The Road to Glory

“Teacher, when can I stop coming to school?”“You want to stop coming that badly?”“Yes.”“Yes, what? You’ll keep coming from now on.”“Aw, teacher~”Ever since the final exams ended, the classroom atmosphere was lighter than ever before. The burden of grades and the nerves about rankings had long since disappeared. The kids who had enjoyed watching movies, animations, and playing games like Mafia or cards for a while were now bored to death and just waiting for the early vacation.“But you still have to submit your high school application, don’t you?”“I’ll do it at home.”“You won’t do it.”They didn’t even say anything, but a loud burst of laughter erupted. They immediately start lounging on the desks like it’s their own room.“Next Wednesday is the pre-vacation ceremony, so come until then. Of course, applicants for foreign language or autonomous private high schools have to keep coming. Got it?”“So I don’t have to come after next week?”“Did you guys listen to anything I just said?”Halo, who had been wondering when to cut his shaggy bangs, opened his eyes wide.The pretense of attending was coming to an end.The shortened class ended around 11:40 am. His mother was waiting outside the school with the car.After putting the high school issue on hold to discuss with his father, his mother didn’t bring up that day’s events again.But that didn’t mean she had bottled up her feelings either.His mother really acted nonchalantly, saying:“Mother, don’t worry. He’s just a late bloomer. His growth plates are still wide open. Since your father is tall, Haeil will grow soon too.”“Oh, that’s a relief.”After the growth plate examination, she took him to Gangnam for Japanese tonkatsu. Although it was a bit past lunchtime, the famous restaurant had a bit of a line.However, once the crispy pork cutlet entered his mouth and melted away, it didn’t feel like a waste of time or energy at all. The delicious taste was worth the expensive price and time.“Come to think of it, isn’t today that day?”“?”Halo turned to look at his mother from the passenger seat.“Jinsoo said the trailer for Show Your Show would be out on the 6th, didn’t he?”“Ah.”Had it already come to that?He had heard something about a second filming session or whatever.But why would he remember just a trailer when it wasn’t even the main release?“He said it would be at 9 pm tonight, right?”“Yes, that’s right.”“I forgot to tell your father.”“Well, it’s just a trailer, not the main thing.”“I suppose so?”His mother laughed lightly.“I should tell him later then.”Halo nodded vaguely and tuned into the song on the radio.He wasn’t particularly curious about the program featuring Jang Jinsoo. During that time, he would have listened to old hit songs uploaded to NuTube if he could.He definitely hadn’t planned on watching it.“Haeil, it’s time!”If it weren’t for his mother’s encouragement…At 8:50 pm, Halo was led out like a cow being taken to the slaughterhouse. His mother was in an excited state, like a young girl. When she patted the sofa, motioning for him to sit beside her, he plopped down reluctantly.‘I heard he didn’t listen to the writer and got edited.’Jang Jinsoo should have said that much.So his mother wouldn’t expect too much from a trailer that would be no more than 3 minutes at most. If Jang Jinsoo was edited, then his song must have been edited too.His mother hummed the familiar melody as she waited for the trailer. The familiar melody of [Confession] that Roh Haeil had made for her.No matter how many times she had heard it through NuTube, whenever she had time, his mother would hum the melody or lyrics.At 8:57 pm, the opening of the documentary began.A fisherman on a boat, a boat with a full load of fish, something like that. The narration passed by, and the fisherman recited a poem in the dark night.“When is it coming out?”With a completely uninterested look, his mother urged it to hurry.The trailer seemed to be airing right before the documentary started, after the commercials ended. For a few tens of seconds, so many commercials played – car ads, suit ads, massage chair ads.There were so many commercials in the world.Although they were more sophisticated than before and caught the eye, it felt excessive since there was something to wait for.‘Do they really need to drag it out this much for a teaser release?’As Halo grumbled, the countdown changed from 1 to 0.#“Hey, I told you to buy some side dishes, but what soju did you buy?”“Who needs side dishes when you’re just going to down a bottle or two of soju?”A man with a two-block haircut and a lizard pierced onto his earlobe let out a snort of laughter, then opened a bottle of red soju. There were no glasses or dishes. The green cap was the only “side dish” for the red soju bottle. The bottle’s mouth was just the right size for drinking directly – all intentional according to Samjang, the CEO of P-R Label.“Our employees will be monitoring, but do we have to do it too? And it’s not even the first episode, just a teaser.”“Kyungjin told me to watch it for sure. He said Laon’s competitor is pretty strong.”“What, there’s someone stronger than Laon?”Nokjin, P-R Label’s only producer, was dumbfounded. He truly believed Gillaon was a genius.With that addictive vocal ability, tone, star quality, and musical talent that transcended genres.Nokjin had immediately signed Gillaon after seeing him by chance at a middle school festival, because he thought there was no one among his peers who could beat Gillaon’s talents.“If there is, they must already be a known name-”“Oh, it’s starting.”Samjang cut off Nokjin’s endless chatter.The trailer was finally starting, after the commercials ended.‘Show Your Show’ is a music competition program that airs on ENS (Entertainment Network System), CY’s entertainment channel, starting in 2028.Initially, there was controversy that it was copying other broadcasters’ hip-hop survival programs, but Soyou differentiated it as a competition program not limited to the hip-hop genre, and it gained recognition.They were also lucky in a sense – Soyou’s cast members always became a topic of discussion for one reason or another. To put it nicely, they benefited from noise marketing; to put it bluntly, there was a sensational aspect to it.Fights between the contestantsThe contestants’ personal stories were also quite interesting, and above all,The conflicts between mentors and mentees that arose each season drew the highest viewership ratings.-From the previous pilot season- Although Soyou was always controversial, the reason applications and viewership increased season after season was because their competition songs ultimately appealed to the public.Always placing competition songs in the top 10 of the Watermelon charts, Soyou was a successful program.For those reasons, Samjang and Nokjin of P-R Label decided to send Gillaon to Season 3. Every episode of Soyou would be a good experience for Gillaon, and would ultimately lead to good results.Moreover, they secretly thought there wouldn’t be a more eye-catching participant than Gillaon. Of course, there were some famous people among the participants this time, but in a music competition program, fame wasn’t that important.Rather, being unknown could create a bigger impact.A genius middle schooler, with vocal tone, vocal ability, cute looks, and star quality – Gillaon had it all.The teaser video began as it always did.Colorful stages.And one by one, text appears, asking:Rock Ballad PopWhat is your music?And thenWhateverIt becomes.Show your show!Show us.The program’s title and phrase appeared on the black screen.Samjang and Nokjin thought they had nailed that one line to convey the program’s intent. There could be no better logo than that.Soon after, the official opening rolled like a Hollywood superhero movie. Flashing through the stages of the new contestants, the word “YOU” was completed.The grandiose music playing like a superhero movie ended, and after 3 seconds of silence, the music changed.“Oh, good beat?”“Right? They picked a nice beat for this opening. Is it the main background music?”No lyrics were heard, but the beat pulsed.It was a deliciously addictive beat that would stick in your mind.The beat wasn’t too fast or too slow, which made it even better to listen to. It gave a gentle yet upbeat feeling, like it was going to power forward.In the trailer, there would be a contestant’s stage or interview.Someone’s performance, determination, or even a failed stage.Samjang and Nokjin nodded or shook their heads as if they were fascinated.“It’s Laon.”Just when they thought Laon wouldn’t appear, he came out near the very end. Nokjin smiled like a proud father.The ending protagonist of the teaser must be Laon.His soaring falsetto sent chills down the spine.Even without seeing it, it was clearly a successful performance.Then, the scene changed and a boy around Laon’s age appeared. An extremely ordinary-looking middle schooler. The permed boy with slightly upturned eye corners, honestly didn’t stand out among the other applicants.Even the 3 seconds of unaccompanied rap seemed mediocre. No one had paid any attention to that boy.As Nokjin clicked his tongue in pity, Samjang felt a sense of dissonance. They wouldn’t put that much production value into someone who didn’t make it, would they?Then, the camera focused on the middle schooler on stage, and the repetitive beat they thought was background music built to a climax.“!”Nokjin’s eyes widened.What he thought was just background music was not simply that –“The spotlightCircling aroundWhere I’m supposed to beWill it show me the reasonFor this life?”As the camera gradually panned up to the ceiling lights, the screen went black.[2030.12.16. Fri 9 PMShow Your Show Season 3 Premiere]“…”“…”For a while, there was no conversation.Aside from the documentary narration, the room was silent.Samjang holding the white soju bottle, staring at the screen, andNokjin with his eyes closed. They were not just disappointed that Gillaon wasn’t the main focus.“Oh…”After a long pause, Nokjin let out an exclamation.“Who is that kid?”His expression gradually changed.From surprise, to admiration, and even further to greed.It was the same as when he first saw Gillaon –The look of eagerness to bring him to the label and sign him immediately.“Let’s get him.”He reacted just as Samjang expected.Nokjin’s eyes seemed to have rolled back just from that hook alone.Even without the hook, the beat alone showed promise. But a hook like that was not something just anyone could come up with.Unlike the excited Nokjin, Samjang remained more composed. However, all sorts of calculations were running through his mind. He too loved music and lived for it completely, but there was one difference.As the CEO of the label, Samjang had to approach it rationally.“This is the first time Soyou used a contestant’s song as the main background music instead of one they prepared, right?”“Whether it’s the first time or not, I would have used it too. We have to use that hook. It’s a bit of a waste to reveal it in the trailer, but doesn’t that mean the rest is even better? Ah, I want to hear it.”What the trailer was like had already left their minds.At least in the minds of the people here, the music they had thought was just background music kept repeating.“To be honest, I want to bring in the producer who worked on that song more than the kid himself.”Samjang tilted his head at Nokjin’s words.“A producer?”“There’s no way a middle schooler made that alone. Even Laon couldn’t do that level of polish alone. He may have drawn inspiration for the melody or punch line, but not that level of completion. It’s clear a professional touched it. This industry is small, so it must be someone I know. But who?”“…I guess that’s the ‘competitor’ Kyungjin mentioned against Laon.”“Yeah, Laon will have a hard time this season for sure.”There was no need to discuss who Kyungjin, Laon’s manager, had referred to.Anyone who saw this trailer would immediately know who the PD was favoring as the main focus.They even used a contestant’s song as the main background music, deeming it good enough to discard the main music they had already prepared.And in reality, it was that good.“What if it’s his own song?”“It probably is his own song.”“No, I mean if he didn’t get any professional producing.”“…That doesn’t sound possible.”Nokjin dismissed it, but Samjang recalled Kyungjin’s report. Kyungjin had said ‘independent.’ Nokjin muttered that it couldn’t be, but when Samjang pressed him for an answer, he reluctantly responded:“If by some tiny chance that’s the case, then we have to get him no matter what. But you said a professional worked on this song?”“As a producer, tell me the value of this song.”Nokjin’s expression changed as if he couldn’t believe Samjang was asking.You liked it too, didn’t you? Why do I have to explain this?Of course, Samjang knew it was good.When he heard that hook, he instinctively wanted to sing that song himself – the innate greed of a musician.This is the inevitable destiny of musicians.Just as in baseball there’s a saying “Bring in a left-handed power pitcher from hell if you have to,” in this industry, there’s a saying “If it’s a good song, you have to get it even if you have to sell everything.” It’s an extreme expression, but all musicians would agree. Musicians are always thirsty for better songs.“If I have to say it- Okay, I listened to it without analyzing.”Nokjin begrudgingly said a word.For once, instead of always analyzing a song’s structure or chords out of habit, he just listened and appreciated it.Samjang thought that was enough.“The spotlight- That song is insanely addictive. Look, I’m already singing along after hearing it just once.”“As a rapper, I shouldn’t say this, but it feels like even mediocre rap lyrics would work with it.”“In fact, you could probably bring in anyone off the street and they’d sing it well. The hook itself is bewitching. Wow, who came up with a hook like that?”As Samjang let Nokjin’s deductions wash over him, he flicked the soju bottle with his finger. The crisp sound rang out.He no longer felt like drinking.As the CEO, it was complicated.Signing them was a task for later, but how should he take care of Laon, who would be up against this devilishly catchy song’s genius?Gillaon would probably do well on his own, but the impact of the trailer was not trivial.To the point where he couldn’t even remember who else had appeared as contestants.“Hello? Yes, first look into the viewer’s reaction a bit. See how everyone is responding.”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)!