The Reincarnated Idol Hard Carries an Indie Band - Chapter 34

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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 Pop Idol Carries an Indie Band
Episode 34
I relayed the necessary information in response to Jo Hyun-woo’s question.
I told him that I’d asked the PD for a live performance, and since the Broadcasting Station couldn’t prepare for it, we’d taken charge ourselves.
Then I explained the problems that had arisen in the preparation process.
“That’s the situation. It’s just the drums left to solve, but time is getting tight.”
The drummer, listening to this, answered in his place.
“Sounds like we might have to give up on it? How are we supposed to manage that during Rehearsal?”
“Yeah, it’s not easy. If this were a regular venue, that’d be one thing, but the environment here is so complicated.”
So there really wasn’t a good solution.
Then I should propose my plan.
I need to at least check whether it’s realistic or not.
“What if we placed my Hand Microphone against the drums?”
“It could work. As long as we adjust the gain well and fiddle with the Equalizer, it’d be a decent temporary fix.”
Hmm, so it is possible.
I’d only imagined it theoretically, but now that I’d confirmed it was practically viable, that was enough.
“But that’s not the problem, is it? Then what about your microphone?”
There was only one Hand Microphone prepared today.
More precisely, there was only one microphone connected to the channel.
“Ah, I think I can manage with a Headset Microphone.”
At my response, the Jo Hyun-woo Band members made a soft clicking sound and tilted their heads in confusion.
Their expressions suggested I didn’t just lack knowledge—I lacked it spectacularly.
“The idea wasn’t bad in itself, but if both your hands are free, it’ll come across as way sloppier than you think. And there’s no sound engineer here to cover for you, plus—you know the Sound Capture Quality on that microphone is poor, right? It’s actually poison for a live performance.”
Every word they said was correct.
It was rare for both hands to be free on stage without choreography unless it was a musical.
And everyone knew that Headset Microphones had poor sound capture.
But I could feel the affection in their objections.
“Ah, I see. Understood. Thank you for the advice.”
After that, we exchanged mutual respect and encouragement before returning to the Waiting Room.
* * *
Back in the Waiting Room, Okdap immediately started a discussion.
“Hey, Cha Seo-ha, you’re really going to do this?”
“Yeah, I can manage. Don’t worry.”
Kang Min looked at Cha Seo-ha as if he were mad.
What kind of lunatic wears a Headset Microphone while playing band music?
Not just Kang Min—all the members thought the same thing.
“You really think you can pull this off?”
This time Jo Hyun-seop asked.
The success of this plan hinged on Jo Hyun-seop’s help.
“Yes, I can manage it. I know it’s troublesome, but please help me set up the microphone quickly when we get to the venue.”
Jo Hyun-seop’s expression turned mysterious.
“Isn’t that a bit reckless? A music broadcast isn’t child’s play.”
“I know it isn’t. That’s exactly why I want to challenge it.”
Jo Hyun-seop recalled the Cha Seo-ha he’d observed up until now.
He was a remarkable presence.
And then Jo Hyun-seop imagined Okdap’s future ahead.
It was a glimmering light, but still faint.
“A live performance is truly necessary. I’m not saying this lightly. I know very well this isn’t a stage for just one or two people.”
In Cha Seo-ha’s determined expression, Jo Hyun-seop glimpsed some kind of future.
A faint light.
After that haze cleared, just how brilliant would the light that emerged become?
As if he himself had become a member of Okdap, passion welled up inside him.
“You all really have to do well. My reputation is on the line here too. There’s more than one person I know at this venue.”
“I understand. I’ll do my best so as not to cause you any trouble.”
Cha Seo-ha responded with overflowing confidence.
“You lot will work hard too, right?”
“Of course! Do you even have to ask?”
“We just do what we always do.”
Faced with these kids’ boundless confidence, Jo Hyun-seop had no choice but to be swept along.
“Yeah, let’s all give it our best shot.”
Jo Hyun-seop found himself thinking of his younger self.
He decided to do everything in his power to make Okdap’s live performance a reality.
Just as he had in his youth.
* * *
Okdap took the Stage.
As a final check, they verified the In-ear Monitors, microphones, and instruments.
The Audience Seating was filled with a small number of pre-recorded broadcast attendees.
And behind that seating, the Jo Hyun-woo Band members were sitting.
“What, he’s really wearing it?”
Cha Seo-ha on stage was equipped with a Headset Microphone.
“We told him not to… but…”
The Jo Hyun-woo Band members all frowned in unison.
It wasn’t just irritation at these juniors for not listening—it was genuine concern.
This was a good opportunity for an indie band to appear on a music broadcast.
They should be showing their best side.
“No, let’s just watch for now.”
Jo Hyun-woo fixed his gaze on the stage and spoke.
Looking at Okdap on stage, he was reminded of old days.
They’d had nothing to their name but passion for music when they threw themselves into that difficult market.
Adults had clicked their tongues at them, and people around them had questioned whether it would ever work.
But they’d gritted their teeth and persevered, earning recognition for their effort and skill.
Just recently, he’d learned that Okdap also seemed to be going through a difficult time, so he felt both pity for them and a desire to root for them.
And kinship.
But there was one difference between them and Okdap: skill, planning, and execution.
Unlike Jo Hyun-woo’s band, which had succeeded through sheer brute force of time and effort, Okdap had excellent potential.
After wrapping up the conversation that morning and returning to the Waiting Room, he’d even looked up their music himself.
They were kids with excellent musicality and sensibility.
He was thrilled not just to discover promising juniors in a dying scene.
He wanted to see where they’d end up.
Today’s music broadcast had a poor environment.
Still, most of the performers had companies to cover for their difficulties, and with their experience, they didn’t face major challenges.
But Okdap, with no company, was overcoming the worst environment.
If they nailed this stage, what a magnificent narrative completion that would be.
“Alright! When I give the signal, please give us a cheer!”
Okdap seemed to have finished their preparations.
The members of Okdap waiting in their respective positions.
Looking at them, Jo Hyun-woo felt his heart race.
“One! Two! Cheer!”
“Woooooow!”
The audience roared and the cameras started rolling.
And so began “Rendezvous”.
Jo Hyun-woo and his members held their breath and began to absorb the stage.
* * *
The lights brightly illuminated Okdap’s members.
Heo Jun-seong’s Guitar and Lee Do-young’s Bass delivered short slides.
Kang Min’s Drums came in right on cue.
Kang Min, already known for his intensity, displayed his signature energy without restraint.
All of it was thanks to the microphone Cha Seo-ha had provided.
Those powerful drums and the pleasantly unfolding Guitar of Heo Jun-seong.
Lee Do-young’s playing followed them both loosely, dancing with ease.
Kim Ji-hu’s crisp Synthesizer painted itself at the highest level.
Youth unfurling refreshingly.
Now it was time for Cha Seo-ha’s voice to write the story over it all.
As if rewriting a past someone had walked through.
As if drawing out the passion they’d forgotten from beyond memory itself.
Please do well.
Can that kid really pull it off?
Even Jo Hyun-seop at the console.
Even the Jo Hyun-woo Band seated in the audience.
Everyone supported Cha Seo-ha’s singing with one heart and one mind.
And Cha Seo-ha drew a song called “Nostalgia” over the youth.
Crossing through time
Crossing through space
I’ll come to meet you
No matter how much changes
I can recognize you
Not the Hand Microphone used in the morning.
Wearing a Headset Microphone with far inferior Sound Capture Quality.
“Crazy!”
“Really…”
The song felt quite different from the original.
It carried far more raw, visceral emotion, and felt rough rather than polished.
Of course, it was simply the singing style Cha Seo-ha had chosen to capture the sound as best as possible.
But the adults watching the stage could only interpret it as something with deeper intention behind it.
In any case, Cha Seo-ha was performing the song brilliantly.
Whether he could maintain this intensity until the end of the stage was something to be seen, but the start was strong.
The friends’ instruments and Cha Seo-ha’s voice were in excellent harmony, sailing smoothly forward.
It’s not over yet.
Singing well alone wasn’t enough.
This was a stage and a broadcast.
It had to register well on camera.
Cha Seo-ha had already memorized all the camera timing during Rehearsal.
As the song progressed, the cameras moved busily.
The main camera 1 light came on and captured Cha Seo-ha’s upper body in frame.
Cha Seo-ha showed composure through appropriate positioning and eye contact.
Afterward, his gaze naturally shifted toward the red light approaching—camera 2.
Since the composition captured both empty hands, he brought his right hand to the microphone wire fixed to his cheek, and with his left hand lightly clenched, he conveyed passionate emotion.
The song flowed into an uplifting pre-chorus that perfectly matched the emotion Cha Seo-ha was expressing.
In the brief section rhythm appearing before the chorus burst out, the members concentrating on their instruments appeared in turn.
And as Cha Seo-ha was captured by the camera again, the chorus began.
When we meet
It begins
A new world
New music
No matter how much changes
I can recognize you
Cha Seo-ha was skillfully using the camera’s framing to overcome the disadvantages of the Headset Microphone.
Though quite different from the original feel, difference wasn’t the same as wrong.
“Rendezvous,” capturing youth.
Cha Seo-ha’s fuller vocal power resembled youth’s passionate nature.
The members giving their all in their playing shone under the lights.
And above that shining performance, Cha Seo-ha singing was radiant.
Cha Seo-ha, shining brilliantly in turn, illuminating his friends.
The dazzling music they created inspired awe in those who watched.
“Hyung, those guys are seriously incredible?”
“Yeah, especially that frontman is really doing great.”
They were talking about Cha Seo-ha.
“Making sound like that with that microphone can’t be easy.”
“That’s not all. See how he’s watching the camera?”
“The camera? What camera?”
“His hands are awkward, so when the camera pulls in tight for a bust or waist shot, he just poses. But when it’s a full shot, his gestures are remarkably deliberate.”
“That can’t be… coincidence?”
“There’s no way this is coincidence. He’s cutting every single moment perfectly.”
“Oh, you really do see differently since you’ve trained as an idol.”
I’d heard he had no company.
Jo Hyun-seop had said so too.
That a high school student could pull this off without backing—it’s inexplicable without calling it genius.
No, even most geniuses couldn’t do this.
The kid not only had excellent sensibility but was smart.
Stage awareness, insight, and imagination too—everything had to support him to pull this off.
But the most interesting person to the band members wasn’t Cha Seo-ha.
“That bassist is serious, right?”
“Yeah, he’s the real deal.”
To musicians, nothing released dopamine quite like the caution and restraint of Lee Do-young’s playing.
Of course, everyone was excellent.
Kang Min, they already knew his caliber.
Kim Ji-hu’s sharp playing, Heo Jun-seong’s explosive performance.
All the members’ skills were better than expected.
The Jo Hyun-woo Band stared speechless at the stage as Okdap’s performance continued.
They’d used a few necessary sounds as backing track, but all the members’ playing and singing was live.
That dense live presence was felt very well.
As the song moved into its second half, the performance grew more intense.
Something felt strange.
Before taking this stage, I hadn’t felt nerves or excitement.
I was only focused on building the live environment.
Because I’d stood on so many stages already.
And this music broadcast, while certainly impressive and wonderful, wasn’t our ultimate goal.
It was just a waypoint.
But hearing these kids’ performance at its best even at this waypoint, emotion welled up inside me.
Even a stage that wouldn’t normally move me became special with these kids.
The success I’d been longing for with Okdap.
Countless ifs I’d imagined.
That hypothetical was becoming reality, blossoming one by one, approaching full bloom.
The miracle of being able to live in memories of youth, looking back.
The fact that I could sing that miracle was utterly joyful.

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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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