Roommates

The trainees got their baggage from their managers before heading inside the living quarters. June, on the other hand, grabbed the backpack he left in the lockers before heading back. It was no use packing a suitcase when they were still going to go home after filming the signal song performance video.

He arrived at the living quarters, and some trainees were already there. He saw Jisung waving him over. He reluctantly went and stood next to him. It was only then that he realized how tall the teen really was. They were sitting during the evaluations, so he didn't initially notice.

"Bro!" he cheerfully greeted. "Come and grab your shirt. It has our stars on it."

June nodded and went to the front to get his shirt. He looked at it with disdain. Why did it have to be neon orange?

Well, at least it wasn't piss yellow like the one zero-stars had. Five-stars had it best with their simple white shirts. The four-stars also had it better with their blue ones. Honestly, June even liked the green shirt that the two-star trainees had.

June wasn't the only one displeased with the color of the shirts. Some of the trainees already felt discouraged because of the segregation of trainees.

"Let's go," June said to Jisung. "I want to sleep."

Jisung chuckled. "I hope we're roommates. Let's see the rooms real quick."

The two of them walked together to the designated rooms. Jisung clapped when the key handed to him was the same as June's.

"We'll be roommates!" he exclaimed. "Can you believe this? I was just hoping for it a while ago."

June nodded. He was quite thankful that his roommate was someone he already knew. He was sure he would get tired of listening to Jisung's chattering, but June knew he was a good kid, so he didn't mind it that much.

"Do you want to take the bottom or top bunk?"

"Any would do," Jisung responded.

"Then you take the top bunk," June said, placing his belongings on the bottom.

Jisung smirked. "Are you afraid of heights, bro?"

June froze but shook his head. "No. It's troublesome to get down every morning."

Jisung chuckled. "You don't have to feel embarrassed. You must be a softie under that mask, huh?"

As they conversed, another person came into the room. The two of them turned around and saw Hoon in the doorway. Hoon immediately scowled as soon as he saw the familiar pink mask.

"Ugh," he groaned. "Why did it have to be you?" he spat, roughly placing his belongings on the floor.

"Umm," Jisung awkwardly said, looking at the two independent trainees. "What's up, brother? Nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you, too," Hoon smiled. "If I were you, I won't get close to that weirdo. Who knows what's under that mask?" he joked.

Jisung awkwardly chuckled. June couldn't care less about Hoon. He had met far worse people when he was a thug. June knew kids like Hoon only wanted to feel superior by looking down on others.

"Let's hope our other roommate isn't a weirdo," Hoon continued to mock June.

The door opened, revealing their last roommate. Jisung and Hoon quickly bowed when they saw Jaeyong in the doorway.

"Senior," Hoon said, his tone suddenly turning respectful. "It's nice to meet you. You did really well on your stage a while ago."

June rolled his eyes. He heard Hoon and the other independent trainees calling themselves better than RAVEN during their audition.

"I'm a big fan, senior," Jisung sincerely said, bouncing like a little kid.

"Thank you. Let's get along well together from now on," Jaeyong smiled.

His smile fell, however, when he saw June sitting on one of the bottom bunk beds. Jaeyong's face twisted into a scowl.

"Aren't you going to bow?" Hoon clicked his tongue as he nudged June's shoulder. 

June pursed his lips in annoyance before bowing his head. "Nice to meet you," he said.

Jaeyong didn't bother greeting him back, making the atmosphere more awkward.

'Great,' June said in his mind. He couldn't have been luckier with his roommates!

One of them was a stuck-up trainee with anger and superiority issues.

One was a veteran idol who seemed to dislike his guts.

And the other was a noisy kid who suddenly turns silent in times like this!

[I'm glad you're having fun, host.]

June rolled his eyes. Can't Fu even tell that he was being sarcastic?

"Is nobody going to use the bathroom yet?" June asked, breaking the silence.

"I'll still unpack," Jisung said in a soft voice.

Hoon rolled his eyes. "I'm alright. I'll wash later." He removed his shoes, and the stench of his sweaty feet immediately wafted over June's senses. June glanced at him with disgust. Surely, the people at White Tiger gang were much nastier, but even then, June was a bit of a clean freak.

Why do you think he got the job of cleaning toilets? It's because he was goddamn good at it.

Jaeyong did not respond, so June took that as a cue to shower first.

"I'll go first, then."

He started removing his mask, careful not to hurt his present wounds. His three roommates discreetly watched him. As much as they didn't want to admit it, they were curious about June's appearance.

There were only two conclusions—he was either extremely ugly or incredibly handsome.

Hoon hoped for it to be the latter. A voice like his would probably not have a pretty face, would he?

They waited in anticipation while June took his sweet time. The three kept their gazes on him until the time came when his pink cat mask had been removed.

However, they couldn't help but take a double look as soon as it was gone from June's face.

"Why the hell are you wearing another mask?"