The Road To Glory [EN]: Chapter 1581

< Reason for Living in LA >

The vinyl, adorned with a painted night sky, begins its rotation.

The cartridge needle traces an invisible path, transmitting the sound signal through the amplifier.

Only through equipment costing from thousands to hundreds of millions of won [Korean currency] does the music fully emerge.

The tracks from Halo’s 13th album, ‘Until Dawn Comes,’ resonated within the studio.

He closed his eyes, immersing himself in the music.

As always, his music felt perfectly suited for LPs.

It wasn’t merely his fondness for the vinyl sound.

Typically, an LP contains 10 tracks, with a playback duration of approximately 50 minutes per side.

Having released all his albums as EPs (MINI by international standards), with no more than 8 tracks per album—unintentionally—the LP format suited him perfectly, like a tailor-made garment.

Furthermore, he appreciated the demanding nature of LPs compared to CDs. Their vulnerability to scratches and heat, the constant maintenance required to prevent dust accumulation, and the necessity of a turntable for playback—this pickiness mirrored his own personality.

And while it wasn’t always the case, his music now felt akin to LPs, relics of a bygone era.

Thus, the thought arose naturally.

‘Is there even a point in releasing a CD?’

For similar reasons, Halo declined the HALO movie production offer. He might reconsider someday, but for now, he preferred his music to remain a relic of the past.

Another factor was the dual nature of movies based on a singer’s music:

Halo didn’t want his thirteen albums transformed into a documentary akin to -Bohemian Rhapsody- nor did he desire a complete reimagining like -Mamma Mia!-

In the former scenario, he doubted that Halo’s songs could authentically stem from Nohaeil’s life, and in the latter, he simply disliked the concept.

‘I haven’t even made a music video, let alone a movie.’

Halo shook his head while sprawled on the floor, glanced at the sheet music on his stomach, then tore it up and discarded it.

LA Studio.

With the members away on a grocery run,

Crumpled sheet music littered the space around the sprawled-out Halo.

“It’s been a while since I’ve felt like this.”

When inspiration strikes, I feel like I can write effortlessly.

But I’m unsure of what I want to write, so I’m squandering inspiration like this.

Despite the chatter outside about Monthly Halo being over, he remained unconcerned.

He was well aware that releasing an album every month was an anomaly. Had he not intended to showcase his thirteen albums to the world, he would have released an album annually, and he knew it was absurd to label this as a slump.

However, frustration lingered.

-Make music you’ve never made before.

-You know that song you said you’d never sing. Yeah, that one.

Shin Joo-hyuk’s voice echoed momentarily.

Woof!

The resident dog barked.

It seemed the members were nearing their return.

#

“Hmm-.”

Halo pondered what was so captivating about this.

It was an Irish-style kitchen, but with the gas stove attached to the wall, the person with their back turned was cooking with a focused expression.

Flipping the frying pan, checking the chicken in the oven. One might mistake him for a dedicated chef, but surprisingly, it was the man from next door.

Jason Dyke.

The singer he’d met at the Coachella rehearsal, exchanged a handshake with, and then fled from.

Jason was once one of the hundred and one Halos who impersonated Halo, placing him in an awkward position, as he had inadvertently become a ‘sinner’ against the real Halo.

Halo found the situation rather amusing.

It was funny how he encountered the members on their grocery trip, not anywhere else, and how they struck up a conversation, and how they naturally walked to the front of the house together, and how he couldn’t escape Halo’s invitation, ‘Come in,’ and ended up coming in and even cooking.

Of course, he explained that he wasn’t grocery shopping but jogging, that small talk was customary for LA residents, and that he didn’t realize the members were his session musicians, but Halo was prone to forgetting minor details.

“Wow, Jason Dyke is even cooking next door.”

The members were unaware of the minor incident at Coachella. Nam Gyu-hwan had briefly suspected Jason of being a fake Halo, but dismissed it due to Halo’s indifference, while the others were simply amazed.

The reason they were oblivious to Jason’s past was the sheer number of impersonators claiming to be Halo every quarter, or even weekly, and also, he claimed to be Halo shortly before they became members, so in some ways, he was lucky.

Therefore, the only one feeling uneasy was Jason, who was currently treating Halo and his members to a meal(?).

The eyes staring at him from behind with a smirk seemed to belong to Halo, and it would be a major problem if the members -who seemed clueless- found out, but he couldn’t escape because he had committed a ‘sin,’ so he was sweating profusely while cooking.

Why did I volunteer to take on Vitamin D all of a sudden?

I could have done that in the garden.

“Mr. Jason, aren’t you eating?”

“Ah, I’m full.”

Then, when Halo looked at him, Jason quickly averted his gaze.

“I also picked up some while cooking.”

Halo began eating the chicken steak with an indifferent expression, as if to say, is that so?

What if he had poisoned it? He was acting so nonchalant.

Of course, he didn’t poison it, but how many crazy bastards are there here laughing?

His personality is persistent, but he must still be young.

Jason was newly aware of Halo’s age.

In the end, all that’s left is overwhelming self-loathing, so it wouldn’t be good.

Jason glanced at the members and realized that Halo spoke quite a few languages.

He asked Halo in Spanish, the second language he knew.

“Hey, do I have to apologize?”

The answer was already decided no matter what the boy said.

“No.”

“···!”

However, Jason was surprised by the boy’s unexpected answer, and stopped talking.

He thought he would definitely want him to apologize for pretending to be Halo, for causing trouble at Coachella, and for having lingering feelings, but there are still unpredictable parts to that boy.

He can’t ask why.

First of all, it was a good answer for him since he didn’t want him to.

However, as he was gaping, unable to understand, Halo brought another chicken steak.

Of course, he didn’t take the paprika that was grilled next to it.

“Why? Would you do it if I wanted you to?”

“···No.”

Halo snorted as if he knew it.

It was still an incomprehensible reaction.

Jason Dyke may not eat the food he cooks, but he was definitely a sociable person. He was a bit uncomfortable with Halo’s band, but as someone in the same industry, he knew how to have a pretty friendly conversation.

For example, he introduced good local restaurants, bars, and pubs, and furthermore, he told them about the celebrities who live nearby and how much they like home parties. “Friends, what do you think is the reason they live in LA?”

Fountains with alcohol spraying out and snacks that you shouldn’t just grab and eat. Nights more glamorous than days and people more glamorous than days.

And he even added that Halo could be invited anywhere if he wanted to.

It wasn’t long before he found out about his agency while talking about celebrities.

“It was Augustus Records?”

“I thought you were my fan, didn’t you know? I signed about a year ago.”

Since Halo didn’t bring up anything that happened in the past, Jason Dyke became more and more comfortable and talked to the members as if he were at home. Seeing that, he didn’t seem to have any intention of asserting authority over the session—although who would treat Halo’s session badly.

“By the way, what are those?”

As he was about to move to the sofa and talk, Jason kicked something rolling on the floor. Then he reached out his hand, but stopped at Halo’s words.

“Drafts.”

His pupils trembled slightly.

To be honest, Jason had seen many balls of crumpled paper, and he was curious about what was written inside. Halo said they were drafts, but there might be new inspiration inside.

“Are you curious?”

“···No, never mind.”

Soon, Jason let go of his many thoughts and straightened his back.

His eyes were still on the balls of paper, but Jason deliberately quickened his pace.

“You can look if you want.”

A devil’s voice was heard from behind.

“I’m not going to look. It’ll only get in the way of writing melodies today.”

Maybe there wasn’t anything as great written in those drafts as he thought. However, Jason still had no intention of looking. What stopped him wasn’t the professional ethics that there might be something written in those drafts, but his desire.

Like Salieri, who discovered Mozart’s talent, he didn’t want to see himself with his eyes on the 16-year-old kid’s drafts.

“Is it a new album?”

“No, a collaboration. Our labels decided to release a single together-.”

Why am I explaining all of this?

Jason suddenly thought that his label had probably made an offer to Halo as well. It wasn’t just decided to be done within the label, but they had made offers to quite a few people.

To make music on one topic.

“You probably got it too.”

Jason turned around and asked.

Halo vaguely recalled the request from Augustus Records, but instead of talking about it, he asked about what he was curious about.

“What kind of song are you thinking of releasing?”

“Hey, don’t overestimate us just because you’re a genius. It’s just about to start. We haven’t even decided on a genre. But well, it’ll probably be the same there.”

Considering he said that, the names written on the request form were only LA pop stars. Pop singers, rappers, American geniuses who have been number one on Billboard at least once and are constantly active.

Of course, Jason’s explanation was not at all appealing.

When Halo said he roughly understood, Jason continued.

“But the theme has been decided from the beginning.”

“What is it?”

“It’s a bit complicated. I don’t think I can tell you everything. If I had to say it-. Love?”

There was nothing special about it since the theme of most popular music is love.

However, Shin Joo-hyuk’s words flashed through his mind, and the conjunction he had attached bothered him.

“What’s ‘If I had to say it’?”

“I can’t tell you everything since you’re not on our team. You would have known if you had accepted the offer. Too bad.”

Jason didn’t seem sorry at all when he said that.

“Did you say the day everyone meets is today?”

“Yeah. ···Wait, what’s with that nuance?”

“It means I want you to introduce me to your friends.”

“Oh, are you coming? Well, it doesn’t matter if you come.”

Why is that bastard suddenly like that?

He was all indifferent, but suddenly he’s motivated.

Well, it doesn’t matter if he comes.

Jason, recalling the place where they were supposed to meet, asked Halo as if he couldn’t believe it.

“No, are you really coming?”

#

It wasn’t just the citizens and reporters who came out to the airport that were excited about the news that Halo had come to LA. Not to mention the Sun Dans [Korean diaspora] living in the United States, but above all, the broadcasting companies and related companies that smelled money, and the stars who seemed to be born to receive attention, but were desperately trying to receive attention under the surface, were going crazy.

The problem was that it wasn’t easy to contact Halo.

He was clearly full of motivation until he entered the United States, but the rumors that were rampant in Korea didn’t seem to be without reason.

Even after his identity was revealed, Halo didn’t have much intention of actively participating in broadcasting, and it wasn’t easy to see him before that.

Halo’s house was tacitly known, but there were an unusually large number of bodyguards around it, and it wasn’t just one or two paparazzi who were loitering around and getting beaten to a pulp.

If a business meeting was impossible, they wanted to pursue a natural meeting that could only be done in LA, but Halo was surprisingly not the type to go out of the house, and he didn’t answer calls even more.

Those who had offered Halo to come to the party and were ruthlessly ignored were just waiting for an opportunity.

“Why? Did you think we were going to work at the library?”

“Not that far···. As expected, America.”

Moon Seo-yeon was a little embarrassed.

Even if she didn’t think of the library, she naturally imagined a label, a studio office, or a similar corner of a cafe.

Because they had only made music in such spaces until now.

But the place Jason brought them to was nothing like that.

As if to say it wasn’t America, it was the scene of a home party, with fancy sports cars tangled up and parked in front of a large mansion, and from before they entered, they could hear loud music and people’s voices from inside.

There was no way he couldn’t have thought of Halo.

‘Those American bastards.’

In the first place, if they were going to work secretly at their label, they wouldn’t have told him to come. Halo, who knew that their work was usually done with alcohol and parties, clicked his tongue and entered the party scene.

“Hey, Jason. Are you here? Invitation?”

“I don’t have one.”

“I told you to bring an invitation. This isn’t a place where just anyone can come in, I’m giving you special treatment because it’s you. Who’s behind you? Are you hanging out with Asians these days-.”

A man who was quite drunk made eye contact with the boy wearing a cap behind Jason. It was an outdoor area with subtle lighting, so he couldn’t recognize him properly at first, but soon his eyes widened. And rubbing his eyes, he showed a proper reaction and pointed at him as if he had sobered up properly.

“He, he, heㅇ-.”

“Hello, so, gatekeeper?”

“He-“

“Stop panting and let five of us in, including me.”

“Halo?!”

The man shouted loudly as if he couldn’t hear Jason’s voice at all. At that moment, the noise in the noisy garden stopped abruptly.

Even those who were laughing and talking, even those who were drinking, all sent their gazes as if they had seen someone they shouldn’t have seen.

Even under that burdensome gaze, Halo stood with his arms crossed. What he was waiting for was admission, but the man soon

“Wait a minute.”

He hurriedly contacted the host.

In fact, it was natural since he was an uninvited guest.

However, Halo, who had never been kicked out of an uninvited party, waited calmly while chatting with Jason, and the host ran out immediately to greet Halo, although I don’t know if it can be expressed as barefoot···.

“Oh my god! Oh my god! Mr. Halo came to my party, please come in.”

From then on, it was like a war had broken out.

Because those who were standing still in embarrassment naturally got up and flocked to the boy.

“Hello, Halo?”

“Halo, I want to listen to your music every day.”

“Would you like to have a deeper conversation with me?”

“Are you thirsty? Would you like a drink?”

“Wow, look at the popularity. I’ll go in first, so take your time.”

“Where are you going-.”

The people were kind and interested in Halo.

In fact, there was no singer hotter than Halo in the past year or so, and even now. Considering that there wasn’t much known about him, he couldn’t help but be more interested.

As Jason was trying to slip away, Halo called him.

With the devilish expression Jason had seen.

“-Halo. You have to go together.”

“Th-.”

I’m curious how long he’s going to be like this, but I can’t say anything because I’ve committed a sin. Maybe it would have been the right choice to just apologize and end it. But Jason couldn’t apologize in the end and had no choice but to be swayed by Halo’s will.

So, he had no choice but to become an excellent navigator who chased away all these people and guided him to his destination.

“Everyone’s interesting. And kind.”

Halo’s voice was heard from behind.

Jason snorted at those words.

Thinking of him as a kid as expected.

“You don’t think they’re just good people, do you?”

Inside, the drunks were talking among themselves.

“If they’re being kind, I have to say they’re being kind.”

“Well, if that’s the case, it’s not wrong-. But there aren’t many people who are actually kind, right? If you weren’t Halo.”

“They were kind even when I wasn’t Halo?”

That meant the time when Halo’s identity was not known.

Jason recalled Halo’s past as a popular star in Korea at that time.

‘He’s right.’

Unless he came to America, there would be no one who would treat a rising star badly.

“How many of them are coming with good intentions?”

Jason gave up arguing and said what he was going to say.

“The kid who said he was your fan earlier isn’t actually your fan. I’d rather say he cursed every time a new song came out?”

“Is that so?”

“The guy next to him who was offering alcohol to a minor is a high-level drug addict. He’s a drug addict who doesn’t die alone. Do you know what that means?”

“It’s not easy.”

“Do you remember the sunglasses guy who was staring at you from afar? Should I call him a plagiarist? He’s a guy who’s been talked about a lot for stealing songs.”

“Oh, typical.”

Jason, who had brought him to the party with a sense of responsibility, got angry when Halo didn’t seem to be listening seriously at all. But there was nothing he could say, because he himself had lied at one time. He wouldn’t be trusted.

“Be careful. There are good people in the world, but usually crazy bastards are more active.”

Jason scratched his head, wondering why he was saying this, and slammed the door open.

A low voice was heard behind him.

“I know too.”

What does he know?

Jason shouted cheerfully, feeling absurd.

“Everyone, were you working?”

“If you’re late, don’t nag and just sit down, Jason. I feel like I’m going to die after staying up for two days with Red Bull.”

“Try opening another can. Before that, everyone, look here. Do you know who I brought?”

If the outside was soaked with alcohol and music, it wasn’t here.

The people sitting around with guitars or their instruments were drinking moderately and playing.

Yeah, that’s how inspiration comes out better when you do things like a rebellious child.

Halo smiled and raised his hand, looking at a familiar face.

“Hello.”