Became The Leader of a Girl Group Destined To Fail - Chapter 33

—————

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

—————

Chapter 33.

“As for how we’ll decide on roommates…”

Do Hee-young wore what could only be described as a mischievous smile.

“From now on, I’ll blindfold all of you. Then, one by one, you’ll remove your blindfold, choose a room, and enter it. Be careful—once you open a door, you must stay in that room. You don’t get a second choice.”

Something about this method felt… off.

“The other two people you meet inside the room will become your roommates.”

Oh no.
This is a game of pure luck.

“Once a room has three people, if another trainee enters, the lowest-ranked trainee in that room will be kicked out. That trainee must then choose another room. If that room is also full, the lowest-ranked trainee there gets kicked out as well.”
“!”

Everyone gasped in shock.
I’d never seen a program this obsessed with rankings.

“Yes, it’s a bit cruel, I know. But it should serve as excellent motivation for you all.”

More like motivation for conflict, if you ask me.

“Now, Yeon Ju-hong. As the youngest, I’ll give you first pick of the rooms.”
“Huh?”

Yeon Ju-hong looked uncertain about receiving such a privilege.
She really does have that timid side to her.
Though when she’s bold, she’s practically fearless.

“Actually, who goes first doesn’t matter much. It’ll all come down to rankings anyway. Don’t worry—just make your choice.”

…So they’re admitting to their obsession with rankings.
I felt Yeon Ju-hong rise from her seat and leave.
I heard the door open and close.
After that, several more trainees were called.
Listening carefully, they were going in seating order.
The trainees sitting next to Yeon Ju-hong left one by one in sequence.
Seo Baek-young, Lee Gyeong-a, Lee Ju-seon….
In the beginning, trainees exited quickly.
But at some point, things began to slow down.
That must mean the room competition had started.

“No, no, nooo!”

…That sound was unmistakable proof.
Anyone could tell it was Yeon Ju-hong’s voice.
It seemed she’d already been pushed out of the room.
Yeon Ju-hong was ranked sixth, so if she got pushed out… it meant everyone else had debut potential.

“Yes!”

That was Kim Geum’s voice.
If you had to choose the best room in this dormitory, it would naturally be the Master Bedroom.
It had an attached bathroom, was the most spacious, and being the furthest back meant it was the farthest from noise.
But there’s no way only I knew that.
Most trainees would know it too.
Honestly, I didn’t care which room I got.
My only concern was my roommate.
Nothing causes more stress than an incompatible roommate.
To be honest, I didn’t want to share a room with Kim Ryeo-yu or any of her close friends.
After all, Make a New Color is a girl group survival show.
People want chemistry between the members.
And I genuinely wanted that chemistry too.
As a solo artist, I wanted to experience that kind of connection at least once.

“Next is trainee Yun Chung.”

Do Hee-young called my name.
As expected, I was third from the end.

“Go pick your room.”

I removed the blindfold and stood slowly. The other two trainees still wearing theirs came into view.
Turning my back to them, I walked toward the door.
No matter which room I chose, I wouldn’t be displaced.
I was in first place.
Kim Geum was second, Kim Ryeo-yu was third.
So perhaps… if I chose this room.

“…I knew it would be like this.”

Of course, Kim Ryeo-yu, Kim Geum, and Ryu Bora would be here.
I didn’t want to share a room with Kim Ryeo-yu, so why did I come here anyway?
There was no particular reason.
I wasn’t the type to give up on a challenge I was given.
I preferred to face things head-on.

“….”

All three of them were rolling their eyes in disbelief.
What are you looking at?
You all took other people’s rooms too.
Especially Ryu Bora—she was already preparing to leave the moment the door opened.
Fourth place.
Not a low ranking by any means, but it was the lowest here.
A room with first, second, and third place all together.
In a way, it would be the most demanding.
Just as I was trying to gauge whether that was good or bad,

“Bora. You take this room.”

A twist occurred.

“…Ryeo-yu unnie?”
“I’ll go to another room. You stay here.”

Kim Ryeo-yu had just declared she would go to a different room.

“Besides, I wanted to share a room with Hee-on anyway. You said Bora’s a light sleeper. The master bedroom should be quieter, so take this one. I’ll leave.”

Kim Ryeo-yu spoke in her sweetest voice and picked up her luggage.
Then she gestured toward the bed with a tilt of her chin, directing the motion at me.

“You use this room, Yun Chung.”

I simply smiled in response.
Ha ha.
When I didn’t react further, Kim Ryeo-yu seemed irritated and added more words.

“Ah, what a shame. It’s really such a nice room. I really wanted to use this one too.”

Ah, so this was her pretending to be magnanimous?
Only then did I catch on to Kim Ryeo-yu’s true intention.
She thought that if she acted like she was making a sacrifice, I’d naturally back down.

“Right. But you’re giving up this room for me… You’re really kind, Ryeo-yu. Bora will be so grateful too.”
“…No. That’s not what I meant to say.”

At Kim Ryeo-yu’s words, I saw Kim Geum and Ryu Bora exchange glances with each other.

“You adapt so well and you’re so popular that you’ll be welcomed in any room, right? I haven’t been here long, so I don’t have many close friends among the trainees. I’m envious.”
“Huh?”
“Look after the younger members for me instead. You can do that, right?”

Kim Ryeo-yu’s left cheek twisted oddly.
What was she trying to pull?
She thought if she pretended to make a sacrifice, I’d voluntarily step aside.
Why would I do that?
I’m not someone who kicks away opportunities that are handed to me.
I unpacked my luggage on the bed Kim Ryeo-yu had indicated with her chin.
Good location too.

“Take care, Ryeo-yu. Thanks for giving me such a nice room. I hope you have a great time in an even better room.”
“…Yeah, I guess so.”

Kim Ryeo-yu still seemed flustered, as if she hadn’t even thought about leaving the room yet.
I picked up her luggage for her.

“Your bag’s heavy, isn’t it? Let me carry it for you.”

I kindly picked up Kim Ryeo-yu’s luggage and set it down in the Hallway.

“Ryeo-yu will adapt well to any room. She’s so considerate of her younger members. Bora, let’s visit Ryeo-yu’s room often.”
“Of… of course.”

Ryu Bora’s face was also struggling to contain her laughter.
I gave Kim Geum a meaningful glance.
Kim Geum understood my signal perfectly.

“Take care, unnie! Thank you so much!”
“…Thank you, unnie.”

Ryu Bora gave a half-hearted bow as a farewell.
Once the two of them finished their goodbyes, Kim Geum gently closed the door.

“….”

The three of us lay on the bed in silence.
It was a wonderful room, no matter how many times I looked at it.

“To think Ryeo-yu would give up such a nice room—she really is a good person. Right?”
“Of course.”

The three of us praised Kim Ryeo-yu loudly enough for the cameras to catch every word, loud enough for the entire Hallway to hear.
Good deeds should be broadcast far and wide.

***

And so all the room assignments were finalized.
It seemed Yeon Ju-hong had ended up in the same room as Kim Ryeo-yu.
Naturally, Yeon Ju-hong’s expression was… one of resignation.
I’d been thinking about this since before—you could say her luck was mysteriously terrible.
I’m sorry, Ju-hong.
I never expected you to be the sacrifice.

“Well then, now that everyone’s been assigned their rooms, I suppose it’s time to announce the next mission.”

Do Hee-young sat across from us and spoke.

“The next mission is a position evaluation.”

Oh no.
All the trainees were engulfed in a desperate atmosphere.
Position evaluation.
It was an assessment where trainees aspiring to each position formed a team and competed against one another.
Naturally, since people competing for the same position faced off, their abilities were compared far more harshly.
Especially vocals—the differences were often so stark that it made things even worse.

“We’ll be dividing positions into three categories: vocals, dance, and rap. You can apply for whichever position you prefer. If five or more trainees apply for a single position, we’ll split that into two teams.”

It seemed likely that vocals and dance would attract the most applicants.
As far as I knew, only Kim Geum and Park Ha-eun were applying for rap.
Ten people split between two positions….
This wouldn’t be easy.

“However, this position evaluation isn’t a typical team mission. You must cooperate while simultaneously competing against each other.”

Do Hee-young turned on the television in the Dormitory’s Living Room.
A video prepared by the Production Crew began to play.

【Position Evaluation On-Site Voting System】

-100 audience members can vote for only one MVP from each team
-Rankings within each team are determined by vote count
-Once each team’s MVP is decided, an MVP of MVP vote will be held
-Audience members can vote for one trainee among the MVPs who performed best
-The trainee with the most votes is selected as MVP of MVP
-MVP’s benefit: 20,000 points
-MVP of MVP’s team: all members receive 15,000 points benefit
-MVP of MVP: 50,000 points benefit

This is complicated.
Anyway, I understood the gist—they’d select each team’s top performer, then choose a champion among them.
But honestly, that 50,000-point benefit is pretty useless.
Getting points to boost your interim popularity ranking just invites criticism.
It would be different if it counted toward the final rankings.

“First, trainees applying for the vocal position—please raise your hands.”

As Do Hee-young finished speaking, hands began rising one by one.
Me, Ryu Bora, Lee Gyeong-a, Jo Hee-on.
Four of us.
So we’d be competing as one team.
If things worked out this way, the position that would be overloaded was—

“Trainees aspiring for the dance position, please raise your hands.”

The dance position.
Seo Baek-young, Yeon Ju-hong, Kim Ryeo-yu, Shin Yu-hyeon, Lee Ju-seon, Bang Su-in.
That won’t be easy either.

“Then, trainee Kim Geum and trainee Park Ha-eun, who haven’t applied for any position yet—you’re going for the rap position, correct?”
“Yes!”

At the mention of two people, Park Ha-eun’s complexion turned ashen.
I can’t blame her—I would’ve felt the same way.
The skill gap between them was far too wide.
Park Ha-eun isn’t incompetent. She’s still a Colors trainee, so she has the fundamentals down.
The problem is that Kim Geum doesn’t even have basic-level skills.

“Now then, for the dance position with six applicants, I’ll divide you into two teams. The method for dividing the teams is—”

Do Hee-young turned toward Kim Ryeo-yu with a subtly complicated expression.

“Trainee Kim Ryeo-yu, who ranked highest in this position. Please come forward.”

Kim Ryeo-yu stepped forward as if she’d anticipated this.
Anxiety flickered across Seo Baek-young and Yeon Ju-hong’s faces.
I felt uneasy too.

“Trainee Kim Ryeo-yu. Which trainee would you like to compete against directly?”

—————

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

—————