The Road To Glory [EN]: Chapter 941

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When Noh Hae-il came to Korea University, only the relatively small community called Korea University Everytime was buzzing. But when someone uploaded an authenticated photo—a student wearing a Korea University jacket with Noh Hae-il—it spread like a meteor to other online communities.

[I was drinking near Korea University and rushed out when I heard Noh Hae-il came to the school, but I couldn’t see him after all]

[Did Noh Hae-il already go home??]

[It’s my first time at Korea University, why is it so big? Are you using the narrow Korean land all by yourself??]

[So no one saw Noh Hae-il?]

Considering that Noh Hae-il came to Korea University, there were few autograph confirmations and hardly anyone saw him, so it was a topic that would soon die down.

However, the fire blazed in one community.

The first topic was, in a way, a common autograph certification post.

[Real Time Best] I’m a Korea University student who got Noh Hae-il’s autograph.

(Autograph certification···jpg)

I asked him to sign it for my girlfriend.

Is this right?

└ To my beloved Eun-ji, lol

└ You got NTR’d [Netorare: a genre involving infidelity], you gay, lol

└ Lol, so funny, Noh Hae-il’s golden hair NTR story, lol

└ But Noh Hae-il doesn’t write ‘beloved’ for male fans.

└ How does he give it to male fans?

└ Just ‘To [Name]’

└ Lol, if it were someone else, it would be discrimination, but because it’s a high schooler, it’s just a laughing matter, lol. He’s so honest.

└ Noh Hae-il is so likable, lol

[But I also want to receive ‘beloved’···]

└ Are you a girl?

└ No, I’m a man.

└ ;;;

└ ···Gay gay

And above all, the fact that it was also in the news articles set the community on fire.

[So, he woke up a guy who was dozing off while taking a summer semester astronomy class at Korea University, and that guy was Noh Hae-il, and the professor is Noh Hae-il’s dad???]

[Noh Hae-il’s dad is a Korea University professor?? And astronomy??? Wow, that’s crazy]

└ Wow, what’s with the genes? Dad is a science genius and son is a music genius??

└ The rumor that Noh Hae-il’s dad is a professor is famous, but a Korea University professor is real…

└ His family is also gold spoon [born into wealth], he’s living life alone

└ Is Noh Hae-il a gold spoon?

└ Yeah, it seems his family bought him the Noh Hae-il label building in Seongsu Station

└ Well, it might be hard to buy a building with just music revenue, lol

└ ? Are you ignoring his number one song?

[So, if you want to see Noh Hae-il now, you can just go to the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Korea University? Ah, it’s nothing, lol]

└ Lol, true

[Then is the lineup for this university festival confirmed?]

If his dad is a Korea University professor, he’ll go to Korea University, right?

└ Oh? That’s right

└ But Korea University might not invite Noh Hae-il

└ ?? Is the student council crazy? They have to catch Noh Hae-il

└ There was a rumor that the Korea University student council met Noh Hae-il’s dad

└ But isn’t this cheating? We were going to invite Noh Hae-il to our school, but it’s all about blood ties, regional ties, and school ties

└ Oh, you weren’t interested before, saying ballads would kill the mood, lol. The student council guys were all bluffing, lol

└ If you don’t like it… you know?

[So where is Noh Hae-il now? It pisses me off that this guy is attracting all the attention and then disappearing again]

If it were another celebrity, I would have just said he’s an attention seeker.

But his songs are so good and his actions are so mysterious that I’m really curious about what he’s doing now.

It seems like Noh Hae-il’s fandom is burning up, isn’t Noh Hae-il enjoying this?

└ I don’t know, ask the professor

└ What do I ask, lol? Professor, excuse me, is your son an attention seeker?

└ Hmm, I don’t know if my son is an attention seeker… but are you interested in graduate school?

└ !

A rare celebrity in this era who doesn’t use SNS, doesn’t have an agency website, and doesn’t seem to want to inform fans of his schedule. His fandom had already been burned by him before.

When he went to an American talk show.

In fact, if it were another celebrity, they might have been cursed to death by fans for this lack of communication and indifference policy(?).

However, Noh Hae-il’s case was a bit different.

First of all, every song he released continued to top the music charts, and there was nothing to criticize about his main job, such as his splendid live skills.

The reason he disappeared was not to go out and drink and cause accidents, but to work on music in a healthy way, and the image of a music genius with a unique personality had already been established through the media and his usual behavior.

The characteristics of an independent label also became the minimum reason that fans could understand.

With his consistent lack of communication, fans even accepted his indifference as Noh Hae-il’s charm.

So, the fact that the fandom was burning meant that.

[Was Dal [Noh Hae-il’s stage name] at Korea University today???? It was right next to me???]

└ Calm down

└ How can I calm down right now????

[Is Dal confirmed for the Korea University festival? When is the Korea University festival ticketing?]

└ It’s not a concert, calm down

└ When is the Korea University festival? Can I camp out for a week from now?

└ It’s in November, it’s vacation now, you’ll get arrested if you camp out

The desire to meet Noh Hae-il in any way was getting stronger and stronger, meaning it was becoming more solid.

In other words, it was vaguely similar to the fandom in Europe that was going crazy because they wanted to see HALO, meet him, and receive his touch.

After being banned from the fandom, Halo couldn’t know anything about what was happening in the fandom at all.

Of course, even if he hadn’t been blocked, he wouldn’t have known now.

Halo was holed up in the recording studio, strumming an electric guitar.

He had been holed up in the recording studio for a full day, strumming the guitar, but he wasn’t hungry,

And even though his white fingers were red from playing the guitar all day, it didn’t hurt.

The difficult problem he had been worrying about for several days was cleanly resolved, and when Jungwoo’s song, which he thought was the best, was completed, his mood was floating from then on.

“Boss, is it okay to leave him like that?”

Moon Seo-yeon looked worried about the unintentional fasting.

The members gathered in the control room were quietly watching the boy.

It was an unspoken rule here not to touch the boy in the recording studio if possible, but they couldn’t help but worry.

If Noh Hae-il were an adult, they wouldn’t have worried.

Everyone in this place was aware that he was 17 years old and still a teenager who had to grow.

“It seems like the song is all finished, so we should start singing soon.”

Han Jin-young replied calmly.

“You think so too, right? Should I go and tell him to eat?”

“Yeah.”

“No.”

When Nam Gyu-hwan blocked Moon Seo-yeon’s path, Moon Seo-yeon raised her eyebrows.

“Get out of the way.”

“No···!”

Nam Gyu-hwan blocks the way with a solemn attitude.

He meant not to interfere.

Since learning about the boy’s identity, Nam Gyu-hwan tended to regard him as a king or a divine being.

Of course, Moon Seo-yeon understands because she knows that Nam Gyu-hwan is a so-called ‘Heligan’ [ardent fan].

Still-.

Just as she was about to say something.

The boy in the recording studio suddenly lowered and raised his head.

When he wiped his nose, a red liquid came out.

At that moment, Nam Gyu-hwan ran out of the control room faster than anyone else.

Moon Seo-yeon was about to shake her head at his actions, but she hurriedly followed him, realizing that her boss was having a nosebleed.

“Boss!!!”

Halo wiped his nose.

He thought he just had a runny nose, but it was a nosebleed.

‘Ah, I’m weak.’

Suddenly, Noh Hae-il realized that his body was a minor and incomplete.

‘It’s time to rest.’

Halo calmly put down the guitar.

If it were his original body, he would never have rested.

Of course, his body wouldn’t have a nosebleed even if he stayed up all night for a day or two.

Well, he might get a nosebleed if someone hit him.

But he wouldn’t have rested.

But this isn’t his body.

It was Noh Hae-il’s body, for which he had to take minimal responsibility.

‘Let’s rest.’

Halo blinked once.

‘The song came out pretty well too.’

When he came to his senses, he was eating porridge with tissue in his nose.

Moon Seo-yeon, who was surprised that he had a nosebleed, hurriedly ran out and bought porridge.

Han Jin-young confiscated the guitar and said he would return it when he woke up.

And Nam Gyu-hwan, well. He brought water and trembled and asked what to do.

It was Halo who shed blood, but Nam Gyu-hwan seemed more surprised.

The porridge that Moon Seo-yeon bought was a bit bland, but everyone sitting around ate such porridge.

“Wow, I’ve never seen a beef porridge restaurant that tastes bad. Usually, if you eat shabu-shabu [Japanese hotpot] and then eat porridge, it’s delicious.”

“Doesn’t tuna porridge usually use canned tuna? It can’t be bad if you use tuna oil. Did your taste become luxurious because you only ate ramen these days?”

“What ramen did you eat?”

“Jin Soon.”

“? Is Jin Soon ramen?”

Everyone complained that it was bad – even Moon Seo-yeon, who bought the porridge, said a word – but they didn’t order or buy other food.

Halo also kept moving his spoon.

He didn’t think he was hungry, but the porridge kept going in.

The members’ voices combined and sounded like pleasant music.

As for the taste. It’s bland.

‘Resting like this isn’t bad either.’

It wasn’t bad.

#

A few days later, Halo contacted music director Park Jung-ho.

Music director Park Jung-ho was a little embarrassed that he had scheduled a meeting so early, but he called out the address.

“Hae-il, did you already make it?”

Halo looked around.

The place where music director Park Jung-ho called him was not the Chungmuro conference room or the office he had met before, but a studio where musical stage backgrounds were being created.

Soon, when the scheduled theater was emptied, the props and stage would be moved as is.

Music director Park Jung-ho, who was friendly to him because the boy looked interested at first glance, introduced the stage being produced during his free time.

“This is a Korea University classroom in the late 60s, isn’t it amazing?”

“Yes. It is.”

Rather than being amazed by the 60s classroom, he was amazed that it was not much different from the Korea University he had visited a few days ago. Well, unless it was a newly built building or remodeled, there were still many old buildings in the College of Humanities or the College of Natural Sciences that needed remodeling.

“Here is the live club where Jungwoo’s band performs. Hae-il, you can’t enter the club yet, right?”

Another stage appears behind the wall. Halo already knew what a club looked like, so he quietly watched the club’s appearance as realized on the musical stage.

Director Park Jung-ho showed the stage behind him because the reaction was uninteresting.

And the stage stacked in layers passed.

The last wall was-.

“Here it is.”

“Yes, the bus will stop here, and smoke will explode here.”

Jungwoo’s last stage.

Jungwoo’s stage unfolded before Halo’s eyes.

The last stage containing his earnestness.

“…Then shall we go listen to Hae-il’s song now?”

Halo stopped his thoughts at the sound director’s words and nodded.

He had already sent it to the cloud, so he had nothing more to do.

It was then.

“Can I listen to that too?”

Another voice was heard behind them.

Halo was startled by the faceless voice, and sound director Park Jung-ho was even more startled.

The man standing behind them with a sly face was the general director of the original musical ‘Rock’.

“Are you Noh Hae-il? Nice to meet you. I heard you were commissioned to compose our musical, but it’s our first time meeting.”

Sunglasses and a beard.

The general director, dressed smartly, smiled.

Originally, it was time for a handshake, but the general director was more curious about the music that Park Sound Director was trying to listen to than the boy’s hand temperature.

“Director, please listen to it during the blind test.”

Director Park cut it off firmly, but the general director did not give up.

“No, I don’t have a special relationship with Noh Hae-il, and I don’t have a bad relationship, so why do I have to be so strict?”

“Still···.”

“And that, the blind test. It’s meaningless.”

“Yes? What does that mean.”

The general director shrugged with an ambiguous face that could not be read.

Then he tapped his shoulder with his finger.

Sound director Park Jung-ho looked over.

And what reached the end of that gaze was.

“Isn’t that Professor Kim···?”

“Yes, Professor Kim already sent it to me, asking me what I thought of the music he made.”

Sound director Park Jung-ho’s brow furrowed.

Showing the song to the director first was a clear overreach and solicitation.

“So did you listen to it?”

“I listened to it. But I didn’t say okay. Our music director is here, how can I decide alone?”

“Yes, I’m not asking you to accept it either. You have to choose the best song.”

“That’s what he says.”

Professor Kim, who had been receiving the sound director’s gaze, came up shamelessly and answered.

Then he turned his head and looked at the boy.

-How is it? Music for kids these days

I even remember that arrogant word at that time.

To be honest, he couldn’t deny that music.

He had no choice but to admit his dazzling talent.

However, as an adult who has lived a little more life, he didn’t like the boy very much.

Originally, the rice should bow its head as it ripens [a Korean proverb about humility].

The boy, who had not yet experienced failure, was arrogant, believing only in his talent.

Well, kids these days don’t grow up being hit, so they don’t have any sprouts.

Professor Kim did not doubt that those wings would break someday.

And at that time, the boy’s arrogant attitude would come back like a boomerang and bite the boy without leaving anything behind.

“I swear in the name of God, I didn’t receive anything. So I told the sound director honestly, and I will choose the song together. Park knows that I’m not a prejudiced person.”

I don’t know if he’s a prejudiced person, but the bright yellow SpongeBob suit certainly made him look like an individual.

“Yes, well, that’s right.”

Sound director Park Jung-ho was already upset by Professor Kim’s overreach, but he did not transfer his anger to the general director or the boy. It was already done. Of course, Professor Kim will have to take responsibility for his overreach and solicitation.

Originally, the song that would have been listened to with headphones is played with high-performance audio after entering the indoor office.

Sound director Park Jung-ho believed without a doubt that the boy’s song would be better than Professor Kim’s.

But.

“?”

The sad melody he had roughly imagined was not there.

There was no wailing, no despair, and no feeling of being devastated after losing the people around him.

An exciting beat and an exciting melody.

An exciting rock melody was heard.

‘What is this?’

Sound director Park Jung-ho was embarrassed.

And Professor Kim was the same.

‘Huh, I confused it with the second number.’

Professor Kim smirked and looked at the general director.

The song he had played to the general director was the last number.

He didn’t want to give up the number that would be the flower of the musical, and he played it to the general director, braving his rudeness.

Jungwoo’s song is endlessly depressed and in despair.

‘Look, am I better?’

Shin Joo-hyuk or Noh Hae-il. It can’t be compared to a popular singer with no roots.

Professor Kim waited for the general director’s reaction.

Around that time, the general director, who had been listening to the song quietly, suddenly tilted his head to the side.

‘Wait a minute, this is···.’

The general director thought that the last number Kim had made was not bad.

The atmosphere of that time. The despair of the youth.

But this is··· completely different.

Of course, at first, he knew he was listening to the first number, not the last number.

But suddenly, a tingling lightning passed through him.

He turned his body and looked out the window.

In front of him is an unfinished stage set.

‘···I can see it.’

The music is heard.

A pleasant and friendly melody sweeps over the ears.

‘I see it.’

Before he knew it, he was standing on the completed stage,

The props and stage he had vaguely imagined. Lighting. And even Jungwoo, who hasn’t been cast yet, the curtain rises on the stage in perfect form.

In the rapidly flowing time, what he reached was the last stage.

Smoke bombs explode among the people protesting against the military regime, and people are beaten.

Jungwoo, who had already lost his friend, watched everything clearly on the spot and played the guitar.

The people are pushed out by the military.

There was an insurmountable wall there.

There, Jungwoo sings.

Rather than representing his and the youth’s pain with sad and painful music,

He sang about the future of the youth, which would soon come, with cheerful music.

Jungwoo said that the wall in front of him seems overwhelming and insurmountable right now, but it will eventually be overcome.

And the reason why Jungwoo can sing like that is-.

‘That’s right!’

The general director clenched his fist.

A thrill swept over him and tears welled up in his eyes.

The protagonist of this musical, Jungwoo, does not know if their movement will really succeed.

However, the audience watching this musical will know that their attempt will somehow succeed.

Because they are the youth who will enjoy the future created by them, Jungwoo and the young people.

‘This is what I wanted.’

The general director turned his head.

There, instead of the stage, was a boy.

The boy who showed him the stage he wanted.

The general director passed Professor Kim, who had his eyes wide open, approached the boy, and grabbed his shoulder.

“Would you like to be the general director instead of me?”

Puh-!

Sound director Park Jung-ho, who was feeling an intense thirst and drinking water, spat it out as it was.