The Reincarnated Idol Hard Carries an Indie Band - Chapter 47

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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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The Former Idol’s Indie Band Carry
Episode 47
While the world was in uproar over Oktop, there was one person who remained oblivious to the band because she was devoted to her main job.
“Thank you so much, Tobi, for the two thousand won!
YouTuber Dampa was streaming live diligently as always.
He had just wrapped up a hundred-hour gameplay broadcast over several days and was in the middle of a brief interactive livestream.
He’d been gaming for days without sleep and had no energy left; he was thinking about ending the stream soon.
-Drety3661 donated 50,000 won.
“Wow! Thank you so much, drety3661, for fifty thousand won!”
A donation came through, followed by the donor’s message.
-Dampa, an indie band called Oktop released an album. Would you consider doing an album review content piece? It’s been a while since you’ve done one.
“Ah, I haven’t done album review content in so long that I’ve retired from it. I’m sorry.”
But even as he said this, accepting money only to flatly refuse the request felt wrong.
“However! I’ll consider doing a reaction to the title track or music video. Actually, since I took the money—since you sent fifty thousand won!—I suppose I should at least do that much, right? Understood!”
Dampa had committed, but he felt reluctant about it.
* * *
Dampa intended to end the broadcast and grab a quick nap.
Tomorrow was a day off, the day after that was an interactive stream, and then came another new game broadcast…
Along with the schedule came worries about his direction in life.
“Right, I got a donation.”
His body was saturated with exhaustion, but with so much to think about, Dampa couldn’t fall asleep easily.
Since he’d promised, he might as well get it done quickly.
The indie band was called Oktop, wasn’t it?
He suspected the person who sent the donation was probably a member of the band or someone connected to them.
Who else would propose something like this to a retired guitarist turned gaming YouTuber?
And to a YouTuber with only sixty thousand subscribers at that.
Well, he’d made the promise, so he might as well listen.
Lying in bed, he searched for the music video of Oktop’s recent release, Awaken, on his smartphone.
“What? Two hundred thousand?”
The music video for the indie band’s release, which came out the day before yesterday, had two hundred thousand views.
“That’s impossible, right? These guys must be getting some serious hype.”
Feeling something was off, Dampa played the music video.
The screen faded to grayscale, and it began with a single band member opening his eyes.
“Wow, he’s good-looking, isn’t he? This isn’t indie—it’s an idol group, isn’t it?”
Then came the sizzling noise of distorted guitar as the song started.
“What, is this metal?”
Who releases metal music in this day and age?
Well, someone could, sure.
But the genre seemed completely at odds with two hundred thousand views.
Then a brief section played, and the faces of the other members flashed rapidly in time with the rhythm.
“Wait, did I miss something just now?”
Dampa rewound to that scene.
“…That’s Kang Min.”
* * *
A notice appeared on Dampa’s channel.
-May 10th at 8 PM: Full album review of Oktop’s After The OKTOP.
The next day, the moment Dampa started the livestream, he launched into it with high energy.
“Hey! The guy who sent fifty thousand won right before I ended the stream yesterday, come out here! Who are you? How dare you bring something like this?”
He was hurling complaints at the donor, but his expression was full of smiles.
“I was planning to end the stream yesterday and go to sleep, right? But Oktop? Those guys—no, those wonderful people! I couldn’t get a single wink of sleep listening to their new album! Where the hell did people like this come from?”
His voice was booming.
“And I hadn’t slept until yesterday, as you all know. So honestly, I was going to skip the album review, but once I heard the music, I couldn’t not do it!”
Comments from viewers exploded across the screen.
-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋWhat’s all the fuss about?
-He really knows his music. I came for the Oktop album review and it’s already looking good.
-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋThis guy is hilarious ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-What’s all the commotion about?
-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Get to the two-track album, it’s seriously amazing, everyone’s in for a treat, I’m not joking
-Finally showing your main skill, hyung ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ Do music review content more often, please
-What, no gaming stream today?
“Ah, gaming streams and all that—that’s not what matters today. All right, let’s dive in. My true calling at last.”
Dampa began listening to Oktop’s music from the first track, dissecting each song one by one.
As someone who used to make music, his analytical skills were exceptional.
And then came the long-awaited title track.
“All right, I think it’s best to watch the music video for this one, don’t you?”
Dampa played the music video and rubbed his hands together with anticipation.
Here it comes.
“So, the first scene—this vocalist here has visuals that are absolutely insane.”
Then came the brief section revealing the other members’ faces.
Dampa gasped again at the relentless visual assault.
“Damn. This is insane. And you know what’s incredible about this music? The genre is metal, right? Nobody does metal anymore these days. I mean, literally nobody! Well, maybe if you dig around you’d find someone, but as far as I know—nobody. This is genuinely exceptional.”
-Oh, is that so?
-Yeah, it does feel like a genre I’ve never heard before
-That’s interesting; can you tell just by listening?
-Dampa used to make music. He even has Perfect Pitch.
“But you know what? I think this song is pretty accessible, don’t you? Never mind, I did. Anyway! And what’s incredible is that this is all in a minor key, but it sounds major, you know?”
He was absolutely thrilled.
“Usually, minor progressions are hard to make commercial! But they used such brilliant progressions that we can’t even tell it’s minor!”
He was jumping up from his chair, crouching down, waving his arms—complete chaos.
“Right here! Right here! This progression is absolutely mind-blowing! E minor with flattened thirds, flattened sevenths, and what else? The fourth! This progression keeps that minor feeling at the start without losing the commercial appeal, and then they lay down these ethereal synth pads so it’s commercially viable but not entirely so…. Ugh, just listen! You guys wouldn’t understand anyway! No, you wouldn’t!”
-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋWhat’s this sudden outburst? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Wait, why is this guy so professional?
-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋHe’s totally fired up ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-He talks way too much ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Why is this so funny, calm down a bit, hyung
-Did Oktop pay him or something? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-He’s going wild ㅋㅋㅋ I don’t know what he’s saying but it sounds impressive
-What is all this, anyway…
-What? This guy is pretty professional?
“And right here! Goddamn fifth! Yesss! No drums! There’s no drums here? Just reverb. And they even pulled off the cool factor. Wow… you guys, I’m seriously struggling…”
Dampa was practically writhing in his chair, spitting as he spoke.
He was enjoying himself in a way that seemed almost excessive.
Of course, viewers were amazed by his unexpected expertise and laughed at his energy.
“And this bright distortion carries both the feeling of youth and metal at the same time, you see? The tone making is absolutely stellar. When I played guitar, I spent so much time agonizing over finding a pretty tone… Man, I’m getting nostalgic.”
Suddenly, Dampa drifted into memories.
His eyes were glistening with tears.
-Wait, is he crying?
-Your emotions are all over the place, this is tough to follow
-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋWhy is this guy so funny, seriously ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Why has this guy been doing gaming streams all this time anyway?
-No but his commentary is really entertaining ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Please do content other than gaming, you’re seriously good on camera
Oktop’s Awaken reached the chorus, and the song took off at breakneck speed.
Dampa started jumping around in his chair, shrieking.
“Yoooow! You son of a bitches! Oktop, you madlads! That bass is absolutely killer!!”
Continuing the review was becoming impossible.
Dampa finally collapsed into his chair.
“Hah… Okay, everything I’ve said so far aside, the vocalist just sings incredibly well. Best band vocalist I’ve heard in a while. Anyone better than this guy? Excluding the legends, there’s nobody. Literally nobody—he’s top tier. Actually, he’s number one.”
After lavishing praise on the vocalist one last time, the title track review ended.
Dampa went on to meticulously review every track on the album through to the end.
His voice completely shot, the gaming broadcast scheduled for the next day had to be postponed.
* * *
“Look at this guy.”
In the practice room, Lee Do-young, munching on a sandwich that Kim Ji-hu had bought, showed a video to the others.
“What is it?”
“Dampa? Looks like he’s a YouTuber. Says he’s reviewing our album.”
“Really? Let me see.”
Kim Ji-hu watched the video alongside Lee Do-young.
“I can’t watch this—it’s too loud…”
He turned it off before five minutes were up.
“Yeah, it is pretty loud. And he swears way too much.”
Kang Min approached the two of them, whose spirits had been dampened by Dampa’s energy.
“That guy’s always loud and talks a lot.”
“You know him?”
“Yeah, I’ve seen him a few times way back. He used to be in a band.”
“Is there anyone you don’t know?”
“Well-connected, that’s me!”
Kang Min brushed his nose and answered.
“What was that supposed to mean?”
“No idea…”
Just then, Heo Jun-sung came running from somewhere.
“Whoa! There’s something like this too!”
“What?”
It was another YouTube channel.
A channel called “Muzic-hen’s Playlist.”
The channel uploaded music alongside videos that complemented it—it was a music showcase channel.
“Oh… They edited our music video and posted it?”
“Wow, this is getting some pretty good responses too.”
Searching for Oktop revealed diverse reactions.
While the major search portals hadn’t picked it up yet, YouTube and online communities were buzzing.
The press hadn’t covered it yet, but numerous public opinions were discussing Oktop.
The band members sat eating the sandwiches Kim Ji-hu had generously bought, checking the flood of reactions.
Then, arriving late, Cha Seo-ha brought another piece of news.
“Alert! Alert!!”

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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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