Top Girl Group Scenario Rewritten with My Own Hands - Chapter 18

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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 18
The Prove Rookies and [RE:Prove] video garnered a far bigger response than expected.
There were several reasons for this.
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[Seeing Daylight’s members makes me curious about how the Dream Girls Project trainees are doing these days]
Yeah, I see Daylight so often lately that it makes me think of Dream Girls Project lol. There were some talented kids, but does anyone know what they’re up to now?
Personally I really thought Go Hyun-seo would debut, but what’s she doing these days… If I had to pick the best 30 seconds from Dream Girls Project, I’d pick Go Hyun-seo’s dance cover…
Not hating on Daylight
Not saying the Dream Girls Project debut team is bad
Not throwing shade at Daylight
Not saying anyone should be cut
Just curious about what the Dream Girls Project trainees are up to
Just saying I thought Go Hyun-seo was so insanely good at dancing I figured she’d definitely debut
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– Cushioning lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol
– This isn’t the first time someone’s used cushioning like that to dodge controversy, they clearly know what they’re doing
– Haha the cushioning is hilarious lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol, I bet Go Hyun-seo’s headed to Music Prove! There’s been almost no news lately, but I saw her in that recent Music Prove trainee announcement
└ OMG wait wait wait I didn’t even know Music Prove was revealing trainees;;;;
– Hey are you seeing this?? Go check Prove Rookies’ YouTube and watch Go Hyun-seo’s full Bad Problem cover
www.etube……
【[RE:Prove] Bad Problem (oneN:D) – Cover by Go Hyun-seo】
└ OMG going to watch right now
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First, Daylight, which recently debuted from the Dream Girls Project, was gaining momentum, and K-pop veterans and overseas fans were circulating updates about the Dream Girls Project trainees.
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[The Prove Rookies member composition is seriously insane lol]
Go Hyun-seo from Dream Girls Project
Hyun Jae-i from PEN:US
Ju Hye-rin, a national figure skating representative
Honestly just up to here you’re like, wait, these four are on the same team? lol
But then there’s also the Optimist vocalist from Hanbit Foreign Language High School’s band club who went viral on the algorithm, and the one who swept first and second place in practical music at Sejeong Arts University and got 500k views on her application video—all on the same team
Honestly I love skilled female idol vocalists so much, so I’m super hyped for Prove Rookies’ debut lol lol lol lol lol lol the rest of the members are good singers too
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– Seriously the vocal chemistry between Su-a and Ji-on is amazing, rookie who tightens the loose K-pop vocal standards
– Seo Ji-on is seriously a great singer, I thought she was good when I saw the school festival video back in high school, but then I saw the new Optimist cover on the Prove Rookies account and literally dropped my jaw. What did she do in the past 2, 3 years? Seriously.
└ This, when I first heard Optimist sung in her Hanbit days I thought she was already a finished vocalist, but seeing the new upload really is different…
– Not criticizing but honestly I’m a little worried because Kang Su-a’s vocals are so distinctive that it didn’t really feel like an idol group…
– I’m really into Lee Han-byul’s vocal tone, her timbre is insane
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Second, there was more demand than expected for “skillful new-face girl groups.”
Especially among people who’d grown accustomed to the refreshing, belted main vocals through the 2nd and 3rd generations.
As position distinctions shrank, the shortage of traditional main vocals sparked K-pop veterans to make noise about “this is the collapse of K-pop culture!”—and praise for the vocal members spread throughout K-pop fandoms. Once that happened, anyone would naturally become curious. And so Prove Rookies carved out their own small space in the war zone of K-pop.
And besides.
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[Wait, both Prove Rookies’ Su-a and Ji-on went to Sejeong Arts University???]
For real? Kang Su-a has an application video, but what about Seo Ji-on?
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– Seo Ji-on’s major is Composition, not Vocal
└ For real?? But how did she end up becoming an idol?
└ Honestly I’m curious how you get a career path of Hanbit Foreign Language High School – Sejeong Composition – Idol like that
[So Prove Rookies’ Ji-on graduated from Hanbit and went to Sejeong for practical music?]
Wow I’m curious how she ever got the idea to go to practical music and how she decided to become an idol in the first place
Hanbit is seriously a school for kids who study well and Sejeong’s practical music has no GPA requirements—all performance-based admissions—so she must have gotten in through the performance test, but how did she even manage that
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– Her career path is super weird lol study-music-idol lol lol lol lol
– But when you look at her face you kind of understand why she’s doing this idol thing, she’s exactly the type cold beauty enthusiasts would go crazy for
└ Yeah seriously has a really cold, clean look
[I went to the same high school as Ji-on]
(Graduation album cover photo) (School building photo)
We’re from the same year but different classes so all I have on my phone are photos to verify, sorry lol, but it’s not really a big deal anyway
But we were in different departments, Seo Ji-on was in the French Department
But honestly it’s not really a big deal
It’s that she was the first person in the school’s history to advance with a practical arts performance specialty, and she consistently scored ㅈㄴ well on mock exams…? I actually heard this from someone in the French Department, but apparently Ji-on got a perfect 1st grade on one of the mock exams lol lol lol lol lol lol, 3rd year 6th mock test? A friend from French kept cursing her out saying she’s a monster (basically praise) so I remember lol
But seriously how did she end up becoming an idol, even I’m so curious about that
Should I ask the French Department friend? Seriously curious
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– Even her schoolmate from back then doesn’t know why she wants to become an idol, which is ㅈㄴ funny. Did she not talk about idol stuff at school?
└ I didn’t know either sorry, we weren’t that close
– Prove Rookies never does live streams, I really want to ask… might end up being like the top K-pop mystery or something
– I thought she obviously didn’t focus on studying since she went to an arts university, but 1st grade in the 3rd year 6th mock exam…??? And then she took the performance test and went to Sejeong’s Composition program????? Nothing about it is not surprising
└ And then planning to debut as an idol, that’s like ㅈㄴ truly final peak surprise. Complete.
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In Korean society, the degree of attention drawn to people with unusually high academic credentials played a role too.
“Why does she want to become an idol?” With a trainee who hasn’t even debuted yet as the subject. The internet public set ablaze with interest—a topic where even praise would be engaging and mockery wouldn’t face much pushback. Simply because it was intriguing!
Why does a kid who’s good at studying also do music?
If she’s doing music, why become an idol?
Why bother?
Plenty of sarcastic posts and mocking comments, or ones treating her like an idiot appeared. But the team’s overall visibility rose anyway. Just as “that academically unusual kid’s group,” sort of.
Seo Ji-on’s take on it was simply: “Damn academic elitism……”
Of course, when she got questions like “What’s your reason for being an idol?” she had no real answer to give……
What was she supposed to say, really?
I’m an idol because there’s idol work to do…?
Not completely nonsense, but it sure would sound like it, wouldn’t it?
Still, she had at least some defense.
Why?
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【[RE:Prove] To Dear Optimist (Sour Peach) – Cover by Ji-on】
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– Wow, truly bringing tension to loose, crumbling vocal standards, this insane (lol) rookie. Experiencing the taste of the 2nd and 3rd gen’s incredible main vocals in the 5th gen, it’s real emotional
– That’s insane, Ji-on, if you keep singing like that you’re gonna be the love of my life ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
– Optimist with that refreshing yet wistful vocal tone, everyone was unable to pull it off so well that it became a must-have band club staple song for those who avoid vocals lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol but she pulled it off ㅈㄴ well, crazy
– After Kim Gyeong-yun I’ve never seen a vocalist sing Optimist this well
└ Who’s Kim Gyeong-yun??
└ That’s the Sour Peach vocalist’s name
– 3:21 right here is seriously incredible… insane soda vocal
– Everything else is great too but from 3:07 onwards the bridge is truly the real thing, emotional line, pitch, volume ㅈㄴ nothing lacking
– Different feeling from when she sang it in high school summer versus singing it in winter as an adult, but similar too, which is so nice! The one from back then felt like she was pouring all her strength into it, this time it feels like she’s gained some ease
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Because she’s that good.
Good enough that no one can criticize her for being an idol.
In fact, from Ji-on’s perspective it was somewhat inevitable.
Having spent twenty-five years just writing and singing songs, she’d be mortified if she hadn’t improved since eighteen.
At this point in time, Seo Ji-on had nearly succeeded in recovering the vocal ability stats she’d possessed before the Regression.
The grueling practice born from the thought that she had to sing “To Dear Optimist” at least better than she had at the festival when she was eighteen had paid off.
‘Really, what a pain-in-the-ass mystery the human body is.’
You know that despair when your mind knows exactly how it should sound, but what comes out of your mouth is something else entirely?
There was even that incident where Ji-on had gotten so frustrated one day that she’d holed herself up in the practice room, nearly getting her back slapped by none other than Kang Su-a for overdoing it.
Until mid-November, Seo Ji-on was truly swamped.
Not that any new Quest had appeared—she was just swamped!
First, she had to finish “Awesome,” and she still had to keep up with the dance that was still lacking. She had to squeeze in vocal practice by pushing back the [RE:Prove] filming schedule as much as possible. And on top of that, she had to juggle schoolwork and exams too.
Plus the debut album title track, Prove Rookies content planning, and practice, practice, practice……. There was just too much to do.
The fact that Team Leader Lee Su-bin had set up a personal studio for her on the fourth floor of the company was at least a blessing in the chaos of her schedule.
Since all the other artists had set up their studios externally and become independent long ago, Ji-on was assigned to the best studio the company had on hand, and for the first time she felt the advantage of working at Music Prove.
The studio had nearly all the equipment she needed for composition work. It was a bit worn, but the equipment was quite good.
There was also an electric guitar and bass that belonged to the company as shared equipment, so she had permission to use them freely during her work.
“Um, whoa. Did you pull another all-nighter at the company?”
“……Yeah, that happened.”
“Today’s Saturday?”
“It’s Saturday, so I’m here now. If it were a weekday, I’d be at school at this hour……”
And so she naturally ended up pulling all-nighters at the company and taking power naps in the studio, leaving the dorm just for show. These days she practically lived in her work space.
‘Early again……. It’s Jae-i today.’
Occasionally she’d run into either Go Hyun-seo or Hyun Jae-i coming in during the morning like this, which made for awkward moments. By now, having spent 2/3 of November this way, it was quite a familiar sight.
“Unnie, at this rate you’re really gonna die. Isn’t there anything you could stop doing? We haven’t even been able to exercise with Hyun-seo unnie much lately.”
“Yeah, the thing is there’s nothing to drop. It’s like a real horror movie. But honestly, after the [RE:Prove] filming wrapped, things got a little easier.”
“I’m looking at your face right now and I don’t think that’s the face of someone with free time……”
Hyun Jae-i often tested Seo Ji-on’s patience this way, clowning around. When she kept chasing after her and staring blankly without letting up, Seo Ji-on sighed and lightly pinched Hyun Jae-i’s cheek.
“You’re annoying, really.”
“Ow! Why are you like that to a cute worried little sister!”
“I’m an only child. I don’t have a sister.”
“What, that’s so mean……. So to Seo Ji-on unnie, we’re complete strangers…?”
“…How did the conversation go there?”
“So the other members are my sisters, but I’m not a sister…?”
“No, that’s not it. What……”
“A cute worried little sister……. isn’t a sister…?!”
“……Yeah, Jae-i, you’re really pretty. Yeah.”
“Put more sincerity in your words.”
“Do you want to do this to someone who pulled an all-nighter?”
“Then don’t pull all-nighters!”
How don’t you get how I feel, you’re too much, too……
Hyun Jae-i, who’d been eagerly clowning around while humming a tune, sensed the shift and slowly disappeared from Seo Ji-on’s line of sight.
Even having spent only a few months together, Jae-i could read Seo Ji-on’s irritation level with fair accuracy.
If her words sound exasperated but she’s smiling or has a soft expression, then she can get away with more mischief. It means she still has the patience to indulge it.
“Hey Jae-i, do you want coffee? I can pop out to the café in front.”
“…No, I’m totally fine!!!”
Conversely, if her tone is gentle but the small smile she normally makes consciously has disappeared, then no matter the reason, there’s no room for indulgence—you have to stop messing around immediately and sit quietly.
…Like right now!
‘That unnie doesn’t have a bad personality or anything, but her expressionless face is so scary……. I’ve actually never seen her properly angry, but if I keep messing around I think something bad might happen.’
It’s basically instinctual survival.
The moment your eyes meet, you naturally get intimidated and the urge to mess around just vanishes……
How does such a pretty face pull off such a menacing vibe? Today too, Hyun Jae-i calculated the maximum level of messing around that Seo Ji-on could tolerate without reconsidering.
“Huh? Jae-i unnie, why are you sitting here in the lobby like this? Go Hyun-seo unnie said she’s going to exercise with Su-a unnie and Lee Han-byul right now and will be back in a bit.”
“Hye-rin, come here. Your unnie is feeling a little sad right now……”
“Why are you like this……? We were supposed to film today, right? Come on, get up. Let’s practice a bit before Hyun-seo unnie gets here.”
“Whimper……”
‘Mom, the world is just bullying me today……’
Saturday morning, late November, 10 a.m.
For some reason, Hyun Jae-i found herself missing her mom back home in Ulsan.
Rewriting the Top Girl Group Scenario with My Own Hands
Author
: Nam Seo-rang
Created
: January 5, 2026
Publisher
: Aces Media Co., Ltd.
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 Co., Ltd. in accordance with a contract with the copyright holder.
The content may not be used in any form or by any means without the permission of this company and the author.
This e-book is protected by copyright law and unauthorized reproduction or copying may result in legal liability.
UCI
: G720:N+A129-20260102083.0018

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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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