Prince From Another Dimension Becomes An Idol [EN]: Chapter 23

#23.

Hungmin and Louis, ready to go, emerged from the waiting room, assessing the atmosphere.

But the vibe was unusual.

It was 5:30 AM, half an hour past the scheduled filming time, and the director who was supposed to shoot the music video hadn’t shown up.

“When is he coming?”

“I’m sorry. He… says the traffic is heavy and he’ll be a bit late.”

The assistant director replied, looking embarrassed under Team Leader Jung Hee-young’s sharp question.

“The director lives in Ilsan, right? It’s just around the corner… Does it make sense that the road to Paju is blocked at this hour? We all came from Gangnam and didn’t hit any traffic.”

Team Leader Jung Hee-young sighed softly and asked again in a low voice.

“Did he even leave?”

“Yes. He says he’s just leaving now…….”

The assistant director, realizing he couldn’t hide it any longer, mumbled the truth.

Team Leader Jung Hee-young was dumbfounded but couldn’t press the blameless assistant director any further, so she shut her mouth.

“The set is all set up according to the storyboard… So, we can start filming as soon as the director arrives. It won’t be delayed too much… Don’t worry too much.”

The assistant director seemed to feel bad and tried to reassure Team Leader Jung Hee-young.

Nodding, Team Leader Jung Hee-young thought to herself.

‘This is why it’s tough to be a rookie with no power.’

Hong Jong-hoon, who was in charge of MOST’s music video, was one of the most famous directors in Korea.

Originally from overseas, he was known for shooting flashy and unique music videos.

Because of this, many singers wanted to work with him, and his standards were inevitably high.

‘He filmed a rookie idol group’s music video not long ago… I barely managed to persuade him to do this one after he said he wouldn’t for a while. He’s so capricious.’

However, she couldn’t just put up with it.

They were in a contractual relationship, and Vice President Jung Hyung-seok had personally persuaded Director Hong, offering him more money.

‘Just you wait and see if you don’t do it properly.’

She could tolerate the lateness, but if his attitude or the final product was a mess, she was ready to fight.

Louis cautiously approached Team Leader Jung Hee-young, who was grinding her teeth, and asked.

“Are we still going to be able to shoot our music video?”

“Of course! The director will be here soon.”

Team Leader Jung Hee-young immediately relaxed her expression and reassured Louis.

Then, looking back and forth between Louis and Hungmin, she clapped her hands.

“But your outfits look so good! I knew it would suit Louis since he’s a student, but… Hungmin looks quite student-like too?”

“Oh, Team Leader. That’s too much. It hasn’t been that long since I graduated either.”

Hungmin playfully retorted.

The concept for the music video they were shooting today was free-spirited students.

Because of this, the two were wearing black school uniforms modified to suit their individual styles.

“Then I’ll go back to the waiting room.”

“Tell Team Leader Kim that it looks like we’ll have to wait longer.”

“Okay.”

***

The members waited for Director Hong Jong-hoon to arrive in the waiting room for over an hour.

The excitement and tension about filming their first music video had faded.

They were sleepy from getting ready since dawn, but they couldn’t sleep for fear of their faces swelling.

“The director is here!”

The members, who had been yawning from boredom, jumped up at the staff’s voice.

“Everyone, let’s go out.”

Team Leader Kim Seok-cheol led the members to the set.

The set was decorated like a classroom after school, in line with the concept.

The members, spotting Director Hong Jong-hoon checking the camera with his hands in his pockets, greeted him in unison.

“Hello, Director!”

“Hello!”

“Oh…. Okay. We’ll start right away, so go stand over there.”

Director Hong Jong-hoon, who had arrived late, greeted them casually without a word of apology and pointed to the desks.

The members hurried over to the desks and warmed up.

“Our assistant director will have explained the storyboard in advance. We’ll start with the first section and map out the movements.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Yes!”

The members responded enthusiastically despite Director Hong Jong-hoon’s perfunctory explanation.

‘They seem more passionate than the guys from New. But so what? They need to be good.’

There was a reason why he had declared that he didn’t want to shoot music videos for rookie idol groups for a while.

It was because of the recent music video he had shot for New’s rookie idol group.

‘They were rookies, but I didn’t expect their skills to be so terrible. They couldn’t even get the angles right. Only the leader was decent.’

He got annoyed just thinking about that day.

The filming took forever, and the post-production was tough because he had to make up for their lack of skill.

No matter how passionately he gave directions, they couldn’t grasp it as much as he wanted.

He only got mechanical reactions.

‘New is famous for its wide pool of trainees, but if their kids are in that shape, the skills of the kids from a small agency like Kingdom are obvious.’

However, he ended up taking the job because of the money and the song.

The song was pretty good.

Because of that, he knew he had to work hard as a professional once he decided to do it, but he couldn’t help but feel unmotivated.

‘I wonder how many NG [no good] cuts we’ll have today.’

Sighing, Director Hong Jong-hoon sat down in the chair in front of the camera.

“Prepare the music.”

“Yes, Director.”

At Director Hong Jong-hoon’s words, the assistant director quickly gestured to the sound staff.

Soon, , which the MOST members had recorded a week ago, began to play.

The members began to move, in line with the concept of dancing around the classroom.

“Hmm…….”

An unpleasant groan escaped from Director Hong Jong-hoon’s mouth as he rested his chin on his hand.

“Let’s go again.”

“…….”

“Again!”

“…….”

“Let’s go one more time.”

Not knowing what he didn’t like, Director Hong Jong-hyun kept repeating only the first section.

The members, who had already danced the same dance several times, were confused and didn’t know what to do.

He only said to do it again, without any specific directions, so the members just repeated it over and over again.

“That’s not it.”

Director Hong Jong-hoon stopped the song one more time and clicked his tongue.

Team Leader Jung Hee-young, who was next to Director Hong Jong-hoon, frowned.

There were some stiff parts because it was the first shoot, but they weren’t messing up the choreography.

‘If you don’t like something, you have to tell them.’

He wasn’t explaining properly and was just making the members suffer.

“They just need to warm up a bit more.”

“What have they been doing if they haven’t warmed up yet?”

Team Leader Jung Hee-young gritted her teeth at his sarcastic tone.

She had commissioned Director Hong for both songs to maintain consistency, even though they had different concepts.

She wanted to keep things as amicable as possible.

“Director. They’re working hard. Please take good care of them.”

“They just need to do well.”

Team Leader Jung Hee-young was about to say something, unable to bear him continuing to act like this even though he had agreed to do it.

Step, step. Dojae, who had left the set, approached with large strides.

“Director.”

“What is it?”

Director Hong Jong-hoon was momentarily flustered by Dojae’s sudden action.

Then, he looked Dojae up and down and thought.

‘What? Was there a member like this? He’s handsome.’

He had received all the photos and choreography videos, but he hadn’t paid much attention to them, so Dojae’s face felt new to him.

“I think they’re lacking a lot since it’s their first time standing in front of a camera.”

“It’s a relief you know that, but…….”

“I would like to ask for your guidance on what they’re lacking. I’m worried that this will only upset you.”

His tone was so polite that it almost seemed like he was mocking him.

‘Is he a student council president or something?’

He had that kind of feeling because he was wearing a school uniform.

Of course, he looked like a troublemaker just by looking at his outfit, which was unbuttoned enough to show his collarbone, but the atmosphere was like that.

Director Hong Jong-hoon felt awkward and embarrassed.

He wasn’t so twisted that he would humiliate a much younger friend who was asking politely.

“I don’t know if it will help to say it, but… everyone is stiff compared to the song.”

“Yes.”

“…This yellow-haired friend is too conscious of the camera. He needs to be a little more natural here.”

“Louis. Come here and listen to the director.”

Dojae turned his head and called Louis.

Louis quickly ran over.

In that way, Director Hong Jong-hoon, without even realizing it, began to give kind directions to the members who were awkward in front of the camera, one by one.

The know-how he had built up over a long time flowed out.

In any case, there was a reason why he had become the best director in the industry.

“Thank you, Director. We’ll do our best.”

“…Okay. Well, it doesn’t mean it will work just by listening.”

Even while voicing his disbelief until the end, Director Hong Jong-hoon’s momentum had subsided.

Soon, the song for the first section started playing again.

The members moved, recalling Director Hong Jong-hoon’s directions.

Once they knew exactly what direction he wanted, it wasn’t difficult to follow.

‘They’ve been good from the start.’

Team Leader Jung Hee-young wore a proud smile on her face.

Director Hong Jong-hoon adjusted his posture at the sight of their movements changing immediately after hearing the directions once.

He knew from the beginning that they were a group that had practiced a lot.

He could see that they had matched even the angles of their fingers in the choreography.

However, the problem was their expressions and the way they looked at the camera, but they were quick to understand.

‘…These guys are better?’

Just as he was focusing on the camera monitor, having shed his prejudice.

Dojae caught his eye.

‘What? This is better than I thought…….’

He thought he was handsome when he approached him earlier, but he was definitely different when he focused on him.

‘He’s amazing?!’

He had an atmosphere that he hadn’t seen in recent works.

Director Hong Jong-hoon zoomed in on Dojae’s face as if he were possessed.

Dojae’s black eyes, looking directly at the camera, sparkled and shone.

‘Something…. He’s different from the kids these days. Different.’

It was like the song title. Dojae’s eyes were different.

His eyes were too deep to be those of an ordinary Korean youth.

It was as if he had come from another world.

‘That was close.’

He almost missed such a wonderful person because of his prejudice.

Director Hong Jong-hoon was grateful that he had discovered Dojae’s eyes without missing them, even now.

‘No! If there was a friend like this, you should have told me sooner! How would I know there was a friend like this just from the choreography video!’

Director Hong Jong-hoon grumbled for no reason, feeling ashamed of his actions.

‘…It’s like getting slapped in the face by New and taking it out on Kingdom.’

While thinking that he should apologize, Director Hong Jong-hoon focused on filming first.

‘I want to capture those eyes as they are!’

Director Hong Jong-hoon held his breath and put his heart and soul into the camera movement.

***

Contrary to initial concerns, the filming of the music video ended in a warm, no, hot atmosphere.

It was thanks to Director Hong Jong-hoon, who had caused Team Leader Jung Hee-young’s anger with his late arrival and insincere attitude, but then changed his attitude and burned with passion for filming.

Director Hong Jong-hoon, who filmed following , eventually became a fan himself.

“If the stage is this good, it’ll be a huge hit…. Team Leader Jung. Please send me an album later when it comes out. I’ve become a MOST fan. And please sign it for me.”

As if that wasn’t an empty promise, Director Hong Jong-hoon even posted a review of the filming on his blog.

He was working on a music video for an idol group called MOST, and they were perfect in every way, from their looks to their skills to their mindset, so he thought the work would be great if he just did the post-production well.

Director Hong Jong-hoon’s blog was only watched by aspiring music video directors and industry insiders.

So, the public impact was not great.

However, it could give a good impression to the people he would be working with in the future.

As much as it was exposed on the internet, there would be some promotional effect.

‘More than anything…. It feels good.’

Dojae shared the contents of Director Hong Jong-hoon’s blog with the members.

“Wow. Isn’t our music video going to be a huge hit?!”

The members raised their expectations for the music video and accelerated their debut preparations.

August was coming to an end.

“The summer in Korea seems longer and hotter than an empire.”

Dojae, who had come out to run after finishing practice, muttered to himself and tied his shoelaces tightly.

And just as he was about to leave the building to go to the Han River.