The Road to Glory

Unlike Jang Jinsoo who imagined all kinds of things on the way down in the elevator, there was no big fuss in Room 2701 of Jamsil Lake Palace.“My head is complicated, so I’ll be alone.”Even before any problems occurred, Haeil went into the room.“Haeil, are you in a lot of pain?”A pale face and serious expression.Roh Haeil’s mother Park Seungah decided to call the homeroom teacher to ask what had happened at school.She lingered outside Haeil’s tightly shut bedroom door, which showed no signs of opening.“If you’re sick, tell Mom you’re sick. And you didn’t even go to class today—”Park Seungah wanted to tell him to go to school, but sensing no movement from behind the closed door, Seungah sighed and folded her arms in front of the calendar. She counted the days as she looked over her schedule.The schedule was packed with Korean (preparation/exam), English (preparation/TOEIC/conversation), Mathematics (preparation/exam/mock test), Chinese characters, French, essay writing, debate, and more.“Well, missing one day shouldn’t bring his grades down.”Haeil was almost in high school, about to start a long marathon. It should be okay for him to take a day off. It was a bit frustrating, but wasn’t it normal for kids this age to go through puberty? This level of teenage rebellion could be tolerated.Park Seungah turned on her phone and added the ingredients for rice porridge to her cart.She tapped the Call button, and her call logs with the school principal, homeroom teacher, and tutor appeared.Principal (56:59)Homeroom Teacher (1:12:38)Tutor (27:29):Seungah chose the principal, whom she had spent the most time talking to.“Teacher, Haeil doesn’t seem well. He seems sick today so I think he needs to rest at home. Yes, thank you as always. Ah, isn’t it up to Haeil to decide about college entrance exams? As a parent, shouldn’t I avoid interfering? I plan to respect Haeil’s opinion whether he wants to go to a foreign language high school, an autonomous private high school, or stay here. The top-ranked high schools would be best, of course, haha. What? An entrance exam briefing? What briefing are you talking about…? For college already? My, as a mother what could be more important? I need to drop everything and be there. So when did you say it was?”A long conversation followed.#“Whew…”Halo threw his bag on the bed and set his guitar case down on the floor. His body felt lighter without the heavyweight, but there was still an invisible pressure.Still, it was better than before.On the way home, his thoughts had become fairly organized.He wasn’t confused or chaotic anymore.He had moved past denial, anger, bargaining, and depression into the acceptance stage.“Let’s think realistically.”Halo was clearly dead, or at least nearly dead. From the shock, he ended up in an unfamiliar world.“That’s all there is to it.”It was an incomprehensible but definite reality.“So what should I do now?”In fact, the answer to that was also clear.There was nothing he could do.The only thing was to accept the reality as it was. He had no way to understand or resolve this strange phenomenon. He was powerless regarding this phenomenon and had no choice but to accept it.Even if he gets kicked out of this body someday.Or ends up stuck in this body forever. There was nothing he could do.Halo disliked that powerlessness and uncertainty, but he wasn’t afraid. More than preparing for a crisis that might happen someday, he tended to enjoy the present moment itself. Death didn’t have that big an impact on him either.So Halo thought about what he would do and how he would live with this body from now on.In fact, if this had been the usual him, he would have already taken action. However, one thing was stuck in him like a thorn.“What do you want to do, kid?”The owner of this body.If it had been an empty body without a soul from beginning to end, he wouldn’t have cared. But this body had an owner. At least up until he entered the recording studio, it wasn’t his will. Clearly, until he came to his senses, there was a real owner of this body.“Huh?”He felt a sudden disgust welling up, like wearing clothes he stole from someone else without permission.He wasn’t that ethical of a person, but he didn’t take pleasure in harming others either.That might be different if he was wandering far from home though.Anyway.“I hope you tell me what to do for you.”Halo angrily brushed his bangs back.Halo out of all people, acting like a teenage brat.Even when he was told to read Damian and write an essay, he had this kind of dilemma.He knew what he had to do and was always confident in his talent, furthermore, in his entire life.That confidence had not an ounce of fear or hesitation.Not even when he ran away from home without a penny at fifteen.His manager later heard the story and was amazed, calling him “totally crazy”.It was Roh Haeil, the kid whose name was similar to his, that made him feel this dilemma.The wandering footsteps outside the room eventually faded away, and the room became still. No matter how long he waited, he couldn’t hear the missing owner’s voice.In the end, Halo gave up waiting for an answer.He saw a guitar sprawled on the floor. Then, his gaze gradually moved to the bag.Halo carefully transferred everything from the bag to the bed.Starting with the notebook and pencil case.Roh Haeil’s composition notebook. Lastly, the phone.Halo, who had tossed an accessory shaped like kidney beans by the pillow, picks up the composition notebook again.“Hmm.”It said ‘composition notebook,’ but it was actually Roh Haeil’s diary. From contemplations about music to doodles and notes. The very last page contained the only musical score created by Roh Haeil.While looking at the diary that contained both the desire to make music and a sense of deviation, Halo’s lips twisted.It didn’t sit well with him.Halo wished Roh Haeil could focus on just one thing.Whether he wanted to be a model student or pursue music. Of course, asking Halo to become a quiet, model student was a request he could not fulfill.Considering the limited time ahead, Roh Haeil was living his life inconsistently, like a coward.Halo didn’t particularly like this type.Certainly, he had no intention of living like this.“If you can’t decide, live as you please.”Halo tossed the notebook onto the bed.“I’m ambitious. I have a lot I want to do. I don’t have time to contemplate like you.”He needed to understand what kind of world this was.There was a lot he needed to do in the future.“Just, I’ll use this situation appropriately.”Halo got up from the seat.He noticed a desktop computer stuck to the window.“Don’t come back for a long time if you want. Even better if you don’t come back at all.”He had to learn about this world.He wanted to know its history.And he greedily wanted to taste its music.This world must be full of music he had never heard before.He placed his hand on the unfamiliar device.It wasn’t hard to figure out, just copying what Jang Jinsoo had shown him. Soon he got the hang of it.He wasn’t some ancient senior citizen on his deathbed. He was just a man in his prime 30s. It was easy to adapt to the new generation’s tech.He waved his hand like a famous conductor, smoothly maneuvering the mouse cursor.Before long his legs were up on the desk.He closed his eyes with the headphones on, and then endless music poured in like water.His breathing quickened.This was heaven.#This world was crazy.Halo briefly glanced toward the sound of knocking, then got sucked back into the computer again.NuTube’s algorithm had stolen his time like quicksand. Especially after searching for the name of the rock band he saw at Jang Jinsoo’s place, he kept listening to their music over and over. The Beatles, Rolling Stone, Airship, Queen…He liked the silly names, and the music was even better.He wanted to savor it but also devour it in one bite.It was that charming. His feet unconsciously tapped along.If he hadn’t died, would his world have produced this much music too? He should have lived longer. What a waste. Still, the sounds of this world captivated his thoughts.“Haeil, you have to go to school.”Another knock sounded.He wanted to enjoy the music alone in this cramped space for several days, but reality wouldn’t leave him alone.He wondered why he had to go to school so badly.He wasn’t school-age anymore, and a diploma wasn’t that important for the music he wanted to pursue.Knock knock knock.The knocking got louder and more intense.Fatigue from the sleepless night rose up late, stirring irritation. If it was his manager on the other side of that door, he would have yelled.But this was Roh Haeil’s home, and the person knocking was Roh Haeil’s mother. That fact grabbed hold of his last nerve.“Yes.”Halo took off his headphones. Some music sheets were scattered on the floor.It was hard to sit still when you hear good music—traces of the inspiration that came and went in that short night.“Oh my.”As soon as the door opened, a mellow coffee aroma wafted out.“Were you up all night?”“Yeah, pretty much.”Halo stretched and headed toward the coffee smell, breezing past the steaming pot to the coffee maker to pour himself a cup.As he leaned back heavily into the chair to appreciate the coffee aroma, he felt a subtle gaze on him.“What is it?”“Oh, um, nothing.”With his uncle-like appearance, Park Seungah had a lot she wanted to say, but there was another topic she especially wanted to bring up.“More than that, what’s that instrument? Is it really yours? Where did you get it?”The question from yesterday that she hadn’t been able to ask yet.Thinking this mellow taste wasn’t that great, Halo calmly set down his cup.“Where did I get it? I bought it of course.”Roh Haeil must have bought it.Surely he didn’t steal it.It was a bit surprising that he lived in an apartment, but based on his mother’s outfit and posture, they didn’t seem unable to afford nice things.He wasn’t sure if the language of this country had a posh accent

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