The Road To Glory [EN]: Chapter 51

# 5 What Should I Do Now

Unlike Jang Jin-soo, who imagined all sorts of things while going down the elevator, there was no big commotion at 2701 Laker Palace in Jamsil.

“I have a lot on my mind, so I want to be alone.”

Before any problems could arise, Hae-il went into his room.

“Hae-il, are you very sick?”

A pale face and a serious expression.

Noh Hae-il’s mother, Park Seung-ah, decided to call his teacher to find out what happened at school.

She hesitated in front of Noh Hae-il’s door, but the firmly closed door showed no sign of opening.

“If you’re sick, tell your mom. You didn’t even go to class today-”

In front of the door where she couldn’t sense anyone, Park Seung-ah was about to say, ‘You should go to the academy [private tutoring center],’ but sighed and crossed her arms. She opened her diary, looked at her schedule, and counted.

Korean (preparation/preliminary), English (preparation/TOEIC [Test of English for International Communication]/conversation), Math (preparation/preliminary/contests), Chinese characters, French, essay writing, debate, etc. Her schedule was packed.

“Well, missing one day won’t hurt his grades.”

He’ll be a high school student soon and will be starting a long marathon, so it’s okay to let him off for one day. It seems like he’s rebelling, which she doesn’t like, but isn’t it normal to go through puberty around this age? She can allow this much puberty.

Park Seung-ah turned on her phone and added abalone porridge ingredients to her shopping cart.

Then, when she pressed the call button, a list of calls with the head teacher and homeroom teacher appeared.

Head Teacher (56:59)

Homeroom Teacher (1:12:38)

Proofreading (27:29)

:

Park Seung-ah pressed the head teacher at the top of the list.

“Hello, teacher, this is Hae-il’s mother. I think he’s sick today, so I’m calling to let you know he might have to rest for the day. Yes. Thank you always. …Ah, the college entrance exam is something Hae-il will decide. Should parents interfere? I’m going to respect Hae-il’s opinion, whether it’s a foreign language high school or an autonomous private high school. Of course, the Korean Minjok Leadership Academy [a prestigious boarding school] would be the best, hahaha. Yes? College entrance exam briefing? What briefing are you talking about…? Already for university? Oh my, as a mother, what could be more important than that? I’ll clear my schedule and rush over. So, when did you say it was?”

A long conversation followed.

#

“Hoo…”

Halo threw his bag on the bed and put the guitar case on the floor. The heavy weight disappeared, making his body lighter than ever, but he still felt an intangible pressure.

Still, it’s better than before.

As he walked home, his thoughts were somewhat organized.

Now he’s not confused or dizzy.

He’s gone through denial, anger, bargaining, and depression, and finally reached the acceptance stage.

“Think realistically.”

Halo clearly died or came close to death. The shock threw him into a strange world.

“That’s all there is to it.”

It was an incomprehensible but obvious reality.

“So, what should I do now?”

In fact, this answer was also clear.

There was nothing he could do.

Only accept reality.

He has no means to understand and resolve this strange phenomenon. He was powerless about this phenomenon and had to accept everything.

Even if he is ever kicked out of this body.

Or even if he is stuck in this body forever, he could not resist.

Halo hated the powerlessness and uncertainty, but he wasn’t afraid. He was more of a person who enjoyed the present itself rather than preparing for a crisis that might come someday. Death didn’t have a big impact on him either.

Therefore, Halo wondered what he should do with this body in the future.

In fact, if it were him normally, he would have already taken action. However, one thing was stuck like a thorn in his side.

“What do you want to do, kid?”

The owner of this body.

If it was a body that had no soul from the beginning to the end, he wouldn’t care, but this body had an owner. He didn’t know about anything else, but coming to the recording studio was not his will. Before he came to his senses, there was clearly another real owner of the body.

“Huh?”

He felt a sudden sense of rejection, like he was wearing someone else’s clothes without permission.

He wasn’t a very devout person, but he wasn’t the type to enjoy hurting others.

It’s a different story when he’s been wandering the streets for a long time.

Anyway.

“What do you want me to do for you?”

Halo nervously swept his forehead.

The great Halo was acting like a teenage kid.

He didn’t even have this kind of worry when he was told to read Demian and write a review.

He knew what he had to do, and he was always confident in his talent, and furthermore, in his life.

There was not an ounce of fear or hesitation in that conviction.

Even when he ran away from home without a penny.

His manager, who later heard his story, was so impressed that he called him a ‘crazy bastard’.

It was Noh Hae-il, this kid with a similar name to him, who gave him this worry for the first time.

The footsteps hesitating in front of his door gradually faded away, and the room finally became quiet. No matter how long he waited, he couldn’t hear the voice of the body’s owner who had disappeared.

Eventually, Halo gave up on getting an answer.

He looked at the guitar lying on the floor. Then his gaze gradually shifted to the bag.

Halo moved the contents of the bag to the bed one by one.

From workbooks and pencil cases.

To Noh Hae-il’s songwriting notebook. And finally, his cell phone.

Halo threw the bean-shaped accessory next to his pillow and looked at the songwriting notebook again.

“Hmm.”

It’s called a songwriting notebook, but it’s Noh Hae-il’s diary. It’s full of worries about music, doodles, and memos. The last page was the only sheet music Noh Hae-il had made.

Halo’s lips twisted as he looked at the diary, which contained his desire to make music and the guilt that he was deviating from the norm.

He didn’t like it.

He wished he would just do one thing.

He didn’t know if he wanted to be a model student or if he wanted to make music. Of course, Halo couldn’t grant the request to be a quiet model student.

Noh Hae-il was a coward who lived his life indecisively, even though he didn’t have enough time to run forward.

Halo didn’t like this type very much.

Of course, he had no intention of living like this.

“If you can’t decide, I’ll live as I please.”

Halo threw the notebook on the bed.

“I’m greedy. I have a lot of things I want to do. I don’t have time to worry like you do.”

He also needs to know what kind of world this is.

He has a lot to do in the future.

“I’ll just use it appropriately.”

Halo got up from his seat.

Because he found a desktop computer attached to the window.

“You should play for a long time too. It would be even better if you didn’t come back.”

He needs to know this world.

He wants to know the history of this world

And furthermore, he wants to greedily taste the music.

Because music he has never heard before will be dominating this world.

He put his hand on the unfamiliar device.

He was soon able to adapt by following Jang Jin-soo’s example.

Of course. He was not a dying old man, but a young man in his 30s. He can quickly adapt to new generation devices.

He waved his hand like a famous conductor. The mouse cursor moved flexibly.

Soon, his legs went up on the desk.

He closed his eyes with his headphones on,

And countless music washed over him like water.

He was out of breath.

This is sex.

#

This world is crazy.

Halo briefly turned his head at the knock, then was sucked back into the computer.

YouTube’s algorithm stole his time like a swamp. In particular, Halo searched for the name of the rock group he had seen at Jang Jin-soo’s hideout, and listened to their music over and over again. Beetles, Rolling Stones, Airships, Queens…

The ridiculous names were to his liking, and the music was even better.

He wanted to savor it and swallow it in one bite.

It’s that attractive music. His feet were shaking from the savory taste.

If he hadn’t died, would his world have produced so much music? He should have lived longer. He was sad, but the sounds of this world stole his thoughts.

“Hae-il, you have to go to school.”

He heard the knock again.

He wanted to enjoy the music alone in this small space for days, but reality doesn’t leave him alone.

He wondered why he had to go to school.

He’s not old enough to go to school, and anyway, a degree isn’t important for the music he’s trying to make.

Knock knock.

The knocking became more and more violent.

The fatigue from staying up all night came late, and he became annoyed. If it was his manager who came in there, he would have screamed.

But this is Noh Hae-il’s house, and the one knocking is Noh Hae-il’s mother. That fact grabbed his last nerve.

“Yes.”

Halo put down his headphones. Several sheets of paper were rolling around on the floor.

He couldn’t stay still after listening to good music. It’s a trace of inspiration that came and went during the short night.

“Oh my.”

As soon as the door opened, he smelled a rich coffee aroma.

“Did you stay up all night?”

“Yeah, roughly.”

Halo stretched and headed towards the coffee smell. He passed the steaming bowl and reached the coffee pot to pour himself a coffee.

As he leaned back in his chair and savored the coffee aroma, he felt a subtle gaze.

“Why?”

“Um, no, it’s nothing.”

She had a lot to say about his uncle-like appearance, but what Park Seung-ah wanted to say was something else.

“More than that, what’s that instrument? Is it really yours? Where did you get it?”

She couldn’t say it yesterday.

Halo thought that this sweet scent was not his style and calmly put down his glass.

“Where did I get it? I bought it.”

Noh Hae-il must have bought it.

He wouldn’t have stolen it, would he?

It’s a bit surprising that he lives in an apartment, but looking at his mother’s clothes and posture, it doesn’t seem like he can’t afford it.

He didn’t know if there was a separate posh accent in this country’s language. Because this is not his motherland. But judging from the clear pronunciation, he doesn’t seem to be from the poor.

“You bought it? With what money?”

“Part-time job?”

“Where do you have time to work part-time? I didn’t get a separate payment text… Don’t tell me you withdrew cash from your New Year’s money account?”

Halo nodded roughly.

Park Seung-ah’s eyes became sharp and then softened.

She pursed her lips as if she was about to say something soon.

But the nagging didn’t continue. The woman pushed the bowl as if she was letting him off just this once.

“Eat now. Drinking coffee on an empty stomach will ruin your stomach.”

Then Park Seung-ah also drank coffee.

With plenty of milk and sugar cubes.

He wondered if it tasted like coffee when she ate it like that. Halo imagined the sweetness and frowned.

Anyway, Noh Hae-il’s mother didn’t react as strongly as he thought. One devout family Halo knew was horrified as soon as they saw the guitar, as if they were seeing the devil.

“Don’t use your New Year’s money recklessly next time. It’s not like we’re saving it for you to use now. It’s not too late to use it after you enter university. I always say that, right? It’s not too late to play after you go to college.”

She doesn’t ask how much he spent, but scolds him for spending it as he pleases.

When Halo nodded, Park Seung-ah came up from behind and massaged his shoulders.

“And next time, tell your mom. If you want to buy something, tell me you want to buy it. Would a mother object to her child wanting to create a new hobby? It’s not like a game, so I welcome this kind of hobby.”

“…Hobby?”

“Yes. Hobby. Well, Mom thinks the violin or piano would be better. Well, you’re a kid these days.”

“Ah.”

Halo exclaimed lightly.

He could see why Park Seung-ah was giving in so easily.

Hobby. He thought they were a more open-minded family than he thought, but they had a clear line.

Halo raised the corners of his lips.

His rebellious spirit, which hadn’t died even after turning thirty, rose up.

“What if I don’t intend to do it as a hobby?”

“…What does that mean?”

Park Seung-ah becomes serious.

Her voice and her face too.

There is some difference, but they are no different from them.

Halo thought.

How would Noh Hae-il have reacted?

Unfortunately, the answer is unknown.

Because it’s not Noh Hae-il who’s here now, it’s Halo.

“I said I don’t intend to do it as a hobby.”

He said it again.

So that she doesn’t think she misheard, like a gentleman.

Like the mother in his old memories, Park Seung-ah’s face turns as white as if she had seen the devil.

“If you don’t intend to do it as a hobby, what are you going to do?”

“What do you think I’m going to do?”

When he asked back, Park Seung-ah’s face turned blue and then bright red.

“Are you kidding your mom from this morning?”

He thinks parents are similar in every country.

Halo wondered what to answer.

In the multiple-choice answers, there are no kind and polite words that his manager would want.

At that time. Beep beep. The alarm went off.

The clock is pointing to 7 o’clock.

It was time to go to school.

Halo smiled crookedly like a rascal and picked up his bag.

Just like it was yesterday.

“I’m going to school.”

“What did you just say? Hae-il!”

The door slammed shut. Halo erased his smile in an instant. The corners of his mouth dropped to the floor.

He roughly knew why Noh Hae-il was indecisive. This family is not in the mood to accept Noh Hae-il making music.

The producer said he had hidden YouTube. The woman’s expression when she saw the guitar, Jang Jin-soo who was subtly trying to help. When you think about it, there were one or two signs.

Faint memories come to mind.

A family that he clashed with fiercely.

He eventually ran away from that house at the age of thirteen and lived a hard but glamorous life.

He reconciled when he turned 30, but that doesn’t mean that era is glorified.

“I’m good at this again.”

It’s something he’s already experienced once.

It’s not difficult because he’s already overcome it once.

It’s just a bit boring.