CH22

Just as long-distance and short-distance runners are distinguished, the work of actors and voice actors was similar yet different. 

Melody added this knowing well, so as not to unnecessarily burden the child. 

"I just wanted to give as many countries as possible the same voice as Raul, but did it feel like a burden?" 

"It sounds fun." 

"Really?" 

Truly. 

Acting the same character in various languages is an inexperienced challenge for him. 

'A challenge, huh? Good.' 

Ian's life as an actor, despite his disfigured face via video, was a series of challenges. 

From an extra whose face barely showed up to an Oscar winner for Best Supporting Actor. 

Someone even called him the miracle turtle, for he reached this point at a slow pace over decades. 

'I've clearly realized I'm like a needle on top of a sharp rocky mountain.' 

Like a needle that narrows towards the end, the more his career and fame grew, the higher his value became, narrowing the range of roles he could choose. 

To the point where there were no more roles to choose from. 

'So, my current life is a blessing.' 

The first child role he tried, the YouTube content he couldn't even attempt due to his burns, and now the challenging dubbing. 

He couldn't help but be happy to try all these. 

Ian, smiling joyfully, stood up with the script in hand. 

"We start with English, right? Unlike other actors, I need to have my voice tone thoroughly verified first." 

"Exactly." 

The boundary between professional voice actors and actors is blurrier in North America than in other regions because many actors receive professional voice acting training for their voice tones. 

Unlike other actors whose careers are proven over time, Ian, who is now filming his first drama, had to check everything from the basics. 

Ian re-entered the recording studio and picked up the script. 

"Oops! Who left a rope here? Orb, was it you? That's why I told you not to crawl around on the floor carelessly." 

A voice that was sly yet annoying. 

Melody internally gave him a passing mark. 

'Good delivery and the exaggerated voice is at an appropriate level.'

Unlike actors who can express themselves with their whole body, voice acting, which is audio-focused, requires somewhat exaggerated expressions to bring characters to life. 

Appropriate exaggeration. 

Ian skillfully navigated this delicate balance with his acting. 

"Hey, I won't apologize to the end. So, you don't apologize to me either. Got it?" 

The rough expression hid apologies and the fear of death. 

The delicate expression of emotion vividly portrayed Raul, who chose atonement and sacrifice. 

Ian, finishing with the scene of screaming and falling into the sea, tapped the microphone playfully and asked, "Wasn't that bad, was it?" 

No need to say more. 

Melody, along with the engineer, could only marvel and immediately gave a thumbs up. 

"Of course! It's good enough to record as is." 

"It's still lacking. I haven't properly studied the character yet. Besides, do you have scripts in other languages?" 

Melody looked apologetic. 

Thinking that even just with the English script time would be tight, who would have thought it would end so easily? 

"I'll ask them to prepare it right now, so could you wait a bit?" 

"Well, shall we try it right away? Is it okay if there's a lot of paraphrasing?" 

"…Oh? Sure." 

Melody responded but turned to look at the engineer, wondering if she had been properly heard.

Seeing the surprised look on his face, it didn't seem like he had heard something nonsensical. 

"哎呦!?" 

As Chinese words burst out with exaggerated intonation, Melody asked the engineer in confusion, "Can you understand that?" 

"Is it okay? What should we do?" 

"What do we do? We have to record it first. We can leave the evaluation to others." 

And so the recording began. 

As the dubbing went from Chinese to Spanish and then to Japanese, the engineer whispered to Melody, "Is this really okay? He might just be saying anything." 

"Even nonsense like this requires skill." 

Looking at the piled-up recording files, they both wore expressions of disbelief. 

*** 

Warm sunlight settled down. 

Beyond the green-grassed lawn, the blue pool water rippled in the wind. 

A black shadow fell over Ian, who was flipping through papers in the beautifully decorated garden. 

The boy slowly lifted his head. 

His parents and Ayla were seen discussing house sales in the distance, and as he lifted his head further, he saw a blonde girl casting a shadow. 

"What are you looking so intently at?" 

"This? It's the feedback I got from the dubbing audition." 

Since Spanish is the second most spoken language in the United States, the first feedback came in Spanish. 

-Overall excellent, but occasionally uses z and c with the same pronunciation as s, which is a characteristic of a Hispanic accent that needs correction. 

-The use of tenses and words is mostly Hispanic, but there should be no problem if acting from the official script. 

Ian immediately agreed with the feedback that it sounded too Hispanic. 

'Can't help it, learned it while living as a homeless person.' 

It was common for illegal immigrants who crossed borders in South America without permission to become gang members or homeless, and that's where he learned Spanish. 

Despite his efforts, it was inevitable that traces would show. 

'At least I didn't use slang that gangs would.' 

This level of difference could be fixed with a bit of effort. 

Since even his most familiar language, Spanish, received critiques, it seemed there would be a lot to correct in other languages too. 

"Am I disturbing you?" 

"Disturbance? Come, sit here." 

He glanced at Rachel, who timidly sat beside him. 

Blonde hair and blue eyes just like Ayla's. 

The quintessentially desirable Caucasian appearance with a hint of her mother's beauty. 

'It's not easy having such an appearance and a timid personality.' 

It's not always the case, but those with outstanding appearances tend to be more extroverted due to the love they've received from an early age. 

'Her excessive timidity is probably due to synesthesia.' 

Seeing different things from others is not always a good thing. 

The life of hiding oneself due to being treated as odd. 

Having lived with horrific burns, he knew all too well how difficult this was, and he was even more concerned for her. 

"Wouldn't it be nice to live in the same neighborhood? If we lived closer, we could see each other more often." 

"Yeah! That would be so nice. Is it possible?" 

"Of course." 

He smiled and nodded at her, whose eyes sparkled brightly. 

Although unsure of the specifics, from the look on the parents' faces, moving to Beverly Hills seemed decided. 

'Maybe I should contribute some money.'

The income from drama and variety show appearances was significant, not to mention the earnings from YouTube. 

It seemed unlikely to be refused, but it felt worth trying. 

"I wonder if we can attend the same school." 

"I'm not sure. It might be difficult since the private school you attend doesn't have any openings. We can just meet up often as usual." 

Swallowing the disappointment of a realistic barrier, Rachel changed the topic. 

"So, when do you think your voice will change?" 

"Maybe in two years?" 

He wasn't sure when his voice would change. 

Having been abused in foster care and bullied at school, he rarely had to speak. 

No one was there to explain the concept of voice change to him. 

"I see. Then, when is the script you were looking at getting released?" 

"Probably by the middle of next year? I'm not exactly sure." 

"Middle of next year, huh." 

Rachel seemed to ponder for a moment, which was curious. 

"Why do you ask?" 

"I want to be the first to release a properly recorded song. I won't lose." 

Uncharacteristically, her determination was evident. 

Smiling at her clenched little fist, he asked, "So, how's the project going?" 

"…I don't know. My mom keeps saying it just needs a little more refining, but I think she's lying. She keeps asking for more." 

"That can't be. It probably means your songs are so good that they're just shy of perfect." 

"Really?" 

Ian nodded. 

As much as Ayla loved her daughter, she wasn't one to mince words. 

The story of her fulfilling a promise to a young fan to sing at her wedding made long ago, was well-known. 

"Then, could you sing a song with your changing voice? It might help." 

"That shouldn't be hard."

 Ian cleared his throat lightly and began to sing. 

"Sometimes I'm happy, just for the brief moment a rainbow appears." 

The song he had sung at the party where he first met Rachel flowed out. 

The sound of his voice, slightly lower than now, settled warmly like sunlight. 

The love song spreading softly through the garden embraced even the chirping of birds, creating a unified melody. 

'Beautiful.' 

Rachel seemed lost for words, mesmerized. 

The beautiful clusters of light that wrapped around in all directions seemed to enlighten her about the countless stars housed within the Milky Way. 

The light scattering from her outstretched hand like vanishing dreams made her realize the essence of this Milky Way was one person's voice. 

After the song ended and the light dispersed like dust, she uttered a short exclamation of amazement and came back to her senses. 

"How was it? Good?" 

"Of course. It was so beautiful." 

Rachel, who once considered her uniqueness a curse, smiled brightly. 

Ian had shown her that it wasn't about being different; it was about being special, not a curse but a blessing. 

Suddenly, an idea came to her. 

"Ian, should we upload it anonymously? Aren't you curious if anyone can recognize your voice?" 

"Probably no one will notice. Are you okay with that?" 

Recognizing the identity behind a voice change requires someone to listen in the first place. 

Who would pay attention to a song uploaded anonymously? 

'I don't mind.' 

He had no dreams of becoming a singer or living a life of fame and wealth from a single song. 

His only concern was that Rachel might be disappointed by the lack of response. 

"It's okay. And I want to let those who only hear the voice know how beautiful your voice is."Rachel smiled brightly.

***

Adelia Acosta, with a look of annoyance, replied to the stacked emails. 

She couldn't just ignore them since they were from agencies and agents, counterparts she often had to deal with as a casting director. 

"Why are they asking for my help? If they want to sign a contract that badly, they should make a direct and tempting offer." 

Most of the emails were inquiries about arranging a meeting with Ian Price, who everyone wanted to sign. 

Since the first episode, Invisible Children has been a hit, attracting more viewers with each episode. 

It was so successful that despite the economic downturn, the subscriber count for the pay cable channel HMO noticeably increased. 

Many actors received attention with the drama's success, but especially Ian drew the agencies' interest. 

'No contracts with any agency. It must feel like finding gold bars on the ground.' 

That was why Adelia, credited with discovering Ian, was bombarded with annoying contacts. 

She turned to check the time, realizing it had gotten late and adjusted her appearance in the mirror. 

It was time for her appointment. 

Shortly after, a knock on the door signaled the arrival of her guest, an elderly man. 

"It's been a while, Adelia. I remember when you were learning the ropes beside your father, and now you're doing so well that I hear about your successes." 

"You flatter me, Director." 

Gavin Davis. 

In Hollywood, where directors often have limited authority, only those who have produced several box office hits and earned the trust of the film industry can truly make their voices heard. 

Gavin, smiling warmly, was one such rare figure. 

"I was surprised when you contacted me. I never imagined you would be interested in Ian." 

It was genuinely unexpected. 

The drama was a huge success and Ian's star was on the rise, but he wasn't someone Gavin would typically notice. 

"A friend of mine made such a fuss about him. I thought I might as well check him out. It's always good to know more talented actors." 

"Is that so? Indeed, his performance in the recent fourth episode, dealing with the adults and zombies chasing him, was commendable." 

"Mm, so it was." 

Gavin nodded as if he had seen it. 

Only a few knew of his aversion to horror. 

'Can't say I was too scared to watch it.' 

That would ruin his social standing. 

Gavin spoke with a serious face. 

"Well then, let's see the audition video of that kid. Let's see how well he did." 

The culprit behind forcing him to watch a zombie drama, albeit just one episode, began his performance on screen. 

The famous explosion enthusiast in Hollywood lit up with interest.

TL/n - 

A Hispanic accent typically refers to the way Spanish-speaking individuals pronounce words when speaking English. This accent can vary widely depending on the speaker's country of origin, as Spanish is spoken in many countries across Latin America and Spain, each with its own unique pronunciation and intonation patterns.

***

You can read 

Hollywood Actor (up to Chapter 50+)

I was hoping you could support me on my Patreon at p@treon.com/inkbound 

(replace @ = a )