The Reincarnated Idol Hard Carries an Indie Band - Chapter 32

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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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Reincarnated Idol Carries an Indie Band
Episode 32
When Seo Ha mentioned wanting to do a Live Performance on a music broadcast, Park Yun-chan’s expression hardened.
“Ah… Seo Ha. A Live Performance that day is impossible. Even with our full staff, managing a Band Scene performance is complicated, and we absolutely can’t do it with substitute personnel.”
“Yes, that’s why we’d like to arrive early and prepare everything ourselves.”
“Hey, that’s enough.”
Heo Jun-sung, sitting beside me, poked my elbow gently and spoke.
Then Park Yun-chan took his turn.
“I understand your feelings, but a Live Performance is frankly difficult. We have too many technical limitations.”
“I understand. Just organizing the Instrument Cables would be tedious, right? Matching the Live Sound and Broadcast Sound is going to be troublesome, and we’d need separate corrections for everything. So I’ll handle all of that.”
“You’ll handle everything by yourself?”
“Yes, though there is someone willing to help. Just one person.”
“Someone willing to help?”
“Cho Hyun-seop.”
“Cho Hyun-seop? The Cho Hyun-seop who created Uptown Boys?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“How do you know him?”
“He’s just a neighbor from our area.”
Park Yun-chan sank back deeply into his chair.
“If the founder is willing to help, then…”
He seemed to want to ask more, but since that wasn’t the main point right now, Park Yun-chan swallowed his words.
“PD, it’s not okay.”
The Assistant Director tried to stop Park Yun-chan.
“Wait a moment.”
Park Yun-chan fell silent, turning the matter over in his mind.
“To be honest, it would look better visually if we did it as a Live Performance. There’s an angle showing how we’ve given a regular contestant a good opportunity despite the ongoing Strike.”
Sure enough, invoking the name of a major figure does help in negotiations.
“But we can’t do it unconditionally either. Post-production will be handled by the Broadcasting Station, but the Instrument Cable organization before the Rehearsal begins will be Oktatop’s responsibility.”
“Yes, please leave it to us!”
“However, if you don’t finish before the Rehearsal starts, there will be no Live Performance. That’s not something you can whine your way into.”
“Yes, I’ll make sure we get it done.”
“And of course, any equipment damage will be your responsibility.”
“Yes, I understand completely.”
And so I secured a promise about the Live Performance.
I looked at my friends with an expression of triumph.
Wondering what their expressions would be.
Probably bright, like mine…
No, their faces looked oddly blank.
Hey, what’s the problem exactly?
* * *
After finishing the meeting that way, we headed home.
“Hey, is it okay for you to be so bold in a meeting with adults?”
“Seo Ha, you need to show proper respect.”
Did I lack manners?
I didn’t think so.
Come to think of it, our conversation partners were quite senior.
It’s natural for a high school student to be deferential around adults.
I just didn’t have that naturalness in me.
But still? I have to get what I need.
“Hey, so you’re actually going on a music broadcast and doing Lip Sync?”
“No, it’s good as a result, but what if we accidentally damage the equipment while handling it ourselves?”
“Don’t worry. Nothing’s going to break.”
“Look at how recklessly she’s talking? How would you know?”
I have eight years of music broadcast experience.
They’re all too worried.
“We absolutely have to do a Live Performance. We’re taking the hate and chasing fame to prove ourselves. So what are we going to prove if the band just does Lip Sync?”
The friends who’d been scolding me just moments ago fell silent.
“There’s a strong perception that only idols appear on music broadcasts, but for us it’s just a stage—nothing more, nothing less. Why would a band even go out there if we’re not doing a Live Performance?”
The others started nodding.
“If you’re scared of breaking the equipment and don’t want to do the Live Performance, just say so now. I’ll go tell them we’re not doing the broadcast.”
“No, let’s do it. Everything you’re saying is right.”
“Yeah, besides, Cho Hyun-seop said he’d help us.”
Lee Do-young and Heo Jun-sung agreed.
“Right, and I’m good with equipment too.”
“This is fun. Yeah, let’s give it a shot.”
I even won over Kang Min and Kim Ji-hoo.
Now all that was left was to actually prepare.
Once we appear on a music broadcast, just how loud will the Band Scene become? How loud will this world get?
As I imagined all the criticism and attention we’d receive, excitement began to bloom inside me.
* * *
Interest in Oktatop seemed to be cooling on the surface.
That made sense—Oktatop wasn’t doing broadcast activities like other celebrities.
And the media reach available to us was quite limited.
But the data told a different story.
81. Oktatop – Rendezvous
Oktatop’s “Rendezvous” had climbed to number 81 on the music charts.
Of course, it’s natural for a song to rise somewhat in the rankings once it achieves a Chart Entry.
But the growth rate was strong even for a lower ranking.
The surprise didn’t stop there.
61. Oktatop – Cruise!!
“Cruise!!” — which had gotten a much better response both online and in person than “Rendezvous” — achieved a Chart Entry and shot up the rankings at a frightening pace.
About a month ago, it was the Oktatop performance on the “Human Kim Joo-hee” channel.
Despite the cold weather, the sight of Oktatop singing and playing with all their might drew people’s hearts, making them want to cheer.
The video now had well over 400,000 views.
And that impact was reflected in the rankings.
Early this year, good news kept coming for Oktatop.
-Cruise!! charted?
-No way? When did it jump to 61st?
-Honestly if it had been summer it would’ve gone higher?
-Wait, isn’t this song similar to Dice’s comeback track? Plagiarism maybe……
└Are you out of your mind? Just because the genre’s the same?
└Why do these people carry ears around?
└Why? Isn’t everything from ballads to hip-hop basically plagiarism anyway?
└The genre’s literally the same lol the chord progression and melody are completely different but plagiarism ㅋㅋㅋ
-That busking performance I saw on YouTube was a mess but it’s such a good song
└It was cold though ㅠㅠ I felt bad for them, calling it a mess……
└Yeah that’s exactly why it was so cold ㅎㅎ
-I almost sped driving listening to this
└And you didn’t? ㅋㅋ
└You held back? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Idol bands get out of here
└They’re not an idol band ㅡㅡ
└What if they are, what if they aren’t, you complain either way? Aren’t you tired of criticizing celebrities?
-Ah now whenever I hear the original I think of their winter performance ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
└Ah heartbreak…ㅠㅠ
Among the supporters, there were plenty of voices criticizing Oktatop.
But in the end, they were all viewers too.
Those sending love and those hurling criticism were all watching Oktatop as a result.
But the numbers were still too small.
No matter how I thought about it, I wasn’t satisfied, so we were going to create something bigger today.
“Ugh, I’m so sleepy……”
The Broadcasting Station had us arrive at seven in the morning.
But since we needed to prepare for the Live Performance, we decided to get to the Broadcasting Station by five at the latest.
Of course, not by ourselves.
With Cho Hyun-seop, who came as manager, guide, overseer, and guardian.
“I’m sorry for the early hour.”
“No, I feel better sending you with someone reliable.”
Our kids were blinking sleepily too, just like the boss.
I’m accumulating more debts to repay to the boss.
Of course I’ll repay him grandly later.
But a sense of obligation always accumulates faster than personal success.
So we gathered our Instruments, got into the boss’s car, and headed to the Broadcasting Station.
* * *
One mercy of aging was that morning sleepiness decreased.
I mainlined coffee and gripped the wheel.
Looking in the rearview mirror, everyone except Seo Ha in the passenger seat had passed out.
It was only about a twenty-minute drive, and seeing how they fell asleep the moment we left, moving at an early hour must be hard on them.
The moment I heard they were going on a music broadcast, I volunteered to support them.
I first entered this industry in 1993.
Now I’m somewhat removed from it, but I’ve kept my eyes on the entertainment world for twenty-five years straight.
In all that time, I’ve seen countless geniuses.
They all achieved success starting with utterly absurd antics.
And watching Oktatop, it felt exactly like watching that moment just before geniuses make their leap.
The reason I came along with these kids today was simply because I wanted to watch their activities up close.
But my goodwill isn’t free.
Someday I wanted to use these kids for something.
Not necessarily in a utilitarian sense.
Even just having my name etched into one page of their history would be enough.
A certain presence, necessary for the completion of a genius.
Being remembered as part of my legacy—that’s a sacred thing.
“Why don’t you get some rest too?”
“No, I’m mentally mapping out the Live Performance setup right now, so I can’t sleep.”
When she hasn’t even seen what the Broadcasting Station’s sound equipment looks like, how can she be mapping it out?
She’s a funny one, but her thorough preparation is admirable.
“Besides, I can sleep during the waiting time later.”
“Mm, okay. Don’t overexert yourself.”
So that’s what being a leader means—she’s done quite a bit of research.
* * *
After a long drive, we arrived at the Broadcasting Station parking lot.
We gathered our Instruments and stood around in the middle of the lot.
“Where do we go……”
The boss seemed to be lost too, since it’d been a while since he’d been to the Broadcasting Station.
I knew the way—should I take charge?
“This way should be it. Come on, everyone follow me.”
“Yes, understood!”
And so we started walking where the boss was intuitively leading us.
Shortly after, we spotted a staff member running toward us from a distance.
“I apologize. This is my first day, so I got the word about your early arrival late.”
“No, we just came earlier than planned.”
The guide staff we’d met at the parking entrance was clearly inexperienced—definitely substitute personnel.
Even the lower ranks are using substitutes? Just how massive is this Strike?
Following the staff’s directions, we arrived at the first-floor lobby.
“Your access pass? Hmm, the person in charge hasn’t arrived yet.”
“Should we try calling the PD?”
“Oh, wait. Here’s a temporary access pass. Use this.”
“Thank you.”
Nothing was flowing smoothly.
We took our passes and boarded the elevator.
“Um… uh……”
The staff member hesitated before pressing a floor button.
His finger wavered between floors three and four before landing on three.
“Oh, I’m sorry. Where was the waiting room assigned again…? Could you wait just a moment when you get out?”
“Sure, that’s fine. Take your time.”
“Yes, the situation is what it is, so I’ve been given so much to handle.”
“It’s okay.”
I wonder if the broadcast will even run smoothly at all.

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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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