Prince From Another Dimension Becomes An Idol [EN]: Chapter 236

#236.

About twenty minutes later.

It was time for filming to resume as scheduled, but it didn’t.

The atmosphere on set was quiet with a precarious tension, yet also more chaotic than usual.

Sung Joo-yeon wouldn’t come out of her dressing room.

She said she needed more rest time, and that was the reason for the filming delay.

However, when the assistant director and Director Cha Tae-hoon entered Sung Joo-yeon’s dressing room in turn, and a scream of unknown origin (likely Director Cha Tae-hoon’s) echoed from inside, the atmosphere on set inevitably stiffened.

“What’s going on?”

“I don’t know. She’s suddenly acting like this…”

“Did Joo-yeon have any complaints?”

“Wasn’t everything fine? She’s close to Director Cha, and she’s not the type to do this…”

Faced with the sudden turn of events, the staff on set quietly speculated among themselves.

It wasn’t uncommon for various disruptions to occur on set, so many people simply did their jobs without paying much attention.

Do-jae had come to the set to film but was told to wait again.

“What should we do… It seems like something really came up?”

Woong muttered worriedly as he returned to the waiting room.

Do-jae also frowned.

Do-jae relayed a message to Sung Joo-yeon’s staff through his stylist.

He had noticed a staff member visiting an empty waiting room and suspected something was amiss, so he told them to thoroughly check their belongings and the waiting room.

He also cautioned them not to alert Sung Joo-yeon or make a big deal out of it unless something was definitely discovered, as it might be nothing.

Sung Joo-yeon’s stylist, though skeptical, seemed to have checked anyway, since the information came from the opposing actor’s side.

And now this.

“A hidden camera was found. Crazy!”

The stylist, who had received a call from Sung Joo-yeon’s stylist, shouted in shock.

Do-jae and Woong were also surprised and widened their eyes.

‘I hoped it wasn’t true…’

Do-jae frowned and touched the throbbing area near his temple.

He felt beyond bewildered; now anger was rising.

“How could something like this happen on set!”

A ‘hidden camera’ was found in the female lead’s dressing room.

It was something unimaginable.

Just then, someone knocked on the door of the waiting room where Do-jae was.

It was the assistant director.

“I heard that the person who initially reported it was the stylist here.”

Since a camera had been found, the next step was to find out who it belonged to.

Do-jae stepped forward when the assistant director was looking for the stylist.

“I was the one who said it.”

“Oh? Do-jae?”

He had used the stylist to relay the message to prevent the matter from escalating, but there was no reason for Do-jae not to step forward when they were looking for the informant.

It was faster and more certain for Do-jae to speak.

He didn’t want to bother the stylist unnecessarily because of his actions.

“Yes. I heard a camera was found.”

“You’ve already heard. You said you saw someone entering the dressing room. Do you know who it was…?”

Even the assistant director, who had been through thick and thin, seemed embarrassed and flustered by the situation.

He trailed off, seemingly unsure of how to handle the situation.

“I don’t know the exact name… but I know they’re a lighting team staff member. The one who was wearing a green hat today.”

The assistant director’s eyes widened at Do-jae’s words, then he nodded.

“Ah. Okay, I understand. Thank you.”

Do-jae stopped the assistant director as he was about to leave.

Even if that staff member had visited the dressing room, it couldn’t be definitively concluded that he was the one who installed the camera in Sung Joo-yeon’s dressing room.

However, Do-jae had several other suspicions.

“They might try to destroy the evidence, so you need to act quickly.”

The assistant director said he understood.

***

“Do you have any proof that I did it?! I didn’t even come near here. Director! You can’t do this!”

“Ah, Ho-cheol, calm down first…”

The lighting team director and the lighting team staff member Do-jae had mentioned were summoned to Sung Joo-yeon’s dressing room, and the lighting team staff member was furious at being suspected of being the hidden camera perpetrator.

Eventually, the whole truth spread outside the dressing room, and the set became noisy.

The lighting team director was also in a bad mood.

“Are you suspecting our guy without even finding any evidence?”

“Someone saw him.”

“Who saw him? Who are you believing? Why don’t you believe Ho-cheol? Has Ho-cheol lost his mind? Doing something like that with a camera… Tsk. You should quickly find the real culprit instead of wrongly accusing someone.”

“Then just show us your phone once. If there’s nothing, you won’t be suspected.”

Lee Ho-cheol bristled even more at Director Cha Tae-hoon’s words.

Sung Joo-yeon was watching the situation with a pale face.

“Why are you suspecting me first?”

Lee Ho-cheol raged at Sung Joo-yeon and the staff.

Sung Joo-yeon’s manager calmed him down as he lashed out, saying how could they work together if they suspected their fellow staff members from the start.

“No… we’re not suspecting you, just checking.”

“If this isn’t suspicion, then what is it? I’m too upset to work. Director.”

The lighting team director’s face hardened; he had been about to tell him to just show his phone and get it over with.

The lighting team had a lot of odd jobs.

If even one person was missing, they would be in immediate trouble.

Just then, Do-jae entered the dressing room.

“I’m the witness.”

“……!”

Everyone in Sung Joo-yeon’s dressing room looked at Do-jae with surprised eyes.

Even those who knew Do-jae was the witness were surprised.

It was because they didn’t expect him to step forward so directly.

If Ho-cheol was the culprit, there would be no problem, but if not, he could get caught up in unnecessary gossip and damage his image.

“I saw Ho-cheol here, leaving the dressing room. Our manager saw it with me too. We even said hello earlier…”

Ho-cheol visibly panicked and froze.

He had thought of Do-jae as the witness, but it was just a passing encounter.

Lee Ho-cheol didn’t realize that Do-jae had seen him playing with the camcorder app, and that was why he was being considered a suspect.

“Don’t you remember?”

“No. Isn’t Do-jae mistaken? Maybe he confused me with someone else.”

“I have no reason to lie.”

Do-jae said in an indifferent tone.

That was true.

The witness was none other than Do-jae.

Now, even the lighting team director couldn’t just trust and defend Ho-cheol.

“Ha… what is this, really? Hey, Ho-cheol. Just show us your phone. Do you have some racy photos or something? Everyone will understand that.”

In fact, it could have been a matter to be reported to the police.

However, everyone thought of the police as a last resort.

If it was a problem that could be resolved internally, they wanted to end it internally.

Lee Ho-cheol wore a look of dismay as even the lighting team director asked him for his phone.

It was as Do-jae had expected.

If he had had a little more time, he would have destroyed the evidence, but he didn’t have the time.

He should have deleted it when he sensed something was up in Sung Joo-yeon’s dressing room, but he hesitated because it seemed difficult to install it again, and that was the problem.

“…Ha. I’m sorry.”

Thinking he couldn’t hold out any longer, Lee Ho-cheol quickly gave in.

He changed his strategy.

“What! Is it really you?!!”

The lighting team director asked in horror.

Everyone looked at Lee Ho-cheol with eyes filled with shock and fear.

“Why?!!”

“I… I was just too curious about what you do in the dressing room… I was a big fan of Sung Joo-yeon… I’m really sorry.”

“After denying it so much! Ha… No matter how curious you are… Putting a camera in the dressing room…!”

Director Cha Tae-hoon shook his head in disbelief, grinding his teeth.

The lighting team director also raged.

“You crazy bastard! Are you out of your mind? There are things you can do and things you can’t!”

However, believing that he was just curious about what she did in the dressing room was too naive.

The directors were only angry about the fact that he had installed a hidden camera, but Sung Joo-yeon and the stylists didn’t believe Lee Ho-cheol’s words.

Do-jae felt the same way.

“I’m sorry. Really…”

“What were you curious about?”

Sung Joo-yeon asked in a trembling voice.

Lee Ho-cheol kept his head down and repeated, “I’m sorry.”

Of course, he thought he was just terribly unlucky.

Naturally, he was curious about Sung Joo-yeon’s undressing scenes.

He also had plans to share it with his friends if it was captured on camera.

Sung Joo-yeon had been popular with men since her childhood days, not only for her pretty face but also for her mature figure.

When Lee Ho-cheol started working with Sung Joo-yeon, his friends made lewd remarks about her and encouraged Lee Ho-cheol to take pictures of her.

Lee Ho-cheol, who often took pictures of well-figured women on the subway and shared them, eventually escalated things this time, thinking he could get away with it without any problems.

“I was just curious about your everyday 모습 [mosub – everyday life]…, I was a real fan. I’m sorry.”

The lighting team director stepped forward at Lee Ho-cheol’s continued apologies.

“Nothing’s happened yet, and he’s apologizing this much…”

He seemed to want to suggest that they let it go.

Sung Joo-yeon glared at the lighting team director with a disapproving look, and he shut his mouth.

However, not only him but also Director Cha Tae-hoon, and even Sung Joo-yeon’s manager, wanted to settle the matter as it was.

It was because they didn’t want negative stories about a drama that hadn’t even aired its first episode yet, and they didn’t want the victim’s image to be damaged.

Sung Joo-yeon was well aware of that atmosphere.

It was when Sung Joo-yeon was just biting her lip.

Do-jae snatched Lee Ho-cheol’s phone in an instant.

And before Lee Ho-cheol could resist, he brought his hand and unlocked it with his fingerprint.

“What are you doing…!”

Lee Ho-cheol belatedly struggled, but it was no use.

And Lee Ho-cheol had already confessed.

The order of checking what was on the camera was natural.

‘I expected it… but he’s vicious.’

Do-jae’s eyes darkened as he opened the photo album on his phone.

“You’re the type to take pictures of things like this.”

“…Minding other people’s privacy!!!”

“Criminal life, you mean.”

There were pictures of women taken on public transportation and on the street.

Sung Joo-yeon’s face turned even paler.

The staff also shook their heads.

“What are you going to do?”

Do-jae asked Sung Joo-yeon with the most careful expression.

Do-jae also felt that everyone was in an atmosphere of wanting Sung Joo-yeon to ‘forgive’ him.

However, Do-jae didn’t think Sung Joo-yeon necessarily had to do that.

“I… I can’t work with that person.”

Everyone nodded at Sung Joo-yeon’s words.

It was a natural thing to say.

“And……”

Sung Joo-yeon looked at Do-jae.

It was because Do-jae seemed to be the only one here who was ready to properly respect her wishes.

Do-jae nodded firmly at Sung Joo-yeon.

“I should sue him to the police.”

“Joo-yeon!”

“Then things will get bigger… and it will be known to the media…”

“My mind won’t change.”

Director Cha Tae-hoon and her manager couldn’t say anything more at Sung Joo-yeon’s words.

Lee Ho-cheol froze and fell into a panic.

“You made a good decision.”

Sung Joo-yeon tried to raise the corners of her mouth at Do-jae’s words.