The Reincarnated Idol Hard Carries an Indie Band - Chapter 62

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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 Indie Band Hard Carry
62
While the rounds were underway, other contestants gathered in the large Waiting Room, practicing their pieces and watching the live action on the big monitor hung on the wall.
They kept an eye on what was happening on stage through the monitor mounted in the Waiting Room.
“Wow! Look at them — what are they wearing?”
“They really look like idols now that I see them like that.”
“Hey, they’re cool?”
On the screen, Okteop appeared in crisp, well-coordinated outfits.
They were cheap costumes hastily procured, but
all five of them had good proportions and wore the clothes exceptionally well.
“Man, but all five of them really are incredibly good-looking.”
“Is that Kim Ji Hu? That guy could be a celebrity right now.”
“Wait, was Kang Min always that handsome?”
“No way — Cha Seo Ha is overwhelming.”
“That’s exactly why the idol controversy keeps coming up.”
“A bad example of handsomeness.”
Okteop was a massive object of interest to the other contestants as well.
A skilled high school band that suddenly appeared on the scene.
Young punks who dragged various controversies with them but flipped the game beautifully.
Plus, they were all good-looking.
Attention was focused on what kind of song these guys might bring to the table.
Some teams wanted them to do well.
The controversy had been suppressed, but the perception of Okteop as an annoying band still lingered.
And soon after.
“Okteop, standing by!”
Just as the Waiting Room filled with various emotions directed at Okteop,
Okteop’s Stage performance, having finished tuning, began.
A thick, blunt-textured synthesizer played by Kim Ji Hu picked out a chord.
No other instruments had appeared yet, but most people watching this Stage could identify the song.
It was far too famous a song.
“Michael Jackson?”
“It’s ‘Beat It’?”
“Oh? They’re doing this?”
“Jackson, huh….”
Park Chul Hwan had imagined beforehand what song Okteop might bring to this Round.
If he had to predict, it would be one of two.
One was the popular rock music Okteop typically excelled at.
And the other was music with greater depth than the last round.
It was neither.
The King of Pop’s music.
A song that captured both mass appeal and authenticity — catching two rabbits with one stone.
“Smart kids.”
But that wasn’t necessarily a good choice either.
Covering a masterpiece always carried that much risk.
A middling performance wouldn’t earn a good score.
Led by Kim Ji Hu’s synthesizer, all the instruments joined in, and the song we knew so well found its true form.
Excellent rhythm was created, and a Stage that differed little from the original began.
And soon after, the Vocal joined last of all.
Cha Seo Ha’s voice filled the Microphone, and many adjectives weren’t needed to describe his Vocal.
“He’s good.”
“Really good.”
Shin Myung Chul, seated next to Park Chul Hwan, and the other judges offered brief assessments.
He’s good.
Park Chul Hwan had no disagreement.
He wasn’t just singing well.
Just as Michael Jackson had, Cha Seo Ha hunched his upper body heavily, tapped out the rhythm with his right leg, and never stopped snapping with his left hand.
Cha Seo Ha copying the King of Pop directly.
Yet he was skillfully blending in the advantages of his own Vocal and the uniqueness of his gestures.
He didn’t dance in earnest, but the feel of the gestures he flashed in brief moments was superb.
“The Vocal is particularly excellent.”
“But there’s almost no Arrangement this time.”
“Right, are they betting on a Full Cover?”
Hearing his neighboring judges’ words, curiosity bubbled up in Park Chul Hwan’s heart as well.
This Stage had only just begun — where would it lead from here?
Park Chul Hwan had certainly not been able to acknowledge Okteop, but at some point, without realizing it, he found himself anticipating this Stage.
As the song reached the chorus, Cha Seo Ha sang with a roar.
A beautiful voice by nature blended with a hint of raspy tone, perfectly conveying raw emotion.
“Whoa!”
“Damn… that guy really is something.”
Okteop’s arsenal was diverse.
Kim Ji Hu’s precision.
Heo Jun Sung’s passion.
Lee Do Young’s delicacy.
Kang Min’s seasoned experience.
But what first meets the eye and ear is inevitably Cha Seo Ha’s outstanding looks and his Vocal.
The intent of this Stage was unmistakable to anyone watching.
Push the Frontman forward, focus on a ‘visual Stage.’
That intent struck home with the judges, certainly, and the contestants in the Waiting Room,
even the production crew themselves.
Everyone, without knowing it, matched their bodies to the rhythm, nodding their heads, swinging their arms, tapping their feet.
Just as the judges said, there was certainly no noteworthy Arrangement.
The song proceeded at nearly a Full Cover level, even as it rushed toward its end.
After the second chorus ended like that, Cha Seo Ha exited toward the back of the Stage.
“Now the Guitar Solo should come out.”
Park Chul Hwan thought so.
Just before the second chorus, or just before the bridge.
That’s typically where the Guitar Solo appears.
Or they might show a synth solo like last time.
That bassist, still looking inexperienced, didn’t seem likely to take a solo.
Park Chul Hwan was in the middle of such thoughts
when he wondered: ‘Why is he just standing there?’
That kid who scratched his Guitar frantically in the last Round was behaving tamely.
‘Wait, is he going to do a Drum solo?’
As the question crossed his mind, the answer walked out from behind the Stage.
Cha Seo Ha reappeared from the back, having quickly thrown on a Jacket and put on a Fedora.
“What?”
“What’s he trying to do?”
“Is he…?”
The judges seated beside him each reacted.
They seemed to anticipate something, and the same thought occurred to me.
And that thought became reality.
A part similar to the intro was played, and Cha Seo Ha appeared, tapping out the rhythm just as Michael Jackson had in this song, slowly shaking his right hand.
He shouted ad-libs into the Microphone he held in his right hand whenever it felt right.
Choreography that appropriately mixed in dances Jackson had performed in other songs during his lifetime.
Not the powerful Choreography that modern singers displayed, but movements full of restraint.
Focused on fundamentals rather than complex technique.
It was movement that had reached some state that couldn’t be achieved with just a day or two of practice.
Park Chul Hwan looked at the judges beside him.
They were all silent now.
‘I’m the only one not concentrating right now.’
The other judges were deeply concentrating on Cha Seo Ha’s Choreography.
Park Chul Hwan was deeply regretting what he had said in the last Round.
In the final part of the Choreography, Cha Seo Ha threw off the Fedora and performed by pointing his finger at Park Chul Hwan.
‘Listen here, old man, watch carefully. This is Okteop.’
It came through loud and clear.
Part of him thought it was cheeky for these kids to point fingers at adults.
And he thought: is it really okay to dance at a band audition?
But that attitude was unmistakably rock.
Appropriately rebellious, brimming with confidence, knowing how to express oneself.
That was unmistakably rock, and in some circles it’s called hip-hop.
“Hah, well….”
Followed by Heo Jun Sung’s brilliant Guitar Solo.
The song returning to its main theme.
And all the way through to the outro.
A perfect Stage that never lost focus until the very end.
Having watched the Stage to its conclusion, Park Chul Hwan had no choice but to cleanly admit his defeat today.
* * *
And at the same moment, in the contestants’ Waiting Room.
“Wooooow!!”
“Wow, crazy! He’s a star, a real star!”
“Cha Seo Ha — that guy is seriously insane?”
“Wait, isn’t this reigniting the idol band controversy?”
“They’re insane, seriously. He’s just a celebrity.”
“When did he even learn to dance?”
The commotion showed no signs of stopping.
Most people were still soaking in the afterglow of the Stage Okteop had just shown,
while only some of them voiced opposing opinions.
“They came to do an ensemble, and they’re dancing? Is that right?”
“If they’re going to do that, why come here and not go to an idol audition?”
“Man, any competing band that loses to a dancing band is going to be so pissed.”
“Wow, that’s a bit much….”
There had been a few teams who disliked Okteop even before the broadcast appearance.
Even after witnessing the high-level Stage that Okteop put on, some of them had absolutely no intention of changing their minds.
* * *
After the opposing team’s Stage ended, the S.L.Y band and we stood in a line in front of the Stage.
“Yes, both teams worked hard. We’ll now begin a brief deliberation.”
The judges entered deliberation to determine the winner.
Not knowing what was being discussed.
Only tension-filled air hung thick in the Studio.
It was Heo Jun Sung, not the judges, who broke the silence first.
“Thank you for your hard work. We really enjoyed your Stage.”
Heo Jun Sung sending words of encouragement to the band standing beside him.
Always sociable, that one.
“Oh, thank you. We enjoyed Okteop’s Stage too.”
“That’s right. We’re actually fans of Okteop normally.”
“Wow, really? Thank you so much.”
As they were building camaraderie in quiet voices, Shin Myung Chul, the judge from Bullyangpa, picked up the Microphone.
“Yes, the deliberation is complete. Now we’ll announce the winner.”
Shin Myung Chul set the Microphone down again.
After a brief pause, he picked it up once more.
“Congratulations. Okteop advances to the next Round.”
Since we’d just had a pleasant conversation with the S.L.Y band until moments ago, we didn’t openly show our joy, but their faces were filled with elation.
“Thank you so much.”
“We appreciate it.”
After the announcement, Shin Myung Chul continued with his remarks.
“Both S.L.Y and Okteop performed very well. Looking purely at the quality of the performance, it was hard to distinguish between you, but the weapon that Okteop prepared seems to have played a quite positive role.”
“Thank you.”
And the judge seated beside him also picked up the Microphone.
“Okteop’s performance was actually nothing special. The technicians weren’t exceptional, and objectively speaking, there wasn’t anything particularly captivating about it. Right?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“But the seasoning was very good. Seasoned performers hope to return to basics.”
Generally, the longer someone has been performing, the more they pursue the subtlety of rhythm and the accuracy of melody over complex technique.
That judge had seen right through what we were aiming for and evaluated us accordingly.
I could only be grateful.
And the assessment from yet another judge.
It was Jung Hyuk, the judge from the Seoul 1977 band.
“I cast my vote for S.L.Y.”
I was aware that evaluations could differ.
But what followed wasn’t merely a matter of taste.
“To be frank. Lee Do Young?”
“Yes.”
“Currently, Lee Do Young’s playing feels like it’s being carried along by Okteop. You know that, right?”
“….”
“I’m sure you do. You need to be thoroughly prepared from the Main Round onward.”
Park Chul Hwan’s assessment from the last Round had been a sharp observation.
But that remark from Judge Jung Hyuk was problematic.
If he saw Lee Do Young’s true self, how embarrassed would he be to say such things?
Well, the fact that we won hasn’t changed, so I decided to stay silent for now.
And then Judge Park Chul Hwan picked up the Microphone.
I was curious what he might say.
“Cha Seo Ha.”
“Yes.”
“You glared at me while you were dancing, didn’t you?”
“It wasn’t a glare so much as a pointed look. I think ‘aiming at’ would be more accurate.”
“Ha ha ha, what a fun kid….”
Judge Park Chul Hwan gazed at me for a long moment.
“I was the same way. My seniors would say ‘Don’t play Drums like that, do it this way, try that way.’ No matter what they said, I wouldn’t listen.”
Park Chul Hwan lost in memory.
For some reason, his eyes were full of melancholy.
“That defiant look in your eye was very good. There may be some noise about you dancing today, but what I saw in Okteop’s Stage was unmistakably rock, no matter what anyone says.”
“Thank you for seeing it that way.”
“No, I should thank you for wearing the right outfit.”
With Judge Park Chul Hwan’s words, applause followed.
After listening to even the regrets of S.L.Y, the losing team, we cleaned up the Stage and came down.
As expected, the taste of victory was sweet.
And it was even sweeter with my friends.

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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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