The Road To Glory [EN]: Chapter 1171

< The Most Special Month -117>

“These are my members.”

It was quite some time after visiting the practice room of the musical *Rock* that he finally introduced his members to the old man.

October, with its mix of cool and warm days, passed, and the weather transitioned into what could truly be called winter.

The introduction was delayed not because he was busy, but largely due to August Veil’s schedule. August Veil dropped him off in front of the studio and immediately headed somewhere, seeming very occupied for a while.

-Could you perhaps take a look at my song?

Of course, he also had his own work to do. He received a producing request from the director and feedback requests from Park Hyuk, the lead actor. However, that concluded sooner than expected.

There wasn’t much for him to adjust.

From the start, Park Hyuk was already a top-tier musical actor in Korea. Especially in terms of singing, he was known as a ‘human amplifier’ and was considered the best among musical actors.

Of course, there were parts he sang differently from what he intended, but that was a matter of interpretation—an interpretation to become Jungwoo. Park Hyuk sang as Jungwoo.

If it were him, he might have sung well, but he wouldn’t have embodied Jungwoo, who worries about his own well-being and external circumstances.

Just Nohaeil pretending to be Jungwoo. No, Nohaeil who doesn’t even pretend to be Jungwoo.

Anyway, they parted ways satisfactorily before long.

Dokgo Young, who was double-cast, said he would prepare on his own, so there were no more schedules related to the musical.

In any case, three men and women greeted the old man warmly at Nohaeil’s still unchanged studio.

“Hello! I’m Seo Yeon Moon, in charge of keyboards. Nice to meet you.”

Seo Yeon Moon introduced herself in fluent American English.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Han Jin-young, the bassist.”

Han Jin-young, who speaks slightly Konglish [Korean-English hybrid], but can handle simple conversations.

“Uh, hello? My name is Gyuhwan Nam. Nice to meet you too. I’m from korea and ······uh······How are you?”

Even Nam Gyuhwan, who started with a casual greeting but didn’t quite manage the important introduction. Of course, August Veil recognized that he was a percussionist and smiled generously.

“It’s nice to meet you all. I really wanted to see you.”

These were the friends who had been in charge of sessions since HALO’s 6th album, *Dancing in the Rain*. He had only watched them from afar and thought about meeting them, but now that he actually saw them, he couldn’t help but feel happy.

He took in each person one by one.

Seo Yeon Moon started playfully arguing with Nam Gyuhwan again while looking at his composition notes. And Han Jin-young pretended to stop them but subtly added fuel to the fire.

At the center of these people with distinct personalities and unique appearances was a boy. He could see an indescribable bond between them.

Like a scene from a well-made painting.

The people in the painting asked him.

“Have you had dinner yet?”

“We were planning to go eat lamb chops tonight. Would you like to join us?”

“Uh… eat lunch?”

“Let’s go together.”

“…I was feeling lonely eating alone. This is good.”

August Veil couldn’t help but be drawn into that sanctuary.

[World’s Top 4 Record Label CEO’s Three Visits to a Small Korean Singer!]

└ Is Nohaeil small?

└ Anyone would think Nohaeil is unknown

└ To say Nohaeil is small, he’s tall and his popularity is crazy right now, what’s small?

└ But these days, photos of Nohaeil and Veil? That company’s CEO keep popping up

└ It’s only been twice

It was twice until the end of October, but as November began, the frequency gradually increased. When Nohaeil, who had been holed up in his studio, was occasionally caught in paparazzi shots, August Veil was next to him.

Everyone in the industry speculated that August Veil stayed because he was very interested in the Korean entertainment industry, but strangely, the only person he contacted separately was Nohaeil.

This proved that Veil was putting a lot of effort into Nohaeil, and at the same time, it was inevitable to think that Nohaeil was rejecting Veil’s offer.

Otherwise, there’s no way they would continue to hang out together.

Originally, if he was only interested in the industry, August Veil’s presence would slowly begin to be recognized by the public. Of course, even so, he was consumed by national pride as a K-pop singer recognized by a very famous person, but no one took it seriously.

Then, suddenly.

A post that started from who knows where was shared on every community. It wasn’t exactly about August Veil’s actions, but it was related.

[Who is HALO│Nohaeil Possibility (Evidence O) Revised ver]

It was posted around the time the afterglow of the Scorpion concert on October 21st was fading, but it was shared in the community and became a hot topic in early November.

Considering the category, it seemed that the first post was uploaded on a site dealing with HALO identity speculation.

The important thing is not where it was uploaded.

Community users said that an attention seeker, whether it was one person or several, spammed each community.

[Summary of recently spammed posts – Nohaeil = HALO theory]

Evidence 1. Scorpion Concert

1-1) The song that Nohaeil pointed out to Reel last Christmas that he got wrong five times was *Struggle*. Until then, only those who knew knew, and HALO wasn’t famous

1-2) Nohaeil played an unreleased song, saying something about the 13th album -> It’s not Nohaeil’s usual style of song

└ In response, Scorpion said, ‘Not much left.’ Nohaeil just released his first full album, so it doesn’t make sense that there’s not much left. But what if it’s HALO, who releases an album every month and has released up to 9 albums?

1-3) Reel’s attitude

Usually a HALO fanatic and all-rounder hater was very polite to Nohaeil

ex. dear, May I, request, etc.

(In Korean, it’s like a guy who speaks informally and curses at his grandfather using honorifics to a 17-year-old)

Evidence 2. August Veil (CEO of Veil and former CEO of Augustus Records)

2-1) He’s putting a lot of effort into Nohaeil. To the point where you wonder if he really needs to go this far – even driving him around

2-2) It’s been a while since the Scorpion tour ended, but he’s not returning home and staying in Korea.

Evidence 3. Nohaeil = HALO theory that has been around for a long time

(As everyone knows ㅇㅇ) Voice, name, British English, arrangement, etc.

In fact, the content of the original text was only up to this point, but a kind unemployed person kindly wrote a rebuttal attached to the original text.

[Refutation 1. 20th century traditional Britpop + HALO’s unique sensibility – Someone whose resident registration number starts with 3 + Even Koreans are absolutely impossible

Refutation 2. Monthly HALO – Even if HALO’s album is a practice, Nohaeil also released an album, does that make sense?

Refutation 3. The 5th album, *Addiction Solar System*, also admits that they took drugs at that time

:

Refutation N. If Nohaeil = HALO, Scorpion would have already called him HALO]

Even the summary is a long post.

It was natural to have comments such as ‘So what’s the 3-line summary???’ However, since it was more visually organized than the original text, some people focused more on the content.

[The fact that it’s already being refuted is proof that Nohaeil = Solar System cannot be established.

I like both HALO and Nohaeil. Both singers are good. They are excellent singers. I’m so happy to be living in the same era. So please stop with the weird nonsense and just acknowledge each other’s existence (Likes 830 Dislikes 299)]

└ Nohaeil fans don’t like Solar System trolls either, is this really an intelligent anti?

└ I’ve always been dumbfounded whenever I see Nohaeil theories, please stop… they’re really soaked in national pride

Most of the rebuttals were like this.

However, a small number of people agreed.

[But doesn’t that Nohaeil theory have a possibility? HALO’s identity hasn’t been revealed yet, and at least it’s not a retired top star]

└ ㄹㅇ [Real] Foreign kids who praise Solar System collect evidence first before refuting when someone says it’s HALO, but Korean kids just hate first

└ But that’s only possible because they’re stupidㅋ Last time, they were seriously thinking about Indian HALO, which made me realize the meaning of national average grade 5 again.

└ What’s Indian HALO?

└ There was a guy in India who claimed to be HALO, he even came from a prestigious university and had a high status

└ Crazyㅋㅋㅋ Brahman HALOㅋㅋㅋ

└ Even if Indian kids are good at English, it’s funny to call them HALO, K-HALO? Just a laughing stockㅋㅋㅋㅋ

[Still, seeing Nohaeil’s HALO suspicion posts keep coming up, I think it’s ㄹㅇ [Real] to admit it, whether it’s talent or ability]

└ Is there anyone who doesn’t acknowledge Nohaeil? He’s been known as a musical genius from the beginning

└ Honestly, Nohaeil is the only thing I remember this year

└ But the fact that he’s a rookie who debuted this year is ㄹㅇ [Real] crazy

└ So please have a concert···

└ㅋㅋㅋㅋYeah, it’s still 830~~

└ㅜㅜChange it to 5810 because it’s 830*7;;

└What’s the difference

└ㅋㅋThe kids are crying, go easy on them

Since Nohaeil’s topic was already rolling, some people said what they usually wanted to say.

[I always think Nohaeil’s fans are nice. They don’t get toxic at all, if it was another singer, they would have started cursing]

└ Don’t you know that Nohaeil’s fan cafe name changed from Wave Riding to Are We Jaws to You? There are only Jaws left who bite each other during ticketing

└ Ah noㅋㅋㅋ Not X but real Jawsㅋㅋㅋ

└ It wasn’t a red ocean [fierce competition], it was ㄹㅇ [Real] a bloody oceanㅋㅋ

Then, on the first Wednesday of November.

[Wow, Nohaeil confirmed to be invited to Korea University festival]

An event slightly scattered the interest in the suspicion posts.

It was around the time when other universities were gradually uploading their festival lineups. The festival lineup was uploaded to the Korea University Student Council’s Instagram account and page.

The first poster showed the student council president shrugging his shoulders with a triumphant attitude, so the students wondered what this was, but someone shouted loudly in the student cafeteria at the lineup uploaded on the next page.

“No way, Nohaeil is really confirmed?!

“Is Nohaeil really coming? This is crazy.”

“There were rumors, but I didn’t think it would really happen.”

The rumor was that.

The student council contacted Nohaeil.

It was just a rumor, but many students believed it because Nohaeil’s father was a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Korea University.

Nohaeil, who doesn’t do separate activities, might not come to the university festival, but if he does, there was a rumor that he would likely come to Korea University.

However, there was also a story that most singers prefer Yonsei University or Korea University over Korea University, which has mediocre stage facilities, so it was half-doubtful, but it was officially confirmed.

“Is our school even having a festival?”

“It’s a real festival?”

Anyone would think it’s the first festival held since the school was founded, but Korea University has two festivals every year. It’s just that no one knows.

Following this, Yonsei University, Korea University, and other universities also announced their idol lineups one by one, but there were not many names that could beat Nohaeil in this festival.

Also, there was one more event to temporarily forget the conspiracy theory.

It’s an event that the person involved doesn’t recognize, but everyone has been waiting for.

The biggest reason why the fan cafe is moving quietly under the surface and Veil has delayed his departure schedule.

Nohaeil’s birthday is November 14th, the day after the Korea University festival.

#

HALO hummed a HALO 10th album song and looked at the calendar.

Come to think of it, it’s almost that time.

He wouldn’t usually think much about it, but he suddenly thought about it in a situation where he had to prepare for the 10th album.

His official birthday was in April, when his 1st album *Struggle* was released. Leaving home and abandoning all his history, he said that the day *Struggle* was released was his birthday whenever someone asked him. It’s not wrong since HALO was born that day.

Of course, everyone recognized that his real birthday was different as his past was revealed, but no one officially celebrated his real birthday because he didn’t like it.

April is still a long way off, but there is a reason why he suddenly thought of his birthday. It’s nothing special, but this time of year was his real birthday. It’s also the month he ran away from home and the day he reconciled.

The manager persuaded him, asking if he was going to live like someone who never existed forever, and after much deliberation, he met his family. It happened to be his real birthday.

Well, there’s not much to mention about the reconciliation.

His parents expressed regret and longing to their son who had returned successful after more than a decade.

They were quite strict, but they weren’t bad people. A very long time had passed, so the resentment had scattered like ashes, and they reconciled not badly, had tea, and parted with greetings.

Deciding to live more distant than family and closer than strangers.

April. They were just close enough to contact him with birthday wishes and ask him to have a meal together.

The 10th album is a song written around that time.

A story about family.

A song that makes the singer tired because it was made when the futility that the old hatred had no roots and complex feelings were intertwined.

Personally, it’s not a song I sing often. Rather, it’s the song I don’t sing the most at concerts. Whenever I sing it, a meaningless anger suddenly rises, so I thought it wasn’t suitable for concerts.

That doesn’t mean I won’t release it.

This is also his music that he loves, so the recording is scheduled, but the members’ expressions were subtle. They seemed tired because of the song. But as always, they didn’t say they wouldn’t do it.

HALO briefly looked at the calendar on the pad.

His real birthday that even he doesn’t celebrate.

It’s right after the performance, so I’ll get a good night’s sleep. That’s what he thought.

“Haeil, do you have any other schedules besides the Korea University festival?”

“Not yet.”

“Really? Good.”

His mother’s expression was subtly meaningful.

“I’m thinking of going back around the 15th.”

“You’ll be able to see the Korea University festival.”

“Right?”

August Veil, who always said he was looking forward to his performance, was less responsive than expected.

“If the kids bother you, cut them off appropriately and go back.”

HALO nodded calmly to his father, who was always the same as usual, and joined the practice.

November is a special month.

The beginning of a new season and the time when peace came as World War I ended.

Thanksgiving, one of the biggest events in the United States, is when families gather to eat turkey. Black Friday, when people shop more actively than ever, comes, and movies worth watching with someone are released. It is also a month when all universities regain their vitality.

And···.

HALO suddenly thought.

The day he became Nohaeil was also in November.