The Reincarnated Idol Hard Carries an Indie Band - Chapter 70

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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 of an Indie Band
Episode 70
Shortly after Episode 1 aired, a clip from Who’s the Real was released on YouTube.
The newly uploaded clip was recording modest view counts—neither particularly high nor embarrassingly low.
General audiences were sharing impressions about the broadcast itself rather than discussing the cast members.
It was still too early for people to know much about the contestants.
But amid all that, a few bands were already becoming the talk of the town.
-And Maruru Band at the end? Who are these people? The vocalist is seriously so pretty?
└Aunt Hyun Ah getting famous, I’m so proud ㅎ
└Kim Hyun Ah: 29 years old, Vocals, Guitar, Composition, Lyric Writing, Aunt, Beautiful, Cute, World Conquest, Galactic Domination, Goddess, etc…
-Why is Cha Seo Ha even out there giving vocal lessons lol seriously that’s hilarious ㅎㅎ
└That’s what I’m saying, it’s ridiculous seriously lol
└What a sight Cha Seo Ha really is lolol
-Maybe Okttap appears on broadcasts so often, but they’re getting more handsome by the episode
-Wow, the Maruru Band is all so handsome and pretty
-My own personal lunatic Heo Jun Sung don’t get famous no wait do get famous no don’t get famous ugh what is wrong with me ㅠ
-The Okttap kids didn’t even perform but they got quite a lot of screen time, must be because they’re handsome
While other bands weren’t receiving concentrated spotlight,
Okttap and Maruru Band were drawing significant attention thanks to their striking looks.
Of course, the production team had also helped by running an SNS viral campaign about their appearances before the broadcast.
Since only Episode 1 had been released so far, the reaction was fairly modest.
Clips of a few contestants who’d become laughingstocks were already circulating on SNS, but those were just light entertainment for the masses—not enough to drive interest in the broadcast itself.
The real show hadn’t even started yet.
* * *
Some days after Episode 1 aired.
On a day that wasn’t a regular filming schedule, all the cast members gathered at the broadcast station.
Today wasn’t a competition—it was the day to decide matchups ahead of the Main Stage.
The contestants gathered in the Studio with noticeably lighter hearts than usual.
Jung Hyuk, a judge from Seoul 1977, was hosting today’s proceedings.
“You must all be feeling nervous before the Main Stage, right?”
“Not at all!”
“No way!!”
What burned hotter than the contestants’ voices was their passion.
“Ha-ha, excellent. That’s how a rocker should be. Today we’ll be deciding your Main Stage matchups.”
Jung Hyuk began explaining the format.
Currently, all the bands were grouped under four different Producers, one band per Producer.
Bands within the same Producer’s team couldn’t be matched against each other.
The battles would be conducted one-on-one.
And the nine bands that survived the first Main Stage would advance to the Top 9.
“Now, when I call your name, please come forward and draw a ball from the container.
The large spherical bin held eighteen balls inside.
The number written on each ball would determine the order in which teams would make their selections.
“Damjang Party. Please come up.”
At Jung Hyuk’s call, Damjang Party jumped to their feet and rushed to the container.
“Yes! First pick!”
Starting with Damjang Party, every team took turns drawing a ball,
and shortly after, the selection order was set.
One by one, matchups began to form.
Heo Jun Sung’s band was picked by a higher-ranked team and carried off.
No matter how much I think about it, I can’t picture a scenario where Heo Jun Sung’s band comes out ahead.
They seemed to have no real chance.
Odyssey, where Kang Min had a connection, ended up matched against Maruru Band.
Odyssey’s run probably ends here too.
Damjang Party drew a band with comparable skill level.
“Hey, Cha Seo Ha, why do you look so excited?”
Heo Jun Sung poked me in the ribs with his elbow and asked.
“Huh, me?”
Was I smiling?
Eighteen bands remained so far.
Even as they made selections and got selected in return, their faces looked good.
Pure rivalry.
Some had grown close during Session Battle preparation, and some bands were just satisfied to have made it this far.
For whatever reason, the overall atmosphere felt warm.
Maybe it rubbed off on me—I was smiling without realizing it.
“I don’t know. It just looks good. Like everyone’s going to compete in good faith.”
“Yeah, true. Everyone’s expressions are pretty good.”
The selection order Heo Jun Sung drew for us was number eighteen.
Functionally meaningless.
We had to wait for someone to pick us.
Then Lim Hyun Taek from Destruction appeared.
Ah, everything was warm and good just a moment ago.
But suddenly I had a bad feeling something annoying was about to happen…
“I’ll select Okttap.”
…and my intuition proved right.
* * *
The first Main Stage competition was a 1v1 Mission, and song selection was entirely up to each band.
It didn’t matter whether you chose an existing song or an original.
Even though we were in the Main Stage, the Producer’s influence would only really kick in during the next round when Top 9 was decided.
Producer Park Chul Hwan, who’d chosen to work with us, gave each band homework to prepare their desired song and rough arrangement directions.
And the deadline was tomorrow.
“Man, aren’t you tired of Destruction or whatever they are?”
“Right? I just want to stop being tangled up with them.”
In our Practice Room, while preparing songs, Heo Jun Sung and Kang Min griped.
“I think now is actually the perfect timing.”
Kim Ji Hu pushed back against the two of them.
“Here comes the bad luck talk again.”
“It’s not bad luck—it’s facts. Like you’ve heard before, this is the last 1v1 Mission.”
I watched quietly to see where Kim Ji Hu was going with this.
“The broadcast station has been building a narrative around us and Destruction since Episode 1, just like Cha Seo Ha said. They’ll probably air what happened between Kang Min and them during the Session Battle too.”
Right, Kim Ji Hu learns fast.
“And the perfect moment to put an end to that rivalry is this 1v1 round coming up.”
“Damn… crafty bastards…”
Kang Min nodded in acknowledgment, while Heo Jun Sung turned his head away, still calling it bad luck.
Even thinking about it myself, there was nothing wrong with Kim Ji Hu’s analysis.
“So Ji Hu, what should we do to actually beat them…?”
No one had an answer to Lee Do Young’s question.
Both Destruction and we, Okttap, had clearly defined characteristics.
We had superior musicality compared to Destruction and broader genre versatility.
On the other hand, Destruction had a stronger rocker sensibility than us and clear strengths in specific genres.
And we were pretty and refined, while Destruction was masculine.
Okttap represented youthful vigor; Destruction represented rebellion.
Each band had distinct identities and weapons.
They’d sharpen their teeth and prepare just like we would.
They’d leverage their strengths and put on a fantastic stage.
There was a real chance we could be eliminated depending on how things played out.
Even if their personalities weren’t great, they were veterans of the scene—that was a fact.
What would we need to beat Destruction?
Simply preparing good music could be a gamble.
No matter how high-quality the music, taste was subjective.
If it didn’t match their taste, we’d lose regardless of quality.
As we all pondered what kind of stage to prepare,
I overheard Kang Min say something to Heo Jun Sung.
“Honestly, forget the broadcast and all that—I just wish Lim Hyun Taek wouldn’t antagonize us so much. It’s so annoying.”
Antagonize…
Hearing Kang Min’s words, I couldn’t be completely certain, but I thought I could get a sense of what kind of stage Destruction would prepare.
They’d probably still be trying to counter us, and ultimately they’d bring out something musically superior.
So should we prepare something like that?
“Hey, guys. What if we prepared something like this?”
* * *
After Episode 1 of Who’s the Real aired, all the contestants monitored public reaction.
Not just on band communities, but across SNS and YouTube too.
Most public opinion outside the band scene was focused on only a few elements.
A few bands that had put on embarrassingly bad stages and become objects of ridicule.
The public was busy laughing at and mocking them.
And some fans fell for the Maruru Band with their pretty and handsome members,
while naturally some eyes turned toward Okttap.
Destruction understood this trend well.
From the Main Stage onward, there would be no Producer judging—only On-site Judging by the live audience.
With Okttap’s reputation this strong, a head-to-head confrontation would be disadvantageous.
For Destruction to beat Okttap, they needed something overwhelming.
Like every other team, they were pouring all their effort into song selection.
In the midst of debating whether to perform an established song or bring their own material, guitarist Jung Bo Woon offered an opinion.
“Hyun Taek, I think we should really use that one.”
“That one?”
“The title track for the next album.”
“Hmm…”
Lim Hyun Taek and the other members paused in thought.
Originally, they’d planned to use that song after making Top 9.
But no matter how much they debated, it seemed like they needed to pull it out to counter Okttap.
A song titled “Diamond.”
This track, slated as the title song for their next album, was one they’d purchased from a famous composer at considerable expense.
The song’s quality was genuinely good,
and they’d arranged it somewhat to suit their taste.
In terms of sheer song quality, “Diamond” was easily on par with Okttap’s typical work.
Actually, it was above their level.
The members’ deliberation didn’t last long.
To steal the live audience vote from Okttap, whose reputation was so strong, the song’s quality had to be overwhelming.
“Let’s do it. If we’re going after Okttap, we need to pull something like this out.”
Somewhere along the way, Destruction had shifted focus—not from winning the program itself, but from countering Okttap.
“Oh, and we don’t need a ton of rehearsal for this song, so let’s pay attention to other things too.”
“Other things? Like what?”
And so Destruction began preparing another weapon alongside superior musicality.

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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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