The Road to Glory Chapter 165 - The Lucky Man

In the old days, there would have been a long line in front of stores selling records by now. The boss, who had been out since dawn, would have smiled contentedly at the long line, pasted a newly printed poster on the store’s window, and started the countdown.

The ticking noise is particularly loud.

However, for the people standing in the street, time doesn’t flow as quickly as their hearts desire.

When the police and reporters start to hover around the long line, conducting interviews and taking pictures, the store’s door would open.

People would try to rush in like a tidal wave when they see the door open, but since they’re absolutely powerless in front of the records, they soon fall in line. However, controlling them is not easy.

Since there’s only one record they’re looking for, sales are rising smoothly, but the owner suddenly noticed that the poster he had put up on the window had disappeared.

The photo shoot of Halo, commemorating the new song, had vanished like a ghost. The skill to steal it without tearing it and even taking the tape is no ordinary skill.

The owner ended up putting up a spare poster again. Although he knew from experience that someone would steal it about 3 or 4 times, he vowed not to be careless this time.

The line shows no sign of shortening, but what runs out first is the stock. The owner, who has emptied all the boxes, will end up putting a ‘Sold out’ sign in front of the store. People will sigh, and those who don’t know how to give up will shout for hidden records, but the end is the end.

However, this time was different.

As it was decided to release the first edition LP record of HALO’s album collection online, people no longer needed to stand in line at record stores or bookstores.

They just had to connect to the internet site and wait with their fingers ready. They didn’t need to stand in line with aching legs, they just had to keep themselves entertained with a world standard clock in one corner and a community page open on the other side.

While discussing the last schedule of Halo’s recently concluded World Tour, that is.

More precisely, about the schedule that had been undecided until the end.

The schedule that was written as [?] after the LA and Hamilton performances was recently confirmed, and ticketing was completed.

Unlike the ticketing held on a summer day, the undecided concert held in autumn, just a month before the world tour, naturally attracted a lot of people. People from all over the world who failed to get tickets or those who wanted to go to the concert one more time even if they succeeded, rushed in.

Moreover, it wasn’t an ordinary concert.

Of course, who would say Halo’s first world tour is an ordinary concert, but this concert held a slightly more special meaning.

[11.14 │Nanji Hangang River Park (Seoul)]

From being the only outdoor venue to it being Roh Haeil (Halo)’s birthday.

Turning from 16 to 17, he would still be a minor, but from the fandom’s perspective, it was a day to celebrate Halo’s first birthday. They didn’t want to miss out on any events prepared by fans or Halo’s birthday party.

Moreover, it was the last chance to try for the golden ticket, the contents of which were still unknown.

Thus, Halo’s ticketing, until the very end…

[Damn, my house is right in front of Han River but why can’t I go ㅠㅠㅠ]

Made some wail,

[I got it, I finally got it. Even if I can’t go to others, I got the most important birthday concert!!!!!!!!]

And was enough to make others ecstatic.

[Wow, that day is Sunday, there’ll be a ton of people]

└ Even if I can’t eat, I’ll go anyway

└ Yeah, since it’s outdoors, we might be able to hear

└ Can you really hear?

[Wow, but he’s having a solo concert at Nanji Park. Usually, it’s only for festivals or corporate events]

└ If it’s Halo’s birthday, it is a corporate event lol

└ Establishment day of a major corporation *shivers*

Meanwhile, in all this noisy situation, there was only one place that was calm. It was Korea University’s Everytime app.

Of course, when someone verified their ticket, dislikes poured in, but the current topic of conversation wasn’t about the Nanji concert.

[Was our festival on 161718? Haeil won’t be able to come]

[Why are you expecting in the first place? Our lineup has already been revealed]

[Is Halo’s appearance fee even possible?]

[If the student council had invited Halo, it would have been chaos like last year]

[I entered Korea University to see Halo’s performance ㅠㅠ]

[By then, he’ll probably already be in London?]

Maybe because he promised to come last year, some people were disappointed, and some people were defending him, saying how could he come when it overlaps with the world tour.

In fact, rationally, everyone knew it was impossible due to the schedule.

Nevertheless, the reason for the disappointment might be because Roh Haeil had kept all his promises so far.

Even if it wasn’t in the way they wanted.

He did the music broadcasts they wanted – he was discovered in a cafe – and opened the Star Gram account he promised at the fan meeting. – Although it’s been left inactive until now. –

At that moment, someone said,

[Since he only promised to come to our school, maybe he’ll just ‘come’?]

[I told you the lineup has been revealed]

└ That’s why he might just ‘come’

└ ???!!!

[If it’s Roh Haeil’s style… Oh? That makes sense?]

Someone’s analysis of Roh Haeil – typically why you should write contracts well, ‘a’ is different from ‘eo’ – was famous, and thus, it was enough to be tempting.

[Halo didn’t promise to perform next time, did he…?]

[If it were another celebrity, I would have said don’t play with words, but with Roh Haeil… it seems possible?]

└ No choice but to eat, sleep, and wash at school for three days during the festival

└ In November, we probably won’t freeze to death lol

[What do you mean come. It’s absolutely impossible due to the busy schedule, no conspiracy theories]

[If he can’t come this year, he’ll come next year]

[Actually, last year he probably didn’t think about a world tour]

As Korea University was beating its own drum, and entering the stages of depression and acceptance, HALO’s collection LP album was released.

That meant HALO’s world tour first concert, LA The Forum concert, would start in the evening, so John Doe, the owner of the golden ticket, thought there would never be a happier day than today.

He got the LA concert ticket that crashed the server, and moreover, he was – though he didn’t verify it in the community for safety – the owner of a golden ticket.

He didn’t know what would come out of the golden ticket, but it was clearly lucky, whatever it was.

So, the man with The Sun necklace around his neck welcomed a leisurely morning.

It’s not like he had to stand in line at a record store, he just had to buy the album released on the internet.

However, what he soon saw was.

“Huh…?”

His brain stopped.

He thought it would sell out quickly because it was the first edition, but.

He is a man of luck, and his computer endured that tremendous competition, but.

The word [Sold out] was left before his eyes.

“What, it doesn’t even feel like it’s been 1 second.”

Confusion, denial.

After that, all he could do was

Bang!

Hit the keyboard.

The turntable audio set up with thousands of dollars to listen to Halo’s records seemed to mock him, receiving beautiful lighting on one wall.

[This doesn’t make sense]

[Are there really this many people in the world who listen to LPs?]

[How many copies of the first edition did they print in the first place]

The sun is the most essential thing to humans, but occasionally, it can be terribly cruel. Like the sunlight that harshly beats down on drought-stricken land, the concert-goers, just hours away from the concert, collectively lost their minds.

There might be people in the world who failed both ticket purchasing and album purchasing, but.

It wasn’t their business.

A numbered limited first edition.

He thought the competition would be high, but the self-esteem that had been so high as one of the chosen ones from that ruthless concert dropped to the bottom.

[Isn’t it a server error?]

[I think so too, no one would have bought his album right now]

As if mocking them, no matter how much they scrolled, all they could see was the album details.

Irritatingly detailed and

– Record (1)

– Lyric book

– Sound source introduction book

– Postcards (6)

Infuriatingly beautiful design images existed.

Halo’s album covers were black and white photos up to the 5th album based on the 6th album, and from the 6th to the 13th album, they were illustrations that matched well with the album. These photos and illustrations were drawn on the LP records, stimulating the desire to collect.

Moreover, the sound source introduction book, which Halo likely wrote himself, as there had never been a separate introduction of the message or intention of the sound sources before.

And the postcards, which no one knows what’s in them, but one of them is surely a photo of Halo.

Everything was too well-prepared for a limited edition, and those who knew that numbering was stamped on it couldn’t help but go crazy.

If someone were to find out why so few first edition albums were released, they would surely explode. For example, if the story of why Halo had to produce the album as an LP was widely publicized.

However, this is after Halo’s world tour first concert ends.

The morning that shattered their mentality soon passed, and in the afternoon, people started heading to LA Forum one by one. Those who decided to make a day trip by plane had been in line for a long time, and nearby residents or those who had booked hotels also arrived at the Forum without delay.

The Forum, which used to be the home stadium of a basketball team, looked like a temple standing tall on vast grounds. From its enormous size to the huge pillars reminiscent of a temple. It possessed both grandeur and elegance.

The Forum, where numerous world-class artists – Elvis Presley, Jackson Five, Freddie Mercury, Eric Clapton, etc. – have left their mark.

John Doe stood here, suppressing the sense of defeat from not being able to purchase the record. Although it was still a long time until 8 PM, the line was quite long.

John Doe, who quietly got in line, somehow thought that this line was not for Halo’s concert, but for the stadium that existed in the past.

That’s because there were many middle-aged men gathered. John Doe, who looked strangely at these people who seemed more suited for chants and cursing the opposing team, realized that he was not much different from them.

But there were some differences.

True to LA’s reputation as a melting pot of races, people of various colors speaking diverse languages were standing in line.

Such a colorful line continued to grow, and finally, as the sun was setting, they started to enter.

“Please enter.”

“Show your ticket, please.”

They weren’t guided directly to the seats.

The staff thoroughly checked the tickets, and weapon possession checks were essential, as much as for Americans.

The employees were startled because the first person to enter, the man with The Sun necklace, looked quite intimidating, but he was surprisingly cooperative.

“Sir, could you remove your jacket-.”

“Of course, should I take off my underwear too?”

“…Please keep that on.”

The man who came out to the metal detector kissed The Sun necklace. Anyone could see he was a Hellygan.

And there weren’t just one or two of them.

While cooperating with the staff’s instructions, those looking around seemed more like employees hired for this concert venue rather than audience members.

If someone were to cause trouble, they looked like they would throw punches before the staff could.

Therefore, an solemn atmosphere flowed through the concert hall, incongruous with the venue.

Anyway, those who passed the metal detector were not immediately guided to their seats but moved to the counter.

They thought it was more systematic than most concerts, but the staff who scanned the barcodes took out something from under the counter.

“This is…!”

As soon as the first person received the gift, all eyes were on them.

“Is it perhaps the golden ticket?”

“…Should we kill him?”

“Next, please.”

The second ticket holder also received a large shopping bag. Feeling a threat to his life, he quickly revealed that he was a general ticket holder, and the third holder, who completed inductive reasoning in 3 seconds, politely held out his hand.

“Surely it’s not first-come, first-served?”

Even though no one was taking it away and it wasn’t first-come, first-served, people started moving extremely quickly.

Judging by the excitement and the way people’s eyes were rolling, if they had only given gifts to golden ticket holders here, he wouldn’t have been able to return home safely.

Those who received shopping bags could move to their seats. The sight of them hugging their shopping bags like teddy bears, afraid someone might steal them, was truly ridiculous, but no one could laugh.

Finally, the first golden ticket appeared.

John Doe carefully showed his online ticket while watching his surroundings.

The employee’s eyes sparkled, and the moment they scanned it, John Doe quickly turned off his phone.

“Is… that it?”

“Yes, I recommend opening it after you get home.”

“Ah, yes.”

He thought there might be something special, but the shopping bag he received was the same as what others received.

As John Doe was quietly looking at the shopping bag, the employee added an additional comment.

John Doe, who had let the not-so-important comment slip by, waddled into the seats hugging the large shopping bag, just as others had done.

In the seat next to John Doe, who had secured a designated seat on the second floor, sat a man whose forearm was as big as an adult man’s torso. However, since he didn’t show any particular interest in him, John Doe sat down and opened the shopping bag.

It had been a long time since he had let the employee’s guidance slip by.

The man in the next seat seemed to have already opened the goods once and was hugging a cushion.

There was a kind explanation that it was a cushion, but no one here would put their dirty bottoms on it.

John Doe glanced at the man’s shopping bag and, seeing that his contents were indeed the same, took out each item one by one.

Although it was just a cushion, illustrated postcards, and a – basic – glow stick, he felt like crying as it was the first time he had received such gifts at a concert.

Who would sit down at Halo’s concert?

Still, it was too much to provide a cushion so their bottoms wouldn’t hurt.

“Oh, so sweet.”

Unable to hold back, John Doe let out an exclamation and discovered a box at the very bottom of the shopping bag.

From the incredibly soft velvet ribbon to the luxurious design embossed on the box.

At a glance, it was clearly out of the ordinary.

“What’s this?”

John Doe took out a box as big as his palm, untied the ribbon, and opened the box.

“!”

John Doe’s eyes lit up as he confirmed what was inside. Unconsciously shrinking his body, John Doe lifted his head to look around.

At that moment, his eyes met with the indifferent man in the next seat.

#

Time is gradually filling up.

Halo, who was behind the stage-. He waved his hand upon seeing a familiar face.

“Am I late?”

She approached and twirled once in front of him.

Her beautiful dress swayed and rippled, and a few strands of her dark brown hair, tied up, fell onto her nape.

“You’re right on time.”

Halo responded with a gentle smile.

Frau thought he would invite Jason to the LA concert, but the guest for the LA concert had been decided from the beginning. The same goes for Paris and Vienna.

He knows the members are looking at him lecherously, but at least Halo or she who is here didn’t care much.

“It feels like we’ve gone back to that time.”

She murmured, recalling old memories, wearing a more glamorous dress than back then.

“Back then, you appeared and helped me too. So that I could continue performing on stage…”

Halo nodded as well.

It was an important opportunity for her, but for him, it was remembered as an amusing anecdote.

There aren’t many chances to crash someone else’s stage, after all.

Some said that Halo would enjoy honor by inviting famous singers as guests, but he didn’t need to go out of his way to seek honor.

The stage was always as he wanted it to be. If he did that, wealth and honor would come naturally.

“Let’s sing joyfully like back then.”

She looked at Halo quietly.

He had changed quite a lot from a year ago, but the boy hadn’t changed at all.

His intense presence and genius talent.

And just like back then.

-Do you need my help?

-Would you like to perform with me? This time at my concert.

She was no longer thrown onto the stage alone, but still, she couldn’t refuse that helping hand.