Became The Leader of a Girl Group Destined To Fail - Chapter 175

—————

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

—————

Chapter 175.

StillBlue is dropping hints left and right

Even the teaser is a feast of clues…
(photo)
Give us more.

Someone bring the analysis posts

So who’s the culprit anyway
Who is it!!!!!
Everyone looks so wronged I can’t tell who it is

Wait, there’s one person with their name erased

On the exchange diary cover, there’s one person with their name erased
Isn’t that the culprit?

Yeah, seems like it
So who is this person with the erased name
Why does Yun Chung waking up alone look so heartbreaking

Honestly, it’s almost exactly like me coming to work today

Everything except the visuals was literally me
Why isn’t anyone talking about Kim Geum from the Volleyball Club

My heart shattered the moment she hit that ball

Seo Baek-young… you really…

Kendo Club Captain? That suits her way too well…

This is basically a coming-of-age drama in one shot

The color is so pretty and fluffy.

Praise Ryu Bora for orchestrating all of this

Such a brilliant idea from a fan account…
StillBlue in school uniforms?
It’s guaranteed to be a hit…

***

[StillBlue’s ‘Color Film’ Surpasses 10 Million Views in 16 Hours!]
[StillBlue’s New Album ‘Forever Blue’ Expected to Be a Massive Hit?]
[‘Beyond All Time’ Teaser Following Color Film… Excitement Continues]

“Ryu Bora must be thrilled.”

We were all eating breakfast with puffy eyes from lack of sleep.

“Oh, thrilled doesn’t even begin to cover it. You’re a full-fledged blockbuster director now!”
“At this rate, you’ll become a director with 10 million views.”
“Everyone, be quiet.”

We had launched into full teasing mode with Ryu Bora.
There was something fun about it.

“The actors were pretty talented too, right? You have to admit that.”
“…I said be quiet, Kim Geum.”
“Look at you getting all shy.”

Kim Geum giggled and began clearing away the seaweed soup bowls.
Then she started pulling something out of the refrigerator.
What else could she possibly want to eat?

“Happy birthday to youuu~ Happy birthday to youuu~”
“?”

What’s this?
Whose birthday was it among the members?
I clapped along to Kim Geum’s song rhythm in confusion.
Judging by how the members were giggling, they all seemed to know.
Whose… whose birthday is it?
I was the only one panicking.

“Wow. You’re telling me Yun Chung doesn’t know whose birthday it is today?!”

Yeon Ju-hong… that sharp intuition of hers is exactly why….

“…I’m sorry. Whose… birthday is it today?”
“Wow. You really don’t know.”
“Yun Chung, you seriously don’t know whose birthday it is?”

I hung my head like a criminal condemned to death.
I’m so sorry….
Well, Ryu Bora and Seo Baek-young’s birthdays have already passed, so it has to be Kim Geum or Yeon Ju-hong….
But both of their birthdays are still months away.
Then that means….

“It’s Yun Chung’s birthday! Today! Today! July 4th!”

Ah.
Today was….
Yun Chung’s birthday.
I knew it in my head, but I was so busy I completely forgot about it.
I’ve become such an idiot that I forgot my own birthday.

“Thank you all so much. I… really wasn’t thinking about it at all.”
“We’ll let it slide this once. But next time, remember your own birthday, okay? Yun Chung.”
“I will.”

This is a bit embarrassing.
I scratched my head.

“Yun Chung! Make a wish and blow out the candles!”

Ah.
A wish.
Thoughts I’d tried so hard to suppress came creeping back, one after another.
No.
The finish line was nearly in sight now.
I shut out everything else and simply blew out the candles.

“Every time we start an activity, it feels like we’re celebrating one member’s birthday!”
“Right. Last time, Baek-young’s birthday was March 10th.”
“Ju-hong’s in August, Geum’s in September… so we’d need to have a comeback once a month.”

Everyone turned to look at Seo Baek-young.
Well, that’s fair enough.

“Thank you, everyone. For remembering my birthday when even I’d forgotten it.”
“I thought you’d be so busy you’d forget your own birthday.”

Ryu Bora spoke as she cut the cake.

“You seem like someone who doesn’t put much weight on birthdays.”
“But the fans will care. We have a K-App live stream today too. The staff have already finished all the preparations.”

Ah.
Right.
Now that I think about it, I’ve been hearing about this for the past ten days or so.
But I just let it go in one ear and out the other.
The comeback was what mattered right now.
If it had been another member’s birthday, I would’ve made sure to acknowledge it… but since it was my own, I’d been rather indifferent.
I should have remembered it as Yun Chung’s birthday, not my own.

“So it was a birthday only I didn’t know about.”
“You know how big of an event a birthday is for an idol, Yun Chung.”

I knew.
I knew it all too well.
I smiled bitterly.
When I was Baek Nok-ha, my birthday was April 7th.
It was nowhere near Yun Chung’s birthday.
So it seemed I’d forgotten it without even realizing.
…I need to remember this.
First, I should get a briefing on what we’re doing for today’s birthday live broadcast.

“I have a birthday present for you too, Chung.”

Kim Geum said this while taking a generous bite of cake.

“…What is it?”
“So birthdays aren’t a big deal, but presents are?”

I won’t deny that.

“Check your room later. Everything’s ready.”

She really does prepare things meticulously.
I let out a quiet laugh.

“I’ll check when I get back. I’m probably packed with birthday-related schedules all day anyway.”
“Birthdays are always the busiest for us.”

I’ll need to film a birthday vlog too.
Birthday live broadcast, managing StarGram posts and stories….
The Company handles all the basic management, so there shouldn’t be any gaps from my momentary lapse….

“Wait. So everyone was glued to their phones at midnight yesterday because…?”
“Of course we were writing birthday congratulations for Ung-ni on the public feed.”

Ryu Bora sighed as she spoke.

“How could you be so oblivious.”
“I’m sorry. Honestly, I’ve just been remembering July 4th as the day we shoot Baek-young’s concept photos.”

Haha.
I smiled sheepishly.

“That’s right. Baek-young’s concept photo reaction is absolutely blowing up right now!”

Yeon Ju-hong nodded in agreement.
Right.
There was a reason we released Seo Baek-young’s concept photo first.
Even we could tell it was a massive hit.

***

‘OTube is really boring these days.’

No matter where the algorithm led her, it was nothing but tedious content.

‘Just sensationalist stuff everywhere.’

The shorter the video format, the worse it got.
Every time brutal or salacious footage suddenly popped up, she’d jump in fright.

“Can’t you show me something fresh, OTube? Something refreshing.”

Summer break of her fourth year in college.
College Student A fiddled with her phone, her voice dripping with exasperation.
A suffocating world, a suffocating job-hunting season.
Did she not realize that constantly bombarding her with such high-stimulation videos only made her chest feel more constricted?!
Even dopamine hits lose their appeal at this intensity.
The moment College Student A refreshed her feed, debating whether to throw her phone across the room.
The algorithm led her somewhere different this time.
Suddenly, a new OTube channel began showing nothing but thumbnails that were fresh and vibrant and clean.

“…Is it… collecting my voice right now…?”

Does this thing actually understand what I’m saying…?
It was unsettling, but ultimately, she was pleased.
College Student A scrolled down slowly.

▶

[StillBlue – Color film ‘Beyond All Time’ (1/2)]

I discovered a video.

‘What is this?’

I was already familiar with StillBlue’s name.
As someone who practically lived in the community, I’d heard of them plenty of times.
Recently, they’d made waves with ‘Three Kingdoms Era,’ hitting legendary status before disappearing after just two episodes—something many people lamented.
To me, StillBlue was just that: a trending idol group.
‘An idol group that’s gaining popularity these days.’
I’d never really been into idol fandom anyway.
I was a devoted fan of dramas and films instead.

‘Idols are so childish.’

Depth came from dramas and movies, didn’t it?
That’s what I believed.

Still….

‘The thumbnail isn’t bad. I might as well watch it and see.’

I clicked on the video without much thought.

‘….’

What is this?
A scene from a youth drama?
What is this?
I was momentarily taken aback.
The cinematography… the direction… the storytelling….
Wasn’t this exactly the kind of narrative that would drive youth drama enthusiasts absolutely wild?
My pupils began to dilate.

‘…It must be a coincidence. I’ve heard idols have really upped their quality lately, and this really does show the power of big-budget production~!’

Just as I was about to brush it off with a ‘well, that was well-made~!’, I noticed something.
A comment appeared in the OTube comment section.

For those of you who fell in love with this, check out the Eternal Summer teaser as well.

Teaser?
Now that I think about it, a teaser thumbnail did pop up around the time the color film was ending.
…Since I have plenty of time, maybe I’ll just watch this one.
Teasers are supposed to be short anyway, right?
The moment I thought that.

‘….’

What is this.
This youth drama with that heartstring-tugging first love essence…?
Every time Yun Chung’s narration played, College Student A quietly clutched her chest.

‘I want to explore the interpretation… like an analysis.’

Eventually, College Student A went into the community and started searching for “StillBlue”.
Then countless posts appeared.

StillBlue Color Film-Teaser Connected Interpretations
StillBlue Members’ Conceptual Settings
The Concept Foreshadowed Since Paper Dol. StillBlue

This group really had a lot of plot threads, huh.
Once a fan who loves deep dives gets a feast of clues like this, they can’t go home….
Even if they’re already home, they can’t leave….
College Student A read through the posts one by one.

‘Oh, it’s already midnight….’

This is just the beginning.
Time to burn the night away.

‘Huh?’

Right in front of College Student A, who had just resolved to burn through the night.

Seo Baek-young Eternal Summer Concept Photo (Legend)

A new post appeared.
Oh, that Kendo Club captain?
She’s got that tall, elegant look going for her.
Is this some kind of concept photo or teaser shot?
Without thinking, College Student A clicked on the post.

‘….’

After ten years of walking a single path through drama, I had finally met my first idol crush.
It was Seo Baek-young.

—————

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

—————