Prince From Another Dimension Becomes An Idol [EN]: Chapter 50

#50.

A long red carpet was laid out in front of the entrance to the concert hall.

The area around the red carpet was as bustling as the concert hall, crowded with people who had gathered to watch the red carpet event before the awards ceremony.

“Okay. Another new guest has just arrived on the red carpet. It’s the fifth guest of today’s N TV FESTA!”

The special MC hosting the red carpet event was briefly interviewing the stars as they arrived for the awards ceremony.

As a van arrived at the entrance, he quickly shouted.

At his shout, those lined up on both sides of the red carpet turned their heads towards the van all at once.

In fact, the bigger the singer, the later they arrived, so there wasn’t much expectation.

The person who had arrived just before was not a popular singer but a veteran solo artist attending as a presenter.

Because of this, everyone was in a disorganized atmosphere, looking to see when the singers they were waiting for would arrive rather than focusing on the interview.

“Oh. It looks like a group this time… Who is it?!”

The red carpet event was being broadcast live worldwide through N TV and the internet.

Regardless of the atmosphere on-site, the MC tried to heighten the mood for the viewers who were watching the live broadcast.

“Kyaa!”

“Oh my, oh my!!!”

“What do I do! Kyaaak!”

However, soon there was no need for that.

Finally, without any prompting from the MC, cheers erupted from the red carpet.

“MOST! It’s MOST! MOST is a group that is being praised as the best rookie of the year, simultaneously releasing two songs, !”

Under the dazzling lights, flashes burst incessantly.

Protected by security guards, the MOST members stepped out of the van one by one and began to walk the red carpet.

The members were visibly nervous as they stepped onto the red carpet for the first time.

“Oppa! Look over here!”

“Luiya!”

“Kijun oppa!”

“Kyusung, your noona [older sister or female friend] is here!!!”

Fans who had been waiting for other singers also craned their necks, trying to see MOST’s faces up close.

“Ah. What is it? He’s handsome. Kang Dojae.”

“Did you see ? Look at his back! I want to be piggybacked.”

“Eek! The one with the yellow hair almost fell while waving! He must be really nervous.”

“That’s the youngest, right? He’s cute.”

MOST was a rising and likable idol group to most idol fans.

Once you saw their performance even once, or their courteous and friendly fan service, you couldn’t help but feel that way.

“Their outfits are good today too. Kingdom is good at dressing them these days. What is our company doing?”

“Right. Is it a school uniform? It just looks like a suit……”

MOST’s choice for today’s red carpet outfit was a black suit with a school uniform feel, matching the concept of .

The neatly tailored fit made the members shine even more.

Of course, there were those who pouted their lips at the compliments coming from all directions.

“Ugh. What’s so great about them? I hate groups from small agencies, they look cheap.”

“It’s so annoying. I wish our oppas [term used by younger women to refer to older brothers or male friends] would come quickly.”

“Still, doesn’t the order of appearance on the red carpet feel good? Seeing that our oppas are later…. The rookie award is definitely ours.”

“Ah. Of course. No matter how good MOST’s performance is, Newga won’t just stand by.”

“Right. Aren’t their scores similar anyway?”

Of course, they weren’t likable idols to everyone.

For ‘Jinnies’ who wanted The Origin to be the best, MOST, who had debuted around the same time and were sharing their popularity, were nothing more than a thorn in their side.

MOST’s appearance heated up the atmosphere of the red carpet in many ways.

It was a heat so intense that it made you forget the cold of December.

The MC greeted the MOST members, who walked in with a fairly confident air.

“Welcome, welcome! Please introduce yourselves.”

The members, who each received a microphone, greeted simultaneously.

“We are MOST, striving to be the best!”

“Wow. Wonderful! Striving to be the best! This is your first time attending N TV FESTA this year, how do you feel?”

“We are truly honored… It’s only been three months since our debut. For us to be invited to such a precious event like this… We are truly honored and so happy.”

Even though it was a pre-prepared answer, Kijun stuttered a bit.

At the biggest music awards ceremony in Korea, in front of the biggest concert hall, even the usually calm Kijun hesitated.

“Three months? They say it’s the MOST craze! The word craze is perfect. Amazing!”

“Thank you!”

A stiff passion was felt in Kijun’s answer.

The MC smiled slightly.

“Then, Dojae!”

The MC then specifically called out Dojae.

The fan signing event anecdote was only a hot topic mainly among teenagers and those in their twenties online, but after , Dojae’s recognition was rapidly increasing in all directions.

“MOST is nominated for ‘Rookie of the Year.’ Do you think you can win, beating out REGINA and The Origin, who are formidable candidates? Dojae?”

It was an expected question, but it was quite sensitive.

Dojae, holding the microphone, looked at the camera with the red light on and raised the corners of his lips.

“Waaaaah.”

At the same time, cheers leaked out from among the reporters.

Laughter followed.

It wasn’t that they were trying to cheer, but they were all captivated by Dojae’s smile as if they were possessed.

Dojae’s face, with his forehead completely revealed for the awards ceremony, having swept back his usually parted hair, exuded an air of nobility.

As much as his recognition was rising, Dojae’s face was becoming more handsome every day.

Dojae smiled a little more deeply.

“Well.”

Dojae, who started with a low voice, continued to answer.

“If we could, it would be great, but just being nominated is a good thing.”

“Ah…. I see!”

Under normal circumstances, the MC would have been mischievous, saying it was too textbook an answer.

However, Dojae’s words carried an unknown dignity.

Because of this, even though it was an obvious answer, the MC nodded without realizing it.

“Then, can we look forward to today’s performance?”

At the following question, Woocheol and Lui answered simultaneously.

“Focus on MOST!”

“Of course!”

Kyusung and Heungmin, who were next to them, were momentarily embarrassed as the two people’s audio overlapped.

It had happened because Woocheol was supposed to answer the last question, and Lui was supposed to answer the question about the performance.

The experienced MC smoothly moved past the situation.

“Good, that’s the spirit! Then, Woocheol, please say a word to the viewers of N TV FESTA.”

The next van was just entering.

Woocheol answered hastily.

“We’ve worked really hard to prepare our performance! Please be sure to watch it!”

“Thank you!”

“See you later, Besties [MOST’s fandom name]!”

Heungmin and Lui shouted loudly after Woocheol’s answer.

The members waved their hands and left the red carpet, heading to the waiting room inside the concert hall.

***

“Wow! I’m really nervous! I was dying of nervousness!”

Woocheol shouted as soon as he entered the waiting room.

The others didn’t say anything, but they took deep breaths and relaxed.

“There were so many people. And so many cameras…….”

“The concert hall is also really, really big!”

Woocheol and Lui spun around the waiting room, making a fuss.

“If the audience fills all the seats, it won’t even compare to music shows.”

Heungmin also added to the trembling atmosphere instead of telling them to be still.

“How did the biggest awards ceremony end up being the first one!”

Woocheol half-roared.

There were a total of three year-end music awards ceremonies.

Today’s N TV FESTA was one of them, and then there was SVS and MVS .

Music shows were much more authoritative with public broadcasting stations like SVS and MVS than the cable channel N TV, but surprisingly, the awards ceremonies were the opposite.

This was because the parent company that owned N TV was making huge investments in N TV FESTA.

A tremendous amount of capital was invested in the stage production, and with the appearance of renowned overseas artists from a few years ago, N TV FESTA had become the biggest music awards ceremony in Korea in name and reality.

So it was no wonder that Woocheol and the members were nervous.

Woocheol and Lui stomped their feet, saying they wouldn’t forget the feeling they had when they stepped on the red carpet.

“Then wouldn’t the feeling you had when you stepped on it disappear instead?”

At Dojae’s question, both of them blankly stopped moving.

Kijun, who was about to tell them not to be too loud, turned his head as if relieved.

Then he poked Heungmin in the side.

It was a signal to take good care of Woocheol so he wouldn’t run away.

He hadn’t shown any fear of the stage since the showcase, but today’s concert hall was the Gocheok Sky Dome [largest indoor venue in South Korea].

There was no knowing what would happen.

Seeing Woocheol being overly excited, it was understandable that he was worried.

Heungmin nodded without Woocheol knowing, having read Kijun’s eyes.

Woocheol would have felt very wronged if he had known about the eye contact between the two.

***

In the chaotic atmosphere, the MOST members hurriedly changed their clothes.

“Uh oh. Be careful! Heungmin. There’s a safety pin there, so you have to be careful when you put it on.”

“Ugh. It’s really tight.”

“It has to look good on camera.”

The outfits were much more extravagant than usual, so just putting them on was not easy.

The red carpet event lasted about an hour, and it was immediately followed by the live broadcast.

Since MOST was a rookie, their stage order was quite early, so Kyusung was already facing the wall and warming up his voice.

Kijun, who was the first to get dressed, also sat on one side and kept muttering his rap.

He had separately modified the rap for today’s performance, so no matter how much he practiced, he was anxious.

Kijun, who had always shown perfect live performances with practice after practice, had a fear that he would forget it once he went on stage because there were so many lyrics.

That was why he was practicing even more.

“Starting from here…. Uh?”

Kijun, who was reciting the rap in his mouth, stopped and got up from his seat.

The waiting room door opened, and team leader Kim Seokcheol and seven young men were rushing in.

MOST had decided to share the waiting room with Big Boyz, who were from the same company.

“What’s up, Kijun!”

One of the young men wearing a purplish suit ran towards Kijun.

“Oh, Kedo!”

He was Kijun’s close best friend and the rapper of Big Boyz, Kedo.

They were originally in the same debut group, but Kijun dropped out to become the center of the next team, so only Kedo debuted as Big Boyz.

The other members who were preparing also stopped their actions and quickly greeted Big Boyz.

“You’re here?!”

“Hello!”

The cold air from outside could be felt from the Big Boyz members who had just finished their red carpet interview.

The Big Boyz members smiled and approached the MOST members.

Dojae looked at Big Boyz, who had captivated him at the performance in front of City Hall, with curious eyes.

The other members had a period of practicing with Big Boyz for at least a month, but Lui and Dojae were almost strangers.

Even though they were using the same company, their activity periods were different, so they had only seen each other fleetingly in the hallway once or twice.

At that time, a purple-haired member of Big Boyz strode up to Dojae and pointed his finger.

He was Jungjoon, the vocalist of Big Boyz.

“You.”

“……?”

Dojae frowned, momentarily flustered.

Tension flashed for a moment.