looks.

"How are you guys?" The specs-wearing Mariam waved her hand before sweeping a few hair stands behind her ears. 

The flustered boys lined up in a hurry to bow and greet back. "Hello, mentors!" 

Then they looked at Jun before exchanging stares with each other. 

How ready were they for this visit? Simple answer. VERY unprepared. 

Yes, they finally completed their version of the song. But they had yet to practice extensively, and their formations were unpolished, too. Jun had already memorized his part of the rap. However, Xavi had yet to, partly because, as a foreigner, he was still unfamiliar with some words' pronunciations. Last night, they added a bit of vocalization as backing to the rap and practiced the order of parts. 

The previous missions made them assume that mid-check would always happen in the morning or noon on the fourth day. So, they planned to polish their work on the third day to show a passable performance tomorrow. 

But their plan would no longer be realized.

'We're doomed.' Jun successfully fought the urge to lower his head and turn away from the judges slash mentors. He failed to erase the negative thoughts, though. 

"Are you ready?" A smile was on the lady producer's fair face as she held her tablet. 

'Can we say no?' The four boys inwardly thought, exchanging worried glances with each other. 

"My rap team will do their best." Jun's Adam's apple bobbed despite the straight face he wore. His voice shook a bit as he carefully said, "But mentors, can we... can we flash the lyrics of our song on the screen?"

In the next moment, sounds momentarily disappeared. Hearing what the rap team leader asked, Keys and Mariam immediately turned expressionless.