The Road to Glory

[Let’s meet at 4:30 PM]The text message from Sin Joohyeok contained the time and place.With a postscript to take the day off.Halo murmured as he looked at the familiar location.“It’s Hongdae.”A live cafe in Hongdae.Looking it up, it’s said to be a mecca for famous live performances.A place where you can enjoy indie live performances.The sudden call was probably due to the promise(?) made at the wrap-up party four days ago.He recalled the conversation that had flowed naturally about introducing a bassist.It was surprising since it had been such a casual remark.“You came right on time.”Sin Joohyeok, wearing a rider jacket and a large hat pushed down, waved his hand in front of the tightly closed live cafe. Although he had covered his face, his tall stature and unique presence drew attention.“I found it a while ago, but do you know how much trouble I went through since you’re not old enough to enter pubs?”“We could just go to a pub.”“This kid hasn’t tasted controversy yet, I see.”Halo, once an icon of controversy, snorted.#Pushing the door marked [Closed], it opens smoothly.Hazy smoke under the highlight lights. A stage connected to a floor that looks like a chessboard.Halo looked around at the equipment on the stage and the long stretched-out cables.The live cafe was in the middle of rehearsal.Someone approached upon noticing the boy.It was hard to tell if he was the owner or an employee, but he was an older man.He was about to send the boy out when he noticed the young man behind him and stopped.“Sir, the performance starts at five, and entry is possible from forty-five minutes before… Wait, who is this?”“It’s been a while, boss.”Sin Joohyeok greeted, slightly lowering his sunglasses.The owner’s eyes widened, then quickly spread into a broad smile.“Our Joohye…”The owner noticed the attention focused on them.As outsiders had entered, the band rehearsing stopped tuning and turned their gaze towards them.“Let’s move somewhere else. This one, is he a friend who came with you?”“Yes.”“If you brought him, he must not be an ordinary friend.”Cap and mask.The owner’s eyes soon sparkled at the gaze visible between them.He seemed to have recognized who it was.The owner soon led them to the ‘Staff Only’ room.As soon as they entered, he grabbed Halo’s hand.“You’re Roh Haeil, right? I’ve been listening to your songs lately. I watched your broadcasts too. I couldn’t go to the song festival because of work, but I watched the video. Can I get your autograph?”“Of course.”He was a very friendly person.“Roh Haeil is welcome anytime if he wants to come. Here’s my business card.”He received a business card that said Hongdae Live House.His business mindset was clear.“This place looks quite old.”“Did you expect it to be exactly the same as ten years ago?”The owner quipped, then took out vitamin water from the refrigerator and handed it to the boy.Sin Joohyeok had to get his own.“Stay here quietly and watch. If your fans rush in… I’m already scared, man.”“Where are you going?”“To work, of course.”As if he had fired off his words, his actions were quick too.After the owner left, Sin Joohyeok shrugged his shoulders as if in disbelief.“He’s still the same.”Halo didn’t bother asking what kind of relationship they had.Just knowing that Sin Joohyeok had been in a band for a long time was enough to infer without asking.What he was curious about was this.The bassist Sin Joohyeok said he would introduce.A friend he said he was in a band with long ago.He wasn’t particularly interested in why they weren’t on good terms.How often do bands break up due to conflicts?‘The hyungs probably like that too.’As it became 4:45, people started pouring in.It wasn’t that crowded. He heard it usually fills up after work hours.The performance, which would run until 11 PM, had a total of seven teams.Halo closed his eyes, feeling the indie band atmosphere he hadn’t experienced in a long time.Halo liked indie music.Some might think it’s immature to make music without leaning towards commercialism, but Halo liked their unique colors. The charm of indie music was that no matter how much he tried to imitate it, he could never be completely the same.‘So who’s this bassist?’Halo glanced at Sin Joohyeok, who had kept his mouth shut since the performance started, then focused back on the performance.Since the first performance, while the indie bands’ music and uniqueness were appealing, there hadn’t really been any standout bass performances.There were many bands with impressive vocal or guitarist solos, but the bassists? Well.Some might think that way.That bass is supposed to blend in the background.Many people know about guitar, vocals, drums, and keyboard, but not many know about bass.But that’s because they don’t know what sound bass makes.Bass leads the flow and atmosphere of a song.It keeps the drums from going off on their own, and bass can be said to be the backbone of a song.With just the bass, a song can completely fall apart, like someone suffering from a herniated disc or a poorly constructed building site.Yeah, just like now.“Hmm.”For the first time, Sin Joohyeok let out a groan.As soon as the bassist missed a beat, the drums collapsed simultaneously, and gradually the other parts started to lose balance too. Even from a distance, he could imagine what their faces looked like. Probably similar to the audience watching their performance.There was no encore.The band quickly cleared the stage, and there was a brief intermission.Like the ebb and flow of tides, the audience leaving and entering.The once red lights turned purple.When one crossing occurred, a new band came in.Boom boom-Tan tan tan.The dissonance that occurs while tuning instruments.Ordinary people often find this tuning boring, but Halo liked this tuning time. It’s the only time you can see the dissonance gradually creating harmony, and above all, this is when the performer’s skills are best revealed.Halo stared intently at the bassist who started tuning.‘Not bad.’It wasn’t flashy, but it was comfortable to listen to and solid.The stage was dark, and the bassist had his hat pulled down, so it was hard to see what kind of person he was.Only the tattoo on his arm was visible.Of course, even that was too far away to see what the letters were.Soon the performance began.Compared to the decent tuning time, it was the performance with the most disappointing vocal skills among the bands he had seen today.The bass and drums held the song firmly together, and vibrant synth sounds were heard. The electric guitar performance blended in as well. What could have been a loose song was filled with diverse sounds.However, the vocals, unable to match the harmonious session performances, were dragged along by the song.Halo raised the corner of his mouth.The vocalist glared at the bassist as if he wanted to kill him.Judging by his expression, it looked like he might throw a punch when they got back.Why is he glaring at another member when he’s the one who can’t perform well?“Things are getting interesting.”It seemed things were getting interesting indeed.#“You bastard! You did that on purpose!”“What are you talking about?”“You, you intentionally tried to ruin my song.”“If you had just sung properly, it would have been fine.”“How can I sing properly when you suddenly start fooling around?”Loud voices echoed in the waiting room.The vocalist, realizing he had ruined the performance, glared at the bassist with a red face.The man with dreadlocks smirked at the strong smell of alcohol coming from him.“You guys, you’re in on it with him too, right?”“No, I just followed the bass…”“How can the drums be swayed by the bass! That’s your role! Do your job as a metronome properly! Do you think I’ll keep using you if you can’t even do that one thing?”“That-“The drummer had a lot to say but kept his mouth shut.The leader of the band is the vocalist.“Stop blaming others so much.”The rocker who had been venting his frustration on the other session members took a deep breath and turned around at the bassist’s voice.“At least there’s no one worse than you who came drunk to the performance.”“Don’t act like it’s your band when you’re just a guest member.”“Oh, so a guest isn’t even considered a member?”“Who do you think accepted you despite that terrible skill…!”The bassist snorted.He wouldn’t have shown them if the vocalist hadn’t kept disrespecting the other band members.The arrangement that the vocalist called ‘fooling around’. In fact, he hadn’t even changed much to call it an arrangement.“Well, wasn’t the reaction good?”“Are you kidding me? What do you know about composition? My song was originally good, so it would have been good no matter what. Don’t misunderstand that the audience’s reaction was good because you did well.”His voice was so loud that it could be heard outside the waiting room.Halo and Sin Joohyeok looked at each other.Before they could open the door, it burst open, and the fuming vocalist came out.“I’ll say it again, do as you’re told. Don’t think about ruining my song. If I hear it one more time, you-“The vocalist pointed his finger and bullied him in front of everyone.“I thought it was fine.”Then, a voice was heard.The vocalist slowly turned around and saw a young man and a boy.“Who are you guys?”“Audience?”Halo nodded after saying it.Yeah, they are the audience.The faces of the other band members weren’t visible through the door.But the tattoo on one person’s arm was visible.A sentence in Latin.[While there is breath, there is hope]Halo thought he had seen this phrase somewhere before.“What do you know to meddle!”The vocalist looked him up and down.Halo shrugged, not caring.His purpose wasn’t to meet this vocalist.“By the way, could you play again?”Halo poked his head through the door.The band members, a big man and a woman, and finally the guy with dreadlocks…“!”When their eyes met, Halo was startled.He thought the phrase was familiar, but above it was a familiar face.Words came to mind.However, Halo didn’t greet him first and continued speaking.“Just like you played earlier.”Of course, being in the waiting room, they’d have to reduce the volume, but the waiting room also doubles as a studio with a setup for practice. That means they can perform sufficiently even if it’s not on stage.The band members looked at the vocalist.The vocalist kept his lips tightly closed before speaking.“Go ahead and do it.”At those words, the members picked up their instruments again.The same song is heard.Bass and drums providing a solid foundation.Flashy synth blending with electric guitar.It’s not difficult since he’s heard the song once.Of course, he can’t sing it in their style. But wouldn’t this be fine too?Halo opened his mouth.From him, a song that is the same yet different is heard.Rock with quite a bit of English lyrics mixed in.It starts as if whispering.Sin Joohyeok, who had been watching with interest with his arms crossed, gradually had a strange expression on his face“!”At some point his eyes widened.He looks at the boy in disbelief, then unconsciously scans the surroundings.Fortunately, as the main stage had started, no one was paying close attention to them.The vocalist is listening to the music with his jaw dropped, and the band members are playing happily. Everyone knows. That their music is being completed.And when the performance ended, the drummer jumped up from his seat, and the keyboard player put her hand to her mouth.The vocalist pointed at the boy and recognized him, saying ‘Roh Haeil?’He recalled his mistake of shouting ‘What do you know!’ at the boy and didn’t know what to do.‘What, what was I saying…’The alcohol had worn off long ago.People stare at the boy with blank faces.In that scene of surprise and shock.Halo calmly opened his mouth towards the bassist, Han Jinyeong.“Hyung, do you want to be my bassist?”“!”“I think we could make a pretty good band.”#Han Jinyeong couldn’t quite process what he had just heard.It felt like he had been slapped hard on the cheek.When he came to his senses at some point, he was running through the streets of Hongdae.The wind blowing in the opposite direction pushed him back, but he couldn’t stop.Hyung, do you want to be my bassist?At that one voice, it felt like something was bursting out from inside his chest.A familiar melody he had heard somewhere before came to his ears on the spring breeze.Realizing he couldn’t play the bass properlyA beautiful boy’s voice he heard while wandering the streetsI wake up to the sound of music-Let it beCome to think of it, the boy had always been at the turning point.The day he started picking up the bass again.His favorite music changed from Hwang Ryongpil’s ‘Emergency’ to The Beatles’ ‘Let It Be’.He thanked the boy by gifting him ‘Emergency’, grateful for being the catalyst.Since then, he had been moving from live cafes to pubs, trying to regain his bass skills.Hoping that someday he would run towards the passion and dreams of his youth.Perhaps this was the moment he had been waiting for all along.Han Jinyeong opened the tightly closed door and entered.The club where he works. As he burst into the manager’s office, the boss he is most grateful to turns to look at him. Bae Gonghak was there too.Although he hadn’t properly talked with Haeil yet. The words coming out of his mouth were reckless.“Boss! I’m quitting!”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)!