[@jinnnny Guys, have you seen Han Yooil’s profile?

(photos) (photos)]

┗ [@dbdlf_tkfkd This is what I call a country]

┗ [@yuulll_33 Hope he shoots a drama soon…]

┗ [@jinnnny Please… be it a thriller or romance or whatever… please…]】

The next day.

While Yooil was browsing through SNS reactions presented by Brion in JJ Entertainment’s meeting room, a knock on the door drew his attention.

“Hello, Mr. Actor! My name is Min Woojin!”

A disciplined voice echoed through the meeting room. The man introducing himself as Min Woojin bowed deeply, his round face and naturally flowing hippie perm suited him well.

Taken aback by the enthusiastic greeting, Han Yooil also quickly stood up and bowed.

“Hello, I’m Han Yooil.”

“Sir! I’ll be taking care of your schedule and transportation as your road manager from now on! I look forward to working with you!”

“Likewise, I look forward to working with you…!”

As both were bent over in deep bows, Jang Jaeyi, the director, entered the meeting room.

“…What are you two doing?”

“…”

Woojin straightened up with an embarrassed look.

“Min Woojin will be responsible for managing Yooil’s schedule and transportation. He’s still learning as he’s new to the job, so there might be some shortcomings. Please be understanding.”

“Not at all. I’m a newbie myself.”

Yooil’s words made Woojin’s eyes widen.

“Ah, no! I’ll do my best!”

“Hmm~ Woojin’s voice is always so firm. Fighting, both of you.”

“Yes!”

Min Woojin, 25 years old, was three years older than Han Yooil. After graduating from a two-year college, he had worked various part-time jobs before spotting a job posting from JJ Entertainment. After a three-month probation period, he was assigned as a road manager.

“I’m new to being a manager, so there might be many areas where I lack! But I’ll do my best!”

…While his overzealousness was somewhat overwhelming, he seemed like a good person.

“Manager, feel free to speak casually. I’ll call you Hyung too.”

“…Should I? Or, should I not?”

* * *

After about a week, Min Woojin began to interact more comfortably with Han Yooil, a welcome change for Yooil.

“How’s your condition today, Yooil?”

“Good. And you, hyung?”

“Me? Always fine~ If there’s one thing I can boast about, it’s my stamina.”

Yooil chuckled at Woojin’s words.

Though having someone take care of his schedule and drive him around still felt a bit strange,

Woojin glanced at Yooil’s face in the rearview mirror and asked,

“Have you ever done ADR before?”

“No, it’s my first time.”

ADR (Additional Dialogue Recording) is done after shooting to sync with the edited version. Although on-set live recording is the norm, ADR is often necessary for a cleaner sound.

And now, Yooil was on his way to the recording studio for ADR for “The Last Diner”.

Upon arriving at the recording studio, Han Yooil was greeted by familiar faces.

“Oh, Yooil! It’s been a while.”

Director Yoo Jaeho greeted him warmly, gently patting Han Yooil’s shoulder.

“I saw the article. You joined an agency.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Ha… I knew I spotted a gem.”

Yoo Jaeho, wearing a proud smile, pointed to the recording booth and the large monitor.

“The video will play on that monitor. You just have to record in sync with it. It might be tough since it’s your first time… But don’t worry too much. We’ve allotted plenty of time.”

“Thank you.”

Yoo Jaeho looked at Yooil with a mix of concern and anticipation. The edited version had already greatly impressed him. However, he was worried about how the dubbing would turn out.

‘…It’s going to be challenging.’

It wasn’t a set where actors capture emotions and film together. Recording in a studio while watching a video, matching lip movements and breaths, was a challenging task, even for seasoned actors.

And wasn’t Yooil a newcomer who had just finished shooting his first movie?

‘Don’t set your expectations too high.’

Yooil had always exceeded every expectation he had set, even raising the bar higher. It would be great if the recording turned out perfect, but…

Yoo Jaeho braced himself to avoid disappointment.

“Let’s start with scene 21.”

Following the sound engineer’s cue, Han Yooil’s dubbing session began.

“Wow… you’ve spent a lot of money, sis.”

At Han Yooil’s first line, Yoo Jaeho’s tension eased.

Yooil was good, but it was slightly different from what Director Yoo Jaeho had envisioned.

‘No matter what… a newcomer is still a newcomer.’

Just then, Yoo Jaeho, who was watching Han Yooil from beyond the recording booth, noticed a long hand suddenly reaching towards the ceiling.

“Excuse me, Director. Can I try that one more time?”

“Sure.”

Yoo Jaeho shrugged and responded nonchalantly, his eyes devoid of expectation as he looked at the monitor.

And as Han Yooil’s voice began to record for the second time, Yoo Jaeho’s thin eyes gradually widened.

“Wow~ you’ve spent a lot of money, sis.”

A quirky smile formed on Han Yooil’s face, identical to the close-up expression in the edited version.

It was as if Han Yooil from the movie had been copied and pasted right there.

“…”

Yoo Jaeho couldn’t even blink as he stared at Han Yooil.

‘How can he suddenly become so natural?’

Yoo Jaeho kept alternating his gaze between the repeatedly watched edited version and Yooil in the recording booth, wearing headphones. Meanwhile, scene 21 ended in a flash.

Brion V.15 spoke as if he had been waiting.

【You did well. The practice paid off.】

Han Yooil exhaled softly and lifted his head. He saw Yoo Jaeho with an indescribable expression beyond the booth.

‘…Was it not good?’

【That’s not it.】

‘Are you sure?’

While Yooil was conversing with Brion inside the booth, Yoo Jaeho snapped back to reality upon hearing the sound engineer calling him.

“…Director?”

“Ah, yes?”

“You need to listen.”

The sound engineer quickly pressed a few shortcut keys on the keyboard to synchronize the start times of the audio and video, then sharply hit the spacebar.

Then, Yooil’s voice and the video started playing together.

– Wow~ you’ve spent a lot of money, sis.

In the video, Yooil noisily drags a chair and slouches on it.

– Sohee sis, is it because you always dine in places like this that you got divorced?

Yooil forces his voice higher in the now tense atmosphere.

His voice resonates through the hotel restaurant.

– Ah, come on… It’s all just a joke~

“…”

A sigh escaped Yoo Jaeho’s lips.

Dubbing is challenging not only because of matching lip movements. It’s crucial to capture the breath, the spatial and the distance of the sound. Just like calling someone far away in a vast plain is different from calling someone close in a small room.

But a recording booth is a confined space. It’s different from the actual filming site, the space, and the atmosphere.

It’s natural for distinguishing and acting the nuances of sound production to be difficult.

‘But this is… ‘

Too perfect.

So much so that it could be believed to be recorded simultaneously with the filming.

After listening to the dub again, Yoo Jaeho slowly took off his headset. Han Yooil was looking at him through the glass. His clear face seemed to ask, ‘What should we do next?’

“…You said it’s your first time doing dubbing, right?”

“That’s right. This is my first time.”

“…My goodness.”

After a short exclamation, he shook his head and asked,

“How are you feeling, Yooil?”

“I’m feeling good.”

“Ready to move on to the next scene?”

“Yes!”

After that, Yooil started recording the remaining scenes in order. There was no need to record more than two takes per scene. Yoo Jaeho even thought that keeping those two takes was excessive.

Han Yooil perfectly captured every scene. It was like watching the moments of acting on set again.

“I was short-sighted…”

“Hm?”

“Not just a gem, but a diamond… No, a red diamond…”

Director Yoo Jaeho muttered to himself inaudibly.

…

…

Before they knew it, all the recording was finished. Yoo Jaeho clapped his hands in satisfaction.

“Good work, Yooil.”

Yoo Jaeho patted Yooil’s shoulder as he came out of the recording booth.

Yooil, bowing his head slightly, saw his manager. Min Woojin was fast asleep, his mouth wide open, in a corner of the recording studio.

When Yooil gently shook him, Woojin abruptly woke up with a dazed expression.

“Oh! I’m so, so sorry! I mean, my apologies!”

“It’s okay, hyung. You must have been tired, thank you for your hard work.”

“Ah… I really didn’t mean to fall asleep…”

As Min Woojin hurriedly gathered his things, his cellphone rang. Startled, Woojin jumped up and answered the call.

“Yes! Min Woojin speaking.”

Listening intently to the voice on the other end, Woojin’s eyes gradually widened.

“Understood! …Yes! I’ll pass on the message!”

Seeing Yooil looking at him with curiosity, Woojin flashed an awkward smile. Only after stepping out of the recording studio and into the car did he speak up.

“Yooil, I just got a call… Are you planning to audition?”

“…What?”

“That, who was it… Jung Suho, the casting director? Seems like he contacted the company.”

‘Casting director?’

Brion seemed to have been waiting to chime in.

【Jung Suho is a casting director with a good reputation in the industry. He currently works with ‘JMEE Studio.’ They produced the teen drama series ‘School Life’ that ran for five years, starting ten years ago…】

‘Brion.’

【Yes?】

‘It’s noisy.’

【…】

Min Woojin tried to recall and then spoke up.

“He said he saw a play you were in. He liked your acting and image, and said you’d fit one of the lead roles in the drama he’s casting.”

“A drama?”

“Yeah. Seems to be about high school students. It’ll be released on OTube as a web drama… and then the full version on Newblix? He also mentioned something else… wait, what was it…”

Woojin closed his eyes tight, trying to remember, and then suddenly continued.

“Right! A musical drama!”

“…A musical?”

“Yeah. And I heard the title too. It’s still tentative, but it seems like it’ll be finalized. It’s…”

Woojin took a deep breath and announced,

“Sing in High School!”

‘…Quite a straightforward name.’

【You should do it.】

Brion said, as if it had been waiting for this moment.