Chapter 10: A Voice That Crossed the Line

[Kim*soon has transferred 100,000 won to your KG account.]

[My beloved eldest son~~ I sent half of the money I borrowed last time~~ I still have to take care of Unyul too, there are so many places money goesㅜㅜ I’ll definitely send the rest next month~~]

“Ah, seriously…….”

In the middle of his already tangled thoughts, a notification popped up announcing the transfer of one hundred thousand won, followed by a message from his mother.
Seon-yul’s face twisted without him realizing it.
He had lent her three hundred thousand won, but she’d said she sent half and transferred only one hundred thousand.
Unable to ask his struggling mother for the remaining fifty thousand, Seon-yul turned off his phone screen and slipped it into his pocket.
The phone flashed several more times inside his pocket as more messages came in, but he didn’t check them and instead lengthened his stride.

It was two hours later that Seon-yul finally checked the messages from the FrMon app.

[BraveSeal777: Hello. I’m contacting you because I’d like to ask you for another recording. Would it be possible to do two versions again, like last time?]

[BraveSeal777: I liked the low-spoken version, but the whispering one helps me sleep even better, so I’d like both. Of course, I’m planning to pay extra.]

[BraveSeal777: It’s not urgent, so please take your time!]

[BraveSeal777: Gasp, time]

[BraveSeal777: I didn’t realize it was this late… I’m sorry for contacting you so late…]

[BraveSeal777: It’s okay if you reply tomorrow…]

He hadn’t gone straight home, choosing instead to run several laps around the neighborhood to clear his head, cluttered with thoughts of Nam Dong-gi, money problems, FrMon, his mother and father, and his sick younger sibling.
During that time, BraveSeal777’s messages had piled up one after another.
As Seon-yul read them from top to bottom, a faint smile spread across his lips.
Just knowing that there was someone who genuinely liked his voice and acting was, at least, a small comfort.

*********

[Mike: I’m sending you the recording file. Sweet dreams tonight tooㅎㅎ]

“Ghk.”

Seung-ju’s eyes flew wide open, and he clapped one hand over his mouth.
The familiar phrase sweet dreams, and even the string of consonants meant to represent laughter.
He couldn’t believe it and checked several times to make sure the message really was from him.
The sender was correct, and it wasn’t a dream.
The sudden feeling that the distance between them had sharply narrowed made his stomach churn.

‘I want to get closer…….’

I can’t help it because I can’t live without his voice.
And it’s just a text message, right.
This much is fine.
It’s fine.
It’s fine.
Staring blankly at the screen as if possessed, Seung-ju swallowed hard, as though making a decision.

[Thank you]

His trembling finger slipped and hit send too early.
Startled, Seung-ju dropped his phone onto the blanket and sprang up to turn on his computer.

‘I need to reply quickly…….’

The old computer took a long time to boot.
Both his phone and computer still worked fine despite being several years old, which made him regret not replacing them sooner.
As the FrMon site logged in automatically, a notification popped up announcing a new message.
Seung-ju hurriedly opened it.

[Mike: I’m the one who should be thanking youㅋㅋ]

“Ah……!”

Seung-ju’s face flushed bright red.
He’d already read the message he’d sent by mistake.
Thankfully, it didn’t seem like he misunderstood, but the playful tone of the reply sent a wave of embarrassment crashing over him.
He was mortified that his mistake had been exposed, and his heart fluttered for no reason.

‘He must feel more comfortable with me now……!’

Seung-ju typed out several lines of thanks, then timidly added, “I hope you get sweet dreams too, Voice Actor,” at the end.
Soon after, a short reply arrived from Seon-yul: “Yes^^.”

‘He smiled again!’

Seung-ju bounced in place, unable to contain himself, then saved the recording file.
On his computer, his external hard drive, and his phone…….
He didn’t forget to back it up thoroughly.

As he plugged in his headphones and played the recording, a soft voice seeped into his ears.
Leaning back in his chair, Seung-ju let out a long breath.
Just like always, the moment he heard this voice, his entire body relaxed and his mind sank into calm.

“It’s so good…….”

Recently, he hardly had nightmares, and the auditory hallucinations that sometimes visited him disappeared quickly whenever he layered Seon-yul’s voice over them.
He used to ration how often he listened, afraid he’d grow immune to it, but as his collection grew, the time he spent listening gradually increased.
He knew his dependence was growing, but if he kept buying audio files from Seon-yul like this, it seemed like there wouldn’t be a problem.

The low, murmured voice faded, and the next file began playing.
This one was the whispering version, recorded from the same script.
Ever since Seon-yul said it might help with insomnia, he’d been receiving two versions every time.
The whispering one definitely made him sleep better.

‘Smack, smack.’

A smile crept onto Seung-ju’s lips as he listened with his eyes closed.
The volume wasn’t loud, so the subtle smacking sounds between words were clearly audible.
The sound of him breathing in, the friction of his tongue against the roof of his mouth, the moment his upper and lower lips met…….
Listening closely made Seung-ju curious about what his mouth looked like.
Was it big?
Small?
Were his teeth even?
His tongue probably wasn’t too long or too short.
Were his lips full, or thin?

‘Ah, he just wet his lips…….’

Even though there was almost no sound, Seung-ju noticed the tiny habit immediately, knowing it better than anyone.
Because he’d been imagining the shape of his mouth, the tongue in his mind lightly swept over the lips and slipped back inside.
Without realizing it, Seung-ju swallowed the saliva pooling in his mouth.
Heat gathered in one specific place, and his lower abdomen throbbed.

Huh?

Seung-ju’s eyes snapped open.

“…W-why is this.”

His thin pants tented noticeably.
Panicked, his hands hovered uselessly in the air.
Even now, Seon-yul’s whisper continued to burrow deep into his ears.
Staring down at his increasingly rigid lower body, Seung-ju yanked off his headphones, his face burning red.
Panting, he tried to understand the physical change happening to him.
But the harder he tried, the clearer one truth became.

He was aroused by Seon-yul’s voice.

“Seon-yul, you’re not, like, a criminal or anything, right? Borrowed money and ran off or something~.”

“No.”

“Why so serious? I was just asking, just in case. People keep coming in asking for you~ I told everyone firmly to say there’s no such employee here, so don’t worry. Got it? Just trust me~.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

As Seon-yul silently washed dishes, the manager placed his palm on Seon-yul’s back and slowly traced a few circles.
A shiver ran up Seon-yul’s spine, and his face twisted.
After the manager left for the dining area, the employee beside him, Lee Hong-ik, vented his frustration.

“Ugh, that’s disgusting. How many times a day does he come touch you? Hyung, did he say he’d drive you home too? That’s his move.”

“He told me to get in his car yesterday, but I said no.”

“Holy shit…… The last part-timer quit the day after getting in that car. Be careful, hyung. I think he’s getting bolder because he thinks he’s got leverage on you.”

Lee Hong-ik explained that the reason this Chinese restaurant showed up so often on job sites wasn’t just the workload, but mainly because the manager harassed employees with impure intentions until they quit.
Fortunately, the kitchen staff tried their best to help Seon-yul.
Most new hires didn’t last even a week, but Seon-yul had endured a full month.

“Does the owner know?”

“The victims are all men, so they’re embarrassed to speak up. And apparently, the owner and the manager have worked together for twenty years—they’re insanely close. Honestly, I bet the owner knows and just pretends not to. The manager handles the branch’s sales, taxes, pretty much everything.”

Disgusting.
Using power to oppress those below him.
Seon-yul pressed down the surge of anger rising in his chest.
At least, if there was one silver lining, it was that the manager’s current target was him, meaning no one else would be harmed for now.
Seon-yul was the type who would jump into fire and water for others, but endure quite well when it came to himself.

‘He hasn’t crossed the line yet.’

The manager’s behavior was subtle.
Getting too close, kneading his arms, stroking his back, offering rides home.
With just that, reporting him would only make Seon-yul look like the strange one.
He decided to watch quietly until there was definitive evidence.

“Haa…….”

A sigh slipped out as he realized he wouldn’t be able to keep this job for long either.
Still, thanks to the money he’d earned recording on FrMon this month, even if he quit here, he could cover living expenses until he found something else.

‘By the way, the seal’s been quiet lately.’

BraveSeal777, who used to commission recordings every few days without fail, had been silent for a week.
It felt oddly disappointing now that the person who used to make such a fuss with messages had gone quiet, but if he no longer needed sleep audio, that meant he was sleeping well—surely a good thing.