Prince From Another Dimension Becomes An Idol [EN]: Chapter 54

#54.

“Y-Your Highness?!”

“……Ugh.”

A pure white wall.

Opening his eyes, Do-jae felt his body stiff and stirred.

However, it was only a small movement.

His body, which had been lying down for a long time, did not move as he wished.

“Are you awake now, Your Highness!”

“…….”

He wanted to ask what on earth was going on, but his mouth wouldn’t open.

First, he tried to raise himself properly, supporting himself on the bed with his hand, but he couldn’t muster any strength, and his body sank back down.

The IV line running from the back of his hand to his wrist was just cumbersome.

“Your Highness! Just a moment…. It’s too much for you to get up yet.”

It was Chief Kim, dressed in his usual neat black suit, but his face was haggard.

He hurriedly grabbed Do-jae’s body and gently laid him back down.

Against Do-jae’s will, his body was laid down powerlessly.

It was understandable.

He had been lying unconscious for almost two years.

“Really…. Are you really awake?”

Chief Kim couldn’t believe it even as he watched Do-jae move with his own eyes.

After Do-jae lost consciousness.

Chief Kim took turns with other palace staff to watch over Do-jae.

Just watching over someone lying down was, in fact, a seemingly futile task for Chief Kim, who had always been on an elite path.

Everyone thought that Chief Kim would apply for a transfer to another position. In fact, the upper echelons of the Royal Household Department offered to change Chief Kim’s position, but he refused.

No matter how much the Imperial Family was like a company, and the Prince was just a superior to be served, he had been watching Do-jae since he was a child.

He wasn’t a parent, but he often took on the role of a parent. He wasn’t a sibling, but he spent more time with him than a sibling.

It wasn’t to say that he was as close as a blood-related member of the Imperial Family.

It meant that he had built up that much affection as a human being.

He couldn’t feel comfortable working elsewhere when someone like that suddenly fell unconscious.

“Ugh…….”

“No. Don’t try to speak too much, Your Highness.”

Only today did Chief Kim think that he had done well to keep watching over Do-jae.

‘To be able to see him wake up like this.’

Changing shifts yesterday afternoon also felt like a fateful premonition.

Midnight.

When he saw Do-jae suddenly open his eyes, everything felt like fate.

“First…. A doctor…. I’ll call a doctor.”

Chief Kim said, his voice thick with emotion.

He had been pressing the bell since Do-jae started moving his fingers, but he was frustrated that the medical staff hadn’t arrived yet.

Do-jae only blinked slowly, as if his mind was still hazy.

***

After Chief Kim left the hospital room.

Do-jae swallowed hard and looked around while lying down.

‘I know it’s a hospital, but.’

It was a huge private room.

A table, sofa, and TV in one corner…….

If it weren’t for the medical equipment and IV line next to the bed he was lying on, he might have thought it was a hotel room rather than a hospital.

‘Why am I in a private room…….’

He was wondering why he was in the hospital, but even more so, he was wondering why he was in a private room.

There was no way his mother could afford the cost of a private hospital room.

Looking around, there were many more strange things.

There were patterns that he seemed to have seen in history books somewhere, and the name of the hospital was also strange.

‘Royal Central Medical Center?’

Come to think of it, the man in the suit called him ‘Your Highness’ in a polite tone.

‘Who is that man…. What on earth is going on?’

Feeling a headache coming on, Do-jae squeezed his eyes shut and then opened them.

Then, the door opened and Chief Kim entered with the medical staff.

It was the professor in charge, the associate professor, and the nurses.

“He’s conscious!”

Looking at them rushing in in surprise, the doctor in charge said, clearly taken aback.

“Please check his condition quickly.”

At Chief Kim’s words, the doctor in charge hurriedly examined Do-jae.

Starting with his heartbeat, he checked several things and muttered with an incredulous expression.

“Everything is normal.”

“Normal?”

“Yes…. After all this time… I am sorry to say that the cause was unknown from the beginning, so it is difficult to explain the reason why he regained consciousness. However, the clear fact is that all the figures are normal.”

Not only Chief Kim but also the other medical staff standing guard had surprised expressions on their faces.

“His pulse is a little slow, but…. He’ll probably recover soon. This is unbelievable…. It’s a miracle. Your Highness.”

Explaining his condition, the doctor in charge bowed his head to Do-jae.

After that, the other medical staff also bowed their heads.

Do-jae opened his mouth in embarrassment.

Chief Kim hurriedly said to the palace staff assigned as assistants.

“Contact the palace via hotline.”

“Yes!”

It was a situation he couldn’t understand at all.

‘Is this a new form of torment? Is there something about me being in the hospital…….’

Kang Do-jae recalled his last memory.

As soon as he did, his face contorted in chest-tightening pain.

“Are you alright?!”

Chief Kim, who saw Kang Do-jae like that, asked in horror.

‘I wanted to die.’

It was the day of the song evaluation for the debut group selection.

He wanted to die so intensely.

So much so that he didn’t even want to pursue his long-held dream of becoming a singer.

He was so distressed that he didn’t care about his past efforts being in vain.

Almost every day had been like hell since he entered Newest [entertainment agency].

The bullying worsened day by day, and he was more disgusted by the humiliation he experienced every day than by the hardship of practice.

Being poor was not his fault.

Being a little more timid than others couldn’t be a sin either.

In fact, he was a little quiet, but he wasn’t just timid.

He was just an ordinary human being.

Song Hwan, who didn’t hesitate to hit him, and his friends, who ignored him even when they saw it.

No, sometimes they humiliated him with Song Hwan.

And Yu Myeong-woo was always laughing behind his back.

‘…Why live? Just die.’

Just before the song evaluation, Yu Myeong-woo mouthed silently to Kang Do-jae.

Just die.

The shape of his mouth was clearly readable.

‘Am I dead…. Or is this a dream.’

Do-jae was confused by the rush of pain.

“I’m okay…. I’m okay.”

As the pain subsided, Kang Do-jae opened his mouth with difficulty.

His vocal cords, which he hadn’t used for a long time, tingled, but that too soon got better.

“Really?”

“…Yes.”

But just as Kang Do-jae was about to ask where this was, it happened.

“His Majesty the Emperor and Her Majesty the Empress will be here soon.”

“…His Majesty the Emperor?”

“Your Highness. All you have to do now is be healthy.”

At that moment, Kang Do-jae saw his face reflected in the window.

It was definitely himself, but something looked different. Something.

It had changed.

“While you were lying down for two years, Their Majesties, His Highness the Crown Prince, the Princesses… and even the people of the Empire were very worried.”

He had been lying down for two years.

Kang Do-jae opened his mouth in shock.

“During that time, His Majesty’s thoughts changed a lot.”

“…….”

“You don’t have to worry about anything now.”

You don’t have to give up on Your Highness’s dream.

Chief Kim’s words slowly lingered in Kang Do-jae’s ears.

‘My…. dream?’

For a moment, he saw an afterimage of fireworks exploding beyond the window.

It was as if he could hear cheerful singing.

***

“Hyung [term for older brother or male friend]!”

Flash.

Do-jae opened his eyes at Louie’s clear voice.

“……!”

“Hyung, wake up! We have to go now.”

“What…….”

Do-jae looked around.

The colorful fireworks that decorated the sky were no longer visible.

Do-jae was in the waiting room of the MVS concert hall.

‘I definitely saw the Royal Central Medical Center…….’

Was he dreaming?

However, he had visited the Royal Central Medical Center for events, but he had no memory of being hospitalized there.

‘Unless it’s a serious illness, the doctors usually come to the palace…….’

Do-jae briefly touched his forehead, feeling a little dizzy.

“What happened to me?”

Louie frowned and answered as Do-jae asked blankly, still not fully conscious.

“Hyung suddenly staggered as soon as January 1st came.”

“Oh…….”

“I should have noticed it then.”

According to Louie, Do-jae only staggered for a moment and then acted normally.

He seemed to have endured it with his mental strength and couldn’t even remember it, Heung-min added, after seeing Do-jae wake up.

“And there are still about three more teams left to perform. We were going to come into the waiting room and wait…. Hyung suddenly!”

“Suddenly?”

“Thud. You collapsed.”

“I collapsed?”

“Uh-huh! I just thought you collapsed.”

The MOST waiting room was in chaos, and Team Leader Kim Seok-cheol quickly called the medical staff.

It was the medical staff that the broadcasting station had on standby in case of an emergency.

The medical staff, who rushed to the waiting room and checked Do-jae’s condition, looked at Team Leader Kim Seok-cheol, as well as the MOST members who were sobbing, with a slightly dumbfounded expression.

“They said he was asleep.”

“Asleep?”

“I mean, who falls asleep like they’re sick! I was so surprised. So shocked!”

“I know. Do-jae. We were all sleep-deprived, but…. Were you not able to sleep at night separately? Is there something you’re worried about?”

“Ah. No.”

Do-jae shook his head at the two people who were worried.

He couldn’t believe that he had suddenly fallen asleep in the waiting room as if he had lost consciousness.

‘But something…….’

There was a part that he could guess.

Wasn’t something momentarily connected to the Korean Empire and ‘Kang Do-jae’?

‘As expected. Kang Do-jae is there.’

It was a guess that was almost certain, but after confirming it, the slight discomfort that remained like a grain of sand in his shoe disappeared, and he felt clear.

It was just that the place happened to be a medical center.

‘Are you awake now, Your Highness!’

He remembered hearing Chief Kim’s voice faintly.

He was sorry that he couldn’t know what happened after that, but he could guess the situation in his own way.

‘Kang Do-jae must have been unconscious even after his body was switched.’

There seemed to be a difference when the two souls crossed dimensions.

Both of them had strong desires, but unlike Lee Do-jae’s desire to sing, Kang Do-jae’s desire was to die.

That desire could have suppressed his consciousness.

‘And he must have woken up today.’

Anyway, it was a relief that he woke up.

“It seems like the tension was released after finishing the last awards ceremony stage.”

Do-jae turned his head at the voice coming from his right.

It was Team Leader Kim Seok-cheol.

As he said, with the end of the awards ceremony that was today, no, now yesterday, MOST’s schedule was empty until February.

The schedule set for February was only one stage in the form of a festival where singers gathered together to enjoy.

It had nothing to do with the tension being released, but Do-jae nodded as if that was the reason and said.

“I’m sorry for causing unnecessary worry.”

“No. I’m glad you’re not sick.”

Do-jae momentarily thought of Chief Kim.

‘If Kang Do-jae had been unconscious for this long, he must have been very worried.’

However, there was no time to be lost in thought.

Do-jae hurriedly changed his clothes and left the waiting room with the members.

Only on the way to the dorm did Do-jae and the members rejoice to their heart’s content at achieving two rookie awards through the awards ceremony.

It was a pleasant start to the new year.

***

With two rookie trophies lined up side by side.

It was only two days later that the members, who were enjoying a honey-like rest, heard the shocking news.

***