Became The Leader of a Girl Group Destined To Fail - Chapter 126

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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 126.

There was a section in the choreography where I’d brush past Cha-yul.
As always, I adjusted my positioning, and in that instant, light blazed from Cha-yul’s eyes.
….
Roughly translated, it meant something like ‘Why are you suddenly this good?’
Or perhaps ‘I want to steal your vocal cords right now!’
It was daunting, but I decided to focus anyway.
My voice is similar to hers, but there are subtle differences.
To adapt, I needed to stay sharp and alert.
Only now did I understand what Cotton Ball Entity had meant.

-It’s a somewhat difficult solution… but as a professional idol and a born-to-be idol, I’m sure you can pull it off, Baek Nok-ha.

So that’s what it was.

***

Meanwhile, there was a viewer watching the Stage.
It was Kim Deputy.
Her ultimate bias was Kim Geum, but Kim Deputy had grown deeply attached to all of StillBlue.
So when Yun Chung’s stage, 【Full Moon】, began, she found herself tensing without realizing it.
She was aware that Yun Chung’s vocal condition had been precarious lately.

‘This can’t happen. I want to see Geum for as long as possible…! Please don’t get eliminated…!’

That was the feeling in her heart.
But then.

You fill my heart
Today’s Full Moon

What was this?
It was a massive hit.

‘Insane, insane, insane! Why is her vocal condition so flawless today?’

Even her voice seemed to carry a slightly different quality.
Normally, it was powerful and crystalline.
Today, it was something like a nightingale—pure beauty itself.
How could one person’s voice transform so completely with just a shift in atmosphere?

‘Cha-yul is always glued to her side—did she give her some kind of secret training?’

Give me secret training too, Kim Geum. Please.
Kim Deputy swallowed back tears of affection and refocused on the stage.

Don’t shrink away from me
Don’t drift away from me
Keep our love exactly as it is
You’re my moonshine

It was Kim Ryeo-yu’s part again.
She was supposedly the center and main vocalist this time.
She really does get a ton of lines.
Kim Deputy’s brow furrowed slightly.
Listening to it like this, she sounds incredibly skilled at live performance.
But it’s all LMR, isn’t it?
If Kim Ryeo-yu hadn’t missed that lip-sync in the opening, everyone would have been completely fooled.

Your memory follows me wherever I go
You’re fading away
But your memory grows larger

Se-a really is stunningly beautiful.
Her facial expressions carried the weight of experience—they genuinely commanded attention.
Kim Ryeo-yu’s fans claim she’s excellent at expressions, but from Kim Deputy’s perspective, that wasn’t true at all.
Whether the song was bright or sad, she always wore the same expression—the one that made her look prettiest. Where was the artistry in that?
Lost in thought, the song swelled further, and the group chorus returned.

You became my moon
But I’ll become your star
With a small, unchanging love
I’ll stay by your side
You’re my moonshine
You’re my moonshine

Everyone was singing together, clearly.
Kim Ryeo-yu was clearly singing the main part.

‘Is it real that only Yun Chung’s voice is sticking in my ears like this?’

That god’s vocal power pierced through even more distinctly than Cha-yul’s.
It wasn’t simply because she was projecting her voice loudly.
Rather, I could feel her adjusting her vocal volume considerately for her other teammates.
Yet her voice conquered all of that.

‘What’s going on with her voice today? And why is she singing this well today?’

I knew she sang well originally, but did she ever sing this well?
I’m so proud of our leader, but I was genuinely surprised—bewildered even.
Kim Deputy carefully checked the SNS reactions.

★
Yun Chung is absolutely killing it today
Bluebird, did you eat something special today? It feels like she got buffed alone or something
Our goddess, take it easy—unnie, my knees are already worn out
Actually, LMR was Kim Ryeo-yu’s big picture all along
Kim Ryeo-yu: Sorry, I drew aggro with LMR to show off Yun Chung’s vocal ability
└Anyway, that’s how it is

Sure enough, everyone clearly shared the same thoughts as Kim Deputy.
The reactions from communities dominated by casual fans were nearly identical.

The one with the amazing tone right now is Yun Chung, right?

That’s the new main vocalist of Colors, right??
Did she always sing this well? Her voice is really nice

The fans are all surprised lol
Her tone is pretty, but she’s genuinely skilled
My ears feel clear; she seems like one of the top active idols
└Don’t say things like that, it draws aggro (passing Yun Chung fan)
Doesn’t it seem like Yun Chung intentionally changed her voice tone to show it’s live?

She seems to have deliberately shifted the tone slightly to prove it’s live

Wow, this is actually convincing.
Yeah, this is it.
This is it lolololololol
Ah, I knew something felt different from usual, and I really liked it
If this is real, isn’t Yun Chung a genius idol?
Where do Colors keep finding these kids? Hong Yeon-seo must have incredible luck…
“That’s why they don’t have the personality to deserve that kind of luck.”
└└Don’t just mention her personality—she has no skills either

After the chorus, the other members’ parts came up.
But Kim Deputy’s mind was completely filled with thoughts of Yun Chung.
And it wasn’t just Kim Deputy.

***

Outside the studio, opinion was split in half.
The Kim Ryeo-yu LMR controversy.
And the Yun Chung insane live performance controversy.
So then, what was it like inside the studio?

“Today on Top of Idol, the return of idols aiming for the summit. I’m MC Shin Yu-hwa. Five teams have completed their performances brilliantly, and I must say, I was genuinely shocked. How could teammates who’ve never performed together even once display such incredible chemistry?”

Chemistry? Nonsense.
My carefully maintained business smile nearly cracked.
The moment the time limit ended, I habitually touched my throat, which had gone completely dead.
The “solution” that Cotton Ball Entity had prepared was Yun Chung’s voice.
I never could have imagined it.
Fortunately, the stage ended without incident.
If I’d been even slightly less tense, I might have failed to adapt to the voice and hit a wrong note.
I was so grateful I managed to come down without making a single mistake.
I was truly shocked.
I never knew Yun Chung’s voice and mine were so similar.
I suppose I never noticed because Yun Chung’s active period was so short.
Now that I think about it, Yun Chung and I seem to have quite a lot in common….
Or maybe not.
I couldn’t be certain of anything. I still don’t know what’s what.
…Anyway.
Though the immediate problem was resolved, my mind began filling with even larger questions.
What was Cotton Ball Entity so busy with?
And how was it able to lend me Yun Chung’s throat and voice?
Why hadn’t it used such a method before, and why only now?
What exactly was Cotton Ball Entity’s true identity?

“However, regrettably, we must rank these perfect stages. After all, this is Top of Idol.”

Before I could dwell on my questions any further, the recording continued.
I had no choice but to set aside my doubts and lift my head.
Shin Yu-hwa gazed at us with an artificial smile.

“Based on the combined results of the advance public vote and rival vote, the team with the highest score will be finally selected as the worst team for the second mission. First, I’ll announce the results of the advance public worst team vote that everyone has been waiting for.”

1st Place
Team Full Moon
40 points
2nd Place
Team Come Here
30 points
…

As the scores were announced, the venue erupted in murmurs.
We had been voted first place.
We were the team that had been singled out as gathering all the aces.
But when the detailed results came out, the looks said: ‘Wait, worst team in first place?’
Of course that made sense.
After all, the worst team ranking was determined by anti-fan count rather than fan count.
Among them, who would have the most anti-fans by far?
I looked at Kim Ryeo-yu.
She was pretending to be composed, but I could see her fingertips trembling.

“Now, we’ll announce the results of the worst stage vote chosen by the twenty idols who watched the performances live at the venue. Let me tell you something confidential—it was extremely close.”

Extremely close?
Tension settled across every idol’s face.

“The vote difference between first and second place among the twenty voters was just a single vote.”

Shin Yu-hwa said this and gazed at the massive display screen.

“Now I’ll reveal the vote counts each team received for the second mission rival vote worst stage. For now, I’ll keep each team’s name confidential.”

1st Place: 7 votes
2nd Place: 6 votes
3rd Place: 3 votes
Tied 4th Place: 2 votes

After that, the tied fourth-place teams and the third-place team were announced first.
The tied fourth-place teams included Seo Baek-young and Ryu Bora respectively.
The third-place team had Yeon Ju-hong.
Now it was either Kim Geum’s team or my team that ranked last.
Kim Geum, sitting across from me, was trembling with anxiety.
And for good reason—Kim Geum’s team was….
Kim Geum performed exceptionally well.
The problem was that the rest of the team members couldn’t handle the song properly.
There were two members from Max Burning and one from Sugar Dream, and the Sugar Dream member’s pitch was unstable.
The two Max Burning members were attempting the cute and bubbly concept for the first time in their lives, so they couldn’t adapt to their own appearance at all.
Their skills themselves weren’t bad, but when these hot, tanned unnies sang such a bright and cheerful song, they felt awkward about it and couldn’t manage their expressions.
I enjoyed it though….
Actually, Kim Geum was the happiest one of all.
She was thrilled to be on stage with such cool unnies.

“Now, we will announce the worst stage that disappointed the rivals the most.”

The moment Shin Yu-hwa covered the display screen with one hand.
The screen switched.

Worst Stage
Team 【Full Moon】
1st Place (7 votes)

The four of us appeared on screen.

[Lina: Actually, this stage was both the best and worst for me.]

Then interviews from the performers appeared on the display screen.

[Seon-jin: Maybe because this team had the highest expectations. I was actually quite… disappointed.]
[Beni: Hmm…. Even if they had done a live performance, they would have done well enough. So why make such a safe choice? Did something happen? That’s what I thought.]
[Tisi: Yun Chung was truly a rediscovery. I thought, “Rookies these days are scary,” you know.]
[Kora: It’s natural that expectations would be higher with two senior unnies of such experience. And the other two are such rookies that they must have felt the pressure that comes with it. I understand.]

In truth, the reaction at the Venue was bound to be far more frigid than what appeared online.
Even that had been heavily softened for presentation.
Why, you ask?
The broadcast would be smoothly covered with LMR in post-production— but at the live Stage?
The LMR that Kim Ryeo-yu had prepared never played.

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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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