3D is Amazing
Does this voice have a fee?
(A/N: Jisoo's thoughts would be italicized and in the color purple)
I wonder what makes you fall in love with someone… Their appearance? Or is it their personality? For me it’s…
With Kim Jisoo’s back against the lockers, she looked up at the boy who rested his arm against them and leaned in. Everyone began to crowd in excitement with some male onlookers looking aggravated as the boy smiled with charm. “Wanna go out?”
“Woah~ To confess in front of all these people…” someone said in astonishment.
Another student asked, “That guy is a model right?”
Another chimed in, “And rumor has it that she’s the prettiest in her year.”
“Did she say yes?” they continued to whisper. “Did she really say yes?!”
Jisoo brushed her hair behind her ear as everyone gulped their saliva in anticipation. “Mian (Sorry),” she apologized sincerely as she took off her earphones. “I couldn’t hear you at all. What did you say?”
The boy’s suaveness instantly shattered as he froze in place with his mouth hanging open. Everyone stood in silence from the turn of events except for one person trying to (but failing) to hold in her laughter. “Pfft… Ahaha!” The girl, Kim Jennie, quickly linked arms with Jisoo and dragged her to their classroom. They sat at their desks, but Jennie couldn’t stop laughing. “To say you didn’t hear the confession… You’re so cruel! Ahahaha”
Jisoo pouted. “Yah, I’m telling you I couldn’t hear him at all since I had earphones on.”
Jennie calmed down and smiled at her friend. “It really is a waste since you’re so beautiful.” Jisoo blushed at the compliment. “By the way, he’s Im Jaebum from Class A. He’s a model and really good looking. He’s really popular too. If you want, you could chase after him.”
“Hmm…” After taking a brief moment of thinking about it, Jisoo wagged her finger as she shook her head. “Ani (Nope), I didn’t like his voice.”
Sighing, Jennie shifted her eyes to the side. “Saying it was a waste. I really regret it now.”
Taking out her phone, Jisoo handed Jennie her earphones as she squealed in euphoria. “But Add from Elsword’s new theme song came out~ Of course I’m gonna blast that full force!”
Jennie began to feel dizzy from the earphone’s sudden burst of sound. “Yeah, there’s no way you would be able to hear anything else…”
Maja (Right)! What I’m trying to hide is… that I’m a voice otaku! Add is a character from a computer game that I love. He’s got the ideal, sweet and handsome voice. He’s cold but the sweetness of youth he sometimes shows is just the best… Trembling from the thought, Jisoo’s fists shook as she got all worked up. “I’m prepared to go broke for him!”
“You spent money on that game again?!” Jennie asked in shock. “Well I can understand as far as Add goes, however…” She pointed at Jisoo’s phone screen. “Why is your background his voice actor? He’s just an old geezer.”
(A/N: No disrespect to the real voice actor!!)
“Ara (I know)!” Placing both hands on her cheeks to contain her blush, Jisoo squealed, “At first I also thought of him as nothing more than a gramps, but when I think that that voice comes from his mouth, I just melt~” Putting her earphones on, she hummed with pleasure as she drifted off to her own world. To hear this voice alone makes life worth living. That’s why I never knew what it meant to be interested in a real boy. I never thought that my fate would begin to change until now…
“Omo! The school cafeteria’s packed!” Jisoo stood in shock as she saw the crowd of students trying to get their lunch.
Jennie crossed her arms. “That’s why I told you to hurry up! Pali (Hurry)!” She pushed Jisoo to the crowd. “Good luck buying something.”
Jisoo squeezed her way through the crowd. I should’ve brought my own lunch like Jennie…
“-dae”
“Bwo (What)?!” Jisoo’s ears twitched at the sound. She looked around. This voice… nugu (who)?!
“Jisoo?!” Jennie looked at her friend with concern as Jisoo ran past her.
Nugu?! Jisoo pushed her way through the crowd, heading towards where she heard the voice. “Excuse me!” Please one more time! Speak up! “Omo!” She got pushed out, and she began to pant as she caught her breath.
“Jisoo!” Jennie caught up to her. “What happened?!”
“Add has…”
“Bwo?”
“That voice was clearly… a sound-alike!” Jisoo’s heart began to beat as her eyes sparkled. She placed both hands on Jennie’s shoulders, and looked at her in desperation. “Jennie, I want to find him! The owner of that voice! Dowajuseyo (Please help me)!”
Jennie looked at her with intensity. “Arasso (I understand)!”
A crowd of guys gathered in a classroom. Jennie grabbed the blackboard eraser and took a deep breath. Using it as a mic, she turned around to face the audience. “And it has started! The first audition for Kim Jisoo!” she introduce, and all Jisoo could do was stare at her friend in awe. “Who will emerge as the winner?! Who will Jisoo be with?!”
“NAEKOYA (MINE)!!” the boys chanted in response.
The crowd was full with vigor as they began to get competitive.
“No, she’ll be mine!”
“I’m gonna win!!”
“You’re gonna lose!”
“Jennie…” A sweat drop formed on Jisoo’s forehead. “I don’t think this is right…”
Jennie smirked. “It sure is easy to gather all the boys in one fell swoop like this. And they all came during lunch break.”
“So what’s the challenge?” one guy asked looking very smug.
“I’m glad you asked!” Jennie turned back into her announcer persona. “The challenge is just to say this word!” She wrote the word soondae on the board.
All the boys looked at the word in confusion. "WAE (why)?!"
“Pfft,” Jennie tried to conceal her laughter, as her voice shaked. “This is the clue that Jisoo heard…”
Jisoo pouted at her friend. “Are you enjoying this, Jennie?!”
Clearing her voice, Jennie continued, “Ok then, let’s start from the glasses wearing guy from earlier!”
“Eh?!” he exclaimed.
Jisoo’s heart began to beat as she looked at the boy in anticipation. Is the Add sound-alike in this group?
“S- Soondae!”
“Deng (wrong).” Jisoo made an X shape with her arms. “It just doesn’t sound right.”
“Soondae, soondae, soondae!” another answered with enthusiasm.
“Deng.”
“S- Soondae…” another tried, looking a little embarrassed.
“Soondae,” one tried with charm as he placed a rose in his mouth.
“Soondae.”
“Soondae.”
“Soondae.”
“Soondae.”
“Soon-“
Jisoo slammed her fist on the blackboard. “DENG!! The voice is adult-like with a bit of youthful spirit still remaining! Almost a man’s voice, but with the feeling that it’s still developing which makes you want to watch over its growth. That kind of voice! Aigoo~ When that voice whispers soondae it makes you wanna eat white rice~ Jomjuseyo (please let me have some)~” She got all passionate, as the boys just stared at her in silence.
“J- Jisoo…” A sweat drop formed on Jennie’s forehead. “You’re scaring everyone…”
“Omo, mianheyo~” Jisoo bowed.
A boy stopped outside of the classroom. His friend looked back. “Hm?”
“What’s going on in there? It’s making me remember something really bad.” The boy shivered as a chill ran down his spine.
“Ahh you mean what you said at lunch? That soondae makes you sick to your stomach?”
With the event being a failure, Jennie and Jisoo decided to spend their lunch at the school rooftop the next day.
“Aigoo, here it is~” Jisoo marveled at her lunch. “A soondae lunch box. I also had some last night because mom told me that the new neighbor who moved in next door gave it to us.”
“But we just can’t seem to find that Soondae Prince.” Jennie trembled from trying to stifle a laugh.
Jisoo snapped, “I knew it! You’re enjoying this!” She sighed. “Maybe it was just in my head…” But somehow it still made my heart beat really fast.
Jennie nudged. “Yah, that second year over there came yesterday.” She pointed at the group of guys hanging out not too far away. “The flashy one on the right.”
Jisoo looked over at them. “I've never seen the guy on the left and the one in the middle before…” The guy in the middle had his face covered with a piece of paper until a gust of wind blew it away and in front of her. She crouched to pick it up, recognizing the paper. This… This is the supermarket from my neighborhood… Seeing feet approaching, she looked up at the guy. … For some reason he really reminds me of Add. I wonder how his voice sounds like… Standing up, she handed him the paper. “Here you go…” The guy bowed as he took the paper back. He seems shy…
“Mian, he’s really unsocial,” the flashy friend apologized.
“Gwenchanayo (It’s okay).” Jisoo smiled politely.
The quiet guy bowed again before following his friends on the way out. The other friend turned to the quiet guy. “Oh yeah, Jinyoung. Did you take care of that thing?”
“Ah, soondae?”
Jisoo’s ears twitched. Bwo?
“I just gave it to my neighbor.”
No way! It can’t be… Swinging the door open, Jisoo yelled, “Wait a moment!!” The three guys stopped in the middle of the stairs and turned to face her. She fixated on the guy named Jinyoung. Could it be? “You are-“ As she hurried down the stairs, she missed a step. Heul… I’m falling… Shutting her eyes and accepting her fate, she fell but Jinyoung caught her. He wrapped his arms around her, making her blush. “Omo! Sorry for falling- Eh?” She felt him lose balance. He fell backwards and they both tumbled down the stairs.
“Jisoo! Gwenchana?!” Jennie’s voice rang, making Jisoo’s eyes open.
“Gwenchanayo?”
Her eyes widened at the voice near her ear. Jinyoung still held her in a gentle embrace as she lay on top of him. “W- WAAH!” She blushed as she quickly got off of him. She sat in front of him as he got up, prepping himself up with one arm. What’s happening? I can’t believe this… Right before my eyes, Add has appeared.
“Are you hurt?” He looked at her with concern.
Her eyes twinkled at the lovely site. There’s no mistaking it. It’s him! Is this kind of game development even possible? She cleared . “U- Umm neomu gomawoyo.”
“Don’t mention it, but why did you tell me to wait?”
“Well, uhh…” She looked down at her lap as her fingers fidgeted. I have to say something! She blushed. “I’m Kim Jisoo, a first year. As a sign of us getting acquainted…” She crawled towards him and beamed. There was a twinkle in her eye as she lost all sense of reasoning and sanity. “Please let me record it!”
“Eh? Record what…”
She overflowed with passion as she took out her phone. “Your voice!”
“What do you mean your voice…”
Placing a hand on her cheek, she squealed. “I’ve really taken a liking to your voice. If necessary, I’m also willing to pay for it~”
“Pay…”
“Does this voice have a fee?”
He gave a dead-pan look at her. After a long moment of silence, he finally spoke. “I’ll have to… decline…”
“Waaaaaa~” Jisoo was slumped on the living room couch after school. “I’ve gone and done it…” She sighed. “As expected, I didn’t get to record it… I accidentally got overexcited…” She raised a trembling fist in frustration. I want that voice no matter the cost! Like I’d let the real Add get away like that! I need to get close to him somehow!
Her mom walked over to her and placed both hands on her hips. “Instead of lazing around, could you please run errands?”
“Yuck.”
Even though Jisoo said that, she’s still an obedient daughter and headed out of the apartment. She shut the door as she heard someone exclaim softly, “Ah.”
Looking over at the sound, she was face to face with Jinyoung. She pointed at him. “I- I knew it!!”
“Since hearing that conversation about soondae, I was wondering if you were that new neighbor.” Jisoo walked behind Jinyoung. “You’re a second year, right? What was your name again?”
He looked back at her, and hesitantly responded, “… I’m Park Jinyoung.”
Their voices really do sound alike! She smiled happily. “Jinyoung-oppa, I’m sorry about what happened earlier today. Let’s get along from now on~”
“…” He quickly widened the gap between them. He turned his body to face her, but his eyes averted. “Umm I’m going to the supermarket.” And with that, he sped walked away.
Bwo? She stood in shock He’s wary of me?! Well of course! I did say that didn’t I… A sweat drop formed on her forehead as she recalled the memory of her asking to record his voice ran in her head. Oh right, the real Add has the attribute of reticence. Aigoo… I did something stupid…
At the supermarket, Jinyoung looked back warily. “Omo!” Jisoo flailed her arms as she trailed behind him. “It- It’s not like I’m stalking you! I just needed some eggs and other groceries!”
“Is that so…” He walked faster. “The counter was this way, so then…”
“Waaah~” she exclaimed at the cold response. Suddenly he froze, making her head tilt. … Bwo? What’s he staring at… Her eyes widened as she followed where his eyes were fixated on. The limited-time sale… She looked at him with determination. “Do you need a pack of beef? Is one pack enough?”
He looked at her in confusion. “Eh?”
“Excuse me!” She rushed in. This is for Jinyoung-oppa!!
Feeling dumbfounded, he stood as he watched her fight her way for a pack of meat.
“Assa! I got it!” Jisoo handed him the pack of beef.
“Neomu… gomawoyo.” Jinyoung took it from her.
She flashed a peace sign. “It was a piece of cake.”
“Pfft.”
“Bwo?”
“Haha,” he laughed at the site of her. She looked dazed with her hair a mess. “Jisoo-ssi, you’re incredible!”
A small blush crept to her cheeks. “… You laughed.”
“What do you mean?” He crossed his arms. “I can laugh just fine…”
She muttered, “3D is amazing…”
He raised an eyebrow. “3D?”
That’s right… He’s different than Add from the game. A real boy makes this kind of expression.
After the supermarket, the two headed back home together. The two walked side by side, as he sighed. “Well anyone would be creeped out after you say that kind of thing the first time you meet them… What were you thinking?”
“I’m really sorry,” she giggled in embarrassment. “Ah, oppa do you like sweets?” She took out an ice cream from her bag. “I’ll give you this as a token of my apology!”
“It’s fine. I don’t want it.”
“Tsk,” she clicked her tongue. Opening the ice cream, she took a bite, as she grumbled, “Strategy, taming with food, failed…”
“What do you mean, taming with food?” His eyebrow twitched.
“N- Nothing!” She giggled nervously. “Oppa, are you always shopping and cooking by yourself?”
“…”
“Omo… Mian. You don’t have to answer…”
“Ani.” After a moment of hesitation, he spoke softly. “We’re a fatherless family. I try to help around the house as much as I can.”
She marveled at his face. Now he has a dignified expression. Compared to me, he really has it together… “… admirable,” she spoke aloud.
“You think so?”
“… So.” She took out her phone.
He quickly stepped away from her. “Why’d you take that out?”
She smiled sweetly, as she moved closer to him. “Could you please repeat what you just said?”
In the most monotonous tone, he pointed. “Ah, there’s a policeman right there.”
“Waah! I’m sorry, it was only an attempt!” She quickly stashed her phone away.
“Ahaha I’m kidding.”
He laughed again… Her face turned bright pink as she looked at his smiling face. Oppa’s voice… I want to listen to it even more. And for that… She clenched her fists in front of her, as the ice cream was in . I have to get closer to him!
Not knowing what was going through her mind, he tilted his head as he looked at her.
However…
Day 1
“Morning!” Jisoo greeted from the school entrance. “It’s also very hot today, isn’t it?”
Jinyoung turned to face her. “Ne.”
Day 2
“Doesn’t eating bread every day for lunch make a pretty one-sided diet?” Jisoo asked in passing in the hallways.
Jinyoung replied, “Ne.”
Day 3
“This is the first time we’re on the same bus on the way back, isn’t it?” Jisoo smiled as she stood beside Jinyoung.
“Ne,” he replied as he remained fixated on his book.
We didn’t get closer at all?!
Sitting at her desk, Jisoo's phone alarmed. She clicked on the notification. “Aigoo my darling Add has appeared!” She hummed as she read the new update.
Jennie walked over to her. “Jisoo, you aren’t fan-girling as hard as you usually do with your darling Add. Is the real one giving you trouble?” she teased.
“Uh…” Jisoo bit her lower lip. Even though I thought we got a little bit closer… I wonder why I’m so worked up about Jinyoung-oppa…
I want to hear something else other than “Ne.” After school, Jisoo laid in her bed. Isn’t there anything I can do to get on his good side?
“Jisoo.” Her mother walked in. “The Park’s son from next door goes to the same high school as you, right?”
“Yeah, that’s right.” She sat up.
“We forgot to return the container from when they gave us soondae. Can you return it tomorrow, please?”
“Sure.”
Her mother tapped a finger on her chin. “But we can’t just return it empty… I wonder if we should fill it with some sweets?”
Ah! Jisoo’s eyes widened. “Umma (mom)! Can I ask you something?”
Wah~ I messed up on the omelet a bit. Jisoo observed her creation in the pan as she turned off the stove.
“Isn’t this strange,” her mom giggled. “You wanting to make a lunch box.”
“Umma, come on~” she pouted. I’m a bit late, but I think this will be great! I mean, making handmade lunch for someone who might hate me is kinda… But he’s always buying bread for lunch at the school cafeteria… Ottoke (what to do)…
The next day, Jisoo stood by the school entrance. Her cheeks turned bright pink, as she got tense. I’m getting nervous. He might not even accept it… I wanna run away! Hearing footsteps, she peaked over her shoulder and gasped. “Jinyoung-oppa! Umm… Here!” Shutting her eyes, she handed him the bag.
Confused, Jinyoung looked down at it. “… Hm?”
“I made lunch in return for soondae!” She looked anywhere but him. He’s going to be put off for sure, but there’s no backing out now! “I’m sorry for doing something strange! You can also throw it away if you don’t like it… My umma made about half of it so it shouldn’t be too bad…”
He noticed her hands were trembling. “You really are funny Jisoo-ssi.” Taking the bag from her, he smiled warmly. “You should’ve just made everything by yourself. Gomawoyo.”
He walked away, but she couldn’t keep her eyes off of him. Her heart beat fast, as his voice rang in her ear. That voice just doesn’t stop reverberating…
Jennie slammed her hands on Jisoo’s desk. “So what do you mean he hasn’t responded yet?! It’s been several days since you gave him the lunch.”
Jisoo smiled. “Gwenchana, gwenchana. It’s not like I did it to get a reward… But still…” Her smile faltered. “The fact that he hasn’t said anything is a bit troublesome, right…”
“So in the end it does bother you, doesn’t it?” Jennie glared.
Jisoo forced a laugh. “Well since there wasn’t a reaction, I got worried…”
“It would be fine if you could just talk to him, but you don’t know his number, right? Ah! I just thought of something great!!” Jennie turned to the class. “Does anyone have paper cups?”
Jisoo tilted her head.
“Ta-da!” Jennie laid out two cups attached by a string on Jisoo’s desk.
“Wow, this is amazing!” Jisoo marveled.
Jennie harrumphed proudly. “On top of not needing a phone number, this is a direct line!! You can hear Jinyoung-ssi’s voice firsthand.” She smirked, making Jisoo gulp her saliva from the thought.
“Ani,” Jinyoung flat out rejected.
“Waaaah~ It was no good!!” Jisoo collapsed to the floor right when she exited his classroom. “He looked at me like I was some trash and rejected me!!”
Everyone looked at her like she was a lunatic. “She’s the prettiest of her year… right?”
“Ahh, P.E. is such a pain,” Mark, the flashy one, complained as he walked outside the school. Jinyoung followed silently, deep in thought.
“Jinyoung,” Youngjae called. “Are you regretting that you were too cold towards Jisoo-ssi?” Jinyoung flinched. “Bingo, huh? Did you perhaps fall for her?”
With cheeks slightly pink, Jinyoung turned to face his friend. “Bwo?!”
Youngjae smiled. “I mean, the prettiest first year holds you in such high regard.”
“… Yeah, but she doesn’t seem to act like a normal girl,” Jinyoung sighed.
“I guess so. I mean, that really was something; that paper cup phone.”
“I know right,” Mark laughed.
“I can’t figure out what she’s thinking, so I don’t even know how I should act around her…” Jinyoung said. “… Hajiman (but)…”
“But it’s bothering you,” Youngjae finished for him. With Jinyoung’s silence, Youngjae guessed he got it on the dot. “If you’re gonna feel so down about this, why don’t you just talk to her properly?”
“Hm?”
“Over there.” Youngjae pointed behind Jinyoung, and he turned to look.
“Eh…” Jinyoung’s eye twitched as he looked at the cup hanging by a string.
Not realizing that the cup was hanging out the window, Jisoo pouted as she observed the other cup on her desk. Jennie even went through the trouble of connecting them with a red string… The red string of fate…
“Jisoo… Mian,” Jennie apologized.
Jisoo smiled. “It’s not like it’s your fault, Jennie. It’s just that I’m bad at this…” She forced a laugh as she pulled out her phone. “A 3D boy is totally out of my league. I guess I’ll just stick with my beloved Add.” Jennie looked at her friend with sadness. Jisoo picked up the cup. I tried really hard making the lunch box… Since I thought Jinyoung-oppa liked sweet things, I put more sugar in the omelet. I mustered up the courage to give it to him but… I guess it really wasn’t good… She let out a painful laugh. “Bwo?” Feeling the cup getting tugged, she looked at the string going out the window. The cup phone… Did the other side fall down? Did somebody tug on it? Her eyes widened when she looked out the window and saw who was holding the other cup. Jinyoung looked up at her. Bwo?! Jinyoung-oppa?! She quickly put the cup against her ear.
“Umm… Gomawoyo… For the lunch.”
Her cheeks turned bright pink. Omo~ His voice is right against my ear!
“Sorry it took so long to thank you,” he continued. “Besides that, did you make the omelet, Jisoo-ssi?” She gasped, and nodded. “It was burned.” She faltered from the bluntness. “However… That was the most delicious thing. Umm… So… Kanda (Later).” He let go of the cup, and followed his friends.
Her cheeks turned bright pink The voice only I could hear… It was almost like it was a whisper in my ear. She touched the ear that was against the cup. My ear is burning… Omo? As Jinyoung walked away, she noticed him taking a quick peek at her and looking away. His cheeks were also bright pink. The voice conveyed through the red string changed my fate.
“So~ How’d it go?” Jennie asked excitedly. Jisoo slumped over her desk. “Yah, are you alive?”
“Just why…” Jisoo mumbled as her head was buried under her arms. “Why is there no recording function on the paper cup phone?”
Jennie let out a small laugh from her friend’s cuteness. “Right.”
Soon, summer will be in full bloom.
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