Chapter 23: Treasure Campus Second week part-3
"Eh?" Jun was taken aback as the system issued an emergency quest.
At first, he prepared a casual performance as this is just an opening act.
He thought as long as he sings well, he would be able to prove himself but now, claiming the seat became more important.
Jun decided to go all out and secure the seat.
Thankfully, he prepared two more songs of which he already performed one during the final auditions.
Although the second one is also performed at the audition, this version is more complete.
Meanwhile, the performance started with the one who sat on the number 1.
He greeted the judges. "Hello, my name is Jung Jinwoo and I'm 21 years old."
Jun barely remember this former trainee. He didn't stand out in his group performance neither his appearance isn't that outstanding.
But he didn't expect the very first performance will be a surprise to everyone.
"I prepared an original song. It's called Satellite."
'Indeed, one must have a certain confidence to sit on the top seat…' Jun thought as he observed the first contestant.
A piece of simple piano music started in the background followed by the drums and the mixture of glockenspiel instruments. It was slow…
He opened his mouth.
"I can never reach she's gone as far as she can be"
The judges were suddenly jolted in surprise because of his sudden start. Jun found his voice a little bit hoarse and husky.
"because of needless pride, my eyes lost its focus
Is it a memory as toxic as alcohol?
Or is it reminiscence as pure as water?
In the beginning, we may have seen too much of each other
We don't exist any longer.
What you lost once can never comes back to you
I keep breathing yet I don't feel like living.
The cliché words that time heals everything,
The harsh words that we weren't mean to be.
In the end, those words are meaningless, you were everything to me.
Because I'm a Satellite
I hover around you
I feel grateful that I can see you, though from far away.
Then again I get greedy.
Though I know it'd be the same as before
I guess that's just what I am. That's right.
Because I'm a Satellite
After looking at you for a while,
After standing with hope for maybe
The street looks the same as always
I move my feet finally
That's what I am. That's what I am."
***
"Thank you." He bowed as he finished the singing. Everyone just stared at him in a daze until YG and JYP followed by the rest clapped. IU, YG, and JYP had smiles on their faces.
Even Jun was taken aback. At first glance, he doesn't seem that impressive but he did write a meaningful song. Jun felt nervous.
Since he decided to change his song at the last minute, to make sure he won't make any mistakes, he became busy repeating the lyrics in his head over and over again.
Since it was a song that he bought from the system, the lyrics and the composition is already rooted deeply inside his brain.
After Jinwoo returned to his seat, the second performance started without any wait…
One by one, 21 performances are finished. Watching them made Jun feel at ease compared to the first performance.
Jun felt most of them turned out way better than he expected them to be.
Indeed, they can be average in a group performance because of their inexperience but they are certainly talented.
But, Jun still didn't get the feeling of being threatened by their performance except for the opening performance by the first seat.
He was confident that he can complete the quest as long as he performs his song without any mistakes.
Soon, all the 21 performances are finished, everyone clapped.
The director stopped recording and the mentors brought their scoresheets to the main judges.
JYP wrote down their overall scores.
Everyone returned to their seats and the recording started. It seemed as if no one left earlier.
YG grabbed the mic.
"Okay, now the challengers… please come on to the stage. Who will be the first contestant?"
Meanwhile, of the two former Kpop trainees that went from behind and submitted their songs a while ago, one of them stepped onto the stage while the next one remained there.
Jun knew him. He is a rapper who has initially entered the same training room as him back then but ultimately chose a different group.
He greeted the judges. "Hello… my name is Lee Jinho. I'm 20 years old with 2 years of training experience. Today I'm going to sing Clockwork's Rhythm Ta."
The judges nodded nonchalantly. YG was interested a little bit since it belongs to Genesis.
But the moment he sang the first line, YG let out a sigh and shook his head.
Jun wasn't familiar with the song as it was released when he was in a vegetative state and he hasn't caught up with the rest of the world, yet.
As the song finished, they nodded and wrote down their scores before revealing them on the scorecards much to everyone's surprise.
After all, the scores of the first 21 performances are kept hidden. Beside the contestant, the screen displayed his score, '211'
221 out of 425 isn't either a good score or a bad score. It was average at best but since the previous scores aren't revealed, his performance became the standard for everyone.
YG then grabbed the mic. "Your score can challenge someone from them."
He pointed at the 21 candidates.
"Who do you wish to challenge?"
This was also considered a type of test.
By not revealing their scores, the judges are also testing whether the candidates have the ability to evaluate others and compare them with theirs.
Jinho spoke, "I choose him… the one on number 16."
It was a 15-year-old kid who is also a rapper.
JYP smirks for a second, understanding what's going on in this candidate's mind.
He answered, "Sorry, you failed."
Jinho was stunned for a second. He really wondered why that kid scored more than him.
He bowed and returned to his seat, feeling dejected.
'The scoring system is different for trainees and the rookies?' Jun quickly understood what's going on.
He felt that he made the right decision.
The second person gets on to the stage while the next one who wished to challenge went from behind and submitted his song. The audio manager was checking the file just in case.
After ten or so challenges, three ranks namely, 13, 18, and 7 are replaced by challengers.
JYP then asked the girls to step forward and not hesitate. After all, this isn't a direct challenge between boys or girls. Only their respective scores are being challenged.
A former female Kpop trainee managed to grab the number 5 spot, and Chaeyoung who got 317 points challenged the number one spot but failed in the end.
It made everyone wonder how high his score is.
The shooting went on continuously for five hours until the director called for a break.
Even he didn't expect that every one of this bunch is eager to challenge.
The members are getting tired and hungry. Everyone woke up at 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning and it is now 9 but the staff didn't provide them breakfast yet Or maybe, they don't plan to see the shooting was suppose to end at 12 to 12:30.
Either way, no one dares to complain and just stayed silent.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Snowstar
Snowstar Sorry for the delay. now that my schedule has been cleared up at least for the next 30 days, I can start updating the novel...
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