The Road to Glory Chapter 162 - I Can't Be The Only One To See This

It’s unclear whether they matched LA’s golden hour, but the ticketing time was set for 6 PM Washington D.C. time.

That’s 7 AM Korean time.

Ticket Master opens the waiting room an hour before ticket sales, so the office worker who woke up at 5 AM finished his early morning preparations and logged into the Ticket Master site at 5:30 AM, sipping a cup of coffee.

Could one explain the bitterness of that moment?

Sometimes in dramas, they include foreshadowing devices to hint at future events. Like a well-hung picture suddenly falling, or stepping in dog poop on the way to work.

Of course, the office worker didn’t experience such misfortunes beforehand. Being at home, there was no chance of stepping in dog poop, and as a minimalist, he didn’t even own picture frames.

But when he connected to Ticket Master, and his newly customized computer lagged…

And after proving he wasn’t a robot five times, he finally got kicked out on the sixth attempt, the office worker felt an intense sense of foreboding.

When he reconnected to the site, everything seemed fine, but he couldn’t help but nervously bite their nails.

Upon entering the waiting room, the remaining time was displayed.

54:31. Meaning the ticketing would start in 54 minutes.

At this point, some people would input their payment methods, but the office worker, having experienced K-pop overseas concert ticketing several times before, knew there was no need to input payment information.

And so, the time of patience ticked by.

It was now 6:30 AM. Usually, this would be the time to open his eyes, yawn, and idly scroll through his phone, but today, time felt like sharp glass shards pricking at them.

Who could understand the conflicting desire for time to pass quickly to secure tickets, yet also hoping that moment would never come?

Soon, the waiting room displayed ‘4 Mins left’.

The office worker gripped his mouse tightly, trying not to refresh the page.

The screen automatically transitioned.

At this moment, the office worker thought he was going crazy.

Without hoping for luck, he expected to see the ‘2000+ people ahead of you’ screen, but what he faced was a blank white screen.

His dumbfounded face reflected on the empty white screen.

Did the server crash? What should he do?

He shouldn’t refresh. No, he should. As reason and emotion battled, fortunately, the screen he was waiting for appeared.

The cursor kept showing loading, but the office worker considered even this lucky – he later found out that quite a few people couldn’t even get in.

The ‘2000+ people ahead of you’ message was of no help.

Was it really just 2,000 people?

Or was it 20,000? Maybe 200,000… 2 million… or even 200 million? At least, it would far exceed the Forum’s capacity.

1 minute, 2 minutes, 3 minutes… The numbers weren’t decreasing, and the progress bar didn’t move. This LA concert ticketing was surely a failure.

Or was it?

Surprisingly, it wasn’t just his ticketing that failed.

Less than 5 minutes after the 2000+ number appeared, the loading suddenly spun, and then a ‘Page Not Found’ message popped up.

“!”

That’s right.

Ticket Master’s server, which had handled numerous concert ticketings, crashed just five minutes after the ticketing started.

Moreover, the server was inaccessible for thirty minutes, and many people were kicked out at the payment screen.

Ticket Master soon posted a notice that they would reopen the server, and after a hellish hour, the server did open.

“There’s nothing left.”

The office worker banged his head on the desk.

He had hoped, thinking everyone else had been kicked out too. But whether it was VIP seats or first, second, or third floor, there were no seats available anywhere.

It had felt ominous, but to fail without even getting a chance to try, without even seeing what the venue looked like.

“…”

It goes without saying that social media and websites were in real-time chaos.

Especially those who were kicked out at the payment screen and failed to get tickets were in an uproar, and the ticketing time for Hamilton, Canada, originally scheduled for three hours later, was also delayed.

[From now on, you’ll have to prove you’re not a robot even when going to the bathroom]

[Anyone know Ticket Master’s company address?]

[If you don’t return my seat right now, there will only be one place for you. The churchyard.]

The curse on the Ticket Master site was so fierce that even those who might have secured seats at The Forum couldn’t brag about it.

If Ticket Master hadn’t apologized and promised that such incidents wouldn’t happen for Hamilton’s ticketing tomorrow – which ended up being postponed to the next day – their headquarters in West Hollywood, California might have disappeared the next day.

The surprising thing was that Ticket Master wasn’t a company with such a fragile server. Although there had been errors before, it had rarely crashed so clearly when handling ticketing for concerts of this scale. – Later, Ticket Master cited unprecedented large-scale access and multiple hacking attempts as the cause. –

An hour and forty-five minutes later, when various incidents had subsided, someone bragged about their online ticket on social media, starting another wave of confusion.

At first, people thought it was just attention-seeking.

After all, there had been no official announcement about golden tickets. But as people claiming to have won golden tickets started to increase one by one, providing proof, things changed.

Seven people had provided proof.

Someone asked if it was a promotion run by Ticket Master. However, the golden-colored tickets were clearly for the Halo LA The Forum concert.

[What on earth is ‘Golden ticket’? ⎪ Holly_NEWS]

What is a golden ticket?

[@BELLE: Ok, I get that you enjoyed Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. So are those who got golden tickets invited to your factory (label)?]

[Golden Ticket instead of VIP?]

└ Golden tickets are in VIP and even in the 3rd floor seats. Seems to be random?

[Lunch voucher?]

Even though Veil hadn’t made an official statement yet, people were speculating about what the golden tickets could be.

Some were looking for precedents in K-pop concerts, while others suddenly started analyzing the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory movie.

This intensified after Hamilton’s ticketing the next day. ‘Gold Tickets’ appeared in Hamilton’s concert too.

7 people had proven they got them for the LA concert.

9 for the Hamilton concert.

[It’s funny that eight out of the nine who proved it aren’t even Canadian]

└ They don’t even live in Canada LOL

└ Holy shit, please go back to your own country. How is it possible that Canadians can’t see a concert held in Canada?

[What the hell is golden ticket (So what is a golden ticket)?]

[Hasn’t Veil suddenly gone silent?]

└ Veil didn’t talk much originally.

No matter how much they inquired to Veil, there was no answer. Even Ticket Master seemed to have only received requests and didn’t know what it was.

[I think it’s just an error. It seems weird, so I’ll trade it for my ticket.]

└ I can trade too^^ I’ll even compensate you 100 dollars since you might be hurt!

People slowly started to be cautious. After all, the existence of golden tickets was certain, and it was clear that there was something to it.

It was just a matter of what scale it was.

[It might look fancy because it’s called a golden ticket, but isn’t it just a simple gift? It might not be a big deal.]

Someone came close to the truth. However, it was half right and half wrong.

He argued that instead of meal vouchers or label invitations, it might just be albums or common merchandise like pens or notepads.

At that moment, someone shuddered.

“Ah, I… remember.”

It’s coming back to him.

Memories from the past.

His singer who smiled innocently, saying he had prepared a ‘simple gift’.

And the ‘simple gift’ that came out of it.

Those who had experienced it once at Roh Haeil’s concert trembled all over.

[This isn’t just happening to me, right?]

[We’re dealing with Roh Haeil…. Ah, I’m suddenly dizzy]

[Fuck please no I’m already pissed about failing all the ticketing please please no it can’t be. Haeil please]

[Honestly, that would be crossing the line… It really can’t be ㅠㅠㅠ]

[Suddenly reminded of the fan meeting aftermath when we all cried tears of blood….]

Actually, this topic had come up once when the official tour announcement was made.

People wondered if their singer, who had given excessive gifts at small theater concerts and fan meetings, might have prepared something for the world tour too.

But rationally thinking, it seemed unlikely for a world tour.

How much does a world tour cost?

Moreover, even though it’s only 10 shows, the number of people is on a completely different scale compared to small theater concerts or fan meetings, so it would be difficult to give gifts on the scale of Roh Haeil.

However, strangely, they had an odd feeling.

It could be because the Seoul concert ticketing was about to start. But the existence of ‘golden tickets’ was enough to stimulate their trauma.

They didn’t expect meal vouchers, fan signing events, label invitations, or handshakes at all. After all, from their perspective, Roh Haeil wasn’t the type to communicate well in that way.

However, gifts were entirely possible.

In any case, the competition for ticketing intensified day by day.

There were people cursing at TV stars who bragged about their tickets, and urban legends were born about people getting their tickets stolen by gun-wielding thugs while bragging about them on the street.

Although the golden tickets drew some attention, the Halo concert ticketing alone made for a hot summer.

[Halo’s concert tickets are as hard to get as catching a star from the sky… Please add more shows ⎪CMN_OFFICAL]

[A hotter summer than ever, The Sun harder to see than ever]

[D-7 until Frau Dwen’s new song release]

LA, The Forum capacity 17,505 (100%)

Hamilton FirstOntario Centre capacity 17,383 (100%)

Leaving some unconfirmed dates, the next in line, London’s Wembley Arena, also sold out all seats, and rumors spread that the royal family would attend.

Following that, ticketing for Paris Accor Hotel Arena and Vienna Wiener Stadthalle was also conducted.

Around the time when those who couldn’t get tickets were spitting blood, and those who got tickets but felt like they hadn’t were shedding tears of blood.

Frau Dwen’s new song, a collaboration with Jason Dyke, Halo, and two others, was released.

As it was a song everyone had been waiting for, it’s needless to say that it entered the charts upon release.

However, the important thing wasn’t the performance.

After all, wasn’t it an album featuring already strong and powerful artists?

A music video uploaded to NuTube.

The music video caught attention as soon as it was uploaded and rose to #1 on the global real-time trending list.

A town in America.

Palm trees of California and well-maintained gardens. A straight road in front of regularly built mansions. It looked like a typical American residential area, but what was on it was not ordinary.

A black man, Frau Dwen, and a boy smiling at him were embedded in the thumbnail.

The new song beneath it

[The Last DaY]

The automatically played video changes to a black screen.

And Frau Dwen, standing behind the anchor table, began his final report.

The faintly starting melody is clearly that of R&B.

-First, I’d like to thank those who tried to inform us that the world is ending. They were quite wrong, but as long as the result is right, that’s fine.

The caption silently rising on the black screen is Frau Dwen’s characteristic joke.

Like in the thumbnail, Frau Dwen, who appeared in front of an American residential area, started walking, opening the 4-minute and 15-second music video.

[Well, Let’s do the last project. Just one day for me, you and us. Just one day fair for everyone]

As Frau Dwen opened, Michael followed.

[First, I’ll start the morning with a McMorning. With Starbucks coffee, of course. Dick says he’ll eat pancakes his mom made – hey, that’s my lyrics – she’ll make the lyrics too.]

Michael is sitting at the table of an ordinary American family home, just as he said. He’s wearing a tuxedo, and on the plate where the main dish should be, a McMorning is prepared. Along with a paper cup stamped with the Starbucks logo.

The next scene shows Michael, dressed in a suit, climbing a tall building and throwing money. Dollars fell with wings attached, and people rushed to the dollars.

Next in line is Dick, who had his lyrics stolen by Michael.

Dick was lying down wearing ridiculous glasses, listening to classical music. On the tape that briefly passed by, you could see the phrase ‘HALO is classic‘.

Dick spends an elegant day with his young daughter and wife.

Except for being a bit more elegant, it’s no different from his usual daily life. He goes to his young daughter’s school performance, applauds her ballet skills, and kisses his wife. And as time passes, night falls. In an instant, the concert hall becomes a sea,

they lay under a parasol watching the squawking seagulls and the night sky. When the sun rises and tomorrow begins, a huge wave sweeps away the sand castle Dick’s daughter had built.

[How about you, Jason?]

And as Dick stops rapping and turns his head, Jason, who played the role of an extra on the beach, jumps up and answers.

[Just Run.]

He gets on a bike and rides down the long stretched road.

With both hands off the steering wheel and arms spread, he looked like he might die before tomorrow comes.

After Jason’s scene, people expected Halo, the last remaining member, but it was Frau who appeared.

He took charge of the hook, and as at the beginning of the prelude, the lyrics were repeated.

[Well, Let’s do the last project. Just one day for me, you and us. Just one day fair for everyone]

However, one lyric was added.

[Or unfair]

It goes without saying that this lyric refers to the boy born with the most unfair talent in the world.

A boy in fancy clothes stands in the middle of the city.

The people calling for him are like sports fans.

The boy sang in the center of it all.

The accompaniment begins.

It was impossible to tell what song Halo was singing at the concert. They could only guess from his lip movements.

Just as those watching the music video were wondering what song he was singing, the music paused briefly, and Halo’s voice was heard.

It was yodeling.

It was even funnier because he sang it well.

Though it was a brief moment, the impact was sufficient, and as the melody of [The Last DaY] started again, Halo’s singing voice was heard.

[It’s going to rain that day]

[Why? Because it’s the last day?]

Frau interrupted to ask. The boy ignored him and continued with the lyrics.

Along with the lyrics, lightning struck in the video.

As if the end of the world was approaching, lightning struck in several places, and the boy, with his back to the lightning, jumped towards the people who loved him.

Among the hands of the people, the boy was smiling happily as if he wouldn’t meet the last day.

The video changes.

The camera once again shows an ordinary American street.

Frau walking down the street.

And soon, a boy in a white shirt enters from outside the camera. It’s the one from the thumbnail of the music video.

[This is the last project. Just one day for me, you and us. Just one day fair for everyone]

The hook was repeated with slightly changed lyrics,

[You probably spent your time without regrets]

[You must have spent it with the people you like]

[You can eat what you usually like, or try something you’ve never eaten before.]

[And you’ll choose your favorite music as your funeral song]

[You must have filled the time left for me, you, and us with only the things you like.]

[It was a time without regrets.]

As Halo enters, Frau looks at the boy.

[I’ll say I have no regrets]

[To the people I love]

[Because it was a day full of everything I like]

[I was quite alright]

The boy’s voice rang out.

It was what people loved.

The voice full of the soul called Halo seemed to declare that on the last day of the world, he was the happiest.

[Now It is the last project, boy. Just one hour for us. Just one hour for everything]

Frau repeated the hook.

And he looks at the boy as if telling him to do the last thing left.

The camera shows a happy family.

There was only one thing left to do in the last remaining time.

A greeting.

The boy who stopped where the sun sets smiles.

And instead of the ‘Goodbye‘ everyone expected, he said to them:

[Morning]

Maybe he just didn’t want to say ‘Goodbye‘, but with the last lyrics, he leaves a hopeful lingering impression. As if tomorrow morning will come.

That’s how the song ended, but the accompaniment continued for a long time.

Like in a movie, the names of people who helped scrolled on a black screen.

They didn’t forget to include a “Thanks for my friends.” greeting.

Just when people thought the video had ended, the screen lights up again.

It shows the street in daytime, not the sunset evening.

Frau and Halo standing side by side.

Frau, excited by the slightly off [The Last DaY] accompaniment, dances, and Halo, who was looking at Frau with a ‘what’s this?’ expression, soon smiled faintly.

And as he started to sway his body along with Frau, the video ended.

A caption appeared on the black screen.

[I can’t be the only one to see this?]

The reaction was, of course, explosive.