Became The Leader of a Girl Group Destined To Fail - Chapter 123

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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 123.

In an instant, Shin Yu-hwa and Kim Ryeo-yu’s expressions froze solid.
Oh PD zoomed in frantically on both their faces.
It would be pointless.
Kim Mo-gyeong would cut it all anyway.

“You have no idea how much Director Kim talks about you. We meet privately quite often, and he says there’s no young man as excellent as you. He even said he’d like to make you his son-in-law.”

Of course, it was completely fabricated.

“Is that so? That’s why he asks so many considerate questions about Kim Ryeo-yu. You’re truly thoughtful, senior. I’ll learn from your example.”

Also completely fabricated.

“…Ha… haha. Director Kim said such things. Really… thank you, yes.”

Shin Yu-hwa forced his lips upward into a smile.
Why do you keep picking fights like this?

“Don’t mention it. This is all the virtue you’ve accumulated, senior.”

Now take the karma you’ve built and exit gracefully.

***

Shin Yu-hwa eventually redirected his focus and began asking normal questions.
The Production Team filmed our practice scenes a few more times, then wrapped up at an appropriate point.

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

I offered a separate greeting to Cha-yul.

“Thank you for your hard work today, senior.”
“Oh, Yun Chung. Today, let’s definitely grab a meal-”
“Yul! We have to go! Traffic’s backing up and we’ll be late for the event!”

The moment Cha-yul spoke to me, her Manager intercepted her with an urgency that surpassed everyone else’s.

“…Ms. Lee. Next time, let’s definitely grab a meal together.”
“Of course.”

That Manager certainly maintained her relentless pace.
Regrettably, it seemed my conversation with Cha-yul would have to be postponed.
As everyone began to leave, I started preparing to clock out as well,

“Yun Chung?”

Shin Yu-hwa called out to me.

“Oh, yes. Senior.”

Shin Yu-hwa regained his poker face and began flashing that oily smile.
Ugh.

“You’re twenty, right? I’m five years older. Is it okay if I drop the formalities?”

My name is Yun Chung.
I’m thirty years old.
…But I couldn’t say that.

“Oh, yes.”
“You did really well on the broadcast earlier, didn’t you?”

Not that you did poorly or anything.
I simply nodded quietly.

“Thank you.”
“What do you like?”
“…Pardon?”

Shin Yu-hwa had drawn close to me without warning.

“I frequent this Fine Dining Restaurant. It’s completely reservation-only, and since it has private rooms, your privacy is guaranteed. Lots of celebrities go there, so you don’t need to worry. The manager there is close with me.”
“Oh, yes. That sounds wonderful.”
“It really is. Great food, wonderful atmosphere. Or do you prefer omakase? We could even rent the whole place for the day.”

….
This isn’t right.
It felt a bit pathetic….
His flirtation was so crude….
Did this guy really seduce idols?
Or was he just following them around on his own?

“I apologize, but I only eat chicken breast because I’m preparing for a comeback.”
“Just order a sous vide chicken breast steak as a special order.”

Does he think everything sounds delicious just by throwing in English words?
It’s an insult to chicken breast.
I could feel the Production Team’s gazes turning toward us as they began cleaning up.
My mood was starting to sour as well.

“No, thank you. I prefer to boil it myself. I hope you enjoy plenty, senior.”

I tried to step back.
But then,

“…You.”

Shin Yu-hwa reached out his hand toward me.

“Your senior is making a kind suggestion, and rejecting his goodwill like that isn’t very polite, is it?”

But I grabbed his wrist.

“…Please calm down, senior.”

Where does he get off extending his hand first?
Anger was beginning to rise within me.
Could this guy have been using his hands whenever he was in a bad mood all this time?

“You—”
“Hey.”

Just then.

“Shin Yu-hwa.”

She bit her lip hard enough to draw blood, glaring at me with eyes full of fury.

“What are you doing right now?”

It was Se-a.
Even I was startled by this turn of events, freezing in place alongside her.

“Ah.”

Shin Yu-hwa’s face twisted into a sneer.

“Se-a. What’s with you taking the side of some junior?”
“…!”
“I’m hurt, you know? If you were going to take sides, you should’ve taken mine. Not hers. We’re supposed to be close, aren’t we?”

Did they know each other?
I kept my grip on Shin Yu-hwa’s wrist while studying Se-a’s expression.

“You’re not letting go?”

Shin Yu-hwa wrenched her arm free from my grasp with brutal force.
The moment she yanked away, I let myself fall sideways with the momentum.
With a crash, the makeup box and table beside me toppled over as well.

“!”

You didn’t expect that, did you?

“Yun Chung!”
“Yun Chung!”

In an instant, the Production Team rushed over, helping me to my feet and clearing away the table and makeup box.

“Are you okay?!”
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“Good heavens…!”

The Production Team watched Shin Yu-hwa carefully, yet simultaneously began regarding him with contempt.

“No, I…!”

Shin Yu-hwa tried to speak as if wronged, but found himself with nothing to say.
Instead, he clamped his mouth shut and glared at me.

“Can you stand up?”

Se-a had rushed over and was already supporting me.

“Ah, yes. I’m fine…”

I said this while deliberately stumbling.

“What do we do?”
“I think we should go to the Hospital….”
“The Hospital? No way!”

While the Production Team was expressing concern for me, Shin Yu-hwa suddenly raised his voice.

“You, just fell a little bit, and you’re really-”
“…I’m feeling really dizzy.”

I quickly spoke before Shin Yu-hwa could ramble on.

“Would it be alright if I left now?”
“Of course, of course!”
“Where is Yun Chung’s Manager?”
“Ah, yes.”

My Manager?
Where else would she be?

“Let’s go now, unnie.”

Standing by the door, filming this entire situation.

***

“Did you get a good shot?”
“Yeah….”

Inside the car heading back to the Dormitory.

“Let me see it.”

I checked the video recorded on my Manager’s phone.
It came out well.
The audio was crystal clear, and Shin Yu-hwa’s face was clearly visible.
I immediately transferred the video to my own phone.

“But Yun Chung. Are you really… okay? You’re not hurt, right?”
“I’m not hurt.”

I fell on purpose, so there’s no way I could be injured.
Aside from being a bit tired, everything was fine.

“…But how did you know…?”
“Know what?”
“That Shin Yu-hwa would… do that to you….”

My Manager looked genuinely flustered.
She hadn’t expected Shin Yu-hwa to go that far.

“I didn’t know.”
“You didn’t?”
“No. I’m not a fortune teller. There’s no way I could have known.”
“Then why… did you tell me that if Shin Yu-hwa spoke to you privately, I should never interfere and just film from a safe distance…?”

That was a request I’d made in advance.
Back when I was catching this rat.
Fortunately, my Manager had done her job well—apparently she’d done this kind of thing many times before.

“Trash can’t help but show its true nature.”

I answered while reviewing the video one more time.

“That’s their nature—doing trashy things. So I knew eventually they’d slip up, which is why I told you to film everything.”

Of course, I didn’t expect to catch him so easily either.
Shin Yu-hwa was truly a piece of trash with guts spilling out of his belly.
Since he’s gotten away with this behavior every time without consequence, his audacity has only grown.
It was predictable.

“So Director Kim’s family is covering up Shin Yu-hwa?”
“…Yeah.”

Quite the influential family.

“The editorial director of StarPatch is Director Kim’s relative, right?”
“…From what I know, he’s his older brother.”
“I see.”

So it was a consistently corrupt family after all.
At this point, I can’t deny it.
Hmm. In my past life, it wasn’t StarPatch that exposed Jo Hee-on and Shin Yu-hwa—it was another media outlet. Now I understand why.
Of course StarPatch wouldn’t have touched this.

“Are you going to expose this, Yun Chung?”

My Manager asked me with anxious eyes.

“Keep your eyes on the road. You need to focus on driving.”
“Oh, y-yes….”

I sighed.

“I’m not going to expose it right now. One video alone isn’t enough. It would only invite backlash against me instead.”

Shin Yu-hwa’s fans won’t believe the truth based on this single video.
The public will be uncertain too.
It’s predictable.

‘There must be more to the story.’
‘Yun Chung must have angered Shin Yu-hwa, so he acted that way.’
‘Yun Chung must have provoked Shin Yu-hwa and brought this on herself.’

The repertoire was so predictable that I couldn’t even muster anger.

“Then… what if we got testimonies from the idols who suffered at Shin Yu-hwa’s hands, or something like that…?”

The Manager offered her own idea.

“That won’t work.”

It was a rather pointless suggestion, of course.

“Why not?”
“How could I ask them to expose their painful wounds just to solve my problem? To directly speak about the harm Shin Yu-hwa caused them? What female idol would want to do that?”
“…!”
“These are people who struggle just being in the same space as that piece of garbage, even for a moment. I can’t ask them to testify that garbage kept trying to smear me.”

Just look at Se-a from earlier.
Shin Yu-hwa’s sarcasm, Se-a’s eyes burning with rage.
I don’t know what happened between them, but it was clear Se-a had suffered too.
Yet she still found the courage to step in.
Use someone like that?
Why would I?

“Instead of the victims, we could make someone else a witness.”
“…Someone else? Who?”
“Kim Ryeo-yu.”
“!”

I have enough using only the bad people.

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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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