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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: I Became the Leader of a Doomed Girl Group
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Actually, it seemed like she was asking everyone, but she wasn't.
Kim Ryeo-yu's gaze was fixed precisely on Jo Hui-on.
Everyone else's eyes followed suit, turning towards Jo Hui-on.
Jo Hui-on felt suffocated for a moment.
*I haven't done anything right, though.*
The entire situation was just suffocating.
She wanted to run away.
Even opening her mouth felt too much, so she just gasped for breath.
"I'm fine, though."
The one who answered was Ryu Bo-ra.
Ryu Bo-ra wore a perfectly relaxed expression.
"Unnie, haven't you ever been sick? In your life?"
"Huh?"
Kim Ryeo-yu barely managed to lift the corner of her lips in response to the unexpected question.
But inside, she was flustered.
If Yeon Ju-hong, Kim Geum, or Seo Baek-yeong had answered, she wouldn't have been flustered.
Those three had always sided with Yun Cheong.
But Ryu Bo-ra always pretended to be aloof, a bystander who never spoke up from the sidelines.
*So why is she interfering now?*
"Well, if someone says they're sick, what's it to us whether we're 'fine' or not? If you insist on asking, then yes. I'm perfectly fine."
Ryu Bo-ra said that and looked directly at Jo Hui-on.
"And our team knows best that the person most upset about missing rehearsal is Cheong Unnie. If someone who worked harder than anyone else can't even make it to rehearsal, she must be quite unwell. Don't you think so, Unnie?"
"Bo-ra's right."
Lee Gyeong-a quickly nodded as well.
"And I believe it. Cheong will come tomorrow. Even if she doesn't, the three of us can fill her spot just fine."
"Exactly. We appreciate your concern for us, but Cheong Unnie's well-being is the priority."
Ryu Bo-ra said that and then looked at PD O Baek-gyeong.
"PD-nim. Has there been any word from Cheong Unnie?"
"...Wow."
PD O Baek-gyeong wore his characteristic sly smile.
"Trainee Ryu Bo-ra, your timing is impeccable, huh? It just so happens to have arrived right now."
"!"
The trainees' expressions visibly shifted in an instant.
*That information, he must have received it earlier.*
*But he just didn't say anything because he wanted to see us fight amongst ourselves.*
An unpleasant hunch swept over everyone.
"Trainee Yun Cheong, thankfully, she can be discharged tomorrow. She's recovering, they say. She can attend the performance without any issues, and she asked me to tell you she's sorry for missing today's rehearsal. She said if she pushed herself today, her voice might give out tomorrow, so she focused on recovering her body as much as possible."
"I knew it!"
Yeon Ju-hong exclaimed in a joyful voice.
"Our Cheong-cheong. I told you she's a person with a plan! How many times do I have to say she's incredibly scary and meticulous for everyone to believe it!"
"...Quiet, you."
Kim Geum covered Yeon Ju-hong's mouth with her hand.
"But you know what?"
"?"
PD O Baek-gyeong wasn't finished speaking.
"They did some tests at the hospital... and they're wondering if she might have eaten something bad?"
"What?!"
"It's not confirmed. Just a suspicion."
PD O Baek-gyeong quickly waved his hand.
"So, it's not food poisoning?"
Seo Baek-yeong asked worriedly.
"Well, I don't know that much. Anyway, we suspect that there might have been something wrong with the food. The problem is, you all might have eaten that food too, right?"
*Right.*
The trainees each nodded their heads.
In the dorm, everyone shares the food in the refrigerator.
"But Trainee Yun Cheong can't remember what she ate this morning. So, we decided to review the footage."
"!"
"Coincidentally, thanks to our youngest's mistake, the camera was recording. We plan to check it early this morning. Until then, don't touch any food in the refrigerator. If you're really hungry, buy something to eat outside. Got it?"
"Yes, sir!"
Everyone answered brightly right away, but there were two people who couldn't.
They were Jo Hui-on and Kim Ryeo-yu.
***
"No, what are we going to do?"
The moment they got off the bus and everyone headed towards the dorm.
Jo Hui-on grabbed Kim Ryeo-yu, who was about to enter the dorm, and pulled her outside without a second thought.
When they were a certain distance away from the apartment building.
"If they review the video, it'll show everything I put in that food!"
"...Calm down a bit. Will screaming solve anything?"
Kim Ryeo-yu, on the other hand, was completely at ease.
At least on the surface.
But in reality, she wasn't.
Kim Ryeo-yu was also still 20 years old. She was young.
She might have been at ease when she had the upper hand, but not when she was at a disadvantage.
"First, I'll call my aunt. Just wait, you."
Kim Ryeo-yu pretended to be calm as she called Director Kim Mo-gyeong.
However, her insides were already burning with anxiety.
"-Hello?"
"Oh, Auntie. It's me. Did you hear that the camera was recording back then?"
"-Yes, I heard. But I figured stirring things up would only raise suspicion, so I left it alone."
"They're going to review it now. That crazy bitch Yun Cheong said she thinks she ate something bad."
"-...What?"
"Hui-on is really anxious, can't you do something about it, Auntie?"
"-Hang up for now. I'll talk to PD O Baek-gyeong."
Click.
The call ended.
Kim Ryeo-yu shrugged and looked at Jo Hui-on.
"I've done everything I can. Just wait. Auntie will take care of it."
"They might already be reviewing it right now!"
"No, then what do you want me to do?"
Kim Ryeo-yu retorted in an annoyed voice.
"The broadcasting station, can't we go to the broadcasting station and delete that video?"
"What are you talking about? You've watched too many movies. How would *we* delete that? Just wait."
"You...!"
Jo Hui-on gritted her teeth.
*She said I'd never get caught when she told me to do it, but now she's backing out.*
Her insides churned.
But Jo Hui-on held back.
If she rebelled here, everything would be for naught.
*It's fine. Anyway, if I go down, they'll all go down with me.*
Jo Hui-on looked at Kim Ryeo-yu.
She was the nastiest person Jo Hui-on knew, but at least she wasn't stupid.
She would know that this wasn't a ship that only Jo Hui-on would sink with.
*If it sinks, we all sink together.*
"Fix it... properly. You have to. Take responsibility."
"I said I would. Just wait a bit, Hui-on. You waited so patiently for a debut with no prospects, why can't you wait a few hours now?"
*...A debut with no prospects?*
"You, that comment... You're not saying you thought I had no chance of debuting all this time, are you?"
"Ah, so sensitive again..."
Kim Ryeo-yu sighed.
"No, Hui-on. It's just that debuting is incredibly difficult, you know. I wasn't singling you out; I meant that for everyone, debut is truly like threading a needle. You waited patiently to pass through that needle's eye. Now that we're really at the finish line, let's just hold on a little longer and wait, okay?"
Kim Ryeo-yu gathered her last shred of patience and spoke.
Only then did Jo Hui-on's expression relax a bit.
It was because of the words "the finish line is in sight."
"...Alright. Since the finish line is in sight."
"See? That's what I'm saying."
Kim Ryeo-yu forced a smile.
*Ugh, what a nuisance.*
***
In the end, morning arrived without any contact from Yun Cheong, or any word from PD O Baek-gyeong or Director Kim Mo-gyeong.
Jo Hui-on felt like her insides were shriveling up with anxiety every second.
Kim Ryeo-yu, sitting in the chair next to her, seemed genuinely unbothered, holding a selfie cam and chattering to herself.
"Today is, finally~! The day of our third mission performance! My heart is pounding because we'll be able to see our Colorists soon. Are you all as nervous as we are? Probably not as much as me. I've never even had a crush before, but right now it feels a bit like a crush? Am I crushing on the Colorists?"
*That crazy lunatic, seriously.*
She had known it, but she was even crazier than she thought.
*Jo Hui-on, you idiot. Why did you go along with that deranged girl's plan?*
*To be so crazy as to fall for it and dig her own grave.*
While she was wallowing in such regrets, makeup was applied to her face, and a stage costume was put on her body.
"Hui-on Unnie."
The final stage check and last rehearsal.
Naturally, the vocal team was last again today.
It was because Yun Cheong still hadn't arrived.
"The PD-nim is calling you. I think it's because of our selfie cam."
"Ah, okay."
As the three went to PD O Baek-gyeong, he waved a script with a welcoming expression.
"Oh, oh, come here. Vocal Team."
PD O Baek-gyeong deliberately handed the camera to Ryu Bo-ra.
"This is your camera. Take it and film yourselves. As for Yun Cheong's absence, come up with a good excuse. 'She's getting an IV drip,' 'we're worried about Unnie,' you know the drill, right?"
"Yes."
"It's more beneficial for you if she looks like she's really sick and you're all in tears, rather than if she looks like she's faking it. Of course, I'd like it if she looked like she was faking it, it'd make for good footage."
"PD-nim..."
At a remark that would make even Satan weep, Writer Kang quietly covered PD O Baek-gyeong's mouth.
"Anyway, whether you shield her or throw her under the bus. You guys figure it out."
*Why us?*
Lee Gyeong-a looked at PD O Baek-gyeong with puzzled eyes, but Ryu Bo-ra and Jo Hui-on had already assessed the situation.
*He's trying to shift the responsibility onto us.*
*It's not 'evil editing,' it's 'what can we do if *they* are the devils?'*
"Um, PD-nim."
Regardless, it wasn't surprising for a bad guy to do bad things.
Something else was important.
Jo Hui-on barely managed to muster the courage to speak.
"Oh, what is it?"
*From his reaction, it doesn't seem like he's seen the video.*
*Should I ask, or shouldn't I?*
*Did Director Kim Mo-gyeong really cover it up well?*
*Or has he just not seen the video yet?*
"That, about the video from yesterday..."
"Ah, that."
PD O Baek-gyeong grinned slyly.
"Jo Hui-on, why are you trembling so much?"
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