Became The Leader of a Girl Group Destined To Fail - Chapter 11

—————

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

—————

Chapter 11.

Director Kim appeared to be the main judge on the panel.
Seeing him seated at the center alongside Greysh’s member Do Hee-young made that clear.

“Good day!”

After the trainees’ spirited greeting echoed through the room, all the judges took their seats.

“Well then, let’s start with trainee Yeon Ju-hong.”

Director Kim accepted the microphone and dove straight into business.

“Yes, I’m number one, Yeon Ju-hong. Thank you for this opportunity.”

Yeon Ju-hong greeted them with her characteristic cheerful energy.
Her hands trembled slightly, yet the smile on her face remained utterly unwavering.
That’s a talent in itself.

“Trainee Yeon Ju-hong chose ‘Gifted’ by White Noise, I see.”
“Yes!”
“Why did you select this song?”

Oh, Do Hee-young.
Quite the judge’s presence.
When I was Baek Nok-ha, I’d met Do Hee-young a few times.
She was a clumsy senior in private settings, but clearly it’s different once the cameras roll.

“Well, I… I chose this song because I wanted to learn from the confident and cool presence of White Noise’s seniors!”
“This song is quite difficult. Are you sure? The key is a bit higher than your vocal range, isn’t it?”

The vocal judge spoke up.

“…Yes! I’ll do my best!”
“Doing your best isn’t enough. Show us results.”

Yeon Ju-hong answered with admirable resolve, but Director Kim immediately threw cold water on her enthusiasm.
Yeon Ju-hong’s shoulders seemed to droop slightly at that.
It was rather pitiful to witness.

***

Yeon Ju-hong performed quite well.
Despite the choreography being challenging, she managed it reasonably.
While her vocals weren’t exceptional, she delivered them with stability.
Whether due to skillful arrangement or simply good fortune, even the vocal range I’d worried about proved manageable.
But what truly stood out above all else was her charisma and expressiveness.

I’ll show you once more
The me that only I knew

In that regard, she surpassed the other trainees by a considerable margin.
It was precisely why Yeon Ju-hong enjoyed such popularity.
She possessed genuine charm.
It wasn’t the cool sophistication of the original artist White Noise, but rather an endearing quality.

Behind the stack of colorful gifts
Moments more thrilling than the gifts themselves
And
Me

Yet.
Before even the first verse could finish,

“That’s enough.”

Director Kim raised his hand, stopping the song abruptly.
Every trainee’s eyes wavered at that.
Mine did as well.
It wasn’t bad. I was actually surprised she performed better than expected.

“…Thank you for listening!”

If I was taken aback, Yeon Ju-hong must have been even more so.
Yet despite her breathlessness, she immediately bowed with a bright smile.

“Yeon Ju-hong trainee.”
“Yes!”

Director Kim exhaled deeply.

“Do you know why I stopped you?”

Here it came.
The question everyone dreaded most.

“Um… I think it’s because my skills aren’t good enough!”
“No.”

Director Kim shook his head immediately.

“Your skills weren’t bad. Perhaps I just didn’t have high expectations.”
“…Th-thank you.”

I had to thank him even for words like that.
I sighed inwardly.

“But here’s the thing.”

Now we’re getting to the real point.
I glanced at Oh PD—not at Director Kim who was speaking, but at Oh PD.
His face was so bright that this situation was—

“Yeon Ju-hong trainee, why are you always so ambiguous?”

A script.
There were plenty of staged situations in broadcasts.
In fact, if things weren’t staged at all, the situation would spiral out of control and lose its entertainment value.
So staging itself wasn’t inherently bad.
You had to give a general framework at least.
Especially when a bunch of trainees like these, who had never done any broadcasts before, were appearing.
But.

“I apologize.”

I can’t keep the bigger picture hidden from the trainees.

“There’s nothing for you to apologize to me about. It’s not like I lose anything if Yeon Ju-hong doesn’t debut.”

This situation right now is, to put it bluntly, manufactured drama.
Even when there’s nothing legitimate to criticize, you pick at something anyway just to stir up controversy.
Why?
Because it makes for compelling television.

“The one who really loses out is Yeon Ju-hong herself.”

Because that’s what drives up the ratings.

“I’ll show you an even better performance next time!”

The girl’s got spirit.
Yeah, that’s actually better.
To avoid getting torn apart by malicious editing, that kind of spirited, confident response was the way to go.
Stay strong, Yeon Ju-hong.

“Alright then, next trainee.”

***

Most of the trainees received harsh criticism.
All except for a select few.

“Kim Ryeo-yu always seems to handle evaluations well. You showed more than we expected.”

Kim Ryeo-yu, and

“Kim Geum covered a male idol song, but it didn’t feel awkward at all. You showcased your own charm really well.”

Kim Geum, and

“Ryu Bora definitely has that certain something that catches people’s eyes. Is it because you came from an acting background?”

Except for Ryu Bora.
The moment the mention of Ryu Bora being an actress came up, her face stiffened ever so slightly.
Did she dislike the title of being an actress?

“Then we have just one trainee left. Yun Chung, please come forward.”

Do Hee-young called me up.
I took the microphone from Ryu Bora, the trainee who had gone before me.
And I stood before the judges.
Singing in front of people was something I’d done so many times it was second nature—

“Hello, I’m trainee number 12, Yun Chung. Thank you for this opportunity.”

Standing here as Yun Chung, I felt surprisingly nervous.
When was the last time I felt this kind of tension?
I hadn’t even been this nervous when I won an award or topped the music charts.

“Your song choice is quite interesting, trainee Yun Chung.”
“Yes. I chose ‘Forbidden’ by our senior from Purple Apple.”

Director Kim stared at me intently, then let out a small laugh.

“Are you trying to stir up some buzz by mentioning the president? Your intentions are painfully transparent, aren’t they?”

His tone was cutting.

“Yes, that’s correct.”

But I wasn’t about to be intimidated by that.

“…!”

Director Kim and the other judges seemed taken aback that I would respond so directly.

“You’re admitting it right away?”
“Yes, because it’s the truth.”

It really was the truth, so what else was there to say?

“…Capturing attention is only the first step. You have to deliver on it. If you can’t pull it off properly, it could backfire.”
“I understand.”
“And yet you chose this? You must be confident.”

The dance judge asked with evident intrigue.
It wasn’t so much an accusation as genuine curiosity—I could see it in her eyes.
And for good reason; the song had notoriously difficult choreography.

“From what I remember, Yun Chung’s vocals were strong, but her dancing was somewhat lacking. Did you perhaps omit the choreography during the arrangement?”
“No. We decided to keep the dance intact.”

Both trainers looked genuinely shocked this time.
It made sense—they’d trained Yun Chung directly, after all.

“You arranged it… yourself?”

Do Hee-young looked up from her notes with widened eyes.

“Yes, though my skills are limited… I gave it a try.”
“What’s your reason?”

A smile spread across Do Hee-young’s face.
It made sense—she had a member interested in composition, after all.

“I’ve always been interested in composition and arrangement, and more than anything, I love this song so much that I wanted to attempt it.”
“…You compose too?”

Do Hee-young looked like she’d given up being surprised altogether.

“Well, she did compose something for her self-introduction video.”

The other trainer chimed in from beside her.
Do Hee-young just shrugged as if she hadn’t known.
Clearly, she didn’t care what happened in someone else’s self-introduction video.
I exhaled silently to myself.
It was a stark reminder of how low their expectations for Yun Chung were.
No matter how well I performed in the earlier footage, the judges had no idea.
The Yun Chung they knew wasn’t the present version—it was the past one.
Their expectations and curiosity could only be rock bottom.

“Yes, I’m still developing, but I’m working hard at it!”

But I wasn’t the type to be discouraged by low expectations.
After all, I was a singer-songwriter who wrote and composed every track on my albums myself.
I’d arranged songs so many times it had become second nature.
…Actually, I’d arranged this song before.
I’d performed it on stage at the year-end showcase.
Was that unfair of me?

“Hmm, well. It is a masterpiece, isn’t it?”
“I genuinely believe it’s an exceptional masterpiece. I’m not saying this just because you composed it, President.”

It was true, actually.
Flattery, yes—but it’s part of professional courtesy.
Director Kim looked me over with an odd expression.
As if wondering what kind of character I really was.

“Our president’s grinning from ear to ear.”
“Right?”

Do Hee-young and the dance judge whispered to each other.
…Loud enough that the audio picked up every word, of course.

“Good. Then let’s see it.”

***

Bear me
I’ll brush away the things that clouded your vision
I am your new world

The song finally ended.
I’d acted confident, but it hadn’t been easy.
Yun Chung’s vocal cords were far more damaged than I’d anticipated.
I’d been on edge the entire time, terrified that a single crack would ruin everything.
Fortunately, no cracks came.
Now, then—

“….”
“….”
“….”
“….”

Now it was time to see how they would react.

“Give us a moment to discuss this among ourselves.”

Discuss?
I was taken aback by their unexpected response.
That’s when Oh PD seemed to sense something off and suddenly interjected.

“Let’s take a quick break!”

What on earth was happening now?

—————

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

—————