The Road to Glory

“Student? So, could you be Mr. Waver?”Anyone who had seen Roh Haeil’s NuTube would have called him by that name, Halo thought calmly as he greeted him.“I’m Roh Haeil.”“Ah! Roh Haeil…so wave, r I see!”As if suddenly realizing, the man in the hat nodded his head.“I’m Lee Jong-seop, the AD for the [From Today On] music production team. I’ve come to discuss the contract terms and the OST, and, uh, shall we move to the studio first?”“Yes.”Halo nodded tersely.“…?”The AD Lee Jong-seop was puzzled by this attitude.From the videos, Roh Haeil looked to be in middle or high school age, just an ordinary person. Being a student, he likely hadn’t experienced much of social life, so he had braced himself for Roh Haeil to be a bit nervous.He would be patient and generous, as an adult should be.But somehow, Roh Haeil’s demeanor and expression didn’t seem like that of a new or aspiring artist. He seemed like he’d already been in the entertainment industry for about 10 years.‘Well, it has been quite a while since he started uploading on NuTube, so he could have done other things during that time.’He knew today’s kids were pretty diligent these days. Even if not in this industry, Roh Haeil could have had similar experiences like contests or art high school auditions.“First of all, we can’t be certain that your recording will definitely be used.”As soon as they arrived at the studio, Lee Jong-seop had Roh Haeil sign the contract first – they agreed his mother would sign the parental consent form when she finished parking – and then explained about the OST and drama environment.“You’ve probably heard a lot about the script already, but even if we record it, your vocals may not fit the character’s theme as much as we expected. You know what I mean, right?”The script stuff was one thing, but the latter part sounded to Roh Haeil like they were saying they wouldn’t use his singing if it wasn’t good enough.‘Interesting.’The corners of Halo’s mouth quirked up.“Yes.”AD Lee Jong-seop looked at Halo.His reply carried the nuance of ‘yeah right.’Lee thought kids these days were just overflowing with confidence.Well, it was better than having no confidence at all.As long as he could actually do well, what was the problem?Lee was about to ask the audio engineer to get started and leave.But he was also curious to see just how good the kid’s skills were, considering he had made the music director and executive producer deliberate over him.‘Maybe I’ll watch for a bit?’Halo quickly read through the script.It was a melodrama genre. The protagonist used to be a delinquent in the past but became a teacher, teaching students similar to his former self.At first, the protagonist just wanted to do the job perfunctorily, but he genuinely starts teaching the students, and the students also overcome their own stories and come to trust and follow the protagonist in this mutual growth story.Of all this, the song assigned to Halo was the theme song for the character ‘Heetae.’‘I’ve really never tried anything like this before.’He had received acting offers before, but never took them up. He preferred focusing on just being himself and doing what he wanted, rather than acting as someone else.‘A model student, huh?’Heetae was portrayed as mild-mannered and a model student, similar to Roh Haeil himself. In other words, the complete opposite of Halo’s own personality.Whoever recommended Halo after seeing the [Confession] video must have seen that mild side in the video. If so, they might have misunderstood a bit.In any case, Halo decided to try understanding the story of the character he had to sing as.Right, why was this kid a model student?What was he living like this for?For his parents? Or did he just genuinely enjoy studying?There were no special details in the main script.Since it was just a script outline, it was hard to grasp the character after just the first two episodes.So Halo set aside the script and looked at the score instead. Music tended to contain more unseen information, just as he had ultimately understood Roh Haeil’s [Confession].The melody flowed calmly and monotonously.It was a song depicting an ordinary day. However, Halo felt there seemed to be something more to it –A subtle melancholy hiding behindthe placid melody.‘Found it.’The corners of Halo’s mouth quirked up.Wasn’t that the very melancholy he had expressed in his 3rd album?It was the theme he could currently express best.“Starting the recording.”The engineer’s voice came through the headphones.Halo closed his eyes as he listened to the guide track.As always, memorizing the song wasn’t difficult for him.He instantly committed it to memory, able to retrieve it whenever he wanted.[I close my eyes again like that]As he uttered the first line,he was sitting on the running track as the sunset dyed it orange,[Melting into the rising sunlight]and he felt the breeze blowing under the swings. What would it feel like to swing alone on the deserted running track?He moved following Heetae’s story.It wouldn’t be a long journey.The song was only about 2 minutes long, being just a theme for a supporting character. And the repeating ending notes made the melody loop endlessly.As Halo started singing a verse,Lee Jong-seop stared at him as if his soul had left his body.What could he even say?It really felt like the Heetae from the script had come to life and was singing the song. The character from the writing was moving and breathing.Lee Jong-seop, who had somewhat hoped for an established singer when he agreed to bring in a newcomer, no longer felt any regret.He couldn’t imagine any other Heetae.This was Heetae.‘Ah, what did I even say earlier?’Jong-seop suddenly recalled what he had said to the young man.-Roh Haeil’s vocals may not fit the character’s theme as much as we expected. You know what I mean, right?If it doesn’t fit…If it doesn’t fit…His own foolish words kept ringing in his ears.If this didn’t fit, then what would? He wished he could go back and cover his own mouth, shouting to just listen first.He had been put firmly in his place. The next feeling was astonishment.‘Where on earth did this kid even come from?’If there were kids like this everywhere, the music production team wouldn’t have struggled so much.When their eyes met, Jong-seop flinched, feeling like his thoughts had been read. The composed boy, mature beyond his years, was looking right at him.It was as if he was asking, ‘Well? Is it still not good enough?’Jong-seop gulped and walked up to the window, clasping his hands together. He had no other way to express his feelings.‘Skills like this, an aura like that can’t be buried.’Roh Haeil wasn’t particularly good-looking.When he first entered the cafe, Jong-seop had just thought his silver hair was striking, nothing more.But as he sang, Jong-seop understood why the expression ‘captivating gaze’ existed.The composure of the boy flowed seamlessly into Heetae’s weariness. It was like an adult had donned a child’s mask.Was this what the music director and PD had seen? Jong-seop felt a wall before him.“Wow, doesn’t need any separate coaching really.”The engineer exhaled with a wry laugh as he leaned back in his chair.“Why did we even call him? We could have just recorded on a phone and roughly edited it.”“Huh? How could we record on a phone?”Lee Junseop replied with a bewildered look.The engineer kept sighing in admiration.“What can I even say? Feels like I was grabbed by the collar and dragged into this drama. Where did you find him?”“Haha, well, I guess we just got lucky.”They chatted idly, savoring the lingering amazement.But then they realized the boy hadn’t come out from the recording booth even after 5 minutes had passed.“But why isn’t he coming out?”“Yeah, I wonder if he got tired?”#Halo stared intently at the score.The people beyond the recording booth were gesturing for him to come out. Their faces were bright, as if satisfied with his recording.The guide track had already stopped too. To reiterate, it was a short song of only about 2 minutes, so the recording couldn’t have taken long.‘It definitely ended though.’But what was this feeling?A sense of unfinishedness.Why on earth was there a repeating ending note?It had bothered him from the first time he saw the score.It felt like there should be a Part 2 here instead of the repeating note. Surely they wouldn’t have given him an unfinished song, right?It felt like Heetae’s story was abruptly cut off for some reason.“…”Halo recalled his conversation with AD Lee Junseop.Jong-seop had said the purpose of an OST wasn’t to show off the singer’s skills, but to be a musical device that made the drama as dramatic as possible.Standing out too much beyond that wasn’t desirable.They were already satisfied, and Halo had delivered what was ordered of him.From here on was just his own greed, it seemed.Greed. The corners of Halo’s mouth quirked up.He had always lived for his own greed.There was no reason to act ascetically now.“It’s not over yet.”Even if it was self-indulgent, so be it.Halo ruffled his hair and lowered his headphones below his neck. He tapped the microphone defiantly.‘What the?’Someone beyond the recording booth clicked their tongue audibly.Halo just grinned widely in response.And in his mind, he erased the repeating note from the score. It might not be his song, but he clearly didn’t fit well with others’ songs either.One two three four.Heetae’s melody began to play.A quicker tempo than before.No one knew what happened next in this story, but people weren’t hamsters to be trapped in an endless loop, right?Heetae’s story couldn’t just end like this.Perhaps he had wished for someone to break him out of the endlessly repeating darkness. That role could belong to the teacher protagonist, or to himself.‘That’s for the drama to resolve.’In any case, what Halo did was make the infinite finite. He changed the repeating note into a second verse and a comma.For the first time, Halo focused intently on singing someone else’s story instead of his own.And…“Are you not recording anything?”“You’re here director’s? Well, we did already record it.”“! Then what’s this now?”“You suddenly called, should we stop?”“No, Junseop. Just wait a bit.”He hadn’t even noticed when the music director had arrived and was staring piercingly at him.#The music director of the [From Today On] production team couldn’t focus well on Gillaon’s recording. How to put it, while he sang well, the sound seemed to scatter before reaching his eardrums, like ASMR.In fact, the director himself knew why he couldn’t focus.It wasn’t that Gillaon couldn’t sing, but rather, he was more curious about the song of the other boy in the same studio right now.“How’s it going over there?”“I just heard the recording is in progress, shall I go check?”“…Never mind. We’re almost done here, I should go over and confirm too.”The music director got up as if he couldn’t help it.He nodded at Gillaon and left the booth. And the place he walked briskly to was another recording booth.He gently opened the door and his eyes widened at the sound wafting out.Heetae’s song resonated loudly.Not just a gloomy model student’s song, but a desperate child’s song yearning to escape an endless world.“Junseop, just wait a bit.”The music director didn’t want to ruin that world.He had sensed there was something to Heetae, but left it blank as he didn’t know what. Now that void was being filled by the music.The boy couldn’t fully fill in the lyrics yet, so he was completing the melody with humming. But it was already perfect.What the music director had discovered in the boy from the [Confession] video wasn’t just outstanding vocal skills.He had thought the melancholy shown in the video, and the desperate breeze within it, suited Heetae well.And of course, the composition of the song too.He had wanted to see the extent of the boy’s abilities while keeping it separate. It felt like receiving an unexpected gift.“But he’s being a bit arrogant, isn’t he? Messing with the director’s song like that.”Lee Junseop felt uncomfortable, seeing it as a challenge to the original composer’s authority.“Junseop.”The music director called out to him then.“Yes.”“What if Michael Jackson came and told you to change your song?”“If it’s Jackson, I’d have to change it. It’s Jackson after all.”What musician in the world could ignore Jackson’s advice?“But do you really think that kid is like Michael Jackson? He sings well but Jackson is, isn’t that a bit of an exaggeration?”“How are they different?”“Jackson is a genius, but that kid is…”Lee Junseop couldn’t finish, as he had seen it himself.“What do you think, Director?”You see as much as you know, they say.Lee Junseop asked the director’s opinion, just in case.The director answered plainly:“I don’t know. Whether he’s a genius or just a passing musician of this era, only posterity will know.”“Well, I suppose that’s true.”It wasn’t the answer Jong-seop wanted.Then, the director called out to him again.“Junseop.”“Yes, Director.”“But what if I want to raise that kid, regardless of whether he’s Jackson or Mozart?”“Huh?”Lee Junseop was taken aback, spitting a bit.It was understandable, as the famous music director Park Jeongho had never taken on a student before.“Well, let’s just finish up this work first and think about it. I’m not saying to do it right away.”“Yes…”“But Junseop, send that song up to the PD too.”“Pardon?”This time, Lee Junseop was surprised for a different reason.His eyes turned towards the boy.“The PD will really hate it though. You know how much he dislikes top stars ad-libbing. I thought you liked that kid, Director?”If they said the kid had sung as he pleased, the hot-tempered PD would surely blow up. The music director just shrugged.Lee Junseop couldn’t understand the director’s intentions.“Did the recording go well at least?”“Yes, the recording is going well.”“Once it’s all done, we’ll redo the contract too.”“…But he’s a high schooler, isn’t that going too far?”“You’re the one who got angry just now.”“That’s true, but still.”The director turned with a wry smile.He really liked that kid, but he was very eager to see how the veteran PD Kang, his longtime colleague and senior, would react.Translator Note:I don’t know why the author use the name Lee Jong-seop first and then in the middle change his name to Lee Junseop. Typo maybe? I checked it just in case, and the author really use Lee Jong-seop for like half of the chapter and then change it to Lee Junseop. For now, I’ll just put that as it is. I have a feeling that this Lee Jong-seop/Lee Junseop guy doesn’t appear again lol.Hi everyone, I've fully translated this series. 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