Became The Leader of a Girl Group Destined To Fail - Chapter 55

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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 55.

“….”

*Sip.*

“….”

*Sip, sip.*
I quietly sipped the strawberry lemonade through a straw.
This place really knows how to make strawberry lemonade.

“Um, Yun Chung….”
“I’m still drinking.”
“Oh….”

After silencing Jo Hee-on, I focused entirely on my strawberry lemonade.
Wait, this is just a residential home—why is the strawberry lemonade this good?
That’s right.
This was Jo Hee-on’s house.
I’d asked Oh PD for a favor to get Jo Hee-on’s number, then sent her a text message right away.

Jo Hee-on

Tell me your home address.

I’d been prepared to release the memory card I’d been holding if she didn’t reply.
But since she roughly knew my temperament, Jo Hee-on replied immediately.

Jo Hee-on

Apartment 203 Building, Unit 1021…

I’m coming now.
Now???

I didn’t reply to that message.

“Tell me what you were thinking.”
“!”
“Keep it brief. I’m so furious right now that I’m one step away from uploading the video online.”
“I-I’m sorry!”

Jo Hee-on immediately tried to drop to her knees.
I couldn’t let her do that.

“I hate that kind of thing. Just speak confidently.”
“U-um….”

Jo Hee-on finally began to open her mouth.

“Before we went to the Audience Seating together, Director Kim came looking for me….”

‘Withdraw voluntarily.’
‘What?’
‘Say it’s for health reasons. If you leave now, you won’t debut this time, but I’ll put you in another agency’s debut group.’
‘No, that’s—’
‘Or would you rather never set foot in this industry again?’

Director Kim looked down at Jo Hee-on with eyes as cold as ice.

‘Even if I withdraw, Yun Chung will try to release that video. The camera was rolling back then. The memory card is in Yun Chung’s hands.’
‘We’ll debut Yun Chung. On that condition, I’ll tell her to destroy the memory card.’
‘!’
‘I was planning not to debut that eyesore. But seeing that she has a ruthless side, I figured not debuting her would cause more trouble down the line. Just debut her like she wants and we can bury this whole thing.’
‘….’
‘So you withdraw now. If you stick around any longer, all you’ll do is cause Yun Chung to act up more.’

Good grief.
The more I heard, the more infuriated I became.
Who does she think she is, deciding whether others debut or not?
On a survival program being watched by hundreds of thousands of people, no less.
If I debut, it’s because of my own abilities.
If anyone gives me the chance to debut, it’s the fans who voted for me.
Even if Colors contributed something, Director Kim’s contribution?
There is absolutely none.
She’s the kind of person who sprinkles allergen powder on other people’s food.

“I’m sorry.”

Jo Hee-on looked genuinely apologetic.
However,

“I’m not interested in your apology.”
“…!”

Jo Hee-on looked quite shocked.
Why was she shocked?
Did she really think I would forgive her?

“I gave you a chance. But you ran away for your own gain. Don’t blame it on my debut. I know better. You ran away because you wanted to debut yourself.”

With each word I spoke, Jo Hee-on’s head bowed lower.

“I won’t forgive you until you confess everything, until you expose that Director Kim and Kim Ryeo-yu are the true culprits behind all of this.”
“So… you’re planning to fight me?”

Fight her….
I shrugged my shoulders.

“Director Kim said that if I expose this, he’ll shut down the entire program. That would hurt a lot of people.”
“…He really said that?”
“My debut would become uncertain too.”

Jo Hee-on looked startled.
What was there to be surprised about now?
It’s not like she didn’t know he was that kind of crazy person.

“Right. So for now, I’ll hold back. I don’t want the other trainees to miss their debut because of me.”
“…You.”

I recalled Lee Ju-seon, who had wept openly when we tied for first place.
These children were that desperate.
And yet she spoke of casually abandoning their dreams out of pure selfishness.
My hatred for Director Kim only deepened.

“And I need to debut too.”

In first place, no less.
My desperation was just as real as theirs.

“So I’m just holding back for now. Once I’m able to fight again, I won’t show restraint then.”

That’s right.
Just for a moment.
For now I’d endure, and wait for the next opportunity.

***

Director Kim kept her word.

[Jo Hee-on Shares Departure Sentiments: “My eternal MVP of MVPs, Yun Chung… I’m only sorry”]
[‘Make a New Color’ Jo Hee-on, Exit Due to Health Concerns… Couldn’t Bear the Pressure]
[‘Fingertips’ Had No Discord Whatsoever… In Fact, We Survived This Long Thanks to the Trainees’ Friendship]
[Jo Hee-on Asks to Refrain from Speculation About Discord… ‘Yun Chung is truly a wonderful friend’]
[Make a New Color Official SNS, Shares Heartwarming Daily Moments of ‘Fingertips’ Team]
[Colors Terminates Trainee Contract with Jo Hee-on, But It’s a Good ‘Goodbye’]
[Surprise! Jo Hee-on Hints at New Agency on SNS… What’s Her Next Move?]

Director Kim had made a thorough effort to bury the matter.
Fortunately, public sentiment stabilized quickly.

[Hee-on: I’m sorry to leave like this, Gyeong-a. But I’ll support you to the very end. Bora, and everyone else… thank you so much.]

Caption: The ‘Fingertips’ team embracing one another…

[Bora: I was really stressed about whether Hee-on would be able to debut during all this time.]
[Ryeo-yu: Colors is Korea’s top entertainment company, after all. So there are a lot of talented trainees, and I think I felt myself shrinking among them.]
[Yun Chung: I tried to be there for Hee-on whenever she was struggling. Since we were both under extreme stress, there were times we had our moments of tension. But fundamentally, I support Hee-on.]
[Hee-on: Yun Chung was always by my side. The rumors about discord aren’t true. Really. There’s no one like Yun Chung. She was the kindest friend throughout our trainee days.]

The Production Crew, unable to air that segment yet, hastily filmed an interview and uploaded it to OTube.
Since the third mission competition wouldn’t air for another two weeks, this was a stopgap measure to fill the gap.
This video played the biggest role.
The trainees in the video looked genuinely close to one another.

Who started the rumor that Yun Chung was bullying Hee-on? Seriously;
Supporting Yun Chung and Hee-on, let’s go Korea…
Anyway, Koreans really… why do you always try to grab young kids by the hair and start rumors first?
You fans who spread rumors, please go live your real lives
Yun Chung rumor spreading site

There’s this really famous malicious site called ‘Female Celebrity Cloud’
Isn’t that where people support female celebrities?
No
It’s a place where people gather to spread anti-comments about female celebrities in a nasty way
Look at the pictures below
[Screenshot]
[Screenshot]
All the Yun Chung rumors started here, please don’t be fooled
Do you have no ability to learn?

There’s a sister site called Male Celebrity Cloud… it’s a place where male celebrity rumors are made.
└Our guys have a lot of really nasty rumors made about them there too… they’re still doing this nonsense

Of course, there were people who didn’t believe these explanations.
Or rather, people who made money by ‘pretending’ not to believe.
OTube’s cyber trolls were a prime example.

▶

[Why the Yun Chung and Jo Hee-on Discord Rumor is True]
▶

[Trainee with ‘Impeccable Character’ Despite Not Even Debuting Yet]
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[Make a New Color’s Yun Chung Plastic Surgery]
▶

[Make a New Color’s Yun Chung’s Former Agency Testimony, Seriously Intense]
▶

[Record-Breaking Creepy; Evidence Collection of Yun Chung’s Character Collapse]

Not just me—Kim Ryeo-yu, Ryu Bora, Kim Geum, and Jo Hee-on were all primary targets.
The more popular you are, the more you become a target for malicious commenters.
Especially me, with fresh controversy just posted.
I was nothing but a fish laid out on the chopping block.

“There are actually people who believe this?”

Every trainee except Kim Ryeo-yu expressed their anger on my behalf.
Especially Kim Geum.
Since Kim Geum had suffered through so many incidents like this, she empathized all the more.

“Seriously, what’s our Agency doing? Why aren’t they suing these people?”
“Well, I’m not even their artist yet, so that’s the thing.”

Frankly, I was still just a trainee.

“Wow, our Agency’s character.”
“Agencies are groups that only chase profit. You can’t expect anything from them, Geum.”

I sprawled across my bed, rolling around.
It was a rare day off.
There was no reason to get angry reading malicious comments on a precious day like this.

“Stop looking at that stuff and rest. We even have one fewer mission now anyway. Let’s just enjoy this situation.”

That was it.
The reason we’d finally gotten a day off.
One of the missions had been cut.
Originally, two missions remained.
But when Colors and MEN grew concerned about the trainee overwork controversy, they reduced it to one.
Now only the final mission was left.
The two episodes worth of dead air would be filled with our daily lives and small events.
I was one hundred percent certain they’d dig up some bizarre product placement and make us promote it.

“But still… doesn’t it make you angry?!”
“It does.”
“Then why…!”
“Because we can’t let that anger control us. We’ll just file a lawsuit after we debut.”

People who make money through wrongdoing always rage the hardest when they lose it.
So financial therapy was the answer.

“Wow, you’re really mature.”

Kim Geum let out an exclamation that was uncharacteristic of her.
Well, I had technically crossed into adulthood by age.

“Anyway, stop looking at weird stuff and let’s do our homework. Bora, come here. What have you been doing with your phone this whole time—”

I startled at the sight of Ryu Bora’s phone screen.
Ryu Bora had been reporting the malicious comments on my article one by one.

“…Oh….”

I hadn’t realized she was the type to care about such things.

“It’s infuriating.”
“R-really?”
“All done. Let’s just do the homework.”
“Y-yeah.”

I felt oddly small.
The three of us gathered around the tablet PC.
To work on the homework the Production Crew had given us.

“How should I do this to get the best reaction?”

It was for a guerrilla concert!

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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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