Top Girl Group Scenario Rewritten with My Own Hands - Chapter 74

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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 74
Idols who debut through survival programs have the advantage of gaining recognition from the start, but they also carry the disadvantage of a solidified image that’s consumed rapidly over such a short timeframe.
It means the market advantage of being a newfaced act fades away quickly.
‘Our team isn’t from a survival program, but Go Hyun-seo was quite famous on DragonGirlfriend, so…….’
It’s not Go Hyun-seo’s fault. But the more Evergreat remains entangled with Daylight, the stronger the image becomes: “that girl from DragonGirlfriend” and “the group she’s in.”
But keeping distance from Daylight was also difficult as long as Han Jeong-yeon was there.
Distancing is hard, and it’s not as though some impactful new image has emerged yet to completely cover things up.
Then we need to bury it with a new image.
First, Go Hyun-seo and Daylight reduce their public association.
Being privately close is natural since she appeared on DragonGirlfriend. But that’s different from appearing together in official settings.
Challenges, for example. It’s fine if Daylight members do our challenge or we do theirs, but Go Hyun-seo doesn’t participate in the challenge lineup.
Basically, it eliminates any room for people to think “back on DragonGirlfriend, she was like this~.” You could call it removing the bait.
— This helps you guys too.
— …Yeah, definitely. Being heavily associated with a member who dropped out by just one or two ranks isn’t really good for us either. It’s separate from me and the other members liking Go Hyun-seo…….
— No need to apologize. I understand.
— …Honestly, it just creates room for controversy.
This was a win-win strategy Han Jeong-yeon agreed to.
A group born from a survival program is an island that trembles precariously from the start. It’s fundamentally different from established idols who were handed over with the instruction to like the group from the beginning.
Among them, some like eliminated members as their next-in-line love, and don’t particularly care for current members. She didn’t appeal to me on DragonGirlfriend, and I dislike him because he was popular and full of himself back then. The reasons are plentiful.
Similarly, Go Hyun-seo has individual fans who aren’t necessarily Evergreat fans.
Evergreat isn’t from a survival program, has many newfaced members, and maintains strong all-fan sentiment because the members’ closeness has been heavily exposed since the trainee days.
The deeper you go underground, the more private the space, the stronger that tendency becomes. More people prioritize their individual over the team, and the fandom’s foundation gets pulled toward everyone fending for themselves.
Go Hyun-seo’s final rank on the Dream Girls Project was tenth. According to Han Jeong-yeon, Go Hyun-seo, who was close to being everyone’s next-in-line love, didn’t make the debut roster, so the fandom atmosphere itself never solidified from the beginning.
— The fandom just barely got organized, and I don’t want to introduce more variables either. Originally, Go Hyun-seo didn’t debut at all…….
— Then the fandom wouldn’t have been shaken by external factors.
— Right. Back then, the team actually didn’t do well, so the domestic fandom was pretty unified by the end of activities. I thought DragonGirlfriend aggro had increased recently, but this might be why…….
— You guys must be exhausted.
— It’s the fate of a survival group. There’s no helping it.
Han Jeong-yeon wants to stop malicious individual fans from acting up. I want to preemptively sever the image so it doesn’t negatively affect Go Hyun-seo and Evergreat.
Surprisingly, Han Jeong-yeon and I communicate pretty well. Maybe it’s because she’s been rolling around in the idol industry for a long time.
— So, let’s bury it.
— What. The image?
— Yeah. There’s… a way to have you and me be close so the inter-group friendship doesn’t bring DragonGirlfriend to mind.
— Won’t that only affect people who are too interested in idols?
— So what. DragonGirlfriend didn’t have that much ripple effect to begin with among people who don’t care about idols.
— That stings…… But you’re right. Since we’ve been active and built a new fandom, the individual fan sentiment has actually decreased a lot, so it might work.
What does inter-group friendship between a survival program and an idol group matter anyway.
A story only idol enthusiasts know can be buried under a story idol enthusiasts would prefer to hear.
The general public won’t be particularly interested in either story anyway. If anything, they’d prefer the inter-idol friendship narrative.
— And overseas fans love this kind of thing. Girl group friendships and all.
— Ah…… Is that the target?
— Yeah. Let’s get a spoon in too.
— How many spoons is that now?
— So, are you doing it or not? You guys aren’t losing anything.
— ……You’re something else. Fine, let’s do it. Since we won’t be at a loss either way, like you said.
— I’m kind of amazing.
And that’s how I ended up doing Daylight’s EFFECT Hard Mode Challenge.
Considering that previously, Go Hyun-seo and Hyun Jae-yi had only lightly covered it on a live performance after the trend faded because they were busy preparing for comeback, this could be called a successful collaboration.
— And for our challenge. I’d like it if you and your maknae and Jae-yi did it. What do you think?
— Jo Eun-bin and? It’s not bad…… She’s a dance member too and doesn’t mind being on camera.
— Ask her and if she’s fine with it, let’s lock it in. For filming, is before our comeback better or after?
— No, but before that, why Jo Eun-bin specifically? It’s not like there’s a problem or anything, just…… a bit odd.
— Worried? That’s overprotective of you.
— What?
— Ha. I mean it.
— Usually when you say something like that, aren’t you joking?
— Anyway. The reason is…… Well, Jae-yi and Go Hyun-seo worked out the challenge concept, but Go Hyun-seo can’t do a challenge with you guys right now.
Even if Hyun Jae-yi maintains a decent relationship with Jo Eun-bin outwardly, she won’t be able to completely open her heart and hang out in a relaxed way.
There’s that angle to it, and it just seems to fit the theme pretty well.
— She’s the same age as our Jae-yi anyway. Jae-yi doesn’t really have friends, so let her get closer to someone her age.
— …You’re the one being overprotective, aren’t you? I at least don’t worry that Jo Eun-bin has no friends.
— Jae-yi was a trainee too long, so her perspective is a bit narrow and she’s rushed. Her brain works well, but it only runs on idol work, and she tends to overthink things she should just keep simple. There’s some business related to her that needs to be cleared up.
— Mm.
— She’s the type who needs a simple friend she can think simply with, but there aren’t many decent kids her age in the music industry these days. She can’t really be comfortable getting close to the Ashcode side.
— That’s… true. Things are complicated with the entertainment agencies anyway.
— That’s what I mean. And since we’re going to appear close quickly, the theme fits anyway. Burying the old image with new friendship.
Ultimately, Han Jeong-yeon understood my logic, and the Do it Now! challenge was set for Daylight’s maknae and Hyun Jae-yi to film.
— I feel like I’m being dragged along by you…….
— That’s also true. But this is actually beneficial for you too. Probably?
— Probably?
— I don’t know everything. It might not work out?
— …If it doesn’t work out, I’m coming to throw a punch.
— You’ll really let me have it?
— Is this really…?
— You crack too easily for someone who’s regressed. If I’d known you were this soft, I wouldn’t have been so nervous in the previous cycle.
— Hey!
— Haha!
And teasing Han Jeong-yeon thrown in as a bonus.
Honestly, if I’d known First-Strike Han Jeong-yeon was this soft, I wouldn’t have been so anxious in the previous cycle either.
***
June of this year was unusually hot.
【EVERGREAT “Do it Now!” Official M/V】
Pushing up the summer comeback by about a month meant there was no reason to expect problems with the song’s performance.
Do it Now!, already a successful track, was left untouched.
Even without being able to put much marketing effort into it, it got responses and settled firmly in the upper ranks of annual charts as a public-favorite song — there was no need to tinker with it.
Instead, the added budget went toward more song promotion.
Without seeming off-putting, nothing excessive.
The company handled promotions, virals, and other tasks that fell under their purview.
No matter how many times I’d done this before, I wasn’t an expert in this field, and Lee Su-bin’s team always delivered more than what was asked whenever she had a budget to work with.
So, what we had to focus on was still the stage and content.
All music shows during comeback week were to be pre-recorded, and seeing the Everies filling the studio from dawn, there was no way to cut corners on any part of it.
Fatigue and difficulty don’t change. But wouldn’t the Everies who came out of pure love be suffering more than us who do this as work?
“…You’ve really, in no time at all, acquired the mindset of a professional idol.”
“What are you talking about, Jae-yi. I’m always professional when working.”
“No, no. Don’t you remember writing and deleting that Univers post? If it weren’t for me, you’d have kept at it for another three hours!”
“Still, I’m doing well now, aren’t I?”
“Mm~ true! Seo Ji-on’s been number one in our group’s Univers attendance.”
I deflected Hyun Jae-yi’s half-complaints like that, and she agreed faster than expected.
“Did the challenge go well?”
“Yes! Of course! Jo Eun-bin and I decided to drop formalities and be friends.”
“That’s good.”
“I actually thought Jo Eun-bin was older than me, but we’re the same age. And we just hit it off…….”
The image strategy wrapped up with broadening Hyun Jae-yi’s perspective seems to be going well too.
Seeing them before I left, the two seemed to have a pretty good chemistry. It’s much better for Hyun Jae-yi to have a friend outside when she doesn’t have a same-age friend in the group.
Thinking about what lies ahead, it would be good to have a friend who can broaden Hyun Jae-yi’s perspective, and Daylight’s maknae fits that perfectly.
It’s not Jo Eun-bin’s fault, but I can’t say she’s been a good friend.
Unless several more years pass, it will be hard for Hyun Jae-yi and Jo Eun-bin to become closer than they were during trainee days.
Han Jeong-yeon calls it overprotection, but…… Well, maybe it is.
What’s wrong with a leader being a little protective of her members?
Anyway, since they got along well, it worked out.
On Monday when there were no music broadcasts, we headed to the outskirts of Gyeonggi Province for EVER:DO-IT filming.
The other members had already left for the filming location, except for Hyun Jae-yi and me, who had a brief schedule in the morning.
I listened to various stories, including Hyun Jae-yi’s tales of her new friend, responding appropriately as we made our way to the filming location.
“Are you sleepy, noona?”
“…No.”
“Then are you tired?”
“No.”
“Wow, you’re totally like that meme. Are you tired? No. You know that one?”
“Yeah.”
“You seem completely worn out though…….”
…Next time, I won’t travel alone with an energized Hyun Jae-yi.
For the less-than-an-hour drive, Hyun Jae-yi talked relentlessly without pause.
Truly, not a moment of silence.
……Did I really worry for nothing?
About such a lively, talkative, energetic girl?
Rewriting the Top Girl Group Scenario with My Own Hands
Author
: Nam Seo-rang
Date of Production
: May 21, 2026
Publisher
: AcesMedia Corporation
Editor
: AcesMedia Editorial Team
Address
: 4F, Urban Bench Building, 325 Teheran-ro, Gangnam District, Seoul
Email
: [email protected]
※ This work is published by AcesMedia Corporation 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 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

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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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