The Reincarnated Idol Hard Carries an Indie Band - Chapter 73

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

A Former Idol Carries an Indie Band
Chapter 73
Oktop’s prepared stage was “No Pain No Fly” by the Jo Hyun Woo Band.
Before the stage began, the members started tuning.
The members’ hands were trembling noticeably.
The producers watching them thought their expectations had been confirmed.
“It seems they’re getting quite nervous after seeing the previous performance.”
“Right, they probably think it’ll be hard to win.”
“I hope the difference won’t be too overwhelming.”
The members, for their part, also noticed each other’s trembling.
Unlike the producers, they could now intuitively sense something.
This wasn’t fear — it was anticipation.
Once Oktop finished tuning and took their positions, they gave the signal.
Soon after, the standby cue came through the in-ears.
And the production crew worked to stir up the audience’s response.
“Whooooaa!”
The camera began rolling, and as cheers erupted, Heo Jun Sung’s guitar and the speaker faced each other, generating Feedback Noise.
The other instruments produced not quite music but a kind of sound that built anticipation.
It felt less like music and more like a signal announcing something momentous was about to begin.
And then, into the microphone, Cha Seo Ha shouted.
“That’s it? That’s all you’ve got?”
He was addressing the audience.
“Why’d you even come here then? Huh? Why’d you come here?!!!!”
Pointing at the crowd.
A defiant tone.
If this weren’t a stage, it would’ve sounded like a pick-a-fight kind of provocation.
“Think hard about it! Why are you here today?!”
“Whooooaaa!!!!”
The cheers swelled louder.
“Let’s go! Oktop! No Pain! No Fly!!”
As he unleashed a rough cry into the microphone, Kang Min struck the crash cymbal four times with force, and the real music began.
“Let’s go!!!!”
As the music dropped, Cha Seo Ha jumped high in place and landed.
Heo Jun Sung spread his legs wide and delivered bold Headbanging, using an expansive arm range as he played.
Unnecessary movement.
But the energy radiating from that very unnecessariness was undeniable.
Kim Ji Hu threw away any notion of his usual upright posture.
He rested one foot on a small platform he’d positioned beside him and crouched low.
A defiant stance.
Playing with his arms spread wide using both ends of the Keyboard.
His usual cold image had already melted away from the passion pouring out from the opening.
Kang Min played the Drum using his whole body, channeling far more power than usual.
And then Lee Do Young.
Realistically, the Bass couldn’t project the same energy as the Guitar.
The range of sound wasn’t as rich either.
And the instrument itself was too heavy to move his body with great abandon.
But Lee Do Young was holding his ground.
With quite large gestures, he kept time, nodding his head with intensity.
And whenever the instruments’ rhythms aligned, he’d give his whole body a sharp bounce.
In an instant, the energy created by the converging sounds exploded.
And the members’ passionate movements.
From the intro itself, the intent to seize the audience was clear.
The audience section erupted with cheers that matched Oktop’s energy.
Bolstered by that, the first verse began.
Among these identical expressions
Breathing stifled breath is not the way
Tedious sermons shut up
I walk my own path.
After the explosive intro, the instruments settled somewhat, and Cha Seo Ha sang while practically draping himself over the front of the stage.
He paid no mind to the cameras.
Looking only at the audience, he maintained a Shouting vocal delivery and sang.
The original version of “No Pain No Fly” was far more subdued than this.
Originally it was a song that conveyed the bold spirit of hopeful youth.
But Oktop reinterpreted the song’s atmosphere to draw this out.
In a very rebellious way.
Cha Seo Ha moved to the left side of the stage, pointing at the audience, then gripped the Microphone with both hands to amp up the appeal.
Then.
Lee Do Young walked to the center of the stage.
Heo Jun Sung moved toward the right side.
Like Cha Seo Ha, they made eye contact with the audience as they played.
Heo Jun Sung was so excited he even shouted into the empty air.
Lee Do Young did the same.
He stood at center stage with his legs spread, threw his head back, squeezed his eyes shut, and shook his head with force.
Then he dropped his head again and bounced with the beat, playing along.
Soon the song moved into the Pre-Chorus.
Heo Jun Sung and Lee Do Young returned to their positions, and Cha Seo Ha took command of center stage.
For a moment, the song shifted into Half-Time.
With the rhythm cut in half, all the members moved as one, keeping time together.
The song gave a rising feeling while building an atmosphere that something would burst forth any moment.
And just as the music reached that heightened peak.
In a mere flash, all instruments fell silent, and Kang Min tapped the Snare twice rapidly with both hands.
Until breath runs short
Accelerating heartbeat
Ready or not, Here I Go
At precisely the same moment, the instruments poured forth.
And a clean, cutting Shouting vocal.
It was a technique that sat perfectly over Cha Seo Ha’s tenor voice, which had originally been a lighter pitch.
Heo Jun Sung spun in place and played like a man possessed.
Kim Ji Hu wouldn’t lose.
He couldn’t capitulate to that idiot’s energy.
He used both arms fully as he struck the Keyboard.
Sometimes he slammed it with his palms or fists.
Calculated Dissonance gave way to a visceral satisfaction that melted into the song, and an indescribable richness was added to the otherwise stark Chorus.
And the final line of the next Chorus.
We’re too hot to fall!
Cha Seo Ha stretched his left arm high toward the sky.
With an ultra-high Shouting vocal, he delivered the line while simultaneously dropping his arm and crumpling to the ground as if his whole body had been slammed down.
After the Chorus ended, the Instrumental Break began.
In the original song, this instrumental section was meant to be purely musical, but Cha Seo Ha had no intention of staying silent.
“Hey! Is that really all you got? Won’t you jump higher?”
He was practically scolding the audience.
With a stern expression and a confrontational tone, Cha Seo Ha shouted.
“If you’re here to watch a show, you better have fun properly!!!!!”
“Whooooaaa!!!!”
“Kyaaah!!”
The audience went wild at his rebuke.
“Hey!”
“Hey!”
“Hey!”
Suddenly united, the audience began chanting in a heavy rhythm.
Cha Seo Ha stood at an angle, bobbing his head to match the beat.
And the expression on his face.
It said, ‘Finally, you bastards are starting to catch on.’
His gaze distant, he flashed a mischievous grin.
Just before the second verse, he bounded lightly toward Kim Ji Hu to switch positions.
Cha Seo Ha met Kim Ji Hu’s eyes and smiled.
With the hand not holding the Microphone, he carelessly tapped the Keyboard, creating Dissonance, then rushed back to center stage.
His face was brimming with elation.
After the moment when the audience became one and burning, the song moved into the second verse.
The second verse’s progression was similar to the first, but the energy was even greater.
The audience was jumping around like mad.
But the producer team wasn’t enjoying themselves at all.
The performance looked fun, sure.
But something about it felt off.
“They completely fooled us.”
Park Chul Hwan muttered.
“Sir, didn’t you say they weren’t well prepared?”
“During Rehearsal, they only did the actual playing and singing. The energy was much lower.”
This was Oktop’s weapon.
Communication.
The song Oktop had brought was fairly simple.
No special vocal technique had been used, and it had no particular genre sophistication.
A straightforward composition.
But their energy was anything but straightforward.
Kang Min looked ready to smash the Drum.
Kim Ji Hu seemed equally bent on destroying the Keyboard, whatever his grievance.
Lee Do Young looked like he was jumping around for pure joy.
Heo Jun Sung looked ready to hurl his Guitar if there was even one audience member not having the time of their life.
And Cha Seo Ha didn’t let up on scolding the audience.
Yet not a single person in the crowd harbored any resentment toward their rebellious, confrontational stage.
If anything, they wanted more.
After the second Chorus, the Instrumental Break section came around again.
This time the instruments dropped back even further.
And instead of singing, Cha Seo Ha spoke into the Microphone.
“Look, we’re young and all that, and don’t you guys envy us a little?”
“Whooooaaa!!!”
“We’re about to run like crazy from here on out! We’re gonna succeed beyond your wildest imagination!! So make it your pride forever that you were here today! Remember this moment clearly! You got it?!!!!”
“Whooooaaa!!!”
The moment the talk ended, the final Chorus kicked in.
Until breath runs short
Accelerating heartbeat
Ready or not, Here I Go
The instruments erupted simultaneously with even more intense energy.
For this final Chorus, every musician gave everything they had, and Cha Seo Ha squeezed his entire being as he pushed his vocal cords to their limit.
The audience sang along with the song or chanted like before.
Some merely kept the beat, while others bounced in place.
Though their actions differed, the result was that everyone was fully enjoying Oktop’s performance with their whole hearts, not merely observing it.
During the Session Mission, Kang Min had told Choi Woo Young something like this.
What mattered more than Unity of Heart was harmony.
And to Im Hyun Taek, he’d said to spend time rehearsing instead of worrying about rival bands.
To focus on substance rather than looking outward, to create music with dedication.
To perform that music with one unified heart.
That was the band Kang Min was talking about.
Cha Seo Ha knew how to design it.
And Oktop knew how to execute it.
We’re too hot to fall!!!
What matters more than technical harmony is Unity of Heart, and that heart transmits fully to those watching from the stage.
The producers, the production crew, the audience, and soon the viewers watching this performance on television.
All of them would witness Oktop’s oneness and carry this energy pure and whole in their hearts.
“Whooooaaa!!!”
“Yeah! Oktop!!!”
“Kyaaah! Don’t stop!!”
Oktop’s stage concluded without losing its raw intensity or the passion burning from its youth until the very end.
Today, Oktop’s performance was a deeply meaningful show that had expanded the scope of Unity of Heart from “Oktop” to include “the audience”.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————