The Reincarnated Idol Hard Carries an Indie Band - Chapter 121

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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A Former Idol in an Indie Band Carries Hard
Chapter 121
Dampa’s Star Interview grew even louder after the broadcast ended.
The full video replay of the live stream was not made available.
Instead, an edited version went up.
There was one scene from that video that captured viewers’ attention most.
—…Is this all planned?
—I enjoyed the novel.
The scene where Dampa summarizes Oktatop’s trajectory and asks if this was all calculated.
And the scene where Cha Seo Ha fires back, saying he’d enjoyed the novel, garnered the most comments.
—7:24 lololol write a novel
—Why does Cha Seo Ha’s “interesting” expression kill me like that ㅋㅋ
—But honestly, everything Dampa said makes sense? Whether Cha Seo Ha intended it or not, there was that kind of flow
—But what if it’s all designed? That’d be insane, right?
—He said it wasn’t though lol
—But why does that relaxed expression when he answers make me so uneasy
The video hit 750,000 views in just a few days.
And below that, someone began meticulously compiling Oktatop’s trajectory.
—Compiled Oktatop’s timeline of moves below
—Demolished an audition show, came in second place
—Second place so no company backing, overseas chart Sounda hit #1 then appeared on U.S. broadcast
—Overseas push caught on via music video, magazine collab, Oktatop Core became a trend
—Hongdae fashion went viral, domestic chart #1
—Raised the band scene through Bandnight.
—Did all this in just over a year
That comment was pinned at the top, receiving thousands of upvotes.
—No but now that I see it laid out like this, it doesn’t make sense
—Looking at the summary, if you use your brain a little and leave out the overseas stuff, you could believe it was planned
—Any one of these things alone would be huge, but pulling off this whole chain of events? Was it planned or not lol
—Heaven must be helping. Fate favors the bold.
—Enjoyed the novel lololol
—Someone please make this novel into a drama or movie. It’ll sell for sure.
It was the moment scattered incidents threaded themselves into a single narrative.
Until then, people had viewed Oktatop’s moves as separate scenes.
The chart #1 was just that, the Oktatop Core was just that.
Between events came other issues—entertainment news, politics—and.
Because of that, the public, unable to connect the dots, merely thought “Oh, Oktatop did something again.”
But then Dampa stitched it all together into one thread.
Oktatop’s image shifted from “lucky skilled indie band” to “they’ve got it all planned out.”
Whether that was true or not.
The public now began waiting to see what Oktatop would do next.
It was the scariest stage.
* * *
When public expectations rose, meeting them became inevitable.
Now the public was seeking out and listening to band music.
And the band scene, as always, was preparing to greet summer.
Distruction, Odyssey, Dam Jang Party, and Maruru Band had all been invited to several rock festivals scheduled for that summer.
And the offer came to us too.
It was our first time since we formed.
“Hey, is this real?”
“Finally! It’s coming to us!”
“I can’t believe it….”
“The only time I’ve performed was as a guest once….”
They were even happier than when we hit number one on the music chart.
So happy that their reactions were almost subdued.
The festival started from late July.
We had about three months left.
It was far too long just to prepare one performance.
For us, preparing a show took a week.
“Let’s put out another track.”
“Another?”
“What are you thinking this time?”
“Got a finished song?”
They asked in response to my suggestion.
“Not finished yet….”
I looked at Heo Jun Sung.
“You need to write one for us.”
“Me?”
“Yeah, you.”
* * *
2019.
The year challenge trends were beginning to sweep the idol industry.
At the same time, short-form content’s influence was growing at breakneck speed.
Since I knew that trend ahead of time, I needed to prepare and ride the wave as soon as possible.
This time the target was overseas again, not domestic.
Not for proper expansion, but to remind the world of our existence.
Even if we were earning quite a bit for our age, we didn’t have the means to stay overseas and sustain activities.
At times like this I’d think maybe joining a company would be better, but when I considered creative freedom, indie was always the way.
“Hey, how’s this, Cha Seo Ha?”
A few days had passed since I’d said we should release a track.
I’d told Heo Jun Sung to come up with various guitar riffs.
And Heo Jun Sung had dutifully delivered.
“Hmm….”
Heo Jun Sung played directly in front of me, pouring out the riffs he’d prepared.
“Mm….”
“Not good?”
“Got anything else?”
“Yeah.”
“Go for it.”
It wasn’t that the riff was bad, but it didn’t quite match my intention.
“How’s this?”
“Uh….”
I bounced my leg nervously, thinking.
“Something a bit more, like….”
“A bit more?”
“Repetitive and addictive feeling….”
“Man, what are you saying? Explain it properly.”
“Just something badass, you know? The kind of riff where you hear it once and go, ‘Damn!'”
“Mm….”
Heo Jun Sung fell into thought for a moment.
This was something I could do.
But right now I wanted to leave it to Heo Jun Sung.
I wanted to give him that sense of accomplishment too.
And Heo Jun Sung had now become more than I’d known….
No, more skilled than I’d known.
I wanted to see exactly how much he’d improved.
“Oh, but next time we’re not putting out a regular album, right?”
“Right, we’re not.”
I was thinking of doing a single or mini album next.
We didn’t have time to make and release a regular album before the festival.
“Ah, I wanted to use this for a regular album….”
“So you do have something?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“Well, let me hear it.”
Heo Jun Sung showed clear disappointment and immediately launched into the performance.
“Ooh….”
I couldn’t help but smile with satisfaction.
See? When you actually do it, it works.
* * *
From that day on, I built up the song based on Heo Jun Sung’s guitar riff.
A repetitive, addictive riff.
Yet not overly commercial, and with enough technical difficulty to be interesting.
A riff that matched my intention exactly.
Heo Jun Sung really has improved so much.
We roughed out the song at ST Studio and I immediately grabbed my things to head out.
I wanted to check on a package I’d sent that had arrived at home.
“Leaving early? Is the song done?”
The manager spoke to me as I was heading out.
“No, I’m just calling it a day for now. Oh, do you know anything about idols these days?”
“Idols these days? Well, I know some basics, but why?”
“Oh, there’s someone I’d like to meet. I was wondering if you could help make an introduction?”
“Who?”
“Someone from a group called New Member, Im Jun Myung—his stage name is JM.”
“New Member? I don’t think I’ve heard of them.”
“He’s with DK Entertainment.”
“Ah, that’s Chang-myung’s company. Then I know it.”
“I’d appreciate your help.”
“Sure, I’ll reach out.”
With that, I asked the manager and rushed home.
* * *
“Grandma! Have you eaten?”
“No, not yet.”
“Good thing I bought duck meat!”
My grandmother had been going to the hospital with the money I’d been earning lately.
Not because anything was wrong with her, but because I kept dragging her there insisting on regular checkups.
Fortunately, the doctor always says she’s too healthy and doesn’t need to come so often.
But memories of my foolishness in my past life kept surfacing, and I couldn’t help myself.
Throughout the meal, my grandmother asked when I’d be on TV again.
Oktatop wasn’t going to be on TV much in the near future.
And the guys didn’t seem to particularly crave that kind of fame.
But I found myself thinking I should probably appear on some big variety show for my grandmother’s sake.
After finishing our cozy meal, I headed straight to my room.
“Ehehe….”
It had taken forever to get here.
A new computer, headphones, sequencer, and microphone.
Recording guitar, bass, and keyboard.
I’d skip the drums since I’d use virtual instruments.
Finally, my personal equipment was complete.
It had cost about four million won in total.
No wonder indie musicians always lose money no matter how many songs they release.
I wanted to finish the next song in my room.
I wanted to see how wide the world could receive a song made by fiddling around in this small room.
“Alright, shall I start working?”
* * *
It took just a few hours to finish the song.
Heo Jun Sung had done such good work on the riff.
And working in this new environment was excellent inspiration.
“Alright, let’s do a listening test?”
The next day I gathered my friends in the rehearsal room and played the song.
A siren sound starting the track.
As the effects faded, a funky rhythm with pronounced groove kicked in.
“Oh?”
“What? This is fun!”
And then my guide vocal.
Just four bars of singing.
Then Heo Jun Sung’s guitar riff kicked right in.
“Whoa!”
“Damn? That’s sick?”
“Yo! Yabba!”
And Heo Jun Sung was laughing in the corner, touching his nose.
Relaxed yet embarrassed.
An expression somewhere between the two.
“Dude, did you write this? Pretty good?”
Kim Ji Hu asked after noticing Heo Jun Sung’s expression.
“Yeah, well, I did.”
“You think so?”
“This much is nothing.”
To Kim Ji Hu’s praise, Heo Jun Sung gave another relaxed response.
Ugh, he’s annoying.
After Heo Jun Sung’s guitar riff ended, my vocals started again.
Again, just four bars.
Then Heo Jun Sung’s guitar riff jumped back in, this time in a more full ensemble arrangement.
“Hey, you’re only singing these few bars?”
“Yeah, this song’s not about me. It’s about you guys. Especially him.”
I pointed to Heo Jun Sung as I spoke.
They were satisfied after hearing the whole song.
But since the vocal parts were so minimal, they all wore curious expressions wondering what else I was scheming.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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