Prince From Another Dimension Becomes An Idol [EN]: Chapter 194

#194.

However, as the competition intensified and the group missions aired, the atmosphere shifted.

This was because there were quite a few who showed surprising growth, like Yoon Seung-jo in the group missions, or those who revealed their hidden stories, like Choi Rina.

Doing group missions actually highlighted the individual characters, creating a large number of fans.

The online community became noisy, cheering for certain teams and members, criticizing members who didn’t contribute, and scrutinizing others with similar rankings, creating an overall feverish environment.

It may have been stressful for the fans, but it was proof that they were deeply invested in the program.

From the production team’s point of view, it was a bit late, but they finally got the ‘reaction’ they had been hoping for, three weeks before the final broadcast.

And the biggest contributor to that reaction was, of course, the team, which delivered a good song, a high-quality performance, and compelling individual stories from its members.

From dawn to the next day after the broadcast, the number of views of the stage video was unprecedented, and eventually, they made it happen.

As soon as the song was released, it hovered around 1st and 2nd place in the real-time rankings, and eventually settled in 1st place on the hourly chart.

***

“Ah…. Is this even possible?”

Sunmi, who had been watching the music charts and sensed the unusual real-time chart activity, muttered with a deep sigh.

Sunmi was working hard day and night to earn back the 3 million won she had spent to apply for the fan signing event during this activity.

The frustrating thing was that she had spent 3 million won and still didn’t get picked in the fan signing event lottery.

‘If I had gotten into the fan signing event and met Dojae *oppa* [an affectionate term for an older brother or male friend], I wouldn’t be so upset about this hardship.’

On the day when her number wasn’t on the fan signing event list, Sunmi was truly devastated.

Should she burn the albums piled up in her room? How long could she devote her life to Dojae and MOST……?

All sorts of thoughts flashed through Sunmi’s mind like a revolving lantern.

This was because the ‘fan signing cut’ [the minimum number of albums needed to buy for a chance to attend a fan signing] had risen sky-high, like the price of an apartment in Seoul, as there were many domestic fans as well as overseas fans.

‘This is all because MOST is so popular… .My instincts were right.’

Sunmi, who had seriously considered quitting her fan life, soon felt proud of MOST, who had become so popular that she had to spend 3 million won and still fail to get into the fan signing event.

After watching the Hansando Festival performance, which was being talked about as the MOST Battle, Sunmi completely recovered her fan spirit, which she had never truly lost.

In fact, her fan spirit had grown even stronger.

It was also uncertain whether Sunmi would be able to meet an idol as perfect as Dojae again in her life.

‘I have to do my fan activities while I can! That’s right, that’s right.’

That’s how Sunmi decided to find meaning in the fact that her 3 million won contributed to MOST achieving the double million-seller achievement.

And she was working hard at a cafe, determined not to miss the next fan signing event.

She was currently taking a break in the staff lounge because it was dinner time.

“What’s wrong?”

Another part-time worker, who was eating a sandwich next to her, asked Sunmi.

It seemed like something big had happened to Sunmi, who was frowning and asking herself, “Is this even possible?”

“No…. The music charts. took 1st place. became 2nd.”

“Wow! That’s amazing! Moonlight Dance is number 1?! I saw it on the popular videos and the song is really good! It finally hit number 1. I’m going to vote for that team, that someone…. A girl’s name…. Rina? I’m going to vote for Rina! She’s a good singer!”

The part-time worker, who was the same age as Sunmi, was a *muggle* [a term for someone who is not a fan of K-pop or a particular group] who only had a slight interest in pop music.

It was clear that they were gaining popularity, as even such a *muggle* was saying that they would watch the stage and vote.

“But why? It was good enough to be number 1. Everyone did well…. Sunmi, are you cheering for another team?”

“Uh…. No…….”

Strictly speaking, she was cheering for in .

Of course. Because Dojae composed .

However, she was momentarily taken aback by the fact that , which had been holding the top spot, had been pushed back to second place by .

‘It would be nice if the ranking was high because it’s Dojae *oppa’s* song…. But I don’t really like the fact that 1st place was broken because of that…….’

Sunmi’s mind was quite complicated.

Anyway, it seems like a good thing…….

Sunmi was a fan of Dojae, but she was close to being a fan of the whole group.

The reaction of the entire fandom other than Sunmi was the same.

They were happy that took first place because it was Dojae’s song, but they also felt uncomfortable that had become second place.

“Ah, but Kang Dojae from MOST composed this song?! When I watched the stage video, he was so handsome when he was shown for a moment.”

Sunmi’s eyes sparkled at the part-time worker’s words.

“…He’s handsome.”

“Right! He’s totally handsome! I want to see him in person! What would he be like in person? He’d be more handsome in person than on screen, right?”

“Of course. He’s more handsome in person. The camera isn’t good enough to capture Dojae *oppa’s*…. Kang Dojae’s face.”

“Oh? You’ve seen Kang Dojae in person?!! Where?!!”

Sunmi, who had almost forgotten that she was ‘hiding her fan status’ for a moment, quickly thought and replied.

“I saw him on the street, on the street.”

In fact, it was a precious face that she saw almost every time she squandered her entire fortune…….

At Sunmi’s answer, the part-time worker looked envious and said that she also wanted to see a celebrity once.

Sunmi gave an awkward smile.

When she checked her phone, and were once again going back and forth for 1st and 2nd place in the real-time charts.

Thinking that it was good anyway, Sunmi put her phone in her pocket.

***

Music show waiting room.

The members who were about to pre-record let out exclamations as they checked the charts.

“That’s amazing! beat !”

The members were amazed and pleased.

It was also because the song Dojae composed had taken first place, but they were genuinely happy that had done well, as he had visited the recording studio and encouraged the team members.

“Dojae, congratulations!”

Dojae smiled slightly at Heungmin’s congratulations.

“Wow, even if the broadcast is popular, it’s amazing that it’s number 1 on the music chart…. Dojae *hyung* [an affectionate term for an older brother or male friend, used by males] is really the best!”

“The best!”

Louis also added an exclamation to Woochul’s words.

It was also true that Dojae and MOST’s halo had a strong effect on taking first place.

Kyuseong and Gijun also smiled and congratulated Dojae, and Dojae scratched his forehead.

“But became 2nd place…….”

He was happy, but it was awkward.

His song had pushed out MOST’s song.

When he was working on the song, he naturally wanted good results, but he didn’t expect this kind of situation to occur.

In fact, the company was also embarrassed.

When Dojae decided to appear on , they naturally calculated that Dojae’s song could rise to the top of the music charts.

The plan was to raise MOST and again by appearing on at the end of the activity when public interest had waned.

However, was enjoying more popularity than expected, and was continuing to top the music charts even in the 3rd week of activities.

That’s why the situation of being pushed back by came about.

“We’ve been number 1 for too long.”

Gijun replied with an indifferent expression to Dojae’s words.

Kyuseong also agreed.

“That’s right. In the middle, when S CLASS’s Jungwoon *senior’s* [a term of respect for someone with more experience] ballad came out, we kept going back to number 1 except for a few days…….”

“This situation of our song and Dojae *hyung’s* song competing for 1st and 2nd place! It’s so Beautifly~ Beautifly~!”

Woochul hummed the chorus of .

Dojae and the other members burst into laughter.

“Let’s do our best until the end of this activity, as we’ve achieved good results.”

At Gijun’s words, the members who had finished preparing gathered around Gijun one by one.

This week was the last week of activities, and there were only two music shows left, excluding today’s broadcast, .

The members put their hands together and looked at each other.

“We can do it!”

“We’ll do it!”

“MOST!!!”

A loud shout echoed through the waiting room.

Jung Gilju and the staff watched the scene with a satisfied smile.

Before going on stage, the members who had strengthened their will ran out of the waiting room following Jung Gilju.

The energetic 모습 [Korean word for appearance or figure] of the members was reflected in the mirror attached to one side of the 복도 [Korean word for hallway].

The members were wearing ‘marine look’ outfits with a mix of white and blue.

It was for today’s summer special stage of .

***

“Kyaaaaaaak!”

“Kyaak!”

“*Oppa!*”

“Dojae-*yaa!* [an affectionate way to call someone’s name]”

“Kim Kyuseong is so cute!”

“Louis-*yaa!*”

On the stage.

The audience was in an uproar as the MOST members appeared.

Since it was a pre-recording, the audience was filled with 500 BESTs [MOST’s fandom name].

500 people.

It seemed like a lot, but it was far from enough compared to the number of BESTs who wanted to see the members’ stage.

When posting comments on a first-come, first-served basis, 500 people were filled in 1 second.

The 500 fans who came to this place after breaking through the competition, which was reminiscent of the Olympics and even called ‘Datlympics’ [a portmanteau of ‘data’ and ‘Olympics,’ referring to the intense competition for online access].

The fans, who had been waiting for this moment to meet the members since dawn, shouted MOST to their heart’s content, and the members responded by adjusting their 이어 마이크 [Korean word for in-ear microphone] and waving their hands greatly.

“꺅!”

“억! It’s bad for my heart! It’s too much!”

One fan grabbed the arm of her friend who came with her in an almost sobbing voice.

It felt like the top of her head was getting hotter than when she was standing in line under the hot sun in August.

That’s because the members equipped with sailor collar short sleeves and white shorts were beyond the limit of cuteness.

She was curious about what it would be like since they were doing a summer special stage, but the BESTs who couldn’t get into the 500 were so sorry that it was a marine look concept.

“What song are they singing?”

“Agh, I’m so curious!”

When the fans were fidgeting.

When Woochul smiled while fiddling with the navy blue beret fixed on his head, another cheer erupted.

Woochul smiled when he saw the fans’ reactions.

“The fans like it.”

Woochul muttered to Louis, who was standing next to him.

Louis, who was already cute, was especially well-suited for the marine look.

When Woochul drew a big heart with Louis, the fans were almost in a state of fainting.

In the meantime, there was a member who was more suited to the marine look than expected, Kyuseong.

Kyuseong, wearing a blue sailor short sleeve, was so cute that he could be called the youngest, perhaps because of the styling.

“Okay, let’s get ready.”