The Road To Glory [EN]: Chapter 761

< Episode 76 I'll Greet You Warmly >

“Boss.”

“Uh, uh.”

After Jin-yeong Han left.

The boss answered absentmindedly to Manager Bae’s call.

“Didn’t you usually hate it when people quit suddenly?”

“That’s true.”

The boss agreed.

Any boss would hate to have a vacancy in their workforce.

“But…”

The boss continued.

“I couldn’t bring myself to get angry.”

He recalled Jin-yeong Han’s last appearance.

“That guy, who was always so gloomy, was smiling like that, I couldn’t say anything at the moment. I just thought the day I knew would come had finally arrived.”

He knew very well that Jin-yeong Han still had dreams from his younger days.

Jin-yeong Han was somewhat dissatisfied with reality, felt inferior when he saw musicians, and was sometimes depressed. The boss had seen Jin-yeong like that for a long time, so he couldn’t say anything worse.

“You and I are living with moderate satisfaction, but he wasn’t.”

“That’s right.”

“That’s why I thought another opportunity might have come for a guy like him. Whatever it is, I hope he lives the way he wants now.”

The boss muttered as if worried.

Since he’s experienced failure once, what will happen if he falls again?

Manager Bae shrugged his shoulders, looking at the boss.

“Don’t worry too much, boss.”

“Why? Do you know that Noh Hae-il kid well? He’s been quite the hot topic lately.”

Hearing that he would be working with Hae-il, Manager Bae recalled Hae-il, whom he had heard about while sitting around in the hideout. No, HALO’s first album.

Struggle.

Manager Bae, who couldn’t forget the thrill of that time, smiled faintly and replied.

“There won’t be anything to worry about.”

#

[Liv: Hae-il, Hae-il]

[Yes]

[Liv: Did something happen with Joo-hyeok oppa? [Oppa is a Korean term used by females to refer to older brothers or close male friends.]]

That was a text that arrived around 11 o’clock.

Hae-il, who was talking about other sessions with the newly joined bassist, Jin-yeong Han, paused the conversation and looked at the text.

[I don’t know]

[Liv: Really? He’s been calling your name and grabbing his head since earlier]

Shin Joo-hyeok was last seen at the live house before parting ways.

Because Shin Joo-hyeok’s fans suddenly flocked there.

They parted without saying a proper goodbye.

At that time.

His expression was strange, but he’s always been a strange person.

The important thing is not this.

Hae-il put down his phone and raised his head.

“Anyway, I’ll ask the guys.”

“By ‘the guys,’ do you mean the hyungs? [Hyung is a Korean term used by males to refer to older brothers or close male friends.]”

“Yeah.”

“They said they wouldn’t do it.”

To be exact, they were closer to saying they couldn’t do it.

Unlike Jin-yeong Han, who couldn’t let go of his attachment to music, Bae Gong-hak and Kim Deok-soo had no further regrets. They lived in the present, satisfied, using their failed past as a good memory or good nourishment.

It had been a long time since they had put down their instruments, and they refused, saying that they would be a hindrance to people who were busy running forward.

They would help with anything if asked, but they wouldn’t be able to do it as session members.

Jin-yeong Han tried to persuade them somehow, but Hae-il knew that they would answer like this.

The dust and stains piled up on the keyboard and drums were like the traces left on the Nintendo they played with as children.

“It would be nice to do it together, but we’ll have to find other people. We’ve been in the underground scene for quite a while. It means that what we’ve built up during that time isn’t just practice.”

Jin-yeong Han winked.

Along with his past experience in a band, he also worked in clubs for a long time.

How many musicians had he met and passed by during that time?

In fact, you could say that he had met everyone in the underground scene at least once.

If you go one step further, you might have a connection with every musician in Korea.

As everyone knows, Korea is quite small and narrow.

Jin-yeong Han, who was thinking of people he knew right away, looked at Hae-il for a moment.

“Are you okay with some strange people?”

“Strange people?”

“Why, there aren’t many musicians who are in their right mind. Sometimes they seem crazy, sometimes they’re childish like kids, and they often talk nonsense.”

Sometimes crazy, childish like kids, and often spouting nonsense.

Where have I heard those modifiers before?

Hae-il smiled and replied.

“Of course. I welcome them.”

I’ll greet you warmly.

Jin-yeong Han nodded enthusiastically, saying it was good.

Hae-il didn’t think it was necessary to go out of his way to find a synth and percussionist.

But he didn’t stop him either.

Just as he followed Shin Joo-hyeok and met Jin-yeong Han, another sudden encounter might happen.

“So, what’s the first thing we need to do?”

“My songs.”

“Which songs?”

Hae-il said as if it were natural to Jin-yeong Han’s words.

“Both of them.”

There’s no time to just be happy.

Jin-yeong Han, who wanted to be with Noh Hae-il more than anyone else, nodded.

That’s how they missed one thing.

Simple words about asking around to musicians.

Hae-il, who had completely forgotten about what happened at the Hongdae live cafe while bringing Jin-yeong Han as a session member, completely forgot that the name ‘Noh Hae-il’ had become bigger than he thought.

:

The name Noh Hae-il was a hot topic nationwide, but the most active interest and conversation took place in related industries.

Broadly speaking, vocalists who are interested in Noh Hae-il’s vocals and want to collaborate with the rising star.

And the other group is people who discuss Noh Hae-il’s songwriting skills and analyze his songs.

There were various people, including aspiring students who wanted to become famous like Noh Hae-il, bands, composers, and producers.

Students attending a practical music school sit in the lounge and discuss.

“Hey, who did you choose for Professor Jang’s free analysis assignment?”

“I chose Noh Hae-il.”

“Huh? You did Noh Hae-il too? No, how many people are analyzing Noh Hae-il? I think there are three or four people I know.”

“Which song did you analyze?”

“I analyzed Noh Hae-il’s mini-album. The title song, ‘Another Day’.”

“Phew, it doesn’t overlap. I did ‘Song of the Hero’.”

“That’s the one you did with Hwang Ryong-pil.”

“So what? He told me to analyze one song. He didn’t tell me to analyze a song written by one person.”

“That’s true.”

The students, realizing that they had chosen the same person, are unnecessarily conscious of each other.

Since the composers overlap, it will affect each other’s grades.

“The more I take the song apart, the more I admire it. The professor told us to learn from Noh Hae-il’s song before. I didn’t understand it well then? But the more I take it apart, the more I wonder what this is. It’s like it’s written roughly, but it’s perfect.”

Another child nodded at one child’s words.

“It’s calculated.”

“Well, to give an example, like HALO.”

“Uh-huh, but HALO is too much.”

Everyone laughed together at that one analogy.

Since they have heard and analyzed HALO’s songs at least once and listen to HALO’s praise from the professor every day, HALO had more than just a top musician value to them. It was practically a religion.

HALO was definitely present in the stars that pop musicians think of when classical musicians talk about Mozart and Beethoven. In fact, it was also a religion.

“The styles are different from the beginning.”

“That’s true too. Tae-yang’s song is Tae-yang.”

Hae-il’s album is as intense as the sun.

Is it just intense? Just as the sun has gravity, it feels like you’re being sucked in when you listen to the music.

If you can’t hold on to yourself, you’ll melt in that intense heat.

On the other hand, Noh Hae-il’s song was completely different.

Noh Hae-il’s song does not have the same intensity as HALO’s.

I don’t feel like I’m going to lose myself, and I’m not forcibly sucked in.

But what should I say.

Like the moon that continues to float even during the day, even though the sun sets at night.

There is an attraction that I want to keep in that place.

They didn’t know what to call that charm and where it came from.

If they knew that, they would be debuting now or would have already become grown-up composers.

The reason they analyze Noh Hae-il’s song is to learn that charm.

“Then why don’t you analyze HALO?”

Why is there no one analyzing HALO, who everyone says is great?

Is it because the song is intense? That’s also something to learn, so why doesn’t anyone try?

At the question of a student majoring in composition, the expressions of the other children changed coldly.

“Hey, don’t you know that Professor Jang is a Heligan?”

“Tae-yangdan? [Tae-yangdan refers to a dedicated fan club of Tae-yang, a member of HALO.] That’s natural. He praises HALO for 20 minutes after class starts.”

“Don’t you know why that’s a problem?”

“What’s the problem?”

Silence fell in the lounge.

A composer student wearing glasses raised his glasses and replied.

“It means that the teacher knows HALO’s songs better than we do.”

What that means is that there is more room to be criticized than others.

The moment you present, questions and rebuttals will come back twice as much.

If even one analysis is wrong, you will face an angry teacher.

Every sentence in the essay will be underlined in red.

It will be difficult for any student to endure.

Because the result will not be at least an A.

This is what happened in the Department of Composition at the College of Practical Music in relation to Noh Hae-il.

And as I said before, these conversations were not just happening among students.

People who are closer to the field, hoping to become the second Noh Hae-il.

They talked about Noh Hae-il’s songs and talents like students, and at some point, they talked about rumors circulating in Hongdae.

It wasn’t something to be easily ignored.

The main character of the rumor is Noh Hae-il, and the content of the rumor is-.

“Hey, did you hear? Noh Hae-il is looking for a band.”

“I heard he’s preparing a new song.”

“It seems like he needs a band for the new song. Well, he’ll be doing performances soon.”

The official move of Noh Hae-il was clear.

Noh Hae-il openly said that he was preparing a new album, and anyone who saw the article knew it, whether they reacted positively or negatively.

So it was not strange at all that Noh Hae-il was looking for a band.

In addition, unlike other rumors, the source was clear.

A live cafe in Hongdae.

The rumor came from a fairly well-known indie band that performed there.

He sang our songs like his own.

We matched our breath for the first time, but it was like someone who had been rolling around in a band for ten years.

He was better at rock.

There were quite a few rumors like praise, but since there were no videos taken, they were mostly dismissed, and what remained was-.

Only the distorted rumor that ‘Noh Hae-il arranged the song and took the bassist in return’.

It was quite a provocative story, so it spread quickly in the narrow underground scene, and above all, the rumor was almost confirmed as the bassist looked for a synth and percussionist.

The bassist is a famous person from the past, so that’s also true.

As a band that dominated Hongdae 10 years ago and as a DJ at First Club.

If you say you do music in Hongdae, you’ve heard of ‘Han Jin-yeong’.

“If it’s Han Jin-yeong, isn’t that the guy? The one who used to be in a band with Shin Joo-hyeok-”

The anecdote from ten years ago was passed down to the young people.

But the important thing was not that Han Jin-yeong and Shin Joo-hyeok were in a band together and broke up.

The fact that Noh Hae-il, a rising star and famous for songwriting and vocals, is looking for a band.

Even bands without vocals,

Even people who can’t make a living as a band and are now trying to find a job.

Even top-class performers who have already participated in recording albums and live performances of many singers were interested.

“If it’s Noh Hae-il, is that the genius kid who appeared on Rendezvous?”

“Is he looking for a band?”

“Why are you interested?”

“There’s no way I wouldn’t be. Don’t you?”

“There’s no way.”

Of course, there were some people who were more interested in ancestral rites [a Korean tradition of honoring ancestors].

“How do I apply? Wow, if it’s Noh Hae-il, can I meet Shin Joo-hyeok or Liv?”

“Is that all? I think I’ll make a lot of money too. The kid plays moderately and spits out some profits. Flex right away [Flex means to show off wealth].”

“I don’t know about the band, but I wish he would arrange my song.”

It was clear that there were many people who listened to rumors for any purpose.

Soon, words that don’t exist are mixed into the formless words passed from mouth to mouth as if they were true.

“I heard they’re going to have a public audition.”

“When are they doing it?”

“I don’t know.”

“How do I apply?”

“Isn’t it just a rumor? If they’re looking for it, they’ll post an announcement.”

“But Noh Hae-il doesn’t have an agency and is just independent. There’s no site either. It’s understandable that there’s no announcement.”

“Then how do I contact him?”

“…By email?”

Hae-il, who didn’t know anything about this, heard about his news (?) from Shin Joo-hyeok, who hadn’t contacted him for a while.

[I heard you’re doing a session public audition.]

“Who is?”

[You.]

“?”

[Isn’t it?]

It was interesting for a while.

Hae-il shook his head.

He doesn’t have time to do a public audition. He’s too busy trying to work with Jin-yeong Han right now.

He thought it would be nice if a synth and percussionist would suddenly appear.

Let’s do a busking to match our breath.

[Anyway, you’re not doing it? Then I’ll have to do a session public audition.]

“Is that all you contacted me for?”

As Hae-il was about to hang up the phone, Shin Joo-hyeok quickly continued.

As expected, there was another purpose.

[Hey, and don’t you have anything to say to me?]

“?”

[That rock-. No. There in Hongdae. That…]

Why is this guy suddenly like this?

Shin Joo-hyeok couldn’t continue speaking unlike himself.

As if he suddenly lost his language skills.

Just as he was about to hang up the phone after rambling on about alien words for a long time, Shin Joo-hyeok muttered softly.

[Please forget what I said about whether you’ve ever sung rock.]

“Why?”

[Uh-huh]

Shin Joo-hyeok, who had been rambling on about his enlightenment for a long time, asked one last time.

[But who else knows about this besides me?]

:

Hae-il hung up the phone and didn’t care much about the ‘hearsay’ that Shin Joo-hyeok mentioned.

First of all, other stories were more important, and any rumors would eventually flow.

But the rumors had spread more than he thought.

He realized that the next day. When I opened my email.

“!”

There were hundreds of emails in the mailbox, which usually only had interview requests and broadcast offers.

I don’t think there has ever been a day when I received so many emails.

Also, a large amount with attached files. With a title that anyone could see was like a resume.

Since they were even mentioning sessions, there was no way to not know what the purpose of these emails was.

There were some insincere emails that only contained self-introduction or academic background, but

Most of them contained performance videos or YouTube links, as people who are familiar with ‘show and prove’.

Hae-il, who thought that he could only hold auditions if he actually met them, realized the power of this world once again.

And he responds to the efforts of people who are struggling to prove themselves.

Hae-il met so many gems.

He realizes once again that there are so many jewels shining with passion in the world.

It doesn’t matter if it’s clumsy.

As I always say, he loved clumsiness, the growth that sprouts from there.

And just as they didn’t hide their clumsiness and showed their best efforts.

He also tried his best to see them. If possible, even the regrets that cannot be captured in the video.

“Hae-il-”

Jin-yeong Han came out of the recording studio and hesitated to call the boy.

He can’t disturb the child who is concentrating and looking at the computer.

Jin-yeong Han, who glanced at the clearly shining eyes, wondered if he looked like that in other people’s eyes.

Hae-il, who was responding with all his might, suddenly stopped the cursor after half a day.

There were two performance videos in the email.

It seemed like two people applied together.

The man with the long beard is a percussionist playing an electronic pad. The bobbed hair is playing the keyboard.

“Oh.”

Hae-il rested his chin and listened to their music.

Since there are two videos, the songs they play are different, but both are songs he knows.

The man is HALO’s 5th album, Addiction.

The woman is playing a song from Noh Hae-il’s mini-album.

The self-introduction video in one email is also unique.

The woman was listing euphemisms about Noh Hae-il, and the man was interrupting in the middle of the woman’s words-.

-I will be Noh Hae-il’s keyboard for the rest of my life.

-You’re doing music.

-…Hoo, please be quiet?

On the other hand, the man does not praise Noh Hae-il like the woman.

He calmly acknowledges only the reasons why he wants to be with him and what he will acknowledge musically.

He only shows enthusiasm in relation to HALO.

“Interesting.”

Hae-il chuckled at the unique duo.