Chapter 5: The Night Before The Storm

“It’s been a really long time. You’re Eunseo, right?”

“Huh? What brings you here…?”

Voice Actor Kim Sua, who taught me back then.

Her unique beautiful voice is still the same.

I hadn’t seen her in quite a while, but she still remembered me.

“I came for the audition too. Did you come for the audition as well, Eunseo?”

“Ah! Yes. Thanks to Voice Actor Seong Sihyeon’s recommendation, I gratefully got a good opportunity!”

I thought they only cast voice actor trainees, but actual voice actors come too.

I might need to be a little more nervous…

“That’s great. What role are you going for?”

“I’m planning to audition for the roles of Baek Seolha and Kim Eunji!”

“Oh, that would suit you well. We don’t overlap.”

I felt relieved internally.

This is because if I overlapped with Voice Actor Kim Sua, I might not have been able to get the part.

“Just relax~ It’s your first audition, right?”

“Ah, yes! This is my first time.”

“If I can give you a tip, you’ll be fine as long as you don’t get nervous in front of the PD. Most people get very nervous and easily fail.”

“Oh… Thank you!”

Voice Actor Kim Sua had given me many tips back then too.

Gratefully, she gave me good tips even in this short time, is a teacher truly a teacher forever?

As we chatted a bit about how we had been, my voice naturally relaxed.

Thirty minutes quickly passed, and voice actors and voice actor trainees I hadn’t seen before gathered inside the recording studio.

Across the glass, the PD, looking exhausted and with a beard sprouting, entered.

Tap tap-

“Ah, ah- Can you hear me?”

Everyone nodded.

The talkback mic has great sound quality too.

“Um… then, before we start, could everyone please stand by the character number you wish to audition for?”

As soon as the PD finished speaking, people moved busily.

First, the Baek Seolha character seems like she’ll be popular later, so let’s apply for this one first.

Baek Seolha’s number is 2.

In the second line, including myself, there were 3 people standing.

They don’t seem like voice actors, are they all voice actor trainees?

“Alright. We’re short on time, so we’ll proceed quickly. We’ll start with character number 1.”

Just now, Voice Actor Kim Sua confidently applied for character number 1.

They said it was the main character position with the biggest role, and with her, it’s definitely possible.

“Please introduce yourselves and show us two desired lines each.”

“Yes, I am HBS 42nd class Voice Actor Kim Sua. I will begin my performance.”

While Voice Actor Kim Sua performed, many people behind her continuously let out small sounds of admiration.

It doesn’t matter if there’s noise since this recording isn’t being put directly into the game anyway.

‘It’s a relief I didn’t apply for number 1.’

If I had gone for number 1, I wouldn’t have been able to overcome that unique beautiful voice.

Because it’s most important to take on a role I can do, rather than a role I want to do.

“I listened well. Next person…”

Perhaps because number 1 was the protagonist, a huge number of people flocked to it.

Time passed, and finally, it was the turn for number 2.

I steadied my trembling heart and began mind control from the moment I stood up.

“Please begin.”

“Yes, I am Lee Eunseo, born in ’02. I will begin my performance.”

The highlight of a dating sim isn’t the everyday lines.

If the highlights are powerful, the normal lines are bound to be forgotten in people’s minds.

From that perspective, I decided to perform two confession lines.

“Haa. I, I really… didn’t mean to say something like this…! I can’t stand it! You, don’t you know why I kept taking care of you?”

Putting in much more emotion than I had practiced before.

At this moment, all I need to do is capture the PD’s ears.

“You really are stupid… I like you!! T-That’s it, right? I’m not going to say anything more!”

After the two lines finished, the talkback opened, and the PD asked several things.

“How many years have you been aspiring to be a voice actor?”

Originally it’s 11 years, but since my age is ’02, it would be at most 3 years.

“I have been preparing for 3 years.”

“Well, you seem to have played a lot of dating sims or something similar in your free time?”

“Yes! That’s right.”

The PD’s tone was quite favorable, so it seemed I could expect a good result.

“Next participant, please come.”

I returned to my seat, feeling the full impact of having suppressed my tension throughout my body.

Shaky breaths, trembling hands.

To quiet this impact that rushed in all at once, I took deep breaths several times.

My part was finished, but I tried to concentrate and listen to other people’s performances as well.

Understanding the level of my competitors is always strategically correct.

People whose basic pronunciation got tangled, people who couldn’t vocalize properly, etc.

There were people lacking basic skills, but for each character, there was at least one perfect person.

“Everyone worked hard. Only those whose names are called should remain.”

The PD looked at a paper where something was written and began calling out names one by one.

“Kim Sua, Lee Eunseo, Park Jihye…”

When my name came out, the uneasy feeling I had felt until then instantly melted away.

Does this mean I passed for the Baek Seolha role just like this?

As the people whose names weren’t called left, the PD entered the recording studio.

“Thank you all for your good performances. First, I have some information to provide.”

The PD brought over a thick book containing all the character lines.

Wasn’t the Korean dictionary I saw when I was young around that thickness?

“First, regarding the pay, I will discuss that a little later. For now…”

The PD looked back and forth between me and Voice Actor Kim Sua.

“I apologize for saying this, but it seems Voice Actor Kim Sua will have to take number 2. And Lee Eunseo, you will have to take number 1.”

“Huh?”

The answer popped out reflexively before I knew it.

Voice Actor Kim Sua’s performance for number 1 was truly excellent.

Even if I had heard it as a man, I wouldn’t have been able to do it more excellently than that…

“…Alright. I will take number 2.”

Voice Actor Kim Sua was slightly flustered, but she quickly accepted and spoke calmly.

I wanted to ask for the reason, but since she accepted like that, I suppose I can’t.

“I understand as well.”

“Good. Then, regarding the pay, it is written in this book, so you can check it while practicing on your own.”

The PD handed me the heavy script book.

‘Ugh… it’s really heavy…’

It was so heavy my arm nearly swayed.

Acting while holding this will be difficult…?

“Regarding the recording schedule, we will coordinate it and contact each of you individually. Thank you all for your hard work today.”

After the PD’s final words, people clapped a little.

While packing up my things to leave, Voice Actor Kim Sua gently tapped my shoulder.

“Eunseo? You worked hard today. Let’s grab a meal sometime.”

“Ah! Yes. Thank you. Thanks to the tip you gave me earlier, I was able to do it without trembling.”

Voice Actor Kim Sua smiled gently and left first.

When will I be able to see her again?

On the subway ride home, I looked over the lines for the character I had been assigned.

Actually, I was dying to know the pay.

The pay for character number 1, which has the biggest role, is a total of 4 million won.

Considering the other characters are in the 2 to 3 million won range, it is an overwhelmingly large amount.

My arm felt like it was going to fall off from carrying the heavy script book, but thinking that this was worth 4 million won gave me strength.

After arriving home, I turned on my computer and decided to try practicing while recording.

***

[Haewon Broadcasting 15th Class 1st File]

Since I became a woman, will this file also be a short female script acted in a female voice?

[Playback]

“…What is this?”

I am clearly a woman.

The people around me perceived me that way too.

However, the recorded file itself was my original male voice.

I quickly checked other files as well.

All the files I had recorded for personal practice were in my male voice.

But the files I had sold for advertisements or CMs were in a female voice.

***

‘Are only the objects or files that are my possessions remaining the same?’

‘Is that why my clothes, shoes, and cell phone are still Galaxy as they were?’

Certainly, in things like anime or novels, when a TS occurs, even objects usually change.

However, I didn’t fit that pattern, which caused me some inconvenience.

If only things I own didn’t change, it makes some sense.

Things I don’t own, like advertisements or CMs that involve other people’s perception.

These needed to change too for others to perceive me perfectly as a woman.

“Hmm… I hate complicated things.”

If it was going to change piecewise, it should have all changed.

Some things change, some don’t, it’s completely arbitrary.

“Ah, how is the voting opinion going?”

The audition is over, so wouldn’t it be alright to check now?

I looked at the first page of the Rumi Live Gallery.

However, the talk about the vote was quiet, and the focus was on tearing each other down.

[It seems Sister #3’s past life has been found]

(Link to another company’s VTuber video)

If you watch at 2 minutes 37 seconds, doesn’t the diction and pronunciation seem a bit similar?

“…This person is similar to me? Did their ears stop working?”

I trembled with anger, my hands shaking.

How is this supposed to be similar, and now the comments are agreeing?

“Ugh… maybe I shouldn’t have come here.”

I feel like I’m going to lose my mind.

[Isn’t this Sister #3?]

(15-second commercial video)

This is a hamburger commercial, isn’t the voice Sister #3?

–I came here excited to refute it, but I can’t refute this;

–Was she a voice actor? Then doesn’t that mean there’s no past life?

–ㄴ You never know, why are you stating it as fact? What do you know?

“…This one is definitely mine.”

Several advertisement videos I had done in the past started appearing in the gallery one after another.

Some from when I was a beginner in the past were mixed in, so I rolled around on the bed in embarrassment.

“Uwaaa!! How do they even find this stuff!”

Banging on the pillow, my face flushed up to my hairline, and I ended up throwing a tantrum.

“Oh? Come to think of it, isn’t tomorrow voting day?”

I confirmed the date again.

[Voting day is November 1st…]

Tomorrow, I’ll just stay home holding my breath all day and wait for the voting results.