Became The Leader of a Girl Group Destined To Fail – Chapter 53

Chapter 53

Kim Geum was in fourth place.

It was a truly unexpected result.

However, Kim Geum looked rather calm, as if she had anticipated it.

“Trainee Kim Geum. Despite your high individual ranking, the reason for your disappointing mission ranking is probably something you know best. In a group, it’s not always about shining alone. Next time, we hope to see a more synergistic and grown-up side of you with your teammates.”

Do Hee-young’s comment was indeed a poignant piece of advice.

It was the same feeling I had vaguely felt during the midterm evaluation.

Geum still had a slightly immature side.

She was so excellent that she lacked the leeway to consider others.

I hadn’t been able to watch the other teams’ stages properly due to my situation.

When I got back, I’d have to check out their performances.

“Thank you so much to the Colorists who gave me 17 votes. I know these votes are too generous for me. To my team, Ha-eun, I’m sorry. I couldn’t make you shine more because of my shortcomings. Next time, I’ll make you shine brighter!”

It was a bold speech typical of Kim Geum.

Yeah.

Honestly, the song <Scar> wasn’t easy to achieve good results with.

Moreover, Kim Geum showed the greatest synergy when she created the songs herself.

Also, she didn’t have the best synergy with Park Ha-eun.

Still, it was a shocking result.

At the same time, I thought,

‘They evaluated solely based on the stage. It had nothing to do with individual popularity rankings.’

This made me even more nervous.

I wasn’t the only one thinking this.

Everyone must be thinking the same.

“Now, let’s announce the next trainee’s ranking. This trainee received a total of 21 votes and placed third.”

Twenty-one votes….

My body tensed up.

It felt like all the rankings were mine.

I couldn’t participate in the rehearsal.

Everyone knew that I couldn’t participate properly because I was sick.

To me, even third place was a generous rank.

I squeezed my eyes shut from the tension.

“Trainee Seo Baek-young from Dance Position A. You received 21 out of 100 votes from the Colorists. Congratulations, you are in third place.”

The name that was more shocking than mine was announced.

Seo Baek-young in third place?

That trainee who had nailed the stage?

I couldn’t believe it. Honestly, I thought it was natural for Seo Baek-young to be first this time.

“The disappointing result this time seems to be due to the overall quality of the stage. It’s important to remember that sometimes showing decisive leadership is crucial.”

Unexpected events kept occurring.

Seo Baek-young seemed to ponder deeply over Do Hee-young’s words.

Then she looked up and smiled brightly.

“Your words are correct, senior. I used to think that simply listening to my team members was the best approach. But through this opportunity, I’ve learned that true leadership involves helping the entire team maximize their capabilities, even if it means being more assertive. I want to apologize and thank the Colorists who voted for me. Our team prepared the stage with the sole intention of showing you a good performance. Although there were many shortcomings, I’ll strive to become a more developed Seo Baek-young. Thank you!”

Seo Baek-young was good with words….

If I could speak as well as she did during my award acceptance speeches, my former agency director wouldn’t have had such headaches.

“Now, only the announcement of the first and second places remains. Trainee Lee Juseon, you’re confirmed to be at least in second place. How do you feel?”

“I, I am….”

Lee Juseon was trembling.

She seemed both happy and fearful.

…It must have been an immense burden.

Lee Juseon had never been in the top five before.

No one expected her to debut.

Now, she was in a situation where she was aiming for the MVP of MVP.

It must have felt unreal.

She must have been worried about being criticized for not being deserving.

I fully understood that feeling.

“I really… Just competing with the other trainees here has been an honor. The other trainees here… were always strong debut candidates… I wasn’t… I don’t know if I deserve to be here like this….”

“Don’t say that, Trainee Lee Juseon. No one’s debut is confirmed. Popularity rankings can always change. That’s the purpose of this program. If the debut members were already decided, why would we even have a survival program?”

Do Hee-young was right.

I kept nodding.

Immediate charm and popularity were important for idols, but there was another crucial aspect.

Potential for growth.

If idols were only watched for a year, it might not matter, but now there were more long-lasting idols.

Many idols re-sign contracts beyond the typical seven-year term.

During that period, how big would the gap be between idols who grow and those who don’t?

Lee Juseon was one of the trainees who had shown significant growth since the program started.

Naturally, people tend to favor those who work hard and improve.

“Don’t be discouraged. I hope Trainee Lee Juseon continues to strive and show a reversal in ranking. That’s the charm of survival programs. Just because someone starts at 12th place doesn’t mean they’ll stay there. Don’t confine yourself to a momentary rank.”

Do Hee-young hugged and patted Lee Juseon gently.

“Even I, in the early days as a trainee, always received the lowest scores in monthly evaluations. But look at me now. I debuted and became a mentor mentoring all of you. If your start is disappointing, make sure your ending isn’t. Stairs are there to be climbed.”

Lee Juseon burst into tears from the warm comfort.

It was a touching moment even for me.

I began to see Do Hee-young in a new light.

In my previous life, I had just seen her as a slightly silly senior.

But she seemed reliable now.

“Now, the long-awaited MVP of MVP-”

Do Hee-young looked straight at the camera.

“We’ll announce it in one minute.”

Oh, come on.

***

Oh, Mnet, seriously, ending it here?

Let me breathe for a minute.

Wow, Lee Juseon;

Juseon did it… really?

└LOL, is this for real?ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Juseon’s fans are crying… Didn’t I say his stocks would skyrocket?

The reactions at the scene must have been real.

That wasn’t exactly the case, haha. Honestly, Lee Juseon did well today, but beating Seo Baek-young?

└ To be honest, Seo Baek-young did well individually, but the song was seriously nerfed compared to the original demo, haha.

└└ That was because Kim Ryeo-yu complained she couldn’t do it.

└└└ Yup, leaders need to deal with such trolls too.

└└└└ Why do they keep making someone who hasn’t even debuted a leader?

Hey, it feels like just yesterday that she was called the team villain during the last mission…

└ If she was called the team villain, that’s a mild term. She was even called “Joo Dan-bi.”

└└ And “Joo the Runner” too, haha, because she stood out so much.

Turns out Kim Geum wasn’t just a golden child but a teacher, haha.

└ Oh, Lee Juseon did well, but stop dragging Kim Geum into this. Even Kim Geum fans don’t like the association.

└└ Sigh.

But nobody seems to have any objections about Yoon Cheong, haha.

└ The main vocalist is never criticized.

└└ Just having the sick trainee show up is something to be grateful for, seriously.

Still, Colors sure knows how to recruit main vocalists. The casting directors must be doing a great job.

└ No, Yoon Cheong basically rolled in on her own. She couldn’t debut at her previous agency and moved to Colors.

└└? What kind of agency wouldn’t debut a talent like that?

└└└ The group that debuted without Yoon Cheong = HiHiHo.

└└└└ Just looked it up; never heard of them. Yoon Cheong’s escape was smart; escape is based on intelligence, as they say.

But honestly, don’t you think there might be some changes in the overall ranking announcement this time?

Not just Lee Juseon’s rise…

I see some who might fall too, haha.

Careful prediction: Kim Ryeo-yu might drop…

└ It’s just one mission; don’t overthink it.

└└ Overthink it (incorrect spelling).

Kim Geum might drop a bit too, and Ryu Bo-ra could take her place, haha.

I’ve reconsidered Seo Baek-young. I thought she was just a bland leader role, but she carried the team by the scruff of the neck this time.

Predicting the upcoming ranking announcement:

Rising: Lee Juseon, Seo Baek-young, Ryu Bo-ra

Falling: Kim Ryeo-yu

Steady: Jo Hee-on, Yoon Cheong, Yeon Juhong, and the other lower ranks

Alright, Mnet bastards, just start the show already. What’s the point of speculating here?

—

[Thank you for waiting.]

With Do Hee-young’s comment, the broadcast began.

Clutching their anxious hearts, the fans watched the television screen.

Lee Juseon and Seo Baek-young did so well this time, but Yoon Cheong held on well too.

‘Even if you can’t do it, you’re in second place!’

Considering she was sick, she did remarkably well.

Fans shuddered at the netizens subtly criticizing Yoon Cheong, saying things like her mentality was weak or health management was also a skill.

But Yoon Cheong returned as if nothing had happened.

And she presented an unprecedented stage.

She already has a million captures.

So now, all she needs to do is win first place!

It wasn’t because she wanted benefits.

The mid-ranking announcement benefits didn’t mean much anyway.

It was meaningless.

“But it feels good to be ranked high.”

For fans, that feeling was so important!

They did all the streaming, album buying, and merch purchasing for that feeling, with their favorite.

“Please, Do Hee-young, make my favorite first…”

Long ago, they briefly idolized Do Hee-young, and as true fans of K-dolls, they even invoked her nickname while praying.

[For the third mission, the trainee selected by the Colorists as the MVP of MVP is…]

Please. Please.

[With a total of 31 votes, tied, Yoon Cheong and Lee Juseon are jointly selected as the MVP of MVP!]

“Wow, seriously.”