The Road to Glory Chapter 53 - Like a Stage
Sunlight poured in through the window.
In front of it were a rocking chair and a cat.
Looking at the albums and books stacked diagonally against one wall, it seemed like a very cozy home, but according to him, it was a remodeled existing studio.
The building with separate recording and mastering rooms was extremely pleasant.
“Wow, it’s spacious.”
The hyungs from the hideout, carrying gift LPs and a turntable, put down the gifts and looked around the building – the recording room, mastering room, and even the bathroom.
And of course, since they were all people who played music or had done so in the past, they couldn’t help but touch the instruments inside at least once.
“Looks like he didn’t skimp on the budget.”
“Well, he’ll make a lot of money.”
Considering the latest equipment, modern interior, and the rent in Seongsu-dong, the cost must have been astronomical.
(Still) unthinkable for a middle school student’s spending.
However, no one worried.
At least the people gathered here knew how much money Halo would make in the future.
“What’s this?”
“It’s nothing.”
Halo unboxed the gifts, ignoring the embarrassed hyungs. One was a turntable box, which could be placed on the table, and the other was…
When Halo hesitated, Han Jinyeong smiled and patted his head.
“It’s just an old one.”
“Thank you, it’s one of my favorite albums.”
The gift from Han Jinyeong was the music he had first heard at the hideout – the first edition LP of Hwang Ryongpil’s third album. It was divided into two sides, just like he had seen before. Halo placed it next to the turntable.
Planning to listen to it after the hyungs left.
“You’ve started playing bass again.”
Halo glanced at Han Jinyeong’s hands and said.
The calluses that had faded the last time he saw them were now full again.
This time, Han Jinyeong didn’t hide his hands and turned them over.
“Ah, I discovered an interesting guitar textbook recently, so I’ve been practicing a little.”
“Let me know if it’s difficult. I’ll guide you well as a composer.”
“Ahem.”
After that, Uncle Kang Yeongmin also came.
While the hyungs from the hideout were more interested in the instruments and interior, Uncle Kang Yeongmin, being an engineer, focused on inspecting the facilities in the mastering room. There was no fault with the equipment recommended by Producer Nokjin.
After looking around the mastering room, which seemed to embody an engineer’s dream, for quite a while, the uncle said with a regretful expression:
“Now there’s not much reason for you to visit our studio.”
His personal workspace already had everything.
With more up-to-date facilities than his studio.
“I knew this day would come, but it’s sooner than I thought.”
Uncle Kang Yeongmin immediately realized there would be no more reason for Halo to visit the HY studio.
“But I’ll definitely keep it a secret, don’t worry.”
Uncle Kang Yeongmin solemnly nodded his head, then zipped his mouth shut.
‘It’s not that much of a secret.’
Halo chuckled and nodded.
And so – along with the approval for establishing a corporation – Halo’s official label [H] was created, taking the h from Roh Haeil’s name and Halo’s h.
And when they were about to officially start working, a phone call came. Before hiring employees or even completing his album.
[It’s my first time greeting you. I’m Director Park Jeongho. You might not know me, but I’m the original composer of the Heetae theme song that you sang.]
It was a call from the music director of [From Today On], the production crew. After introducing himself as the music director, he mentioned that he had heard about the reprise version of the Heetae theme that I sang.
Although he could have been upset that Halo freely arranged his song, he was an open-minded person about such things.
After talking about the Heetae reprise for a while, the director got to the point.
[Haeil-ssi, have you ever been to a drama filming set before? Not a location shoot, but at least a studio.]
“No, I haven’t.”
[Well, that’s good then. How about coming to a filming set?]
“Huh?”
It was an unexpected suggestion, but the director soon explained the reason.
[I heard you’ve started your own independent label. I know it’s a busy time, but there’s a reason on this side too. Most of the OSTs are scheduled for re-recording, you see.]
Re-recording drama OSTs is a common occurrence.
Sometimes the singer themselves is unsatisfied with their condition and requests a re-recording, or if the drama script changes, the already-made OST can’t be used.
Or, even if the script hasn’t changed, the existing audio is re-recorded to maximize the sync rate between the video and music in the drama.
[‘There are various’ reasons for changes in the content, so we can’t just use the OSTs as is.]
In this case, changes to the script and plot development were the biggest reasons.
The director emphasized ‘various’ meaningfully.
[Well, the ‘someone’ on your side also provoked them to request a re-recording. Of course, the Heetae theme song isn’t scheduled for re-recording yet. But just in case, how about coming to the filming set to check it out? I’m going to see the on-set atmosphere again too, and I’d like you to meet them too since you have a stake in the Heetae theme. If there are any re-recordings or rearrangements, it’ll be helpful.]
The drama filming set, huh.
He was curious. He had been to movie filming locations before, but never a drama set.
Also, it seemed the director kept emphasizing a point referring to him. As the one responsible for the variations on the Heetae theme, he thought it wouldn’t be bad.
[Oh, and the Heetae actor really wants to meet you, Haeil-ssi. To be fair, it’s understandable. Because of you, their role got bigger in the script.]
The director whispered, even though there was no one else listening.
There was a hint of laughter, but it was true.
Halo tapped the desk and checked his schedule.
His 4th album was a bit tight, but if he made time, it seemed possible.
[Then I’ll send you the location by text separately.]
That’s how the schedule was arranged.
#
[From Today On] alternated between filming at a high school location in Ilsan and a studio in Ilsan.
The address Halo received was for a high school located in Ilsan.
‘I may not be enrolling, but I end up going to a high school after all.’
Halo briefly wondered if Roh Haeil had a destiny that couldn’t separate him from school.
It took about 1 hour and 20 minutes by car from Jamsil to Ilsan.
At that time, he wondered if he should take his mother’s car again, but since Gillaon was going to the same place, he got to borrow his van.
Gillaon had also received a call from the [From Today On] production crew and said he would go to the filming set to greet them. Since OSTs were being re-recorded today, he seemed to lowkey hope that senior singers might come too.
“Use it comfortably, Haeil. We’re colleagues now!”
“…He already looks comfortable though?”
Halo was sitting with his legs crossed so comfortably that Kim Kyungjin commented gloomily, as if it was his own.
“You can keep using it from now on too, Haeil!”
“Laon, my opinion is-“
“No, I should probably get one slowly.”
He did need to get a manager slowly.
Being a minor, he couldn’t drive himself, and he couldn’t keep riding in his mother’s car forever.
“But it’ll be hard to find someone meeting those criteria.”
Gillaon added, recalling Halo’s strict manager requirements that he had listened to carefully.
The five demanding criteria:
Of course, these would be the standards for a chief manager (director) rather than a road manager.
Not afraid of getting scolded
Having faith and being serious about everything
A trustworthy person.
“Right?”
Gillaon tilted his head, someone suddenly coming to mind.
Then he glanced back at Halo.
Halo seemed lost in thought, gazing out the window.
#
At a high school in Ilsan.
There were lines to prevent general people from entering the newly built building, and a group of people in paddings were standing around. They seemed to be staff and extra actors.
“Oh! You’re here early! Just a moment please.”
The one who greeted them was Assistant Director Lee Jong-seop. He handed out staff lanyards and led them to the music director.
The music director was sitting on a small chair, looking around the set, while the overall director and what seemed to be the camera director were conversing.
It didn’t seem like filming was happening right away.
“You’re here?”
When Music Director Park Jeongho saw the two young boys, he came over with a bright smile.
“Welcome. Gillaon-ssi, you already know my face?”
“Hello, Director! I’m Gillaon! Nice to meet you!”
Halo also greeted him.
The music director, seeing the two kids with completely contrasting tensions, laughed heartily like Santa Claus.
“Come here and greet them first. The director in the hat is the camera director, and-“
And grabbing their shoulders, he introduced who they should greet.
After all the greetings, when there was a brief moment, their eyes turned to the celebrities.
From rookies to famous celebrities had arrived at the filming set, and Gillaon, who had seen singers but barely any actors, fussed like a child.
“Wow, it’s Lee Sora.”
“Wow, Yang Haneul!”
‘Ah, he really is a kid.’
After that, Halo mostly tuned out Gillaon’s fussing as he observed the filming set for a while. The music director told them to wait for a bit as he went to see the overall director, giving them a little free time.
“Um… Gillaon-ssi?”
That’s when it happened.
A man with a plain face approached them.
He was wearing a school uniform that looked very familiar, with a tteokbokki coat over it. Instead of a padded jacket, he looked extremely cold but just had a blanket draped over himself without taking the coat off.
He seemed to have stopped when heading towards the music director after spotting the Gillaon, who had become familiar from being on broadcasts.
“Ah-!”
Gillaon, who had been intently watching the man, opened his eyes wide.
Then he alternated looking between the man and Halo before quickly whispering to Halo:
“Haeil, that’s the actor who played Heetae, the one you sang for.”
Ah. It was only after Gillaon told him that Halo realized.
And it seemed the man had also heard the whisper, as his eyes widened too.
“If it’s Haeil, you mean Roh Haeil-ssi? The one who sang my theme song?”
“Yes, I’m Roh Haeil.”
Since his profile didn’t seem to be on search engines yet, the man had looked confused at first, but he seemed to gain certainty after hearing Halo’s confirmation and voice. After staring at Halo for a while, the man opened his mouth.
“Hello. I’m Lee Jeongmin, the one playing Heetae in ‘From Today On’. It’s nice to meet you. Um, and… I really wanted to say thank you.”
The actor bowed in greeting.
The music director’s mention of an increased role didn’t seem to be a lie.
When the actor greeted someone younger than him, the staff’s eyes briefly turned towards them. Regardless, the actor looked at him with sparkling, burdened eyes.
“I really enjoyed the reprise.”
It wasn’t clear to the music director how much he had heard, but it seemed he had listened to the whole song, as well as the other arrangements.
What made this assumption certain was when the music director, who had been conversing with the director, returned.
“Oh, you’re conversing well. Jeongmin-ssi, this is Roh Haeil-ssi who sang the Heetae theme and created the reprise. The one you really wanted to meet. And this is Lee Jeongmin-ssi, the one acting as Heetae.”
“Yes, we’ve greeted each other, Director. I was waiting since you said he might come today, and I really got to meet him.”
“I didn’t know he was such a young friend! Is Lee Jeongmin-ssi twenty-nine? This friend is seventeen. Seventeen!”
At the music director’s words, the actor calmly nodded.
“Yes, I was surprised. From when I first heard the reprise, no, the Heetae theme, until now. But…”
“…”
“I’m newly realizing that age isn’t that important.”
After saying that, the actor once again revealed his white teeth and expressed his gratitude. Since it seemed like he would just keep saying thank you until filming started, the music director sent him off. Then sighing deeply, he mentioned that the actor had gone through quite a long obscure period.
“How does it feel?”
“What does?”
“Haeil-ssi may not have been there the whole time you were recording, but I heard you suddenly got inspired and made it. And then the script changed because of that, right? One actor got a bigger role than originally planned, one character’s ending might change, and it caused some overtime for someone.”
And the director also looked at Gillaon and the actor playing ‘Yujin’. Gillaon greeted the senior idol actor. Whether it was re-recording or whatever, it just seemed good.
“Well…”
Halo observed them with an ambiguous gaze.
The arrangement had only been done on a whim.
He hadn’t worked hard enough on it to deserve such gratitude.
So it felt like he was receiving thanks he didn’t really deserve.
“And they said there was also a request for re-recording from the singer’s side.”
“Yes.”
“That came right after the Heetae theme was released. Like viewer feedback. No, actually the singer probably knew best. That it wouldn’t work out like this. How does it feel to make your seniors re-record?”
At least that part wasn’t complicated or ambiguous.
When Halo smiled as if it was only natural, the music director liked his boldness.
“How’s the on-set atmosphere? Not bad, right? Of course, there’s no stress unless the filming doesn’t go smoothly, but today it’s going well.”
And since the music director wasn’t a site manager, he could leave for his workspace once he had seen enough. The music director briefly glanced at Halo.
There was actually one more reason why he had called the boy over to talk about re-recording and actors.
He liked the boy’s music, and his desire to nurture him hadn’t changed.
So he wanted the boy to see the atmosphere of a drama filming set and gain interest. He wanted to show him the appeal of drama and movie music.
The beauty of the narrative being created, occupying an important part of the grand story.
“It’s energetic and not boring for a moment.”
“That’s right, that’s right.”
So when the boy gave a positive answer, the music director inwardly clenched his fist, feeling half successful. But he smiled wryly at the next words he heard.
“It’s like a stage.”
“!”
“Well, this place is also a kind of stage. It’s like a huge concert where you can show yourself doing what you love most.”
The boy said with a smile.
“I like it here.”
A face that truly loved the stage.
In that moment, the music director realized the boy belonged on stage rather than a drama filming set, but his desire to nurture the boy only grew stronger.
So he impulsively asked:
“Then. Want to work together once more?”
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