The Road to Glory

“Hmm.”Halo looked at the man sitting across from him as he sipped his espresso. The man in black glasses waved his hand harmlessly. In the middle of winter, wearing a light brown coat and scarf, he was shivering uncontrollably, looking pitiful rather than like a successful producer.“Aren’t you cold?”“I’m cold. But it’ll get better soon, right?”The man who had come introducing himself as ‘Producer Nokjin’ from P-R Label had only given his business card with his portfolio address on the first day before leaving.That was at least a better method than other agencies that just gave their business cards.It made him look up what kind of person he was, assuming it meant he would produce him.While it wasn’t a positive-intentioned search, if his intention was to make him look up his portfolio, then it was a success.Thanks to that, Halo had listened to the music Nokjin produced and his own compositions, and learned that he was quite a capable person.Of course, he still couldn’t accept being produced by him.“I feel like I’ve already made my intentions clear.”“It really is difficult to find someone you match well with in this world. Just like finding a company that matches you is difficult.”From his casual remarks, it seemed he had already received all the reports. That he was extremely picky about managers, or that he wasn’t positive about joining a company, and so on.And yet he still came, meaning he intended to persuade him somehow.Especially since a successful producer personally came to give him his business card with his portfolio, that was making every gesture of sincerity beyond an email or phone call.So Halo was even more perplexed.Because he thought that while people might know ‘Halo,’ ‘Roh Haeil’ hadn’t shown anything yet. He had only just begun.Well, if they looked, there were things, but.Anyway, his intention to not join anywhere was still unchanged.Halo didn’t want to beat around the bush any longer, so he asked first.“So what proposal did you want to make?”“On the first day I saw you at home, and the second day at a cafe, so for our next meeting I’d like it to be near the P-R office building. You may not know, but there are many good cafes around Seongsu Station where our office is located.”Nokjin said with a faint smile.If he had brought out something like a contract telling him to join P-R, he would have immediately refused, but he seemed like no easy opponent.“What do you think? Was it a good proposal?”“While I am interested in there being many good cafes, unfortunately I’ve been quite busy lately.”“Oh. The OST work must already be finished. Are you perhaps working on a new song?”“Yes.”Since there was no particular reason to hide it, when he answered honestly, Nokjin spread his hands like a salesman and said:“Our P-R building also has a nice studio prepared. Especially, if you come to my studio, you’ll be amazed. It’s one of my prides.”He’s been feeling this from earlier, but while he doesn’t directly propose for him to come, he’s promoting everything he can promote. Halo smiled and refused with “It’s okay,” and the second meeting ended like that.#The Second Return!Teasers and trailers were released for [From Today On], about a formerly delinquent student who gets punished for smoking and breaking uniform rules, then returns to his alma mater as a teacher.Sin Joohyeok, one of the four top male vocalists, took on the OST for the teaser, and the song was released on streaming sites along with the trailer.Additionally, articles mentioned that many new singers participated in the OST. Among them, they pointed out Gillaon who showed top-notch vocals in ‘Soyou,’ and a NuTuber.Articles were uploaded simultaneously.While interest in the drama [From Today On] itself, based on the original Webtoon with a cast of new actors, wasn’t that high, at least those who liked OSTs showed interest in the theme songs.[Wow, check out that glitzy OST lineup][Congrats! Gillaon’s first OST participation!][What kind of song is this NuTuber W making?]At first, people talked about the theme songs themselves, but then original work fans joined in.They mentioned their favorite characters and did virtual casting to find OST singers that would match them.[I wonder who will sing our Yujin’s theme song]It was practically no different from a character popularity poll.Then, when someone asked [Will Heetae have a theme too?], the community fell silent as if they were all doing a meditation retreat together.No, they ignored that post as if they couldn’t see it, and only chattered about other characters’ theme songs.And about ten minutes later, someone left a comment.└ Why would that guy have a theme└ Just a boring characterThis was the extent of interest in Heetae.In fact, this was the moderate side, as there were fans who outright disliked Heetae. Despite the protagonist giving him so many chances, Heetae failed to take his hand in the end and made mistakes that led him to drop out of school, so some found him frustrating and saw him as a fool. Some even mocked the original author, asking if Heetae was based on themselves.The drama writer knew the original work fans would dislike it if Heetae’s character was highlighted importantly. Since original work fans extremely disliked modifications to begin with, there would definitely be people cursing no matter what.Instead, following the original author’s request – though not a contractual requirement – they tried to write him as a more definitive villain. So they mentioned his importance to the director.However, the writer changed their mind last night.Last night.After listening to the Heetae variation song the director sent.After being warned to be careful about the song leaking, and listening to the variation song all night, they erased the villainous role they had originally planned for him.The more characters were erased, the more their heart ached, but a better path had appeared so there was nothing they could do.Then, as if doped on caffeine, they spun a new story.They didn’t know how readers and viewers would receive this modification. They had gone against the original author’s request, and truthfully, since it was the final episode, viewer reaction would be far off, but.“But this picture is more beautiful, so what can I do.”Tap tap.In the end, the writer pressed enter.#‘He said their office was in Seongsu-dong, right?’Halo looked around while seeing that now extremely familiar, harmless face. He wondered if there were any paparazzi or something similar nearby. There was nothing visible. Of course, his identity wasn’t known to the world.If he hadn’t heard that P-R’s office building was in Seongsu-dong, he would have thought this was a sasaeng fan.“Hmm.”“Do you know that person?”Halo shook his head at his mother’s question.He had heard there were many labels and agencies around Seongsu Station, so he thought this might be that area. Well, there was bound to be a reason places with many studio listings.It felt awkward that he seemed to have literally taken up the suggestion for their third meeting to be at a Seongsu-dong cafe. He wasn’t usually one to readily accept others’ suggestions.Next to the familiar face, a man two blocks away saw Halo and came striding over.“Hello.”He stopped right in front of them.“I’m Samjang, the head of P-R Label. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”“P-R Label?”“Yes, I heard our producer visited you directly before. He rudely visited your home and must have surprised you, I sincerely apologize.”“It’s okay, he didn’t even enter the house, just gave me his business card at the door.”His mother was generous when it came to matters related to her son. She had thought from long ago that reporters might stake out in front of their house, that he might not be able to go outside.“Thank you for your forgiveness.”Then Samjang looked at Halo.It was a gaze that said, ‘So you’re the one.’Then Samjang spoke to his mother again.“If it’s not too much trouble, our office building is nearby. Could you spare some time?”“Your office building?”“Yes, our label is in Seongsu-dong. I really want to introduce our label to your son. If you still don’t like it after visiting our label, I promise we won’t bother you again.”It was a polite tone.In a way, it seemed like he had confidence in their label.Halo, who had his arms crossed, nodded his head.He felt like he had dragged things out pointlessly too.If he was going to refuse, it was better for both sides to refuse quickly.“Mom will be at the Konkuk University bookstore, so shall I go back after you done talking? I was thinking of stopping by the bookstore anyway, so I should go now. Of course, you know you still have to get a contract approved by your mom and dad, okay?”He was grateful to his mother for understanding his intention before he could say anything. When Halo nodded, his mother patted his head once and also gave Samjang a nod as if entrusting her son to him.“Let me know when you’re done.”“Yes.”He immediately realized why they happened to run into each other.The P-R Label office building really was not far away.The building had ‘P-Rosper’ written large on it.As he entered the office, he came across what seemed to be office workers and artists inside. It felt different from Veil, which had been like a ghost company with nothing there.They had said they started as a hip-hop label but were expanding into various genres, and it did seem very distinctive and lively that way.With the head Samjang and producer Nokjin appearing, everyone did their jobs and greeted them as ‘hyung,’ feeling more like a crew than a normal company.“Hey Haeil! Hi! Are you joining our label?”“I’m in the middle of a very serious work, Laon.”“Good luck, boss!”Halo ran into Gillaon in front of the practice room.At first, he beamed, then raised his fist with determination.And soon, Halo visited the studio Nokjin had boasted about for the first time.It felt different on another level from Kang Yeongmin’s studio or the studios he had visited for OST recordings.“I tend to do the mixing and mastering myself. So I’ve brought in all sorts of equipment.”“You do it yourself?”“I’m just never satisfied when others do it. So I do it myself.”“!”Nokjin gave him a look as if to say, ‘Isn’t it the same for you?’It was certainly a remark that pierced through Halo.Fans had shielded him calling it ‘classic,’ ‘retro,’ but since coming to this world, there had always been something lacking in all the recordings he produced.Specifically, it was the natural sense of regret that came from realizing he could also tinker with these kinds of things.That’s why after getting a studio, he had tried to learn mixing and mastering too, but at the very least, he had struck one point accurately.After the office tour, they sat in the head’s office.And what followed was about the services provided to artists signed to the P-R label.Album production, distribution, promotion were basics, and they also provided management services like broadcast appearances, scheduling, personnel support and more.There were certainly things Halo needed among those.Things like music video production that general studios had said was impossible, or a dedicated studio and personnel – those were appealing.However, in the end the answer was the same.“Thank you for the proposal, but I will decline.”Before Samjang could ask why, Halo quickly answered.“There are several reasons, but more than anything, I intend to create my own label.”He had thought about it from the start.An independent label just for himself.He still wanted to create an agency dedicated solely to him, not other artists.Even if it took some time, that was fine.“Then, may I leave now?”Halo stood up abruptly from his seat and made it clear he had no intention of compromising. Samjang kept his mouth shut, perhaps surprised by Halo’s blunt refusal or thrown off by the mention of an independent label.At that moment, Nokjin chuckled and interjected into the conversation.“Hey Samjang, didn’t I tell you? Haeil isn’t the type to be an affiliated artist. We shouldn’t have approached it this way from the start.”Nokjin gave Halo a wink.“Let’s have a quick chat, just the two of us. It will be a more constructive conversation.”So, where should he start?Nokjin briefly organized his thoughts before speaking.“I understand people like you well, Haeil-ssi.”Nokjin opened up about himself.“From long ago, I disliked meddling or interference too. I felt it destroyed the world I had already created. In fact, that’s not wrong. That’s why I’m here now. The independent route definitely has less interference than you might think. Well, there may still be some advice given to affiliated artists.”Nokjin honestly admitted it.And he glanced at Samjang.It seemed Samjang wanted to bring him in as an affiliated artist somehow, but Nokjin had given up on that from their first meeting.“I expected you’d want to create a one-person agency. You have the ability, Haeil-ssi. If you tried joining anywhere, they’d accept you right away. If you’ve got an eye for it, there’s no place that would reject you.”When Halo nodded, Nokjin naturally accepted it too. The boy in front of him had enough reason to be confident.“About that.”Nokjin brought up the main point.This was the backup plan Samjang had made, though he hadn’t mentioned it until the end in case Roh Haeil didn’t accept.“An independent label. P-R will support you. Well, our name may be included as a sub-label, but in reality it will be independent. Since we’re an independent label too, I guess it would be an independent-independent label.”It was an intended joke, but the boy didn’t laugh.“Your position will be similar to an affiliated artist. Ah, but this is something we also provide to collaborative artists, so you don’t need to think of it as special treatment.”He might think they were giving him something, but in reality they weren’t giving anything. Originally, P-R was quite active in communicating even with non-affiliated artists, and readily accepted collaborations and requests. For music production, distribution, promotions where profits were shared, there was nothing free about it.Of course, supporting a one-person label was something they did when existing artists wanted to go independent, not for new artists. But as long as there was producing cooperation, Nokjin thought it was a good deal.“You must be an ambitious person. Wanting your music to reach more people, wanting to be at the highest place. Isn’t it a waste of time now, searching for a studio and finding people? We can do that for you.”Halo slowly raised the corners of his mouth.“It doesn’t seem like I’m the only ambitious one here.”The way they kept persistently holding onto him even as he tried to refuse did indeed seem quite ambitious. To that, Nokjin laughed and responded:“I was like that too.”The conversation with P-R ended there.Contracts weren’t the kind of thing to be made lightly, and as a minor he couldn’t proceed with a contract without a guardian’s consent anyway.Additionally, there was the issue of distribution that could lead to a conflict of contracts, so that had to be discussed. Of course, since it was a contract per album and not as an artist, it didn’t seem like it would be a major issue.#:Halo sat on the veranda terrace chair, looking out at Seokchon Lake which had turned white.It didn’t take long for this world, which had seemed so unfamiliar at first, to become familiar.The hot chocolate placed in front of him, and his mother waiting in the living room for his music to come on TV.And even his father, pulled out by his mother.The reassurance that those things that had constantly troubled and bothered him were resolved was overshadowed by the thought that there was still so much left to do, piled up like that snow.‘This is really great.’How fortunate it was to have so much left to do.He kept thinking of all the things he still had to accomplish going forward.If he had wondered what this was when he first came here,Now he thought it was fortunate that he came here.Someday, a day like that day would come again.A day when he had accomplished everything, and no longer knew what to do next.Before that day came, Halo wanted to enjoy the present a bit more.[A Day When Snow Falls]An almost completed song played.He had thought Korean lyrics would be harder than English, but the Hwang Ryongpil song [Emergency] he heard when he first came here left a deep impression, so he wanted to make a song with Korean lyrics.His mother was right that his songs were difficult.[The white world beyond the windowFelt unfamiliar]At the sound of the song, his mother, who had been waiting for the OST, turned her head. His father closed his eyes in the opposite direction.As if to say, do as you wish.[The flowers bloomed from my breath became seedsOffering clumsy consolationRiding the clumsy wind and flying away][Following the world you paintI turned my head][Before long]Halo turned his head.Hi everyone, I've fully translated this series. If you love the series and wanted to binge read until the end, you can go to my Patreon "Shop" page. Instead of buying the advanced chapters one by one, you can buy them in one bulk (with discounted price too)!