The Road To Glory [EN]: Chapter 561

# 56 What the World Loves Most

[10. Recurring Life (‘Starting Today, We’ – Hee-tae theme (Reprise))│ Noh Hae-il]

In the end, the OST [original sound track] didn’t climb any higher, finishing at 10th place. However, this song wasn’t just left as a song that reached 10th place.

As I’ve already said, it has several modifiers.

A better song than the main OST.

A song that beat a Billboard artist’s track.

Not only that, people added this song to their playlists, treated it like their number one song, and took an interest in the owner of the OST, whom they usually wouldn’t have known.

They recognized a new name, ‘Noh Hae-il.’

‘Recognition’ doesn’t simply mean becoming aware of existence.

Just as actor Lee Jung-min, who played Hee-tae in [Starting Today, We], rose to stardom and received offers from various variety shows, interest in the rookie singer ‘Noh Hae-il’ also surged.

Not just as a rookie who luckily got into the top ten with a good OST, but as a singer.

In particular, as actor Lee Jung-min, who appeared on variety shows, and the music director, who was known to have created the theme song, revealed behind-the-scenes stories, the name ‘Noh Hae-il’ gradually became known.

[Hee-tae’s Lee Jung-min “I’m really grateful to Noh Hae-il for singing Hee-tae’s theme ···”]

[A Masterpiece OST That Made a Supporting Role a Leading Role]

[Interview │ Music Director Park Jung-ho “There is a separate composer for the variation of the Hee-tae theme in ‘Starting Today, We’···.”]

Also, isn’t the entertainment industry a place where small things are made big and big things are made even bigger?

There was no way they would miss a ‘rookie’ who achieved higher scores than the main OST, which was most exposed in the drama, the popular idol’s lively dance song, and the established singer’s ballad.

Along with magazines and interviews, broadcasting offers poured in like a tide.

“Broadcasting, huh.”

Hae-il crossed his arms.

He was conflicted.

He had become busy while completely scrapping the music source [original music file].

However, there was no reason why he couldn’t make time.

He had been tormented by inspiration all night, working on his MIDI [Musical Instrument Digital Interface], and it was going well. HALO’s 4th album was already finished and was being remade.

Hae-il cleared his throat, making sure not to strain it.

He just had to avoid overdoing the recording.

Noh Hae-il’s body was still growing, and his vocal cords were in a sensitive period, so he had to handle them carefully to avoid injury.

Hae-il then stretched.

The bones, stiff from working all night, made cracking sounds.

A desolate appearance reflected in the mirror.

He should have slept more to grow taller. He regretted it for a moment.

The regret didn’t last long. After washing up, Hae-il dried his hair with a towel and checked the casting request emails again.

His parents had declared that they would not interfere with his music and broadcasting activities. With the corporation also approved, he could do what he wanted, or not do it if he didn’t want to.

Hae-il sat on the sofa and looked through the list.

“Hmm.”

Talk shows, interviews, and things like that were the main ones.

Not bad. The thing he was facing right before he died was also a talk show, and it wasn’t like he had only done it once or twice. As for interviews, well, the questions would be obvious.

Hae-il nodded, recalling the interviews he had done as a rookie.

“But not necessarily right now.”

He could do an interview about Hee-tae’s reprise, but that felt like a distraction.

If he were to do an interview, he wanted it to be an interview that focused entirely on him. It wouldn’t be too late to do it after releasing the album and music.

In fact, the same goes for other variety shows.

Hae-il enjoyed hanging out with people, but music always came first. A place where there was music, a place where he could make music, and a place where he could enjoy it. If he appeared on TV, it would be for those reasons. There was no place without music.

He still felt the same way.

If he were to participate in a broadcast, he wanted to do something related to music. Even if a concert was difficult due to a lack of stamina, a program that dealt with things he liked, such as mini-concerts or busking [performing music in public places for donations].

Surely there would be one, right?

“Oh my, ‘Lee Hwan-hee’s Sketchbook’ has also sent an offer.”

“Do you know it?”

“Of course, I know it. It’s one of the things your mother watches.”

Hae-il tilted his head.

He skipped over it, thinking it was a show about drawing, just from the name Sketchbook. He wondered if his mother watched things like that.

When Hae-il looked clueless, his mother explained, saying, ‘You know, that one.’

“Was it last week or the week before that Hwang Yong-pil came out? That PD [production director] is really good at casting. I thought so, and they do have an eye for talent.”

Hwang Yong-pil was the artist who sang ‘Flight.’

That person came out to draw?

When Hae-il tilted his head, his mother turned on the TV for him. It was paused in the middle, as if she had been watching it.

A band consisting of session musicians and a vocalist.

“!”

Hae-il immediately realized that it wasn’t a show about drawing, as he had thought.

“Should I play it from the beginning?”

“No, it’s okay.”

His mother glanced at Hae-il and pressed the play button.

Both the video and music started from the middle, but it wasn’t difficult to get immersed. Hae-il hugged a cushion and focused on watching the program.

A mini-concert taking place in a studio. The audience responding to it. And talk show segments inserted in the middle of the concert.

-Could we also hear about your teacher’s sketches?

-It’s at the level of a sketch, so it might be a bit disappointing, but let’s do it once. Haha.

-Disappointing? It’s an honor, teacher!

Just as Hae-il had hoped, it was a program that focused solely on music and artists.

Although the talk show wasn’t planned.

The moment he discovered the live stage and the audience, Hae-il strongly wanted to do it.

As always, one motive was enough to move him.

#

Lee Hwan-hee’s Sketchbook is a music show that has been loved by viewers for a long time.

There are several reasons why it is loved.

The host’s witty remarks, a long-running program, the composition, etc.

But above all, it has become a long-running program loved by viewers because it casts artists of various genres that are not easily seen on any other music show.

Indie bands that are hardly known to the public.

Independent artists who are not affiliated with large agencies.

Also, famous artists and idols, etc.

In fact, musicians who make music in Korea came out and showed their live performances, and shared music talks with Lee Hwan-hee.

The program’s composition was all that, but it had a lot to see due to its characteristics. The public’s ears were delighted by the live performances, and they learned about the existence of new artists. Conversely, artists could fully showcase their skills and make their names known.

However, these live stages could also be a double-edged sword.

If their skills were excellent, it didn’t matter, but in the opposite case, it became a broadcast that revealed everything.

And as a side note, the camera also had a high reputation for being notorious.

The production team denies that it was intentional, but some of the bizarre photos that occasionally circulate on the internet came from ‘Lee Hwan-hee’s Sketchbook.’

So, the staff who went to pick up the rookie who had arrived at the broadcasting station lobby was startled to see a boy wearing a hoodie and carrying only an acoustic guitar.

“Hello.”

“Hello, uh, Mr. Noh Hae-il?”

“Yes. This is Noh Hae-il.”

He had heard that he was seventeen years old, but he was taken aback when he saw him in person.

Exactly seventeen years old, not to mention his bare face.

He couldn’t believe that the boy, who greeted him with a faint smile, sang such a song.

The boy following behind is innocent.

He doesn’t make a fuss about celebrities, but he looked around with curious eyes.

“Is this your first time on TV?”

“That’s···right.”

The boy suddenly laughs.

The FD [floor director], thinking he was just a kid who laughed a lot, explained the camera angles and structure. It was his first time on TV, so he had to let him know so he wouldn’t be flustered.

“Mr. Noh Hae-il, you can talk while looking at Lee Hwan-hee. It would be nice if you looked at the camera sometimes···.”

What’s in front of him is, again, a rookie.

Moreover, a broadcasting novice who has not received separate trainee training from an agency.

The FD didn’t have high expectations for his gaze.

Rather, he was relieved that he didn’t seem too nervous in front of the camera.

Due to the nature of the program, there were many artists who did well, but as soon as they stood in front of the camera, or came to an unfamiliar place, they became nervous and trembled.

“You don’t have to force yourself to talk a lot, just be comfortable. Forcing it makes it weird. The teacher [Lee Hwan-hee] will adjust well.”

“I understand.”

“Oh, and the audience will come in and fill this place. Don’t be too embarrassed by the large number of people.”

The FD showed him the large audience seats, and the boy nodded and looked down at the stage with subtle eyes.

The FD then smoothly took the boy to the waiting room, where no one had arrived yet. He didn’t feel anything strange until he received the PD’s question, ‘How was it?’

“How was it?”

The FD then recalled that the boy was strangely quiet and leisurely looking around the studio.

“Come to think of it, strangely.”

“Why?”

“He followed me well.”

He didn’t get lost in the messy lines. He wasn’t embarrassed by the many explanations. He didn’t know if he heard it properly, but he had no fear of broadcasting, and···. He didn’t ask a single question.

What should I say.

“He seemed familiar.”

“Maybe he has a talent for broadcasting.”

“It didn’t feel like that.”

There are some people who are born to be on TV.

But his attitude was more like he was really familiar with it.

From throwing his gaze at the camera before he told him to, to checking the session composition and looking at the stage, it wouldn’t be strange if he was an established singer.

“Okay, let’s start now. Let’s go.”

The FD nodded in agreement.

#

Hae-il took a breath.

The dark stage where the lights didn’t reach.

The audience couldn’t see him, but he could feel every movement and breath of the audience.

He exhaled a long breath.

An opaque smoke, whether it was dry ice or his breath, enveloped his eyes. It was comfortable to breathe. He felt like he had returned to his hometown.

‘This is fun.’

He looked around distractedly with the microphone in his hand.

Without knowing that the staff were looking at him with anxious hearts.

‘Is he nervous?’

‘Suddenly?’

‘Well, a kid who was fine can suddenly get sick.’

Hae-il felt the breath of people who seemed nervous.

Yes, the stage always started like this.

The audience was more excited and more nervous than the artist.

He enjoyed blowing away that tension in an instant.

The FD didn’t say anything, but he knew that there was a famous Korean singer in the next order. Some of them came to see someone other than him.

Hae-il smiled crookedly.

But well, it doesn’t matter.

No matter who they’re waiting for, they’ll soon stop looking at them.

Isn’t what the world loves most him on stage?

Hae-il closed his eyes and slowly opened his mouth.

A sweet voice flowed into the high-performance microphone.

Along with it, he grabbed someone’s breath.

:

Among them, there were definitely people who knew that the OST singer of ‘Starting Today, We’ was coming. But most of them came expecting Shin Joo-hyuk’s stage.

But right now, at this moment.

No one could think of a name other than ‘Noh Hae-il.’

From the moment they heard the boy’s voice.

They fell into the song, no, the stage, as if possessed.

He doesn’t have a glamorous appearance, but they can’t take their eyes off the boy.

The boy was dominating the stage before they even noticed.

The boy, who casually belted out high notes that others said were breathless, smiled as he discovered people’s blank reactions.

As if he knew it would be like that.

“Is he a rookie?”

The camera director filmed the scene as if possessed.

Stealing not only the audience’s breath but also the camera’s gaze was not something anyone could do.

“Wow!”

Lee Hwan-hee, the host, approached Hae-il. The middle-aged man in a suit with his hair neatly swept back stared at Hae-il intently, exclaimed once again, and applauded.

For quite a long time.

Without even telling the guest to sit down.

“He’s completely fallen in love.”

The PD muttered.

As he said, Lee Hwan-hee seemed to have fallen in love with the artist ‘Noh Hae-il.’

Even while introducing him and chatting, he looked at Noh Hae-il with an expression that viewers described as ‘he’s going to eat the guest up.’

And really interestingly, the boy, who was probably being exposed to people for the first time, accepted such gazes as if he were used to them.

What should I say, it looked like a famous artist and his ardent fan, not a rookie and a host.

It’s not that he doesn’t understand.

Lee Hwan-hee could see the potential of artists to some extent. The PD, who had been watching rookies and their growth for a long time, was also convinced when he saw the boy, so how would it look in Lee Hwan-hee’s eyes?

Of course, since he wasn’t Lee Hwan-hee, there was no way to know the teacher’s thoughts, but the PD knew that the boy would rise high before long.

Really strangely, the talk went smoothly.

In fact, half of it was praise. Praise that would be burdensome for a rookie. But just like he didn’t care about the gazes, the boy nodded subtly or agreed as if the praise was natural.

Not only his singing skills but also his attitude and eloquence were not awkward, so no one thought of the boy as a rookie.

Lee Hwan-hee, who had been excitedly talking about the boy and music for a long time, was really disappointed when the writer wrote down the remaining time on the sketchbook.

He wanted to hold on to him and talk all day if he could.

He really liked the child named ‘Noh Hae-il.’

However, he put his regret aside and headed to the last segment like a professional.

“I heard that you are working on a new song.”

“Yes, I am currently working on an album.”

“Can you tell us a little bit about the album?”

Hae-il nodded at the question.

“I tried a new approach. Everyone will like it.”

“Oh!”

Lee Hwan-hee, who thought that a new attempt meant roughly a new genre, smiled contentedly while admiring the artist’s confidence.

“If it’s not too much to ask, can we hear it? If you have an MR [music recorded track], you can give it to us now.”

“I made it in a hurry last night, so I don’t have an MR right now, but I’ll let you hear about a measure [a short segment of the song].”

Hae-il smiled brightly and grabbed the acoustic guitar, and Lee Hwan-hee smiled brightly accordingly, then tilted his head at a strange word.

“Last night?”