Prince From Another Dimension Becomes An Idol [EN]: Chapter 207

#207.

And then, with a snap, all the bright stage lights went out at once.

As the lights went out, Gijun and Gyuseong, who had been standing on the left side of the stage, quickly headed for the stage entrance.

The other members stood still in the darkness.

‘What is it?!’

Only Dojae seemed genuinely surprised and a little embarrassed.

Originally, the lights weren’t supposed to go out; instead, the intro to , a track from the album, was meant to start.

‘What…….’

As Dojae looked around, wondering if it was a technical malfunction, Louis and Woocheol, standing on either side of him, burst into laughter.

Judging by their reaction, it didn’t seem like an accident.

Not only the members but also the audience wasn’t panicking about the sudden interruption and the blackout.

The fans were nonchalantly rustling in the dark, seemingly preparing something.

Dojae could sense the movements even on stage, but with all the fan lights controlled from the center turned off, it was difficult to figure out what was going on.

‘Could it be…….’

Just as the quick-witted Dojae began to suspect something, a soft yellow light brightened, and Gijun and Gyuseong appeared at the entrance.

“Wow!”

“Kya!”

On a cart that the two were pushing was a three-tiered large cake.

At the very top of the cake were sugar figurines representing the members, with the figurines around Dojae smiling brightly.

Surprise filled Dojae’s face, momentarily erasing his nervousness.

He had briefly thought, ‘Could it be,’ but he was still genuinely surprised.

Because he hadn’t truly expected it.

“When did you guys prepare something like this…!”

Before Dojae could finish speaking, the cake arrived in front of him, standing in the center.

And at the same time, the song began.

—Happy birthday to you!

“Happy birthday to you-!”

The voices of the members, which they had recorded in advance, flowed from the speakers, and at the same time, the audience sang the birthday song in unison.

The fan lights in the audience were twinkling again.

Dojae blankly stared at the sight of the fans waving their fan lights and singing the birthday song together in loud voices.

The members were either clapping, looking at Dojae, or encouraging the fans to sing louder, while also singing along.

“…….”

The concert hall instantly transformed into a huge birthday party scene.

“To our beloved Dojae!”

“Happy birthday!!!”

Dojae, being congratulated by his closest friends and over ten thousand fans, turned around, overwhelmed by the unforgettable sight.

A wave of emotion, beyond just being touched, washed over him.

“Uh oh oh!”

“Huh?!”

The members, who had been smiling and congratulating him, rushed to Dojae’s side as he turned around.

The sight of Dojae’s shaking back was captured on the large screen.

“Kyaaak!”

“Uh oh!”

“Don’t cry!”

The audience stirred for a moment, and cries of “Don’t cry” erupted from those who noticed Dojae crying.

Of course, some mischievous fans shouted, “Cry!”

Because Dojae’s crying face was definitely a rare sight…….

“Hyung, are you crying?!”

“Are you crying?!”

Woocheol and Louis crowded around to check Dojae’s face, which was bowed.

The members had only thought that Dojae would be happy, and they hadn’t even imagined that he would cry at such an event.

Gyuseong also approached Dojae and called Dojae’s name several times, but Dojae kept his head down, covered his face with the back of his hand, and didn’t show his tears.

“Is he really crying?”

Heungmin turned Dojae around with a surprised yet joyful face.

“Why are you crying on such a happy day!”

Dojae barely took his hand off his face and raised his head.

“……!”

For a moment, shock flashed across the faces of the playful members.

The audience, who saw Dojae’s face on the screen, also held their breath for a moment.

Dojae’s eyes, which were zoomed in on, were completely moist.

Tears streamed down once again from under his reddened eyes.

Groans erupted from the audience.

Dojae, crying with his face covered in tears, looked both beautiful and vulnerable at the same time.

“Th, that’s…….”

Dojae barely opened his mouth.

He didn’t want to hold things up because of himself.

He also wanted to quickly express his gratitude to the members and fans who had congratulated him so thoughtfully, even though he didn’t know when they had prepared it.

However, unlike other times, the words wouldn’t come out as he wanted.

“Thank, heuk…….”

Before Dojae could finish saying thank you, Louis cried out, “Hyung!” with a tearful voice.

Seeing Dojae crying made Louis also feel choked up.

The other members felt the same.

It wasn’t the first time that Dojae had been moved to tears since his debut.

However, it was the first time he had cried so much, as if he was deeply moved.

“Dojae-ya…….”

“Ya, don’t cry. Why are you crying so sadly and making us sad.”

“Hyeoong…. Why are you crying.”

The members comforted the crying Dojae.

Whether he was too surprised or too happy, probably both…. But they hadn’t expected him to cry like this.

“Thank you.”

Dojae barely composed himself and greeted the members.

In fact, even before their debut, during their trainee days, the members had always made Dojae’s birthday special.

In the middle of practice, Heungmin and Woocheol would secretly leave the practice room without Dojae knowing, buy a sweet potato cake from a nearby bakery, and reappear at the practice room door with birthday songs and candles.

Dojae still remembered that moment.

‘I thought birthdays were nothing special…….’

As the birthday of the third prince, Dojae’s birthday was never a big event in the palace [referring to his past life].

On his birthday, a birthday table was set, but it was just a formality that came with the day, like eating red bean porridge on the winter solstice [a Korean custom].

When he went to greet the Emperor and Empress, he received a few words of congratulations and gifts prepared by the palace staff.

His older brother and two older sisters had sung him a birthday song and clapped for him, but that was when he was very young.

After the first prince was appointed as the crown prince, even his siblings only gave him congratulations according to etiquette.

The Crown Prince’s birthday was a festival that would make the whole country and palace bustle, but the other brothers were not like that.

Dojae had always received congratulations that were neither more extravagant nor excessive than the Crown Prince’s.

So, even on his birthday, he never felt like he was the ‘main character.’

It wasn’t that he wanted to be the main character, but at least on his birthday, Dojae wanted to feel special.

‘I didn’t know, but I had such a feeling…….’

Even if he only got to eat a bowl of seaweed soup [a traditional Korean birthday dish], he wanted to receive heartfelt congratulations that were the best they could do.

And the birthday party that the members had given him before his debut had exactly that kind of feeling.

‘I was choked up back then too…….’

This time, over ten thousand fans were celebrating Dojae’s birthday with one heart and mind.

The affection and sincerity of the fans, who had been preparing for his birthday for a long time and had dedicated their time today, really touched his heart.

That fact was somehow so happy and wonderful that it made him choke up.

As childish as it may sound.

“Thank you. Thank you, everyone. Really…. I didn’t expect it…….”

As Dojae continued to stammer, the members and fans listened intently to Dojae’s words.

“Ah ah ah…….”

The fans poured out exclamations as if they had completely synchronized their emotions with Dojae.

Louis, who was next to him, wiped the tears from Dojae’s face with his sleeve.

Woocheol also received a tissue from the staff and handed it to Dojae.

Dojae was usually the one who took care of the members, but now he was in the position of being taken care of.

When Dojae wiped his face with a tissue and smiled, the members cheered with a shout of “Kyaak.”

“We usually treat Dojae well, you know?”

Heungmin joked as Dojae regained his smile.

“Anyone would think we usually bully you and then threw you a party today!”

At Heungmin’s words, the members and fans burst into laughter.

“No, it’s not like that. Really. I already received congratulations as soon as it was my birthday, so I really didn’t expect you to congratulate me like this today…. I’m so touched…….”

Dojae said with a smile, but he couldn’t continue speaking, as he felt choked up again.

“Wow, Dojae hyung should take the crybaby nickname, not Gijun hyung!”

At Woocheol’s words, Dojae managed to smile again.

Dojae realized that he cried even when he was happy after his debut, but today he was truly happy.

“I’m so happy.”

This moment of being congratulated by the people he loved on the stage he had dreamed of was pure bliss.

“I love you!”

When Dojae shouted, cheers erupted from the audience.

“I love you!”

The same voices that had shouted not to cry came from one side of the audience.

“If you’re done crying, let’s cut the cake quickly!”

Gyuseong spoke with a kind face and firm tone, like a no-nonsense professional who was ready to move on, and the concert hall erupted in laughter.

Dojae cut the cake with the members holding hands.

And after the staff cleared the cake, they continued the stage for the B-side track as usual.

Dojae’s eyes, while performing on stage, were shining more brightly than usual, as if he had plucked the stars from the sky – a clichéd but fitting description.

And so, the concert in Seoul was heading towards its end.

***

After the concert was over.

Dojae, who had been teased a lot in the waiting room about how touched he was, only changed his stage clothes and went out alone with his manager, Woong, without even removing his makeup.

‘I’ll have about three or four hours. Hmm…. I need to plan the route well.’

Dojae, sitting in the passenger seat of the car driven by Woong, looked through the places he had saved on the map and thought.

“Hyung, are you really going to go to all those places?”

“Yeah. I want to if I can…. I’m sorry, but you’ll have to do some work.”

“Hey, don’t say sorry to me…….”

Since he felt responsible, this amount of work was nothing [Woong feels responsible for a past mistake].

As a manager, it was his duty to do what the artist wanted.

“Let’s go here first. This place closes the earliest.”

When Dojae pointed to the area near Hongdae Entrance [a popular district in Seoul] on the map, Woong checked the address and nodded.

“Yes.”

As Woong started the car, Dojae pulled the hat he had brought just in case further down on his head.

It wasn’t that his good looks would be completely hidden by wearing a hat, but it seemed better than nothing.