Became The Leader of a Girl Group Destined To Fail - Chapter 110

—————

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

—————

Chapter 110.

I barely held back a curse that was about to slip out.

“Which superior?”

Even as I asked, I regretted how foolish the question was.
There was obviously only one person it could be.

“Director Kim said that doing solo activities during the debut album promotion period isn’t a good idea. I barely managed to get approval for the solo track, but he said the pre-release is off the table.”
“I already anticipated that kind of pushback, so I asked him to submit the approval directly through Hong President’s line instead of Director Kim’s.”

I hadn’t failed to anticipate Director Kim’s interference either, so I’d tried to work around that obstacle.
I knew Hong President would skim through it carelessly and grant approval out of sheer annoyance.
But somehow the word got out.
Who on earth dared to leak this?

“And… that’s not all….”

My manager looked at me with a considerably anxious expression.

“Um… Yun Chung.”
“Yes?”
“We got a fixed casting offer for a variety show….”
“From whom?”
“All of you. All five members have to appear together.”

Something didn’t feel right about this.
Fixed appearances for all five at a time like this?
Casting the entire group was definitely—

“It’s a girl group… survival program.”
“Don’t tell me it’s 【Top of Idol】?”
“How did you know?”

You’re joking.
There’s no way I wouldn’t know about this.
How controversial was that program in my past life?

“Absolutely not. I’m not doing it.”
“Did Oh PD tell you this?”
“Tell him I absolutely will not participate.”
“But why?”

My manager’s expression hardened with anger for the first time.

“Unnie, the MC is Shin Yu-hwa from ZetaA, right?”
“How… how did you know that? It was only just confirmed…!”

Just as I thought.
It was beginning.
The second reason that had dismantled StillBlue in my past life.
A chilling fury gripped my heart and shook it.
My stomach churned, and I tasted the bitter copper of blood on my tongue.
I realized I’d bitten the inside of my cheek hard enough to draw blood.

“You know his reputation isn’t good, right? Even a rookie like me knows how despicable he is. And that bastard—”

That bastard who preys on rookie female idols constantly, and they expect me to ignore it.
They want to push us into a program like that?

“Besides, I’m already scheduled for another survival show. The one gathering main vocalists from girl groups—Dear My Diva. That alone is enough, so why are they asking me to do this too?”
“That’s…”

My manager began sweating profusely.

“They… Director Kim told me to cancel it…”
“!”

A sigh escaped me.
Or perhaps it was the eruption of emotions I could no longer contain.
I’d anticipated interference, but not to this extent.

“He said you have to do this program… and to cancel Dear My Diva. I’m sorry, you guys. I really tried to stop it, but it wasn’t possible.”

Everyone in the group knew that I had been pinning my hopes on Dear My Diva.
My investment in Dear My Diva wasn’t for my own popularity.
It was StillBlue’s chance to break through terrestrial broadcasting, and now it’s slipping away like this.
It was a far better opportunity than some survival show on MEN with a garbage MC.

“You shouldn’t apologize, unnie.”

All the members were watching my reaction, but truthfully, my heart wasn’t breaking over it.

“Does Producer Lee Sol know about this?”
“I called and told her earlier.”
“What did she say?”
“Top of Idol… Hong President directly instructed the investment for this one. Even if you appear on Dear My Diva, you still have to do this one.”
“!”
“Rather, if you really want to appear on Dear My Diva… I said I’d try to convince them to let you do Top of Idol instead if that’s what you want. She said that’s… the best we can do for now.”

My lungs swelled and my breath felt strangled in my chest.
I don’t think I’d feel this way even if someone shoved me into the water.

“The higher-ups at the company all approved this… When the company directly participates in producing a program, it’s not easy to refuse, Chung-ah. You’re still a rookie so you wouldn’t understand yet… but that’s how the world works.”

How the world works, my ass.
It’s Colors doing this.
Baek Nok-ha’s agency was a small company that would be second to none in the industry.
They didn’t do much for us either.
But they never acted this petty and dirty.
Is that what being a major company means?

“Then.”

I looked directly at my manager.
Now that I thought about it, this person wasn’t exactly trustworthy either.
Fine, I could accept that she kept pushing me to accept the company’s decision.
But subtly brainwashing me into thinking I don’t know anything was too much.
I thought she was decent because I’d known Lee Sol for a long time.
But doesn’t that also mean I’ve known Director Kim for a long time?
Maybe a rat is a rat no matter how long you—

“Tell Director Kim this for me.”

It might have been much closer than I thought.

“Huh?”
“If you give me an early preview of my solo track, I’ll leave.”

So how should I use that little rat to my advantage?

***

“Thank you for your hard work!”
“Thank you for your hard work~”

As of today, the second week of music broadcasts had wrapped up.
Out of five music shows, we’d taken first place on four of them.
The members were happy every single day.
No one made it obvious because of the eyes around us, but the moment we returned to the Dormitory, laughter never ceased.

“Junior!”

Ah.
A voice I wasn’t particularly happy to hear….

“Yes, Senior Han Jae-i.”

It was Han Jae-i from BunAsh.
Where did she leave Dan-ha, who she’s always attached to?

“Congratulations on first place!”
“…This will be our last first place for this promotion cycle.”
“Oh come on~ You might take first place again next week~”
“You don’t have to say things you don’t mean.”

Han Jae-i was far too soft and wishy-washy for my taste.
Her eyes gleamed with ambition, yet she played at innocence.
This type is far more dangerous.
At first, I’d dismissed her as merely an ordinary member with good social skills.
Every group has one like that.
Naturally sociable, getting along with everyone wherever they go.
In my past life, Han Jae-i had felt like exactly that kind of person.
But thinking about it now, I sensed there was something more beneath the surface.
Dan-ha was the frontman of Burnash.
Yet Han Jae-i was the member with the most scheduled appearances in Burnash.
Always.

“Haha. Our junior is so sharp and decisive—I’ve thought so since the Make a New Color days too.”
“…Is there something you needed, senior?”

We were at the Broadcasting Station.
I absolutely despised male idols.

“Yes, there is.”
“Go ahead, then.”
“Would it be alright if Baek-young and I filmed a challenge together? I’d do the ‘Blue’ dance, and Baek-young would do ‘Bury Me’! We’d post it on TokTik.”

TokTik was a platform for sharing short-form videos.
Among idols, actively utilizing TokTik had become something of a trend.
A challenge involved covering another idol’s dance for about thirty seconds and dancing together.
Since it was a brief cover, idols found it low-pressure, and fans enjoyed seeing different sides of their favorite artists.
But that aside.

“I’m sorry, but that won’t be possible. According to our group’s policy, we’d like to focus on challenges with female idols for now.”
“Ah, I understand. I usually don’t do them with male idols anyway. But.”
“?”

Han Jae-i’s eyes narrowed to slits.

“We’re under the same agency, promoting at the same time, and if we don’t do this… you know what people will say, don’t you, junior?”
“…You’re talking about rumors of conflict between us.”
“Yes. You wouldn’t want to add another scandal about conflict with your senior, would you?”

That’s true.
I don’t want to get more entangled with their fandom either.

“Then.”
“Huh?”
“Take Geum instead of Baek-young.”
“Wh-what?! Geum is certainly an amazing friend, but… she’s not a dance member, is she…?”

Han Jae-i looked flustered.

“That’s right.”

Geum’s dance ability score was currently 72 out of 100 points.
It meant she was unremarkable among idols.
Not exceptionally skilled, but not bad either.
Upper-middle tier.
Even that 72 was only achieved because Seo Baek-young had pushed her relentlessly from her original 70.

“No one will even think about dating rumors involving her.”
“Wh-wh-what?!”
“And surely you wouldn’t criticize a sick member, right? We’ll just add an injury-fighting hashtag and say that the ‘senior’ asked Geum ‘earnestly’ and she had no choice but to perform passionately ‘despite her injury.’ That picture would be perfectly appropriate.”
“…Was the junior always this scary?”

I’m sorry, Geum.
There’s no helping it if we want to save the group.

“Otherwise, we won’t do it. Actually, if the discord rumors break out, the senior loses more, not us.”
“…Why would you think that?”

Han Jae-i’s smile carried a subtle chill.

“Because the one who came to trample the other isn’t us—it’s the senior.”
“….”

Only then did Han Jae-i’s eyes show that look: ‘So you knew all along?’
It would be troublesome if you kept trying to take advantage of a rookie, senior.
At times like this, I didn’t think being the leader was such a bad thing.
If Seo Baek-young had been the leader and received this proposal, she would have cheerfully agreed to do it herself.

“You’re quite an interesting junior, aren’t you?”

Han Jae-i wasn’t actually a bad person.
He was just your typical entertainment industry type—someone who knew how to use his head.
It was a bit surprising to see someone like that in their second or third year in the industry.

“Let’s just say we’re both desperate people.”

At the very least, I’m just as desperate as you are.
You came to me because you’re desperate enough to take the risk.

“…Our Dan-ha has no social skills. You know that, right?”
“I think it would be stranger if I didn’t know that….”
“That’s why I’m always the one navigating social situations for her. But I don’t think that’s necessarily good. She just ends up doing music without knowing anything about the world around her.”

So you’re in an extreme profession too.
Since this side was also an extreme profession, I couldn’t say I didn’t understand.

“So I’m asking you this as a favor. Don’t get involved with her. I don’t think she’d ever date anyone. But if something goes wrong, it won’t be good for anyone, right? Dan-ha is most comfortable with you, so she might unconsciously act comfortable around you on broadcasts. If it were another member, it probably wouldn’t be a problem. We’re from the same agency, so it could be natural. But Dan-ha is… different.”

How lacking in social skills do you have to be for someone to say that about being slightly comfortable with a junior from the same agency?
At this point, it seems like she’s being raised wrong.

“Then shouldn’t you be keeping that senior in check instead of me?”
“Even in private settings, treat her coldly. So she doesn’t let her guard down.”
“I’ve never treated her comfortably even once….”

You’re the one making me uncomfortable right now….
I made an effort to wear the most uncomfortable expression I could manage.

“Anyway, I’m asking for your help. In return, I’ll send you some burdock juice. You like that, right?”

I didn’t answer.
This entire group was trying to train me with burdock juice.
…I’ll let it slide just this once.

“Send it to the Dormitory.”
“Roger that.”
“And I really, truly, sincerely don’t want to get involved with you either, so please, just go your separate ways. Please.”

Just as I turned to leave.

“Junior, you’re going on that survival show, right? The one our president invested in. 【Top of Idol】, was it?”

Word travels fast around here, it seems.

“…Yes.”
“You know there’s a psycho on that show?”
“I’m aware.”
“Huh? Shin Yu-hwa knows too? Wow. That person must’ve really gone off the deep end if even a rookie knows about them? They’re usually pretty calculated. Weren’t they?”

That’s not quite right.
They are calculated, that much is true.
But what I know isn’t what Yun Chung knows—it’s what Baek Nok-ha knows.

“Anyway, why are you asking me this?”
“Stay away from that person.”
“….”
“From what I can tell about your personality, you look like the type to stand and fight. Don’t do that. Just avoid them. That’s how the entertainment industry works. There’s nothing good that comes from trying to confront someone. Just steer clear.”

It leaves a bitter taste, but they’re not wrong.
I don’t avoid filth out of fear.
I avoid it because it’s disgusting.

“That’s my plan.”

But.
If they touch my kids, I’m kicking them out on the spot.

—————

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

—————