Became The Leader of a Girl Group Destined To Fail - Chapter 53

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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 53.

Kim Geum in fourth place.
It was truly an unexpected result.
Yet Kim Geum seemed to have anticipated it, her expression calm and composed.

“Kim Geum. Given your impressive individual ranking, the disappointing mission ranking likely stems from reasons you understand better than anyone. A group isn’t always about shining alone. I look forward to seeing you grow further next time, demonstrating synergy with your teammates.”

Do Hee-young’s remarks struck at the heart of the matter—genuine advice.
It was exactly what I’d vaguely sensed during the mid-evaluation.
Geum still had a slightly immature side to her.
Because she was so exceptionally talented, she lacked the capacity to consider others around her.
I hadn’t properly watched the other trainees’ performances because of my own circumstances.
I should review those stages once I get back.

“Thank you so much to all the Colorists who voted for me—all seventeen of you. I know this is more than I deserve. To my teammate Ha-eun, I’m sorry. I wasn’t good enough to make you shine the way you deserved. Next time, I’ll make sure you shine even brighter!”

It was a characteristically bold and generous sentiment from Kim Geum.
Right.
The truth was, “Sigh” was a difficult song to achieve good results with.
Besides, Kim Geum created the strongest synergy when she composed her own music.
Her chemistry with Park Ha-eun simply wasn’t as strong.
Still, it was a shocking outcome.
And it sparked a realization.

‘They evaluated purely on stage performance. Individual popularity rankings have nothing to do with it.’

That thought made me even more nervous.
I doubted I was the only one thinking this way.
Everyone must be having the same realization.

“We will now announce the next trainee’s ranking. This trainee received a total of twenty-one votes, securing third place in the final rankings.”

21 votes….
My body had gone rigid without my realizing it.
It all felt like my own ranking.
I hadn’t been able to participate in rehearsals.
The fact that I couldn’t participate properly because of my injury was common knowledge among the fans.
For someone like me, even third place was honestly more than I deserved.
With nervous anticipation, I squeezed my eyes shut,

“Dance Position A Team’s Seo Baek-young trainee. You received 21 votes out of 100 from our Colorists. Congratulations. You’ve placed third.”

A name more shocking than my own rang out.
Seo Baek-young placed third?
Her, who made the entire stage shine?
I couldn’t believe it and just stood there with my mouth open. Honestly, I thought it would only be natural if Seo Baek-young took first place this time.

“I believe this disappointing result came about because the overall quality of the performance showed some shortcomings. We mustn’t forget that sometimes it’s important to demonstrate decisive leadership.”

The upsets kept coming.
Seo Baek-young seemed to be turning over Do Hee-young’s words in her mind, lost in thought for a moment.
Then she lifted her head and smiled brightly.

“You’re absolutely right, senior. Until now, I thought the best approach was to simply listen to what my teammates had to say. But through this opportunity, I’ve truly felt deeply that true leadership is the power to maximize each member’s capabilities, even if it means comforting the entire team. I want to convey my apologies and gratitude to the Colorists who voted for me. Our entire team prepared this performance with the single determination to show the Colorists a good stage. Though there were many shortcomings, I will become a Seo Baek-young who continues to improve. Thank you!”

Seo Baek-young sure knows how to speak….
If I could have spoken even half as well during my acceptance speech, my former agency’s representative wouldn’t have suffered such headaches.

“Now we’re down to just the first and second place announcements. Lee Ju-seon trainee. You’re confirmed for at least second place. How are you feeling?”
“I, I….”

Lee Ju-seon was trembling.
She looked happy, of course, but also seemed afraid in another way.
…It must have felt like an enormous burden.
Until now, Lee Ju-seon had never placed in the top five.
It meant she wasn’t someone anyone expected to debut.
Yet now she was legitimately aiming for MVP of MVPs.
It must feel surreal, almost too good to be true.
She was probably worried about being criticized for not deserving it.
I understood that feeling a hundred times over.

“I really… just coming up here and competing with the other trainees was already… I felt it was such an honor. The other trainees here… they were always strong contenders for debut… but I wasn’t… so I wasn’t sure if I even deserved to be here like this….”
“Don’t say that, Lee Ju-seon. No one’s debut is confirmed yet. Rankings can change at any moment. That’s exactly why this program exists. If the debut members were already decided from the start, we’d just debut them as is—so why would we even hold a survival program like this?”

Do Hee-young was right.
I kept nodding in agreement.
For idols, immediate charm and popularity matter, but there’s something else equally important.
Growth potential.
If we were only going to watch an idol for a single year, maybe it wouldn’t matter. But now, long-career idols are becoming more common.
There are countless idols who renew their contracts beyond the standard seven-year contract period.
How vast must the gap be between an idol who doesn’t grow during that time and one who does?
Lee Ju-seon was one of the trainees who had shown the most noticeable improvement since the program started.
People naturally develop affection for those who work hard and show progress.

“Don’t lose heart. I’d love to see Lee Ju-seon push all the way to the end and pull off a rank reversal. That’s the real charm of a survival program. Just because someone starts at rank twelve doesn’t mean they’ll stay there until the end. Don’t confine yourself to a single moment’s ranking.”

Do Hee-young pulled Lee Ju-seon into a warm embrace, patting her back.

“Even I always scored the lowest on monthly evaluations when I was a new trainee. But look at me now. I debuted just fine and became a mentor guiding all of you. If my beginning was disappointing, then I’ll make sure my ending isn’t. Stairs exist to be climbed.”

Lee Ju-seon burst into tears at that warm comfort.
My heart clenched at the sight.
I found myself seeing Do Hee-young in a new light.
In my past life, I’d only thought of her as a somewhat clumsy senior.
But she’s actually quite reliable as a senior, isn’t she?

“Now then, for the much-anticipated MVP of MVP—”

Do Hee-young looked directly at the camera.

“I’ll announce it in one minute.”

Seriously?

***

Ugh, MEN cutting it off right here
Let’s take a breath for a minute
Wow, Lee Ju-seon;
Ju-seon… she actually pulled that off?
└For real, this is working lolololol
Ju-seon’s mom is crying… didn’t I tell you? I said Ju-seon’s stock would skyrocket
The live reaction must’ve been real;
It wasn’t quite that intense lol honestly Lee Ju-seon did well today, but beating Seo Baek-young?
└Honestly Seo Baek-young individually did well, but they nerfed the song to hell lololol compared to the original demo, the song got way easier;
└└That’s because Kim Ryeo-yu whined that she couldn’t do it;
└└└Yeah, a leader has to filter out those trolls too~
└└└└Why do they keep making a kid who hasn’t even debuted yet the leader
Dude, it feels like just yesterday she was called the villain in the last mission…
└If she was a villain, that’s nothing—she was called the rain villain
└└She was also called the outlier lol so much she stood out
Turns out Kim Geum wasn’t Geum the golden child, but Teacher Kim Geum-young
└Ah Ju-seon did well but they keep bringing up Kim Geum lol Kim Geum fans hate the connection too
└└Sigh
But nobody’s got anything to say about Yun Chung lololol
└The main vocal never gets criticized anyway…
I’m just grateful that my sick child came to see me.
Still, it’s crazy how Colors always manages to secure main vocals—those casting directors must be working their asses off
└Nope, Yun Chung is a case of rolling in naturally—she transferred to Colors after failing to debut at her previous agency
└└? How could an agency with eyes not debut someone like that?
└└└The group that debuted after dumping Yun Chung = Hi-Hi-Ho
└└└└ Looked them up and they’re seriously unknown; Chung, you escaped well—they say escape is by intelligence ranking
But honestly, don’t you think there’ll be some shifts in the overall ranking announcement this time?

Not just Lee Ju-seon’s rise…
I see some kids who look like they are going to have a good time haha.

Kim Ryeo-yu received the score and carefully showed signs of a drop…
└Seems like she slipped up on one mission, let’s not do that
└└seems x has o
Kim Geum also showing a slight decline, looks like Ryu Bora will fill that spot lol
I looked at Seo Baek-young again—I thought she was an unattractive leader role, but this time she’s just grabbing the kids by the collar and carrying the performance
Let me make a quick prediction for this ranking
Risers: Lee Ju-seon, Seo Baek-young, Ryu Bora
Faller: Kim Ryeo-yu
Stable: Jo Hee-on, Yun Chung, Yeon Ju-hong, and other lower-ranked members
Anyway, you MEN bastards, hurry up and start the broadcast already—what’s the point of speculating here?

***

[We’ve kept you waiting.]

The broadcast opens with Do Hee-young’s announcement.
The Colors fan clutched their anxious heart and watched the television screen.
Lee Ju-seon and Seo Baek-young performed so well this time that I was nervous, but Yun Chung held her ground.

‘Even if she didn’t do perfectly, she’s at least second place!’

Despite her injuries, she really delivered an excellent performance.
I trembled at the netizens who kept subtly criticizing Yun Chung.
Saying her mental fortitude was weak, that health management was part of skill, and so on.
But Yun Chung made a triumphant return.
And she showed an unprecedented stage performance.
I’ve already taken a million screenshots.
So now, if she could just take first place!
It wasn’t about wanting the benefit.
The benefit from the mid-ranking announcement wasn’t worth much anyway.
It was meaningless.

“But when the ranking is high, it just feels good, you know?”

How important is that feeling to a fan!
That feeling—I stream all night, buy albums, buy merchandise, do everything just so my girl and I can experience it together!

“Please, Do Hee-young, please make my girl first place….”

Like a true Colors fan who had once briefly stanned Do Hee-young, I even invoked her nickname in my prayers.

[For the third mission, the trainee selected as MVP of MVP by our Colorists is…]

Please. Please.

[With a total of 31 votes, trainee Yun Chung and trainee Lee Ju-seon have been jointly selected as MVP of MVP!]

“Wow.”

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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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