Became The Leader of a Girl Group Destined To Fail - Chapter 140

—————

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

—————

Chapter 140.

“That song… could it be—”
“Yes. It’s a Korean art song. Have you heard it before, Da-hwin? It was used as a drama OST, so you might know it.”

This song was truly my trump card, something I’d been holding in reserve.
And here I was, forced to play it already.
A dull ache crept up the back of my neck, but… well, winning is what matters.

“Ah, yes…! It’s a song I personally love very much. However…”

Da-hwin’s expression grew noticeably darker.

“If I had only not chosen 【La vita】, you wouldn’t have needed to change your song so hastily…”
“It’s fine. I like 【Falling Petals】 too. There will still be some overlap in that we’re both singing art songs… but I’m performing an arranged modern Korean art song, while Da-hwin is singing an Italian art song. It should be okay.”
“I feel like I made the wrong choice. I’m sorry for creating this overlap from the start…”

…Wasn’t the title itself already overlapping from the beginning?
I started to say that, but held back.
What power could a rookie have?
It was probably just what the Entertainment Company told her to do…
The titles weren’t completely identical anyway—just one keyword overlapped.

“Da-hwin.”
“Yes?”

I looked at the rookie before me.
In some ways, this person resembled Yun Chung.
Despite possessing talent that was destined to shine, they ultimately disappeared from the entertainment industry.
Against their will.
Yun Chung by a fellow member, Da-hwin by the Entertainment Company.
The strangely overlapping stories made me sigh.

“You don’t need to worry. Just as much as I did… Da-hwin must have worked incredibly hard too.”

I paused for a moment before continuing.

“And Da-hwin and I are ‘different’ people anyway. We’ll create a ‘different’ stage, won’t we?”
“…Yes! That’s right….”

Only then did Da-hwin’s face brighten.

“I’ll work hard too. Watching Da-hwin’s stage, I think I’ll be able to learn so much more. Please teach me a lot.”
“…! Senior….”
“We’re only a few months apart. Please don’t call me senior—just call me by my name. You’re 20, right?”
“Oh, yes. I’m 20.”
“I’m 21. Since the age difference isn’t that big… I’d appreciate it if you could just treat me comfortably.”

I smiled softly and looked past Da-hwin.

“Do you happen to have your costume? Could I see it?”

If the costume overlaps too, I genuinely want to change it.
At my words, Da-hwin smiled brightly and pulled her costume from the garment rack.

“Oh, yes! This is the costume.”

Hmm.
Her agency really seems viciously malicious.
Even the costume completely overlapped with mine.
I had deliberately chosen a glamorous dress.
Yet Da-hwin’s costume was almost identical to mine.
A blue mermaid dress.
…They’re even copying the color? Isn’t that going too far?
There must be a ruthless villain in her agency too.
They’re so blinded by noise marketing.

“…Oh, did this overlap too…?!”

Yeah. Seriously….
This is genuinely giving me a headache.
I called the Manager, who had gone out to buy coffee.

“Manager.”
-Yeah, Yun Chung?
“I think we need to borrow some things from the Broadcasting Station’s costume and prop departments.”
-What?! What do you need?!

What else? Costumes.
The entire operation just changed.
The entire operation is being completely changed.

***

Today, Prism Homma came as an audience member for “Dear My Diva.”
She’d been reaping the benefits of having a friend who worked at the Broadcasting Station.
However, her mood wasn’t good right now.
The first performance was Da-hwin from Enliven.
Why did watching Da-hwin’s stage put her in a bad mood?
It was because of the spoiler that broke this morning.

★
Apparently Colors rented a blue mermaid dress from La Maison Dress Shop today hehehehe Could this be the birth of a YunBlue legend outfit..?
Today’s “Dear My Diva” cue sheet spoiler

(photo)
Is YunBlue singing O Sole Mio today??
But what’s weird is the rookie is also singing Labeeta… Aren’t their songs overlapping too much?

Seriously, this is insane
????? Both of them are singing Italian art songs…?????
Huh?? And since both debuted not long ago, their order is consecutive too Da-hwin 1st, YunBlue 2nd…
This is completely backwards;;;; Is the rookie crazy? A copycat?
No, it’s a legendary concept with legendary song selection but

One weird kid ruins everything
I’m seriously pissed off

Right?
Oh PD definitely knew but probably left them overlapping on purpose to be provocative Jinzza I hate it
└Now I’m wondering who told them in the first place…hehe

That was precisely why the situation had become what it was.
There was no way to avoid feeling angry.
And what about Da-hwin’s stage outfit that I’d just seen?

‘It was a blue mermaid dress.’

It was virtually identical to the outfit that had circulated as a spoiler from Yun Chung’s stage.
As if they were simply copying the stage exactly as it was.
I was already in a foul mood from hearing rumors that their group kept copying us.
Did they really need to copy the stage identically even at this point?

‘Huh?’

But something felt off.
It should have been Yun Chung’s turn now,
but a different performer had come out and was singing instead.

‘The cue sheet said Da-hwin and Yun Chung were supposed to be facing off. Wasn’t that right?’

Everything matched except for the order—it was too much to dismiss the cue sheet spoiler as simply wrong.
I wondered if perhaps only the order had been slightly changed.
In any case, it was fortunate that the two of them weren’t going head-to-head.

‘So when exactly will Yun Chung appear…?’

Prism Homma watched the second performer’s stage with mounting anxiety.
Since Da-hwin’s stage had been so solid and impressive, it seemed unlikely that this performer could defeat her.
And the results matched her expectations.
Da-hwin won.
Prism Homma watched the subsequent stages with a troubled heart.
Whether Da-hwin won or lost wasn’t the issue—my kid hadn’t even appeared yet!
After waiting like that for quite some time.
And only when it came to the final order.

“Yes, the next performer is. StillBlue’s Yun Chung. We hear she’s prepared a very special stage for today.”

Finally, Yun Chung’s name was called.

‘Still terrible at ad-libbing, I see….’

It was a natural result, given that Colors fans all knew the variety show troublemaker had been set up as the MC.
Who on earth cast them as MC…?

“Yes~! Today’s stage is one that our Entertainment Company junior, Yun Chung, has prepared very~! specially for us! I was quite shocked the moment I heard the song selection! It’s a song I personally love so much. Actually, it’s not an easy song to pull off! I have a feeling the audience members here today will all be quite surprised as well. That’s the kind of song selection this is.”

Fortunately, Han Jae-i, who was co-hosting the MC segment beside them, was gradually neutralizing the chaos.
If Han Jae-i hadn’t been there, the MC time would have been nothing but a parade of troublemakers.
Wait, hold on.
A surprising song selection?

“This song was also used as the OST for the drama, 【Lycoris Radiata】.”

Hm?
Suddenly 【Lycoris Radiata】?
I wasn’t unfamiliar with 【Lycoris Radiata】.
Actually, finding someone in this country who didn’t know that drama would be harder.
It was a drama that recorded a viewership rating of 40%.
However, the OST that came to mind when thinking of that drama was….
Not 【O Sole Mio】?

“【Lycoris Radiata】 was a drama that symbolized the turbulent 1930s. The drama depicted how a woman named Ji-hwa, who left for the United States alone, survived in that country with nothing but her voice. This song, the signature piece of 【Lycoris Radiata】, is,”

Han Jae-i turned her body toward the stage.

“【Falling Petals】!”

Following that gaze to the stage, Prism Homma felt all her anger and suspicion melt away the moment she saw Yun Chung standing on the stage.

Send my fallen heart
Down to the riverside

A single verse that began with no accompaniment whatsoever.
Yet I couldn’t understand why that one voice resonated like the vibration of some enormous instrument.
The noisy audience fell silent in an instant.

I, passing over the Snowy Field,
Grasped the stream and wrote your name

A look that symbolized the “Modern Girl” of the 1930s.
White feathers adorned her hair, and the back of her head was swept up slightly and curled into a neat roll.
Even the beauty mark she normally didn’t emphasize was strikingly displayed, and she wore an intense eye makeup unlike anything I’d seen before.
Gripping a classical golden standing microphone with both hands.
Yun Chung stood in a dazzling white beaded dress that fell to her knees.

A blossoming heart that cannot help but bloom
Carried on winds from far, far away

She truly looked like a singer from that bygone era.
Prism Homma realized it then.
Yun Chung had worn the exact dress that the main character wore in the drama.
It must have been possible to get sponsorship because it was an SWC drama.
Prism Homma was nearly shedding tears of emotion.

Those days with my longed-for love
Even if spring is trampled
Is it not still spring?

“Falling Blossoms” was not a song about love.
It was a song sung alone by the female protagonist, who had to leave for the United States due to unavoidable circumstances, yearning for her homeland.
A distant foreign land. The scene of singing on stage in a mother tongue no one could understand was still counted among the most memorable moments in cinema history.

Those years with my beloved love
Even in the harshest winter
Are they not flowers?

Hands gripping the microphone as if it were the entire world, and fingertips trembling.
Eyes closed gently, and the corners slightly furrowed.
Unlike the original song performed with grandeur.
Stripped of technique and delivered with simplicity.
The arrangement too was sparse, designed solely to highlight Yun Chung’s voice.
All of this made Yun Chung the true master of the song.
Truly a singer living in that era—Yun Chung herself.

I gathered the stream flowing beneath the snowy field and gave it to the flowers
Making my heart an embankment
So it wouldn’t freeze and shatter
I held it close

Prism Homma realized it wasn’t simply that Yun Chung sang well—this stage was something more.
There was something fundamentally different about Yun Chung’s performance today compared to her usual stages.
It felt as though someone else entirely was singing, not Yun Chung herself.
Watching Yun Chung’s expression, completely absorbed in the performance, only deepened that impression.

My winter, sleeping peacefully,
I cannot correct
The flood called spring
That I await.

The sensation of glimpsing someone’s tender season washed over her as a quiet, crystalline joy.

—————

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

—————