Became The Leader of a Girl Group Destined To Fail - Chapter 39

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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 39.

What an abrupt and rude question.
Did she wait until we were alone?

“Really? How do you think I’ve changed?”
“Oh, don’t misunderstand.”

Jo Hee-on giggled softly.

“You’ve changed for the better. I like your personality now much more than how you were before.”
“…So my old personality wasn’t to your taste?”
“Kind of? And it wasn’t just me—everyone felt that way, I’m sure.”

I knew I should manage my expression, but I wasn’t doing a very good job of it.

“Honestly, you were pretty timid back then. You could barely speak up.”
“…I hadn’t adjusted properly since I’d just joined.”
“But you were like that at your previous Entertainment Company too, right?”

Jo Hee-on pulled out a tint and applied it while looking in the Practice Room mirror.
Of course, her eyes were fixed on my reflection in the glass.
That smug smile of hers had been irritating me since earlier.

“Your previous Entertainment Company was KQ, right? I have a senior there I know. Actually, I was just curious and asked her. The you we knew was so kind and passive, but then you suddenly changed. I wondered if maybe we’d been mistaken about you.”

She’s making excuses, but it’s all just self-justification.
I said nothing and simply listened.

“That senior said you were pretty passive there too. She said you didn’t mesh well with the other trainees, and even though you made it into the debut group, you ultimately got cut. Then you ended up coming to our Entertainment Company.”

There’s only one reason she’s bringing this up in the Practice Room with three cameras rolling.
To tear down my image.
If this airs, everyone will find it shocking.
Yun Chung’s current image isn’t particularly passive.
Even if I’m not the talkative type or an entertainment member, I’m building an image of pulling my weight—and she wants to pour cold water on that?

“I’m sorry… Hee-on.”
“?!”

I couldn’t just leave it at that.

“Back then, I was so young and scared… I didn’t know if someone like me, who was nothing, deserved to debut….”

I continued slowly, my voice steady.
Not crying, but as composed as I could manage.

“But… I really wanted to debut, and I didn’t want to burden you all, so I tried to change my personality to be more proactive… I guess that bothered you a lot….”
“No, I-”
“I’m sorry. I should have adapted better from the start…. But I didn’t know anyone, and it was so hard… that’s why I acted that way.”

Jo Hee-on looked completely stunned, as if she hadn’t expected me to come at her like this.
Honestly.
It was pathetic. The provocation was so amateurish that I wasn’t even that angry.

“And you, Hee-on… at first, I could feel you didn’t like me suddenly coming in…. So I think it’s only natural you’d dislike me. I’m just a stone that rolled in….”
“I’ve never disliked you…!”

Never disliked me?
I had all of Yun Chung’s memories.
And I knew how Jo Hee-on and Kim Ryeo-yu used to snicker and mock Yun Chung behind her back every time.
Jo Hee-on was exactly the type I hated most.
Strong to the weak, weak to the strong.
The kind of person who bullies those beneath them but cowers before those above.
So petty and underhanded. I despised it.

“I know you could dislike me…. I know everything, but even now… I’m really trying my best…. Could you just understand me a little?”

Jo Hee-on finally seemed to grasp the situation.
She’d tried to trap me, but instead, she’d completely walked into her own trap.
So who’s the one doing underhanded background checks now?

“No, Gyeong-a. I think there’s been a misunderstanding. I didn’t mean it that way-”

Click.

“I’m here!”

At that moment, the Practice Room door opened with perfect timing.
Lee Gyeong-a froze as she stepped inside, sensing the strange atmosphere.

“What’s going on? Why is Yun Chung like that?”

I deliberately didn’t answer.
Because—

“Well, unnie. You see…!”

I knew she was about to blow it all wide open.
Jo Hee-on spilled everything to Lee Gyeong-a, just as I’d predicted.
Lee Gyeong-a listened intently from beginning to end.
And when Jo Hee-on finally finished, she glanced at the camera.

“Hee-on.”
“Yes?”
“Why do we need to talk about that right now?”
“…What?”

Jo Hee-on’s face was completely devoid of humor as she asked back.
She’d apparently expected Lee Gyeong-a to take her side.
And understandably so—Lee Gyeong-a had maintained strict neutrality until now, or simply showed no interest in me.
Since Lee Gyeong-a also wanted to debut, she’d been careful not to offend Kim Ryeo-yu either.
But Lee Gyeong-a’s expression was equally humorless.

“Yun Chung is our teammate. Why are you bringing up how she was a little passive back then…? Are you trying to tear her down?”
“What?”
“I’m not the kind of person who likes talking trash about my teammates like that. I’d appreciate it if you apologized to Yun Chung.”

Jo Hee-on had miscalculated one thing.
Perhaps Lee Gyeong-a might have taken her side as well.
If the previous mission had never happened.
Lee Gyeong-a had lost the lead vocal position to Kim Ryeo-yu in such an absurd manner last time.
By any measure, the lead vocal should have gone to Lee Gyeong-a.
But Jo Hee-on and Park Ha-eun had sided with Kim Ryeo-yu.
That experience must have made Lee Gyeong-a more vigilant.
Until now, whether out of fear of Director Kim or not, she had simply gone along with Kim Ryeo-yu and Jo Hee-on.
But Kim Ryeo-yu was increasingly crossing the line.
Wasn’t it already proven in the last mission that catering to both of them would bring Lee Gyeong-a nothing but loss?

“Stop talking nonsense and just focus on practice. Yun Chung, you should snap out of it too.”

And above all, Yun Chung was now openly a promising trainee with strong debut prospects.
There was no reason to openly attack her in front of the camera.

….

This was merely the first moment Jo Hee-on finally grasped that reality.
The others had already begun to realize it, bit by bit.

***

Meanwhile, Oh PD was letting out delighted exclamations while reviewing the footage.

“…What are you so happy about, PD?”
“I mean, we didn’t even write them a script, so why are they performing this well?”

Oh PD chuckled to himself.
His VIP had been delivering outstanding performances these past few days.
His VIP possessed a truly remarkable ability.
Even without doing anything, she drew all the attention from those around her and created content naturally.
And rather than avoiding it, she seized it perfectly and made it even more entertaining.
But the VIP’s true talent lay elsewhere.
Political maneuvering.

“She’s really something.”
“You mean Yun Chung? Why?”

Kang Writer tilted her head as she looked at the person Oh PD was pointing to.

“You really do understand that in broadcasting, the one who buys sympathy wins first.”
“She bought sympathy?”
“Jo Hee-on tried to bring down Yun Chung once, but ended up slipping herself instead.”

Kang Writer flinched after watching the footage Oh PD showed her.

“If we edit this right….”
“It could be pretty entertaining, right?”
“But will Director Kim approve? He’ll definitely say no.”
“What’s he going to do about it even if he says no? He’s not Kim Ryeo-yu.”
“Still….”
“And.”

Oh PD spun his chair around.

“More importantly, Colors is in chaos these days. Didn’t you know? Hong President came back.”
“I heard about that. They said he came to pressure Director Kim.”
“A journalist friend told me Hong President is absolutely furious this time. The story about him telling Kim Ryeo-yu to stop getting special treatment is famous right now.”

Kang Writer nodded.
Hong President was not someone to be taken lightly.
How could someone ordinary achieve that level of success?

“So you’re going to target Kim Ryeo-yu?”
“That depends on what she does. First, let’s put Jo Hee-on on the chopping block and see how the internet reacts.”
“They’re still just kids though… isn’t that a bit harsh?”
“Kang Writer.”

Oh PD chuckled.

“Do you think I’m fabricating scenes that don’t exist? I’m just trimming away some unnecessary parts from what they actually said. If they don’t want to end up on the chopping block, they should have kept their character in check.”
“Still….”
“Kang Writer. Broadcasting isn’t a day-to-day operation.”

That said, the PD’s character was completely bankrupt.
Still, Kang Writer couldn’t bring herself to say it aloud.
Because from her perspective, Jo Hee-on really had gone too far.

“Then let’s watch it together. Make sure you don’t cut anything from the beginning or end.”
“Ah, well then follow me.”

Oh PD headed toward the editing room with a cheerful laugh.
He truly had the luck of the camera.
Kang Writer followed along, letting out heavy sighs.
She truly lacked the fortune of working under a good superior.
I’d have to do my best to stop him from doing that.

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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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