The Road to Glory

The trailer for Show Your Show Season 3 was released on Friday, December 6th at 9 pm. Along with the trailer release, a flurry of online articles went up all at once.The reactions started rolling in a few hours later, the next morning at dawn.One by one, fans of previous seasons of Show Your Show began accessing the community.[Did anyone see the Show Your Show trailer?][Look at the flashy lineup for this season of Soyou]At first, it was talk about the lineup. Although someone had already revealed it on SNS, there were some unexpected faces too.[Finally, the era of ‘Cho’ has arrived]From famous underground musicians[Wow! The NuTube creator Woongdam passed on the third try, congrats!]To influencers.[After ENS’ entertainment programs all blew up, I guess they were in a rush][Wasn’t this supposed to air in the new year? They moved it up a month][I can see it, I can see them rushing to film and messing it up]└Can’t you see their future?[If ENS messes this one up too, then what?]From the beginning of the trailer, throwing in all the famous faces showed their determination to make the main episodes even bigger.[But the Season 3 teaser is pretty well-made, right?][It’s something alright][I was watching it with my little brother and we were both speechless from the opening onwards, it’s really well-made]Eventually, a full-fledged discussion about the trailer began flowing. Even with over a week remaining, some were already fanning the flames, while others analyzed the screen time given to each contestant.[The rush acceptance for Soyou is a real thing lol And this time there are two of them]└But one of them could be overlooked for rush acceptance?└For real?└Didn’t they deserve to be accepted this time? Not as bad as Season 2 at least└This one seems to come out every year[Who was that Jammin kid at the end?]The one that looked like a typical rush acceptance, not Gillaon└Seems like he’s the PD’s pickIf the role of a teaser is to generate interest in the main show, it was a success.Aside from derogatory comments and conspiracy theories, the traffic numbers proved its success. Posts regenerated by the second, and pages turned in an instant.But among them, there was one repetitive post:[Very urgent x1000]What’s the title of the song in the Soyou 3 trailerThe one where Jammin was going “The spotlight…” or something.I’ve been humming it like a madman, fuck.I have to go to work tomorrow fmllllll.└The spotlight circling around where I’m supposed to be~~└Fuck, I wanted to know so bad└Circling circle└Will it show me the reason└For this life~└Shit, just tell me the title└These guys all got burned trying to find the title lololol[Looking for the title of that “spotlight” song]└They say it hasn’t been released yet└There are so many people looking for “spotlight” in the community, you freeloaders go dig it up yourselves└Is it really not out yet?└When is it coming out?[It’s the first time a song made me freak out like this but what’s the title][Give me the ‘song’][I’ll definitely watch the first episode at least, that “Spotlight” song will be there for sure right?][Cut just the ending song from the trailer …mp4]Jammin is a real legendI want to hear the full versionThis was only a small portion.The real beginning came as the sun rose.KATalk +999-Jinsoo, are you on Soyou?-Jinsoo, it’s Minyoung from the same elementary school, do you remember me? We were in 6th grade togetherFor the first time, Jang Jinsoo greeted the morning with a noisy vibration. It was truly a new morning, unlike any before.Everyone who knew him was looking for him, to the point where he had so many missed calls that his phone’s battery died.Jang Jinsoo, who had simply thought he appeared quite impressively in the trailer without being edited out, could somewhat understand what it meant to be on TV.It was both exciting and terribly frightening.Thankfully, the KaTalk messages from Roh Haeil and the hyungs at the hangout were normal. The hyungs just left short messages like “I saw the trailer,” but that punk Roh Haeil…“As expected.”He hadn’t even checked the KaTalk Jang Jinsoo sent last time.Always the same guy. Maybe he hadn’t even watched the trailer.Jang Jinsoo lived in the community over the weekend.How people talked about him. And he realized that many people were reacting more to the song than to him.As Jang Jinsoo clicked on every single post about ‘Show Your Show,’ the corners of his mouth couldn’t help but turn down.After going through all the posts, Jang Jinsoo called Roh Haeil.He wanted to brag somehow, butthe call rang six times before abruptly cutting off.“…Huh?”Thinking he might have pressed it wrong, he called again.This time too, it rang exactly six times before cutting off.“Hey, wait a minute this punk.”Jang Jinsoo’s smile completely vanished.Ringing six times and then hanging up, even though he had never experienced it before, was something everyone knew –“He blocked me?”Hah, hah. He couldn’t even laugh at the absurdity.Was he really going to brag that much? So much that Roh Haeil didn’t want to hear even that? Or had he blocked him even earlier?He couldn’t even be grateful, so ungrateful.Always the same, painfully consistent guy.Jang Jinsoo put on a padded jacket.He could just brag to the hyungs instead.But as soon as he went out, there was a strong smell of alcohol in the living room.Jang Jinsoo kicked away the familiar scattered bottles and left the house. Fortunately, no one was home.#“Hmm-hmm~”His mother seemed in a good mood.She had been in a good mood lately, but today was even more so. Perhaps it was from seeing Jang Jinsoo in the Show Your Show trailer.It seemed like at some point, she had been urging “When is Jinsoo coming out?” while watching.Halo had recognized the beat in the trailer, but didn’t bother mentioning it.He simply appreciated that it wasn’t bad, considering he had made it himself.Then he saw Jang Jinsoo at the ending.His impression at that moment was simple.‘In the end, he wasn’t edited out.’He had expected Jang Jinsoo to appear, since they used his beat. It seemed the production team had decided not to discard Jang Jinsoo after all.Well, who knows what will happen from here.The trailer ended there.After that, an interesting documentary followed. A story about an elderly fisherman. He had wondered what it was about, but in the blink of an eye, the ending song of the documentary was playing.It was a touching and romantic story.About how the old man, who had seemed shabby and lonely, was actually living life freely and impressively.Particularly when the old man drank a glass of soju on the boat at night and recited a poem, his fingers twitched.He wanted to play the guitar beside him, drink, and recite a poem too. Ocean winds, hot ramen, alcohol, and music.Wasn’t that the exact romance he dreamed of?‘Ah.’Unfortunately, his mother couldn’t appreciate this romance.As soon as the trailer ended, she went into her room.Quite abruptly, in fact.When Jang Jinsoo took the ending highlight of the trailer, his mother stood up suddenly.She wandered around the living room, holding her hands together as she watched the trailer, unable to sit still. Then she took her phone and went into her room.‘Is she tired?’It was quite early, only 10 pm.From the fact that she didn’t say a word about his song, it seemed she didn’t like it.However, the next day.Halo turned his head at the familiar melody he heard.There was his mother, as always, humming the melody.Then she seemed to realize something.The melody his mother always hummed while cooking had changed.His mother, who had definitely been humming the melody of [Confession], had changed the chords and rhythm of the melody.It now typically followed the chords of [Show Your Show].The hook that played in the trailer was about 7 seconds long.His mother endlessly repeated just that part, humming it.After listening to his mother’s humming for a while, Halo opened his mouth.“Should I sing the full song for you?”“Huh?”“It won’t be exactly the same as his, but-”Of course, he would do better than Jang Jinsoo.He was confident he could rap it well, even though he had never actually rapped before.“If you want to hear it.”His mother seemed to ponder for a while.But in the end, she shook her head.“It’s okay. Mom wants to listen to it with everyone else.”“?”With everyone else? She didn’t want a spoiler?While he couldn’t completely understand her answer, Halo nodded. His mother turned back and focused on cooking again.Five seconds later.“Oh, but Haeil!”His mother called his name urgently.“Play it for me after it airs.”“Okay.”As Halo readily nodded, his mother’s face brightened again.She began humming again.The spotlight circling around where I’m supposed to be~If she was humming it after just one listen, she must have liked it.Halo lounged on the sofa again.His body couldn’t stay still, he was bored to death, but he had no choice but to rest. The pain in his fingers had worsened from playing the electric guitar so much. If only calluses would form properly, it wouldn’t hurt.Once he recovered, he planned to start recording his second album.‘When will my body toughen up?’Halo complained about his frail physique. In fact, it wasn’t just his fingers – his joints were also hurting, especially his knees.Not to the point where he couldn’t move, but they tingled and occasionally throbbed. It was a bit different from muscle soreness from exercise.Still, it wasn’t painful enough to restrict his movements.Just annoyingly bothersome.Zzzing-Halo turned his head.It wasn’t his phone ringing, but the intercom he had set to vibrate.His mother looked puzzled, since they hadn’t ordered any delivery.“Could it be him already?” she muttered as she checked the intercom.“Oh! Haeil.”His mother pointed at the intercom with a brightened face.Then, without even asking who it was, she opened the front door.Shivering in a thin padded jacket, Jang Jinsoo said while panting.“Hello, pant, ma’am. pant pant”#“Are you hungry? Eat plenty.”“Thank you for the meal.”It was similar to when he had been invited for a meal before.Except last time, he had hardly eaten – perhaps because he wasn’t hungry. But today, as soon as he picked up his chopsticks, he gobbled everything down like a starving ghost.When Roh Haeil’s mother hurriedly prepared another serving, Jang Jinsoo didn’t refuse and gratefully accepted it. Conversation only began after Jang Jinsoo had been eating for quite a while.“People mobbed you so you ran away? Are you okay?”“Huh? Yes, yes. I’m fine.”“What happened?”In response to the mother’s question, Jang Jinsoo recalled the events from a few minutes ago. Jang Jinsoo, who had gone out in a thin padded jacket to head to the Hongdae hangout, encountered someone who recognized him in front of the subway entrance.-Excuse me, aren’t you the one from Show Your Show?-You’re the little kid, no, the one who sang “Spotlight” in the trailer, right?“They asked to take a picture together, so I said okay, but then-”“People started swarming you.”“Yes. More people came than I expected, so I panicked, and this was the only place I could think of to come. I’m so sorry for showing up unannounced like this.”“No, Jinsoo, you did the right thing. I’m glad you didn’t get hurt. Come by anytime.”He knew it was just a polite saying, but he was so grateful to Roh Haeil’s mother for telling him that with a bright smile.Jang Jinsoo nodded vigorously.“By the way, Auntie also watched the trailer yesterday.”“Really?”“Yes, with Haeil. Jinsoo looked so cool in it, didn’t he?”“!”Jang Jinsoo’s face lit up.As if he had a lot he wanted to say, he opened his mouth, but then closed it after realizing there was food in it.Gulp Even if he had chewed it, he ended up swallowing it all.“Did you listen to the song with Haeil? It’s the one Haeil made for me.”“Yes, I listened to it. Jinsoo really sang well.”“R-Really? Heh…heheh”It was hard to tell who the child was.Such a warm, friendly atmosphere between mother and child.Jang Jinsoo began telling completely unnecessary stories – how the song was, how the stage went, and what the filming atmosphere was like. As the mother smiled like a young girl and affirmed everything, he seemed to get more excited.It was fine to just have a conversation, but occasionally she would make strange remarks while looking at him.There’s a saying that still waters run deep.Jang Jinsoo needed to become a bit more humble.“Jinsoo’s parents must be really proud too.”His mother said with a smile.“If it were me, I would be so proud.”She looked at Haeil with pride in her eyes.“Well.”Jang Jinsoo gave an awkward response.“My parents probably won’t care much.”Jang Jinsoo thought of his home with scattered bottles.How long had it been since his mother stopped coming home? As for his father, he was probably watching some coin something or other.He might have even forgotten he had a son.Still, Jang Jinsoo tried to think positively.Some parents sold their children’s names to make debts, but at least his parents weren’t that bad.Complete strangers – that phrase suited them best.Before the atmosphere could become awkward, Jang Jinsoo laughed it off.#At the late lunch hour for the three of them.On the basement level 2 parking lot of Lake Palace.Near the elevator, a car’s headlights flickered and shone.The first thing to emerge from the car was a dress shoe.A black sock with the anklebone protruding above the dress shoe, followed by striped dress pants.Eventually, a tall middle-aged man stepped out of the SUV.Clack clackThe shoes struck the asphalt floor.The man took out a large carry-on from the trunk and dragged it towards the elevator.The elevator ascended upwards.The elevator had a full glass front.The man, with his arms folded, gazed out at the view of Seokchon Lake.The elevator stopped on the 2nd floor, and an apartment resident entered. It stopped again on the 7th floor, and the resident got off. The elevator continued rising up towards the sky.With the double-paned glass refracting the light, the man’s face was reflected in Seokchon Lake. The man seemed deep in thought.He was thinking of his beloved son.Not just missing him, but wondering what his indecisive son would say.‘That indecisive kid doesn’t have the personality to take the lead though.’Wasn’t it quite puzzling?As the elevator doors opened, the man stepped out and pressed a familiar number.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)!