Those in the Greenhouse and the Barren Land saw the same recording and went through the same thing. The two lowest-ranked contestants from both camps were selected as leaders. The keywords they received were the same. Change, Adaptability, and Vigilance.
Instead of a Greenhouse vs. Barren Land battle, it would be an internal war where each group would have six members. The penalty for the losers had yet to be announced.
In the Greenhouse, the emcee's baritone voice rang out in a speech with practiced tone, diction, and even speaking speed that amused Jun. The youth wondered if Nova's former CEO, Producer-Director Song, had received complaints about the emcee and finally decided to spend some money on speech tutors for actor Lee.
"Before we fill the two teams with members, here are the songs that the two leaders can choose from."
Lee Soo-Hyuk's face then disappeared. A blue-black CD replaced it, and below the moving image of the CD and the music notes coming from it were lyrics that the contestants found unfamiliar.
Everyone did not wait long before an unfamiliar but catchy instrumental played.
Aspiring idol singers tend to listen to various songs, so when they looked around and saw the same excited reactions from their peers, they grinned from ear to ear. The fact that nobody recognized the melody and lyrics only meant one thing.
"Original? It's an original song, right?" Hyeon-ju wore a cheerful smile, his eyes turning into half-crescent moons shining brightly.
Jun repeatedly blinked. Like everyone else, he looked happy, although for a different reason.
'Hallelujah!' In that instant, Jun pictured a much less stressful week ahead of him inside his mind. He knew the first song, and he had a strong hunch that both songs that would be played today would be familiar to him despite being originals.
The second song immediately resounded throughout the place after the first. Jun could not contain his excitement anymore. He laughed as he jammed to the music, enjoying both songs and wearing the expression of someone savoring life to the fullest while his hands flicked or made random gestures following the beat.
"On our fourth mission, we are going to perform our original songs," Chul-moo, a fairly popular contestant ranking second in the vocal category, appeared moved and sentimental.
It meant a lot when people like them, who had yet to formally debut, could get a song like this where the public would remember them as the first performers.
Of course, the signal song was also an original one created for them, but it was a song where twelve people had to compete for lines and parts. Here, a team had exactly six people, meaning more lines, more parts, and more center moments.
"How are you feeling right now, Inhabitants?" One charming point about the mature actor-host was his deep dimples, which showed when he smiled.
Lee Soo-Hyuk maintained his wide smile before he raised his cue card and pointed it forward, as if tapping something in the air. "I bet you are all beyond excited!"
Jun and the others yelled loudly, "Yes, we are!"
"Then let us go to the next step. Leaders, please step forward again."
The emcee made Dae-Hyun and Seong-Hun play a round of rock-paper-scissors, tension palpable on their faces. This moment was the most important for them: whoever won would get priority in selecting their members.
"Whoooooaaa! Roarrrrr!" When Seong-Hun won with scissors against Dae-Hyun's paper, he growled excitedly and even knelt on the ground while striking a 'Yes' pose.
A second later, Seong-Hun happily jumped toward a certain someone. "Jun, my precious."
Laughter echoed from the others, who wheezed at the young man's exaggerated reaction.
Jun politely bowed and went to his leader's side. Earlier, the emcee had announced that nobody had the right to refuse if they were selected.
Dae-Hyun was quite envious but nothing else could be done. He rolled his eyes before naturally calling Sujin with a playful smile and bow. "I summon thee, our great main vocalist."
Another round of laughter accompanied by applause followed. Sujin grinned, looking forward to challenging Jun, who ended up on the other team.
"Inhabitant Seong-Hun, please choose your next member," prompted a machine voice through the speakers.
Seong-Hun thought for a moment and then decided to get the best visual of the Greenhouse. "I choose Juwon next."
Juwon readily went to Seong-Hun's side.
"Hey, we're finally performing on the same unit again." Jun fist-bumped his best friend, looking thrilled for the upcoming practice.
"Well, it has been two performances ago?" When the young man laughed, Jun pretended to be disgusted and said, "Stop laughing, you're blinding us."
"Inhabitant Dae-Hyun, please choose your next teammate."
Dae-Hyun did not hesitate to pull Chul-moo toward their side. After alternating his gaze between Sujin and Chul-Moo, Seong-Hun felt alarmed and realized that the opposing team had the top two vocalists.
The machine voice rang again.
"... Hyeon-ju." When Seong-Hun spoke, he sounded like he had no choice but to choose the third best.
The one called batted his eyes once before smiling radiantly, as if he did not mind the slight hesitation Seong-Hun had shown.
Dae-Hyun chose the fourth member of his team after consulting with Sujin. "Min."
'It seems they decided on their main dancer already.'
Jun immediately guessed the other team's selection plan. However, even though he realized it, Jun still advised his leader to pick Xavi instead of anyone else, since he really thought highly of the boy's unique raspy vocal tone. The guy was not really a rapper—not that anybody in the Greenhouse really majored in rap—but Xavi was the lead vocalist type who excelled at harmonization, since his voice blended well with others.
Sujin's side cheered because they thought Seong-Hun would counter them by choosing Kato, who was also a great dancer. After Jun's side picked Xavi, they immediately chanted Kato's name.
Time swiftly passed. The rest of the participants went to the leaders who selected them.
Lee Soo-Hyuk appeared on screen again, smiling as he continued instructing, "Since we're done with the team formation now, let us decide the songs each team will sing. Dae-Hyun, as the leader who lost the rock-paper-scissors game, you have priority on song selection."
Surprised looks and silent gasps came as reactions from all the Inhabitants. Sujin sported a serious expression as he swept his gaze across the other group. Afterwards, he pulled Dae-Hyun aside.
Actually, there was a reason why Seong-Hun hesitated when choosing a particular member a few minutes ago. When it was stated that, due to having team member priority, his opposition automatically got song selection priority, his eyes fell on this member, then at the two titles on the screen.
Jun looked around and saw that his two other group mates looked quite anxious. Just when he tilted his head in confusion, Dae-Hyun, the leader of the other team, spoke.
"My teammates and I discussed it, and we agreed on choosing…" Dae-Hyun grinned as he paused on purpose. Then he said the song title, "House of Cards."
Right after, everyone's eyes turned to Hyeon-ju. Meanwhile, Seong-Hun wore a helpless expression that undoubtedly said, 'I knew this would happen…'