Los Angeles, California.
The Ivory, Luxury Condominiums.
"Luca! C'mon, hurry up! The finale's already starting!" a young man called out from the living room as he settled onto the lush velvet sofa. His brown, luscious hair was tied in a messy man bun, olive-green eyes glinting behind platinum-framed glasses. His facial and body features are the very definition of posh elegance. He wore a comfy oversized knit sweater and silk pajama bottoms.
"What's the rush? We both know the show's gonna last at least three hours. It's gonna be hella boring and a whole lot of sob-fest," Luca said as he walked out of the kitchen with a bowl of freshly cooked popcorn.
He had messy, dirty-blonde hair and royal-blue eyes that sparkled like he was permanently up to no good. He wore nothing but a pair of gray sweatpants hanging dangerously low on his hips, showing off a perfectly sculpted physique that looked like it was deliberately created to make a person stare and admire.
He plopped down beside the young man, setting the bowl between them.
"I know, I know. But according to my research, survival shows usually do their signal song differently for the finale," the young man said, popping a piece of popcorn into his mouth.
"You know, Foca… for someone as stupidly rich as you, I never would've guessed you'd be watching The Genesis Project," Luca said, eyebrows raised. "I mean, I'm not judging, but an idol survival show? Really?"
"It's fascinating, to say the least. Plus, it's good research material for expanding my music horizon. And I'm pleasantly surprised by the music they've put out on the show," Foca replied with a shrug. "Besides, these guys really get you invested in their talents and capabilities."
"It's so like you to focus on the talent instead of the drama," Luca snickered.
"Well… isn't that the whole point of the show? Look for talented people and put them in a group?" Foca asked, brows furrowing as he glanced at him.
"Oh, you sweet summer child." Luca patted Foca's head like he was a toddler. Foca immediately swatted his hand away.
"Yeah, you're not wrong about the talent thing," Luca admitted with a sigh. "But shows like this thrive on drama. It's reality TV. Drama gets the ratings up… even though sometimes it ends up overshadowing the stuff that actually matters."
As Foca was about to say something snarky about the drama nonsense, the Genesis Project logo flashed across the gigantic TV, pulling his attention straight to the screen.
The live audience's deafening screams filled the arena. Intense music boomed as the stage lights burst awake, revealing the silhouettes of the remaining twenty contestants.
After a brief hush, all twenty of them launched into the chorus of the signal song. Bright flashing lights exploded across the stage as the contestants moved in perfect, practiced synchronicity. Foca nodded in approval, his musically gifted ears perking up as he caught the changes in the rearranged version.
It was definitely more hyped up—designed for a big venue. They added sections to highlight different positions in the group. A long dance break let the dancers show off, while the few rappers who actually had presence got a moment to freestyle. And at the end, the vocalists stepped up to show off their range.
Then the belting started. All twenty at once. Ad-libs everywhere. Pure chaos.
Foca winced.
Thankfully, it didn't drag on. The song wrapped up quickly, and each contestant got their little ending fairy moment.
"So? How'd you rate that?" Luca asked, curious.
"I'd give it a seven," Foca said without hesitation.
"How the hell is that not higher? I mean yeah, the ending was a total shit show—I saw you wince," Luca chuckled. "But other than that, it was good, right?"
"It was a good rearrangement," Foca admitted, though a hint of disappointment tinged his voice. "But I guess I set my expectations too high. And you already described the ending perfectly. I don't need to add more. I could dissect the entire composition, but that would take all night, and honestly? I'd rather spare you."
"Oh wow, thank you for considering my feelings," Luca said dramatically.
Foca smacked the back of his head for that—well, tried to. Luca dodged with a laugh, earning a sharp glare.
"Anyway," Foca continued, "I'm just a little underwhelmed. If they actually harmonized at the beginning or during some sections, it would've given the song more color. Instead of everyone singing in one flat melody."
"Welp," Luca snorted, "you're gonna have a hard time hearing harmonies in K-pop right now. They're kinda an endangered species. If you want harmonies, you gotta go hunting."
"Huh. That's… unfortunate," Foca said, genuinely intrigued.
This was Foca's first time diving into the world of K-pop, and honestly, he wouldn't have touched it at all if not for his other best friend Tuesday. She insisted he had to watch the show. Insisting that's it's good way to expand his horizon. So in the end, he caved and gave it a shot.
As the show continued, it moved into the final showcase, where the top 20 were divided into two groups. All the even-ranked contestants were placed in Group one, while the odd-ranked contestants formed Group two.
Unlike previous episodes, the songs were already assigned.
Group one was given a track called "Eternal." It was a K-pop trap hybrid with subtle EDM undertones. Even from the short snippets shown, Foca could tell the production quality was solid.
The practice montage rolled on, showing the contestants' excitement — but underneath the smiles, the tension and nerves were obvious. Group one sat in a circle as they began discussing part distribution.
Kang Seo-yul, the highest-ranking member in the group, immediately raised his hand and claimed the center position. His boldness made the rest of the members stare at him in disbelief. Some were visibly shocked he didn't even bother opening it for discussion.
When one contestant tried to voice a concern, Seo-yul shut it down without hesitation.
"Look, it's the finale. We have to show our best if we want to debut. I'm taking the center spot because I'm confident I can take responsibility for that role. I'm thinking of the bigger picture. What if we pick a center who doesn't resonate with the audience? Is that person willing to take responsibility for ruining everyone's hard work?" he said, calm and persuasive.
A few of the lower-ranked contestants clearly weren't buying his whole speech, but most of the higher-ranked members started nodding along. That made it nearly impossible for the lower-ranked ones to express their dissatisfaction — not unless they wanted to be viewed negatively by the public.
"Ah yes… politics. In all its damn glory," Luca muttered with heavy sarcasm, making Foca sigh.
Having watched the whole series from the start, Foca understood exactly what was happening. He'd done research after every episode to understand K-pop culture and why certain contestants behaved the way they did. Some things were fascinating… but some were, in his mind, absolute bullshit.
And with that, the part distribution wrapped up. The higher-ranking contestants got exactly what they wanted, leaving whatever scraps remained for the lower-ranked members to fight over.
One contestant in particular — Ahn Jae, ranked twentieth — ended up with a single measly line in the entire song.
"Putang ina! How is that fair?!" Foca shouted, absolutely fuming at the screen.
"Foca, your Filipino is showing," Luca said, trying not to laugh at his best friend's outrage.
"That's because I am Filipino!" Foca snapped back, shooting Luca a death glare. Then he let out a heavy sigh and muttered, "C'est absolument ridicule, putain."
"And now your French is showing," Luca teased, barely holding in his laughter.
"You might wanna shut up unless you wanna get evicted," Foca said, turning toward him with an evil smirk. "Remember, I'm letting you live here for free."
"No—please! Where would I even go? You wouldn't throw out your best friend, would you?" Luca grovelled dramatically, putting his acting-major skills to good use. It made Foca shake his head in amusement. At least it cooled his anger a little.
"But seriously," Foca grumbled, "that guy has one of the best voices in the entire show. From day one he's proven that. What a waste of a good voice."
"Well, at the end of the day, it's still a competition," Luca said, giving him a knowing look. "No matter how friendly they act, their goal is the same: debut. You know how it goes, right?"
Luca, referring to the cutthroat competition back at Juilliard.
That earned him a full toddler-level tantrum from Foca as he flailed his arms and legs in pure frustration.
As the performance went on, Foca was proven right. The song was very well-produced. Honestly, it was one of those tracks built for versatility — dancers could devour it, rappers could punch straight through it, and vocalists had a clean, open canvas for runs and embellishments.
And credit where it's due: Kang Seo-yul actually lived up to his own hype. He carried the center position with ease and gave the song the justice it deserved. He exuded pure charm. At one point, he winked and cheekily bit his lip — the whole venue exploded in screams. Mostly the girlies… but the gays and a handful of fanboys were absolutely losing it too.
Everything was going exactly the way Foca expected. Everyone sang or rapped their parts with confidence, the dancing was tight and in sync, and the whole group radiated a smooth mix of confidence and sensuality.
Foca and Luca were fully vibing, genuinely enjoying the performance so far.
But then…
Ahn Jae's part finally came.