Became The Leader of a Girl Group Destined To Fail - Chapter 176

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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 176.

StillBlue concept photo compilation. Jungri

One shot of each member in school uniform, one shot during club activities
Seems like they were taken with this concept in mind

Seo Baek-young: One shot sitting on the stairs holding an ion drink + one shot with hair tied up, wielding a wooden sword in kendo uniform
Kim Geum: Sitting by the window with white curtains fluttering + one shot that looks like she’s spiking hard in the volleyball club
Ryu Bora: One photo receiving a call surrounded by underclassmen on the way home from school with a 2G phone and a huge character phone charm (lol looks like Ryu Bora) + one shot of a senior holding a script on the auditorium stage
Yun Chung: One shot of our class’s first love reading a book in the classroom + one shot of the student council president taking an oath
Yeon Ju-hong: One shot of a junior waving brightly while coming to school + one professional-looking photo of a broadcasting club announcer reading a script with proper posture

The concept is those seniors we all had crushes on back then

But our school didn’t have seniors like that
If we did, I would’ve been a fan immediately
But they really captured that feeling well, like peeking at the tingling everyday moments of a first love lol
StillBlue… first love concept is great

I totally understand why Yun Chung misses those days

If it were me, I’d be talking about those days until I became a grandmother
@: Grandma… sniffles… in the same class… sniffles
Grandchild: Grandma!!! If you tell that story one more time, it’ll be the 100th time!!!
The ones shot on film are the best

Maybe because they were shot with a film camera, the mood is so nostalgic and emotional, seriously

That greenish vibe… light pouring in…
Even the slightly blurry image quality is perfect
All five of them having black hair is so cool

But their hairstyles are all different

Seo Baek-young: Long straight hair without bangs
Kim Geum: Blunt bob without bangs
Ryu Bora: Bangs down to eyebrows with long wavy hair
Yun Chung: See-through bangs with long straight hair
Yeon Ju-hong: Wavy bob without bangs

Seriously so cute… wearing name tags made it easy to remember who the members were
This is why I’m obsessed with school uniforms
Only Kim Geum had all those piercings dangling

Hahahahaha, consistently hip and cool

Seriously couldn’t give them up
But when the queen wore the volleyball club uniform, she took them all off
Ryu Bora’s phone is so historically accurate

Hahaha, a 2G phone covered in all those phone charms and straps…
The way she answers calls sensitively with it is so good

The way Yeon Ju-hong inserted her pin so prettily is adorable

My light coral… I couldn’t give up on coral, so I came out with a coral pink pin firmly in place.

Yun Chung is literally a human student council president

How is she the embodiment of my dream student council president

Aren’t student council presidents originally not human?
Anyway, the real one is Seo Baek-young

She’s literally my first love from back then
If you disagree, Seo Baek-young is mine

Seriously, no one would disagree

***

The response to the concept photos exceeded our expectations by far.
Everyone was happily preparing for the comeback.
Then articles started pouring in.

[Enliven, aiming for Summer powerhouse? Comeback signal]
[Summer Queen is ours! Rookie sensation Enliven, green light for comeback]
[StillBlue, step aside… 【Enliven】 is coming, July comeback announcement]

Since it was exactly as expected, I wasn’t particularly surprised.
Of course, the members were quite indignant.

“Why does Moment always come out so petty like that?”
“Don’t they know that rushing to schedule is just shooting themselves in the foot?”
“Why would they choose a strategy that’s bad for everyone?”

No.
They know well.
That’s why they’re pushing so hard with these strategies.
It’s what you’d call ‘rewriting history’.

“Did you say anything to Da-hwin unnie?”

Kim Geum asked me.
She probably thought we’d gotten closer while doing 【Dear My Diva】 and 【Three Kingdoms Era】.

“Let me check.”

The moment I said that and checked my phone—

[Da-hwin]

There really was a message from Da-hwin.
That’s unexpected.
Why would she send a text?

Da-hwin

Senior… I’m really sorry

I kept trying to stop her, but she wouldn’t even pretend to listen…

It was a predictable story.
But knowing that Da-hwin had made the effort, I replied that it was fine.
All we needed to do was work hard at our respective roles.
That was all there was to it.
Ding!

Da-hwin

Senior, what song are you coming out with this time..?

Then another message came through.
What song was I releasing?

Da-hwin

Didn’t you see the article?

It’s coming out as Eternal Summer

Da-hwin was someone who had experienced the world where Baek Nok-ha existed.
Of course she would have heard of 【Eternal Summer】.
There’s no way an idol wouldn’t have heard of the year’s number one song.

Da-hwin

Oh yes!

I know, but I was wondering if I could listen to the audio…!!ㅠㅠㅠㅠ

I’m so curious… I’m a fan… ㅠㅠㅠ

If it’s burdensome, you can refuse!!

I’m crying so hard.

I got a feeling.
This…
This isn’t Da-hwin.

Da-hwin

Ah, so Da-hwin was really curious about our titles.

Of course it can happen!! Haha

Da-hwin doesn’t know about Eternal Summer?
You might as well say she doesn’t know Yun Chung.
Whether it’s the Manager or anyone else in the Company.
Someone had definitely stolen Da-hwin’s phone and was sending messages in her place.
And the fact that they contacted me by text instead of messenger like usual was suspicious too.
Maybe they couldn’t crack Da-hwin’s messenger app password?
Otherwise, there’d be no reason to use text.
I had given Da-hwin strict instructions beforehand.
To leave the messenger room immediately after our conversation ended.
She’s not the type to disobey, so the conversation wouldn’t have leaked.
What should I do?
How should I handle this so word gets out that I did well?
I pondered for a moment.

Da-hwin

Wait! I’m in the middle of a schedule right now

Can you send it in about 6 hours?

I replied to the message.
Not long after,

Da-hwin

yes You can give it to me slowly, senior.

Thank you so much!!!! 😭😭😭😭

She took the bait on the other end.

“Geum, come here for a second.”
“Oh, Yun Chung.”

Kim Geum’s face looked slightly flustered.

“You’ve got a really sinister look right now, Yun Chung.”
“Actually, I wanted to ask you something.”
“Sure,”
“Among the rejected candidates from our album’s tracklist back then… is there a song you’d never use? Something with a vibe similar to our title track?”
“Hmm.”

Kim Geum pondered for a moment, then brought over her laptop.

“This song has a similar feel, but it was so boring that I rejected it. This one’s genuinely terrible—I don’t think I’d ever use it again.”
“Really?”

I grinned and grabbed Kim Geum’s shoulder.

“Can I use this?”

***

[StillBlue, music leak? Comeback in jeopardy]
[D-1 until comeback: StillBlue hit by music leak… will the comeback proceed?]
[Is the leaked track StillBlue’s title song? Disappointment grows over ‘Eternal Summer’]

One day before the music video release.
StillBlue’s title track, 【Eternal Summer】, began spreading through SNS.
While song leaks before comebacks happened occasionally, this was the first time it had spread so widely across SNS and online communities.
At first, people lamented the leak itself, but gradually their reactions began to shift.

StillBlue’s title this time is kinda…??

They’ve been picking good songs, so why are they doing this at such an important moment

Seriously, it’s just boring lol
Wait, StillBlue’s title is really bad

The song is genuinely terrible, does Colors even have a brain to approve this?

I think their self-producing limitations are completely exposed here
└22 Rather than the quality getting worse, it’d be better to drop the self-production concept and bring in outside tracks. They’re killing the hype right before comeback
StillBlue’s rookie award this year is gone

If they win rookie award with this, they have no conscience…
Are they just going to scrape by with fandom power lol

?If it’s fandom power, isn’t that a legitimate win?
Wow, this year’s rookie award is Enliven’s to take

I was excited because the teaser was good, but the actual song is really a letdown

But doesn’t something feel off?

The pre-released chorus and the actual song don’t seem to match up…

I thought the same thing
It doesn’t feel like the real title track…?
I wish it was like that.

Given the disappointing quality, the fans and public could only react negatively.
Only Moment was secretly celebrating internally.
Of course they were.
The music leak had completely shattered expectations.
On top of that, reviews were calling the song itself poor.
At this rate, the comeback itself might fall through.
Moment was certain of it.
Even if StillBlue forced the comeback through, they absolutely wouldn’t make it on schedule.
They’d already released all the teasers and concept films.
Overturning all of that would be impossible, so they were probably in complete panic mode by now.

“…Really… how could you do this….”

Meanwhile, Da-hwin, whose phone had been taken while she slept, was in despair.
Without even realizing it, hadn’t she essentially stolen Yun Chung’s song?

“I’m doing all this for you to succeed. What’s the problem?”

Park Director, who had threatened Da-hwin and Yun Chung in front of Yun Chung’s car not long ago, was now coercing her.

“I’m going this far because I want you all to do well. If you were already doing fine, would I be going this far? You think I want to be doing this?”

Park Director raised his hand toward Da-hwin, then lowered it, remembering the comeback was imminent.

“Listen carefully. You know how many tens of billions have been invested in you? If you don’t succeed with this, you’ll have to pay it all back.”
“That’s not how—!”
“Shut your mouth.”

Park Director shouted at Da-hwin, who was trying to protest.

“If we do this by law—”
“Law? Do you not know what’s stronger than your precious law?”

Park Director smiled, watching the trembling members of Enliven.

“You think the law can protect you? Then go ahead and try.”
“….”
“Don’t you really understand why your seniors don’t talk back and just stick with the company? Huh?”

They were members who had witnessed countless examples firsthand with their own eyes.
Of course… they knew.
How much power those people wielded in the entertainment industry.
How viciously they tormented others.
Da-hwin despised herself for being utterly powerless to do anything.

“So stop wasting time and—”
“D-Director!”

Just then.
Someone burst through the Director’s Office door.
It was an employee from Moment.

“What is it?”
“That is… something seems wrong…! I think you need to see this.”
“What’s going on?”

Park Director’s face darkened instantly.
He took the phone the employee handed him.

“It’s… the music video that StillBlue just released. But it’s completely different from the song we received….”
“It’s totally different, isn’t it? What is this?”

Park Director listened to the song briefly, and once he grasped the situation, he immediately hurled the phone away.
Those bastards had deceived him.

“Yu Da-hwin!”
“…!”

Only then did Da-hwin understand how the situation was unfolding.
Color returned to Da-hwin’s face.
Yun Chung… had done it again!

“You, come here…!”

Ring ring. Ding ding.
Ring ring. Ding ding.
Just as Park Director reached out to grab Da-hwin’s wrist.
A call came through to Park Director’s phone.
It was a number he didn’t recognize.
Park Director’s face twisted in displeasure.
There were hardly anyone who had this number…?
He answered the call anyway.

“Hello?”
-Oh my, is this Park Director’s phone~?
“Who is this?”

A woman’s voice dripping with saccharine sweetness.
Park Director felt anger flare instinctively.

-Well, nothing major~ I just wanted to let you know that if you keep waving your hands around recklessly, you might just run into me, hmm?
“What? Hey, who do you think you—”
-I’ve got a complete list of all your bulk-buying schemes.
“!”
-I’m on my way back from getting testimonies from all the shell account owners.

Ha ha.
The voice on the other end of the phone spoke the most terrifying words in the happiest tone imaginable.

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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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