The Road To Glory [EN]: Chapter 631

< Whether He Will Be the Joker to Change the Game - 63 >

“It’s a new semester.”

March.

What starts with spring is a new calendar and a new class.

Park Seung-ah, a mother, watched the children in their uniforms heading to school with a touch of wistfulness.

She’d almost forgotten.

If things had gone according to plan, her son would have been starting high school around this time, just like them.

Now, she didn’t feel that pressing need to push Hae-il into that mold.

It seemed she had finally let go of those lingering expectations.

He was doing so well on his own, achieving remarkable things.

It hadn’t been long in terms of actual time, but it felt like a significant chapter had already unfolded.

“Oh my, who is this? Hae-il’s mom?”

Park Seung-ah turned to see who was speaking.

It was a familiar face.

Chan-soo’s mother, the one who had first shown her Hae-il’s busking video. Behind her stood Chan-soo in his uniform.

She had heard that he hadn’t gotten into a specialized high school and was attending a regular one. Chan-soo’s mother was holding car keys, likely about to drive him.

“Chan-soo’s mother, how have you been? Hello, Chan-soo.”

“Hello.”

Chan-soo’s mother and Chan-soo both glanced around, as if searching for someone.

It was obvious they were looking for Hae-il.

“Did Hae-il go to school?”

“No.”

“Then…?”

Before she could answer, Chan-soo’s mother exclaimed, a bit too dramatically, “Ah! That’s right.”

“I heard a rumor that Hae-il didn’t even apply for high school. Is that true?”

“Who told you that?”

“All the other mothers… No, really? You’re not sending him to high school? Even if he’s on TV, how can he only have a middle school education?”

Park Seung-ah clearly saw a fleeting, smug smile.

Park Seung-ah smiled back and asked, playing along.

“Why can’t he?”

“Well, of course, he has to graduate from high school…”

“And?”

“He has to go to college too. Aren’t you going to send him?”

“Do I have to send him?”

“Excuse me?”

Chan-soo’s mother asked, taken aback, as if she had misheard.

The Park Seung-ah she knew wouldn’t have questioned the necessity of college.

“Hae-il is already pursuing his dream and working hard. He’s living his life well, so why should he go to a college he doesn’t need?”

“Aren’t you worried?”

“No.”

“!”

“I’m just so proud of him. How many kids have a dream and work hard for it at that age?”

“…Chan-soo, do you have anything you want to do?”

When Park Seung-ah looked at Chan-soo, Chan-soo’s mother interjected sharply.

“I’m not going to let him get carried away with pipe dreams.”

“Pipe dreams?”

“Well, just because he got a little bit on the charts doesn’t mean he’s successful. How many singers release one song and then disappear? And he wasn’t even number one.”

Chan-soo’s mother recalled the charts she checked religiously every morning and sneered.

[10. (Title) Another Day │ Noh Hae-il]

Tenth place, anyone can achieve that. This will be the end of his fleeting fame.

“Ahem.”

Park Seung-ah smiled, observing Chan-soo’s mother.

She saw the blatant dismissiveness, but it didn’t anger her.

She wouldn’t get angry unless it directly affected her.

She knew perfectly well who was at the top of the music charts, so she found Chan-soo’s mother’s ignorance amusing.

Would the other mothers think the same way? She simply considered the possibility, and she wasn’t as bothered as she might have been before.

Park Seung-ah smiled faintly at Chan-soo, who had grown noticeably taller.

“Chan-soo, you must get into a good university, get a good job, and make your mother happy.”

This was sincere.

Because she was already happy.

#

“So, Noh Hae-il really isn’t going to school?”

“Too bad. I was going to ask him to introduce me to a celebrity.”

If a child’s grades spread like wildfire among mothers,

The competitive chatter of mothers was bound to spread among the children as well.

The conversation between Park Seung-ah and Chan-soo’s mother was relayed through Chan-soo during the morning hours.

Noh Hae-il’s friends, whom we’ll call B and C, chuckled.

A had been accepted into a foreign language high school and wasn’t present.

“He must have made a lot of money, right? My mom looked up how much he earns from his music and said it’s thousands [of dollars]. And Lee Hwan-hee’s ‘Drawing Book’ was also a hit. I heard his appearance fee is high.”

“Aren’t reporters going to come to school later? To ask what Noh Hae-il’s school life was like.”

“Noh Hae-il won’t answer the phone. Should we reveal everything about him?”

“Yeah, let’s do that. But what is there to say?”

“…Um.”

They racked their brains, trying to recall Noh Hae-il’s defining characteristics.

All they could remember was him sleeping in class and skipping after-school academies [private tutoring centers, common in South Korea].

That’s all they remembered from attending academies together. He was so quiet that there were no arguments, and his mom always picked him up after class.

“Ah, should we say he guessed all the answers on the final exam with one number?”

“Let’s also say Noh Hae-il is terrible at English.”

“Why is Noh Hae-il bad at English? He got 100 on everything except the final exam.”

“Is solving problems by memorizing them really ‘good’? Language is about speaking. He would freeze up when he saw a native speaker at the academy, and his pronunciation was bad.”

“Ah, that’s right.”

“Kuh.”

Then, laughter erupted behind them.

Since the classroom was quiet, the sound echoed loudly, forcing them to turn around.

And the person they made eye contact with was…

“Jang Jin-soo?”

Unlike in middle school, Jang Jin-soo was wearing his uniform properly. Of course, the uniform Jang Jin-soo wore was different from theirs. It was a cheaper, jointly purchased uniform from a vocational school.

They frowned, glancing at the uniform, then their eyes widened.

“Ah, that’s right. You used to be close to Noh Hae-il, right?”

“Do you have his contact information? Noh Hae-il looks like he’s cut off everyone.”

“But didn’t he always not answer calls?”

“…”

They briefly agreed, then continued talking, ignoring him.

“Anyway, you must be upset. You were also on Sso-You [likely a reference to a social media platform or event]. But why are you two so different now?”

“Really. Noh Hae-il suddenly started doing music, and you suddenly became a model student. Hey, didn’t anything happen while you were together?”

They were encouraging him to vent, offering a listening ear.

Jang Jin-soo scoffed, ignored them, and opened his textbook.

Even though he was sometimes annoying, Hae-il was much better than these guys.

-You can show them now.

He was a much better guy.

Jang Jin-soo recalled the last busking performance and opened his notebook. It was filled with middle school-level English words.

They said Noh Hae-il was bad at English, but he was the one who was truly struggling.

‘I have to work hard too.’

Jang Jin-soo had just set a goal for himself.

Some might say it’s too late.

‘I want to learn music properly. I’m going to learn from the beginning at university.’

Not any later.

Even if he struggled to follow in his footsteps.

Of course, that guy would be in a much higher place by then.

‘I wonder what he’s doing now.’

He knew Hae-il was predictable about these things, so he probably already knew.

He was probably making music again today.

:

Yes, Hae-il, who was indeed making music again today, crossed his arms and stared at the MIDI [Musical Instrument Digital Interface, a technical standard]. He wore a dissatisfied expression.

‘Hmm.’

If there was one song he wanted to revisit the most, it was naturally the first song he had ever created, so he tried to rearrange it, but he wasn’t satisfied.

This wasn’t just an arrangement; it was a complement, an enhancement.

It wasn’t HALO simply singing Noh Hae-il’s song.

It was as if a more developed HALO was singing his own, evolved song.

‘It’s difficult.’

Hae-il felt like he had encountered a genuinely challenging problem for the first time in a while.

That was actually a welcome feeling.

Hae-il hugged his legs and wiggled his body, trying to shake off the frustration.

‘Let’s think about it again from the beginning.’

The new approach he was trying to take as Noh Hae-il.

Focusing on other people’s emotions…

-I feel comforted for some reason.

He wanted people to find healing in his songs.

‘Reprise’ he sang for Hee-tae.

‘Another Life’ he sang to comfort and encourage people living ordinary lives.

The new attempts cycled through his mind in order.

What he had been doing. And the attempts he would make in the future.

‘What if I comfort HALO?’

Something seemed to spark in his mind.

#

From some point on, a new rumor began circulating in Yeouido [an area in Seoul known for its broadcasting and financial institutions].

That KDS [Korean Broadcasting Station, a fictional name] was preparing a new program.

Of course, a new program being developed wasn’t particularly noteworthy. It was common for broadcasting stations, whether KDS or any other, to experiment with various programs, including pilot episodes.

However, it was significant that a star PD [Producer-Director] from KDS was planning a new music program.

If it was a star PD from the entertainment department, it could only be PD Jang, and his music programs had never failed.

Agencies and labels with numerous trainees and rookies tried to glean information about the program, and inquiries came even from established singers.

They attempted to obtain information about the program by hovering around the KDS entertainment department PDs, the public relations team, and even people who were only tangentially related.

Of course, the answers they received were consistently the same.

“A new program? I don’t know anything about it. What are they doing at SDS [another fictional broadcasting station]?”

“PD Jang is on vacation.”

“The number you have dialed is not in service.”

“Uh? Suddenly the sound… I can’t hear… Hello…?”

The staff members were being overly cautious, feigning ignorance, pretending not to understand, even joking about being hit by an EMP bomb. It was excessive.

So it was certain that something was indeed happening.

Even this level of secrecy might be a deliberate tactic.

Then, one day, a reporter who was loitering around the broadcasting station caught wind of some news from an anonymous source.

First, PD Jang was preparing a special program and had cast singers representing Korea, and the director had immediately approved the project.

And secondly, ‘Hwang Ryong-pil’ was on that incredible casting list.

The reporters, reacting wildly to the unbelievable news, immediately published articles. The accuracy of the details wasn’t important; only the name Hwang Ryong-pil mattered.

[Shocking Meeting Between Korean Legend Singer and Star PD]

[Collaboration between a Master and a Competition Expert PD? What Kind of Program Is It?]

└ㅅㅂ Those reporter bastards, I thought something scandalous happened just by looking at the title

└ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Shocking meeting

└ But is Hwang Ryong-pil coming out on a music show? Really?

└ He came out on Lee Hwan-hee’s Drawing Book, but it’s even more amazing that he’s coming out on Jang Geun-hyung’s program

└ Hwang Ryong-pil in a competition? He’s definitely a judge, right?

└ Whatever it is, it’s crazy

The reaction was as dramatic as the end of the year awards shows.

It was well-known that PD Jang had been trying tirelessly to cast Hwang Ryong-pil, but it was understandable since Hwang Ryong-pil had never responded, not even once.

Hwang Ryong-pil rarely appeared on TV, with the exception of Lee Hwan-hee’s ‘Drawing Book’.

In any case, it was the return of a Korean legend.

[Please let my singer come out too]

[Since Hwang Ryong-pil was cast, who wouldn’t want to come out? They have to come out no matter what]

[What’s going on this year? I thought they wouldn’t be on music shows for a while, but even a survival show is fine]

[But I thought Hwang Ryong-pil hated competitions]

└There are rumors that it’s not a competition program

“Who the hell is it! A guy who would only have his mouth floating if he fell into the water!” [A Korean idiom for someone who is all talk and no action]

It wasn’t just the internet that was thrown into chaos by the name Hwang Ryong-pil. The KDS broadcasting station’s phone lines were also overwhelmed.

The production team of <(Tentative Title) Returns> hurriedly turned off their cell phones and communication networks and entered an emergency meeting, and PD Jang, who closed the meeting room door, smirked.

Whoever it was, their timing was impeccable.

“PD, you have another call?”

“I told you to turn it off for a while.”

“It’s not the reporters. Wow, even the manager is calling. The singers are also in a frenzy right now. They want to be on the show.”

“The casting is all done… Just tell me who it is.”

Yes, the reaction wasn’t limited to the public.

Singers and agencies were eager to capitalize on the return of the legend and the buzz surrounding the program.

Even advertisers were trying to secure ad slots preemptively.

The director couldn’t stop smiling from the moment he had dinner with Hwang Ryong-pil alongside PD Jang. Perhaps that’s when the rumors started spreading.

“Wow, look at our casting list; it’s incredible.”

The AD [Assistant Director], after putting down his turned-off cell phone, stuck out his tongue while looking at the casting list.

Following Hwang Ryong-pil, singers who represented Korea, rarely seen together except at award ceremonies, were all gathered.

Shin Joo-hyuk, Lee Sung-rim, Liv…

“Oh, PD, but isn’t this kid a bit weak?”

The AD then questioned the name at the very end. It felt out of place.

“Suddenly Noh Hae-il after Coldbrew Wonder? Isn’t his name recognition too low? His fandom is also small. He might face criticism if he’s not careful.”

PD Jang chuckled at the AD’s words, knowing that Noh Hae-il was just starting to gain popularity.

“Well.”

In truth, he didn’t know either.

Whether the new face called ‘Noh Hae-il’ would be the key to securing Hwang Ryong-pil’s participation.

Or whether he would be the joker to change the game.

He would find out when he saw it.

As time passed, the day of the long-awaited first recording finally arrived.