Prince From Another Dimension Becomes An Idol [EN]: Chapter 147

#147.

“Thank you.”

Do-jae spoke calmly.

The fans in the audience covered their mouths, listening intently to Do-jae’s voice.

Then, someone shouted emotionally, “Do-jae, I love you!”

Sharp glares were immediately directed at the person who interrupted Do-jae’s speech, but only for a moment.

Everyone quickly refocused on Do-jae and the members.

Since his debut, Do-jae had heard the words ‘I love you’ thousands, even tens of thousands of times.

To the point where the words ‘I love you’ were no longer special, but very familiar.

However, at this moment.

“BEST, always giving me trophies, bouquets, love… Our fans who only give me such things. Thank you so much.”

The fans’ eyes welled up at Do-jae’s words.

That’s how much they liked him.

They couldn’t see the past, and could only imagine it, yet their hearts ached as if they had experienced it themselves.

Do-jae, who had overcome that past and come out into the world, was giving all the glory to them.

Do-jae’s constant gratitude to the fans was touching, but today, the emotional impact was even greater.

“And to the members who have been with me since our trainee days until now, I always appreciate you and never forget it… But today, I want to say thank you even more.”

Do-jae said, looking back at the members who were standing quietly beside him, listening to his speech.

At other times, no matter who was giving the acceptance speech, the members would be busy waving to the audience and winking at the camera, doing fan service.

Heung-min and Woo-cheol smiled awkwardly at Do-jae’s words.

Louie gave Do-jae a thumbs up.

Gi-jun was looking back at Do-jae with his usual stoic expression…

Gyu-sung, the only one the same age as him, looked somewhat red-eyed.

It was clear to anyone that it wasn’t just because of the joy of winning first place.

During their trainee days, Gyu-sung had misunderstood Do-jae.

That hasty misunderstanding always weighed on Gyu-sung’s mind, and it bothered him even more on days like today.

It was typical of Gyu-sung, who couldn’t stand injustice and always wanted to help others when they were in trouble.

Louie and Woo-cheol noticed his feelings and smiled at Gyu-sung.

“Thank you for always being by my side and supporting me. Thank you.”

Do-jae’s eyes, as he continued his speech and looked back at the members, were full of affection.

That image was captured in a close-up by the camera.

The viewers watching TV were doubly moved by his incredibly handsome face.

It was expected that a post titled “The reason why reading his gaze is useless.jpg” would be uploaded to online communities.

Because his gaze, which seemed to be looking at a lover, was only directed at the members and BEST [the name of their fandom].

“Thank you again for the first place! I’ll show you even better things in the future. Everyone… I love you!”

A high-decibel shout erupted from the audience at Do-jae’s cry.

It was a cheesy confession to the members.

Unlike the other members who looked awkward and embarrassed, Louie, who was touched, ran and hugged Do-jae.

Louie, the youngest, started it off, and Woo-cheol and Heung-min followed suit.

Even Gyu-sung and Gi-jun. They all hugged Do-jae at the center.

It was a heartwarming scene.

Even the other singers and MCs [Masters of Ceremony] on stage watched the scene with smiles.

Some felt bitter.

MOST was already firmly in the ranks of ‘popular idols’.

They had briefly thought that this controversy might damage their image by getting involved in a mud fight (even though they were the victims), but it wasn’t.

Rather, the fandom and the bond between the members seemed to have only grown stronger.

“I’m jealous.”

The members of groups who weren’t as close as The Origin couldn’t hide their envious and curious eyes.

“Then, please prepare for the encore stage!”

As the MC wrapped things up, fellow singers began to descend from the stage one by one.

MOST members also expressed their gratitude to the colleagues who had congratulated them.

Miso and Areum of Candies, who were busy with their unit activities, shouted words of encouragement to Louie and the members.

“Congratulations!”

“Congratulations! MOST is the best!”

The S CLASS 12 members, who were also nominated for first place today, went down the stage, congratulating MOST.

Meanwhile, the intro of quickly began to play, and Do-jae, holding the trophy in his hand instead of the microphone, started the choreography.

“Kyaaaa!”

As the encore stage began, the fans cheered even louder.

***

After the broadcast.

The members were heading to a place other than the dorm together.

In fact, they were busy because they had to prepare for a music show again from dawn tomorrow, but there was a place they had decided to go separately.

“This promotion is ending this week.”

“Is this the end of such colorful dyed hair too…”

“I’m sad about everything else, but I’m glad to be free from colored lenses.”

Woo-cheol nodded at Heung-min’s words.

Woo-cheol liked the lenses, but it was difficult to even go to the convenience store without wearing a hat throughout the promotion period because of his flashy hair color.

It was also a chore to keep re-dyeing his hair to maintain the color.

Woo-cheol was thinking that his scalp should rest for a while.

However, Louie, who liked his pink and ash-mixed hair, muttered in a regretful voice.

“I liked this color. I’ve done it once, so I probably won’t have to do it during promotions for a while, right?”

“Probably? Take a lot of pictures. I’ll go and take five hundred pictures for you, hyung [older brother or male friend]!”

“Good idea, hyung!”

While the members were chatting.

Team Leader Kim Seok-cheol, who had accompanied them after a long time, said from the passenger seat.

“I’m sorry to spoil the good atmosphere… But I thought it would be better to sort things out here rather than talking about it there, so I’ll say it.”

The members stopped talking and focused.

Gi-jun, who was listening to music with earphones on one side, also took off his earphones and turned his gaze to the passenger seat.

Jeong Gil-ju in the driver’s seat frowned as if he knew what was going on.

“We received a call from New Enter [New Entertainment].”

“Huh?!!”

Gyu-sung, who was sitting next to Do-jae, reacted first.

Before even hearing what the call was about, Gyu-sung was already furious.

Do-jae asked calmly, “Why from New Enter…”

“Yoo Myung-woo wants to meet Do-jae.”

“What? What the heck!”

This time, Heung-min exclaimed in disbelief.

The other members’ expressions also soured at once.

“Don’t tell me the reason he wants to meet is to apologize?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

Team Leader Kim Seok-cheol answered Do-jae’s calm question.

“That’s ridiculous! Now, after all this time!”

“How many times have we met at broadcasting stations so far, and now he’s going to apologize? Hyung! Don’t meet him!”

“That’s absurd. Do-jae, you’re not going to meet him, are you?”

The members spat out one word each, fuming.

As Woo-cheol said, Yoo Myung-woo had encountered Do-jae countless times since his debut.

He even filmed a variety show with him separately not long ago.

If he had wanted to apologize, he would have had plenty of time to do so already.

“Yoo Myung-woo hasn’t even posted a separate apology letter yet, has he? The other members still apologized, though they did so grudgingly…”

“Right… So, what’s the reason for wanting to apologize separately?”

Woo-cheol chimed in at Heung-min’s words.

Team Leader Kim Seok-cheol carefully added.

“I also don’t think there’s any reason to meet. If Do-jae wants to receive an apology, he can, but…”

Of course, Do-jae had no intention of meeting Yoo Myung-woo at all.

‘Meeting to apologize…’

A perpetrator wanting a face-to-face meeting with the victim.

It only made him feel more resentful.

Of course, Do-jae didn’t mind seeing his face, but if he were the real ‘Kang Do-jae,’ he wouldn’t want to see him like this.

It would only bring back bad memories.

“No. I don’t need an apology. It wouldn’t be sincere anyway.”

“…I guess so.”

“If we meet, it’s obvious that he’ll try to use us.”

“I was worried about that too… I’m glad Do-jae doesn’t want to meet him either. I’ll let them know.”

“Yes. Please.”

If the meeting took place, it was obvious that media play would begin to redeem Yoo Myung-woo and The Origin members with the words ‘Do-jae accepted the apology’.

‘This was probably Yoo Myung-woo’s last resort.’

Do-jae nipped even that shallow trick in the bud.

“I heard that a national petition has been filed asking for a tax investigation into New Enter for not managing their trainees and condoning bullying.”

As the conversation seemed to be wrapping up, Jeong Gil-ju casually said to Team Leader Kim Seok-cheol.

The mouths of the members listening from behind dropped open.

It was an excessive demand that had escalated into an overheated situation, but it was an indication of how much trouble New Entertainment was going through.

“I just hope everyone will come to their senses and live right, at least for the time being.”

Team Leader Kim Seok-cheol said with cold eyes, looking out the window.

The bright lights of the city passed by outside the window.

***

After a while.

The place the members arrived at was a campsite in Gyeonggi Province.

Even though it was Gyeonggi Province, it was a suburb that wasn’t even an hour away from the dorm.

“Waaaaa!”

Woo-cheol and Louie ran around excitedly as soon as they got out of the van.

Jeong Gil-ju and Team Leader Kim Seok-cheol took the luggage out of the van.

All the luggage was just food in iceboxes, though…

The older members helped carry the luggage, except for the maknaes [youngest members] who were about to dance with excitement.

“…”

When Gi-jun gestured once, Louie and Woo-cheol also hurried to help carry the luggage.

The company had rented the entire campsite, so it was just the members here.

The members were now recognized by many people when they went outside.

Especially with their current styles, it was impossible not to recognize the members.

In the past, it was always good if people recognized them, but recently, it was sometimes a little uncomfortable.

Because of this, even when they went to a restaurant as a group, they were busy eating quickly and leaving instead of staying for a long time.

As a result, the members, who used to go to the movies and go shopping together during their trainee days, naturally had less time to spend together outside.

Of course, the members were always together in the dorm and in the practice room, but spending time outside was another story.

It was Gi-jun, the leader, who felt that such time was necessary.

Although the bond between the members was always strong, he thought they needed time to break away from their repetitive routine and laugh and chat freely.

With Do-jae’s incident, Gi-jun talked to Jeong Gil-ju and made time.

After moving all the luggage, Jeong Gil-ju and Team Leader Kim Seok-cheol headed to a separate location.

It was to allow the members to spend time together.

“Wow… I’ve never started a fire before, is there anyone who knows how to start a fire?!!”

“Hey. You look like an arsonist. It’s just lighting briquettes.”

Heung-min shook his head at Woo-cheol’s words in front of the barbecue tools.

“I know how to do it.”

“As expected, it’s Gi-jun hyung. Gi-jun hyung will grill the meat for us, right?”

“Woo-cheol… You’re being too cocky these days.”

Gi-jun skillfully put on his work gloves and lit the fire.

The flames soon blazed.

And in the end, it was Gi-jun who held the tongs.

“Wow! It’s so delicious. It’s really delicious because we’re eating outside.”

“As expected, barbecue is the best for meat.”

Still, Gi-jun felt proud watching the members enjoy themselves.

“The burnt taste seems too strong… I think it’s okay to cook it a little less.”

He almost got angry because of Do-jae, who was too much of a gourmet.

Gi-jun quickly flipped the meat over.

***

At the same time.

〈Jo Jung-yeol’s Music Talk〉 was airing on TV.