"Thank you for letting us on stage and for watching our performance."
In the adjacent room, the judges and staff continued staring ahead as if they had yet to absorb that the performance was over. Then, when it finally sank in, they began glancing around, studying each other's reactions.
Drew let go of his pen. The sound it made as it hit the floor shattered the delicate silence of the place. The producers immediately noticed his action.
Shortly after, the famous solo artist began clapping loudly. "Bravo. Bravo, good job, boys!"
Like a domino effect, the staff and producers regained their senses. One by one, they joined him in sincere applause for the Barren Landers. The claps were loud, thundering, and crisp.
"That was... wow." Producer Keys shook his head once and continued clapping.
Drew looked at him, laughed heartily, and declared dramatically, "They brought gasoline and poured it all over the place. With my career on the line, I swear they didn't do this during the mid-check!"
"They didn't?" Keys was genuinely surprised.
"I only remember scolding them," Drew chuckled in reply. "Actually, they changed some of the dance moves, and I should be scolding them again. But I just can't. Why would I, when they slayed this performance so hard?"
Thunderous applause rose again. Drew's grin never left his face. He was beyond pleased and proud.
PD Song was also smiling broadly and nodding in approval. His slow, aged voice reverberated through the mic.
"You boys did great. It was flawless and plain impressive. No words can describe how astonished we are. For the entire duration of this song, I thought I was watching an actual music show performance—that if you had worn proper stage outfits, it would have been a great concert stage."
The youths in gray trembled in shock and exchanged looks. They could not contain their emotions as they foolishly asked one another if they had heard correctly.
That PD Song? The producer who created KAISER's hits and later turned Nova into a giant corporation? A man like him—did he just compliment them with a smile?
"Jun, am I dreaming?" Daeho was shaking when he turned to their leader.
At that moment, Jun was also quite shocked. He knew PD Song's temperament, having occasionally interacted with him when he was still an ETM member. During his time as a BOI participant, the producer rarely gave compliments, and the only one who ever received one was Sujin. After the BOI show ended, PD Song would only praise them if ETM won a big award.
Jun glanced at his friends, who were overwhelmed with emotion. Some were still crying, while others were barely holding back their tears and smiles.
He took the mic passed to him by the MC and bowed.
Raising his face, Jun sincerely said, "On behalf of the Landers, I humbly thank you for the positive reviews and kind feedback. Words are not enough to express how shocked and grateful we are. We promise to continue doing better to prove ourselves worthy of the encouragement you gave us."
PD Mariam followed with a few more overwhelmingly positive remarks before the Landers were told to return to the Barren Land building.
Like the Inhabitants, most couldn't remember how they even made it back safely. But unlike their counterparts, the Landers were ecstatic—jumping, high-fiving, and yelling at the top of their lungs.
In truth, not all of them were great dancers or singers. Indisputably, the Greenhouse Inhabitants had better skills.
A part of them knew the contrast between the two stages created this result.
Still, it didn't stop them from feeling proud and shedding tears. Why? Because none of them forgot the effort they poured in or the hardships they faced to perfect what they had just shown.
...
Regardless of the contestants' feelings, the show had to go on.
The emcee faithfully carried out his role and announced the start of the Greenhouse's voting session.
As Sujin and the others took turns entering the voting room, the producers and staff turned off their mics.
"Honestly, the Greenhouse has the best trainees. But the Barren Land has kids with both creativity and passion."
"For this round." Drew looked at Mariam.
The lady producer chuckled. "Yes, for this round." Clearly, Drew's hidden meaning came across.
Keys turned to PD Song. "Chairman, Jun surprised us again today. Has he always been this good?"
The middle-aged man pushed up his glasses. After a serious pause, he gently shook his head and replied, "Jun was excellent even when he was still a Nova trainee. However, he has improved a lot, especially in expressions and singing. I never thought he would be a great leader, either. He used to be close only to Juwon, even though he's the talkative type."
"Maybe the show's competitive format stimulated his hidden potential," the female producer concluded.
"How many years did he train under Nova?" Drew asked curiously.
"More than two years. Probably close to three," answered PD Song.
"And Sujin?"
The oldest man in the room replied immediately, "Three years. Sujin was only ahead by three or so months."
Mariam, the executive producer of Nova's girl group ADAH, suddenly remembered something and voiced it.
"When Jun sang that opening verse, his look and expressions were just phenomenal. They gave me goosebumps. I can't believe I saw that from someone as young as him."
As long as they weren't deaf or blind, it was hard not to notice that part—especially the opening.
PD Song bobbed his head. There was a faint glimmer of interest and glee in his gaze. "I think that was the highlight of the performance. Even for me, it left a great impression."
The talk continued as they complimented the other trainees who had done well, until the subject shifted to predictions on who would be demoted. After that, they discussed which Landers to promote.
They quickly decided on the names once they saw that voting had ended.
The emcee reappeared on stage, and the screen showed the participants waiting in the Greenhouse lounge. Only white text on a black background appeared on the Barren Land's side.
"I now have the results and tally of the votes." Lee Soo-Hyuk maintained a mysterious smile. "These are the participants who will pack their bags and exit the Greenhouse for the Barren Lands."