Prince From Another Dimension Becomes An Idol [EN]: Chapter 118

#118.

In Group B, alongside Heungmin and Woochul, were Sungchan and Yunho from Infinite Boys, and Yun Junghoon from Illusion, whom Dojae had faced in the preliminaries.

Their opponents in Group C consisted of two members from Upside and three members from ‘S CLASS 12’.

What made Heungmin and Woochul sigh was Sunwook, one of those three members.

“I’m not expecting you to win, just be careful during the game.”

After seeing Sunwook, even Gijun couldn’t bring himself to say ‘go and win,’ only cautioning them to be careful.

“Ah, I was also looking forward to seeing Dojae’s archery game.”

Because the game times were set according to the group draw results, they had to wait for the games of Group A and Group D to proceed.

However, the results seemed obvious, making the wait feel pointless.

Heungmin muttered, sounding disappointed.

“Well… it was nice cheering together with the fans, though.”

Heungmin nodded at Woochul’s words.

The number of fans in the futsal field was much smaller than in the main gymnasium.

Thanks to that, they were able to communicate more and cheer on Big Boyz, who were in Group A, together.

“Players, please enter!”

At the staff’s shout, Heungmin and Woochul tightened their shoelaces, pulled their socks up to their calves (right below their knees), and stepped onto the artificial turf of the field.

Still, it was fortunate that there were Infinite Boys members they were familiar with on the same team.

It seemed they could approach the game with a bit more peace of mind.

“But I heard Sunbae [senior] Yunho is good… he’ll take care of everything, right?”

“Ah, hyung [older brother/male friend]. Why are you so discouraged? You need to live up to your name!”

Woochul scolded Heungmin, and Sungchan of Infinite Boys, who was listening, said, “Ah, that’s right.”

“Min-ssi [Mr. Min], your real name is Heungmin, right?! I have high expectations!”

“Ah… don’t expect too much. Park Woochul, be quiet.”

It was something he had been dealing with whenever he played soccer in middle and high school.

To live up to his name.

Honestly, Heungmin wasn’t bad at soccer.

Rather, he was good.

But no matter how good he was, he couldn’t compare to the hero of Korea who was making a name for himself in the Premier League… Son Heungmin.

“Nice to meet you.”

“Let’s do well today!”

The players from Group B and Group C stood facing each other in a line and greeted each other in turn.

Heungmin and Woochul also shook hands with the members of S CLASS 12 (often abbreviated as ‘S Class 12’ or ‘Ekul 12’).

Ekul 12 was a four-year-old group from KHO, one of the top three entertainment agencies.

KHO had ambitiously launched them, but initially, they didn’t gain as much popularity as expected.

It was as if they released them thinking, ‘At least one of these guys will be your type.’ Each of the 12 members was overflowing with unique charms, but as a team, they lacked something.

Their skills were also varied, so when they stood on stage, they gave off a strong sense of disharmony.

However, KHO was KHO [a common expression meaning KHO has a lot of power/resources].

After their debut album and the subsequent release of their first full-length album ended with only a small fandom, Ekul 12 went on a long hiatus before their second album.

It was called a hiatus, but only the group was on hiatus, and the members appeared on broadcasts almost every day.

Radio guests, various entertainment show panelists, sitcom supporting roles, and even foreign members who regularly appeared on educational broadcasts.

The response to their individual activities that started that way was significant.

‘Plugging’ them in was the power of the agency, but performing well there was the members’ ability.

One or two members ‘exploded’ and became entertainment sensations.

When a ballad OST [original soundtrack] by a vocal member also gained popularity, half of the 12 members had made a name for themselves.

Naturally, Ekul 12, the group they belonged to, also became famous.

With their second album released after a year-long hiatus, Ekul 12 could feel the power of their increased fans and recognition.

They immediately achieved first place.

The single title from the year before last was a big hit, and they were even nominated for the grand prize.

That year, the grand prize went to Big Boyz, though…….

In any case, it was a fact that they had firmly established themselves in the industry.

Thanks to this new method of individuals becoming famous first and then the group gaining popularity, rather than the group becoming famous and then doing individual activities, the industry said, ‘As long as you get to Seoul, it doesn’t matter how you get there’ [meaning success is success, regardless of the path taken].

Sunwook, who was enjoying top-tier popularity within Ekul 12, firmly grasped Heungmin’s large hand.

“Let’s do our best without holding back.”

It was obvious to anyone that Sunwook was the one who wouldn’t hold back, and Heungmin was the one who had to do his best.

Sunwook made a name for himself with his robust physique and handsome looks to match…… and thanks to his amazing soccer skills, as he was a middle school player.

Heungmin gave an awkward smile.

“Haha. Yes.”

“Fighting!”

Among the idol members in today’s game, there was no one who could beat him, as he was currently active in a celebrity soccer team.

Soccer is a team play, but in a futsal game like this with players of similar skill, it was possible for one good player to dominate the entire game.

‘I wish it was a penalty shootout like last year.’

Only last year, futsal games were replaced with penalty shootouts for safety reasons due to frequent injuries.

The fans were relieved, but the production team felt that it lacked excitement and interest.

So, futsal games were revived this year.

Heungmin, who wasn’t confident in physical fights but prided himself on his goal-scoring ability, thought.

‘If we lose here, I won’t get any points… I wanted to add at least one point to the team, even if we can’t win the championship.’

His morale was greatly dampened, probably because he had been burning with the will to do well until just before.

While Heungmin was regretting even before the start.

Beeeep—

The game started with the whistle.

Group C had the first attack, determined by a coin toss.

“Kyaaaa!”

“Group B—!!! Win!!!”

“Heungmin oppa [term used by younger girls to address older brothers or male friends], let’s goooo!”

“Woochul, you have to do well!!!”

“Sungchan!!!”

“Hoo, fighting!!!”

Cheers poured out from everywhere.

On the opposite side, the cheers for the Group C players were loud.

As soon as the game started, Sunwook dribbled the ball and ran.

Other players also took their positions and ran as planned before the game.

The game even had professional soccer commentators and casters.

From the makeshift commentary box, they raised their voices as they watched Sunwook quickly dribble the ball.

“Sunwook player! He’s starting to run from the beginning!”

“Wow. His form is different from the way he runs. You can see that his basics are solid.”

“Sunwook player… I heard he made quite a name for himself during his player days. It’s a shame why he didn’t become a professional player. He’s a regrettable talent.”

“Oh my, commentator Kim. The fans will be upset if they hear that. Isn’t it because Sunwook chose to be an idol that he’s in this position?”

“Oooo, shooting chance! Shoot…! Ah! It hit the goalpost and bounced off!”

“Ah! That’s too bad. The ball kicked by the goalkeeper… MOST’s Min player receives it.”

When Heungmin caught the ball, the voices of MOST fans grew louder.

Woochul also ran with Heungmin.

Before their debut, they had played soccer together on the field as a way to promote friendship among trainees.

Gijun in the cheering section smiled warmly as he recalled that time.

Even then, Heungmin grumbled that he wouldn’t live up to his name, but he diligently ran around the field.

“His real name is Lee Heungmin?! Will he show the same skills as Son Heungmin player!”

However, before the commentator could finish speaking, Sunwook intercepted the ball that Heungmin was trying to pass.

“Ah…. the attack is switched again!”

“Oh, long-range shot—! Goal! It’s a goal!!! Sunwook player scores the first goal as expected!”

***

The first half ended with a score of 2-0.

Heungmin and Woochul looked gloomy at the result that showed a strong sign of defeat.

The Infinite Boys members also wiped their sweat, drank sports drinks, and shook their heads as if they couldn’t beat Sunwook.

It wasn’t just that Sunwook was good, but the Upside members in charge of defense were also quite skilled, which made it even harder.

“But everyone is doing well! It would have been nice if the opponent was a little easier.”

Yun Junghoon, who didn’t seem to care much about winning or losing and just enjoyed everything, grinned.

While others were running around, he moved leisurely, doing ‘nutmegs’ [a skill move in soccer] between his legs and taking charge of entertainment, so he had no reason to be tired and laugh.

It was a ‘sports competition.’

Since they were forced to participate in part, not everyone had a reason to bet their lives on it.

There had to be someone like Yun Junghoon to balance things out.

He knew that, but…….

Still, Heungmin wanted to flick Yun Junghoon’s forehead at least once.

‘If it were Woochul…….’

But in fact, Woochul had been working as hard as Heungmin in the game.

Whatever they do, they end up working like crazy.

It could be seen as a MOST member trait.

“Kyaa! It’s Dojae! What, is that a halo behind him?!”

“Rooi, over here!”

“Gyuseongaaaak!”

At that time, the MOST members who had finished the archery competition and hurried to the futsal field entered the futsal stadium.

They had rushed here as soon as the archery competition was over to cheer on Heungmin and Woochul.

The MOST fan section, which mainly consisted of Heungmin and Woochul’s fans, was buzzing.

They hadn’t expected to see the ‘full group’ because they had chosen the futsal field fan section instead of the main stadium fan section.

Rooi and Gyuseong headed towards Gijun and looked at the field.

The fans waved their hands wildly at Gyuseong and Woochul, who were resting.

Woochul also waved his hand at Rooi.

It hadn’t even been an hour since they had been apart, but they were so happy to see each other again.

Dojae and Gyuseong also greeted the fans.

“Kang Dojae!!! Congratulations on winning the archery competition!!!”

Then, a loud voice echoed from the fan section.

It was news they had heard through a friend in the main gymnasium.

The fan’s voice was loud enough to fill the stadium.

People who naturally thought that Jigu would win were surprised and started messaging each other.

Dojae, who had been momentarily stiffened by the loud voice, smiled and bowed his head towards that fan.

Then, the fan section went wild again.

“Wow. Dojae hyung [older brother/male friend] won, I guess.”

“As expected…. I knew it.”

Woochul and Heungmin also belatedly heard the news and raised their thumbs towards the cheering section.

“Hyungs [older brothers/male friends], cheer up too!”

Woochul and Heungmin nodded as Rooi cheered in front of the fence.

“Ah. I want to score at least one goal. I can’t just lose like this…….”

At Woochul’s words, Heungmin said, “Let’s score at least one goal.”

The Infinite Boys members next to them also resolved to score at least one goal because it would be too uncool to lose like this.

The eyes of the four people naturally turned to Yun Junghoon.

Yun Junghoon smiled and nodded.

“So that I don’t get in the way…. I’ll try to do well somehow.”

The four people looked relieved at those words.

After a short break.

The second half started soon.

***

In the second half, the Infinite Boys members marked Sunwook more openly.

When Sunwook’s feet were tied, Woochul and Heungmin quickly launched an attack.

However, this was not an easy task either.

The Upside member in charge of Group C’s defense was quite a wall.

It was when Heungmin passed to Woochul after getting past the defense.

Woochul had a perfect goal chance.

The moment Woochul put his foot on the ball.

Sunwook was running like a Yaksha [a fierce mythical being] through the players.

“Woochul-ah!”

Dojae, who was watching the game right in front, was surprised and stood up from his seat.