Became The Leader of a Girl Group Destined To Fail - Chapter 76

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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 76.

The stage presence of Team Ipansapan and Team Winners was strikingly different.
Despite performing the same song with the same choreography.
It wasn’t simply a matter of different concepts or varying skill levels.
Team Ipansapan possessed something more.
Ease. And joy. The sheer delight of standing on that stage itself, a swelling emotion that made their hearts soar.
These qualities radiated from Team Ipansapan’s performance.
Of course, such things hadn’t been present from the very first rehearsal.
The catalyst for that transformation was Yun Chung.

***

“…The arrangement turned out well too.”

Watching the six members’ practice footage, I found myself sighing.

“The concept suits them perfectly, and it has this eye-brightening quality to it.”

I was already on my tenth viewing.
Yet the more I watched, the more a sense of frustration crept in.

“Their faces harmonize well together, and they’re all charming girls.”

I couldn’t pinpoint the reason.

“Why… isn’t this engaging?”

A stage video fundamentally needed one essential element.
A point that made viewers want to watch it again and again.
For some performances, it could be one person’s expression; for others, it could be the harmony between team members.
What was certain was that each stage had to possess its own unique charm.
But Team Ipansapan’s performance had none of that.
I lifted my head and looked at the five of them.
Aside from myself, they were all chattering or resting.
It was a rare moment of respite.
With only two days left until the Stage….
They all looked so carefree.
Am I the only one… the only one… the only one worried?

“Hey, do you guys know that?”
“What?”
“Huh?”

They were all sprawled out now, answering lazily.
…I guess I’ve become much more relaxed too.

“We’re… not very good.”

In truth, even saying this required me to steel myself considerably.
I was worried their morale might waver.
With the Stage just around the corner, if they lost their focus… that would be a disaster.
But something felt off.
The members…
They just stared blankly.

“Why… isn’t anyone saying anything?”
“Because you’re telling us something we already know….”

Huh?

“Wait… you all already knew?”
“Is there anyone here who doesn’t know that? We all do.”

Kim Geum scratched her belly as she spoke.
Like a carefree cheetah lounging in the sun.

“…And yet you’re just sitting there scratching your belly like nothing’s wrong?!”

I felt genuinely wronged.
These kids, seriously.
I was worried I might hurt these young trainees, concerned they’d be disappointed if I said something like this.
And this is the betrayal I get.
No. Calm down.
I steadied myself and asked again.

“So tell me—all of you. Why does it feel like you’re not into it?”
“Because it’s boring?”

Yeon Ju-hong blurted out the truth immediately.

“Why… would it be boring?”

As I continued speaking seriously, the girls gradually grew serious too.
…Though they remained sprawled out on the floor.

“Maybe it’s because we don’t have much freedom to do things our own way this time.”

Ryu Bora spoke with her head resting on Kim Geum’s shoulder.

“Since you won’t approve arrangement proposals… we’ve been limited in what changes we can make.”

True enough. The song was already decided, the choreography was already set and delivered.
But isn’t that something they’ve experienced plenty of times already, and will experience many more times in the future?
Being an idol is an unusual profession, but not a special one.
In any profession, newcomers have no say.
You earn your voice by proving yourself first.
But it felt like there was more to it than just that.

“They’re not saying it out loud, but honestly… there’s another issue at play.”

That’s when Seo Baek-young chimed in, cradling her head.

“Truth is, we’re all feeling pretty depressed right now.”

That’s right.
As expected of the backup leader I’ve acknowledged.
That seemed like the right answer.

“We’re… six people.”

It was something none of them had dared to voice.
One of us won’t debut.
No matter how hard we work.
Even if everything goes according to the best-case scenario… at least one of us won’t debut.
And perhaps… half of us might not debut at all.
Only one might debut, or at most two or three.
Nothing is set in stone, and nothing is guaranteed.
With the final broadcast looming, we couldn’t help but confront that reality.
Silence settled over the Practice Room in an instant.
Everyone was lost in their own thoughts.
They were probably worried about what lay ahead.
I understood completely. I could even guess what kind of anxieties occupied those young minds.
I myself had wrestled with the question for years—could I really debut?
And after finally debuting… could I actually make a living from this? Could I truly survive on it?
Would people see me?
Someone as ordinary as me?

“Listen, everyone.”

Because I’d been through it all myself, I could speak with confidence.

“Hm?”
“You’re all worried right now, aren’t you?”

All their eyes turned toward me.
…Of course, I was the only one sitting while they looked up at me.
Their bright, eager gazes felt burdensome.
It felt like they thought I had some solution, and that was unsettling.

“Think of it as a ball from now on.”
“?”

In that moment, their trusting gazes shifted to ones of suspicion.

“Just try it. Close your eyes.”
“….”

Everyone hesitated a bit, but they followed my lead.

“Alright, now do that.”

A nod.

“Hit it with everything you’ve got. Keep hitting until the air goes out of the ball.”
“?”

Their eyes snapped wide open.
But I wouldn’t back down either. I opened my eyes as wide as I could and glared at them.

“Do it now!”
“….”

They eventually obeyed me.
Closing their eyes again.

“I know what you’re all worried about. But in two days, you might lose the right to worry about it.”
“….”
“If you want to earn the right to worry, you can’t be doing this.”

I felt their shoulders gradually tensing with resolve.

“All we need to focus on right now is this stage. Debut is a problem that comes later. If we don’t solve this problem first, we won’t even meet the problems that come after—we’ll just part ways.”
“…!”

There was no need to look ahead.
Right now, I had to solve what was in front of me.

“So everyone… let’s make this stage fun.”

This stage that was boring, that had never been fun.
Let’s make it fun.

“For the audience to find it entertaining, we need to let loose and have fun ourselves first. Fans don’t watch an idol’s stage just to see singing and dancing.”
“Really?”

Yeon Ju-hong asked with a suddenly serious expression.
I liked her like this.

“They watch to feel happy.”

At least, that’s why I do.
So I set only one condition.
This stage had to be joyful and fun.
So that the audience could feel that happiness and joy too.
I pointed out every detail—each girl’s expression, every gesture, even the smallest aegyo—and explained how it mattered.
How could we make the fans happy?
What aspects of us do they love, and what do they expect from us?
It wasn’t easy.
I told the girls to think about why the fans love us.
And I emphasized that this stage had to maximize that reason.
We needed to be loved.
To achieve that, we had to be lovable.

“Now we need to understand for ourselves why we’re cute, charming, lovely, cool, hot, incredibly hip, and absolutely irresistible.”
“?!”
“No, I mean—you have to understand it before you can execute it.”
“???”
“Since time is short, I’ll give you a little help this once. But listen, when you debut, you’ll have to figure that out on your own.”

This is really just for this time.
I pulled out the secret weapon I’d been preparing bit by bit…
My trump card.
Why I love this girls’ stage.
Five pages per person, no less.
A fan essay.

***

And every moment of it was broadcast live.
Kang Writer had, until now, felt nothing particularly special when looking at Yun Chung.
She thought her remarkable, certainly.
A face so striking one might suspect she was born expressly for the female fanbase.
Her singing needed no comment, and her dancing and charisma were flawless.
Her presence was that of an idol incarnate.
But what stood out most was her mind.
There was something unnaturally shrewd about her for her age.
The way she moved the world’s most irritating superior, Oh PD, at her whim—that was far from ordinary.
Even if she were a hundred instead of twenty, she’d be impossible to pin down.
She was impressive, no doubt.
But that was where it ended.
Impressive, yet irrelevant to me.
Then came the moment Kang Writer saw Yun Chung’s analysis paper on the trainees.
Something stirred within her—a shift in her heart.
She could have chosen not to air it.
Upper management had instructed her not to spotlight Yun Chung too much.
The directive was to focus on other promising debut candidates instead.
But the instant Kang Writer read Yun Chung’s paper, she knew this scene had to be broadcast.
It wasn’t just the dedication.
It was written with such astonishing sincerity—purely from the perspective of a devoted fan.
Kang Writer recognized it immediately.
Because she herself was a longtime fan of Colors’ idols, All Colors.
She’d entered broadcasting in the first place because she loved All Colors so deeply.
As one devoted fan recognizing another.
This paper alone.
Had to.
Be shared with the world.
Kang Writer released this paper with that sense of mission.
Believing that only true fans would understand the weight of what it meant.

★
Wow
Oh my god
Ah, there’s something about these kidsㅠㅠㅠ They seem much brighter and more powerful than usual… Reallyㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
I was really worried that our small animals would get discouraged, but then I realized you were actually trying to reassure the fans by keeping up a bright attitude the whole time.
#Yun Chung #Make a New Color
Our mental manager, I love you ˚₊·—̳͟͞͞♡
But seriously, Team Ipansapan really touched my heartstrings with this, I don’t even know what to say, my heart is moved, and it’s all because of that thesis
My eyes already recognized it, my choice was…not wrong #Yun Chung
Oh my god Yun Chung and Baek-young’s thesis has my comment on it;;;;;;; Oh my god I’m so honored

And Kang Writer’s prediction had come true.

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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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