From Thug to Idol: Transmigrating to a Survival Show

June was in a predicament.

His pride was on the line, and the one holding onto it was a 13-year-old girl with pigtails.

Three minutes.

Only three minutes and his fate will be sealed.

'Fuck it,' he thought.

June channeled the inner cuteness hidden in his heart and started moving like he did during his auditions.

"Meow, meow, a timeless call,

Unveiling mysteries, standing tall or small.

Beneath the surface, secrets lie,

In the depths of a feline's eye."

The last time he sang this song was during his Rising Stars audition, and he definitely felt the improvement in his voice.

June continued to sing while the tweens surrounding him clapped happily. Right

now, it seemed like he was the youngest out of all of them!

"In each meow, a story untold,

Whispers of wisdom age-old.

They dance between worlds unseen,

Guiding us to places serene.

(Meow, meow, meow…)"

"Omo, our little June did so good!" Yunha exclaimed as soon as he was done.

One minute.

"Can I go now?" June hurriedly asked, bouncing on his feet.

Yunha hummed and looked up at the ceiling.

Forty seconds.

"Well, since you did such a great job, I'll let you off the hook! I'll just buy my cream bread tomorrow. Release him, boys," she ordered.

At last, June was finally free.

He dashed to the counter and quickly paid for the cream bread. He didn't even bother taking the change since he was in a hurry.

June was about to leave through the front door when the bell rang all throughout the school, signaling the start of their recess.

The events happened quick, and before June knew it, he could hear the eager footsteps of hungry, youthful teens running to the cafeteria. June's eyes widened when he saw the approaching crowd through the glass doors.

Was everything he did all in vain?

As the teenagers approached, he felt a small hand clasped onto his wrist.

"Idiot," Yunha said, dragging June to the other side of the cafeteria.

June didn't know where the spoiled girl was taking him, but maybe it was better than being flocked by both the middle-schoolers and high-schoolers alike.

"Quick!" Yunha urged. "There's a secret passage here."

She opened the fire exit that led to the dumpster area of the school, and she quickly closed it as the students flocked to the cafeteria.

June sighed in relief, catching his breath as he leaned against the cold brick wall.

"You're stupid," he heard Yunha say. "Wasn't your mission not to get caught or something?"

June shook his head in disbelief. "How do you know these things?"

"I watch School Invasion a lot," she said. "There's a pattern in their missions. I'm sure you got the one where you can't get caught by the high-schoolers."

"It was a good thing I was there, right?" she flashed a smile. "If not, you wouldn't be able to perform."

A small smile appeared on June's face. Maybe this kid wasn't too bad after all.

"Honestly, I just realized I like Zeth from your group. He's the one from the coffee commercial, right? I think he's really handsome! He should have been your center," Yunha quickly added, causing June to lose all hope.

Alright, this kid was really bad.

"Besides, my sister's going to be really happy once she sees you guys perform. She's going to graduate next year, so I want to give her a memorable year," she sweetly said.

"Are you still alive?" he heard Casper say through his in-ear monitor.

June sighed and spoke to the walkie-talkie. "I'm fine. I'm on my way back."

"I assume you need to go?" Yunha asked.

June nodded. "I think I need to let the recess pass, though. I don't want to risk getting caught by anyone else."

"That's in thirty minutes," Yunha said. "If you want, you can follow the path right here."

She pointed to the grassy path that was seemingly abandoned.

"Nobody really hangs out here since it's grassy and itchy, so I think you'll be safe."

June smiled, standing straight.

"Thanks for the help, even though I would have finished the mission ages ago if you hadn't shown up," he muttered the latter part under his breath.

"You were saying something?" Yunha asked with one eyebrow raised.

June cleared his throat.

"Nothing. Thanks. I'll see you around, I guess," June said, waving goodbye to the tween.

"Bye, June!" she exclaimed.

Surprisingly, Yunha wasn't lying when she said nobody really hung around this path since June had a peaceful walk.

He clutched onto the cream bread in his hand and glared at the round pastry.

"Just how good are you that I've run into this trouble?"

Wanting to satiate his curiosity, he decided to open the cream bread and take a small bite.

As he bit into the pastry, which was still quite warm, he felt the luscious cream ooze out. The cream wasn't too sweet, but it was rich, filled with flavors that shouldn't be confined in a school cafeteria.

He had to stop for a second because the flavor took him by surprise.

"Huh," he said.

It was actually really good.

June took another small bite and nodded in approval.

Now, he understood why Bang Yunha was obsessed with this bread.

After savoring two bites, he decided to seal the package and continue his journey.

However, as he took another step, he heard a couple of voices from the wall adjacent to his.

"What? Do you want to report us to the school?" a boy, whose voice sounded like it still hadn't fully developed, said in a threatening tone.

"Or are you going to run back to your parents and tell on us?" another voice said in a mocking tone. "Oh, wait. They don't care about you, right?"

June frowned.

He couldn't really watch the scene from his position, but he could already tell that these kids weren't good news.

"You're smart, right? Why won't you do our homework for us?" the first kid said.

"You're even our teacher's favorite," another boy said. "Did your parents buy her something? I'm sure life is easy when you're rich, huh?"

June shook his head, having enough of the situation.

So, he decided to intercept. He was about to move out of his spot but quickly stopped when he heard another person speak.

"Just let me go."

June froze.

"Minjun," he whispered.