Became The Leader of a Girl Group Destined To Fail - Chapter 197

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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 197. Epilogue (2)

To. Ever Blue.

Hello, EVEL.
I’m preparing to head out again today.
It’s 3 a.m. right now.
The members are still deep in sleep at this hour.

“Unnie, are you heading out?”

Oh.
Ju-hong is awake.
What’s the occasion?
Our maknae is usually the last one to wake up.

“Yeah. Get some more sleep, Ju-hong.”
“Ugh. Is this a personal schedule? Where are you going?”
“Just going to practice, that’s all.”
“Why won’t you ever rest!”
“What’s the point of resting?”
“Seriously, you and Chung-chung aren’t even human….”

Oh dear.
Ju-hong is saying dangerous things.
Let me quickly give her a glass of milk and put her back to sleep.

“What is this?”
“Milk.”
“With honey?”
“Yeah.”
“Warmed up?”
“Yeah.”
“Mm… see you later….”
“Sleep well, Ju-hong. I’ll be back.”

It worked.
Ju-hong drank her milk and headed inside.
Well, now I should really get to work.

“Hello.”
“Oh, you’re here?”

This is Jena’s Studio at White Noise.
Actually, I’ve started visiting Jena’s studio quite frequently recently.
Well, not visiting exactly… I suppose it’s more accurate to say I come here to work?

“Did the track come through?”
“Yes. Though it’s still just a draft…”
“Is this the next title track?”
“That’s right.”
“Hmm. What’s the album concept looking like?”

These days, I’m learning about Stage planning from Jena.
The reason I became interested in Stage planning was…
After I had that strange dream not long ago.

[You’re preparing a new song again! I really enjoy listening to your music. Especially 【________】 I love it. Oh, is that a song from way back…? Anyway, I love everything you do.]

It’s strange, isn’t it?
I’m not usually one to remember my dreams.
So why does this dream—one I can barely recall—weigh so heavily on my mind?
Actually, it’s not just that one scene I remember.
I can vaguely recall several other moments from it.
A dream where, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t protect my own dream.
A dream where something went wrong from the very beginning.
A dream where I wasn’t part of StillBlue.
That’s what the dream was about.
I was relieved it was just a dream.
But then I found myself worrying—what if it became reality?
Of course, I didn’t tell the other members.
I just mentioned that I’d run into someone I was happy to see.
They all have such tender hearts; I didn’t want them to worry about me….
Especially Yun Chung—I could feel how much the word “dream” concerned her.
Maybe it’s because she has nightmares so often.
It seemed like she worried about other people’s dreams too.
There’s no need for that.

“This album’s concept is…. We’re still working it out with the members, but….”

Oh, right.
I can’t spoil it yet.
I’ll skip over this part for now.

“So if we do the formation like this here….”
“And if we change it this way, would it fit the lyrics better?”
“Yeah, that’s good. In the next part, let’s bring it back to that connecting feeling.”

Anyway.
On the last night of the year.
After each of us had our dreams, the members all seemed to have felt something.
How precious what we have right now truly is.
How precious the bond we share with each other and with Ever Blue really is.
We were reminded of it once more.
Because I felt it too.

“Senior.”
“Hmm?”
“You renewed your contract with Colors.”
“Oh, that. Last year?”
“Yes….”
“Right, we all decided to stay. Just for two more years for now.”
“Then, have you discussed what comes after that?”

I asked about the contract renewal because I felt I needed to become stronger.
I wondered if, as the eldest, I had been pushing too much onto Yun Chung’s shoulders.
I wonder if I’ve been putting too much on Chung’s shoulders, even though I’m the oldest sister.

“No. Wherever you are, you’ll always be my senior anyway. It’s fine.”
“You really know how to say things without thinking….”
“I have no ulterior motives. You know that, right?”
“Fine. Well… we all decided to renew our contracts.”
“I see.”
“Yeah. Honestly, Colors is frustrating… and exhausting. But the members are precious to me.”
“Yeah. To be honest, Colors is annoying and… tiring. But the members are precious to me.”

The one that resonated most was that I need to study law diligently.
And the advice not to trust anyone but the members also struck a chord.
Don’t trust anyone except the members—that resonates with me too.

“Yes.”
“Why are you so worried about something already?”
“Well….”
“Mm.”

What was really weighing on my mind….
was a certain person from a moment I couldn’t take back.
It seemed better not to voice such things.
It’s probably best not to say things like that out loud.

***

“Did you get off work, noona?”

When I returned to the Dormitory, Yun Chung was awake.

“Yeah. Why are you up so early?”

I deliberately left at 3 in the morning and came back at 7.
If I keep getting caught like this every time, I’ll only cause worry.

“Hmm. I feel a bit low on energy.”
“What should I make for you?”
“Sweet potato candy, please.”
“It’s nice having someone so healthy, Yun Chung.”

It’s rare for Yun Chung to ask for something to eat first.
Let me show off my skills a bit.
Fortunately, Ju-hong asked me to make it once before.
So I know how to make sweet potato candy.

“Hmm. It smells wonderful.”
“Yun Chung.”
“Yes?”

Ever since that dream, my heart feels heavy every time I see Yun Chung.
Why is that?
I haven’t actually done anything wrong.
Yet I feel like I owe her something.

“Is something bothering you?”
“These days?”
“Yeah.”
“These days, my life feels perfect.”
“Really?”

Yun Chung says everything is fine.
So why do I feel so strange?

“Is there something on your mind?”
“Yeah.”

Yun Chung looks taken aback.
Did I speak too honestly?

“What’s on your mind?”
“Nothing really. I just wonder why I always feel sorry whenever I see you.”
“…Sorry?”
“Yeah. It’s like I left a child on the shore and fell into the water myself. But that child saved me.”
“What kind of feeling is that, exactly…?”

Indeed, what kind of feeling was it?
I wasn’t entirely sure myself.
That’s why I said it in the first place.

“It feels like someone smaller than me saved me. When really, I should have been the one saving them.”

Yun Chung didn’t answer.
Whether she liked the candied sweet potato or not, she simply ate it well.
I should make it for her more often.

“It’s just… that’s the feeling I get. Strange, isn’t it?”

It was strange.
In that dream, I wasn’t living so badly.
Yet everything felt wrong.
I felt like I had to go back.
There must have been a reason for it.

“You don’t need to feel that way.”
“Why?”
“Because that child… perhaps… you already saved her long ago. So maybe she was just repaying the favor.”

Could that be it?
I’m not really sure.
But still.
It doesn’t feel bad.
Yun Chung is always right.
When I look into her eyes.
A strange courage always seems to spring forth.
No matter what path lies ahead.
A courage that whispers: perhaps everything will be alright.

“Sister.”
“Yeah?”
“Are you learning Stage planning from Jena these days?”
“Huh? That’s top-secret information. How did you find out?”

Yun Chung says I’m a courageous person, asks how I can be so brave.
But truthfully, I’m not particularly courageous at all.
Even in that dream.
I must have run away again and again.
Is that why I feel this sorry?

“…No. Just something that came to mind.”
“Huh?”

Yun Chung mutters something strange.
’89… Just how much are you…’
That’s how it is.
Truth is, Yun Chung does this sort of thing all the time.
Yun Chung doesn’t know, but the fact that she has two identical phones…
It’s Yun Chung’s secret that all the members are turning a blind eye to.
Yun Chung has so many secrets.
But because we know those secrets are for our sake.
We all keep them safe.

“You’ll do great. You seem talented. Fighting.”
“Really? Can I do well?”
“There’s nothing you can’t do, sister…”

Hmm.
The feeling isn’t bad.

“Yun Chung.”
“Yes?”
“I think we’ve come back well.”
“…What?”
“Just. That’s the feeling I get. Right?”

Yun Chung seems incredibly surprised.
I shouldn’t shock her any further today.

“…Yes.”

Or maybe not.
Anyway.
I want to move forward from here on, EVEL.
Because everyone is moving forward.
Even if I can’t stand at the very front.
I want to shield the members from behind, blocking the wind that blows against them.
Is that alright?
So that I can shield EVEL from the wind that blows your way too.
I’m trying to become someone that big.
Yun Chung said something like this not long ago.
That she has to be an idol until she’s 100 years old.
Surely she didn’t mean she’d do it alone, right?
That means we all have to be idols until we’re 100, doesn’t it?
For that to happen, I definitely need to become stronger.
Build my stamina.
And polish my skills.
Because I can’t lose to 20-year-old friends when I’m 100. Right?
Growing that strong.
I will return to EVEL.
Thank you for everything.

From. Baek-young

P.S.
I’ll be by your side forever.
Forever by StillBlue’s side.
And I will be by EVEL’s side.

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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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