Became The Leader of a Girl Group Destined To Fail - Chapter 44

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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 44.

Production Crew: How was the midterm evaluation?

[Baek-young: ….]

Caption: Baek-young, managing only hollow laughter

[Ju-hong: We completely botched it! And I mean completely—you’d think we were at a Gukbap Restaurant!]
[Ryeo-yu: The direction we intended didn’t really resonate with the judges, I realized. We need to shore up our weaknesses.]

Production Crew: How did such a situation unfold?

[Ju-hong: At first, we just recorded the original song as-is. Then we choreographed it, but the song was genuinely so difficult. I thought, “Can we really pull off the charm of the dance positions while singing this?” But I figured with enough practice, what could go wrong, right?]
[Baek-young: We were all under quite a bit of pressure. Especially among us…]
[Ryeo-yu: It was emotionally exhausting. I had the highest ranking among us, after all. So the pressure of feeling like I had to become the MVP of MVPs was immense.]
[Baek-young: Ryeo-yu was struggling so much and losing confidence. So we discussed it among ourselves and told the producer.]
[Ju-hong: At first, I thought we’d just simplify it a little. We figured we could handle that much.]

Caption: But it wasn’t fine…

[Dan-ha: It was bewildering. It’s a song they chose themselves, so why?]
[Jae-yi: The juniors haven’t even debuted yet, and the pressure must be enormous. Normally, we wouldn’t have agreed to it.]
[Dan-ha: But once we made one revision, they kept asking for more.]
[Jae-yi: Hey, easy now.]

Caption: Dan-ha (22, BunAsh), utterly flabbergasted

[Dan-ha: Well, I figured, let’s see how far this goes, so I just did whatever they asked.]
[Jae-yi: We already knew the company wouldn’t approve that quality anyway.]
[Dan-ha: Even if luck struck and the company approved it, the public wouldn’t. If the world were that lenient, wouldn’t that be nice.]

Production Crew: You should have refused from the start. Didn’t you know it would become a hassle?

[Jae-yi: Ha ha.]

Subtitle: Major. Plot. Twist.
Subtitle: A world star drenched in sweat!

[Jae-yi: We’ve all been through it ourselves. We knew that if you don’t experience it firsthand, you can’t truly understand it.]
[Dan-ha: I just did everything she asked so she wouldn’t blame me later.]
[Jae-yi: Dan-ha, please… take it easy.]

Production Crew: How was the midterm evaluation?

[Kang Soon-hwa: Ju-seon’s team was really. A total turnaround. I was so proud.]
[Won-ho: Agreed.]
[Won-ho: It was kind of like… a rebellion from the lower ranks, you know? The top-tier members need to be on their toes.]

Subtitle: Dance B Team with high expectations for the main stage!

[Kang Soon-hwa: Baek-young’s team was a bit disappointing.]
[Won-ho: I didn’t train Baek-young like that. I just hope she gets her act together now.]

Production Crew: How was the rap position team?

[Kang Soon-hwa: Geum… she’s a jewel, truly.]
[Won-ho: Agreed. That’s definitely true.]
[Kang Soon-hwa: Ha-eun needs to learn well from Geum. But their balance is completely off. It’s not like they’re having a diss battle. They’re on the same team, so they need to harmonize. If Ha-eun can’t keep up with Geum, then Geum needs to tone down her delivery. Sometimes you shine brighter when you know how to adapt. The question is whether Geum will actually accept that.]
[Won-ho: Nobody can beat Kim Geum’s stubbornness and pride. Phew.]
[Kang Soon-hwa: We can’t beat her either. Geum thinks she’s better than us.]

Subtitle: The two trainers burst out laughing
Subtitle: That’s not really laughing~

[Geum: I did pretty well, didn’t I?]

Subtitle: As expected from her

[Geum: ? What’s the problem?]

Subtitle: Make a New Color’s ‘Geum’

Production Crew: How was the vocal position stage?

[Ha-eun: Bora is… she’s really. So beautiful. I thought I was watching a drama.]

BGM: The secrets I’ve hidden~

[Ju-hong: Bora unnie is…. Just…. A legend.]
[Su-in: It wasn’t quite the vocal position stage I’d imagined. There was more choreography than I expected.]
[Yu-hyeon: The atmosphere was really off. Hee-on unnie’s mistakes….]
[Geum: Three pitch errors. And those aren’t easy to pull off either.]
[Baek-young: If Hee-on doesn’t catch her mistakes and move forward, that team will struggle. That’s what I thought. The whole thing was just too unstable.]

Production Crew: What do the trainers think?

[Kang Soon-hwa: Bora rediscovered. I never knew she could sing that well.]
[Won-ho: Since it’s a vocal position, I thought there wouldn’t be any choreography at all. But they incorporated it at just the right level. All the girls handled both the choreography and concept well. The stage itself was actually solid, but the problem is….]

***

“Hee-on.”

Trainer Kang Soon-hwa just sighed heavily.
That gaze that made people tense.

“Did you practice?”
“…I’m sorry.”
“You’re not apologizing to me. You should be apologizing to your teammates for this.”

Since it was a vocal position stage, naturally the vocal trainer’s evaluation had to be all the more merciless.

“You’re standing out too much right now. And not in a good way. You’re not usually like this. I thought your greatest weapon was your solid fundamentals, Hee-on?”

Under the pressure from both trainers, Jo Hee-on finally began to shed tears.
Standing beside her, I honestly wanted to cry too.
During practice it felt precarious, but in the end.
We made every single mistake we’d warned about on that one stage.
Lee Gyeong-a looked like she wanted to die.
Even though she herself had performed better than ever.

“What’s the problem, exactly?”

And that remark became the spark that ignited everything.

“The song… it doesn’t seem to suit me at all.”
“?!”

The eyes of the trainees around us widened.
Wow, that.
That’s done for.
Their faces screamed it.

“From the very beginning, it was really… so difficult.”

Once Jo Hee-on opened her mouth, she couldn’t stop.
It seemed she had quite a lot to say.

“The concept itself feels too burdensome for me… and the part distribution… it felt like my opinions weren’t reflected enough.”

As if cold water had been poured over Jo Hee-on’s words, the atmosphere grew tense.
The trainers’ atmosphere especially grew heavy.
Jo Hee-on blinked, sensing something strange in the air.

“Hee-on.”
“Yes….”
“When you debut, do you think you’ll only do the concepts you want, the parts you want, and the songs you want?”

Kang Soon-hwa spoke.
Her tone far colder than usual.

“It might be possible, perhaps.”

Jo Won-ho added a word from beside her.

“If you become more popular and recognized than any other idol.”
“But in the first place, if you were that kind of person, you wouldn’t complain like this.”

We exchanged glances in silence.
The trainers’ atmosphere had shifted.
That casual indulgence they’d shown toward Kim Ryeo-yu and Jo Hee-on’s words—it was gone now.
Kim Ryeo-yu seemed to feel it too. Her expression had grown noticeably tense.
…It seemed the atmosphere within Colors had changed somewhat.
I recalled the notification the Cotton Ball Entity had sent me not long ago.

[Hong Yeon-seo, returning to Colors? Breaking long hiatus with cryptic SNS post]

Could Hong President have done something?
There was no way the Cotton Ball Entity would send such a notification without reason.

“Can you debut with that attitude? The public isn’t stupid. No one will love someone who can’t fulfill the role given to them. Especially when that role was something you agreed to take on yourself with your teammates.”

Jo Hee-on’s tears stopped.
But the fear—that remained.
It was clear she thought this wasn’t right.

“If you have grievances with your teammates, you need to learn how to resolve them with them. If you want to become a professional.”

Sigh.
There were too many mountains to climb.

***

Production Crew: Then, who is the most likely candidate for MVP of MVP?

[Ha-eun: That’s difficult. I’d say Geum. If it’s not her, I’d look too pathetic. I’d rather have an honorable defeat….]
[Geum: Ha-eun picked me?]

Caption: Composed smile

[Geum: Well, I suppose I did.]

Caption: ‘Geum’ is….

[Geum: Actually, this time it’s more Ryu Bora than me. Ryu Bora’s perfect for this concept. Her team is quite strong. Yun Chung and she work so well together as a pair.]
[Yu-hyeon: Our team received a lot of praise this time, so… don’t you think Ju-seon has a chance worth aiming for?]
[Ju-seon: I’d love to be chosen. But realistically, I think it’ll come from the vocal position. Yun Chung did so well.]
[Baek-young: Yun Chung is… how do I put it? She has the skill to cover other people’s mistakes. There’s something oddly reassuring about her.]

Production Crew: Didn’t we just talk about trainee Ryu Bora?

[Baek-young: Ryu Bora exceeded expectations by dozens of times over. Yun Chung was… she simply became the song itself.]
[Gyeong-a: Can we pick from our team too?]

Production Crew: Of course.

[Gyeong-a: I’ll choose Yun Chung.]

Production Crew: Why?

[Gyeong-a: To be honest, I thought Ryu Bora had the most advantage with this concept. But the more we practice, the more I feel it. Yun Chung is truly… Everyone who sees the main stage performance will absolutely not be disappointed.]
[Su-in: Yun Chung is a scary person. I’ve never seen her make a mistake.]
[Ryu Bora: Yun Chung.]

Production Crew: Why?

[Ryu Bora: Well, it’s obvious she’s good.]

Production Crew: How do you feel about receiving the most nominations?

[Yun Chung: Haha.]
[Yun Chung: I’d like to be chosen, but honestly, I think Ryu Bora will be the one. And that’s what I’m hoping for.]

Production Crew: Why is that?

[Yun Chung: I wonder if I could ever work that hard. That’s what I think when I watch Ryu Bora. I’m amazed every time. So I hope everyone will recognize her. I want to see that the world is fair. That those who work hard receive blessings—that kind of hope, you know?]

Production Crew: Is that so?

[Ryu Bora: …]
[Ryu Bora: That unnie is something else…]
[Ryu Bora: I need to work harder.]

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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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