Top Girl Group Scenario Rewritten with My Own Hands - Chapter 23

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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 23
There are countless sorrows that come with running a small entertainment company, but if you had to pick just one, it would surely be capital.
They say major agencies invest tens of millions in a rookie’s debut as a baseline, and compared to that, Music Proof is a hole-in-the-wall operation.
……Or rather, isn’t it already a hole-in-the-wall without even needing the comparison?
Anyway.
The point is that capital limitations restrict so many things.
For example, music video location scouting.
“One more take, everyone. Just one more, I promise! Ready — action!”
As the director’s cue comes beneath the darkened sky of dusk, we pass by the main camera and walk naturally between the lampposts near the school gate, which glows prettily.
We’re supposed to look like high school students heading home naturally, backs to the camera, but if I’m being completely honest, the filming atmosphere is…….
“Hey! Sua pushed me again!”
“Who started it?!”
“If this keeps up and the pretty older sister’s younger one falls, what are we gonna do!”
“Well, I’ve never had a younger sibling like you!”
“That’s so unfair!”
……As you can see, it’s practically a two-person show between Kang Sua and Hyun Jae-i.
We’ve shot this scene quite a few times, and every time we shoot, the two of them pull different pranks on each other, which has made the music video director decide to film a few more takes.
“Hmm — Han-byeol, let’s go a different way. We don’t know those people~”
“Okay. …I don’t know those older sisters either…….”
I grabbed Yi Han-byeol’s hand and slowly slipped out from the middle of the chaos erupting around us. If we got caught up in it, I’d probably lose what little strength I had left!
Ju Hye-rin, with her boundless energy, laughed from between the two of them for a while before enthusiastically diving into the commotion, while Go Hyun-seo, who had decent stamina though not quite as much as Hye-rin, stayed on the sidelines with us and watched this pandemonium unfold.
I’m at an age where my high school days are already a distant blur, and since I went to an all-boarding school, I’ve never experienced such a lively walk home, but……wouldn’t it look like a cheerful after-school outing if we just muted the audio?
“Really though!”
“What, what is it!”
“I’m not doing any more Dance Covers with you!”
“Oh come on, can’t you at least keep doing TikTok dances with me? Hye-rin’s the only one who does it with me…….”
“Excuse me? Am I being treated like a non-person by you right now?!”
“You like other challenges more than TikTok dances! Hyun-seo only agrees when it’s perfectly choreographed, Ji On is always busy……. And you’re always saying you hate dancing.”
“Oh, I see……. Sorry for being so uncoordinated…….”
They’ve still got so much energy left. Where does all that vitality come from with such a strict diet these days?
Waking up at 4 a.m., starting concept photo shoots and music video filming around 7, not getting proper rest in between, and yet here they are at nearly 9 p.m., still going strong. Youth really is a blessing. By the time you’re my age, you’re completely done after a 4 a.m. wake-up call.
Kang Sua claimed she couldn’t handle all-nighters after hitting twenty-five. Though that hasn’t happened here…….
“You seem like… something’s weighing on your mind right now.”
“Does it show? I was having a deep internal debate about how to manage those girls going forward.”
“Ah…….”
“Our Han-byeol is good. Really, the best.”
A quiet, obedient child really is the best.
I patted Yi Han-byeol’s shoulder for no particular reason. Thank goodness at least this one is well-behaved…….
“Why am I being excluded? Honestly, I think I’m ranked first in following directions.”
“Well, you say things that give me headaches sometimes, so pass. And Han-byeol is cute.”
“What kind of thing is that to say…….”
No matter how many times I see Go Hyun-seo’s bewildered expression, it makes me laugh. When I finally gave in and laughed, she murmured awkwardly, not understanding what was funny!
If I said outright that was the whole point of teasing her, she’d probably make another fuss, so I just kept laughing.
“Cut! Perfect! That’s a wrap for today!”
Throughout the music video shoot, one thing I really noticed was the director’s excellent projection.
If you asked who announces the Evergleet music video shoot schedule, you could honestly answer that it’s the director, who just gets up and announces it by voice……
***
January passed in the blink of an eye, despite not doing anything special.
After the music video shoot wrapped, all the members lived in the Practice Room. What schedules would rookies have? The few pre-debut schedules we do have are all scheduled for February.
So there’s nothing left to do but practice. I was worried they might get bored, but with our debut right around the corner, they all seemed overflowing with motivation.
“Han-byeol, bring the microphone a bit closer. Right now, it’s not getting picked up well.”
“Won’t the sound break…?”
“No, you don’t need to worry about breaking. It’s a Falsetto, and the audio equipment isn’t run-down enough for that to happen… right? Right, Hyun-seo?”
“It wasn’t like that even during the Draught performance. You don’t need to worry.”
“Yeah, apparently so.”
Since I’ve never experienced a music broadcast before, Go Hyun-seo, who’s used to performing, is far more helpful in situations like this. I can understand the condition of the audio equipment, but I have no idea what the actual broadcast site is like.
No matter how much I think about it, my nature is really more of a supporter…….
Some reincarnation truck or bus hits me, and suddenly I’m an idol, something that was never meant to be in my destiny…….
The more I think about it, the more I sigh.
But thinking about it won’t solve anything either…….
Alright, let me stop thinking then. I stood up from my seat and called out to the members.
“Let’s do one more live performance with the hand microphone, then we’ll head out. What time did Jae-i say her KTX was again?”
“Mine’s at 7! I still have plenty of time!”
“If we stop by the Dormitory first, it’ll be tight. Let’s wrap up quickly!”
What’s really fortunate is that despite not having a proper trainer, the members are doing great on their own.
The Evergleet members all have solid skills to begin with. Even Kang Sua, who puts herself down, definitely isn’t bad at dancing, and the younger members whose vocals were shaky have been getting steady lessons with me and their vocals have stabilized.
As for me, I’m confident my Vocal work won’t lose out anywhere, and as for dancing……. I’ve put in a lot of effort. A lot…….
The fact that I’ve reached a level where I don’t even get called a klutz when standing alongside Go Hyun-seo and Hyun Jae-i at a major label is evidence of my tearful amount of practice.
The Hand Microphone is the most basic microphone form. You have to hold it in your hand, dance, and sing at the same time, which is trickier than you’d think if you’re not used to it.
So since we started practicing our debut song’s live performance, we’ve been practicing with a Hand Microphone in parallel. The company has plenty of audio equipment and In-ear Monitors that we use in practice, and they’re surprisingly good quality, which helps a lot.
Music Proof really is sincere about music, I’ll give them that.
If they’d been just as sincere about idol management and company operations as they are about music, that would’ve been nice~.
It’s hard when you suddenly have to use something you haven’t used before. That’s true for microphones and In-ear Monitors alike, so we’re training ourselves to become as familiar as possible with the stage audio equipment.
“Finished!! Today was exhausting and intense!!!”
“Didn’t we promise to speak with respect and kindness?”
“Oh gosh, today was really fulfilling! Right, by the way, when I was doing that last live performance just now, I suddenly got curious. What if something suddenly goes wrong with the In-ear Monitor once we get on stage? Is there no way except to just keep going……?”
Hyun Jae-i, speaking with her lips about how exhausted she is while still clearly bursting with energy, sat down next to me.
Sometimes this girl looks like just a cheerful puppy, but she’s actually pretty meticulous, you know? I couldn’t help but let out a soft chuckle at how impressive she was being.
“Well……. If it’s a Vocal transmission issue, you’d have to pull it out and just sing by feel. That’s probably your only option.”
“But broadcast sets and concert halls have a lot of reverberation, right? Could we do it without it showing?”
“If the Minus One comes through clearly and you’ve practiced with it, you can sing. Not having monitoring would definitely be disorienting, but…….”
If you have the skill, you end up managing even when things go sideways. That’s exactly why we’re doing all these X-repetitions right now…….
I swallowed the last part. An idol always has to be careful with their words.
Humans rely on sensation more than they realize. Once you’re used to something, you can perform at an average level anywhere.
When there’s a sound accident on stage, when a live performance is requested without prior discussion, whenever you have to sing no matter what — even in emergency situations like these, it’s the same.
“If I asked you to sing your part right now, would you be nervous?”
“Huh, no way? I’ve sung it so much, I feel like I could sing it in my sleep!”
“Yeah, that’s it. Once vocals become habit, you can just punch them out, and then there’s no problem.”
As long as you have the confidence that you’re singing well and the sense that you’re doing it right. As long as you know the feeling of singing it correctly.
“Did I… already tell you this too? I told the younger members, but basically, everything used in singing is muscle memory. The vocal cords are a kind of muscle too~ That’s the thing.”
“I don’t think you did…… But I think I get what you mean. Like dancing?”
“Right, you trust the sensations your body has learned. With this feeling, the sound comes out this way, or to produce that kind of sound, you need to sing with this feeling. You probably already know this unconsciously without me spelling it out like this, right? How to sing your part to make it sound pretty.”
“I totally understand! You explain things really well!”
“Well…….”
The credentials of Seojeong Arts University’s Applied Music program helped me do a lot of tutoring…….
It wasn’t Vocal coaching but composition and performance lessons, but I think that’s when I learned how to explain things so people actually understand.
“Anyway, let’s go. You’re gonna miss your train at this rate.”
“Oh my gosh, goodness, what time is it!”
“What?”
“Oh my, what can I do! Please help me, I might actually be late!”
“Yes, let’s speak with kind words, okay?”
An idol uses respectful and kind language wherever, whenever.
I sent my thanks to Kang Sua, the oldest member, for leading by example.
***
That night at 10 p.m., I finally got to rest alone for the first time in a long while.
We were given four days off — Thursday through Saturday of the Lunar New Year Holiday, plus Sunday.
During the Chuseok holiday, even the trainee development staff barely got to rest, and it’s clear that after we properly debut, neither the members nor the staff will be able to rest, so this is basically our last break.
Hyun Jae-i, whose hometown is far away in Ulsan, headed straight to the KTX after practice, and I sent the other members, who live in the capital area, home before evening anyway.
The other members think I went to my hometown too. They all seemed pretty close with their families, and I didn’t really want to get into the details of my personal situation, so it seemed easier if they just thought I went home.
“You’re really not going? I sent those kids home early to spend time with their parents.”
“That’s for families that actually get along. For me, when I see family during times like this and eat together, I feel sick.”
“…You saying that makes me feel so sorry…….”
“What, just go already. Your mother’s waiting, isn’t she?”
“If you come back to the Dormitory early, tell me! I’ll come back early too.”
“Ugh, no. You’re annoying. Have a good holiday and come back.”
“Waaah……. No ignoring my messages! If you don’t check your phone on time, I’ll sulk?!”
While I was in the middle of arguing with my parents over the phone, Kang Sua, who shared the dorm room with me, had a rough idea of the situation but could only make guesses.
So I didn’t say anything more, just made a fuss and pretended to be awkward, saying I’d go tomorrow.
Once I’d sent Kang Sua off too, I was alone in the Dormitory for the first time. Really, finally some time to rest alone!
When I lay down in bed, the lack of any ambient noise felt like forever…….
When I lived alone it was always quiet, but after living together for about half a year, the silence felt strangely uncomfortable.
My exhausted body from the grueling practice schedule and regular exercise (surprisingly, I’m still working out with Go Hyun-seo. Really surprisingly…….) practically screams at me to sleep the moment I lie down on the bed,
“Hey, System.”
But there’s something I need to check before the members come back.
The moment I call the System, a semi-transparent panel appears before my eyes.
This System that’s been suspiciously quiet ever since I struck first with the Main Producer mission.
See, I like reading books. When I search things like “transmigration” and “reincarnation truck,” popular web novels pop up in the search results, and I’ve read a few.
Especially idol modern fantasy novels with settings quite similar to my situation.
They were fun. The ones I read had main characters who gave up on being an idol and regressed to try again, or broken idols who straightened out useless members and became a top group.
But there was one really interesting commonality I noticed.
When you tell someone with lingering regrets, “You can succeed, let’s try again!” — can they immediately answer “Yeah!”?
No. They can only make the decision to try again after overcoming the fear of failure and after much, much hesitation.
If they’re scared, if the thought that they’ll fail again starts creeping in…….
But web novels say if they drag out that storyline, it gets boring. And if the protagonist accepts the challenge from the start, it creates a consistency problem.
So the novels I read commonly gave the protagonist a compulsion to do it — they had no choice.
Either by holding a fatal weakness over them, or by offering essential rewards for success.
“What are you, anyway?”
Like this System that threw me into the compulsion of having to be an idol.
“If you’ve got a reason why I have to be an idol, confess it now. I’m tired too…….”
I’ve just been dragged along without knowing anything all this time, right?
Let me take some time during this holiday break and carefully go through everything. I’ve also done my own research over these past weeks.
Rewriting the Top Girl Group Scenario in My Own Hands
Author
: Nam Seo-rang
Production Date
: January 5, 2026
Publisher
: Acesmedia Inc.
Editor
: Acesmedia Editorial Team
Address
: 4F Urban Bench Building, 325 Teheran-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
Email
: [email protected]
※ This work is published by Acesmedia Inc. according to the copyright holder’s contract,
and the contents may not be used in any form or manner without permission from the company and author.
This e-book is protected by copyright law and unauthorized reproduction or copying may result in legal liability.
UCI
: G720:N+A129-20260102083.0023

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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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