The Road To Glory [EN]: Chapter 521

# 52 It’s Because It’s Me

“Raon, did you see the new artist that came in this time? I heard he’s your friend.”

“Yes? Ah, yes. But he didn’t ‘come in’.”

“Anyway. The rumors say the CEO and producer were practically begging him to join. Is it true?”

“He’s got something.”

Gil Raon trailed off, wondering how many times he had given this answer.

He didn’t know.

Ever since Producer Nohk Jin-hyung’s public courtship, everyone he met grabbed him and asked about it.

Well, it wasn’t hard to understand.

All eyes were on the new artist, the first one after Gil Raon.

At least, the artists affiliated with P-R, and the musicians who actively communicated with P-R, as well as the CEO’s and producer’s acquaintances, all subtly inquired.

Of course, they even mentioned supporting an ‘independent label’ for a rookie who hadn’t even debuted yet, so there was no way rumors wouldn’t spread. Besides, didn’t that rookie turn down the offer and start his own label?

In the narrow Korean music scene, there are people who can’t stand not satisfying their curiosity when something even slightly interesting happens. They try to find out facts as quickly as possible, even if they could find out by waiting a little longer.

“Did he come in as a singer-songwriter?”

“Nohk Jin-hyung isn’t the type to beg like that. What kind of kid is he?”

“Is he super handsome like Cha Yun-woo? Then I’ll acknowledge it.”

Of course, the attention wasn’t always positive.

“Senior singers are delaying their comebacks, but a rookie is debuting? I don’t know who he is, but maybe it’s because he’s a rookie. He’s got a lot of guts. He’ll only come to his senses after he fails once.”

“Hyung [older brother or male friend], aren’t you making a comeback?”

“Comeback? Do I look like I’m making a comeback? You must have heard about it too.”

“About what?”

“That.”

Gil Raon smiled awkwardly and nodded.

There was no way he wouldn’t know what the senior singer meant by ‘that’.

The singer currently attracting the most attention in the Korean entertainment industry. A destructive force that even made established singers postpone their comebacks. Of course, Gil Raon, as a musician, had heard of him and was in awe.

“As soon as I heard it, I was like, ‘Wow, this is crazy.’ I felt a wall for the first time. I’ve heard I’m a genius too. But there’s a class even among geniuses. I should just be satisfied living in Korea.”

The senior singer talked about the wall he felt for a long time, then returned to the original topic after about 20 minutes.

“Anyway, have you heard the rookie’s music?”

“No. How could I…? And I shouldn’t have heard it.”

“That’s true. But he’s your friend, won’t he let you listen? No, I was curious, so I poked around everywhere, but no one would tell me.”

He grumbled as if he was disappointed.

Just in case, he poked around, but the staff who were even slightly involved in the album production kept their mouths shut as if they had made a promise. They just told him to listen to the music when it came out and didn’t say anything about what it was like.

“What’s it like? Is it really that bad? No one’s stopping him, so I guess it’s because it’s going to fail no matter when he releases it, so they’re just letting him do it.”

“Ha, ha, ha.”

Gil Raon didn’t know what to say, so he laughed it off.

He didn’t agree with his senior’s words, but he thought he would know once he heard the music anyway.

“So what is he doing now? Not even greeting his seniors.”

“Isn’t it because he’s too busy to pay attention?”

“Where is he?”

“He’s got something? Maybe he’s with Producer Nohk Jin.”

In fact, Gil Raon knows where Noh Hae-il is and what he’s doing.

He didn’t check his KakaoTalk [Korean messaging app] messages often, but when they contacted each other, he told him without hesitation.

“Tell him to come out sometime.”

“Yes? Where to?”

“Where else, our night gathering.”

Gil Raon’s eyes widened at his senior’s words.

“Why are you like that? It’s not like I’m saying something bad. What, would I give him a hard time in this day and age? He’s even a minor. I don’t want to be on the nine o’clock news yet.”

“…”

“And I was a little worried, but would I really want my junior to fail? As a senior, I’m just trying to pass on some tips about the public’s taste, how to get first place on Watermelon [Korean music streaming service], strategic debut, stuff like that. I don’t think he has much sense? No matter how you look at it, this isn’t the time to debut. What good is a senior for?”

“Umm.”

‘I don’t think he needs it.’

Gil Raon, who knew that Noh Hae-il had already taken first place on Watermelon with ‘Show Ba Show’, just smiled faintly.

“Anyway, it’s not a lie that I want him to come to our gathering, so tell him. Oh, I’ll check later.”

“Okay, um! I’ll try, senior! But there’s a big chance he won’t be able to make it because he’s so busy! I’m busy, so I’ll be going now! Get home safe!”

“Hey, hey, wait, Raon. We’re not done yet.”

Gil Raon quickly hung up and ran out.

He knew that his senior wasn’t a bad person, but he didn’t want to waste his busy friend’s time.

‘He’s probably having his profile shoot right now.’

Knowing that he was at the photo studio instead of the recording studio, Gil Raon quickly got on the elevator so he wouldn’t get caught by his senior. A transparent elevator, with a city forest spread out beyond it.

His senior was worried about his debut and everything, but Gil Raon wasn’t worried.

If they saw Hae-il in person, no one would be worried.

However, if other worries arose-.

“Profile shoots are tough.”

Gil Raon shuddered, thinking about how long his profile shoot had taken.

Jin-soo said that Hae-il was someone you didn’t need to worry about, but the set was a tough place for everyone.

#

Meanwhile, Hae-il was looking in the mirror.

With his arms crossed and a dissatisfied look on his face.

“Hmm.”

Noh Hae-il, who was about to have wax applied and his hair styled into a pomade.

The unidentified tools placed in front of him.

Noh Hae-il sitting in front of the makeup mirror is, in itself, out of place.

It felt like he was in a place he shouldn’t be.

“Can’t we just take it roughly?”

“‘Roughly’? We can’t do that.”

The album production team leader answered firmly, as if he had heard an impossible word.

“The profile picture is the first thing the public sees. We can’t show them a sloppy look like you just came out of the house. Logically speaking. And basically, everyone does this. You’re going to be wearing makeup more than once or twice in the future, so it’s better to get used to it quickly.”

‘Logically speaking’.

And ‘basically’.

He didn’t really like those words.

Hae-il tapped his fingers.

When he asked why he, not an actor, had to take a profile picture that wasn’t even for the album cover,

she said it was a picture that would be uploaded to the internet and platforms.

After directly searching and showing him a picture of a person, Hae-il finally knew what a ‘profile picture’ was.

The picture that the public would see first when they became interested in the name ‘Noh Hae-il’ and searched for it.

The team leader emphasized several times that it was the first impression and the representative image of him in the future.

“Can you close your eyes?”

The makeup artist came with a large brush.

She would probably touch his face with that.

She said she was going to do idol profile makeup.

Creating shadows on his face, coloring his lips, and making his eyebrows darker.

And she would create lines and shadows in his eyes to make his impression stronger.

Saying it would suit Noh Hae-il’s face well.

And when the makeup was done, he would put wax on his bangs and wear the semi-formal suit hanging on the hanger.

Originally, Hae-il didn’t care much about the profile shoot itself.

As long as they didn’t interfere with the music itself, he thought it was okay to accept the opinions of experts on aspects he didn’t know about, such as the profile.

But as soon as the shoot started, Hae-il fell into doubt.

No matter how he looked at it, this wasn’t him.

This organized and decorated version wasn’t him.

‘The image that is shown to the public first.’

Hae-il tilted his head while looking in the mirror.

He thought, not caring about the makeup artist and team leader who were watching his actions from the side.

Is this the image he wants to show the public?

“I heard it’s your first time shooting? Then you should follow my instructions more.”

The team leader added, as if his actions were frustrating.

“I don’t know.”

He answered briefly.

Even if it was his first time shooting a profile, it wasn’t his first time shooting at all.

HALO’s albums always came out with his face or full body, half body plastered on them.

Every time an album came out, he stood in front of the camera.

But back then, he didn’t get much help from stylists or experts.

They stared at Hae-il’s face and said there was nothing they could touch, so they just fixed his hair and gave him props or clothes.

Moreover, since the 3rd album, they didn’t even do that.

He came out of the house and took pictures freely, whether his hair was pressed down or not.

Everything was decided according to his will, and no one opposed his opinion.

Because that was enough.

What’s different now?

Hae-il crossed his arms and thought about only one thing.

Is this the look ‘he’ wants?

“No.”

The answer came right away.

So there was no reason to hesitate.

Hae-il looked up at the production team leader.

He makes eye contact with the puzzled production team leader.

“I’ll go with this.”

“Yes? What do you-.”

“I’ll shoot like this.”

“Yes?”

The production team leader was embarrassed.

“No…”

He was the first person in his life to say he would go with the profile shoot as is.

They had discussed how to show it, but no one showed it as it was.

The camera could distort it, and originally, the ‘created image’ was the most important thing for celebrities.

The production team leader wondered if the boy in front of him didn’t know about the importance of ‘profile’ yet.

“I’ve said it several times, the profile is the first impression. The image of Noh Hae-il that people will see first!”

“So?”

“Yes?”

When she asked back as if she didn’t understand, Hae-il smiled and answered.

“Because it’s me.”

“!”

He wanted the image that people would see first to be him as he was.

It was enough if they looked at him without any special decorations.

He could get enough attention after that.

In the way he loved the most.

“That’s all.”

She added as if she didn’t fully understand.

“People won’t like it if you do this.”

“I don’t know. It wasn’t like that.”

The boy said nonchalantly, as if he had already experienced it.

She still couldn’t understand.

However, she couldn’t break the artist’s firm will, so she watched the boy’s shooting with her hands on her hips. In order to intervene in the shooting if there was even a slight problem.

“Are you going to shoot as is?”

“Yes.”

A brown jacket over a black hoodie.

Plain jeans and an acoustic guitar on his back.

The boy stood in front of the camera in the clothes he wore to the studio.

‘This isn’t it.’

The production team leader bit her nails.

The boy’s clothes were expensive brands, but they were completely out of the ‘exemplary and soft image high school student’ concept that was originally planned.

Isn’t that just casual wear?

Besides, messy hair can easily give a frizzy and dirty impression if you’re not careful.

He didn’t apply wax, so the damaged ends of his hair were sticking out.

No matter how you look at it, it was raw as it was, not organized.

Even the experienced production team and makeup artist wondered if this was right, but the boy seemed relaxed.

He seemed used to the camera, unlike a rookie.

He wasn’t nervous at all and didn’t pay attention to the camera.

He wasn’t handsome, but strangely, he caught my eye.

That’s because ‘he’s not perfect.’

The production team leader felt dizzy and put her hand on her forehead.

It’s not just the clothes that are the problem.

Even if he was as handsome as Cha Yun-woo, if he said he wouldn’t get makeup, there would be a lot to say,

but the boy wasn’t the type to win with his looks.

Especially in the entertainment industry, where there are many beauties and handsome men, it’s easy to hear that he’s ordinary or disappointing.

His atmosphere is unique, but how much can he catch on camera?

The photographer, who had been looking at the camera for a long time, tilted his head.

It was enough to burn her inside more.

“I guess we should get him some makeup?”

“No, not that.”

The production team leader glanced at the camera with a dissatisfied face.

She couldn’t see properly because the photographer was holding the camera.

She just thought he wasn’t saying much.

If it was as she imagined, he would have said something already.

The writer focuses on the camera again.

The boy is in the center of the angle.

The messy black hair contrasted with the white skin, making it look darker.

Some of the bangs that wrapped around his forehead were swept to the side, and some wrapped around the slightly pointed ends of his eyes.

The acoustic guitar, which was a few centimeters higher than the boy’s head, and the soft suede leather emphasized calmness,

and the black hoodie illuminated the boy’s face.

“Not bad?”

Unlike the production team leader’s thoughts, the writer thought it wasn’t bad and pressed the camera a few times as a test.

The camera doesn’t preserve the actual image due to distortion,

but the reason why the camera is attractive is because it preserves that moment.

Not only the environment captured in the camera angle.

The time, emotion, and atmosphere at that time. Everything.

Yes, like the boy in the angle.

The intense eyes revealed between the clear images.

The appearance that can be said to be ordinary is reversed by that one look.

The camera maximized the boy’s free but refined atmosphere.

It was definitely not the docile boy that was originally planned.

“Good?”

The writer muttered.

As if reading his mind, the boy beyond the angle smiled.

Click.

The shutter closed and opened.