The Road To Glory [EN]: Chapter 1571

< 157. Bitten Wrong >

Back when he released albums, they were naturally in Compact Disc format. But HALO always released a small quantity on LP [Long Play record, also known as a vinyl record] as well.

He preferred listening to LPs over CDs. He liked the unique noise, and something about his music just seemed to suit LPs better. No matter how many were produced, he always kept the first numbered copy.

Suddenly, he thought about what would happen after his death.

When he died in the car accident, where did his assets go?

He wouldn’t have left instructions in his will to give them to the label president or his family, so all his assets probably reverted to society.

Then, were his numbered albums auctioned off?

[Saying there’s no need for a CD-]

Because they were rushing to release an album every month, it only came out as a half-baked digital album. HALO didn’t think there was any need to insist on a CD right away, like everyone else did.

“How about an LP album?”

[LP?]

August Veil was taken aback when he heard the name of an old-fashioned item, now relegated to a hobby for a tiny minority of people.

LPs couldn’t generate as much revenue as CDs.

At first, he thought that HALO might be overlooking the CD market for a moment because he lived in Korea, where the CD market wasn’t that big.

But the LP market wasn’t negligible either. Even though it was smaller than the CD or digital album market, it had a solid foundation.

The more he thought about it, the better it sounded.

They could continue to produce physical albums in the future, so there would be no need to limit the first edition to CDs.

The combination of HALO’s music, with its old Britpop sensibilities, and LPs, an old relic. As a beautiful picture formed in his mind, Veil stroked his chin.

The guys who colluded wouldn’t have seen anyone switch to LPs right away just because the CD production was slightly delayed.

CD album production could proceed after finding a better trading partner.

“What do you think?”

[You never cease to amaze me.]

Hearing the positive answer, HALO nodded in satisfaction. He felt like his album was finally returning to its original form.

[Then let’s proceed this way.]

Veil, who had been calm even when he was told about the CD collusion, sounded excited for some reason. It was as if he had thought of another business plan.

Just as the call was about to end, August Veil spoke as if he had belatedly remembered something.

[By the way, did you check the email?]

“Email?”

[I summarized and sent you the proposal you received.]

Ah. August Veil had once said that he had received an interesting proposal and would summarize and send it to him.

HALO, who hadn’t checked it yet, stopped answering, and August Veil understood immediately.

[Take your time reading it. It’s not urgent.]

After hanging up, HALO looked for his tablet for the first time in a while.

His email app was already full of emails he hadn’t seen in the meantime. The titles were filled with languages from Korea to various countries, some he knew and some he didn’t.

HALO, who naturally hadn’t clicked on the languages he didn’t know, immediately checked the email from Veil in both Korean and English versions.

Is this the proposal?

Headphone collaboration, collaborations with Augustus Records artists, talk shows and documentaries with the concept of singing songs on the radio while riding in a car… Certainly, innovative proposals continued. Among them,

HALO tilted his head at the last phrase.

“A movie?”

Moreover, the same proposals came from production companies whose names he had heard of, such as Warner Brothers and Disney. The content they wanted was the same.

They wanted to make a movie with HALO’s music.

#

Of course, it was the CDP [Compact Disc Production] companies that were embarrassed when they didn’t receive a call on the expected day. They had hoped that August Veil would give them a carrot soon, but he remained silent.

A president with little patience rushed over, grabbed the person who suggested the collusion by the collar, asking what was going on, and the person told him to calm down.

They wondered if he had turned to pressing in another country, but that didn’t seem to be the case either.

Then, had he given up on producing HALO’s album?

A temporary hold? That would be fortunate. It’s not like he would never produce an album for the rest of his life, and eventually August Veil would choose a company he could trust in terms of quality, rather than choosing a low-quality company.

They were waiting patiently, thinking that if Veil yielded and signed a contract, they would also yield for several years.

[(Breaking News) HALO Physical Album to be Released]

Suddenly, an article about the release of HALO’s album broke out.

The source was Veil, and the world was shaken at that moment.

How many albums are planned to be released? Will there be a pre-order? If so, how many will be released?

Everyone moved as if they had been waiting for it.

In fact, this was a situation everyone had expected.

It would be strange if an artist of HALO’s caliber didn’t release a physical album.

The CDP presidents felt the same way. They were sure they hadn’t printed the album, but they were going to release it? Ah, were they going to do a pre-order?

They calculated that they might have to print more than they expected, based on people’s reactions.

A few weeks later, another article broke out.

[HALO Album Release Commemorative Tour Announced, Date Undetermined]

This was definitely a will to print the album.

Surely he didn’t sign a contract with another manufacturer, did he?

He’s going to sign a contract with us, right? Is he telling us to yield first? Well, we can do that much.

They were scared by the strong will, but they were about to be blinded by the amount of orders that would soon come in.

And a few days later, when another article broke out.

Their hearts stopped at the same time.

[HALO, World Tour Announced. Starting Date is the LP Album Release Date]

Even this breaking news was directly stated by HALO, who visited his label, and it was official without having to verify the truth.

“What LP?”

They doubted their ears at the news that HALO’s 1st to 13th albums would be released as first edition LPs,

They realized it wasn’t a lie when they announced that the world tour would be decided between October and November.

Their cheeks were burning when they said that the first edition LPs would be numbered and released online.

It was certain. August Veil had changed the route because they were trying to raise the CD price. This was nothing more than a show.

“What were we trying to do? How many LPs sell these days?”

“Isn’t August Veil going to be sued by HALO soon?”

Although the person who changed the route wasn’t August Veil, the conclusion was similar. They laughed at August Veil’s choice and thought that LPs had limitations.

Eventually, they would release the album on CD.

But the scale became larger than they expected.

[WA! You know about the world tour! Of course, Korea is the top priority, right?]

└ Okay, if it’s a world tour, it won’t be at least a week

└ It’s a world tour, are they going to book a small theater?

[I’ll bet everything on that day in October]

[All Canadians want for Christmas is you, HALO]

Release on the day of the world tour.

If they were distracted by the sound of the world tour, the next thing they were interested in was HALO’s first physical album sale.

It was a bit unusual that it wasn’t a CD album but an LP album, but if you think about it, it made sense.

The combination of HALO’s music, which follows the essence of old Britpop, and LPs, relics of the old era.

People couldn’t help but be enthusiastic about the true retro,

Collectors’ eyes were on the word numbering,

And for those who desperately wanted to own HALO’s album, and those who thought they had to buy the ‘first edition’ no matter what, LPs and CDs didn’t matter.

However, there was one piece of equipment needed to own or actually listen to LPs. It was natural for the turntable market to be shaken by this absolute complementary relationship.

[Anyone recommend a turntable?]

[I’m a beginner in LP turntables, what should I buy?]

[Why are so many people looking for turntables these days?]

[Wow, I’ve never seen a turntable sell out before, there’s an announcement that they’re urgently starting production]

It wasn’t even a week after the album release announcement.

The turntable manufacturers suddenly caught fire due to the sudden surge in orders, and furthermore, pop stars suddenly posted on SNS [Social Networking Service] that they would release limited edition LPs.

This wasn’t just a change in HALO’s first edition LP and the turntable market. It was like a retro craze suddenly broke out.

Just like the song that crossed the sea in the old days caused the Britpop craze.

Everyone has memories, and they miss everything that made up that time. The reason why old Britpop caused a sensation at once was because it stimulated the nostalgia within, and the same was true for LPs.

The days when they listened to music on turntables.

Those who had experienced it turned their eyes to the past,

Those who had not experienced it began to pay attention to new things.

The CDP presidents were speechless as they watched this absurd situation.

In fact, this craze should have been theirs.

As the retro craze suddenly broke out, they felt like they had missed something huge. It was a sudden trend, so they didn’t know when it would die again. They couldn’t sleep because they felt like they had missed a sure thing.

It was obvious that they would make a CD album someday, but it hit them hard that HALO was only 16 years old. If HALO just gave up the idea of making a fortune, he could really do anything.

It was clear that August Veil believed in that and was doing this.

“That’s why I told you to just apologize!”

“No, I didn’t think they wouldn’t even try to negotiate like this-.”

“How did we know they would suddenly switch to LPs?”

If they had known they would change the route like that, they wouldn’t have bothered to set up a negotiation table.

Those who were frustrated, regretted, and divided began to knock on Veil’s door again. But they didn’t know until then that the price had not even started yet.

Meanwhile, back in Korea.

Although the LP production wasn’t finished yet, August Veil brought the first numbering for HALO. HALO was satisfied to see the 13 albums with 0001 printed on them.

The CDP factory managers’ minds became complicated, but he had never thought about them.

However, he was going to make a CD album someday.

So, someday.

And now the important thing is different.

“Finally!”

HALO slung the guitar case with the butterfly engraved on it.

The luggage must have already been sent to the airport or further, and they just had to go.

Currently, it’s difficult to go to the label due to security issues, and they can’t keep practicing at the hideout, so they decided to move to a temporary label before the tour.

Didn’t he receive something as a birthday present in the past?

August Veil gave him a studio in LA along with a studio in London. The interior construction was in full swing at the time, but now he could use it whenever he wanted.

He had stayed at the studio in London until before Coachella [a famous music festival], and HALO decided to go to the studio in LA.

The session was already prepared there, so after packing only small necessities from the label – like a familiar choker – they decided to leave the country right away.

“To America!”

The proposals he received were mostly from the United States, and it would be convenient to be in the United States no matter what he did.

HALO lightly put on a Hawaiian shirt – bought at Coachella – and followed the excited members.

His mother told him to come home often.

It’s going to be difficult again. HALO, who thought lightly, boarded Veil’s private plane, which was now familiar like home, along with a quick procedure.

The familiar stewardess now brought him an espresso, and the captain introduced himself to them once again.

They boarded the plane without running into reporters, thanks to the help from the airport side. Therefore, they thought that they wouldn’t run into people even when they got off.

“Welcome to Los Angeles.”

The gaze is a bit burdensome, but.

He thought that it was because he was a VIP who came on a private plane, although it seemed that more airport staff than he thought were escorting him, but they soon faced a huge crowd.

Even though the gender ratio was similar, unlike Korea, where there were relatively more female fans-.

Thud.

The airport seemed to be ringing with loud voices and heavy footsteps. It was as noisy as an earthquake, but they kept their own rules and didn’t rush in.

Men with fierce faces called HALO with dazed faces.

“Oh, my baby sun···”

“Where can I buy that outfit?”

“Sun, shine here.”

The members were all shocked with their mouths open at the different scale of flattery in the United States. However, HALO turned his head at the sound of his name in between and waved his hand with a faint smile.

“Hello.”

When he said Hello, it felt like he was at a soccer stadium. Because the airport was filled with greetings.

“Has everyone been well?”

HALO asked as if he was greeting his neighbors, and the voices of those who came to see him mixed together.

“I think I’ll be staying in LA for a while-.”

“Did you know? LA is the safest and most dazzling city in the world!”

“Please stay forever!”

“You don’t have to pay taxes, your music is enough.”

But surprisingly, even in that noisy situation, they were quiet when HALO opened his mouth.

“-Please take care of me until then.”

But it seems difficult to stay calm at this time.

A loud roar echoed, and HALO walked forward from a distance that seemed to touch his hand, as if he was used to it.

“No matter how I look at him, he’s too weak. I have to go to his house every day and see if there are any suspicious guys.”

“If you see any suspicious guys, break their backs right away.”

“Is that enough? You have to shoot them in the back of the head with a shotgun.”

It wasn’t clear whether they were fans, stalker fans, or something else, but HALO always smiled faintly at his cool fans.

The move wasn’t difficult, but the members looked tired from the moment they came out of the airport. There was no expectation of going to the United States at all. It’s not new, but it’s like their minds have gone out.

“Keuk, I will try harder.”

Of course, Nam Gyu-hwan was an exception.

The studio that August Veil gave was gathered in a wealthy neighborhood without high-rise buildings. HALO found a large garden, and then found a dog quietly looking at him in one corner.

As he was having a staring contest with the big dog, the manager said that it was a dog that the previous residents had abandoned. When he looked at him to take him home today, HALO thought it was okay to leave him alone.

The way he waddled slowly was just like an old dog, and HALO didn’t hate dogs. Of course, if the members were allergic, he would have to send them elsewhere, but it didn’t seem like they were allergic since all three of them ran to the dog.

After dividing the rooms on their own, he took a walk around the swimming pool and fountain in the garden and ran into the owner of the house next door.

“Hello?”

He seemed embarrassed when he found HALO.

Why are you here? His eyes trembled, and he slowly approached the boy.

Because he took it as a sign to get along well as a neighbor to greet him first even though there were many things that happened.

“So you’re-.”

“Ah, my name is-.”

“Were you the 69th HALO?”

“!”

And because he had a clear expression without any wrinkles, Jason doubted his ears.

“No, you were the 86th HALO.”

But Jason was sure when he heard it again.

He wasn’t an ordinary person, just like he was back then.

Jason couldn’t say anything because he had committed a crime. The crime of lying about being HALO in the past and mocking the boy at Coachella came back to him like a boomerang.

“I just wanted to say hello.”

But the boy waved his hand as if it was nothing, and soon held out his right hand.

‘What is this?’

He didn’t seem easygoing, but was he kinder than he thought? He was more confused because he was going back and forth. Whether this was good will or something else.

Jason hesitated and reached out his hand.

He hoped to get along better in the future by shaking hands.

At that time, strength entered the hand he shook.

Jason finally realized that this bastard wasn’t kind, but he wasn’t an ordinary tenacious guy.

“I’m HALO too, nice to meet you.”

He was bitten wrong.