Became The Leader of a Girl Group Destined To Fail - Chapter 65

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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 65.

Production Team: There’s been quite a bit of controversy surrounding the “Let’s Go” team recently.

[Ha-eun: To be honest, I’m on a different team, so I only found out about it after seeing that stage.]
[Yu-hyeon: From someone who didn’t know anything about it… it was a bit surprising. Ryeo-yu isn’t at the level of a main vocalist, but she doesn’t lack the skill to handle all those parts either, does she?]
[Su-in: If the parts that were taken had been given to Yun Chung, honestly it wouldn’t have been that surprising. She’s the main vocalist after all. But the fact that they went to Ju-hong instead? That’s a bit….]
[Ju-seon: I didn’t think there was anything strange about it.]

Production Team: Why didn’t you think it was strange?

[Ju-seon: It wasn’t strange when Ryeo-yu got all the parts concentrated on her before, but now it’s strange that she’s getting fewer parts? It seems a bit contradictory.]
[Gyeong-a: Honestly, I didn’t expect this kind of controversy to happen. Because I’ve been through the same thing. I competed with Ryeo-yu for the main vocalist position too, and back then Ryeo-yu won, so I gave her a lot of my parts.]

Production Team: That’s right.

[Bora: This is a competition, a contest. If who gets more parts is something so… strange, then why wasn’t there any controversy before and suddenly now? That’s what I thought.]
[Baek-young: No one did anything wrong. It just so happens that this time Ryeo-yu got fewer parts, and next time she might get more parts again. Isn’t that what a group is? Isn’t that what being part of a team means? That’s what I felt.]
[Geum: I wonder if someone is deliberately… targeting Ju-hong and Yun Chung.]

Caption: A conspiracy theory here?

[Baek-young: Even being extremely generous, I could understand why Ju-hong became controversial. After all, it’s a fact that she got a lot of parts. I thought Ryeo-yu’s fans could be upset. But the criticism was directed a bit….]
Baek-young: Even being very generous, I thought it was possible that Ju-hong became controversial. After all, it’s true that Ju-hong took a lot of the parts. I thought Ryeo-yu’s fans could be upset about that. But the backlash was a bit…

Production Team: Yun Chung received the most criticism as a trainee.

[Bora: I think what matters most is the opinion of the people involved. If both Ryeo-yu and Ju-hong agreed to it, then there’s no reason for this to be controversial, is there?]
Bora: I think it’s most important to hear from the people involved. If Ryeo-yu and Ju-hong have both agreed on it, then there’s no reason for this to become controversial, right?

So we asked the people involved directly.

Ryeo-yu: …

Trainee Kim Ryeo-yu, unable to hide her complicated feelings…

Ryeo-yu: I feel like it’s all my fault, and I’m so sorry to the people at Colorist.

Production Crew: What exactly are you apologizing for?

[Ryeo-yu: I was just… when Ju-hong made that request of me, I was honestly a bit taken aback.]

Production Crew: A request?

[Ryeo-yu: Oh, Ju-hong asked me if I could possibly share some of my parts with her. So I asked her which parts she wanted. Turns out she wanted the killing parts.]

Archival footage:
[A few days ago…]
[Interview with trainee Yeon Ju-hong during part distribution]

Production Crew: Why did the part distribution suddenly change?

[Ju-hong: I made the request. To Ryeo-yu. As the final stage kept getting closer, I wanted to… I’m stuck in such a middling rank, you know? I wanted to show more of myself, even if just a little. Fortunately, Ryeo-yu was kind enough to accept.]
…
[Back to the present.]

Production Crew: Then why did you agree to her request?

[Ryeo-yu: At first I was a bit flustered, but… Ju-hong asked so earnestly. The atmosphere made it hard to refuse. And also… the team atmosphere was just a bit off overall.]

Production Crew: Was there something wrong with the team atmosphere?

[Ryeo-yu: It’s not like that. It’s just that everyone else is really close with each other, except me. But when Hee-on, who I’d relied on a lot, left… I felt really lonely. In that situation, I didn’t want to refuse Ju-hong’s request and dampen the team mood.]

Production Crew: Did the other trainees perhaps pressure Yeon Ju-hong to give up her parts?

[Ryeo-yu: Well, if I’m being honest, it wasn’t exactly that. It’s just… I was probably overthinking it and felt that way on my own. Haha. That’s why I apologized to the Colorists. If I hadn’t been so scared back then. If I’d refused instead, I wouldn’t have disappointed the Colorists who support me… It feels like something that happened because I was too weak.]

Production Crew: What does trainee Yeon Ju-hong think?

[Ju-hong: I…]

***

“Ju-hong.”

Before it was Yeon Ju-hong’s turn for the interview.
I pulled her aside privately.

“Yes?”
“They’re definitely going to ask you in the interview. What do you think about this controversy?”
“Then I’ll tell them everything right away! Actually, Ryeo-yu unni was the one who—”
“No.”
“Huh?!”

I gripped Yeon Ju-hong’s hand firmly.

“That would only hurt you. You need to hold back for now. Because you already did an interview before. You said it was true that you asked Ryeo-yu. So they’ll ask again—why did you tell such a lie?”
“Then… what should I say…?”

Yeon Ju-hong’s expression showed she had no idea what I meant.
Of course she didn’t.

“There’s only one way.”
“…?”
“You need to leave them unsatisfied.”

***

[Ju-hong: I really… I never thought things would turn out like this.]

Production Crew: What do you mean you didn’t know?

[Ju-hong: I was just… doing what I was told to do.]

Production Crew: Who told you to do it?

[Ju-hong: …]
[Ju-hong: The PD.]

“?!”

Oh PD, who was conducting the interview, went pale.

“Stop. Stop. Stop. Wait. Wait.”

Oh PD was genuinely flabbergasted.

“What? My fault? My fault?”
“….”
“Hey, why are you… why are you dragging me through this here? Have you lost your mind?”

Yeon Ju-hong simply remained silent.
Just as Oh PD, caught off guard by her sudden counterattack, was about to press her further.

Ding.

Oh PD’s phone rang.

***

“Yun Chung, could we have a word with you for a moment?”

It was Kang Writer.
I had a rough idea of what she wanted to discuss, so I followed her without hesitation.
In the Conference Room where we arrived, there was an unexpected person.

“Hello.”
“Yes, Yun Chung. Is this our first time meeting in person? Please, have a seat.”

It was Hong President.
Director Kim was beside her as well. He appeared somewhat anxious.
…Probably because of Hong President.
What on earth brought this heavyweight all the way here?
I realized this situation was indeed no trivial matter.
Hong Yeon-seo rarely involved herself in minor issues.
She herself was a former top idol, and had nurtured several of South Korea’s most prestigious idol groups.
There was no way someone like her would personally handle a minor scandal.
Yet the fact that she moved directly meant she was taking this matter quite seriously.

“First, you’re aware of the recent controversy surrounding you, yes?”
“Yes, I am.”
“I’ve heard from Oh PD and Kang Writer that you bear no responsibility for this situation.”

…So they were taking my side after all?
I found myself reassessing Kang Writer and Oh PD.
I’d thought they were the type to care only about preserving their own positions.
But that wasn’t the case?

“Kim Ryeo-yu’s absence during the song selection was partly my fault too.”

Hm?

“I was having a private meeting with her at the time.”

Ah.
So that’s where they’d gone—called in by Hong President?
The puzzle pieces were finally starting to fit together.

“So I do feel some responsibility for what happened. However.”

Hong President’s expression grew colder.

“I’m not sure whether the part distribution is my responsibility as well. Could you explain what happened?”
“…From the start, the part distribution was designed to be fair—everyone was supposed to get roughly equal amounts.”
“Then why did Kim Ryeo-yu get so little while Yeon Ju-hong got so much?”
“It was Kim Ryeo-yu’s request. She apparently asked Yeon Ju-hong personally.”

Hong President turned his head toward Oh PD as if questioning whether that was true.
But Oh PD simply shrugged.
Oh PD still looked bewildered.
Yeon Ju-hong must have delivered the message exactly as I’d instructed.
The so-called scapegoat strategy.
Just say the PD told you to do it no matter what.
Then the interview would have no choice but to stop.

“Well, it doesn’t seem like she asked when the camera was rolling. We didn’t capture anything like that. But there is something else.”
“Something else?”

Hong President fixed Oh PD with a demanding gaze.

“Yes. During the individual interview, Yeon Ju-hong said she’d made the request herself. She said she was so desperate to debut that she got greedy about the parts.”
“Didn’t I tell you from the beginning? Yeon Ju-hong personally pressured Kim Ryeo-yu, and Kim Ryeo-yu had no choice but to give up her parts!”

Director Kim also raised his voice sharply.

“When I asked Yeon Ju-hong trainee about it, she said that interview itself was something Kim Ryeo-yu trainee had requested.”

But Hong President wasn’t the type to be swayed by such arguments.
Hong President was responding with remarkable composure.

“Of course she’d say that. It’s in her favor.”
“….”

Hong President paused in thought, then looked at me.

“Yun Chung trainee. Did you bring what you mentioned back then?”
“Yes.”
“!”

Director Kim’s eyes widened in shock.
Do you still not understand why I’m here?
I pulled out my phone.
And played the recording I’d prepared.

“I’m fine. I’d really like Ju-hong to shine more this time. I’ve been so selfish all this while. This time, I genuinely want to step back for the others.”
“…Oh…. If that’s the case… I’ll… gratefully accept it!”
“But there’s a condition.”
“Yes? Ah, you want me to request the part change instead…?! Why would that be?”
“So it doesn’t look like Ju-hong is only showing favoritism to you and not the others. There’s already that rumor about discord between me and Yun Chung, and I don’t want to fuel it further.”

This much should be enough.
I stopped the recording.
And I looked up at Director Kim.

“This is what I’ve prepared.”

To eliminate your niece from the game.

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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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