Became The Leader of a Girl Group Destined To Fail - Chapter 101

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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Chapter 101.

“You’re really going to do this?”

Seo Baek-young’s mouth fell open in shock.

“You’re already getting the most offers because Yun Chung says you’re number one on Make a New Color… wait? You’re not the busiest among us…?”
“That’s right. It’s completely unreasonable.”
“You’re not going to do it, right?”

After practice ended, I prepared samgyetang to help the members recover, and they all gathered around eagerly.
The members looked at me with concern.
…Or perhaps they were simply monitoring whether I was making the samgyetang correctly.

“You’re going to refuse, right, unnie?”

Ryu Bora stared at me intently as she asked.

“I absolutely have to do it.”

I deliberately avoided Ryu Bora’s gaze.

“If it were MEN, I would have refused too, but it’s SWC. Broadcast television.”
“Even if it is broadcast television… a competition every two weeks is a bit much. And you have to prepare the song all by yourself.”
“Still, since I only have to do a cover, it might be manageable… They said I won’t have to do all the dancing. Just skipping the choreography makes it doable.”

I was somewhat concerned about my throat, though.
I wondered if I was heading toward vocal cord damage at this rate.

“If that’s what you want, there’s nothing we can do about it…”
“And the recording will happen around when our activities wrap up, so it should be fine. The actual start is five weeks away.”

I hesitated for a moment before adding an explanation.

“The reason I want to do this is… right now, broadcast television probably doesn’t view us very favorably. We’re a group that debuted on a cable program called Make a New Color, and if Make a New Color had flopped, that would be one thing, but it became a massive hit.”
“That’s true.”
“Yet the fact that broadcast television is casting me is a positive signal for improving relations. To be honest, I didn’t expect them to call me this quickly… but I think it was possible thanks to Lee Sol and Dan-ha.”

I worried quite a bit about it.
Since we debuted under MEN, I thought terrestrial broadcasters wouldn’t call us for another year.
That would create a lot of setbacks for rookie awards too.

“But why did Dan-ha reach out to us about this?”
“That senior is appearing as an MC. I’m just tagging along.”
“Oh.”

I’d probably get criticized for piggyback riding again, but… we have to make a living somehow, don’t we?

“Still, even though we’re in a competitive position with you this time… I thought things would get awkward, but you’re looking out for us?!”

Yeon Ju-hong blinked and asked.
Yeah.
Honestly, I was surprised too.

‘But is it really okay for me to appear, senior?’

To be frank, if we get tangled up like this, I don’t think Burnash fans will be too happy about it.
As for me, well, I’m in the receiving position, so I have nothing to say.
But they’re in the giving position, aren’t they?

‘I don’t see why it wouldn’t be okay.’

Dan-ha said that, then added a word to my hesitation.

‘If you feel uncomfortable like you’re indebted, you can just guide me once more later.’
‘Oh…’
‘Or get famous quickly and buy my songs at a premium price.’
‘…I’ll seriously consider it…’

I couldn’t promise to do that even if my life depended on it.
…To earn points on my end, I need to do my own music, not someone else’s.

“It seems like they felt sorry about that and plugged us in to repay the debt.”
“Wow. That’s kind.”
“…Well. It’s something to be grateful for.”

It still feels a bit unclear, but let’s just call it something I’m grateful for for now…

“Anyway. That’s not what’s important.”

I glanced at the clock.

“The teaser drops soon.”

So let’s hurry and eat the ginseng chicken soup.

***

“Kim Deputy, aren’t you having dinner today? Today’s menu is pork cutlet.”

A scene from one company’s office.
It was a company where overtime had become utterly commonplace.
Thanks to that, eating both lunch and dinner was routine.

“Oh, yes. I brought a packed lunch today. Please enjoy your meal!”

A woman called Kim Deputy waved her hand quickly.

“What, is Kim Deputy on a diet? You used to get seconds on pork cutlet days?”
“…I just felt like having my packed lunch today…!”
“Okay, then I’ll see you at the meeting later.”
“Sure thing.”

Kim Deputy quickly waved and pulled out her packed lunch to reheat it.
Normally, she would have eaten the cafeteria’s pork cutlet without question.
It was her favorite menu after all.
But.
Today, her favorite music video was dropping—something more important than her favorite dish.

‘A music video dropping at 6 PM is basically a divine message not to eat dinner, isn’t it?’

That was it.
Kim Deputy had been a longtime fan of Kim Geum.
She had fallen in love with her ever since Kim Geum appeared on that hip-hop survival show.
Of course, she’d gone all out during Make a New Color too.
When the highlight medley dropped the day before yesterday.
Kim Deputy had a premonition.

‘This could work.’

Though I’d never followed Colors as an idol group before, years of devoted girl group fandom had taught me to recognize the signs.
This could work.
Why?
Because even with only eleven seconds of the song, it was good.
There’s only one thing that makes a girl group succeed.
The song.
If the song is good, they blow up.
Even if everything else is flawless, a mediocre song means a slower climb to the top.
But if the song is exceptional, they skyrocket regardless of other shortcomings.
For female idols, public appeal was everything.
That’s why I’d felt half hopeful, half anxious when the concept photos dropped.
The concept seemed a bit too conceptual for mainstream tastes.
The fanatics naturally went wild and opened their wallets, but the general public’s reaction remained uncertain.
Sure, one of the two concept photos looked commercially viable, but….
Yet all those worries evaporated like smoke the moment I heard the teaser and highlight medley.

‘They’re really pushing the narrative that they composed and wrote all the songs except “Fingertips” from Make a New Color.’

Truth be told, every time that kind of publicity circulated, I felt more anxiety than excitement.
Members composing and writing their own songs was a double-edged sword, literally.
If the songs were good, they’d score 200 points out of 100.
But if the songs were bad, they’d plummet to negative 200 points.
Since Kim Geum, our team’s composer, was my personal favorite, my concerns ran deep.
But then.

‘Yun Chung composed the title track?’

Not Kim Geum?
Yun Chung?

‘…Didn’t she usually compose R&B style tracks rather than idol-like songs?’

Kim Deputy recalled Yun Chung, who had sung a self-composed piece briefly in the Menukal self-introduction video.
It was a good song, but by anyone’s standards, it wasn’t idol title-track material.
Of course, she vaguely remembered hearing through the grapevine at Menukal that Yun Chung had helped Kim Geum.
But even then, it was only support.
Yet now they’re claiming it’s a solo composition?
At first, I thought the article was wrong, so I checked it over and over again.
I didn’t harbor any ill will toward Yun Chung.
I myself had voted for ‘Kim Geum/Yun Chung/Seo Baek-young/Yeon Ju-hong/Ryu Bora’ during the final broadcast as a devoted viewer.
But Yun Chung wasn’t my second choice or third choice—she was just a member I picked because she was close with our girl.
There was a bit of sympathy involved too.
That was all. She shouldn’t have crossed into Kim Geum’s territory. No matter what anyone said, the composition role in StillBlue had to belong to Kim Geum.
But Kim Geum’s contribution was limited to composing B-side tracks and arranging the title song.
Along with a vague sense of frustration came a surge of competitive spirit.
How good could it possibly be to surpass our song connoisseur…!
The moment my eyes widened with determination.

Ding!

▶

[StillBlue – ‘Blue’ M/V]

The title is certainly short and punchy.
Let me click on it.
Let me see just how impressive it is.

Before a burning mansion, five figures lifted their heads.
All of them wore dresses so long they seemed to drag across the ground, dazzling in their extravagant luxury.
And simultaneously, they gazed up at the burning mansion with vacant eyes.
Then came Ryu Bora’s murmuring opening.

Why are you so Blue
You look as pale as me
Pale, Fail Blue Blue

The moment I heard the opening, Kim Deputy decided to approach this with reverence.
The vocal tone and visuals alone were already flawless.

But from today on, things will be different.
Now I hold your hand
Now Blue means our sky

It was Yun Chung.
The cockpit that had appeared in the concept photos.
The airplane’s front windshield bore a heart-shaped bullet hole.
Yun Chung sat in the cockpit wearing a crown.

I’ll fly with you

And the moment she grasped the control stick, the crown transformed into a pilot’s cap.

Shoo-Shoo-Shoot me
Shoot me up a hundred times over

The chorus.
Yeon Ju-hong appeared holding a container filled with diamond arrows.
She wore the coral pink wavy hair that had become her signature.
Yeon Ju-hong fired arrows toward the camera.

Shoo-Shoo-Shoot me
Shoot all your blues at me
I’ll gladly face the fight
Shoo-Shoo-Shoot me
Shoo-Shoo-Shoot BLUE

The chorus was insane.

The opening was already incredible, but hearing the chorus, I was certain.
This was absolutely going to be the public’s pick.
The group shot that came with the chorus.
For the first time, Kim Deputy understood what chemistry between members truly meant.
They were all dressed in different colors, simply singing the same song together.
And it was so beautiful.

Be my blue flame
I’ll show you the brilliance of that flame

Next came Kim Geum.
With her small frame wielding a massive flamethrower.
She was setting the factory ablaze with the most exhilarated expression on her face.
The black hair and front bangs the fans had desperately wished for, tied down into two buns like dumplings.
A choker and white crop shirt, paired with a gray cardigan. The gray tennis skirt evoked a schoolgirl aesthetic.

‘Insane. Kim Geum really is a master of the schoolgirl look. Absolutely unhinged.’

Don’t doubt
You and I will never burn out
When the fire dies down
I’ll light it again
What’s the problem, I’m your flame
I’ll burn it all

‘Insane singing rap.’

Why are you so Blue
But I will save you
Now I hold your hand
Now Blue means our sky

Seo Baek-young’s part.
In a rainy jungle-like forest.
She appeared lost.
She hurled something that looked like a bomb—

Because you saved me

What burst forth were beautiful flower petals of every color.
Then the members appeared one by one on screen.
The weapons that seemed capable of harming people became adorable toys the moment they met the camera’s gaze.

Shoo-Shoo-Shoot me
Shoot all your blues at me
I’ll gladly face and fight them

Kim Deputy thought to herself.
That’s right.
Enjoy yourselves, you all.
I’ll be the one to stand and fight.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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