The Road to Glory – Chapter 212 – [Side Story] Chapter 14. What’s Normal for Us

Author: Dawn

“This village is really unique.”

PD Na Hyejoo agreed with Writer Do Minhee.

Until they found the house they were contacted about, their impression of Baegun Island was ‘unique’ and ‘unexpected’.

From the village broadcast that used standard Korean while everyone else, including the village head, spoke in dialect-

The subtly sophisticated young people they spotted.

Though they mostly saw them from behind, there were people who didn’t seem to belong on Baegun Island. Well, they probably had relatives or acquaintances here, so it wasn’t that strange.

“Ah, I think this is the house.”

“The address matches.”

PD Na Hyejoo cleared her throat and reached for her recorder. It was something she always carried when looking for prodigies. Originally, she would bring a VJ and quite a few companions, but with each failure, one person would drop out until only the two of them remained.

“Hello, is this Gyeowool’s house?”

This single-story house, without even a yard, looked smaller than the other houses on Baegun Island.

“Who’re you looking for our child-“

“We’re from MNC, following up on a report. About a music prodigy.”

“Oh my.”

A woman with a baby on her back came out.

“I didn’t think you’d really come. Will our child be on TV?”

“We’d like to talk with Gyeowool first. Is Gyeowool inside?”

“Oh dear, what should I do. Gyeowool just left.”

“Left?”

“After listening to the morning broadcast-“

The woman saw Gyeowool sitting quietly, then getting startled after hearing the morning broadcast, and running off somewhere after hearing the singing.

It sounded fine to her, but she couldn’t understand what Gyeowool was thinking.

She often couldn’t understand Gyeowool’s actions.

“Um-“

“Ah, please call me PD Na.”

“PD Na, if you have something to do now, should I bring Gyeowool back?”

PD Na Hyejoo and Writer Do Minhee looked at each other.

What should we do?

Are you sure about this? Are they hiding the kid?

We still need to check.

Having known each other for well over ten years, they could read each other’s thoughts without speaking.

“We’ll go ourselves, ma’am.”

“Could you tell us where Gyeowool might be?”

The woman scratched her cheek before answering.

“Probably,”

At the Baegun Elementary School broadcasting club.

Gyeowool was banned from entering due to an incident in the past, but seeing how Gyeowool ran out after hearing the morning broadcast, it seemed the attachment was still there.

She never imagined the village broadcast would be connected to the elementary school broadcasting club.

PD Na Hyejoo vaguely thought she might meet the owner of that voice too.

“No one’s allowed in here, how did you get in?!”

“I walked.”

“…”

The broadcasting club fell silent for a while.

The kid seemed at a loss for words, lips twitching before muttering.

“It should have been locked…”

“Someone opened it for me.”

“Who?”

“Me, you rascal.”

Just then, the caretaker grandfather who appeared from the side grabbed the kid’s head.

“I’m sorry, you must have been startled.”

They said the grandfather, who spoke the most standard Korean among the villagers, used honorifics with everyone.

“This kid, sneaking in again? Kids should play outside like kids, not cause trouble.”

“Let go!”

As the kid struggled, the grandfather handled them skillfully, saying what a healthy one they were. It seemed this wasn’t the first time.

“Shall we go in? Come with me.”

“Let go, baldy!”

The grandfather, who had politely greeted Halo, froze at the heart-piercing words.

Then he burst out at the kid.

“Why am I baldy? I still have so much hair! All my peers are balder than-“

“If it’s shiny it’s all bald!”

“!”

The grandfather seemed properly speechless.

“Still not letting you in so give up.”

Their squabbling looked less like a school caretaker and student, and more like a grandfather and grandchild.

“Why not?”

“When did the island chief ban you from entering? Gyeowool, you should be reflecting.”

“Banned from entering?”

Halo tilted his head.

He wondered what they did to get banned.

“Anyway, let’s go.”

The kid looked at the broadcasting club with lingering attachment as they were dragged away.

Something about that dragged figure reminded him of someone.

Halo followed them and spoke up.

“What were you trying to do in there?”

The kid whirled around to look at him.

“Will you let me in?”

“Well, tell me first.”

“…”

The kid glanced briefly at the caretaker grandfather. Seeing the grandfather seemed unbothered, they gathered courage to speak.

“Sound.”

“Huh?”

“I wanted to connect the sounds.”

As Halo paused at those words, the grandfather cut in with a snort.

“Going to startle the villagers again?”

“I never did that.”

“Never did it? Who messed with the broadcasting equipment and nearly burst everyone’s eardrums?”

“It wasn’t me.”

“Everyone thought the world was ending.”

The grandfather shuddered recalling that time. The kid just glared at him.

“Baldies are stupid.”

“You’ll understand when you grow up. That bald people are the kindest in the world.”

Halo chuckled softly and shook his head.

He started walking forward again, watching the kid and grandfather bicker.

“! Then are you a singer?”

The kid suddenly showed interest in him after hearing his occupation.

He wasn’t sure how it ended up like this, but since the school caretaker couldn’t leave the school unattended, he ended up escorting this kid.

Their paths were similar anyway.

The kid, who had been walking indifferently, asked what he did in Seoul, and Halo answered that he sang.

From then on, the kid lifted their head with bright eyes shining through messy hair and asked.

“Then that foreign language song earlier-“

“Yes, that was me.”

Recalling the song they heard while running over when the village broadcast turned on.

“It was kind of good.”

“Kind of?”

Halo asked back as if that was absurd.

The kid’s lips twitched.

Though they didn’t want to admit it, it was nice to listen to.

It seemed like the best among the villagers.

“How did you sing like that? Do all Seoul people, no, do you become like that if you become a singer? How can you become a singer?”

They seemed to have a lot of questions.

But Halo wasn’t a kind adult who would answer everything nicely. Rather-.

“You said you wanted to connect sounds.”

“Huh?”

The kid, used to getting friendly answers or promises of future answers, tilted their head wondering ‘why isn’t he answering?’ and responded vaguely.

“What kind of sounds do you want to connect?”

The kid who had been walking stopped abruptly.

When Halo continued walking without concern, they followed.

This kind of question, no one had asked before.

They asked why they were causing trouble, but no one had properly asked.

Is a singer really different?

“…Humming sounds.”

“Hm?”

“I want to connect mom’s humming sounds.”

It was an unexpected answer.

Halo glanced at the kid.

The kid was staring into space, seemingly lost in thought.

More accurately, they were regretting rather than thinking. Why did they tell this to a stranger? And if they ask why, they were worried about how much to say.

However, Halo didn’t ask why.

“Can you connect them?”

“Huh?”

The kid’s eyes lit up.

Not being asked for reasons made them feel more comfortable.

This much seemed easy enough to answer.

“I don’t know.”

“…”

“I have lots of thoughts, but it’s complicated. There are too many paths and I don’t know which is the right one.”

“Too many paths, huh.”

“Am I weird?”

“No.”

Usually when they said this, adults would either laugh or look at them like they didn’t understand, but the adult in front of them just smiled.

The kid came closer and hummed the sounds in their head.

“Why are you laughing? Am I really weird?”

“…”

“Why won’t you answer? Are you making fun of me now?”

“No, just.”

Seeing too many paths and not knowing which is the answer, having your head become complicated.

Sometimes it’s too noisy, sometimes it’s too beautiful, and sometimes it feels like your head hurts.

“That’s just too-“

For him, it was too common an occurrence, and the kid said the same.

Halo answered the kid with a smile.

“Normal.”

“Normal?”

“…So it’s not weird? It’s not weird.”

The kid who briefly tilted their head soon understood and nodded. Their face had lightened considerably.

“Then can’t you teach me how to sing?”

Halo stopped walking for the first time at that question.

“Huh? Halo sir!”

Just then, a voice called him from behind.

“Where did you go leaving the camera? I’ve been looking everywhere.”

The VJ came with the camera Halo had left at the Baegun Elementary broadcasting club, making a sad face.

And from another direction, a voice-

“…’Halo sir’?”

PD Na Hyejoo and Writer Do Minhee, who had returned after hearing from the caretaker grandfather that Gyeowool had already gone home, discovered them and pointed at him.

“Huh?”

“Roh Haeil? No, Mr. Halo?”

In this chaotic situation, the kid-no, Gyeowool pulled on his clothes.

“You won’t?”

Urging his answer.

Halo looked at Gyeowool and answered.

“No.”

The office worker shouted once again.

“No!”

In the large screen, the black-haired boy ignored him and started picking up scattered drafts to throw them in the trash.

[Nooo]

[Please]

[Why are you throwing them away]

[PD-nim this isn’t real right?ㅠㅠㅠ]

[The music isn’t bad so please release it]

Another week returned.

Those who had been waiting on Roh Haeil’s account ‘Wave_r’ for an hour, not forgetting his slump confession, discovered the boy cleaning up draft songs from the first scene regardless of slump and shouted.

With that, the screen froze and the subtitle for episode 2 appeared.

Episode 2. Welcome to my trouble

“Everything’s fine but please don’t throw away the songs and release them as music, or at least on NuTube.”

It was painful to watch them go to waste.

Though he confessed to being in a slump, episode 2 didn’t focus on that.

Rather, it highlighted a man who visited Halo’s house.

“Hey, been well?”

[It’s Sin Joohyeok]

[Looks like he came to comfort Haeil about his slump]

[Only his voice has appeared but hyung’s presence…]

“What’s this?”

“A camera.”

“… You think I asked because I didn’t know that?”

Sin Joohyeok looked at the camera indifferently and came inside.

“No, more importantly, you should tell me when you come to Korea.”

“I did tell you.”

“When I asked how the LA weather was, answering ‘I’m in Korea’ counts as telling me?”

Sin Joohyeok’s KakaoTalk screenshot came to mind.

It was exactly as Sin Joohyeok said.

[LOL]

[Sin Joohyeok was so shocked he didn’t reply for 2 minutes LOL]

[More than that, they must be really close. Even chatting on KakaoTalk]

[Aren’t they famous for being friends despite the big age gap in the entertainment industry?]

[Roh Haeil looks happy]

“By the way, I heard you’re making a comeback?”

“Changing the subject. Yeah, want to listen?”

Since Sin Joohyeok’s new song was released at the current time, only a brief edited portion was shown. After listening, Halo just smiled, and Sin Joohyeok asked.

“How is it?”

“It’s good.”

Of course-. At the following words, Sin Joohyeok said he knew this would happen.

“But my style is more-“

Halo picked up the guitar and immediately arranged it.

[Whoa]

[Crazy]

“Oh. Then how about this?”

Sin Joohyeok, who briefly exclaimed in admiration, took Halo’s guitar and arranged the arrangement, and Halo, seeming amused, arranged the arrangement of the arrangement.

Their competitive spirit seemed properly ignited.

Just like when they first met on radio and sang each other’s songs.

The viewers watching the chaotic process of arrangements reminisced about that time…

[????]

[No]

They did not, and

[Slump:???]

[Did the meaning of ‘slump’ change without me knowing?]

[?? How did slump even come up? Is this devil’s editing? Did they play word chain?]

The chat that initially encouraged Halo started changing.

Halo, who had been chatting with Sin Joohyeok for a while, quietly stared at the guitar when left alone. Sad background music played over him.

It was music that seemed to comfort a singer struggling with slump.