Prince From Another Dimension Becomes An Idol [EN]: Chapter 2

#2.

When Do-jae opened his eyes again, he was sitting in a dark room, completely unlit.

It was a conference room furnished only with a large desk and several chairs.

Do-jae had never seen this unfamiliar place before.

‘Am I outside the palace…? Wait. More importantly, why did I suddenly collapse? Was I poisoned? A terrorist attack? Kidnapped?’

Do-jae looked around with confused eyes.

But soon, he grasped the situation.

His limbs were too free for it to be a kidnapping.

Do-jae sighed and thought.

‘Who would kidnap the Third Prince who has no power and can’t do anything?’

Due to his strained relationship with the Emperor, Do-jae had rarely participated in official events lately, and his presence was fading.

He only occasionally became a topic when imperial family photos went viral or when people online asked, ‘What is the handsome youngest prince doing these days?’

Do-jae looked up at the large monitor installed on the wall.

His reflection in the unlit monitor looked somewhat unfamiliar.

“What is this?”

The clothes and hairstyle were different too.

A shabby gray tracksuit set and brown-dyed hair.

Just like the person he had seen on TV before collapsing…!

Do-jae hurriedly touched his cheeks.

They were damp, as if he had cried a lot.

And at that moment, Do-jae felt dizzy again.

Bang. Just then, the office door opened.

Do-jae blankly stared at the doorway where the light from the hallway streamed in.

“What? Kang Do-jae. Why are you holed up here? I’ve been looking for you for ages.”

“……”

“It’s almost your turn. Come to the practice room. Quickly.”

The person who opened the door spoke curtly.

No one in the Korean Empire would use that kind of tone with Do-jae.

‘Moreover, not Lee Do-jae… but Kang Do-jae. He called me Kang Do-jae.’

That’s right. Do-jae was now ‘Kang Do-jae.’

What swept through his mind like a storm in that fleeting moment was the memory of ‘Kang Do-jae,’ the owner of this body.

Because of that memory, Do-jae could recognize the man in front of him, whom he should never have met.

He also knew exactly where the practice room was.

‘Did I possess someone else’s body or something?’

But it was the same face to be called ‘someone else’.

“Hey, aren’t you coming out?”

The man urged Do-jae and then turned around and left.

Do-jae, who was blankly getting up, suddenly felt pain in his ankle.

Do-jae had definitely not injured his ankle.

He hadn’t even sprained his ankle when he collapsed.

For Do-jae, who had lived as royalty and never had even a small scratch, physical pain was quite unfamiliar.

Do-jae examined his body again.

There were many small wounds on the back of his hand.

When he rolled up his pants, there were bruises near his calves.

This body was definitely ‘Kang Do-jae’s’ body, not Lee Do-jae’s.

Even though the face and physique were exactly the same as the original ‘Lee Do-jae.’

“It’s so identical, but it’s not my body……”

It was an absurd situation.

One more thing.

Do-jae felt that there was something strange in ‘Kang Do-jae’s’ memory.

Enduring the pain in his ankle, Do-jae stepped into the hallway.

He rummaged through his pockets and found his cell phone.

Do-jae walked down the hallway and opened an internet browser.

The first portal site that appeared was not one that he often visited in the Korean Empire.

[Republic of Korea]

Yes, definitely.

As ‘Kang Do-jae’ remembered, this place was the Republic of Korea, not the Korean Empire.

Not the Kingdom of Korea, but the Republic of Korea.

According to the search results, the historical knowledge and memories that ‘Kang Do-jae’ had learned in middle and high school were also correct.

It was the knowledge that was commonly accepted in this world.

‘The Republic of Korea… I’ve never heard of that name, but they use Korean, and their history is the same as the Korean Empire.’

That history was completely the same up to the Imjin War [Japanese invasions of Korea in the late 16th century].

After that, there were slight differences, and it became completely different from the time of King Jeongjo [18th-century Joseon Dynasty ruler].

They had achieved similar civilization development in modern times, but the forms were slightly different.

A world that was similar but different.

‘A parallel world?’

Thinking that far, Do-jae considered the parallel world theory.

‘Does something like that actually exist?’

Do-jae, who was neither a scientist nor a space expert, could not prove the parallel universe theory at this moment.

However, what was happening to Do-jae right now was the proof itself.

Do-jae, who had even looked up the messages on his cell phone, realized that all the newly added knowledge and memories were true.

“Haa.”

A sigh escaped him automatically.

He was still confused and embarrassed.

‘Then where did the owner of this body, Kang Do-jae, go? Could it be…….’

Did their souls switch?

When he reached the shocking hypothesis, Do-jae was already standing in front of the practice room door.

***

Several trainees with tense faces were gathered at the back of the practice room, which was lined with mirrors.

In front of them, vocal trainers and new talent development team staff were seated to evaluate the trainees.

“Next is… Kang Do-jae.”

As soon as Do-jae opened the practice room door and entered, the vocal trainer called his name.

The trainees’ eyes turned to Do-jae.

Do-jae stood calmly in the designated spot in the center of the practice room.

“This guy. He disappeared. Where did you go until it was your turn?”

“……”

“What? Aren’t you going to answer?”

The vocal trainer, sitting with a slouch, urged him to answer.

But Do-jae had nothing to say.

This kind of treatment and reception was a first in his life.

He was so dumbfounded that it was both shocking and novel.

However, if he recalled Kang Do-jae’s memories that had flowed into Do-jae’s head, it was all too common.

Born into a poor family, Kang Do-jae lost his father early and lived alone with his mother.

Kang Do-jae dreamed of becoming a singer when he was eighteen years old, just like Do-jae.

He decided to become a singer after seeing someone win 100 million won in prize money by winning .

Since all he had was his body and a fairly good singing ability, the dream of becoming a singer was the only key to turning his life around for Kang Do-jae.

He also had a great desire to repay his mother, who had been working hard all her life doing restaurant work and cleaning.

After going around to several agencies, he finally managed to get into New Entertainment, one of the top three agencies in Korea.

‘The first agency I went to was a ghost company, but I was lucky that I didn’t get scammed because I didn’t have any money…….’

After joining New Entertainment, Kang Do-jae practiced and practiced every day without rest.

If he debuted here, his dream of becoming a singer and his dream of success, which he had so desired, would come true at the same time.

And today was a very important day for Kang Do-jae to take one step closer to that dream.

It was the last evaluation day to determine the members of the group that would debut next summer.

“Hey, Kang Do-jae. Are you out of your mind? Do you not understand what I’m saying……”

“I’m sorry. I was so nervous that I went out for a while.”

“Are you going to debut if you fail even the internal evaluation?”

Do-jae looked at the vocal trainer without saying a word.

The vocal trainer, who was a famous singer, had a bad personality, apart from his excellent skills.

He reveled in having control over the fates of the trainees who dreamed of debuting.

‘Especially, he acted even more recklessly towards those who were insignificant like Kang Do-jae.’

He was one of the obvious snobs that could be seen even in the palace.

Do-jae clicked his tongue inwardly.

Unlike Kang Do-jae’s naive thoughts, a singer could not be made with just talent alone.

Debut possibilities varied depending on family background or connections, even among trainees.

Kang Do-jae’s hardship was natural because he had to overcome that with effort.

“That’s enough. Other kids are waiting for their turn……”

One of the new talent development team staff stopped the vocal trainer.

It wasn’t exactly for Do-jae’s sake, but because he didn’t want the evaluation time to be prolonged.

“Kang Do-jae.”

“Yes.”

“Sing a song.”

At the employee’s words that were thrown out casually, Do-jae became dazed for a moment.

‘I want to sing.’

It was Do-jae’s very old wish.

After his dream of becoming a singer was thwarted due to the obligations imposed on the royal family, Do-jae could not sing a single song properly.

Even if he hummed alone, he knew that it would reach the Emperor’s ears and incur his wrath.

But the people in front of him were waiting for his song.

Whatever the situation, Do-jae was given the opportunity to sing to his heart’s content.

Do-jae swallowed hard.

He calmed his trembling heart while clearing his throat.

Soon, Do-jae opened his mouth and began to sing.

“Ah— you don’t know—”

Of course, he could have sung the song that Kang Do-jae had prepared.

However, that song was only in his head, and it felt awkward because he had never actually sung it.

Therefore, the song that Do-jae chose was , which he had heard just before collapsing.

Anyway, the song evaluation was to accurately evaluate the trainee’s skills, so it was okay to sing the most confident song without accompaniment.

So it was okay to change the song.

—My trembling heart.

One verse, one verse.

Do-jae sang with all his aspirations.

Do-jae’s clear and powerful voice echoed quietly throughout the practice room.

—My heart doesn’t beat without you.

The practice room, which had been chaotic for a moment, was focused on Do-jae.

It was a song that everyone had to focus on.

He’s good.

That one word clearly popped up in everyone’s head like an exclamation mark.

The trainees who were waiting started whispering first.

“What? What song is that?”

“I don’t know? But the song is good. Is it a self-composed song?”

“Who is that? He’s a new face.”

“Don’t you know because you haven’t been here for long? Kang Do-jae. He’s been a trainee for three years.”

“Wow. He sings well.”

“But was he that good?”

“He used to sing a little. But he doesn’t have confidence.”

“That’s weird. That bastard is really a loser……”

The trainee who brought Do-jae scratched his head as if he was puzzled.

Even to him, who had been ignoring Do-jae, Do-jae’s song was the best of all the trainees so far.

Good enough to debut right away.

Confusion arose in the eyes of the vocal trainer who had been pushing Do-jae.

‘He wasn’t this good even during the class a few days ago. Has his singing improved in the meantime?’

What was more surprising than the song was Do-jae’s attitude when singing.

Kang Do-jae was always stiff and unable to make eye contact properly as if he was intimidated.

He remembered scolding Do-jae several times that singing was not just done with the voice but with the whole body.

But now, there was no room to scold Do-jae.

He was truly outstanding.

His pitch was stable, his expression was earnest as if he was immersed in the lyrics, and his voice was full of appeal.

—My precious heart, I hope it reaches you.

Do-jae was completely immersed in the song.

When Do-jae’s song finally ended, the vocal trainer muttered without realizing it.

“Amazing……”

***

All the turns were over.

“We will announce the debut group members tomorrow, including today’s song evaluation. Everyone worked hard, and there are no regular classes today, so feel free to go back.”

At the vocal trainer’s words, the people in the practice room scattered.

After finishing the song, Do-jae was immersed in some kind of emotion, regardless of the reality or situation he was in.

His fingertips trembled.

‘I sang…. I sang a song. In front of people. Freely.’

He didn’t know how long it had been since he felt this emotion.

Calming his trembling heart, Do-jae was the last to leave the practice room.

Thud. At the same time, he collided with someone walking towards him.

“Ah, what the. Crap. Kang Do. Are you walking around with your eyes closed?”

Do-jae, frowning at the impact of the collision, raised his head.

The moment his eyes met the man with gray-dyed hair, Do-jae felt the joy that had been warmly enveloping his body until just now disappear.

Do-jae glared at the man with cold eyes.

“So it’s you. You son of a bitch who made this body want to die.”