Became The Leader of a Girl Group Destined To Fail - Chapter 136

—————

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

—————

Chapter 136.

Ironically enough.
We were moved by Kim Geum’s words, but we were also shocked by them.
And something welled up inside us, threatening to spill over.
But we couldn’t cry on broadcast, so everyone swallowed their tears forcefully, unable to lift their heads.

“No, no. Don’t all get so emotional.”

Kim Geum waved her hands frantically, flustered.

“You’re only just now realizing how cool I am? I’m certain you haven’t yet tasted the true charm of Kim Geum.”
“…That’s rich.”

Ryu Bora raised her eyebrows, desperately trying to hide her reddened eyes.

“Ha ha. That was truly a moment where you could feel how close-knit everyone is. Wow, thinking of my All Colors members made my heart burn hot too. Members! If you’re watching this live broadcast… I love you! Are you watching?”

Day shifted the topic to lighten the mood.

“Now, for the moment so many of you have been waiting for! We’ll announce the winning team of 【Top of Idol】. Let’s witness the finale of this eight-week journey together.”

With those words, the display screen hanging from the studio ceiling changed.

[Total Votes: 317,896]

“Wow, that’s truly impressive. In just sixty minutes, you’ve gathered an astounding 310,000 votes. The global voting numbers are also showing remarkable momentum right now. This is MEN, 【Top of Idol】. True to the fierce survival competition among idols aiming for the top, these are truly staggering numbers.”

Wow.
I could feel the audio never went silent for a moment.
That’s impressive.
At that level, his entertainment ability stat must be around 90.

“Then, let me first announce the third-place team.”

[3rd Place: Cha-yul]

Ding!
Huh? Cha-yul only placed third?
Well, it makes sense that going solo puts her at a disadvantage for gathering votes… but still, making it to the finals is incredible;

“Ah, our sole solo contestant, Cha-yul, has placed third. Still, I must say, that’s truly a remarkable ranking. Cha-yul, would you share your thoughts on placing third?”
“Third place is actually a ranking I feel is more than I deserve. I’m grateful to all our fans who worked so hard to vote. From now on, I won’t put you through such hardship… wait, is that not okay? I’m truly thankful to everyone. I hope to see all the other performers on another stage with great performances someday.”

That’s so like Cha-yul.
Mm.
Looking around, everyone seemed to share the same sentiment.

“Wow, truly cool and impressive remarks. That’s exactly what we’d expect from superstar Cha-yul. I even want to learn from that.”

Day deliberately glossed over Cha-yul’s unexpected comment and returned to the main topic.

“Now, for 【Top of Idol】, the true pinnacle where artists aim for the apex of idol status. We will announce the championship team.”

All five of us squeezed each other’s hands tightly.
And we stared intently at the scoreboard.
Max Burning was a team with the massive variable of an international fanbase.
Could we, who had only just debuted and had a weak international following, possibly win?
I found myself staring at the window that filled my vision as if to pierce through it.

[~A small personal mission from Yun Chung~
Win first place in the final rankings of 【Top of Idol】

Reward: 1,000 points]

The fact that this appeared before me at this very moment must mean it’s something I need to achieve.
I took a deep breath, and

[Champions: Max Burning]

exhaled.
I heard the sound of my heart sinking heavily.
A very, weighty descent.
And with it came the sound of something bursting, echoing through the air.
Soon after, confetti scattered everywhere.

Ding!

[Mission failed!]
[The mission is disappearing….]
[Current Points: 1,700 points]

So in the end….
I couldn’t win.
I tried hard to hide my disappointment, and tried even harder.
It wasn’t about missing out on the points.
Those points—I could earn them from another mission anyway.
But….
I looked around at the members beside me.
Just as we’d discussed before, none of them showed any sign of regret.
They all smiled as brightly as they could and applauded Max Burning for their hard work.
Yet I could read it.
The regret in their eyes.
…My mind knew there was nothing to apologize for.
Everyone had worked hard, so that was enough.
It had already been such a meaningful day. Why should the result matter so much?
I knew all of this.
So why did I feel this sorry?
To the members, and to Ever Blue.
I took a breath in, then let it out.
I couldn’t be like this.
If I was, the members would share in my regret too.
With Max Burning’s closing remarks, the final credits of Top of Idol rolled up.
The moment all the live broadcast filming ended.
Only after the cameras shut off did I grab all the members and pull them into my arms without thinking.

“We really did so well. Right?”
“!”

My voice was raised with all my strength, but no one answered.
They simply huddled together, holding each other and looking down.

“We really did so well. I’m truly… proud of us.”

Looking down at the floor below.
It seemed pollen and tears had fallen there.

***

StillBlue, what a shame

The stage was really great, but it seems unavoidable that our overseas firepower is still weak.

Max Burning got 140,000 votes, and 90,000 of them were from overseas. It was an unwinnable fight
How many votes did StillBlue get??
└Around 100,000 votes, with only 10,000 from overseas
└└Wow…
It’s a shame about the other rookies, but I still think it’s amazing that a newcomer placed 2nd! lol
Max Burning, I thought their stage was boring so it was just okay for me

They got 1st place
Unexpected

I’m realizing the power of overseas core fans
Now I understand why idols do so many overseas tours…
They fought fairly, so let’s not bash anyone

Whether it’s Cha-yul, StillBlue, or Max Burning, they all worked hard and did well
The overseas votes didn’t manipulate the vote count or anything… it’s just how it is

StillBlue fans, it’s disappointing but since they’re rookies, I think they can climb higher~~
└222 StillBlue will probably blow up overseas soon too

Thus, most reactions were a mix of disappointment and congratulations for the 2nd place finish.
However.
Not all reactions could be positive.

StillBlue’s hype will die down right away

Yeah, that bubble thing got exposed right away.
Even worse favoritism than Ryeo-yu’s.
Yeah, can’t even argue back.
Where are all the E-dongs who were so popular that they were so popular? LOL
Serves them right.

Ugh, just disappear already.
So Colors is producing failed idols too.

Failing even with massive backing from a mega entertainment company.
That idol from the first domestic Entertainment Company-invested survival show who lost first place to another artist.
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
Isn’t Colors known for having incredibly strong core fanbases?
Is StillBlue the only one with a weak core fanbase????
So, where are all the fans of Sobble who said they were good at core because they came from Serba? haha
It’s fascinating how they all go quiet the moment objective metrics come out.
To be honest, aren’t your 100,000 votes also from All Colors? Hahaha, the Day guys are pushing it so hard that it was written by their oppa.

Wait, they got second place, so why are you saying they failed? By your logic, Cha-yul got third place, so is she a complete flop?
└Yeah~ Cha-yul’s been over for so long~she’s a total flop~
Hahahahaha… this guy who won’t even make a splash is talking a lot, seriously…
I heard Moment is launching a girl group soon.

I’m going to be pushed right away, you idiots haha.
Only 100,000 votes today, is that real?
Wow.

I always thought there was some hype around Survival of the Strongest from the beginning, honestly.

The bubble seems to be deflating now haha.

The fans knew all those comments were nonsense.
Yet they couldn’t shake off the hurt.
Comparison posts with Enliven, a group that hadn’t even debuted yet, suddenly flooded in, making the hurt only grow deeper.

★
No, we must have gotten into trouble. They keep entangling the rookie with our kids.
If you’re going to pair them, do it right. I’m seriously disillusioned
You gotta know when to jump in and when to stay out lol. But then you end up getting hit with a backlash, you guys. Don’t you know karma comes back around?
Some rookie girl idol trying to ride on StillBlue’s coattails at a time like this… Please don’t do that. We’re all girl idols
Two major points of chaos.
1. StillBlue came in 2nd place but is still being criticized as if they flopped.
2. Meanwhile, a girl group that hasn’t even debuted yet is acting like they’re telling StillBlue to step aside.
└Seeing how they drive both haters and fans crazy, StillBlue really is a true superstar…
└└Seriously, to the kids who debuted less than 2 months ago… hahahahaha, almost 10 years worth of crap is attached to them. This is the life of a superstar.

And so.
An atmosphere was forming where both the fandom and public opinion grew increasingly sensitive.

***

“You all worked so hard!”
“Phew, everyone did such a great job.”
“The Dormitory is so nice… seriously.”
“Today’s performance was so fun. I want to perform every day.”

The two-month-long intense filming of 【Top of Idol】 had finally wrapped.
Among the members laughing with relief at the thought that there would be no more survival rounds.
Only Kim Geum wore an expressionless face.
…Of course, it wasn’t something I hadn’t anticipated.
Our performance was filled with lyrics and concepts aimed directly at Kim Ryeo-yu.
I knew the reaction would be intense.
I could feel it just from the K-App live chat window I briefly opened in the car on the way home from work.
Real concerns.
And malicious comments disguised as concerns.
Comments that were obviously written by antis pretending to be fans were so transparent that they didn’t even sting. I don’t understand why they bother.
Since all the members had anticipated there would be negative reactions, there was nothing particularly surprising about it.
However, as that anticipation became reality, a corner of my heart began to fill with worry.
Was I worried that our popularity would drop?
No.
I was worried that Kim Geum might get hurt.
The moment I saw the lyrics, I worried that the arrows of criticism would be directed at Kim Geum, the lyricist.
But Kim Geum warned us not to worry, saying she didn’t need to concern herself with it.
At the time, I thought it was because she wanted to sever all ties with Kim Ryeo-yu.
But I could feel it in Kim Geum’s voice as she spoke her final thoughts.
Everything was Kim Geum’s choice to protect us.
In fact, Kim Geum had already made her resolve before stepping onto the stage, and she seemed unfazed even after it ended.
The person directly involved seemed fine, but I couldn’t shake my worry.
This was the most delicate period, after all.

“Geum.”

After confirming that all the members had retreated to their rooms,
I quietly knocked on Kim Geum’s door.

“Yes?”

Creak.
The door opened the moment I knocked.
At this point, wasn’t she practically waiting for me at the door?
I looked at Kim Geum, slightly taken aback.

“I’m not sleeping.”

Her eyes were swollen.

“Geum… have you been crying?”

This was bad.

—————

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

—————