Became The Leader of a Girl Group Destined To Fail - Chapter 64

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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 64.

“!”

Another twist sent everyone’s hands flying to their mouths in shock.
But the most stunned of all was Lee Ju-seon herself.
Lee Ju-seon simply stared at me, unable to say a word.
I could see the bewilderment and apology written all over her face.
…Surely I could offer her some congratulations?
She wouldn’t resent me just because I congratulated her, would she?

“You did so well, Ju-seon. Really, you did amazingly well. I’m so happy for you.”
“Unnie….”

I congratulated Lee Ju-seon with genuine sincerity.
Even though our connection had been rocky at first, I’d witnessed every effort she’d made since then.
I was truly relieved.

4th Place
Ryu Bora 141,383 votes (-)
3rd Place
Seo Baek-young 149,482 votes (
▲
2)
2nd Place
Kim Geum 157,890 votes (-)

Fortunately, the other trainees only shifted within their own ranks—nothing shocking or dramatic.
The most notable change was Seo Baek-young’s significant rise in votes.
I exhaled with relief seeing that both Ryu Bora and Seo Baek-young had safely secured their spots within the debut lineup.
Everything had worked out.
Especially Seo Baek-young, who’d been constantly afraid she wouldn’t make it—I was most grateful for her.
But feelings are one thing.
I kept my distance from them, staying still.
I didn’t want my presence to become a burden to them.
But then.

“…Everyone, come here.”

Seo Baek-young stepped forward first and pulled Ryu Bora and Kim Geum into an embrace.
It happened so fast that I couldn’t even refuse.

“…Congratulations.”

Honestly, they were all so sentimental it was becoming a problem.
I was anxious, but I patted them on the back anyway.
I should be the only one taking the blame.
Either way, with this, only two trainees remained.
Bang Su-in and Kim Ryeo-yu.
The first place was definitely—

“And now, the moment we’ve all been waiting for,”

1st Place
Kim Ryeo-yu 191,239 votes (
▲
2)
11th Place
Bang Su-in 11,293 votes (
▲
1)

“Trainee Kim Ryeo-yu. Congratulations.”

It had to be Kim Ryeo-yu.
Since the result wasn’t particularly surprising, I simply applauded in silence.
And when Kim Ryeo-yu greeted the camera and sat back down,

“Ryeo-yu, congratulations.”

I offered my congratulations.

“Thanks, Yun Chung. Congratulations on sixth place too. Even if you dropped a bit, it’s still a high ranking.”
“It’s nothing. I’m just so happy you’re first.”

Because when your ugly heart is finally exposed, I think I’ll be even happier.

“It’s not over yet. The benefits from the previous mission haven’t been added.”

Right, I’d forgotten.
Those meaningless benefits.
I remained silent.

“The MVP benefit is 20,000 votes, the MVP of MVP’s team members each receive 15,000 votes, and the MVP of MVP receives 50,000 votes. Trainees who have already received benefits as MVP of MVP do not receive MVP benefits. In other words, benefits cannot be received twice. Here are the rankings with benefits applied.”

…

7th place Lee Gyeong-a
92,937 +15,000=107,937 votes
6th place Ryu Bora
141,383 +15,000=156,383 votes
5th place Seo Baek-young
149,482 +20,000=169,482 votes
4th place Kim Geum
157,890 +20,000=177,890 votes
3rd place Yun Chung
132,048 +50,000=182,048 votes
2nd place Lee Ju-seon
139,782 +50,000=189,782 votes
1st place Kim Ryeo-yu
191,239 votes

Truly, the benefits were meaningless.
The only result was Kim Ryeo-yu’s dominance shining through.
She’d secured first place without needing the benefits at all.

‘…100%, Kim Ryeo-yu took first without the benefits, something like that’s going to flood the timeline.’

I’d naturally expected it to be overwhelming.
After all, she’d received an enormous wave of sympathy votes from the casual viewers who’d only witnessed the controversy at the end.
Public opinion had solidified around the idea that Kim Ryeo-yu had to be pushed to first place no matter what.
That’s why even people who normally had no interest in Make a New Color suddenly signed up on the MEN Site and started voting for Kim Ryeo-yu.
I suppose I should be grateful it stopped at 190,000 votes.

“Well then, we’ve finished announcing all the rankings with benefits reflected. I hope this has helped you decide which members will join you for the final mission. Once you’ve chosen your members, you cannot change them, so please think carefully before making your decision. This is the final mission, after all.”

Yeah.
In truth, this was essentially the last moment to openly appeal our chemistry to the fans.
Chemistry is a double-edged sword.
If I’m close with a member the fans already favor, that’s a plus.
But if I’m close with a member they dislike, that’s obviously a minus.
Why, isn’t there that famous saying?
“Birds of a feather flock together.”
And especially when I’m already this controversial?
…It doesn’t just end at a minus score—we could all plummet into hellfire together.
Of course, everyone would have no choice but to avoid me.
The timing was terrible.
It would’ve been better if I could form a team after resolving the issue.
Like this, it’s obvious no one would want to team up with me—

“Yun Chung, let’s be on the same team.”
“Huh?”

I let out a stupid sound without thinking.
The moment Oh PD finished speaking, Ryu Bora immediately proposed this to me.
Was she actually insane?

“No, Bora. If I’m on the same team—”
“I’ll join too, right? I’m third in actual votes. Count me in.”
“…?”

Seo Baek-young too?
No. There’s no reason you wouldn’t include me.
By any measure, this is a losing deal for you all.

“Me too!!!”

I don’t know when she overheard, but Yeon Ju-hong was already hurrying over and pushing her way in.

“Why is everyone so fast? Don’t cut in line. I’ve had dibs on Yun Chung since earlier. Not a metaphor—I literally called dibs.”
“…When did you call dibs?”
“When you were sleeping, unnie. Hehe.”

Kim Geum, who stood beside Yeon Ju-hong, was just a bonus.
Why was everyone doing this?
Had they all lost their minds?
They need to debut. If they stay with me, they might not be able to debut….
I froze for a moment, unsure of what to do, when someone else approached.

“…Is there still a spot available?”

It was Lee Ju-seon.
Lee Ju-seon asked hesitantly, carefully.

“Oh, Lee Ju-seon.”

Kim Geum seemed surprised by Lee Ju-seon’s choice and even applauded.
I was surprised too, honestly.
I actually thought it was obvious she’d go the other way.
Did she think she’d stolen my spot?
If that’s what she thought, there’s really no need to think that way.
Lee Ju-seon simply participated in the competition fairly.

“If Ju-seon joins, that makes six people, so it should work—”
“Wait!”

That’s when Lee Gyeong-a quickly raised her hand.

“Hold on, hold on. Let me join too!”

…This was truly an unexpected choice…wasn’t it?
We were on the same team, sure, but did she trust me that much?
However, reading Lee Gyeong-a’s expression, it seemed she had her own reasons.
Lee Gyeong-a glanced at the camera, then turned off her microphone.
Then she whispered in my ear.

“I… want to avoid Ryeo-yu.”

Ah, so that was it.
The conflict between the two of them had been pretty intense over the main vocal position.

“Will it not work? Might it not work? Can’t it work?”
“Unnie. Are you really sure about this? If you come with me, you’ll be in a lot of danger.”
“Well, that’s true too.”
“True?”
“Honestly, I think my shot at debuting here has already sailed. So I want to at least do this final mission with a clear conscience.”

Remarkably pragmatic, yet oddly persuasive.

“I’m transferring to another agency anyway, so why do I need to keep watching her?”
“That’s… a fair point too. But you can’t really know how a competition will end until it’s over, right?”
“And honestly, I’m fed up with Colors.”

Lee Gyeong-a’s eyes were sincere.

“Always pushing and promoting certain people—it’s ridiculous. I just want to escape. I tried to live as the dragon’s tail, but I think living as a snake’s belly might actually be more comfortable.”
“A snake’s belly? Unnie, you’d be at least the snake’s head.”
“I don’t want to live that grandly. I just want to live modestly. I want to sing—I don’t want to become a superstar.”
“…Well then.”

It felt like I was hearing Lee Gyeong-a’s true feelings for the first time.
She seemed a bit scattered, but… people are all different, after all.
I couldn’t say I didn’t understand where she was coming from.
So now the issue was the number of people.
If Lee Gyeong-a joined, it would be seven versus four—quite lopsided.
Was this even okay?
I finally said something to the people staring at me with such bright, eager eyes.

“With this many people, your individual parts will shrink, which could put you at a disadvantage.”
“We know!”
“And if you team up with me… that could also be a disadvantage for you.”
“We came knowing all that!”

Ah, Yeon Ju-hong is refreshingly straightforward.
Has she already healed from her emotional wounds?

“If you’re really sure about this… I’ll ask the PD if seven of us can do it.”
“Let’s go.”
“Let’s do this.”
“Let’s go!”

…Somehow, I felt like a mother bird.
I ended up going to Oh PD.

“Um, excuse me.”
“Yeah, you’re asking if seven people can do it?”
“Yes….”

He must have been watching the whole time.

“It’s fine.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I told you all to decide for yourselves. We’re not interfering.”
“Oh….”
“But you need to ask the other side too. Whether four people is okay for them, if that’s confirmed. They might want to try persuading some of your talented members, after all.”
“Right. They might want to try persuading us.”
“So step back and wait for a moment.”

Oh PD seemed fed up with complications, so he immediately called the remaining four and started talking with them.
The remaining four people.
Kim Ryeo-yu, Shin Yu-hyeon, Bang Su-in, Park Ha-eun.
Excluding Kim Ryeo-yu, they were the three lowest-ranked members.
Kim Ryeo-yu seemed to be aware of that fact too, and she didn’t look pleased at all.
She must have been taken aback that so many people came to our side.
After all, she’d made it to first place herself.
I’m confused too, so I wonder how confused she must be.
How little luck in people could one have….
Kim Ryeo-yu stopped talking with Oh PD and suddenly came over to our side.

“Gyeong-a.”
“Huh?”
“Can we talk for a moment?”
“Um… me? Why?”
“Just for a moment.”

Lee Gyeong-a’s eyes wavered noticeably, but it seemed awkward to refuse coldly in front of the camera, so she soon followed Kim Ryeo-yu.
I would have gone too in her position.

“She’s trying to recruit Gyeong-a.”
“Well, they need a lead vocalist anyway….”
“How will this turn out?”

All the trainees watched the two figures disappear into the distance with curious expressions.
What choice would Lee Gyeong-a make?
Soon after, Lee Gyeong-a returned to us.
And she apologized with both hands clasped together.

“Yun Chung, I’m sorry.”
“So you’ve decided to go with them?”
“…Yeah. They offered me the lead vocalist position plus center… and it’s our final stage anyway… Ryeo-yu made so many concessions too. I’m really sorry to you.”

I shook my head.
If she had refused such an offer, I would have felt worse about it.

“No, it’s a really great opportunity for you. I hope you’ll show us your absolute best performance right through to the end.”
“Thank you for understanding. I feel terrible toward you.”
“Don’t mention it. It’s a competitive world. It’s only natural.”

Lee Gyeong-a apologized to me a few more times before moving to the other team.

“Well, then we’ve reached an agreement on everything.”

Oh PD wrote large letters on the whiteboard with an exhausted expression.

Team Ipansapan: Seo Baek-young, Yun Chung, Kim Geum, Ryu Bora, Lee Ju-seon, Yeon Ju-hong
Team Winners: Lee Gyeong-a, Kim Ryeo-yu, Bang Su-in, Shin Yu-hyeon, Park Ha-eun

Team Ipansapan was a name that Kim Geum had come up with.
…Anyway, it seemed fitting—a team of people who had thrown caution to the wind.

“Now that the teams are set, we’ll do individual interviews. Come in as I call you one by one.”

Oh.
The behind-the-scenes gossip session begins.

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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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