June merely smirked, not wanting to give away that he fully understood Chinese in order to hear more of what they were talking about.
"Who are they in the first place?" the guy nearest them asked.
"I don't know," the one next to him said.
The guy at the very end sighed. "They're EVE. They're very popular in Korea and across the world."
"I don't know them, though," the first guy chimed.
"They debuted before us," the sane one sighed. "Don't talk bad about them. They're good idols. I just don't think it's a good decision for them to e to the Jade Music Festival." "But I don't think they know," he continued. "A lot of foreign artists are blinded by the thought of being able to break through the market in such a big event like this."
June nodded in agreement. Well, it seemed like this group actually had a sane member. "At least they're not alone this time," he continued, his gaze straying elsewhere.
June followed where his gaze was directed, and his eyebrows instantly raised in surprise when The saw who was behind them.
"Robbie," June said, capturing the guy's attention.
Robbie turned around with a wide smile.
"Oh my! EVE, you guys were invited here, too?" he asked.
The members turned toward the soloist's direction, pursing their lips since they weren't too fond of him.
In case the others forgot about it too, Robbie was one of the members of the debuting team of Rising Stars' failed season. He was also the one who hosted the show when June was under the spotlight for being sponsored by his supposedly rich parents. Moreover, Robbie was one of the participants of King of Kings-ending up in last place.
In summary, Robbie had a grave grudge against EVE-especially June.
"Fancy seeing you here," Robbie continued. "I thought I was the only artist representing our country. I'm glad that I have someone else with me."
Zeth leaned closer to Ren. "He definitely doesn't mean that."
"When are you going to perform?" Robbie asked, facing June.
June crossed his arms in front of his chest.
"Halfway through," June responded.
Robbie smirked. "That's tough. It'd be pretty hard to capture the audience's attention when you're performing in the middle of the show. That's usually the most boring."
Akira frowned, throwing back his question. "When are you going to perform?"
"Second," Robbie proudly said. "As a senior, you can watch my performance and write down some tips."
Akira was about to stand from his seat and reprimand the solo artist, but June placed his hand over his shoulder.
"We'll be sure to do that," June said.
Robbie was pleasantly surprised. He thought that June would take offense to his statement.
But, it seemed like the feisty idol had been tamed by the harsh industry.
"Wish me luck," Robbie said. "I was told that I need to standby backstage now."
June smiled once more. "Good luck, senior."
With that, Robbie waved at the boys and went backstage.
Akira clicked his tongue. "I really don't like that guy. What is he even doing here?"
"You should have let me teach him a lesson," Akira said, still glaring at the spot where Robbie stood.
Jaeyong sighed. "Are you a thug or what? Even June didn't lose his temper."
Akira's frown deepened.
"Which is weird," he chimed. "You're usually the first one to lose your cool when it es to losers like that. Why didn't you retaliate this time?"
June smiled, crossing his arms in front of his chest as he faced the large television in the very middle of the tent.
"I pity him," June said.
The other boys knowingly turned to each other.
"He doesn't know what he signed up for."
Just then, the television came to life, showing the green-themed opening of the Jade Music Festival.
The members jolted when the loud sound of fireworks filled the venue, signaling the start of the most awaited festival.
The camera zoomed out, and there they saw the number of people in the open field.
Every seat was filled with old and new faces alike. They were holding lights of different colors, while some had paintings on their faces. Most of them, especially the women, also wore the traditional hanfu, appearing like the flowers that surrounded the field.
Jisung's hands couldn't help but tremble as he observed the crowd.
"60,000," he muttered. "They weren't exaggerating. I have never seen a crowd this large."
"Me too," Ren said, his mouth agape.
"I've only ever seen it during the 2002 Korea Olympics," Sehun said, feeling lightheaded from the amount of people in the field.
"Omo," Jisung muttered. "You've watched that? I was born that year."
"Seriously, you're ancient," Zeth said, making Sehun shake his head.
"I shouldn't have said anything," he muttered.
Just then, a popular edian duo, David and Dave, arrived at the stage, eliciting screams
from the crowd.
They faced each other with knowing smiles before walking to the front of the stage.
"Good afternoon, everyone!" they exclaimed at the same time.
Once again, the crowd screamed, and the artists inside felt the vibrations of the shout.
"The seats are filled once again," Dave started off. "It seems like the Jade Music Festivals' excitement just increases every year."
"Well, of course!" David chimed. "The talent of our artists also increases with each passing year, so that's only normal."
"Indeed," Dave chuckled. "We have some new and old faces with us, and they shall be providing us entertainment while showing off our culture tonight!"
"Are you guys ready for the performances?" David asked.
A resounding 'yes' was heard in the venue.
"Then," Dave said. "Show me your loudest screams!"
The crowd quickly followed, sending shivers down the performer's spine.
Robbie, who saw how large the crowd was, couldn't help but smirk. He was already thinking that these people would be his fans. He had dabbled in the Chinese industry after debuting as a solo artist, so he knew just how large the market was.
He also knew that EVE was practically a new name, so it would be harder for them to garner a reaction from the audience.
"That's the spirit!" David exclaimed. "I'm sure you guys are ready for the epic performances
to e."
"So, without further ado, we wele you to the Jade Music Festival!"
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