The Road to Glory – Chapter 204 – [Side Story] Chapter 6. The Reason for Learning Music

Author: Dawn

Adult Hobby Class Weekday Afternoon Class D.

This was the most unique class among the classes Han Jinyeong had taken charge of.

From their 20s to 60s, the age range was diverse, and so were their occupations.

A prestigious university student, a housewife with two sons, a white hacker was it? A freelancer who works a lot with computers, and even a retired elderly man.

With people of different ages, genders, and personalities gathered together, he thought it might be awkward from start to finish. But surprisingly, they blended well together since that first day of self-introductions.

They became so close that the energy was too high to conduct the class. Still, Han Jinyeong quite liked the classes with these unique individuals.

Anyway, Class D was just a basic bass class where calluses had barely formed on their fingers.

They weren’t learning it as a profession or for entrance exams, but as a hobby class where they managed to make time from their busy daily lives to learn bass.

Therefore, Han Jinyeong paid the most attention to making them ‘enjoy’ falling for the charm of bass.

While giving feedback, he tried to maintain a balance that would help them without making them lose confidence.

That’s why Han Jinyeong suddenly became worried about Halo’s feedback. Though Haeil wasn’t the type to curse or use harsh words, he was a very honest person.

People who knew Haeil well might be used to it, but those who didn’t, or those with sensitive hearts might get hurt and misunderstand.

But…

“…How was it?”

“It was good.”

“What? Really? You can be honest with me.”

“It was really good. Though it didn’t sound like my song.”

“! What did you say? Hahaha”

This seems better than expected…?

“I keep making mistakes in this part every time I practice.”

“Your pinky finger seems weak, it might be better to switch to using your index and ring fingers.”

“Oh!”

Oh, at this rate, it might be fine to leave them be…

“Halo-ssi, do you know how to play bass too?”

“A little? I need to know what sounds instruments make.”

“Ooh, then how long did it take you to master the basics? No matter how much I practice, I feel like I’m not getting the basics down, makes me think I might not have talent for bass.”

“Hmm, I don’t think you need to worry too much about the basics. I’ve never formally learned bass either, but as I played, I found myself creating and playing in the most comfortable position for me. That’ll just come naturally as you enjoy playing.”

“Really?”

No, no!

Han Jinyeong’s shoulders twitched.

One word from a genius who could create their own music just by following others without being taught bass was enough to plant wrong misconceptions in ordinary people.

But still-.

Han Jinyeong, who was about to interject, hesitated when he saw the housewife’s face brighten up, who had been stressed about the basics.

The conversation between the two continued.

“And I could see you practiced a lot. That part was designed to make mistakes, but you didn’t.”

“! …You made it that way on purpose? My goodness. No wonder it was difficult.”

“Ah, then could that part in Struggle also have been made difficult on purpose?”

Someone chimed in

“No.”

“That means practice more!”

“Even Halo-ssi says that one’s serious.”

Laughter followed.

People don’t leave Haeil’s side.

Like someone meeting their first love, they were overjoyed with each response.

The way they accepted his honest evaluations with smiles, and their reactions were so wonderful.

If only it had been like this during regular classes.

Han Jinyeong laughed briefly before observing Haeil and the students who seemed focused, then felt at ease thinking, “It’ll be fine.”

Halo smiled gently as he watched people immersed in bass. As always, he liked people who, though clumsy, struggled to create good music.

Han Jinyeong worried he might give harsh criticism, but he had no intention of doing so, just as he hadn’t with his old band.

Rather than being conscious that it was a hobby and not a profession, he just enjoyed seeing their earnest efforts.

And actually, it was fascinating.

Always meeting people who did music professionally, it had been too long since he’d met people struggling with such basics.

“Whew whew.”

Halo patiently waited for the college student who was breathing heavily. The student slowly embraced the bass and started playing.

Their expression gradually turned sullen, seeming to play worse than usual.

“Ah…”

Finally, the college student put their hands down. They had given up before completing the song.

“I’m the worst, aren’t I?”

And before Halo could say anything, they asked timidly.

“I can’t say you’re bad when I haven’t heard everything yet.”

“But I kept making mistakes. Couldn’t even finish. I’m sorry for wasting your time.”

The college student, who apologized without being asked to, soon let out a small sigh and their face darkened even more.

This wasn’t meant to dampen the mood.

“I have stage fright or something like spotlight anxiety. If even one person watches me, thoughts like ‘What will they think of me?’ ‘What if I make a mistake?’ make me panic and I can’t say anything. I can’t remember what I was going to do, and I act like an idiot. I’m trying to overcome that by learning an instrument like this, but it’s the same here.”

Halo, who had been listening quietly, tilted his head and asked.

“Is what others think of you important?”

“Huh?”

Initially surprised by Halo’s response to their self-deprecating mumble, the college student continued.

“Yes, I’m concerned. That anyone might say ‘they’re really bad’ or ‘that’s funny.’ Of course, my friends said people don’t care much about others and told me not to worry. That I might do well, but I could also make mistakes.”

“You must think I don’t understand, Halo-ssi?”

The college student asked as if they knew everything.

It wasn’t wrong.

Basically, Halo cared more about himself and his music regardless of what others thought, and even if someone criticized him, he’d say, ‘So what? I like it.’

Some called it mental strength.

He wasn’t sure about that, but his tastes were certainly firm. Having rarely experienced failure, his self-confidence was also strong.

So it was hard to empathize with this college student’s concerns.

He didn’t get nervous on stage because he didn’t consider failure, didn’t care much about others’ evaluations and reactions, and mostly held the belief that people liked him.

Still.

Halo tried to answer her question.

Because he liked people who loved music,

And he liked watching clumsy people grow.

Halo slowly opened his mouth.

“First, I’ve never thought people don’t care about others.”

“What?”

“Rather, they care quite a lot. Especially when you’re on stage. Whether they came to see you or not, they end up watching.”

The college student, who had asked back at the unexpected rebuttal, turned pale.

The student, who had an upcoming bass performance, wondered if they should back out now. All sorts of thoughts crossed their mind.

“And everyone makes at least one mistake when they’re on stage.”

Saying scary things with a bright expression made the student feel like they were falling even further.

“But isn’t it kind of fun when you make mistakes?”

“…? What is?”

Halo grinned.

“Suddenly there’s tension on stage, right? I, for my part, rack my brain thinking how to cover up this mistake.”

“Other session members would panic too. It’s fun watching them try to recover while being flustered.”

“!”

“And I also test how many people will notice my mistake today.”

“!”

This person’s mentality is something else.

The college student found Halo both fascinating and cool, saying mistakes were thrilling. It wasn’t for nothing when people said not just anyone could become an entertainer.

But still.

“I can’t think like that. When I make a mistake-. Not only do people criticize, but it feels like I’ve experienced a huge failure.”

“Do my mistakes look like failures to you?”

No. The college student unconsciously shook her head in surprise.

Then what’s the problem? Halo spread both arms.

“Mistakes aren’t failures. They’re just… small elements of my performance that I occasionally show.

And this is something I think about sometimes, but I don’t think people want a perfect performance without mistakes that much.”

“That can’t be. Then what do those people want?”

Surely they’d want a perfect performance.

The college student persistently asked, thinking the superstar was just trying to comfort her.

Halo replied matter-of-factly without concern.

“Why, it’s me”

“!”

“My music, my stage. And everything I’ve prepared. They come to savor that time, watching everything I’ve prepared.”

From then on, the college student kept quiet.

“So if a performance fails, it’s not because of mistakes. It’s because I couldn’t show everything I prepared.”

“!”

Halo’s words, which seemed like he was talking about himself, became her words at some point.

“Isn’t that really regrettable? You practiced bass so hard. Even though I’m not good, I know how to complete it. People might think I didn’t prepare anything, but I really tried hard.”

Halo thought the college student wasn’t responding because she wasn’t satisfied.

However, the reason the college student didn’t answer was because one of those pieces of advice had struck her heart.

Halo’s words wouldn’t be the ultimate solution to stage fright. She wouldn’t change a personality that worries too much about others either.

But she recalled her actions from earlier. An unsatisfactory behavior where she put down the bass just because of a few mistakes.

-The stage ended incomplete because I couldn’t show everything I prepared.

-Isn’t that really regrettable? When you practiced so hard.

She looked at the bass for a moment, then raised her head.

“Can I try again?”

Halo nodded at those words.

“Let’s play together.”

“How was today?”

When Moon Seoyeon asked, Halo, who was strumming the guitar, lifted the corners of his mouth.

“It was fun.”

Meeting people who loved music was fun after a long time.

They said his songs were difficult, so he arranged them differently – they found it even harder –, taught them tricks to pretend they hadn’t made mistakes, and more. Though he wasn’t a proper instructor, and he wasn’t sure what those people might think, he had quite a satisfying time.

He was particularly interested when he heard everyone’s reasons for learning bass.

-So how did everyone end up learning bass?

A college student wanting to overcome spotlight anxiety or stage fright.

A housewife who didn’t even know ‘bass’ existed but wanted to learn about this unfamiliar field because her son said he’d become a bassist.

A freelancer who started learning bass because of a drunk bet with a friend.

And an elderly man who said he liked the sound of bass and wanted to learn it.

It was fascinating to see these people with their own reasons and concerns practicing together with a performance as their goal.

-Bravo!

-Hehehe, today was pretty good, right?

-Wow! You really did well.

-Was my mistake not too noticeable?

-No. I couldn’t tell at all.

If it weren’t for music, they might have never met for all eternity.

Halo wrote down the ideas that came to mind while watching them in his notebook. He wasn’t sure about the slump, but he felt sufficiently refreshed.

“Then is the next batter ready?”

“Of course!”

Moon Seoyeon nodded resolutely at Han Jinyeong’s question. If Han Jinyeong was the first batter, Moon Seoyeon was the next.

“Boss will like it too!”

Han Jinyeong, who roughly knew where Moon Seoyeon spent time during vacation, made a strange expression but wasn’t too concerned.

Just as he had adapted well to the academy, he would adapt well there too.

Well, it might be a bit more difficult.

Meanwhile, at Label H’s content planning team. PD Namgung watched the filming footage first and said. (+) ^[1]

“What is this?”

PD Namgung, who had only heard that Halo was called as a one-day ensemble helper at a practical music academy, was momentarily surprised when something amazing came out.

In a way, it was typical Halo, but.

“This is supposed to be a slump…?”

Once again, a huge question struck him.

If this was a slump, wouldn’t most people spend their entire lives in slump, burnout, or something even worse?

If Halo hadn’t said it was a slump himself, he wouldn’t have even suspected it was one.

After looking through the footage for a while, PD Namgung shook his head and gathered his thoughts. There was something else important for now.

Today he had to schedule the video.

Since it was being uploaded to NuTube, there were no restrictions, and he just had to log into the account and register it.

[Welcome to my World]

A new thumbnail enters a place where there was only the original video. PD Namgung imagined what would change and how at the exact time this went up.

First, since ‘HALO_OFFICIAL’ has fewer subscribers than Halo’s main account, the response might be a bit slower.

But,