Become A Music Monster Overnight! [EN]: Chapter 21

8. Legends of Rock

“What are you doing? Hurry up! Got arthritis?”

“I’m coming, you punk.”

“Well, well. Who would have thought those kids would make it to the finals.”

“With how they’ve been playing lately, it’s not that surprising, is it?”

“Especially that bass player. In a few years, he’ll be better than Ilbeom.”

“Hmph! Not a chance.”

“Don’t let your legs shake when you say that. It makes you look weak.”

“Hmph······.”

“What’s wrong, Uncle Moon Ilbeom? Your bass playing has improved a lot. If you work a little harder, you’ll reach your goal for this year.”

“Ugh. That makes me feel even worse.”

“Hehehe.”

My words almost made Uncle Moon Ilbeom sulk, and the other uncles chuckled.

The reason I was hanging out with my uncles instead of practicing was because Park Jiwon and the kids from YC Entertainment were appearing on TV under the name G1 Band.

G1 Band was the name given to them by the producers of ‘Legends of Rock,’ the show they were on.

Originally, it was going to be Park Jiwon Band, but they changed the name because it sounded too old for the youngest contestants in the competition.

“I heard that ‘Legends of Rock’ was originally going to be called Legend of Rock. But the staff strongly opposed it, so they changed it to what it is now.”

“‘Legend of Rock’ sounds good, doesn’t it? Isn’t it cool?”

“Cool my ass. That’s a cheesy title that would have come out when we were young.”

“That’s right. ‘Legend of Rock’ sucks.”

“What did you say, you punk?”

“Oh… it’s starting.”

After rambling on with useless chatter, the uncles fell silent as if by magic when they announced the start of the program.

The screen showed a huge indoor concert hall that could hold thousands of people, packed with a full audience. Then, a charismatic MC stepped onto the center of the stage.

The MC skillfully introduced the judges of this season’s ‘Legends of Rock,’ and the uncles made a fuss over them.

“Wow. That guy’s coming out?”

“Oh my. Look at that *hyung* [older brother/male friend]. Still going strong.”

“Wow. They used to be called the Three Mountain Ranges, fighting and bickering with each other. Now they’re smiling together in the same place?”

“I heard that was a lie?”

“A lie my foot! My younger brother saw it firsthand.”

“Doesn’t your brother wear glasses?”

“Is that you calling my Minsik disabled, you little punk?”

The uncles seemed quite excited to see the legends of rock who led the rock scene in Korea, which was practically a wasteland for rock until the 80s.

They were acting like teenagers, which made it hard for me to suppress a smile.

I also felt like I was back in my teenage years with Black Tiger.

I was happy to be able to indirectly experience those memories that only I knew, memories that didn’t happen in this world.

Before I knew it, the introduction of the judges was over, and now it was time for the main event: the introduction of the finalists.

There were a total of 24 teams that made it to the finals.

They would perform the song they had prepared for today’s competition, and the contestants who would advance to the next stage would be decided on the spot based on the votes of the judges and the audience.

Usually, even if you were a finalist, if you didn’t have any expectations or star power, you often wouldn’t get any screen time.

But fortunately, G1 Band didn’t have to worry about that.

They were the most distinctive team among the 24 teams that made it to the finals.

They were the only teenage band, and they were all wearing school uniforms, seemingly to emphasize that fact, unlike the other teams.

“The PD [Producer/Director] recommended the uniform outfits. From the band name to these kinds of touches, it seems like not just anyone can be a PD.”

“I agree. It’s definitely good that our kids stand out.”

“If the audience vote accounts for 50%, then considering that, they’re starting halfway there.”

I nodded at Uncle Park Si-young’s words.

But apart from that, I didn’t think we could just be positive.

If we weren’t careful, they could be labeled as just kids and get stuck in a biased view.

In fact, there were many cases where people were underestimated just because they were from idol groups, even though they had great skills.

‘Well~. It’s not something to worry about.’

Even with those side effects, I wasn’t worried.

Rather, I knew that the stronger the prejudice, the greater and more splendid the praise when they broke through it.

In fact, the kids brilliantly proved themselves on this first final stage.

────────────────────────────────────

────────────────────────────────────