Prince From Another Dimension Becomes An Idol [EN]: Chapter 17

#17.

His tone was quite cautious.

As he said, Do-jae was only on his second day of living in the dorm.

But a meeting request?

It was natural to be worried.

Do-jae quickly replied to reassure him.

“It’s nothing much, I just heard that I should talk to the team leader about dorm issues or group living.”

“Yes, that’s right. Is there anything uncomfortable?”

‘Your Highness, are you uncomfortable anywhere?’

The voice of Court Attendant Kim, who had been with him until recently, seemed to overlap.

His voice was actually similar, too.

In many ways, he resembled Court Attendant Kim that Do-jae knew.

Especially his impeccable appearance, sticking to black suits even though the company allowed casual wear.

Do-jae suddenly wondered how the situation in the Korean Empire was unfolding now.

He missed the people there.

Starting with Court Attendant Kim, who was rigid but meticulously attended to him, and his strict father and mother.

His brothers, who were more formal than fraternal, but still took care of Do-jae so he wouldn’t go astray.

He was definitely tired of palace life and liked the freedom he had gained in South Korea, but he couldn’t help but miss them.

Do-jae snapped out of his thoughts and quickly continued.

“…It’s nothing much.”

It was actually a big deal for Do-jae, but he added it so he wouldn’t seem too picky.

It was clear that he was the only one who couldn’t stand it, while the other members didn’t think much of it.

But what could he do?

He was born a prince and lived that way for 20 years.

Do-jae prided himself on adapting well to the life of an ordinary person, but there was a minimum he couldn’t give up.

“I’m concerned about the hygiene of the dorm, and I wanted to discuss that.”

“……”

“The environment affects health, doesn’t it?”

He had thought about cleaning it himself, but it was impossible.

It seemed like it would take a lot of time to clean all that stuff, and he couldn’t spare the time itself.

“Hygiene… you mean it’s dirty?”

Team Leader Kim Seok-cheol, who didn’t understand what he meant at first, soon asked.

Do-jae nodded seriously.

“Yes. It’s filthy. Very.”

Team Leader Kim Seok-cheol took Do-jae’s resolute words seriously.

“Well, the members’ practice time is increasing, so they wouldn’t have time to clean…”

Of course, the words ‘even if they had time, they wouldn’t clean’ were omitted between the ellipses.

“Anyway, the number of people has increased, so there must be more luggage.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Team Leader Kim Seok-cheol, who had quickly finished calculating, came up with a solution.

“I’ll have the housekeeper who comes once a week come three times a week. That should make it much better.”

Executive Director Jeong Hyeong-seok had openly said that he wouldn’t spare investment, so he thought he could handle this much increase in cost.

“Will this be enough?”

“Yes, of course. That would be great. You’re really Kim… Team Leader Kim.”

Do-jae replied with satisfaction because it seemed like the best he could do realistically.

Do-jae must have been feeling guilty, because he thought he saw a look that said, ‘What do you know, calling me ‘Team Leader Kim’ like that?’

“And one more thing. I have another suggestion.”

“Tell me.”

Fortunately, Team Leader Kim Seok-cheol readily listened to Do-jae.

***

As soon as Do-jae returned from his short and impactful meeting with Team Leader Kim Seok-cheol, practice resumed.

Because of this, Gyu-seong lingered, unable to talk to Do-jae right away.

“Gyu-seong! Why can’t you concentrate all of a sudden? Are you out of energy?”

“No, I’m not…”

Gyu-seong lowered his head and answered in a small voice, and the trainer shook his head.

He wasn’t a great dancer, but he wasn’t one to slack off, and his expression was obviously not good.

The trainer knew that Gi-jun had collapsed a few days ago, so he didn’t say anything more and ended the practice.

“You have to get your act together tomorrow!”

Gyu-seong blankly replied, “Yes.”

With that, practice ended and the members wiped their sweat and headed to the dorm one by one.

“…So, it was a misunderstanding. He seemed really sorry…”

On the way back to the dorm, Louis explained the whole story to Do-jae.

“So that’s what happened.”

Do-jae nodded as if he finally understood.

You could tell that Gyu-seong felt sorry.

Unlike when he had questioned him earlier, he was completely dejected.

His bangs, which had been down to his eyes, now seemed to reach his chin, creating an illusion, and his complexion was dark.

‘I’m worried.’

Do-jae thought as he waited for his turn in the bathroom after entering the dorm.

It was because Gyu-seong had been watching him since the practice room.

‘He’s probably looking for a time to apologize.’

He was probably too sorry to apologize properly.

Do-jae’s intuition was usually excellent, but this didn’t require great intuition.

It was obvious.

He was so droopy and depressed that you could believe he was a ghost in a well [a Korean idiom for someone extremely sad and withdrawn].

“Hmm.”

Do-jae sighed softly while Gyu-seong was showering and had left the room.

It would be a lie to say that he felt good about Gyu-seong suddenly saying he didn’t like him, or suddenly asking why he came out of New during practice breaks.

He had prioritized learning the Small Learning [elementary Confucian text] and Dongmongseonseup [another Confucian primer] from the age of four to learn the ways of a gentleman, but he couldn’t really become a gentleman.

‘If it were the real Kang Do-jae, he might have been hurt.’

But that didn’t mean he was upset enough to dislike Gyu-seong.

‘It was refreshing, yeah.’

Do-jae was just amazed that someone considered him unlikeable and expressed that feeling.

He wasn’t being bullied either.

Besides, after hearing the whole story, he thought he could understand why he would dislike him.

‘It would have been better if he had looked into it more, but if he mistook me for Song Hwan…’

Do-jae frowned and shuddered slightly.

Anyway, Do-jae was fine.

‘Gi-jun told him to apologize to me… I hope he apologizes soon and we get along well.’

The corners of Do-jae’s lips suddenly went up as he thought about that.

Arguing over a light misunderstanding and resolving the feelings with an apology.

‘Like friends.’

He was able to realize anew that they were in a completely equal relationship.

Of course, in the Korean Empire, he mingled with relatives of the imperial family and children of government officials and called each other friends.

However, it was inappropriate to call them true friends.

First of all, princes and princesses had different duties and responsibilities than ordinary high-ranking officials’ children, so they didn’t have time to hang out and play like others.

Most meetings took place in the palace like official events.

In fact, most of them were in official and political relationships.

So it was hard to tell if they really liked him or were just trying to get close for the sake of their family.

‘But it’s not like that anymore.’

Everyone could be honest with him, and they were honest.

Do-jae raised the corners of his lips, coughed dryly, and tried to calm his feelings.

‘I can’t be thinking about other things when Gyu-seong is so sorry and restless.’

It was because he was half aware that he was thinking strange things.

Gyu-seong, who came out of the bathroom, was drying his hair and didn’t know what to do, wanting to say something to Do-jae.

Now, the other members were also subtly concerned about when Gyu-seong would apologize to Do-jae.

Do-jae pretended to be nonchalant and watched the TV screen in the living room, waiting for Gyu-seong.

But soon, sleepiness washed over him.

It was because practice had been hard today too.

Do-jae finally got up and opened his mouth to Gyu-seong, who was sitting on the sofa.

But Gyu-seong spoke first.

“Um… Do-jae… I’m sorry.”

“…It’s okay.”

Heung-min and Woo-cheol, who were drinking water in the kitchen, Gi-jun, who was just coming out of the bathroom, and Louis, who was sitting next to Do-jae.

It was as if time had stopped.

It was because they didn’t expect Do-jae to reject the apology so decisively.

Of course, Gyu-seong was the most frozen.

“No, that’s not it.”

Do-jae was greatly embarrassed and tried to fix the situation.

Do-jae wanted to say, ‘It’s okay to apologize.’

It was a terrible timing.

But Gyu-seong didn’t seem to hear Do-jae’s words and lowered his head.

“Sorry. Even if it was a misunderstanding, I really have nothing to say. It’s natural that you don’t forgive me…”

“No, really, it’s not like that. This is a misunderstanding. What I meant by ‘it’s okay’ is that the apology is accepted.”

When he was flustered, Do-jae spewed out the way he spoke when he was a prince.

“Yeah. I don’t even need an apology. I didn’t expect to be forgiven in a day… If you’ll allow me, I’ll slowly make it up to you. Even if you’re disappointed in me because of this, I hope you don’t leave our team… Is this too much to ask…”

He didn’t talk much, but suddenly he was eloquent.

He also looked like he was about to cry.

He wasn’t going to make an imperial citizen, no, a friend cry.

“No, listen to me. I’m saying you don’t have to apologize!”

Do-jae, who was desperate, finally protested in a tone no different from Heung-min or Woo-cheol.

Gyu-seong blinked blankly as Do-jae’s voice grew louder.

Do-jae was just as dazed.

He had never raised his voice like this in the palace.

Do-jae calmly explained again.

Certainly, Do-jae seemed to have loosened up in this comfortable atmosphere.

“You have to take responsibility for your mistakes, so I’ll accept your apology. You don’t have to make it up to me slowly. It wasn’t that big of a deal.”

“R-really?”

“Of course. I’m even thinking it’s a relief that the misunderstanding was resolved quickly.”

He was glad that Gyu-seong had only disliked Do-jae for two days.

“I’m sorry. Really.”

“It’s enough if you know that I’m different from those thugs.”

Do-jae regained his gentle tone and said.

Only then did the atmosphere of the entire dorm become more comfortable.

Gyu-seong seemed to be watching him a little more, but he didn’t find any resentment in Do-jae and was relieved.

***

A few days later.

Do-jae’s steps toward the practice room were lighter than usual.

‘Wouldn’t it be a little better today?’

He thought that the more he practiced, the better, but the ideal and reality were clearly different.

Do-jae’s shoulders, like the other members, were covered in patches from the daily dance practice.

But there was a reason why Do-jae had expectations that today would be different.

‘It’s the first vocal lesson in a week.’

It was the day a new vocal trainer was coming in place of the existing trainer who had gone on maternity leave.

Do-jae was even more excited because he was much more confident in singing than dancing.

The other members were also curious about the new vocal trainer, and their steps toward the practice room were faster than usual.

“Ah. I just hope he’s not stricter than Teacher Yang.”

It was when Woo-cheol sighed, thinking of the dedicated dance trainer.

Suddenly. Do-jae’s steps stopped in front of the practice room glass door.

“Oh my.”

This was a different kind of shock than when he met Court Attendant Kim, or rather, Team Leader Kim Seok-cheol.

Quickly recovering from his surprised heart, Do-jae pushed open the glass door.