Became The Leader of a Girl Group Destined To Fail - Chapter 232

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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 24.

Is Kim Geum really sick?

Would a sick person perform on stage like that?

It was just a rumor from the haters anyway lol
What if the “sickness” was actually

becoming a “god”? That kind of disease?

Lol our girl caught the ascension virus
After seeing Greenery, I was so devastated that

I thought only BurnAsh could perform BurnAsh songs
But now I think StillBlue might be okay too

Seriously lol, her audacity is insane, and fans were already tired of the lyrics, but she pulled off that…
Honestly, after Han Jae-i’s lyrics, people were cursing her out to stop writing lyrics, but it was actually part of the bigger plan
Make the next StillBlue title track hip-hop

I’m desperate right now
Hurry up and bring hip-hop
Congratulations on being an absolute genius, Ryu Bora

Congratulations on becoming a god, Kim Geum
And congratulations on you two being the same age and absolutely killing it, Yun Chung

Wait, why Yun Chung all of a sudden?
└Because Yun Chung is StillBlue’s number one fan, can’t help it
└└We can’t resist Yun Chung’s love for StillBlue either
StillBlue + male idol song

This is definitely a winning formula
Just do the next song with this too

Haha, what’s Dan-ha doing? They brought another one and told me to give it to StillBlue, haha.
In this harsh world,, StillBlue is my only happiness,,

Life has no joy,, but StillBlue alone becomes my joy,,
This is truly the importance of my idols’ skills

Cappa: (nonsense)
StillBlue stage: shut your mouth.

Everything really goes silent, it’s so satisfying
Everyone really quiets down
StillBlue was my digestive aid

(image of chest clearing out)
I need to consume this stage regularly

***

“Uuuuugh.”

Meanwhile, after all the prepared stages had ended.
The members were all so drained from the post-performance exhaustion that they were practically crawling into the van.
StillBlue’s stages were never easy to begin with, but male idol choreography involved much larger movements, resulting in exceptional physical exertion.
On top of that, they had to immediately follow up with the “Ghost Story” stage, making it even more grueling.
As all the members rested, nearly sprawled out in the van, only Yun Chung continued without pause, checking something on her phone.

“Chung, you can stop monitoring and rest now.”
“This is how I rest.”

At Yun Chung’s response, Baek Ju-ha shook her head in disbelief.

“I’m a workaholic too, but you’re on a completely different level….”
“I’m telling you, this isn’t work—it’s how I relax.”

I was watching the real-time reactions from the fans.
If the fans relieved their stress by watching StillBlue’s performance, then StillBlue relieved their stress by watching those fan reactions.
The other members felt the same way, but I felt it even more intensely.
I glanced at the other members. They’d all been wound tight for days, and now that the tension had completely released, they were completely passed out.
Kim Geum in particular was sleeping with her mouth hanging open, making these strange gurgling sounds.
It made sense. They’d practically staked their lives on this performance.
Kim Geum had desperately blocked us from checking SNS, but that didn’t mean we were completely unaware of the fans’ reactions.
And the way rumors suddenly spread this morning—I can’t even describe how infuriating it was.
Rumors spread all the time, sure, but the timing of this one was genuinely bizarre. As if someone deliberately wanted to shatter the members’ mental state right before the performance….

‘No matter how I think about it, the timing is just too perfect.’

Like someone orchestrated it.

“Unni.”
“Hmm?”
“About this rumor… I don’t think it’s accidental. I think someone did this on purpose.”

I said that and showed Baek Ju-ha my phone screen.

Honestly, it’s weird that our comeback got delayed because of Kim Geum. If she was sick, she should’ve just said so honestly.
Honestly, it’s weird that our comeback got delayed because of Kim Geum…

The screen displayed multiple users’ reactions—all saying exactly the same thing, copied and pasted.

“They’re all different people, but they’re all saying the exact same thing. Not a single word different. And the tone is awkward too.”
“Yeah. And they’re even on different websites, but they’re all saying the same thing.”

Looking at the comments completely flooded with similar reactions, Baek Ju-ha’s expression grew serious.

“We definitely need to investigate this. Find out which side is running this reverse viral campaign.”
“Of course we’ll investigate. But… I already know who did it without even looking.”
“Label 1.”

The two of us locked eyes and nodded simultaneously.

“They must have known. That Greenery was going to bomb today.”
“So they used us to try to cover it up?”

Ha.
Baek Ju-ha exhaled in exasperation.
This is exactly the kind of dirty mess that comes out like this.

“But this situation is even more troublesome. If it were an external enemy, at least we could deal with them without worrying about the aftermath. But this….”
“Internal enemies are always more frightening, aren’t they?”

Yun Chung smiled bitterly as well.

“We need to take action, but… I think we need to be even more careful this time. Greenery can’t become the target.”
“If the artists become the target, it’ll just turn into a fandom war. We need to aim precisely at Label 1 only.”
“But considering Nam Director’s personality, that man will definitely use the artists as a shield.”
“Predictable. That bastard’s a hundred percent certain to do it.”

Whether they were freshly debuted rookies or not, Nam Director was the type who wouldn’t hesitate to use Greenery to save his own skin.
Even though he appeared to be working for Greenery right now, that wasn’t the real story. He was simply doing all this for his own achievements.

“We need to make sure Greenery doesn’t become a target, but figure out a way to expel only Nam Director.”
“…Is something like that even possible?”

Baek Ju-ha spoke skeptically. The opponent deployed every dirty method available to them, while we had to dodge all that filth while using only clean tactics.
In short, StillBlue was at a much greater disadvantage.

“It has to be possible.”

But….
Yun Chung didn’t tell Baek Ju-ha, but there was one thing that worried me.
No matter how hard we try to keep Greenery out of this game, if Greenery themselves decide to jump in, there’s nothing we can do.
Since they’re rookies who just debuted, they likely don’t understand how this industry works yet and would probably be swayed entirely by Nam Director’s words.
If only someone could give Greenery some advice.

***

BurnAsh Han Jae-i

Greenery?

Of course I don’t know them.

“Sir, whenever we try to even talk to them, they act crazy, you know?”

How bad must things be if they’re blocking even casual interaction?

At Han Jae-i’s testimony, I exhaled deeply.
I’d suspected as much, but the situation was worse than I’d imagined.

BurnAsh Han Jae-i

But why are they doing this?

Our cover today was a complete disaster

Are you trying to comfort us or something?;;

You’re not that kind of person, senior

At Han Jae-i’s subtle personal jab, my face twisted.
What kind of person am I, then?

BurnAsh Han Jae-i

Ah, yes.

Thank you for the input. I’ll take it into consideration for my work.
So you’re just taking the information and leaving??

Seriously?

You’re not even reading my messages—that’s too much

Whether Han Jae-i sent a message of protest or not, I dismissed it lightly.
I had no desire to become the kind of people who exchanged pleasantries with each other. We were perfectly fine maintaining a relationship of mere cooperation.

“Chung-chung.”
“Hmm?”

Just then, Kim Geum called out to me.

“I was thinking of going to the Studio today.”
“!”

Ever since Dan-ha arrived, Kim Geum had never ventured anywhere near the Studio. Even when she went to the Company, she would go straight to the Practice Room and nowhere else.
When we recorded for this BurnAsh cover performance, her expression remained rigid the entire time.
The other members were so worried watching her that they could barely breathe.
Of course, she insisted she was fine and told everyone to relax their expressions… but willpower doesn’t always bend to desire.

“…Why not try composing?”
“No. I… I can’t do it.”

At Kim Geum’s bitter expression, my face hardened as well.

“I’m going to help Ju-hong. That’s the least I can do.”
“Geum. We don’t have to compose every single song ourselves. This time, we could accept some tracks from external composers—”
“No.”

Kim Geum shook her head firmly.

“This album is a full-length album. It means something different to us and our fans.”
“But what’s wrong with accepting external tracks? Everyone does it.”
“I hate it. Even if I have to pull all-nighters teaching Ju-hong, I refuse external compositions. I’d rather beat composition into Ju-hong until she gets it right—”
“Geum.”

As Kim Geum’s words began to take on a frenzied edge, I cut her off.

“Actually, I’ve been hearing you humming a melody lately.”
“!”

If persuasion wouldn’t work no matter what, I needed to steer things in a direction where I could protect her better.

“Try working on it once.”
“But… I can’t work on it, Chung-chung.”
“No.”

Yun Chung shook her head with firm resolve.

“I’ll help you. Let’s try it together.”

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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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