The Road to Glory Chapter 142 - No Reason Not To

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Halo sat alone in the train compartment, resting his head against the window. The red train passed through snowy mountains, steep gorges, and glaciers.

It was said to be the slowest express train in the world. He was scheduled to be here for a long journey of 8 hours one way.

August Veil had created a route that didn’t exist before and rented out an entire train, so the only people here were him, August Veil, and a few staff members. Except for when meals were brought, the train became as quiet as an empty villa.

It wasn’t boring.

Halo even enjoyed the leisurely and relaxed time. Suddenly, he wondered if this was the kind of train journey the members had hoped for.

The train rushing into the unknown, with the wondrous nature unfolding beyond the window.

Today was February 29, 2032.

It was a special day that came once every four years.

Halo naturally recalled the last February 29th he remembered. He hadn’t experienced it then. However, there was something he had planned to do at that time.

His last album, that is.

The release date for HALO’s 13th album “Until dawn comes” was supposed to be the same as today.

The most special day that comes once every four years, and about a week after the Grammy Awards.

He wanted to wrap things up neatly and release the album before winter ended. Unfortunately, the release date of the 13th album became a day that would never come.

“Did you wait long?”

August Veil, who had come in after making a call, entered leisurely and sat across from him.

“I’m getting calls from everywhere. I knew he was such an impatient fellow. It’s amusing that he called even though he knows I won’t easily tell him.”

Veil chuckled.

As he beat around the bush as usual, his acquaintances finally couldn’t hold back and burst out cursing.

“Ah, I had something to show you. Did you see it?”

“What is it?”

“It was uploaded today.”

August Veil took out a pad from his bag and handed it over.

NuTube was open on his pad, and Halo quickly spotted a title in Korean.

[JBC] Spring Again Team B – The Beautiful Blue Danube ♫feat. Roh Haeil #Austria #Chance Encounter

“It seems to have aired at dawn.”

August Veil’s words didn’t register.

But it was clear that they had uploaded the clip to NuTube as soon as it aired. Spring Again always aired on Sundays.

Sending a preview in January and airing the main episode on February 29 was quite a devilish broadcast, but no one was complaining on the NuTube clip video.

There were people who kindly explained about the day’s broadcast number and content, though.

The day’s broadcast mainly featured the story of Team B in Austria without cross-editing with Team A, they said. From the place where they encountered Roh Haeil, to the scene of Roh Haeil’s “The Voice of Spring” ensemble filmed by a Korean exchange student there, a brief meeting with the PD, and finally the scene where they ended up playing together in front of the Danube River, everything was shown, they said.

There were three clip videos related to Roh Haeil on NuTube.

“The Voice of Spring” and “The Beautiful Blue Danube” filmed on a mobile phone, and then.

Halo slowly scrolled down.

And soon, with a subtle expression,

“Ha, haha.”

He laughed.

Not noticing August Veil looking at him quizzically,

He clicks on the video.

[JBC] Roh Haeil (Roh Hae-Il) – Until dawn comes #Spring Again #Chance Encounter

4,699,878 Views

2032-02-29

The explosively growing view count didn’t register.

Only the date caught his eye.

Halo thought.

This is just a coincidence.

It seems that Spring Again decided to release the broadcast footage sequentially, despite the current Roh Haeil=Halo controversy.

They might have released it at the peak where ratings could be good at the end of February, even while getting criticized for the early preview.

After all, the broadcasting station is also a company, and they must have considered the most valuable moment.

Anyway, he thought not to assign meaning unnecessarily.

He had already sung the title track of his 13th album several times.

Once on the last day of the small theater concert.

And once when invited as a guest to Scorpion’s concert.

So people who should know already know, and those who should have seen it have already seen it.

It wasn’t anything new.

Yet, he still felt complicated and subtle.

The fact that his music was shown to the world on the same date he had intended to release the album.

It felt like the sky was resolving the lingering attachment he didn’t have.

Unable to define his emotions, Halo just laughed hahaha.

A year and a few months after becoming Roh Haeil, Halo thought that even if Roh Haeil came back one day and asked for his body back, he wouldn’t regret it. No, he would regret it, but still. He felt he could be grateful for having spent time he wouldn’t regret.

Although Halo’s laughter was strange, August Veil didn’t ask about the reason for Halo’s laughter. He sensed that the boy wouldn’t answer even if asked.

So after Halo’s laughter subsided, August Veil started talking as usual.

“The 13th album, as you said, has started cover production.”

About work, and,

“But are you really going to yodel? Are you trying to include yodeling in the album too?”

He still had a face that couldn’t connect Halo and yodeling at all.

“And you know.”

And.

August Veil calculated the remaining days until Coachella.

There’s only a month and a few weeks left.

Time that will pass in the blink of an eye.

While the public might be waiting for Coachella, where they can see Halo for the only time, August Veil looked further.

Coachella is just another beginning.

The future of the boy, who is only 16 now, was boundless.

He imagined the days that the boy, who had been active as Roh Haeil, would have while being called by another name.

Things that the boy hasn’t done yet, but will do in the future.

Since what he imagines and what the boy imagines could be different, it was time to ask.

“I’d like to hear what you want to do in the future.”

“In the future?”

“After Coachella, I mean.”

There was a sense of déjà vu.

It felt like he had heard a similar question somewhere before.

“Collaborations with singers, broadcasts, world tours, there could be anything. I want to hear what you want among those. Let’s make a priority list.”

Halo asked playfully.

“How about Billboard No. 1?”

“I don’t think you cared much about the Billboard No. 1 spot.”

“That’s true.”

Since it’s a position he can have anytime.

He honestly admitted.

Billboard No. 1, which he had already achieved many times and would achieve again, didn’t become his priority.

However, the reason he thought of Billboard No. 1 at the mention of priorities was because some guy had asked him the same question before.

-But what are you going to do later?

It’s a concern he had even in front of the last work of some great artist.

-After reaching Billboard No. 1?

After that.

Halo slowly turned his head.

“After everything is over.”

From the train crossing the snowy mountains, a huge lake came into view. Half frozen, half not.

Above it, migratory birds were sitting, looking for food.

Then at some point, they started flying away with a flutter.

Drawing the sky in a V-shaped line.

As ripples spread across the lake from a single feather that fell from them, they continued flapping their wings without looking back.

As he was quietly watching this, he felt a gaze on him. Slowly turning his head, he met eyes with a man reflected in the glass window.

He is not Roh Haeil.

A larger build than Roh Haeil with white skin.

There was a man there who looked like a sculpture called Apollo’s devotion.

Backlight on half of his face. From that darkness, the man looks at him with the last face and expression he remembers.

His lips move softly.

The laughter that wasn’t heard before, now was heard.

-Ah, the speech.

-Yeah, you didn’t prepare a speech for the awards ceremony, did you?

-Of course I prepared it.

The last conversation he had with his manager.

-Say it. I need to hear it once.

-It’s nothing special.

-I’m most scared when you say that.

In his memory, Halo cleared his throat and recited the prepared speech in front of his worried manager. It’s not a very long speech.

-Ah, what a beautiful night. I didn’t know I’d be standing here today.

-Oh, for once you’re saying something norm-.

-I guess I’ll accept the award since you’re giving it to me. Um, should I say thank you? Rather than that, I express my condolences to the esteemed judges who must be filled with resentment as the glory of the Grammy hits rock bottom, are you all okay? Haha. Ah, right. I almost forgot the most important thing.

-Hey, Halo, you crazy-.

-As of today, from this place, I will retire.

-…What? Wait, Hal-.

-Ladies and Gentlemen,

-o!

-Have a pleasant time ahead.

The car drives out into the darkness.

The train also entered a tunnel.

‘What we’ll do next.’

The man reflected in the window laughed tearingly and slowly moved his lips. Halo’s mouth moved along with him.

“Retire.”

“!”

“Shall I?”

August Veil sitting across from him is keeping his mouth shut. It was a much calmer attitude than the shouting manager.

Not wanting to fight all night with August Veil as he did with the manager, Halo continued.

“It’s a joke.”

There was still no answer.

“There’s still too much left to do to retire.”

After adding one more sentence to reassure him, he threw his head towards the window.

In his eyes, the decadent man who looked similar yet different to him was no longer visible. What unfolded beyond the train was just the beautiful scenery outside the tunnel.

He did think about retiring someday when there was nothing left to do. But it’s not time to consider retirement yet. As Jang Jinsoo said, he’s still like any other singer who hasn’t reached Billboard No. 1.

The Grammys also didn’t give an award to a faceless singer this year.

It means there’s still endless things to do.

He doesn’t know how it will be far in the future.

Right now, he had a lot to do, and so he was happy, and he wanted to maintain this happiness.

Well, Roh Haeil might return before he makes a retirement announcement, so there’s no need to think about the very distant future.

“Is that so?”

Seeing August Veil’s expression return to normal, Halo nodded. He thought Veil wouldn’t mind his little joke much.

#

[Oh my god, I just listened to Roh’s Blue Danube uploaded by a Korean broadcasting station, and I think I’ll become a fan even if he’s not Halo, such a beautiful voice]

[I can’t believe people say that he’s not The Sun. The more I listen, the more I wonder if there’s a voice in the world as similar to Halo’s as this]

[Where did all those voice analysts go?]

The view count, which had easily exceeded 1 million with just Koreans, rose steeply as foreigners rapidly flowed in. They tried desperately to quench their thirst every time ‘Roh’s’ activities appeared, as if they had found water in a desert.

[I just can’t understand! If Roh isn’t Halo now, it doesn’t make sense]

But no matter how much they examine and lick, the thirst doesn’t easily subside.

[They say Roh appeared on an American talk show and sang a Halo cover]

[This was quite a famous clip.]

[The more I listen, it’s Halo no matter what]

[Why didn’t those stupid Americans ever raise a question?]

Even if they watch, analyze, and dig into every move.

[Someone break into Scorpion’s house and ask]

└ That bastard might shoot

└ More than that, shouldn’t we doubt if he’s really at home? That bastard might have secretly run to The Sun.

└ No way. If he did, he would have hinted on his SNS

[I’m planning to go to Veil now]

As if they had drunk seawater instead of fresh water, they wanted to know more and more about the boy.

It seemed that only by finding the boy would this thirst be resolved.

People getting more and more agitated started to burst out in dissatisfaction. Of course, that dissatisfaction wasn’t directed at the boy-

[Veil must have kidnapped Halo and locked him up somewhere]

[I agree, my small and precious Sun might be wishing for rescue]

[Kids, get a grip. What kidnapping. He’s probably living luxuriously in a huge castle.]

[I find the Korean kids more suspicious, they seem to be hiding him]

└ I’m Korean and it’s really not true ㅠㅠ We’re the most curious

The flame might blaze up and turn the mountain into ashes.

At that time, Halo was in a rural village in the Alps. It was a beautiful place where nature was preserved instead of civilization. The fields were covered with snow, surrounded by mountains, and not many households were living in the village.

“The basics of singing are accurate pitch. Everyone try to follow me. Mistakes and yodeling are determined by pitch and rhythm.”

Among grandmothers and grandfathers.

The instructor who came down to his hometown for a while admired the particularly well-heard voice.

“Oh, you’re doing so well? You’re talented.”

When the instructor, who was volunteering his talents for the elderly in his hometown village during the college vacation season, praised him, Halo smiled faintly.

Although he had only taught for fifteen minutes, the instructor felt a liking and patted his shoulder.

“You should yo-le like this friend. It’s easy, right?”

He received yodeling lessons whenever he wanted in this beautiful small village. There were quite a few yodeling songs in Switzerland, and he could memorize them quickly after hearing them once or twice. The instructor also asked if he had learned singing before, amazed at his miraculous growth.

Usually, he would walk in the snow fields, have snowball fights with the village kids who didn’t shy away until their hands turned red – sometimes making them cry by not going easy at all – and climb snowy mountains.

If it had been summer instead of winter, he might have been running around in the fields following the shepherds.

Halo sitting in front of the village well playing guitar and village children starting to gather one by one. August Veil’s expression watching this peaceful scene was quite serious.

“Retirement…”

He had never dismissed Halo’s words. Even if it was a joke, he would chew it over once, twice, three times.

This time, he had a strong intuition that he shouldn’t dismiss it.

The boy named Halo is a once-in-a-century genius to the point where his age doesn’t come to mind, but at the same time, it’s undeniable that he’s a 16-year-old adolescent boy.

It means he might be going through complicated thought processes that adults can’t understand.

Moreover, the boy named Halo was more complex than an ordinary 16-year-old. Sometimes he seemed playful and innocent like a child, sometimes challenging and free like a 20-year-old, and sometimes stable and relaxed like a 30-year-old.

While he seemed to live simply for his own desires, he never really revealed his true feelings, so the word ‘retirement’ had been stuck in his throat like a sharp thorn.

To put it simply, although he said it was a joke, it didn’t sound much like a joke.

August Veil, watching the boy playing guitar with a comfortable face, softly muttered the answer he couldn’t give on the train.

“Then you’ll need a reason not to retire.”