Top Girl Group Scenario Rewritten with My Own Hands - Chapter 10

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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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Episode 10
“The CEO is coming?”
“Yeah. The CEO suddenly said he wanted to know how you all are doing…….”
Well, finally this conversation is happening. And it’s coming pretty fast too.
The other members sitting around the practice room each reacted differently to Lee Su Bin’s announcement.
Go Hyun Seo, relatively composed; Lee Han Byul, her face draining of color; Kang Su A, seemingly unbothered.
Though honestly, Kang Su A has always preferred performing on stage with an audience over practice anyway.
By the way, the System Window beside me is cheerfully glimmering, displaying [Event Period: D-1].
If that old man was going to come, he could’ve at least given us a heads-up…….
Sure, I knew because the System told me, but what about these middle schoolers who got blindsided?
“Ugh……. Unnie, can you listen to my song one more time later?”
“I listened to you yesterday specifically to stop this kind of pestering——”
“Please, just once more.”
Does she think aegyo solves everything……. Fine, because she’s cute, I’ll listen.
Hyun Jae Yi, who’s whimpering away, has honestly been doing so well with her song selection and practice that I don’t really need to listen to her again.
“I’m worried ‘pretty good’ is too complacent. When I listen to you and Kang Su A singing, I really feel so small all of a sudden…….”
“Well, well.”
“And then I think, ‘She sings this well, so why hasn’t Seo Ji On even debuted yet with a face like that……?'”
“That’s funny. I was still a test-taker until last year, remember? A double test-taker doing both applied music and regular admissions. I thought I’d die from stress——what debut are you talking about…….”
You laughing? What’s funny?
Though of course, that’s ancient history now.
Hyun Jae Yi, who was laughing quite enthusiastically at my words, soon attached herself to Kang Su A, saying “Since Seo Ji On won’t listen, maybe you will, Unnie!” and started wheedling.
That combination, how do I describe it…… it’s just that kind of pair.
You could drop those two alone in the middle of New York and they’d befriend nearby Americans, enjoy an amazing tour, and come back alive—an ultimate extrovert combination.
……Just watching them drains my energy.
I quietly shifted my seat next to Lee Han Byul. If I stay near those two, I might get caught up in their charisma and burn through all my energy for the day.
“Why do you look so down again? Are you really that nervous about the CEO coming?”
“Well……. I’ve only met the CEO once, when I first joined.”
“Is that so? Does the CEO not care about idols?”
“He seems to dislike……, well, he just doesn’t seem to care much about idols normally. That time too, he only came to watch the monthly evaluation…….”
“And?”
“Last time he said our skills weren’t even that good, and asked if we were going to enter children’s singing competitions…….”
Damn, that guy really……. He killed everyone’s spirit before debut too.
How can I make sure the whole neighborhood knows when I finally get him back?
I let out a light sigh and patted Lee Han Byul’s shoulder.
“Why would he say that? You’re doing more than well enough.”
“Um…….”
“I’ve never met the CEO, but there are people like that sometimes. People from another era who think idols aren’t singers, that they’re a lower tier than other entertainers, that sort of old-fashioned thinking.”
And Lim Gyeong Taek, CEO of Music Prove, genuinely believes that outdated mindset is correct. He’s the ultimate dinosaur, a complete piece of work.
“Maybe that’s it? Just someone who dislikes idols. So he deliberately speaks harshly to the trainees.”
“Then……, if that’s the case, why does he even come to watch……?”
“Who knows……. Maybe he wants to play the judge from Megastar K this time too, saying stuff like ‘There’s no soul in your singing. You have no spirit, are you just messing around?'”
I said it off the cuff, but Lee Han Byul burst out laughing.
As long as you’re laughing, that’s good enough. If you stay all tense, nothing will work out right.
And honestly, there’s no need to be nervous.
Lee Han Byul and Joo Hye Rin’s singing has improved so much.
***
Wednesday, July 31st, 1:30 PM.
Lim Gyeong Taek, CEO of Music Prove, had been in a foul mood lately.
A company that cultivates artists—what’s this idol nonsense?
Though his team was created under pressure from other executives, now after about a year, the CEO was dissatisfied with the idol team that hadn’t produced any significant results despite being given a full year.
Last time he checked, none of them had the fundamentals down. He just couldn’t find anything to like about them!
He was the type to complain a lot while not even providing a proper vocal trainer.
“Welcome, CEO!”
“Mm, yeah.”
So when he saw the trainees greet him with such sharp discipline (though truthfully it was Seo Ji On’s suggestion), he only thought, ‘Well, they have some manners at least?’ and left it at that.
Director Lim came today planning to deliver harsh words (which was really just being difficult) to the trainees.
It was because the monthly evaluation he’d come to watch around December last year, when they were supposedly starting debut preparations, had been a complete mess by his standards.
Giving up over an adult’s harsh truth—tsk. How do you expect to survive in the music industry like that?
It was an enormously old-fashioned sentiment, but it wasn’t entirely wrong either. After all, even Team Leader Lee Su Bin hadn’t tried to stop the trainees who quit, and had simply brought in new ones.
And right now, Director Lim is thinking that he’d been absolutely right to lay down that criticism! These three people—they weren’t here before, and he really liked them.
This trainee named Hyun Jae Yi, singing the opening verse, is the kind of trainee who made even Director Lim, who dislikes and has no interest in idols, think, ‘Ah, this one’s suited to be an idol.’
Her vocal skills are just average for an idol, but then again, does the public really expect vocal prowess from idols? As long as she doesn’t mess up her part, that’s good enough.
What’s truly remarkable, however, is the other two trainees.
Director Lim, whose ear for music is uncanny despite his old-fashioned arrogance, noticed by the middle of the song that the difficult parts had been given to the two new trainees. Up to that point, he just thought they must sing pretty well.
But hitting high notes well doesn’t mean you sing well. There’s a difference in quality even there.
Where that difference shows most distinctly is in the climactic part of the song—where the high notes are done in a belted chest voice with ad-libs.
Director Lim doesn’t know much about dancing. So rather than the powerful choreography during the dance break, his eyes were drawn to the two of them on either side, adding harmonies and ad-libs that fit perfectly with the song.
No matter how much Director Lim dislikes idols, he doesn’t not know a nationally beloved megahit.
They added an ad-lib to a part that doesn’t exist in the original—perfectly suited to the ear, without disrupting the overall balance?
Both of them seem to far exceed typical idol vocal standards. Their high register is unusually stable, not flat, and Kang Su A has other techniques at a professional level too…….
“Both Kang Su A and Seo Ji On are currently enrolled at Seo Jung Art University. Kang Su A is a Vocal major, and Seo Ji On is a Composition major, I heard.”
Keen-eyed Team Leader Lee Su Bin seized the moment and resolved Director Lim’s question.
A Seo Jung Art University Vocal major……. Ah, that explains it.
It seems the original members have been developing too.
That Lee Han Byul—last time she was barely at the level of a children’s song. But the final part of the second-verse chorus was solid enough to make even Director Lim, who has strict vocal standards, go, ‘Oh?’
Lee Han Byul’s desperate concentrated practice over just a short time, not wanting to disappoint Seo Ji On who said “I think this part would suit you well,” paid off!
‘Lee Han Byul and Joo Hye Rin’s live dance performance has improved a lot?’
Team Leader Lee Su Bin pinpointed exactly what Director Lim was missing.
The younger members’ dance performance, which had been shaky before, had stabilized significantly in a short time. And this despite the choreography being much more intense than the previous evaluation’s routine!
Now that their live performance is stable, each member’s strengths become immediately apparent.
Joo Hye Rin, a dancer with instinctive power and presence that commands attention; Lee Han Byul, with her pretty vocal tone and unique sensitivity.
Go Hyun Seo and Hyun Jae Yi, who already had strong skills, go without saying, and even Seo Ji On, whom they hadn’t expected much from in terms of dancing, blended seamlessly into the group choreography.
Moreover, Kang Su A and Seo Ji On’s voices blend better than expected at casting. When their voices overlap, they harmonize seamlessly without a hint of discord……. Or, could it be that they’ve matched themselves intentionally?
The overall completion of the final product is high.
As if a professional producer had watched the team and provided feedback…….
If Team Leader Lee Su Bin knew that the feedback came from just a twenty-year-old trainee and university student, Seo Ji On (on her second life, a composer in her previous life), he would’ve been shocked speechless.
***
After a short break, it’s time for individual vocal evaluations.
That old man really wanted to be a Megastar K judge, didn’t he? Or so Go Hyun Seo said when I asked her—he went and made a big scene.
Let’s see if he can pull it off this time too…….
Go Hyun Seo, going first, had prepared both rap and vocals to match a heavy-beat foreign hip-hop track.
Mm, yeah, worrying about this girl was the right call. She absolutely devoured the stage and came back…….
Lee Han Byul, going second, seemed a bit nervous, but she performed as well as she’d practiced.
The effect of choosing a new song for the monthly evaluation and hearing it from me repeatedly is clear.
Ah— my belated footsteps
Rushed even after you’ve passed
Ahh— out of sight
I walk again
Lee Han Byul’s voice has something that touches the emotions.
Before, I just thought her appeal was strong. But recently, as I’ve steadily listened to her sing, my thinking has shifted a bit.
This girl naturally knows how to layer different emotions into her singing.
Rather than understanding the technique, she’s the type who becomes completely absorbed once she starts singing.
I think that’s a kind of talent too. Her good concentration and Lee Han Byul’s sensitivity created a synergy.
So I deliberately chose , an emotional eighties domestic ballad with beautiful lyrics. Though it was a new song to her, she nodded at the lyrics and learned the piece quickly—it suited her tone better than expected.
Ah— isn’t it too late now
Are you disappointed
With these belated footsteps of mine
Did you leave me behind——
I deliberately added an ornament one octave higher at the end of the final chorus. With just that help, she’d know how to infuse an even deeper emotion once she hears the accompaniment…….
Right, that’s right.
I’m accompanying Lee Han Byul’s individual song evaluation right now.
is a male vocalist’s song, and I couldn’t find an MR track I liked.
Well, I can play keyboard, so I had to do it……. Since I accompanied her when we practiced too, this should be more comfortable for Lee Han Byul anyway.
“……, thank you……!”
After the song ended, there’s a moment of silence, then Lee Han Byul bowed to Team Leader Lee Su Bin and the CEO with a flushed face.
‘You did well.’
As she left, she looked at me with those eager eyes seeking praise, so I gave her a modest acknowledgment.
The way her lips curled up slightly is oddly chick-like, really cute.
“Hello, I’m Joo Hye Rin, sixteen years old!”
Joo Hye Rin, next in line, walks in with a creaking gait.
Her voice is full of energy, but she seems pretty nervous?
“Today, the song I’ll be singing is……, Amy Brooklyn’s .”
That’s a song I chose together with her too.
Joo Hye Rin still lacks a bit of technique, but once I found the feel in her vocal quality, she sang straight-forward style songs quite well.
There’s a reason they say that in vocal entrance exams, song selection is everything. (Though I only heard about it secondhand.)
Even if someone lacks skill right now, choosing a song where that weakness isn’t visible allows them to sing well.
So I thought about what song could best showcase Joo Hye Rin’s strengths, and wondered if an Amy Brooklyn song would work.
She’s a vocalist I personally like. Old pop doesn’t require incredibly advanced vocal technique, so I asked her if she thought she could do it, and she said she thought she could.
After getting ready, Joo Hye Rin looked at me and nodded slightly.
Right……, I’m doing the accompaniment for this girl’s song too.
There are quite a few repetitive sections and it’s long, so I had to arrange it.
When I was a little kid,
I knew I’d be special, anything I can be
Mm, she came in well on the first verse.
Compared to Lee Han Byul, the emotional expression is slightly lacking, but that’s just because Lee Han Byul does that better…….
Nothing to special—
Nothing happens if you fall—
Oh, the CEO is surprised? The Team Leader seems a bit taken aback too.
Joo Hye Rin’s strength is her physicality, her vocal power.
Like an athlete, she quickly got the feel for breath control, and with good lung capacity comes that much volume—her sound is clear and strong.
She can belt out crisp, resonant high notes in her chest voice.
Really, if it went much higher she’d strain her throat too much and the sound wouldn’t be pretty, but up to this register she sings well, so that’s fine.
Look at me—, the one who shined
I am nothing special—
Anything—
‘Ah~ we’re almost done, why is the energy dropping here? Again—once you hit “I am~” don’t let it weaken! Keep the breathing from the higher note and sing with it. If your breath collapses when the song’s ending, the final impression becomes really ambiguous?’
I drilled this part intensely because there wasn’t much time…….
She finished clean, paying off my teaching effort, even if a bit awkwardly.
With this much tremor, I could claim it was emotional expression if needed.
I gave Joo Hye Rin, who looked like her soul had been shaken out of her from trembling so hard, a thumbs up, and she laughed as she left.
You really……, how did you last as a figure skater with this personality?
Figure skating is a sport where everyone watches only you for several minutes straight, isn’t it?
“Next is Seo Ji On?”
“Ah, yes.”
I got up from the keyboard and came back with the guitar I’d left in the corner.
“Hello, I’m Seo Ji On, twenty years old.”
After the System showed me the event, I kept deliberating.
My vocals aren’t bad right now, but they haven’t fully recovered to where they were at twenty-five, so whatever I sing feels off.
Ballads feel off to sing, and elaborate pop songs my vocal cords can’t handle right now (damn this regression…).
Rock was my main genre, but I don’t have confidence to pull it off impactfully in my current condition, so I’m passing. I’m embarrassed that the high school video that trended on algorithms made it because my singing was so bad…….
“I’ll be singing an original composition.”
“You write songs?”
“Um, yes. My major is Composition.”
Wow, this old guy suddenly asks questions and catches people off guard.
Anyway, so what I was left with was an acoustic-style original composition. A song I’d sing while playing guitar.
But that’s the thing—it has no real impact.
For the future, I need the CEO to specifically remember me for something, but a simple acoustic original lacks that punch.
So for that impact, I chose
Si le ciel bleu s’effondrait,
je ne pourrais plus aimer—
Lyrics in a foreign language. French, in this case.
Ha, the expressions are really worth seeing.
This is a song I made during high school for a French composition and presentation assignment, which was my major.
I got direct permission from my teacher about writing original lyrics for my song, and I made it with just a guitar playing basic chord accompaniment, and the quality turned out better than expected.
A plain acoustic ballad original with lyrics only in French—the opening verse is actually an homage to Edith Piaf’s “La Vie en Rose.”
I was really into Edith Piaf’s songs back then. Though……, the content is the opposite.
“Wait, wait. ……You said it’s an original?”
“—Ah, yes. It’s a song I wrote in high school…….”
The CEO cut off my song before I could even finish the first verse properly.
“What language is that?”
“It’s French.”
“Huh, well……. Did you live abroad? Or study abroad?”
“I graduated from Foreign Language High School. I learned it during high school composition classes.”
“I see……. Sorry for interrupting. Start over from the beginning.”
“Yes.”
I deliberately caught my breath and took hold of the guitar again. It’s better to look a bit nervous…….
As I restarted the song, the CEO stared at me intently with quite a serious expression.
Then he nodded a bit, which means he liked it.
I agonized over what would look impressive while singing—what could make our Director Lim Gyeong Taek, who loves that sort of thing, like?—and chose this song, so how is it turning out exactly as I expected?
That foreign language, whatever……. Because of it, I had to spend two weeks after graduation digging through my memory for French I’d buried away.
What I mean is, I actually couldn’t pronounce the lyrics I’d written myself—such an embarrassing situation occurred…….
But anyway.
Looking at the CEO’s expression, it seems to be working even better than I thought.
It’s very culturally deferential, I know, but the effort paid off…….

Rewriting the Top Girl Group Scenario with My Own Hands
Author
: Nam Seo Rang
Production Date
: January 5, 2026
Publisher
: ACES Media Inc.
Editor
: ACES Media Editorial Team
Address
: 4F Urban Bench Building, 325 Teheran-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
Email
: [email protected]
※ This work is published by ACES Media Inc. in accordance with a contract with the copyright holder.
Without permission from the company and author, the content cannot be used in any form or medium.
This e-book is protected by copyright law, and unauthorized reproduction or copying may result in legal liability.
UCI
: G720:N+A129-20260102083.0010

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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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