Became The Leader of a Girl Group Destined To Fail - Chapter 184

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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 184.

Today was the day Colors would film its first-ever group variety show featuring all of its idol groups.
From Greysh, the most senior idols, to StillBlue, who still carried the scent of rookies.
Oh PD’s ambitious project, unveiled after so long, had left Colors’ fans uneasy.
Of course, we idols at Colors knew nothing would go wrong… we were simply exhausted.

“Heyyyy. Yun Chung~? Long time~?”

Where on earth did he learn to speak like that?
I forced the corners of my mouth upward.

“Ah, yes. PD. I hope you’ve been well.”

The moment I turned to leave after the forced greeting.
Someone popped out from behind Oh PD.

“Yun Chung. It’s been a while!”
“Kang Writer!”

Now this was someone I was genuinely happy to see.
Kang Writer glanced at Oh PD, who was preoccupied with filming preparations.
Then she leaned in beside me and whispered.

“Haha. You were worried since this is Oh PD’s project, right?”
“Yes….”
“Don’t worry. I’ll keep a close eye on things.”

How reassuring.

“Thank you. I’ll film with confidence knowing you’re here, Kang Writer.”

Honestly, a Colors group variety show was fine. It was fine.
I started worrying the moment I learned Oh PD was involved in the program….
But if Kang Writer is attached to it?
It’s fine.
Reassured, I returned to the members.

“Everyone knows the concept for today, right?”
“Don’t get greedy about being entertaining….”
“If you say it one more time, it’ll be the hundred millionth time, Yun Chung.”

I’d already briefed the members beforehand.
The harder you try to be funny, the less funny you become.
Just work hard.
Work desperately hard….
Don’t even study the games beforehand.
Rookies are entertaining because they don’t know anything. Once they know, it’s boring.

“Especially you, Kim Geum.”
“Yun Chung, you really don’t trust me at all.”
“You’re too funny. Don’t be funny. Don’t forget that your true nature is being an idol…!”
“….”
“Bora, you too…. You know you can’t get angry during the broadcast, right?”
“….”

The more I spoke, the sharper the members’ glares became.
I should stop here.

“Junior!”

Just then, someone called out to me.
That smooth, slick voice.
I didn’t even need to turn around to know who it was.

“Yes, senior.”
“I’m looking forward to your performance today.”
“Oh no. When it comes to entertainment, there’s no one who can keep up with our senior Han Jae-i. I’ll just consider it a privilege to learn from you, senior.”
“Ha ha. I’ve been thinking this for a while, but our junior doesn’t seem like you’re 21 at all.”
“And senior, with all due respect, it’s hard to believe you’re only 23 with the experience you carry.”

This bastard….
I’ve been thinking about it since last time.
Isn’t he really suspicious?
Looking at the thickness of that steel plate etched into his face, there’s no way I can believe he’s only in his third year.
That’s the kind of seasoning you need at least thirteen years to develop.
After discovering that Cotton Ball Entity had another contractor, I’d been continuously suspicious of BurnAsh.
The song quality is unbelievable for something a rookie supposedly created.
And the pace is fast too.
All the members are equally sensitive about privacy issues, as if rehearsed.
And under Han Jae-i’s direction, they just march forward in success—it’s not ordinary.
And most of all… BurnAsh’s career was considerably higher than what I remember.
Of course, BurnAsh was already a first-tier group with few comparisons before.
But not to this extent.
Even Dan-ha was caught up in minor controversies and had a terrible reputation.
Whenever he appeared on variety shows because he couldn’t adapt to the entertainment industry, he’d get swept up in character controversy….
Now he’s turned that into a variety show character and is actually doing even better.
He’s suspicious in every way.
And somehow, I can feel that he’s looking at me suspiciously too.

“….”
“….”

We continued eyeing each other, then both stepped back.
There were too many watching eyes here.

“Fighting for today’s shoot~!”
“Senior, please do your best today too.”

If it were the old days, I wouldn’t have cared much whether Han Jae-i was a regressor or anything else.
But.
Now I was desperate for even a single clue about Cotton Ball Entity.
I had to find out the truth about this contract… no matter what.

***

“….”
“Why do you keep touching people unnecessarily?”

As Yun Chung left her seat.
Dan-ha immediately grabbed Han Jae-i by the nape of her neck and dragged her along.

“Why are you inviting danger?”
“It’s not danger. Have you ever seen my instincts be wrong?”

Han Jae-i swatted Dan-ha’s hand away.

“Yun Chung is definitely Baek Nok-ha.”
“We already agreed on that. Whether Yun Chung is Baek Nok-ha or not, we decided not to care.”
“But…”

Han Jae-i glanced at Yun Chung’s retreating figure.

“That Baek Nok-ha, Kim Dan-ha. The one you’ve basically been harboring a one-sided crush on for ten years.”
“It’s not a one-sided crush, you lunatic.”

Dan-ha shoved Han Jae-i, his voice catching.

“Yeah, yeah. A one-sided crush where you’ve never even exchanged words, so it’s more like admiration, I know. But. That Baek Nok-ha.”

The celebrity of celebrities.
In the previous world, BurnAsh was a fairly successful idol group.
But Baek Nok-ha was a tier above them.
After all, Dan-ha held Baek Nok-ha as the artist she respected most.

“And it’s my instinct—she definitely caught on to everything.”
“The fact that she hasn’t said anything about it means she probably doesn’t want to be associated with us.”
“Or maybe she’s just testing the waters for now.”
“I told you to give up, Han Jae-i.”

Han Jae-i’s eyes gleamed with naked ambition.
They’d already been together for fifteen years by now.
Dan-ha couldn’t possibly misunderstand what burned in those eyes.

“Hey, think about the information and songs that Baek Nok-ha would know. Wouldn’t you be tempted? She’s someone who reached the absolute peak of the industry.”
“No. We’ve risen far enough without that information, without those songs.”
“We could rise even higher-”
“Excess brings nothing but ruin. We learned that well enough in the second world. Unchecked greed only invites disaster.”
“….”

Han Jae-i exhaled deeply.
I knew it all too well.
In my past life, I’d stumbled more than once from wanting too much.
BurnAsh had reached the top in the first world.
Yet all the members had chosen to contract with ‘it’ at the same time.
Because regret lingered.
More.
The desire to climb higher still.
Not merely to peak within a single generation.
Not merely to peak within South Korea.
That hunger to become an idol unprecedented and unmatched.
I’d convinced the members and crossed into the second world.
But we failed spectacularly.
The results were even worse than in the first world.
Mistakes born from inexperience.
That’s when I understood.
An idol doesn’t rise simply by being skilled, by working hard, by knowing everything.
Something more is required.
Yet I couldn’t surrender.
One more time.
Just one more chance, and then….
What would happen?
With that hope, I begged ‘it’ again and again.
If it would grant me one final opportunity.
I would let go of my lingering attachments.

“This is already the third world. Aren’t you tired of it?”

I smiled wryly at Dan-ha.

“Not for a single moment have I ever grown weary.”

Rather, even in this very moment.
I feel like I’m going mad with the desire to climb higher, higher still.
How could I possibly grow tired of this?

***

Hong Fan turned on the television for the first time in a while.
Today was the broadcast day for Colors’ first group variety special, “Coloring.”

‘That Oh PD bastard… if he does devil’s editing again this time, I’m storming MEN’s headquarters.’

I’m going to destroy everything.

[Oh PD: Alright, alright. I think we’ve finished all the introductions. Let’s move on to the first game~]

Caption: Oh PD shows no mercy today either…

[Oh PD: The first one is Colors Song Guessing Game~]
[Oh PD: Songs from other groups—excluding your own group’s songs—will play for 5 seconds each. You just need to guess them within 5 seconds.]

Caption: Surely you won’t say you don’t know your family’s songs? ^^
Caption: The Colors fans turning pale…
Caption: It won’t be easy~ at all~

[Oh PD: Don’t worry. I’ll mainly use title tracks.]

Caption: Still sounds hard…

[Oh PD: Let’s start with our most senior group. Greysh, please. Since there are four of you, you pass if you get all four questions in a row correct.]
[Hee-young: Ugh…]
[Sol: How are we supposed to get this right? We can’t even remember all our own songs!!]

Caption: That statement was the truth…
Caption: The production team gave preferential treatment to the seniors…
Caption: Even sneaking in a B-side from Greysh’s debut album…
Caption: 1 win, 3 losses…
Caption: The one song they did get right was also a StillBlue song…
Caption: Love for their juniors confirmed^^

[Oh PD: Next up is All Colors. I hear you’ve been quite vocal about your love for your juniors.]
[Day: Who’s been spreading that around?]

【Footage】

[Day: When you talk about loving juniors, you think All Colors. When you think All Colors, you think loving juniors.]

Caption: It’s you, you…
Caption: All Colors’ junior love record: 3 wins, 3 losses…
Caption: Even got all the juniors’ songs wrong

[Oh PD: Next is White Noise! I’ve heard they’re known as the unfunny ones even within Colors.]
[Sayoon: Who started that ridiculous rumor!]

Caption: Actually so unfunny it had to be edited out
Caption: White Noise: 5 wins, 2 losses
Caption: But when it comes to family love, White Noise takes first place

BurnAsh also recorded 6 wins and 1 loss.

Caption: Dan-ha, you… do you really just listen to music after eating?
Caption: Our third-year members are no joke…
Caption: Overflowing with confidence.

[Oh PD: Now for our rookies. You should be nervous.]
[Kang Writer: Don’t go easy on them. Don’t go easy on them.]
[Oh PD: There’s something we need to address here. Greysh, our most senior group, has been around for 13 years. And among our rookies, the youngest, Yeon Ju-hong… how old are you?]
[Ju-hong: I’m 18!]
[Oh PD: Let’s proceed.]
[StillBlue: ?!]
[Oh PD: Alright, StillBlue will be going up against Greysh~]

Caption: Pupils dilating in shock…!
Caption: Can StillBlue overcome this crisis?

Hong Fan stared at the screen with a worried expression.
No way.
How could they possibly know a song Ju-hong released when she was five years old?
That said, the other members weren’t exactly in a better position either.
At best, they’d only been six, eight, or nine years old.
Given Oh PD’s personality, he’d definitely stuffed the game with early debut tracks to provoke chaos.
And yet.
Exactly three minutes later.
Hong Fan’s worry melted away.

[Geum: Geum!]

Caption: Already…?
Caption: We only played one second…?

[Geum: Kiss Kiss Kiss!]
[Oh PD: …Kim Geum, correct!]
[Ju-hong: Ju-hong!]

Caption: ??
Caption: We seriously only played one second?!

[Ju-hong: Turned away~ I can’t~ forgive you~ Correct! Turned away from you!]
[Oh PD: ….]
[Oh PD: Correct.]
[Oh PD: But that’s a B-side track… how on earth did you get that?]
[Ju-hong: It’s a song I personally love!]
[Ju-hong: You can’t not know our songs!]

Caption: Greysh members, speechless
Caption: ~A wave of emotion ripples through the studio~

[Hee-young: Get a building ready in front of our Ju-hong right now.]
[Sol: Hurry and prepare the marriage certificate.]
[So-rin: Everyone needs to keep their dignity. Don’t you know this era starts with dating first? Get a bank account ready for our Ju-hong.]

Caption: And so StillBlue…
Caption: …claimed five victories and stole the hearts of their seniors.
Caption: Oh PD, sharpening the blade of revenge…!
Caption: See you again next week at this time!

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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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