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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: Unexpected Changes
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These damn idiots.
Kim Ryeo-yu clenched her jaw.
How dare they talk smack behind her back like that?
“I’m truly being wronged…! Why would kids who left our company have good feelings for me…! They must be jealous because they couldn’t make it into the debut group, CEO Hong!”
“Talk sense. Some of them are doing much better than you are right now.”
CEO Hong immediately cut off Kim Ryeo-yu’s words.
Kim Ryeo-yu was furious but lowered her head for now.
Once she found out who it was, she genuinely intended to beat them half to death.
“Complaints about you and Director Kim are growing louder within the company.”
CEO Hong tapped the desk with her ballpoint pen.
“Trainee Jo Hui-on desperately wanted to cover this up and move on, so I’ll let this incident slide. However.”
CEO Hong let out a deep sigh.
There was something unsettling about this whole situation.
She knew Director Kim was trying to push Kim Ryeo-yu into the debut group no matter what.
CEO Hong hadn’t thought much of it up to that point.
Kim Ryeo-yu wasn’t an unpopular trainee; she was one of the top contenders.
Still, Director Kim was clearly pushing her, so CEO Hong had prevented it.
By not allowing special favors in missions, and by distributing screen time as evenly as possible to all trainees.
She thought the problem would be solved if the competition was fair.
Because she believed Director Kim was the problem, not Kim Ryeo-yu.
But a new variable had emerged.
Now, public opinion regarding Kim Ryeo-yu wasn’t so good either.
‘You directly produced the trainees this time, didn’t you? How was it?’
CEO Hong directly asked Danha and Han Jae-yi.
She thought they would give a relatively objective opinion.
Those two weren’t the kind of people who would be afraid of Director Kim and keep quiet.
‘Haha. How should I put this—’
‘She’s not good.’
‘Whoa, whoa. Take it easy….’
Han Jae-yi hesitated, while Danha was firm.
‘She’s not a very mature trainee, personality-wise. Those types usually cause trouble before long.’
Danha spoke very definitively.
CEO Hong gave Han Jae-yi a look, asking if that was true.
‘…Well, she’s not a trainee I’d want to be on the same team with.’
If even the kind Han Jae-yi said something like that….
CEO Hong sighed.
Outside the company, it was still uncertain, but inside, it was practically a given.
Still, there hadn’t been a decisive incident, so she had been waiting to see…
Until this incident broke.
“You’ll need to remember this.”
Now, CEO Hong’s patience was slowly running out.
No business person wants to put a defective product out into the market from the start.
Until now, she had given Kim Ryeo-yu a chance as a senior and as an adult.
But if she betrayed that expectation, person to person—
“That ultimately, I am the one with the final say.”
Then she, too, would have no choice but to treat the other party not as a person, but as a product.
“You probably think I’ll have no choice but to debut you, Trainee Ryeo-yu? Because you’re currently high in the polls, and you have high buzz. And it seems you’ve even gained some fans?”
Kim Ryeo-yu couldn’t answer.
Because that was exactly what she had thought.
“But your current popularity won’t last even a year if the company doesn’t invest in it.”
“…!”
“And it’s a popularity that wouldn’t have existed at all if the ‘Make a New Color’ program hadn’t existed.”
Kim Ryeo-yu’s lips began to tremble.
Regardless, CEO Hong continued calmly.
“If I were to immediately remove you from the program, it would probably be noisy for a few months. Some fans would undoubtedly send protest trucks to the company, and issue statements. SNS would be filled with backlash and insults against me for a few days.”
Would a large agency like Colors not have experienced such things?
CEO Hong slowly continued her explanation.
Would the stock price drop a bit? For a few days? No. Come to think of it, you’re not that level. I hear rumors that your rankings have been on a downward trend lately.
“Do I look like someone who would debut you just because I’m afraid of being insulted for a few days?”
CEO Hong was someone who had experienced everything, both as an artist and as a CEO.
It meant she had been through all sorts of hardships.
Things worse than this?
There were countless.
This incident wouldn’t even make it into CEO Hong’s history books.
“How long do you think that would last? If we say it was a health issue, out of consideration for Director Kim, it wouldn’t even last two weeks before dying down. If I were to truly decide to bury you, gather testimonies from a few trainees, and sway public opinion to expose your true personality, those reactions would vanish in less than two days. Flooding the internet with insults about you would happen in an instant.”
“C-CEO Hong…!”
For the first time, Kim Ryeo-yu was genuinely terrified.
CEO Hong’s calm tone felt even more real.
“Do you truly believe there isn’t a single trainee among them who would testify? Are you really that confident? If so, then try it.”
“…!”
There was no way there wouldn’t be.
Kim Ryeo-yu immediately thought of Yun Cheong.
There was no way that tenacious girl wouldn’t open her mouth.
In the end, Kim Ryeo-yu—
“…I’m sorry. I… I was wrong. If you give me just one… one more chance, I won’t disappoint you this time.”
She bowed her head.
***
“Ryeo-yu Unnie…. Is something wrong? Is it the end of the world…?”
Yeon Ju-hong approached me and whispered.
And it was understandable, as Kim Ryeo-yu was truly strange today.
Throughout the entire part distribution, she didn’t object even once.
Even when the five of us divided it exactly into one-fifth each, she said nothing.
I thought she would throw a fit about deciding the Main Vocal and insist it be her.
But to accept it without a word.
Did she get called somewhere and scolded yesterday?
Why was she so deflated?
No, was there even anyone who could scold her in the first place?
To that extent, wouldn’t CEO Hong herself have to come?
“How about we each practice our parts for about two hours and then try to match up?”
“Sounds good~”
“Yes, yes!”
Even to my suggestion, Kim Ryeo-yu merely nodded silently.
She’s acting so suddenly, it’s really hard to get used to.
Let’s ignore it.
No, but let’s not let our guard down.
I focused on my individual practice.
The more this happens, the more I need to solidify my skills.
I had to play an instrument and sing the song I chose.
Although the part distribution was almost even, my responsibility was the heaviest.
I kept practicing, playing the guitar.
It was a bit difficult to play the guitar and sing after a long time.
My head hurts focusing on just one thing, but I had to do two things simultaneously.
Even though I was relatively skilled, it was nerve-wracking.
It was even more so because of the compulsion to do it perfectly without a single mistake.
Especially since after this stage, only the final mission remained.
It’s peaceful after a long time, so let’s just focus on practice—
“I keep telling you that’s not it.”
“…Why don’t you just focus on your own practice?”
No use.
I turned my head towards the commotion.
Kim Geum and Ryu Bo-ra were bickering.
It was more than just bickering; their voices were on the verge of rising.
If there hadn’t been cameras, they would have already started fighting.
What’s with them now?
“Here, the note should be connected slightly, not cut off.”
“Geum.”
“Huh?”
“Can I try it alone?”
“Just do it together! Don’t always do it alone.”
“…I want to do it alone, I told you.”
Looking at the situation, it seemed Kim Geum kept wanting to help Ryu Bo-ra.
And Ryu Bo-ra didn’t like that.
Kim Geum isn’t usually that meddlesome.
I knew why Kim Geum was acting like that.
‘I’ve never seen Ryu Bo-ra work so hard, Unnie.’
‘…Really?’
‘She always just did what others told her, listlessly. Now it feels like she really wants to do this, and I feel so proud. She needs to keep this momentum going.’
‘That would be good.’
‘Right?! I really need to push her.’
‘…Hmm.’
While it seemed Kim Geum liked Ryu Bo-ra quite a lot, it was also awkward.
I understood Kim Geum’s desire to debut with Ryu Bo-ra, but…
There’s absolutely no good in micromanaging someone else’s practice.
“Geum, come here.”
“Yes?”
“Let Bora do it alone. You help me instead.”
“No, thank you. There’s no fun in helping someone as perfect as Unnie.”
“….”
What in the world am I supposed to say to that?
“Kim Geum. Are you saying I’m not perfect then?”
Ryu Bo-ra also seemed quite annoyed.
“You become perfect by having me there.”
“What in the world are you talking about….”
Both of them were hopeless.
I decided to ignore them.
It seemed to have been resolved for now.
Then,
*Ding!*
[※Alert※]
…?
Why is this in my pocket?
I didn’t bring my phone today?
[Go out into the hallway right now!]
[TIP. You must take care of your members!]
My members… I don’t have any yet.
*Ding!*
[TIP. An idol group is one in spirit! A mistake by one of your members is your neck on the line!]
With a series of ominous messages, I finally went outside.
Might as well get some water while I’m at it.
“What?!”
Just then, as Yeon Ju-hong’s voice reached me, I realized.
The real storm was brewing where I couldn’t see it.
“Uh… Change parts? Which parts?”
Cautiously heading towards the sound, I saw Kim Ryeo-yu and Yeon Ju-hong talking.
I had a bad feeling about this.
I decided not to approach them for now and just observe the situation.
Asking to change parts was a request that could be made anytime.
“Uh… like that? But then….”
Yeon Ju-hong asked in a very puzzled voice.
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