The Road To Glory [EN]: Chapter 1811

Ringing in the New Year

< 181. Ringing in the New Year >

[Le Terre│White Christmas Comes to the Noel Market]

[The Best Christmas with Beer, Pretzels, and Music]

[We Can Now Say Santa Exists!]

[It’s Time for Santa to Pass the Torch]

The renowned French daily *Le Terre* (The Earth) featured a photograph of people gathered around the Noel Market tree, with ‘Santa’ singing center stage.

Beer glasses clinked, sending droplets scattering, and in one corner, people linked arms, completely immersed in the festive atmosphere. The market’s bright yellow lights shone, but the highlight was undoubtedly the ‘young Santa’ singing with his eyes closed.

And the Christmas tree stood tall, embracing it all.

It was a scene as beautiful as a painting.

The photograph captured the vibrant colors of Christmas, perfectly conveying the joy and happiness of the people present.

Beneath the large photo, the article described how Christmas had arrived early at the Noel Market.

Halo had suggested a game of ‘Hide and Seek’ on his social media, drawing a large crowd to the Noel Market seen in the photo. Dressed as Santa, Halo gave out small gifts each time someone found him.

And when the game concluded, he surprised everyone with an impromptu busking session in front of the tree, performing Christmas carols. The reporting was so detailed, it felt as if the reporter had been there.

Following this, many people shared their own posts and photos.

From snapshots taken with Halo to the small gifts they received from him, the online buzz was palpable. The most striking image was a photo of a man in his fifties, a biker, holding a Christmas candy cane in his calloused hand, looking deeply moved.

But more than anything, Halo’s new song was the talk of the town.

The views on the fancam [fan-recorded video] uploaded to YouTube soared instantly.

Of course, some viewers expressed disappointment with the sound quality due to the outdoor noise, equipment limitations, and background chatter, but others found these imperfections charming.

The ambient noise filled in the gaps, creating a richer soundscape, and the video, imbued with the atmosphere of the Christmas festival, felt like a genuine music video.

[HALO Releases New Song for the Citizens of Paris]

The French media highlighted the fact that Halo had surprised everyone by releasing a ‘new song’ in their country. While Halo often busked, this marked the first time he had debuted a new song in this manner.

[Halo Loves the Most Beautiful City, Paris. Aren’t We Better?]

[We Were All Good Children, and Santa Came]

They excitedly churned out articles, making their enthusiasm abundantly clear, which sparked envy in other countries besides France.

In particular, the British, their patriotism already stirred by Halo’s busking with the Prince, seized upon something the French daily had glossed over.

[The Pickpocketing Paradise, Paris]

[999 Things Tourists Need to Know in Rome]

[If You Visit Paris, Be Sure to Go with a Bodyguard.]

Not only the UK, but also Italy, Spain, and other countries published articles criticizing Paris, prompting French citizens to scoff and retaliate.

[Italy is lecturing us about pickpocketing?]

[We (France) are the safest country in Europe, with excellent civic awareness.]

[I’ve wanted to say this since last week, but we (France) are historically the country of the Sun King! If he were to come, wouldn’t he come here?]

While European countries bickered amongst themselves, third-party nations enjoyed the spectacle. Korea, however, couldn’t simply sit back and watch.

[Are the French crazy? Suddenly they’re saying Halo is the son of France??]

[Can they just change the nationality of the third-generation descendant of the Noh family from Korea as they please?]

They were unable to participate in the hide-and-seek game Halo had organized, and they had to watch from afar, unable to hear the new Christmas carol live, which left them feeling frustrated. They couldn’t understand the sudden surge of talk about naturalization [becoming a citizen of another country].

They wished Halo (Noh Hae-il) would provide a clear statement, but he remained tight-lipped.

In the meantime, whether by coincidence or perfect timing, articles were released about the French police cracking down on pickpocketing, and articles about conflicts between pickpocketing gangs were overshadowed by Halo’s Vienna concert.

Tuesday, December 7th.

The Wiener Stadthalle, a concert hall in Vienna, Austria, renowned for its 60-year tradition. The audience in the indoor venue, which can accommodate approximately 15,000 people, erupted in shouts of “Bravo” and “Brava” [Italian for “Good,” used to express approval].

Halo and the band members were wearing classic suits, and the orchestra spread out like wings on both sides of the stage.

The concept this time was orchestral.

Halo’s performance, arranging his music into orchestral versions in the heartland of classical music, was, as always, a unique and captivating concert experience.

A collaboration with an orchestra that Vienna adored.

He also sang famous Viennese songs, as he had done in the variety show *Spring Again* in the past. Songs traditionally sung by sopranos were reimagined in a boy’s voice.

Some audience members wished that his voice would never change and would remain as it was forever.

And here’s a little-known story: Halo revisited the setting of *The Marriage of Figaro*.

He went to check on the people he had interacted with before, to see how they were doing.

Unfortunately, the whiteboard where they had speculated about Halo’s identity seemed to have been removed, but…

“Hey, do you know what kind of place this is?”

“How many times are you going to say that? Did you really visit?”

A scene from the YouTube video where Halo had visited and interacted with them was printed as a photo and hung on the wall of the store.

“Tell them to watch the YouTube video? And our old man there…”

“Ahem, it’s nothing. That kind of thing happened back in the day.”

The people from that time were chatting happily.

Halo didn’t bother to acknowledge them, as they seemed to be enjoying themselves, so he remained silent. Halo, who had been sitting at the bar eating french fries, left a generous tip as he departed. He also made sure to tell them to buy everyone a beer.

Following this, on December 16th, he invited special friends to Sydney, Australia.

Brahms, a relatively unknown Dutch indie punk band. They had been steadily gaining recognition by uploading Halo cover videos to YouTube, while also diligently showcasing their own original music.

“No way, that person was really Halo…”

“Hey, where did you put that money? We were supposed to return it.”

“Oh, right. Where did I put it? Didn’t I give it to you?”

“Not me?”

The substantial sum of 5,000 dollars had vanished at some point.

Levi, racking his brain to remember where it had gone, suddenly recalled that he hadn’t been short of money when he bought new instruments.

“!”

His pupils dilated.

Halo, who had been waiting for them to return the money, wore a playful expression.

He hadn’t intended to actually receive it back; he simply found their flustered reactions amusing.

“Hmm.”

“I’ll go withdraw it from the ATM right now.”

Levi, feeling pressured by Halo’s gaze, tried to rush out. Only then did Halo laugh and stop him.

“That’s okay. Instead, show me a performance worth more than 5,000 dollars.”

“A 5,000 dollar performance?”

In YouTube terms, that’s 50 million views.

For Halo, who easily gets that many views just by uploading a video, it’s an astronomical number for a regular YouTuber. Levi and his friends were horrified.

However, unlike during the meeting, they were seasoned buskers and delivered a fantastic performance.

Halo covers had always been their main content on YouTube, and their new punk music wasn’t bad either. They made it clear that they had been influenced by Halo’s music, as they had continued to cover it, which made their previously inaccessible music more approachable.

Above all, what became a hot topic at the Sydney concert wasn’t the punk band Brahms. They might have been slightly disappointed, but they accepted the situation with a smile.

As Halo’s Prague travelogue was released, the number one search term in each country that day was ‘5,000 euros.’

“Do you know how much Halo gave us for the CD back then?”

“You’ll be really surprised?”

“We were trembling too. Honestly, we thought Halo was going to report it as a lost item.”

It became known that Halo had given Brahms 5,000 euros for their CD, and people searched to see how much 5,000 euros was in their local currency. Brahms ranked second in search terms, solidifying its status as a trending topic.

Many people were eager to hear the music that ‘the’ Halo had purchased for 5,000 euros, curious about its quality.

Halo, who spent warm days with kangaroos despite it being winter in the Northern Hemisphere, arrived in Bangkok on December 18th for the Bangkok concert on December 23rd.

While Europe had been celebrating the Christmas season since the end of November, Bangkok was in full swing as December 23rd was the day before Christmas Eve.

However, ironically, with Halo’s concert coinciding with the holiday season, Halo’s concert was searched for more often than Christmas itself near the 23rd. This trend was even more pronounced in Hong Kong on December 30th.

Christmas is a major event in Europe,

But December 30th marks the end of the year.

A time to prepare for the new year, count down the final moments of the old year, and spend quality time with family.

When Halo arrived, the airport was paralyzed, and Halo’s concert featured a drone show that surpassed even the grandest year-end awards ceremonies or events.

From the symbol representing Halo to belated birthday celebrations, a spectacular show unfolded.

While advertisements were launched in other countries on Halo’s birthday, Hong Kong posted advertisements in all areas before and after Halo’s concert.

It goes without saying that the oil-producing countries reacted by saying, ‘Just come to our country, and we’ll show you what oil money can do.’

And then came the new year of 2033.

Halo returned home ahead of the concert at Seoul Arena.

A peaceful morning began with eating *tteokguk* [Korean rice cake soup] with his father and mother, whom he hadn’t seen in a long time.

“Now that you’re busy, what should I do alone?”

“Father, are you going back to work?”

“I should. I can’t just keep playing around.”

Professor Noh Yoon-hyun ended his sabbatical and would be teaching again starting this spring semester. Already dreading the renewed attention, Professor Noh Yoon-hyun decided to create a more demanding lecture schedule this time.

He would cover more material in the first week and focus more on the topics that were glossed over due to the final exam schedule.

As the students’ abilities were improving day by day, it seemed like a good idea to make the assignments more challenging.

That way, the university students could learn without feeling like their tuition was a waste, and Professor Noh Yoon-hyun wouldn’t be bothered by their unnecessary questions. It was a win-win situation.

“Hae-il, what about you?”

“I should release an album now too.”

“Oh my. People will love it.”

His mother, who had been subtly anticipating her son’s album, had sparkling eyes, and Professor Noh Yoon-hyun thought that his son was also a workaholic.

Seeing him working so hard at something he enjoyed and excelled at,

He regretted opposing it two years ago.

-So, how much do you think you can earn in the future?

-I don’t know? I won’t be counting each and every one.

It really turned out as his son had predicted.

Hae-il’s wealth was constantly increasing, and it would continue to increase in the future. He couldn’t ignore the value of copyrights.

The endless income that would be generated until his son’s death was truly infinite, incomparable to 900 million.

“Do you have anything to do today? Do you need to rehearse?”

“No. The rehearsal is scheduled for tomorrow. Today-”

“I’m going to see the new label with the members.”

The label, which started construction in the spring, was almost complete except for the interior. It was the power of money. From famous architects with proven abilities to the procurement of materials, everything was expedited.

He would have to wait a little longer to fully utilize the building, but Halo decided to go see it once. He would be using it for a long time to come.

On the other hand, he vaguely thought.

Come to think of it, BB was supposed to visit Korea again around this time.

-There’s someone I suddenly thought of.

Halo impulsively brought up the story to someone who was thoroughly following his life and had questions.

Even he didn’t know why he said that.

-Would you like to hear it? I’m sure there’s no one who would suit my music better than him.

BB readily expressed his interest and said he would go to America for a while to prepare his equipment.

One person’s life might be quite boring to listen to, but Halo was somehow looking forward to it. [Halo is referring to BB listening to his life story]

The Road To Glory [EN]

The Road To Glory [EN]

A Tidal Wave of Glory Glorious Tidal Wave Glory Tide 영광의 해일로
Status: Completed Author: Native Language: Korean
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[English Translation] In a world yearning for brilliance, one soul stands poised on the precipice of destiny. 'The Road To Glory / A Tidal Wave of Glory' is the saga of a life ignited by unwavering resolve. Prepare to be swept away by a torrent of ambition as our hero embarks on a relentless quest, fueled by the burning desire to leave an indelible mark on the world. This is not just a journey; it's a glorious tidal wave, a relentless surge towards a destiny ablaze with triumph. Will they rise to meet the challenge, or be consumed by the inferno of their own ambition? Dive into a world where every moment is a battle, and every victory is etched in the annals of glory. Prepare for 'The Road To Glory' – a tidal wave that will leave you breathless.

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