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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: I Became the Leader of a Doomed Girl Group
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Team formation, day one.
Each team scattered to prepare for their stage.
Our team did the same.
First, Lee Ju-seon and Yeon Ju-hong disappeared, saying they were going to scour the internet for concept references.
Kim Geum and I headed to the agency's studio to work on composition.
I glanced at the studio ceiling and saw a camera installed there.
PD O Baek-gyeong had said that the number of cameramen following us around would decrease.
Instead, cameras had been installed throughout the agency, and they planned to broadcast the footage like a reality show.
The studio was one of those spots.
In a way, it might seem freer without cameramen, but it wasn’t at all.
It was even more suffocating.
Because it meant that every single one of my actions would be broadcast, even if I couldn't see the camera.
I couldn't let my guard down.
"Geum-ah."
"Yes?"
"Want to go somewhere else, where there aren't cameras?"
Of course, that didn't mean cameras were installed in every practice room and studio.
There were more trainees who weren't participating in Make a New Color. Those trainees also needed space to practice.
"Are you, perhaps, planning to hit me?"
"...Why would I possibly..."
"If not, then let's move. I'd like that too."
So, we moved to a practice room without cameras.
"Well, this is better. I usually come here to write songs."
"Have you made a lot of songs normally?"
"Yes."
Kim Geum turned on her laptop and showed it to me.
"Roughly this many."
...Did you just eat and make songs?
As a singer-songwriter myself, I had made many songs.
Though not every song could see the light of day.
I must have made over 500 songs in the 10 years after my debut...
She hadn't even debuted yet, but it seemed she already had several hundred.
"They're not all full songs, most of them are just top-line melodies."
"Still, that's amazing."
I recalled Kim Geum as I knew her in my previous life.
Kim Geum had succeeded as an artist, but also as a composer.
Every song she gave to other singers became a hit, so she always ranked high in copyright income.
A genius truly stands out from the start.
I was once again impressed.
"Originally, I wanted to use one of the songs I'd already made. So I asked PD O Baek-gyeong about it."
"He said no, didn't he?"
"Yes. He said absolutely not. That it wouldn't be fair."
It was the answer I expected.
Fairness aside, if we used pre-made songs, the broadcast wouldn't be interesting.
"We have to create something new from scratch. Besides, none of the songs I've made perfectly match our concept anyway."
"Hmm..."
I nodded.
"Can I ask you one thing?"
"You're going to ask why I chose you, Unnie, aren't you?"
"Yeah."
It's good to accurately understand intentions.
Because I need to know what she wants to give it to her.
"Honestly speaking... I was curious."
Kim Geum straightened her posture and looked directly at me.
Right, it's understandable she'd be curious.
A kid who showed no talent in composition suddenly brought her own self-composed song from the self-introduction video.
For Kim Geum, who was deeply interested in composition, it was bound to spark curiosity.
A rival had appeared, after all.
"So, about that, I have a favor to ask."
What kind of favor?
I tensed up.
Did she want to test her rival while having her close by?
Did she want to see my work?
Was she going to try and keep me in check?
"Save me!"
Huh?
"Please! Debut with me! I don't have the confidence to make a whole team album by myself!"
Oh?
"The agency keeps telling me to make all twelve songs for the full album, relying only on me. And everyone else expects the composer member from Colors to do it all. No, how am I supposed to make all of that by myself?"
"Th-that's true."
"Even the senior artists didn't make everything from the start. But they have high expectations for me and no one wants to help! Even the other trainees weren't interested in composing or writing lyrics!"
Kim Geum truly unleashed all the pent-up frustration she had.
"Am I some kind of song-producing machine? I'm just an 18-year-old high schooler who didn't want to take the Suneung!"
"Right, right..."
"I was debating whether to escape, just run away, when you suddenly appeared, Unnie!"
Huh...? Huh...?
"The moment I heard your self-composed song, I thought..."
What, what did you think?
"This is it."
No, what's 'it'?
"Now I'm not alone."
Kim Geum's eyes, which were sharply angled like a tiger's, sparkled.
And she grabbed both of my hands.
"Even if I don't debut, you, Unnie, *have* to debut now. Got it?"
"Huh?"
"Do you understand?"
"Ah, I understand..."
Why am I the one feeling intimidated?
Kim Geum finally seemed satisfied with my answer, nodded, and pointed to the monitor.
"Then let's work together to crank out some songs."
"M-hm."
"I'll trust you completely, Unnie, and follow your lead."
Weren't you the composition position?
Wasn't I the lyric-writing position?
I was about to protest, but seeing Kim Geum's thoroughly worn-out face, as if she'd already suffered a lot from Colors, I closed my mouth.
It made my heart ache a little, reminding me of my own early debut days.
I was the breadwinner of a small agency.
From the perspective of an agency debuting its first idol, every penny was precious and regrettable.
CEO Seo, who couldn't afford to buy expensive songs, clung to me every night, shedding tears.
'Nokha-ya, I'm sorry I'm not capable... I'm sorry I don't even have money to buy a song...'
Thanks to that, my composing skills were forcibly improved by leaps and bounds.
...Thinking about those times still gives me a headache.
Having gone through such times, I completely understood Kim Geum's feelings.
You were becoming the breadwinner of this group, too.
"Geum-ah."
"Yes?"
Right.
Since it's come to this.
"I know how you feel. Let's do this together, all the way."
"!"
"I'll do everything I can."
Let's carry this spectacularly.
"Unnie."
"Hm?"
"My soul is yours now, Unnie."
I don't need that much...
***
And so, Kim Geum and I formed an alliance, or something like it.
Honestly, somewhere in my heart, I had wanted to rely a bit on Kim Geum's composing abilities...
That was a naive thought.
I should have produced one more song instead of relying on a rookie.
I pondered for a moment, then remembered one of the songs I had composed a long time ago.
It was a song I had thought of as a potential sub-title track for the future, one that I had never released in my previous life.
The songs I had made as title tracks in my previous life felt a bit too precious to use for a competition mission song.
After debut, I would still need to release songs continuously.
It was necessary to save good songs worthy of being title tracks.
A sub-title track was still a little precious, but...
Let's use it.
Anyway, in this world, my existence itself doesn't matter.
Let's use everything I have and rise.
If I played the whole song from the beginning, it would be obvious that I had made it before.
So, I first played just a few lines of the chorus.
"!"
Kim Geum listened carefully to my song, her eyes shining wildly.
"Just a moment, Unnie."
Kim Geum quickly made something on her laptop by herself, then played it for me.
"How about proceeding like this next?"
"!"
This time, I was surprised.
A much more sophisticated and exciting melody came out than the original progression of my song.
This... is good. Really good.
"That's good, isn't it?"
"Right? It's good, isn't it?"
Kim Geum asked me with a very proud expression.
She asked for help, but she's fundamentally a genius.
She probably never truly intended to leave everything to me.
Two heads are much better than one for peace of mind.
Whether they're helpful or not, it's reassuring to have colleagues.
"Yeah. It's really good. Then let's think about the intro together too."
"No, Unnie."
"Hm?"
Kim Geum had a resolute expression.
Is she going to war or something?
"From here on, I'll do it. We'll make it together after we debut, but... this time it's my position. I think I should do it."
"...You sure?"
"Yes. Just leave it to me."
She truly was so trustworthy.
Kim Geum gave me a thumbs-up with her usual cheerful, almost tomboyish smile.
And then, excitedly, she put on her headphones and started arranging various beats.
Her concentration was incredible.
I could feel that she genuinely loved composing.
These Colors guys...
What did they do to a kid who loved composing so much...?
Seeing Kim Geum working so hard, various thoughts overlapped.
The thought that I couldn't lose, and the thought that I wanted to reciprocate that passion.
I checked the song Kim Geum was making intermittently, adjusting and refining the lyrics to match.
The two of us worked together to create the song.
As a result, time flew by quickly.
"Geum-ah. It's already 3 AM. Let's go back and sleep now."
"Ah, no. Just one more hour..."
"I know how you feel, but your brain doesn't produce answers by overworking it. Your efficiency increases when you sleep. Let's do it again tomorrow."
"But ju-just a little more..."
"Sleep."
"Yes, Unnie."
Kim Geum reluctantly closed her laptop.
"Leave your laptop here."
"...Hmph."
Did you think I wouldn't know what you're thinking?
I've been through all of this myself, you know.
***
After dropping Kim Geum off, I returned to my goshiwon.
It's been a long time since I've focused so much on lyrics.
At first, I was just going to stick with the song I'd originally composed, but seeing Kim Geum develop it, I somehow felt a competitive spirit ignite.
It was a strange pride, perhaps, not wanting to lose to a junior who was much younger than me.
...It felt peculiar but good.
Living with friends who haven't even debuted yet made me feel like I was returning to my rookie days.
It wasn't bad.
I quickly washed up and opened my phone.
It had been almost 12 hours.
I was so busy today I hadn't even opened my phone once.
But something was strange.
"...12 missed calls, 39 messages?"
What in the world is going on now?
I quickly checked the call log first.
-Yeon Ju-hong (12)
All missed calls were from Yeon Ju-hong.
Did something happen while she was out with Lee Ju-seon?
Feeling uneasy, I opened the text messages.
Yeon Ju-hong
Unnie ㅠ
Unnie, something terrible happened
Can you and Geum Unnie please come here?
Ju-seon Unnie left...
Ju-seon Unnie got super angry and left during filming... What do we do??
Ju-seon Unnie must be crazy, she's not listening to reason
The other messages weren't much different from this.
After a quick scan, I understood the gist of it.
It seems Lee Ju-seon and Yeon Ju-hong clashed terribly during the concept discussion.
The other messages were serious, but this one was the worst.
Yeon Ju-hong
Ju-seon Unnie says she's leaving our team ㅠ
This is bad.
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