The Road to Glory Chapter 128 - The Sound of Spring

Vienna, the city of music that gave birth to numerous musicians such as Haydn, Beethoven, Mozart, Franz Schubert, and Johann Strauss II.

When they first arrived in this city, they were greeted by an antique and tranquil atmosphere. It felt very different from Prague. Perhaps because of its history as the birthplace of many musicians, the wide roads, neat streets, and elegant trees that must be hundreds of years old created a classical ambiance.

It was, of course, Moon Seoyeon who strongly insisted on coming to Vienna. Although she had given up her classical music major, she hadn’t abandoned her fantasies about Vienna that musicians held.

Rather than natural history museums or art galleries, she was more interested in palaces, cathedrals, opera houses, and other places that held the footsteps of musicians from both past and present.

She didn’t forget to book tickets online for Vienna Philharmonic concerts and operas – Moon Seoyeon, who was usually laid-back about tourism, had booked concert tickets for a fully packed week.

Among them, Mozart’s The Magic Flute, which they were lucky enough to see first, was impressive.

Of course, it was incomprehensible how Prince Tamino fell in love after seeing a picture of Princess Pamina, but the fantastic music alone was enough. While people were amazed at the heightened soprano of the Queen of the Night’s aria, Halo read the hatred embedded in the music.

In the end, she disappeared from the world, but the lingering emotions of her song dominated everyone. To the point where they couldn’t sleep.

However, Vienna’s charm wasn’t limited to just its classical buildings and splendid orchestra performances.

Unlike Vienna’s first impression of being quiet and calm, the streets of Vienna were more dynamic. Classical music played throughout the streets, and the smell of bread and coffee wafted from cafes. Cars and horse-drawn carriages intersected, and modern buildings harmonized with Baroque-style mansions.

Numerous modern people strolled the streets, and airplanes or artificial satellites passed over their heads.

Vienna was a city where the classical and the present coexisted.

Halo stared at an advertisement board set up on the street.

A photo of an elderly couple kissing underwater.

Above it was written the phrase [Love Life (Liebe das Leben)], and in front of it, an accordion played Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.

Vienna in mid-January was like spring, not winter.

Like a platform that initiates new encounters, it also facilitated reunions with old acquaintances and created new connections.

Halo stopped in the hotel lobby for a similar reason.

A pale-faced girl was sitting on the sofa in the hotel lobby. She sat quietly with her hands on her knees, with no visible guardian nearby.

“Rose?”

“…Roh?”

She seemed to remember the voice calling her name.

The girl who had come on the last day of his concert last summer looked the same as ever. Unlike Halo, who hadn’t finished growing yet, the girl seemed to still exist in that moment of time.

“Why are you here-“

“Oh my, Mr. Roh?”

His words were cut short.

It was because Per Aspera, who had hurriedly run over, called out to him. In some ways, the world seems quite small.

With so many hotels and mansions on this vast continent, to meet here.

“It’s been a while, I never dreamed we’d meet in Vienna. Although I heard you were traveling.”

“Is Mr. Aspera also on a trip to Vienna?”

Per Aspera, the chief designer of Arbor, was also surprised.

“No, we came to meet Rose’s mother. Her workplace is in Vienna.”

“Ah.”

So that’s why the father-daughter pair who seemed to be of French origin had come to Vienna. Halo finally understood.

“I’d like to invite you to dinner today, but we’re scheduled to see a performance Rose wants to watch, so it might be difficult. If it’s not too presumptuous, may I ask how long you’ll be staying in Vienna?”

Per Aspera, after the initial surprise, truly welcomed him. He seemed to have a lot to say to him. On the other hand, Rose Aspera jumped up as soon as her father arrived and hid behind his back.

Halo remembered when she had called out his name and greeted him. It was quite different from then. While children’s whims are said to occur as frequently as Halo’s, this was an incomprehensible change.

“Rose, aren’t you going to greet Mr. Roh?”

On the other hand, Per Aspera didn’t seem to have noticed at all. That Rose had intentionally hidden.

“Rose.”

Per Aspera was puzzled when Rose didn’t say a word and remained hidden behind his back.

Why is the child acting like this?

“Are you sick, Rose?”

“…I don’t want to greet him.”

“!”

When urged once more, a small voice was finally heard.

“Rose, what’s wrong?”

Rose, who had buried her head in his back and shook it side to side, mumbled.

“Roh deceived me.”

“When did Mr. Roh deceive you?”

Per Aspera scratched his cheek and straightened his back.

Then he looked at the boy awkwardly and apologized.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Roh… It seems Rose is still upset about the misunderstanding from last time. It was the first time Rose had mistaken someone’s voice. She seems unwilling to admit it.”

Rose, who was hiding behind her father’s back, turned her head away sharply when their eyes met.

“Rose, Mr. Roh didn’t do anything wrong. Are you going to keep acting like this?”

Halo quietly looked at Rose for a moment, then finally averted his gaze.

“Dad, let’s go.”

When Rose tugged at his clothes, Per Aspera couldn’t bring himself to shake off that small hand. He only made a gesture suggesting he would contact Halo later.

Halo nodded and turned away.

He also had plans with the members.

#

Although the city was said to be filled with classical music, not everyone living in Vienna or traveling there only enjoyed classical music, contemplation, and reading.

Just a little away from the center, there were plenty of casual restaurants and pubs. Popular music played in those places, and instead of discussing Goethe’s secret life, people talked about the private lives of top stars. Of course, due to the season, soccer channels were always on the TV.

<The Divorce of Figaro>, which was a restaurant by day and a pub by evening, also had such an atmosphere.

<The Divorce of Figaro> was like a hideout and a place of debate for college students, workers, regular elderly customers – people of all ages and genders who wanted to refresh their daily lives.

They gathered regardless of whether it was a weekday or weekend, and Boss Jerry, accommodating the needs of customers, gave up on break time and gained both money and regular customers.

Ding-.

Since there were already various types of people present, they didn’t pay much attention even when occasional travelers entered.

“This seems to be the local restaurant that was on the blog?”

“Can we trust blogs? What’s supposed to be good here?”

“Schnitzel!”

“Isn’t that a snack?”

“That’s Prechtel.”

One Asian woman, three men.

It wasn’t unusual, as travelers often peeked in when they saw a crowded place. If anything caught the eye, it might be the guitar case on the back of a boy, or rather a young man.

Not only was it flashy, but its uncommon design drew attention. Moreover, being in the city of music, there was curiosity about the young musician.

However, as everyone resumed their debates, even the remaining curiosity dissipated.

There was a hot news topic and debate subject recently at <The Divorce of Figaro>. Regardless of whether they were college students, office workers, or elderly, everyone talked about the same topic.

The debate that everyone engaged in seriously, wasting time, had started on January 1st of the new year. The year 2032 was a different year. People who would normally talk about New Year’s events or New Year’s concerts held on January 1st were calling a different name from all sorts of places.

HALO 11th Album Catch me if you can

Due to an album released on the afternoon of December 31st.

This was like last winter.

A spark ignited in the WHO IS HALO phenomenon that had been quiet.

HALO’s music continues to occupy the charts.

HALO’s album tracks firmly held their place on music sites, to the point where someone might say that HALO was the only one who released an album this year – or more precisely, last year. It was inevitable, as he released albums faster than people could get tired of them.

However, issues are different from music charts. People don’t consume one issue for long, and it can be buried under other issues. In fact, it was remarkable that one issue continued for a year, not even a month.

It was at that moment.

The HALO identity debate, which was thought to be slowly sinking among numerous other issues, resurfaced.

Perhaps it had become even more intense than last year.

The title of the 11th album was, no matter how you looked at it, no different from HALO’s message – or order – to find them.

Even HALO fans who had been quiet rose up and stirred at HALO’s direct message – or command. Not just online, but offline as well.

“I saw the Blue Bird Who is HALO page, but they’re too narrow-minded. There might be a reason why they haven’t been able to deduce HALO’s identity until now. If they couldn’t deduce from retired singers, maybe they should be removed from the list of suspects.”

“But we can’t put all the people in the world into a data network.”

“On Reddit, they were saying we should investigate celebrities from all over the world. Not just limiting it to Europe and America.”

“How about developing a voice comparison program for NuTube? Analyzing the voices of all videos uploaded to NuTube.”

“Oh, that sounds good! But is that possible? How do you make it?”

“Well, that’s for the programmers to figure out now.”

“!”

Perhaps their voices were too loud, as the travelers ordering schnitzel from the boss turned around with a start.

The college students made apologetic gestures and continued their heated debate. And from one side, the voices of Japanese exchange students could be heard.

“Halo’s voice is similar to ours.”

“If we look at the way his vocaler evolves, isn’t there a sufficient possibility that Halo is a vocaloid?”

“Excuse me, are you Roh Haeil-ssi?”

The members, who had unintentionally been focusing on the surrounding conversations, turned their heads sharply at the familiar Korean. Two people, a man and a woman, were standing in front of the boy with sparkling eyes.

“We’re Korean!”

“Hello.”

Halo greeted them calmly. The exchange students were delighted that the real person had appeared.

“Could you perhaps give us an autograph? And if possible, a photo?”

“Of course.”

“Wow! Thank you!”

As the exchange students were doing this, their companions also approached, watching the situation. The exchange students skillfully explained in German that he was a famous singer from Korea, and their friends’ eyes also sparkled.

Although they clearly hadn’t heard of the name Roh Haeil before, they didn’t shy away from taking commemorative photos.

After taking a group photo that clearly showed the bar of the restaurant, they bowed their heads and greeted him.

“A singer came to this restaurant?”

Although everyone was just talking about their own things, in a restaurant where usually only familiar faces gather, the act of taking photos and getting autographs couldn’t go unnoticed.

The boss from the bar looked at him, and the gentleman sitting next to him also cast a glance.

Just because it’s a city of classical music doesn’t mean people disregard or ridicule pop singers.

“Come to think of it, some foreign broadcast did request filming. Was that from Korea too?”

Someone receiving a drink at the bar answered the boss’s words.

“Why? It sounds interesting, why didn’t you accept?”

“Looking at the size of the filming team, I thought my shop might burst. It’s a shame I couldn’t hear the live performance though.”

“Aren’t you already satisfied with the business?”

“That’s true too. I’m already full just from emptying your wallets.”

The boss chuckled at the old man’s joke. The old man in a suit put down his newspaper and asked.

“Would you perhaps consider singing a song for this foolish boss?”

Before Halo could answer, the boss burst out.

“No, why are you asking a guest who came to relax to work? Please rest comfortably, sir.”

“Is music work? I’m suggesting an exchange.”

“Instead of saying that to our guest who might become a regular, why don’t you play a song?”

“I’m already a caught fish, aren’t I?”

As the old man took off his hat, others clapped. Again, this is the holy land of music. They welcomed both planned performances and impromptu ones.

The old man approached the old organ placed in the small shop and sat down with his back to it. He wasn’t going to play the organ that was placed there as decoration.

Just as a gentleman might carry a cigarette in his jacket, and a beautiful woman might keep a revolver in her handbag, Vienna citizens carried at least one musical instrument.

He took out a flute from a small bag and brought it to his lips.

Soon, a beautiful melody was heard.

“Wow…!”

It was Johann Strauss II’s “Voices of Spring”, a waltz inspired by a soprano, which is widely loved today as a representative symbol of spring.

People smiled faintly at the delicate sound of the flute, reminiscent of bird calls.

The boss also watched with folded arms, and customers who had just entered, the door tinkling, listened with wide eyes.

Halo noticed Moon Seoyeon’s fingers twitching as the flute melody was about to end. He grinned and applauded as the old man’s performance ended.

“My skills are still as good as ever, right?”

The old man returned to his seat, boasting about his skills proudly, seemingly having completely forgotten that he had urged the boy to play music. He started drinking.

“Thank you for the wonderful performance.”

“Did you find it worth listening to as well?”

“So. May I offer a response song?”

“Oh!”

The friend sitting opposite the old man exclaimed instead.

“Listen, everyone! A singer from Asia, that is-“

“Korea.”

“A singer from Korea says he’ll sing for us!”

The restaurant suddenly became bustling as if it had turned into a live club. The Korean exchange students who had received photos from Roh Haeil also had sparkling eyes, and the restaurant’s customers watched the boy intently, ignoring even the boss’s calls.

“These are my band members.”

“Oh! It’s a band from Korea!”

Halo smiled faintly at the people who seemed happy no matter what he said, and pointed to the organ.

“By the way, that organ isn’t just for decoration, right?”

“Hmm, it should make sound, I think.”

The boss mumbled, sounding unsure.

Under the gaze of Halo and the members, Moon Seoyeon slowly approached the organ. Fortunately, there was no problem with the sound.

“What instrument do you play?”

“I can play guitar and bass.”

“Then! Wait a moment! I’ll lend you one!”

Han Jinyeong, who had declined Halo’s guitar as it was too burdensome, received a jazz guitar that someone had left behind, and Nam Gyuhwan looked around with folded arms before pointing to the glasses hanging at the bar.

“Excuse me, can I use those empty glasses?”

When he boldly asked in Korean, the Korean exchange students laughed and translated for him. It didn’t take long to set up a temporary stage. Although it might seem shabby in some ways, at least the people present thought it was no less than an orchestra in a splendid palace.

A woman sitting at the organ and a man leaning on the bar holding a jazz guitar. The glass cups filled with water make a clear sound like a xylophone.

Above all, the boy standing in the center of the small stage leaned on the organ and made eye contact with the woman.

One, two.

As the boy counted, the woman’s fingers began to move.

[The lark rises into the blue]

From a scene as beautiful as a movie, the sound of spring was heard.

[The mellow wind mildly blowing;

his lovely mild breath revives

and kisses the field, the meadow.]

The old man who played the flute is startled.

The boy’s response song was “Voices of Spring”, which he had just played.

[Spring in all its splendour rises. Ah-]

The old man soon smiled and put his lips to the flute again to complete the boy’s performance.

“My goodness… What is this?”

It was an unusual, exotic scene.

A musical exchange between young travelers and an old local.

A meeting of classic and modern in a Vienna restaurant.

And the sound of spring unfolding again from the mouth of a famous singer from a foreign country.

[All hardship is over.]

The youngest director of B team, who had been on a 30-minute journey to find snacks due to issues with their reserved restaurant and break time, opened his mouth wide.

Then, remembering the code of conduct, he hurriedly sent a message to his senior director before the song even ended.

[T]

[Target found!!]