Became The Leader of a Girl Group Destined To Fail - Chapter 29

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 29.

“What specific training are you planning to provide the trainees?”
“Ah, yes. I was thinking of telling Kim Ryeo-yu to stop being so considerate and approach the competition with greater seriousness…”
“They’re just kids. Logically speaking, why would they be watching Kim Ryeo-yu’s mood? It’s all because of the adults.”

Hong President spoke coldly.

“You brought a proposal about training the trainees? Isn’t it the other way around—shouldn’t you be the ones receiving training?”
“I apologize….”
“I’m disappointed today. I wanted something constructive, but everyone’s so busy reading the room that nobody’s saying what actually needs to be said.”

The moment Hong President spoke in that measured tone,

“President.”

Director Kim entered.

“I heard you’ve been visiting after a long time. You’ve been enjoying your vacation, I trust?”

The sound of someone swallowing filled the silence.
And for good reason—Director Kim’s words were practically a veiled insult.
Every syllable dripped with the implication: why are you showing up now after abandoning the company all this time?
Of course, Hong President wasn’t about to miss that.

“Yes. I’ve been enjoying it quite well. But it seems I need to wrap it up now.”
“You could take more time. The executives and staff here are giving their all.”
“Passion is wonderful. That’s exactly why I want to reciprocate that passion.”

A tense silence fell.
Director Kim and Hong President locked eyes in a silent battle of wills.
Director Kim had his reasons for pushing back so hard against his superior.
The shareholders favored Director Kim.
Because he was nothing short of gracious to the shareholders while treating employees with inhumane cruelty.
Frozen salaries were standard practice, and the moment performance dipped even slightly, he’d manufacture excuses to push people out the door.
Beyond that, there was his obsession with running the Company on a skeleton crew.
Hong President had taken his leave partly out of disgust at Director Kim and the shareholders’ behavior.
He’d been running nonstop without a moment’s rest, after all.
But it seemed he couldn’t afford that luxury anymore.

“I’ve enjoyed my vacation long enough. I’m planning to return to the Company. Not a full return from the start, but….”

Hong President smiled wickedly.
Then he pointed at the presentation monitor with his finger.

“I can’t face the shareholders unless I resolve this first, can I?”

Director Kim’s expression crumpled instantly.

***

After the second mission ended, the on-site voting announcement ceremony took place.
But honestly, the tension was less than at the first on-site voting announcement.
We’d already experienced it once before—

“Why do they announce rankings twice in one day?”

The reason was that the “Ranking Announcement” came right after.
The Ranking Announcement and the on-site voting announcement were different things.
The on-site voting announcement allowed only the fans who attended the competition to vote.
A total of 360 fans had come this time.
That was 60 more than last time.
From the looks of it, it seemed like they’d selected about 30 fans per trainee.
However, this time only two people could be chosen.
Last time, I had to rank all the trainees.
But this time, it was simply a matter of picking the two members I liked best.
Therefore, the total number of votes was 720.
Twelve trainees would share the 720 votes, and rankings would be determined based on the final vote count.
It was an indicator that could reflect the on-site reaction, and the first-place team would receive benefits for the next mission.
However, the trainees were trembling because of the “Ranking Announcement.”
This was literally a popularity ranking itself.
On-site voting involved many elements of luck….
The ranking reflected only in internet voting would show me exactly how many true fans supported me.
Moreover, the Ranking Announcement allowed voting for all twelve trainees in a single day, or just one.
On-site voting included people who had me as their “second choice.”
But the Ranking Announcement was essentially a count of “people who want me to become a girl group member.”
So of course I’d be nervous.

“It feels like taking both a practice exam and the real college entrance exam in one day….”

Yeon Ju-hong spoke while lying on the waiting room sofa.
That comparison was so high school of her.
Moments like this made me realize how young they really were.

“Even though the voting ranking supposedly has nothing to do with debut…. people’s hearts don’t work that way, do they?”
“That’s true.”

After all, you feel terrible if you do poorly on a practice exam too.
I quietly agreed.

“Even if you get a low ranking, you can just do better next time.”

Then Kim Geum, who had brought four ion drinks, spoke.

“Take one each.”

Kim Geum handed a drink to Yeon Ju-hong and me.

“Hey!”

Then, as a final touch, she tossed a drink to Lee Ju-seon.

“Me… me too?”
“Aren’t you part of our team?”
“….”
“I bought it so you wouldn’t complain about being left out again.”
“Why do you always have to bring things up like that?!”

Kim Geum clicked her tongue disapprovingly.

“Look at you turning it around on me.”

The two of them bickered back and forth for quite a while.
Yet somehow, their dynamic didn’t seem hostile at all.
Watching them both sip their drinks with genuine smiles told me everything I needed to know.

“Hey, Ryu Bora!”
“What.”

Kim Geum didn’t stop there—she called out to Ryu Bora, who had been quietly checking her phone in the corner.

“Where exactly do you keep getting that phone from?”

Once Make a New Color began serious filming, all phones were confiscated.
They were returned once shooting wrapped.
The only exception was during team missions, when contact was necessary.

“Use your brain, Geum.”
“? Is that supposed to be clever…?”

Kim Geum approached Ryu Bora and tried to sneak a peek at her phone screen.
But Ryu Bora quickly hid the phone away.

“What are you hiding? Show me.”
“Privacy.”
“I said, what is it?”
“Personal business.”

Ryu Bora turned off her phone entirely, then glanced at me.
She pointed at Kim Geum.
…Was she telling me to take her away?

“She’s your girl anyway. Take her with you.”

Since when was she mine?
Still, I dragged the struggling Kim Geum out without complaint.

“And you too.”
“Yes?”
“Be careful with your phone too.”

If we got caught, it would become incredibly troublesome.
Considering Oh PD’s controlling nature, his reaction to Ryu Bora’s disobedience wouldn’t be pleasant.

“…I’ll be careful.”

Was I going through puberty?

***

The break ended in an instant.
The on-site voting announcement filming began immediately.

“Everyone, you’ve all worked hard. We’ve already completed the second mission. All three teams showed excellent performances. As a mentor and senior, I’m truly proud.”

Do Hee-young always had that mature air about her.
I’d never thought of her as particularly mature before, but seeing her here now, I understood why she came across that way.

“The colorists who will be painting you today have voted for the two trainees who caught their attention the most. Today, a total of 360 colorists participated. Now, let me announce the total vote rankings for each team.”

After the brief explanation, Do Hee-young pointed to the screen.
All the trainees stared intently at the screen with nervous eyes.

3rd place team, 140 votes
2nd place team, 233 votes
1st place team, 347 votes

“!”

A palpable wave of tension rippled through the trainees.
The gap between 1st and 3rd place was substantial.
The on-site voting had proceeded without any behind-the-scenes footage being revealed.
It meant the results came purely from watching the Stage performances.
Yet the difference was that stark.
Everyone’s expressions darkened.
It signified that the performance gap on Stage was that significant.
Especially since these were stages we had created entirely from start to finish ourselves.

“First, I’ll announce the 2nd place team.”

As Do Hee-young spoke, the screen changed.

2nd place.
Team Bubble Gum
233 votes
-9th place Bang Su-in (
▲
↑1) 31 votes
-8th place Shin Yu-hyeon (-) 34 votes
-4th place Ryu Bora (
▲
↑1) 80 votes
-3rd place Seo Baek-young (-) 88 votes

“Two debut positions have been determined. Team Bubble Gum—no one’s ranking dropped. Congratulations.”

No one in Team Bubble Gum had dropped in ranking….
Which meant someone from another team had dropped instead.
The atmosphere in Team Bubble Gum was quite pleasant.
It wasn’t exactly a celebration, but everyone seemed largely relieved.
The four of them were gripping each other’s hands tightly.
So Ryu Bora had entered with a debut slot.
Considering I had been ranked 4th and Ryu Bora was 5th originally….
It meant my ranking had changed as well.
Was that a good thing or a bad thing?

“Then we’ll announce 3rd place right away.”

3rd place.
Team Love U
140 votes
-12th Park Ha-eun (
▼
3) 20 votes
-11th Lee Gyeong-a (-) 23 votes
-10th Jo Hee-on (
▼
3) 27 votes
-6th Kim Ryeo-yu (
▼
4) 70 votes

“!”

All four members of Team Love U couldn’t utter a single sound.
It wasn’t just them.
No one could make a peep.
Then the screen changed immediately.
Alongside 3rd place, the vote count for 1st place appeared as well.

1st Place.
Team Four Season
347 votes
-7th Lee Ju-seon (
▲
5) 59 votes
-5th Yeon Ju-hong (
▲
1) 74 votes
-2nd Yun Chung (
▲
3) 105 votes
-1st Kim Geum (-) 109 votes

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————