Top Girl Group Scenario Rewritten with My Own Hands - Chapter 20

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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 20
Prove Rookies @PRookies_official · December 19th
We wrapped up!!! >.< !!
No more dorm life… college students are free!
See you all much more often 😘
#SUA #SUA #JION #JION
#ProveRookies
(Two selfies of Kang Su-a and Seo Ji-on together wearing Seoul University of the Arts hoodies)
==========
A question.
Can someone who is simultaneously a college student, a producer, and a (soon-to-be) idol actually rest once wrap-up happens?
The answer is no.
Debut was just around the corner, which meant the mountain of work kept piling up.
The track "Awesome," which would be included on the debut single, had been finalized in a tone that was noticeably brighter and more playful than the original demo I'd first created.
We were still practicing with the demo I'd recorded, and the members were doing Live Practice with their parts divided up.
The Choreography looked even better than I'd envisioned.
Ko Hyun-seo had taken the bait of my provocation and started creating the choreography, and when Hyun Jae-i jumped in saying it looked fun, the final result turned out far better than expected.
"You need to do it a bit more like this, dadada whoosh—and kick it through, you know? But right now you're going dadada and just tap-tap. Your footwork is fine, so don't tense your whole body—think of it as pushing with your shoulders and try again."
"…Am I really that off?"
"I was exaggerating a bit."
Since the choreography was fundamentally demanding, trying to keep up with it felt like torture, but since I was the one who'd shoved the task onto them in the first place, I had no choice but to shut up and follow along.
There was a moment when Ko Hyun-seo shrugged with an expression asking what I thought that made me slightly annoyed, but honestly the work was brutally hard… though.
I felt too uncertain about entrusting even the Title Track's choreography entirely to these inexperienced kids, so I requested that the company find a separate Performance Director.
After all, this industry runs on connections, doesn't it? Lee Su-bin's Team Leader's extensive network paid off, and I ended up meeting a young, talented Performance Director.
Long live Team Leader Su-bin.
Whenever I got stuck worrying about something, there'd be Su-bin suddenly solving it before I even finished my thought. She has exceptional taste and incredible work ethic.
So, what remained was.
"It's not bad, but… let's try it one more time, focusing on the ending here."
"Yes…"
The final Master Recording session.
Even if I aimed to finish today, once we got into Mixing, we'd probably end up calling people in separately for additional Recording takes.
That's how difficult and demanding it is to produce a result we're genuinely satisfied with.
The fact that Music Prove stood out as an artist label was definitely evident in its excellent music equipment.
The Recording Studio right next to my workspace was a perfect example—it was already set up to handle actual album recordings.
"That's way too fast. Match the beat and try again."
"Hmm, it's not bad. Let's emphasize the rhythm a bit more and go again."
"Your pitch went off there. Again~"
Just today, we'd done retakes several times, and we still had half the vocalists left to go—which was genuinely horrifying.
I rolled my stiff, tense neck lightly.
"Want to take a thirty-minute break and come back? I'm pretty beat…"
After getting the members' agreement, I went back to my workspace and collapsed into a chair without ceremony.
Wow… Recording is taxing work for both director and singer, true enough, but my head especially hurt today. Probably because these kids are complete rookies who've never recorded before.
Similar to memories from before regression, Ju Hye-rin incorporated Feedback quickly. So we did her recording first today too, but she kept getting more and more of a pained expression on her face.
"What's wrong? Frustrated that it's not coming together?"
"…Yes."
"Then rest a bit, and let's bring in Hyun-seo next. If you're in a rush, it only gets worse. How about it?"
"I'm sorry…"
"Huh? No, don't apologize. And you passed on the verse without even calling it a few times earlier. You did well."
Because the recording wasn't going smoothly, she kept losing confidence. Her first take of the chorus came out great, too.
Ju Hye-rin and I had regular lessons together (though recently the frequency had dropped because I'd been busy), and throughout the recording, she kept watching my reaction. What was this problem exactly…?
***
Meanwhile, Kim Yun-ju, who was handling all sorts of miscellaneous support and Behind-the-scenes Content filming at the recording site, was marveling internally.
'Is Seo Ji-on really twenty? She's got such a knack for directing.'
The atmosphere wasn't bad enough to be unusable for content, and she hadn't snapped at anyone, yet every member who went into the Recording Studio came out completely drained.
It probably had to do with how high Seo Ji-on's standards were. Earlier, even parts that seemed perfectly acceptable to Kim Yun-ju, she'd set aside and asked to try once more.
And…
'Did Seo Ji-on's expression always look that sharp?'
It was scary. Really scary!
She usually moved around with a slight smile, so it wasn't something Kim had really noticed before.
Even with her sharp eyes and cold atmosphere—the kind of cool, composed look she had—Kim had thought of her as having quite a gentle impression, but concentrated on work without minding her expression, she looked like she might be angry.
(She wasn't angry at all, of course.)
"Honestly, I was totally terrified in the Recording Studio…"
"Me too! When Ji-on told us to rest and try again earlier, it was kind of…"
"'You're not going to make it, get out.' That same feeling…"
"Yeah, yeah! Exactly! So like, I'm sure Ji-on didn't mean it that way at all, but I just felt completely scared?"
Hyun Jae-i and Ju Hye-rin, sprawled on the sofa behind the Recording Studio, were sharing their real-time impressions in real-time too.
Even Ko Hyun-seo, who was usually more composed than the other two, seemed to agree somewhat.
"But didn't it feel hard for you, Hyun-seo? Ji-on said she was being especially picky about that part of yours."
"It was easier to pick up the vibe since Feedback came right away. It was hard, but…"
"…Total big-T energy!"
"I'm curious about Ji-on's MBTI."
"She's definitely going to come out 200% T. Seriously, seriously!"
ENFJ Hyun Jae-i, who scored high on the F scale, whined her agreement, and Ju Hye-rin nodded along while Ko Hyun-seo looked confused about what the problem was.
"But honestly… I can't make eye contact with Ji-on when we're recording. I'm too scared…"
"Ugh, me too!"
"…I get that a bit too."
"Why? Even if Ji-on's strict, she's not scary…"
"Kind of… even knowing that, I just naturally look away."
"I realized she's been looking at us with really kind eyes all this time."
Kang Su-a, who hadn't experienced Ji-on's directing yet, tilted her head in curiosity. While Ju Hye-rin and Hyun Jae-i were one thing, even typically stoic Ko Hyun-seo saying that made her curious.
"I have this personal rule, kind of. One of them is: don't talk to Ji-on when she has that blank face, it's scary… But! During today's recording, she had that expression the whole time!"
Watching me make such a fuss, Kang Su-a failed to suppress her laughter, and Hyun Jae-i, irritated that it was apparently funny, got huffy.
Going on about how her older sister needed to experience it to understand, how she can't expect special treatment just because they're friends…
Kang Su-a, bickering back and forth with the complaining Hyun Jae-i, hadn't yet realized what fate awaited her in the future.
"…Su-a."
"…Uh, yeah?"
"Let's concentrate. I'm really starting to struggle."
Hey, my friend, my colleague and genius artist! You were really kind to Han-byul when he was watching you…
With my friend roughly wiping the corners of her eyes with her hand and staring at me with that dry, cold gaze, I couldn't believe it could be this scary!
"Did you make one yourself, or are you singing from a Guide?"
"Um… I did make one, but I'm not sure it's right…"
"Then go with what you made, even if you're unsure. Right now it sounds like a Guide copy, and I can't even tell what you're trying to express, so it comes across really ambiguous."
"Yes…"
"You're a major, so you should do better than the kids. Forget the pitch and details for now—just sing what you made roughly as is. At least let me hear what you were going for. Got it?"
"Y-yes…"
What went wrong? My friend's patience, which I'd already exhausted completely while directing the younger kids earlier?
Or that first recording where she couldn't concentrate because she was watching my reaction…?
Kang Su-a recalled those days preparing for Seoul University of the Arts entrance exams, when her teacher would scold her like this.
…For some reason, it felt like she'd gone back to senior year of high school preparing for entrance exams!
***
"Hyun-seo, hold on a sec—can you check this for me? Am I late here?"
"You're not late, Jae-i missed one step. So she pulled her foot out early."
"Ah, is that right? I got confused… Guys! Let's match it one more time and then grab food."
"Why don't we just eat now and fix it later?!"
"Jae-i missed one last step in what we just recorded. You know that move I taught you—"
"Argh, got it! Really just one last time to match it and then food!"
Before my nagging could go any further, Hyun Jae-i cut off the conversation and jumped to her feet.
The day before shooting the Performance Video for "Awesome," heavy white snow was pouring down in late December.
Even in the already deepening darkness, we and the members stayed sharp to check if anything was off, launching into a final performance check.
There was a time limit on the studio rental, so we had to nail everything today if possible.
That's what working in a studio shoot with a set time meant—cutting every second down to the wire and using it efficiently.
"We won't have much time to match things when we get to the studio, so we need to do a lot of it now. It's getting late and it's not great to practice too late anyway. Right?"
"You keep saying the right thing, so what can we even say…"
"Why, what do you want to say?"
"Like! Seriously!! You have the worst stamina out of all of us, so how are you not tired? I'm completely exhausted!!"
"I'm tired too. And the worst stamina now isn't me—it's Kang Su-a, right?"
"Wow, that's harsh. I'm still better than Seo Ji-on!?"
Kang Su-a, who'd been lying flat on the Practice Studio floor, shot up at the sound of her name and launched into protests of injustice, but it didn't help much.
Wasn't it someone dying on the walk to school earlier? I don't have that much trouble on a simple little hill like that.
Just then, a ringtone started coming from among the pile of phones in one corner.
"Oh, is that Hyun-seo's ringtone?"
"Yeah, it's mine. I'll just take this call real quick, it's Mom."
Ko Hyun-seo checked her phone and spoke as if asking permission. I nodded in response and began tidying up the Practice Studio lightly.
Once Ko Hyun-seo came back, I'd match them one last time and then we'd go eat. These young kids needed proper meals after all.
What I didn't anticipate was that some time had passed and Ko Hyun-seo still hadn't come back.
The subscriber you're trying to reach is currently on another call. After this tone, the call will be transferred to voicemail—
I tried calling, but Ko Hyun-seo's phone gave that standard message before switching to voicemail.
This kid usually came back quickly after wrapping up calls. Was something wrong?
"Guys, I'm going to find Hyun-seo real quick. Don't go anywhere, stay here."
I left the Practice Studio and headed for the stairwell first.
The stairwell Landing was the perfect spot to take a quick urgent call. Whenever I needed to make an urgent call, I'd often use the stairs too.
Sure enough, I spotted Ko Hyun-seo just half a flight down the stairs.
Before I could say anything, Ko Hyun-seo spotted me and stared at me with startled eyes. I hadn't even said anything yet…
"What's wrong? You've been gone a while."
"Um, Ji-on… It's just…"
The voice I heard was trembling badly. It was completely different from how calmly she'd said she'd step out for a moment.
"Take a breath. Start from the beginning, take your time explaining. It's okay."
I went down the stairs and firmly gripped the hand not holding the phone. Sure enough, her lightly trembling hand was ice cold.
Oh… Something's happened, what do I do.
"…There was… an accident on an icy road… My dad's on an overseas business trip right now, so… they called me…"
"Your mom called earlier, you said. Was it about a car accident?"
"Yes…"
A small voice calling for Ko Hyun-seo came faintly through her phone.
From the sound of it being a younger brother, it must be her brother, and if the call still hadn't wrapped up, it seemed both sides were panicked and didn't know what to do.
"Give me the phone. Your brother?"
"Huh? Yes, yes, my younger brother…"
"Your head's not working right now."
"…"
"Hand it over. I'll find out which hospital and then get you upstairs so you can put on your coat and we'll go."
When I nudged her back, Ko Hyun-seo quietly handed over her phone and went upstairs.
In moments like this, someone needs to look after you. Your mind goes blank.
'And around that time, there was an accident with her family… Thankfully it wasn't some huge accident or anything, but her mom and youngest sibling got hurt and had to be hospitalized. And that's how it naturally happened…'
Ah… I remembered.
What she'd told me back in the previous timeline when I asked why she'd quit.
That she'd used an accident with her family as an excuse—not really an excuse—to start thinking she needed to live more realistically, and she'd left the company matter-of-factly.
The voice of the Ko Hyun-seo who'd actually grown up, who lived in reality, not pretending to be an adult like this clumsy version now, came back to me.
I quickly finished the call with Ko Hyun-seo's brother and headed back to the Practice Studio to hand her the phone.
The other startled members, I immediately told them to head back to the Dormitory, and with my own phone, I quickly called a taxi.
"Let's go. I called a taxi. I'll contact Team Leader."
Yeah… I'd thought things through really wrong.
I'd figured based on what I'd heard before that this kid would be a good fit for a leader position, and after actually spending time together, I'd even thought it would be fine to entrust her with the role.
Ko Hyun-seo stayed silent the whole taxi ride to Ilsan. I couldn't figure out what to say either, so I just chose silence.
You really only feel it when it actually happens in front of you. That this kid is still just a child.
Even with mental age aside, realizing now that she's much younger than me—that's pretty funny too.
Team Leader, this is Seo Ji-on. –
I was at the company Practice Studio when Ko Hyun-seo's family was in a car accident and called her. I've had the other members head to the Dormitory, and I'm currently heading to Ilsan ○○ Hospital by taxi with Ko Hyun-seo.
The situation came up suddenly, so I'm reaching out while we're en route. I'll text you again once we arrive!
After sending that message to Team Leader Lee Su-bin, I spent the whole taxi ride to Ilsan thinking.
I should never even consider putting the leader position on this kid again.
Just because she's experienced and more mature than her peers doesn't mean I should thrust a role with responsibility she doesn't even understand onto her… That really wasn't going to work.
Rewriting the Top Girl Group Scenario with My Own Hands
Author
: Nam Seo-rang
Publication Date
: January 5, 2026
Publisher
: ACES Media, Inc.
Editor
: ACES Media Editorial Team
Address
: 4F Urban Bench Building, Seoul Gangnam-gu Teheran-ro 325
Email
: [email protected]
※ This work is published by ACES Media, Inc. in accordance with the copyright holder's contract,
and the content may not be used in any form or by any means without permission from the company and author.
This e-book is a work protected by copyright law, and unauthorized reproduction or copying may result in legal liability.
UCI
: G720:N+A129-20260102083.0020

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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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