The Road To Glory [EN]: Chapter 151

# 15 Struggle

It began subtly.

Like a single raindrop falling into a still lake.

A mournful melody drifted down a desolate street.

A man with a guitar wandered the barren street.

Hungry, the man peeked into a restaurant, only to be chased away by the owner. People avoided making eye contact with him.

The man rummaged through his pockets, finding only a few coins and a crumpled napkin.

Knowing he couldn’t buy anything with that, the man stopped walking.

His reflection in the shop window was pathetic.

Dirty clothes and a gaunt frame. Exhausted, the man stared at his reflection, and doubt crept in.

Why was he living like this?

Thud.

Someone threw a coin.

A penny, tossed by a drunk, hit his calf and bounced off.

The coin rolled and came to rest in front of a trash can, mirroring his own reflection.

Rain began to fall.

He took the guitar off his back.

It wasn’t for playing, not anymore.

Grasping the neck of the guitar, the man raised it, ready to smash it down.

Just before the guitar slammed into the ground and shattered,

the man suddenly raised his head.

What should he call this feeling?

An intense gaze turned towards the sky.

As if he refused to succumb to hunger, pity, or hardship.

The man readjusted his grip on the guitar.

At that moment, his heart pounded!

Boom! Boom!

Drums echoed.

Synthesizers overwhelmed the fragile, almost broken piano melody.

Sparks flew, as if following him.

The man began to play his anguish. The destructive melody morphed into a powerful electric guitar riff.

“Could this be…!”

Bae Gong-hak exclaimed, gasping without realizing it.

Goosebumps erupted on his arms, and a thrill surged through his stomach. An unbearable excitement washed over him.

“Rock music?”

He didn’t expect an answer; it was merely an exclamation of disbelief.

Besides, there was no one to answer him. Han Jin-young seemed deaf to his voice, completely absorbed by the monitor. No, he was captivated by the melody. Bae Gong-hak was also swept away by the wave of sound in an instant.

“Heh. Hehehe.”

He could only laugh.

From the moment the electric guitar playfully toyed with his insides, Bae Gong-hak lost himself in the music. When he came to his senses, the song had already ended.

“Struggle.”

No more words were needed.

Though lacking vocals, anyone who listened to this song would instinctively arrive at that title.

Adrenaline coursed through him.

Bae Gong-hak felt an overwhelming urge to play something, anything, immediately.

His fingers twitched involuntarily, and his throat felt parched.

Like the protagonist of this music,

he wanted to charge forward, undeterred by any crisis.

“Th-this is what Hae-il made?”

The words stumbled out, barely coherent.

Bae Gong-hak tried to calm himself with random mouth exercises. It had been so long since he’d felt this kind of fire. Calmness was elusive in the face of such long-dormant passion.

“Yes.”

“This is…”

This was created by someone who was only sixteen years old.

How could this be possible?

He finally understood Han Jin-young’s reaction.

Why he kept talking nonsense and muttering about it not making sense.

Because he couldn’t believe he was hearing a song written by a sixteen-year-old.

Han Jin-young smiled, as if understanding Bae Gong-hak’s shock. Then he added,

“Do you know what’s even more amazing?”

“What else could there be?”

He couldn’t possibly be more surprised than he already was.

His nerve cells were already firing on all cylinders.

He was practically burning with excitement.

Han Jin-young added quietly,

“This isn’t just one song.”

“…!”

There was more.

Bae Gong-hak’s eyes widened.

His fingers twitched uncontrollably.

Han Jin-young pointed the mouse cursor at the MIDI file.

Struggle(4)

The folder contained more than just one song.

“I heard he was releasing an album.”

Noh Hae-il had said he wanted to release his own album.

He’d said he wanted to create an album showcasing his strengths, without joining a management company or agency.

Bae Gong-hak had thought it would be difficult, but he’d encouraged him anyway.

It would be a good learning experience and effective for mastering MIDI [Musical Instrument Digital Interface – a technical standard that describes a protocol, digital interface and connectors and allows a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, computers and other related devices to connect and communicate with one another].

However, he’d naturally assumed the album would be a single. No, who would even consider a full album? It would be great if he could even produce one decent song.

However, Noh Hae-il had a grander vision than Bae Gong-hak or Han Jin-young had anticipated.

“Do you know what’s even more surprising?”

“What is it?”

Now, it was beyond anticipation and bordering on frightening.

A chuckle escaped Han Jin-young, as if he sensed Bae Gong-hak’s feelings.

“He filled it with four songs of this quality.”

“?”

This quality?

So, the same caliber as ‘Struggle’?

“What?”

This defied logic in a different way.

Noh Hae-il had only been learning MIDI for a few days.

“No, he made it with this quality? How is that even possible?”

Well, he might be able to *make* four songs.

If simply creating something and calling it a song counted, even a kindergartener could do that.

But a *completed* song?

Furthermore, the fact that it was of similar quality to [Struggle] was unbelievable.

It seemed physically impossible, transcending mere talent, genius, or prodigy.

“Do you want to listen?”

Anticipation dripped from his voice.

He seemed to relish the fact that Bae Gong-hak, usually so emotionally reserved, was reacting so strongly.

“Yeah.”

Bae Gong-hak replied.

‘Struggle’ quality. He didn’t believe it, he even felt a little scared, but Bae Gong-hak, who once harbored big dreams in music, always craved good songs. He wanted to hear and understand the best music.

It was difficult to find anything he liked among the hundreds and thousands of songs produced daily, which was why he’d been taking a break.

He hadn’t even heard it yet, but his mouth was already watering.

How good could this be?

Han Jin-young chuckled at the transformation in Bae Gong-hak’s eyes, from frozen to fresh.

“But I’m a little worried.”

Han Jin-young hesitated, his finger hovering over the space bar.

“About what?”

“The song is good.”

“Isn’t it?”

“But composing and vocals are different. I wonder if Hae-il can handle it well.”

He’d said he would handle not only songwriting and composition but also electric guitar performance and vocals. Bae Gong-hak had seen Noh Hae-il play the guitar a few times, but he’d never heard him sing.

He couldn’t help but worry.

“You worry about everything.”

Bae Gong-hak tilted his head at Han Jin-young’s words.

“Have you ever heard Hae-il sing? I don’t think he sang anything here.”

“He didn’t do it here.”

“Then did he sing somewhere else?”

No matter how hard he thought, he couldn’t recall anything.

Han Jin-young didn’t offer a helpful answer but clicked the space bar.

“He’s recording today. Listen later.”

#

Noh Hae-il leaned back in his chair, thinking about the people who mistook the music he had made long ago as something he had created in just a few days.

‘Ah, I’m tired.’

He felt even more exhausted because it was exam period.

Even though he wasn’t diligently solving problems, the tense atmosphere contributed to his fatigue.

‘It would be nice if it ended after lunch.’

Unfortunately, there was one more exam after lunch.

Next to Hae-il, A, B, and C were sitting and chatting, again about the exam, specifically the answer to question so-and-so.

Their conversation, initially annoying, now felt like appropriate background music, and he drifted off to sleep just listening to it.

“Hey, Noh Hae-il.”

That voice was Jang Jin-soo.

As Jang Jin-soo approached, ABC all fell silent and pretended to study, their shoulders and spines stiff.

‘Weird guys.’

Hae-il got up from his seat.

Because Jang Jin-soo nodded for him to come outside.

‘Just say it here.’

Jang Jin-soo was also a tiring guy.

“Th, thanks.”

“For what?”

When Hae-il asked, surprised by the sudden gratitude, Jang Jin-soo handed him a plastic bag filled with small snacks.

What was he supposed to do? Seeing Hae-il’s questioning look, Jang Jin-soo spoke again.

“Th, thanks for making the song. I don’t think I properly thanked you last time.”

“Ah.”

“Thanks for the feedback too. Honestly, it was hard to accept at the time. Now I’m just grateful. I think I needed that kind of objective feedback. I applied to Sso-Yu [Likely a reference to a music audition program or agency], and after a while, I listened to my own song again, and… it was really bad.”

“Hmm.”

So, in the end, it was all about expressing gratitude.

He had received many gifts of gratitude, including money and love letters, but this was the first time he had received a gift like this.

“I’ll be honest with you today too.”

While Hae-il was looking at the contents of the black plastic bag, Jang Jin-soo suddenly spoke again.

“What?”

“Feedback. About you recording today.”

“…So you’re saying you’re going to give me feedback on my song?”

When he asked, wondering what he was talking about, Jang Jin-soo nodded seriously.

Hae-il, slowly understanding, twitched his lips.

‘He’s going to give me feedback?’

It was funny.

Rather than being absurd, it was simply amusing. His serious expression and his declaration of providing objective and honest evaluation. It just made him laugh that he was talking like a soldier going to war.

“Okay, hmmm.”

Laughter escaped him.

He had only just applied for the audition, but it was funny that he was already acting as if he had won first place, and it was also funny that he was going to give feedback to Hae-il, who could be considered a senior.

“Okay. Do your best.”

Hae-il squeezed out the words while suppressing his laughter. Jang Jin-soo was puzzled by the laughter mixed in here and there but soon nodded resolutely.

“I’m really doing it for you honestly, so don’t be shocked.”

Hae-il nodded roughly.

Jang Jin-soo seemed to have run out of things to say and just stammered.

Hae-il turned to go back into the classroom. The hallway was chilly because the heater wasn’t on, and his body shrank from the cold.

Just as he was about to open the classroom door, Jang Jin-soo suddenly said,

“Hey, I just thought of something, and I’m asking.”

“?”

“Did you get permission from your parents to do music?”

Hae-il stopped and turned his head.

“Why do I need to get permission?”

“Huh?”

“I’m doing what I want to do.”

“Th, I think your mother didn’t like it very much.”

“What does that have to do with me?”

“Th-.”

Jang Jin-soo was speechless.

He had nothing to say to the expression that conveyed that it was the most natural thing in the world.

He didn’t get angry or annoyed but asked with a calm face.

He was so calm and normal that Jang Jin-soo wondered if he had asked something obvious.

“Still, shouldn’t you talk to your parents?”

“…”

No answer was heard.

Jang Jin-soo scratched the back of his head, wondering if he was being nosy.

“No. Well, you’ll take care of it. Let’s go in.”

#

There were many schedules today.

Before starting vocal recording, he decided to record the electric guitar accompaniment separately. There were some parts that sounded disappointing with the MIDI sound.

He had practiced hard, so he thought his fingers would hold up a bit.

“Hoo…”

Hae-il took a deep breath.

“Hae-il seems nervous.”

“Him?”

The voices outside didn’t reach inside the recording studio. Hae-il grabbed the electric guitar and recalled his life at that time. It was about reminiscing about his life once again.

It wasn’t a very fun memory, but it made Hae-il who he was now.

The MR [Music Recorded – a pre-recorded backing track] started to play through the headphones.

Courage that blooms intensely on the street.

It blooms with the will to succeed.

When he closed and opened his eyes, Hae-il was standing in a desolate street in a black and white movie.