Girl Group in Progress

Kang Yuna was the maknae of the third-generation girl group Lemon. But after news broke that she had “bullied a fellow group member,” netizens petitioned for her removal from the group and demanded that she be sent back to her home country. A talent scout picked her out at six. She debuted with her group at fifteen. At twenty, the fans who had once loved her crushed her dreams with their own hands. Kang Yuna thought the whole thing was laughable. She was torn apart online, sent threatening letters, and asked why she didn’t just die... No one believed the truth behind what had happened. People simply followed the crowd, even inventing “scandals” to pin on her. Her parents, who had always supported her, couldn’t bear the pressure and drowned themselves in a lake. In the bitter cold of December, she finally came to her senses. She had lost everything. Why shouldn’t she fight to clear her name? / The second season of Pick Girls was called both “a showdown of the gods” and “a den of monsters.” The former was because many of the contestants were highly skilled; the latter, because so many of them were “stirring up trouble.” Some demanded to know why the show was giving a “disgraced artist” another chance onstage. Others said Kang Yuna was talented enough to debut in the center position. Plenty of marketing accounts posted to ask why Kang Yuna was trying to make a “comeback through another survival show.” Behind the glittering idol competition lay a battle of capital. Every outcome people could see was ultimately decided by those with money and power. They were all foxes. Why pretend to be innocent little flowers? / Everyone said Kang Yuna had changed. The maknae who used to smile all the time as a member of Lemon now wore a perpetually impassive expression, as if she could see through everyone’s joys and sorrows, likes and dislikes. “When you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes back at you.” But she refused to let that stop her. What she intended to do was this: “When the abyss looks at me, I’ll drag everyone into it.” Kang Yuna, the talented girl falsely accused, vs. Kim Hyukmyeon, the sunny and handsome mentor / The competition format is inspired by Produce 101. Everything else is fictional. The heroine is no innocent little flower. The views expressed in the story do not represent the author’s own. This is my first time writing this kind of story. Some inspiration comes from active Korean girl groups. / Finally, I hope each of us can learn to think independently. I think it’s difficult, and perhaps something we can spend our whole lives trying to learn without ever mastering. If you don’t know the whole story, don’t pass judgment.