Chapter 24: Chapter 22: [Pitiful Boy]
Geon, right?" Guy smiled at the 17-year-old boy.
"Yes."
"Okay, you may start. It's okay if you don't do well, you can always practice to become better. Remember, I'm here to be your mentor." Guy smiled kindly at Geon.
"Thank you." The 17-year-old bowed 90°.
"U-umm..."
"Hehehe."
"Did he do this intentionally?" The other trainees stared at Geon with awkward smiles on their faces.
Geon wasn't bowing at Guy, he was bowing at the cameraman beside the mentor!
[~One, you gonna know this feeling
Or you just watch me falling?
Two, you cannot laugh me failing
But two, let's see who you're fulling~]
Geon started to rap the parts he remembered.
[~You-- watch and everything
But you can't be anything~]
The other tried their best to not cringe at Geon's rapping.
"Oh, wait. You can stop for a moment." Guy clapped his hands.
Geon scratched the back of his neck.
"I sounded... Bad, right...?" The 17-year-old chuckled awkwardly.
Bad was an understatement.
He sounded like a goat under the rain.
He sounded like a pig getting butchered alive.
He sounded like a stuttering parrot.
"You can try looking at the lyric sheet if you forget some lines." Guy chucklrd awkwardly.
•••
"He's actually very talented." Berlyn Chu said for the 99th time.
The mentors were gathered in a small studio, disccusing who's suits what role or position.
"I agree with mentor Chu. I also think that Jeongin can become even more better." Guy nodded his head in understanding.
"Oh, and then there's this trainee who defintely caught my eye." He added.
"He must very talented then." Kim Eunho, one of the mentors who changed from an idol to an actor, comnented.
"He's just... Poor." Guy chuckled.
"Oh, mentor Guy~ Are you valuing rich people more?" Kim Eunho joked.
"No-no! What I meant was... That trainee was having a hard time catching up to my lesson." Guy explained.
"Maybe he's just new?" Lea spoke.
"Not really, his level of comprehension is very lacking compared from the beginners." Guy shook his head.
"Are you talking about that kid Choi Geon?" Berlyn Chu asked.
"Oh, I jut rememebered. He must be in your class too." Guy chuckled.
"He's the biggest headache."
"Anyway." Berlyn Chu smiled.
"Let's drop his rank if he continue to act like this."
•••
It was the next day when Geon realized the gravity of the situation he was in.
The dance mentor kept shitting on him.
The rap mentor tried his best to cheer him up.
The vocal mentor didn't showed any interest at him.
"Honestly, I don't think you still have any hope." Berlyn Chu shook her head in disappointment.
"Look at those 4 over there." She pointed her index finger at the other 4 trainees who also took extra classes with Geon.
"They improved a lot in the span of a few hours. While you? You still act like a blind person." A huge frown was flustered on Berlyn Chu's face.
"I'll try my best..." And so, Geon took out one of his killer cards; the [Pitiful Boy].
He used this card a lot back when he was an elite of [Family].
The members were given missions once they finish their training period.
Some were tasked to smuggle illegal products, some were ordered to exchange drugs with money, while some were hired to assassinate certain people.
And Geon's regular mission was smuggling illegal products to China.
He completed everything in elegance (with the help of the old [System Window]).
If he couldn't get any parts in [Dreamers' Anthem], he has to gain attention through this cursed moment.
From weak to strong-- that was the plot of [Shadow Dancer], his favorite anime.
Geon set a primary goal in mind; "do as worse as you can in this stage to gain attention, and do the best after this to avoid elimination''.
•••
"Director! The camera..."
"Oh my gosh! I'm so nervous..."
"Here, there... And here."
Everyone in the studio were busy preparing for the filming that was about to start.
A few days have passed since the trainees fought for invidual parts in [Cap-Teen-Vating]'s signal song [Dreamers' Anthem].
Of course, the main character named Song Jeongin got the center position as well as the most lines in the song.
Jang Haru got the sub-vocal position.
Remember the 'creepy' moment in the trainees' last night in the campsite?
Remember the 'gentle, older bro' that all trainees like?
The one who was friends with the 'fake' trainees who did nothing but curse the 'innocent' Japanese trainee in their minds?
If you still don't remember Jang Haru with my 3-sentences explanation, fuck off-- joke.
Anyway, Geon succeeded in getting no individual lines at all.
The only line he got was when the second chorus and everyone had to sing together.
"Trainees, go to your assigned positions- the same one you had when we rehearsed earlier.
•••
The eerie sounds of different string instruments getting strummed started playing .
[~One, you gotta know this feeling
Or are you just gonna watch me falling?
Two, you can laugh at me failing
But who, let's see who you're fooling~]
Song Jeongin started the first part of the song as practiced.
The beating of drums filled the studio.
The creepy sound of the way the string instruments were oddly played never dissapeared.
And so, the first verse began.
[~I'm afraid of seeing the truth
When my dream has been draining my youth
I'm afraid of not seeing the truth
When my life has never been smooth~]
The trainee who got the main vocalist position was filmed cameras from different angles.
[~I hold no ones' hand, I hear no ones' cry
I feel no ones' love, I see no ones' smile
When my dream was supposed to make laugh
Yet my dream has been cutting me in half~]
The heart-piercing emotions the song contained were never lost.
[~You can watch and everything
But you cannot do anything~]
The haunting drumbeats slowed down when the pre-chorus started.
And it all just stopped.
Silence echoed in everyone's ears.
Then suddenly...
[~Our fates are set on stones
But we should learn how to leave our zones
Strive, live, and survive
Let your insecurities die
We dream for a better tommorow
We hope for a better future
It's okay to cry
It's okay to sigh~]
The drumbeats dissapeared when chorus came, replaced by the comforting sound of lyres.
The song was so traditional Chinese-coded.
The trainees sang the chorus altogether.
[~I beg for affection, I beg for attention
My life has been filled with contemplation
My dream is to reach the top
But my dream keeps pulling me back~]
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone