Became The Leader of a Girl Group Destined To Fail – Chapter 116

Chapter 116

Finally, the first recording of <Top of Idol> was over.

In the car returning to the dormitory.

As soon as the members got into the car, they all simultaneously plugged in their earphones and started listening to <Slope>.

And exactly 3 minutes and 47 seconds later.

“How do we do this…?”

“On second thought, I think we chose the wrong song.”

“I chose it because it was a good song, but when I actually try to sing it, it’s incredibly difficult.”

Complaints arose from all directions.

“Everyone.”

I understood how they felt.

<Slope> was a song with a very wide vocal range and a fast tempo, making it hard to breathe.

“Even if one person can sing it well, if five of us can’t sing it together…”

But we still had to do well.

“You know what will happen, right…?”

“….”

“….”

The atmosphere became very solemn at my words.

“Moreover, Senior Cha Yul is undoubtedly the top among the six teams. We all know what will happen if we ruin the most popular person’s biggest hit song. We’ve all experienced survival shows.”

Everyone had experienced it.

The cold and ruthless reactions when a cover of a popular song failed.

In fact, one of our missions was <Covering Senior Idols’ Songs from Colors>.

No one here has ever not been criticized for that.

…Maybe I scared them too much.

“Still, I have a reason for choosing this song.”

“What is it…?!”

Yeon Juhong looked at me with eyes filled with a tiny glimmer of hope.

“I had confidence that we could do well with that song.”

I really did.

It wasn’t just words of comfort; I truly believed we could do well.

“Although the vocal range is wide… if we distribute it among the five of us, it can be solved. Also, we learned during Menucal that we shouldn’t aim to surpass the original artist.”

“That’s true.”

Seo Baek-young nodded.

“Cheong is right. We should focus on showcasing our unique charm with this well-proven hit song.”

“I’ll adjust it to fit us well.”

“Great! I’m ready to give it my all this time! I’ll make sure we come in first and break everything…!”

Kim Geum and Yeon Juhong’s eyes slowly began to burn with determination.

“What are you going to break…?”

Ryu Bo-ra looked at Yeon Juhong with suspicious eyes.

“Oops.”

Yeon Juhong quickly shut her mouth.

What she wanted to break was obviously HiHiHo and Kim Ryeo-yu.

I had told her to keep what happened with Lumi a secret.

If the members found out, they would definitely explode.

To me, she was just an insignificant person, so I didn’t want to worry the members.

“What do you mean! It’s Ryeo-yu unnie!”

“…Hmm.”

Ryu Bo-ra still looked at Yeon Juhong suspiciously.

She never usually cared about others’ opinions, but she was perceptive at times like this.

“Okay, okay. Everyone, get some good sleep as soon as we get back. We’ll have to practice like crazy starting tomorrow.”

“Yes!”

I quickly changed the subject before Ryu Bo-ra could ask more questions, and Yeon Juhong eagerly took the cue.

***

“Good night, everyone! Dream of me!”

“…You mean have nightmares?”

Yeon Juhong and Kim Geum bickered as they headed to bed.

Ryu Bo-ra had already gone to bed earlier.

Now, it was just Seo Baek-young and me.

“Unnie.”

“Yes.”

“Can we talk for a moment?”

There were still things left unsaid.

Seo Baek-young smiled and let out a long sigh.

I was the one who wanted to sigh.

But Seo Baek-young didn’t refuse my request.

The two of us moved to our room.

At times like this, sharing a room seemed like a good thing.

“When did it start?”

“…What do you mean?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know.”

At my words, Seo Baek-young just smiled calmly.

Even in the dark room, her eyes shone gently but clearly.

I recognized those eyes.

Eyes that held firm beliefs.

I found such eyes difficult.

People with such eyes,

“I’m fine, Cheong.”

tended to try to carry too much on their own.

“What exactly does the CEO want?”

“!”

Seo Baek-young was visibly surprised when Hong Yeonseo was mentioned.

It seemed she hadn’t expected me to deduce that much.

“What did she tell you to do?”

“…Cheong.”

“I’m not blaming you for keeping it a secret. I’m just worried.”

I had thought something was off for a while.

She knew too much for it to be just because she was a senior trainee.

At least, it seemed like information that could only be known by company executives, which a rookie could never have access to.

Where had Seo Baek-young gotten such information?

It couldn’t have been Director Kim.

Initially, I suspected Director Sung.

But no matter how much I thought about it, there was no connection between Director Sung and Seo Baek-young.

Eventually, my thoughts reached CEO Hong.

“Shall I make a guess?”

If she found it difficult to say, I had no choice but to speak for her.

“CEO Hong’s decision to separate the label this time wasn’t really for the directors’ benefit, was it?”

It had been the same in my past life.

While it was true that the label was divided, in the end, CEO Hong ended up controlling all three labels.

“….”

“Actually, she wanted to keep Director Sung and Director Kim in check, but it was difficult because the two had too many accumulated achievements. So she wanted to gather evidence.”

Seo Baek-young simply listened quietly while staring at me.

But I could tell.

That everything I had said so far wasn’t wrong.

“For a year, she gathered their mistakes and corruption bit by bit… and planned to expose it at the right time to either oust them or reclaim her power.”

Hong Yeonseo.

She was a fickle and changeable person, but she wasn’t stupid.

She just loved her music too much to the point of neglecting the company.

“She probably chose one person from each group with less seniority to act as an informant and ally. And in our group, that was probably you, right?”

“The CEO originally considered you.”

For the first time, Seo Baek-young opened her mouth.

“But she sensed that you wouldn’t follow her words obediently. She didn’t say it explicitly… but she thought I, who had been with her longer, was a much safer choice than you.”

“To be honest, I don’t like the CEO.”

“That’s why she asked me.”

Seo Baek-young blinked rapidly.

“You really are something, Cheong. How did you know?”

“You knew too much.”

“Well, that’s true for you too.”

That was because I had my reasons….

Of course, it wasn’t something I could explain.

“Are you upset? That I didn’t tell you…?”

“No.”

“Actually, the reason I couldn’t agree to be the leader… was partly because I was afraid that if I took the lead, we would end up being manipulated by the CEO without even realizing it. I didn’t want that.”

So that was why.

Because of Hong Yeonseo, I ended up being a leader, a role I wasn’t meant to have.

“Of course, that wasn’t the only reason.”

Seo Baek-young looked both relieved and bitter.

“Sorry for not telling you. I wanted to, but-”

“More than that, are you okay, unnie?”

“!”

Seo Baek-young’s face was filled with confusion and surprise.

A confusion that blended with the darkness.

“I don’t think you need to apologize. You didn’t harm the team. You made a choice to protect the team.”

I understood the situation roughly.

It was a direct order from the CEO; no rookie could refuse that.

And CEO Hong wouldn’t have asked without offering something in return.

She must have given and received information.

“Whatever CEO Hong wanted from us… if it was an unreasonable demand or something harmful, I don’t think you would have complied.”

That was the Seo Baek-young I knew.

Maybe a bit clumsy, and maybe a bit young.

But a person of integrity.

“…The CEO wanted just one thing. To report any attempts by Director Kim to hinder us.”

“….”

So that was it.

As expected, CEO Hong was planning to suppress the directors and resume management.

“That’s why I followed her words. I hate Director Kim too.”

“‘We’ hate him.”

“…Right. We.”

Seo Baek-young let out a small laugh.

“I wanted to protect us.”

Seo Baek-young said calmly.

“I thought that once we debuted, everything would be over. After that, it would be smooth sailing. I thought we could talk things over with the company and unfold our vision.”

But it wasn’t.

The day Director Kim poured cold water on that hope as soon as our debut was confirmed.

I could guess how Seo Baek-young, who had dreamed of debuting for a long time, felt.

It must have been devastating.

Overcoming a huge mountain, only to find an even bigger one looming.

“I wanted to do something, anything for us. But I… I realized I was even smaller and more insignificant than I thought. I could understand why Director Kim looked down on me.”

What power could a trainee who had just secured their debut have?

Just stepping into society.

I could feel Seo Baek-young’s helplessness.

“So I accepted the CEO’s proposal. I wanted to do something for us… anything.”

“….”

“I hated it. That you were carrying all the burden alone.”

Is that what she thought?

I never really considered it a burden.

Hearing Seo Baek-young’s genuine feelings for the first time, I was at a loss for words.

“I’m the oldest, yet I felt so pathetic relying on you.”

“You’re not pathetic. It’s not like I’ve done anything significant.”

“You’re the best leader, Cheong.”

Seo Baek-young slowly raised her head.

“I’m filtering out things I need to filter out. There’s nothing to worry about.”

“Don’t worry.”

“…”

“They say the enemy of my enemy is my friend. It’s a stretch to call the CEO our ally, but… there’s no harm in helping each other when necessary.”

“Cheong.”

“Yes.”

Seo Baek-young looked at me with a truly… pained expression.

Had I made a mistake?

“How do you know everything, Cheong?”

Ah.

I must have acted too nonchalantly without realizing it.

I should have pretended to be surprised.

I had become too accustomed to the members, and at some point, I had started being here as ‘Baek Nokha’ rather than ‘Yoon Cheong.’

Thinking I had made a mistake, I kept my mouth shut, but Seo Baek-young continued speaking.

“Since Menucal, I thought it was really… amazing. No, actually, I thought it was a bit… strange. How can a person change so much overnight?”

Seo Baek-young was no longer looking at me.

She was staring at the floor.

“And how can you suddenly do everything so well and know everything?”

I had been too careless.

Thinking it was only a matter of time before this connection ended, I had let my guard down without realizing it.

“And how can a person be so strong?”

No.

The truth was, I just wanted to let go.

I wanted to feel at ease.

I had this complacent thought that I could relax in front of the members.

“So at first, I thought you had some connection with Director Sung or Director Kim… but knowing your personality, that couldn’t be it.”

I didn’t say anything.

Because I knew I couldn’t explain my circumstances.

“Then I came to a conclusion.”

A conclusion?

“How you could have changed so much.”

What could it be?

A chilling sense of unease traveled down my throat.