The hate comments for June toned down when his leadership was shown to be the source of improvement for the group. His beautiful voice also sent other people speechless, his talent being undeniable.
However, the hate came back when a familiar scene played.
It was what everybody was anticipating—Zeth's and June's conversation on the stairs.
- It's here. I'm ready to write a hate paragraph for June.
- Don't mess with Zetherealists, June!
- Zetherealists are so fucking entitled. I wish you all to choke on your words later.
- Azure had been evil-editing kings until now, and you still believe them anyway.
- Zeth is number one! June's a leech who's sucking up to his fame.
"Damn," C-Jay said as he read the comments. "They still haven't let this one go. Did you really say any harsh things to Zeth?" he asked.
"Just watch the scene," June said, causing his friends to let out a frustrated sigh.
Why do they seem more nervous than the person involved in the scene?
The scene was finally shown, with June sitting on the stairs. Fortunately, the scene of him crying because of the spicy chip wasn't shown.
That would have been his thirteenth reason.
It went straight to the part where Zeth found June on the stairs.
Tension-filled music defined the scene, and as Zeth sat down next to June, the stirring instrument background became even more intense.
"Shit," Akira said. "Why does it feel like a fight is going to break out?"
Then, Zeth starts pouring his heart into June. After that, he started to cry.
"Oh man," Akira exclaimed. "He's really going through it, isn't he?"
"It's expected," Jaeyong said. "He's used to being on the top. It's hard to maintain that kind of image in these competitions. Everybody's expecting him to do well."
"He's doing well, though," Jisung said. "I thought he was fine. We were on the same team, but I didn't notice him going through this."
June still hadn't said anything at this point, and the audience waited in anticipation.
"It's taking so long," Jangmoon whined. "Did you really say shitty things to him?"
Then, the tension-filled music reached its climax. However, instead of progressing to a similar sound, it was replaced with emotional piano music when June handed Zeth the hard tacks he didn't want to eat.
June raised his eyebrows in surprise. He was expecting Azure to show the scene as it is, but with their editing style, it seemed like a very touching moment.
June began to speak, his voice soft and comforting.
June grimaced as he watched himself on TV. Heck, he didn't even notice he was speaking in such a tone. It's like a big brother looking out for his younger sibling.
"You don't have to be perfect," June said. "If you really think about it, nobody actually cares about you at all. We're all too focused on ourselves to give a damn about other people."
"We all fear that, Zeth. You're not special. Of course, it's alright to feel down every once in a while. That's normal. It's just the wheel of life. However, if that happens, just remember to go back to your original intentions—why are you doing this in the first place?"
At that point, Zeth started crying even harder.
June chuckled, his laugh sounding endearing. "Come on, man. Don't cry. You're making me look bad here."
Then, June patted Zeth's shoulder. It was accompanied by a flowery caption, saying — "An unexpected brotherhood between two handsome trainees."
Along with Zeth's sniff, June heard another sniff from his side. He frowned as he turned to the side, expecting Jisung to be the one crying.
However, much to his surprise, it was actually Jaeyong.
"What the hell?" he muttered. "You're crying?"
Akira guffawed as he strongly patted Jaeyong's back. "You've become a crybaby, leader. You didn't even cry like this in RAVEN. I can't believe you already cried twice because of June."
"Twice?" June asked.
"I told you back then," Akira said. "Jaeyong cried after your performance."
Jangmoon laughed while looking at Jaeyong, too. "Not going to lie, I was close to tears
there. Thankfully, Jaeyong saved me from a round of tears."
"Why'd you even cry?" June asked.
Jaeyong cleared his throat and looked away. "You always say the right stuff."
"No kidding," Akira said. "You made me cry when we spoke that one time too."
"He made me cry, too," Jisung shyly admitted. "When he told us about the real meaning of 'I Love you, Don't Leave; I Don't Love You, Don't Leave.'"
"At this point, you should open psychology services," Akira said. "How come you always know what to say?"
"I don't," June said.
June just says what he wants.
He never expected others to be comforted by it.
"Look!" C-Jay exclaimed, pointing at the comments on the corner of the screen. "The comments are switching up."
- Umm...
- I cried. Our black kitty's so well-spoken.
- My middle finger's up! These are for all the people who threw hate at June for the past week.
- This dude is a black cat with nine lives. He had been murdered twice by the media this week, but he somehow managed to bounce back.
- Zetherealists aren't so noisy now, are they?
- I admit my mistake. June's a good guy.
- I still hate him...
- Zetherealists stand by what they said.
- Oh, come on, guys. June's actually a good person. He even comforted Zeth! I'm a Zetherealist and a June fan now! What are you guys called again?
- We still don't have a name.
"HE'S THE MOST PERFECT PERSON TO EXIST!" Mimi shouted as she stood up from the couch. Once again, the three members of GIRLS' EVOLUTION had gathered to watch the latest episode of 'Rising Stars.' It had been a weekly tradition for them now, and Mimi's craziness for June grows each day.
Their performance had just finished airing, and the comment section was now a haven of positivity. Everybody who doubted Team Aces switched up as their performance concluded.
Everybody called it a 'legendary' stage, and the song skyrocketed to number one on the biggest music site in Korea.
"I can't believe this," Sasha said. "How does this kid improve so fast? I was impressed by his vocals, but I also noticed his dance."
Being the main dancer of the group, Sasha paid more attention to the dancers. She couldn't deny the exponential improvement that happened with June's dance skills. His dance lines had gotten prettier, and his footwork more precise.
Sasha nodded in approval. This guy can pass off as a lead dancer now.
The episode concluded with Team Aces taking the spotlight. The song they sang trended worldwide, and June's name had been cleared. Of course, there were still some insect-like fans who didn't want to acknowledge his performance, but it was a hundred times better than the past week.
Jia, who had become irrevocably in love with June when the episode ended, decided that the wold world deserved to know how talented June really was. So, without hesitation, she went to FaceLook, a popular social media application for the older generation.
Then, she went to a Hwan fan page, where over a million members were a part of.
Without hesitation, he posted June's outro on the page before quickly shutting the laptop.
What she didn't know was the post would garner a million likes overnight.