Chapter 94

94. I am a lesser panda~

"Hi? My name is Resu~"

Huh?

It feels awkward.

Siwoo felt a strange and unfamiliar sensation.

Just by saying a greeting, he felt a sense of discomfort.

He tried a bit harder and delivered the second line.

"Why are you surprised?"

'...What is it? My voice feels like it’s floating.'

Tilting his head, Siwoo continued to deliver the following lines in sync with the script and video, but he still didn’t feel satisfied.

It was a bit different from recording for commercials or dramas.

After finishing the test recording, the director said to Siwoo as he came out.

"You did well, Siwoo. Your pronunciation is good, and your voice is so cute."

The director and a few other staff members praised him.

"Thank you~"

Although Siwoo wasn’t particularly satisfied, the director seemed to think he did well for a first try.

They didn’t expect an eight-year-old to have the same level of professionalism as a professional voice actor.

A clear, pure, and lovely voice was enough to bring the character to life.

Siwoo, Hyunju, and Taeu had a brief conversation with the director in the office before heading home.

March.

Siwoo visited the recording studio again.

During this time, he had been involved in various activities and practiced dubbing at Got Entertainment’s recording studio whenever he had a chance.

As a result, he had become more proficient, but he still felt unsatisfied.

It was hard to explain.

Unlike acting, he found it difficult to focus on the character.

Although everyone around him said he was doing well, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was just imitating.

"Hello~"

Siwoo held the script, which was filled with practice marks, and entered the recording studio to greet everyone.

The voice actors of Pink Pororo, the children’s hero, who were sitting on the sofa, welcomed Siwoo warmly.

"Oh, come on in! I watched Bada Eye!"

"You look even cuter in person? Sit over here. What’s your next project? A movie? A drama? I’m looking forward to it."

"Siwoo, sit here. Not next to that uncle, but next to this aunt."

'Wow... Amazing.'

Siwoo was surprised.

The voice of the main character, Pink Baby Lion Pororo, who said she watched Bada Eye.

The voice of the sassy little rhinoceros Lino, who asked about his next project.

And the voice of the mischievous hamster Pinklong, who patted the sofa and invited him to sit next to her.

The voices he had only heard on TV were now right in front of him.

Siwoo was amazed as the voices of Pink Pororo, which he had watched countless times since he was a child, came from all around.

The voice actors, who were deliberately speaking in their dubbing voices for Siwoo, burst into laughter at his surprised expression.

The most rewarding moment in this job was when children were happy and excited.

"Who’s your favorite character in Pink Pororo, Siwoo?"

The middle-aged female voice actor of Pororo asked.

Siwoo’s hand reflexively pointed to the voice actor of Pinklong.

The female voice actor in her late thirties, who received Siwoo’s choice, performed a victory celebration.

"Thank you~ Siwoo is an expert. Usually, children who see the cartoon for the first time like Pororo, but after watching for a while, they all switch to Pinklong. Hahaha."

A little while later—

Other voice actors arrived one by one, and the playful atmosphere quickly disappeared.

The voice actors, with serious faces, warmed up their voices and prepared for the recording.

Siwoo watched them closely and followed their lead.

Soon, a rehearsal identical to the actual recording began.

This was to synchronize the character’s mouth movements with the voice actor’s timing.

Although Siwoo had practiced a lot, he still felt quite nervous as the recording was about to start.

In movies and dramas, there were various ways to express oneself through actions, expressions, and eye contact, but in dubbing, he had to convey his role solely through his voice.

It was a new challenge for Siwoo.

However, he believed that mastering this would definitely help him when he went to America and had to deliver long lines in unfamiliar English.

Siwoo focused his attention on the professional voice actors, determined to absorb everything.

Before Siwoo entered the fairy tale world, the voice actors of Pink Pororo were already perfectly portraying their respective roles.

"I’ll bring some snacks!"

The sassy little rhinoceros Lino said.

Although he often complained, he was the best cook in the village.

"Will you bring sunflower seeds too~?"

It was the hamster Pinklong.

"Ugh, fine! Wait for me. I’ll get mad if you start reading the book without me!"

Lino left.

The lion, hamster, hedgehog, and sheep quietly observed each other.

The smart sheep Mindi, wearing glasses, cleared her throat and spoke.

"Shall we start reading? It’ll be too boring to wait for Lino to make the snacks."

The baby lion Pororo hesitated and spoke cautiously.

"Then let’s... just read a little bit of the beginning~ We can read more when Lino comes~"

"No way! I want to eat sunflower seeds while reading. We have to wait for Lino."

The hamster Pinklong strongly insisted, as if there was a rule that he had to eat sunflower seeds while reading, just like people eat popcorn while watching movies.

The baby hedgehog Hoji, who was sitting quietly next to Pinklong, took out a sunflower seed from his pocket and offered it to Pinklong.

Pinklong eagerly chewed the sunflower seed.

"Crunch crunch crunch crunch crunch-!"

Siwoo looked at the voice actor of Pinklong with a dazed expression.

It was... a hamster.

The voice actor, holding the microphone, made a hamster-like face and pretended to chew like the real Pinklong.

After finishing the eating act, the voice actor wiped her mouth with her hand and delivered the next line with a calm smile.

"Shall we read the book?"

In the video, Pinklong sat in front of the book.

A while later, the four friends were sucked into the fairy tale world by the magic book, and Lino, who entered Pororo’s house late with the sunflower seeds and snacks, said in a puzzled voice.

"What? Where did everyone go? The book is open? Hey, guys~! I brought snacks! Are you playing hide and seek?"

The narrator voice actor summarized the scene.

"Lino had no idea that his friends had disappeared into the book~"

The director gave the okay sign.

The voice actors relaxed, took a deep breath, and came out.

Siwoo, who had gone in to get used to the atmosphere, also followed them out.

His eyes sparkled as if he had realized something.

"Siwoo, what do you think of what the uncles and aunts did?"

"It’s awesome~"

"Really? Siwoo, just do it as you practiced. Since your voice is so clear and beautiful, don’t force it. Relax and do it comfortably. Just do what you practiced. Got it, Siwoo?"

"Got it!"

Although Siwoo answered, he didn’t really want to do it just as he had practiced.

After witnessing the passionate performances of the voice actors, Siwoo realized something he had been mistaken about.

It wasn’t just about acting with the voice.

It was about acting with the whole body and condensing it into the voice.

And beyond that—

While he had been trying to embody the character in his acting, he now realized he needed to embody himself in the character.

He needed to enter the empty shell of the lesser panda on the screen and possess it, rather than just bringing the character to life.

'There’s such a way to do it.'

Siwoo looked at the script he had memorized long ago, as if in a trance.

His understanding of acting had leveled up through this new experience.

"Okay, let’s go to the first scene of the fairy tale world."

The voice actors stood up.

Siwoo also entered the recording studio with the script.

The voice actor of Pinklong, who had shown an incredible performance by pretending to chew the microphone instead of sunflower seeds, put her hand on Siwoo’s shoulder and said warmly.

"Let’s do our best, Resu. It’s okay if you make a mistake, so have fun and be confident."

"Got it~!"

Siwoo answered confidently with a bright expression.

His voice and pronunciation were already excellent, so the key was to sync with the character. Siwoo had found the right feel.

'I am a lesser panda~ I am a lesser panda~ I am the cutest in the world~ Resu, the lesser panda, let’s go!'

Siwoo stood confidently in front of the small microphone adjusted to his height.

Now that he had the feel, it was time to show his skills.

* * *

From February to April.

While Siwoo spent his time on advertising and dubbing activities, the season turned into warm spring.

During this period, Siwoo graduated from kindergarten and started elementary school.

At the kindergarten graduation ceremony, he performed a fan dance with his classmates, including Jiho. Hyunju, who was proud of Siwoo’s healthy growth and graduation from kindergarten, finally burst into tears in Dojin’s arms when the children held hands and sang a song for their parents.

Hyunju’s tears continued at the entrance ceremony at Saebit Elementary School.

Siwoo, feeling sorry for his mother who kept crying on such a good day, deliberately made the graduation and entrance ceremonies bright and lively.

Siyun also attended both ceremonies, shouting happily about having an older brother, but eventually fell asleep in his baby carrier, tilting his head from side to side.

Thus, a month had already passed since Siwoo started elementary school.

After finishing his school lessons, Siwoo played a short game of ball with Jiho, who had also moved up from kindergarten, and then left through the school’s back gate.

For first-grade elementary school students, it was common for parents to wait for them after school.

Especially in March, when the children had just started school, the area in front of the school was almost packed.

However, as time passed, only the parents of children who needed to cross the street remained, and those who lived nearby gradually started practicing walking to school on their own.

Since the school was in the apartment complex, the back gate led directly to the apartments.

Siwoo and Jiho walked home together happily.

"Siwoo, see you! Call me when you come back from America~"

"Got it. Bye! Have a good time at school~"

After saying goodbye to Jiho, Siwoo went home, ate dinner and a snack, and rested for a bit before packing his bags with his mother.

"Abo~ Big brother~ Me too~ Me too~"

"Do you want to come too, Siyun? This time, only big brother will go. I’m sorry."

"Hmm... Me too..."

Siyun, who had crawled into the luggage bag, was stopped by Siwoo as he tried to close it.

"Siyun~ Big brother will bring you a toy! A really cool one! Got it?"

"Ooh... Snacks~"

"Ah, right. You like snacks more? Big brother will bring lots of snacks. But you have to listen to mom~"

"Ooh! Okay~"

Siyun smiled and reached out to Siwoo for a hug.

Siwoo took Siyun out of the luggage bag and also removed Nero, who was trying to get in, before quickly closing the bag.

Hyunju, holding Siwoo’s coat, said,

"Siwoo, listen to Auntie and Uncle Taeu. Don’t do anything dangerous. Got it?"

"Okay! Got it. You take care of yourself and don’t get sick~"

"Sure. I want to go too, but when Siyun grows a bit more, we’ll go together."

"Got it~!"

After packing everything, they waited for a call from Manager Taeu.

Siwoo, Taeu, Heeju, and Got Entertainment’s CEO Youngmin, who appeared from the back seat with a "Ta-da~," headed to the airport.

The other staff members were already in America.

Taeu’s car drove for a while and arrived at Incheon Airport.

Looking at the distant airport, Siwoo thought.

This was his second trip to America.

The first time, he only had a minor role, but this time, it had to be different.

Siwoo recalled the intense shout of his grandfather Seokho from the countryside.

"Siwoo. Go for it~ Give it your all~"

Oh.