The Road to Glory

Do kids these days sing songs like this?It was still blues and even an emotional love song. It was a genre he’d never sung even once before.‘A student should be studying. Singing love songs already? Does he even know what love is?’Halo didn’t like the genre.Even when his girlfriend asked him to sing for her, he refused to death. But now he had to do this much for the little guy who might become the next Halo.‘This will be the first and last time.’#Kang Yeongmin let out an exclamation.Saying he’d finish the recording in one take was presumptuous, yet it strangely suited him.‘What a cheeky fellow.’He wasn’t expecting him to get it in one take, but he was curious how well he would sing.When inspiration suddenly hit, he was also curious about him hurriedly scribbling in his notebook. Since he couldn’t use the accompaniment file if he modified the song.The student naturally picked up an acoustic guitar.“Come on, let’s hear it.”Even without famous people, countless exam takers and decent NewTuber singers have passed through here. Kang Yeongmin, who realized the limits of his talent early on and gave up music, had received compliments many times for having a good ear.Kang Yeongmin decided to listen with arms crossed.Even if he only sang decently, it wouldn’t be bad thanks to his vocal tone.At the very least, he had to take responsibility for the confidence he had shown.After all, he raised his expectations considerably.Before long, a gentle melody flowed out along with his voice.[All Night]Surprisingly, Kang Yeongmin’s hands slipped off his jaw after just the first line,[I have something]and his upper body tilted forward.[I want to tell you, so listento every moment as it flows by]“Whoa…”Without realizing he was letting out a strange exclamation himself, Kang Yeongmin’s eyes grew wide.[It may seem strange, butwith trembling steps,I’m getting closer, step by step, to you]His head turned to stone.[No matter what I sayif you won’t leaveand greet me with a bright smileto drive away the darkness of night]“Good.”One word was enough as a reaction.There was no need to add any more adjectives.[The moment we’ve waited for the mostwill come]Still in the middle of the chorus, the student looked back at him with an amused smile.As if asking, Wasn’t it good?The leisurely demeanor didn’t suit someone singing a ballad, yet it suited him very well.The melody became even richer after the instrumental break. While the first part was more serene, the next part sounded more desperate. It had a dramatic storyline like in dramas while still seeming complex yet not crude.Kang Yeongmin listened closely to the sound.Originally, he should’ve stopped and re-recorded it, but he simply couldn’t interrupt it.“How do I interrupt this? I don’t have impaired hearing or anything.”The recording probably turned out well. He’d check on that after this lingering feeling subsided. Right now he wanted to savor every moment, just like the lyrics said.Kang Yeongmin cradled his chin in his hand and closed his eyes.It was a song he wanted to save and listen to again whenever he was reminded of it.#“Hmm.”As expected, many parts left something to be desired.It was not only about the genre itself.Since he didn’t actually get permission from the original composer, he had to make compromises. He left quite a lot to be desired.If he tweaked it any more, it would’ve become a completely different song.The musician buddies he knew well usually had a lot of pride in their music. There were a number who absolutely refused to compromise, even in the face of persuasion, coercion, and threats from producers or management.There was even a lunatic who punched his producer for daring to touch his song without permission. It was someone he knew very well.‘No one has touched my stuff since then.’In any case, Halo respected this little guy’s music and only made minimal modifications. He wouldn’t touch it any further without the kid’s permission.“What do you think? Are you satisfied?”Of course, there was no reply.Right now, the one controlling this body was Halo.He stretched and left the recording studio.While the recording probably turned out well, he still wanted to listen to it once.“How was the recording-”“Student! What is that song?!”He couldn’t continue speaking.Kang Yeongmin grabbed Halo’s shoulders, face flushed with excitement as he showered praise.It was a refreshing feeling for Halo.While praise and accolades were always nice to hear, being grabbed by a scruffy uncle wasn’t the best feeling.Halo smiled wryly and tried to naturally push him away.If only this body had even a bit of strength.He couldn’t push Kang Yeongmin away. The thin, pale arms were emaciated without a hint of muscle. Now that he saw, the legs were also unsteady and the head a bit sluggish too.Typical physical inadequacy.To think he wanted to become a singer in a body like this. It was an issue he hadn’t even considered.“Whose song is this? I’ve never heard it before. Is it one of the famous ones I know?”What’s this guy talking about again?“It’s my song.”“What?”“You didn’t see it earlier? The sketch.”“Well, I did see it. That song was composed by a student?”It was an incredulous reaction.He mumbled, not even knowing what he was trying to say.Was he doubting it? Or…“Really, the entire composition from start to finish was done by a student? Without the touch of a professional?”“It should start receiving the touch of professionals from now on.”“Who? Me?”As Halo nodded, Kang Yeongmin opened his eyes wide.“…Right! We should start handling it now.”Mixing and mastering too… Actually, there wasn’t much to do. It was already complete in itself.Kang Yeongmin still couldn’t believe it. In the end, he made it all alone.How could one create a song like this? Was he a genius?If it weren’t for his calm and proficient attitude, he would have doubted it.“Student!”Seeing the computer screen, Kang Yeongmin yelled again. He didn’t realize how extremely excited he himself was.“Uh, are you going to upload this to NuTube?”“Huh?”“Everyone’s doing it these days, aren’t they? You wanted to upload to NuTube too, right? Or is it for college applications?”“…”It was matter-of-fact.With a calm expression, Halo racked his brain thinking about what this NuTube was. From the nuance, it seemed to refer to a radio station.“Don’t they not accept just anyone?”A radio station wouldn’t accept just any song, of course. Well, he wasn’t just anyone, but still. If they couldn’t see who he was, it was a different story. As far as he knew, none of the production companies he knew did that kind of volunteer work.“What do you mean they don’t accept anyone?”Kang Yeongmin tilted his head.“Anyone can upload to NuTube if they have an account.”“Anyone?”“Well, if you have an account?”Account?Does he mean a bank account or ID card?As Halo stood there in puzzlement, Kang Yeongmin spoke again.“Show me your phone. I’ll teach you.”He wouldn’t normally provide a service this far, but he was curious to see a kid who still didn’t know about NuTube, and he wanted to hear the song again, so Kang Yeongmin decided to make an exception to teach him.“Phone?”“Didn’t you put it in your bag?”Halo nodded absentmindedly.Kang Yeongmin went out the door. As Halo followed him, he found himself thinking about this NuTube Kang Yeongmin mentioned.Radio and broadcast stations didn’t let just anyone upload things. Not unless you had money, connections, or name value.Then what on earth was NuTube?No matter how much he racked his brain, he couldn’t come up with an answer. Were there really record labels that released any random record as a kind of community service? As far as he knew, none of the production companies he knew had done that kind of volunteering.“Here.”Kang Yeongmin opened the cabinet for him. Halo opened his bag. Math workbooks, TOEFL material, notebooks, and countless ballpoint pens and markers. He couldn’t tell if this was an aspiring singer’s bag or a model student’s. He even doubted it was actually his.“There’s a front pocket too.”Noticing the front pocket from Kang Yeongmin’s words,Halo discovered a smartphone and card as they fell out onto the floor.“There it is.”Halo picked up the plastic card while Kang Yeongmin grabbed the device. Still holding the card, Halo peered at the phone Kang Yeongmin held out for him to clearly see.“What the, why isn’t there NuTube?”Kang Yeongmin muttered to himself before tapping something.“Oh, you put it in a folder so it couldn’t be easily found. Why’d you hide it like this?”Soon he had a cheerful expression again.Halo stared blankly, observing Kang Yeongmin’s actions.“You have an account too. Pretending you didn’t know anything.”With Halo watching silently from the side, Kang Yeongmin pointed out the ‘+’ button for him to see clearly.“It might be a bit different on PC but it’ll be similar. Press this and you can upload videos.”“Videos…”“Videos, anything. Upload them for lots of people to see, and you can even generate revenue. I mean, you probably know better than me.”You can earn money?Halo said, trying to hide his surprised reaction.How does uploading this stuff work, and how do you earn money from it? Just what is this?It felt like he’d suddenly fallen into another world.‘Lewis Carroll’s stories were never my cup of tea.’“The recording turned out well. I’ll send it by email tomorrow.”“Yes.”“At a glance, seems the video footage turned out well too. We don’t specialize in video so we only have one camera, but the action looks so good, so…”“Yes.”Halo let Kang Yeongmin’s words flow past him. At least half of his psyche was on the ‘NuTube’ Kang Yeongmin had returned to him.#‘Whoops.’Heading down the stairs, Halo lifted his head with a start.While he brought all his stuff out properly, the one thing he hadn’t done was think about what he had to do now. His mind was occupied with NuTube.If his manager saw him like this, he might have let out a deep sigh.“Where do I go now?”Halo left the building and slowly opened his mouth.A forest of towering skyscrapers he’d never seen before stretched out.At a glance it looked like New York, but no.The signs weren’t in English but in some other alphabet and most of the passersby were also Asian.A bustling city.Halo was struck speechless with wonder before quickly gathering his wits. Coming out without properly thinking about where he was and who he was now was silly.Regret was short-lived.Halo looked around before sinking down onto the clean sidewalk with legs splayed. Though some glanced with curiosity as he sat down guitar in hand, soon they just walked by again.Halo took the card out of his pocket.What seemed to be his ID had a picture, name, date of birth, and lastly his school name. No matter how much he looked, there was no home address.Sunyeon Private Middle School Grade 9 Class 1He was older than expected as a 9th grader.“Fourteen? Fifteen years old? Born April 1, 2016, Roh Haeil. Wait, this…?”Halo was startled as he read the English name from bottom to top.Roh Haeil.It was too similar in pronunciation to just be by chance. His heartbeat grew louder. Halo took a deep breath.“I should reorganize this.”First off, this wasn’t his body.Even if he had a brain transplant while dreaming, there’s no way he’d wake up in a recording studio. He could forget that science fiction imagination.Rather, it was more like he had usurped someone else’s body as a demon.‘Fuck. What’s the difference between this and SF?’Anyway.He had somehow entered someone else’s body.A fourteen-year-old minor. Asian.After stealing this kid who had come to record something’s body in the studio, when he came out he found himself in a foreign land full of modern inventions.He had no clue where that kid went, nor did he see an exorcist anywhere. Now he didn’t know what to do, and was sitting on the sidewalk like a runaway child.Just as he checked the ID to discovered the name was Halo.‘Could this be me not being completely awake? Or a mental breakdown? A dream?’Halo stared at his pale fist before slapping his thigh. “!” Judging by the pain, this was definitely reality.‘What is this?’Confusion set in.As an atheist, Halo had doubted whether heaven, hell, and God really existed.At this rate, it seemed dissociative identity disorder might kick in but“What the, Roh Haeil?”A group stopped in front of him.“What are you doing here? Looking like a homeless guy.”Someone stepped forward.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)!