From Thug to Idol: Transmigrating to a Survival Show

Two vans raced through the streets. Black-tinted windows rolled down as the people inside danced in celebration.

Loud music could be heard in the background, both songs coming from the rookie idol group EVE.

"Light it up, bro! Drop it down," a guy loudly exclaimed, almost sticking his head out of the window.

Jisung pulled Akira back, looking worried.

"You could lose your head, bro!"

Akira ignored Jisung and continued crazily dancing inside the van. Zeth hyped him up while Casper quietly danced to the beat.

Meanwhile, the other van was also hyped up, all in celebratory moods.

Sehun led the celebration in this car, toasting their water bottles like wine glasses in a bar.

Ren and Jaeyong, who were considered the serious members of the team, loosened up and danced to their new song. Chul, too, nodded to the beat as he scrolled through his tablet.

However, it couldn't be denied that the other van was crazier. Makeshift confetti was all over the car floor, and the driver's head was already throbbing from all the noise they were making.

"June would hate it if he was in our car," Zeth suddenly said, chuckling at the thought of June already scolding them for being too loud.

"But I think it'll be fun. Do you think I'll be able to convince him to dance like this with us?" Akira asked.

"I think the world will turn upside down before that happens," Casper said.

"Is that a challenge?" Akira asked.

Casper raised his chin. "Take it as you want."

Akira smirked. "Challenge accepted."

He once again popped his head out of the window.

"Stop the car and have June come here!" he shouted at Sehun.

"What?" Sehun shouted back, tilting his head in confusion.

"June!" Akira shouted louder. "Make him come here."

Sehun's frown deepened. "June? Isn't he with you guys already?"

Akira froze as he turned around to look at the present members' faces.

"June's not here," he said, turning back to Sehun.

Sehun's eyes widened in surprise.

"June's not here, either."

***

June woke up feeling refreshed. Despite sleeping late yesterday, he felt weirdly well-rested.

He stood from his bed and leisurely went to the kitchen to drink some water.

June rubbed his eyes awake and looked around, feeling like the dorm was unusually quiet.

Did he wake up early again?

He brought out his phone from his pocket, his eyes almost falling from his head when he saw the current time.

2:30 PM.

He also had 56 missed calls from multiple members.

As he continued gazing at his phone, another call came, and he quickly answered it.

"Bro!" Jisung exclaimed.

"June answered?" he heard Sehun from the background.

"June's here, guys," Casper said.

"June! Come quickly," Akira shouted.

"Why didn't you guys wake me up?" June asked.

Jisung nervously chuckled. "We took two cars today, so we thought you were in one car and vice versa."

June sighed and massaged his nose bridge.

"Are you guys there already?" June asked.

"Yeah," Jisung said. "Chul's going to come back and get you."

Chul?

"No need," June said. "I'll get there by myself. We're performing fifth, aren't we?"

"Yes," Jisung responded. "Chul says we'll perform around 5-6 PM. But you need to hurry since you're still going to change and get your hair and make-up done. Are you sure you don't want Chul to get you?"

"It's fine," June said. "I'm heading out right now."

June quickly took a shower before gathering his items and leaving their dorm.

There were ten minutes until 3 PM, the official start of the event, and it took 20 minutes to arrive at Y University.

It was a good thing they weren't performing first. Otherwise, he wouldn't have made it.

He got on the bus, just like old times. However, he quickly frowned when he saw that the seats were almost full.

Fortunately, there was one seat available at the front, so he quickly sat on it.

He brought out his phone to update Jisung on his whereabouts when it suddenly turned off.

June sighed in frustration as it couldn't be turned on. It seemed like he left it on all night and forgot to charge it.

Whatever.

He was still going to arrive at the university anyway.

Just then, a pregnant woman with a huge bag of groceries entered the bus. She had one hand behind her back while she struggled to hold the grocery bag in the other.

She looked around for a seat and pursed her lips in disappointment when she didn't see an empty one. So, she stood at the aisle and held onto the hand grip instead.

June clicked his tongue and was about to stand up when a pop-up appeared before him.

[You hunted a lucky mission!]

[Good deedies!]

[Do a good deed.]

[Accomplish the mission to get +1 on one skill set of choice.]

[Failure to accomplish the mission entails regression of one skill.]

June smirked and confidently stood from his seat.

What a perfect timing!

Although he was wearing a mask, he made sure to smile at the pregnant woman to seem kinder.

"Please take a seat," June said.

The pregnant woman smiled in relief before taking June's seat.

June helped her carry her bag and placed it right beside her seat.

"Thank you so much, young man," the woman said. "I had to go to the grocery really quickly to buy milk and snacks for my older son."

June smiled as he held onto the hand grip.

"I'm sure he'll be happy drinking and eating these."

"I hope so," the pregnant woman said. "It's rare for me to have moments like this because I can't really leave him alone. Cons of a single mom, I guess."

"Oh," June said. "Well, you're a great mom for still doing your best."

The pregnant woman smiled up at him, looking touched.

"Thanks," she said. "Haven't heard that in a while."

June merely nodded before looking away.

[Congratulations, host! You have completed the mission: Good Deedies!]

[Please choose one aspect to improve.]

'Vocals.'

[Vocals +1. Current grade: S-]

June was busy cackling in his mind when the pregnant woman tapped him.

"Can you get the button?" she asked. "My stop's here."

June smiled, already in a good mood. "Sure."

He pressed the button, and the bus stopped.

The pregnant woman waved and sincerely smiled at June before leaving the bus.

June reciprocated her smile and sat back down on his seat.

He sighed in relief, feeling satisfied that he now had an S-tier skill.

It was perfect timing for the Abracadabra Festival, too.

However, his smile quickly dropped when he felt something near his feet. He glanced to the side and saw a grocery bag filled with milk and snacks.

It was the pregnant woman's grocery bag.

June froze and closed his eyes.

He looked around to see if anybody noticed, but no one else was looking his way except for a couple of young girls giggling as they met with June's eyes.

June bit his lip and looked at the digital clock on the bus.

3:10 PM.

The event must have started already, and he was sure his phone was getting bombarded with messages.

However, the grocery bag couldn't escape his view.

"It's rare for me to have moments like this because I can't really leave him alone. Cons of a single mom, I guess," her words echoed in his mind.

'Don't,' he said in his mind.

'You've already accomplished your mission! You don't need to do a good deed anymore!'

'And you have a performance in more or less an hour!'

However, as June thought about the little kid's disappointed face after finding out his mom didn't bring home any milk or snacks, his heart softened.

"Oh, fuck it," he whispered, standing up and pressing the button.