Lee Jong Suk x Kim Woo Bin by Kieu Diem

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2015 – Namsoon

This is the thirtieth rejection I've gotten from manga publishers. I file it in the drawer with the other twenty-nine. I had been warned that it is so hard to get into the manga industry, especially as a newbie. They just maybe right after this last rejection. Every time I get one, I look over my three books with a critical eye, looking for what turned the publishers off and I find nothing.

KangJoo has asked me to move to Japan and learn from the best. She loves my work but was brutal enough to tell me that my drawings though great need a technical finish and know-how. She offered to pay my way, but my pride will not let me accept. When I go to Japan, it'll be on my dime and no one else's.

I put on my uniform and get ready for my part-time job.

"Ahbuhjee, I'm leaving. There's some ramen on the stove."

"Ramen again? Fix something other than ramen once in a while."

"That's what we can afford this week, Ahbuhjee."

"With my retirement money, you would think you'll buy some steak."

"That money pays the rent, remember? I'll be back."

I rush out. God! The same old argument. Sometimes I wish my father had not come back from his offshore job. I wish for the days that I lived alone. I wish.

I arrive at my convenience store job and I thank God it's a slow day. No rude customers yet. An absent manager. Great. I can relax and do some work on my manga. First, I arrange items that have been misplaced. I sweep the open areas. And I clean off the long table and chairs arranged by the window. I collect the business cards people leave on the table advertising their businesses. I always look through them because I never know if I'll find a better job.

Umm! This looks promising. It says they are looking for voice-over actors. I have always been able to mimic both genders. One of my strange talents if I do say so myself. I dump the other cards in the trash and run into our breakroom to call the number. A few minutes later, I scheduled an audition for the next day. I am so excited, and my heart is racing a mile a minute. If this works out, I just may have a way into the entertainment industry.

                                         ― ☾ ―

Another job lost! Great. So much for entering the entertainment industry.

"Excuse me, Go Namsoon is it?"

"Yes?" I turn towards the person that called my name. "Who are you?"

"Sorry, I'm Park Bong Pal. Here's my card."

I take his card. It says that he is the President of NightOwl Entertainment.

"How can I help you," I asked?

"You were great with the voices you make. Male, female, young, old, you nailed it all."

"But not good enough to be hired."

"Maybe not for the parts they are looking for in there, but you'll be great for mine."

"Okay, what exactly is," I glance at the card again, "NightOwl Entertainment."

"Well, if you have a few minutes?" He points towards a bench and we both sit down.

"In my company, I scout people with amazing voices who can mimic anyone."

"Why? Do you produce animes?"

"Animes? No. What I produce is what I call 'human release' or for better word 'phone sex'."

"WHAT???" I yell. I looked around us apologizing to the people I unintentionally scared.

"Listen before you say no. This job is strictly confidential. The only one who'll know you do this work is me. You work from your home. You make your hours. In addition to the standard pay you get; you also make bonuses on return customers."

"But what kind of creeps call for phone sex?"

"You'll be surprised. I have someone who works for me and her voice is that of a college student but she's a grandmother. She helped put her grandson through college with her earnings."

"No way."

"You get to decide what name you want to be called and the voice you want to use. The popular calls are for female college students. Once you decide on a name and voice you must stick with it or your client will know you're fake."

"You said I can work from home? How?"

"Well, I have succeeded in this business by keeping everything confidential. All the request calls come through our main server and our operators route them to the person or voice the client requests. You will submit your available hours weekly so we will tell the client when they can reach you."

"I can make my hours?"

"Of course. Listen, I have employees who take calls from a handful of their clients anytime and they make a shitload of money. These clients are what we call the 'VIPs'."

"VIPs?"

"When a client develops a 'phone' relationship with that one 'voice', it's like an addiction. They want to talk to you anytime and pay through the nose for it. Once you have a 'VIP', we let them know that off-hour calls are double the rate during the day and triple the rate at night."

"And what's your rate?"

"We charge around ₩4619.62 per min."

"₩4619.62 per minute, that's about ₩278,000 per hour? Just for talking on the phone? I don't make half that amount at my part-time job. Who pays that much just to talk to someone?"

"You'll be surprised. Some just want to talk; some complain, and the majority want to have sex with you over the phone. You be whomever they want you to be in the moment."

"I don't get it."

"Wait a minute."

He pulls out his phone, plugs in the earphones, hands me one, and puts the other in his ear.

"I want you to listen to this call. No comments just listen for a few minutes and tell me who you think is speaking."

I insert the earphone and listen. A woman is talking to a man. Right now, she sounds like a friend asking how the man is. Then she lets the man lead the conversation and he promptly asks what she looks like and what she's wearing. Wow! That was a fast turnaround in conversation. Based on her description, she sounds like a goddess in stature and she's not wearing much. He tells her where he wants her to touch her body and she sounds like she is doing it and liking it.

I yank the earphones off, embarrassed listening to these two people.

"So, who do you think was talking to that gentleman caller?"

"One of your female college students?

"No, that was the grandma I was telling you about."

"Eww! Gross! But she sounds so young."

"She does, right? And she recognized that this caller is a 'quickie'."

"Quickie?"

"These are callers who are first-timers or don't have a lot of money to burn and just want a quick call to get off. In these cases, she tries to keep them on the phone by delaying their gratification as long as possible."

"I don't think I can do this. Too weird and gross for me," I shudder.

Mr. Park Bong Pal burst out laughing.

"If I have a coin for every time someone said that I'll be a freaking billionaire by now. I'm not going to force you, but I recognize your talent in that audition. They may not need you, but I think you'll be great at my company. You did an amazing voice-over as male and female. Amazing. You can choose any voice, name, and personality you want. And you can make as much or as little as you want. Listen, think about it, and then give me a call and let me know what you decide."

"I'm just curious but how much do you make from all of this, sir?"

"I get fifteen percent of your earnings. No more no less, regardless of how much or how little you make."

"And how many employees do you have?"

"Thirty now, and thirty-one if you decide to join us."

"Listen I am different from other sex phone operators. I only take fifteen percent compared to the thirty the others collect from their employees. I don't dump my employees in a room together with no privacy. I don't force them to stay when they want to leave. And I only hire the best 'voices' for my clients. NightOwl Entertainment is the best of the best. And I want you because I believe you'll be great."

"I'll have to think about this and get back to you okay?"

"Fine. One thing though, if you do decide to join my company, there's intense training on perfecting your voice, choosing and perfecting your personality, and learning to simulate sexual acts. The training is raw and demanding but at the end of it, you may be making enough to buy your own house and live comfortably."

"Mr. Park Bong Pal, do you do this a lot? Go around auditions looking for voice talents?"

"Yes. You will be surprised at how hard it is to find genuine talents. I am very selective. You're the first in a year that has impressed me."

"Thanks, I think. It was nice talking to you and I'll give you a call with my decision. Bye."

I raced away from the weirdest job offer I have ever gotten. Wait till I tell HeungSoo, he is going to be so surprised and...ah! I forgot again. HeungSoo is gone. He is out of my life. I keep forgetting that I drove him out of my life...again.

                                        ― ☾ ―

"What would you do, KangJoo?"

I just related the whole job offer conversation to my other best friend who is currently living in Japan, home of manga writers.

"Simple, I'll take the damn job. With that amount of money, you can move out of your home and away from your negligent and demanding father."

"Watch it."

"It's true. Get your own place and make a shit load of money. Enough to visit me in Japan and see and read the world's best mangas."

"True."

"And one more thing this job will let you do."

"What?"

"Have the time to work on your manga."

She had me at 'manga'

"I'm in."

"Good, got to go. Talk to you soon?"

"Sure, if this works out, and I make a shit load of money, you may see me soon."

"Now you're talking. Bye."

"Bye."

                                      ― ☾ ―

The next morning, I place a life-changing call to Mr. Park Bong Pal.

"Hello, Mr. Park Bong Pal? This is Namsoon."

"Good morning Namsoon. You have good news for me, I hope."

"Yes sir, I will like to accept your job offer."

"Wonderful. I will text you my address. Be here tomorrow morning and we'll get started."

"Sir, I need to work around my current job hours though, I can't afford to quit right now."

"I understand. I have a feeling you'll soon quit that job anyway, he laughs."

"I'll see you tomorrow then sir, bye."

A phone sex operator? I have nothing else to lose at this point. I hope to God I'm making the right decision. Because God knows I am not known for making good decisions.