The Road To Glory [EN]: Chapter 261

Glorious High Tide – Episode 26

# Listened Without Analyzing Episode 26

“Teacher, when can I stop coming to school?”

“You hate coming that much?”

“Yes.”

“Yeesh? You’re coming every day from now on.”

“Ah, come on, teach~”

Since the end of the final exams, the classroom atmosphere had been lighter than ever. The pressure about grades and the *nerves* about rankings had long disappeared. The kids, who had been enjoying movies, animations, Mafia games, or card games for a while, were now bored to death and just waiting for the early vacation.

“Still, you have to submit your high school applications.”

“I’ll do it at home.”

“You’re not going to, are you.”

Without saying much, a burst of boisterous laughter erupted. Soon, they were rolling around on their desks as if they were in their own rooms.

“Next Wednesday is the preliminary vacation ceremony, so come *prepared* until then. Of course, applicants for foreign language high schools and autonomous private high schools must continue to come. Got it?”

“Then we don’t have to come starting next week?”

“What have you been listening to, you guys.”

*We* don’t have to come starting next week?

Lifting his shaggy bangs, Hailo, who had been pondering when to cut them, opened his eyes wide.

The perfunctory attendance was coming to an end.

School ended around 11:40 AM with the shortened classes. His mother was waiting in front of the school with the car.

After putting the high school issue on hold to discuss with his father, his mother didn’t bring up the matter again that day.

It wasn’t that she was holding back her emotions.

His mother really acted as if nothing had happened, and

“Mother, don’t worry. It’s just that his growth is slow. His growth plates are still wide open. Your father is quite tall, so Hailo will grow soon too.”

“Oh, that’s a relief.”

After the growth plate examination, she took him to Gangnam to buy Japanese-style *tonkatsu* [pork cutlet]. It was a bit past lunchtime, but the line was a bit long, as it was a famous restaurant.

However, when the tenderloin *tonkatsu*, which looked crispy, melted in his mouth, neither the time nor the energy felt wasted. It was a wonderful taste that made the expensive price and time worthwhile.

“Come to think of it, isn’t today that day?”

“?”

Hailo turned to look at his mother while sitting in the passenger seat.

“Jinsoo said so. The ‘Show Your Show’ trailer comes out on the 6th.”

“Ah.”

Has it already come to that?

He had heard something about a second filming.

Why would he remember a trailer in the first place, let alone the main episode?

“Did he say nine o’clock tonight?”

“Yes, I think so.”

“I should tell your father, but I forgot.”

“Well, it’s just a trailer, not the main episode.”

“Is that so?”

His mother laughed, relieved.

“Then I’ll tell him later.”

Hailo nodded vaguely and listened to the song on the radio.

He wasn’t very curious about the program that Jang Jinsoo was on. He would rather listen to old *myeonggoks* [masterpieces] uploaded on YouTube at that time.

He definitely had no intention of watching it.

“Hailo, it’s time!”

If it weren’t for his mother’s encouragement.

Eight fifty PM.

Hailo was dragged out by his mother like a cow going to the slaughterhouse. His mother was as excited as a girl. She patted the sofa as if telling him to sit next to her, so he reluctantly plopped down next to her.

‘He said he’d be edited out for not listening to the writer.’

Jang Jinsoo should have said this too.

So that his mother wouldn’t expect the trailer, which would be no more than 3 minutes long. If Jang Jinsoo was edited out, his song would have been edited out as well.

His mother waited for the trailer, humming the same melody. It was a familiar melody.

The melody of [Confession] that Noh Hailo had made for his mother.

He didn’t know how many times she had listened to it, but his mother, who seemed to have watched it several times through YouTube, hummed the melody or lyrics whenever she had time.

8:57 PM.

The documentary’s opening began.

A fisherman on a boat and a full load, blah blah. Such comments flashed by, and a fisherman recited a poem in the dark night.

“When is it coming on?”

His mother urged him with a face that showed no interest at all.

The trailer seems to be shown right before the documentary starts, after the commercials are over. So many commercials came out during these two minutes and several tens of seconds. Car commercials, suit commercials, massage chair commercials.

There are so many commercials in the world.

They were much more sophisticated than before, so they caught his eye, but since he had something to wait for, they felt unnecessarily numerous.

‘Do they have to take so long to release the teaser?’

While Hailo was grumbling, the count changed from 1 to 0.

#

“Hey, I told you to buy snacks, why did you buy *soju* [Korean rice wine]?”

“*Soju* goes with *soju*, it’s not like we’re doing this for the first time.”

A man with a two-block cut and an impressive *lizard* pierced in his ear scoffed and opened a red *soju* bottle. There are no glasses or bowls. Samjang, the CEO of P-R Label, believes that the mouth of the *soju* bottle is the perfect size for the mouth, all by design.

“Our staff will be monitoring it, do we have to do it too? Besides, it’s not even episode 1, it’s just a teaser.”

“Kyungjin told me to watch it. Raon’s competitor is quite strong.”

“No way, there’s a *kid* stronger than Raon?”

Nokjin, the only producer at P-R Label, freaked out. He sincerely thought of Gil Raon as a genius.

That captivating singing ability, tone, star quality, and musical talent that isn’t bound by genre.

Nokjin, who immediately scouted Gil Raon after seeing him by chance at a middle school festival, thought that at least there was no one among his peers who could beat Gil Raon.

“If there is, it’s already someone who’s known-”

“Oh, it’s starting.”

Samjang cut off Nokjin’s *boasting*-like words.

Just in time, the commercials ended and the trailer was starting.

‘Show your show’ is a music competition program that CY’s entertainment channel,

ENS (Entertainment Network System), has been broadcasting since 2028.

At first, there was controversy that it was copied from a hip-hop survival program on another broadcasting station, but *Show Your Show* was recognized as a differentiated competition program by not limiting the music genre to hip-hop.

They were also lucky, but the cast of *Show Your Show* became a talking point for some reason. To put it nicely, they received the noise marketing effect well, and to put it realistically, there was a stimulating taste.

The fights between the contestants

The contestants’ stories were also quite good, and above all,

The discord between mentors and mentees that occurred every season also recorded the highest viewership ratings.

-From the previous pilot- *Show Your Show* has had a lot of talk every season, but the reason why the number of applicants and viewership ratings are increasing is that their *competition songs* eventually appeal to the public.

*Show Your Show*, which always puts *competition songs* in the *melon* chart top ten, was a successful program.

Samjang and Nokjin of P-R Label made the decision to send Gil Raon to Season 3 for that reason. All of *Show Your Show*’s episodes will be a good experience for Gil Raon, and will eventually bring good results.

Besides, they secretly thought that there would be no more noticeable participant than Gil Raon. Of course, there are celebrities among the participants this time, but as it is a music competition program, recognition was not that important.

Rather, an unknown can make a big impact.

A genius middle school student, tone, singing ability, cute appearance, and star quality. If it’s Gil Raon, who has everything.

The teaser video started as always.

Colorful stages.

And the phrases appeared one by one

Rock Ballad Pop

They ask what your music is.

And

Whatever

Whatever it becomes.

Show your show!

Show it.

The name of the program and the phrase that appears on the black screen.

Samjang and Nokjin thought they made that phrase well. There would be no logo that could digest the planning intention of this program better than this.

Soon, the official opening went up like a Hollywood hero movie. The stages of the new participants passed by like webtoons, and the word YOU was completed.

The music that sounded grandly like a hero movie ended, and after 3 seconds of silence, the music changed.

“Oh, the beat’s good?”

“I know, right? They picked a good opening beat this time. Is it the main BGM [background music]?”

The lyrics were not heard, but the beat rang out.

It was a catchy beat that you would keep thinking about.

The beat wasn’t too fast or too slow, so it was even better to listen to. It was calm and gave the feeling that it would run vigorously forward.

The trailer shows the stage or interview of the applicant.

Someone’s stage, determination, or ruined stage.

Samjang and Nokjin nodded as if possessed, or shook their heads.

“It’s Raon.”

I was wondering if Raon wouldn’t come out, but he came out near the end. Nokjin smiled like a proud father.

It seemed like Raon was the main character of the teaser’s ending.

The *falsetto*, comparable to that of a *decent* female singer, sends chills down your spine.

It was a successful stage without even watching it.

Then, the scene changed and a boy about Raon’s age came out. He was a very ordinary-looking middle school student. The middle school student with a perm and slightly raised eyes was actually not noticeable among the applicants.

Even the a cappella rap that came out for 3 seconds was *mediocre*. No one was interested in that kid.

Nokjin clicked his tongue. While expressing his regret, Samjang felt a sense of unease. If he was a reject, there’s no way they would direct it like this?

Then, the camera showed the middle school student on stage, and the beat that had been heard repeatedly reached its climax.

“!”

Nokjin’s eyes widened.

What he thought was BGM was not just BGM-.

“The spotlight

Is in the place where I should be

The revolving Circle will tell me

The reason for life”

The camera gradually goes up, showing the lights on the ceiling, and the screen turns black.

[2030.12.16. Fri 9 PM

Show your show Season 3 First Broadcast]

“…”

“…”

For a while, no conversation took place.

Except for the documentary narration, the room was quiet.

Samjang, holding a white *soju* bottle and watching the screen, and

Nokjin, with his eyes closed. They were not just disappointed that Gil Raon was not the main character.

“Oh…”

After a while, Nokjin exclaimed.

“Who is that kid?”

Gradually, his expression changes.

From surprise to admiration, and further to greed.

It was the same as when he first saw Gil Raon.

The face that was anxious until he brought him to the label and got him to sign the contract.

“Let’s bring him in.”

I knew it.

Nokjin seemed to have gone crazy with just that hook.

Even the beat shows promise, but not just anyone can pick such a hook. It’s a bit of a waste to *drop* it in the trailer. That means the back part is just as good, right? Ah, I want to hear it.”

What the trailer was like was not left in his head.

At least in the heads of the people here, the music that they thought was BGM was being repeated.

“Actually, I want to bring in the producer who *touched* this song even more.”

Samjang tilted his head at Nokjin’s words.

“Producer?”

“There’s no way a middle school student made that alone. Even Raon can’t do that. He may have brought the melody or punch line with inspiration, but not the completeness. You can tell that an expert touched it. This industry is small, so it must be someone I know. Who the hell is it?”

“…I guess I know who Kyungjin was talking about as a ‘competitor’.”

“Well, definitely. Raon is going to have a hard time this time.”

There was no need to discuss who Raon’s manager, Kyungjin, was talking about.

At least anyone who has seen this trailer will know right away who the PD is picking as the main character.

In the first place, they used the applicant’s song like the main BGM, didn’t they? They judged that it was much better to *scrap* the existing main BGM.

That’s what it actually was.

“What if it’s a *self-composed song*?”

“It must be a *self-composed song*.”

“No. What if he didn’t get any producing?”

“…That doesn’t make sense.”

Nokjin denied it, but Samjang recalled Kyungjin’s report. Kyungjin said he was ‘unaffiliated’. Nokjin muttered that there was no way that could be true, but when Samjang repeatedly asked for an answer, he reluctantly replied.

“If that’s the case, even if it’s just one in a million, we have to bring him in. No matter what. But I’m telling you, an expert touched it?”

“As a producer, tell me the value of this song.”

Nokjin’s expression changes as if he’s dumbfounded.

You liked it too. Do I really have to explain this?

Samjang knew it was good, of course.

Because when he heard the hook, he had a instinctive desire to sing that song.

This is the fate of a musician.

Just like there’s a saying in the baseball world that ‘left-handed fastball pitchers will be brought in even if they have to go to hell’. In this industry, there’s a saying that ‘if it’s a good song, you have to get it even if you have to sell everything’. It’s an extreme expression, but all musicians will agree. Musicians have always felt thirsty for better songs.

“If I had to say it-. Yeah, I listened without analyzing it.”

Nokjin said reluctantly.

He, who had always analyzed the form and code of the song because of his professionalism, *enjoyed* it without analyzing it for the first time in a long time.

Samjang thought it was enough.

“The spotlight-. The song’s addictiveness is crazy. Look at me already singing along after only hearing it once.”

“It’s not something a rapper should say, but I think it’ll work even if I write the rap roughly.”

“Actually, anyone can sing it well if you bring them from the street. The hook is just a scam. Wow, who the hell picked this hook?”

Samjang flicked the *soju* bottle with his finger, ignoring Nokjin’s reasoning. A clear sound rang out.

He didn’t want to drink anymore.

As a representative, he was complicated.

Recruiting is something to do later, and how to care for Raon, who will face the genius who wrote this *deceptive* song.

Gil Raon will do well on his own, but the impact of the trailer was unusual.

So much so that I can’t even remember who the other participants were.

“Hello, yeah. First, check the viewers’ reactions. How are they all reacting?”