The Road To Glory [EN]: Chapter 721

< 72. The Gates Opened >

“It’s not over yet!”

Lasers shot out, synchronized with the fireworks.

While the duet songs had been revealed in advance through broadcasts, the special performances were fiercely kept secret by the singers.

Of course, snippets were shown on TV, but that was unavoidable.

Still, since everyone was enjoying it so much, wasn’t that surprise enough?

They hadn’t composed any new songs.

Instead, they reimagined songs from the singers who participated in the Song Festival.

As everyone knew, the singers gathered here, except for one person, had built their careers on their own songs.

They chose some of the best songs and remade them.

They met to collaborate, but it would be a shame to only collaborate with one person, right?

Unleashing the talent they couldn’t fully showcase in the duets, they presented the best stage of the era.

The real festival was just beginning.

Just when it seemed like it would end, flames burst out.

And just when they thought they could rest, exciting EDM [Electronic Dance Music] filled the air.

Their hearts pounded, and their bodies overflowed with energy.

‘I’m sturdier than I thought?’

Halo was suddenly impressed.

That he was sturdier than he thought.

At this rate, he could live like he did in the past without any problems.

‘Was I worrying too much?’

It seemed like he could do anything at this rate, making him wonder if he had been worrying too much.

“You like it so much, why didn’t you do the duet with Liv?” Shin Joo-hyuk asked, having just finished his performance, watching the boy who looked like he was about to jump onto the stage.

Why didn’t he choose more songs?

Halo raised his eyebrows.

He felt wronged about this.

The collaboration was good, but the song they wanted him to sing happened to be one he would never sing.

“I don’t sing love songs.”

Shin Joo-hyuk burst out laughing at Halo’s answer.

“Ah, you don’t sing love songs? Then what are you going to do when your fans ask you to sing one later?”

“I won’t sing them.”

How many people had wanted Halo to sing sweet lyrics and melodies? Nohaeil’s ‘Confession’ was an exception; he had no intention of singing any in the future.

Shin Joo-hyuk continued to look amused.

“You’re not very flexible. You should sing them now. If you suddenly sing a ballad when you get a girlfriend later? Your fans will notice. Well, it’ll be obvious anyway.”

From the way he was talking, it seemed like he was dismissing the boy’s genuine feelings.

Halo raised his eyebrows.

Regardless, Shin Joo-hyuk continued.

“Think of it as an investment for the future? Something like that.”

Shin Joo-hyuk nodded as if he liked his own answer.

Well, in a way, he wasn’t wrong. But his glib attitude was incredibly annoying.

“Anyway,” Shin Joo-hyuk continued.

“You shouldn’t be too sure about the future.”

He would never sing them.

Like that, the end of the stage was approaching.

No matter how brilliant the fireworks, they eventually fade.

The dazzling night of the Song Festival, which seemed like it would last forever, was coming to an end.

The camera followed the stage and the audience seats for the final episode to be broadcast next week.

All the artists were on stage.

The six teams that had participated in the Song Festival.

Every single one of them was captured by the camera.

In their outfits matched to the duet concept, all the artists looked like unique Avengers heroes.

The exhausted people called out to their artists in hoarse voices, but unfortunately, it was really time to end.

The planned stage was only up to here.

A professional only shows what they have prepared.

‘Well, I don’t know.’

Halo tilted his head.

He exchanged glances with the artists.

‘Isn’t a professional someone who is always prepared, not just someone who shows what they have prepared?’

Halo nodded, looking at them.

The audience, sensing a certain atmosphere, started chanting “Encore!” again. PD [Production Director] Jang looked troubled.

“Did you all have a lot of fun?” However, the MC [Master of Ceremonies], who had seen the singers’ eyes next to him, walked onto the stage first.

“Are you all very tired?”

No! We’re not tired at all!

Keep going! Sing more!

Their earnest wishes reached the singers.

How could anyone refuse this lovely earnestness when they were so wanted?

“Do you want to keep going?”

Yes-!

A truly long roar followed.

In the end, PD Jang showed an OK sign, taking responsibility.

However, they couldn’t do more songs.

“We will sing the song you want to hear the most.”

Just one song.

They decided to show the song that people wanted the most as the ‘real final stage.’

And all the artists standing on the stage knew what kind of stage these people wanted.

The answer was already decided.

Dung-! The drum sounded again.

Although it was a shame that it wasn’t their own stage, everyone participated happily because it was a song they had wanted to sing at least once.

[Don’t Fear the Darkness]

This time, everyone added harmonies instead of the boy’s humming.

Solid bass, husky voices, and mid-low tones combined with soprano and high notes.

It was like the knights in front of the king were singing together.

[Endure the Raging Waves]

The fans took out all the cheering sticks they had brought and waved them.

Their hoarse voices burst as they sang,

[Spread Your Broken Wings Again]

Stomping their feet and jumping to the beat of the drums.

Ah-ah-ah-ah

Ah-ah-ah-ah

Now, no one could tell who had what voice, because everyone’s voices became one.

[For a Brilliant Tomorrow]

Before they knew it, the boundary of the stage had disappeared.

A huge circular stage.

Liv’s purple crown, Shin Joo-hyuk’s red Antares, and Lee Sung-rim’s white lighthouse. Pink and dark blue lights. The numerous cheering sticks shining brightly in the darkness were like forming a galaxy.

The people who loved their artists more than anyone else pushed back the darkness. Their cry that they were all together spread into light.

The roar of the stars,

[We Never Give Up]

A brilliant present was there.

Halo came to the very front and raised one hand to the sky.

It was truly a beautiful night.

#

And two days passed since then.

It wasn’t a significant amount of time, but it was a shocking time for Halo.

Because that was the time it took for him to open his eyes again after collapsing as soon as he arrived home.

What greeted him was a throbbing body and a completely dead phone battery.

And his parents with worried faces.

Also, various nutritional supplements and fruits that had suddenly arrived in abundance.

Above all, a bowl of porridge with minced beef was placed in front of the table.

Halo sat down with a dazed face and waited for his phone to charge.

“How does it taste?”

“It’s delicious. But is something wrong? Why porridge all of a sudden?”

He was puzzled because he had heard that porridge was a stew eaten when sick, not when being picky, so his mother answered with a surprised face.

“Don’t you know? Haeil, you’ve been asleep for two days.”

“!”

“Like you were dead. I was so surprised. The doctor said you were discharged… But if we had been a little later, we would have called an ambulance.”

And his father added.

“I understand, but don’t overdo it next time.”

His father, for some reason, had patches on his arms and hands.

‘Did I overdo it that much?’

As he ate the porridge and pondered, memories gradually poured into his blank mind.

The heat of the concert he had felt in a long time.

The time he had acted like a real teenage boy there.

“Hmm.”

He really didn’t feel tired at the time.

Judging by how sore his body was, he must have overdone it.

So it was all because of adrenaline.

It felt empty, but he understood why he had slept for two days straight.

‘I’m weak. I still have a long way to go.’

Before, even if he enjoyed a wild party and drank alcohol after a concert, he had never slept for two days straight.

He had failed to adjust his physical condition. He admits that it was unprofessional.

But well, Halo shrugged.

It was a waste of two days, but it was already in the past.

He doesn’t think he needs to worry about it since it’s not a week.

‘Well, what could have happened in two days?’

Isn’t it just two days?

It’s too short a time for anything to happen.

48 hours. 172,800 seconds

He can start working on the album again from now on. Well, he can gradually return the calls to the people who contacted him after eating.

Halo began to savor the porridge again.

Again, it’s only been two days.

Until then, Halo didn’t know that quite a lot could change in those two days.

#

Yes, quite a lot of changes had occurred in the world.

[2030 SONG FESTIVAL-Rendezvous achieves a huge success with the highest viewership rating of 25%… Requests for Season 2 are pouring in]

[50,000 visitors counted at the Song Festival held in Gangwon-do]

[Visitor A: It felt like watching a musical]

[Many visitors complain of finger ligament pain… They didn’t even know it hurt]

The viewership rating, which had been slowly rising from the 15% range, peaked on the day of the Song Festival, and as soon as the viewership rating was tallied the next day, it was featured prominently on all sites.

All sorts of people began to collect the reactions of Song Festival visitors and viewers.

The buzz about Rendezvous reached its peak.

Just mentioning Rendezvous, the Song Festival, or the names of the participating artists was a guaranteed hit.

And the reporters couldn’t possibly not know the most talked-about person among them.

Whether they were there, watched it on TV, or heard it from someone, everyone knew that there was a separate protagonist on the stage without competition.

[The Real Avengers Assemble, and Who is the Iron Man Who Led the Avengers?]

[A Living Orchestra and the Maestro Who Led It…(jpg)]

[So, Who’s the Youngest Now?]

It’s also special that it’s not an artist that everyone was expecting, but a rookie who has only debuted for two months.

At least for the next month, he would be heating up Korea.

“Mozart’s dedication. Beethoven’s reincarnation. I’m the only one living a second life. Wow, Haeil, you’ve become a superstar.”

“Seriously crazy.”

Kim Deok-soo put down his comic book for the first time in a while and read the article titles. They were as interesting as novel titles.

Bae Gong-hak, who was next to him, also admired.

He knew that Haeil would become famous someday, but he didn’t know he would become famous so quickly.

No, even if he did know, it was as HALO, not as Nohaeil, that he couldn’t imagine.

He somewhat agrees with the saying ‘the chosen will be chosen’ on the internet. The talent that is meant to be will eventually be.

The talent that they recognized early on has blossomed.

“Haeil deserves to be famous. He was really wild on stage.”

“I know. I could only see Haeil. Is it because he’s someone I know?”

“It doesn’t seem like it’s just that; other people say similar things.”

That’s a bit unusual.

There are people with more glamorous appearances.

There are people with bigger recognition and fandoms next to him, but the fact that they could only see that kid…

“He’s a real genius.”

Bae Gong-hak snapped his fingers.

The lingering feeling of the Song Festival scene he saw at home still hadn’t left him.

He regrets that he should have succeeded in ticketing no matter what.

Just watching it gave him goosebumps.

How crazy would the scene have been?

He should have shouted until his throat was hoarse at the gesture of the young genius.

In fact, he felt a desire to press the keyboard again for the first time in a long time. It was a desire he felt for the first time in a long time since he quit music. Now it’s a good memory.

“They say the last episode is next week. The special performance that was cut off in the middle.”

“Does Haeil come out too?”

“That’s even more insane.”

They weren’t there, so they couldn’t know, but stories about him were heard everywhere.

That’s because there were 50,000 people there.

There’s no way you wouldn’t hear it when 50,000 mouths are talking about the stage.

And what’s surprising is that the majority of those 50,000 mouths are talking about the boy.

They know very well what this means, as a band that once made music and as people who make up the public.

The public is sometimes confused and incited and is not always right, but their tastes are right.

“He’s now living in a completely different world.”

Well, his singing ability, arrangement skills, and composing talent haven’t gone anywhere, so it’s been known little by little, but now it’s different from that.

Now, his name is engraved in the minds of the people.

His life has changed 180 degrees.

“Haeil must be very busy, right?”

“Have you contacted him?”

“No? I didn’t because I thought it would be burdensome. Everyone else will be burdening him. Let’s not bother him. A comfortable memory is enough.”

Bae Gong-hak nodded.

Sudden popularity. Sudden interest.

Soon, not only positive attention but also unwanted gazes and standards will be focused on him. How would that feel?

He couldn’t imagine it well, but he would have felt great confusion. It would be burdensome.

But what about Haeil?

Will he be calm as always?

Only his nonchalant face comes to mind vividly.

But I can’t be sure. I recognize that he’s different from any other 17-year-old, but he’s still 17.

No matter how mature he is, he’s still a kid to them.

“I don’t know about anything else, but he’ll definitely be busy.”

Advertisements and various casting requests are pouring in like a flood. He may be preparing to row when the water comes in [seize the opportunity].

Well.

Bae Gong-hak simply thought.

Whatever it is, that kid will be doing well enough.

I hope he lives well without losing that passion, like Jin-young, who is still passionate, regaining his peak skills and wandering around live clubs.

He, who gave up his dream and lives satisfied with his current life, was still envious and respectful of passionate people.

In any case, it was clear that a flowery path was unfolding in front of the boy.

The first petal bloomed in a place where everyone could see it. On all of Korea’s music platforms, including the Watermelon chart.

The six duet songs that were uploaded as albums after the concert immediately jumped to the top of the charts according to the 25% viewership rating and were competing for dominance in the concrete zone [top spots].

And now, two days later.

Watermelon chart top.

Those who pushed down Watermelon have a strange light in their eyes.

‘Finally.’

A change that someone wanted the most, and someone else may not have wanted, has occurred.

[1. Song of the Hero (2030 SONG FESTIVAL-Rendezvous) ￨ Hwang Ryong-pil, Noh Haeil]

[2. Another Day │ Noh Haeil]

[3. Like a Heroin │ HALO ]

The gates that seemed impossible to break through have been opened.