Became The Leader of a Girl Group Destined To Fail - Chapter 18

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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 18.

User A, the home master of “You Are My Prism”.
Colloquially known as Prism Home Master.
Ten years deep into idol fandom.
A span that felt both long and short.
Yet she possessed one peculiar trait.
Rather than devoting herself to a single idol, she distributed her affection equally across all of them.
What they called a “multi-stan”.
Consequently, her social media accounts overflowed with photographs of various idols in perfect balance.
For someone like her, Make a New Color was naturally a program brimming with anticipation.
After all, it was a show dedicated to selecting fresh idols for her camera.
Yet here she was, already a decade into fandom.
A peculiar ennui had begun creeping in.
By following multiple groups rather than fixating on one, she often found herself drowning in an excess of information.
And now another group would be added to the mix?
It was dopamine overload.
So Prism Home Master’s reaction remained decidedly ambiguous.
Excited, yet not particularly excited.
Curious, yet not particularly curious.
The Colors idol groups were each distinctly different, yet their essence shared an uncanny similarity.
Beautiful faces with delicate, refined features.
Members boasting all-rounder abilities that sacrificed neither dance nor vocal prowess.
Producing, composing, songwriting—each skill meticulously distributed.
Even variety show specialists, invariably one per group.
Sometimes their sheer perfection created a distance that felt cold.
And wasn’t Colors simply massive?
Every album they released was a masterpiece.
In this capitalist world, there was nothing money couldn’t achieve.
So she craved freshness.
Colors, yes—but a freshness distinct from the Colors she already knew.
A new flavor, yet one I’m already familiar with.
She giggled even as she spoke, amused at her own contradiction.
Did that even make sense?

I am your new world

And yet, that’s exactly what happened.

“Has she lost her mind?”

Her jaw dropped as she watched the Make a New Color broadcast with lukewarm interest.

“She’s completely lost it.”

The moment the stage ended, she frantically opened SNS.
As expected, her account’s timeline was ablaze with activity.
The Colors fans all shared the same taste!
The same preferences!
That universal truth that everyone with eyes could see!

My frozen heart was racing.
I was on my knees watching her, our baby tiger has gone insane, it’s sacred, I’m getting emotional.
Wait, can you even cover your eyes with a necktie like that? And her too?
Yeah, she can sing well, she can dance well, but a trainee with no mentor came up with this concept all on her own??
Colors you crazy people, what kind of masterpiece did you create?
Ah ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ Please look at our Cheong’s tear spot ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ No, the blessings of the God of Light have been given to look at the memo of our tear spot that Light loved.

True to form, her timeline was filled with posts that spoke for her heart.
The stage just now had so many standout moments.
The necktie blindfold, the leather rider concept, and those glittering beauty marks.

Did you see Yun Chung change the lyrics?

Original lyrics:
Take one step closer, boy
I’m here for you
Taking root and bearing fruit

Changed lyrics:
Take one step closer, girl
I’m here for you
Taking root and bearing fruit

Isn’t this basically telling us to die?
The fact that she changed specifically this part must mean she’s telling me to die, anyway.

This is definitely, absolutely a must-watch.
Yun Chung really pulled off a complete reversal, didn’t she? I thought she’d show up with an acoustic guitar and sing folk songs.
└I thought she was a cute little rabbit, but she turned out to be a fierce predator. There was a baby cheetah all along.
└└I believed in you from the moment you picked that song, Chung. (old timer)

A Prism fan temporarily closed her SNS account and replayed the video.
The rumors circulating among fans before Make a New Color aired seemed like they were describing a completely different person than the Yun Chung she was watching now.

“She sings well but can’t dance and has no stage presence?”

Was she joking?
Were all the people without stage presence dead?

“Who would spread such ridiculous rumors? As a fan, I should seriously consider suing over this….”

The fact that she’d conceived of such a concept entirely on her own, without her mentor’s help, was already remarkable.
And then she executed the choreography flawlessly on top of that?
In just one week?

“…Sigh.”

The Prism fan quietly opened her bank account.
It seemed like time to invest in a new camera lens.
Actually, regardless of what it was, it seemed like time to start preparing her wallet.

***

The whirlwind of the final evaluation stage had come to an end.

“I feel like I’m about to pass out….”
“Seriously….”
“You threw up earlier, didn’t you….”
“Wow, I hadn’t eaten anything, so only stomach acid came up.”

Twelve trainees waited in the Waiting Room.
Not a single one of them was in good condition.
I was the first—practically one with the sofa at this point.
The choreography itself was at the usual intensity, but the problem was Yun Chung’s body.
This girl had an incredibly frail constitution from birth…!
Starving herself to lose weight in this state meant her body couldn’t take it.
The moment money came in, I’d need to cancel the personal training first—that much was clear.
How could she debut with a body like this, no muscle at all? Was she insane?
Mental strength and skill come from physical stamina.
If I ever met Yun Chung in person, I decided I’d grab her by the collar and tell her this first thing.

“How do you seniors manage to perform like this every time…?”

You get used to it as you do it.

“I mean, for music broadcasts you only have to get through one or two stages, but how do you even do concerts…?”

IV drips and personal training.

“When I got on stage, everything just went white. I was worried I’d faint when I saw the audience, but that wasn’t necessary. I couldn’t see anything because I was thinking about the next choreography.”
“I get it. I messed up the lyrics, so.”
“Who stole my four minutes? I closed my eyes and opened them, and the stage was over.”

Hearing these conversations made me realize they really were just kids fresh to the world.
They talk tough in interviews, but they’re really just high schoolers and barely-legal adults.
If Oh PD had just edited less maliciously. The kids wouldn’t have gotten hate like that.
Several trainees’ interviews were circulating online, spliced together out of context.
Watching just those clips made them look like terrible people, but they were really just ordinary kids.

“I hope today’s stage gets less hate.”
“Is it because of the last mid-evaluation stage? That wasn’t your fault, Ju-hong.”
“You did really well today. Why are you so scared? Shoulders back.”

Kim Geum and Seo Baek-young were comforting Yeon Ju-hong.
Yeon Ju-hong had been getting a lot of hate lately in particular.
Her characteristic bright but blunt way of speaking came across differently when broadcast.

“I just… gave up.”
“Why would you give up?”
“Even if I somehow debuted by sheer luck… I feel like everyone would hate me.”
“Don’t say things like that.”

Kim Geum, who had been listening quietly beside her, cut in sharply.

“No one hates someone who worked hard enough to debut.”
“That’s right. Just focus on debuting for now. Don’t think about what comes after.”

All the trainees offered words of comfort, but Yeon Ju-hong’s reddened nose showed no sign of clearing.
She seemed like the type who monitored reactions obsessively.
Watching her stare at her phone alone each time, tears glistening in her eyes… I couldn’t help but think she was carrying quite a burden.
I wanted to tell her not to look at such things, but there was no way she’d listen to me.

“…The vote tallies should be finished by now, right?”
“Probably.”

The moment voting was mentioned, the innocent atmosphere evaporated entirely.
By now, all the audience votes would be tallied and the rankings finalized.
Fortunately, there was no elimination system, so no one would be leaving…
But placing in the lower ranks meant you weren’t in the safe zone for debut, so the mood wouldn’t be pleasant.
Just then, the door opened and a staff member poked their head in.

“We’re starting the mission ranking announcement shoot. Please move with us.”

Speak of the devil.

***

The mission ranking announcement was filmed in a different studio.
During the drive there, no one spoke a word.
And now, as the actual recording began, only silence hung in the air.

“Hello, everyone.”

Do Hee-young, serving as both judge and host, greeted us from the center of the studio.

“Hello!”

The trainees greeted her with equally spirited voices.

“Did everyone do well on their first stage?”
“No!”

Hmm.
Only at moments like this did they move as one.

“Ha, but you all performed wonderfully.”
“Thank you!”
“However, even if everyone performed well, rankings must be determined. Now, we’ll begin the ranking announcement.”

Do Hee-young flipped through her cue cards with a solemn expression.

“The colorists who will be coloring you today have ranked your stages from 1st to 12th place. A total of 300 colorists participated today.”

Make a New Color referred to the viewers as colorists.
It was a nickname that stayed remarkably true to the concept.

“1st place receives 12 points, 2nd place receives 11 points, and finally, 12th place receives 1 point. If all 300 colorists voted for the same trainee as 1st place, they would earn a total of 3,600 points. Conversely, if they all voted for 12th place, they would receive 300 points.”

3,600 points and 300 points.
The vast difference between the two numbers made everyone visibly more tense.
I could hear sharp intakes of breath echoing throughout the room.

“12th and 1st place will be announced last. First, I’ll announce the scores starting from 11th place. In Make a New Color’s first mission, the ‘Colors Idol Cover’ mission, the trainee who placed 11th earned.”

Do Hee-young paused for effect before speaking.

“1,250 points.”

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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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