From Thug to Idol: Transmigrating to a Survival Show

"I'm sorry," Lena said through the phone. "Rain check. I can't come to the date as planned. I have an emergency."

Lei sighed and massaged the bridge of his nose. Here he was, thinking he could finally blow off some steam after the stressful weak.

"It's fine," Lei said through gritted teeth. "Just call me when you're free. It's also a little bit busy with EVE's upcoming comeback."

"Yeah, sure," Lena said, sounding distressed before ending the call.

With that, Lei called Dan on his phone. He answered right away.

"Call Jay. We're going to have a meeting," he said.

Dan, who was in EVE's practice room, nodded enthusiastically. He walked to where Jay was and nudged his shoulder.

"Sir Lei wants to talk with us."

Jay pursed his lips. "The boys are still practicing," he said, sounding exhausted. It has only been three days since June had left EVE, and he has significantly aged.

Dan turned off the music, causing the boys to stop. "Take a break," he said. "You guys had been practicing all day. We're just going to Sir Lei's office for a short meeting."

The boys silently nodded and sat on the floor before scrolling through their phones.

The two managers left, and with their departure, Joonie began ranting about their upcoming comeback.

"Why won't you guys want a sexy concept? Don't you think the song would become a bigger hit if we take our shirts off?" he asked.

The other boys lifted their heads for a second but went back to their phones, already used to his complaints.

Joonie clicked his tongue. "I swear. You guys aren't listening to me. If this comeback fails, then you don't have anyone to blame but yourselves."

Casper, who has been holding back because June told him to behave, couldn't take it anymore.

"The only reason why this comeback would fail is because you're the one in it, and not June."

Joonie frowned while Jaeyong sighed.

"That's enough," he said. "They told us to rest. Let's do just that."

"No, he needs to hear it," Casper said. "You think you're a big shot just because you were included in our team. However, hear this. You will never, ever replace June."

"Oh, stop being dramatic," Joonie said. "You've only known him for a year! You'll get over it."

Casper continued to glare at him. ""Even if many years pass, we would still not want you in the team."

Joonie smirked, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Well, you better get over it," he said. "June is out of the team. Plenty more years will pass, and he won't come back. An idol accused of sexual crimes? That constitutes death to his career."

"You don't know anything," Jisung said, joining the conversation.

"Oh, but I do," Joonie smiled. "You paint him to be such a good guy, but he does things behind your back. You think he's taking care of you, but in truth, it's just because you guys are on the same team. It's good for his reputation."

"Moreover, even if he didn't do such crimes, he had already done quite a lot of damage. He had ruined your image. I'm here to save it. He had disappointed a lot of fans. He is the reason why the movie he filmed is being pushed back."

"He's not a good person," Joonie said. "He's evil, and you guys just can't accept that because he has manipulated you into thinking he's so charming."

"So, stay miserable for all you want," he smirked. "But that's not going to change anything." "June's career is dead, so we might as well act like it is."

***

In the end, June didn't go through with the kidnapping scheme. Instead, he arranged for the mother-and-son duo to talk about their feelings. However, Minjun didn't know about this, of

course.

June knew that Minjun wouldn't agree to his plan, so he had to lie to him.

"Where are we going?" Minjun asked.

"Somewhere," June responded as Marcus continued to drive them to the designated place.

Minjun's eyes narrowed. "That doesn't give away anything."

June sighed and shook his head. "Just go through with it," he said. "We're near."

Minjun pursed his lips and shrugged.

After a while, they finally arrived at an all-white studio.

Minjun paused and narrowed his eyes. "This is..."

"June!" Pablo exclaimed, his eyes swollen as he emerged from his room. He immediately went and hugged June, to which the latter merely accepted. It seemed like he was really upset.

"I missed you," he sobbed.

Jenny, too, emerged behind him and poked his side.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

June couldn't help but chuckle. "It's only been three days," he said. "It's not like I've been away for a month."

"It already feels like forever!" Pablo exclaimed. "Do you know how much I've been crying?" June looked at his face and pursed his lips. "I think I can imagine," he muttered.

"You didn't do it, right?" Pablo asked.

June shook his head, causing Pablo to cry even harder.

"I knew it! Your shit agency is painting you to be the bad guy when they're the ones not doing anything to prove your innocence. Why don't you join me, huh? I can create a new company, and you'll be the very first one to be signed!"

June smirked. "Can you sign the other members of EVE, along with LUNAIRE?"

Pablo pursed his lips. "How much?" he sheepishly asked. "Around 9.7 million USD?"

"Oh," Pablo said, taking a step back. "Can't you debut as a solo artist instead?"

June chuckled and patted his shoulder. "Just focus on photography, Pablo."

Meanwhile, Minjun tugged on June's lips.

"What are we doing here?" he impatiently asked.

"Ooh!" Pablo exclaimed. "Is this the brother you were talking about? He's very good-

looking, too. Maybe he would like to be signed as well?"

"Nope," Minjun said, shaking his head.

"Answer me, June," he urged. June was about to respond. However, at that moment, the door

opened, and the reason why June took Minjun here in the first place was finally revealed.

Lena arrived at the studio; her eyes widened when she finally saw Minjun.

"Mom?"

"Minjun!" she exclaimed, running to the young boy and giving him a hug.

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