Maybe sneaking out wasn't a good idea after all.

June stood behind a wall, concealing him from the night cameras in the hallway.

Sneaking out of his room was the easy part.

It was a good thing that Jisung, the heaviest sleeper among them, was the only one left in their room.

If Jaeyong was there, June was sure he'll have an even harder time.

June looked at the cameras situated on the corner of the wall and analyzed the extent of the view it could capture. If he could recall, there were some scenes aired on the show from this specific view, and it couldn't capture the entire hallway.

He just has to stick to this route, sticking his body as close to the wall as possible.

"Let's do this," he muttered.

June wasn't foreign to these kinds of concepts. He had to sneak out plenty of times from various places. And it was more high-stake than this.

Back then, if he had been caught, it would have cost him his life.

He took his experience from the past and moved expertly, evading the cameras without making any sound. June went past one obstacle after the other, but encountered the most difficult one in the end.

The back door.

The Rising Stars' dorm had two exits — the front entrance and the back door.

The front entrance usually had more guards, and most of the production crew members also entered and exited through that door.

So, June knew it was impossible to exit there without getting caught.

The back door was a better choice.

Not a lot of trainees knew about the exit. June didn't know about it at the start, too. If it wasn't for C-Jay, he would still be clueless about this place.

June saw a lone security guard standing next to the exit, causing him to retreat and hide behind a wide post.

[Deadline for mission: 28h, 8m, 34secs]

June continued looking at the door, hoping the security guard would suddenly feel the urge to go to the restroom.

Unluckily for him, the guard settled comfortably on his seat, laughing at something on his phone.

"Heck. What is that bucktooth doing here?"

June suddenly heard a familiar voice.

"He usually flirts with the janitress during these times. Did they break up or something?" another voice asked.

June frowned and peeked from behind the post.

Those voices...he couldn't be mistaken.

June sighed in disbelief when he saw Jangmoon and C-Jay on the wall adjacent to the post. Their figures were hidden by a cabinet, occluding the guard's view of their bodies.

However, June could see and hear them clearly.

"I'm hungry. I want a sausage," Jangmoon whined. "And I'm craving a soda. They don't have any junk food in the pantry here."

C-Jay clicked his tongue. "Be patient. Let's just wait until that bucktooth guard falls asleep."

Jangmoon groaned. "And when will that be? His eyes are practically glowing while watching on his phone. We'll be the first ones to sleep here if that happens."

"Then, tomorrow?" C-Jay asked. "We can sneak out tomorrow and go to the convenience store."

"But I'm craving something now," Jangmoon whined.

June observed the two of them. It seemed like it wasn't their first time doing something like this.

Just then, June thought of a brilliant idea.

He rummaged through his pockets and brought out a couple of coins. June smirked and looked back and forth between the guard and his two friends.

'Sorry,' he thought. 'Just think of it as payment for letting me suffer when we were still teammates.'

The guard turned off his phone for a bit and stood up, stretching his body and letting out a yawn.

This was his chance.

June aimed at Jangmoon and C-Jay and threw the coins over their way, creating a loud clinking sound paired with Jangmoon's dramatic wail.

"Shh!" C-Jay shushed, but that, in itself, was already loud.

June smiled when the guard's attention was successfully taken. He brought out his flashlight and pointed it straight at Jangmoon and C-Jay.

They froze for a moment while the guard shook his head and clicked his tongue.

"Rising Stars trainees, huh?" the guard said, his voice resembling someone that had inhaled helium.

"Run!" Jangmoon screamed, and the two of them scrambled away from the guard.

The guard was surprised, but he soon started running after them.

June took that as a chance to walk through the back door, internally rejoicing when he felt the cool night breeze against his skin.

He kept his mask and hoodie on since he didn't want to risk running into anyone from the production crew. June then continued walking until he saw a convenience store on the side of the road.

There'll probably be people who can recognize him here, right?

June entered the convenience store and finally took off his hoodie and mask, hoping someone would recognize him right away and ask for his autograph.

However, as he opened the door, he didn't find anyone except for a scrawny little teenager playing games on his phone.

He didn't even bother to glance at June as he came in.

"Welcome," the part-timer nonchalantly said, still looking at his phone. His game sound effects were on full volume, so it could be heard in the entire store.

June clicked his tongue and settled on one of the seats, hoping someone who watches Rising Stars would come in at any moment.

The part-timer, a high school student who only wanted a job to buy skins for his game characters, finally looked up when his character died. His respawn time was already more than one minute, so he decided to observe the new customer.

The high school student was surprised to see that the customer was very handsome.

"Lucky motherfucker," he muttered, continuing to observe June's face.

For the part-timer, June looked quite familiar. It seemed like he had seen him on TV when his sister and mother would be watching their useless shows.

But then again, maybe this brother was just handsome, so he looked like a celebrity.

June felt the kid's stare, so he looked up, raising his eyebrows in inquiry.

"Aren't you going to buy anything?" he asked.

"Why?" June asked.

"People aren't allowed to sit there if they don't buy anything," the part-timer said. Then, he saw that he already respawned, so he held onto his phone once more. "If you're not going to buy anything, then you should leave."

June clicked his tongue.

This stingy little kid. There weren't any people around!

June went to the chocolate section and grabbed the first one he saw. He walked to the counter and placed the chocolates down.

Just then, the door opened, and the chimes rang, signaling the arrival of a new customer.

"Welcome," the part-timer said in the same nonchalant tone.

June glanced at the door but quickly looked away when he saw two familiar faces. He quickly placed his hood and his mask back on.

What are Alex and Hyunwoo doing here?

chapter-75
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