The Road To Glory [EN]: Chapter 1761

< Episode 176. The Happy Prince >

‘What on earth is going on?’

A precious treasure of England.

The aide of Arthur Jude Theodore Lewis, the third son of the Crown Prince, a grandson cherished by His Majesty, and eighth in line to the throne, trembled.

Having served the prince for a long time and witnessed various behind-the-scenes events of the royal family, the aide possessed an unshakeable composure that prevented him from being easily surprised. However, when Prince Arthur’s limousine suddenly departed with a new passenger, he couldn’t maintain his composure.

Another car followed the black limousine.

It carried his dismissed aides.

The prince’s bodyguard, executive assistant, and stylist – all responsible for maintaining his image.

Originally, they were supposed to assist the prince up close, but they had planned to keep a respectful distance while the prince delivered the Queen’s message and expressed his admiration as a fan.

Still, they maintained a certain distance and followed behind, ready to provide assistance whenever he needed it.

Suddenly, the prince’s car departed, which was not in the plan.

“Where are we going now?”

The executive assistant quickly contacted the driver, and the response arrived. It was at the prince’s command.

Additionally, there was a request to find a pub where they could do a live performance.

Since it was a direct order from the prince, the secretary hurriedly searched for pubs in London, but they couldn’t figure out what the prince was trying to do.

They wanted to understand the situation first.

In the car ahead, there were the driver, Prince Arthur, and the boy he wanted to meet—referred to only as ‘the boy’ due to the unofficial nature of the meeting. His other nickname, ‘Sun’ or ‘Glory,’ couldn’t be used as it was reserved for someone of higher status.

The car circled the outskirts of London and arrived at a hotel, but the boy, who was supposed to get off, remained. Instead, a new person joined them.

It was someone from the report, and they all recognized him.

Investigating was standard procedure when the royal family directly contacted someone. Royals are under the threat of assassination from birth. Even for domestic individuals, proper protocols are followed, so for foreigners, it must be even more thorough.

From ‘the boy’ to his three bandmates, their entire lives were traced, from their birthplaces to their current activities. No suspicious records were found.

If even one thing had seemed suspicious, it would have been difficult for ‘the boy’ to even secure a meeting, but since that wasn’t the case, they remained still even when a new person was added.

Anyway, they identified everyone in the car ahead, but the aides still didn’t understand what was happening.

That is, until they coordinated with the owner of the pub they found, and bodyguards disguised as customers or passers-by were positioned, and finally, the prince and the boy’s group stepped into the pub.

“Your Highness, it is an honor to meet you.”

The owner, who showed proper respect for meeting the prince in person, was startled when he saw the boy next to him.

“H-Halo?”

“Hello.”

“Halo is in my store, oh my god.”

He seemed more honored to meet Halo than the royal family, unsure of what to do and unable to even offer a handshake.

It was a complex feeling, but the boy was a star, the most beloved singer in England.

Also, the owner of a live pub was likely to be passionate about music.

The boy looked at the owner, who was much older than him, and smiled faintly.

“Would it be okay to sing a few songs?”

Even though he had already rented the place, the owner kept nodding, afraid that Halo would leave.

“Yes, please, forever. No, you can just take my store.”

He was ready to give the store away if Halo asked for it.

Halo smiled at the loyal fan and went inside.

Four o’clock. The pub, which was preparing to open, had no customers yet.

Halo looked around and took off his coat.

“Are you really performing? With the, Prince?”

“I can if you want, but what instruments do you usually play?”

The members, who had been trained by numerous busking experiences, now unconsciously sought comfortable attire.

Even though they showed signs of being flustered.

After getting into the limousine, the members, who realized that the person with them was a prince, were initially horrified and trembled, asking if they could shake hands, but soon they adapted to the fact that the person in front of them was a prince.

However, Halo’s words that he would perform on stage with the prince were very embarrassing.

“Do I have to do it too?”

And it seemed that even the prince hadn’t agreed to it yet.

“I heard you can play the drums.”

“That’s true, but can’t I just watch?”

Prince Arthur had agreed to Halo’s words, but when it came time to actually do it, he got scared. That’s how it looked in Halo’s eyes.

“It’s been a long time since I quit, and I’ll only get in the way of your music.”

Even the excuse revealed his fear.

If he had said that it would be a disgrace to the royal family, or that he just didn’t want to do it, he would have just said okay.

Saying he couldn’t do it because he was afraid he couldn’t play the drums well, what was that.

“Won’t you regret it?”

“What?”

“When else can you come to a place like this?”

He didn’t seem like he really wanted to do it.

Prince Arthur hadn’t taken his eyes off the stage since he entered the live pub, and seeing that he didn’t say anything about the royal family’s honor, it seemed that the prince already recognized him as an unskilled drummer, not a prince.

Don’t you want to do it?

Halo didn’t say it directly, but he tested the prince’s desire. He took the microphone from the owner and casually went on stage, tapping the drums.

Then he looked at the prince.

“The opportunity to become my member, even temporarily, doesn’t come often.”

Nam Gyu-hwan flinched at the word member.

Han Jin-young tapped him on the shoulder, subtly wary of the prince.

“I’m just, then,”

“Your Highness.”

Halo, standing higher than the prince, and Arthur Prince, unsure of what to do, were approached by an aide disguised as a bartender, shaking a cocktail shaker. As if telling him not to forget his position, he addressed him.

But that may have stimulated the prince.

The prince, who had once gone through a rebellious phase, giving his father and grandmother wrinkles and gray hair, recalled his younger days.

Of course, that didn’t give him tremendous courage, but still.

“Then just for a moment. Can I join you only during practice?”

Halo shrugged as if telling him to do what he wanted.

That’s how Arthur Prince slowly came onto the stage.

No matter how his aides looked at him.

In fact, it seemed that he didn’t care, or rather, he didn’t have time to care.

Arthur Prince walked carefully on the stage as if he had embarked on a very dangerous path.

It took quite a long time for him to stand in front of the drums.

First, when Nam Gyu-hwan, who had been wary of the word drummer, tried to gently vacate the drum seat, the prince raised his hand, saying it was okay, and stood next to the small drum set.

“This is enough for me.”

As the drums were the backbone of the band, the prince didn’t want to negatively affect Halo’s stage. Even if that wasn’t the case, too much time had passed to play a complex set. He didn’t want to be greedy anymore.

Standing here was already greedy.

“What are you going to sing?”

“Do you have any songs you want to do?”

It was just a general rehearsal, but strangely, he was nervous.

It was as if countless eyes were watching him.

“I used to play this when I was young, but I don’t know if you know it.”

When the name of the person at the forefront of the British rock genealogy came out, Halo smiled. He knew the prince’s taste for sure.

The pub was open from five o’clock.

This live pub in London was always frequented by many people, but it was mostly regulars because it wasn’t well known to tourists.

Today, people who went to their regular bar to listen to terrible music, or at least less terrible music, were embarrassed when people in bulletproof vests thoroughly checked their luggage.

Usually, they could just walk in and order two pints of dark beer from Sean at the counter, but for some reason, they searched customers with metal detectors as if they were potential criminals and made them open their bags.

“Who are you guys?”

“I just came to drink.”

“Did Sean win the lottery or something? If not, are you trying to ruin the store? You just need to check if they’re underage!”

Of course, there was a dispute.

They couldn’t help but feel bad because they came to drink.

And they didn’t explain why they were checking.

“I’m not going because it’s dirty. See if I ever come again.”

Half of them turned away in anger.

“It better be something big!”

“What, is the US president visiting or something?”

And the other half complained and barely passed the security check.

And as soon as they came inside, they heard the music and then saw the familiar person on the stage and stopped in their tracks, saying, “What the···.”

It wasn’t the US president, but there was someone who wasn’t much different (?).

In addition, Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody was playing – somewhat arranged.

[Beelzebub has the devil put aside for me]

“If this is hell, I want to be punished for the rest of my life.”

It was a situation that turned even normal people into masochists.

Five members came into his eyes.

A keyboardist and a bassist.

One playing a small drum set and one oriental playing a more flashy drum.

And finally.

The boy who brightened the stage with a soft light like the sun.

Because the boy’s presence was so strong, he didn’t look closely at the drummer. The lighting was dark, and he just thought he looked familiar.

He didn’t think it was strange that the bartender was seeing him for the first time, the boss was strangely nervous, or the customers who were already in the pub were seeing him for the first time.

It was enough that Halo was in front of him.

#

As the saying goes, a word without feet goes a thousand miles [news travels fast].

The word that Halo was performing spread in an instant.

Even though people who possessed weapons were kicked out or taken away, they didn’t take their cell phones, so it was well known which pub Halo was at, and people flocked there.

Outside, thorough inspections were still being carried out.

Arthur Prince’s story hadn’t come out yet, but as long as he was on stage, it was a story that could spread at any time.

Wasn’t the royal family already on emergency?

After reporting that the prince was in a pub with so many people, they couldn’t stop contacting him.

So, the security check became more and more thorough,

There could be enough people who were dissatisfied with that.

However, if they tried to be sarcastic or annoyed, the people lined up behind them got angry before the bodyguards stepped in.

“Get out if you don’t want to receive it!”

“Get lost, you bastard. There are many people who can enter without you.”

“Is he here, right?”

“I can take off my clothes right now if you tell me to, please check me first.”

They were waiting for people to leave the already packed pub. But there was no way people would leave. In fact, it was strange to leave now.

However, even if they understood, they were frustrated because they wouldn’t be able to hear his song, so their anger and anxiety turned to that side.

Anyway, unlike the outside, where patience had run out, the inside was a festival.

From the Beatles and Led Zeppelin to Queen and Oasis.

Halo’s busking was full of songs that he couldn’t usually hear, and it was also a song that British people were most proud of, so he became an enthusiastic audience.

Music is more important than alcohol, so there is no chance of getting drunk.

Even if they got drunk, people in black suits kicked them out, so this place was another concert hall.

Around this time, people began to recognize the face of the drummer on stage, but they doubted their eyes and didn’t believe it.

There was no way the prince would be Halo’s drummer.

No matter how much they looked, it was their beloved Arthur Prince, but they thought they were seeing things wrong because they were drunk.

That’s how the stage got hot.

Arthur Prince, who had only intended to practice together at first, was flustered by the drums he had touched in a long time, but he gradually became happy, and now it seemed that he wouldn’t go down even if someone told him to.

The sweat that soaked his back would soon be the concentration of the passion he poured out like crazy.

It had been a long time since he quit, so he didn’t play as well as he did in his youth.

But strangely, he was happier.

He felt like he was going crazy with joy.

His lack of performance was not a problem.

When he made a mistake for the first time and was embarrassed, the members didn’t care and made it seem like he had intended to make a mistake, and they didn’t leave his mistake as a negative impact. Also, when they smiled as if it was nothing, he felt like he was just having fun.

Arthur Prince felt his eyes getting hot.

Not sad, but because he tasted why he was once crazy about music, he was so happy.

He could understand Adam and Eve, who coveted the fruit of good and evil. If the forbidden fruit tasted like this, he would have coveted it too. Even if he was punished.

The song that connects the genealogy of British band music,

Finally reached the present.

With the music of Halo, who became the representative of Britpop [British pop music] and rock itself, and the synonym of band music.

“Bravo!”

“Halo!!!”

The people in the pub who stood up with their fists clenched as soon as the music ended, the hot atmosphere, the passionate applause, the soft lighting, and the smell of sweat. Even the members’ laughter.

The prince would never forget this day.

“The drums were good.”

Arthur Prince high-fived Nam Gyu-hwan,

He shook hands with Moon Seo-yeon and Han Jin-young.

Then, finally, he hugged Halo and said,

“Thank you, friend.”

He greeted him with sincerity.

“I will never forget this day.”

It was a sound that he would start music again.

Clearly, Arthur Prince didn’t have all the passion he had in his youth. Even if it wasn’t too late, the prince had duties and responsibilities, and he had to manage numerous foundations.

Arthur, who had become a prince again from an amateur drummer, recognized his position again.

“But still. If I ever have the chance, I would like to work with you again.”

I don’t know when it will be possible.

Since he caused an accident this time, it may be impossible forever.

But the prince didn’t regret it and promised someday.

“Will you be with me next time?”

The fists collided without an answer.

The greeting was enough.

#

Halo had a flight schedule for the next day ahead of the Paris concert. Whether the internet was in an uproar over the belated news that Halo was busking, Halo went to the airport with ease.

Like when he entered the country, England was polite to him when he left.

Many fans came to see him, and instead of shouting, they were bitter like people sending their lovers to the battlefield.

Halo waved his hand, and he would have left for Paris without incident as usual.

At that time, it suddenly became noisy.

The camera flashed, and people opened the way like the miracle of Moses [a biblical reference to parting the Red Sea].

Yesterday was the last meeting,

I thought he would be self-conscious because he caused an accident.

Halo ran into His Highness in formal attire.

“Have you been well?”

Yesterday’s meeting was supposed to be informal, but the busking incident became an official event. But Halo greeted him as if nothing had happened, and Prince Arthur, who took off his formal hat, reached out his hand.

As the two shook hands, the flash went off again.

The prince came out and greeted him in person.

Halo thought it was too much for a farewell greeting, but he thought so.

He had a good time playing yesterday, so he could understand even if he greeted him excessively.

Thus, Halo did not expect that the prince had other purposes.

“Looking forward to seeing you again.”

The prince, who showed respect, spat out the last comment in front of everyone.

“My country will always want you.”

Charr!

Halo’s eyes widened, and the prince’s face, which smiled faintly in contrast to him, was captured. It could be interpreted in quite a few ways. Especially if it was said by a member of the royal family, not a criminal.

It was natural for the world to be in an uproar.