The Road to Glory Chapter 136 - The Route of the Journey

The largest music festival in North America.

Coachella’s lineup has always been in the spotlight, not just dealing with rock music, but showcasing various genres such as hip-hop, pop, and electronic, while boasting a large number of loyal attendees (a kind of fan).

Coachella’s biggest feature is that artists who can be seen on world tours gather in one place, and concerts of all genres can be enjoyed without interruption.

Moreover, as it’s said to be the dream and goal of musicians worldwide, it was such an honor that when a new musician was invited, their home country would release related articles for days.

Even being a liner on the substage meant becoming ‘a top star recognized worldwide’. The headliner position, limited to only three, attracted even more attention. After all, the headliner, meaning the one leading the main stage, was no different from being the protagonist.

Therefore, as Coachella’s lineup announcement was delayed, the public, while complaining, thought they were bringing in quite a picky person.

Candidates for who Coachella might want were posted on community boards, and some people even directly asked the candidates on their social media.

However, none of them thought of HALO.

It’s not that Coachella wouldn’t want HALO. Why wouldn’t they? HALO is at the center of the world right now.

It’s just that no one thought HALO would accept Coachella’s invitation.

Since he hadn’t appeared at any festivals, broadcasts, or in reality until now, it was natural to think it would be the same this time.

Due to this unexpected lineup, the ripple effect was enormous.

[Is it really Halo?]

[Could it be someone with the same name?]

[The Sun is coming to Coachella!]

[Did Coachella misunderstand something?]

[They’re not going to say it’s actually Hello, not Halo, after drawing all this attention, right?]

└ HAHA, that’s really funny. I can see why you don’t have a girlfriend.

To show how perplexed they were, Coachella’s fandom, who first caught the announcement, came up with various theories denying reality such as the same name theory, misunderstanding theory, and typo theory. However, as the name HALO was once again imprinted on Coachella through various media outlets, they had no choice but to accept it.

At least, that the HALO Coachella was talking about was the HALO they knew. And soon, that HALO’s identity would be revealed as well.

At least, if Coachella hadn’t mistaken someone else for Halo.

The believers who had failed to find Halo in Venice were going crazy enough.

And it was the same in Korea.

The issue of Halo’s participation in Coachella was so overwhelming that it buried the news of another Korean singer’s participation in Coachella, and the level of interest was high.

Even those who only knew the name Coachella were determined to attend this time, even if it meant grinding their bones.

However, there was something that became as big an issue as Coachella.

It was because Roh Haeil, who had skipped award ceremonies and gone on a leisurely journey, appeared in an interview with the BBC, the British public broadcasting service.

[HOT] Roh Haeil’s recent situation (···BBC interview.jpeg)

Having a good time in Venice

[HOT] Life_is_like_Roh Haeil

Ah, why go to award ceremonies? LOL

It’s more fun to wear a mask, dance with a woman, and do news interviews LOL

└ Don’t Roh Haeil fans say anything?

└ They’re just happy that his recent situation was revealed

└ Poor kids, be nice to them

└ What’s poor about them;; You must not have seen them during ticket sales

└ For real, I can feel the intensity

[I really doubted my eyes when I saw him doing an interview there]

└ For real lol

└ He may be cosplaying Mozart, but he’s undeniably Roh Haeil no matter how you look at him

The sight of him giving an interview to a British broadcasting station, not a Korean one, while having a good time in Venice, was both absurd and funny in its unexpected naturalness.

[It’s natural because it’s a typical British accent]

└ You can see the anchor was surprised by the unexpected pronunciation

└ But the pronunciation is really cool

└ They say it’s a posh accent, the noble accent

└ I want to learn it too, will they teach me if I go to the academy Roh Haeil went to?

At that moment, someone spoke up.

[Wasn’t HALO in Venice? Roh Haeil is in Venice too]

└ Did he go to see HALO?

└ Looking at the interview, it seems he was there before that, maybe he went to see the Venice festival after being spotted in Vienna

└ Wow, what timing

└ Then did he see The Sun live?

└ There were more people who regretted and hit the ground for not being able to see it then

He was a big fan of HALO and had posted something like this before.

[Did everyone see this? The people who rode the gondola with HALO and Seoyeon were interviewed]

└ They weren’t very helpful

└ Why, they gave quite a few clues, didn’t they? They said he had a typical posh accent, was tall, and his voice sounded like someone their age

└ If they’re their age, isn’t that in their 20s? Is The Sun in his 20s?

└ They were estimating his body type, foot size, and hand size from just one photo of Halo;; If he appears once more, it’ll be completely confirmed

└ Is that really a photo of Halo?

He posted the next comment.

[Hey, but am I the only one who’s caught up on something? Why is Roh Haeil in Venice of all places?]

└ ? Can’t Roh Haeil go to Venice?

└ Isn’t the timing of Halo’s appearance and Roh Haeil being in Venice too perfect?

└ And before someone starts making a fuss, I’ll say this in advance, doesn’t Halo’s body type in the photo overlap with Roh Haeil’s? From the height, to the typical posh accent, if it’s Roh Haeil, it’s enough to feel like someone their age

└ Wow;; Here we go again

└ In the neighborhood, a self-proclaimed male hand expert appeared and said Halo’s gloved hand in the photo looks exactly like Roh Haeil’s hand… How are you any different from him;;

└ I totally agree, but how many men’s hands does one have to hold to become a male hand expert?

└ He’s a man

└ Ah

[I’ve got definitive proof that Roh Haeil can’t be Halo]

└ ? What is it?

└ [Breaking News │ Coachella’s final lineup confirmed] Roh Haeil is in this too

└ !

Finally, they don’t have to be Jaws anymore. The fandom that brought information about Coachella’s daily capacity – about 75,000 people – popped champagne before the concert date was even confirmed when the news of Roh Haeil’s Coachella confirmation came out.

Praying that it just wouldn’t be on the same day as HALO’s performance, it was time to respond to each other with smiles rather than teeth for the first time.

“Michelangelo was also famous for being ugly at the time.”

Listening to the guide, they were standing in front of the statue of David.

Those who had hired a dedicated Korean guide were touring the Vatican.

The Vatican, with its various works of art, made the presence of a guide essential.

“Actually, doesn’t he just look like a foreign man? That’s why many people wonder why he’s considered ugly.”

The guide, clearly a fan of Roh Haeil, was explaining with great enthusiasm.

“This one sentence should be enough. This appearance wasn’t his look in his 40s, but in his 20s.”

“Ah.”

“!”

Nam Gyuhwan and Moon Seoyeon’s faces were colored with shock.

His face in his 20s! It might not be right to comment on others’ appearances, but there was no denying he looked older than his age. Naturally, they had thought he was a foreign man in his 40s or 50s.

“Oh my…”

“And there’s another famous story about Michelangelo, related to his personality.”

“Yes, yes.”

“At the time, Michelangelo was said to have had quite a personality. He was prickly and stubborn. That’s why, as you’ll see soon, he left this anecdote in ‘The Last Judgment’.”

“At the time, the cardinal and Michelangelo didn’t get along. The cardinal excessively interfered with the process of ‘The Last Judgment’, criticizing the figures being painted nude. So Michelangelo took revenge.”

“Revenge?”

“He painted the cardinal’s face as the face of a demon.”

“!”

Halo chuckled as he listened to the guide’s explanation. The guide felt proud for making Roh Haeil laugh for the first time. But that wasn’t why Halo had laughed.

He too, like Michelangelo, had once embedded the names of those who had interfered with his music in his songs. Along with their criticisms of him.

That was the original version of I AM HALO, and the reason why it wasn’t played on radio or broadcasting stations.

Halo stood in front of Michelangelo’s tomb after finishing the Vatican tour.

The end of the great artist who had lived constantly fighting and leaving numerous anecdotes was, in the end, not much different from others.

Even after sending off the guide who had kindly shown them around, Halo stared at the tomb for a while.

“Boss.”

At that moment, Moon Seoyeon quietly called him.

“Yes.”

“I have something to tell you.”

Halo finally took his eyes off the tomb and looked at her. The other members were nowhere to be seen, only she was visible.

Moon Seoyeon had a rather serious face.

“I finally finished the song.”

“!”

Halo’s face, which had been listening quietly, brightened.

Since she had told him she wanted to compose, they had been talking about this song all along, so he was glad it was completed.

“It’s a bit clumsy, and there’s a lot I’m not satisfied with, but I decided to finish it instead of holding onto it any longer.”

“That’s a good choice.”

Moon Seoyeon looked proud, but also regretful, with a complex expression.

“I’ll let you hear the completed song after I record it.”

“Sounds good.”

“So, what I wanted to tell you is…”

Halo now seemed to know what Moon Seoyeon was going to say.

It was Moon Seoyeon who had said she wanted to go to Florence more than Paris. Halo suddenly recalled that she had skipped Florence and come to Rome. He had wondered why she suddenly changed her route.

Now that the song she had been working on was completed, what Moon Seoyeon would do next was clear.

“I want to return to Korea first.”

A wind blew from somewhere.

The wind that blew from behind Moon Seoyeon brushed Halo’s bangs. Halo slowly raised the corners of his mouth.

He always told the members to do what they wanted, and he liked members who honestly told him what they wanted to do.

“I want to go back first and prepare.”

“Do as you wish.”

His answer was always the same. Moon Seoyeon also smiled comfortably.

In fact, Moon Seoyeon’s decision to return to Korea wasn’t just because of her song.

Because it was her song and not a very difficult one, there was no need to rush to record it. So originally, she had planned to go to Florence, Sicily, and enjoy a longer trip.

But things changed when Halo and Roh Haeil were set to participate in Coachella. Her boss would always give an outstanding performance, but she needed to practice to show that performance. Unlike a guitar, a keyboard couldn’t be carried around. Feeling her hands stiffening, Moon Seoyeon gave up the pleasure before her eyes for the upcoming Coachella.

She decided to practice for the performance and also speed up the recording of her boss’s remaining album.

To fulfill her responsibility as a member of the always respectable boss.

“We can go on another trip next time, right?”

Moon Seoyeon expressed her regret.

It was really, really fun.

Halo nodded.

“Anytime.”

That evening, a meeting was held at the hotel after returning to the Vatican. With Moon Seoyeon announcing she would return home first, the other members were also given a choice.

Nam Gyuhwan and Han Jinyeong, who seemed to be having some sort of conversation with Moon Seoyeon, soon nodded with understanding faces. Then Nam Gyuhwan, fiddling with his arm, said he would go back with a face as if he had committed a mortal sin.

“Haeil, are you going to continue traveling then?”

When Han Jinyeong asked quietly, Halo nodded.

“Then I-.”

“You don’t have to stay on purpose. Actually, Mr. Veil said he would join too.”

“Mr. Veil? When?”

“Soon.”

Quite some time had passed since he had first proposed to travel together.

“Then, I guess I’ll just see Mr. Veil join and then head back.”

That’s how everyone made their decision.

“I’ll go back first and wait for you.”

“Ugh, I’m sorry I couldn’t serve you till the end.”

“Boss, have a fun trip!”

None of them asked him why he wasn’t going back home.

They might have thought that once his identity was revealed, Halo wouldn’t be able to travel comfortably anymore, so he was holding onto this last trip for as long as possible.

However, that’s a misconception.

Halo had always traveled before, and he had quite a lot of experience having chase scenes with fans at travel destinations. Nothing would particularly change just because his identity was revealed.

However, the reason he wanted to keep traveling like this.

Halo recalled the purpose of this trip again.

It started with concerns about revealing his identity as HALO, and his worries were resolved through the enjoyable trip and the fans he met at the destinations. He thought all his concerns had been resolved.

So, just when he was thinking of returning to Korea and preparing for the festival. Halo suddenly remembered a conversation with a friend in front of the tomb of a great artist.

-But what are you going to do later?

Just before leaving for the trip, Jang Jinsoo had asked him.

-Billboard No. 1? You haven’t done that yet.

-That’s coming soon.

-Then what after Billboard No. 1?

-Well…

‘My goal…’

Halo, who couldn’t answer then, was still standing in front of Michelangelo’s tomb.

“Have you decided on the next destination? Staying in Rome longer is good too.”

Halo turned his head.

August Veil, looking like any Italian old man with sunglasses and a fedora, approached him and gave him a friendly hug.

Halo had thought about and pondered over the next destination. Since the members always chose, it felt unfamiliar when he tried to choose.

Then he remembered Per Aspera, whom he met in Vienna, telling him to stop by the headquarters if he had business in France.

“Shall we go to Paris?”

“Paris is good too.”

There was no need to book a train or rent a car.

After all, August Veil had a private jet.

#

Meanwhile, at London Heathrow Airport.

PD Park was crouched in a seat at the gate, tapping his knees.

“In the end, we couldn’t meet him.”

Despite successfully finishing filming in England, he looked gloomy.

He couldn’t help it.

What he had been looking forward to the most was a chance encounter with Roh Haeil, and he had set everything up for it. But Roh Haeil hadn’t come to England until today.

Actually, it had seemed ominous since Team B encountered Roh Haeil in Vienna. Because it seemed unlikely they would cross paths based on their routes.

And after seeing him do an interview in Venice, PD Park, who had given up 99% of his hope, shed tears of regret as he left London without meeting him after all.

-Who knows? Maybe we can meet him.

-Anyway, we’re going in! Guten tag!

The youngest’s sarcasm made him even more upset.

If only Team B hadn’t met him either, he would have been less upset…

No, PD Park slapped his cheek.

He’s not just in charge of Team A, he’s the main PD.

What a selfish thought.

The viewer bulletin board was already buzzing with questions about when Roh Haeil would appear. As a result of releasing a preview in advance, they were getting cursed at more and more as each episode aired, but this too was a measure of interest.

PD Park got up from his seat, consoling his disappointment.

An announcement was ringing out, asking them to prepare for boarding.

“Come on everyone, cheer up. Let’s get one last group shot of Team A and B in front of the Eiffel Tower before we go.”