Top Girl Group Scenario Rewritten with My Own Hands - Chapter 15

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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 15
Kim Yun-ju, an employee of the NewbieDevTeam at MusicProof, was spending another day of uncomfortable yet stable paycheque-stealing existence.
“Yun-ju, we have our first full team meeting scheduled for Friday afternoon this week. It’ll include staff transferring from the NewbieDevTeam and Planning Team, plus Ji-on, who’ll be taking on the main producer role. It’s a meeting to establish the broad direction—if you’ve prepared any proposals, please put together materials and present them at the meeting.”
“Ah, yes. I understand.”
Lee Su-bin, the NewbieDevTeam leader, still doesn’t seem to trust her much, and the other NewbieDevTeam employee has only recently joined.
Yun-ju understands why Su-bin still distrusts her—who would trust a three-month-old rookie, after all—but still, she’d rather do actual work than keep getting by as a wage thief.
‘This isn’t what I had in mind when I joined…….’
She’d graduated from Media Communications and jumped straight into the entertainment industry. Driven by nothing but love for idols.
Kim Yun-ju has been an idol fan for ten years now. A follower of Asera, the all-time legend of the idol world, and an EARTH member, she’d come to love the still-rookie Asera back in high school, and that single desire to work in idol-related fields had carried her all the way here to MusicProof.
Did I really graduate from an in-Seoul Media Communications degree for this? The self-reproach and despair gnaw at me…….
The Planning Team’s interference masquerading as internal politics and the CEO’s idol indifference (though he’s gotten a bit better lately), idol debut projects that start moving forward only to hit the brakes—the company life has a vaguely powerless quality to it, worn-out enough that you could pull out outdated jokes.
‘Still, I hold on because of our kids!’
What let her endure this environment was the girls she’d come to love without realizing it—the trainees of MusicProof, born into her as someone carrying the DNA of an idol girl-group fan.
It’s not just rose-tinted glasses because they’re ours—these girls really will make it big if the planning comes out cleanly and promotion is done right. She became even more certain after watching the July end-of-month group evaluation video for “Never Give Up”!
It makes sense that people are stricter about covers of their favorite artist’s songs. But even to the eyes of a ten-year EARTH member like Kim Yun-ju, the MusicProof trainees’ cover was nearly perfect—not quite flawless, but decidedly impressive.
And on top of that, the Composition ability of the member who recently took on producing duties! When Yun-ju heard the “Awesome” Demo for the first time, she was so startled she asked her team leader if the member really worked on it alone. The quality didn’t feel like trainee-level Demo work.
A ten-year fan’s instinct says: this team will make it!
A capable producer, harmony between members, visuals, skill……. They’re lacking nothing. If anything’s missing, it’s just the company’s capital?
So having joined this company, I have to see these kids succeed before I leave!
That was Yun-ju’s recently reset goal.
‘This is the first meeting and Ji-on will be here too……, I should bring up fan content. Should I talk about self-produced content?’
With a capable producer on the team, detailed concept and direction, marketing to gather fans, ways to introduce the team to the public—that’s my job as an employee! Self-produced content is naturally part of that too.
Yun-ju can confidently say she knows the idol industry better than anyone else in the company—second only to NewbieDevTeam leader Lee Su-bin. Especially fan-related content like self-produced videos—that’s a field she knows very well from her long years as a fan!
Kim Yun-ju eagerly opened the proposal buried in a corner of her computer folder. There should be quite a few usable plans in there.
Forget the uncomfortable wage thief from before. Time to become a diligent office worker with a clear conscience about taking home her paycheck!
***
‘Our company has someone this talented?’
Honestly, I’m amazed. I found myself marveling internally the whole time I listened to Kim Yun-ju’s presentation.
Exactly one week after using the item—today was Friday, the day the effect ended.
Since this was the last day of that fraudulent fatigue-recovery booster effect, I’d resolved to handle as much as possible in today’s meeting.
The employees from Planning…… weren’t as helpful as expected. They said they came without resistance to idols and with genuine interest, but their understanding of idols still falls pretty short.
If I had to compare, they’re close to what people call ‘muggles’.
Meanwhile…… the one currently presenting hard, Kim Yun-ju,
“After debut, we need to put a lot of focus on self-produced content and behind-the-scenes videos to meet the fandom’s needs. If you look at recent rising rookie idols’ YouTube lists…….”
stands on the complete opposite side as an ‘otaku’.
‘Have you been a fan of idols for a long time? You really know well what content fans like…….’
Honestly, I’d planned to emphasize the importance of self-produced content multiple times and had braced for budget objections, but if someone inside understands its importance well, the conversation becomes straightforward.
Just watching Kim Yun-ju immediately counter when the Planning Team employee cautiously brings up budget tells me everything.
“It’s true that it costs a lot. Still, in the current idol market, self-produced content has become the absolute basics. It’s not something nice to have—it’s become something you can’t do without.”
Completely right.
I nodded and continued listening to Yun-ju’s story, then quietly raised my hand.
“Um, would it be okay if I added a thought or two?”
“Ah yes, of course! Please go ahead!”
“I think self-produced content is definitely necessary, but the budget issue is also something we can’t ignore. So…… what would you think about directly filming video and editing it into Vlog format for release?”
Even if we outsource editing, filming should be done in-house.
That’s the best way to cut costs. It’s sad to be constrained by budget constraints like this…….
After hearing what I said, Kim Yun-ju thought for a moment, then came up with an answer.
“Depending on the concept, gathering everyday footage like a student Vlog could work well. Though entertainment-focused self-produced content would need a professional shoot crew…….”
Here, I nodded without objection. No matter how much you cut costs, entertainment-focused self-produced content needs professionals attached.
Self-produced content, promotion methods, capital scale, group name…… various topics were discussed, and my turn to present came.
I was going to talk about the most important thing—the root of all this discussion.
“…So, I’ve organized the concept the group can realistically carry. With the aim of achieving the highest possible quality.”
Concept.
Depending on what concept you establish, the public’s approach changes, and further down the line, even the fandom’s consumption patterns shift.
“Considering the concepts our members handle well, the capital we can realistically invest, and things like music video locations, the background seems like it would be fine with a school setting. There are also plenty of objects we can use later if we build up worldbuilding or expand the concept.”
There are routes like mysterious concepts beyond reach or deep worldbuilding, but those are worse than not doing them at all without capital to back them up.
“Considering their age and the demographic we’d mainly appeal to, a high-school vibe with a school concept seems like the best fit. From a realistic standpoint, even with less capital investment, we can still pull off quality. Energetic, refreshing vibes…… I think we could settle on a refreshing image as the base. What do you think?”
Everyone in the conference room nods, seeming to agree with my point.
There’s a reason school uniforms and school settings are evergreen. You can’t beat them for getting quality while keeping the cost-benefit in check.
“Image marketing might work better by closing the distance to the public rather than keeping them at arm’s length—emphasizing a familiar image. The kind where you’d think they’re next door, at the next school, or in the next class if you just opened the door. Student consumers could be at the center of buzz-worthy challenges we design.”
All current trends run through short-form video.
It’s become a time where how much it gets used on TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Instagram Reels matters more than anything else.
“When working on the song, I’ll make sure to account for short-form video. Music that gets heavy use in short-form videos has higher odds of going viral, and that’ll be our best promotional effect.”
I checked the staff’s reaction and continued right away. So far there haven’t been any negative responses. Thank goodness!
“But since the school concept is generic enough that it gets used a lot, I’d like to add one keyword that stands out and makes an impression…… What would you think about a band club? There are objects that work really well as instruments—it’s actually a concept that doesn’t get used as much as you’d think.”
“Oh right, doesn’t Ji-on have band club activity videos on his YouTube? I think they caught the algorithm—we could tie it in for marketing too.”
“Ha, ha, ha…….”
Yeah, I definitely knew this comment would come up—I wrestled with whether to bring up band club at all! But it seemed like it would fit well, so I just went ahead with it…….
Looking at it again now, the Vocals are too rough and the timing’s a bit off in spots—it’s embarrassing old history—but apparently I sang better than your average high school band club vocalist, because thanks to the algorithm, it’s racked up over three million views. (A friend from band club days told me excitedly.)
That really…… came out nicely though. The friend who filmed it said “this is the best thing I’ve ever filmed,” and between the weather cooperating and good filming work, it’s a well-shot video.
“If we can tie it together like that, it’d be great. Couldn’t idol issue YouTube channels end up mentioning it too?”
“We could bring it up in behind-the-scenes when doing music video reactions or something. Does Ji-on still play Guitar well? I think the response would be decent even if we upload it as a short-form video…….”
Kim Yun-ju really does seem to be a former idol fan…….
I only brought up the band club, but the way she immediately connects it to past videos and pulls out content that fans would love shows her fan credentials.
There’s not much more for me to add at this point. After Yun-ju’s remarks, various opinions (mostly from Yun-ju and Team Leader Lee Su-bin) were exchanged, and the debut Album concept was settled on as “Youth Band Club.”
Since they won’t be actually playing much—it’s just going to be the vibe—not being able to play instruments won’t be an issue.
“And…… there’s one more thing I’d like to suggest.”
As the meeting was winding down, I finally brought up what I considered the real point for today.
“What would you think about uploading content before the official debut, even if we reveal the team name later? To build recognition before the official Album release.”
We’re not part of a large entertainment company or one with deep pockets or much attention.
If we suddenly announced ‘We’re debuting!’ the response would be colder than expected.
“I think it’s good to build as much awareness of the team as possible before official debut. The members are all pretty and talented, so I think the initial response will be good once we’re revealed, but I think we need time for that response to spread.”
But there is one thing we have going for us in this rough idol market landscape.
Individual recognition.
It’s a bit embarrassing, but…… starting with me—the front man of the band club video that caught the YouTube algorithm and hit three million views—
up to Go Hyun-seo, the center of buzz at the first Dreamgirl audition, aka “Battle Center Girl,”
Hyun Jae-yi, who came from PN Entertainment’s public trainee group “PN Youth” and was expected to debut immediately,
to Ju Hye-rin, who caused huge buzz when, during her figure skating competitive career, she stumbled through the short program at the Junior Grand Prix Final—the equivalent of the finals—but delivered a clean, mistake-free free skate that moved her to tears. (That competition video alone had over a million views on the official Korean broadcast YouTube channel.)
Oh, and Kang Su-a probably had her practical music academy acceptance video hit over 500,000 views too. Among the top-rated comments was something like “Please debut soon, unnie…….” So everyone, get ready—she’ll be debuting soon.
“Since we have members with high individual recognition, I think it’d be good to build the atmosphere that they’re a team until official debut. We could reveal members at appropriate times. Uploading clean basic profile photos before debut concept photos could work too.”
In this day and age, it’s really hard to blow up with just good music and good skills. So what we need right now is buzz factor.
Buzz that makes the group name—not individuals—known. Buzz that doesn’t end as just another unremarkable rookie from a small agency.
For a successful debut, we need to build recognition before the debut itself.
The most practical way to do it is probably to reveal members before debut and gather public curiosity.
“Su-a and I can film school Vlogs until semester ends, and we can take the vlog camera to the younger members’ and Hyun-seo’s graduation ceremony and upload right away. We could also occasionally release practice videos or cover videos…… what do you think?”
Honestly, I don’t think I even need to wait for an answer.
Looking at Yun-ju’s sparkling eyes fixed on me…….
“I think it’s great! Even major agencies try to build recognition before debut any way they can. Three months is short enough that image fatigue isn’t too bad and works well for promotion.”
“It might be good to organize content and plans you can do in-house before debut…… would it be okay to ask you for that?”
“Of course! I’ll bring related content plans to the next meeting.”
Despite getting more work, Kim Yun-ju seems genuinely thrilled.
She must have really wanted to do this work. There are times when even added work feels good.
I was worried about where to find such talented people—ones who are good at their job and know the idol industry well—but if I’d known someone like this was in the NewbieDevTeam, I wouldn’t have had those worries!
Please take good care of us, Yun-ju.
Let’s work together for a long time. Really!
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. according to contract with the copyright holder,
and the contents may not be used in any form or by any means without permission from the company and the author.
This e-book is protected by copyright law, and unauthorized reprinting or reproduction may result in legal liability.
UCI
: G720:N+A129-20260102083.0015

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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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