Prince From Another Dimension Becomes An Idol [EN]: Chapter 238

#238.

“So, that bastard might just end up paying a small fine?”

“Seriously? That’s insane.”

“Well… it seems like that’s a strong possibility. There’s no video evidence, and he didn’t distribute anything, so…”

The members were outraged when they heard about Lee Ho-cheol’s situation.

Do-jae gave a bitter smile.

On the table was a spread that could break the legs off it, from the Eobok-jaengban [a type of Korean royal cuisine] that Ki-jun had prepared, to various side dishes that the housekeeper had made, and even a delivery pizza.

Do-jae felt genuinely grateful that the members had been so considerate of him while he was away from the dorm.

The other members weren’t just resting either; they were preparing for the album while juggling their own schedules.

Of course, their schedules were sporadic, so they weren’t as packed as Do-jae’s, who had been pulling all-nighters.

“Hyung, when did you learn to make this? It’s so delicious. It’s like I’m eating in the palace…”

“Palace?”

“Did it appear in a drama?”

“Hey, Do-jae’s become a prince now. Did you enjoy palace life?!”

In a hurry to change the subject, he blurted out what was on his mind.

He hadn’t been making these kinds of slip-ups lately, but as the members said, he had become so used to ‘palace life’ from the drama that the word ‘palace’ had become too natural for him.

Do-jae tried to brush off the situation with a laugh, but suddenly his face hardened, and he said seriously,

“That’s not it, actually… I’m actually…”

“Yes?”

“Huh?”

“I was a prince.”

“……”

“Yes?”

“Huh?”

“In the drama? I know that?”

The members tilted their heads, not quite understanding what Do-jae was saying.

“Hahaha, Hyung! What a lame joke! You’re such an old man!”

“…No. I’m serious.”

Woo-cheol’s laughter, which had been dismissed as a joke, stopped abruptly.

Do-jae’s expression was more serious than ever.

“I was originally a prince. I lived in the palace.”

“In, in a past life?”

When Heung-min asked, Do-jae shook his head.

“In a parallel world.”

“……”

The members stared blankly at each other, exchanging glances.

‘Is Do-jae too tired?’

‘Is this… actor’s disease? That disease that idols get when they do well in acting. Did Do-jae finally catch it?’

‘He must have gotten too immersed in the role….’

‘No, he didn’t seem like this when we talked on the phone yesterday… Ki-jun hyung, what did you put in the food? He’s acting strange!’

“I can hear everything, you know.”

Do-jae said to the members who were whispering in front of him.

The members closed their mouths and stared at Do-jae.

They were trying to figure out why he was acting like this.

“If that’s not the case, when would I have ever eaten this kind of food, or learned horseback riding, archery, various instruments, sword dancing, and various languages? It’s all because I was a prince of the Korean Empire.”

Do-jae asked in a fairly logical tone.

“That’s true, but…”

Come to think of it, there were a few strange things about Do-jae when they first met him…….

Louie and Woo-cheol sat close together.

It felt like they were listening to a scary story.

Heung-min looked around, searching for a camera.

“Is this Remora Season 3 starting?”

“Is this… some kind of entertainment show for drama promotion?”

Kyu-sung was also reasonably suspicious that it was a hidden camera prank.

“Do-jae-ya. I won’t make Eobok-jaengban again. If that’s why you’re acting strange…”

When Ki-jun finally spoke.

Do-jae gave up on persuading the members.

“I was joking.”

Heung-min sighed at Do-jae’s words.

“Hyung! Don’t make such serious jokes.”

“That’s right! It’s not funny!”

Do-jae simply smiled at Woo-cheol and Louie’s words.

Even if he wanted to tell the members the truth, it was impossible to make them understand the parallel world.

He felt relieved that he had at least told the members the truth, even though they took it as a joke.

“He’s been acting strange since he filmed the drama!”

“But seriously, hyung, how do you know how to do all those things? Where did you learn them?”

At Woo-cheol’s question, Heung-min stepped in as if asking why he was even asking.

“You’re the one who says you spend a lot of time on the internet… He must have learned it from MyTube [parody of YouTube]. What kind of world do you think we live in?”

“Ah… that’s right. Everything’s on MyTube these days.”

Do-jae could only laugh as he listened to the two of them, since he had actually used that excuse many times.

“Louie-ya. I have a gift for you.”

After the meal had settled down to some extent, Do-jae took out the present he had brought.

“Gosh! What is it?!”

Louie jumped up and down, excited.

Recently, Louie had quit his job as a music show MC [Master of Ceremonies], which he had been doing for almost a year.

It was to focus more on album preparation and to develop himself in other fields.

Personally, he wanted to study fashion properly and had registered at an academy.

His dream was to be in charge of all of MOST’s styling in the future.

Anyway, the members had a small party at the dorm for Louie’s last broadcast.

Do-jae had only been able to join via video call due to his filming schedule.

He had prepared a gift because he felt bad about it.

The members were also curious and watched the item that Do-jae was bringing.

“This. I asked Joo-yeon sunbae [senior colleague] to get it for me.”

“Wow. Lucky you, Louie!”

“Louie hit the jackpot!”

“Awesome……”

Louie took the Blu-ray that Do-jae handed him with trembling hands.

It was the Blu-ray of Sung Joo-yeon’s first leading role, .

was a drama that Louie really liked, but he couldn’t afford to buy the Blu-ray at the time because he didn’t have much pocket money.

“This is really hard to get! Thank you, hyung!”

His voice showed how genuinely happy he was.

Do-jae proudly raised the corners of his mouth.

Louie quickly went into his room and took out the Blu-ray player.

The sound of his excited humming could be heard in the living room.

“Do-jae. Have you heard the title mixing?”

“Ah. I heard the file you sent me back then. Has it been modified again?”

Ki-jun talked to Do-jae about the album work they hadn’t finished.

Originally, they would have worked together more often and closely, but they had hardly done so for this album.

Do-jae had done a lot of work before filming, and he was participating in between, but he felt sorry that his participation had decreased compared to before.

“Yeah. Do you want to go to the studio and listen?”

“Ah, hyung! Do-jae just came to Seoul, he needs to rest.”

“That’s right.”

Heung-min and Woo-cheol protested.

Ki-jun apologized with a look of realization.

“Ah. Sorry. Get some rest. I’ll send you the file……”

“No, it’s okay. I slept a lot in the car, so I’m not tired at all. I want to go to the studio for the first time in a while.”

Do-jae said, picking up his clothes.

Really, after coming to the dorm, eating, and talking with the members, his fatigue had completely disappeared.

“Really?”

“Of course. You know I’m good at managing my condition.”

Ki-jun laughed at Do-jae’s smooth talk.

“Oh, I can’t stop you.”

“Workaholics……”

Woo-cheol and Heung-min clicked their tongues.

Do-jae headed to the studio with Ki-jun, receiving a warm send-off from the two.

***

Monday, the second week of March.

A very important and nerve-wracking day dawned for Do-jae.

It was the first broadcast day of .

Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, he didn’t have to sit still and fret until the broadcast time.

From early in the morning, Do-jae was at the shop getting his hair and makeup done, and he arrived at the production presentation site.

He frantically memorized promotional lines and answers to reporters’ questions.

The production presentation should have been held before the drama aired, as the name suggests, but these days it was trending to hold it on the day of the broadcast or the day before for promotional purposes.

“Do-jae-ssi [Mr. Do-jae]. There were a lot of wreaths outside, weren’t there? It’s the first time I’ve seen so many wreaths at a production presentation.”

Do-jae smiled awkwardly at the assistant director’s words.

That was because the members had sent six wreaths, one each, and the fans had also sent wreaths.

Even then, the number of wreaths from fans was limited to this amount.

“Fans all over the world are waiting for today… You must be really nervous. No, I’m nervous too. The scene where I pick a fight with you comes out from the first episode. Aren’t I going to get a lot of hate?”

“I doubt it.”

“Well, these days fans can tell the difference. I’m talking too much about the old days. Please understand the old man.”

Do-jae laughed lightly at the sub-male lead’s jest.

Sung Joo-yeon, who had a lot of experience with production presentations, also told Do-jae in advance what to watch out for.

She said that they might ask the two main characters to do skinship [physical contact], so don’t be too embarrassed.

“Ah…. Yes. I’ll have to refuse with appropriate words.”

The production presentation would begin shortly.

And the first broadcast.

With a nervous heart, Do-jae uploaded a photo from the filming set that he had taken in advance to Tweety [parody of Twitter].

[Do-jae] This is the production presentation site. Thanks to everyone who waited so patiently, we were able to have the first broadcast safely. Today at 9:40 PM. Please be sure to watch the live broadcast.

The photo he uploaded was of Do-jae wearing his uniform against the backdrop of the Gangwon-do sea.

The photo was quickly spread, recording a huge number of RTs [retweets].

Frankly, Do-jae updating Tweety once was more promotional than holding a production presentation.

“Is everyone ready?!”

“Yes.”

“Then let’s go in!”

At the staff’s words, Director Cha Tae-hwan, Do-jae, Sung Joo-yeon, and the sub-male and female leads, who had been waiting, went up to the platform in turn.

At the same time, a flash of light burst from dozens of cameras.

..<[Photo] Idol Kang Do-jae Doing a Heart>.

<[Photo] Sung Joo-yeon, Kang Do-jae, Do We Look Good Together?>.

As soon as the production presentation ended, various articles poured out.

It was clear that the work was attracting a lot of attention in many ways, but many people were skeptical about whether Do-jae would act well.

A summary of about a minute was released, but the part where Do-jae was speaking was so short.

Perhaps there were those who were watching with narrowed eyes, anticipating a controversy over his acting skills, with the intention of catching him once.

However, the consistent opinion of those involved in the filming was that such doubts would never be held after watching the first broadcast.

***

Kim Soo-jin’s writer’s room.

“Writer, the commercial is ending.”

“Ah…. I’m going crazy. I should have a drink… I’m so nervous.”

“Writer, you too……”

Kim Soo-jin, who was talking with the assistant writer, soon focused on the TV screen.

The commercial screen turned black, and soon the first scene of was broadcast.

The splendid palace of the Korean Empire, where Gyeongbokgung [main royal palace] and CG [computer graphics] were combined.

With a mysterious background music and background explanation, Do-jae, wearing a uniform, walked out with a confident gait from one side of the palace.

“He’s really handsome……”

The assistant writer watched Do-jae’s appearance scene with a lost soul.

Do-jae captivated the audience from the first scene just by appearing.

―What the hell is going on? Tell me!

And the moment he came into his room and changed his relaxed expression in an instant and uttered his first line of reproach.

Kim Soo-jin and the assistant writer exchanged glances.

‘It’s done!’

It was the acting exactly as he had imagined when writing the script.

No, 120%. He was perfectly understanding and digesting Lee Yu-hoon’s role.

He had already thought it was perfect when he saw the pre-edited version, but he was able to confirm it when he saw the proper broadcast.

A soft music was playing, and Do-jae, who was left alone in the room, looked out the window and drank coffee.

His melancholic face looked so lonely that he wanted to offer comfort right away.