From Thug to Idol: Transmigrating to a Survival Show



June shrugged, nonchalantly sitting down on his seat. Yet, his friends couldn't take their eyes away from him.

"Focus," he mouthed, so they turned back around to watch the next announcements.

- I still can't believe that happened.

- Why the hell was he hiding his face with the mask, then?

- This kid is a genius.

- So freaking handsome, really.

- Still ugly.

June's face reveal left a lingering impact on the trainees and starlights, so it was more difficult for them to concentrate on the next happenings.

"Now, I shall announce the trainees who are part of the top 15!" Jordan exclaimed, determined to finish the live show.

"Fifteenth—Jinsol"

"Fourteenth—Bin"

Bin went down in ranks, which was surprising since he received the most benefits in June's team. However, it was still a pretty good rank.

"Thirteenth—Steel"

"Twelfth—Alex"

"Woah, Alex is out of the Top 10," some trainees whispered.

"He didn't stand out much."

"Eleventh—Hyunwoo"

"Hyunwoo went down, too," Akira said. "It seems like those who trained under Phoenix Entertainment went down this week."

"Ranks 11th-15th; you may now go to your seats," Jordan said.

The other trainees went up with smiles on their faces, yet Alex and Hyunwoo couldn't stop looking at June.

June snapped out of his daze and looked back at them. Hyunwoo looked away, yet Alex held his gaze, observing June's face.

June raised one of his eyebrows, causing Alex to shake his head and get moving.

Come to think of it, these two trainees were from Phoenix Entertainment—the company where Choi Joon-ho used to train in.

June didn't look drastically different from the past Choi Joon-ho. He just looked more well taken care of. Aside from that, his skin was clearer, and his features looked a bit enhanced. However, these two trainees might recognize him if they trained together.

June looked away and turned his head to the side.

But then again, he was known as Choi Joon-ho up until Jun Hao transmigrated into his body. And it looked like they didn't fully recognize June, too. 

"Now, onto the debuting ranks," Gun said. "As you all know, this year's Rising Stars will give birth to a 10-member boy group. And although the ranks in the first elimination aren't set in stone, we congratulate these trainees for being the first ones to sit on the debuting seats."

"Let's start with 10th rank. Trainee Lin Zhi, congratulations!"

Lin Zhi strode to the stage with utmost confidence. Honestly, he was still thinking about June's face reveal. As he came to watch the past episodes, he really couldn't shake off the feeling that June was someone he knew.

Someone from his dark past.

And his pesky little mask didn't help with the questions brimming in Lin Zhi's mind.

However, as soon as his face was shown, it felt like a fish bone was plucked out of his throat.

He didn't know the guy. They might just have similar personalities.

Lin Zhi took the mic and gave a short speech with a confident smile.

"Top 10, huh? I always knew this was just the beginning. To my fans who've been with me from day one, thank you for believing in my journey. Get ready because we're about to take this to a whole new level!"

June softly scoffed. This guy still managed to get into the top 10?

If June's going to debut, then Lin Zhi must not. It's the price he has to pay for killing June's original body.

June still had to think about how to do that without associating himself with Lin Zhi, though.

Jisung, who was waiting for his name to be called from the 11h-15th rank, felt anxious about the next announcements.

"Just how much did Jisung rise?" C-Jay muttered under his breath.

"And for the ninth place, we have Jisung! Please come up the stage."

"Woah, he rose in ranks."

"I can't believe I have a friend who's in the top ten," C-Jay proudly smiled.

June nodded in approval. This kid deserved it, but it seemed like he didn't expect it at all.

"Um, hi, everyone. I, uh, I never really thought I'd be standing here, honestly. Um, I guess I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you to all the people who believed in me when I didn't even believe in myself. It's been a, um, really incredible journey. And, um, I couldn't have done it without the support of my family and, uh, even the trainees here," he finished his speech very Jisung-like.

- So adorable!

- Oh, what shall we do with this shy boy?

"Eighth place—Jaxon."

The energetic trainee made his way to the stage. If June could compare his personality to anything, it'd be to a frat boy.

"Woo! Top 10, baby! This is proof that hard work and a lot of dance practice can get you far. Shoutout to my teammates in the artist battle – you know who you are! Let's keep rising!"

"Seventh—Daeho"

The other trainees in the top ten trainees were more or less the same. With Alex and Hyunwoo out of the top ten, Daeho and Jisung replaced their ranks.

"Sixth—Yuri"

"Fifth—Leo"

"Fourth—Jaeyong"

"Third—Ren"

With the announcement of the third-placing trainee, the time to reveal the top two trainees has finally come.

It was just as June had expected.

"Trainees Zeth and Casper, please go to the front."

Zeth and Casper stood side-by-side, their toned physiques making a very pretty picture even from the back.

"Lucky bastards," June muttered. Their stats were practically bursting through the roof. Rising Stars definitely did a good job in recruiting these two into the show.

They held onto each other's hands as they waited for the announcement.

It was clear that the two were "unspoken" rivals. They haven't interacted much in the show, but there always seemed to be some type of tension between them. Their positions were very similar to each other, too. They were both in charge of rapping/dancing in their teams.

- Screenshot! These two are too handsome.

- I can't believe they're humans who live on the same planet as I do.

- Team Zeth!

- Team Casper!

'"Two very talented trainees," Mentor Gun started off. "If I were a starlight, I wouldn't know who to pick between the two, honestly. However, Rising Stars is a show with what?" he asked the other trainees.

"A center," they answered. 

"That's right," Jordan said. "And there could only be one center during this time."

"So, without further ado, let me announce the first-ranked trainee!"