Top Girl Group Scenario Rewritten with My Own Hands - Chapter 5

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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 5
July is a month when university students have finished their semesters and have time to spare, but middle and high school students must attend school without fail.
Since everyone in the dormitory except me was a minor, I also woke up at 6:30 following Go Hyun-seo’s alarm. …Did I sleep for four and a half hours?
“You should get more sleep. By the time we come back from school anyway, it’ll be lunchtime.”
“Do I look like the kind of irresponsible person who can sleep soundly while sending younger siblings off to school early?”
“That’s not it… I mean, that’s not what I meant.”
“I know, I was just joking. I’ll sleep more after sending you guys off, so it’s fine.”
I caught Go Hyun-seo’s slightly flushed face and let out a soft laugh. The way she spoke so stiffly, unlike her age, made me want to tease her a little.
“Which school did you say it was?”
“Ilsan, Yeongcheon High School in Ilsan. I take Line 3 to Baekseok Station.”
“That should take about an hour and a half?”
“Well, I’m a senior anyway, and transferring mid-year seemed weird, so I just go.”
After a quick shrug, Go Hyun-seo headed out, and I handed her some toast I’d quickly made, then gave the same to Ju Hye-rin as she stumbled out half-asleep in her school uniform, telling her to eat on the way.
Apparently Ju Hye-rin’s school was in Anyang, so she had to leave early too, though not quite as early as Go Hyun-seo. Her mother picked her up every day, which saved a bit of time on the commute, but she still seemed to skip breakfast.
For Hyun Jae-i and Lee Han-byul, who had a bit more time, I even took out some milk and told them to eat before they left.
Both of them had schools within ten minutes, so even if they dawdled a bit it would be fine, but I told them to eat slowly anyway since being late wasn’t my problem.
After all the students had left for school, I slept for another hour.
There really is a difference between sleeping properly and not. Maybe it was because I was twenty and in good condition, but even one more hour of sleep made me feel completely refreshed.
After washing up and getting ready, it was around 10:20, and I arrived at the Music Prove Building right at 10:30.
For now, I planned to focus on practicing first. Quests are quests, but I need to build up a solid foundation in my skills before I can even think about proposing anything like producing.
While I was lightly plucking a guitar in the corner of the Practice Room and checking which songs I could sing, Kang Su-ah arrived around noon.
“Wow, you came super early?”
“I came in last, so I figured I should come early.”
Kang Su-ah laughed at that remark as if it were the funniest thing, then sat down next to me and started rattling off song requests one by one.
“I’m not a jukebox, you know. Just because you ask doesn’t mean I can play it right away.”
“But Jion can do it.”
“…Ugh, you’re really something.”
“Hehe.”
I suspect the problem was that around this time, I’d been playing guitar and fooling around with this girl in the dormitory whenever things got boring. I let out a light sigh and stared at Kang Su-ah.
“What do you want me to play?”
“‘Without Dream'”
“Isn’t that your audition piece?”
“Yeah.”
“Ah, 6/8 time gets confusing.”
“You don’t mess it up though?”
“…I see.”
I’d momentarily forgotten that this girl was equally skilled at leaving people speechless. Rather than let myself get pulled further into her pace, I started playing the guitar right away.
“Without Dream” is an R&B pop song that requires delicate technique and rhythm sense. Vocal majors apparently try it as an audition piece fairly often and fail spectacularly, but I only know the original and what Kang Su-ah sings, so I’m not sure. But fast, upbeat R&B is Kang Su-ah’s specialty.
Playing with rhythm and tone freely to my light guitar accompaniment, Kang Su-ah is what you’d call a born genius. The kind of genuine genius who can’t even clearly explain how or by what method they produce such vocalization and tone quality.
I don’t particularly like the word “natural talent,” but watching Kang Su-ah, I think, “Ah, so this is what they mean by natural talent.” A diva, I’d say—exactly that kind of vibe?
Well, I’m not someone who can’t sing either. It’s just that Kang Su-ah and I sing different genres well. I’m more of a rock vocalist who sings straightforward rock better than groovy R&B.
Time flew in the Practice Room as we sang several songs, and soon the young ones came back from school.
I heard there’s a dance lesson once a week, on Mondays from 4 to 6 p.m.
…Here it comes, becoming friends with a dance I’ve never done before.
***
The dance lesson, which I’d been quite nervous about, turned out to be less daunting than expected.
Three out of six of us, including myself, had first learned dance after joining the company, and fortunately the dance trainer seemed to fully understand my situation.
We made full use of the two hours, going through the basics of Hip-hop Dance Basic to group cover choreography—it felt like we covered a lot in the first class, but it wasn’t so difficult that I couldn’t keep up.
[▷ Daily Quest: Practice hard and level up.]
[Quest Points earned today: 4pt]
When the lesson ended, my Daily Quest Points for the day added up to a total of 4 points. It seems I accumulated 4 hours of actual practice time, apparently the system counted even the time I’d spent playing guitar with Kang Su-ah earlier as practice.
I used the accumulated 5 Quest Points to level up my Dance by 1. I decided right then to invest in Dance with every point I earned, partly because the point requirement was low, but mainly because my Dance stat was the most notably deficient right now.
As an example: no matter how good your sense of rhythm is, if your body can’t follow that rhythm, it’s useless.
“…It’s strange, this timing isn’t right, is it? My head gets it.”
“But your body can’t keep up with it?”
“Exactly.”
…A good example would be the bizarre movements I’m passing off as dance right now.
Even with Go Hyun-seo checking my cover choreography one-on-one after the lesson, this is the level I’m at. The idols in the videos definitely have clear, defined movements, but why am I like this? If I debut like this, I can already see a future where I get screenshotted on YouTube Shorts with titles like “Modern Idols’ Dance Skills—Hopeless Edition” and become a laughingstock.
“Still, you pick up the movements pretty quickly though?”
“My memory’s good, but what good is remembering if you can’t execute it?”
“Then we just need to practice until you can execute it.”
As I studied the monitoring video we’d just recorded with a serious expression, Go Hyun-seo offered what seemed like consolation, perhaps noticing my concern. Whether it was comfort or a gentle threat, I wasn’t entirely sure.
“Once you’ve memorized it, that’s enough. Then you practice the awkward parts or ones you can’t follow, figure out why they’re awkward, practice again. Keep going until your body remembers it. …Does it sound too easy when I say it like that?”
“No, I get what you mean. It’s not like I can’t do it or anything.”
“I’ve been thinking this since I first saw you, but you seem kind of… detached from everything, you know?”
“Well, I just got out of senior year hell not too long ago. Honestly, I don’t think there’s anything harder than senior year.”
I answered half-jokingly, and Go Hyun-seo made an uncertain expression, unsure whether to laugh or not. So I told her it was okay to laugh, and she let out a small laugh.
I’d told her to laugh, but honestly I didn’t think it would be that funny. I’m glad it actually made her laugh.
That day, after the dance lesson ended, I logged 3 more hours of actual practice time. Practicing almost non-stop, I managed somehow.
With no foundation and no dance skills right now, the only weapon I have is effort. And effort is something I’m confident about.
I have plenty of time. I’m determined to get to at least a point where I can accept my own performance by this week’s end.
***
After those 14 days of Daily Quests, and after going to the company and practicing through the weekend, my Dance level hit exactly 23 by the end of my final Sunday practice. It was the result of investing Quest Points and pouring in an almost stubborn amount of time and effort.
I believed that for anything requiring physical adaptation—dance, exercise, instruments—the answer is always practice volume, and it seems that belief was correct.
So let me remind myself once more: nothing is impossible. If you do it, you can do it.
“You’ve really improved so much! Don’t you think? How does it feel to you?”
Hyun Jae-i, excitedly chattering beside me, has been incredibly helpful. When this girl saw me staying late in the Practice Room, she started sticking to me during free practice time from the next day on.
It was a bit burdensome at first, but I knew she was just naturally good with people, so I just accepted it. Thanks to her, my dancing progress has gotten much faster.
For most of the past two weeks, Go Hyun-seo has been leading the group dance practice while Hyun Jae-i checks the fine details. Go Hyun-seo oversees the overall formation and major movement lines, while Hyun Jae-i catches and corrects minor errors in the details. Practicing with these two, you can’t help but improve.
I smiled slightly and gave an honest answer. It’s true that I’ve improved a lot thanks to Hyun Jae-i.
“Yeah, honestly, I think I’ve improved a lot thanks to you, Jae-i.”
“…Ah, getting sudden praise like that is embarrassing!”
“What is?”
“Could you give me time to prepare my heart?”
“For praise, really?”
Maybe my expression was funny, because Hyun Jae-i burst into laughter.
“No, when you praise me, it feels like… getting recognition from an adult?”
“What are you talking about? We’re only two years apart.”
“Right! Just that much of a difference and it feels like an adult praising me.”
“I wonder why that is.”
“Because you’re good at everything except dancing? Actually, your dancing’s improving really fast too.”
What is she even saying? I gave Hyun Jae-i a bewildered look. Then she giggled and continued.
“Like, Su-ah is kind of a total airhead, you know?”
“…Is that so? Yeah, I guess.”
During those two weeks, Kang Su-ah also moved into the Trainee Dormitory. She ended up sharing a room with Lee Han-byul and Ju Hye-rin, and the other day Lee Han-byul dropped a bombshell by saying, “Su-ah’s mental age seems exactly like my little cousin.” Can you believe that?
For the record, Lee Han-byul’s little cousin is still seven years old. Here was Kang Su-ah, a twenty-year-old, being treated like a kindergartener by a middle schooler.
Well, Kang Su-ah really is bright and a bit scattered. It’s not that she lacks awareness—it’s just that separate from that, she loves joking around and fooling off. She’s a bit silly. Not that it’s a bad thing, but anyway.
“So when I first saw Su-ah, I thought, ‘Wow, she’s so pretty and sings well—she must be a real adult!’ But within a few days we all figured it out: ‘Oh, this unnie is kind of an airhead.'”
“Yeah, I can kind of picture how that went.”
“Right?! But you seem really put-together. That’s why you seem like an adult.”
“…Huh?”
“You sing well, you’re getting really good at dancing, and you’re always taking care of us at the dormitory. You cook without any fuss, you clean really naturally, and you handle other chores the same way. You play guitar well too… Oh, and Su-ah said she listened to your original composition and said it was really good.”
First she said praise made her embarrassed, and now she’s rattling off compliments about others like it’s nothing. I was starting to understand the embarrassment comment a bit better.
“Um, so when I’m with you, it feels kind of like being with an adult? It’s different from Go Hyun-seo. That unnie… is it okay to say this? She keeps trying to act like an adult.”
Even though she’s still just a high school student.
At Hyun Jae-i’s small complaint, I couldn’t help but laugh. That was exactly why I teased Go Hyun-seo more than the others.
“It wasn’t like this when it was just Su-ah, but Go Hyun-seo seems more relaxed around you. Like… kind of like a mom?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Hehe. I was kind of worried, you know? Like, how are we gonna survive this harsh world on our own? I don’t say it, but I bet Go Hyun-seo feels it too?”
That’s probably true. I gave a small nod. …And I agreed that relying on Kang Su-ah was still a bit difficult.
“…Just so you know, don’t go running away feeling burdened or anything because I said this, okay? I’m serious about trusting you.”
“We’ve only known each other for two weeks?”
“That’s all it took for you to feel trustworthy, and I’m actually amazed at how quickly that happened.”
I laughed softly and gently pushed away Hyun Jae-i, who kept fussing.
Maybe it’s because I lived to twenty-five and came back, or maybe it’s the seasoning of someone with independent living experience showing through. To think she trusts me just from a bit of care in two weeks…
Even if Hyun Jae-i really is the friendly-dog type, trusting people this quickly doesn’t seem like it’ll be good for her. Most of all… I’m not exactly someone worthy of trust either.
Still, having someone to lean on isn’t bad.
…Is it good, or is it bad? I still couldn’t tell.
Rewriting the Top Girl Group Scenario with My Own Hands
Author
: Nam Seo-rang
Production Date
: January 5, 2026
Publisher
: A.C.E.S. Media Inc.
Editor
: A.C.E.S. Media Editorial Team
Address
: 4F Urban Bench Building, 325 Teheran-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Email
: [email protected]
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UCI
: G720:N+A129-20260102083.0005

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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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