Chapter 6: The Night Before The Storm (2)

Gulp-

The momentous voting day had arrived.

From 9 in the morning until 7 in the evening, anyone could cast one vote with a simple phone verification.

Only the top 4 out of 8 people would survive this vote.

At what rank would I be able to enter the company?

“Hoo… First, I’ll cast a vote for myself…”

Because of my past, which felt like my skirt being constantly lifted throughout the dawn, I couldn’t sleep.

‘How on earth do they find these things?’

My voice is unique, but I never imagined they would dig up even short records from the past.

“Ugh… My head.”

Because I barely slept, my eyes were hollow, and my mind was blurry.

Ah, I should have just not checked the gallery…!

“Today, I will absolutely not look until the voting is over.”

Buzz-

…Who’s calling this early on a Friday morning?

All my friends would be in the countryside since I moved up to the city.

[Voice Actor Kim Sua]

Ah.

I adjusted my posture and sat on the edge of the bed.

Wouldn’t it seem impolite to take the call while lying around?

Even though it’s a phone call and they can’t see me, I felt like I should.

I cleared my throat and tried not to show that I hadn’t slept.

As lively as possible… as lively as possible…

“Yes! Voice Actor-nim!”

“Sorry for calling so early~ By any chance, would you like to have lunch today?”

What she said yesterday about having a meal sometime wasn’t just a formality…

It doesn’t matter anyway, since it’ll be a while until the voting results come out?

“I’d love to! Where should we meet?”

“There’s a Western restaurant I frequent, how about we meet there? I’ll text you the address. See you at 3:30.”

“Yes! I’ll see you then!”

Click-

As soon as the call ended, I paid the price for forcing my tension up.

I was already short on sleep, and forcing myself to be energetic made me feel dizzy.

After a quick shower, I looked through the clothes I would wear.

***

I saw her yesterday, and I’m going to see her again today, so wearing the same clothes might be a bit awkward, right?

Okay, there’s still plenty of time, so let’s go buy some clothes…

I can’t just wear a suit every time I go out.

***

When I go outside, I always wear a mask.

That’s partly because catching a respiratory illness would be fatal…

But this is a secondary factor, the real reason is actually something else.

It’s because everyone, regardless of age or gender, stares at my face.

Ding dong~

“Welcome~”

An affordable clothing brand near my house.

It’s quite large and has three floors, so I should be able to buy a variety of clothes.

“Um… I’m looking at seasonal clothes, could you recommend some?”

“Ah! Yes, of course!”

Perhaps because it was a weekday morning, the store was incredibly empty.

‘That’s fortunate.’

I followed the female employee upstairs to the second floor with a lighter step.

“How about this style? It seems like it would suit you well.”

“Ah, does it…? Then that one too…”

“How about this style? It seems like it would really go well with your body line!”

“Ahahaha, u-um, then that one too…”

“How about styling this with this skirt?”

The female employee’s eyes sparkled as she picked up various clothes and held them out in front of me.

Looking in the mirror, they did seem to suit me.

Honestly, I don’t know women’s clothing well, so I was just accepting it, thinking, “Oh, I guess it’s that kind of style.”

…And I think I’m very weak to compliments.

Every single thing the employee recommended, I was putting into the basket.

‘C-Can I buy this many?’

As I was looking around, I saw there was an underwear section, so I stopped by.

I can’t live on convenience store sports underwear forever.

I had managed reasonably well, but maybe because the size didn’t fit, my chest sometimes felt tight.

“……”

Would buying underwear sets be much cheaper…?

Back at the tailor shop, she definitely said…

[“Wow… 75E… I’m envious.”]

75E… 75E…

A, B, C are visible, but E isn’t.

“Um, excuse me, where would the 75E size be…?”

“Uh… such a large size… Just a moment…?”

The employee looked very flustered and rushed downstairs to the first floor.

While I was briefly browsing clothes, the employee came rushing back up and caught her breath.

“We do have stock, but they’re all black… Is black okay?”

“Uh, yes. It doesn’t matter.”

Isn’t it even better if it’s black?

I like black the most, so it doesn’t matter.

Oh, right. I need to buy shoes too.

…No, let’s buy shoes somewhere else.

Even to my ignorant eyes about fashion, the shoes here don’t seem to be of good quality.

Carrying the heavy basket, I went downstairs to the first floor counter and began paying.

Beep- beep-

As I saw the money adding up one by one on the POS machine, my heart ached.

If my clothes had changed too, I could have saved this money!

“That will be 837,000 won in total! Would you like to pay in a lump sum?”

“…Yes.”

Still, it’s much cheaper than one suit.

I bought quite a lot of clothes, so I guess this is considered buying them cheaply?

“Thank you~ Would you like the receipt?”

“Ah, no. You can throw it away.”

I had no intention of returning them anyway.

Perhaps the female employee had good taste, as all the clothes looked good even to my eyes.

When I was clearly a man, buying clothes just felt like solving one of the basic necessities.

But buying several clothes that I liked made me smile spontaneously.

My heart ached when I was paying, but now that I’m home, I feel fine.

Is this the first time I’ve spent money on clothes and not felt it was a waste?

‘Hehehe… what should I wear today?’

Having returned home, I was facing a happy dilemma.

Just a simple black top and jeans?

Hmm, yes. Black clothes are the best. Absolutely.

Looking at myself reflected in the full-length mirror, a smile automatically appeared.

***

There was only about an hour left until the promised time.

It was about time to leave.

Putting aside the enjoyable viewing time, I headed towards the subway station.

“Oh, right, my mask.”

***

If I stop by home again, I’ll be late for my appointment.

I guess I’ll just have to go like this…

[This station is Saetgang Station, Saetgang Station.]

Yeouido, where the HBS headquarters is located.

I used to dream of commuting here, and coming back after a long time brings back fresh memories.

The place the Voice Actor-nim told me about was, surprisingly, the Western restaurant of the Chef Baek Heuk, which is currently very popular.

It must not have been easy to make a reservation…

‘This is my first time coming to the 63 Building. It’s really tall…’

“Welcome. What is the name of the reservation holder?”

“It should be under Kim Sua…”

“Confirmed.”

Having lunch in a tall building with a view of the Han River, it’s truly a restaurant with romance.

As I went inside, Voice Actor Kim Sua was already waiting.

…But who is the person sitting next to her?

An older man with a hat pulled down low, nervously tapping his foot.

“Welcome~ Sorry, was it too far?”

“Ah, no. The weather was cool, so it was fine!”

“This is my husband. I wanted to introduce him to you, Eunseo, so I called him.”

Introducing me to her husband? What does that mean…?

I was flustered and sat down in the chair.

“Ah, ah, my husband is a PD who makes audio dramas. I thought it might be nice if you could appear in one later.”

“Ah, ahaha. C-Can I really appear…?”

Honestly, I’m a little scared.

Audio dramas are usually produced only with voice actors.

If a voice actor trainee interspersed among voice actors makes even a small mistake, it will be immediately obvious…

“Listening yesterday, your skills seemed outstanding already? Honey, what do you think of Eunseo’s voice color?”

“……As for her acting, well, I haven’t heard it, so I don’t know…”

His eyes were hidden by the hat until now, but his presence is truly no joke.

It feels like he could intimidate people just with his gaze.

“Her voice color is excellent.”

“Right? I was surprised too, perhaps because it’s been a long time since I saw her.”

“Haha… Thank you.”

“It’s only natural to cast someone with skill, so don’t feel burdened.”

One by one, the course dishes began to appear, and Voice Actor Sua asked various questions.

“You said you were born in ’02? You were really young. Why did I feel you were so mature?”

“Ahahahaha… Thank you.”

Thinking about it, it was 5 years ago when I learned from Voice Actor Kim Sua.

But perhaps because I became younger, the Voice Actor-nim perceives it this way?

“Did we see each other about a year ago?”

…Perhaps because I became 10 years younger, she feels like it was a year ago in her memory.

I don’t know what happened to the time ratio, but anyway, I should go along with her, right?

“Yes, yes. That’s right.”

“Wow… I didn’t feel you were this good back then, you must have practiced a lot.”

Her husband silently focused only on his meal.

Indeed, this is the first time I’ve had such a delicious meal.

“Ah, did you also apply for the Haewon Broadcasting public recruitment?”

“Ah, yes, yes. I made it to the finals but didn’t get in…”

“Ah… That’s too bad. I also applied for Haewon Broadcasting before HBS and didn’t get in.”

“Huh? You did?”

Voice Actor Kim Sua kindly shared stories about her time as a voice actor trainee.

It was such a bleak story that it was perhaps even more desperate than my past self.

“The atmosphere got too dark, didn’t it? I’m sorry.”

“Ah, no. It’s alright!”

“With your skills, Eunseo, you can get into anywhere in the next public recruitment. Please don’t give up and keep going.”

“Thank you…”

After finishing the meal, time had already passed and was heading towards evening.

“Today was enjoyable. I’ll contact you about the audio drama sometime.”

“Thank you!”

After bowing my head in greeting, when the two of them had left, I straightened my back and headed towards home.

…But how much did it cost?

I turned on the internet to find out the price of the course I had just eaten.

…250,000 won per person?

Plus, the two of them had drinks, so it must have been at least 1 million won.

She comes to a Western restaurant like this often…

I really need to make a lot of money too.

The taste of the meal I had today was unforgettable.

Even while taking the subway, the flavorful scent of the Western food lingered on my lips.

When I arrived home, it was already a little past 7 o’clock.

How would the voting results have turned out…?

Buzz-

[Lumi Live Interviewer]

‘Hub… Did they call to tell me the voting results?’

I answered the phone with a trembling heart.

Indeed, what rank was I?

“Ah, yes, hello!”

“Eunseo? Can you talk right now?”

“Yes, yes, I’m home, so I have plenty of time!”

“First of all, congratulations on passing. We’re going to have a group call with the successful candidates tonight, would that be okay?”

I internally let out cheers.

Yes, this is much better than anxiously watching the public opinion!

“Yes, yes! It’s fine!”

“We don’t tell you the ranks of others, but you can know your own rank. Would you like me to tell you?”

“Yes! Please do.”

“Eunseo is tied for 2nd place. It’s strange that there was a tie, but there wasn’t much difference in votes with the 1st place.”

I never imagined I would be tied for 2nd place.

Honestly, there were so many skilled people among the other participants.

I thought I would be 3rd or 4th.

It seems the public evaluation was much more generous.

Yes, how good is the song Lemon!

“Please join the link we sent you in two hours. See you in a bit.”

“Yes! I’ll see you in a bit!”

With a trembling heart, I placed my phone on the bed.

As soon as I heard the word ‘passed’, I felt as though everything had stopped.

My fingertips trembled slightly, and my heart began to pound like crazy.

Lying on the bed, I released all the anxiety and tension I had felt until then.

I couldn’t suppress the joy that surged from deep within my heart.

Hugging the long pillow, I rolled around celebrating the joy of passing.

“Keuheuheu~ This is truly the beginning!!”

The frustrations I had felt during my time as an aspiring voice actor came to mind and flashed through my head, but perhaps even those existed for this very moment?

I felt anticipation and excitement, and a little fear, but I took a deep breath and smiled.

“From now on…”

Thud-

***

Eunseo paid dearly for not sleeping.

Hugging the long pillow tightly, she lay sleeping soundly with a happy smile.

As the tension released while she lay on the bed, her eyelids instantly closed, and she fell into a deep sleep.

Even though the Rumi Live entrance ceremony was scheduled for two hours later, she wandered through the world of dreams.

“Ehehe…”

Whether she knew what the future held or not, she just kept smiling.

***

[Successful Candidates Lineup is Crazy LOL]

Wow, numbers 1, 3, 7, and 8 got in.

Where did all the fans of 2 and 4 go? LOL

-They all burned up and disappeared KKKKKK

-Honestly, I expected 1 and 3 to get in OO

ㄴ This is the rightful prediction

[Speculation and Summary of #3’s Past Life]

(Link to #3’s Ad Compilation)

Looking at #3, it seems she was a voice actor trainee OO

I asked an acquaintance, and they said she did a lot of stuff like that as a side job.

It doesn’t seem like she did any broadcasting at all? That last thing was honestly an overreach.

-There was a reason why her diction was amazing

ㄴ Acknowledged, her pronunciation is so good

-From now on, attacks on Sister #3 are…

-Honestly, Lemon is amazing. Fans of 2 and 4, those b*stards, overreached like fck KKKK