Prince From Another Dimension Becomes An Idol [EN]: Chapter 36

#36.

***

The backyard of the store, now serving as a parking lot, was deserted.

Do-jae reread the messages he’d exchanged with his mother during lunch.

Since arriving in Korea, he’d consistently kept in touch with her, and at times, he felt a genuine affection, as if she were his real mother.

Of course, this only amplified his guilt towards her, as she knew him as her own son.

‘Would Her Majesty the Empress be upset if she knew?’

The Empress also loved her children.

However, her affection had its limitations.

She wasn’t as openly expressive as Kang Do-jae’s mother, nor as unconditionally generous.

From a child’s perspective, her love often felt insufficient.

‘I wonder how Kang Do-jae is doing.’

It was an incredibly joyful day for Do-jae.

Kang Do-jae, with whom he was inextricably linked, came to his mind.

‘If Kang Do-jae were here right now… he would be just as happy as I am.’

Such thoughts were unavoidable.

Of course, his current success was a result of Do-jae’s choices, not Kang Do-jae’s.

Just as he had found a different kind of happiness in his new life, he hoped that ‘Kang Do-jae’ would also find happiness in his own circumstances.

Even though he was caught in an unavoidable vortex of fate, he hoped Kang Do-jae would seize an opportunity, rather than be destroyed by it.

Do-jae pondered this and then pressed the call button.

Still, he was grateful that he could at least bring happiness to Kang Do-jae’s real mother.

“Uh… Mom.”

-Do-jae! Oh, my. Is it a good time to call?

“Yes.”

-What a celebration! Congratulations on winning first place, Do-jae! My son.

“Thank you.”

-I’m the one who’s grateful. I haven’t done anything for you, but I’m so thankful that you’ve grown up so well.

Hearing the emotion in her voice, he felt a lump in his throat.

In fact, this was what he had always longed to hear from the Emperor and Empress.

Do-jae gripped his phone tightly.

“I’ll do even better and repay you.”

-No. I’m happy enough as it is. I’m so happy.

“……”

-Are you eating well? Your face looks brighter on TV.

“Of course. I’m about to eat now.”

-Really? Then you should eat quickly!

“Yes. I’ll call you again. Make sure you eat, Mom.”

-Hehe. I will…. Okay. Go ahead, son!

It was the first time he had heard her laugh like that since meeting Hye-kyung.

As her situation improved and she found hope in her only son, laughter seemed to come more naturally.

‘I’m glad.’

Do-jae headed back into the restaurant with a sense of fulfillment.

***

While he was on the phone, the meat had arrived, and smoke was rising from the grill.

“Do-jae, where have you been? Come and eat quickly,” Gyu-sung said, as if he had been waiting.

“Oh… okay.”

Sitting down and picking up his chopsticks, Do-jae looked around.

The staff was still noisy, but the atmosphere among the members was strangely subdued.

In particular, Rui, who had been so excited just moments ago, looked troubled.

“What’s wrong?” Do-jae asked, eating a piece of grilled rib.

Even amidst all this, the ribs melted sweetly in his mouth.

‘It’s not quite the same as the ribs I ate in the Empire, but it’s definitely a great restaurant.’

Do-jae mused.

Gyu-sung replied in a quiet voice, “There’s… a strange article.”

Gyu-sung held out his phone, displaying a list of news articles.

There were more articles about Show Big’s number one than usual.

It wasn’t just because a rookie group had reached number one in two weeks.

[MOST, 1st Place on Show Big in the 2nd Week After Debut!]

[Rising Rookie MOST, 1st Place on Cable Music Show!]

[MOST 1st Place, “Thank You!” (Photo)]

..[Faster Growth Than Big Boyz, MOST 1st Place!]

Do-jae frowned slightly at this last headline.

It was blatant clickbait [sensationalized or misleading content designed to attract attention].

However, the real problem wasn’t this article.

[Show Big MOST 1st Place, Senior Singer Candies’ Attitude Controversy]

[1st Place Candidate Candies, Openly Dissatisfied After Losing to MOST (Photo)]

[Candies Upset? Candies Angry at MOST’s 1st Place]

“What’s going on…” Do-jae said, clicking on the article in bewilderment and reading it.

The article included a photo compilation of Candies’ expressions, captured second-by-second, as MOST accepted first place.

It showed two of the Candies members frowning while the MOST members were celebrating.

“…Candies members Miso and Areum are under controversy for expressing dissatisfaction with MOST’s first place……”

Do-jae was bewildered as he read the article.

‘Is my memory wrong?’

Clearly, on stage, MOST received congratulations from other singers, including the Candies members.

Among those who smiled and congratulated Do-jae were Miso and Areum, the members in question.

As bewildered as he was, the comments on the article were also a sight to behold.

-What’s up with Candies’ personality?

-Don’t generalize, only Miso and Areum are rude. They’re just pretty

-Areum isn’t even pretty

-They sing well

-Is it okay to have a bad personality if you’re pretty and sing well?

-Let’s not criticize Candies too much, they might be upset haha

-That’s right, Korea forces too much pretense

-I support Miso and Areum!! They seem honest without pretense and I like that^^

-Are you kidding me?ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ You should at least have some manners

-I knew it, Kim Miso is such a bitch

-I knew it would happen somedayㅇㅇ

-Even if juniors win first place, this isn’t right

–((((Miso))))((((Areum)))) Don’t be fooled by the reporter’s capture, it’s different in the video! Miso and Areum also sincerely congratulated MOST on their first place!

-That’s pretense haha

-I guess they couldn’t control their expressions for a moment, the company needs to educate them more

-How many years have they been in the industry and they can’t even control their expressions

-I liked Candies because they seemed nice, but I’m very disappointed

-Poor MOST oppas [term of endearment used by younger women for older male figures] ㅜㅜ They can’t even get congratulated

-You’re not a Most fan, are you?

The comments criticizing the Candies members were all over the place.

Since the senior group that was nominated was being criticized, even the MOST members were feeling down.

“Woo-chul found it a little while ago…. It seems like the people at that table haven’t seen the article yet, and Team Leader Kim left for a moment because Team Leader Jung called.”

Do-jae nodded at Gyu-sung’s explanation.

Heung-min and Woo-chul took turns trying to comfort Rui.

“Rui, I know you’re upset, but eat first.”

“That’s right. It’s not even true…. The article is too malicious. Candies’ agency will take action soon.”

Rui, who had been sullen, soon raised his head.

“Right? It’s not even true! The Candies seniors were so kind to us.”

“Exactly. If it were me, I’d call the reporter right away because I’d be so upset!”

“The article will be taken down soon, right?”

“Of course. I was too addicted to the internet……”

Woo-chul said whatever he could, saying that if he had seen it just an hour later, the article would have been taken down.

Rui quickly picked up his chopsticks so that his brothers wouldn’t try too hard.

***

After finishing the meal,

the car carrying the members headed to the dorm.

Sitting quietly in the corner of the back seat, Do-jae quietly searched for the article again.

Unfortunately, the article had not been taken down and was even featured on the main portal site.

To make matters worse, the controversy was now affecting MOST as well.

-Did Candies have bad luck this year? They’re hearing all sorts of things because of some unknown juniors

-Honestly, who is Most? Isn’t it natural that Candies can’t understand because an unknown singer is receiving it?

-Agreed

-Big Boyz was doing well, so did Kingdom bribe the PD [Producer Director] a little?

-How did Most get 1st place? I wouldn’t be able to control my expression either lol

-Why are you suddenly grabbing Most by the collar

-Isn’t it because your fans maliciously captured it and this happened?

-Most fans are too busy congratulating 1st place to care about Candies members

-It’s all because an unknown person got 1st place.. It’s confusing, it’s confusing

-I don’t like Most’s name from the start, but they got 1st place

-Candies is the only one who feels sorry because unqualified people got 1st place

-Candies was the one who acted impolitely, but Most is getting cursed

-Seriouslyㅋㅋㅋㅋ The point is so bad

-Why isn’t Most qualified? The music charts are only good

It was a mess.

Before he knew it, the Candies expression controversy had become a MOST first place qualification controversy.

There was even an article titled [Rookie MOST’s 1st Place, Candies Fans Raise Questions About 1st Place Calculation Method].

‘The flow isn’t good.’

Do-jae evaluated with a cold eye.

If there is a common point between living as a royal and living as an idol, it is that they are in the public eye.

The department in charge of royal public relations monitored all online and offline places every day and sensitively watched public reactions.

And when negative issues arose, they did their best to take quick action.

This was because the public judged images based on the overall flow rather than detailed facts.

‘This is also the case. If it was just the controversy as it was, only Candies would have been in trouble…. Someone has changed the flow as if the problem is that we received first place.’

It could have been a Candies fan or someone who saw MOST as a thorn in their side.

As the flow changed, the haters quickly jumped on the bandwagon.

Anyway, the important issue was that the first number one could be tarnished by the controversy.

No, there was no need to let that happen.

Because there was a solution.

Do-jae quickly called Rui, who was getting out of the car.