Became The Leader of a Girl Group Destined To Fail - Chapter 203

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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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Side Story Episode 3.

Ju-ha

Yun Chung
I’ve handled it.
The labels that only had their names separated until now
we’ve decided to divide them clearly and each operate independently.
Label 1: Greysh, new boy group
Label 2: White Noise, All Colors
Label 3: BurnAsh, StillBlue
That’s how we’re moving forward.
But Representative Nam agreed so readily that I’m actually getting anxious;;
Does he have some hidden agenda?

“….”

I read only up to that point and quietly set my phone down.
Of course he has an ulterior motive.
On the surface, it looks like a reasonably balanced distribution of artists, but….
the reality was entirely different.
In substance, both Greysh and White Noise had already entered the ranks of veteran groups focusing on individual activities.
All Colors was caught up in contract renewal negotiations, leaving their future uncertain.
If Hong President continued gallivanting around outside, whatever slim possibility remained would fade away entirely.
Colors’ newly launching boy group would naturally succeed, but… in today’s oversaturated market, establishing a foothold would likely take considerable time.
Which meant, ultimately, Label 3 was the only one capable of carrying Colors right now.
In other words, the label most appetizing to Representative Nam’s eyes would be ours.
If he’s targeting something, it would naturally be us.
StillBlue,
or…
BurnAsh.

Ju-ha

We both have our own things going on, but…
The BurnAsh kids just seemed a bit… scattered, you know?
I wasn’t sure if they’d be okay;

Baek Ju-ha must have shared the same concern, because that’s when I got this message.
But…

Ju-ha

It’s fine

There’s one crazy person there too…
???

Contact
BurnAsh Han Jae-i

Please reach out to her

This wasn’t exactly something I could explain easily.
Under normal circumstances, I’d handle it myself somehow, but unfortunately, I was swamped this time around.
Oh PD kept pushing me to repay a favor by appearing as a guest on some terrestrial survival show.
The domestic hiatus stretched absurdly long because of that Japanese album even I, as a producer, didn’t know about.
When I tried to make a comeback, it felt like the entire world was conspiring against it.
So I figured I might as well use what I could from this situation.
Especially with someone as cunning as Representative Nam—it made sense to have an equally devious operator handle him.
There was no point in a white egret going out of its way to peck at where the crows played.

Ju-ha

If you mention it’s my request, she’ll understand
Han Jae-i????
Wait, I have Han Jae-i’s contact too
What would she know?
She’s just…

I can hear Baek Ju-ha’s voice clicking her tongue from here, muttering, “Isn’t this just X rice?”

Ju-ha

I’m only going to use it to deal with Representative Nam

Once I’ve handled Representative Nam, could you help me reorganize the Label and tighten things up?
I could handle it myself!

There’s no need to use an ox-slaughtering knife just to kill a chicken

I need you to prepare for something a bit further in the future instead
…??
What… what future…??

Ah.
I’ve accidentally spoiled something without realizing it.
Now explaining is going to be such a hassle.

Ju-ha

I’ll explain it properly later

I’m currently meeting with someone right now…
Huh????????????
Wait, you’re meeting someone without me?????
But you went to the United States for a photo shoot
Who are you meeting there?!!?!?!?!?!?
They’re not a dangerous person, right???

They’re not dangerous…

Just an annoying person.

“Did you finish signing everything, Shop Owner?”
“…You’re a harsh one.”

Hong Yeon-seo glared at me, her teeth grinding audibly.
So who told her to flee so recklessly without any plan?
I felt not a shred of sympathy for Hong President.
It was Hong Yeon-seo who had nearly destroyed the company once before, caught between her obsession with America and her artist’s temperament.
Did she lack the capacity to learn?
Had she already forgotten how Director Kim had seized complete control of the company and nearly ruined it?
Or had she truly abandoned all attachment to the company by now?
Either way, all I could do was sigh at her response.

“Why are you doing this, exactly?”
“I’m tired of it.”

Hong President spoke with a face full of ennui. She remained completely reclined on the sofa, not even looking at me.

“I’ve come to understand again why I left the company in the first place. I was never meant to run a company and live that way. I’m not the type to spend my life watching other people’s music either. Maybe it would be better to entrust the company entirely to a professional manager this time. Rather than someone like me, an amateur.”
“Then why didn’t you find someone actually competent? Have you forgotten that Director Kim was also a professional manager? After getting burned once, you should have put someone qualified in charge. That person only had experience as a food company CEO, which has nothing to do with this.”
“…There simply wasn’t anyone suitable. Someone without relevant experience, but whose abilities are proven.”

This was ridiculous. She’d just picked someone willing to pour money into her music.
To be honest, Hong President’s music had no market value anymore.
People only refrained from saying anything because she was the president, but if she weren’t, funding would have dried up long ago.
Now that shareholders were beginning to pressure her not to release Hong President’s albums, she’d set up a shield and quietly made her escape.

“Anyway… I came all the way to the United States, and you’re still looking for that?”
“I didn’t come here because I wanted to. I had to scramble to create an unplanned United States location shoot schedule because of you, Shop Owner, so let’s finish this quickly. It’s not pleasant.”

I tapped the contract in front of Hong President with my finger repeatedly.

“Your words are a bit sharp, aren’t they?”
“If you were chasing down a president who fled overseas, do you think your words would come out gently? Especially when I’m busy preparing for a comeback.”

She should be grateful I’m even using formal speech.
Tsk, I clicked my tongue.

“And besides, we’ve already shown each other our true colors down to the very bottom. There’s no need to hide our nature now.”
“Do you talk like this to your members too?”
“My members don’t run away like you do, so there’s no reason for me to say such things to them.”
“You never know. They might bolt too.”

I exhaled a long sigh.
He was dragging this out. The flight departure time wasn’t far off.

“My members are free to leave if they want. If they do, they must have had their reasons. Even if they didn’t, I’d handle the fallout myself. But it’s not really fair for me to clean up after a man who’s 1.6 times my age, is it?”

Hong President laughed loudly.
So hard that tears nearly welled up in his eyes.

“Ah, you really remind me of our old members.”

That wasn’t exactly a compliment I wanted to hear.
I decided to steer the conversation back to the main topic.

“You know this contract only benefits you. There’s nothing for you to lose, so why are you hesitating so much?”
“That’s exactly why I don’t trust it. That’s the go-to line of con artists. ‘You won’t lose anything. You’ll only gain.’ Where in this world does such a contract exist?”
“Right here.”

I answered flatly.

“If you were truly sincere about managing Colors, then yes, this contract would be a loss for you. It’s a document transferring your management rights to someone else, after all.”
“….”

Hong President studied me intently, his gaze sharp and probing.

“But you’re not interested in Colors anymore anyway. You just want to focus on your own music, right?”
“That doesn’t mean I should hand over my greatest asset to you. You know better than anyone how significant it is to relinquish management rights, don’t you?”
“I’m not asking you to give it up completely. It’s just a one-year contract. You can renew it whenever you want. If things go wrong after a year, you can always come back and run things like before. Or….”

I pulled another document from the briefcase I’d discreetly taken from Seo Baek-young.

“Or, you could enjoy life doing only your music, living off the money that All Colors and the Colors idols will earn through their hard work after their contract renewal succeeds.”

That’s right. This is the hand I’ve prepared.
A renegotiation agreement signed personally by every member of All Colors.
Hong President would understand this too.
If he refuses this deal now, All Colors will inevitably go independent soon, and after that, the other Colors members will follow suit one by one.
From the start, all the idols under Colors have been gradually extending their contracts by trusting in one person—Hong Yeon-seo.
As long as Hong Yeon-seo doesn’t suddenly run away like this, she’s certainly a good producer and a good manager.
Besides, since she’s an idol herself, she understands idols’ struggles deeply and shows genuine consideration.
…If she just didn’t flip the script like this occasionally, I’d admit she’s a remarkable woman.
But what happens when that Hong Yeon-seo suddenly disappears and a money-obsessed outsider appears instead?
There’s no reason to stay with Colors anymore.
Then Hong President’s funding dries up too, so he won’t be happy about it.
After all, you need money to make music.

“If you hand over management rights, who will you put in place of Representative Nam?”
“Someone with a solid understanding of Colors’ internal operations. As long as they’re not an outsider like Representative Nam, it doesn’t matter. What I want is just one thing. Someone who will respect Baek Ju-ha, who will become the head of the StillBlue label.”
“You’re going to install your puppet as the label head? You really are ruthless, aren’t you?”
“Don’t treat people like puppets.”

Don’t mistake me for someone like you.
Baek Ju-ha is my colleague and partner, not some puppet.
She’s family who’s been through thick and thin with me since my previous life.

“I’ve raised a tiger cub.”

Hong President eventually let out a hollow laugh and stamped the document.
I slid another page over and pointed to the signature line.
It meant he should stamp this one too.
Hong President obediently stamped all the remaining documents.
Only after confirming that the documents were perfectly prepared did I respond.

“I was never raised by Hong President.”

This man keeps crossing the line.
Who raised whom?

“Then, did you grow up all by yourself? Isn’t that too arrogant?”

Hong President asked as if bewildered.

“I never said I grew up alone.”

But what’s absurd is that this is my perspective.
There were people who raised me, so how could I have done it alone?

“I was raised by my mother and our StillBlue members.”

And now it was time to return to the people who had raised me.

***

“Chung!”

Dawn at the Airport.
As I quietly entered after clearing immigration, Ju-ha was waiting for me.

“How did all of this even—”
“Unnie.”

I raised my hand to silence Baek Ju-ha.

“I’m dying from jet lag, so let me give you a quick rundown.”
“Huh?”

I handed all the contracts to Baek Ju-ha.

“From now on, you’ll be taking over as the head of our label. Handle Representative Nam however you see fit. As for the company president… it’ll be someone recognized internally within Colors. And I’m definitely making a comeback this year, so help me set that up. Since you have management rights, no one else will say anything. If they do… just let me know.”

“What, what?”
“The songs are all ready, so just push through the rest of the work quickly. I’m done with politics now—”

I took a breath and spoke.

“I’m going back to StillBlue.”

Let me just do my actual job, please.
That was the moment I missed my members.

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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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