From Thug to Idol: Transmigrating to a Survival Show

"June's really a big boy now," Akira fake-sobbed, leaning against Ren. Ren clicked his tongue and pushed him away. June fixed his collar and faced his members. They all seemed to be looking forward to this role more than June, and Casper even bought him an expensive polo shirt for his very first meeting with the crew. "Light pink really compliments you well," Casper said, feeling proud of his choice. "How much did you buy that for?" Zeth whispered. Casper merely smiled and didn't respond. He definitely spent more than he had expected, but June deserved it. "You guys are making a big deal out of this," June said, amused. "It is a big deal," Jisung exclaimed. "You have been recruited by Director Nana! She's a popular webtoonist who became a director. Now, she's know for her live-action webtoon adaptations!" "I still don't know who she is," June said. "Do you even watch romance dramas?" June didn't respond, which confirmed their suspicions. "He doesn't have a romantic bone in his body," Akira chuckled. "That's why he can't see that Hana Lim is interested in him," he whispered the latter part to Jisung. "Well, do you know who you're going to act with?" Sehun asked. June shook his head. "I'm honestly in the shadows. They only sent me the script, but all the other details are only known by Mr. Ong."

"What webtoon is it?" Akira excitedly asked. "Hate To Love You," June responded, making the others surprised. "What the heck? Why didn't you tell us earlier?" Akira exclaimed.

"I fucking love that webtoon," Jisung cursed, causing Ren's eyes to widen. He looked at their youngest member with a reprimanding stare.

"Who taught you that?" Ren asked. Jisung scratched the back of his neck. "I've been cursing since high school, though." Ren's eyes widened, and he placed his hand over his heart before leaning against Zeth. "Reprimand your child!" he said to Zeth, pointing toward Jisung's direction.

Zeth chuckled and shook his head in amusement. "Have you read the script yet?" Sehun asked. "A little bit," June answered, placing his essentials inside his pockets. "Ren and I were busy finalizing our song, so I didn't get to study it as much." Jaeyong stood next to June and placed an arm around his shoulder. "Leave it all to us, bro. You've already done a lot for the performance," he said. June turned to him with one eyebrow raised. "Are you sure?" June asked. "Of course," Jaeyong responded. "We're also quite good at preparing performances, you know?" "Yeah," Akira nodded. "We've relied on you plenty of times already, so you can rely on us for now. Besides, Ren could honestly do it all alone," he teased. Ren clicked his tongue but nodded nonetheless. "Yeah, I'll finalize it," Ren said. "Go ahead and focus on this project." June smiled. "Thanks, guys. I honestly wouldn't have taken up the project, but Mr. Ong already agreed to it." "You deserve it, though," Casper said. "Besides, wouldn't it be fun to learn a new skill?" June pursed his lips. "I guess." The door opened, revealing Jay in another obnoxious suit. "You ready?" he asked. "Yeah," June said, glancing at himself in the mirror once more before heading to the door. "Let's go then," Jay said, opening the door for June like a good butler. The two of them entered the car and engaged in a casual conversation. "Can you believe this? You're going to star in a drama!" "It's a short drama," June responded. "Who cares? It's still a drama! Have you gone over your script?" he asked. June sighed before nodding. "It's...different than what I expected." "What do you mean?" Jay asked. "It's a romance," June said. "Yeah! Exciting, right? You even have a kissing scene!" "What?" June exclaimed. "A kissing scene? Where the hell did you read that from?" he asked, flipping through the pages of his script. "Oops," Jay chuckled nervously. "There was a kissing scene in the webtoon. I don't know if it's part of the script, but I'm hoping it is." June frowned in confusion. "Why are you even hoping for that?" Jay pursed his lips and kept the weird thoughts inside his mind. "No particular reason," he muttered. "Oh, by the way," Jay said, quickly changing the subject. "You're joining the production quite late, you know?" "No, I don't know that, in fact," June said. "You guys didn't brief me about it." "Sorry," Jay apologized. "The preparations were honestly very rushed. Apparently, they had already started filming with the original male lead, but he got some type of virus? So, they scrapped out all of the scenes he was included in and decided to start anew." "They've been looking for a new male lead for weeks, but they couldn't find a suitable one. Fortunately, the director stumbled upon King of Kings during the acting pre-mission and decided you were the one."

"That's surprising," June said. "They hired me for a romance drama when I acted like a broken criminal?" Jay shrugged. "They also said, and I quote, he has a face that could move mountains." June couldn't help but chuckle. "We're here," Jay said, parking the car in the open lot. June opened the door and gazed at the building before him—a school. It was still snowing, so the cherry blossom trees were sparse. However, it didn't take away from the beauty of the place. The school appeared like something out of a dream, and June wondered what it would be like to actually study in the institution. However, his thoughts were cut off when he heard a shrill scream behind him. Then, he felt a warm, wet substance on his chest, causing his eyes to go wide.

"June!" Jay exclaimed. June looked down at himself and saw the new shirt that Casper had bought for him covered in water. Thank goodness, it was just water. June could already imagine Casper sulking like a cat if the shirt got ruined.

The girl in front of him, wearing an all-white outfit with matching pink bows in her hair, looked up at him with furrowed eyebrows. June raised his eyebrows in surprise. Why was she glaring at him like June was the one at fault?

"Watch where you're going," she snapped, turning around and not even apologizing for what she had done. "What the heck is her problem?" Jay exclaimed, wiping June's shirt with his handkerchief. "Do you want me to pour water on her too?" June smirked before shaking his head. "Nah, it's alright. Let's just go inside."