"And the last member of Machinima is...Brendan Davis!"
The crowd erupts in thunderous applause. In the distance, Cyrus can make out a few sporadic screams desperately trying to make themselves known, presumably from Brendan's family.
A young man, or rather, Brendan, clasps his mouth as he makes his way to the left end of the stage. He stops for a moment, spins around and yells back, "I had such a great time knowing all of you! I hope you guys can debut one day."
Cyrus lets out something between a snort and a laugh. Even in the midst of swelling emotions and sweeping applause, the first thing Brendan thought of was to give a parting goodbye to his former...teammates?
Teammates wouldn't be quite right. Neither are rivals. They are companions, bounded together by their shared love of all things idol, sometimes spending upwards of sixteen hours a day together. With time, they forged deep friendships over shared frustrations, passions, stressors and accomplishments, all the while aware they're competing with each other over the slim chance of debuting.
Then again, Brendan is known for being too sweet for an alpha. If he told Cyrus that he's a virtuous being handcrafted by the gods to test the goodness of humanity, Cyrus would believe it.
As Brendan rushes to the embrace of his six other debut members, it dawns on Cyrus that this is it.
Right now, it's merely the difference of standing on-stage and backstage. After that, the distance between members who debuted and failed to debut will only stretch farther and farther away, until the chasm becomes too deep to even peer through.
Though, LoveLie Entertainment was already generous enough to allow someone like him to sign on as an idol trainee. A couple more years being stuck in trainee hell wouldn't make that much of a difference.
As the applause died down, Cyrus hears audible sigh of relief next to him.
Eli.
Cyrus turns to the right and gives Eli the faintest grin. If he could, he would give Eli a hug. Or maybe a pair of noise-cancelling earphones if he can even afford it. The clamoring sounds of elated screams and deafening applause would be enough to agitate most people—let alone someone with sensitive ears like Eli.
Cyrus can tell the blonde-haired guy next to him was summoning all his willpower not to muffle his ears. Even after the auditorium resumed its state of quiet (but buzzing) chatter, Eli's hands betrayed his shaken composure.
Cyrus forces his eyeballs to focus on the sea of attendees in front of him.
"We are certain that these seven members will rise together and become a global sensation the likes we haven't seen before! Now, let's proceed with a few words from our members."
Ah. It's that time.
Cyrus barely holds back a scoff as member after member repeats the same song and dance.
It's such an honor to be selected for this group.
It means so much to represent LoveLie Entertainment on the global stage.
Thank you for the support of my friends, family and most importantly my mentors. Without you all, I wouldn't be able to stand in front of all of you today.
With exception to Brendan and two other members whose names he didn't bother to remember, most of these debut members had personalities uglier than a rotting corpse.
The only difference is that even a mortician can't salvage their ugly hearts.
The universe finally allowed Cyrus a bit of reprieve when the microphone is handed to Brendan.
"I'd like to thank everyone in this auditorium for your time, energy and support. I'm beyond grateful that you guys decided to put your trust in me, and I will do my utmost not to let you guys down." He begins.
Then a pause.
"I'd like to extend a thank you to all my other trainees who were part of my journey as a trainee, no matter how big or small. Even during times of immense pressure and mounting stress, your words of encouragement, as well as the close bonds we created were what kept me going."
A deafening applause erupts in the room that completely overshadows the ones before. Brendan opens his mouth but doesn't speak until the noise has quiet down considerably.
"I'd like to especially shout out two people who I believe demonstrated remarkable persistence and hard work throughout the intense training. It wouldn't be any exaggeration to say that their presence is what spurred me on during dancing classes."
A few "awww's" echoed the auditorium.
"As we all know, it's been a longstanding belief that omegas cannot be trainees due to their weaker physique and limited stamina. I used to think the same, out of the arrogant belief that chasing them out of the idol industry is for the safety of omegas."
A chorus of confused murmurs ripples from the audience. The debuting members, the trainees, Eli….heck, even the announcer is stunned into silence.
Brendan may be a little bit airheaded, but even he won't be oblivious to the hundreds of stares burning into him at once.
"But the truth is," He continues, "We never gave them a chance. I hope that someday my omega friends are able to debut under LoveLie Entertainment as well. Maybe then, I can finally beat them in a game of scrabble."
After what seems like eternity, as though the audience finally remembered that clapping after a long speech is part of established social custom, a round of polite applause finally makes its way to Cyrus' ears.
Because, what the heck, Brendan?
Who says this during a live-streamed debut announcement?
To her credit, the announcer recovers from her surprise with the expected professionalism of an experienced actor.
"Wow! What a rousing speech. It almost made me tear up." She says, "This concludes the unofficial debut announcement of our new boy group Machinima! Please keep your eyes peeled for the official debut ceremony. We anticipate great things coming for you all! Thank you so much for tuning in today."
As soon as the words leave the announcer's mouth, the group of trainees shuffle towards the backstage. It's now Machinima's moment.
In a way, Cyrus is thankful. He's backstage, away from the public eye, where he can process what on Earth happened just now.
Why? Why did Brendan go to the lengths to shout them out?
He stands to gain nothing from that speech. If anything, that speech is the perfect way to get Mr. Henderson and the other higher ups breathing down his neck.
Not to mention, it's only a matter of time before Eli and Cyrus will be able to debut.
Even if Cyrus can't debut, he's certain Eli can debut some point in the future.
Although Eli falls short in dancing, his singing is unrivaled among upper-intermediate singers, let alone idol trainees. Not to mention, his looks are more than pretty for an idol.
Wavy blonde hair, long eyelashes, striking green eyes and an angelic voice to match, upper management is blind if they don't debut him.
Speaking of Eli…
Cyrus looks to his left and finds Eli staring intently at the members onstage. His gaze is unwavering even as the glare from the stage light threatens to blind him.
Cyrus shakes his head. Maybe he'll ask Eli later on what he felt about Brendan's speech. There's no point in talking to an Eli who is as entranced as a boy in love.
"Everyone, great job today." A booming voice cuts through his thoughts, "Tomorrow, we're going to resume training. Cyrus, Eli, a word."
Cyrus nods.
He turns to look at Eli, whose hands are trembling as he makes his way to Mr. Henderson.
As they begin walking, Cyrus lowers his voice to a whisper, "It's alright, Eli. He's most likely going to ask about what happened during the ceremony because of Brendan's speech. We don't have anything to hide, so don't worry."
Eli nods, but his hand is still trembling, although with less vigor.
As they make their way through the maze of corridors, they are met with all kinds of stares, none of which are particularly welcoming.
Especially that guy.
Gavin Parnon.
He strides past Eli with the unearned arrogance of a generic villain who relied solely on belittling others to achieve the illusion of advancement. If not for Mr. Henderson, he'd be spitting all kinds of nasty nonsense at the both of them.
"So," Mr. Henderson's voice cuts through Cyrus' thoughts, "What do you think of the debut announcement? Especially the group name. Machinima—short, unique and catchy, courtesy of Eli."
"You were the one who thought of the name?" Cyrus asked in disbelief. Not because he didn't believe Eli wouldn't be able to think of it, but rather Eli had even the guts to bring it up with Mr. Henderson.
"Y-Yeah," Eli stammers, "I thought it'd be nice to repurpose the word a little. Machine and cinema. Each member's movements are precise and uniform like a machine, but each performance is captivating and immersive, unique in its own right, kind of like watching a cinematic film. I just thought it'd be a perfect name to show that this is a group that's fluid with no rigid identity. That way it's the perfect justification to expand into all kinds of genres in the future."
Eli stops, painfully aware that both Mr. Henderson and Cyrus' gazes are fixed on him.
"That's just an idea, of course. I didn't think that they'd stick with it. I just figured it's a cool name that would fit the concept that LoveLie is going for..." Eli backtracks, his voice becoming lower and lower with each word that spills out of his mouth.
"No wonder why I love the name so much. So you came up with it." Cyrus teases as he ruffles Eli's hair.
"Eli is my pride and joy." Mr. Henderson grins, "Nothing short of a talented and creative virtuoso. I look forward to the day he'd be able to debut."
"Not without Cyrus. We promised each other I'd debut with Cyrus." Eli insists.
"You're so silly, Eli. Honestly, I'm perfectly fine if you debut without me. You deserve it." Cyrus ruffles Eli's head even more.
"Hey…!"
"No, he's right." Mr. Henderson chuckles, "You and Eli will debut together. As for when, it depends on your overall progress. That being said, with your current progress, becoming a high-tier trainee within two years isn't out of question."Two years...! Cyrus lights up like a kid in a candy store.
Mr. Henderson stops at a door with a plaque with the embossed words: JAMES K. HENDERSON.
"Make sure to close the door behind you." Mr. Henderson says.
Cyrus obliges, his heart barely recovering the sheer elation over Mr. Henderson's stamp of confidence.
"So, do you boys know why you're here?" Mr. Henderson asks.
Cyrus internally does an eye roll. Questions like this fall within the category of 'damned if you do, damned if you don't." The best way to counter stuff like this is...
"I'm not sure, James." Cyrus replies, "Is it about our training progress?"
Mr. Henderson lets out a laugh that resembles a practiced smile of a businessman.
"Good. Very good! I like your perseverance, Cyrus. Unfortunately, as much as I love to discuss that, that's not why I summoned you to my office today."
With one languid motion, he clasps his hands together and leans forward.
"I want you to help train other omega trainees."