The Road to Glory Chapter 184 - Conman Or

“Looking at your face, we could have scheduled more concerts.”

“It’s not too late now.”

When Halo spoke as if asking to add more now, August Veil chuckled.

However, he wasn’t agreeing.

“Was the schedule that easy to arrange? It’s not like I can set it as I please. And are you perhaps pushing yourself too hard?”

“What’s the big deal? It’s just one concert per week.”

Would a five-year-old’s concert be like this?

It was an extremely loose schedule for a teenager who could chew through steel.

Despite Halo’s words, August Veil calmly checked the boy’s health.

The boy, who seemed to have bloomed more since coming to his hometown, showed no signs of illness.

How surprised he had been when he heard the boy had caught a cold before.

If the cold had lasted a bit longer or been a bit more severe, he would have delayed the tour even at the cost of massive losses.

August Veil, who had been concerned about the boy’s health while trying to fit him into the tour schedule, was finally able to visit after completing all his schedules for the boy’s final concert rehearsal.

Thanks to Halo, his hobby project Veil’s market value had expanded.

Having signed contracts with many singers since then, his responsibilities naturally increased.

He wanted to throw everything aside and go, but how could he turn away singers who requested meetings with him?

It remains unchanged that Halo is the singer he most cherishes and loves.

However, at the same time, he liked singers who lived diligently doing their own music.

That’s how his relationship with Halo started too.

As he did in the past, he will help them maintain their lives.

Now, and unchangingly in the future.

“Ah, there’s some good news. About your album.”

He had already contracted with the CD pressing company.

The news he delivered was that they were producing physical albums.

It was January 2033. Halo thought the timing was perfect.

Since the 83rd Halo had provoked him, he planned to release the album on the same day,

And the relationship with the physical album production company was good too.

“We might need to add more orders.”

Veil, who was about to apologize for the delay in physical album production, stopped his train of thought.

His mouth slowly closed and his eyes slowly opened.

“You don’t mean…?”

Instead of repeating the answer, Halo smiled.

That seemed to be enough.

August Veil was excited as Halo’s first fan before being the CEO of Veil Company.

“I haven’t finished composing yet, but I want to release it in March. I hope I’m not suddenly increasing your workload?”

The boy needlessly asked despite knowing August Veil’s answer.

As expected, August Veil’s answer was predetermined.

“A busy company is a blessed company! Even if you give me the audio file just one day before, there won’t be any problem, so do as you wish. How could Veil stop The Sun?”

“You managed to stop me for a year though.”

“I stopped you?”

“You wanted me to stay hidden.”

Even Halo knew that would be impossible.

But he was grateful even just for saying it. Halo exchanged playful banter while checking the microphone again.

“Mr. Halo, please prepare for rehearsal!”

The Seoul Arena rehearsal would begin soon.

Veil, who had cleared all his schedules to come, said he would attend both the rehearsal and concert.

During this time, he was wearing Halo’s watch.

Not as overtly as Scorpion’s Rill, but half-hidden and half-exposed by his suit sleeve. In other words, enough to be caught by paparazzi.

He wondered how he had managed to suppress the urge to show it off until now.

“Fighting for today too!”

Halo thought while high-fiving with the members.

A record label boss who cleared his busy schedule to watch his concert – even though it wasn’t an exclusive contract -. Before that, traveling together and throwing him a birthday party on his birthday.

When they first contracted, they were just a distribution company boss and singer.

Now what would you call it?

Manager and singer? No, more intimate than that.

Mentor or patron? Or friend?

After pondering, Halo decided on just a good business partner. A good CEO.

Smiling back at Veil who was watching his rehearsal with satisfaction, he vaguely imagined.

What if this person had been the first record label boss he met?

#

“Hmm.”

He came again today.

The ‘boy’ spotted the pomade-wearing man who had been visiting him for days now.

A man who appeared around the same time every day and watched him for a long while before leaving.

It didn’t particularly bother him.

He wasn’t interfering with his music, and it’s not like he would wear out from being watched a few times.

It would be fine as long as he didn’t meddle unnecessarily by trying to find his parents or calling the police.

“Hello.”

Greetings were fine.

It’s not like audience members hadn’t spoken to him during his busking before.

The boy just nodded slightly and played his guitar.

As time passed, his guitar began to make increasingly out-of-tune and creaking sounds.

It was time for tuning.

However, the boy had neither money nor anyone to tune it for him.

He just wondered how to make these strange sounds pretty, and sometimes played the guitar in ways his brothers hadn’t taught him.

These days, feeling like he was gradually ruining the guitar, he was handling it very gently.

While playing his song that he hadn’t given a title to yet.

“Aren’t you hungry?”

Given that he visited when the sun was high while wearing a suit, he was clearly unemployed.

The businessman bought a sandwich and offered it.

The boy, who didn’t usually accept things from others, just took it and placed it beside him.

Though his wariness showed, the businessman didn’t seem to mind.

“When did you start music?”

“Don’t you want to fix the guitar?”

“Where do you sleep?”

He just maintained an appropriate distance while talking.

Though mostly ignored, the businessman was persistent.

Finally, when he came again on a weekday, this time he plopped down in front of the boy.

Not caring even as dirt got on his expensive suit.

And finally revealed his true colors.

“By the way, are you going to keep living like this?”

When wandering the streets, you’re bound to meet strange people.

From drug addicts, alcoholics, to criminals. Especially among them were many conmen with decent faces.

“If you want, you could live in a better environment.”

“Get lost.”

As if realizing he might look like a conman, the businessman hurriedly pulled out his business card.

Cambridge University graduate. And various impressive career achievements were written on it.

The last thing written was First Records.

“You can check for yourself if you’re suspicious.”

Remembering how his brothers had been scammed by a record label, the boy put the card in his pocket, planning to verify it later. Until then, the businessman kept smiling suspiciously.

Planning to check later.

The boy recalled the man’s credentials again.

Record label.

If that was real, he had something he wanted to ask.

“How was it so far?”

“Huh?”

“My music.”

When the man looked puzzled at the question that came out of nowhere, the boy thought he must be pretending not to understand.

“You’re a businessman, right? Does my music look profitable to you?”

That must have been his purpose in giving the business card.

The boy wasn’t going to contract with the man, but he wanted to hear that it would make money.

Even those empty words like people would love it and it would be well-received would have been nice.

However, the man didn’t give him the answer he wanted.

“I don’t know.”

“!”

“How would I know when there isn’t even an album out unless I’m God?”

“If you’re a businessman, shouldn’t you be able to predict?”

“Businessmen speak through results.”

The boy’s expression grew increasingly sulky.

“And you know what? I really don’t know anything about music. I don’t even like listening to music. Even if I listen, I don’t know what’s good about it. Still, I know that music that sells well is good music.”

A record label boss who doesn’t like music.

When the boy was shocked, the man snorted.

“First time seeing a record label boss who hates music? How many people do you think become record label bosses because they love music? How many people in the world do you think do work they love?”

As if thinking of him as a kid lost in fantasy.

“Business is originally done because it makes money.”

The boy couldn’t argue back since this was his first time meeting a record label boss.

He wondered if his father was like this too. He didn’t know since they never talked about business.

Still, protests welled up inside.

You can do business even if you don’t like it?

You do something you hate just because it makes money?

The boy hated it no matter how much they’d pay.

But on the other hand, he acknowledged it.

Maybe he thought this way because he wasn’t an adult.

“Then why did you approach me? You conman.”

“No, I’m telling you I’m not a conman?”

The businessman who had been treating the ‘boy’ like a child showed genuine offense.

It was clear that if nothing else, he hated being called a conman.

“And I approached you obviously because you’ll make money.”

“…You just said you didn’t know.”

“Not your music. That doesn’t matter either way. I don’t care about it. What I’m talking about is ‘you’. Since it’s come to this, why don’t you move that shaggy bangs of yours?”

The boy didn’t grant the man’s request.

The businessman shrugged as if he hadn’t expected the boy to comply anyway.

“Don’t you want to be famous? Not just me coming to see you, but countless people coming to see you. You just need to wear fancy clothes and wave your hand a bit in front of them. Then money will rain down on you, and you’ll live in a huge mansion wearing new clothes every day, doing whatever you want. How about it?”

The businessman’s eyes glinted greedily.

He seemed to think the boy would be tempted.

When what the boy wanted wasn’t in there at all.

“…Don’t need it. I’m just going to do music.”

At those words, the businessman snorted.

“Kid, you can do that anytime. But not anyone can become a star. Just do as I say. I’ll make you a star. You can do music then. People will love it even if you sing like garbage. There’s a saying that you should get famous first, right?”

‘Garbage.’

The boy who had never thought of his music that way glares at the businessman.

But that entered the businessman’s aesthetic vision.

The businessman really liked the boy’s appearance.

Like a child actor in sitcoms or dramas.

No, even if you brought the childhood of actors currently called world’s most handsome, they wouldn’t match this boy.

He had never seen such looks in his life.

Was this how Romeo looked, making Juliet fall in love at first sight and risk playing with fire?

Or was this how Adonis looked, who three goddesses fell for in mythology?

The scruffy and dirty appearance wasn’t a flaw.

Rather, it was an atmosphere that would work well with teens, twenties, or women.

A rebellious youth with a story. Where else could you find such a perfect classic?

Anyone could see the boy was destined to be a star.

The businessman who discovered this raw gem felt like going crazy thinking someone else might take this jewel.

But the more he felt that way, the more patience the businessman had.

The businessman carefully unfolded his plans to the boy.

The businessman wasn’t satisfied with just making somewhat known records or somewhat known singers. He wanted world’s best, and there was something more certain than incomprehensible music right in front of him.

“I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

Not even pretending to listen.

Right, he’s just a kid wandering the streets.

It’s natural for him to be stupid and arrogant.

This can be fixed gradually later.

He’s still just a kid. Thinking he’s living up to his face value, the businessman smiled like a conman.

“You just need to know that I’m an adult who understands business much better than you. We’ll be good partners, that’s what I’m saying.”

“You just seem like a conman.”

He was called a conman three times in one day.

This brat. Just when the agitated businessman was about to finally show his temper, suddenly the boy’s eyes shone.

“And you’re wrong about one thing.”

Brighter than anything else.

It was as if all the lights in the world were shining on the boy.

The businessman forgot his anger and blankly stared at the boy.

“I’m not going to do music after becoming famous, I’m going to become famous with my music.”

Having nothing yet being so confident didn’t seem arrogant.

It just seemed natural.

Anyone hearing these words would seem likely to nod their heads loyally and praise everything about the boy.

Ding ding.

The boy’s value increased in the businessman’s mind.

The businessman desperately wanted to make the boy a star.