CHAPTER 216: WHO DID THIS (2)

"How are you feeling, Jelly?" Selena asked Jelissa in a gentle voice as she patted the other woman’s back.

"I’m feeling, cough, cough. Better." Jelissa let out a chesty cough before pulling down her facemask to take a large sip of hot tea.

"This is better?" Larry Jackson gave her a slightly grossed-out look before shifting his chair away and checking the list that the production team had given them.

It featured seven different teams, each with members chosen by the fans, and included the following selected concepts: Athletic, Sci-fi, Cute, Sexy, Bad Boy, Military, and Summer.

Additionally, the concept ’Water’ was to be incorporated.

Since a brief summary of each team’s performance plan and stage direction was included in the paper, Larry noticed, absentmindedly, that each team’s plan included a water stage similar to the Warrior performance video, which was still the most viewed performance to date on the Pop Star Academy YouTube channel.

Almost instinctively, Larry Jackson’s eyes began looking for the contestant who was the one to come up with the idea for that stage, the very contestant that had been catching a lot of attention both in and outside of the show because of his appearance.

Larry quickly found him marked as the lead vocalist of his assigned team.

When he saw the other high-profile names, Larry Jackson smirked.

Of course.

When compared to true talent, the leading role that Ariel had previously claimed could not be retained.

All he had now was that face of his and the controversy surrounding him, and in the entertainment industry, that never lasted for long.

He would probably regret not taking Bing Yongsuns job offer sooner rather than later.

As Larry Jackson was deep in his thoughts-

"How was arranging the songs for the team. Did you have any trouble doing it all alone?" Jelissa asked through a cough.

Since she had been sick, Larry Jackson alone was in charge of arranging all the songs for the contestants for this performance.

She knew how demanding some of the contestants could be in trying to get the song to fit their needs, which was why she forced herself to attend the midterm evaluation today.

She was prepared to lend a helping hand to finish things up if needed.

"Nope. Got it done in a day." Larry Jackson replied proudly, and Jelissa gave him a look of disbelief.

"In one day?"

"Yep."

"All of it?"

"Yep! Much faster than you ever did. Jealous?"

"How? Let’s not mention Jamie, because he’s relatively self-sufficient and knows exactly what he wants a track to sound like. Ari allowed you to finish in a day without going through every combination of sounds? And you did the five other teams as well?"

"It’s called delegation, sweetheart. I allowed them maximum creative control with minimal input on my side. After all, they’re all talented. All I did was give the final check after letting them play around, and only helped if they really couldn’t figure it out. I think you’ll be quite impressed at the unique sounds that were created.

Didn’t that just mean he was too lazy to work and did the bare minimum?

Would these songs even sound good?

Feeling a headache coming on, Jelissa rubbed her head while hoping that her premonition was wrong.

"Well, no need to discuss, here they come."

The 6 judges watched the 50 contestants walk in together in a loud, jumbled group.

After observing them for several weeks, they could identify various cliques that formed, including contestants from the same agency, those who spoke the same language, the loners, and those who arrived with their team members.

Among them was a slim contestant of medium-tall height wearing an oversized, fluffy brown tracksuit with a cute animal face on the hood that was pulled over his head, hiding his face.

He was walking between a small group of seemingly unrelated people, including a handsome, well-dressed British boy with golden skin, short-cut hair, a suave smile and single dimple that had charmed all the female staff members into always letting him get his way, a tall, blonde boy with luscious, long blonde hair loosely pulled back into a messy half-bun and a bright smile that made his blue eyes sparkle, a darkly handsome boy with dark slicked back hair except for a single curl and the soft brown eyes that curved as he smiled gently, a handsome Indian boy who gave off a sharp, intellectual vibe with his glasses perched on his nose, and an extremely tall yet slim boy who moved with a dancers grace.

Except for the two outliers, it was a collection of the top 20.

"Why are they all together? They’re not even on the same team." Larry Jackson grumbled.

"Those are Ari’s friends, obviously, cough cough. If you paid attention to the show, you would know that." Jelissa commented through coughs as she saw Ari turn to the side as he said something, displaying that exquisite face that was constantly talked about, even now, weeks after it had been shown to the public.

Seeing the sea green eyes curl up mischievously before their owner began randomly barking like a rabid dog at the blonde boy before bursting out laughing, Jelissa couldn’t help but laugh at Jamie’s comically scared expression as he seemed to teleport several feet away.

It seemed even now, those two could never be serious, and she was quite pleased to see Jamie smiling happily since he had been quiet and withdrawn when Ari had not been here.

"As always, his face looks quite good, huh? Even more handsome than the last time we saw him." Selena commented as she met Ari’s eyes, nodding along co-conspiratorially as he winked at her before making scissors with his hands and pointing at the cameras.

"Yes. I need to ask him what he uses on his skin. It’s always so clear and dewy."

"That’s youth, baby. If only I was 10 years younger, I too could look like that."

"Now, why is acting like a wild animal? Always making a fool of himself." Larry Jackson grumbled as he noticed the slight blush on Selena’s face.

"He’s a kid, having fun, stop griping, you grumpy old man."

"I’m not old at all. They would mistake me for their older brother. I’m still young."

"At heart? Cough cough."

"Has to be because it’s definitely not the appearance. Not that you look bad, Larry. Just not 18 years young." Selena added, stabbing another invisible knife through his heart.

As the two women ribbed him, Larry Jackson glared at the culprit, who was peacefully sitting down with the ease of somebody who didn’t know what kind of damage he was inflicting just by existing.

He couldn’t believe he was thinking it, but he missed the days when that contestant had his face covered by that weird face paint.

Now he had to deal with the constant compliments and giggles directed towards Ariel from all the women around him.

Even his nieces had asked him to get a signed photo of Ariel to bring back, and Larry would rather die than cave in despite all of the nagging.

As all the contestants took a seat on the chairs in the expansive open room, MC Ryan Leary appeared through the door and took the open center spot in front of the judges.

"Hello contestants! Long time no see, not really hahaha! I see that you’re all preparing for your very first fan showcase! Are you all excited?"

- yesssssss

- nooooo

"Oh? Mixed responses? Are you nervous to meet your supporters face to face?"

- yesssss

"Ah, that makes sense. Well, I’m sure you’ll all do wonderfully. But for now, we need to check to make sure that the performances that you’ll be showing those wonderful supporters of yours are up to par. As always, our amazing trainers and judges are here. Please wave and say hello if you haven’t already."

Once the contestants had waved, Ryan Leary waved the piece of paper in his hand.

"Let’s get started. First up is Team Survivor, who are doing a military concept come forward."

At the MC’s words, 7 of the tallest contestants with more muscled builds stood up and headed to the center.

As they got into position, the tall blonde with the messy bun standing at the center took a deep breath before his previously bright expression disappeared into something more serious..