The Reincarnated Idol Hard Carries an Indie Band - Chapter 29

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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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Reborn as an Idol, Carrying an Indie Band
Chapter 29
I thought today might be the harshest busking weather we’d faced yet.
There had been drunk hecklers who stormed in, and recently someone who disliked us hurled mockery our way.
We could brush off those things well enough, and our fans would even fight on our behalf.
That wasn’t the hard part.
But today…….
My nose, my hands, my feet felt literally frozen solid, threatening to shatter.
There was no way fans could fight against the weather for us.
Lee Do-yeong and Heo Jun-seong’s playing had lost its speed—hands so numb they could barely move.
Kang Min, being a drummer who used larger muscles, was getting off relatively easy.
Even Kim Ji-hoo, who prized perfection, had lost the delicacy in his touch.
This was going to be a problem.
Just as that thought was making me lose focus—
I noticed an audience member in front of us, trembling just like we were.
Whether trying to forget the cold or simply caught up in the excitement, they were shaking but still finding joy in the rough, clumsy harmony we were producing.
That made me think.
How could they enjoy themselves so much in weather this cold, listening to playing that was far from perfect?
These people hadn’t come to hear our music or watch our performance in the usual sense.
No, that was true enough, but it wasn’t the whole story. There was something more fundamental at work than mere appreciation.
They just liked us.
This stage had become nothing but a jumbled mass of botched playing.
But they loved the feeling of enduring the cold in this space alongside us.
How do I know?
Because I love it right now too.
It’s fun, standing here with a runny nose and laughing, playing alongside these people who came to see us.
It’s been a little over half a year since I returned to the past.
Excluding the time spent gathering friends, in this short span we’d built such a precious fanbase—I found myself feeling oddly proud.
Of course, it was a result achieved with my friends, so I could only feel grateful to them.
I stole a glance at my friends’ expressions during Heo Jun-seong’s guitar solo.
When I was just looking forward, I could only hear their mangled playing.
Heo Jun-seong was going even wilder than usual, while Lee Do-yeong seemed to be grinning from ear to ear for some reason.
Kim Ji-hoo looked like he’d already given up, just listlessly tapping at the keyboard.
Kang Min simply seemed out of it.
Well, he was always half out of it anyway.
They were all enjoying this stage in their own way.
Probably feeling something similar to what I felt.
The bitter cold meant we could show barely half our usual ability.
But we had clearly grown.
My friends didn’t tense up, even in these harsh conditions.
They knew how to connect with the audience.
The audience already knew—today’s performance had been a failure.
And our members were aware of that awareness.
That’s why they were putting effort into connection rather than perfection.
I felt proud.
We’d come further than I thought.
* * *
“Thank you so much! This has been Okdab!”
After the performance ended, I wound up the cables with frozen fingers and gathered the instruments.
“That was fun, right?”
“Well, not bad.”
“I had fun.”
“To perform so terribly—it’s a disgrace as a musician…….”
“Grrrrr……. So c-c-cold…….”
They all looked like they were dying of laughter.
Still, once the weather warmed up a bit, we should probably take a break from busking.
The fans were important, but looking after our members was just as crucial.
“Excuse me, are you all finished?”
Then a group approached us.
“Oh, yes, were you looking to…..?”
Far too familiar a face.
“Thanks so much for putting in the effort in this cold.”
Seong-hoon.
In the original timeline, he debuted as a solo artist two years after I did.
Had he been in a band originally?
Behind Cho Seong-hoon stood three instrumentalists.
I’d never heard about that.
Seong-hoon was a pitiful figure in many ways.
His character was truly excellent, but he couldn’t make music work…….
No, that wasn’t quite right either. He hadn’t failed—he’d just been unlucky.
Running into younger Seong-hoon unexpectedly felt strange.
“We’re fans of Okdab.”
“Oh, really? Thank you so much.”
“We actually formed our band because of seeing Okdab.”
The musician holding a guitar behind Seong-hoon added the words.
Ah, the future had changed.
“Please keep working hard despite the cold. We’ll be cheering for you.”
“Thank you so much!”
* * *
Office worker Kim Ju-hee was making her way home after stopping by Banwol Park once again today.
“Brrr, it’s so c-c-cold…….”
Since Okdab’s early days, she had been consistently uploading busking videos to her YouTube channel.
She could have taken a day off in weather like this, but she’d made a point of visiting Banwol Park anyway.
“I won’t be able to upload today’s video.”
Both the playing and singing had been terrible.
Not that she disliked it.
The weather was too brutally cold and the wind was blowing too hard—it couldn’t be helped.
“Or…… maybe not?”
She reviewed the footage she’d just shot.
Cha Seo-ha’s nose was red from the cold, and the harsh wind sounds were captured so clearly they were drowning out the music.
“Actually, might this work?”
Kim Ju-hee’s channel, “Human Kim Ju-hee,” had seen her subscriber count shoot up recently.
Once, a video had gotten views for no particular reason.
The real growth spurt began right after the Star Observation Cam broadcast.
Since then, the numbers had climbed steadily, if modestly.
And the vast majority of her channel’s subscribers were favorable toward Okdab.
“Though they do seem to be getting some criticism lately…….”
Kim Ju-hee turned the problem over in her mind.
In the end, she decided it was the right call to upload this video too.
* * *
Moon Ga-yeong, Park Yoon-chan the PD, all our members—I’d made every meeting happen intentionally.
But encounters that came by accident stirred an oddly wistful feeling.
In this lifetime, I hoped Seong-hoon would do a little better.
And so we pushed through the cold, gathered our instruments, and arrived at the Practice Room.
“Brrrr, finally we can thaw a little.”
“Hey, Cha Seo-ha, are you doing next week too?”
“Nah, let’s take a break. It’s way too cold.”
“Wow, really?”
“Are you even the real Cha Seo-ha?”
“Seo-ha’s acting weird…. He must be broken from the cold.”
“Oh my…….”
I say we take a break and they lose it.
We started unpacking our things and warming up when—
“Whoa, insane! Hey! What is this?”
“What now?”
“Ugh, shut up.”
“Wait, we charted?”
“Huh?”
“What? Are you serious?”
Heo Jun-seong held up his phone to show everyone.
…….
97th Place : Lockda – Exit
98th Place : Okdab – Rendezvous
99th Place : DohEO – Irony
100th Place : …….
My friends’ growth, the performance of our music release—both were approaching our target faster than I’d predicted.
Back in my previous life, even as a rookie, that height had felt impossibly distant.
I hadn’t expected us to chart this quickly.
My primary focus had been on noise rather than chart position anyway.
“Wow, this is actually surreal.”
“Wait, so we didn’t just get some airtime and get criticized? People are actually listening to our music like this?”
“Hold on…… we’re not going to get hit with artificial chart manipulation accusations, are we?”
“Who artificially pumps a chart with downloads just to barely crack 98? Are you stupid, Heo Jun-seong?”
“Oh, that’s true.”
I was surprised too, but I didn’t think it was impossible.
These guys were probably ten times more shocked than me, staring at the phone like it was glued to their faces.
Moments ago, they’d all been whining about the cold.
Now that seemed completely forgotten.
“This is really incredible. Did you expect things to turn out like this, Cha Seo-ha?”
“To some degree?”
“That’s amazing.”
My friends stood staring at me blankly for a moment.
“So what’s the next move?”
I decided to answer Kim Ji-hoo’s question kindly.
He and Lee Do-yeong cared about the bigger picture.
“Remember meeting with Moon Ga-yeong about an entertainment program a while back?”
“Yeah, I remember.”
“We decided not to do that one, but that PD is going to call us soon. He wants to do a broadcast with the full lineup.”
“Oh, really? What kind of broadcast?”
“A music broadcasting show.”
“……Huh?”
“What kind of broadcast?”
“Oh, like a music variety show?”
“Yeah, yeah, a music variety show! What show is it?”
“No, I mean the music broadcast on K-Net that runs every Thursday.”
“That music broadcasting show?”
“Yeah. How many times do I have to tell you guys?”
Beyond charting, this next bombshell news sent them into a second round of meltdown.
“Look, charting and appearing on a music broadcast—it’s all happening and decided. Now we need to focus on what comes next. Stop malfunctioning and get your heads in the game!”
I clapped loudly to snap them back to attention.
The reality hitting them, their expressions came back to life one by one.
“Man, if we appear on a music broadcast, we’re going to get absolutely roasted, right?”
“For sure. Honestly, I couldn’t think of anything that would get us more hate than the Star Observation Cam, but this is definitely the ticket.”
“Yeah, Seo-ha is amazing, actually landing a music broadcast.”
“Hoka…… hoka…….”
Radiant faces, practically glowing with excitement.
No matter how much of a plan we had, no matter that we knew we’d face criticism—they were thrilled.
I wondered just how much more hate we’d need to take before we felt satisfied, and suddenly it hit me: this team really had no one normal.
I couldn’t help but laugh.
These lunatics.
They were probably buzzing with anticipation right now.
With these insane friends, anything felt possible.
Even if we got called stupid, as long as Heo Jun-seong was with me, it was okay.
Even if my image got cemented as insufferable, with Kim Ji-hoo around, I had nothing to worry about.
With Lee Do-yeong by my side, any version of myself felt good.
It was fine to be pointed at as a spineless pushover.
Though I’d really prefer not to get labeled an otaku.
As long as all five of us were together, we could overcome any hardship.
I was excited too.
“Alright then, while we’re at it, let’s all brainstorm about the next album together, shall we?”
“Sounds good!”

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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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