The Reincarnated Idol Hard Carries an Indie Band - Chapter 24

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

The Idol from My Past Life Hard-Carries an Indie Band
Episode 24
So we expanded the game.
We drove our name into people’s heads.
They’ll probably doubt us for about a year.
But they’ll seek out our music just to criticize it.
What if we keep releasing good music within that flow?
What if we keep getting more famous?
The weight class changes.
Music and time don’t lie.
I have no intention of ending with OKTOP as just another neighborhood band.
We’re going to move into the mainstream, and in a few years, we’ll be at the forefront of the band renaissance that’s coming.
For that to happen, the current situation was absolutely necessary.
“But isn’t controversy bad for celebrities? Not that we’re celebrities or anything.”
“It depends on the nature of the controversy.”
If there’s a star who sets the whole country on fire over drunk driving or drugs, that’s obviously bad controversy.
But we’re different.
The charge leveled against us is audacity, no matter how you look at it.
The crime of daring to pull off brilliant marketing.
The crime of daring to do package deals.
The crime of daring to pollute the very foundation of the band scene.
We can cover all of these controversies with sheer skill.
We just need to look genuinely talented, keep getting more famous, and show off the color of our music.
When time passes like that, the audacity fades, and only recognition remains.
Someone will confess their own guilt for feeling that audacity and come back as a fan.
“Think about it carefully. What were we originally trying to do?”
“Originally?”
“What we would’ve done if the sponsored content hadn’t dropped.”
“Well… busking, making albums, performing, that kind of thing, right?”
“So what are we doing from now on?”
“…It’s the same?”
“Nothing has changed. No matter how absurd the controversy is.”
We just have eyes watching us now.
Defensive eyes, with arms crossed.
We’ll win them over with music.
And our first step is….
* * *
OKTOP – Before the OKTOP
01. Rendezvous
02. Your Time
03. Cruise!!
Type: Single
Genre: Rock
Release Date: 2017. 11. 08
Label: LazyB
Agency: ST Studio
A single composed of three tracks.
The single’s title was “Before the OKTOP.”
All songs were written by Cha Seo-ha, with all band members participating as performers.
The second track, “Your Time,” had all members participate in the lyrics.
In truth, this song was made together by everyone.
Only, in Cha Seo-ha’s past life.
Cha Seo-ha had wanted to turn memories from his previous life into music and release it, and that dream had come true.
The first single made with all the members’ combined effort and care.
That historic result was drawing quite considerable attention for an amateur’s official release.
-Wow, this dropped! I came after seeing the sponsored content!
-Is this seriously the quality of a debut release? It’s epic
-Wow, these new acts these days are hitting hard
-Feels like the best band idol debut track so far
-Lyrics by Cha Seo-ha, composition by Cha Seo-ha, arrangement by Cha Seo-ha—is he insane?
└Guess they’re a self-produced idol group
└Yeah, package deal viral marketing
└They were literally bundling Moon Ga-young in the sponsored content?
└But if I’d gathered kids this talented, I would’ve gone all-out viral too lol
└Yeah
-Wow, the song is so good? Last track Cruise is sick
└For real, Cruise is better than the title track
└Perfect for listening to while driving
-Wow, do people who praise these guys actually lack intelligence? How do they live in this world?
Praise and criticism collided.
What mattered was that for a debut work by amateurs, the volume of reaction was substantial.
Just as Cha Seo-ha intended.
Normally, when an amateur band formed just a few months ago releases a song, only acquaintances and family hear it.
But on the other hand, Cha Seo-ha was worried about his members’ mental state.
Comments on streaming sites carry a different weight than those on YouTube or broadcast sites.
He was even thinking of adjusting the plan’s intensity depending on how the members held up.
“Jun-seong, did you check the reaction to us?”
“Yeah…….”
“How is it?”
“How is it…….”
Heo Jun-seong suddenly began trembling violently.
‘Is this guy’s mental state going to give out?’
“The birth of a hero truly tastes like this! Overcoming adversity, I shall become the world’s strongest guitarist, kahahaha!”
“Yeah, go ahead and ham it up.”
That’s Jun-seong for you.
Lee Do-yeong, who had been practicing bass in the corner, turned his attention at Jun-seong’s outburst.
Cha Seo-ha approached Do-yeong next and asked him the same question.
“You holding up okay?”
“Yeah, I mean we’re all getting roasted together anyway, so it’s not too bad.”
“That’s good. Just hang in there.”
“Sure, don’t worry. I didn’t get much hate myself—it was all piled on Min. Pretty manageable.”
“……!?”
A chill ran down his spine, mixing with sweat.
‘Is Do-yeong saying it’s fine as long as it’s not him?’
There was something unsettling about this side of him.
Meanwhile, Kang Min had been wearing a headset the whole time, eyes glued to the monitor.
‘What could he be watching?’
“Min.”
“Hm?”
“You busy?”
“Yeah, pretty busy.”
‘What’s got him so focused? Don’t tell me he’s monitoring our reaction?’
“What are you watching?”
After checking the screen Kang Min was looking at, he realized his mistake.
“Right now I’m watching this anime called ‘A Hero Standing Beneath the Sword Doesn’t Fall as Easily as You’d Think, So the Demon King Ends Up Joining the Hero’s Party,’ and there’s a super important scene coming up, so let’s talk later if you’ve got something to say, yeah?”
“……Sure. You’re definitely not the one I need to worry about.”
‘There’s really nobody normal in this band.’
* * *
OKTOP had made its presence known all over the place, and Cha Seo-ha had confirmed his members’ mental state.
Now that the first single was out, they couldn’t just sit around.
The basic rule in the entertainment industry is that when musicians release a song, they promote it.
The format varies—idols appear on music shows, while other artists do release concerts.
We had to do something too.
Doing a concert just among ourselves made no sense.
Only people who already knew us well would come.
We needed to dive into the scene with this music.
I might know the entertainment industry far better than these guys.
But the band scene is different.
In my previous life, I’d only been active for about a year.
And all I’d done was jam and make songs with the guys like we were just messing around.
It was fair to say I had almost no real experience.
To dive into real performances, we needed someone with hands-on experience in the scene.
And that person for us was Kang Min.
“Min, should we start looking for venues to perform at soon?”
“Sounds good. What kind of show?”
“Ideally one with a big lineup and bigger scale. Is there a decent stage like that?”
“Oh, you mean something like that?”
Confidence dripped from his voice.
‘Trust me,’ it seemed to say.
Very reassuring.
“The one that comes to mind right now is Band Slam.”
“What? Band Slam? Really?”
Band Slam.
A festival-like concert held every year at the end of the year at the Main Hall, a small theater in Hongdae.
In my previous life, we were audience members.
Our short-term goal back then was to stand on that stage.
Of course, some idiot abandoned the band and left, so that goal never happened.
This time, I have a feeling it’ll work out.
“But isn’t it too early for us to be on a stage like that?”
“Nah, there’s a time slot where a couple new bands perform right before the main acts, and there’s no standout band like that this year.”
The guy who understands the mechanics of this scene inside and out really is different.
“Plus, who am I?”
“Kang Min……!”
“……sama!”
“Kang Min-sama!”
“I’ll get it sorted for you. Just wait a few days.”
‘Kang Min-sama, I trust you!’
* * *
Truth be told, just busking was starting to feel tedious.
The band I used to be in would, right after I joined, play at some big event or festival.
Or collaborate with someone who had a name in the scene.
That kind of trajectory was what they were all about.
There was an atmosphere of disdain toward busking—like it lacked style or you’d be mixing with lower-tier acts.
Though I was like that too at first, my first time seeing Cha Seo-ha and his friends was at a high-level busking session.
Being with OKTOP, there was no need to worry about skill or tier.
Anyway, getting to do a small theater concert with these romantic-spirited guys already had me excited.
The day after I got Cha Seo-ha’s request.
I called ahead and went to meet Nam Do-hun at his studio in Hongdae.
“Oh, Min’s here.”
“It’s been forever!”
Nam Do-hun was the guitarist and vocalist of the most popular band in the scene ten years ago.
And now he’s the one who hosts Band Slam every year at the end of the year in Hongdae.
He stopped doing band work but continues on as a producer.
I hear he’s collaborated with some famous artists, though I don’t know who.
“Wow, you’re looking good? Does your agency manage you?”
“Huh? What are you talking about?”
“Aren’t you a trainee now?”
“What? Would an idol trainee come here trying to get a Band Slam slot?”
“What, you’re not?”
“That’s complete BS.”
Nam Do-hun is the kind of guy who doesn’t get swept up in things.
So it surprised me that he’d believe such a rumor.
Or maybe the situation was unavoidable?
Anyway, from just his reaction alone, I could tell Cha Seo-ha’s plan was working perfectly.
“Ah, I thought we were losing our scene’s talents to the mainstream.”
“No way, absolutely not.”
“Okay, good. So you want to play Band Slam?”
“Yeah, you got a slot?”
“Plenty of slots. Been worried lately ’cause there aren’t any decent newcomers, so this works out. I’ll put OKTOP on. I liked your music too.”
With just a word saying no, he didn’t ask twice before putting us on the lineup.
Old colleagues really did have warmth.
Like party members who’d traveled together slaying demons.
It meant a lot to be trusted based on friendship and skill alone, regardless of the rumors.
“How’d you end up joining that band anyway? It’s so different from where you used to be.”
It really was different from where I was before.
The music was much more mainstream, and they had less fame in the scene.
But their skill was in no way inferior.
And there was something different about OKTOP compared to my old bandmates.
“Yeah, it is different.”
“But why’d you join?”
“Cause I felt like they could actually become real friends.”

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