Prince From Another Dimension Becomes An Idol [EN]: Chapter 87

#87.

***

Having finished their conversation at the cafe, Do-jae and Team Leader Kim Seok-cheol immediately left for their radio schedule.

Before he could even organize his thoughts from the conversation with Sprint, he snapped back to reality to find himself in the van on the way back to the dorm.

The dorm they moved into at the start of the “Don’t Play Around” promotions was definitely more comfortable than before.

With multiple bathrooms, the time it took to shower and change into comfortable clothes after returning to the dorm was also reduced.

‘No need to wait my turn.’

Do-jae nodded in satisfaction, drying his hair with a towel.

After washing out the hairspray that had held his hair in place all day, his mind felt refreshed.

The living room was also much larger than before, making it possible to have a sofa that could seat all six members.

Of course, even then, some members ended up sitting on the floor, leaning against the sofa…

“Hyung. Hurry up and come here. It looks like it’s about to start!”

Woo-cheol, who was sitting at the table, munching on snacks and watching TV, called out to Do-jae.

One by one, the other members gathered in the living room.

It was a night when everyone should have been tired, but it just so happened that today was the first broadcast of ‘DISS IS HIPHOP!’ (or ‘D-Hip’) Season 3.

Originally, it was a program that only Gi-jun, Heung-min, and Woo-cheol would watch on TV.

As a program where rappers competed, it was almost essential for Gi-jun and Heung-min, and a very stimulating entertainment program for Woo-cheol.

“During Season 2, someone got rejected and got so angry that they were going to set the stage on fire, pouring oil all over it. I bet there will be a lot of crazy people like that this season too, right?”

“We’ll have to see… but I don’t think there will be anyone crazier than that.”

“Seeing that the police came, it doesn’t seem like it was scripted.”

Do-jae, who was listening to Woo-cheol and Heung-min’s conversation, widened his eyes in surprise.

“Such a maniac…”

“It was crazy back then. Anyway, there are a lot of crazy kids who come out. Honestly, I don’t know much about rap, but it’s funny to watch them fight among themselves, so I watch it.”

“I read about that person in an article. They seemed a little crazy…”

Gyu-seong said, pedaling the indoor bicycle next to the sofa.

Gyu-seong, who had bought an indoor bicycle with the move, was pedaling every day, even during this busy promotion period.

He must have seen the comment from the cruel fan who told him to share his food with Louis.

‘He doesn’t have to work that hard…’

Do-jae looked at Gyu-seong with pitiful eyes.

However, he also understood Gyu-seong’s desire to look more handsome and beautiful on screen, even if just a little.

All he could do was cheer him on.

“It’s not just that guy who’s crazy… Anyway, there are a lot of crazy people when you watch it.”

Following Woo-cheol’s explanation, the MC’s opening remarks flowed from the TV.

―From now on, a rap battle for pride will unfold!

‘What is pride… that they would go so far as to harm others and cause a ruckus to protect it?’

Do-jae couldn’t understand.

In his opinion, pride wasn’t something that could be protected by harming others and causing a commotion.

Pride was something that only you could protect.

In any case, thanks to those crazy people and the director’s editing, which made them look even crazier, ‘D-Hip’ had high viewership ratings.

Thanks to this, ‘D-Hip’ had a huge impact not only on the hip-hop scene but also on the general public.

It wasn’t uncommon for the songs released for the competition to line up from number one on the music charts the next day.

This was partly thanks to the talented rappers who prepared great songs, but it was definitely the power of the broadcast.

‘To think that he’s going to use my song for such an important competition song…’

Do-jae recalled his conversation with Sprint and focused on the TV screen.

An opening video introducing this season was playing.

―The final prize is 200 million won!

―Unprecedented challengers from all over the country!

(Honestly, winning is a given for me.)

(Who’s judging me? Don’t be ridiculous.)

(Who’s laughing now! Come out! Fxxk!)

―And five judges who will make them the best rappers!

(Do you call that rap?)

(Get out of here.)

(I don’t think I’ve ever asked for this before, but please choose me.)

The video, with its flashy subtitles and sound effects, was provocative from the start.

The parts where the contestants’ comments were pieced together were especially so.

“It’s evil editing from the start.”

“They might have actually said those things. They’re the type to do that.”

“That’s true too.”

The members were mesmerized, completely absorbed in the TV.

One season of ‘D-Hip’ consisted of eight episodes.

From the first to the fourth episode, the five judges would bring talented contestants into their teams from among the many participants.

The fifth and sixth episodes featured the teams performing together.

The seventh and eighth episodes were the semi-finals and finals.

Both stages were broadcast live.

“This season’s judging panel is good.”

“Since it’s popular, everyone must be clamoring to get on it now.”

Heung-min replied to Gi-jun, who was listening to the judges’ aspirations.

‘D-Hip’ was a program where not only the contestants but also the judges, who had a lot of exposure, could gain popularity.

Thanks to this, starting with Season 2, even those who were against appearing on TV, saying they wouldn’t be swayed by broadcasting, had changed their stance to ‘let’s gain popularity’.

There were still those who looked down on appearing on the show, saying it went against the hip-hop spirit, but as a broadcast that contributed to the revival of hip-hop, appearing on ‘D-Hip’ was like a trend of the times.

―Rapper One Shot?

―I’m going to sweep them all at once.

―Good. Let’s get it!

The main content of the first episode was the participants gathered in a large auditorium being evaluated by the judges.

The given time was only 30 seconds.

Within that time, they were either accepted or rejected.

―Knock, knock, knock. On this door I can’t escape…

The first participant shown was a fairly famous rapper from Busan, but he missed the beat from the start.

“They said he was good. He’s just okay.”

Heung-min frowned and muttered.

The following participants were also just so-so.

They said they would kill everyone, turn the world upside down, but only their own raps faltered.

It seemed like a setup to highlight the talented participants who would come out later.

However, from the viewers’ perspective, the participants were either laughable or made them click their tongues.

“What… even the one from America isn’t anything special.”

“Totally disappointed.”

Woo-cheol and Louis also shook their heads.

Fortunately, after that, an unknown high school student appeared and surprised the auditorium.

As soon as his voice came out, the judges shook their acceptance necklaces, and the members watching TV applauded, saying he was good.

Certainly, as it went on, many participants who had already made a name for themselves in the hip-hop scene appeared.

There were even some talented people who seemed like they could at least make it to the semi-finals.

“Hyungs, you should go on it too. I think you could easily make it to the live broadcast!”

The two laughed lightly at Louis’s words.

Louis then asked, as if curious.

“But why did you hyungs decide to become idols instead of rappers?”

Usually, if you’re interested in hip-hop and good at rapping, you’d want to be involved in hip-hop rather than becoming an idol, so he was asking.

“Me? I originally liked dancing more than rapping. I wanted to dance like ‘Legend’ [a famous senior idol group] sunbaenims, so I became an idol trainee.”

‘Legend’ was an idol group that remained a legend, as their name suggested.

Their powerful group dance was still talked about, and Heung-min’s dream of becoming a member of a team like ‘Legend’ had come true to some extent.

“I started rapping and became interested in hip-hop because of Kedo hyung and Gi-jun hyung.”

“Ah.”

Considering that, Heung-min’s rap was quite good.

As Louis said, he seemed like he could pass the first round of ‘D-Hip’ right away.

Do-jae asked Gi-jun.

“What about you, hyung?”

“Me? Me…”

In fact, Gi-jun had wanted to do hip-hop even before becoming a trainee.

That’s why he started studying songwriting and composition.

“As I did it… I felt like I could do everything well… and I thought I could become more famous that way.”

He could rap, write lyrics, compose, and even sing and dance to some extent, so there was no reason to become a hip-hop artist.

Even though he spoke hesitantly, his confidence was immense.

That’s why the company thought of forming a team centered around Gi-jun, as he was such a talented person.

“Wow! Awesome! Hyung!”

Woo-cheol shouted. Louis also made a “This is hiphop!” gesture, covering his mouth with his hand and making a popping sound.

Gi-jun watched TV with an indifferent expression.

The broadcast was already nearing its end.

―What. Why is that person here?

―No way.

―What the fxxk!

A scene was playing where the other participants were buzzing about the appearance of one participant.

That protagonist was none other than Sprint.

―Sprint?! Is he a judge?

―This is cheating.

―Who knows. He’s washed up.

―I guess that hyung needs money too. Coming out on a show like this.

Amidst the rampant attention-grabbing comments, Sprint stood in the middle of the auditorium with a calm expression.

Sprint had explained to Do-jae the reason for appearing on ‘D-Hip’ like this.

The album he released after a long hiatus was praised as a masterpiece, but too many people had already forgotten him.

Because he had cut off contact with everyone due to the shock of betrayal, it was more difficult than he thought to enter the hip-hop scene, where they were all united and pushing and pulling each other along.

He thought that there was no better stage than this to break through that solid ice and make his presence known.

―Sprint?! Wow! Sprint! I know even established rappers come out, but… do you know that if you don’t do well here, you’ll be completely humiliated? Are you prepared for that?

A judge approached Sprint and asked.

It was the same attention-grabbing tactic as the participants, but it was also true to some extent.

The place he was standing was both an opportunity and a place where he could lose his past fame.

Sprint raised one corner of his mouth and replied.

―Enough. I’ll prove it with my rap.

Along with Sprint’s words, jeers and cheers mixed and poured out from here and there.

The first episode ended with a judge making a condescending expression as if to say, ‘Let’s see you do it,’ and Sprint’s expression hardening.

As soon as the broadcast ended, topics related to ‘D-Hip’ went up and down the real-time search rankings.

Of course, Sprint was among them.

After the commercials, a preview of the next episode of ‘D-Hip’ was shown, subtly edited to make it seem like Sprint hadn’t rapped well.

“Wow! This is real evil editing!”

Woo-cheol exclaimed with a mixture of admiration and shock.