Prince From Another Dimension Becomes An Idol [EN]: Chapter 169

#169.

“Why is Hyung [older brother/male friend] going there?!”

Woochul asked, surprised.

was, as the name suggested, a program that created and debuted idol groups.

Of course, there were often members of groups who had debuted but hadn’t made a name for themselves, practically as if they hadn’t debuted at all, participating in the show.

However, MOST was a group that was currently thriving, and Dojae was a central member of it.

There was no reason for him to appear on .

“Don’t tell me! As a composer?!”

Lui, quick to catch on, asked immediately.

Dojae nodded lightly.

In the early part of , contestants performed competition stages with existing songs, but from the group mission where the final 31 were selected, they competed with new songs.

These competition songs were also released as tracks and factored into the scores.

Therefore, the quality of the song itself was as important as the contestants’ skills, and most songs were by famous composers.

The scenes of composers taking the initiative in distributing parts to the contestants and producing them also took up a considerable amount of broadcast time.

Dojae was scouted for a spot where three or four famous composers would appear.

“I was going to decide whether to appear based on the album work speed, so I hadn’t given a definite answer yet… But if things continue like this, it seems like I’ll be appearing.”

At Dojae’s words, the members were surprised and impressed.

“That’s amazing.”

“I know, right? Only really famous composers came out on that show last season.”

“It’s not like I’m famous as a composer, though……”

Gyusung said, and Dojae replied.

In fact, Dojae’s popularity as a singer played a bigger role in him being scouted for the composer group than his reputation as a composer.

‘There was talk that the production team, who highly valued my skills during , scouted me… But they must have considered the buzz.’

That’s why the position was even more burdensome.

If the song quality wasn’t good, it would be easy to incur criticism.

Moreover, it was a place where many people’s desperate dreams were at stake.

Heungmin replied to Dojae’s words.

“Isn’t that even better? It’s the perfect opportunity to show how good you are!”

“That’s right, Hyung! You showed it during , but you’re more famous now than you were then! More people will remember it!”

Woochul added in an excited voice.

These were words that could only be said by members who highly valued Dojae’s skills.

Dojae smiled quietly.

“ competition songs also did pretty well in terms of music chart performance, though not as much as ……”

Gyusung nodded as if agreeing.

Whether that would be the case was something they could only know once the program started, but in any case, it was clearly a good opportunity for Dojae in many ways.

‘Burden always follows opportunity.’

Dojae was prepared to gladly bear the burden.

From the start, worries like ‘What if I don’t do well?’ didn’t suit Dojae.

“Since everyone seems to be in favor, I think I can confirm my appearance.”

At Dojae’s words, the members were rather puzzled.

“There’s no reason to oppose it.”

“We’re always in favor of Hyung’s choices!”

“I told you everyone would agree.”

Kijun said to Dojae as if he were asking back.

The same would have been true even if Heemin were to appear on .

If there was any concern, it was that Dojae’s appearance would end up promoting Heemin or that MOST as a group would be caught up in unnecessary noise in some way due to ‘evil editing’ [malicious editing to create drama].

However, that too could be a groundless fear.

“There’s no reason for Dojae to avoid appearing on because of such issues, since we don’t even know if Heemin will make it to the group mission.”

The members agreed with Kijun’s words.

Moreover, it was Dojae who was appearing.

No matter what situation he was in, Dojae would act correctly, and the chances of problems arising were slim.

If the day came when Dojae couldn’t handle himself and was pointed fingers at by the world, it wouldn’t be Dojae’s fault but the world that had gone wrong…….

That was the members’ thought: they trusted and watched Dojae without question.

Even if he said he was going on as a contestant rather than a composer, they might have thought he had his reasons.

Kijun, having wrapped up the conversation, glanced at Woochul.

Woochul had been rolling his big eyes and watching Kijun throughout the conversation.

Kijun chuckled as if he was dumbfounded and added.

“It’s true that I had a hard time back then, but it’s not something to worry about now, so don’t worry about me.”

It was when his beloved younger brother had left without a word, which was hurtful, and when his anxiety about debuting was at its peak.

It was also a type of anxiety that he no longer felt at all.

At Kijun’s words, Woochul finally relaxed his expression as if completely relieved.

Then he grumbled, sounding a bit disgruntled.

“I thought I’d be shocked to find out that Heemin was going to be an idol again… But you already knew. I was worried for nothing!”

Heungmin ruffled Woochul’s hair as if he was impressed, and said in a playful voice.

“Woochul has really grown up a lot. He even worries about his Hyung!”

“Park Woochul is worrying about me……”

Kijun shook his head.

***

Once the song work for the title track of was finished, the members accelerated their album preparations.

A non-stop recording schedule, including the B-side tracks, followed.

Kijun and Heungmin, who also had to do rap making, became as edgy as could be.

The members in charge of the vocal parts also struggled to produce better voices than on the previous album.

“The pitch shouldn’t be flat there.”

It wasn’t just the members who thought that the quality had to be higher than the previous album.

The company and Director Lee Jung-yeop, who was in charge of album producing, felt the same way.

Director Lee Jung-yeop was usually easygoing with the members, like their father, but during this album work, he was working with Kijun more strictly than usual.

It wasn’t that the quality of the previous album was low.

The previous album was an album that drew favorable reviews for its luxurious sound, solid vocals, and spectacular performance, starting with the title track, .

However, now that the expectations of fans and the public for MOST had risen, it was time to meet those expectations.

‘It might be even more difficult from now on.’

Dojae thought, looking at the sharp atmosphere of Director Lee Jung-yeop and the engineers.

Lui in the booth also had a more determined expression than ever.

The debut album was important in its own way, and the next album was important in its own way.

There was no such thing as an album that wasn’t important at any given moment.

It didn’t get any easier just because they released a lot of albums.

“Then I’ll go again.”

“Yes. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry, just do well.”

“Yes, sir.”

At Director Lee Jung-yeop’s words, Lui answered with a stiff expression and took a deep breath.

The song currently being recorded was a B-side track, but it was an R&B song with a melody so beautiful that it could have been the title track.

It was a song that Lui personally had a great desire to do well on.

Lui cleared his throat and signaled to the outside of the booth that he was ready.

Soon, the MR [music recorded] flowed into his headphones.

***

That’s how one song after another was recorded…….

While the choreography team was working on the choreography, it became July.

At the same time, they were also conducting ON TV live broadcasts for the fans and continuing with interview and advertisement filming schedules, so they were incredibly busy.

The reason why the schedule was inevitably tighter even though they were preparing for a comeback was because of the members’ individual activities.

As soon as July began, Heungmin dragged his tired body from practice and left to film , and Woochul was out on set for web drama filming.

“We’ll take a 30-minute break for set maintenance!”

At the assistant director’s shout, the actors and staff gathered on set scattered.

Because the drama was set in a school, there were many scenes filmed in a set decorated as a classroom, and unlike the increasingly hot weather outside, the inside of the set was almost cold due to the air conditioning.

Woochul was also wearing a short-sleeved summer school uniform, so he came out of the set and received a blanket from the stylist to wrap around himself.

The ‘MOST blanket’ that came out as concert merchandise last time had a large picture of Woochul’s face on it.

“Since they said 30 minutes, it’ll probably take an hour.”

At Woochul’s words, the stylist laughed, saying, “That’s probably right.”

Since it was already the third filming, Woochul was now somewhat adapting to the filming site.

On the first day, he was so nervous that he wondered if he should take an anti-anxiety pill, but now he could rest quite comfortably when he had time to rest.

This was also possible because he had consistently heard the words ‘He’s better than I thought’ from the reading, and after the first filming, he had received praise from the director, saying, ‘He’s really good.’

“Woochul-ah.”

“Ah, Noona [older sister/female friend].”

The one who called Woochul, who was about to take out his phone and rest nearby, was Jo Eun-ah, who played the female lead in .

Jo Eun-ah was a member of the girl idol group ‘Ping Pong,’ which debuted two years before MOST, and was a year older than Woochul.

Although the group Ping Pong didn’t gain popularity, Jo Eun-ah heated up various online communities as a ‘visual goddess’ and made a name for herself by appearing on various variety shows and advertisements.

She was a senior and a Noona to Woochul, but since they were both from idol groups, Woochul was able to become friends with Jo Eun-ah more easily than he had expected.

It was also good to be close to each other since their characters in the drama were childhood friends.

“MOST’s teaser is coming out next week, right?!”

“Yes. How did you know?”

“An article came out? Then the title track recording is finished?”

“Yes.”

When Woochul smiled and nodded, Jo Eun-ah’s eyes sparkled.

Jo Eun-ah had come to the position of female lead in a web drama with her noticeably pretty looks and lovely image.

Even the way she sparkled her eyes with interest looked like a scene from an advertisement.

“I’m looking forward to it! I really like your songs so much. What genre is the next song?”

Jo Eun-ah, who had claimed to be a ‘honorary BESTie’ [MOST’s fandom name] since their first meeting, saying she was a fan of MOST, asked.

It wasn’t just a polite greeting, but Woochul felt like his shoulders were rising for no reason because he could feel that she really liked MOST’s songs.

“Of course, it’s a secret!”

“Wow, that’s too much. I’m really curious……”

“Check it out with the teaser!”

Jo Eun-ah glared at Woochul, who was saying that with a smile, in a way that wasn’t hateful.

“Okay. I’ll wait, even though I have to wait a week.”

Jo Eun-ah said that, sighed briefly, and then said.

“We need to release an album too……”

Unlike her image of being a bit haughty, Jo Eun-ah had a frank and unpretentious personality.

Woochul knew that she wanted to stand on stage as a group called Ping Pong rather than doing individual activities like this, so he looked at Jo Eun-ah with pitiful eyes and said.

“I liked Ping Pong’s songs too…. I especially liked . I hope you guys make a comeback soon.”

“Thanks for saying that, even if it’s just words! It’s really encouraging to hear that from a MOST member!”

Jo Eun-ah smiled again, brightening her expression.

At that time, Han Seok-woo, the male lead of and a rookie actor from a model background, passed by the two and said.

“What’s so great about MOST.”

“Hey, Seok-woo-ya……”

“What did you just say?”

“What. I said, what’s so great about MOST. Why.”

Han Seok-woo had been picking fights with Woochul from the first filming.

Woochul didn’t mind him picking fights with himself, but he thought it was a bit too much to bring the group into it, so he frowned.

Just as Woochul was about to say something and move on, the entrance to the set became noisy.

The three people who had been in a brief standoff looked towards the entrance.