The Reincarnated Idol Hard Carries an Indie Band - Chapter 91

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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 Reincarnated Idol Carries the Indie Band
Episode 91
The evening of the day the statement was released, 6 p.m.
K-Net released the full version footage of the final stage that Rooftop had promised.
-[Who’s The Real] ROOFTOP – Reunion Final Stage Full Ver.
The video exploded with views the moment it was uploaded.
In the footage, Rooftop was delivering a moving performance to the world.
As they entered the second verse, Cha Seo Ha and Lee Do Young were visibly shedding tears.
What followed was the most crucial part—Cha Seo Ha’s rap section, which diverged from the original lyrics.
It revealed that Lee Do Hyun, Lee Do Young’s older brother, had suffered an injustice.
And through metaphorical expression, it became clear that this injustice was someone’s malicious doing.
Then came Cha Seo Ha’s anguished plea for an answer.
Less than an hour after being uploaded, the video had already surpassed one million views.
-Would Rooftop have won if this hadn’t been cut off?
└They performed well, but I think they forgot some of the lyrics, so I’m not sure what would’ve happened ㅠㅠ
-So that PD destroyed a whole family and then went on to make more programs like this? It’s actually disgusting
-Ugh, seeing our kids cry like that breaks my heart ㅠㅠ
-Answer! An Apology! Pop! Pop! Tropical~
└ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ The ad timing was seriously insane ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└??? They were asked to answer but they apologized?
└??????? What the heck is this
└But seriously, what was up with that timing?
-I wonder how long Lee Do Young has been waiting for this moment? I can’t even imagine how hard it must have been
-Lee Jong Myung could’ve cut it off, but it’s all metaphorical expression anyway—even a little interpretation makes it clear it’s about a wrongful death
-Ugh, such a shame. Rooftop could’ve won
-May the deceased rest in peace….
-But shouldn’t Lee Jong Myung or whoever that asshole is get slapped with damages? That’s 100 million if they win?
-But Rooftop really is brave to pull something like that off on live broadcast
-I predicted this situation already during Dampa’s livestream, but to think it was actually real—legendary
-But isn’t Rooftop just insanely good? They built up to this the whole time just to pull it off on live broadcast
└The general consensus about Rooftop right now is exactly that
└They’re just high schoolers but seriously so brave
Thousands of comments were pouring in on the video.
Most opinions lamented that Rooftop hadn’t won.
Others were praising Rooftop’s actions or offering comfort to Lee Do Young.
And then there were those cursing Lee Jong Myung.
It was unprecedented in broadcasting history for an Audition Program live final round to be cut off mid-broadcast.
Because of this, even the general public who had no interest in the show began directing their attention to the incident.
The news cycle filled with talk of Who’s The Real and Rooftop.
The short clips from Dampa’s YouTube livestream had already been edited and spread like wildfire.
Some YouTubers began covering Rooftop’s actions in earnest.
-Why Rooftop’s Audition Program final had such a crazy narrative.
There was a short video made with that title.
The footage traced Rooftop’s journey from their appearance on Star Observer’s Moon Mun Young segment through music broadcasts and the Killing Band, recounting how they’d been labeled with the stigma of being an idol band.
It then explained how they proved their musicality and indie identity through their album.
It covered their time on Who’s The Real—balancing broadcast exposure with star quality and each member’s individual charm.
They demonstrated their musicality, and in the finals, they seized all that popularity and exposed the PD’s wrongdoing.
The main point of the video was that “Rooftop is a band that knows how to use broadcasting very well.”
The video had accumulated quite a few comments.
-Wow, so it’s not just a high school band but they have a whole narrative like this? I just found out from this broadcast, but these kids are incredible
-I mean, you’d have to be pretty sharp to pull something like this off—it’s impressive
-Kim Ji Hu is student council president and ranked first in the whole school, so I bet that’s his idea?
-The whole world helps the ones meant to succeed—they can do anything
-Now that I think about it, yeah, back then they went on broadcast carrying a stigma and flipped it, but now they went on broadcast and exposed the PD? These kids are seriously serious
-How are mere high schoolers pulling off something like this? It’s amazing
People who had barely known about Rooftop before began showing interest in them.
Until now, Rooftop was simply a band doing well in the music scene.
They’d been gaining attention from niche fans—those who loved popular music or idol culture enthusiasts.
They were known as “scene favorites” or “popular picks,” but they weren’t yet a fully mainstream hit artist.
But now, the tide was beginning to shift.
Thanks to the massive issue, more people were discovering them.
And Rooftop, with everything prepared, began hearing things like this.
-So I looked them up wondering what the fuss was about, and not only are they good-looking, their music is actually great too.
-Real talk, have you heard “Rendezvous”? It’s seriously amazing
└For me it’s “Cruise”
└Ah, “Cruise” really shows sophisticated taste
└Not “Awaken”?
└Honestly, they’re all good
-I was like, they’re just high schoolers, so how good could they be? But they exceeded expectations
-Why didn’t they blow up earlier?
└They were blowing up—they debuted less than a year ago
└No they haven’t debuted, they don’t even have a company
└Oh, so they’re not idols?
-Seriously, there’s not a single weak link in the visuals—they’ve got the whole variety: you’ve got the punk type, the total jerk type, the full-on dude type, the straight-A student type, just plain handsome guys, everything
-I just found out about Rooftop six hours ago. Right now I’ve been playing their music on infinite repeat for three years…….
└What does that even mean
And meanwhile, water was starting to pour into the boat we’d been rowing so hard.
And this kind of reception was becoming both a source of strength for Rooftop and a form of comfort for Lee Do Young.
* * *
The world’s attention on Rooftop was hotter than it had ever been.
Exactly a week had passed since the broadcast ended.
Over that week, our names hadn’t budged from the trending searches.
On YouTube and SNS, the number of people covering stories about Rooftop had grown exponentially.
This moment was definitely a turning point for Rooftop.
Meanwhile, I heard that Lee Jong Myung had finally been fired from the broadcasting station.
Given the gravity of the incident, the station issued an unprecedented statement saying they would offer him no legal defense whatsoever.
The final judgment would take some time, but considering advertising penalties, investment losses, operational damages, and broadcasting commission fines, estimates put the total damages claim at just under ten billion.
“That guy’s in for a rough time—they’ll probably freeze his assets right away.”
Lee Jong Myung reached out to me personally several more times after that.
He contacted me to inform me of his current situation and begged for leniency.
His apartment and bank accounts had been seized—he couldn’t even withdraw a single bill.
He pleaded with me to convince Lee Do Young soon that his brother’s death had nothing to do with him, but.
I couldn’t grant such a request.
At the end, he just spewed curses over the phone.
Well, whatever.
Compared to how Lee Do Young’s family had been destroyed over four years, I wanted to impose an even harsher punishment, but this much would do.
It felt like I’d climbed over a massive mountain.
The photo of him I’d seen at Lee Do Young’s funeral in my past life had tormented me until recently.
It’s absurd to drag the affairs of my past life into the present and weigh them out like this, but.
I wanted to consider this payment toward a debt I owed in my heart.
We’d run so hard all this time.
We’d pushed like madmen to make Rooftop known, and we’d finished the show for Lee Do Young’s brother well.
So what do we do now?
Obviously, we’re going to release an album.
We plan to keep doing the Busking at Banwol Park that we’d been neglecting.
And at a time that’s not too far off, I wanted to throw a proper, large-scale concert.
I wanted to buy some gifts for Jo Hyun Seop and give my grandmother some spending money too.
Our music streaming revenue was pretty decent these days since our popularity was going well.
But beyond those obvious things.
I wanted to plan something more interesting.
Because the dangerous ventures with Rooftop were becoming more and more fun.
Ah, but there was one thing I had to do right now.
“Seo Ha!”
A familiar car pulled up in front of me, and Lee Do Young called out through the window.
“You’re early?”
“Yeah, get in quick!”
Jo Hyun Seop’s car.
We’d decided to go on a trip together for the weekend.
“Oh yeah! Vacation!”
“Hey, Heo Jun Sung, where do students get vacations?”
“Everyone says stuff like that when they go out to play. You really don’t have any sense, do you?”
“Seems like you don’t have any brains?”
“Kim Ji Hu, you’re seriously dead to me today.”
“You guys, don’t fight.”
“Hehehehe! Tatakae!”
The moment we got in the car, it was chaos.
“Were they like this the whole way here?”
“Yeah, it’s been driving me nuts.”
“Hey! You’re distracting the driver—be quiet!”
“Never mind, just let them be.”
“Huh? But they’re so loud?”
“It’s a nice sight. This is the first time we’re all going out to have fun together. Let them enjoy themselves.”
“Oh, well then…….”
Every time Heo Jun Sung raised his voice, Jo Hyun Seop would furrow his brow and flinch.
But he never stopped smiling.
Jo Hyun Seop turned up the music volume even louder, as if competing with the kids in the back seat.
Nineties country rock filled the car.
The bickering of Heo Jun Sung and Kim Ji Hu, the laughter of Kang Min and Lee Do Young, all tangled together between the music.
Inside that car full of noise, I felt the reality settle in.
This beautiful present of ours—not some imagined alternative, but so achingly real.

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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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