The Road To Glory [EN]: Chapter 2071

[Extra] 9. Welcome to My Home

All eyes turned toward the young boy.

Some people thought:

‘Why is he moving so inefficiently?’

Recording nature’s sounds might seem difficult at first, but all you need is patience and a step-by-step approach.

You just sit still, and if it’s not the sound you want, you erase it and record again. That’s all there is to it.

Before anyone knew it, Halo, standing on the hillside, raised his arm.

Whether he wanted to record the trees swaying or the wind, I don’t know, but I knew he’d stay there for a while before moving on.

To put it nicely, he’s an enthusiastic beginner. To put it badly, is he just hyperactive [ADHD]? He just seemed to be doing things inefficiently.

But no one said anything to Halo.

Professor Ma had told them to leave him alone, and strangely, it felt like they shouldn’t bother him.

And even though they didn’t know what he was doing, watching the diverse expressions that flitted across his face while recording was quite enjoyable. They wondered what he could be recording to look so happy.

The graduate students, who felt they were dragged here for the professor’s project and talent donation, envied him.

Time passed.

“Cough… Hmm! What, what is it…?”

“Nothing happened.”

In this place where only the sounds of nature remained, someone woke up startled by the sound of their own snoring.

“Boss! Have a sandwich.”

Even as they sat around eating sandwiches together, Halo roamed here and there.

As the sun began to set, the professor stood up.

“Let’s head down.”

The sun sets early in the mountains.

Especially in deserted places.

The graduate students’ faces brightened at Professor Ma’s words. They would have normally recorded at night, but it seemed they were finishing early because of Seo-yeon Moon and Halo.

“Since we’re finishing early today-”

Can we finally go home?

The professor’s words had never been so exciting.

“Let’s go back and organize the data.”

“!”

Seo-yeon Moon chuckled at their despairing expressions and looked around.

‘Where did the boss go?’

He was gone the moment she took her eyes off him.

“Boss!”

Seo-yeon headed to the last place she saw him.

“Boss?”

Her voice echoed, but no one answered. The fallen leaves rustled on the ground.

That’s when it happened.

Something swooped down from the side.

“!”

Seo-yeon, startled and unable to scream, was even more surprised when she realized that Halo had fallen from above.

“Did you call me?”

“Yes! But, Boss, why are you up there…?”

What if you fall from the tree?

No, before that, since when could this person climb trees so well?

Halo, not even realizing he had a leaf stuck to his head, grinned and gestured upwards.

Seo-yeon Moon followed his gaze.

And she-.

“Wow.”

She exclaimed softly and covered her mouth.

A nest hidden among the tangled tree branches could be seen. Birds poked their heads out and chirped.

It was such a small sound that she almost didn’t hear it unless she strained her ears.

“So cute.”

Seo-yeon, afraid of breaking or startling them if she touched them, tapped one foot.

“How did you find it?”

“One of them fell out of the nest and was crying.”

Ah, so that’s why he climbed up the tree. Seo-yeon nodded in understanding and looked at the baby birds.

“But why did you call me?”

“Ah! Right. I heard we’re leaving soon. Is there anything left to record?”

“No.”

Halo shrugged.

Unlike someone who had been running around with a microphone, it was as if he had recorded everything he wanted to, or perhaps he had lost interest in collecting sounds.

“Can I listen to it?”

“Of course.”

“Then let’s listen in the car later!”

Unfortunately, Seo-yeon Moon didn’t get to listen to the recording.

“Ah, but Seo-yeon. Do you have time later-”

Professor Ma, turning around because his prized student didn’t answer, found the boy sleeping with his arms crossed and his prized student fast asleep with her head against the window.

“They must be very tired.”

Professor Ma smiled faintly and turned his head to face forward. Two cars drove off into the setting sun.

#

PD [Production Director] Namgoong trembled.

Damn it, why did I do that? I should have followed them.

“Oh my god…”

PD Namgoong felt a sense of foreboding, no, anticipation, at Seo-yeon Moon’s words that the boss carried the camera himself, but the result was truly…

“Oh, Sun God.”

PD Namgoong offered condolences to the video and his future self.

The beginning of the video wasn’t bad. The camera was in clear focus, and Halo’s contemplation after the conversation with the professor was charming in itself.

But the problem started when Halo started carrying the camera.

A cataclysm.

Was this how God felt when he created the world?

Not only was the focus off, but the angle started to shake.

It was as extreme as riding a roller coaster.

Moreover, Halo wasn’t even in the usable footage. No, it would have been better if someone else had been in it.

Dirt…

Soil.

Tree trunks and branches.

Clear water.

And Aaaagh!

PD Namgoong, who was almost exorcised by the intense sunlight, took a deep breath.

There was footage of Halo, but it was just a blurry shot of his back as he walked around with a microphone in the distance.

What would happen if I zoomed in on this?

…It, it’ll work, right?

PD Namgoong, who had given a thumbs up and said “It’s the best” when Halo asked how the video was, currently had a very sore stomach. Of course, if Halo asked again, he would give the same answer.

PD Namgoong set aside today’s video for now and checked YouTube.

Today was finally the day.

The day that was teased in the teaser,

D-0

:

Click.

The office worker opened a can of beer from the freezer and sat on the sofa.

These days, times are so good that you can watch YouTube on a smart TV.

The office worker put it on Do Not Disturb mode and leaned against the wall.

A sip of beer seemed to relieve all the stress from work.

I heard it would be released first as a live stream.

Even though it was 25 minutes before the stream, viewers were already gathering.

[Finally ㅠㅠㅠ]

[Oh oh, it’s soon]

[good morning]

As if coordinates had been 찍힌 [taken; designated] somewhere, the number of viewers was increasing.

Well, it had already attracted aggro [attention], and people had been talking about it everywhere since yesterday.

In reality, the office worker didn’t understand if that many people would actually watch the stream, but the community seemed to have gone crazy.

The office worker knew that people were curious about the lives of stars, but he didn’t understand why they were making such a fuss.

Anyway, the remaining 25 minutes were too long for the office worker.

Even after spending a long time 고민 [agonizing; contemplating] on the 배달의 일족 [Baedal’s Clan; a food delivery app] app and ordering 불족발 [spicy pig’s feet], there were still 10 minutes left.

Around that time, internet articles started popping up.

Halo’s web entertainment show would be uploaded soon.

I don’t really understand the difference between a community and an article.

Anyway, now there’s only 1 minute left.

The viewers also counted down.

[3]

[2]

[1]

[ㄱㄱㄱㄱ] [Let’s go!]

A familiar song was heard.

The instrumental of Nohaeil’s first full-length album, Welcome to my world.

Along with it, the screen brightened and showed a boy playing the guitar. The boy, dressed casually in a short-sleeved shirt and jeans, strummed the famous Halo guitar.

Footage of an indoor recording studio, which was said to be less than the stage footage.

Before he could even think that the production team was being unfair by using their 필살기 [trump card; secret weapon] from the start, the boy’s hand stopped at some point.

The boy, staring at something, smiled.

I don’t know if he met someone he was happy to see or heard a funny joke.

But he looked happy, and even made the viewers smile.

Behind him, a soft song played.

Welcome to my world.

[EP 01. Welcome to my home]

And at the scenery that appeared immediately after, the office worker exclaimed, ‘Oh.’

#

“Ugh.”

Crack.

As Assistant Ahn stretched, bones 울렸다 [creaked; popped] all over his body. But those who were with him couldn’t make fun of Assistant Ahn.

It wasn’t that there was anything wrong with their relationship with Assistant Ahn, it’s just that they didn’t have the energy to make fun of him.

The dark circles reaching down to his chin were nothing new, and everyone twisted their bodies like zombies.

Nevertheless, the only chance they had to fully rest was the 15 minutes they took to go to the bathroom.

In fact, Professor Ma wasn’t forcing them to do the project. It’s just that Professor Ma was working without moving an inch, and it was hard to say that they would go in first.

And it was something they had to do anyway.

Listening to what we had recorded while wandering around the Korean peninsula for days was harder than wandering around.

The 졸졸졸 [trickling] flowing was now sounding like a toilet, and this… Who recorded this?

Ah, it was me?

Assistant Ahn shook his head, listening to the sound of the stream flowing for what felt like the hundredth time.

That’s when it happened.

One of the graduate students, utterly fed up, rummaged through the folders to clear his head.

Just to see how much was left.

It was a meaningless act, but he pretended it was meaningful and counted.

Then, the graduate student tilted his head.

Unlike the other folders with huge capacities, there was one folder with an unusually small capacity.

When he clicked on it, there was only one file.

‘What is this?’

The graduate student, who was about to get angry thinking that there was a 무임승차 [freeloader; someone who got a free ride] among them, realized that it was the most recently recorded file after looking at the date.

And that there were two helpers today.

It must be one of them.

‘Come to think of it, I didn’t even get an autograph. Damn it.’

The graduate student grumbled about not only hiking on the weekend but also not getting a 인증사진 [proof shot; commemorative photo] even after seeing Halo.

Click.

This must be Halo’s, right?

What would the work of someone famous as a musical genius be like?

Even though he thought it would all sound the same, Halo really walked around here and there seriously in his memory.

What did he record to have such a satisfied look on his face?

The graduate student put his headphones back on and pressed the space bar.

“…”

A very small, but delicate sound of wind was heard.

It wasn’t just a common wind sound, but the sound of the wind starting to blow, so the graduate student thought he had caught it well for a beginner.

But when the sound disappeared completely as if in a vacuum, the graduate student felt disappointed without realizing it.

‘The sound is good, but it’s a shame. I wonder if I can edit it.’

That’s when it happened.

Suddenly, raindrops fell 투두둑 [pitter-patter].

It sounded like a xylophone.

‘…? ‘

And gradually the wind spread.

In an instant, the plants raised their heads in a tremendous wind.

The ripples of the water spread.

It was as if someone was gently caressing the stream. Along with it, the wind grew stronger and stronger, and even the sound of clothes 걸리고 [catching] and 부딪히는 [rustling] felt like one of the components of this mountain.

The sunlight settled down, and the leaves spread out in the touch of the wind.

The sounds come together.

The noise they talked about couldn’t have been more beautiful at this moment.

Didn’t we used to be in the same place?

But why does it sound different? The sound I heard wasn’t like this.

The graduate student rubbed his arm.

“Professor…”

“What is it?”

Professor Ma looked for the timid voice.

The graduate student answered without knowing what expression he was making.

“I think you should listen to it.”

The graduate student didn’t know how to define this.

What was certain was,

This is neither the sound of a stream nor the sound of wind.

It’s not the sound they wanted.

Since it’s not any sound, it can’t be used as auditory data.

So I don’t know if it should be discarded.

-I’m trying to find the sound that I miss with my eyes open.

The graduate student felt like he could understand the complex demands that the professor had been making all along.

Because this was a sound that ‘he’ in the same place could never hear.