The Road To Glory [EN]: Chapter 391

# 39 Halo

Hmm-.

Caroline sighed.

For some reason, her boss didn’t seem interested in looking at the contract she presented today. He couldn’t concentrate on his work and kept groaning.

What a day!

He was clearly distracted by something. He hadn’t even turned on the usual classical or jazz music that always played softly in the office.

“What on earth is wrong?”

Caroline, who was doing her work, couldn’t stand the occasional groans any longer.

“To think I missed the chance when it came. Oh, my stomach.”

His words were full of regret.

Caroline crossed her arms and looked at her boss before placing a cup of black chamomile tea in front of him. A fragrant floral scent wafted up.

“You know what day it is today, right?”

A day that I, you, and everyone else has been waiting for.

Caroline’s gaze seemed to energize her boss.

Regret was already too late.

Since the past couldn’t be undone, he had to focus on the present.

“It’s not long now.”

‘He’ had notified them to meet at three o’clock.

Caroline and August didn’t find this method of notification strange at all. It was typical of people who knew they were in a position of power.

‘Right…’

August let go of his lingering attachment to the ‘boy.’

If that child succeeded, he would meet him again someday. Of course, if someone else snatched him up first, he would be very upset.

“If fate exists, we’ll meet someday.”

August drank the chamomile tea. The clean, apple-like scent of the chamomile cleared his mind. It was time to concentrate on work again.

And a few hours later.

After receiving a message that he had arrived, August Veil, along with Caroline, went to the lobby and faced the boy again today.

The boy stood out among the Eastern family sitting and chatting.

August approached the boy, caught between surprise and joy.

The ‘Sun,’ whom everyone had been hush-hushing about like someone whose name must not be spoken, was here.

His appearance, age, and race were not what he had expected, but it was certain that this boy was the ‘Sun.’

Because the name ‘HALO’ suited the boy better than anyone else.

#

“Why do you go out alone? We let you be in Korea because it’s safe, but you know foreign countries aren’t, right?”

“I just woke up early and went for a walk. Nothing happened.”

It was a time that couldn’t simply be called a walk, but his mother and father didn’t scold him. They also felt responsible for sleeping soundly and leaving their child alone while traveling.

“From now on, let’s go together no matter what.”

That was a promise he couldn’t keep.

Halo, knowing himself well, didn’t give a definite answer.

He vaguely changed the subject, suggesting to his mother that they have brunch. He ignored his father’s sharp gaze from behind.

“Hmm, will this do?”

His mother and father, dressed in suits for the meeting, were a little sensitive. They were determined not to be ignored because they were Asian and English wasn’t their first language.

On the other hand, Halo leisurely waited for his parents in a coat. He had some free time in between, so he bought tickets at the ticket booth selling remaining tickets for a musical that day and had fish and chips and a soda for brunch.

His mother, who said she wouldn’t eat because she had indigestion, tried the melting cod fritters and ordered another one.

And they took a tour bus around the city and moved to the meeting location around 2 p.m.

“This is…”

[VEIL]

His mother, who had imagined a rigid logistics company or a Silicon Valley startup as a distributor, was startled.

The lobby of Veil was more like a well-made gallery than a company. Various LPs [long-playing records] were hung on the walls, and a small stage was set up in the center.

As if anyone could perform on this stage.

They had been worried that they had been scammed because the company building was small for a music distributor holding the European market, so they looked around the company with interested faces.

What was unusual was that there wasn’t a single person in the lobby.

“They said they’re coming down soon.”

Halo, who had contacted the number he matched at the airport,

looked at the records on the wall.

Most of them were names he didn’t know, but the design of the records showed what kind of music they made.

He would have to listen to them to know more.

He wondered if there was a turntable anywhere. As he looked around, Halo met the eyes of two people who came out of the elevator.

One was a white woman in her mother’s age group with her blonde hair tied back. The woman, wearing a turtleneck under her coat, had a sociable and bright atmosphere.

And behind her was an old man with a slightly protruding belly, whom you could often see on the street.

The woman looked a little surprised to see Halo and his mother and father, but soon smiled brightly.

“Welcome to Veil. Mr. Halo, and your family. I’m Caroline O’Sullivan, who will be in charge of your contract today. Please feel free to call me Caroline.”

Mrs. Caroline introduced herself neatly and walked forward with a click-clack, and reached out her hand as if she was truly moved.

“It’s an honor to meet you, Mr. Halo, as a fan.”

To his father, who was standing blankly.

“…”

“…”

His father slowly looked at Caroline’s hand, and Caroline didn’t notice anything strange at all.

His mother rolled her eyes.

There was Halo, watching the situation as if it was fun. He didn’t bother to step in and was smiling with his arms crossed.

In fact, Halo was amused.

Just like those who inferred his identity in the comments, Caroline also seemed to think of him as middle-aged or older.

Caroline’s face slowly began to tremble.

She was still smiling like a businesswoman, but she seemed to realize that she had made a mistake.

Her pupils moved slowly and turned to his mother.

“Could it be… Mrs.?”

His mother smiled awkwardly.

Caroline admitted her mistake and turned her hand to his mother.

At that moment.

A clapping sound rang out!

It wasn’t Halo who clapped, but the old man who had been standing behind Caroline.

The old man walked in front of Caroline.

The old man, who looked like an ordinary London grandfather, was gone.

You could feel the spirit of a manager in the highest position.

“One mistake is enough. Please forgive the rudeness, Mr. Halo. It’s because I didn’t manage my employees well. Let me introduce myself again.”

The old man made eye contact with his father and passed him,

He also made eye contact with his mother and passed her. And in front of Halo, the old man bent down to meet his eye level.

“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Halo.”

Halo realized that this old man was someone he had encountered before. What are the chances of meeting the same person twice on the streets of London?

And what are the chances that that person would recognize him?

“It’s nice to meet you too.”

Halo smiled and reached out his hand.

“I’m Halo.”

#

August Veil, or rather, the old man who introduced himself as the owner of Veil, slowly led Halo and showed him around the inside. He postponed the detailed tour until after the contract and only introduced the hallway leading to the conference room, but a lot of stories came out.

That ‘Veil’ is targeting DIY (DO IT YOURSELF) musicians, how the contracted singers are, the types of singers they mainly contract with, and the standard contract details.

Caroline followed without saying a word. She wasn’t embarrassed by her mistake, but she occasionally looked at him, thinking that Halo was angry.

‘I’m not really angry.’

The mistake was funny and understandable, so he didn’t feel unpleasant. In fact, Nohaeil was only a middle school student who had just started growing – he checked that he had grown 2cm more at the hotel. If someone was in their right mind, they wouldn’t think of him as Halo.

Of course, he was also 16 years old when he created ‘struggle,’ but he had lived through a desolate period, so there was a big difference between him and Nohaeil.

‘It’s more likely that this person is not in his right mind.’

Or he has a good eye for people.

It’s possible to apply the elimination method rather than realizing that he was Halo at once after seeing him.

Because his mother and father don’t have the unique atmosphere of musicians.

The main point came out in the business meeting room, unlike the lobby.

August Veil didn’t spout sweet words such as what our company would do for you, what the vision is, and how to make money, but simply showed the contract. If the email was in a compressed form, the contract was now the original.

“The first party grants the second party exclusive distribution rights for the recordings planned and produced by the first party, and the second party pays the first party a certain percentage of the profits according to the sound source distribution performance.”

As a music distributor, there was no big difference in the contract from a record company. It was the same in that it dealt with percentage settlement, and the only difference was that it dealt only with distribution.

Halo scrolled down the contract and found that the settlement ratio was actually blank.

“What is this?”

“These are the things we need to decide from now on.”

August took out a fountain pen and filled in the blanks for the record membership fee and the YouTube royalty collection fee in front of Halo, who was expressing his doubts.

“This is the general standard contract.”

Single $9.99

Album $29.99

YouTube Royalty Collection 20%

Indie musicians who sign with Veil usually receive this contract. Compared to other aggregators, many musicians were satisfied with the low collection rate. The stronger their love and belief in their music, the more they were satisfied with their profits.

But this is just a general contract.

August smiled when he made eye contact with Halo and tore up the contract. He raised both hands as if to tell his startled family not to be surprised.

In the meantime, Caroline handed over a new contract.

“And this is the modified contract. A single is $9 and an album is $25, and the YouTube royalty commission is a contract that the person in charge gives out when they really want to sign with the musician up to 10%.”

The father, who was listening together from the side, raised his eyebrows. The commission collection fee was more noticeable than the membership fee. 10% from 20% was a very big difference. Even though he hadn’t seen this contract much, he seemed to know that it was a pretty favorable contract for the musician.

“And?”

Halo asked without even flinching at the ratio. If it was another musician, they would have been horrified and already signed it.

His mother and father glanced at August Veil and Caroline. They reacted as if their son’s bargaining was natural.

August Veil smiled brightly and picked up the fountain pen again. Just before the pen tip touched the contract, his mouth opened.

“Before writing, I would like to tell you about Veil’s sincerity towards Mr. Halo.”

Caroline flinched at that moment.

Regardless, August opened his mouth.

“When I first heard Mr. Halo’s music-.”

It was perhaps a long story.

How enthusiastic he was when he first heard his music. In fact, it seemed more like August Veil’s sincerity than the company’s sincerity.

At least, judging from the fact that Caroline’s face was getting paler and paler, it wasn’t a planned word.

But the old man, who was calmly telling old stories, was trustworthy, and it was enough to soften his parents’ hearts.

Halo wasn’t particularly impressed, but it wasn’t bad either.

It was a strange feeling.

It was the first time that the representative of a company had given his impressions of his music without talking about how good his grades were or how much profit he made.

It’s not surprising that his music is great, but it seemed like his chemistry with this eccentric inspiration wouldn’t be bad.

Besides, the old man in front of him was the first to recognize him. In a state where he didn’t know anything about him.

Well, it might be a coincidence.

To put it another way, he could be a crazy old man.

Still, ‘first’ was quite meaningful.

Like the first album or the first lover.

The old man was the first to recognize Halo in this world, and Halo introduced himself for the first time.

‘Nice to meet you. I’m Halo.’

Maybe at that time, his heart was half inclined.

“This is Veil’s heart, wishing for Mr. Halo’s glory.”

August Veil, who had finished his story, picked up the fountain pen.

Unlimited distribution fee $1

YouTube Royalty 1%

#

The meeting is over.

That didn’t mean the contract was over.

It was clear that it was a contract that was favorable to Halo and made no sense, but his parents wanted to have it reviewed by a lawyer they knew, and August Veil readily accepted the postponement of the signing.

As if he was sure that Halo would sign with him.

“Then, I’ll contact you again soon.”

His parents got up from their seats, and Halo also got up.

At that time, August Veil opened his mouth.

“If you don’t mind, can I talk to Mr. Halo separately?”

This time, he asked his parents, not Halo.

“…Now?”

“Yes, I want to talk to Mr. Halo.”

When his parents showed a puzzled look, August Veil added.

“I’m not trying to persuade you to sign a separate contract. I know that Mr. Halo is currently a minor, and I actually believe that the contract will be concluded even if I don’t persuade you. What I want to talk about is, however.”

His gaze towards Halo is hot.

Like an old fan treating him. He realized that he was fidgeting, wanting to say a lot. The praise that he had disguised as the company’s sincerity earlier didn’t come out for nothing.

“Rather than as a prospective partner, as a fan of the singer Halo. I want to have a conversation.”

It was to the point where he wondered how he had hidden it until now.

“Halo, what about you?”

When his mother asked, Halo nodded.

“I want to talk too. You can go first.”

“No, how can I leave you behind?”

“I’ll guide you through Veil. There are many fun and special places in Veil that you’ll find interesting.”

Caroline, who roughly noticed the nuance of the conversation even though it was in Korean, said with a delighted expression.

“It would be even better if you refer to it when you sign the contract.”

His mother seemed a little tempted by that.

“Do you want to talk to Grandpa for a bit?”

“Yes. Go ahead.”

His mother and father exchanged glances.

Soon his father also nodded.

His parents, who had given Halo a look once, left the meeting room following Caroline’s guidance.