The Road to Glory – Chapter 174 – Respect and Courtesy

Author: Dawn

“Hi, Halo.”

“Halo, good morning”

Before the rehearsal.

The first people Halo met when visiting Veil were,

Employees who came out to see Halo despite it being the weekend.

It’s uncommon for office workers to give up their precious weekend and come to work. However, when they heard that Halo could visit the company on Saturday, people who had important schedules or were preparing for picnics cleanly gave up their weekend.

The fact that Veil’s CEO is unprecedentedly rich, with wages higher than typical music companies and easy conversion to vacation or remote work, wasn’t a special reason.

The first reason was being able to see Halo, who, despite being a partner artist, they had never seen in person until now.

The second reason was that Veil’s scale had grown incomparably larger than before, all because of one person – Halo.

And the biggest reason was that this place was England.

If this were France, Italy, or any other country, they wouldn’t have come out to welcome him like this. As mentioned before, today was a precious weekend after all.

But this was England.

Halo’s spiritual homeland.

Just as Halo had special meaning to England,

England also had to have special meaning to Halo.

The birthplace of rock and Britpop

Though it shook the world in the 20th century,

those were now tucked away in the closet like old clothes.

At a time when some missed the old things,

And some had forgotten them.

Halo’s music rose to the surface, and with it, Britpop soared again.

More splendidly, carrying the glory of the past.

The British believed Halo was British, whether he was white or black, as he perfectly embodied the old Britpop sentiment.

Of course, now it was revealed that Halo’s nationality was from a country about 13 hours away from England.

Still, it was clear that he had revived Britpop, and that the Britpop he revived had awakened the souls of the British people once again.

The feeling was different from the airport.

While in other countries, media and fans would greet him at the arrival hall to see a superstar, England was more devoted and courteous. Some even showed their respect intermittently.

They guided him to a hotel that mainly served external guests of the British royal family, and there were widespread rumors that royal personnel would attend this concert.

To the point where people thought if Halo had been revealed to be British, he would surely have received a title – that’s how different Halo’s significance was in England.

When Halo heard about the title talk, he burst out laughing, saying ‘A title for me?’ but anyway, in such circumstances, it wasn’t strange that Veil’s employees came out to welcome him personally.

Well, the benefits that come with it couldn’t be ignored either.

“Mr. Halo, have you had breakfast?”

“My daughter is a fan, could you sign something? Her name is, uh, Henry.”

How many chances would there be to greet and check on a superstar?

Veil didn’t particularly stop employees who requested handshakes and signatures. The number wasn’t too large, and Halo responded to requests as usual.

“Um, are you Mr. Halo’s band members?”

The members standing behind Halo also got caught up in this impromptu signing session.

After taking a group photo at the end, which they said would be displayed in the first or second floor lobby, they left clutching Halo’s signatures, holding up the hands they shook with him, and with flushed cheeks.

The last person requested a hug but treated him like a glass doll, unable to hug properly, so Halo gave them a firm embrace. It was just a simple hug, but they kept looking back at him while leaving like someone seeing off their lover going to war.

“What do you think about the company? Very different from when you first came?”

The record distribution company that originally started as more of a hobby had grown to a scale that put ordinary record companies to shame. All because of one name – ‘Halo’. Many people and companies showed interest, and above all, numerous artists knocked on Veil’s door.

Artists who would normally have been snatched up by Augustus Records or the world’s four major record labels had agreed to his contracts.

Well, they might have made a better choice with contract terms and such, but no one ignored Halo’s name value. After all, Veil, this company’s CEO, was Halo’s first fan.

“It’s definitely different.”

Halo brushed his fingertips against the albums displayed on the wall.

There were more photos and albums displayed than when he last visited.

While originally only one wall near the elevator was filled, now there were album display shelves everywhere.

Veil’s first floor felt more like a record store than a company lobby.

“But where are mine?”

Halo stopped at the end of the wall where Scorpion was displayed. Because something that should obviously be there wasn’t visible. When he turned around, Veil pointed to the elevator with his finger.

“Yours is on the 7th floor. Want to see?”

So that’s why they were separated.

Halo chuckled when he discovered that one floor was decorated like a museum dedicated to him.

From Halo’s LP albums to Roh Haeil’s first edition album. Photos, Roh Haeil’s merchandise, and the notes Halo used to prove himself when he first visited Veil were displayed in showcases.

A vinyl was spinning on the turntable, and speakers worth tens of millions of won were playing his music.

Actually, having an in-house Halo floor was clearly preferential treatment that might make other partner singers feel deprived. Of course, it was also moved there after Halo’s album cover frame – which was just a large print of the cover – was stolen last year, but Veil didn’t deny the preferential treatment.

While he tried to handle business fairly as the CEO of a music distribution company, it was true that he held more affection for Halo.

But until now, no artist had expressed complaints about this. Many said they often visited Halo’s floor to receive inspiration and energy. Though they sometimes looked at the merchandise with greedy eyes, they didn’t show inferiority. Rather, Halo’s floor seemed to become another motivation for them. The aspiration that someday they too would have their own floor like Halo’s.

Eventually, Halo arrived at the CEO’s office and waved to Caroline – Halo’s handler – whom he hadn’t seen in a while. Then he went inside for tea time.

Around that time, Rill barged in.

Not sure where he heard the news from, but Rill kicked open Veil’s door with his long walker boots, and as soon as he spotted Halo, he became like a gentle dog and sat beside him.

“Don’t you have something to say to me?”

“…”

Never expected to hear this from a man.

Fortunately, before Halo could say anything, Rill spoke up.

“I didn’t reveal your name until the end.”

Only then did Halo realize what he was talking about.

In the end, as he wanted, Rill had kept his identity hidden and let him have the stage he wanted.

“Since I kept my mouth shut nicely, give me a reward.”

“Reward?”

Veil’s eyes changed to ‘this guy’s something else’ while watching Scorpion, and as the sturdy adult man whined to a much younger boy, the members’ expressions gradually soured.

Regardless, Rill was the owner of a shameless face.

Halo crossed his arms while looking at the whining fan.

“Let me hear it first.”

This was the result.

Halo granted the request to personally put a watch on him.

In front of everyone present.

Scorpion lifted the watch on his left wrist to show people, and when he heard the “woo-” cheers from them, he seemed even more excited and rolled up his sleeve to show off the watch to the world.

“Hey, everyone look at this! Do you know what this is?”

“Fuck you Rill! You’re the one who wouldn’t even wear an Apple Watch saying it gets in the way!”

Having clearly heard the angry audience member’s shout, Rill giggled and retorted.

“What are you talking about. My hobby is collecting watches.”

Unless he had traded watches for expensive alcohol or used them for bail money, this was the first time people in this place had heard this story. No one believed it. Even if they didn’t know everything about celebrities’ lives, Scorpion’s Rill had never worn a watch, though maybe a leather bracelet.

Ah, there was one time.

When he used a Rolex watch like brass knuckles.

Anyway, the audience members who were right in front couldn’t take it anymore.

If this wasn’t Halo’s stage but Scorpion’s, they might have jumped up.

“Please invite me next time too. I’ll go anywhere.”

After properly pranking people like that, Rill became polite again in front of Halo. It was such a drastic change that one might suspect split personality.

“My respected friend.”

With the same line from Scorpion’s Korean concert.

“Halo.”

This time it was Halo, not Roh.

Though not surprising, it confirmed that he had known Halo’s identity early on. That is, until the time they didn’t know.

It was later revealed that this line was what he used during the Korean concert, which flipped the audience’s hearts once again. But that’s a later story. Right now, facing Rill who was showing off in front of the stage, Halo answered.

“I’ll think about it.”

“Why!”

“Because by then, I might have found a better friend?”

“A better friend than me!”

When Halo kept smiling without giving a definite answer, Rill was dragged off-stage while whining. Thanks to that, the audience’s anger was somewhat extinguished. Also, Scorpion showed another spark by performing a guitar-focused stage this time, as much as they had shown during the opening stage, suppressing the anger.

So, when people who went home hugging Halo’s merchandise recalled this incident again, it was when they wrote their reviews. As they reminisced, they remembered again how Rill had openly bragged to them.

[Go to hell Scorpion]

[Never seen Scorpion wear a watch in my entire life but what? Hobby is watch collecting?]

[He’s actually bragging about that?]

[Recruiting watch expedition team to steal the watch from Scorpion(1/5000)]

What became most talked about was the royal family member who attended.

While the Queen didn’t come, it was noisy enough that the royal family came in person to enjoy the glory of Britpop, though it wasn’t strange since they could sometimes be seen at football stadiums.

However, what rose in the community was when Scorpion committed his atrocity.

The family member’s expression was captured at the moment when he was showing off the watch Halo had personally put on him.

The princess who claimed she was squinting because of the lighting and Prince Arthur’s expression, which while not overtly sour, reminded one of a Tibetan fox, appeared on the front page.

[Prince Arthur can’t accept Scorpion’s atrocity]

[Your Highness, please banish Scorpion from the British Empire]

[Expression change between Halo concert entrance and Rill’s guest stage…JPEG]

It was rare for such expressions to appear on the front page where usually only smiling faces were uploaded. However, Scorpion, who had achieved such an incredible feat, was currently gathered at home monitoring public opinion.

“Wow, Rill, people’s reactions are no joke?”

“They’re all telling you to go die.”

“Our fans are angry too.”

“They say they can take everything else, but not this.”

So while the scorpion’s head might not know, the legs did.

“They’re just jealous.”

The scorpion’s head who committed such an incredible atrocity was busy looking at his wristwatch. On Rill’s wrist, which hadn’t showered since Halo put the watch on yesterday, the same watch was still worn.

“This won’t do.”

“Why, what are you going to do now?”

“Please just stay still? I’m really scared an assassin might come today.”

“People are really pissed off, I’m telling you? You could actually get murdered.”

Rill paid no attention and turned on Stargram.

After uploading a video of Halo putting the watch on him to Stargram like he was showing off, he smirked and put just one hashtag without any additional comment.

#Catch_me_if_you_can

-Someone has come to see Mr. Halo.

Meanwhile. Halo, who was spending a relaxed afternoon the day after the concert, received a phone call. After answering the call that came through the hotel room phone, Halo raised the corner of his mouth at the following content.

“What call was it?”

Moon Seoyeon was in the shower. Nam Gyuhwan had gone to buy alcohol.

Han Jinyeong, who remained in the reception room, asked.

“Someone’s asking if they can see me once.”

“Who? Mr. Veil?”

“No.”

Then who could call through the hotel phone asking Halo to come down. Han Jinyeong thought about other possibilities. At that time, Halo, who seemed to be contemplating, got up from his seat.

“I’ll go down for a moment.”

“Is it someone important?”

“Well, they might not be important to me, but maybe?”

Han Jinyeong found his phone.

“I’ll be back soon.”

“Call if you’re going to be late. We’ll come too.”

Although August Veil had briefly mentioned they might contact, Halo didn’t believe it. In the past, forget about titles, there was no chance to meet them personally.

After pulling his hat down and going downstairs, Halo found a quiet lobby.

It was usually quiet, but particularly so now.

Moreover, beyond the lobby’s glass window, one black limousine was parked.

While luxurious, it was the kind that doesn’t catch the eye well.

Since it was obvious that was the car waiting for him, Halo approached slowly.

The black-suited bodyguards standing on both sides greeted him and opened the door.

Except for their courteous attitude, it felt like being kidnapped, so Halo didn’t get in and watched the inside.

Inside, which he thought would be empty, one person was riding.

“Did you enjoy my concert?”

“Of course.”

The one who had personally attended his concert yesterday-.

“Although it was a sudden request, I wanted to meet you in person even like this. Please forgive the rudeness.”