Became The Leader of a Girl Group Destined To Fail - Chapter 58

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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 58.

Those damned fools.
Kim Ryeo-yu ground her teeth involuntarily.
How dare they run their mouths about her behind her back like that?

“I’m truly wronged…! Why would trainees who’ve left our company have any good feelings toward me…? They must be jealous because they don’t think they’ll make the debut lineup, right, sir?”
“Say something that makes sense. Some of them are doing far better than you are right now.”

Hong President cut off Kim Ryeo-yu’s words immediately.
Kim Ryeo-yu felt indignant, but she bowed her head for now.
Once she found out who it was, she was genuinely thinking of beating them half to death.

“Complaints about you and Director Kim are growing louder within the company.”

Hong President tapped his pen against the desk—tap, tap.

“Jo Hee-on desperately asked if we could let this matter slide, so I’ll overlook it this time. But.”

Hong President exhaled a deep sigh.
There were many unsettling aspects to this situation.
He knew that Director Kim was trying by any means to push Kim Ryeo-yu into the debut lineup.
Hong President didn’t particularly mind up to that point.
Kim Ryeo-yu wasn’t an unpopular trainee—she was competing at the highest tier.
Still, he had prevented Director Kim from pushing too obviously.
By ensuring trainees didn’t receive special treatment in missions, by distributing screen time as evenly as possible among all trainees.
He had believed that if he kept the competition fair, the problem would resolve itself.
He thought Director Kim was the problem, not Kim Ryeo-yu.
But a new variable had emerged.
Now public sentiment toward Kim Ryeo-yu wasn’t favorable either.

‘The trainees produced this themselves this time, right? What did you think?’

Hong President asked Dan-ha and Han Jae-i directly.
He thought they would speak with a relatively objective perspective.
They weren’t the type to hold their tongues out of fear of Director Kim.

‘Haha. How should I even put this…?’
‘I’m not impressed.’
‘Hey, hey. Take it easy…’

Han Jae-i hesitated, while Dan-ha remained resolute.

‘She’s not exactly a trainee with mature character. Those types don’t last long before they cause trouble.’

Dan-ha spoke with absolute certainty.
Hong President exchanged a glance with Han Jae-i—a silent question asking if that was really true.

‘…Well, she’s certainly not someone I’d want on my team.’

If even the kind-hearted Han Jae-i was saying that much…
Hong President let out a sigh.
Outside the company, opinions were still divided, but internally, it had become accepted fact.
Still, without a decisive incident, he’d been holding back and watching…
And now this situation had erupted.

“This is something I need to remember.”

Hong President’s patience was beginning to wear thin.
No executive wanted to release a defective product to the market.
Until now, he’d given her chances as a senior, as an adult.
But if she betrayed that person-to-person trust like this—

“Then I have no choice but to treat her as a product, not a person.”

That was the only way forward.

“You probably think I have no choice but to debut you eventually, Ryeo-yu. You’re ranking high in the votes right now, you’ve got buzz, and you’ve even attracted some fans, haven’t you?”

Kim Ryeo-yu couldn’t respond.
Because that was exactly what she’d been thinking.

“But your current popularity won’t last even a year without the company’s investment.”
“…!”
“Without the Make a New Color program, that popularity wouldn’t have existed in the first place.”

Kim Ryeo-yu’s lips began to tremble increasingly.
Regardless, Hong President continued speaking with cold precision.

“If I remove you from the program right now, it’ll probably be noisy for a few months. Some fans will definitely send trucks to the company and release statements. People on social media will protest and curse me for days.”

Would a major entertainment company like Colors have never experienced such things?
Hong President continued his explanation slowly.
Would the stock price drop a bit? For a day or two? No. Now that I think about it, you don’t seem to be at that level. I’ve heard that your rankings have been declining lately anyway.

“Do you really think I’d debut someone just because I’m afraid of being cursed for a few days?”

Hong President was someone who had experienced everything from an artist’s perspective and a president’s perspective.
It meant he had been through all kinds of hardships.
Something worse than this?
There were plenty.
An incident of this scale wouldn’t even be recorded in Hong President’s history.

“How long do you think it would even last? If I say it was a health issue for Director Kim’s sake, it won’t last more than two weeks before it dies down. If I really decide to bury you completely and gather testimonies from a few trainees to expose your character, the backlash would disappear in less than two days. Making you the subject of ridicule would be instantaneous.”
“P-President…!”

For the first time, Kim Ryeo-yu felt genuine fear.
Hong President’s matter-of-fact tone made it feel all the more real.

“Is there really not a single trainee among them willing to testify? Are you truly confident? Then try it.”
“…!”

There would definitely be someone.
Kim Ryeo-yu immediately thought of Yun Chung.
That sharp girl would never keep her mouth shut.
In the end, Kim Ryeo-yu—

“…I’m sorry. I… didn’t do well. If you could give me just one more chance, I promise I won’t disappoint you this time.”

She lowered her head.

***

“Ryeo-yu… is something wrong? Are you dying…?”

Yeon Ju-hong approached me and whispered a question in my ear.
And for good reason—Kim Ryeo-yu was truly strange today.
Throughout the entire part distribution, she didn’t object even once.
Even when we divided the five of us into exactly equal fifths, she said nothing.
I thought she’d throw a fit about deciding on a main vocalist and insist it be her.
But she accepted it without complaint.
Did something happen yesterday? Did someone call her out and scold her?
Why does she seem so deflated?
Wait, is there even anyone capable of scolding her?
Wouldn’t it take Hong President himself to pull that off?

“How about we each practice our parts for about two hours, then run through it together?”
“Sounds good~”
“Yeah!”

At my suggestion, Kim Ryeo-yu simply nodded silently.
This sudden change is really throwing me off.
I’ll ignore it.
No, actually, I shouldn’t let my guard down.
I threw myself into individual practice.
The more uncertain things became, the more I needed to solidify my own skills.
I had to perform the song I’d chosen while also playing guitar.
The part distribution had turned out relatively balanced, but my responsibility was the heaviest.
I continued practicing while playing guitar.
It was slightly difficult doing both guitar and singing after so long.
Focusing on just one thing gave me a headache; doing two simultaneously was another matter entirely.
Even though I was relatively skilled, it was nerve-wracking.
The pressure to execute flawlessly without a single mistake made it worse.
With only the final mission remaining after this stage, the stakes felt even higher.
Finally having some peace, I focused entirely on practice—

“That’s not what I’m saying.”
“…Why don’t you just focus on your own practice?”

I can’t do this.
I turned my head toward the commotion.
Kim Geum and Ryu Bora were bickering with each other.
It was called a squabble, but their voices were on the verge of rising.
Without the camera present, they would have been fighting outright.
Why are they suddenly like that again?

“This note needs to flow smoothly like this. Not like it’s cut off.”
“Geum.”
“Huh?”
“Can I try doing it alone?”
“Do it with me! Stop doing everything by yourself all the time.”
“…I want to do it alone.”

From what I could see, Kim Geum seemed determined to keep helping Ryu Bora.
Ryu Bora didn’t like that.
Kim Geum wasn’t usually the type to be so meddlesome.
I knew why she was acting this way.

“This is the first time I’ve seen Ryu Bora working so hard.”
“…Really?”
“She was always so lethargic, just doing whatever she was told. But now it seems like she actually wants to do this. It makes me feel so proud, you know? I need to keep this momentum going.”
“Then that’s good.”
“Right?! I really need to push her forward.”
“…Yeah.”

I could tell Ryu Bora meant a lot to her, but I was troubled.
I understood Kim Geum’s desire to debut with Ryu Bora well enough…
But there was nothing good about meddling in someone else’s practice like this.

“Geum, come here.”
“Yes?”
“Let Bora practice alone. Help me instead.”
“No way. There’s no fun in helping someone as perfect as you, unnie.”
“…”

What was I supposed to say to that?

“Kim Geum. Are you saying I’m not perfect then?”

Ryu Bora seemed quite displeased as well.

“You become perfect because I’m here.”
“What are you even talking about…?”

Both of them were hopeless.
I decided to stop paying attention to the two of them.
It seemed like things had worked out well enough anyway.
Then,

*Ding!*

[※Notification※]

…?
Why is this in my pocket?
I didn’t even bring my phone today?

[Go out to the Hallway right now!]
[TIP. You must take care of your own members!]

I don’t even have members yet.

*Ding!*

[TIP. An idol group is one unified body! Your member’s mistake is your neck on the line!]

Faced with an ominous barrage of messages, I eventually found myself heading outside.
Might as well grab some water while I’m at it.

“Huh?!”

The moment I heard Yeon Ju-hong’s voice, I realized it.
The real storm had been brewing out of sight.

“Um… change the parts? Which parts?”

I cautiously moved toward the source of the voices and found Kim Ryeo-yu and Yeon Ju-hong in conversation.
Something felt off about the atmosphere.
I decided not to approach them and simply observed the situation from a distance.
Asking to switch parts was a request that could easily be accommodated.

“Um… is that so? But if that’s the case…?”

Yeon Ju-hong asked in a bewildered tone.

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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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