Brother, Am I Cute? [EN]: Chapter 54

Am I Cute, Hyung? Episode 54

-KI Media.

Hong Jin-soo was preparing for the production of Song Taek-soo’s martial arts webtoon.

He was arranging voice actors through outsourcing, and the correction of e-book manuscripts for overseas release was also progressing smoothly.

Then, a good idea came to him, and he got up from his seat and headed to the CEO’s office.

“CEO.”

“Hmm? What’s up?”

“How about including a webtoon trailer video when we launch the e-book overseas this time?”

“Hmm.”

“These days, it’s a trend to include trailer videos in novels as well, isn’t it?”

“Then, wouldn’t we need to find a voice actor who speaks English?”

“We can handle it with amateurs. There aren’t many lines anyway.”

“Well, yeah. There aren’t many lines in a video that’s a little under a minute long.”

There are many stage directions and a little bit of voice acting.

The webtoon is divided into first and second trailers, but it seemed like it wouldn’t be a burden since only the first one would be included in the e-book.

The CEO glanced at Hong Jin-soo.

“Okay, let’s do that. But seeing you suggest this, I guess you have a talented amateur in mind?”

Underground voice actor.

It refers to people who work by handing out business cards without being registered with the Voice Actors Association.

There are actually such voice actors, but they don’t get paid much.

Moreover, the big disadvantage is that they don’t receive protection because they are not registered with the Voice Actors Association.

Hong Jin-soo smiled and said.

“Haha. I needed two people this time, and Si-hyuk introduced me to a good aspiring voice actor. Si-hyuk is also thinking of participating. His pronunciation is amazing.”

“Huh? Really?”

The CEO tilted his head.

As far as he remembered, he had never properly heard Si-hyuk’s English pronunciation.

‘How does this guy know?’

Hong Jin-soo glared.

“I’m disappointed that you’re not interested in the talent working in our editorial department.”

“Hey. Why would I be when I’m not even getting anything out of it?”

“We can feed you the rice cake [Korean idiom meaning ‘offer you benefits’].”

“Just let him go. If you keep clinging, his girlfriend will be disgusted.”

“My wife likes clinginess, though? She says it’s thrilling.”

“That’s because you met the right person. Anyway, what’s with the good English pronunciation?”

“The Fashion Fair & International Expo was held recently, and he worked as an interpreter there. I was so surprised.”

“How did you find out about that?”

“My friend also participated with a booth there and kept sending me photos via KakaoTalk [Korean messaging app]. And Si-hyuk was in one of the photos. So I asked, and he said he was working as an interpreter.”

“Wow. That friend is talented.”

“I heard he was hired by Habiness Corporation. Of course, it’s not well-known in Korea, but it’s a pretty successful company.”

Hong Jin-soo puffed out his chest.

‘Why are you so proud?’

The CEO shook his head in disbelief.

“But that’s amazing. Does that mean he was talking about technical terms to the buyers there?”

“That’s right. Don’t we lack talent in our overseas business department? He’s a talent optimized for all-around work.”

“Just do your job well. Just do your job. Ugh. So, is Si-hyuk in?”

“Haha. Of course. That’s the condition. If we involve him like this, wouldn’t his heart lean towards us? Familiarity is a scary thing.”

“You’re a scary guy.”

“Not just anyone can be clingy, right? You need skills. You have to infiltrate their life without being burdensome, like gently training them.”

“You’re already burdensome enough, so get out!”

“Yes, sir! Then I’ll proceed knowing that it’s approved.”

Hong Jin-soo saluted with a brazen attitude.

‘What’s with him being so energetic these days?’

He was always energetic, but today was especially so.

‘Is it the Lee Si-hyuk effect?’

The CEO shook his head and watched Hong Jin-soo leave.

‘Still, it would be good if he joined our company.’

There’s already a problem with having too few employees to accompany overseas contracts.

No, even if they’re there, their work performance is unsatisfactory.

Even if they’re supposedly talented, they can’t exert any power overseas.

‘Tsk. Well, this isn’t the time to worry about this.’

The CEO looked back at the monitor and wrote a special contract.

The top line read:

[Mutual Contract for Chinese Web Novels]

***

-AH Recording Studio.

The recording studio, which I visited for the first time, wasn’t that amazing.

It just looked like it had good equipment. There’s a microphone for recording.

Those were the only impressions I had.

But Siha, who came with me, was looking around with great curiosity.

“Ah, Hyung.”

“Yeah? You want to touch that?”

“Ah.”

“That’s set up, so you shouldn’t touch it…….”

Seeing the equipment that could raise or lower various volumes and sync, I was too hesitant to touch it.

Then, the engineer in front of me suggested.

“You can touch it. The basic settings are saved here. It’s digital.”

“Digital?”

‘Aren’t most machines digital?’

‘What’s different?’

I had such questions, but let’s touch it first.

“Siha, he said you can touch it.”

“Ah.”

Siha diligently raised and lowered the volume.

He also pressed the button that could transmit to the recording studio.

‘Is it that fun?’

Seeing him so focused even though nothing was changing made me laugh.

The engineer said.

“Okay, then I’ll show you something amazing. If you press this button.”

Click.

The volumes that Siha touched automatically returned to their original positions.

As if they had always been there.

“This is the advantage of digital settings. The basic settings are saved.”

“Wow. That’s amazing.”

“Haha. It’ll be even more amazing when you see the recording and editing. Ah, the voice actors who were resting are coming back. We just need to do the last recording. Wait here for a moment.”

The engineer said that after looking at his phone for a moment, so we sat quietly on the prepared sofa.

Baek Dong-hwan next to me must be familiar with this kind of recording studio, right?

Since he’s attending an academy.

“Have you experienced recording?”

“Hyung, I’ve had some underground recording experience.”

“Oh, really? Then you wouldn’t be very interested in the offer I made.”

“Haha. That’s not true. Freelance voice actors usually receive a per diem [daily allowance], but people in the underground receive very little. Very little.”

“Hmm.”

“Still, thanks to Hyung introducing me, I’m getting paid well. 50,000 won [approximately $40 USD] for dubbing just a few lines in an English trailer is a thank you.”

“I’m grateful if you think so.”

“And it’s beneficial to be able to see professionals doing it like that.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes. They’re voice actors belonging to the broadcasting station I applied to.”

“Ah, really?”

Baek Dong-hwan nodded.

“You recognized them well?”

“Of course. Usually, there are the most freelancers, and when you’re first hired, the exclusive contract is only mandatory for two years. Until recently, it was three years, and before that, it seems like it was four or five years.”

“Exclusive.”

“Still, being exclusive isn’t bad. It depends on your perspective.”

“It seems like freelancers get paid more if they have the skills now, right?”

“Oh. How did you know?”

“That’s usually the case. It’s the same for interpreters and translators. Income varies greatly depending on skill.”

“That’s right. I heard that if you work steadily, your annual salary is about 50 million to 150 million won [approximately $40,000 to $120,000 USD].”

“Wow. If it’s over 100 million, it’s really worth it, right?”

“There might be more than that? I don’t know the details either.”

I feel like a snob, but why am I so tempted by talk about money?

“Siha, have you ever thought about becoming a voice actor?”

“Ah.”

Shakes his head.

‘Does he know and shake his head?’

“Really not? The last time you recorded, it was fun.”

“Siha. Hyung. Together.”

“Yeah? You like being with Hyung?”

“Ah.”

“To think you already know how to use the tactic of dragging someone down with you? You’re quite something.”

“Ah.”

Then Baek Dong-hwan laughed.

“Haha. Hyung is the most fun when he’s talking to Siha. But Siha can’t even be a child voice actor right now.”

“Why?”

“First of all, voice actors have to be able to read quickly.”

“What’s ‘read quickly’?”

“It’s reading so that you can act the moment you see the script.”

The recording process was visible.

It seems different from ordinary actors.

Actors read, memorize lines, and act, but voice actors read the lines quickly and act.

I didn’t notice it when I was at home before, but they were also signaling the timing of various sound effects and coordinating their breathing.

Looking at it like this, I’m getting very interested.

Baek Dong-hwan continued.

“Children have many difficulties because of their lisp.”

“Ah. Is the delivery of lines important?”

“That’s right.”

It’s amazing to hear this.

Then Siha tugged at my clothes.

“Hyung.”

“Yeah?”

“Siha. Good.”

“Yeah. Siha is good.”

“Siha. That.”

“Yeah?”

Siha followed the lines of the voice actors playing in front of him.

“I am…….”

The next word should be ‘the greatest of all time,’ but Siha didn’t remember it, so he said this.

“Siha~”

“Hehe. Good job. Good job. Siha is Siha. It’s still hard to pronounce ‘eu’ [Korean vowel sound]? You need to practice more.”

“Ah.”

I stroked Siha’s head.

When the recording was over, we also entered the recording studio.

If what the voice actor team over there filmed was the Korean version 1 and 2 of the trailer video, what we were going to film was the English version 1 of the trailer video.

“But the voice actor outside isn’t leaving?”

“I guess they’re watching.”

“Was there anything to watch?”

In reality, Baek Dong-hwan was the one reading the stage directions, and Baek Dong-hwan was also the one saying the protagonist’s lines.

I was only in charge of one villain role.

The voices have to be different for the lines that are exchanged.

“Then let’s start.”

“Yes.”

The recording began.

Na (Narration).

「Looking at the sunset, Moo-jin planted his sword in the ground. The setting sun looked like his own figure.」

(Monologue)

「I am the greatest of all time. I cannot die in vain like this.」

On the screen, there were many masters to kill Moo-jin, the greatest of all time.

One person coming forward.

Cheon Gun-ak, the leader of the Murim Alliance [martial arts alliance].

I had to say my lines here, but I said something else.

“Wait a minute.”

Baek Dong-hwan tilted his head.

“Why? Is it hard to act with lip sync?”

“No. It’s not that…….”

I stopped talking.

And stared at Baek Dong-hwan.

The reason for stopping was nothing special.

It was just that Baek Dong-hwan’s pronunciation and intonation were subtly bothering me.

But I was wondering whether I should point this out or not.

It seemed like other people hadn’t noticed.

‘Still, it would be better to say something, right?’

This is not Korean, but English.

Even if I don’t know anything else, I could be sure of this.

If I just pass over it like this, readers will leave malicious comments saying that it was unnecessary.

“It’s not natural. You told me when you came here that these days, voice actors pursue naturalness without being exaggerated.”

Change your voice, but speak naturally.

It was a difficult request that seemed very contradictory.

‘That’s what voice actors can do.’

“Yes.”

“I’ll correct your pronunciation a bit. Honestly, as someone who has worked as an interpreter, there’s a bit of a problem with speaking English comfortably. Even if it’s an emotional tone in an animation, it stands out.”

“Ah, is that so?”

“Yeah. Look closely. The voice that speaks calmly in the stage directions was good, but the parts where you lower your chest voice and intonation are lacking. Ah, I’ll just do it all, and you change it to the voice actor version. Got it?”

“Yes. Okay. I’ll learn a lot about the English part from Hyung too.”

I spoke into the microphone.

“The recording time is set for 2 hours, so let’s take some time to exchange lines and correct them. It won’t take even 30 minutes.”

I looked at Baek Dong-hwan again.

Honestly, it would be difficult to do voice acting in Korean, but it didn’t seem difficult to do it in English.

In fact, when studying foreign language speaking, dramas and English were what I repeatedly watched several times.

If you develop one step further from there, you follow the pronunciation of the news.

The most unobtrusive and clear, correct pronunciation.

I think announcers and voice actors are not that far apart.

Looking at only the acting part, actors and voice actors also seem to have a lot of relationship.

“Then let’s start.”

I opened my mouth.