The doors closed.
The chatter gradually disappeared.
A staff member stepped onto the stage.
"Welcome to the Light Entertainment Idol Survival Audition."
The room became silent.
"The first screening round will begin now."
One by one, contestants were called forward.
The Alpha section went first.
Ren waited patiently for his turn.
Hours passed.
By three in the afternoon, the Alpha auditions had finally ended.
Then came the Omegas.
There were far fewer of them.
By five o'clock, the Omega auditions had ended.
Ren straightened in his seat.
Finally.
His turn.
He looked toward the stage.
But no one called Beta's.
A staff member walked onto the stage.
"Thank you for participating in today's audition."
Ren's smile disappeared.
The staff member continued.
"The screening process has now concluded."
Silence.
For a moment, Ren didn't understand.
Concluded?
His fingers slowly tightened around his pants.
"But…"
A contestant nearby stood up.
"What about the Betas?"
The staff member didn't answer immediately.
Then came the words Ren had been dreading.
"We have decided to terminate the Beta screening for this round."
The auditorium exploded.
"What?!"
"You can't do that!"
"We waited here all day!"
"This is ridiculous!"
Ren couldn't hear anything properly anymore.
His ears were ringing.
His feet felt cold.
That's it?
He had travelled all the way to Tokyo.
He had spent months preparing.
He had hidden his identity.
He had taken suppressants that could damage his body if used for too long.
All for this.
And they hadn't even given him a chance.
Ren stared at the stage.
His lips parted.
"Will I…"
His voice trembled.
"Will I not even get the chance to prove myself?"
Around him, the Beta contestants erupted in anger.
But one voice was different.
Quiet.
Almost defeated.
"This is what they always do."
Ren turned.
A young man was slowly getting to his feet.
Unlike the others, he wasn't shouting.
He didn't curse the judges.
He didn't demand an explanation.
He simply picked up his bag.
As though this had happened too many times for him to be surprised.
Ren stared at him.
Why isn't he angry?
Before he could stop himself, Ren reached out and grabbed his wrist.
"Wait."
The young man turned.
Ren looked into his eyes.
"Why aren't you going to fight for your chance?"
The man's expression didn't change.
"What rights do we even have?"
Ren went silent.
The man's voice was calm.
But there was something underneath it.
Something broken.
"I'm used to it."
He gave a small smile.
"When has this world ever been fair to Betas?"
Ren couldn't answer.
For the first time since arriving in Tokyo, his excitement disappeared.
The man pulled his wrist free.
"I'll try somewhere else."
He turned around.
Ren looked at his back.
Six feet one.
Broad shoulders.
Black hair.
A handsome face that should have belonged on a stage.
And yet he was walking away without ever being given the opportunity to stand on it.
Something inside Ren refused to accept that.
"Wait!"
The man stopped.
Ren stepped forward.
"So you're just going to let them decide your future?"
The man looked back.
His expression softened.
"No."
A faint smile appeared.
"I'll find another way."
Ren didn't know what to say.
There was resignation in his voice, but not surrender.
Before Ren could respond—
"Why don't you take their screening test?"
"What?"
The word escaped the selection coordinator before he could stop himself.
Rei stood before him, calm and composed.
The coordinator hurriedly bowed his head.
"Young Master Rei, it's…"
Rei raised an eyebrow.
"Are you saying the Beta candidates aren't allowed to audition?"
The coordinator froze.
"That's not what I—"
"Then why were their screenings cancelled?"
His voice wasn't loud.
It didn't need to be.
The authority behind it was enough to make the coordinator hesitate.
Rei glanced toward the Beta section.
"I understand that the selection process has rules."
He paused.
"But those rules shouldn't change simply because someone belongs to a different secondary gender."
The coordinator swallowed.
"Young Master Rei, the screening process was designed by the selection team. We believed that—"
"That they wouldn't be suitable?"
Rei's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Then let the judges decide that."
The coordinator remained silent.
Rei continued.
"My father owns this company. I already have a place in the next stage."
A murmur spread throughout the auditorium.
Everyone knew it was true.
Rei wasn't merely the son of the company's owner.
He was already an accomplished musician with a reputation of his own.
His talent, appearance and family background had made him one of the most anticipated participants of the entire selection.
He had no reason to fight for a place in the first screening.
And that was exactly why his next words carried even more weight.
"I don't need this screening."
His gaze moved toward the Beta section.
"But they do."
The coordinator looked toward the disappointed contestants.
Rei's expression hardened.
"They came here because they believed they had a chance."
He took a step closer.
"Give them that chance."
The coordinator hesitated.
"But Young Master…"
Rei's eyes sharpened.
"Do you want people saying that Light Entertainment only gives opportunities to Alphas?"
The coordinator's forehead began to sweat.
"No."
"Then don't give them a reason to say it."
The hall became completely silent.
Rei looked across the Beta section again.
His gaze moved from one contestant to another.
Then it stopped.
For a moment, his eyes rested on a Beta standing quietly among the others.
Rei had noticed him before without realizing it.
Broad shoulders.
A tall frame.
A handsome face that could easily be on par with an Alpha's.
But unlike many of the contestants around him, he wasn't complaining.
He simply sat there, his expression restrained, as if he had already experienced this disappointment too many times.
Rei's gaze lingered for a second longer.
Then he looked away.
"Conduct their screening."
The coordinator finally lowered his head.
"Yes, Young Master."
"All of them?"
"All of them."
Rei nodded.
"And make sure the judges evaluate them fairly."
"Yes."
The coordinator hurried toward the audition rooms.
Rei watched him disappear through the doors.
Only then did the tension in his expression fade.
He turned and returned to his seat.
The surrounding contestants continued whispering.
Some admired him.
Some were intimidated.
Others were simply surprised that someone with so much privilege had bothered to stand up for people who had nothing to offer him in return.
Rei ignored all of them.
Yet before sitting down, his eyes briefly moved toward the Beta section once more.
Toward the tall Beta.
He didn't know why he had noticed him.
It was only a fleeting impression.
Nothing more.
At least, that was what Rei told himself.