Became The Leader of a Girl Group Destined To Fail - Chapter 57

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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 57.

We decided to trust Kang Writer and see where it led.
They’d promised to convince the others anyway, so if they didn’t follow through, that would be on them.

“What if we rearranged it to be more acoustic and emotionally resonant?”

We all startled.
Ryu Bora had… offered her opinion first, and with genuine conviction.
Normally, Ryu Bora would only nod or shake her head at what others suggested.
That doesn’t seem right, that sounds good—nothing more.
But now she was articulating a clear idea before anyone else could.
I was surprised, but Kim Geum looked even more moved.
They’d been close since childhood, after all.
Yet they seemed like complete opposites. I couldn’t fathom what connection bound them together.
I’d have to ask her about it later.

“That’s a great idea.”
“It’d be even better with an acoustic guitar!”
“Is there anyone here who can play—”

Kim Geum was about to cut Yeon Ju-hong off when she hesitated.

“Yun Chung… surely you don’t… you can’t play guitar, can you?”

The look in her eyes was pleading—please say no.
But I could sense the dread beneath the question.

“I can play.”

Unfortunately, I did know how to play guitar.
In my past life, I’d tried my hand at everything. I’d lived a grueling existence.

“How well?”
“Just… decently enough.”
“Play it now. This song.”
“Where would we even find a guitar here!”

I was utterly exasperated by this absurd demand.
Did they think I was an ATM, spitting out money every time they pressed a button?

“Isn’t there a guitar in the Living Room of the Dormitory?”

Why did she have to point that out?
At Ryu Bora’s suggestion, Yeon Ju-hong bolted toward the Living Room.
Exactly fifteen seconds later, an acoustic guitar was in my hands.

“Wait, this… wasn’t this just for decoration? And the tuning….”
“Kang Writer apparently prepared it all, hoping someone might play it.”

This was exactly why I hated the MEN guys.
Most days they bungled their work so badly that spoilers leaked everywhere.
They should credit my lyrics as [Yun Chung] in the subtitles, yet they’d deliberately tag it as [All] sometimes.
The more I thought about it, the more infuriating it became.
They couldn’t handle anything important, yet they were needlessly meticulous in places like this.

“But you don’t have sheet music—can you still play?”

Yeon Ju-hong asked, puzzled.

“You do, right?”

Kim Geum asked as if she already knew the answer,

“If you can play, that’ll be annoying in its own way.”

Ryu Bora pouted to herself.
Make up your minds—do you want me to or not?

“…I can play.”

It wouldn’t be perfect, but I could figure out the chords by ear.

“How irritating….”
“Should I not do it?”
“No. Please do.”

I examined the guitar this way and that.
It was already perfectly tuned.
Just as I was about to play,

“Wait a moment.”

Kang Writer entered.

“Is something wrong?”
“No. Trainee Yun Chung, you’re going to play guitar, right?”
“Oh, yes. Is that not okay?”
“No, no. If you’re going to play, come outside and do it. Let me capture some footage with this.”

Ah, this is really putting me on the spot.
Things were spiraling beyond my control.
It had been so long since I’d played guitar that I wasn’t confident at all.
What if I embarrass myself by claiming I could do something I can’t?

“Perfect! Unnie, hurry up and go play!”

Sigh.
We eventually made our way to the Living Room.
I perched on the Living Room sofa and picked up the chords by listening to the song.
Since it’s come to this.

“Are you ready?”

Let me give it my best shot!

***

▶

[【Make a New Color】│Episode 8 Preview-♬Yun Chung’s Surprising Charm☆ Acoustic Guitar Skills Too?! 【Let’s Go Together】]
Wow, Make a New Color preview is up
Wait, acoustic guitar?
Acoustic guitar????? Yun Chung???? Guitar Yun?!!?!
Ah… I really hate playing the guitar shyly hahaha so I just sing.
Are we leaving? What song is this? Can someone please tell me?
└You’re in elementary school, right? How don’t you know this song, this absolute masterpiece…
Are you happy getting old?
Hahahahahahaha
Isn’t Yun Chung the main vocalist? She could just sing, why the acoustic guitar too?
Ugh, let me go meet Chung with the guitar first.
But why is she playing acoustic guitar? Is this another special mission?
└Did you not see the guerrilla concert preview?

Worried reactions, anticipatory reactions, dismissive reactions from the start.
Yet within each response, people ultimately pressed play.

Wherever your feet touch
I leave your sorrow behind
When I return
I’ll give you my happiness too

And as the brief climax ended and Yun Chung’s performance concluded.

Wow
Wow
?????????????????????

The reaction exploded.

Wtf why is she so good at this lolololololol
Wow after watching fancams this is insane
Where’d that guy go who was criticizing earlier? Come out
I’ve been a longtime fan of Nakdong River band..^^ Thanks to Yun Chung, I’m drowning in old memories.. This song looks simple but.. it’s actually quite difficult.. I’m looking forward to it..^^
She should go solo instead of staying in a group;;;;
Less than 30 seconds of accompaniment and she just tears it apart
Hearing this song for the first time and I love it so much Yun Chung is the best
Unnie I’m thirty-seven but now I’m seven years old goo goo ga ga I’ll call you unnie
└Please be reasonable

Along with it, expectations for the main performance grew even larger.
Of course… this teaser had already aired after the guerrilla concert ended.

***

The next afternoon.
Kim Ryeo-yu returned much later than expected.
And her expression was far from pleasant.
Hadn’t she gone to rest? Why did she look so unhappy?

“…Ryeo-yu seems to be in a bad mood, doesn’t she?”

Yeon Ju-hong must have been thinking the same thing, whispering the question to me.
I nodded in agreement.
Something felt off.
Still, since we were going to perform together regardless, I couldn’t just ignore her when she looked upset.

“Ryeo-yu. Did Kang Writer mention anything to you about the guerrilla concert?”

Especially since the cameras were rolling.
Public suspicion about Jo Hee-on hadn’t completely disappeared yet, so I didn’t want to create more rumors of discord here.
People already suspected the relationship between Kim Ryeo-yu and me—there was no need to give them ammunition in front of the cameras.

“…Yeah. That you and I are on the same team.”
“Right. Ju-hong, Bora, and Geum are all on the same team too.”
“You’ve decided on a song.”

Hmm, there was less resistance to being on the same team than I’d expected.
…Had she already heard everything?

“Yeah. The song we’re doing is Nakdong River’s ‘Let’s Go.’ Do you know it?”
“…I know it.”
“Are you okay with doing this song?”
“It’s already decided. There’s no choice. I’m fine with it.”

Huh?
The four of us exchanged glances with one another.
Kim Ryeo-yu was… far more compliant than expected.
It was a relief, but why did it feel so unsettling?
What we’d anticipated her saying was,

‘Come on, guys… can’t we at least decide on the song together? It was only one day… you couldn’t wait that long for me?’

or perhaps,

‘That song… it doesn’t really suit me, does it…? Can I ask why you chose this one?’

Something along those lines.
The reason was simple—Kim Ryeo-yu’s tastes and this song had never aligned before.
Kim Ryeo-yu only wanted to do what she excelled at.
It’s natural for anyone to gravitate toward their strengths.
But with Kim Ryeo-yu, it was extreme.
She insisted exclusively on sexy concepts, or if not that, then other concepts with just a hint of sexiness—nothing else.
Not that there’s anything wrong with sexy concepts, but as an idol, you need to pull off a variety of styles.

“That said, this isn’t final. If you’d prefer a different song, we can change it anytime.”
“…No. I like this song too.”

She liked this song?
It was unexpected, but we were grateful.

“Have you divided up the parts?”
“No, I thought it’d be better to do that together with you.”
“…Thank you.”

Had the sun risen in the west today…?
Unable to adapt, we could only tremble in bewilderment.
However.
Kim Ryeo-yu had her reasons too.

***

“Please, have a seat.”

In truth, Kim Ryeo-yu hadn’t gone to rest yesterday.
She’d been summoned by Hong President to Colors Entertainment Headquarters.
At first, she’d assumed it was a call of encouragement.
Hong President was naturally a soft-hearted person and had never been harsh with trainees or artists.
But that wasn’t it.

“It seems there have been quite a few controversies involving trainee Kim Ryeo-yu recently.”
“Those are all just rumors—”
“I’m not talking about gossip circulating outside. I’m referring to rumors coming from within the company itself.”
“!”

Something felt wrong.
Kim Ryeo-yu glanced nervously at Director Kim, who had been summoned alongside her.
But Director Kim seemed off today as well.
Normally, Director Kim would have handled Hong President with ease, but today she was unusually quiet.
She didn’t even seem inclined to lift her head.

“And the contract termination with trainee Jo Hee-on has been quite the topic of discussion.”
“That was because Hee-on had health issues—”
“Do you think I’m easy to fool?”
“…Pardon?”

Kim Ryeo-yu flinched in surprise.
It wasn’t just that Hong President had dropped the formal speech—something she’d never done with trainees before.
It was that, for the first time, she looked genuinely frightening.

“I let it slide, thinking you’d handle things appropriately within the company.”

Hong President said this while fixing Director Kim with a piercing stare.

“But you keep crossing the line.”

Could it be… could she know everything?
Kim Ryeo-yu grew increasingly anxious.
Did she know the full story of the peanut powder incident too?
Did Yun Chung tell her?
No. That couldn’t be.

“I asked trainees who transferred to other agencies about trainee Kim Ryeo-yu. And about this incident.”

The moment the words “trainee who transferred to a different agency” left someone’s mouth, Kim Ryeo-yu flinched.
After all, Kim Ryeo-yu had subjected every promising new trainee to every conceivable form of hazing and territorial bullying.
Naturally, many trainees had left Colors because of that harassment.
It was what Kim Ryeo-yu had wanted all along, anyway.

“But everyone was saying it was obviously because of you.”

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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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