From Thug to Idol: Transmigrating to a Survival Show

Jia woke up in the middle of the night because of her loud ringtone.

It was June's parts in all of EVE's songs compiled in one ten-second clip.

Imagine how chaotic that sounded.

Nonetheless, Jia loved it very much—just not at three in the morning.

Her eyes squinted, and she looked like a dehydrated raccoon with her messy hair and dark undereyes.

"Who the heck?" she muttered, not even bothering to look at the caller ID as she pressed the answer button and placed it next to her ear.

Nobody called her during these times except for her friends anyway.

"This better be good," she warned.

"I swear—you better have something good to say, or you could say goodbye to your ability to stand. I'll curse you and the three generations after you," she continued.

"Well, that's a lot of generations," a deep yet soft voice suddenly said, causing Jia's eyebrows to raise in surprise.

Well, that definitely wasn't one of her friends.

She removed the phone from beside her ears and stared at the caller ID. Her eyes were still blurry from all the crusties, but as soon as she saw the name on the screen, everything became crystal clear.

June, My Boo-Bear, KittyWitty, Precious Idol, Must Protect

"June?" she exclaimed in such a loud voice that her neighbors were probably able to hear her.

June chuckled in amusement. "Well, you sound awake now."

Jia sat straight and fixed her hair even though June couldn't even see her.

"I just want to ask a question," June started off. "I know it's not that important. I could have definitely delayed it until tomorrow morning, but I just couldn't help it."

"I hope you only curse me and not my next three generations," June said, causing Jia's eyes to widen in surprise.

"Oh, no," Jia said. "It's not anything like that! I was just joking. You know me and my jokes. I'm quite the joker, aren't I?" she chuckled nervously.

June chuckled along with her. "Well, you're very amusing."

Jia's cheeks reddened as she twisted like a caterpillar in her bed.

"Thanks," she muttered. "What is it that you need?"

"Can you give me a number?" June said, making Jia confused.

"A number? A single one?"

"Yeah," June said, scratching the back of his head. "Just anything that comes to mind whenever you think of me."

"Oh," Jia said. "Six, I guess."

June smiled. "Well, that was fast. What made you think of six?"

"It's what I've always associated with you," Jia reasoned out.

"June is the sixth month of the year. You joined Rising Stars around June, too."

"The first time I saw you was during the month of June," she continued.

"We also first met personally on the sixth," she muttered, making June unable to hear her.

"And not to mention, you're sexy," Jia said before she could stop himself.

June's eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Oh," he said. "Thanks, I guess."

Jia's eyes widened once more. "Wait—scrap that. Wait, no. It's not that you're not sexy. I'm just—"

"I get it," June chuckled. "Good night, Jia. Sleep well."

With that, June turned off the call, leaving Jia in a dazed state.

"How could I sleep well after all of that?" she whispered.

Meanwhile, June quickly spun the lock to the number six, a small smile arising from his face as soon as he saw that the panel turned green once more.

***

June was once again in the hospital to visit Grandma and Minjun.

He decided to call the little devil so that he'd kill two birds with one stone.

With that, he arrived at Grandma's room with a wide smile, feeling brand new despite his illness.

Sometimes, he still felt in denial since he felt so healthy. However, he decided not to question his illness as it could hit him anytime soon.

"Why did you make me come here so early?" Minjun muttered.

June shook his head and bought out a shoebox to give to Minjun.

Minjun clicked his tongue as he stared at the new shoes. "I already have this. My mom bought it for me," he said, making June sigh.

"Fine, I'll exchange it for something else," he said, attempting to take it away from the younger boy.

However, Minjun took it away and placed it under his chair.

"I really like it, though. It's quite comfortable. I might just like two pairs," he muttered.

June shook his head in amusement, ruffling Minjun's hair. "No matter how much you grow, you'll always feel like a nine-year-

old to me," he teased.

Minjun clicked his tongue and pushed June's hand away. "Don't mess up the hair, man."

June chuckled. However, he halted when he saw that Minjun was wearing a varsity jacket that had the same number that he had mentioned a while ago.

Nine.

Minjun must be nine.

With that, he turned his attention to Grandma, who appeared to be sleeping.

"Grandma," June softly said, making the old woman stir awake.

"Oh, June," she said in a hoarse and weak voice. "You're here again?"

"Hmm," June hummed. "I have something to ask you."

Grandma nodded, her eyes closing once more.

"Go ahead and ask it, son. Let Grandma close her eyes since the light is hurting them."

June hummed, getting straight to the point.

"What's your favorite number, Grandma?" he asked.

Minjun turned to June with raised eyebrows. "You came here just for that?" he asked. "This could have been a text message or something."

June clicked his tongue and glared at Minjun, who just stuck his tongue out at him.

Grandma shook her head in amusement. "The two of you are still so sibling-like," she said.

"These instances are the ones I will miss the most when I'm gone," she said, causing June and Minjun to turn to her with wide eyes.

"What are you saying?" Minjun asked, his voice a bit shaky.

Grandma smiled. "I'm just saying," she said. "Wouldn't you miss it, too?"

June pursed his lips. "I would," he muttered. "Very much."

Minjun turned to him in surprise. "Why are you speaking in the same tone?"

June shrugged. "Nothing," he said. "I just...like how we are right now."

Grandma smiled. "Me too," she said.

"And to answer your question," she continued, going back to the topic.

"I think it would be one," she smiled.

"One?" Minjun smirked. "As expected! You always like to place first during Mahjong."

Grandma chuckled. "You're right about that. However, aside from that, I've always found one to be a pretty number. In fact, when I die, I want to die at the very first of the month!"

June's and Minjun's eyes widened. They were about to complain, but Grandma cut them off before they could.

"And last but not least—it's because the two of you are number one in my heart."