Chapter 32

Posted by Kuze, ? Views, Released on March 10, 2025

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The day after Hayoon decided to use Cosplay Book as a hidden marketing strategy.

– All the clothes have arrived, what should I do?

Jin Ho sent a message.

The clothes have all arrived.

“Then, come to the recording studio and put on all the outfits that arrived this time and come out for the meeting. Not a single one should be missed…”

Thus, the task at hand is set.

To head to the recording studio with Jin Ho.

Hayoon immediately arranged an appointment and decided to meet in about two hours in front of the recording studio, and so, after a long while, when Jin Ho finally met face-to-face…

“You’ve turned from a beast into a human.”

“Huh?”

“Just saying, that’s all.”

As Hayoon put it, Jin Ho had finally turned from a beast into a human.

Living like someone who knew nothing about fabric, length, or color combinations, he now managed to pull off a fashion that at least kept him within the human category, thanks to Hayoon’s advice.

Of course, Hayoon herself is a complete novice when it comes to men’s fashion, knowing only about the Monami look…

But the Monami look was still several times better than the strange half-blue, half-green jackets Jin Ho normally wore.

Given Jin Ho’s tall build, he looked like some kind of security guard.

“But why do these pants have such a wide leg? You look like a starving person…”

However, it seemed Jin Ho didn’t like either the white oversized T-shirt Hayoon recommended or the wide black trousers.

“You go check out the campus. Everyone there wears things like that.”

“Is that so…”

Mentioning university fashion, Hayoon left Jin Ho with little room to argue, and with that, Jin Ho reluctantly nodded, being someone who neither paid attention to fashion nor cared about it.

Girls would surely understand better if they knew, and so Jin Ho accepted it.

“Let’s wrap up the preliminaries here, and now let’s move on to the main topic. I need to explain why I brought you here despite buying your clothes too.”

“Yeah, that makes sense. So, why did you call me?”

“It’s because of this.”

“What is this…?”

Hayoon pointed to the recording studio sign behind her, signaling that she’d had enough with these pointless discussions.

“The recording studio. We need to secure a studio to record with the voice actors we’ve contracted.”

“So… why..?”

“Technicians often try to take advantage, don’t they?”

“Huh?”

“Think about going to Yongsan to buy a computer. What might happen?”

“Oh!”

Possibly due to the painful memory of buying a 3060 during the pandemic for 1.2 million won, Hayoon harbored a deep distrust of technical professionals.

She couldn’t shake off the fear of accidentally being scammed if only the two girls went by themselves.

Even though the professional voice actors spoke positively about the owner, it was better to be cautious.

“In short, I’m asking you to act as a bodyguard. What’s the use of that build of yours?”

“But it’s all fat…”

“Whether fat or muscle, people won’t be able to tell when you’re dressed like this. Moreover, you’re tall and have a rugged face, making you look somewhat like a hoodlum.”

“Hoodlum…?”

“It’s a compliment. Strong and reliable. You look dependable.”

“Huh, haha…”

Perhaps because he’d never heard anyone call him hoodlum-like before, Jin Ho scratched the back of his head, looking slightly dejected.

“But we’ve talked enough, right? I’ll pay you 50,000 won per day, so try to act naturally.”

“50,000 won?”

There was no way he could keep frowning in front of someone offering money.

Jin Ho immediately lit up and smiled.

“Since there’s also a transport fee, and Arin often asks me to buy coffee when she needs something beyond the norm, you can think of this like receiving some extra trouble allowance for coming here.”

“I’ll give it my best effort!”

50,000 won was certainly not a small amount for a senior high school student who lacked a proper means of earning money.

Smiling widely, Jin Ho followed Hayoon down to the recording studio in the basement.

“Let’s go together.”

Hayoon quickly followed him down.

Finally arriving at the underground recording studio.

At ‘Forest Sound’…

“Welcome.”

A stout middle-aged man sitting at the counter greeted them with a dull expression.

He looked unmotivated. It wasn’t as if he was disappointed because he had guessed their ages. Perhaps he gave off the vibe of an engineer who’d been working overtime.

“Could we talk about renting a recording studio?”

“Renting a recording studio..?”

Then, the middle-aged man’s eyes widened when he recognized Hayoon.

“Isn’t this a big expense for students? Why are you doing this?”

“I want to record with some voice actors.”

“Voice actors? Amateurs?”

“Professional voice actors. I also want to ask you for mixing and mastering, so it seems like we will need to have a rather detailed conversation about rates.”

“Alright, come to the consultation room.”

At first, he thought the inexperienced-looking girl just wanted to record a song, but upon hearing that she wanted to record with professional voice actors and include sound processing, he realized regardless of age, she was a potential paying customer.

“The rental cost for the recording studio is 100,000 won per hour.”

“Is there any discount available?”

“If you contract for more than 12 hours, I can offer it at 85,000 won per hour.”

“Not bad. How much does the sound processing cost?”

“It usually starts at 400,000 won.”

“I did some research, and it’s quite expensive…”

“I guarantee the quality for that price.”

“Then, can we get the hourly cost down to 75,000 won…?”

“Haha, little girl, do you think I’m some fool who doesn’t know math…?”

Thus, Hayoon and the middle-aged man began serious price negotiations regarding the rental and sound post-production costs.

And Jin Ho…

‘Why did you call me if you can handle it all by yourself?’

Wondering if his presence was of any help, he scratched the back of his head and remained silent.

“But sir, I’m not just contracting for 12 hours, I’m renting for 24 hours because I have two voice actors, and this isn’t going to be the only time we meet…”

“If we have a long-term relationship, perhaps we can give some additional discounts…”

“Then sir, I’ll comfortably contract for 36 hours, so can you maximize the price terms…?”

“Even so, 75,000 won is way too cheap…”

Even so, Hayoon continued to attempt price negotiations matter-of-factly, and the middle-aged man responded while still providing room for negotiation, suggesting that further bargaining was possible.

As a result, the negotiation between Hayoon and the middle-aged man seemed to go on endlessly…

‘Serious expression. Serious expression.’

Jin Ho thought he should at least give some help, so he maintained a serious and solemn look while glaring at the middle-aged man.

#

About two hours later.

“Hooaaaaa! We did it!”

Hayoon emerged from the recording studio, celebrating her success.

77,000 won per hour for the recording studio rental.

Basic sound engineering costs at 350,000 won.

This was the great achievement Hayoon secured after an intense negotiation battle.

“Amazing…”

Watching the whole process from right beside her, Jin Ho began to feel a certain kind of awe towards Hayoon’s incredible drive.

Isn’t it true?

A typical high school student.

Even university students often cannot confidently speak their minds in front of adults of their parents’ generation.

In most cases, even students’ college majors are decided according to their parents’ wishes.

But what about Hayoon?

She had struck a deal with a middle-aged man who was roughly the age of her father.

A recording studio owner who was well recognized in the industry—and she’d left negotiations successfully with terms favorable to her.

“Looks like I didn’t really do anything significant…”

“Nah, don’t sell yourself short.”

Just like before, Jin Ho felt slightly embarrassed by not contributing much and made a self-deprecating comment. Hayoon then enthusiastically slapped his back in encouragement.

“Going forward, you just need to maintain an imposing presence in these situations and keep a solemn expression. I’ll handle all the negotiations.”

“Really?”

“Sure, Arin barely did anything as well. She just sat there and drank coffee.”

Ultimately, both Arin and Jin Ho were tools to ensure Hayoon’s negotiations went favorably.

Arin filled in the lack of maturity that Hayoon might have, while Jin Ho acted as a deterrent against overzealous tactics from the other party.

“Besides, whether someone sits around drinking coffee or maintains a serious look, the point is that they came.”

“Is that true?”

“Absolutely. There’s a big difference between a seventeen-year-old negotiating alone and someone who looks like they’re at least a college student coming together.”

Hayoon went on to explain in detail why having someone else present makes a difference, while Jin Ho had to endure her detailed negotiation theories on the way home.

#

Their roles separated as it was now time to return to their own tasks.

Jin Ho’s bus stop was close, and their conversation began to come to an end.

“Then, I’ll continue coding. I’ve extracted the story text and image scripts up to the demo portion, so it’ll likely be finished within a few weeks.”

“Would it be possible to add the voice-over scripts by early March?”

“Hmm…if no serious bugs pop up…”

“Good. So, please aim to release the demo with voice scripts added by the end of March.”

“Alright. I’ll do my best.”

Hayoon set a clear deadline.

“It’s not about trying. You need to do it. Remember, think about me suddenly dying if it’s not ready by the end of March.”

No, not only did Hayoon set the deadline but subtly threatened him by implying there was a possibility she might die.

Failing and becoming a failure was bad enough, but surely dying would be worse.