Became The Leader of a Girl Group Destined To Fail - Chapter 9

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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 9.

After Make a New Color’s first episode ended, the internet wasn’t exactly exploding—but there was definitely buzz.
Quite a bit of reaction was coming in.

? Why is Make a New Color so entertaining
└You find the menu entertaining? I respect your… unique taste..
└No no it’s MEN’s stone survival abbreviation
└Colors created a rookie female idol
└It’s not “created” it’s “creating”
└Making another one? Why don’t they just develop the ones they have lolol
└Forreal lol our White Noise girls deserve a full album Colors you greedy bastards
What even is this and how am I supposed to get into it someone do some marketing
└It’s only episode 1 chill out
Colors money-hungry? Another group?
Ryu Bora but is she an idol now? Did she quit acting?
└Yeah when did she even join Colors
└In the beginning there was light…
This meme right here is truly a masterpiece.
└Grandma joke delivery on point…?
Make a New Color entertaining? If they pull too much attention-baiting I’m out
└But you still love Colors right?
└The girls aren’t at fault
└How are they not at fault they’re making money off it
└The logic that making money makes you guilty again ugh again
Kim Geum showed up nah I don’t buy idol rappers
└Isn’t she the one from Unpretty Money? So she’s just an idol after all
└Predictable lol they kicked her out there too for lacking skills
└It’s “lacked” not “lacking” if you’re gonna criticize at least get your grammar right…
└You’ve been on the grammar thing this whole time lol just move on
Ugh please don’t make the girls mentors again that’s just nepotism MEN
#BurnashStopIt
#ProtectColorsArtists
└22
└33
└Lol celebrating 10k followers Burnash Dan-ha try a bite try a bite
Colors lolol ah (opens wallet) a rookie female idol? (waves panties) ah lol you think I’ll buy again? ah lol (opens bank account)
Colors audition program opening song concept analysis.bunseok

Look at Yun Chung’s necklace and Yeon Ju-hong’s brooch.
You can see they have golden wings.
In Greco-Roman mythology, Iris, the goddess of the rainbow, has golden wings.
From this, we can deduce the concept is goddesses of the rainbow.
…(omitted)…
Therefore, we can predict the new girl group’s name will be StillBlue.

Everyone already figured it out, but pretending to know and acting sharp
└Forreal lolololol

…Drawing various minor reactions like this, Episode 1 came to a close.
The viewership rating was 1.23%.
It was a respectable start, better than expected.
Of course, the online response was far more heated.

Wait, isn’t it kind of unfair that Kim Ryeo-yu is the judge’s niece?
└Exactly, they should’ve gotten a different judge
└But Kim Mo-gyeong is Colors’ lead producer, so that won’t work
└But they’re a major agency—do they really only have one producer?
Centering her from the first song is way too obvious
└Forreal lol
The kids’ reactions are seriously suspicious, there’s definitely some favoritism going on
└You can feel it on broadcast, so it’s probably worse in reality
└Stop being so paranoid lol

I was monitoring the reactions using a laptop on the Agency Second Floor, but I stopped.
Why keep watching this stuff?
The mission is what matters right now.
I pulled out my phone and checked the notification.

[What is ‘Make a New Color’s first mission?]

[‘Make a New Color’, also known as ‘MANC’, has everyone talking about its first mission. The first mission of ‘MANC’ is—]

“…Covering a song by Colors’ senior group.”

A notification that reveals the next mission in advance.

***

Currently, Colors has four active groups.
Greysh, a girl group in their 12th year.
All Colors, a boy group in their 8th year.
White Noise, a girl group in their 6th year.
Burnash, a boy group in their 2nd year.
All distinctly unique groups, but if there’s one thing they have in common—

“…they’re all incredibly successful idol groups.”

No matter which song I choose, if I don’t execute it properly, I’ll face brutal criticism.
Colors took considerable pride in developing skilled idol groups.
Perhaps because of that, all their groups were remarkably well-balanced in talent.

“I thought the first mission would be a group mission. But it’s individual.”

Cover song missions were a time-honored tradition in audition and survival programs.
The real challenge was how to pull it off.
I continued reading through the article.
Hoping there might be additional clues.
Then I stopped at one particular sentence.

[…Each trainee will be assigned one member from the group they’re covering as a mentor.]

“Oh no.”

That sentence sent a chill down my spine.

“This really narrows down my options.”

I’d definitely avoid All Colors and Burnash no matter what.
Getting entangled with boy groups before debut wouldn’t be good. Especially not one-on-one—better to avoid that altogether.
Chemistry is a problem either way, whether it exists or doesn’t.

“So my choices are… Greysh or White Noise, then.”

Hmm.
I reviewed the songs from both groups thoroughly.
Greysh had predominantly R&B vocal-focused tracks, while White Noise leaned heavily toward hip-hop-based performance pieces.

“Hmm.”

Which song should I pick to earn a good reputation?
For a mission like this, song selection practically determines half the outcome.
Too famous a song is risky—many senior idols have already covered it, making comparisons inevitable.
But choosing something too obscure might fail to resonate with the audience.
I need something fresh enough to feel novel, yet familiar enough for everyone to hum along.
And it has to deliver a powerful impact on top of all that.

“This isn’t easy.”

As I scrolled through the songs, I discovered one that made me pause.

“Wait, hold on.”

There was a song I hadn’t even considered.
Why didn’t I think of this sooner?

“…That’s it.”

This could work perfectly!

***

The filming day arrived again.
Today was the long-awaited mission announcement.
Everyone gathered closely in the Practice Room from last time.
All twelve trainees watched Oh PD with visible tension.
Oh PD loved this dynamic—as if he were some figure of authority.
You could see the enjoyment written all over his face. Annoying, really.
I already knew what was coming, but the other trainees had no idea.

“Alright, now that everyone’s here, let me announce the first mission!”

Oh PD suddenly brought out a large whiteboard.
Paper was affixed to the whiteboard.
It appeared to be a production where peeling stickers off the paper would reveal the mission.
Why not just tell us all at once?

“Alright, who’s going to peel off the mission sheet? Come on~!”

Oh PD glanced quickly around at the trainees.
Then he pointed to one trainee.

“Ryu Bora!”

Unsurprising choice, really.
Ryu Bora.
I already knew her well—not just Yun Chung, but even Baek Nok-ha knew this trainee.
She was that famous among trainees.
…Or more precisely, she was a famous child actress.

“Please peel off the mission sheet!”

Oh PD spoke with a grinning smile.

“Yes, then I’ll give it a try!”

Ryu Bora showed neither particular excitement nor nervousness.
She simply stood before the mission sheet with a tone perfectly suited for broadcast.
You could definitely see her broadcasting experience showing through.
I observed Ryu Bora discreetly.
If Seo Baek-young was Colors’ ace trainee, then Ryu Bora was Colors’ formidable center candidate trainee.
In other words, both were extremely strong debut contenders.
Ryu Bora was, first of all,

“The first mission is…!”

Beautiful.
Strikingly so.
With the refined features of a former child actress—sharp and striking—and proportions that simply screamed entertainer, she commanded attention.
Among all the trainees here, her visuals were undeniably the most striking.

“‘Covering a senior group under Colors!'”

The moment Ryu Bora finished reading the mission, a soft sigh escaped among the trainees.
Some nodded as if they’d anticipated it, but most looked apprehensive.
Of course, Ryu Bora remained perfectly composed.
That was one of the reasons she was famous.

“Wow, I’m already excited!”

Steel-forged mentality.
Always smiling steadily, maintaining perfect composure.
Her career starting from age five was shining through.
Since childhood, Ryu Bora had never cried once, completing every schedule with ease—she was legendary for it.
The public adored the child who seemed precocious and thoughtful.
So Ryu Bora had been a promising child actress beloved across generations.
But everyone was shocked when she suddenly decided to become an idol and joined Colors.
Oh PD relished the trainees’ reactions and chimed in.
Then he began explaining the mission.

1. Any song by a Colors idol is acceptable.
2. The member of the group you choose to cover becomes your mentor. However, the member is selected randomly.
3. You must cover the entire song solo.
4. It’s fine if another trainee picks the same song. You can also coordinate to avoid overlaps.
5. However, you must choose and announce your song within one hour from now.

The other rules were manageable enough.
The problem was the last one.

“Choose a song within one hour?!”

Naturally, all the trainees fell into panic mode. Except for a few.
I observed the trainees who weren’t flustered.
Seo Baek-young,
Ryu Bora,
and surprisingly, Kim Ryeo-yu.
She’s got stronger nerves than I expected.

“Alright~ Starting right now, you have exactly one hour. Go!”

How annoying!
The trainees jeered at me, then immediately scrambled to search for songs.
I didn’t want to look completely lazy, so I pretended to search as well.
About twenty minutes had passed.

“Yun Chung.”

Kim Ryeo-yu called out to me.
What?

“Yeah?”
“What song are you going to do?”

Oh, the probing begins.
The other trainees seemed curious too—I could see their ears perk up.

“I’m not sure yet. Can’t quite get a feel for it. What about you?”
“I’ve already decided.”

Surprisingly, Kim Ryeo-yu didn’t hesitate or second-guess herself—she got straight to the point.

“White Noise senior’s ‘Make Big Noise.'”

Frustrating as it was to admit, it was actually a fitting choice.
White Noise’s debut track, a song whose strength lay in its audacious confidence and swagger.
And Kim Ryeo-yu—

“Well, if you want to do it too, go ahead. I don’t really care.”

That baseless confidence of hers was genuinely impressive.
That baseless confidence of his was really something else.

“Make big noise. That’s a good song. Fighting!”

I wasn’t going to fall for such a transparent ploy.
Kim Ryeo-yu seemed displeased that I wasn’t taking the bait—her eyes grew noticeably colder.
She was hiding it for the camera, but everyone could sense it.
Everyone could sense it, even though they were hiding it in front of the camera.

“…Baek-young noona. What are you going to do?”

Yet Kim Ryeo-yu had the sense to shift targets immediately.

“I’m going to perform Greysh sunbae’s ‘White Night’.”

As expected, Seo Baek-young was already prepared.
I nodded in approval. It was a solid choice. It suited her well.
The other trainees still hadn’t grasped the concept, their heads buried in thought.
Of course, as time passed, they gradually settled on their selections one by one.
Most chose songs from White Noise or Greysh.
It made sense—covering songs from the same girl group was naturally easier.

“…I’ll be performing All Colors sunbae’s ‘Solid’.”

Kim Geum, who held the rapper position—

“I’ll be performing Burnash sunbae’s ‘Midnight Red’.”

And Hee-on, the sub-vocal.
Hmm. Burnash, huh.
Kim Geum’s choice made sense to some degree, but Burnash felt like a slightly risky selection.
Burnash was a boy group that had only recently debuted.
They were currently the most talked-about rising stars.
Well, it wasn’t my concern anyway.

“So now that everyone’s decided…”

Oh PD recorded each choice, then glanced at me.
It was because I hadn’t spoken yet.
But I waited patiently.
Because my choice had a somewhat—

“I’ll be performing Purple Apple sunbae’s ‘Forbidden’.”

unexpected aspect to it.

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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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