The Reincarnated Idol Hard Carries an Indie Band - Chapter 79

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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
Episode 79
Our original plan was simple enough.
First, we’d build ourselves up to a size that Producer Lee Jong Myung couldn’t control.
To do that, we needed heavy broadcast exposure.
We had to become the engine that drove the show.
Climbing to higher rounds was inevitable.
Reaching the final seemed like it wouldn’t be difficult.
And before the live broadcast, we’d sit down with Producer Lee Jong Myung and extract a sincere apology from him.
That was all.
But after talking with Producer Lee Jong Myung, it became clear he felt no guilt whatsoever.
No one involved in someone’s death could carry themselves with that kind of attitude.
If he was conscious of being the cause and still made such a proposal, that itself was its own problem.
He’d be no different from a psychopath who couldn’t consider the bereaved family’s feelings.
But in my judgment, he was just an ordinary company employee.
Simply doing his job.
There was no malice in him.
Yet I couldn’t sit idle and watch unknown artists get exploited on broadcast and torn apart by the public.
This wasn’t just about Lee Do Young’s brother.
No artist should be forced to receive hate just to entertain viewers.
After filming ended, we gathered in the Practice Room.
We were all exhausted from the mounting fatigue, but right now listening to our friend mattered more than sleep.
“Lee Do Young, you feeling pretty down?”
“Not great. I expected something like this might happen, but it’s harder than I thought.”
Still, Lee Do Young’s anger had subsided considerably since earlier.
But his expression was troubled.
Logically, he understood.
That he had to use his brother.
But guilt would weigh on him.
“What do you think, Seo Ha? I don’t know anymore. This is too hard.”
Beneath Lee Do Young’s measured tone lay deep sorrow.
Should I give him the answer or offer comfort first?
As I was gauging my friend’s heart, Lee Do Young continued.
“I don’t need comfort. We don’t have time, do we? Seo Ha, what should we do?”
“Right, Cha Seo Ha. Tell us the plan. You’ve already got it figured out in your head, don’t you?”
Kim Ji Hu chimed in.
I was struggling too, but I steadied myself and decided to give my friends the answer.
“Yeah, I think I should accept Producer Lee Jong Myung’s offer.”
Lee Do Young nodded plainly.
“But not the semi-final. That stage is just buildup. What matters is the live broadcast.”
My friends listened in silence.
“And during that live broadcast, we’re going to detonate the bomb.”
It was a plan that required serious resolve.
From all of us.
We had to prepare for all-out war with the network.
* * *
Our identity is an indie band.
And Lee Jong Myung is a producer with pull at a major network.
It was never going to be a fair fight.
In a situation like this, you have to weaponize scandal and public opinion.
I’d wanted to use peaceful methods, but seeing Producer Lee Jong Myung’s attitude, I gave up on that.
This was real war now.
After discussing the final plan with my friends, we threw ourselves into preparing for the semi-final performance.
I had Producer Lee Jong Myung know we’d save Lee Do Young’s story about his brother for the final stage, not the semi-final.
Producer Lee Jong Myung gladly agreed, saying that would be even better.
I could only appreciate his attitude—focused entirely on the broadcast’s success.
* * *
The Session Battle episode aired and went public.
The network handled Kang Min and Lim Hyun Taek’s story quite provocatively.
They exaggerated it—Lim Hyun Taek picking the fight first, Kang Min responding with subtle jabs.
There were differences from what actually happened.
Kang Min was portrayed as more disrespectful than he actually was.
And Lim Hyun Taek’s motion to strike Kang Min was added in.
In reality, it was him resisting when Dampa told him to let go—but they edited it with remarkable craft.
Then the Session battle proper aired, and the episode ended.
Oktop got quite a bit of airtime.
And in the next episode, Oktop and Destruction clashed immediately.
Destruction’s polished performance.
And Oktop’s stage that connected with the audience.
Oktop crushed Destruction and advanced to the next round.
Those two episodes achieved record real-time viewership ratings.
They contained conflict and competition, and the production team’s sensational editing maximized the broadcast’s entertainment value.
If the reaction through the first three episodes had been hot among those interested in the show—
After this episode aired, clip videos were spreading across the internet.
People started reprocessing the official clips uploaded to YouTube and sharing them.
Those videos began drawing massive attention.
Especially the confrontation between Kang Min and Lim Hyun Taek from the latest episode was the hottest.
Among all those videos, one with very high view counts.
-Participants Getting Into a Fistfight at ‘Whodatheri’
A video edited by someone unfamiliar with Oktop or Destruction was surpassing one million views.
In that video, it started with Lim Hyun Taek shouting first and snapping at Kang Min.
Then Kang Min glaring back, Choi Woo Young and Dampa stopping them, Lim Min Ju scared and backing into a corner—
Every moment was captured vividly.
-That’s intense. Both of them look like good fighters, but why didn’t they throw punches? The vocalist looks like he was about to hit?
-Why are band guys so violent?
-What’s the name of this program? Looks amazing
└Search “Who’s The Real”—that’s how you get it. The abbreviation is “Whodatheri”
-The drummer messed up, right? Why’s he staring back like he did nothing wrong?
└Those two never got along
└Everyone else is quiet, but that vocalist is just sensitive, isn’t he?
-Man, the drummer looks younger but his attitude is trash
-Whoa, I gotta watch the full episode. This is popcorn material
Public opinion about Kang Min was trending in a very unfavorable direction.
Of course, in the next episode, the two teams’ match was fierce and portrayed as a fair, impressive competition.
But to those who only saw this short clip, Kang Min just looked like a rude drummer with no respect.
“What, did they edit this to make you look like the one at fault?”
Kang Min and Heo Jun Sung, who arrived at the Practice Room first, had seen the video.
“That’s how the network does it.”
Hearing Kang Min’s unusual tone, Heo Jun Sung flinched.
“Hey, what’s wrong? You okay mentally?”
“Yeah, I’m… hanging in there.”
Heo Jun Sung started reading Kang Min’s mood.
‘This guy doesn’t seem okay…?’
Kang Min wasn’t spouting his usual “Huh? What am I supposed to do about it?”
“Come on, chin up. Once we hit the finals, public opinion’s gonna flip completely anyway.”
“No, it’s not that the hate is bothering me.”
“Then what?”
“Honestly, even with something this trivial, I feel wronged. I just keep thinking about what Lee Do Young’s brother must’ve gone through.”
Heo Jun Sung found himself at a loss for words.
“He must’ve suffered so much.”
After Kang Min’s last words, silence fell.
“So… you’re not being dragged down by the hate comments or anything, right?”
“Hate comments? That’s not a big deal. We’ve been getting criticized for ages anyway.”
Heo Jun Sung found himself thinking.
Lee Do Young’s brother got hate too.
And many other celebrities suffer from malicious comments.
Some of them make extreme choices, and others quit their activities.
So why are we holding up fine?
That thought spiraled until one answer emerged: Cha Seo Ha.
“Now that I think about it, I think we can endure it all because of Cha Seo Ha.”
Heo Jun Sung found himself suddenly praising Cha Seo Ha.
“From the start, we followed Cha Seo Ha’s plan and hit bottom. And now we’ve climbed up.”
“Right.”
“Seeing how everything keeps happening according to what Cha Seo Ha says, we’ve gained confidence somehow. Honestly? You getting hate? I’m not worried at all.”
“Really…? That’s… kind of embarrassing…….”
“You’re crazy.”
“And honestly, I’m only feeling a little wronged—it’s not that hard. I’m actually getting a lot of praise too.”
The clip video of Kang Min and Lim Hyun Taek’s confrontation hit one million views in a week, drawing comments condemning both of them.
But that wasn’t all the content related to Kang Min.
“Check this out.”
“What is it?”
-Whodatheri Kang Min Legendary Drum Solo
The outro drum solo Kang Min improvised and poured into during the Session Battle.
That video was approaching three million views.
And the countless comments all marveled at Kang Min’s true skill.
-Wait, what did I just watch? He plays drums crazy good
-Normal drum solo performances? Like, playing fast? When I see those I just think it’s messy as hell. But this? This is genuinely legendary
-Wow, it’s stylish but clean
-Even the silence sounds like music…….
-Kang Min? Who is this guy? He’s insanely good
-Wait, this guy’s handsome too, but there’s literally no comments about his looks because his playing overshadows it lol
-Doesn’t everyone else’s playing get completely buried?
└Yeah, that’s why the team score got wrecked lol His individual score was way too high
-Now I wanna learn drums….
“Yeah, no lie, you were crazy good.”
“I didn’t realize it while playing, but watching it again, it was pretty solid.”
Click.
The door to the Practice Room opened and the other members came in.
“Hey, hi, hi.”
Cha Seo Ha leading the way in.
Heo Jun Sung and Kang Min felt an unexpected sense of gratitude toward Cha Seo Ha, and today he seemed especially impressive to them—but they didn’t say it out loud.
It would’ve been awkward.
“Come on, let’s eat hamburgers! I’m starving!”
“Later, you pig. We’re busy.”
“Okay!”
“Alright, everyone grab your instruments. Let’s move fast.”
And so Oktop picked up their instruments and left the Practice Room.
To compete in today’s semi-final.

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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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