Became The Leader of a Girl Group Destined To Fail - Chapter 218

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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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Episode 10.

“Explain yourself.”

Underground Parking Lot within the Colors Entertainment Headquarters building.
The moment the meeting ended, I took the elevator down and encountered Han Jae-i waiting for me in the parking lot.
Yes, I knew she’d be waiting here.

“Calm down, junior. Someone might see us. Let’s get in the car and talk.”
….

The Colors building strictly controlled outside access, so it seemed unlikely anyone would see us….
But the fact that she, knowing this well, would say such a thing meant she didn’t want insiders to find out about this.
I sighed and got into Han Jae-i’s car.

“…We meet again.”
!

What? Dan-ha was here too?
Unexpectedly, Dan-ha was already waiting for us inside the car.
…Well, that’s much better than being alone with Han Jae-i.

“Ah, yes. It’s good to see you again.”

I gave an appropriate response.
There wasn’t much to say anyway.
And there was something more important than that. I turned my gaze directly toward Han Jae-i.

“Why didn’t we know about the appearance request that came to StillBlue?”
“To be precise, it’s a request that came to BurnAsh.”
“…What do you mean?”
“Coachella designated us as headliners this time.”
!

Not just an invitation—a headliner slot.
I’d heard they were gaining tremendous popularity overseas, but for a fifth-year group to become a headliner at such a massive festival was unprecedented.
Even Han Jae-i, who was usually so fierce and intense, hadn’t stopped smiling.
She must have been thrilled beyond measure.

“You’ve succeeded.”
“Well, naturally we had to achieve at least this much.”

Han Jae-i shrugged as if this level of success was merely the baseline.

“Congratulations, of course. But what does BurnAsh being a headliner have to do with us?”
“While coordinating with Coachella, StillBlue came up during a meeting. They mentioned hearing that you’re incredibly strong in South Korea.”
“….”
“However, StillBlue didn’t seem particularly interested in the global stage yet. They asked if, now that you’re ready, you’d like to come along. They seemed quite interested. From what I gathered, they were eager to put your name on the poster immediately the moment StillBlue agrees.”

The emphasis on “in South Korea” was a subtle jab—StillBlue hadn’t done much international activity yet.
Of course, I wasn’t uninterested in overseas activities. Every K-pop idol dreams of international expansion. Especially breaking into the United States or Europe—it’s almost like a fantasy.
But did that mean StillBlue had no popularity overseas? Not at all. We’d already released an album in Japan and topped the Oricon charts, and our concert in China had been hugely successful.
However….

‘We just haven’t expanded into other countries yet.’

It wasn’t for any particular reason—I simply believed it was right to solidify our domestic position first before venturing abroad.
So….

‘This Coachella casting will be incredibly significant for our international expansion.’

If we could pull off the performance properly, it would be our successful debut on the global stage.
Could there be a more perfect debut stage than this?

‘If we’d debuted not long ago, people would say we were just riding on BurnAsh’s coattails. But now that StillBlue is in our third year, no one would dare say that.’

Most reactions would probably be that our expansion was overdue.
Major entertainment companies usually push their groups into massive festivals as soon as they hit the one-year mark.

‘This is definitely something we should do.’

But there was one thing.
One concern that weighed on my mind.

“Coachella is… early April next year, right? When does the lineup get announced?”
“Early January. So we have about five months left.”

Since it was early August now, that really did mean five months remaining.

“…But the teaser drops in early December.”
“Yes. Which means we need to finalize everything by next month at the latest.”
“….”

Once the lineup teaser goes live, the casting becomes irreversible. In other words, everything had to be stabilized by early December without fail….
Could Kim Geum fully recover by then?
I couldn’t be certain. Even if her hearing could recover to some degree by then, would her condition be stable enough to perform?
Someone might argue this way—the lineup drops starting in December, but the actual performance isn’t until April next year, so there’s plenty of time, right?
Why be so cautious? Surely everything would heal by then anyway, wouldn’t it?
That wasn’t entirely wrong. But….

‘If the Coachella lineup drops and there’s still no comeback announcement, I can already picture the domestic reaction.’

The fans would be devastated. The comments would inevitably ask if we were only performing overseas now.

“What about our stage slot?”
“The main stage, of course. They’re rating you highly over there.”

The main stage was genuinely excellent treatment.
It meant an opportunity no idol would ever want to pass up.

“What’s wrong? You don’t look very happy about it.”
“No, I am happy.”

At Han Jae-i’s questioning tone, I answered with absolute conviction.

“I’m so thrilled I could fly away.”
“…You really do lie without batting an eye, don’t you? It’s actually kind of irritating….”

Han Jae-i spoke as if exasperated.

“It seems there’s some kind of problem within the group?”
“There isn’t.”
“There is. There definitely is.”
“Even if there is, it’s not BurnAsh’s concern.”

Just as BurnAsh’s affairs weren’t my concern, StillBlue’s affairs weren’t theirs either.
Yun Chung drew the line coldly.

“Wow, how cold. Dan-ha, say something too.”
“Well, it’s not really our business anyway.”
“….”

Han Jae-i glared at Dan-ha with eyes that screamed ‘you disloyal bastard.’

“Anyway. Are you going to do it or not?”
“It’s not a decision I can make alone… I think I need to consult with the members and Label 3 as well.”
“You’re drawing a line by saying Label 3 instead of the company?”
“Colors isn’t on my side, but Label 3 is.”
“Well, that’s true enough.”

Han Jae-i let out a soft laugh.

“But I heard a rumor.”
“What rumor?”
“That Representative Baek Ju-ha is coming down?”
“!”

No, that was supposed to be absolutely secret—where the hell did this bastard find out about it?
Yun Chung’s brow furrowed.

“Don’t frown like that. I found out because Representative Baek Ju-ha seems to be looking for a successor.”
“Your lips are heavy, aren’t they?”
“They’re heavy when they need to be. Tell me what’s going on. We’ve felt a bit at ease having Representative Baek Ju-ha around… if she’s really stepping down, we need to prepare accordingly.”
“I think she might be coming down as the Label 3 Director. The current Label 3 Director is….”
“Vacant.”

Han Jae-i nodded.
In effect, Baek Ju-ha had been both Colors representative and Label 3 Director.

“Who are you considering as the next representative?”
“I haven’t known them for long, so I’m still looking around.”
“Nam Director must be eyeing it pretty hard, right?”
“That man won’t do.”

The way he was so eager to sabotage the Coachella matter today made it clear—there was absolutely no hope for his redemption.

“Hmm. What will you do then? It’s frustrating, but Nam Director’s influence isn’t exactly weak. He’s always running his mouth to everyone around him.”
“I have a method in mind.”
“Already? You’re really something, junior. Can’t you tell me what it is?”
“I can’t.”

At Yun Chung’s cold response, Han Jae-i wrinkled her nose.

“Well, okay. I trust your abilities anyway. So I can just focus on Coachella with peace of mind, right?”
“….”

She was right, but why did it irritate me so much?
It always felt like she dumped everything on me and stepped back herself.

“Like I said before, you need to give me an answer about Coachella by the end of September. The sooner, the better.”
“…Understood.”

By the end of September.
There really wasn’t much time left.
I exhaled a long sigh.

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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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