Peninsula: From a supporting actor to the best actor in Chungmuro

Chapter 10 Audition
early morning.

Jiang Zaixun was shaving in the bathroom when he heard the sound of the security door lock turning.

"pat-"

Jiang Zaixun peeked out.

Lee Sung-kyung stood at the entrance carrying her suitcase, the brim of her baseball cap pressing down so that her eyes were hidden.

"Didn't you say you'd be back tomorrow?"

"The flight is advanced."

She kicked off her high heels and her toes got hooked on his shoes, almost causing her to fall.

Jiang Zaixun reached out to help her, but she dodged sideways.

He withdrew his hand awkwardly and asked casually:
"Did the photoshoot go well?"

"Ah."

When Lee Sung-kyung passed by him, Kang Jae-hoon could smell the cool air on the ends of her hair and the familiar scent of lavender.

"The play premiered last week..."

"Full?"

"There are two empty seats in the family section of the auditorium."

Li Shengjing paused as she opened the refrigerator, and the light from the refrigerator compartment made her pupils turn blue.

"so?"

"So... there's an extra show next Saturday, would you like to—"

"No time."

"Next week"

"We're going to take pictures for the June pictorial."

"Oh"

The microwave oven made a "ding" sound, and Jiang Zaixun fished out the hot seaweed rice roll and walked towards the entrance.

Lee Sung Kyung suddenly kicked the suitcase that was blocking the way:

"Where?"

"Apgujeong audition."

"Dubbing?"

"Despicable Me 2 Korean dubbing."

"Wait."

Li Jingcheng opened the suitcase, took out a dark blue velvet box from the inner compartment and threw it over.

Jiang Zaixun caught it in a hurry, and the sharp edges made his palm numb.

Open the lid and you'll find a bottle of Dior men's perfume inside.

"Promotional giveaway."

She turned and walked towards the bedroom: "Taking up space."

"Oh."

The security door was half closed and then popped open again.

Jiang Zaixun peeked through the crack in the door and asked, "Is it really a gift?"

"roll."

"..."

Jin Dayuan was putting out his cigarette in the gap of the skylight on the roof of his Kia. He looked up and saw Jiang Jaexun jogging towards him with a backpack strap in his hand and something in his hand.

"You're saying goodbye to your lover, why are you taking so long?"

"Brother, your car windows are frosted."

Jiang Zaixun got into the back seat and slammed the door, and the cheap leather seat made a sound like farting.

"Bullshit! It's already May, Dior Desert?"

Jin Dayuan turned his head to look at the exquisite box in his hand: "Did she give it to me?"

“Promotional products.”

"Which store offers a promotion with men's perfume? Or Dior?"

"She said so."

Jin Dayuan was speechless and turned around to start the engine.

The car started slowly.

Jiang Zaixun lowered his head and fiddled with the perfume box, and suddenly asked:

"Brother, what do you think it means when a woman gives a man perfume?"

"Literally—I think you stink."

"..."

It was already nine in the morning when Kang Jae-hoon arrived at the Apgujeong recording studio.

There were seven actors who auditioned before him.

"Shit, you have to cry when you curse at someone?"

The glass door creaked open, and the previous auditioner came out cursing. "Next."

"..."

Jin Dayuan leaned against the wall, folded his arms, and said:

"The guy who just came in is from the KBS voice actor team."

Jiang Zaixun stared at the lines of "Gru" on the script and said:

"I'll just do what I practiced yesterday."

Time passed bit by bit.

After the previous auditioner left.

The glass door clicked open, and Assistant Director Li poked half of his face out:
"Brother Lady, get ready."

Jin Dayuan slapped him on the back:
"I've inquired, and this producer once saved a project by hiring a new voice actor. So you don't have to worry too much."

"Ah."

Jiang Zaixun stood up and swallowed the third throat lozenge, repeatedly flicking the tip of his tongue against the roof of his mouth - this was the folk remedy for clearing his throat that Huang Zhengmin taught him.

The soundproofing in the studio was as thick as a shroud.

The moment Jiang Jae-hoon put on the headphones, his eardrums were numbed by the sound of his swallowing.

Three figures are vaguely visible behind the glass of the monitoring room - a director in a baseball cap twirling a pen, a sound effects artist with dreadlocks chewing gum and blowing bubbles, and a foreign producer playing Plants vs. Zombies on an iPad.

“Try a daily conversation first.”

The director's voice drifted into his headset: "Scene seven, Gru calls to order a pizza."

Jiang Zaixun looked at the script board, cleared his throat, and squeezed out a lazy nasal sound from his nasal cavity:

"Extra large Hawaiian pizza, no pineapple—yeah, I hate everything yellow."

"Stop, your tone is too soft, try again."

Jiang Jae-hoon pursed his lips, took a deep breath, closed his eyes and tried hard to recall the powerful roar of Huang Zhengmin when he was angry.

After a moment, he gritted his teeth and roared angrily:
"Hawaiian pizza is for wimps! I want double—no, triple—jalapenos!"

As he roared, his Adam's apple rolled up and down violently, and blue veins climbed all the way from his collarbone to his jaw.

"Pass."

The director's pen tip pointed to the next paragraph: "Crying scene, the daughter broke the rocket model."

Jiang Zaixun pressed the tip of his tongue against the roof of his mouth and tried to hold back his tears. The image of Huang Zaiyu saying "Mom, wake up" with snot bubbles hanging from his nose flashed back in his mind.

"That's the parts I spent three months collecting."

The sob stuck in his throat made the last word stuck between his teeth. He suddenly squeezed out a trembling voice:
"Dad can fix it, but if he can't, just steal a bigger one!"

"Pass, final test."

The director called up the mixing equipment: "Gru and the Minions are arguing, with synchronized dubbing."

In an instant, Jiang Zaixun heard Gru's original English roar in his left ear, and the chirping of the Minions in his right ear.

The mixed and impact of the sounds from both sides made his temples throb.

"Banana! Bang na na!"

Jiang Zaixun pinched his nose and screamed in a childish voice like the Minions, and his left foot subconsciously jumped to the rhythm of the sound effects.

"Shut up!"

Jiang Zaixun quickly took a step to the left and instantly switched back to his deep, hoarse voice. He tapped the script board with his right knuckles as if hitting the Minions' heads:

"If you keep making such noises, I'll freeze you into a popsicle!

"Holy shit!"

The last syllable of Jiang Zaixun's words was still swirling in the air when there was a sudden loud "bang" in the monitoring room.

A foreign producer's iPad knocked over a coffee cup, and he cursed at the same time - the zombies in the game were eating the last peashooter.

The director was so scared that he dropped his pen:

"Ashi! Are you crazy about the game?"

"Him! Gru! Korean version!"

Assistant Director Li frantically wiped the coffee stains for the producer while translating:
"He said he wanted this lady brother to be with Gru!"

The director took off his baseball cap and scratched the bald spot on his head:

"Are you sure? There are three professional voice actors behind you."

“No! He’s perfect!”

The producer gestured with his hands:
“Voice like whiskey with gunpowder!”

Assistant Director Li quickly added the translation:
"He said that Guifu Ge's voice is both rich and powerful, which can bring a strong sense of picture and character creation effect."

The director's brows were twisted into the shape of the Chinese character "川":

"But he hasn't even received proper dubbing training!"

The producer patted his chest and said, "If it catches fire! I'll pay!"

Seeing this, the director shrugged:

"Alright, let Universal clean up the mess themselves. Emm, this one doesn't need translation."

(End of this chapter)