The Road to Glory Chapter 134 - The Gentleman Next to Me

[The Plague Doctor Appears in Venice]

It was like a typhoon that swept across the continent.

It overturned the new year that had been flowing calmly, or as usual. Every media outlet was plastered with photos of the plague doctor cutting through the sunset.

It had been barely a month since HALO’s 11th album “Catch me if you can” was released. Therefore, HALO’s new song was still firmly holding the top spot on the charts.

[Is he really HALO?]

As usual, doubts about HALO began first.

There had been too many people claiming to be HALO for the past year. Most of these claims didn’t last long. They brought one piece of circumstantial evidence, but ultimately couldn’t overcome the wall of numerous counter-evidences and, above all, voice analysis.

Therefore, counter-evidence should have emerged one by one. Calm people would usually wait until the voice analysis report came out.

But this time, no one could remain calm. Anyone who saw the video jumped up from their seat. Just like the people who were on the streets of Venice, in restaurants, or on other gondolas that day couldn’t sit still.

There was a big difference between the self-proclaimed HALOs that had existed so far and the plague doctor who appeared this time.

The fact that he didn’t claim to be HALO himself wasn’t a special difference. There had been cases over the past year where someone unintentionally became suspected of being HALO, received sudden attention, and became a star.

The biggest difference was in the method of ‘proof’.

When someone asked the self-proclaimed HALOs to sing, they ultimately chose to avoid it.

They would list various excuses – they were saving their voice for making the next album – or make excuses like they had injured their throat, or had been drinking the night before, avoiding proof.

The plague doctor was different.

He appeared with the live performance everyone wanted. Without any words or excuses, as if one live performance was enough.

And that proof didn’t just reach the eyes and ears of those watching the gondola parade on the first day of the carnival.

“Can you see? The gondola parade is underway, wrapping up the first day of the carnival.”

During a live broadcast commemorating the first day of the festival by a local Venice broadcasting station

-The sun on the horizon…

Halo’s music could be heard from somewhere.

It grew closer, and the head of the anchor, known to be a big fan of HALO, tilted towards the music.

-The sun…

Passing under the bridge, the flotilla of gondolas emerges.

And the powerful voice coming from there.

The sound trying to continue the commentary scattered.

-…

The Medico della Peste appears on camera above the anchor’s head. He was singing freely with his arms spread. The sound of the session had long since stopped.

Without any accompaniment, Halo’s voice was fully captured by the broadcasting equipment.

The anchor’s head followed the plague doctor.

-Ha… lo?

More than 3 seconds of silence, and a comment other than the news report.

It was a broadcasting accident.

Such a real broadcasting accident was broadcast live and spread to the mainland and the continent.

To exaggerate, Halo’s voice, known to everyone in the world, was raw. It was enough to become a topic as a broadcasting accident, and when HALO’s name value was added, the accident video grew wings without even having a chance to be taken down.

The proof was enough with one live performance. There was no need to wait for someone to come and do a voice analysis.

[All ye people! Worship the king who has descended upon this land! Long live The Sun VVVV]

[The Sun! The Sun! The Sun!]

[How can one cover The Sun with their hand?]

[The Sun has arrived in Venice! Loyal knights of The Sun! Assemble!]

The back view of the plague doctor cutting through the red horizon appeared on electronic billboards around the world – New York Times Square, Tokyo Shibuya, London Piccadilly Circus.

Passing tourists, commuting office workers, people standing at crosswalks stopped to look up at him.

Moreover, photos taken from various angles – front, side – were uploaded to newspapers, and even a 3D modeling of HALO was created on the internet.

The plague doctor on the Venice canal. Or the crow doctor. Instead of the staff symbolizing him, a beautiful man holding an elegant guitar with an engraved H.

That modeling alone provided numerous clues.

[1. Estimated height 70–73 inches (178-185cm)]

First, they estimated Halo’s height through the distance between the gondola and buildings, camera distortion, and angle calculations. They even analyzed each photo to the nano level, enlarging the size of the mask, posture, and finger length.

Also, luxury goods experts appeared en masse, and the brand of HALO’s suit was revealed by the wrinkles and buttons of the clothes,

[11. Brownie Men’s Heritage Tech Coat, this season’s European product]

The shoe brand was revealed just by the shape of the boot laces.

Also, they revealed the brand by the leather used on the bird’s beak and the metal embedded there, and estimated the time when the mask was made through Google Maps Street View.

[Seems to appear in the 2025 Map Street View]

└ I can’t see it?

└ You can see crow feathers if you zoom in

└ ???

People didn’t stop there.

As if trying to satisfy their year-long desire for Halo, they licked the broadcast second by second.

[By the way, no matter how I look at it, I don’t know about the folk guitar, there’s nothing like that among the products on the market]

While products known to have been worn by HALO were experiencing unexpected booms and sellouts, it was natural for the seemingly unusual guitar to attract attention.

While guitar experts were interested in the sound echoing in the Venice canal and the elegant appearance, the general public focused on the H that seemed to symbolize HALO.

[Is it custom-made? Gibson or Fender don’t have such models]

[That’s not a G? As far as I know, only G pulls the bridge like that]

└ G doesn’t have any bright guitar models at all

└ The nonlinear and bridge shape are closest to G

└ You idiots, if it was G, they would have engraved G, not H, it’s a signature

└ But what if the owner of that guitar is The Sun?

“I don’t know about sponsorship, but I understand the signature model is undecided-.”

“Logically, if our company had contracted with Halo, we would have promoted it already, right?”

“We don’t know anything about it.”

While one brand said that externally, internally-.

“No matter how I look at it, it’s definitely our company’s guitar, what’s going on?”

“Bright wood guitars are not in the plan yet…”

“Well, it went out once. It was sponsored to an Asian artist. Don’t you remember? The branch office there sent a long email, and we were about to refuse, but the master said it would be interesting and allowed-.”

“Bring the related materials right away! And contact that artist’s agency… and Veil.”

While people who were working from home or on vacation were urgently holding meetings, reporters and anchors excitedly uploaded breaking news.

[Trains to Venice sold out, Railway Bureau “No new formations for safety.”]

[Italian national roads filled with red lights]

[Additional flights to Venice Marco Polo Airport! Excited airlines and skies full of planes]

Despite a major accident where gondolas collided in a chain reaction on the first day of the carnival, the mayor couldn’t contain his joy and gave an interview about the influx of tourists and the fact that no one was hurt.

Of course, he said he would work on maintaining the safety of tourists and the urban environment, but judging by his pose similar to Halo – the plague doctor – in front of the camera, he was clearly enjoying it.

And it wasn’t just the mayor who was excited.

The streets of Venice are now packed with people, and voices looking for him could be heard here and there.

[Crazy guy lol]

[Living life interestingly]

[For real]

[Korea is in chaos too, of course not as much as foreign countries]

[Just in case you’re curious, the musical is a big hit too]

Halo chuckled as he read the text message that had arrived as soon as he opened his eyes.

“It’s chaos.”

“Wow, what happened overnight?”

“Ugh, I can’t believe I wasn’t there.”

When he went to the living room, the members were huddled together on the sofa in front of the fireplace.

“Haeil.”

“Boss! We’ve been waiting.”

“Good morning.”

Whether he knew or didn’t know about the chaotic situation outside, Halo calmly greeted and looked for his guitar.

The guitar case with a butterfly engraved on it was quietly placed on the armchair.

He could feel people’s gazes.

As if they had something to say or as if they were hoping he would say something, everyone was staring at him intently.

“Did something happen?”

When Halo asked so naturally, Moon Seoyeon’s mouth gaped. Nam Gyuhwan was still regretting his past mistakes, and Han Jinyeong was still dazed.

In fact, Moon Seoyeon and Nam Gyuhwan heard about it later through videos, but Han Jinyeong had witnessed it in person, so he felt more like he was dreaming than them.

“Now.”

Han Jinyeong recalled Halo singing freely on his stomach like a crow spreading its wings. The current smiling Halo overlapped with that image. Han Jinyeong thought there was no need to think so seriously about it. As Halo did, it was enough to just enjoy it.

“What are you going to do?”

Halo looked at the watch once and shrugged.

“Let’s go eat.”

As they say, even Mt. Geumgang is viewed after a meal. (+) ^[1] TLN: This is a Korean proverb meaning that even the most important things should wait until after you’ve eaten.

The second day of the Venice festival.

Halo didn’t dress up from head to toe like the first day. There was no particular reason, it was just troublesome. Although it was fun to dress up to match the concept of the mask, it took quite a long time to prepare. Once was enough.

Instead, Halo wore a half animal mask like a hat and casually put on a hoodie. Like many Koreans, the hoodie had the name of an American university written on it.

Like Halo, who had put the guitar case on his back again, the members who had packed only the minimum festival necessities

“Wow…”

They stuck out their tongues at the streets that were packed incomparably to yesterday.

Although there were many people participating on the second and third days as the carnival lasted for ten days, they all knew it wasn’t just because of that reason.

No matter how modest they tried to be, they couldn’t see the guys walking around with banners saying ‘I will find you and kiss you’ ‘My sweet pumpkin pie, Where are u?’ as simple tourists.

Moreover,

“Excuse me, honey, could you take off your mask for me?”

“Sniff sniff. I smell a familiar pumpkin pie scent from you. Oh, sorry. It was what I ate yesterday.”

They couldn’t understand why there were so many polite perverts on the street. Halo looked strangely at those who kept blocking one side of the road and asking him to take off his clothes or mask.

“What’s with these people?”

“I don’t know.”

“Are they openly trying to extort money? Venice is scary.”

They opened the way without threat to young Korean-speaking tourists. Those who made eye contact with Halo glanced at the guitar case the boy was carrying.

“Wait.”

An intimidating voice stops the boy’s steps. Turning around, a large man with scars on his face was looking at Halo with a fierce expression.

“You.”

The members, belatedly realizing that it was Halo they had stopped, were startled.

“Be careful.”

What? As Moon Seoyeon’s pupils shook, wondering if he meant to lower his eyes,

“Of what?”

Halo asked nonchalantly.

“That case. The petty thieves in this neighborhood don’t discriminate between big and small.”

“Ah.”

Halo glanced at his case and slung it across his body.

“Thanks.”

Looking closely, the man’s short-sleeved shirt had a phrase engraved on it. ‘If you are The Sun, raise your fist.’

Whether it was a custom-ordered shirt or not, he seemed to have seen similar phrases many times. Halo raised his right fist.

“Don’t mention it.”

The man, thinking it was a gesture of thanks, bumps his fist. Thud. This was enough conversation for the man.

“Four people? Just a moment, I’ll guide you soon.”

It wasn’t just the streets that were crowded.

Restaurants were experiencing unexpected booms, making it difficult to find seats. After going around three places and luckily finding empty seats, they sat next to a party that had ordered a lot of alcohol.

Halo leaned his guitar case against the inside wall and chose from the menu.

Ravioli and pasta, salad and pizza. Steak. They ordered one of each of the main dishes here, and everyone except Halo decided to drink house wine.

Halo glared at the wine and rested his chin on the table.

Then he overheard the conversation of the people sitting next to them.

“Peter wasn’t coming and I was worried, but he said this to me. ‘Just trust me.'”

“He said that? Really?”

“Shh, be quiet and keep listening. And I said, there’s no way you don’t know the song. It’s a song people all over the world love. And as soon as I said the title, he said it was the song he was most confident in. Somehow, at that moment! I felt the aura. It was blazing, like the sun.”

“Hmm.”

Turning his head at the familiar name, Halo discovered normal faces. They weren’t wearing masks and showed their bare faces. Although the faces were unfamiliar, the voices were familiar.

“And then we played really cool from then on.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Do you know what he said when we parted?”

“I like you guys, want to be my session?”

“I really, really wanted to, but at that moment I thought of you, Peter. If we become his session, you wouldn’t be accepted anywhere.”

“So we said this. It’s a great honor to meet you and jam together, but we have a friend we can’t abandon.”

“So, you piece of shit stuck in a septic tank, be grateful to us.”

Halo chuckled as he listened to their conversation.

Perhaps hearing the laugh, they turned their heads.

Their eyes met, but just as Halo didn’t recognize them at first, they didn’t recognize Halo either.

Thinking they just made eye contact with a foreign boy, they exchanged a nod and focused back on their conversation.

“Anyway. Next time I won’t drink before the performance. I feel sorry about that.”

“You idiot! I told you not to feel sorry, it was really than… No. Well do… No, yeah.”

“My mom said you’re supposed to drink before a performance!”

“Cheers! For Peter’s supernova explosion!”

“Boom boom boom!”

They clinked their glasses noisily, downed their drinks in one shot, and slammed the glasses down. Judging by their pronunciation, they seemed to be a mix of Italian citizens and LA natives, but their behavior was more like middle-aged Scots.

“By the way, where could he be?”

“I don’t know, somewhere around here, right?”

“I really want to say hello if we meet again.”

“Next time we meet, he’ll probably forget our very existence.”

“Why didn’t you just accept the session offer?”

“Y-yeah?”

“Should we do an interview? The news was asking for tips.”

“How much do they pay for that?”

“Are those people the ones?”

When Moon Seoyeon, who had noticed, asked, Halo nodded.

At that moment, Nam Gyuhwan glared sharply but returned to normal after seeing the big guys.

“We’re just going to see the masquerade, do we need to say hello?”

The members wouldn’t have minded joining them right away, but Halo declined. He had already greeted them, and they seemed to be enjoying themselves as is. Halo, who had been recalling the jam session with them, looked at the members.

That’s enough distraction.

Halo took a sip of water and opened his mouth.

“I have something to talk about regarding our future schedule.”

“Yes.”

“Please tell us.”

While the members’ eyes were sparkling, he looked around.

Being in the corner of a first-floor restaurant, no one was paying particular attention to them.

The conversation would only be heard by the foreigners sitting next to them.

“I’m planning to attend Coachella this April.”

“Oh!”

“Wow.”

Being all musicians, there was no one who didn’t know about Coachella.

Coachella Music and Arts Festival.

It was the most meaningful festival for musicians and the largest festival in North America.

The fact that he was attending Coachella wasn’t particularly surprising.

He was already more than qualified to attend Coachella, and it was expected that he would participate in the festival someday.

“So I’d like you all to prepare as well.”

Just as Nam Gyuhwan was about to say he was already prepared, Halo smiled meaningfully, making Moon Seoyeon and Han Jinyeong think, “No way.”

“My music. That is, from the first album-“

Halo’s finger swept across the table in a straight line.

“To the upcoming 13th album, all of it.”

“!”

That answer was enough.

There was no need to ask who would be performing.

The order to prepare all songs from the 1st to the 13th album could only mean one thing.

“I haven’t decided which songs to sing yet.”

“Don’t worry, boss.”

“I can go to America right now if needed.”

“It’s not long now.”

It might have been sudden, but no one seemed to be particularly worried.

-Sing for them, Halo.

Ah, he’s looking forward to it.

Halo recalled the promise he made with the young fan.

-My Sun.

“Then, boss. You know.”

The young blonde girl disappeared, and Moon Seoyeon was in her place.

“So, does this mean you declined as Roh Haeil?”

Moon Seoyeon was honestly disappointed.

They also knew that Roh Haeil had received an offer for Coachella.

She liked both Halo and Roh Haeil’s music, but if she had to choose, she preferred Roh Haeil’s music more. She liked the path Roh Haeil had built, and she liked his fandom too.

Moon Seoyeon was therefore disappointed that the offer that came to the young Korean star, Roh Haeil, had to be declined.

“If everything is revealed like this, it’s fine, but what if it’s not?”

If everything doesn’t come to light in Italy.

“Isn’t there no need to decline the other one?”

“!”

And this is the story that follows.

The clowns, jesters, jokers, and plague doctors, who had drunk heavily, waited for the waiter. How intently they must have been staring, the waiter approached.

“Yes, do you need anything?”

“We’re about to leave. Could you bring us the bill?”

When they made the sign for a bill with their hands, the waiter nodded and headed to the counter. But when he came back, the waiter’s hands were empty.

“?”

“This table has already been paid for, so you can just leave.”

“What? But we haven’t paid yet?”

“Did you do it, Peter? No, I told you not to feel sorry, please just once more next time.”

“But I wasn’t. I’ve been here the whole time.”

“Then was it you?”

“No way. Have you ever seen me step up to pay first?”

“No.”

The clown, jester, joker, and Peter looked at each other stupidly. Then, the waiter said with a smile,

“The gentleman at the next table paid and left.”

• 1. TLN: This is a Korean proverb meaning that even the most important things should wait until after you’ve eaten.