Prince From Another Dimension Becomes An Idol [EN]: Chapter 12

Someone hurriedly turned on the lights in the conference room, and another person checked on Gijun, who had collapsed on the floor.

Fortunately, he had simply slid off the chair, so he hadn’t hit his head or anything.

“Hyung? What’s wrong? Why is Gijun hyung like this?”

Woochul, who had witnessed Gijun collapsing right next to him, looked half-crying.

Even though he was outspoken, he was just a high school student who wasn’t used to this kind of thing.

Louis also stared down at Gijun, his face pale.

Gijun lay motionless on the floor.

His face was as white as a corpse, but he was definitely breathing.

“Aish. This hyung, again…….”

Heungmin muttered with a mix of worry and annoyance.

Woochul asked in astonishment.

“Again? What do you mean, again?”

“When you went down to your family home, he collapsed once then, too.”

“Why? Is hyung sick somewhere?”

“Because he can’t sleep. No, because he doesn’t sleep.”

“What? But why didn’t you say anything!”

“What’s the point of telling you? You’d just worry.”

Woochul looked at Heungmin resentfully.

Dojae’s mouth slightly opened as he listened to the conversation.

‘He collapsed from sleep deprivation, huh.’

Dojae had had the same experience.

It was when he had just started to cultivate his dream of becoming a singer.

Dojae, who had fallen for a foreign singer, repeated memorizing and practicing his songs for days.

Dojae’s personality, which was to concentrate and delve deeply into one thing once he was hooked, was on full display.

Since he had his duties as a prince during the day, listening to and practicing songs was mainly at night.

That’s how Dojae forgot to sleep.

At most, two or three hours a day.

Dojae, who had been taking naps, eventually collapsed while heading to the back garden to play Gyeokgu [a traditional Korean martial art and game involving kicking a ball].

It was fortunate that he collapsed before getting on the horse, but when he thought about what happened after he collapsed, it wasn’t all that fortunate.

The prince, who should be healthy, had collapsed due to sleep deprivation, so he was severely scolded for abandoning both filial piety and loyalty.

‘If he collapsed from sleep deprivation, he must not have slept for quite a while.’

Dojae looked at Gijun with pity.

Gijun, who had been shaking as the staff shook him, fortunately showed movement right away.

“Hyung!”

“Gijun-ssi, are you okay?”

“Ah…. What is this…….”

As if he wasn’t in his right mind, Gijun frowned and muttered.

Then, he suddenly came to his senses and stood up, noticing the dozens of eyes looking at him.

“I’m sorry! I’m just a little short on sleep…….”

“A little isn’t the word.”

Gijun glared weakly at Heungmin, who grumbled from behind.

Heungmin soon shut his mouth, but Team Leader Jung Heeyoung continued to speak.

“Right. This is already the second time…. How much sleep have you not been getting? Let’s go to the hospital right away.”

“No, I’m really okay. I just dozed off for a bit. Everyone’s waiting…. I’m sorry for being late for the meeting.”

Gijun tried to smooth things over.

However, the atmosphere in the conference room, which had already been swept up in shock once, was heavy.

Gijun’s eyes, which were in a difficult position, turned to Louis and Dojae.

“Well…. There are friends I need to greet, and everyone gathered with difficulty for an important meeting, so let’s continue with the meeting first. I can go to the hospital after the meeting.”

“Hyung. You’re just going to say you don’t have time again and not go.”

Heungmin added a jab this time as well.

‘If he’s not sleeping because he has a lot of practice, but because he doesn’t sleep…….’

The conclusion was that his lack of sleep was due to reasons related to his debut, not other reasons.

This was evident from Heungmin’s attitude, which seemed dissatisfied but was very worried about Gijun.

Dojae, who clicked his tongue inwardly, stepped forward.

“I am fine. There will be plenty of time to greet each other later, and wouldn’t it be better to hurry to the hospital to check your health?”

Gijun seemed momentarily flustered by Dojae’s polite yet somewhat firm tone, and trailed off with “That’s….”

Thinking that it wouldn’t work, Gijun’s gaze glanced at the vice president.

It seemed like he meant, ‘The vice president is here, can we really ruin the meeting and end it like this?’

The vice president’s face, which had seemed surprised for a moment when he saw Gijun collapse, was now as stiff as usual.

The vice president called Team Leader Choi in a stern voice.

“Team Leader Choi.”

“Yes, Vice President.”

Team Leader Choi answered the vice president in a tense voice.

Jung Hyungseok, the vice president of Kingdom Entertainment.

He was the de facto boss of Kingdom Entertainment, as the founder and president had stepped down from the management front several years ago.

He was also the top contributor to building Kingdom Entertainment into a small but solid agency in a short period of time with fair work processing and quick decision-making.

In other words, he was the one who held all the decision-making power, and naturally, all the employees and trainees had no choice but to be mindful of him.

It was even more so because he didn’t show much change in expression and was a rigid person.

‘Even if he had a comfortable personality, everyone would still be mindful of him.’

In the stiff atmosphere, Dojae thought for a moment.

No matter how comfortably Dojae told them to treat him, the palace people were always mindful of him and found him difficult to approach.

It couldn’t be helped, given his position.

Dojae hoped that Vice President Jung Hyungseok would be a superior with flexibility, unlike his rigid attitude.

Fortunately, the actual Vice President Jung Hyungseok was not much different from Dojae’s wishes.

“The meeting is over for now.”

Vice President Jung Hyungseok said after making a quick decision.

“Anyway, it’s content that we’ve been reporting on, and today we just gathered to share our goals. What I was going to say is that the company will not spare investment for the next group, so please continue to work hard in the future. That’s all I have to say.”

Vice President Jung Hyungseok certainly had a dignified charisma.

His gaze, which he directed at the employees, turned towards Gijun.

“Gijun-gun. I heard that you’re having a hard time because of the debut song work.”

“The vice president knows about that…….”

“I should have paid more attention then, it’s my fault. What I mean by not sparing investment is, above all, for you, who will soon become the core personnel of our Kingdom.”

His expression and tone were still stiff, but the content was considerate.

Vice President Jung Hyungseok quickly instructed Team Leader Kim Seokcheol to take Gijun to the hospital.

“Team Leader Jung, Team Leader Kim, please pay attention to these friends’ health management above all else, even if other things are good.”

The two team leaders nodded right away.

“Let’s go quickly.”

“Yes…….”

“Team Leader Kim. Please make sure he gets a thorough examination. And even have him hospitalized to get some rest.”

“Yes. I will.”

Team Leader Kim Seokcheol answered calmly to Team Leader Jung Heeyoung’s request.

The chaotic atmosphere of the conference room was barely settled as Team Leader Kim Seokcheol took Gijun out.

***

After everyone had left, only Dojae and Louis remained in the conference room to receive additional guidance on future work.

While Team Leader Jung Heeyoung went to answer a phone call, Louis asked worriedly.

“Hyung. We’re going to be okay, right?”

“……?”

“No, I shouldn’t have been so happy that I got a spot. How much practice is there…. One person emigrates and another collapses.”

Louis seemed genuinely terrified by what had happened on his first day at the company.

“Isn’t this really hell? I should have known from when they said ‘Welcome to hell’!”

It was Louis who had said just an hour ago that he was lucky.

Dojae shook his head.

“Louis. Calm down first.”

“I’m too scared! Aren’t you? How much practice are we going to do!”

“Practice is…. good if you do a lot.”

Louis was momentarily speechless at Dojae’s textbook-like words.

However, Dojae was serious.

During his time as a prince, Dojae was able to excel in various fields not only because of his talent but also because he worked and practiced countless times.

Dojae knew the power of effort and practice well.

‘Anyway, Kang Dojae also went all the way to being selected for the debut group through effort…….’

Therefore, he was somewhat relieved by the fact that there was a lot of practice.

This was because he had been worried about the fact that it was a small and medium-sized agency, unlike New.

Lethargy that tries to settle for the status quo.

Pessimism that you can’t be number one.

A complacent thought that it’s okay to just do so-so.

He was worried that those things might be spreading internally, but Kingdom Entertainment’s goals were grand and clear (as much as it might seem absurd to others).

Also, the members were working hard to meet the company’s goals.

‘Of course, you shouldn’t overdo it to the point of getting sick…….’

Louis, who saw Dojae’s serious expression, seemed to think for a moment and eventually agreed.

“Well, I guess your skills will improve quickly if you practice a lot. Still…. I wish they’d let us sleep.”

It was when Louis was muttering.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. It’s been a really hectic day today.”

Team Leader Jung Heeyoung, who soon came in, smiled awkwardly.

“It’s okay. Don’t worry about it.”

“Ah…. Thank you for understanding.”

Thinking that the more she looked at him, the more she thought he was a forty-year-old rather than a twenty-year-old, Team Leader Jung Heeyoung sat down.

“You were very surprised because of Gijun, right?”

Louis nodded without hiding it.

“As you can see from his profile, Gijun is in charge of not only rap but also composing in the team. He’s planning to put a song on the debut album, so…. He’s been staying up for days and nights while practicing.”

“He must be under a lot of pressure.”

Dojae asked in a low voice.

“I guess so. Because we’re really about to debut now.”

Dojae nodded at Team Leader Jung Heeyoung’s answer.

His heart felt heavy on one side at the fact that there were many people who were cultivating their dreams of becoming singers as desperately as Dojae, or perhaps even more desperately than Dojae.

“It’s the same for you two…. It may be burdensome to suddenly be about to debut here, but please take good care of us.”

“…….”

“Let’s do well together.”

“Yes.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

Dojae and Louis, who clenched their fists tightly, answered in turn.

Team Leader Jung Heeyoung smiled at the energetic answers of the two and handed over the practice schedule.

“You can go home for a month, which is the adaptation period…. But you can also live in the dorm. The dorm is next to the company.”

“I’ll go into the dorm.”

“Yes, me too. Me too.”

The two answered without taking a breath after looking at the practice schedule.

This was because it was impossible to handle the practice schedule without going into the dorm and commuting.

***

The very next day.

Dojae packed his bags simply and arrived at the dorm.

He was supposed to meet Louis at the dorm.

As Team Leader Jung Heeyoung said, the dorm was on the top floor of a villa right next to the Kingdom Entertainment office.

“Excuse me.”

Dojae asked for understanding in front of the front door, where there was no one to hear him, and then pressed the door lock password.

It was the password that Deputy Manager Lee Jungeun had told him, saying that the members would not be at the dorm because it was a holiday.

Beep, beep, beep, beep.

When he pressed the password he had been given and opened the front door of the dorm, he saw the members unexpectedly gathered in the middle of the living room.

They were so focused on something among themselves that they didn’t seem to know that Dojae had come.

“Is it good? Does hyung know what’s wrong with this?”

“I don’t know either, man. It’s just good, but he stayed up all night trying to fix this and collapsed…….”

“Anyway, Gijun hyung is too much of a perfectionist.”

“How can we understand the mind of a genius.”

A song flowed out from among the noisy voices.

It was just a melody without lyrics.

Nevertheless, it felt like a good song, as the members said.

Dojae, who was standing blankly in the hallway listening to the song because he couldn’t find a timing to interject, thought.

‘There might be a way to help.’

After thinking for a moment, Dojae neatly took off his shoes on one side of the shoe rack and entered the house.