Became The Leader of a Girl Group Destined To Fail - Chapter 35

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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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Chapter 35.

Originally, “Fingertips” was not a mission song for the vocal position.
It was a mission song for the dance position.
Naturally, Kim Ryeo-yu was the winner.
Yun Chung placed only third within the vocal position.
The broadcast showed that she had hit a sour note due to excessive nervousness.
But the truth was slightly different.
Until rehearsal the day before, Yun Chung had been a strong contender to win in the vocal position.
For the first time in a while, setting aside dance—her weakness—and focusing solely on vocals had put her at ease, allowing her true abilities to shine through.
Naturally, the other trainees and judges were very surprised.
And they became wary as well.
By that point, the debut lineup was already taking shape.
Yun Chung was supposed to debut as a judge’s pick—a scapegoat role.
But if she demonstrated her abilities like this, too many variables would emerge.
The public wanted idols with genuine talent, after all.
So that day, Kim Ryeo-yu did ‘something’ to Yun Chung.
At first, I didn’t remember it clearly either.
Because Yun Chung’s memories were so vast, it took time to fully integrate each incident into my own consciousness.
But the moment I saw the mission preview on my phone, certain memories came flooding back.
As if I had been waiting for this very moment.
That memory was—

“Fingertips, huh? That’s an unexpected choice. I thought it was more of a song suited for performance rather than purely for vocals. What made you choose this song?”

Do Hee-young spoke with a note of surprise.
Only then did my mind fully return.

“Of course, I think it’s a song that suits the dance position as well. But I believed that the vocal position could also showcase their own kind of performance.”

I gave the answer I’d prepared beforehand.
As expected, the vocal trainees’ reactions were subtle.
That made sense—【Fingertips】 was a song with a uniquely Eastern melody.
【Medea】 was closer to a conventional ballad.
Most trainees probably assumed I’d choose 【Medea】.
It was a notoriously difficult song to perform, with a wide vocal range that could definitively showcase vocal ability.
But vocal skill isn’t demonstrated only through such songs.
【Fingertips】 is genuinely challenging to sing as well.

“Of course that’s true. Fingertips, I think. I believe Yun Chung made an excellent choice. Actually, looking at the song itself, considering the lyrics and everything—I thought it was the most captivating song. You chose well, Yun Chung.”

Do Hee-young smiled at me warmly.
Right.
My choice wasn’t wrong.
But the other trainees still seemed unable to understand my decision.
Ryu Bora, Lee Gyeong-a, and Jo Hee-on—none of them cursed me out, but the atmosphere was decidedly awkward.
…Just trust me, you guys.

“…Unnie.”

Just then, Ryu Bora placed her hand on my shoulder.

“Yeah?”
“I sincerely hope this was the best choice.”

She’s genuinely unsettling in a different way.
She’s smiling, but her eyes seem to have rolled back slightly.
I steadied my racing heart and placed my hand over Ryu Bora’s.

“Trust me.”

Because this song might draw out Bora’s charm even better than I could.

***

And so the trainees in other positions finished selecting their songs as well.

Vocal Position: Fingertips
Dance Position A (Yeon Ju-hong, Seo Baek-young, Kim Ryeo-yu): The Pendulum
Dance Position B (Lee Ju-seon, Bang Su-in, Shin Yu-hyeon): Medea
Rap Position: Sigh

Kim Geum certainly had a discerning ear.
Choosing Sigh—that was bold.
She picked something that suited her perfectly.

“Excellent. Everyone has chosen songs that suit them well.”

Her observation was spot-on.
Each of us had selected pieces that matched our strengths.
Perhaps it was the experience from all our training—we knew our own appeal well enough.
Even as trainees, our abilities exceeded what that title suggested.

“Now, let’s begin distributing parts. You don’t need to divide everything equally, but think carefully about what will produce the best results. You should have already learned from the last mission that hoarding parts doesn’t guarantee success.”

Do Hee-young’s sharp words made Kim Ryeo-yu’s face flush slightly.
Do Hee-young was no pushover.
She was someone who spoke her mind without hesitation.
That’s probably why she was selected as a judge.

“Then, please begin distributing the parts.”

The four of us huddled together and listened to the demo track once more.

“This song is really difficult.”
“Capturing the feeling is going to be the real challenge. There’s a traditional Korean music element to it….”
“It feels like something from a historical drama?”

Our consensus was simple: it was difficult.

“Should we start dividing up the parts?”

Lee Gyeong-a broached the subject carefully.
As the eldest, she seemed to feel a sense of responsibility, as though she’d been forced into the role of team leader for this group assignment.
But I knew better.
The true eldest here was me.
…I wanted to tell her she could set that burden down.
You’re not the only one carrying the weight of being the oldest….

“I want to distribute the parts fairly. So that everyone’s charm shines through. Since you all have confidence in your abilities, I’m sure you auditioned for vocal positions.”

Jo Hee-on’s pupils seemed to flicker slightly at my words, but I’d ignore that.

“So! What if we did it this way?”

I wrote on the paper: ‘Part A, Part B, Part C, Part D’.

“We divide it into four parts, put the chorus equally in every part, and then randomly assign the parts!”
“…!”

I could feel everyone’s surprise at my suggestion.
It made sense.
After all, I’d borrowed this method from somewhere.

“Since no one knows which position they’ll get, everyone will try to distribute the parts fairly… right?”
“Exactly.”

I nodded immediately at Ryu Bora’s question.

“Isn’t that completely…? Something I heard about in high school class…?”
“The veil of ignorance.”

I continued speaking before the three contemplative faces.

“Personally, I think there’s nothing better than this for dividing parts fairly, Representative.”

Everyone thought for a moment, then eventually nodded in agreement.
Likely because they couldn’t find a fairer method.
In the end, we divided the parts section by section.
Rather than one person taking all the killing parts, each of us would get at least one standout moment.

“Alright, then we’ll decide the parts using a ladder draw.”
“Yes.”

As I spun the ladder draw app on my phone, each of us received our assigned parts.
My part was ‘Part Ra’.
It was the part that contained the killing verse I’d been wanting to attempt.
A promising start.

“Alright, everyone. Have you all finished distributing the parts?”

Just then, Do Hee-young announced the end of the time slot.

“Then I’ll give you all a day to work on this. After you’ve done individual practice, you’ll meet with the Composition Team and proceed with recording.”
“!”

Tension rippled across the trainees’ faces.
The composer of this song was Dan-ha.
The most popular member of the most popular male idol group right now.
And how did that sound to female idols?

‘Number one person to avoid…!’

Getting involved with him was a death sentence.
Before debut, you’d already be finished.
Everyone was bracing themselves mentally.
Romantic feelings?
That had no place in debut.
To avoid unnecessary misunderstandings, you couldn’t even make eye contact.
Nothing but eyes of respect were permitted.

“Alright then, everyone take your practice time. We’ll meet again at the Recording Studio tomorrow.”

At Do Hee-young’s words, the staff members began preparing to move with perfect coordination.
We were no different.
For tomorrow’s recording session, we all had to head to the Practice Room.
The moment I got in the car, Ryu Bora quietly sat down beside me.
She’d never come close to me before—what was this about?
Except for Kim Geum, Ryu Bora didn’t seem particularly close to anyone else.
Of course, the fans seemed to love even that, calling her a cute and aloof Gyeong-a, but….
I wasn’t exactly overflowing with social skills myself, so the awkwardness was unavoidable.

“Unni.”
“Yeah?”
“What made you choose that one?”
“It seemed like it would be fun.”
“…?”

Ryu Bora maintained a consistently composed expression throughout.
She didn’t furrow her brow like Geum did, nor was she overflowing with aegyo like Ju-hong.
She was simply calm and rational.
But that somehow felt—

“Why, are you unsure?”
“Ha ha.”

That’s funny.

“No, honestly, I don’t really care what song it is. I was just curious. I thought that for a debut, you should choose a song that best showcases your skills, you know?”
“That’s right.”
“But that’s not really a song that displays flashy techniques—”
“It’s more a song that reveals emotional depth.”

I know that much.
I’m aware it’s not a song that showcases incredible high notes or vocal prowess.
But there’s something in this song that transcends all that.
Narrative.
And for a one-time stage, narrative is everything.

“This time, I wanted to put on an interesting stage.”
“An interesting stage, you say.”

Ryu Bora paused for a moment before opening her mouth.

“Do you enjoy performing on stage, unnie?”

Quite the difficult question to ask out of nowhere.

“I do it because it’s fun. Honestly, it’s not a job you can do if you don’t enjoy it.”
“….”

Ryu Bora showed no particular reaction.
I didn’t expect a response from her either.
If she’d wanted to say something, she would have answered without me asking.
There must be something on her mind, so she’s keeping quiet.
I’d thought this from the beginning, but she’s a difficult person to have a conversation with.

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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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