The Road To Glory [EN]: Chapter 861

< Episode 86: The Death Eaters >

‘The Midday Show,’ airing at 1 PM, isn’t as big as ‘The Ellen Show’ or ‘Conan,’ but it’s still a talk show that appeals to a wide audience, casually watched by stay-at-home individuals and those working remotely in their 20s, 30s, and 40s.

However, today, ‘The Midday Show’ was attracting attention for a different reason.

It was because the HALO special segment was finally airing. The HALO special was already somewhat old news, having been used extensively in various promotions, but HALO’s 6th album, [Dancing in the Rain], was released on May 31st, reigniting interest.

Moreover, they had successfully captured the attention of HALO fans with the tagline ‘tribute cover songs dedicated to HALO by influencers.’

Of course, HALO’s fans didn’t necessarily universally welcome it.

Because HALO’s songs have a unique quality that’s hard to replicate, some hardcore fans hated the covers, saying they were ruining the original songs.

There were also those who saw it as mediocre people pretending to be fans to gain popularity.

With such critical and engaged viewers, the HALO special of ‘The Midday Show’ began.

[Why did you invite that insignificant nobody to the Sun’s special? The song and costume are awful!]

└It’s okay, why are you being so harsh?

└Did you damage your eardrums? Do you honestly think this is good?

└They’re not professional singers, they’re amateurs, isn’t that obvious?

└I need to defend the defenders. Does anyone know the list of influencers appearing today? I’m already feeling like my time is being wasted.

The real-time reactions were, in many cases, quite intense.

As expected from the online presence of millions of YouTubers, their fans and other viewers started arguing. Well, the broadcasting station was happy as long as the ratings were high, regardless of the reason.

└Wow, it’s Buckus, as expected.

What brought some stability was Buckus, dressed in a classic suit.

The natural demeanor and appearance he always showed on YouTube created a sense of goodwill. The cover he chose was also the most popular song, from HALO’s 2nd album.

And then the commercial break began.

Viewers realized that there were still 20 minutes left of the HALO special. And that one of the heavily promoted influencers had yet to appear.

[But who is the last guy? I’ve never heard of him]

└I don’t know, I heard he’s a singer from Asia, Korea, I think?

└Asia? Seriously? I’m not racist, but do you think a K-pop star can pull off Britpop?

└Why not? No one knows his identity. It’s just as likely he’s British; there’s no reason to assume he’s not Asian or of Asian descent. Britpop wasn’t exclusively listened to by white people.

└Well, you must be Asian yourself.

└You’re being racist.

└Is he the one that Belle Morison praised so much? He sang well, but it was a shame it wasn’t in English.

└Wait, not even in English??? Are you kidding me? How can someone who can’t even speak English sing his song?

Unlike the other influencers, the fact that he was from Asia, a Korean entertainer, was enough to create prejudice among people who didn’t typically like K-pop.

Even those who liked K-pop wondered ‘why bother’ since the theme was a HALO special.

And this was the same for Koreans who were watching a talk show they didn’t even know about because of the news of Roh Haeil’s appearance. They waited for the end of the commercial with a mix of worry and anticipation.

Finally, the boy came out.

He was dressed casually, just as he would be in Korea.

[Everything is fine, but aren’t there any actual singers in Korea? Why send a kid who looks like an elementary school student?]

└That person is 15, which means he’s a high school student.

└15 years old?

└He’s a typical K-pop idol, why are you surprised?

The initial impression was sharply divided.

Some were HALO fans who were immediately critical.

And the rest were ordinary viewers who were drawn to his youthful appearance.

However, most people who didn’t know the boy didn’t have high expectations. That is, before he even started singing, even regarding his English skills.

So, when the boy spoke his first words.

When they heard his youthful voice and the distinct posh accent, there was a moment of stunned silence.

It was rare for a K-pop star to use a posh accent.

Lucy made a fuss and praised the boy. Some people watching the talk show also agreed with Lucy’s reaction.

There was a certain admiration for British accents in American society, and especially for posh accents, which are not easy to master, in both countries.

The boy from Asia, though they might not want to admit it, spoke with a remarkably cool accent. Like…

Like the Sun [referring to the lead singer of HALO].

[What’s similar?]

There were so many people trying to capitalize on HALO’s popularity, so they were initially skeptical.

Still, the boy was different from those imposters.

-Why do you like HALO’s music in the first place?

-Because it’s perfect.

[That’s absolutely right]

Without needing fancy explanations, just the word ‘perfect’ made the fans smile.

-Do you have a favorite song among HALO’s music?

-The 6th album that will be released in the future.

-We don’t know when it will be released?

-Okay, let’s say the 6th album will be released in May.

[I’m starting to like him]

He looks like a nerd and a 5th grader, but he’s a total gigachad [an internet slang term for an extremely confident and capable person]!

└ I think Roh is a true Sun Worshipper [a dedicated fan of HALO]

[I wish he would just do a talk show like this]

└ I agree, instead of ruining it with a cover song, it would be entertaining enough to just have him talk for 20 minutes

└ It’s already too late, folks

Declaring something confidently without worrying about being wrong was a personality trait that Americans often admired.

-This performance is HALO’s 4th album, Do Not Test Me.

[Wow… it’s a cover. I can’t watch it anymore]

└I think someone I was starting to like is about to become unlikeable again.

└Why this song? I’d rather he sing the 2nd album like Buckus.

└Don’t sing a cover song, just sing K-pop.

It was a different reaction from the other influencers who were simply criticized, but there were those who felt affection for the star who had come from afar, and they covered their eyes with anxious hearts, or eventually couldn’t stand it and turned off the broadcast.

[Let me know if that person does well on stage]

Leaving a dying message-like sentence in the community and waiting for the community’s reaction.

That’s how 1 minute and 30 seconds passed.

[?]

[Is the server down?]

[What are you all doing? Explain what Roh’s stage is like]

[I can’t stand it, I’m going to watch it]

└Okay, if it’s good, leave a 1.

└Hey

└Did you die from electrical shock?

└What, where did everyone go?

:

└It feels like people are disappearing one by one, how many were we in total?

└Is it just me here now?

To exaggerate a little, that kind of atmosphere unfolded.

The stage of the boy Roh, who looked like an elementary school student to a middle school student in the eyes of the older viewers.

Some anxiously, some with expectations, the HALO 4th album cover stage began.

The clearest voice and exotic language among the cover stages they had heard so far resonated in their ears, and the boy’s presence, which seemed to have suddenly grown, stole their attention.

Unexpectedly, the language of another country came across as a rather special melody, and yet that sacred atmosphere was conveyed to them.

It was a very unique feeling.

Especially for a performance-oriented dance song.

The K-pop singer’s hymn delivered in their language.

However, although they thought the boy’s tone and vocals were all good, the true charm of this cover stage was something else.

A top-notch arrangement.

With one person who was not originally in HALO’s song added, the song completely transformed.

At that moment, they didn’t think it was a cover.

It became the song of the boy in front of them.

All the performers showed HALO cover stages, but the boy showed his own stage.

-This has been the Midday Show.

As if time had stopped for a moment, everyone was frozen and watching the boy, which was revealed on camera.

With Lucy’s quiet words, a whoosh! Applause and cheers erupted.

That was enough to turn the influencer special with various unique concepts into a boy’s special.

The most ordinary-looking, with the last name ‘Roh’.

[WTF]

[He captured the HALO vibe the best among all the HALO covers I’ve heard so far]

└ What are you talking about, it’s completely different

└ It’s more like a remake than a cover

└ The hour I gave to the previous losers is a waste, can’t you take it all back and have him sing five songs

└Friend, this is not a live broadcast, it’s a recording

[More than that, the level of arrangement… who arranged it?]

└ Roh arranged it himself. If you look at his earlier broadcasts, only Roh’s name is credited for the arrangement.

└ He’s fifteen years old

└ Yes

└ ????

└ Crazy, then at fifteen, he has such arrangement skills, sings like that, and writes and composes in Korea? Record companies, what are you doing not signing him right now

[Are there any songs Roh sang? His tone is so good]

└ Roh is a Korean singer and his songs are all in Korean

[I think I’ve become a complete fan of him. How do you pronounce Roh’s name?

Haeil? Hail? Hael?]

└ The closest pronunciation in Korean is like “Heil”

└ ????

└ The name is a bit dangerous? Maybe…?

└ That’s definitely not it, and in Korea, it means tsunami, that is, wave.

└Ah, so he’s not the son of the sun, but the wave of the sun

The community where mentions of the previous influencers had completely disappeared.

Someone suddenly asked a question.

[But the full name… isn’t it more similar to That [referring to Voldemort from Harry Potter] than the Nazis?]

└That? Who?

└Pronounce it

└ Oh, his parents must be fans of him

└ You know Roh is fifteen, right?

└ And in Asia, they say the last name before the first name, so it becomes Roh, Haeil

└ Why?

└ ? …How should I answer this

And these reactions from overseas were quickly shared online, in less than a day.

Unlike physical goods, words and sentences don’t go through customs.

[Roh Haeil Talk Show North American Reaction]

[Common K-pop singer’s arrangement vocal skills]

[But was Roh Haeil originally that good at English? I didn’t realize he was bad because he covered it in Korean]

[My British friend said that if you close your eyes and listen, he’s just British]

└Did Roh Haeil study in England?

└I don’t think so, his middle school friends said in an interview that he’s really bad at English

└If that’s bad, then am I speaking zero languages?

[Wow, with the posh accent and voice, he’s just like the Sun]

└lol If you put the Sun and him together and just have them speak, no one would be able to tell

└ But can people’s voices be so similar?

└ Why are you so sure they’re the same? Has anyone heard the Sun speak? There are so many people whose voices change when they sing and when they just talk. Roh Haeil fans, your singer’s praise is too much

└ I can’t even say it’s similar because of the Heligan [referring to online trolls] guys

#

As the talk show started to become a hot topic in many ways, in Korea, the cool spring was gone, and as soon as June came, the world became a tropical night, and the beginning of a suffocating summer.

HALO was having a busy time.

Music shows and communication with fans, which can be seen as alternatives to concerts. He looked at the list of events that were being casted-.

[Roh Haeil’s single ‘Lighthouse of the Night’ Music Station, as everyone expected, 1st place…]

[Total time it took for rookie Roh Haeil to get 1st place on music shows ’96 days’]

[Show Music Core, the only one that doesn’t give 1st place to Roh Haeil, controversy over 1st place standards]

[Show Music Core side, judged by fair standards]

[Thanos, “(To Roh Haeil) I’m sorry, but the 1st place gauntlet is mine.”]

He also received an award.

As he was hit by the confetti falling from the sky, Haeil thought it was nothing new.

That he receives an award.

Besides, award ceremonies are similar, although there are differences.

The fans who were there screamed, and they continued to admire his every word.

Roh Haeil’s cheering rod shakes in the dark.

The fans wanted to recreate the Big Dipper constellation, but they succeeded a few times and failed a few times. It seems that everyone decided to just shake it instead of trying to form the Big Dipper at this event today.

Anyway, it’s not new.

“The 1st place is Roh Haeil, who sang Lighthouse of the Night. Congratulations.”

It felt a bit strange to receive it as Roh Haeil.

“Haeil, you worked hard. I’m so proud of our son.”

“You did well.”

His parents, who were very happy as if they had received the award themselves.

“Boss, you’re so cool!”

“Let’s conquer Billboard as it is, Haeil.”

“What’s Billboard? Let’s receive a Grammy, an Academy Award, and conquer Cannes too!”

“…Isn’t Cannes a film festival?”

“I don’t know.”

The band that welcomed him with seal claps.

It seems that the session members used to take these small awards for granted in the past.

Anyway, that day.

Non-alcoholic champagne was sprayed into the air.

Haeil, who was hit by the champagne head-on, and Moon Seo-yeon, who shot the champagne without knowing that carbonation would be sprayed.

And the two people who were next to them and got hit by the champagne together were a little embarrassed for a moment, but anyway, it was a special day.

Time does not stop at special moments and continues to flow.

One day of self-congratulation was enough, and it was time to start working on a new album.

People’s faces became happy in preparation for HALO’s 7th album, which will be released in June.

“Boss, I’m sorry, but how many drafts are prepared…?”

“Up to the 13th album for now.”

“Thir, thirt… ? Not ten, thirt…? If it’s a mini-album, at least four songs… if it’s a regular album, twelve songs, hehehe, I think it was better not to know.”

“I’m in favor of doing not the 13th album, but the 31st album.”

“You can sleep when you die.”

“You’re both crazy….”

HALO’s music is not easy for the session musicians, and it’s not just any song, it’s HALO’s music. If you don’t want to be cursed by 6 billion (?) Sun fans, you have to prepare as hard as you prepare for a competition, or even more.

Besides, it’s not the end just because you recorded the 7th album. If you think about concerts or performances someday, they need to practice everything perfectly from the 1st album.

Yeah, there was no time to worry about the reaction of the North American talk show.

The session sound that didn’t stop in the studio.

The dissonances that didn’t mix with each other became noise, but Haeil sat by the window – opposite the air conditioner.

Occasionally strumming the strings of an acoustic guitar, he stares out the window.

Communication with fans is all good and fun.

Gradually, what should I say, I needed new stimulation.

At times like this, I have to leave somewhere suddenly.

I have to go to a party, a trip, or something…

However, if I take just one step outside, that desire scatters like sand.

Around that time, Shin Joo-hyuk visited.

“You seem busy these days.”

Before Haeil could answer, Moon Soo-yeon and Nam Gyu-hwan, who were sitting together in the studio, were embarrassed.

“S, CEO, not at all, not, not busy?”

“That’s right, time is overflowing.”

“…”

No one poked him, but Shin Joo-hyuk said to Haeil with an absurd look on his face at the sudden overreaction.

“You’ll get caught soon if you keep doing this.”

“!”

“What, what are you going to get caught for! Our CEO is a completely ordinary high school student.”

“Because of the kids.”

Haeil chuckled, and Shin Joo-hyuk followed suit.

Moon Seo-yeon and Nam Gyu-hwan looked back and forth between the two men, and their eyes widened. Could it be…

“Maybe – an ally?”

“Should we just make a group chat? I’m confused and I’m going to shoot anyone.”

“!”

“What should we name the group chat, Death Eaters? Those who know the name of the one who cannot be named [a reference to Voldemort from Harry Potter], the Death Eaters.”

“Ah!”

Moon Seo-yeon and Nam Gyu-hwan completely realized that he was one of the allies with that joke-

“…Do you like that kind of thing?”

Haeil, who didn’t know where that joke came from, looked at Shin Joo-hyuk with pitiful eyes.

“This little kid. Don’t kids these days even know Harry Potter?”

He pretended to punch him in the head as usual.

Shin Joo-hyuk, who had completely blown away the embarrassment, was begging him to forget what he had said.

“So, what’s going on?”

That’s enough small talk.

At Haeil’s words, Shin Joo-hyuk made a serious expression.

There was no greeting between them asking how they had been doing.

In the first place, the Rendezvous group chat was still active, and he was one of the people who contacted him occasionally.

“Ah, that’s…”.

Instead of useless introductions, Shin Joo-hyuk immediately brought up the main point.

“I have a favor to ask.”

“To me?”

“There’s Director Park’s musical.”

“Musical?”

When he tilted his head at the sudden word, Shin Joo-hyuk asked back as if he couldn’t understand.

“Didn’t you get a call? There’s no way. That Director Park likes you so much.”

“?”

“Music director Park Jung-ho. Would you remember if I said ‘From Today, We Are’?”

“Ah.”

I don’t know if he likes him that much, but the face of the music director of the drama ‘From Today, We Are’, for which he sang the OST, came to mind. The music director who made a love call, ‘Shall we work together?’

“If you didn’t know, I should say this first. Director Park is doing a creative musical as a music director. I got a request for a song, and I thought you might want one too.”

“…That’s not what you came to ask.”

“That’s right.”

Shin Joo-hyuk smiled and nodded at Haeil’s answer.

Even if he doesn’t appear on TV often, he’s a busy person with events, album work, and many other things. He’s not someone who would come to ask, ‘Did you do this?’ when he’s free.

“I want you to produce it.”