The Road to Glory

“Boss.”“Uh, yes.”The boss responded dazedly to Bae Gonghak’s call in the spot where Han Jinyeong had just left.“Didn’t you usually hate it when people suddenly quit?”“That’s true.”The boss agreed.Any boss would dislike having a vacancy in their workforce.“But…”The boss continued.“I just couldn’t bring myself to get angry.”He recalled Han Jinyeong’s final appearance.“Seeing that kid who was depressed every day smile like that, I couldn’t say anything in that moment. I just thought, maybe the day we knew would come has finally arrived.”He knew well that Han Jinyeong still had dreams from his younger days.Han Jinyeong had harbored some dissatisfaction with reality, felt inferior when looking at musicians, and occasionally became depressed. Having seen Han Jinyeong like this for many years, the boss couldn’t bring himself to say anything worse.“You and I are more or less satisfied with our lives, but he wasn’t.”“That’s right.”“Because he’s that kind of person, I thought maybe another opportunity had come for him. Whatever happens, I hope he lives the way he wants to now.”The boss muttered, as if worried.What would happen if he fell again, having already experienced failure once?Bae Gonghak shrugged his shoulders as he looked at the worried boss.“Don’t worry too much, boss.”“Why? Do you know that Roh Haeil kid well? He seems to be quite hot these days.”When he heard that Han Jinyeong would be working with Haeil, Bae Gonghak recalled listening to Haeil’s – no, HALO’s first album while sitting around in their hideout.Struggle.Bae Gonghak, unable to forget the thrill of that moment, smiled faintly and replied.“There’s nothing to worry about.”#[Liv: Haeil, Haeil][Yes][Liv: Did something happen with Joohyeok-oppa?]That message arrived around 11 o’clock.Halo, who was discussing other session musicians with the newly joined bassist Han Jinyeong, paused their conversation briefly to look at the message.[I don’t know][Liv: Really? He’s been calling your name and hitting his head since earlier]The last time he saw Sin Joohyeok was when they parted at the live house.It was because Sin Joohyeok’s fans suddenly swarmed in.They parted without properly saying goodbye.At that time.His expression was strange, but he was originally a strange person.That’s not what’s important.Halo put down his phone and looked up.“Anyway, I’ll ask around the guys.”“By guys, you mean your hyungs?”“Yeah.”“But didn’t they say they wouldn’t do it?”To be more precise, it was closer to them saying they couldn’t do it.Unlike Han Jinyeong, who couldn’t let go of his lingering attachment to music, Bae Gonghak and Kim Deoksoo no longer had any such attachments. They lived satisfied with their present, using their failed past as good memories or as nourishment.They had put down their instruments long ago and refused, saying they would be a hindrance to people busy running forward.They said they would help with anything if asked, but they couldn’t be session musicians.Han Jinyeong tried to persuade them somehow, but Halo half-knew they would answer like this.The dust and stains piled on the keyboard and drums were like the traces left on the Nintendo they used to play with as children.“It would be nice if they joined, but we’ll have to look for other people. We were in the underground scene for quite a long time. What we’ve built up over that time isn’t just practice pieces.”Han Jinyeong winked.Along with his history of being in a band, he had also worked at clubs for a long time.How many musicians had he met and passed by during that time?He could say he had met pretty much everyone in the underground scene at least once.From there, if you extend one more connection, you might be linked to every musician in Korea.As everyone knows, Korea is quite small and narrow after all.Han Jinyeong, recalling the people he knew off the top of his head, glanced at Halo for a moment.“Is it okay if they’re a bit strange?”“Strange people?”“Well, there aren’t many sane people among musicians, right? Sometimes they seem crazy, sometimes childishly immature, sometimes they talk nonsense.”Sometimes seems crazy, childishly immature, and often talks nonsense.Where has he heard these descriptors before?Halo grinned and replied.“Of course. They’re welcome.”He will welcome them gladly.Han Jinyeong nodded vigorously, saying that was good.Halo thought there was no need to forcibly find a synth player and percussionist.However, he didn’t try to stop him either.Just as he had met Han Jinyeong by following Sin Joohyeok, another sudden encounter might occur.“So what’s the first thing we need to do?”“My song.”“Which song?”Halo replied matter-of-factly to Han Jinyeong’s words.“Both.”There’s no time to just be happy.Han Jinyeong, who wanted to work with Roh Haeil more than anyone, nodded.And so, they missed one thing.The simple words about asking around local musicians.Halo, who had completely forgotten about what happened at the Hongdae live cafe while bringing Han Jinyeong on as a session musician, had no idea that the value of the name ‘Roh Haeil’ had grown more than he thought.:While the name Roh Haeil was a hot topic across the country, the place where the most active interest and discussion took place could be seen as the related industry.Broadly speaking, vocalists who were interested in Roh Haeil’s vocals and hoped to collaborate with the rising star.And another group discussed Roh Haeil’s composing skills, analyzing his songs.It ranged from aspiring musicians who wanted to become famous like Roh Haeil, to bands, composers, and producers.Some students majoring in applied music sit in a lounge and discuss:“Hey, who did you do Professor Jang’s free analysis assignment on?”“I did Roh Haeil.”“Oh? You did Roh Haeil too? No, how many people are analyzing Roh Haeil? I know at least three or four people doing it.”“Which song did you analyze?”“I did Roh Haeil’s mini-album. The title track ‘Another Day’.”“Phew, we don’t overlap. I did ‘Song of a Hero’.”“Isn’t that the one he did with Hwang Ryongpil?”“So what? He said to analyze one song. He didn’t say it had to be a song written by one person.”“That’s true.”The students, realizing they had chosen the same person, became somewhat conscious of each other.After all, since they overlapped on the composer, it would likely affect each other’s grades.“The more I dissect the song, the more amazed I am. Remember when the professor told us to learn from Roh Haeil’s songs while looking at them? I didn’t understand it well then. But the more I analyze it, the more I think, what is this? It’s like it’s roughly written, but it’s perfect.”Another student nodded at one child’s words.“It’s calculated.”“Well, if I had to give an example, it’s like Halo.”“Hey now, isn’t Halo going too far?”They all giggled and laughed at that comparison.Having already listened to and analyzed Halo’s songs at least once, and hearing praise for Halo once a day through their professor, Halo held more value to them than just a top musician.When classical musicians talk about Mozart and Beethoven, Halo was definitely among the stars that pop musicians think of. In fact, he had almost become a religion.“Their styles are different to begin with.”“That’s true too. The Sun is a song that’s like the sun itself.”Halo’s album is intense like The Sun.Not just intense – just as the sun has gravity, you feel like you’re being sucked in as you listen to the music.If you can’t hold onto yourself, you might melt in that intense heat.On the other hand, Roh Haeil’s songs were completely different.Roh Haeil’s songs don’t have the same intensity as Halo’s.You don’t feel like you’re losing yourself, nor are you forcibly drawn in.But how should they put it?While the sun sets at night, like the moon that continues to hang in the sky even during the day.It has a charm that makes you want to keep it there.They didn’t know what to call this charm, or where it came from.If they knew, they would either be debuting now or would already be mature composers.The reason they analyzed Roh Haeil’s songs was to learn this charm.“Then why don’t we analyze Halo?”Why does no one analyze Halo, whom everyone says is amazing?Is it because the songs are too intense? Isn’t that also something to learn from? Why does no one try?At the composition student’s question, the expressions of the other kids turned sour.“Hey, don’t you know Professor Jang is a Helly?”“The Sun clan? Of course I know that. He praises Halo for twenty minutes at the start of every class.”“Don’t you understand why that’s a problem?”“What’s the problem?”Silence fell over the lounge.The bespectacled composition student pushed up his glasses and replied.“It means the professor knows Halo’s songs better than we do.”Which means, in other words, there’s a higher chance of getting torn apart than others.The moment you present, you’ll face twice as many questions and rebuttals.If even one part of your analysis is wrong, you’ll face an angry professor.Every sentence in your essay will be crossed out with a red pen.It would be hard for any student to endure.Because the result would certainly not be an A.This is what happened regarding Roh Haeil in the composition department of a practical music university.And as already mentioned, such conversations didn’t only occur among students.Those closer to the field who wished to become the next Roh Haeil.They would talk about Roh Haeil’s songs or talents like the students, but at some point, they started discussing rumors floating around Hongdae.It wasn’t something to easily dismiss.The protagonist of the rumor was Roh Haeil, and the content of the rumor-“Hey, did you hear? Roh Haeil is looking for a band.”“They say he’s preparing a new song.”“Looks like he needs a band for the new song. Well, he’ll probably start performing soon too.”Roh Haeil’s officially announced moves were clear.Roh Haeil openly said he was preparing a new album, and anyone who saw the articles knew about it, whether they reacted positively or negatively.So it wasn’t strange at all that Roh Haeil was looking for a band.Moreover, unlike other rumors, the source was clear.A live cafe in Hongdae.The rumor came from a quite well-known indie band that had performed there.He sang our songs like they were his own.It was our first time working together, but he seemed like someone who had been in a band for about ten years.He was even better at rock.There were quite a few rumors that sounded like praise, but most were dismissed since there was no recorded video. What remained was-The distorted rumor that ‘Roh Haeil did the arrangement for them, and in return, took their bassist’.It was quite a sensational content, so it spread quickly in the narrow underground scene. Above all, the rumor was almost confirmed when that bassist started looking for a synth player and percussionist.It’s also because that bassist used to be a famous person.As a band that dominated Hongdae 10 years ago and as a DJ at First Club.If you say you’ve done music in Hongdae, you’ve heard about ‘Han Jinyeong’.“If it’s Han Jinyeong, isn’t that the one? The one who was in a band with Sin Joohyeok-“The anecdote from ten years ago was passed down to the younger generation by word of mouth.However, the important thing wasn’t that Han Jinyeong and Sin Joohyeok were in a band together and then disbanded.It was that Roh Haeil, a rising star famous for composing and vocals, was looking for a band.Bands without vocalists,People who couldn’t make a living as a band and were now looking for jobs.Even top-level performers who had participated in album recordings and live performances for many singers showed interest.“Roh Haeil, you mean that genius kid who appeared on Rendezvous?”“He’s looking for a band?”“Why are you interested?”“How could I not be? Aren’t you?”“Of course I am.”Of course, there were also some people who were primarily interested in their own advantage.“How do we apply? Wow, if it’s Roh Haeil, does that mean we can meet Sin Joohyeok or Liv?”“That’s not all. We’ll probably make a ton of money too. Just play along with the kid a bit and rake in the profits. Instant flex.”“I don’t care about the band, I just wish he’d arrange my songs.”Whatever the purpose, it was clear that many people were lending an ear to the hearsay.Words passed from mouth-to-mouth soon had untrue things mixed in as if they were facts.“I heard they’re going to have open auditions.”“When are they doing it?”“Don’t know?”“How do we apply?”“It’s just a rumor, isn’t it? If they’re really looking, they’d post a notice or something.”“But Roh Haeil is independent, not under any agency. He doesn’t even have a website. It’s possible there won’t be a notice.”“Then how do we contact him?”“…By email?”Halo, who knew nothing about this, heard about his own “news” from Sin Joohyeok, whom he hadn’t contacted for a while.[I heard you’re having open auditions for session musicians.]“Who is?”[You are.]“?”[Isn’t it true?]It was interesting for a moment.Halo shook his head.He doesn’t have the luxury for open auditions. He’s busy trying to sync up with Han Jinyeong right now.He thought it would be nice if a synth player and percussionist just popped up out of nowhere.Maybe they could even do some busking to practice working together.[Anyway, so it’s not true? Then I guess I’ll have to do the open auditions for session musicians.]“Is that all you contacted me for?”As Halo was about to hang up immediately, Sin Joohyeok quickly added more words.As expected, he had a separate main purpose.[Hey, don’t you have something to say to me?]“?”[That rock-. No. There at Hongdae. That…]What’s wrong with this guy all of a sudden?Sin Joohyeok, uncharacteristically, couldn’t continue his words.As if he had suddenly lost his language ability.After rambling on in what sounded like an alien language for a while, just as Halo was about to hang up, Sin Joohyeok muttered quietly.[Please forget what I said about whether you’ve sung rock before.]“Why?”[Ahem]Sin Joohyeok, who had been going on about his realization for a while, finally asked:[By the way, does anyone else know about this besides me?]:After hanging up the phone, Halo didn’t pay much attention to the “hearsay” Sin Joohyeok had mentioned.First of all, there were other more pressing matters, and any rumor would eventually fade away.However, the rumor had spread more than he thought.He realized this the next day when he opened his email.“!”As usual, his inbox, which should only contain interview requests and broadcast appearance offers, was filled with hundreds of emails.He wondered if there had ever been a day when he received this many emails in his life.And they were all large-capacity emails with attachments. With titles that anyone could see were like self-introductions.Mentioning session musicians, it was impossible not to know the purpose of these emails.There were some perfunctory emails with only self-introductions or academic backgrounds,but most, being familiar with “show and prove,” contained performance videos or NuTube links.Halo, who thought auditions could only be conducted by meeting in person, once again realized the power of this world.And he responds to the efforts of people trying to prove themselves.Halo met many unpolished gems.He realizes anew that there are so many jewels shining with passion in this world.It doesn’t matter if they’re clumsy.As he always says, he loved clumsiness and the growth that sprouts from it.And just as they didn’t hide their clumsiness and showed their best efforts,He, too, tried his best to see them. If possible, even the regrets that couldn’t be captured in the videos.“Haeil-“Han Jinyeong came out of the recording studio and started to call the boy, but stopped.He couldn’t disturb the child who was concentrating on the computer.Han Jinyeong, who stole a glance at the clearly shining eyes, wondered if he looked like that to others too.Halo, who had been responding with all his effort, suddenly stopped the cursor after half a day had passed.There were two performance videos in the email.It seemed like two people had applied together.A man with a long beard was playing electronic pads as a percussionist. A woman with short hair was playing the keyboard.“Oh.”Halo rested his chin on his hand and appreciated their music.As there were two videos, the songs they were playing were different, but both were songs he knew.The man was playing Halo’s 5th album, Addiction.The woman was playing a song from Roh Haeil’s mini-album.The self-introduction video in the same email was also different.The woman used flowery language to praise Roh Haeil, while the man interjected in between her words--I will be Roh Haeil’s keyboard player for life-You said you do music-…Sigh, can you please be quiet?On the other hand, the man doesn’t praise Roh Haeil like the woman does.He calmly states his reasons for wanting to work together, acknowledging only what he musically recognizes.He only shows enthusiasm when it comes to Halo.“Interesting.”Halo chuckled as he watched the unique duo.Hi everyone, I've fully translated this series. If you love the series and wanted to binge read until the end, you can go to my Patreon "Shop" page. Instead of buying the advanced chapters one by one, you can buy them in one bulk (with discounted price too)!