The Road To Glory [EN]: Chapter 711

< The Song of a Hero - 71 >

Halo took a deep breath.

It felt like just the other day he was giving a demonstration at the campsite, but already he found himself backstage, filled with nervous energy.

“Mr. No, Hae-il.”

Though the stage wasn’t open yet, Halo was soaking in the atmosphere, his mind racing. To some, he looked nervous; to others, he seemed like a child in front of a gift box.

“Here’s water. If you need anything or feel uncomfortable, please let me know.”

The speaker was Team Leader Park, Hwang, Ryong-pil’s manager.

Team Leader Park, whom he had met at Hwang, Ryong-pil’s home, had been taking care of him like a personal manager ever since.

Though he was puzzled by his kindness, Halo accepted it without overthinking. In fact, most of the people he met on set were becoming increasingly kind to him.

It felt similar to his early rookie days, so Halo didn’t dwell on it.

“The lift is coming up, please be careful.”

The staff moved busily.

Reeve, ascending on the lift, was wearing a pristine white dress. Shin, Ju-hyuk reached out to steady her. They looked like a picture-perfect couple.

The backing music (MR) played, and they synchronized their steps to it.

After them, there was only one rehearsal left. They proceeded in the order they had decided at the campsite.

“Mr. No, Hae-il, please prepare for the rehearsal.”

Around that time, Hwang, Ryong-pil was already on stage.

The maestro of Korean popular music. The legend reached out to the approaching young man.

“Come up.”

The old master’s hand and the young singer’s hand intertwined.

:

The sun, which had been at its zenith, began to set. As the sky was painted in vibrant colors, the paid seating and free standing areas began to fill.

“This is Gangwon Ski Resort! Can you believe it? A truly enormous crowd has gathered! Standing room is packed, and the line just keeps going. How far does it stretch?”

Cameramen and reporters swarmed to film the stage, which had been created by remodeling the Gangwon-do ski resort. Even the people waiting became subjects of news coverage.

Despite it not being winter, countless people had flocked to the Gangwon-do ski resort. In their hands, they held small bags or mini fans instead of ski poles, and they wore light cardigans instead of ski suits.

“Will we… be able to get in?”

“I don’t know. There are more people than trees.”

The girl looked around at the line filling the parking lot with an anxious expression. Her friend also looked completely terrified.

Even for an outdoor concert, there had to be a limit to how many people they could accommodate.

The article she saw this morning said that 40,000 people had already gathered.

Since then, office workers who had taken half-days off after lunch would have piled onto public transportation or into their cars. This was just the second parking lot, and there was no telling how far the line extended.

“I really should have come a week ago like you said.”

“I know! I told you to take a day off!”

“Well, a week is a bit…”

Taking a day or two off was one thing, but wasn’t taking a whole week a bit much?

However, the girl didn’t sympathize with her friend’s feelings. She was too busy tapping her feet and calculating whether they would be able to get in safely.

If they weren’t careful, they might just end up going home.

They regretted not arriving earlier, instead of waiting until the last minute.

Looking back, there had been signs from the start.

Train tickets had sold out quickly, and accommodation reservations had been unusually tight for weeks.

Believing that the majority of travelers would be visiting Daegwallyeong Sheep Farm and Sokcho was just wishful thinking.

“It seems like it’ll be close.”

“I hope no one suddenly decides to leave?”

“Suddenly? Forget about it.”

Anyway.

The girl’s friend looked around.

Just as the girl had brought a red cheering stick as a fan of Shin, Ju-hyuk, the people around her also displayed their allegiances.

The purple crown was the symbol of Reeve’s fandom, Lover,

and the white sphere on the black body, a cheering stick that looked like a lighthouse, belonged to Lee, Sung-rim’s fans.

Also, dark blue was famously the official color of the idol group CB.

Unless specifically restricted, the singers would see the fans’ cheering sticks, and the size of each fandom would be clearly revealed.

They wouldn’t wave cheering sticks during other artists’ performances, but they might feel a little down if they didn’t see any cheering sticks for themselves.

Well, is there any singer without a fandom…

“…There is one.”

“What?”

“Nothing.”

The girl’s friend shook her head.

There was one artist who had recently been in the spotlight but whose fandom hadn’t properly formed yet.

She heard he was a rookie. Would he be able to hold his own in this intense fandom atmosphere and in front of such a huge audience?

It’s true that he sings well and has been active on TV, but live performances are a different beast.

Personally, she hoped he would do as well as he did during the mid-term evaluation.

Even though she was more excited about the headliners (TN: combination refers to Shin, Ju-hyuk and Reeve), Team 1’s song was undeniably the best.

She had lost an hour of homework time because she was so captivated by its grandeur. It would be enough if he just matched that performance.

“Oh, the line is getting shorter. Let’s go.”

No.

It seemed that what they needed to worry about wasn’t No, Hae-il, but their chances of getting into the standing room area.

“Will we make it? Please…”

The grace of God seemed to have reached the two people who had no religion. A stamp was safely placed on their hands.

“Standing room is closed here.”

“What? It’s already full?”

“Please let us in. We came all the way from Jeju Island. Please.”

“You speak Seoul dialect too well to say that, though?”

“Ho, honjeoopsyeyo.” (TN: Jeju dialect for ‘Welcome’)

“Yes, unfortunately, we have to close the standing room.”

And a heartless line was drawn behind them.

Even if they begged to be let in, the staff would never budge. It was unavoidable for safety reasons.

They understood, but the people who had been waiting since dawn like them would feel even more wronged.

The girl and her friend felt sorry for them, but at the same time, they were relieved. If they had been just a little later, they would have gone back feeling just as disappointed.

They ignored the envious gazes behind them and hurried up the hill.

“Wow…!”

The main stage and the huge screens on both sides.

Everything was set up so that everyone could see the stage clearly, and cameras were positioned in front of the stage as if they were broadcasting live.

The stage hadn’t even started yet, but her heart was already pounding.

Then, when Wonder was spotted on one side of the stage, Kyaaak! A high-pitched scream echoed. Wonder was immediately shown on the huge screen. When Wonder, who had dyed her hair blonde, waved her hand and made a heart, the screams grew even louder.

Since it wasn’t being broadcast yet, this was a special treat that only they could see. Artists checking their sound and stage positions could be seen in between.

Whenever their favorite singer came out, the fans waved their cheering sticks. As mentioned before, since several fandoms were mixed together, the unified lights felt somewhat disorganized.

At exactly 6 p.m.

The MC came out on stage. It was one of the three MCs who had been in charge of Rendezvous Episodes 1 and 2.

“Hello, everyone! It’s a beautiful evening! Have you all been waiting long?!”

“Yes-!”

As the MC’s voice echoed through the audience, the audience answered loudly. A brief stage introduction and Q&A followed.

When asked why the song festival was named 2030 in 2031, PD Jang said that he named it that in the hope that it would become a song festival representing the 2030s generation, but viewers joked that he had either left out the ‘s’ in 2030s or was confused about the year.

The stage, which had been delayed due to final checks, finally began around 15 minutes later.

With the MC’s loud shout!

“Then now, let’s begin the 2030 SONG FESTIVAL-Rendezvous-!”

Waaaah-!

The voices of countless people, young and old, echoed to the back of the stage.

The stage opened with a ballad.

A refreshing and husky tone combined with a clear soprano duet that harmonized perfectly with the mountain setting.

The confetti sprinkled on them blended beautifully with the sunset sky, and night began as their song ended.

The second performance was a heavy and sensual tango.

The provocative combination of a female singer and an idol drew cheers from the crowd.

The third and fourth were electronic hip-hop dance and retro dance.

The same genre of dance song, but with completely different atmospheres.

And they began to get enthusiastic about the dance of an artist who seemed like they would never dance in their life. As they stomped their feet, people followed along.

They felt that the stage was gradually building towards something.

An escalating atmosphere and a deepening night.

The fifth stage was a duet by Shin, Ju-hyuk and Reeve.

In fact, with the appearance of the two artists with the largest fandoms, applause and cheers rang out more loudly than ever.

Their fandoms began to raise their cheering sticks.

Crimson red and ultra violet blended together, illuminating the men and women on stage.

Reeve in a white dress and Shin, Ju-hyuk in a blue suit jacket stared at each other and sang a rock ballad.

Around this time, Halo was stomping his feet while watching Shin, Ju-hyuk and Reeve’s ‘Pride and Prejudice’ performance, but for a different reason than the audience.

His heart was pounding like crazy.

“You’re not nervous, are you?”

“Me?”

Hwang, Ryong-pil nodded at Halo’s smiling face.

He didn’t think he would be nervous either.

The audience could be seen even from behind the stage.

The cheering sticks of Reeve and Shin, Ju-hyuk blended together, making the audience look like a sea of velvet.

“We didn’t have anything like that back in my day.”

Hwang, Ryong-pil looked at the cheering stick lights and felt a pang of nostalgia.

“Don’t you do something like that?”

“I don’t know.”

‘We didn’t have anything like that back in my day either.’

The culture of people holding lights and responding to singers didn’t exist in his time either. Halo looked at the audience with curious eyes.

“That’s a shame.”

The lights of the cheering sticks faded as Reeve and Shin, Ju-hyuk’s splendid stage ended. Although it wasn’t his, Hwang, Ryong-pil sincerely regretted it because it was quite impressive.

“You’ll see even brighter lights soon.”

“…That’s true.”

Hwang, Ryong-pil also laughed at Halo’s words.

Besides, even if their stage ends, the song festival doesn’t end. A special performance will follow.

For the people who waited for the song festival day and night.

And for the singers who don’t want to end this splendid night with just one song.

The stage lights go out.

Shin, Ju-hyuk and Reeve went down on the lift.

Now it was their turn to go up on stage.

Doong.

A drum rang.

Darkness fell on the stage.

Halo fluttered a black coat that looked like a cloak.

Doong, doong!

The drum rang again.

The buzz of the audience, who had been excited by the previous stage, subsided.

His time was coming.

And when it was time for the drum to ring once more, he snapped his fingers.

#

“Wow, this is crazy, this is crazy. The chemistry is insane.”

The girl turned off her cheering stick when it was time for the next stage. However, the lingering excitement didn’t fade as easily as the cheering stick’s light.

She felt like she could go home now, completely satisfied.

No, she had to see the special performance before she left.

Team 1 was already a distant memory in the girl’s mind.

Shin, Ju-hyuk and Reeve’s stage, where they locked eyes and poured out their emotions, replayed endlessly in her thoughts. All the other stages were great, but the climax was undeniably Shin, Ju-hyuk and Reeve’s duet.

It wasn’t just because she was a fan of Shin, Ju-hyuk; it was genuinely the best performance of the night.

Everyone, including the girl, thought that there could be no better stage than this.

Until a sound that cut through the darkness and silence that had fallen on the stage: Tak!

Smaller than a clap, fainter than a footstep.

However, before they could even register what it was, humming was added. It continued at the same tempo as it had been on the broadcast.

Before people could even pretend to know the song, the band’s session joined in. Before they knew it, footsteps followed instead of finger snaps.

As it continued rhythmically, the audience began to keep time, one by one.

Since they had already done it on the previous stage, they participated more actively and quickly.

At that moment, Hwang, Ryong-pil’s commanding voice was heard over the boy’s sweet aria.

The king speaks.

A country shrouded in darkness.

Let’s raise the flag and defeat the wicked.

The world is stirred by his rule.

The brave knights, stomping their feet in unison, gathered in front of the king.

The knights, now a legion, began to march.

The horde of pagans stood before them.

A dragon breathing fire, raging waves, and a blizzard where nothing could be seen.

The king draws his sword in the face of all adversity.

It was the perfect return of the king.

The romance of the two men and women was instantly swept away by the magnificent blade conveyed by the music. The audience had no choice but to be completely captivated, as if they had been struck from behind.

“As expected, teacher… You haven’t aged a bit.”

A master is a master until the day he dies.

The singers watching the stage from behind the scenes opened their mouths wide in admiration.

On the one hand, they thought it was more like a featuring than a duet.

Did they really decide to sing the first and second verses separately?

Actually, it didn’t seem to matter anyway.

They thought it would be amazing if Hwang, Ryong-pil sang the whole song as it was.

At that moment, a firm voice reached the highlight.

The audience closed their eyes and savored the thrill.

Fade out when it reaches its peak.

And the song returns, and the surroundings become quiet like the first verse.

What breaks the silence is the sound of snapping fingers again.

It was clearly the same start, but it wasn’t exactly the same.

The tempo was faster than the first verse. And the humming sound on top of that. The old man’s serious tone.

People who were starting to miss the lingering feeling of the first verse sighed.

Wouldn’t the boy’s voice be buried in Hwang, Ryong-pil’s voice if it continued like this?

Around that time.

The boy’s voice pierced their eardrums.

He is one of the crowd watching the king giving a speech from the castle.

Also, he was a young knight in front of the king,

and someone’s son.

The young knight speaks.

Similar lyrics to the king, but something was different.

If the first verse felt magnificent, the second verse felt desperate.

Was it because the clear voice reached the ear with such raw emotion?

The crowd unknowingly tilted their ears to hear his voice better.

The world swells at the young knight’s desperate declaration.

Someone put their hands together as if praying.

The tired knights at the end of the ordeal look at him.

The wicked evil stood before them.

The young knight stands in front of the knights exhausted by the dragon breathing fire, the raging waves, and the blizzard where nothing could be seen.

His small back continues to move forward without succumbing to adversity.

The knights rose one by one, watching his dazzling advance.

Halo flutters his black cloak.

It was like the king’s.

The music rushes towards the highlight.

The highlight is exactly the same lyrics, but people realized that the first and second verses could never be the same.

If the first verse talked about a magnificent advance, the second verse showed a firm will not to succumb to adversity.

The tired audience stood up again and looked at them.

The stage lights dimmed again.

But everyone knew it wasn’t over yet.

Again, the Tak sound is heard.

There was no more humming from the stage, but humming started somewhere in the audience.

Humming spread out into the audience following him.

It soon reached the stage,

and arrived at the two singers who came out earlier.

Following the humming of the audience, the voices of the two people crossed and echoed.

[Not afraid of the dark

Enduring the raging waves]

The song of the brave king and

The song of the strong knight echoed at the same time.

No one gives in, and the melody moves towards the crescendo.

[Spread your broken wings]

As they stomped their feet, people followed along,

and the humming soon became the highlight.

Everyone sang the song of the hero.

Everyone went together through the dragon breathing fire, the raging waves, and the blizzard where nothing could be seen.

Ah-ah-ah-ah

Ah-ah-ah-ah

Buried in the voices of the crowd, no sound can be captured on the broadcast, but this was enough.

The united voices filled the stage.

The stage flames soar in the intense heat.

“-!”

A silent outcry.

Soon, endless screams consume the ears.

And what followed was “Encore!” “Encore!” The cry that someone started became a group chant and swept through the audience.

It was a frenzy that had never been seen on any stage.

“You’re not tired already, are you?”

The main camera captured Hwang, Ryong-pil and the boy.

The boy, who was panting and smiling brighter than anyone else,

was shining as if he had received all the lights in the world.

Halo reached out his arms towards the lights filling the stage below.

People announced their existence following his gesture.

Burning their passion as if there is no tomorrow.

Yes, this is exactly what he wanted to see.

The moment his breath and the breath of the people coincide.

He felt like he would suffocate and die from the fiery screams.

The boy panted and replied.

“It’s just the beginning.”