The Road to Glory

“Don’t you have anything to say to me?”Legs dangling over the sofa’s edge fidget restlessly.It was Rill, the leader of Scorpion, who had come to Veil early in the morning.He had suddenly barged into August’s office and immediately lit a cigarette upon sitting down.It fell to August Veil to send away the staff member who had come in, thinking there might have been some mistake.“What are you talking about?”August Veil asks with a genial smile.Gesturing to Caroline and Jason who were peeking in nervously from outside to get back to work, he was aware that Rill was glaring at him.“If you have nothing to say, feel free to stay as long as you like.”“Do I look like I have nothing to say?”“If you do, feel free to speak anytime.”Soft classical music plays from the audio system.Focusing on the sound, Rill suddenly crossed his arms.“You’re not listening to his music anymore?”“Of course I am.”“Or is it that you’re not listening because I’m here?”Rill said this while carefully studying the old man’s expression.Like a sly old fox, the experienced elder didn’t show any reaction.Alright, he had lost.If he didn’t speak first, that old man would never say anything.He’d probably lie brazenly even in front of a lie detector.“Mr. Chairman, you can tell me now. I know everything. That you deceived me.”“I deceived you?”Rill snorted and retorted.“You said you’d never met him.”Only then did the old man’s pupils slowly turn towards him.“Back then, it was a bit strange. The company being empty on a weekday, not a weekend. That’s why I asked if there was some event, remember?”“Hmm, did I? My memory gets fuzzy with age.”“You said it was nothing special. And not long after, The Sun’s song was distributed through Veil? Even though no one had actually seen him.”Rill laid out his deductions while still watching the old man closely.The old man listened to his story with interest, as if to say, “Is that so?”‘So that’s how you’re going to play it.’He sensed something.The old man was usually slick, but being this nonchalant made it even more suspicious. He had a strong intuition.“But it doesn’t make sense. There’s no way you wouldn’t have gone to meet him. You definitely met with him, Mr. Chairman.”“Me?”“Yes, ‘we’ met together, didn’t we?”Rill made a big gamble and continued before the old man could refute.“At that time, you told me, ‘Rill, unfortunately it seems impossible to recruit a member. He’s going to sign a contract with me today.’”“Rill.”“I’m certain now.”The moment his name was called, Rill stood up abruptly, convinced his guess was correct.There was no reason to stay here any longer.He’d confirmed his hunch, that was enough.As Rill was about to leave, he suddenly turned back with a smirk to the old man who was sure to be in a predicament.“Ah, I plan to go to Korea in October. I added it to the world tour. Between the China and Japan schedules.”“What are you going to do there?”“Well, isn’t it obvious? I’m going to tell them I’m not an idiot who couldn’t recognize The Sun right in front of me.”Though October was still far off, his heart was already pounding.Oh, perhaps meeting that genius boy in Trafalgar Square was fate. The fate that he would stand side by side with The Sun.“Well then, I’ll be going.”After leaving the office,“The Sun’s son?”Rill recalled Belle Morrison’s SNS and chuckled.The countless comments below praising how well he captured HALO’s vibe.‘These stupid fools.’While praising him like that, they couldn’t even see The Sun saying “It’s me” right in front of them.Rill shook his head. These guys can’t be called real fans. Blinded by appearances, unable to discover the real thing-.“Idiots.”Rill sneered and began to whistle.The whistle follows the melody of HALO’s only single release.As the whistling fades away,August Veil, left alone, watched Rill leave the Veil company building from the window and muttered softly.“October, huh…”#Early June, when summer was just beginning, far from autumn.“Haeil-ssi, how have you been?”Music director Park Jeongho greeted him warmly.The place they met wasn’t a studio or filming set like before, but a meeting room in a franchise cafe in Chungmuro.“I’ve been enjoying your music. I really like your songs, Haeil-ssi. Could you sign something for me? My daughter is a fan of yours.”Halo smiled faintly and nodded.After some brief greetings and small talk,Park Jeongho brought up the topic of “musicals” and placed a file of documents on the table.He turned the documents towards Halo as if to say, “Feel free to look.”“Could you take a look at this first?”At the top of the thick file was written “South Korea 1960s-70s.” It was full of detailed information on the political, economic, and social issues of that time, as well as the history of rock music that intertwined with them.“As I mentioned before, our musical is about the birth of rock in South Korea. Well, I’m sure it’s similar in other countries too, but rock in our country has a somewhat complicated past. Haeil-ssi, you must have learned about Korea’s history in the 60s and 70s in school, right? It was quite a turbulent time.”Halo didn’t know, but he didn’t respond for now.It was something he could look up later, and Park Jeongho was kindly explaining it anyway.“Rock, introduced through U.S. military clubs in the 1960s, became a symbol of youth rebellion and deviation challenging the older generation.”It was the same in his world.His biological father was a prime example.“Rock blossomed as youth culture like this, but it began to be suppressed with the implementation of the ‘Performance and Popular Song Purification Policy’ in 1975. After that, it stagnated.Of course, it didn’t completely die out. It continued in some form or another.”“…”“Anyway, we want to tell the story of rock during this exact period – the 60s and 70s. A rock band formed by Korean university students. The spirit of youth who didn’t care about oppression and censorship. Isn’t it interesting?”“It is interesting.”Though his answer was brief, it wasn’t a lie.As someone who had shared that era’s youth in a different country, it was sufficiently intriguing.He’d need to research the history more, but melodies began to swirl in his head, layering over the youth movement.“So, shall we work together?”When Park Jeongho asked eagerly, Halo smiled faintly.“There’s something I’d like to ask first.”“Ask me anything.”It was interesting, but he still had doubts.“Why did you request me?”He had never composed musical numbers before.Moreover, the music Roh Haeil had shown so far was far from rock. He wanted to know why he was commissioned for a musical, especially one about rock.Park Jeongho smiled at his question as if it were obvious.“I told you before that I wanted to work with you, remember?”“You did.”“I meant it. I like your music, and I can’t forget your brilliant genius. That talent that created Heetae’s Reprise in an instant.”Halo calmly nodded at the word “genius.” Park Jeongho also took it for granted and continued.“I’ve always wanted to see your brilliant genius at work again. But this time, it’s for a slightly different reason. Well, it’s not wrong that I want to see your genius, but it’s not the main reason.”His ears perked up at the unexpected words.“I looked up some of the shows you’ve been on. From Drawing Book to radio shows, and even Rendezvous. I obsessively listened to everything from your arrangement of Sin Joohyeok-ssi’s ‘Session 33’ to ‘Song of a Hero’.”Park Jeongho grinned. True to the word “obsessive,” he had searched for all available material.Rendezvous, where Halo showed his brilliant genius again,Drawing Book, where Halo captivated the camera’s gaze. He was satisfied with all of it.Ah, but the arranged version of Sin Joohyeok’s song on the radio was disappointingly short.Like the people still waiting for the release of the arranged version, Park Jeongho also wanted to hear the full version. Well, he wasn’t asking for its release right now.What he really wanted to say was-.“I saw something strange there. I don’t know if Haeil-ssi is aware of it or not.”Park Jeongho cautiously continued, uncertain.“People say Haeil-ssi’s songs are easy to listen to, like a calm Pacific Ocean, but I see the opposite – a storm about to hit. Well, whether it’s a storm or waves, or if I should call it a spark, I felt a heat that Haeil-ssi seems to have carefully hidden in those musics. That… I thought it resembled our play’s protagonist.”That was the most important reason.At the beginning of the play, the protagonist doesn’t outwardly show the passion within him. Just like Roh Haeil’s current music.“Is that so?”The boy’s reaction was ambiguous.It was unclear whether he was affirming or denying.But just as the play’s protagonist reveals his passion as he discovers the rock genre, he thought the music of the boy before him would follow a similar thread.What he wanted to give the boy was the early numbers where the protagonist doesn’t show his passion.And then-.“Haeil-ssi, how about bringing that out, in addition to the music you’re doing now? If you’re not sure, I can help you. Well, I think you’ll do fine on your own. Maybe something amazing will come out?”If possible, even the final number that would explode like Heetae’s Reprise.#“Hmm…”Halo crossed his arms.He was at home now, with the thick stack of materials created by Director Park Jeongho laid out in front of him.He skimmed through it briefly.He had agreed to try, but unlike before, it felt a bit tricky.A creative musical incorporating Korean history.Neither “Korea,” “history,” nor “creative musical” were familiar to him.‘My, why is this child watching a documentary?’Feeling that the materials alone might not be enough, what he found was a documentary recommended by Director Park Jeongho.Halo sat on the living room floor, leaning against the sofa with his arms crossed, staring at the television. A documentary about 1970s Korean society was playing.The narration slowly explained the wounds of the Korean War that occurred in the 1950s, the subsequent military regime, and oppression.‘Korean history at that.’Unaware that his mother was looking at him curiously, Halo focused on the documentary. There was a vast amount of video material on modern Korean history. He had planned to reference related movies and dramas after watching the documentary, but it might be physically impossible.While the musical composition request period wasn’t short, he couldn’t spend months solely on that. After finishing session practice, he was scheduled to record HALO’s 7th album, and – though not immediately – he was also considering Roh Haeil’s full-length album.Halo didn’t move until the sun began to fall from its highest point. Even when his mother brought him fruit, he didn’t even register its existence.Just as Park Seungah was wondering if it was okay to leave him like that, Professor Roh Yunhyeon came home early.“What’s that boy doing?”“He came home early today and started watching documentaries.”Roh Yunhyeon, who had naturally assumed his son wouldn’t be home today, was slightly surprised to see his son sitting on the floor, and noticed the books on modern Korean history and the documentary in front of him.Professor Roh Yunhyeon quietly observed his son.Haeil seemed unaware that he had arrived.He was pleased to see him focused rather than distracted. However, it also felt a bit random and surprising.After declaring he wouldn’t go to high school, he thought his son had completely given up on studying, but now he was studying history.‘Could it be… he’s developed an interest in studying?’The sight of him studying Korean history, of all subjects, instilled a small hope in Professor Roh Yunhyeon.Conversations with old colleagues slowly crossed his mind.-Are you really not going to send your son to college?-Korea University School of Music! What a wonderful name.While he was satisfied with his son’s current path, he also knew that going to university wouldn’t hurt.He wanted his son’s world to expand deeply and broadly. Surely, university could be one means to that “broadness.”Also, university can be a good shelter for some people.He was well aware that there were people on the internet who criticized Haeil for only having a middle school education. His son didn’t seem to care, but you never know about the future. Isn’t it usually when you don’t realize it that wounds form?Professor Roh Yunhyeon realized that the year he had promised his son was almost up.Of course, his son had proven himself sufficiently. His talent and passion for music. The numbers in his son’s bank account were enough to live comfortably for a lifetime. When it came to music, he had nothing left to help his son with.But if that boy had secretly developed an interest in university, that would be a different story.‘I guess I’m just another father after all.’Secretly wishing for a more stable university admission.He had no intention of mentioning it outright, as the boy might feel averse to it again. But if that boy wanted it even a little, he wanted to help somehow.However, one thing was certain.‘Korea is too small. To contain my son-.’Korea University School of Music? Korea National University of Arts? No way.If he’s going, he should learn abroad.Where true geniuses gather.Professor Roh Yunhyeon suddenly recalled a face.Rather than probing his son’s inner thoughts directly, a better method came to mind.“Come to think of it, Haeil’s friend I saw before… Jinsoo.”“Jinsoo?”“I feel like we haven’t seen him in a while.”“Ah. Jinsoo, I heard he’s studying these days. He’s going to university.”Hearing the answer, Professor Roh Yunhyeon’s lips curved into a gentle smile.“Why don’t we invite him over for a meal sometime?”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)!