Top Girl Group Scenario Rewritten with My Own Hands - Chapter 42

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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 42
“…Do I really have to go to practice in this condition?”
“Of course you do. The recording wrapped just fine.”
“My understanding of the word ‘fine’ must have changed…….”
“Your fever’s come down, you’re not dizzy anymore, you took medicine, and you’ve already seen a doctor. What else do you want me to do? Resting doesn’t solve everything, does it?”
“…….”
Go Hyun-seo, who’d been grumbling for a while, pressed her lips shut.
After that trip to Japan, she’d apparently learned quite thoroughly that resting wouldn’t fix anything—at least not for me.
I sent Go Hyun-seo and Hyun Jae-yi off first, then headed to the Dance Practice Studio to meet Ju Hye-rin.
There was something we needed to discuss about the Intro Performance.
“Hey, Hye-rin.”
“Yes, Unnie?”
“I sent the final version of the intro. When Perdie gets here, can you two finalize it and send me a sample video? I’ll check it when practice is done.”
“Got it. But… couldn’t you send it tomorrow instead?”
“…Why?”
“You’re going to practice and then immediately give feedback without resting.”
“…….”
Never thought I’d be left speechless by someone four years younger with such a blunt truth.
Because that was exactly what I’d been planning to do on the ride back……. I could only laugh awkwardly at her.
“Unnie, that’s all borrowing health from your future.”
“Who in the world told a kid like you something like that?”
“An unnie who used to suffer from injuries when we skated together, a long time ago.”
“Ah.”
Strangely, that made sense. Even though I don’t know figure skating well, I at least know it’s a sport where young athletes go through a lot.
“She said when you’re little and just push through the pain and keep going, it feels fine right away, but when you get older, it all comes back to bite you.”
“That’s about skating, though. How old was this unnie?”
“She was in college then. She’s older than you!”
Ugh, when someone says they’re older than me, I really have nothing to say…….
Ju Hye-rin seemed to notice I was at a loss for words. Soon a small murmur followed me as I headed down the stairs.
“Really, just like Go Hyun-seo said, you don’t know how to rest.”
“You understand well enough, but if I rest now, the company won’t run.”
“But…….”
“That’s the fate of a small agency. Can’t be helped.”
“Isn’t our company supposed to have a name in the indie scene? The director was really proud of it…….”
Lim Gyeong-taek?
Our director bragged about that……?
Figures. He definitely showed off to the kids saying something like, ‘Do you know how famous and successful this artist label is?!’ with all that ridiculous pride.
I barely held back the laugh trying to escape and answered Ju Hye-rin’s innocent question.
“Well, there’s this thing about how indie doesn’t make money, right? And plus, there are artists who leave because the company can’t do the work.”
“Huh……?”
“The seniors from my school said they’re thinking of checking out other companies once their contract period ends.”
“Your schoolmates?”
“Yeah, there’s an age gap, but.”
In my original world, the biggest reason Evergreat disbanded was maintenance costs. The company didn’t have enough money to even see out the contract period, and there were no artists generating revenue.
So there were ways to keep Evergreat from disbanding but also not make a comeback, just doing events……but.
Looking back now, I can’t tell if Lim Gyeong-taek was just stupid or if maintaining a group actually cost way more than expected. Or maybe there was an order from higher up.
Anyway, Music Prove, which was already a struggling mid-tier company, would spend the next five years heading straight down the path to complete ruin.
Some of it was poor management, some was lack of funds, and some was just how ridiculously thick the director’s pride was.
‘It’d be perfect if I could just transfer the contract to a bigger company as-is…….’
With our dedicated team and our team.
I need to plan the exit strategy well from now so I can actually execute it the moment I think, ‘Now’s the time!’
“Anyway. You should take it a bit easier…….”
“Got it, I’ll take it easy and come back. Finish the intro with Perdie today and send it to me. I’ll monitor tomorrow.”
“You’ll trust me, right?”
“Yeah, I trust you.”
“Then don’t worry and go rest after practice! Even if I send the video today, you’re watching it tomorrow for real, right?”
“Yeah, okay. Heading out?”
“Yes! See you later!”
I waved lightly at Ju Hye-rin and watched her disappear into the building before climbing into the Pickup Vehicle parked in front of the company.
“You doing okay? You look better than earlier…….”
“Yeah, really fine. If I hadn’t come to record, I’d almost feel ripped off?”
“If you end up seriously sick, that’s on me……. Call me even at dawn if your condition gets weird.”
I nodded vaguely at my manager’s nagging and took the passenger seat. Managers get blamed if the artist gets sick after all……. I need to be careful too.
For some reason, the gazes of the two kids in the car feel sharp.
I deliberately closed my eyes to avoid their stares. It’s not far to the company, but getting some sleep would be less tiring than arguing with those two…….
They’re my roommates, so there’ll be a whole lecture waiting when we get home anyway, so I might as well let it go now…….
***
The Collaboration Choreography practice, originally scheduled for just an hour and a half, wrapped up a bit earlier due to my health.
“See? When someone’s sick, there’s no power in their dancing—it’s all droopy. What happened to all that stamina and strength you built?”
“Can’t the lectures wait? I’m all foggy right now.”
“You only become a patient when it’s convenient, don’t you?”
“I didn’t say I was a patient. I just said my head’s foggy…….”
At Go Hyun-seo’s stern voice, I just turned away and lay down. My head really was spinning, and honestly, I really wasn’t thinking straight, so I wasn’t lying…….
“That’s enough, seriously……. Give me my phone.”
“Why? Most calls would go to me anyway?”
“Because it means don’t take calls and just rest today. Tomorrow’s schedule is just practice anyway, and we’re taking the team practice off.”
The arrangements came through as the final draft earlier, so surely I won’t forget the choreography just from taking one day off?
Go Hyun-seo, hand on her hip, staring at me with a slanted gaze—her eyes were really sharp…….
“I was planning to ask about skipping practice tomorrow anyway, but confiscating my phone is too much……. I’ll skip practice, just let me look at my phone.”
“I’ll leave it in the living room, so hand it over. You can check it when you wake up tomorrow.”
“Can’t I just keep it?”
“Are you addicted to your phone?”
“…….”
It’s getting harder to argue with these two lately. I’m not addicted to my phone, but I do feel uneasy if I don’t check work messages right away, so it’s kind of ambiguous…….
“Hand it over. And don’t you dare say it’s not phone addiction, it’s work addiction, from now on.”
“Are you dropping the formal speech now?”
“It doesn’t work anymore. You need to mess with me a day or two for it to work……. If you listen to me well when I drop the formal speech, I’ll consider it.”
“I’m the leader, so why do I keep getting scolded by you…….”
“You told me to be leader before, remember? When you’re sick, I’m the leader.”
“…Where have I heard that before……?”
“Stop trying to change the subject and just give me the phone.”
Faced with Go Hyun-seo’s relentless pressure, I had no choice but to hand over my phone.
It feels a bit unfair……. It’s not like I’m so glued to the internet that I can’t sleep, I’m carrying it in case work calls come in.
Honestly, with the performance date coming up soon, skipping practice makes me nervous. It’s unavoidable because my body doesn’t feel right…….
My memory’s good, but bringing out the ‘feel’ of a dance is still pretty difficult. Some online communities even call me a Pseudo Quick-Fix Dancer, which is why it feels like practice and feedback are the only way forward.
But with stamina suddenly bottoming out and my whole body aching, what else is there besides rest? With my phone gone, I obediently lay in bed and pulled the blanket over myself.
And so I spent a full three days in the worst possible condition.
***
Worried that the stage would turn into a disaster if things continued like this, after resting all of Monday, I returned to practice on Tuesday still in terrible condition.
The fever was gone, but my body hadn’t recovered at all—I could feel the struggle in every single movement…….
“The Dance Break doesn’t need everyone anyway, so how about we drop you and do a group of three? You don’t have the stamina right now, do you?”
“Ah……, usually I don’t give up on things I said I’d do, but could I ask you a favor? I can’t guarantee my stamina will be back by Saturday.”
The original plan to form a large symmetrical formation in the middle Dance Break had to be scrapped because my condition was so poor.
The Performance Director had originally wanted four people for the formation and, since I was the fastest to learn among the vocal line, I’d been brought in, but now even the director was suggesting I drop out—meaning it was better if I didn’t participate at all…….
Go Hyun-seo was a bit irritated, saying “You really don’t listen to people,” but she didn’t get any more upset than that. After all, she knows the most important thing is the stage quality.
Actually, it seemed like Hyun Jae-yi might be the one who was more bothered.
Every time we did Collaboration Stage choreography practice together, she’d correct my sloppy movements from my dropped stamina without saying anything more, which was a bit scary…….
It kind of felt like she was saying, “This is a stage where you have to do well, so do it well regardless of your condition.”
But since her usual playful attitude stayed the same, it made it hard to tell what she was actually thinking.
Well, actually, for me, not being worried about is a bit easier on my mind.
Some people benefit from being cared for, while others like me benefit from being left alone. Especially since this health issue didn’t come from my own mistake, but from the system’s conspiracy.
“Should we check Hye-rin’s Intro Performance from start to finish? Let’s do one more live check.”
So more than ever, I did what I had to do.
My condition would fully recover once Sunday passed anyway, and if I let a performance fall apart just from stamina loss, that’s a problem on my end too.
The Intro Performance that I’d left to Ju Hye-rin came out even better than expected. That proud expression she’d worn when first showing me the solo’s finished version was pretty cute, and since it came out beautifully enough to deserve that pride, I praised her a lot.
The first half uses Rachmaninoff’s Elegy, and the second half is a mashup with ‘Blue,’ a track from this single’s comeback.
‘Blue’ uses a lot of classical instruments, and its original working title was ‘Fantasy,’ so it’s a track with added fantastical lavishness.
The exact keyword that the intro ‘Rainy Day’ demands is ‘fantasy.’
I’d told the Performance Director and Ju Hye-rin that I wanted to depict ‘a girl on a rainy day diving into a fantasy from within a book,’ and they’d come back with a performance even better than I’d hoped.
Starting with piano and gradually mixing in various classical instruments, the intro, composed of static walking and dance movements, would be able to draw the audience’s attention all the way through to the main stage in one go.
And.
Shh.
Now, run!
The real beginning of ‘Do It Now!’
The first part of this comeback isn’t sung by me.
Kang Su-a has a real talent for pulling a song in the direction of atmosphere she wants.
That atmospheric strength is especially pronounced when she sings the intro, the opening lines.
Every time I watch Kang Su-a sing the intro, I always think the same thing.
The member who best captures that fresh, playful, crisp scent of summer—she’s the one who got the intro.
Rewriting the Top Girl Group Scenario with My Own Hands
Author
: Nam Seo-rang
Date of Completion
: January 5, 2026
Publisher
: A.C.E.S Media
Editor
: A.C.E.S Media Editorial Team
Address
: 4F, Urban Bench Building, 325 Teheran-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
Email
: [email protected]
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UCI
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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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