Prince From Another Dimension Becomes An Idol [EN]: Chapter 119

#119.

Because it was a team sport, Do-jae didn’t actually have to play soccer himself.

However, Do-jae enjoyed watching soccer games.

He had been to many games in person.

Soccer was a popular sport in the Great Han Empire, and the imperial family often attended matches to boost the morale of the national team players.

One day, when Do-jae visited the VIP seating area as usual,

One of the Great Han Empire players was seriously injured.

It was due to a reckless back tackle by an opposing player from another country.

‘No…….’

Do-jae was horrified by the memory.

The tackled player was unable to play for over a year.

Even after that, his once-great skills deteriorated, and he had to end his soccer career prematurely.

Of course, Woo-cheol wasn’t a soccer player, but neither was his opponent a professional soccer player.

This meant there was an even greater chance of mistakes.

The atmosphere seemed to mirror that past event, and Do-jae clenched his fist tightly.

But at that moment,

Seon-wook’s body, who was losing his judgment and trying to tackle Woo-cheol’s foot instead of the ball, was blocked.

“Hah, hah.”

Heung-min, who had been momentarily flustered by Seon-wook pushing him back, saw Seon-wook heading towards Woo-cheol and sprinted after him.

Considering his usual speed, Heung-min could never have caught up with Seon-wook.

However, like Do-jae, Heung-min instinctively sensed the danger to Woo-cheol during the game.

It was also possible because the futsal field was smaller than a soccer field.

As Woo-cheol dribbled further, Seon-wook shoved Heung-min.

It was a skillful maneuver that toed the line between a legitimate technique and a foul.

“Oh!”

Heung-min, who had already expended a lot of energy just running and blocking Seon-wook, was pushed back and almost fell.

“…….”

The referee watching did not blow the whistle.

It was judged to be a fair body check.

Heung-min, who barely regained his balance, watched Woo-cheol quickly move away.

Woo-cheol passed to Yoon-hoo of Infinite Boys, as he couldn’t get past the other members of S CLASS 12.

Yoon-hoo was unmarked.

Since it was already 2-0, there was nothing to hide, and Group B’s goal was ‘just score one goal’.

Yoon-hoo shot without hesitation.

“Infinite Boys’ Yoon-hoo shoots! Goal! It’s a goal!!! Yoon-hoo doesn’t miss the unmarked chance and scores!”

The net of the goal shook, and along with the loud voice of the commentator, Yoon-hoo celebrated excitedly.

Although it was just a game, this celebration was also a chance to showcase his talent in front of the camera.

It wasn’t an official soccer game, but a futsal match.

He had only scored one goal, but Yoon-hoo expressed his joy by briefly performing the choreography of Infinite Boys’ title song in front of the camera that approached him.

“Ooh!”

When Woo-cheol approached to celebrate together, Yoon-hoo cleverly performed the choreography of MOST’s song, .

It was Woo-cheol who gave the assist, so celebrating together was fitting.

Woo-cheol excitedly danced the key choreography of with Yoon-hoo.

It was a dance that involved wiggling your legs and drawing a large circle with your arms.

It was surprisingly well-suited to expressing joy.

However, no one knew how Yoon-hoo knew the choreography of .

Anyway, soon Heung-min and Sung-chan of Infinite Boys also joined in, waving their arms.

MOST and Infinite Boys fans screamed with joy.

Yoon Jeong-hoon of Illusion, who joined late, awkwardly followed along even though it wasn’t a difficult move, perhaps because he was in a band, bringing laughter to the audience.

Because the concept was consistent, even the people in the same group eventually burst out laughing.

“Group B players look very, very excited!”

“Yes. Because it’s finally their first goal! Actually, they didn’t have many shooting opportunities.”

“Ah…. Group C was a really formidable opponent.”

“In the previous goal situation, MOST’s Woo-cheol, who recorded the assist, and Heung-min’s performance before that were great.”

“Yes. In fact, this goal is as good as a goal created by the two MOST players. Especially Heung-min. Who would have thought he would show this kind of performance against S CLASS 12’s Seon-wook.”

“Ah…. Fighting spirit! I saw fighting spirit!”

“Yes, that’s right. He blocked Seon-wook with tremendous determination!”

“Actually, it was a bit of a dangerous situation. Because Woo-cheol is a member of the same group…. I think he showed fighting spirit. I really thought I was seeing Song Heung-min [a famous South Korean soccer player].”

“Haha. Yes, that’s right. He lived up to his name!”

With the score at 2-1, the commentators were excited.

From the commentators’ point of view, it was more fun to watch a close game than one where one side was just getting completely dominated.

The MOST members who were cheering from the sidelines also showered Heung-min and Woo-cheol, who had come closer, with praise.

“Good job!”

When Ki-joon praised in an excited voice, Heung-min and Woo-cheol looked very proud.

Do-jae, with a relieved expression, said to Heung-min.

“You blocked it really 멋지게 [meotjige – coolly/impressively], hyung [older brother or male friend].”

When he was singled out for praise, Heung-min averted his gaze with an embarrassed expression, saying, “What….”

“Woo-cheol could have been hurt if it weren’t for you.”

“That’s right. You never know. It could have been a big deal…….”

At Ki-joon and Louis’ words, Heung-min cleared his throat.

Woo-cheol belatedly put his arm around Heung-min’s shoulder and made an exaggerated crying sound.

“Sniff. Hyung. I didn’t know you would care about me this much…. Sniff, sniff.”

“That’s right. Treat me well.”

Heung-min playfully retorted at Woo-cheol’s words.

Woo-cheol was actually really touched, but he quickly changed his expression and teased Heung-min, saying, “Is this enough?”

“You, you little…….”

However, Heung-min didn’t have time to say anything to Woo-cheol.

Because the game had resumed.

The members watched the two of them re-enter the stadium with pleasure.

They bickered every day, but in fact, they were the kind of people who would secretly take care of each other if something like the ‘Good Brothers’ story happened and they had to put rice sacks in front of each other’s houses [a Korean folktale about brothers secretly helping each other].

***

The game between Group B and Group C ended with a score of 2-1.

Even just not conceding any more goals was significant.

Thanks to this, Group B was in as good a mood as Group C, who had won.

They were encouraging each other, and Heung-min and Woo-cheol were about to return to the members.

“It was a good game. I don’t know what I was thinking earlier…. I almost made a dangerous tackle…. I’m sorry.”

Seon-wook approached and apologized to Heung-min and Woo-cheol.

They both knew that he was just overly excited because he was so eager and wanted to do well, and that he had no bad intentions.

Above all, no one was hurt.

Woo-cheol shook his head.

“No, 선배님 [seonbaenim – senior/older colleague]! It’s okay!”

“Yes. I’m okay too. We were in the middle of a game.”

Seon-wook thanked the two for understanding and said that he would treat them to a meal sometime.

“He’s really good. He’s good, but he works really hard…….”

“I guess you have to be good and work hard like that to make a name for yourself and gain popularity in sports entertainment shows.”

“That’s right…….”

As they talked, Woo-cheol and Heung-min changed their sweaty clothes and headed to the main gymnasium with the members.

They didn’t know at the time that there would be someone in their group who was good at sports, worked hard, and would make a name for himself and gain popularity…….

***

The first place team in the , which lasted from early morning until after 1 a.m., eventually went to Upside, who won the relay race.

MOST was also a contender for the championship until the relay race, but they showed a truly disastrous performance in the relay race.

At dawn,

Ki-joon’s stamina, who had already been getting little sleep, was depleted, and Woo-cheol and Heung-min, who had played futsal, hadn’t recovered their stamina either.

In addition, Gyu-seong had wrestled.

Do-jae and Louis were in relatively good condition, but for some reason, even the two of them didn’t perform to their full potential.

As the Upside members ran around the gymnasium excitedly, the MOST members congratulated them with applause.

And despite being very tired, they didn’t forget to provide fan service to the fans who remained in the gymnasium until the end.

“Aah! Louis, look over here too!”

“Gyu-seong-ah!”

The MOST members remained until the staff began cleaning up the gymnasium, as if trying to make eye contact with every fan, one by one, if possible.

Ki-joon, unlike his usual self, even drew a large heart with his arms to express his gratitude to the fans.

Because he was really grateful.

“It’s late at night…. Be careful on your way home.”

The fans nodded with tearful eyes at Do-jae’s sincere concern.

Because it felt truly 황송한 [hwangsonghan – deeply grateful/honored] to hear Do-jae’s concern up close.

Do-jae wanted to contact the young student fans who were only looking at him and tell them to contact him when they got home safely.

But since he couldn’t do that, he just hoped that they would return home safely.

“Come on, guys!”

Jeong Gil-joo, who couldn’t stand the lengthy fan service, called the members from the entrance.

The staff also had to clean up quickly, so the members reluctantly left.

The fans who watched the members walking backwards as they left continued to wave their hands with a proud and touched heart.

“Our kids are really…. so kind.”

“That’s right. The kids must be tired too.”

“Oppa’s [term used by young women to refer to older male friends or idols] are so 멋있어어 [meosisseo – cool/handsome]…….”

“I’m going crazy. I’ve been stuck in the gym for hours…. But even after all this hardship, it feels like my love has only grown bigger.”

“I know, right. Ah, I just saw them, but I want to see them again.”

“Me too…. I want to see them even when I’m looking at them. I hope the kids make a comeback soon…….”

“But how are you getting home? Do you have a car?”

“No. It got cut off earlier. I have to take a taxi.”

“Those 언니’s [eonnies – older sisters or female friends] over there booked a room. Their home is in Seongnam.”

“헐 [heol – wow/unbelievable]… How do you get from Ilsan to Seongnam. But I think my dad will beat me to death if I don’t go home.”

It was time for the fans who had been lost in the afterglow to return to reality.

The members who boarded the van finally sighed and rubbed their tired eyes after leaning back in their seats.

On the way to the dorm,

It was natural that all the members, including Do-jae, fell asleep.

***

A few days later.

The atmosphere in the MOST dorm, which was celebrating 설 [Seollal – Korean Lunar New Year], was bustling.

The members couldn’t go to their hometowns because they were in the middle of preparing for their comeback.

Instead, the 설 atmosphere was quite festive with the food sent by each of their families.

“Ki-joon hyung’s family made dumplings themselves.”

“Hyung! Let’s eat some 떡만둣국 [tteokmandutguk – Korean dumpling soup with rice cakes] that you made!”

Gyu-seong exclaimed, and Heung-min suggested.

Ki-joon had already had his cooking skills exposed to the members.

“떡만둣국!”

“떡만둣국!”

Because they were shouting like a slogan, Ki-joon had no choice but to cook 떡만둣국 in the kitchen.

The sound of the soup boiling and the smell of meat filled the entire dorm.

“It smells delicious.”

Do-jae said, drinking water in the kitchen.

It already smelled delicious.

Ki-joon, who was silently cooking the soup, turned his head at the sound coming from the living room.

“Hyung, is it done yet? I think it’s about to start!”

Woo-cheol asked in a loud voice.

It was a pleasant 설날.

Ki-joon hurriedly put dumplings in the soup bowls for his younger brothers, who were urging him to serve it quickly without helping.

He put a little more 떡 [rice cakes] in Heung-min and Woo-cheol’s bowls, and added one more dumpling to Gyu-seong’s bowl, who was still cracking eggs next to him.

“Oh! It’s starting!”

It was the broadcast day of the .