The Reincarnated Idol Hard Carries an Indie Band - Chapter 64

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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 Hard Carry
Chapter 64
Producer Kim Da Young finished the interview the day before and reviewed all the footage that other staff members had collected.
There was more interesting content in the footage than she’d expected.
“PD, you know Oktatop’s busking at Banwol Park, right?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“It looks like Maruru Band isn’t too happy about it.”
“Why’s that?”
PD Lee Jong Myung’s eyes widened.
One cast member disliking another.
For a broadcast director, that’s a significant line.
“It seems the Hongdae busking scene has died down a lot since so many people started going to Banwol Park to see them.”
“Hmm, that’s an interesting story.”
PD Lee Jong Myung had never even considered the position of a scene like that.
“What if we put those two teams against each other?”
“Hmm…….”
But PD Lee Jong Myung felt something was missing.
“If we pit them against each other, what timing would work?”
“Well, maybe in the Main Round or…….”
As Kim Da Young answered, she realized something.
“……Oh, that won’t work.”
“Right, it’d be a waste to eliminate either of those teams midway. It’d be better if they both made it to the finals if possible.”
“Yeah, you’re right.”
Both had hoped to pull off one good dramatic moment, but now they were filled with disappointment.
“Is there anything else?”
PD Lee Jong Myung asked with a regretful clicking sound from his mouth.
“There is something else.”
“What is it?”
“Apparently Destruction and Oktatop had a conflict in the past.”
“Oh yeah? How’s their relationship now?”
“It doesn’t seem very good.”
“That could work though.”
* * *
As the auditions progressed through the second round, many people were eliminated.
Eighteen bands remained.
With that, the production team was able to sketch out a rough picture of the remaining bands.
And they began conducting thorough investigations into each band.
Based on the information extracted from these investigations, the matchups for Round 3 were arranged entirely to the production team’s taste.
Round 3 was the Session War.
One representative from each band would step forward to form a team with people they’d never met before and perform an arranged piece together.
There would be no eliminations in this round.
Instead, rankings would be assigned, and the top-ranked would receive the Producer Priority Selection Right to be on the Main Round stage.
Since this round would proceed through a fairly complex process, the waiting room’s large screen displayed the judging criteria and point distribution percentage table.
“Hey, Kim Ji Hu, what is all that supposed to mean?”
Heo Jun Sung didn’t feel like reading, so he immediately asked Kim Ji Hu.
“Can’t you see? They’re combining 50 percent team score and 50 percent individual score for the final score.”
“Then what about that below it?”
“Ensemble score is how you should think of it—contribution. They’re checking how much help you are to the band. And Individual Skill just means they give high marks if you play well.”
“Oh? So where do those two go?”
“Into the individual score, you idiot. It says individual score right there at the top.”
Heo Jun Sung felt like his head was about to explode.
“So basically I just need to play well myself, right?”
Kim Ji Hu glanced toward Cha Seo Ha.
‘If this bastard gets picked, we have no future.’
Cha Seo Ha nodded.
‘If Jun Sung gets picked, let’s throw this round away.’
Despite their silent, desperate exchange, the person called wasn’t Heo Jun Sung.
“Oktatop’s Kang Min, please stand up.”
As Kang Min rose from his seat, a stir rippled through the room.
“Wow, insane. Is this real?”
“I need to be on the same team as Kang Min.”
“Please, let me be on the same team as Kang Min.”
“Please…. Please let me be on the same team as Kang Min…….”
Kang Min, whose skill had been recognized in the scene long ago.
The reputation of the DMC Youngest Champion remained valid even after years.
Kang Min seemed quite composed, whether he knew it or for some other reason.
Or rather, his expression was closer to disinterested.
“Do well out there.”
Kang Min smiled and nodded at Lee Do Young’s encouragement.
The production team’s announcements continued.
“Now I’ll announce the next member to join this team.”
After a brief pause, one person was called.
“Odyssey’s Choi Woo Young, please stand up.”
And then the final member.
“The last member of this team is Destruction’s Im Hyun Taek, please stand up.”
And so one team was complete.
* * *
“Do well out there, Min!”
“Stay strong.”
“Just go smash it and come back…right? Hey, is this how Kang Min actually talks?”
“Quit it…….”
It was just before heading to the assigned Rehearsal Room with his friends’ encouragement.
“Hey, Kang Min.”
Cha Seo Ha called me back.
“Looking at the team composition, do you see what it is?”
“Yeah, roughly. Looks like the production team arranged it this way on purpose.”
Cha Seo Ha seems quite worried about me.
“There’s probably going to be some friction.”
“I know, you’re telling me to be careful?”
He’s probably worried something might happen between Im Hyun Taek and me.
“No, just be yourself out there.”
“Huh?”
“Do what you want to do.”
Cha Seo Ha’s response was unexpected.
“Then go and do well.”
“Yeah…. I’ll be back.”
And so I headed to the Rehearsal Room, leaving my friends behind.
Most of the people assigned to my team were people I already knew.
First, the guitarist was Dampa.
I’d run into him a few times ages ago and exchanged greetings.
Last time I even saw him do a YouTube live review of our album.
The vocalist was Im Hyun Taek from Destruction.
Already didn’t particularly like him, and now it was awkward.
The bassist was someone I’d never seen before, and the keyboardist was hyung, Choi Woo Young.
My former bandmate from Skydiver who I’m no longer on good terms with.
How much investigating did they do to put together a team like this?
The broadcast company probably hopes friction will emerge, just as Cha Seo Ha said.
Cha Seo Ha told me to go and be myself….
Following the leader’s words was probably the right call.
* * *
The preparation time for Round 3’s Session War was six hours.
During that time, the other members would do interviews or have free time.
Each team had to prepare and perform an arrangement of a song provided by the production team within six hours.
Whether to arrange it was optional.
Kang Min’s team was assigned the song “Super Gravity” by girl group XerMan.
A track released last autumn that swept every awards show.
A song with simple composition and a strong sound, with the vocal as the main focus.
Since the instrumental remained simple throughout, arrangement was essentially mandatory.
Kang Min’s team gathered in the Rehearsal Room.
Kang Min, Im Hyun Taek, and Choi Woo Young sat without any particular expression, and the bassist couldn’t bear the awkwardness either.
“All right! Let’s start with introductions! I’m Dampa, the guitarist for Dampa Party! My real name is Yun Dam. So, next…. Min, do you want to go first?”
“Yes, I’m Kang Min. It’s been a while, everyone.”
“I’m Im Hyun Taek. Nice to work with you.”
“I’m Choi Woo Young. Since we’re stuck on the same team, let’s do our best.”
“I’m Im Min Joo. Hello.”
The bassist, the only woman in the group, had actually sensed this strange atmosphere from the beginning.
Im Min Joo watched nervously with an uncomfortable expression.
Fortunately, there was the outgoing Dampa.
“All right! Everyone seems pretty reserved, but we don’t have much time, so would it be okay if I took the lead?”
Dampa tried to take charge with a cheerful expression.
In truth, it was all for the camera, but it was a necessary role nonetheless.
“No, I’ll do it. This song’s about the vocal, and I’m probably the oldest here anyway. Would that be okay?”
And Im Hyun Taek cut in and stood up.
It was an unexpected move for the atmosphere, but there was no particular objection.
“All right. Let’s try running through it first. Can everyone sight-read?”
All the members nodded.
“Okay. Let’s start.”
And so the first run-through began.
* * *
One run-through was enough.
Every member was skilled, and Im Min Joo, the bassist who didn’t know any of them, delivered quite a capable performance.
When Dampa asked, she seemed young, but she said she’d been playing bass exclusively since she was very young—twelve years.
She adjusted the key to match Im Hyun Taek’s vocal, and a proper discussion began.
“We can’t just leave it as is; we need to do some arranging. Is everyone okay with that?”
Everyone nodded at Im Hyun Taek’s words.
The original song had the sound texture meticulously crafted, but the composition was far too simple.
In other words, a song that demanded arrangement.
For anyone listening, the band cover had clear limitations.
“Good, then let’s establish the arrangement direction. What genre should we go for?”
Im Hyun Taek’s question continued, and each person offered their opinion.
Since the original was a dance-pop completely unrelated to rock, the genre was settled on Alternative Psychedelic Metal.
“Hey, hyung! If we’re going psychedelic, I need to spend some time tweaking the guitar tone. Would that be okay?”
“Yeah, go ahead. Tone is important.”
Dampa asked permission and approached Choi Woo Young.
“We need to match our tones, so let’s get them aligned.”
“Okay, sounds good.”
“Um, Im Min Joo? Come over quickly so we can match tones.”
“Ah, yes! Understood!”
The three huddled in a corner to match their instrument tones and began humming.
That left Kang Min and Im Hyun Taek alone.
There was nothing for the vocalist and drummer to do at this moment.
“…….”
Left alone in this awkward air, Im Hyun Taek finally had that thought.
‘Ugh, I really didn’t want to do this with Kang Min.’
* * *
Once the sound tones were roughly aligned, serious arranging began.
Im Hyun Taek led the arrangement.
He mainly shared ideas with Choi Woo Young, who had worked extensively with psychedelic elements.
“Woo Young, what about the pre-chorus? Ascending?”
“Yeah, let’s do ascending and then break in the middle and climb again?”
“Yeah, that works. Let’s do that.”
Since it was Choi Woo Young’s primary genre, the quality of his ideas stood out.
“Dampa, that line you just touched sounded really good—what if we used it in the outro instead? Make it quite long.”
“Wow, as expected of you, hyung, your instincts are sharp! Let’s do that!”
Dampa, who also possessed Absolute Pitch, touched up the song at just the right moments during the arrangement and created new lines where needed.
And Im Min Joo executed what they directed brilliantly.
The original suggested that the speaker’s charm draws everything in the world, a largely exuberant concept.
The arranged version of “Super Gravity” had a darker, muted tone and seemed to express the desolation of being crushed by gravity.
“Wow, this is pretty good?”
“Oh, it’s all thanks to everyone’s great input, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, well. It works.”
“Hah, I suppose so…….”
The song was definitely heading in a good direction.
But Im Min Joo was very uncomfortable.
Kang Min was sitting alone in front of the drum kit, continuously left out.
They definitely wouldn’t go without drums.
Eventually he’d be brought in to complete the song.
But Im Min Joo couldn’t help feeling anxious.
‘Is this really going to be okay.’

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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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