The Road To Glory [EN]: Chapter 1561

< War with the Shadows >

[He’s so thrilled with being Halo]

Most people reacted positively to the boy announcing his concert with a confident expression, but some did not.

Where there is light, there is shadow.

Some people disliked Noe Haeil, or Halo, or denied that they were the same person.

[What concert lol]

[Are they planning another ticket war with an abnormally small number of seats, like 830? They do that to look popular.]

[Wasn’t the music box, or whatever merch they made, also to increase the value of his concert? ㅋㅋ]

There could be many reasons why they dislike the boy with two names.

But surprisingly, the reasons were similar to what Halo heard in the past, even though they don’t look like the same person.

Some people hated him for his nickname ‘Incarnation of Apollo’ and his praised appearance, saying he looked unlucky and would live like trash. As for his personality and character, there’s nothing he hasn’t heard. If some people pitied or respected his past, others criticized him.

Some people rated the albums that won him numerous awards as trash.

Different times, even different worlds, but those who hated him created similar reasons.

Still, until now, they couldn’t speak out. Whether as the rookie singer Noe Haeil or the Monthly Halo, he had shown an unbelievable streak. Moreover, because of the impact of his numerous fans and the Coachella stage, the antis [anti-fans] who hated Halo stirring up the world had been silent, but suddenly surfaced at the end of May.

Finally, they had something to pick on besides his personality, appearance, or education, and it was even the reason why they couldn’t openly criticize Halo until now.

[By the way, it’s confirmed now. He released his 13th album in March and has had no news until the end of May, so he seems to be dried up.]

[Was Halo really the composer in the first place? Now that he’s exposed, can’t he openly steal anymore?]

[I still can’t accept that NH is Halo? There’s a 99.99% chance he colluded with August Veil. I hope he gets caught and screwed. I’ve hated how he’s always thought the world was his since the old days.]

[What’s certain is that there’s a possibility that all the songs on the 13th album have separate composers. NH is a gold spoon [born with a silver spoon in his mouth – rich], so didn’t his parents get them for him? His dad’s a professor, so it makes senseㅋㅋ]

Logically, if there was a separate composer, Halo wouldn’t have the sole rights to the music – the composer wouldn’t have allowed it – but human imagination is endless and drew a more plausible picture.

Thus, many people doubted why Monthly Halo was still possible, and they became convinced when they didn’t hear news of HALO’s 14th album as June approached.

Whether Noe Haeil really composed all those songs or not, Monthly Halo was finally over, and it was clear that he was exhausted.

[The sudden concert is definitely to hide the fact that he can’t release an album.]

Logically, if you talk about a slump after not releasing an album for a few months, every singer in the world would be in a slump. But they didn’t think that far. They had become too demanding after watching the absurd stunt called Monthly Halo for about a year.

[I would have acknowledged him if he kept releasing albums every month, but he’s finally showing his bottom line.]

[He kept talking about the sun, but in the end, he was just an ordinary guy.]

[I opened the package and it was just a bag of chips filled with airㅋㅋ]

[I predict he’ll drag it out for a year with concerts and then keep dragging it out with broadcasts or something.]

These were still minority opinions.

But the shadows were insidious as the light was strong, and they might grow in size if given the opportunity.

And just in time, there was more welcome news for the antis.

[NH went to the hospital]

Internal information was leaked from a large hospital. It hadn’t even been reported in the news yet, so the truth wasn’t clear, but they were excited about the news.

[Hospital? What hospital? Did he cause an accident or something?]

[Are you sure it’s not just a regular checkup and he’s actually sick?]

[Yeah, an acquaintance is a nurse there and it’s confirmed that Noe Haeil came to the hospital]

└ What department did he visit?

└ I don’t know about other departments, but he got a vocal cord examination

It wasn’t just that he was sick or overworked.

Interest soared in the words ‘vocal cords,’ which are most important to a singer.

[NH’s vocal cords are damaged?]

[He sang fine at the last performance, what happened?]

[Isn’t it just vocal cord nodules from drinking? If you listen to his songs, he seems to do everything, he’ll probably cause an accident with drunk driving soon.]

Numerous suspicions arose. At that moment, something flashed through someone’s mind.

[Hey, now that I think about it, NH is only 16, isn’t it time for puberty?]

And at the same time.

Halo’s phone rang.

The caller was August Veil.

He must have contacted him after hearing that he had come to the hospital.

“Good afternoon.”

The person on the other end of the phone pauses briefly at the calm greeting. August Veil was about to ask the main point right away but realized that he was uncharacteristically hasty.

[How are you doing?]

His voice is hoarse.

Halo belatedly realized that it was dawn in England.

He must have received the report as soon as he woke up and called him.

How urgent was it that he didn’t read the rest of the report?

[I heard you went to the hospital? Is it related to PTSD back then?]

“Yes, it’s been a month, so I got a checkup.”

[The results?]

“Of course, I’m fine.”

Originally, he was going to get a checkup with a bit more time in between, but he was getting busy preparing to leave the country, so he got it done while he was here.

[And-.]

August Veil unusually trails off.

A vocal cord examination is nothing special.

Anyone would think there was something wrong with his throat.

[Did you get it because of the tour?]

August Veil asked as if he didn’t want to hear that he was sick, and Halo affirmed. Of course, it wasn’t just because of the tour.

“And I got it just in case. It seems like my vocal range has increased.”

[Your vocal range has increased?]

During the musical curtain call, the low notes were more comfortable than usual.

In a normal situation, he would have just thought it had increased, but considering Noe Haeil’s age, there was something to worry about.

Since he hadn’t gone through puberty yet, it wouldn’t be strange if puberty suddenly came now.

“So I came to get checked to see if puberty had come.”

It doesn’t seem to be the case.

In addition, he has very healthy vocal cords. Of course, as a minor, and since he doesn’t know when puberty will come, he was told to be careful. The conclusion was that it wasn’t yet.

“That’s a shame.”

August Veil didn’t take ‘puberty’ very positively. This is because those who started singing early often failed to adapt to their voices after puberty.

But Halo seemed positive about puberty. After all, from his point of view, he was still more familiar with Halo’s voice than Noe Haeil’s, and Halo’s voice was lower than Noe Haeil’s.

Halo, who wanted such a manly voice, was secretly disappointed that puberty hadn’t come.

[The doctor told you not to overdo it, so it would be good to keep this tour moderate.]

From the beginning, August Veil had no intention of overworking Halo, but considering that he was a minor who could go through puberty at any time, he decided to make the tour even smaller.

As it is a world tour, he will be traveling all over the world. It would be better to reduce the number of countries to visit, or reduce the number of performances in one country.

[How about not scheduling consecutive performances?]

“I can-.”

[If the puberty you want comes to the concert, you’ll have to cancel it, right?]

“···.”

You shouldn’t overwork your voice during puberty.

Singing a few songs is okay, but for a tour, most doctors would dissuade you.

Halo imagined proceeding with the tour as he wanted and going through puberty. Given his personality, there would be no concert cancellations.

Whether it rains or there is thunder and lightning, he will not stop if even one person is watching his stage.

Even if puberty comes, he would normally go wild. He would sing even if his throat was torn.

But as always, what bothers him is-.

-Son.

His mother, who sincerely loves him, and the existence of Noe Haeil.

Halo eventually agreed.

The Sunflowers [Halo’s fanbase] would weep, but there will be no consecutive performances in one country.

Even if it boasts a huge population and a large land area.

[Instead, I have good news. I’m thinking of scheduling a world tour to commemorate the release of your album.]

Usually, a world tour is held in conjunction with the release of a new song.

There could be several reasons, but promoting the new song would be one of the biggest reasons.

“Album release?”

A bewildered voice was heard.

Halo, who seems his age only at times like this, seems embarrassed by the unexpected album release. And judging by his silence, he must be waiting for his words.

August Veil smiled faintly like a grandfather watching his grandson.

He wasn’t telling Halo to release a new song right away. He cherished many artists, including Halo, and had never tried to force anyone to release music.

But ‘release’ is not wrong.

August Veil smiled faintly and said.

[You don’t have an album yet, do you? So. I mean a physical album.]

“!”

Noe Haeil had already released a physical album, but Halo, who signed with Veil, only released digital music. Therefore, there was not a single physical album.

[I can cancel it if you don’t want to-.]

“No, I want it.”

A faster answer than ever before was heard.

Yes, what singer wouldn’t want a physical album?

[Then I’ll assume you agree. There will be something for you to do.]

August Veil noticed Halo’s subtly revealed wish and decided to rush the CD pressing.

#

However, CD pressing did not proceed as smoothly as expected.

As August Veil used to run Augustus Records, he had partner companies while running Veil. As more and more places were discontinuing CDP [CD Player] production, it was natural to maintain cooperative relationships with high-quality companies.

Veil was a music distribution company, but when a contracted singer consulted about CDPs and introduced a partner company if they wanted, Veil did not think there would be a problem when placing an order for Halo’s album production as a good relationship.

He felt something was wrong when the confirmation email was delayed.

Unlike British companies, the answers from companies that had been giving answers quickly within a few hours or at the latest on the same day were delayed, and when the answer came a few days later, they would accept it, but the price was absurd.

Caroline, who looked at the detailed statement of how several thousand won came out per CD, discovered an unrequested item.

“I requested something like this?”

Caroline – Veil’s employee in charge of Halo – doubted her eyes and called the company.

What she heard was absurd.

Clearly, it would be left in the email, but at first, there was content asking for gold leaf to be engraved on the CD, and when she checked again, a man with a voice she had never heard before was rambling nonsense, saying that Halo’s CD should naturally have gold leaf engraved on it.

Even if nothing else, this person is not his fan and keeps adding additional conditions such as gold leaf.

Therefore, there was only one reason. They had to add things like gold leaf to increase the CD price.

“This is troublesome.”

It was quite unpleasant that people who had maintained a good cooperative relationship and were innocent changed as soon as they heard the words Halo album.

Even if she showed subtle displeasure, the other party showed a nonchalant expression. She didn’t know if they were stupid or if they had asked a large company.

There was not only one CDP factory in the world.

[Let’s think flexibly. We’re not calling for an absurd price. Isn’t it an album that will succeed anyway? If the price is expensive, you can raise the album price, right? There are plenty of people who will buy it.]

Caroline laughed silently.

A junior who saw her face was startled and pretended not to see it.

Caroline had a habit of laughing when she got angry.

[The physical market is constantly dying because of the digital market, so if you help us a little, we will have a better relationship in the future-]

Caroline eventually hung up on the man.

They don’t have to contract only with partner companies.

Caroline, who contacted other companies, snorted.

She knows that many CDP production lines have been discontinued. It is true that CD production has been decreasing day by day as the use of digital music and streaming has increased.

But this is not it.

“These bastards colluded.”

Caroline clenched her fist.

It was clear that they were saying slightly different but similar nonsense.

Perhaps if they had made a pre-order and confirmed the date, they might have gone on strike to raise the price.

Caroline wondered if they could treat Veil like this, not other people. It’s not like Halo won’t be releasing albums in the future, and she doesn’t know if she regrets the business relationship she has built up so far.

And at the same time.

Those who looked forward to the contact with anxious hearts exchanged, “Is this really okay?” “Is it okay?”

When Caroline got angry and hung up, there was someone who told her to call back and apologize.

They were all in the same business, and they were a little greedy, but they didn’t have enough greed to ruin their business.

They also didn’t think that the conditions they presented would all be met.

What they want is a moderate middle ground.

It’s an album that will succeed and set a huge record anyway, so if they raise the price a little, they will press it really hard.

What they believe in is August Veil’s personality. He is a thorough businessman who uses both the carrot and the stick well, and he will send a contract that they can all agree on.

Of course, they will have to take some time to relieve his anger. During that time, they can wait for the contract with Augustus Records, which the president brought. Although they know that Augustus Records belongs to August Veil, Augustus Records, which was deprived of Halo by August Veil, believed that Augustus Records would not break the contract over this matter because it was trying to aggressively take over the market, regardless of Veil.

They were also thinking people and did not act only out of greed.

But there was one thing they missed.

August Veil is a businessman who will move to avoid losses even when he is angry, but there was one person with a dirty temper who puts himself first, regardless of losses.

Moreover, that person had higher decision-making power than August Veil. Although he does not own shares in Veil, August Veil would respect his opinion more than his own.

[I wasn’t going to tell you-.]

As the story about the CD was delayed, Halo asked August Veil directly, and August Veil had no choice but to report on the current situation.

And the answer came out.

“Then the answer is out.”

[Yes, after all, agreement-.]

Halo said.

“I won’t.”

“!”

August Veil was startled.

It was a calm voice, but as the situation was, Halo might have been angry.

[We can change the company to another place, but the place where the quality is certified is-.]

August Veil understood that Halo meant that he would not contract with companies in the UK, but Halo thought differently.

“No, I meant let’s not do CD pressing.”

[So are you going to give up releasing the album altogether? Are you going to give up because of these guys?]

“Rather than giving up-.”

It looks like they’re trying to play with the price.

Halo said, raising the corners of his mouth.

“It doesn’t have to be a CD.”