From Thug to Idol: Transmigrating to a Survival Show

Xin didn’t know what he was doing hiding in the bushes so early in the morning, but after Hoon sent him a selfie and a lengthy message about how he was the greatest friend he had ever had, Xin knew he had to make Hoon proud. 

So there he was, hiding in the bushes while spying on the group of guys sitting on the swings.

“There he is!” C-Jay exclaimed when June walked toward them. 

June yawned as he sat on one of the swings, closing his eyes and leaning against the cold chain. 

The four other guys looked at him before bursting into laughter. 

“What?” June snapped as he glared at them. 

“Nothing, nothing,” Akira said. “I just didn’t know you were fond of little duckies.”

June’s frown deepened. “Little duckies?” Then, he felt a weird indent on his butt—like a bulbous head, of some sort? June looked down at the swing and saw he sat on one of those weird swings shaped like a duckling for smaller children. 

He quickly got out of the tiny swing, but the damage had already been done. 

“Oh, gosh. I wish I could have snapped a picture of that.” 

They didn’t have to worry about that. Xin already did, and he observed the picture with a smile on his face. 

It was pretty cute. 

The duck, of course. The little duck was cute.

As Xin continued to look at the picture, he realized that he was seeing the shoes June was wearing for the first time. Were these the shoes hidden inside the prestigious box? 

“Holy shit!”

Xin snapped out of his thoughts when he heard C-Jay curse. 

“The shoes you’re wearing,” C-Jay continued. “Where the hell did you get that?” 

June nonchalantly looked down at his feet before shrugging. “Someone gave them to me.” 

“Gave them to you?” C-Jay asked with wide eyes. “For free?”

“Yeah,” June said. “It was a gift.” 

“Why would someone give that away for free?” Jangmoon asked. “Not going to lie. Those are some really cool shoes. I bet they cost a fortune.”

C-Jay couldn’t take his curiosity as he crouched down to the ground and inspected the shoes. 

“What the hell?” June exclaimed, trying to push him off, but C-Jay remained at his feet, clutching his shoes like they were the most precious item in the world. 

Akira, too, looked at June’s shoes and tilted his head to the side. Being an avid fan of basketball, he felt like the shoes looked really familiar.

Then, C-Jay finally stood from the ground, a bit wide-eyed. 

“What?” June raised his eyebrows. 

“Bro,” C-Jay started off. “Do you even know how precious these shoes are? These are the shoes MJ wore during the 2002 basketball finals! It even has his signature right there.” 

“What?” Akira exclaimed with wide eyes. “MJ? As in Mikey Jouse? The most legendary basketball player of all time?”

“The one and only,” C-Jay said. 

June frowned as he observed the signature on the side of the shoes. Again, there was a faded “MJ” written in blue ink. Who would have known that it was Mikey Jouse? 

“So?” June asked. “There are a lot of MJ shoes in retail. I bet this doesn’t even cost that much.” 

C-Jay clicked his tongue and shook his head. “Sure, there are a lot of MJ shoes going around, but the one you’re wearing—it’s one of a kind. I believe it’s the only pair in the entire world! You can’t even buy that with a year’s worth of salary.” 

June shook his head, still not believing his words. Why would Choi Pablo give them away for free, then? 

As his friends continued ogling his shoes, he brought out the watch from the pocket of his sweatpants.

“I heard your watch broke this morning,” June said. “So, take this,” he handed him the sturdy-looking box. 

C-Jay eagerly grabbed the box since he loved free items. “Aww, you actually thought about me?” he cooed, causing June to shake his head. 

His other friends huddled over C-Jay, also intrigued by the new item. 

Then, as C-Jay opened the box, they were rendered speechless. 

Colexx. 

C-Jay almost couldn’t believe that he was holding such an item. 

“You’re giving this to me…for free?” C-Jay asked. 

June nonchalantly nodded. “Yeah, this one is still working fine,” he said, pertaining to the cheap watch on his wrist. “And it’s too heavy for my liking. If you don’t like it, then you can give it away.” 

“No, no,” C-Jay aggressively shook his head. “I’ll be keeping this one,” he said, pocketing it despite Jangmoon’s protest of also wanting the watch.

Then, C-Jay pulled the guys to the side—like an emergency meeting. 

June looked at them weirdly but shrugged since it gave him some time to doze off while they spoke about their useless speculations. 

“I don’t understand this,” C-Jay whispered. “Why would he just give me a Colexx watch?” 

“I know, right?” Jangmoon whisper-shouted. “He should have given it to me.”

“That’s not the point,” C-Jay scolded. “The point is–he’s also wearing MJ’s limited edition shoes. Is June actually loaded?”

“Loaded?” Akira chuckled. “With items like those, he’s overloaded.” 

“But if he’s loaded, then why does he live in a house like that?” Jisung asked. 

The four of them looked at June, who was dozing off in the tiger swing this time. It seemed like he didn’t notice it again. 

“And why does he wear clothes like that? My grandpa has better clothes,” Jangmoon said. 

C-Jay pursed his lips and placed his hand on his heart, acting emotional. 

“He must be rich, but he doesn’t want us to feel bad,” he said in a dramatic yet soft voice. 

Xin leaned closer but couldn’t make out their conversation. 

“That’s why he’s still working even if he’s rich,” C-Jay continued to speak, on the verge of sobbing. The other guys seemed like they agreed, all nodding in agreement. 

Just then, June finally woke up and saw the four of them looking at him with emotional eyes. 

“What?” he raised his eyebrows. 

Jisung quickly shook his head, not wanting to raise any suspicions. “Nothing, bro. We were just uh—we were just hungry!” 

June frowned and looked at his watch. Indeed, it was almost time for breakfast. 

With that, he brought out the coupon from his pocket. 

“Then, would you guys like to eat at this restaurant?” 

Their eyes brightened in delight. 

“Of course!” C-Jay exclaimed. “I’m not one to deny free food. Where is this place anyway?” 

June shrugged. “Don’t know. Some place called Pierre?” 

“PIERRE?”

There’s no doubt—June is overloaded.