Prince From Another Dimension Becomes An Idol [EN]: Chapter 38

#38.

“We’ve been listening to the song Ms. Park Sora recommended. Is it because Ms. Park Sora recommended it? It feels even better.”

“Haha. It’s just a good song.”

Park Sora was appearing as a radio guest.

Park Sora was a 13-year veteran singer, regarded as Korea’s best vocalist.

Her world was so established that she was known for not interacting with other singers, but singers constantly mentioned her as a respected artist.

The vocal members of MOST were no exception.

“Ms. Park Sora, do you usually enjoy such lyrical songs? Are you not interested in other genres?”

“No. You’re mistaken. I listen to a lot of upbeat songs too. I also enjoy watching idol performances. Ah, these days, MOST? Those friends are catching my eye.”

And there she was, Park Sora, mentioning MOST.

“Huh? Us?”

“Seriously? Did Park Sora *sunbaenim* [senior/respected colleague] just mention us?”

“…Daebak [Awesome/Incredible].”

“Oh my. MOST? Aren’t they really just rookies? We’ve been getting a lot of song requests for them on our show lately.”

“I saw their performance a few days ago. I heard they won first place just two weeks after their debut? That became a hot topic, and it popped up in my recommended videos.”

“Ah. The internet was briefly buzzing.”

The DJ, aware of the controversy with Candies, glossed over why it had become a hot topic.

The controversy had definitely turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

“I was amazed. The two vocalists sing so well. The feeling of them hitting your ears is extraordinary. And their energy is really…. I don’t think I can handle it anymore.”

Dojae and Gyuseong’s pupils trembled wildly.

“Haha. You must have really enjoyed it. Ah, speaking of energy, did you see the video of their first-place performance? One of them did a somersault in the air because he was so happy.”

“Oh my. I didn’t see that far. These days, kids are really amazing.”

Considering her position and the fact that she usually doesn’t mention other singers, it was an endorsement that could warrant an immediate promotional article.

Even without Kingdom promoting it separately, reporters would likely write articles on their own.

“Wow. For Park Sora to acknowledge you, that’s really amazing. You guys must feel great.”

The makeup staff, also surprised, exclaimed in admiration.

“To have such a joyful moment…….”

A deep smile appeared on Dojae’s face.

The makeup staff, seeing this, asked,

“You must be feeling good consecutively. Today is your first fan signing event, right?”

“Yes.”

Dojae nodded.

Today’s schedule was none other than a fan signing event.

The schedule had been set previously, but it coincided perfectly with the first-place celebration.

A first fan signing event commemorating their first win.

It was very meaningful.

***

‘A fan signing event…. What will the atmosphere be like?’

Dojae pondered as he traveled to the fan signing venue.

He was a little nervous.

He had seen stages directly, even if from afar, but never a fan signing event.

Dojae had looked up videos of other singers’ fan signing events only after his schedule was confirmed.

‘It feels a bit like the Imperial Bazaar…….’

There was a similar event in the Empire.

The annual bazaar held at Deoksugung Palace every spring.

From clothing to accessories to dishes, all sorts of precious items were on display, so the number of people wanting to participate in the bazaar was overwhelming.

It was also a rare opportunity for the Empire’s citizens to see the Imperial family up close.

Participants applied online, and a small number of people were selected through a lottery.

‘They give out lottery tickets to people who buy albums, so it’s a similar method. It’s different in that the more albums you buy, the higher your chances…….’

In fact, that’s why fan signing events were the company’s most powerful and reliable album sales strategy.

If a fan signing event was held, fans who wanted to meet the singer in person would buy albums in bulk.

That was one of the reasons why idols could sell hundreds of thousands of CD albums, even though CD players were hard to find these days.

When a lot of albums were sold like that, profits increased, and album sales, which influenced music show rankings, also surged.

That’s why many singers tirelessly held fan signing events during their promotion period to sell albums.

From the perspective of both the singer and the fan, it was a win-win strategy, as it was almost the only channel where they could see each other face-to-face and communicate one-on-one, rather than one-to-many.

‘Meeting one-on-one…….’

That very point was what made Dojae, who rarely had one-on-one interactions with the Empire’s citizens even in the Empire, nervous.

Moreover, it seemed like he had to provide more ‘service’ than he had thought.

The signing event videos Dojae had looked up, so-called ‘signing event *jikcams* [fan-taken focus videos],’ were a feast of all sorts of fan service.

He had to naturally lead conversations one-on-one and constantly exude charm to the fans.

‘I should have participated in the bazaar more diligently.’

The Empress and Princesses, who had many items to put out, mainly acted as organizers of the bazaar.

The palace staff did the practical work of pricing and selling the items, but they also met with the participants and chatted with them.

Dojae had never participated because he had no items to put out and no motivation…….

If he had participated, it would have been a good experience.

It had to be a time where they could be satisfied and return, having taken the precious time to come.

Dojae felt a slight burden.

He glanced sideways and saw Gyuseong, with a notepad on his lap, diligently moving his pen.

The members were expressing their nervousness in different ways.

“Ah…. This is strange.”

His handwriting was more shaky than usual because he was in the car.

Gyuseong frowned and muttered.

“It’s fine?”

Gyuseong’s face lit up at Dojae’s words.

“Really?”

“Yeah. The slightly shaky end of the stroke is the key point, right?”

“…Key point?”

“Essence?”

“Ah…. No, that’s just shaky. It’s a mess after all.”

Dojae was briefly taken aback and looked away.

In the front seats, Woocheol and Louie were also huddled together, practicing their signatures.

“Dojae-ya. Don’t you need to practice? Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever seen your signature.”

“That’s right. What does *hyung’s* [older brother/male friend] signature look like? You weren’t interested when we were making our signatures either.”

Woocheol turned around and said, hearing Gyuseong’s question.

“Does *hyung* also have one that he made when he was a new trainee?”

Gyujun and Heungmin had said that they had made their signatures before Woocheol joined.

“Was he not the 2nd but the 3rd of the Kimchi Guk generals [referring to someone who is overly optimistic or delusional]?”

Heungmin retorted at Woocheol’s words as he chuckled to himself.

“Hey, it’s not Kimchi Guk, it’s seeing the future. We’re using it like this after all, right?!”

“You didn’t copy Song Heungmin’s signature, did you?”

“I didn’t.”

While the two were bickering, Dojae answered Gyuseong.

“I practiced a lot.”

“Ah. Really? When did you practice? I didn’t see you doing it in the room.”

“…Since I was five years old?”

He could read both Korean and Chinese characters and had created it while taking formal Confucian scripture classes, so it must have been around that time.

Woocheol exclaimed, “Wow!” at Dojae’s words.

The other members were the same.

“Are you kidding?”

“Were you dreaming of becoming a star since you were five years old?”

Dojae replaced his answer with an ambiguous smile.

The members seemed to think it was half a joke and focused on practicing their signatures again.

What Dojae had created around the age of five and had been using until now was a *SuGyeol* (手決) [a stylized signature using a character from one’s name].

*SuGyeol* is a signature that is created by transforming one of the characters in one’s name, which in modern terms is ultimately a signature.

Dojae also spent several days holding a brush and agonizing over it when he first created his *SuGyeol*.

‘Come to think of it, Admiral Yi Sun-sin also practiced his *SuGyeol* dozens of times…….’

It was natural for the members to be in an uproar.

Moreover, this signature was not for document approval, but to represent his autograph to fans.

‘Should I practice once since it’s been a while?’

Suddenly, that thought occurred to him, and Dojae turned his body and brought his finger to the window.

The window was fogged up with moisture due to the temperature difference between the inside and outside of the car.

Dojae drew his *SuGyeol* small on it.

***

When they arrived at a building in Jongno, the fan signing venue, Team Leader Kim Seokcheol gave the members a final reminder.

“As you all know, this is a place where fans are watching your every move and recording it with cameras, so be careful about your actions and words.”

“Yes.”

“Yes!”

The members nodded, their eyes shining.

“You all heard about the seating order for today, right?”

“I heard that we’ll be standing in the same formation as the jacket photo today.”

Gyujun answered Team Leader Kim Seokcheol’s question.

“Yes. The seat positions will probably continue to change as more fan signing events are held in the future.”

“Yes.”

“Be kind to the fans, but don’t fulfill requests that seem too unreasonable. But don’t ignore them either. If something goes wrong, call me or Mr. Gilju right away.”

“Yes. I understand.”

Dojae answered.

Team Leader Kim Seokcheol looked around at the members, who were eager to enter the fan signing venue.

The fan signing event was a place where the individual personalities and mannerisms of the members were bound to be revealed.

Posts on social media could be reviewed by the company from time to time, but fan signing events were different.

It was a place where they immediately showed words and actions to the fans.

That’s why there were many things to be aware of.

‘They’ll do well.’

Team Leader Kim Seokcheol thought.

Ultimately, the best thing was to believe that the members would do well.

Just like they had managed well in the end, even though there had been some commotion during their debut.

In that respect, they were reliable members.

‘They’re still rookies, so they have some clumsy aspects…….’

They were all kind and diligent.

They were the best among the celebrities Team Leader Kim Seokcheol had seen so far.

“Then let’s go in.”

Team Leader Kim Seokcheol opened the door, leading the way.

As the door opened and the members entered in turn, the 70 fans who had gathered cheered all at once.

At the same time, a terrifying shutter sound erupted.

Click, click, click―

Even the members, who had performed on stage in front of dozens of broadcast cameras, were taken aback.

More than twenty fans were holding DSLR cameras with large lenses attached.

Click, click, click, click, cha-ra-ra-rak.

The members were momentarily confused as to whether they should stop and pose at the sound of the shutter, which was clearly being taken in continuous shooting mode.

However, they soon regained their composure and bowed in a line.

“Hello!”

“Nice to meet you, everyone!”

“You’re so handsome!”

“MOST, I love you!”

“Louie-yaaaa!!!”

“Kang Dojae! You’re handsome!”

As the members greeted, fans immediately shouted from all over the place.

Gyujun, holding the microphone, calmed the fans and thanked them for coming today.

Meanwhile, Deputy Manager Lee Jeongyeon lined up the fans according to the number tags that had been drawn in advance from number 1 to 10 and checked their IDs.

When the general arrangement was finished, the members sat down in their prepared seats.

The order from left to right was ‘Heungmin, Woocheol, Dojae, Gyuseong, Louie, Gyujun’.

“Ah, hello.”

Heungmin greeted his first fan with an awkward greeting.

She was a short-haired female high school student fan.

“Hello, MIN *oppa* [term used by females to address older male friends/brothers]!”

“Haha. Yes.”

“Can I call you by your real name?”

“Haha. Of course.”

The other members, who did not yet have fans in front of them, greeted the fans who were staring intently at them from the front, while also listening to Heungmin’s conversation.

“Is he just going to keep smiling awkwardly like that?”

Woocheol whispered, and Dojae chuckled.

“Oh my gosh! Dojae *oppa* smiled at me!”

Even that smile caused a commotion in the fan seats.

Dojae was definitely suited for the stage, no, for the public.

He was naturally continuing the conversation with the fan, as if the slight burden he had felt was insignificant.

Second, third.

He was having various conversations with the fans without difficulty and writing postscripts as the fans wanted.

“*Oppa*!”

“Yes. Hello.”

A college student fan with pink hair called Dojae familiarly and approached him.

“*Oppa*! It’s me!”