Prince From Another Dimension Becomes An Idol [EN]: Chapter 179

#179.

Too late, he realized it with a sinking feeling, beyond the point of regret.

What caught Hee-min off guard was unexpected news.

“Hey, guess what? MOST is joining our group mission.”

The one who brought it up was a trainee from Class B.

He was rumored to be a relative of someone in broadcasting.

True or not, the rumors spread because he always seemed to have inside information.

Last time, he even got half of the mission details right.

So, everyone hung on the Class B trainee’s words.

“Really? Why would they do that?!”

The Class D trainee, a known MOST fan, asked with wide eyes.

“I don’t know the specifics……”

The Class B trainee subtly glanced at Hee-min.

The blue-haired trainee sitting next to him asked Hee-min, “Did you know about this?”

“……”

Hee-min remained silent.

“Don’t you keep in touch with the MOST members?”

The well-informed Class B trainee asked with curious eyes.

They’d been wanting to ask for a while, but hadn’t had the chance since they weren’t close to Hee-min.

Others were just as curious, their eyes shining with anticipation.

“They’re probably really busy……”

Hee-min’s words sounded like excuses, even to his own ears.

In truth, he’d expected the MOST members to contact him first.

It wasn’t like they’d had a falling out; he’d left the team based solely on his own decision.

Gyu-sung and Woo-chul had even contacted him separately when he left for America, telling him to take care….

Hee-min thought they would definitely be happy and supportive when he appeared on , but he hadn’t heard a word from any of them.

‘They were so supportive of me, they were so sad when I left……’

Hee-min was too young and inexperienced to truly understand how the remaining members felt.

If he had even a slight grasp of their feelings, he wouldn’t have left so easily.

“I guess so.”

“They must be busy preparing for their comeback……”

Even while saying they understood, the trainees’ eyes were full of doubt.

Some couldn’t shake the suspicion that it was all a lie, that he was never really a former member of MOST and wasn’t close to them at all.

Hee-min tried to ignore their gazes.

“Anyway, if the MOST seniors are really coming during the group mission, Hee-min *hyung* [older brother or male friend] must be happy.”

“Yeah, it must be nice to see them.”

“No, it’s not just about being happy, MOST fans will vote for Hee-min!”

“Ah…. That’s right!”

Hee-min tuned out the voices of the participants chattering amongst themselves.

Former member of MOST.

Thanks to this title, Hee-min received several minutes of screen time on , where it was said to be difficult to even get one second of airtime with over a hundred participants.

Thanks to that, he was able to comfortably make it into the top 50 in the initial voting, regardless of his skills.

However, at the same time, the title of a former member of a popular idol group was heavier than he’d anticipated.

Since it was a survival program where each vote determined elimination, the jealousy and scrutiny from other participants were considerable.

The problem was that MOST fans weren’t really voting for Hee-min.

‘It’s not like the *hyungs* [older brothers or male friends] are supporting me. They don’t even mention me……’

There were more people who disliked him for leaving MOST to pursue his own dream and told him not to exploit the MOST name.

His skills were constantly compared to those of MOST, and regardless of the truth, he was bombarded with harsh criticism, saying he wasn’t good enough for MOST.

It was too easy for him to become a target of attack from other participants’ fans.

‘If I had known this would happen……’

He even regretted revealing his past connection.

It was fortunate that he received attention and made it into the top 51, but it seemed like he was losing more than he was gaining.

‘If the *hyungs* [older brothers or male friends] come…. Instead of helping me, won’t I just be compared again and ridiculed for getting this far because of MOST?’

Of course, that was only if he survived until the group mission, but Hee-min was worried.

When he returned from America and decided to appear on , he’d only expected to benefit from the MOST halo effect…….

For some reason, Hee-min’s future looked bleak.

***

The next day.

Having finished their second performance on SVS , the MOST members returned to their waiting room covered in confetti.

“What good deed did I do in my past life……?”

Heung-min muttered, clutching the first-place trophy.

“What did I do to deserve such good fortune?”

The other members smiled at Heung-min’s emotional words.

had been number one on the music charts for days, and MOST had already achieved the third-highest album sales of the year based on pre-orders alone, so winning first place on a music show was, in a way, expected.

“I am so happy!!!”

Louis, overwhelmed with happiness, flew around the waiting room with a bouquet of flowers.

“This isn’t all a dream, is it?”

Do-jae smiled lightly and nodded at Louis’ question.

In fact, it felt surreal.

He was grateful to even be able to experience such a dream.

They had just finished their encore performance, so they were still sweating.

Do-jae wiped the sweat from his forehead and tried to remove the heavy earring on his left ear.

The earring he wore today had even larger red jewels dangling from it than yesterday, so it was quite heavy.

“Oh, oh! Wait a minute!”

At that moment, Han Yu-na from Planning Team 3, who was in the waiting room, stopped Do-jae.

“Yes?”

When Do-jae turned around, Han Yu-na’s face reflexively turned red.

Even though she saw him every day, her face would turn red whenever she made eye contact with Do-jae in full makeup.

Moreover, Do-jae wearing the red earrings looked even more captivating.

“I think you should take a picture before you take them off!”

“Ah…….”

“The fans’ reaction has been amazing.”

Do-jae nodded, understanding Han Yu-na’s words.

Every time an official schedule ended, they would upload group photos or selfies to Tweety [a fictional social media platform, similar to Twitter], so it made sense to take pictures in their stage outfits if possible.

“How does *hyung* [older brother or male friend] even look good in earrings like that?”

Woo-chul said enviously.

“The world is unfair.”

Do-jae chuckled at Woo-chul’s playful grumbling and said, “You look good in everything too.”

His short hair and the small cubic earrings suited Woo-chul well.

Woo-chul gave a proud smile at Do-jae’s compliment.

“Well, handsome people recognize handsome people.”

Heung-min shook his head as if he couldn’t help but roll his eyes at Woo-chul’s self-praise.

“Then shall we take a picture first?”

At Han Yu-na’s words, the members roughly wiped the sweat from their faces and gathered on one side of the waiting room.

Do-jae, Gyu-sung, and Louis sat in order on the black sofa, and Woo-chul, Ki-joon, and Heung-min stood behind them.

“Oh! It’s a heavenly lineup today.”

At Woo-chul’s words, the members turned to look at him, curious about what he meant.

“Do-jae *hyung* [older brother or male friend], Gyu-sung *hyung* [older brother or male friend], and Louis are our team’s heavenly lineup.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means voices sent from heaven……”

Ki-joon and Heung-min nodded as if they understood Woo-chul’s explanation, and the three people involved in the ‘heavenly lineup’ looked a little embarrassed.

“Oh! Woo-chul knows about the heavenly lineup!”

“Of course. I monitor everything so diligently.”

Woo-chul said proudly as Han Yu-na, who was turning on the camera app, acknowledged him.

“I know MobiSam and Hot Guys too!”

“You really know everything!”

“Of course, my favorite combination is MobiSam.”

Han Yu-na laughed at Woo-chul, who revealed that his favorite combination was the ‘MOST Visual Triangle,’ which included himself.

Hot Guys was the combination of Do-jae, Heung-min, and Ki-joon, who had hot bodies.

Do-jae was so versatile and popular that he was included in almost every combination the fans created.

“Then I’ll take a picture.”

When Han Yu-na shouted “One, two, three,” the members smiled and looked at the camera.

Click, click. Han Yu-na took several pictures in a row and said, “Oh, we’ve taken all the group photos. Should we take individual photos of the members today? There were a lot of comments saying the outfits were pretty.”

It was a suit with a subtle pink hue.

As expected of MOST, who were rated as the best celebrities by the staff for being not only successful but also having no picky habits, the members immediately accepted Han Yu-na’s suggestion.

“Heung-min and Ki-joon might look good taking off their jackets……”

“Wow! As expected of Yu-na *noona* [older sister or female friend]! You know the fans so well!”

Han Yu-na’s lips curled up at Louis’ compliment.

“No. When did you become Yu-na *noona* [older sister or female friend] with Yu-na…….”

Heung-min tilted his head and took off his jacket.

Then, his arm muscles were prominent outside the tightly fitted shirt.

“Ha…. He pumped up properly again today.”

Woo-chul looked at Heung-min enviously and waited for his turn to take a picture.

The other members also checked their reflections in the mirror and waited.

Do-jae smiled as he watched Gyu-sung, who was fixing his hair that had fallen to the side.

“Your condition is completely back to normal…. right?”

As expected, Do-jae’s observation skills were amazing.

Gyu-sung quickly nodded.

“Yeah. Much better than yesterday…….”

He had completely recovered to the point where he wondered when he had been sick.

The proof was that he was already hungry.

Since his appetite was back, there was nothing to worry about.

Woo-chul, who was listening to the two’s conversation, commented, “*Hyung* [older brother or male friend] is really made for the stage.”

“Is that so……?”

“That’s right. The stage should make your body tired, but instead, your condition is recovering!”

“Now that I hear it, that’s true.”

Gyu-sung smiled pleasantly.

Perhaps it was because he had been stressed and sick before the comeback, but once he actually made his comeback, his body seemed to be completely healed.

“Don’t be sick anymore!”

Louis grabbed Gyu-sung’s arm and said.

Gyu-sung stroked Louis’ hair, finding his younger brother’s *aegyo* [act of cuteness] endearing.

And.

“How heartwarming.”

Everyone’s attention turned to Ki-joon, who was watching the scene.

“……”

Ki-joon had blurted out what he had only been thinking in his mind.

Flustered, Ki-joon cleared his throat and looked away for no reason.

“Ah, our leader *hyung* [older brother or male friend] is getting more and more clumsy.”

Ki-joon pretended not to hear Woo-chul’s words.

In such a friendly atmosphere, the members quickly changed their clothes and left the waiting room.

Today, their schedule didn’t end with .

The broadcast schedule was over, but they had a long-distance move left for tomorrow.

***

“Guys, we’ve arrived!”

Jung Gil-joo, who stopped the van, turned around and shouted.

From Seoul to Tongyeong.

It was a long five-hour drive.

The members, who had stopped at a rest stop to fill their stomachs, were fast asleep, and Jung Gil-joo, who had been behind the wheel the whole time, stretched out, feeling the stiffness creeping in.

The back of his neck was stiff, and his eyes seemed sore from the long-distance driving, especially at night.

“Haaahm…….”

The members, who had to squeeze into the van without even being able to wash up after the music show, barely opened their eyes, exhausted.

“Can we finally wash up?”

Do-jae, who had been unable to hide his discomfort, quickly packed his bags after checking the hotel outside the window.

With Do-jae in the lead, the other members began to get out of the van one by one.

The reason the members came all the way to Tongyeong was because of Admiral Yi Sun-sin.