Prince From Another Dimension Becomes An Idol [EN]: Chapter 14

#14.

“You have a good ear.”

Kijun’s words were a compliment.

Surprised by the unexpected praise, the members looked back and forth between Kijun and Dojae, bewildered.

“Wow.”

Woochul opened his mouth in disbelief.

“Hyung, are you praising Dojae hyung right now?”

“Yeah. Unlike you guys, he seems to have an ear for listening.”

Following the acknowledgment, not only Woochul but even Heungmin’s mouth slightly opened.

‘To receive praise about a song from that perfectionist…’

That must have been the thought that flashed through everyone’s mind.

To the members, Kijun was a difficult *hyung* [older brother or male friend] in many ways.

The other members had joined around the same time and had been practicing for about two years, but Kijun’s trainee period was four years.

When the other members joined, Kijun was already a trainee close to being fully formed.

The difference in skill wasn’t just due to the difference in training period.

Kijun was a promising trainee from the start.

The reason he didn’t debut with Big Boyz was precisely because he was a promising trainee.

The company wanted to form the next team around Kijun, who showed talent in composing.

Kijun also wanted to pursue bigger dreams rather than becoming an ordinary idol, so he accepted.

As such, being outstanding himself and having a perfectionist tendency, he was strict with himself and the members.

‘He tends to acknowledge singing and dancing, which aren’t his fields, though…’

Heungmin thought.

It was Kijun who urged the members to listen to and study even one more song than the trainers or company staff did.

Now, even satisfaction was evident on Kijun’s face.

“That’s exactly what I was concerned about.”

“If it’s okay, could I get the file? If I listen to it a bit more, I might be able to find a way to fix it…”

“Sure.”

Kijun replied more readily than ever.

A hint of vitality flashed across his pale face.

Heungmin and Woochul quickly exchanged glances.

Soon, Heungmin lightly tapped Dojae’s shoulder.

“You’re a genius too!”

“Wow. I knew it. I knew it from when I saw *hyung’s* profile. There’s no way you could speak so many foreign languages without being a genius…”

That was the conclusion the two came to.

Kijun shook his head at the two of them and started assigning rooms.

First was Louie’s room.

“This is the smallest room… but it’s still a single room. You can use this one.”

“Wow. The eldest and youngest get to use single rooms by tradition.”

Kijun had decided that way because Louie seemed to have a lot of luggage, but Woochul’s words were also true.

The room Louie would use was the room that Huimin had been using until just a week ago.

Heungmin poked Woochul in the side as if telling him not to say unnecessary things.

Regardless, Louie was excited to use a room alone and brought his luggage into the room.

“Dojae can use the room that Gyusung used to use. It’s good that you’re the same age.”

“Yeah. Gyusung is very quiet, but he’s a good kid once you get to know him. He’s very kind.”

Heungmin patted Gyusung on the back as he stood silently.

Knowing Gyusung’s introverted personality well, it was a silent encouragement for him to get along with Dojae.

When Dojae met Gyusung’s eyes, Gyusung quickly avoided his gaze.

‘It seems like it will take some time.’

Dojae thought as he entered the room.

The room, which Gyusung had been using alone because the last member hadn’t been found, was of medium size.

There was a desk, a closet, and a bunk bed.

It was messy as well, but it was still better than the room that Woochul and Heungmin shared.

“Gyusung is using the top bunk, so I think you can use the bottom bunk. Gyusung, did you empty a section of the closet?”

Gyusung nodded slightly at Kijun’s question.

The remaining clothes were piled on the bed to empty the closet, and it seemed like he would throw away half of the clothes that he didn’t wear.

“Then everyone, unpack your luggage. We’ll be practicing together from tomorrow, so take a good rest until today.”

As Kijun finished organizing and turned to leave, Woochul mumbled weakly through the crack in the door.

“Welcome to hell, this time for real.”

His voice was quite gloomy, perhaps because he thought his one day off was disappearing.

Heungmin clicked his tongue behind Woochul.

“Ah, this guy…. Why does he keep saying it’s hell.”

“*Hyung*, are you saying that because you’re Buddhist?”

“Crazy.”

As if he hadn’t been weak just now, Woochul bickered with Heungmin and left the room.

After that, only Gyusung and Dojae remained in the room.

Before an awkward atmosphere could settle, Gyusung and Dojae started unpacking their luggage.

Dojae’s long hands recalled the methods used by the palace servants and folded the clothes clumsily.

‘Living in a group…’

Many things that he could not have imagined before were unfolding before Dojae.

Living in a group with people he didn’t know much about except for their names, ages, and general personalities, and with whom he had few commonalities.

It was a great challenge for Dojae, who had never even left the palace.

‘Or is it because our dreams are the same?’

It seemed that many things could be communicated with just that.

Even if it was an excessively optimistic outlook.

***

The next morning.

As Kijun said, Dojae and Louie immediately joined the members’ practice.

Louie, who received the practice schedule, hugged Woochul and wiped away tears, saying that it really seemed like hell, but Dojae was satisfied with the schedule.

‘Kang Dojae has been a trainee for three years, but I haven’t…’

He had been steadily practicing singing and studying music in the palace, dreaming of becoming a singer.

However, that alone was not enough.

‘Moreover, Korean songs are not familiar to me.’

He needed time to embody Kang Dojae’s memories as his own.

In that sense, Dojae thought that the more time he had to practice before his debut, the better.

“One, two, three!”

Clap, clap, clap.

“One, two, three!”

The dance trainer’s voice echoed loudly in the practice room, followed by heavy footsteps.

The morning practice time was used by the dance trainer to check Dojae and Louie’s skills.

The other members had already coordinated in many ways, so the key was how quickly Dojae and Louie could catch up.

“Four, five, six, seven! Turn!”

Recalling the trainer’s demonstration, Dojae and Louie followed the members and stepped forward.

Louie, who had a good sense of dance, quickly learned the basic movements.

Starting with the basics, it wasn’t much different from the practice he had done in New, which also played a role.

“Dojae! A beat faster!”

Without even wiping the sweat flowing on his forehead, Dojae moved his body a little faster according to the trainer’s words.

Dojae, who had struggled in the beginning, was gradually adapting to the steps, following his body’s memory.

The dance trainer continued to count the numbers until the movements of the six people reflected in the mirror were completely the same.

“That’s right!”

When a satisfactory shout finally came from the trainer, everyone’s face was covered in sweat.

“Good job. Take a thirty-minute break and then we’ll go into the song cover practice we did last time. Everyone has been practicing, right?”

“…Haa.”

“Why isn’t there an answer!”

“Yes, we have!”

While everyone sighed, Kijun gave a sharp answer, and the trainer left the practice room only after hearing the answer.

Thud. At the same time, the members sat down or lay down in their places.

“Wow. The morning practice is over now.”

Woochul mumbled in a dying voice.

“Still, it seems like it was a little less intense because it was Dojae and Louie’s first day.”

Louie looked surprised at Heungmin’s mumbling.

Dojae was also a little surprised.

The intensity was much higher than the practice of the New trainees in Kang Dojae’s memory.

‘It’s tough.’

Belatedly wiping the sweat flowing on his forehead with the back of his hand, Dojae went and sat on a chair.

Even though his legs were shaking, he couldn’t bring himself to sit on the bare floor.

While Dojae was sitting on the chair reviewing the previous practice, the members sitting on the floor were talking among themselves.

“Still, they’re both keeping up well. Are New trainees different after all? How long have they been trainees?”

“About half a year for me? Dojae *hyung* has been doing it for three years and was even in the debut group!”

Louie said, bragging as if it were his own.

It was natural that everyone, including Heungmin, was surprised.

“What? No wonder you’re so good…. No, you were in the debut group?! But why……!”

He swallowed the rest of his words, but it was easy to guess what he wanted to say.

There was honestly no idol trainee who would leave the New debut group to become a member of Kingdom’s debut group.

Because he had only listed the fact that he was a New trainee in the submitted self-introduction, the company did not know that Dojae was in the debut group.

Of course, they thought that since New had chosen a debut group, the remaining trainees must have been released.

Even Jung Heeyoung, the team leader at Kingdom, was a little frustrated that the two people, who were irreplaceable talents in Kingdom, were trainees who had been released from New.

“That’s…. It’s a long story to explain.”

Louie hesitated, looking at Dojae.

He belatedly wondered if he had said something unnecessary.

Then Heungmin didn’t ask any further.

He was very curious, but it was something he could find out slowly later.

Louie soon got up from his seat and went to Dojae.

“*Hyung*, are you thirsty? Do you want some water?”

Dojae, who had been concentrating on reviewing the practice, nodded lightly as he realized he was thirsty.

Louie quickly brought a paper cup of water from the hallway and handed it to Dojae.

Dojae, who was accustomed to the care of the palace servants, naturally received the cup.

He felt like he was going to live after drinking a sip of cold water.

It was then that he met eyes with Gyusung, who was sitting on the floor catching his breath.

Gyusung’s gaze was piercing through his shaggy bangs.

‘What is it?’

Dojae looked down at his paper cup, wondering if Gyusung wanted water too.

‘But it wouldn’t be good to give him what I was drinking.’

In the Great Empire of Korea, Dojae would never take a sip of water or a bite of food without a taster, so he didn’t easily think of sharing his cup of water.

The dilemma didn’t last long.

It was because Gyusung had already turned his gaze away when he looked up.

‘Did we just make eye contact for a moment?’

Dojae didn’t think deeply and focused on recalling the practice content.

***

The time when the members returned to the dorm after the hard practice was late at night.

It was an amount of practice that was difficult to endure with ordinary physical strength.

‘It’s fortunate that Kang Dojae’s body is strong.’

Thinking so, Dojae finished showering.

Perhaps because he was unknowingly nervous about the first practice, his muscles seemed to ache, unlike when he practiced alone at home.

‘It would be nice to be able to get a massage at times like this…’

When he thought about it, it was thanks to the help of the palace servants that he was able to overcome the morning, daytime, and evening lectures that continued from dawn to late evening.

‘Preparing for class, managing my condition…. Eunuch Kim took care of me very meticulously.’

But now he had to manage everything on his own.

Still, it was good.

Even if it was just as hard, it was happier to do what he liked all day.

He was so tired that he could have fallen asleep right away, but Dojae turned on his laptop to analyze Kijun’s song.

Come to think of it, Gyusung, who had finished showering earlier, was already lying on the top bunk.

After hesitating for a moment, Dojae called Gyusung.

“Gyusung-*gun* [a polite suffix, similar to Mr. or Ms., but used less formally].”

In fact, Dojae had never even heard a proper voice other than the very basic greeting of “Hello.”

Therefore, it was difficult for him to call him Gyusung comfortably, even though they were the same age.

Gyusung, who was covered in a blanket, didn’t answer, and Dojae cleared his throat and called Gyusung again.

“Gyusung… ah?”