From Thug to Idol: Transmigrating to a Survival Show

June stood from his seat, interrupting any curses that the members were ready to throw toward Casper's way. "Alright, this won't do," he said, fearing that their time to finish the song was getting shorter and shorter. He packed his belongings and shoved them inside his bag before flinging it over his shoulder. June also grabbed his face mask and cap before walking away from his members. "Where are you going?" Jaeyong asked. "I need to find some inspiration," June said, not bothering to explain himself further. "Does Jay know about this?" Jaeyong worriedly asked. June smirked. "He won't if you don't tell him." With that, he walked out of the door, smiling to himself when none of his members followed after him. "Should we follow him?" Jisung asked. Jaeyong shook his head and sat back down. "He'll be okay. He has sneaked out plenty of times before, so I trust him." "Now," Jaeyong cracked his neck, sighing when he heard the satisfying pop. "Should we go back to what we were talking about?" Casper raised his hand once more. "So, nobody wants to listen to my cat-concept suggestion?" "Shut up, Casper!" ***

June knew he said he was going to look for some inspiration. However, he found himself walking to a very familiar place instead. He gazed up at the worn-out building and entered excitedly through the rusty gate. Then, he walked up the stairs, two steps at a time, before knocking on the door. Luckily, he didn't have to wait long as the door opened, revealing a significantly taller Minjun. June's eyes widened when he saw that Minjun was only a few centimeters shorter than him. "What the heck? What are you drinking?" June couldn't help but exclaim. "Oh, you're here?" the 13-year-old asked, his voice also deeper than before. "It's been like a month since the last time I saw you, but you've gotten more mature," June pointed out, entering their house like it was his second home. "Well, yeah," Minjun scratched the back of his head. "My teacher also said I've been growing at a significantly faster pace than my peers. Must be those BenBen gummies I always eat." June froze, feeling betrayed. "So, they do work," he muttered. "I should have taken them earlier," he dejectedly said. June plopped down on the couch while Minjun handed him some snacks. Even though it had been a while since they last saw each other, the two acted naturally like real brothers. "Right, where's Grandma?" June asked, chewing on the potato chips that Minjun had given him.

"She's asleep," Minjun responded. June frowned in confusion. "At this time of the day? She's usually cooking by this time," he said, glancing at the wall clock and seeing that it was nearing lunchtime. "She already cooked this morning," Minjun said. "You can pack some if you want. She's just not feeling well these days. Her body is aching more than usual." June frowned in confusion. "Have you taken her to a doctor?" "You know grandma. She's very stubborn. I tried convincing her to visit the hospital, but she doesn't want to. She says it's just a normal part of aging—weak bones and muscles or something like that," Minjun said. June sighed. "Well, you should convince her harder." "I will," Minjun said. "I already told my mom, and she might ask a doctor to come around and visit our house." June nodded, feeling a bit relieved after Minjun's statement. "How about you?" Minjun asked, leaning against the couch. "What are you doing here? King of Kings had just ended, and I believe it's about time for you guys to have a comeback." "How do you even know that? Our schedules are not leaked yet," June said. "Well, answer my question," Minjun said. "I'm sure you barely have enough time to practice, so what are you doing here?" Minjun pointed to his mind, smirking confidently. "I'm a genius, remember?" June shook his head in amusement. "Cheeky bastard," he muttered. "Well, answer my question," Minjun said. "I'm sure you barely have enough time to practice, so what are you doing here?" June sighed, also leaning against the couch. "I don't know. I just wanted to escape for a minute." "Why? Is fame finally getting to you?" Minjun teased. "No," June honestly said. "I just don't know what to do. We were given the opportunity to create a title track for the new album, and nothing comes to my mind."

"Woah," Minjun asked, surprised. "Azure is letting you produce your own title track? That's new!" "Yes," June sighed. "It took a lot of convincing, but it came to this. We're only given until the day after tomorrow to finish it, though, and I still don't have an idea."

"And your teammates?" Minjun asked. June thought back on his members' answers—zoos, cats, kissing scenes, shirtless shots…

"Yeah, they don't have any ideas too," June said.

Minjun hummed, trying to come up with something in his genius mind. "Well, there's a genre that's trending nowadays," he said, bringing out his phone. "There is?" June asked, unaware of it. "It's not really a genre," Minjun disclosed. "It's more like a trend. Although other people and even companies might not be aware of it." "Tell me," June urged. "Simple music," Minjun said. "Simple music?" June clarified. "Yeah," he nodded. "Look at this." Minjun went to a video app and started showing June the songs under the trend he was pertaining to. "I feel like K-pop has become more complex nowadays, with companies wanting to one-up each other with songs that have multiple elements," Minjun said. "But these songs that have simple pop elements have gotten the most attention from K-pop fans and people from the West!" June frowned. There was a trend like that?

"Look here," Minjun said, directing June's focus on his phone.

"We have here Psyche by FORTY-FORTY." "Picture Love by ENDASH." "Eight by COOKJUNG" "Super Confident by OLDSWEATS." "At one look, they might look different, but once you listen to them, you'll understand that they have something in common—they sound very simple." June hummed, finally getting what Minjun was trying to say. He wanted to incorporate so many things into this new production that it started jumbling altogether. Was he making this much more complicated than it actually was? "Simple, huh?"