Became The Leader of a Girl Group Destined To Fail - Chapter 36

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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 36.

“What kind of person is Dan-ha?”

The next morning.
We woke up before dawn and headed to the Recording Studio.
As I rubbed my sleepy eyes, trying to catch a few more minutes of rest, an intriguing question stirred everyone awake with interest.
Jo Hee-on had asked Seo Baek-young about Dan-ha.
It made sense—Seo Baek-young had been at the Entertainment Company the longest, so she would naturally know more.

“I don’t really know either.”
“Huh?”
“She doesn’t interact with other people much….”

That was certainly true.
It was famous throughout the entertainment industry.
Her reserved nature.

“Absolutely refuses personal contact with anyone outside the group—only accepts greetings. I heard she doesn’t go anywhere except her Studio and the Practice Room.”
“…You really have to do that much to make it big.”
“Exactly. We should learn from that.”

These kids really knew how to draw conclusions admirably.

“Reporters tried to catch her in something right after debut, following her around, but there was literally nothing.”
“To the point where there were even rumors of discord with the members because she didn’t hang out with them….”

Lee Gyeong-a added something she’d apparently heard as well.

“Wow.”

Yeon Ju-hong let out an exclamation of amazement.

“I don’t really want to follow that example. I want to be closest with the members!”
“Start from debut then.”

Yeon Ju-hong spoke excitedly, but Kim Geum threw cold water on her enthusiasm.
As the indignant Yeon Ju-hong huffed, Kim Geum added a casual remark.

“But still, it does seem like you’ll debut.”
“Really? Seriously?”
“Who knows. Just work hard!”

…They certainly knew how to have fun.

***

“It’s nice to meet you.”

When we arrived at the Recording Studio, two members of Burnash were waiting for us.
Dan-ha and Han Jae-i.
Han Jae-i was Burnash’s main vocalist and a member who contributed significantly to songwriting.
Her skills were solid, no question about it.
She was exactly the type of member who carried on Colors’ tradition of being a “visually stunning main vocalist.”
…The fortune that Colors possessed….
If my previous life’s Entertainment Company representative had even half of Colors’ good fortune, I wouldn’t have suffered so much.

“Hello, everyone!”

Han Jae-i seemed to have a brighter personality.
Dan-ha… didn’t appear to have such a gentle disposition.
The camera was on, so she was naturally polite.
But there was no brightness or active enthusiasm in her greeting.
Pure stoicism.
Exactly as I remembered from my past life.

“Hello!”

But our side was equally stiff, so there wasn’t much to say.

“I heard you’ve already finished distributing the parts. Before we begin recording in earnest, I’ll explain the concept and listen to your interpretations. If anyone has arrangement ideas, please share them. If I think an idea is good, I’ll actively incorporate it.”

“If I think it’s good.”
Just hearing that, I could tell the standards would be exacting and unforgiving.
The fact that she wanted to hear our interpretation was also quite nerve-wracking.
Still, I appreciated that she was sincere about her own song.
That was far better than someone phoning it in.
When both the composer and the vocalist are sincere, the results are always more brilliant.

“Let’s start with the vocal position members first.”

The other trainees moved to a different room.
Dan-ha and Han Jae-i sat across from us four.

“You chose ‘Fingertips,’ I hear.”

Dan-ha must have been briefed by the Production Crew beforehand, because she got straight to the point.

“Yes.”
“Who chose it?”
“I did.”

I raised my hand carefully.
Surely she wouldn’t be upset that the dance position members didn’t choose it.

“…I was hoping the vocal position members would choose it, so that’s a relief.”

Good.
A relief indeed.

“Show us the part distribution sheet.”

Lee Gyeong-a handed a part distribution sheet to Dan-ha and Han Jae-i each.
The two of them studied the sheets very carefully, then exchanged glances.

“You’ve divided it very fairly. You even arranged the chorus so everyone gets a turn singing it. Why did you do it this way?”

In truth, the question itself was one I could have answered well enough.
I’d even prepared for it beforehand.
But…
She came across far too intimidating!
Kim Geum was a different breed of fierce instructor altogether.
As a result, all the trainees were so frightened they couldn’t even think straight to answer properly.

“We wanted to showcase the maximum appeal of all of us.”

In the end, I had to step forward.

“Hmm.”

Dan-ha’s eyes were cold and dismissive.

“You’re the one who chose this song. Your name?”
“Yun Chung.”
“What’s your part?”
“I’m on lead vocals.”
“I see. Why did you choose this song?”

Pressure… an interview…?
I felt like I’d suddenly become a job seeker.

“I appreciated that this song has its own unique narrative. I believe that if you’re a singer, you need to be able to draw out not just technical skill, but the emotions sleeping within the song itself.”
“…What emotion do you think this song carries?”

That was a difficult question.

“I didn’t think it was just one. The emotion I felt most strongly was—”

I glanced briefly at the lyrics sheet.

“A person who blooms even in the midst of oppression.”

Surprisingly, it wasn’t Dan-ha whose expression changed, but Han Jae-i’s.

“Not love, but the person?”
“Yes. There was definitely love, but… the person resonated with me more.”
“That’s interesting.”

Han Jae-i broke into a grin.

“This is the only one out of the five songs that I didn’t write the lyrics for.”
“!”
“Dan-ha wrote and composed the entire song. From beginning to end.”

I didn’t know that.

“I interpreted it as love. But Dan-ha interpreted it as something more than just love. In that sense—”
“There’s no right answer. It’s my song, but your interpretation is valid too.”

That was when Dan-ha cut off Han Jae-i’s interpretation.
How bland.
I glanced at the camera.
It was one of the opportunities to leave a good impression.
And she just killed the momentum like that.

“You’ve probably inferred the general idea from the lyrics, but this is a story about two people.”

Dan-ha explained in a low, toneless voice.

“What their relationship is, I’ll leave that to your interpretation. Express what you feel through the song.”

…She wasn’t revealing her own interpretation at all.

“You mentioned being inspired by classical literature. Which novel inspired this song?”

It was Ryu Bora.
As expected of someone with an acting background—she really knew how to analyze things properly.

“That’s—”
“A secret.”

Han Jae-i was about to answer when Dan-ha stopped her.

“I’d prefer if you all didn’t know about it beforehand. It would be better to call them without knowing, or to find out after you’ve called them all.”
“Is there a reason?”
“It just seems like it would be more fun that way.”
“….”

…This guy really didn’t seem like your average eccentric.
People in the arts are said to be a bit crazy, but he was something else entirely.
He had plenty of fans, but apparently just as many antis. Now I understood why.
It would be one thing in private, but to be this blunt even in front of the camera? That wasn’t easy.

“In that sense, I’d like to try making some changes to the parts.”

Dan-ha began scribbling something on the paper.

“For this chorus, instead of having one person sing it at a time, I’d like two people to sing it together. Two people, twice. But even though it’s the same chorus, I’d prefer if you sang it with different feelings rather than the same one. The first and second verses have different progressions anyway.”
“What kind of… feeling…?”
“Feel free to interpret it.”

Ugh.
I could feel the back of our four heads tightening slightly.
His requests continued at great length after that.
Changing parts after hearing our voices, describing the feeling of each part vaguely.
Yet much of what he pointed out made sense.
And many of his ideas were better than ours.
After so much feedback had been exchanged, the actual recording began.

“Let’s do a rehearsal first, then we’ll start recording.”
“Yes!”
“We’ll start with Part A, Ryu Bora trainee.”
“Okay.”

Dan-ha and Han Jae-i were both members with producing experience.

“Don’t just sing your own part—sing the whole song first and we’ll go from there.”
“Okay.”

Ryu Bora put on the headphones and began tapping out the rhythm before starting to sing.

“…That guy’s face just disappears behind the headphones.”

Lee Gyeong-a murmured softly beside me.
I had no words to offer, since I’d been thinking the same thing.
It was a moment that felt deeply unfair.

“Your pitch was off there. Again.”

Even for a rough vocal recording, the session was incredibly intense.
The two of them made Ryu Bora re-sing whenever she was even slightly off.
The problem was, they made her start from the beginning every time.

“Do they usually make you start over from the top like that?”
“Not usually.”

Jo Hee-on whispered the question to Lee Gyeong-a.
Right.
They didn’t.

“Ryu Bora, trainee.”
“Yes.”
“Don’t try to act. This isn’t a drama set.”

Gasp.
The two beside me let out sharp sounds of surprise.
Ryu Bora herself seemed unaffected.
Judging by how composed she remained.

“Yes. I apologize. I’ll do better.”
“Each section has different emotional lines, that’s right. But rather than forcing yourself to seem different, I’d like you to truly understand that they are different. We’ll explain it to you even though it’s difficult, but since you’re an experienced trainee, Ryu Bora.”

Han Jae-i’s expression held a hint of apology as well.

“Yes, I’ll reflect that.”

She’s the type who wouldn’t bleed a drop even if stabbed with a blade.
I found myself thinking she was rather impressive.

“Now let’s finish the rough recording and move on from the first section.”
“Yes.”

The actual recording was finally beginning.
Jo Hee-on and Lee Gyeong-a looked relieved, as if to say “finally.”
But I wasn’t reassured at all.
This is just the start. This is….

“Let me try again.”
“Okay.”
“Again.”
“I apologize.”
“Let me go again. Don’t lift it at the end there.”
“Okay.”
“Mind your breathing.”
“Okay.”

As expected.
An endless cycle… a feedback hell….
We were beginning to worry about Ryu Bora.
It wasn’t a mental issue—it seemed like she was struggling physically.

“Ryu Bora.”
“Yes.”
“I’ll be honest. Your vocal technique, pitch, pronunciation—they’re all good. Nothing’s wrong with them.”
“Yes.”
“But it’s not working. You know why, don’t you?”

Dan-ha spoke with eyes devoid of emotion.

“Yes, I understand.”

It felt like ice conversing with ice.

“I’m the one hurting from listening… Bora isn’t even fazed, but I’m getting wounded….”
“Me too….”

At Lee Gyeong-a and Jo Hee-on’s words, I sighed.
Recording really wasn’t going to be easy.

“Yun Chung.”

At that moment, Han Jae-i called out to me.

“I think since Yun Chung chose the song, she should go first. Then, what if Ryu Bora goes next?”
“I’m fine with that.”

I preferred it that way too.
I’d been worried that I’d chosen something too difficult and was putting the others through unnecessary hardship.

“Ryu Bora, please come out.”
“…Yes.”

Ryu Bora emerged from the Recording Studio.
Then I stepped inside in her place.
In that moment, I saw it.
Ryu Bora’s hands, which had seemed so composed,

“….”

were trembling.

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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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