The Korean Wave!
From Dongbang Shinsung to Super Major and Choshinsei, Korea's top idols have made their mark in Japan.
As they naturally exposed audiences to Korean culture, they cultivated a strong K-pop fanbase in Japan.
This opened more opportunities for Japanese fans to engage with Korean culture, and those who resonated with it beca devoted core fans.
Usami Chisako was one such core fan.
She first encountered Korean culture through idol groups, then expanded her interest to dramas and movies.
"HiDream is so much fun!"
Among her favorites, HiDream stood out the most.
Chisako loved it so much that she owned the series and rewatched it at least ten tis.
"Donghu is so handso, I love Donghu so much!"
He looked handso while playing the piano,
acted so well that it was srizing,
and even just breathing, he was insanely good-looking.
Normally, that level of admiration would be the end of it.
It's rare for fan devotion to go beyond that point.
But then—
"I want to go to Korea."
"Huh?"
"There's a school called the Korea National Academy of Arts? They accept international students."
"O-Our daughter, what are you talking about?"
"I need to start preparing now so I won't be late, Dad. Please? Chisako wants to go to Korea!"
Chisako's family could make the impossible possible.
She was born the youngest daughter of the prestigious and influential Usami family, known for its long history and traditions.
Who could stop Chisako from achieving her goal?
Even so, Chisako faced sothing she hadn't anticipated.
"Donghu-senpai is so busy!"
Kim Donghu's schedule was absolutely packed.
Although there had been a few monts when their paths crossed earlier that year, whenever an opportunity arose to interact with him, he was always busy.
In reality, the number of tis they had t was essentially zero.
The most she'd managed was briefly eting his gaze during the entrance ceremony.
For Chisako, who had gone so far as to study abroad just to be closer to him, the situation was maddening.
She had co all this way to see just one person up close.
Who could have guessed it would be this hard to even et him?
"Ugh, so unfair."
Just as she was wallowing in her gloom,
a sweet piece of news popped up on her social dia feed.
"Donghu-senpai is in Japan right now?!"
And he wasn’t there for a vacation.
He had co to record dubbing for a project.
"Dubbing ans voice acting! Voice acting ans my dad!"
The connections ford naturally in her mind.
But there was an even more shocking revelation waiting.
"...He's working on the sa project as my dad?!"
How could no one have told her this?
Her dad hadn’t said a word to his daughter, who was already overwheld trying to adjust to life in Korea and struggling to gather information.
And this monuntal fact had been kept hidden from her?
"You know why I ca to Daejong High!"
This was unacceptable.
However, instead of getting angry, Chisako decided to prioritize her goals.
>Okay, okay, sweetheart. Don’t worry.
>I won’t pull anything like that.
>Just please, I beg you, don’t tell your mom.
And so, the conversation quickly escalated.
"I—I just found out about this myself. That tweet, you see... My daughter found it and called right away, yelling about why I hadn’t told her... So, could you please arrange a video call with her? I’d really appreciate it..."
Thus, the man once known as the Voice Acting Demon and nicknad the Great General of the industry,
was now bowing his head to a rookie voice actor on behalf of his daughter.
"Ahhh! Donghu-senpai! I’m such a big, big, BIG fan of yours! I’m so, so, SO happy right now!"
"Seeing how much you like makes happy too. Thank you."
"Y-You’re so good at Japanese too... You’re amazing! Am I taking up too much of your ti right now?"
"No, it’s fine. I still have ti since the dubbing hasn’t started yet. By the way, you’re the first-year representative, right?"
"Y-Y-You know who I am?!"
"Of course, I know. Usami Chisako, right? From the Theatre and Film Departnt. You’re into voice acting, aren’t you?"
As a fan, there’s nothing more thrilling than your favorite celebrity rembering you.
‘It feels incredible.’
Since I knew that feeling all too well, I decided to go all out with fan service during this rare video call.
Plus, Chisako’s enthusiastic reactions made it pretty entertaining.
"Th-That’s right! You rember ?!"
"Of course, I rember. How could I forget the first-year representative? I actually wanted to et you back then, but I couldn’t because I was too busy. Sorry about that."
"No, no, no, no! There’s no need to apologize! I-I should be the one apologizing for bothering you!"
Seeing as the conversation was flowing nicely, I thought it might be a good chance to give her dad so credit.
"No need to think that way at all. Besides, your father has been a huge help to , so I feel like I’m the one imposing."
"M-My dad?"
Of course, he hadn’t helped yet.
In fact, judging by the atmosphere, it felt more like I wasn’t entirely welco.
‘But since the situation is taking a favorable turn, why not butter each other up a bit?’
Two birds with one stone—mutual complints are always a win-win.
"Yeah, he’s been really kind. That’s why I’m so happy to do this video call."
Having dealt with fathers who were soft on their daughters before, this wasn’t my first rodeo.
‘I’ve been through this a few tis with Sujin’s family.’
When you complint a dad to his daughter, it usually plays out like this:
"M-My dad? That doesn’t sound like him…"
"No, he’s incredibly kind, isn’t he?"
"Yes! My dad is amazing!"
Once she enthusiastically praised her dad, I glanced at the ti to wrap things up.
‘Alright, ti to bring this to a smooth close.’
Even ending the call had to be done professionally and tactfully.
"I’ve been such a huge fan of yours since HiDream! This feels like a dream co true!"
"Really? But it’s a sha we’re only doing this through a video call, isn’t it?"
"Y-Yes, yes, yes! A-Are you saying you feel the sa?!"
"Yeah, just talking like this with the first-year representative of Daejong High feels a bit lacking. How about we continue this conversation in person when we have more ti?"
"M-M-M-et?! et! Yes, yes, I’d love that! I’ll start getting ready right away!"
?
What exactly is she preparing for?
Oh well, the call was naturally coming to an end, so it didn’t really matter.
Smiling warmly, I waved at her.
"Then let’s talk for longer next ti. I’ll hang up now."
"Yes, yes! Senpai!"
Click.
And just like that, the call ended.
Clap, clap, clap.
As soon as the call ended, the sound of applause filled the room.
"Such fan service, and you even boosted my reputation... Donghu, may I think of you as my son?"
The one clapping was none other than Usami Kenji, Chisako’s father.
I was caught off guard by his reaction.
"…Haha, I appreciate the thought. I was just doing what I had to do."
Why is this guy so intense?
"Then… would it be alright if I gave you a hug? It’s been so long since my daughter said she liked … I’m so grateful…"
"…"
His eyes glistened with overwhelming emotion, making it impossible to say no.
After surviving this series of awkward monts,
the first day concluded with a light introduction session and a script review.
‘So, voice acting, huh.’
I scratched my head as I looked at the script in front of .
‘I can’t believe the day has finally co where I’m doing this.’
As I was lost in thought,
my phone buzzed with perfect timing.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
A ssage from SIMS arrived:
[Recognize the differences between acting and voice acting.]
[Discover ways to elevate your skills to a higher level.]
[Download the app "The World of Voices."]
Reading the ssage, I instinctively understood how I needed to approach dubbing.
It was as if the clouds in my mind had suddenly cleared.
‘I know the theory now. The rest is practice.’
Assuming you’ve mastered sothing just because you’ve unlocked the basics would be foolish.
‘I need to keep refining this until I can hit 100%—no, 120%.’
But first—
Grrr.
"Hyung, where’s the next restaurant on our list?"
"Since we’re in Japan, it’s gotta be sushi, right? We should eat sushi!"
"Sushi sounds amazing. Should we go for conveyor belt sushi?"
"Funny you should say that—I’ve already scouted out the best places!"
Eating before anything else was definitely the right choice.
That day—
"A new record has been set!"
I ate 61 plates of sushi and felt completely satisfied.
"Donghu, we should start a YouTube channel soday and upload mukbang videos. What do you think?"
"? No way, I’m not cut out for that."
"Are you kidding? You’re perfect for it. A guy who runs 10 kiloters every day is bound to eat a lot—it’d be weird if you didn’t."
Hyung’s usual admiration was just an added bonus.
The Second Day of Filming The Traitor: Roots of Corruption
“Ah, the sky is clear today.”
Unlike before, Usami Kenji greeted the morning with a remarkably refreshed spirit.
And for good reason:
Dad, you’re the best!
Thanks to you, I had such an amazing experience.
Love you, Dad!
It had been ages since he’d received such a string of heartwarming ssages.
‘My sweet little daughter, Chisako, who’s so precious I wouldn’t mind putting her in my eye and carrying her around.’
It felt like just yesterday that she said she wanted to follow in his footsteps and beco a voice actor.
Now she was all grown up, sending such loving words to her dad.
Moved to the point of tears, Kenji’s eyes began to water. But then he quickly collected himself.
‘There’s no ti for this—I need to teach Donghu as much as I can.’
He prepared a notebook filled with his voice acting expertise.
With this alone, he believed anyone could gain unparalleled love in the industry.
With this thought, Kenji t with Kim Donghu.
‘Let’s start with a skill test.’
To gauge Donghu’s current level, Kenji had him perform a brief acting exercise.
“…?!”
Kenji was utterly stunned.
‘Wait, he’s this good?’
His skill was on par with a veteran professional. No, perhaps even better.
At that mont, Usami Kenji felt certain.
“Donghu, if I were to die, you have my permission to carry on the na of Kenji.”
“…Pardon?”
Seeing Donghu freeze up from the complint, Kenji chuckled internally.
‘Hehe.’
He didn’t for a second think it was because Donghu felt overwheld.
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