Prince From Another Dimension Becomes An Idol [EN]: Chapter 16

#16.

Because of that, Kyu-sung thought, ‘I knew it.’

But….

It wasn’t long before Kyu-sung felt that something was wrong.

***

“Why I left New?”

Do-jae was trying to figure out if Kyu-sung disliked him for being a ‘boomer’ who made him run errands for Louis (unintentionally).

But suddenly, he was being asked why he left New, which didn’t make sense to Do-jae.

“Yes. You even made it to the debut team, so tell me why you left.”

Kyu-sung questioned him sharply.

It was a sharpness that was the complete opposite of the faint and delicate image created by his bangs covering his face and his unique expression.

“I’ll explain separately later…!”

“No. Don’t hide behind Louis and tell me with your own mouth. Kang Do-jae.”

Louis stepped in, worried that Do-jae would be in trouble, but it backfired.

Kyu-sung seemed even angrier, his expression twisting.

“What is this?”

Ki-joon thought he should mediate the increasingly hostile atmosphere, but he couldn’t easily step in because Kyu-sung was the one who created it.

To Ki-joon, Kyu-sung was always a younger brother who silently did his job.

Unlike his immature younger brothers, Ki-joon found him easy to get along with, but he was also worried.

It was because he was too introverted to become a celebrity.

Of course, as a celebrity, he had the singing skills to overcome that, but Ki-joon was worried that he wouldn’t be able to spread his wings among his noisy brothers.

Ki-joon was concerned about him in his own way, but instead of not being able to spread his wings, he was raising his voice.

“There are two reasons.”

When Do-jae opened his mouth, everyone’s eyes turned to him.

No matter what the situation, they were all curious as to why Do-jae left New.

“One is because I couldn’t debut with those who bullied me.”

“……”

“The other is because I couldn’t debut in a company that condoned bullying.”

Unlike the content, Do-jae’s serious and gentle voice was even pleasant to listen to.

Kyu-sung’s eyes shook with embarrassment.

“A lie….”

“I have no reason to lie to you.”

Louis, who was next to him, quickly shouted.

“What hyung [older brother or male friend] said is right. That’s why I followed him out.”

Louis apologized to Do-jae with a tearful face.

“I shouldn’t have mentioned that hyung was in the debut team…. I’m sorry, hyung.”

“That’s not a flaw in itself. It’s okay.”

Do-jae, who comforted Louis, narrowed his eyes slightly and looked back at Kyu-sung.

“Now. Tell me why you suddenly asked that question.”

Because it was a situation where he seemed to be questioning Kyu-sung, Do-jae naturally used the tone of a prince.

However, everyone was so embarrassed that they didn’t have any major doubts about that point.

“You’re really saying you were bullied?”

“It seems you’ve heard something.”

Do-jae began to think that with the continued suspicion.

Kyu-sung blankly nodded.

“If you doubt what I’m saying, you can go to their office right now and ask anyone you catch.”

When Do-jae firmly confirmed it, Kyu-sung closed his mouth.

“Do-jae hyung…. was bullied….”

Woo-chul muttered in shock as Do-jae’s words seemed to be true given the atmosphere.

More than anything else, that fact was shocking.

It was unbelievable.

You shouldn’t bully people for any reason, but when perpetrators bully victims, they have their own reasons.

In most cases, it was because they were easier to deal with.

But looking at Do-jae now, he seemed far from being ‘easy to deal with.’

“Why on earth….”

Even Heung-min muttered as if he couldn’t understand, and Do-jae shrugged his shoulders and replied.

“I guess the big reason was that I was shabby and insignificant.”

Shabby?

Could there be a word that doesn’t suit Do-jae more than that?

“Are the New kids all blind?”

Heung-min muttered as if he was dumbfounded.

It was ridiculous to bully him for looking poor, but no matter what his family situation was, Do-jae never looked poor.

He had a natural dignity.

Even if he was poor, he had the air that a rich grandfather would come in a sedan one day and say that he was actually a hidden son.

And what about his personality?

You could feel his strength just by looking at his eyes.

He looked like he had something going on and didn’t seem like he would be taken advantage of.

“So, you were just bullied? Why did you leave the debut team…. You should have kicked them all out!”

Heung-min shouted as he became more and more dumbfounded and heated up as if it were his own business.

Do-jae smiled and replied.

“Then everyone would have had to leave and I would have had to debut solo. As I said, I didn’t want to debut in such a company.”

“That’s….”

“Don’t worry, it’s not like I just got bullied and left.”

I knew it.

He wasn’t the type to just be taken advantage of.

It was just questionable that the act of ‘bullying’ was established in the first place.

“That’s right! Do-jae hyung was really cool when he came out last time! That’s why I was completely smitten and followed him out!”

Louis said, shining his eyes as if he had never been tearful.

As the conversation continued, Kyu-sung’s face turned pale without any blood.

At that time, the practice room door opened and a man in a black suit came in.

“Hello, Team Leader!”

“Hello!”

It was Team Leader Kim Seok-cheol.

Do-jae forgot the heavy atmosphere from just now and looked at him with strangely happy eyes.

He didn’t know why Do-jae, who had only exchanged greetings with him during the audition and meetings, was so happy to see him.

“Is it break time now?”

Unlike Team Leader Jung Hee-young, who had been watching for a long time and spoke informally to the members in a friendly manner, Team Leader Kim Seok-cheol always used polite language even to the members.

Management team.

In other words, it was unusual among managers, but Team Leader Kim Seok-cheol’s belief was that he would maintain etiquette as much as it was easy to treat each other carelessly.

In particular, he thought that the members of idol groups were mostly young and, despite being celebrities who needed to be taken care of, they might unknowingly treat them carelessly.

Because of Team Leader Kim Seok-cheol’s attitude, the members liked Team Leader Kim Seok-cheol even though they found him difficult.

If they knew how other managers treated trainees, they couldn’t help but like him.

“Yes, it’s break time!”

Ki-joon, who had gone to the hospital with Team Leader Kim Seok-cheol just the day before yesterday, answered immediately, and Team Leader Kim Seok-cheol nodded.

“Then, Do-jae. Can I see you for a moment?”

Because it was already chaotic because of Do-jae’s situation, the members opened their eyes wider than usual.

“Are you talking to me?”

“Yes. Let’s go to the conference room together.”

“Yes.”

Rather, Do-jae followed Team Leader Kim Seok-cheol without any hesitation.

***

After Do-jae left with Team Leader Kim Seok-cheol.

A heavy silence lingered in the practice room for a while.

Kyu-sung, who had unfairly cornered Do-jae and made him confess that he had been ‘bullied’ with his own mouth, was still pale.

The members couldn’t easily pressure Kyu-sung and left him alone for now.

Instead, they heard from Louis how Do-jae was treated in New and whether he was just being bullied.

“Well, there was no other way. From Do-jae’s point of view, he paid them back in the best way.”

“They’re completely trash, trash.”

“I was envious of New…. It was a trash group? I’m glad I didn’t go there.”

“Hyung, you failed.”

“Shh! Back then, I was, uh? Too young and lacking. Now I can beat them all.”

While the members were angry at those who bullied Do-jae, Kyu-sung was completely devastated.

Kyu-sung recalled the messages he had exchanged with his friend a while ago.

[Kyu-sung~ Has the new member been selected?]

It was Jin-gu, a friend he made at a vocal academy before joining Kingdom.

Jin-gu had participated in Kingdom’s audition to select a new member just a few months ago, but he had failed.

Even though he is currently a trainee at a small agency, he still had interest in Kingdom and often asked Kyu-sung about the new member.

[Yeah, he’s coming from tomorrow]

[Wow~ What kind of friend is he?]

[There are two of them, but I don’t know them well yet]

[How old are they? Are they handsome? More handsome than me? lol]

Considering that he failed the audition, he could have felt bad, but Jin-gu had a pretty good personality.

Kyu-sung smiled quietly and replied.

[I told you I don’t know yet]

[What, you don’t know anything~?]

[I haven’t even seen a picture. I heard they’re good at it]

[That’s why they were selected lol]

[I heard they’re both from New]

[New? That’s awesome lololololol (emoticon)]

The following message stopped for a while, but when the message came again, Jin-gu’s atmosphere had changed.

[Hey Kyu-sung, wait a minute, New? New shouldn’t be at this time lol]

[What do you mean?]

[A trainee who was in the debut team at New left a while ago]

[Why the debut team?]

[He left because he caused an accident, no, he was kicked out lol He bullied the other trainees a lot. He did everything except beat them up]

Jin-gu told the story he heard from his New trainee friend.

It was a famous story that everyone in New knew.

Group bullying.

Even the introverted Kyu-sung had almost been bullied in elementary school.

Kyu-sung’s face grew darker as he was messaging.

[He’s not a kid, he’s an adult, isn’t he? Isn’t he going to you guys? lol]

[I don’t think so]

[You never know. Since he’s from New, what’s there to say about his skills lol]

[Do you happen to know his name?]

[I’ll ask]

However, he seemed reluctant to even tell him his name.

Jin-gu said that his trainee friend was worried that he might be retaliated against.

That’s why he thought he was so vicious.

However, since he didn’t know his name or appearance, he couldn’t suspect him just because he was from New.

‘Yes. I should have kept doing that.’

The fact that Do-jae was in the New debut team was decisive.

It was impossible for an adult trainee who had been in the debut team and left New to be common.

The timing was also coincidental, and he was bothered by the fact that Louis seemed to be constantly looking at Do-jae.

‘He was just a hyung he liked enough to follow Do-jae.’

He had mistaken the victim for the perpetrator and cornered him.

He was too rash.

An indescribable sense of guilt weighed down on Kyu-sung.

He couldn’t even raise his head because he was ashamed that he had suddenly said he didn’t like Do-jae, who had done nothing wrong.

“Kyu-sung.”

As the story was roughly sorted out, Ki-joon called the silent Kyu-sung.

Kyu-sung raised his head with difficulty.

“Tell me. Why did you suddenly do that?”

At Ki-joon’s question, Kyu-sung revealed his misunderstanding.

“Anyway. I can’t stop him once he gets angry when he’s quiet.”

Woo-chul said as if he were the older brother, trying to lighten the atmosphere somehow.

In fact, only Ki-joon didn’t know, but Woo-chul and Heung-min had been severely punished for trusting Kyu-sung’s kind and quiet personality and acting recklessly.

He was the type to not care about anything when he was angry.

However, everyone thought that if they were in the same situation as Kyu-sung, they would have misunderstood, but they couldn’t condone Kyu-sung’s rash judgment.

Kyu-sung muttered in a barely audible voice.

“What do I do now….”

“What do you do? You have to apologize.”

At Ki-joon’s cold voice, Kyu-sung nodded with his head down.

***

Do-jae, who came to the conference room, sat facing Team Leader Kim Seok-cheol.

“What did you call me for?”

Do-jae asked, always imitating what Eunuch Kim had said to him.

It was a really strange feeling.

Team Leader Kim Seok-cheol glanced at Do-jae once and asked.

“I heard you requested an interview. It’s only been two days since you entered the dorm…. What’s wrong?”