Became The Leader of a Girl Group Destined To Fail - Chapter 20

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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 20.

Seo Baek-young (3rd place
▲
2), 2,629 votes
Kim Ryeo-yu (2nd place -), 2,812 votes
Kim Geum (1st place
▲
2), 3,318 votes

Though we remained in the upper ranks, the fluctuations were quite dramatic.
That’s why the backlash was so much more intense.
If I’d placed fourth in the mid-evaluation as well, there wouldn’t have been this much resistance.
Public opinion was overwhelmingly in my favor.
It was fortunate, truly.
It was only possible because Oh PD cooperated willingly.
Oh PD had framed the editing direction to make my fourth-place ranking seem extraordinarily suspicious.
And Kim Ryeo-yu alone had maintained her second-place position unchanged.
Considering that the Colors executives had selected the audience members who voted this time, I couldn’t claim there were no questionable aspects.
In fact, public sentiment toward Kim Ryeo-yu had been the worst.
Because—

Make some noise
The static lingering in your ears
Make big noise
The sound that shakes your heart
Make some earthquake
Shake the whole world

Kim Ryeo-yu had been so nervous that she hit a wrong note.
That wasn’t all.
The original song was confident girls’ hip-hop in both its lyrics and the group’s concept, but Kim Ryeo-yu’s performance was the complete opposite.
Her overtly sexy concept divided opinions sharply.
Fans of the original song all disapproved.
Most reactions criticized her for failing to properly understand the original song.
Especially when it aired that Kim Ryeo-yu had ignored Do Hee-young’s advice and pushed forward with the sexy concept, the response became even more negative.

White Noise controversy erupts over junior’s provocative interpretation

White Noise’s biggest hit is Make a New Color.
Whether you’re a fan or not, everyone would agree.
So why did Make a New Color blow up?
It was because of the girl crush concept combined with no exposure—something rare at the time.
Female fans go crazy for that kind of thing.
But Kim Ryeo-yu went in the complete opposite direction.
Of course the fans’ reaction couldn’t be anything but negative.

I actually liked it?? I thought it was better than the original lolol
└222
└└333 I preferred Ryeo-yu’s version too
└└└Male fans are definitely winning, but female fans aren’t too happy about it. And White Noise has such a solid female fanbase anyway…. Personally, I liked Kim Ryeo-yu’s version better. Eye candy is…mmm…
└└└└That’s exactly why female fans hate it…
★
Honestly, I’m so disappointed lolol They created this whole no-sexy-confidence concept~ and now this~ Ugh~
If she’d just stayed quiet, she’d be middle-of-the-road at least… who asked her to interpret it her own way~ should’ve just defended the original lolol
There’s literally no room for sexiness in the lyrics or concept, so why suddenly this random exposure-sexy concept? It’s not even classy, just weird

Since White Noise, the original artist, was such a popular idol group, negative public opinion spread in an instant.

Poor thing lol

Still, it seems like they really care since it’s their direct junior training program lolol
They even lent out their own backup dancers and introduced her to producers they knew
And that junior just ignored all the advice and did everything they told her never to do lol
Ryeo-yu, are you feeling satisfied now that it turned out this way?

Right lolol That’s what makes it even more upsetting—you could see how much Do Hee-young really cared;
└22222 She said she’d help cover everything since she knew as a judge she’d hear all the negative comments~ but she kicked that away~ what a mess
└└33 Do Hee-young’s getting cursed out like crazy and what does she even get out of it?

But Kim Ryeo-yu made no response whatsoever.
Colors, her entertainment company, also remained silent.

***

Even in this frustrating situation, filming proceeded without delay.
After several contrived shots for product placement wrapped up, the main game returned.
It was the day the second mission would be revealed.

“So this day has finally come again.”

Yeon Ju-hong spoke to me in a completely deflated state.
We were walking with ice cream cones in our mouths.
Mine was melon-flavored, and Yeon Ju-hong’s was strawberry.
She had bought them for us.

“Nervous?”
“Of course. Aren’t you nervous, unnie? Actually, even during the first mission, you never seemed nervous at all.”

Yeon Ju-hong looked me up and down as if she couldn’t understand.

“You weren’t like this originally. You were more of a scaredy-cat than anyone.”
“…Scaredy-cat?”
“Do you eat some kind of herbal remedy every morning? Some traditional medicine or something? If so, let’s share that information and live together.”
“I don’t take anything like that.”

If anything, all I’ve consumed is experience from years in this industry.
In truth, I wasn’t particularly nervous at all.
That made sense—Yeon Ju-hong didn’t know what the mission was, so she’d naturally be more afraid—

[The highly anticipated program “Make a New Color” reveals its second mission!]

[The second mission of Make a New Color is generating buzz. Unlike last time, this one is a group mission—]

That was because I’d already seen the mission through a phone notification.
Just yesterday, my phone had informed me ahead of time.

“This time it’s a group mission, right?”
“Obviously.”

I nodded in agreement.
Even without seeing it beforehand, anyone could have guessed as much.

“What do you think they’ll make us do? I bet it’s going to be something completely ridiculous and tone-deaf again.”
“…Yeah, probably.”

I agreed with her.
Yeon Ju-hong’s words weren’t wrong.
Because the next mission was—

[Group Mission: Create a Stage from A to Z]

—exactly that.

***

Once filming began, Oh PD explained the mission.

“You see, modern idols can’t just sing well and dance well anymore.”

As if he hadn’t just told us to rely on stage presence alone.
Faced with such contradictory logic, I struggled to maintain my composure.

“True idols must be capable of creating their own stages, wouldn’t you agree?”

Oh PD flashed a sinister smile and started the prepared presentation.

“Colors has a long-standing tradition. Does anyone know what it is?”
“…Me.”

It was Kim Geum.
For Kim Geum, who was usually so quiet, to volunteer like this was extraordinarily rare.
Even Oh PD seemed delighted.

“Oh, trainee Kim Geum. Go ahead.”
“…All title tracks are composed and written by the members themselves.”
“Correct!”

Oh PD cut filming immediately once the desired answer came out.
After extracting forced wrong answers from the rest of us, he resumed.

“Now, when we think of Colors, we think of composition, and when we think of composition, we think of Colors. Whether it’s coincidence or inevitability, I’m not sure, but every single group under Colors has had members who excel at songwriting and lyric composition. Moreover, beyond those members, the other members have also actively participated in composition and lyrics.”

Oh PD played a video to show examples.

Greysh – Isol, Hee-young
All Colors – Day
White Noise – Seol-hee, Do-i
Burnash – Dan-ha, Jae-i

“As you can see, every group has representative composer members. This kind of versatility is also an element that has captured the hearts of our fans! As idols of Colors, you cannot disappoint these expectations either.”

The atmosphere grew heavier with each word Oh PD spoke.
All the trainees here were at a certain level or above when it came to singing and dancing, but composition was a different story.
The skill gap was stark.

“However, I do acknowledge that not every member’s specialty can be composition. So!”

Oh PD advanced the PowerPoint slide.

“I’ve prepared several elements that go into creating a Stage!”

Position 1. Composition
Position 2. Lyrics
Position 3. Choreography Creation
Position 4. Concept and Styling Direction

Every single one was challenging.
Enough to naturally darken everyone’s expressions.

“Now, every trainee will take on one position. There are no exceptions. Everyone must take one. Therefore, each position will have only three trainees.”

At Oh PD’s gesture, staff members brought out twelve flags.
Each flag had a position name written on it.
There were only three flags per position.

“The position selection will be decided fairly through a race.”

This can’t be happening….
Cries of despair echoed from all around.
It wasn’t fair at all.
Not everyone had the same running ability.
Even I couldn’t help but sigh whenever I thought about Yun Chung’s body.
Yun Chung’s body was, quite literally, a disaster.
No muscle, no fat.
Truly a hopeless physique.
I couldn’t expect to place first in a race with a body like this.
If I had to place my hopes somewhere—

“Please, anything but composition.”

I’d have to pray to avoid the composition position.
Honestly, I didn’t care what I got. I just wanted to avoid choreography production at all costs.
That’s where I had the least confidence.
Because, you know, dance isn’t my strong suit.
Unlike me, most of the trainees had their eyes squeezed shut, desperately praying to avoid composition.
Of course, there were exceptions.

“Composition, composition, composition, composition, composition….”

It was Kim Geum.
That was borderline insane.
Given the atmosphere, it seemed better to aim for composition to avoid the choreography production position.
Okay.
I’m going with composition this time.

“Alright, take your positions at the starting line. Don’t step on the tape.”

They’d mentioned filming in an unusually spacious location.
So that’s why they were holding a sports day.
I straightened my posture.

“Ready… go!”

Whether it was a proper starting position or not, the sound of the starting pistol rang out.
I bolted forward with wide eyes, my gaze fixed solely on the composition flag.

“Aaaaaaahhhhh!”
“Move! Get out of the way!!!!!!!!!”
“Huff, huff.”

Huh?
I glanced back over my shoulder.
Quite a few trainees were right on my heels.
These guys…!
They had even worse stamina than Yun Chung…!
I ran with ease, reaching out to grab the composition flag.
But in that moment,

“Composition, composition, composition, composition, composition, composition, composition, composition, composition, composition….”

An absolutely terrifying sound erupted from behind me.
This girl is scary.
Driven by sheer obsession, Kim Geum overtook me and snatched the composition flag in first place.
Disoriented by Kim Geum’s assault, I grabbed whatever flag was nearest.
But.

“Oh.”

…The flag I’d grabbed wasn’t the composition flag.

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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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