Chapter 46

Adolescents generally begin to experience voice changes between the ages of 13 and 16, a process that typically lasts about a year. During this period, the main characteristics include hoarseness, a narrow vocal range, vocal fatigue, local congestion and swelling, and increased secretions. During this time, the throat begins to develop rapidly in all directions—front to back, up and down, and side to side. In males, the thyroid cartilage protrudes forward to form the Adam's apple, while in females, the protrusion of the larynx is less noticeable. This is a significant difference between male and female voice changes.

This information was found online about the changes during the voice change period. Why did he look it up? Although Woon Jeong-woo doesn't say it out loud, he still cares. With an IQ of 164 and excellent academic performance, he holds a red-black belt in taekwondo, and he speaks Chinese and English fluently. These are standards that many people may never reach in their lifetime.

However, apart from being a level 10 pianist, a skilled guitarist, and a good singer with a good sense of pitch, Woon Jeong-woo, as a trainee, has to start learning many things from scratch. After being taken in as a student by Lee Soo-young, the first test was his voice. Although the test was inaccurate due to his voice change, Woon Jeong-woo still paid attention to Lee Soo-young's evaluation that his pitch was low.

Before the voice change, Woon Jeong-woo seemed to remember that his pitch was actually quite high. Once, he joked with his brother about who could overpower the other with their voice, and he won. Although his brother might have let him win. So he wanted to look up how long the voice change would last, when it would end, and what precautions to take.

Seeing that Lee Soon-gyu was also looking seriously, Woon Jeong-woo frowned: "You haven't started your voice change yet? Girls usually start earlier than boys, especially since you're older than me..."

Woon Jeong-woo paused, then suddenly smiled: "Comparing you to normal kids, it seems like everything is late for you. I think you're definitely going to lose." Lee Soon-gyu glanced at him and ignored him, continuing to look.

After a moment, he stroked his chin and shook his head: "It looks like I need to take care of my voice. Otherwise, the quality might be affected after the change."

Woon Jeong-woo pursed his lips and suddenly looked at Lee Soon-gyu: "How do you take care of it? It says to pay attention to the intake of collagen and elastin. What does that mean specifically?"

Lee Soon-gyu grabbed the mouse and scrolled the page: "It's all written here. Adolescents during the voice change period should eat more foods rich in collagen and elastin, such as pig's trotters, pig's skin, tendons, fish, beans, and seafood... I'll have to ask my mom to prepare them."

Woon Jeong-woo nodded in agreement and then squinted with a smile: "Soon-gyu, wouldn't it be better if your mom prepared an extra portion? It's not that much trouble or expensive, just a small favor."

Lee Soon-gyu opened his mouth in surprise and laughed, pushing him: "What? 'Our mom'? I find you so shameless, saying anything to achieve your goal."

Woon Jeong-woo shrugged: "It's normal. Since the president is now my teacher, his wife is my teacher's wife."

Lee Soon-gyu pursed his lips: "There's still a 'teacher' in front, right? If you want to eat, ask your own mom... Oh."

Lee Soon-gyu suddenly realized something and stopped talking. Woon Jeong-woo looked at the monitor calmly and didn't say anything.

The atmosphere became a bit silent. Lee Soon-gyu bit his lip, hesitated, and finally took a breath: "I'm sorry."

Woon Jeong-woo turned to look at her: "I've been waiting for you to say that for a while. Was it that hard?"

Lee Soon-gyu tilted her head slightly: "Who... who would think you're so petty."

Woon Jeong-woo laughed: "I'm petty? I don't think I've shown it."

Waving his hand to interrupt Lee Soon-gyu: "Is my portion going to be prepared or not?"

Lee Soon-gyu glared at him angrily: "You can use your family like this just for some food?"

Woon Jeong-woo looked puzzled: "I'm not using them for anything."

Lee Soon-gyu's tone faltered, and she stood up, pointing at him: "Then why did you make me apologize?"

Woon Jeong-woo shrugged: "It was your own initiative, I didn't ask for it."

"You..." Lee Soon-gyu tried to think of something to regain the upper hand.

Woon Jeong-woo smiled: "Sit down, I have something serious to ask."

Lee Soon-gyu followed his lead, giving him a glare: "What is it?"

Woon Jeong-woo frowned slightly and suddenly looked at her: "I heard that after the voice change, a male's pitch drops by an octave. Is that true?"

Lee Soon-gyu looked at the monitor: "What does it say... Oh, right? Didn't you look it up?"

Woon Jeong-woo shook his head: "How do singers with very high and powerful voices train? Were they already high before the change, so they remained high even after the drop?"

Lee Soon-gyu laughed: "You're really a beginner. Who told you that pitch is all about the voice? After proper training, your teacher will teach you to use your breath. The voice is just a passageway. The usage rate is much lower than for those who don't train."

Woon Jeong-woo was taken aback, but Lee Soon-gyu felt very accomplished. However, she didn't continue, pretending to look at the monitor seriously. She even hummed a tune, her expression clearly saying, "Come on, ask me."

But Woon Jeong-woo was silent for a long time, nodded slightly, and turned to grab the mouse, muttering: "I was worried for nothing. There's actually a principle behind it. I'll have to ask the teacher in detail tomorrow."

This time, it was Lee Soon-gyu's turn to be left hanging, unsure whether to speak or not. Just as she was about to ask him why he didn't continue, Woon Jeong-woo turned to look at her: "By the way, why are you here today?"

Lee Soon-gyu was taken aback and blurted out: "To study with you."

Woon Jeong-woo was speechless: "You want to study with me? Personal space, please. And we both have computers, do we really have to be inseparable?"

Lee Soon-gyu was annoyed: "Don't make it sound so ambiguous! Isn't it better to avoid misunderstandings? Besides, don't forget, I provided the computer!"

Woon Jeong-woo pointed at the computer: "Did I trade my freedom for it? Did I sell myself to you?!"

Looking at the clock, it wasn't late, not even 8 PM, Woon Jeong-woo shook his head helplessly: "Fine, you can sit if you want. We're just watching a movie to study acting anyway."

Lee Soon-gyu pursed her lips: "Do you really think your IQ of 160 makes you invincible? Watching movies to improve acting skills, if that were true, everyone would be an actor."

Woon Jeong-woo found a movie online, "Friend" (2001) starring Jang Dong-gun. Lee Soon-gyu frowned and pushed him: "Do you understand the importance of supporting正版 (legitimate versions)? Go to a paid website!"

Woon Jeong-woo was speechless: "Well, I'm not watching a pirated version. I can't afford the latest movies, so watching old ones is fine... Can you just stay quiet? You're acting like a princess who can't stop complaining!"

Lee Soon-gyu made a gesture at his back and then didn't say anything. The movie played, and Woon Jeong-woo watched it seriously.

But halfway through, he suddenly heard some noise. Looking at Lee Soon-gyu, he found that she had brought two stools and was sitting on one with her leg on the other.

She was munching on snacks she had brought. Seeing Woon Jeong-woo looking at her, she offered him some.

Woon Jeong-woo twitched his lips and turned away, ignoring her. You're not being stingy, offering snacks to others. This time, he focused and watched quietly.

However, after the movie ended, Woon Jeong-woo was silent for a while. When Lee Soon-gyu stretched and asked what to watch next, Woon Jeong-woo rewound the movie, making Lee Soon-gyu's eyes widen.

"What? Is this movie that good?" Woon Jeong-woo waved his hand to interrupt her, frowned, thought for a moment, and then turned back, his expression changing.

He squinted his eyes, his lips curved slightly, but his gaze was intense: "Hawaii... you go."

Lee Soon-gyu instinctively backed away, looking terrified: "What Hawaii? You... you go! Why that look?"

Woon Jeong-woo just looked at her, until Lee Soon-gyu involuntarily stood up and backed away. Woon Jeong-woo then rubbed his face and adjusted his expression: "How was it? Did it look real?"

Lee Soon-gyu was taken aback, her chest heaving, and suddenly grabbed a handful of snacks and threw them. Woon Jeong-woo dodged, waving his hand dismissively: "What's the point of just watching movies for fun? This is serious work, you need to practice while watching... Come on. You want to stay, right? You can be my practice partner. Maybe you'll have a chance to act in the future."

Lee Soon-gyu bit her lip, hesitated, and finally walked over reluctantly: "I don't know what you're thinking, but all your ideas are strange."

Sitting back in the chair, Lee Soon-gyu said sternly: "I'm warning you, don't scare me again."

Woon Jeong-woo nodded half-heartedly and started watching again. However, Lee Soon-gyu inadvertently looked at his side profile and noticed that he looked different when he was focused, unlike his usual sarcastic and sunny smile. But after a while, she shook her head and refocused on the monitor.

Maybe... it was just an illusion.