The Reincarnated Idol Hard Carries an Indie Band - Chapter 48

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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’s Hard Carry in an Indie Band
48
“What is it, Cha Seoha?”
“Take a look at this.”
“What now?”
It was the day after the album dropped.
Which meant two days from today.
Oktop announced on its official SNS account that it would hold a Showcase performance to commemorate the album’s release.
The date was set for Saturday, May 12th—this coming weekend.
The venue was a small concert hall owned by Nam Dohoon, who had hosted the Band Slam last year.
The venue could accommodate a maximum of 100 people.
And that was where the problem began.
Yesterday, Cha Seoha had sent out notifications to all the winners in bulk.
The phone he held out to his friends displayed the number of performance viewing applications that had come in so far.
—73,786 requests.
“Hmm… This is definitely a problem.”
“Wait, that many people applied?”
“Huh? Seventy thousand people?”
“We’re… something pretty big, aren’t we?”
The members’ faces mixed relief with bewilderment.
Growing in popularity was good, but they were woefully unprepared.
Opinions about Oktop’s personal performance weren’t hard to find online.
—Seriously, 100 seats? That’s ridiculous. I applied the moment it went up and got rejected.
—Isn’t the agency doing their job? Why hold a Showcase in a hole like this?
└They’re not signed to an agency, are they? Some people still think they’re not an Indie Band.
└Oh really? Had no idea.
└What agency would just take Showcase applications for fun lmao. Idiots lmao.
—Oktop guys… you’re not that small. Please do this at a bigger venue.
—It was supposed to be first-come, first-served for 100 people and like 10,000 applied lmao
—Open one more day please
—If you fail just go to Banwol Park and stop whining
└Did you get in?
└Yeah of course
└So jealous ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
Cha Seoha felt just as bewildered by the flood of complaints.
To be honest, he hadn’t fully grasped just how popular Oktop had become.
His entire life had been shaped by positions that matched his circumstances perfectly.
As a rookie idol, he’d enjoyed modest popularity befitting that status.
When he became a global star, he’d commanded fame to match.
This was his first time experiencing celebrity-level popularity as an Indie Band, so the disconnect was inevitable.
Typically, a small-scale idol Showcase with limited recognition drew at least 150 seats.
Oktop was receiving more love than he’d anticipated.
And it seemed clear that meeting that love halfway required action proportional to it.
Oktop, unprepared for this scale, fell into deliberation.
“What do we do? Should we open for another day?”
Technically, it was fine to wrap up the Showcase as is and showcase a better side next time.
But what mattered now was the current frustration.
They had to address it, even if it meant stretching themselves thin.
“Looks like we’re gonna have to push a little…”
Holding another performance wasn’t difficult in itself.
The real problem was money.
We were getting decent Music Streaming Revenue, but renting a small concert hall still required around 700,000 won.
And if they ended up booking somewhere bigger, the cost would only climb.
140,000 won per person, or depending on the venue’s size, double that or more.
I was fine with it.
Kim Jihoo and Kang Min came from well-off families, so they’d be okay too.
But what about Heo Junseong, whose home life was difficult, or Lee Doyoung, from a typical household?
140,000 won was huge for a high schooler.
“Let’s do it. We can manage the stretch.”
The first to respond was, surprisingly, Heo Junseong.
“You sure?”
And the first to react to that was my long-time friend Kim Jihoo.
“Yeah, I can just eat fewer burgers.”
I felt an unexpected wave of gratitude.
“Me too! I’ll save up and contribute more. Let’s find a bigger venue.”
Lee Doyoung was equally eager.
Around the moment I thought I should chip in more since I was making better money.
“Sigh…”
Kim Jihoo suddenly exhaled deeply and glared at Lee Doyoung and Heo Junseong.
“You two. Do you actually have the money?”
His tone and gaze were sharp.
“I’ve got some saved up.”
“I can start saving from now!”
Kim Jihoo let Lee Doyoung’s answer slide, but pinched the bridge of his nose at Heo Junseong’s reckless reply.
“Heo Junseong. What kind of nonsense is ‘start saving from now’? The performance is this coming weekend.”
Heo Junseong probably had something saved.
He just didn’t have quite enough, that’s all.
“I’ll cover it. Buy me dinner later.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. And Doyoung, if you’re short, I’ll make up the difference too.”
“Jihoo, that’s too much. I’m really sorry.”
“Those with more should give more. Later on, if you’re in a position to, pay it back or don’t. Figure it out.”
The doctor’s family really is different.
“I think we need to do our best right now. The band’s fans have started supporting us. This is too important a time for us. Money spent is something we shouldn’t even be thinking about.”
At Kim Jihoo’s sharp reasoning, my head nodded of its own accord.
“Then I’ll chip in more too!”
Another rich kid stepped up to the plate.
Lee Doyoung and Heo Junseong threw themselves forward on the ground, bowing to the two of them.
“Thanks, Jihoo!”
“Oh, my, Kang Min-sama!”
“Ha ha! So da! We and the gods! Mwahahaha!”
“Hmm…”
* * *
Though Lee Doyoung and Heo Junseong contributed a bit more, we managed to book a larger venue with money from Kang Min, Kim Jihoo, and me as well.
The date was set for Sunday, the day right after the first Showcase.
Capacity: 200 people.
The venue rental alone came to 1.5 million won.
It was a significant expense for me, but Kang Min and Kim Jihoo looked unbothered.
Just how much allowance do these guys get?
Though honestly, Kim Jihoo came from a doctor’s family, and Kang Min had his own practice room at nineteen, so that says everything.
Thinking about it this way, launching an Indie Band performance isn’t easy at all.
Most would run at a loss.
I hope the band scene grows soon so more people get opportunities like this.
Either way, the performance was expanded to two days.
But wait—what band holds a Showcase two days in a row?
But if the fans want it, you give it to them.
We secured the venue and immediately posted an announcement and story to the official account.
—Full-Length Album Release Commemoration Showcase Additional Performance Announcement.
Sunday, May 13th. 200 additional seats opening. Please reserve through the application form below.
—Now that’s what I’m talking about!
—Wow, I applied right away. Will I get in? I got rejected the first day.
—Sigh… it went up 6 hours ago. It’s probably full already…
—Oh, looks like they’re doing it at a bigger venue this time?
—Man, I’d love to go too…
—Wait, people’s reactions are amazing. Is this a real band boom?
—Please let me get in please let me get in please just let me see them in person please!!!
For an Indie Band, a Showcase of this scale was massive.
Two days, no less. A combined total of 300 seats.
Even mid-tier idols wouldn’t pull this off in this era.
From my perspective, it was pretty funny, but it was proof we were loved.
So I decided to accept everything with gratitude.
If I were to summarize the response so far, it would be this.
First, our album response was pretty solid.
We hadn’t broken into the charts yet, but lots of people were listening to our album and giving it positive reviews.
And quite a few people had learned that Oktop was an Indie Band.
We’d make a big deal out of it on the planned broadcast appearances.
But more and more people were already learning who we really were.
There were still those who disliked us, but that seemed ignorable.
For now, most talk was about the Showcase.
By Indie Band standards, this was pretty big.
But a lot of people didn’t understand that scale.
We had to overturn their disappointment.
I had confidence.
Turning things upside down was what we did best.
“To do that, we’ve got to nail the performance.”
It was obvious, but this show was especially critical.
We were going to make a huge public announcement that we’re an Indie Band.
Because some people still probably believed we were backed by an agency.
And those were likely the ones frustrated with the Showcase’s scale.
We had to answer that frustration with the best performance possible.
Music broadcasts and Killing Band had bigger, flashier productions compared to this small venue.
Set against what we’d shown before, this concert hall was shabby and modest.
But we had to deliver an excellent performance regardless of the venue’s size.
“Seoha’s right. Putting on a good show in a good venue is easy. But squeezing top-tier quality out of a rough space—that’s hard.”
Kim Jihoo nodded in agreement with my words.
“Hmm, but that’d be easy for us, right?”
Heo Junseong showed his confidence.
“That’s right… we’re Busker veterans.
“Exactly. We performed even in the dead of winter.”
We were the kind of guys who played rain or snow, even with drunks causing trouble.
This venue? For us, it’s a luxury environment.
Nothing hard about it.
Let’s deliver a stellar performance.
The foundation for silencing everyone who’s been trashing us so far.
This Showcase—that’s exactly what it is.
“Come on, everyone up. Let’s start rehearsal.”
“Let’s go!”
* * *
Though Oktop’s Showcase slots filled up, the news rippled across the internet endlessly.
—Anyone here going to Oktop’s album release Showcase?
The news became a hot topic across both the general public and the Band Community.
—I applied the instant it dropped and got rejected
└How insanely popular are they?
└I applied the second it went live and still got rejected
—The album turned out really great tbh ㅇㅇ They deserve the popularity
—Man, I’m so curious. I wanna go too
—Why are so many people obsessed with idol bands these days? What’s going on in the world
└They’re not an idol band dude
└You’re living in conspiracy theories. If they weren’t an idol band, at least admit it
└Everyone else likes them so you’re just being contrarian? That’s a disorder man
└Acting so enlightened
—People who didn’t get in should just go to Banwol Park lmao I’m gonna have fun~
└You got in?
└ㅇㅇ Obviously
└Wow so jealous
—Man I wanna see metal shows instead ㅅㅂ Why do you guys hog them
—Isn’t this the band that had their agency run a grassroots campaign pretending they’re indie? Y’all fell for it
└ㅇㅇ Just keep believing that
└The album credits clearly state Oktop as the label. Do you not have eyes?
└I’m not blind, you’re just stupid
Most of the band core fans who’d been trashing Oktop not long ago were now beginning to genuinely accept them.
Oktop had proven itself through the album.
Many were looking forward to Oktop’s Showcase.
The era of Oktop being disliked was gradually coming to a close.
But it was too early to rest easy.
The fact that many were paying attention meant they had to deliver something just as 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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