The Reincarnated Idol Hard Carries an Indie Band - Chapter 30

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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 Does Hard Carry for an Indie Band
Chapter 30
“This can’t be happening!!”
Kim Ju-hee, an office worker, fell into despair upon checking the view count of her latest video on YouTube.
“Ugh, without Oktatop, the views are absolutely tanking.”
Oktatop had posted a notice on their SNS accounts that they’d take a break from busking until early February.
The main content of Kim Ju-hee’s channel, “Human Kim Ju-hee,” was originally a vlog documenting her working life.
After Oktatop appeared, she’d either splice their performance footage into her vlogs or release it as standalone content.
Videos featuring Oktatop would pull in thousands of views at minimum.
Her highest view count had nearly hit 700,000.
—Office Worker Vlog: Why She Seriously Considered Quitting?
And her most recent upload had managed…
Views: 219
“Tsk, this feels awful.”
She was a fan of Oktatop too.
If judged purely by initiative, there probably wasn’t a fan quite like her.
Still, it stung that her channel was getting less attention.
She couldn’t wait for Oktatop to make their comeback.
Though remembering their most recent video did lift her spirits a bit.
—[Oktatop Banwol Park Busking (Cruise!!)] Who Made High Schoolers Do Winter Training!!!?
In that footage, Oktatop had been performing while sliced by razor-sharp winds.
A sparse crowd and harsh conditions.
By any measure, an ensemble performance of underwhelming quality.
Yet that performance video possessed an undeniable pull.
—Man… you can really feel the passion from that stage ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
—Why does it hurt to watch our kids ㅠㅠㅠㅠ Someone please bring them a heater….
—I was complaining with a friend about them taking a break, but I’m ashamed now…. You guys can rest more if you need to….
—And people still say these kids are idols? Trainees? The more I think about it, the more I’m mad
└I know right!! The people who automatically criticize hardworking kids just to bring them down are truly disgusting!!
—Wow this is seriously the most moving Oktatop live I’ve ever seen, even if the stage itself wasn’t perfect
—The crowd’s small but they’re still giving their all…….
—You guys should debut, whatever form you take, as idols or whatever else, I’ll support you
—I want to buy each of you a padded jacket….
└Let’s start a fundraiser
└For real?
└Oktatop parents unite
Kim Ju-hee had a habit of deleting malicious comments targeting the artists without warning, so this corner of the internet remained pristine.
“I guess I really do love them a lot.”
Just moments ago, she’d felt bitter about how dismal her vlog’s view counts were.
But knowing Oktatop was beloved made her leap with joy.
Noticing her own shift in mood, Kim Ju-hee felt it again.
If this wasn’t what being a fan meant, then what was?
* * *
While we were on hiatus from busking, we spent our time conceptualizing the next album.
None of us let up on personal practice either.
Kim Ji-hu and Lee Do-yeong made efforts to keep up with their studies in the gaps between sessions.
We’d nailed down the album’s overall direction.
The genre was broadly Alternative Metal.
There were too many competing opinions to harmonize easily.
And we couldn’t push a single traditional genre in an era like this.
Metal was the one common ground we’d managed to find.
That said, the foundation would remain metal, but we’d layer other musical elements on top of it.
There was a limit to proving ourselves by sticking to a single genre front and center.
Of course, I wasn’t talking about limits born from a lack of skill.
A single genre’s narrow frame couldn’t contain all our ambitions.
There was too much sound available in the world not to use it.
We wanted to blend things together in diverse ways.
During the busking break, I’d written several demo songs.
From those, I’d focused intensely on completing the one track the members loved most.
And today was the day we’d record that song to finish it.
We’d booked ST Studio again for the recording.
Jo Hyun-seop offered us his free time slots at no charge.
I still hadn’t managed to produce anything worthy of properly repaying him, but I brought drinks as a token of gratitude when we showed up.
“Long time no see.”
“Thank you so much for letting us use the studio for free again.”
“No worries—I have a booking at two o’clock, so you’ve got until then.”
“An hour is more than enough!”
“Ha, sure, got it.”
We bowed deeply in gratitude and headed into the studio.
“Alright, let’s get started right away.”
I didn’t yet know how this song would be used.
Albums had a way of diverging wildly from initial plans and final products.
This track might not make the cut and end up shelved, but what mattered was trying.
A single completed song could define a direction, or at minimum, nail down an approach to the work itself.
“Alright, recording setup’s done. Who wants to go first?”
At my question, all eyes fixed on one person.
Except Heo Jun-seong’s.
“Ugh, me again?”
“Well, you always do.”
“No, it’s always me.”
Heo Jun-seong grumbled as he slung on his guitar and headed straight for the recording booth.
Heo Jun-seong had shown remarkable growth during the last Rendezvous recording.
I found myself looking forward to this.
“Oh, hey Heo Jun-seong. You’ve improved even more?”
“Yeah, not bad.”
“Wow, your sense of rhythm seems really sharp now.”
“Right? This guy’s growth rate is kind of scary.”
Heo Jun-seong had leveled up again.
And this time, it was noticeably steep.
Sure, his personal practice time had increased since the last Band Slam.
On the surface, he’d loudly proclaimed he wanted to get roasted more and become famous.
But underneath, there had to be frustration burning.
This guy had always needed a rival to really ignite—it was just how he was wired.
And if his rival was the entire scene, his hunger would double, and naturally he’d pour effort into it.
Heo Jun-seong, truly excellent.
“Thanks for that. Who’s next? Do-yeong, want to give it a shot?”
“Yeah, let’s go!”
Lee Do-yeong answered cheerfully and headed into the booth.
“Why does he even answer so cutely?”
“Oh, Kim Ji-hu, so you feel the same….”
“You really want to get beaten down harder, or should I throw a few more punches?”
“…….”
The moment Lee Do-yeong entered the booth, he stretched languidly and began limbering up.
“You ready?”
“Not yet!”
“Alright, just let me know when you are.”
Lee Do-yeong spent a long time observing the space and doing deep breathing exercises.
Was he actually nervous?
Then his voice came through the mic.
“Okay, adaptation complete! Ready to roll.”
“Oh, haha! Got it, understood.”
He was doing it again—that environmental adjustment thing I’d told him about last time.
I was starting to understand the sentiment of Jo Hyun-seop, who’d been watching this newbie band with stagnant observation.
Lee Do-yeong’s recording skills had improved too.
His shoulders, always bunched with tension, had dropped considerably.
The performance felt noticeably more relaxed now.
Naturally, his sense of rhythm was sharper.
He was even throwing in ad-libs with audacious flair.
And deliciously so.
“Bastard, you’ve grown a lot. Good, you can come out.”
Everyone had clearly been putting in serious work.
For the whole band to grow this much after Band Slam—they were really grinding their teeth on this.
What followed from Kang Min and Kim Ji-hu needed no commentary.
These two had always delivered their parts and then some.
The recording wrapped up in less than an hour.
We spent the remaining time tidying the track, then headed out of the studio.
* * *
“Thanks so much, boss.”
“Thank you!”
Jo Hyun-seop sat in the lobby sipping the drink Oktatop had brought.
“You’ve all grown even more since I last saw you?”
“Oh, you were watching?”
“Yeah, I was monitoring. You guys work so enjoyably that it’s a pleasure to watch.”
“Thank you.”
“Is that song a new track?”
“Well, it’s just something we’ve been working on for now. We want to release an album, but I’m not sure if this one will make the cut.”
So that’s possible.
They might not use this excellent song?
Was it because they could make something even better?
Even just from the monitor, I could sense the mastery in the songwriting.
The arrangement was flawless, and the carefully balanced sound and mix had an almost populist appeal.
And yet the genre itself was metal.
Sensational and trendy all at once.
It was the kind of track ordinary artists would covet.
The fact that they might not use it was striking.
So that’s what kind of guy he was.
Cha Seo-ha, forever surprising him.
Though Cha Seo-ha wasn’t the only surprise.
The last time they’d come in to record was only a few months ago.
The growth of his musician friends had been remarkable.
The drummer had been excellent back then too, so he hadn’t shown dramatic development.
The surprise lay in the other three.
Clearly, last time they’d barely managed to do what Cha Seo-ha asked of them.
They were good for kids, but that was about it.
They were the kind of musicians who made you hopeful about their future, yet in just a few months they’d come quite close to fulfilling that promise.
What kind of practice were they doing on the daily?
Or—what if they hadn’t shown him everything yet?
He couldn’t help but wonder where these guys’ ceiling was.
He wanted to hear them every day.
Their music.
Before anyone else did.
“Right, you all worked hard. Let’s stay in touch often. Whenever you need something, just let me know.”
If it meant that, offering up a recording studio for free was nothing.
“Got it. We’ll be on our way.”
“Goodbye!”
Jo Hyun-seop watched the cheerful backs of the kids as they left, thinking his thoughts.
* * *
Issues bloom and wilt daily.
Someone’s incident gets buried under another rumor, and a crime fades before yet another scandal.
Oktatop’s appearance on a variety show was no different.
Within the band scene, they were still marked as the kind to be ruthlessly beaten.
But looking at the entertainment industry as a whole, you’d hear casual remarks like “Oh, Oktatop? Yeah, there were kids like that.”
As the weather warmed, Oktatop threw themselves back into busking.
And they were coaxing their dimmed presence back to life like a blooming flower.
A small garden like Banwol Park where merely dozens of flowers were in bloom.
Oktatop’s garden seemed ready to expand its scale to welcome the coming spring.
Soon, sunlight would shimmer between the buildings.
Bathed in that light, a garden filled with vivid flowers of envy and jealousy, ready to burst into magnificent bloom.

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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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