Became The Leader of a Girl Group Destined To Fail - Chapter 147

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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 147.

Today was supposed to be a day off, yet simultaneously, it was a day I couldn’t afford to rest.
The recording for Dear My Diva was coming up soon.
I’d competed in the semifinals not long ago, and fortunately, I’d won by a comfortable margin.
Since I’d won with an uncontroversial song, there hadn’t been much backlash.
Now only the finals remained.
I exhaled heavily as I reviewed the matchup bracket I’d received in advance.
Three contestants were advancing to the finals.
Me, Da-hwin, and the main vocalist from another girl group.
I’d known that once we were on the same program, there was no avoiding it.
But when it actually came down to facing Da-hwin, exhaustion washed over me.
Since we’d be competing head-to-head today, comparison posts would likely flood in.
Creating this kind of competitive dynamic was draining, but if it was unavoidable anyway, we both needed to approach the competition in a way that could benefit us both.
That’s why right now, I was meeting quietly with Da-hwin to select our songs.

“So, we need to go with completely different concepts.”
“Ah, I see!”

When I explained this thinking to Da-hwin, fortunately, she understood immediately.

“What about your agency? Do they respect your input?”
“No!”

…Don’t answer so cheerfully like that….

“Then is your song already decided?”

If her side couldn’t change songs, it would be better for me to change mine.

“Yes. It’s this song…!”

I nodded as I looked at the song Da-hwin handed me.

“A very classical ballad.”
“The company’s idea was to stimulate emotional sensitivity. They said songs like this are always guaranteed to win….”
“That’s generally true, I suppose.”

I would have used a similar strategy myself.
The song Da-hwin would be singing was an incredibly melancholic ballad.
A song only needs to stir emotions to accomplish ninety percent of its purpose.

“So you’re planning to take a completely different approach than this song, senior…?!”
“Yes. I thought it might reduce the comparisons. We can’t avoid it entirely, but still.”
“I’m sorry… because of me….”
“It’s not because of you. It’s because of Moment.”

I stopped selecting songs and lifted my head.

“What about the company? Has the schedule for the next album come out yet?”
“Ah, yes! It’s rough, but it has come out. They said it’s scheduled for August release! They haven’t told us officially yet, but I think it’ll be a mini album like in my past life.”
“….”
“W-wait, could it be that you too…?!”

A sigh escaped me involuntarily.

“We’re coming out in August too.”
“Gasp.”

Da-hwin’s eyes wavered.

“Then, then I’ll offer my humble opinion…! What about July…?!”
“That won’t work at all.”

They deliberately scheduled it to target us from the start.
They’ll create a rivalry narrative through reverse virality, then artificially inflate their sales figures through bulk purchasing.
Using those inflated numbers, they’ll spread media play claiming they defeated their rival, leaving us with the image of ‘losing’ and themselves with the image of ‘winning’.
The hottest idol group right now isn’t StillBlue—it’s Enliven.
Female idol fandoms have relatively smaller core bases, so ‘image’ was incredibly important.
Revenue didn’t come solely from album sales; it had to be generated from the general public through events and advertisements.
Male idols likely earned more from their dedicated ‘fans’.
But female idols earned most of their revenue from the choices of the ‘general public’.
That’s why public recognition was so vital for female idols.
The benefits of the title ‘hottest new artist’ were simply too enormous.

“Then… what should we do? If we keep going like this, everything from my past life will just repeat…. Anything but that….”
“….”

People fundamentally don’t want to side with the losing party.
They prefer to support the winning side.
Even if that victory is fabricated.
David and Goliath?
That’s only possible with an enormous narrative backing it up.
Not many people want to witness the narrative of a mere girl group.
No one except our fans would want to take our side.
If anything, they’d throw stones at us instead.
I don’t want our fans to experience that kind of suffering.
I already know how agonizing it is from my time at Make a New Color.
When fans endure such a grueling process, they inevitably grow exhausted.
Moment knows this too, which is why they’re pressing their advantage against us.
We’re the newest artists with the best response right now.
If the element of bulk purchasing didn’t exist, we wouldn’t have feared a direct confrontation.
I believed we could win through skill alone, and I had confidence in that.
But the only ways to overcome bulk purchasing are overwhelming popularity or matching their bulk purchasing.
No matter how much we improve our numbers, if they execute an even larger bulk purchase, it’s over.
There’s essentially no way to win.
Whether it’s digital releases or physical albums.
In my past life, it took over a year before Moment’s bulk purchasing scheme was exposed.
But I don’t have a year to spare.
I have to expose it immediately, no matter what.
There aren’t many ways to prove bulk purchasing.
Especially not from the ‘outside’.
But what about from the ‘inside’?
If I could gather evidence of bulk purchasing from within?
I looked at Da-hwin.

“Da-hwin. Do you really want to stop Moment’s bulk purchasing?”

***

Ding!

What’s this?
Are the girls doing some kind of event?
She thought absently as she checked the notification.
I happened to see the notification carelessly.

COLORFUL
StillBlue│Come BACK! 【Paper Dol】 Track List & Spoilers♥

“!!!!!”

On the bus ride home from work.
Kim Deputy let out a silent scream.
Finally, the next album teaser had dropped!

COLORFUL
StillBlue 1st single : Paper Dol

[Track 1. Paper Dol]
Composition: Yun Chung
Lyrics: Ryu Bora, Yeon Ju-hong, Yun Chung, Kim Geum, Seo Baek-young

[Track 2. You’re my word]
Composition: Kim Geum
Lyrics: Ryu Bora, Kim Geum, Yun Chung

My heart was racing just from seeing two tracks on the list.
And this album too—the members composed and wrote the lyrics…!
This is amazing!
Moreover, based on the Colors article, it seemed both songs were double title tracks.
Two comebacks with one album?
That’s not twice as good—it’s two hundred million times better.
But that wasn’t all.
I opened the StillBlue tab within the app.
It had changed to a spoiler page.
And I nearly died holding back a celebratory dance right there on the bus.

Have you guys seen the spoiler page yet?
I’m losing it;
Wow, I can’t even imagine what the title concept is. Give me more spoilers, give me more.
Wait guys, check out the season greeting diary; it looks kind of similar to the spoiler page
└Wait, you’re right;; The cover and inside pages are identical to the pages

That was it.
The first page of the spoiler page was the diary cover.

COLORFUL
【Ever Blue & StillBlue’s Exchange Diary】

The blue diary’s cover had a heart-shaped cutout at the top, and through it, photographs of all five StillBlue members were visible.
It was the five-member concept photo from the previous Blue album.
At the bottom of the cover, in small handwriting, were the words “Touch it and you’re in trouble.”
Stickers related to StillBlue were plastered all over it—anyone could tell this was Ever Blue’s diary.
And on the diary’s clasp, an arrow was blinking as if urging someone to press it.
Thump-thump.
Thump-thump.
Kim Deputy pressed the clasp on the diary.
In that moment, the diary opened.
The inner pages and journal entries were revealed.
Looking at the dates, it was November of last year—when StillBlue debuted.
The diary’s pages were filled with memories of StillBlue packed into every space.

COLORFUL
11.19
Today is the day our kids’ teaser comes out. I really like the concept.

The day StillBlue’s teaser first appeared.

COLORFUL
11.24
Showcase! The kids must have been nervous for their first stage, but they didn’t show it at all and performed so well♥

The day of StillBlue’s showcase, their first music broadcast appearance—all those dates were recorded.
It was a diary that seemed to capture the hearts of the fans in their entirety.
When you pressed the box for a particular date, photographs of StillBlue from that day would appear.
Since these were photos I’d never seen before, they seemed to be behind-the-scenes shots.

‘Insane… this is really abundant….’

They’re really laying out the bait like this?
But that wasn’t all.
An arrow appeared in the lower right corner, prompting another tap.
It seemed possible to move to the next page.
Kim Deputy quickly tapped the arrow.
Then.
December’s diary appeared.
This time, something felt different.
Even the handwriting looked chaotic and scattered.
Could it be…?
Suddenly, the phrase she’d seen on the cover earlier came to mind.
‘Ever Blue & StillBlue’s Exchange Diary’.
Could it be that November was Ever Blue’s diary, and December was StillBlue’s diary…?!
When Kim Deputy tapped on the section with writing, videos appeared.

COLORFUL
12.17
Today is Bora Bora Day! Bora took such pretty pictures of us.
But we took terrible pictures of Bora… She scolded us! Bora is such a scary person.

A video of five members blowing out candles on a birthday cake together.
A video of Ryu Bora hugging the members tightly.
A video of Kim Geum smearing cake frosting on Ryu Bora’s face, and the two of them playfully bickering.

COLORFUL
12.31
Today is the last day of the year! I was so happy we could do the New Year’s countdown with Ever Blue 3.3
We had another party after arriving at the Dormitory! We begged Ever Blue to stay with us forever, but what do you think Ever Blue prayed for~?

A video of five members setting off fireworks at the Dormitory, laughing brightly.
After turning off the lights, they all covered themselves with blankets together, holding hands tightly as they made wishes for the new year.
It was all captured in the diary.
Almost every single date had a video recorded in it.
As the final video ended, Kim Deputy spotted the arrow appearing in the right corner once more.

‘There’s more?!’

When she tapped the arrow one last time.
Several stickers appeared.

‘What is this…?’

Those stickers were all Paper Dol—costumes and accessories for paper dolls.

‘This is almost like what my mom used back in her day…!’

Paper dolls.
Literally, dolls made of paper.
You cut out the doll and its clothes, then could dress the doll by attaching the outfits to it—a toy from a simpler time.

‘So this is the next concept…!’

When I pressed the sticker, the final spoiler appeared.

COLORFUL
Write your diary with me throughout this year
I’ll be alive within your Paper
I’m StillBlue
I’m your Paper Dol
I’m Alive Dol!

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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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