Chapter 80: Enhancement (1)

Chapter 80: Enhancement (1)

Translator: Dreamscribe

“Enhancing singing ability?”

Upon hearing the robotic female voice, Kang Woojin smirked.

“It can be enhanced?”

The results exceeded expectations. Honestly, Woojin had somewhat anticipated this situation, though he didn’t think it would be this pronounced.

The hint was the cigarettes.

Woojin had never tried a cigarette in his life. But after acquiring the void space, he experienced smoking for the first time during the early days with ‘Exorcism’ when playing as ‘Kim Ryu-jin’. What was interesting was the complete absence of any discomfort. Usually, a person trying cigarettes for the first time would have a 100% adverse reaction.

But Kang Woojin didn’t even cough.

In other words, it was clearly the power of the void space.

The character’s traits were transferred to Woojin’s body. That’s why, even while playing the role of ‘Lee Sang-man’, Woojin felt no strangeness towards cigarettes. Addiction? He wasn’t worried at all. He craved cigarettes while acting as ‘Lee Sang-man’, but the moment he finished the role and put ‘Lee Sang-man’ away, he didn’t think about smoking.

That’s when Kang Woojin had an idea. Wouldn’t singing be learned in the same way as smoking?

He didn’t expect to become a professional or anything. He just wanted to have singing skills suitable for the scene. Perhaps a verse or a full song. It was different from learning a language. While anyone can learn a language, singing required inherent talent and physical attributes.L1tLagoon witnessed the first publication of this chapter on Ñøv€l--B1n.

However.

[“Preparing to enhance ‘singing ability’...”]

The void space was even enhancing his ‘singing ability’. Was it really providing him with singing skills just like it did with language?

“This void space is awesome! Wow, this is insane.”



Where was the limit of this bizarre void space ability? However, that wasn’t really important right now. Woojin just had to enjoy it.

Suddenly, he wondered,

“Oh, did I really need my singing skills enhanced?”

Kang Woojin laughed awkwardly. He was somewhat confident in his singing, but apparently, it was insignificant according to the void space. If he had singing skills equivalent to ‘Male Friend’s’ ‘Han In-ho’, then probably there wouldn’t have been any enhancement.

“If I had started filming without it, I would have been a laughingstock. Ugh, just thinking about it is embarrassing.”

At that moment,

[“...Preparation complete. Starting ‘singing ability’ enhancement.”]

After hearing the female robotic voice, a familiar vast gray enveloped Kang Woojin. After a brief emptiness, when Woojin opened his eyes again, he was in a different space.

‘Huh? This place feels different?’

It wasn’t like the place where he learned languages. Firstly, he wasn’t floating. And it wasn’t all gray. He was standing firmly in a dark space that extended endlessly.

Suddenly,

“Whoa.”

A line of white light appeared in the dark space. It ran from right in front of Woojin to the horizon. Something was approaching along that line. Musical notes. Shining silver notes. They smoothly moved along the white line, then suddenly sped up.

Then they climbed up Woojin’s body.

The note stopped near Woojin’s throat, melting into him. At the same time, he felt a tingling sensation that spread throughout his body.

“Uh.”

The tingling became more intense. However, more notes were approaching.



“Here comes another one.”

Second, third. Countless notes came in succession along the white line.

How much time had passed?

Suddenly, Woojin found himself back in the hotel room. He vaguely remembered hearing the robotic female voice again at the end, but it wasn’t clear due to the overwhelming experiences.

“...”

Standing near the small table, Woojin zoned out for a moment. Then he touched his throat, feeling the lingering tingling. Soon after, he vocalized.

“Ah-ah-ah-”

Huh? Something had changed. Was it resonance?

“The voice is the same, but...”

It’s hard to describe. Woojin immediately headed to the bathroom and turned on the shower.

-Whoosh.

The bathroom quickly filled with the sound of running water. After clearing his throat, Woojin began to sing, testing out any song he could remember.

-♬♪

Just one verse. As soon as he sang a line from the ballad he always sang at karaoke, Woojin exclaimed,

“This is insane.”

He could keenly feel the enhanced ‘singing ability’.

Afterward.

Around 7 p.m., Kang Woojin delved into the filming of ‘Drug Dealer’ once more. While a world-shaking incident had taken place in his hotel room, no one was aware of it, and Kang Woojin did not show it externally.

He just grinned to himself,

“He might have already made up his mind.”

On the morning of the 10th the next day at the HTBS broadcasting station.

It was just past 9 o’clock. At this time, Kang Woojin and Choi Sung-gun were walking down the corridor of HTBS’s entertainment department. Their attire was casual—white short sleeved shirts with jeans, suitable for the increasingly warm June weather.

Anyway.

“Alright, see you later.”

In front of a meeting room, Choi Sung-gun patted Kang Woojin’s shoulder. It seemed that only Kang Woojin would enter this meeting room. Thanks to that, Woojin’s expression was quite stern.

“Yes, sir.”

Inside, he felt a little nervous.

‘Shit, I’ve been to the broadcasting station before, but it’s my first time in the entertainment department. Why the hell am I even here?’

While Kang Woojin had grown a lot, many things were still unfamiliar to him. However, his facade had become more convincing. Woojin knocked and then opened the door to the meeting room. As he entered the meeting room, the first person he saw was PD Yoon Byung-seon, with glasses, the entertainment industry mogul.

“Oh! Woojin, you’re here?”

He got up quickly to greet Kang Woojin. There were also a few female scriptwriters in the room. Keeping his composure, Woojin shook the hand extended by PD Yoon Byung-seon.

“Hello, PD.”

He also briefly greeted the surrounding writers. Then he took in the sight of the meeting room. A rather large desk with several small cameras on top. Cameras were mounted in various parts of the room. As Kang Woojin looked intently at PD Yoon Byung-seon, he laughed reassuringly.

“Hahaha, don’t be nervous. If you’re confirmed, we’ll use the footage, but if not, we definitely won’t. There are many viewers who enjoy seeing the preparation stages.”

Confirmed? Confirmed for what? Kang Woojin, slightly confused, took a seat. Across from him, PD Yoon, continued with a smile.

“You’ve been busy lately, right? I saw the news. Congrats on the . Your momentum seems unstoppable.”

“Thank you.”

“Your value seems to increase every day. Now, I have something to show you.”

PD Yoon handed over a thin bundle of papers he got from a writer.

“This is the plan for a new variety show we’re preparing. It’s still in the preliminary stages, but the production is confirmed.”

“......”

“There’s a plan to air it in the second half of this year, and it’ll probably be one of the biggest variety shows I’ve done. Would you like to briefly read through the proposal?”

“Ah- Yes.”

Kang Woojin responded and looked down, then internally exclaimed,

‘A variety show?! What’s this about? Is PD Yoon trying to cast me in it??’

PD Yoon Byung-seon, unaware of this, continued to explain.

“As you can see, the main stage will be overseas. One English-speaking country in Europe, then Japan, and the last one might either be Korea or another country – we’re still considering.”

Indeed, it was a big variety show.

“We are planning a three-part series. Naturally, we won’t shoot them all at once; we’ll divide them by quarters. After filming the first part in the winter, we’ll take a break and then shoot the second, and so on.”

Woojin’s heart was beating faster and faster, but he tried to remain calm.

“I see.”

“We will be opening a restaurant. We’ll be selling Korean food to foreigners. The goal is to provide both laughter and meaning. It will include cultural exchanges, foreigners’ reactions, and promoting Korea. So, it would be great if the participating actors can speak foreign languages, at least one or two of them.”

PD Yoon, who had been briefing leisurely, took off his glasses and leaned forward towards Woojin.

“And I’d like one of those people to be you, Woojin.”

“...”

“What do you think? I’m formally offering you the role.”

This is insane. Absolutely insane. Woojin tried hard to maintain a neutral face, but internally, he was ecstatic.

‘Me? PD Yoon really wants to cast me?’

Woojin was a fan of PD Yoon. More precisely, he loved his variety shows. But to be cast in a variety show he used to enjoy on TV or YouTube? This was entirely different from ‘Sports Day’. This was about being cast in a main variety show by PD Yoon.

This threw Woojin’s thoughts into chaos.

However, he couldn’t show it. For now, he decided to buy time by acting nonchalant.

“Um-”

Kang Woojin hesitated slightly. To PD Yoon, this seemed like contemplation.

‘Well, I guess there’s nothing to regret at this point.’

PD Yoon quickly spoke,

“It’ll be fun. You’ll also get to breathe foreign air after a long time.”

Long time? It would be his first time. What does he mean by ‘after a long time’? This smells like a misunderstanding. Anyway.

“But I didn’t offer you the role just because of your language skills. Your character is intriguing. You’ve seen the reaction from ‘Sports Day’, right? The public loves your character.”

“Yes, I’ve noticed that.”

“People like you. Ah- honestly, I considered others for your spot. I even had meetings with them. But still, you’re the most fitting. I’m greedy for you. I really want to work with you.”

The writers and PD Yoon intently watched Woojin, who maintained inscrutable expression. However, Woojin didn’t immediately respond. Only after a few tense moments did he finally speak.

“If I have a condition, would you consider it?”

*****