Prince From Another Dimension Becomes An Idol [EN]: Chapter 5

#5.

After storming out of the agency without being asked, Louie, seemingly worried, clung to Do-jae, insisting that whichever agency he went to, he should take him along.

Do-jae managed to shake Louie off by saying he would contact him soon.

“You have to contact me. You really do, hyung!”

Having exchanged names for the first time today, Louie was as affectionate as if they were real brothers.

‘He’s acting more familiar than my own brothers ever were.’

The brothers in the Imperial Family weren’t on bad terms.

However, because etiquette was prioritized, they never became very close.

That was the case with everyone in the Imperial Family.

So, Louie calling him ‘hyung’ [older brother or respected male figure] and sticking to him felt awkward to Do-jae.

It made him realize that he had become an ordinary citizen of the Empire, not a member of the Imperial Family.

‘Definitely… not a bad feeling.’

Do-jae subtly raised the corners of his mouth and headed where he had been going.

***

The place he arrived at by subway was Anguk Station on Line 3.

Anguk Station was relatively quiet on a weekday afternoon.

Do-jae felt a familiar energy and turned his head.

The stone wall path leading to Gyeongbokgung Palace was visible in the distance.

“Ah…”

Do-jae paused for a moment, looking up at the eaves of Geunjeongjeon Hall [the main hall of Gyeongbokgung Palace].

It seemed so distant that it was hard to believe it was the place where he was born and raised.

The Gyeongbokgung Palace in Korea was rebuilt during the reign of Heungseon Daewongun [a powerful regent of the Joseon Dynasty], so the materials and colors were subtly different from the Gyeongbokgung Palace of the Korean Empire.

Still, the atmosphere it exuded was definitely ‘that’ Gyeongbokgung Palace of the Yi Dynasty [another name for the Joseon Dynasty].

‘Now, I’m not a Yi anymore, though.’

Kang Do-jae.

Do-jae repeated his new name, having his body changed again.

The reason he came to Insa-dong via Anguk Station was none other than to get money.

‘Song Huan won’t stay still.’

There was a high possibility that his mother would lose her job.

He was also uncomfortable with the fact that his mother worked in Song Huan’s building.

She would need money while looking for a job.

Moreover, Kang Do-jae’s family definitely needed money.

‘Because there’s so little money, Kang Do-jae couldn’t escape the bullying and was driven to the edge.’

The only one earning a decent income was his mother, who worked as a cleaner, and after paying the rent and the debt his father had left behind, there was barely any money left for basic living expenses.

It was safe to say that buying a single chicken was a luxury in his household.

For the past three years,

Kang Do-jae had lunch provided by the school and dinner provided by the agency.

After becoming an adult, he also worked part-time to cover living expenses.

However, recently, with the debut evaluation just around the corner, he had to quit all his part-time jobs.

Kang Do-jae had endured with the thought that he only needed to bear it a little longer, just a little bit more.

Shaking his head, Do-jae opened the door of a shabby-looking store he saw.

Clang.

Unlike the clear sound of the bell, the inside of the store was filled with a musty smell of dust.

It wasn’t that it wasn’t maintained, but it was an unavoidable smell due to the abundance of old items.

“Excuse me.”

Do-jae asked, looking around the quiet interior of the store.

Only then did a middle-aged man wearing a bucket hat appear from the warehouse door inside the store.

“Who is it?”

“I was wondering if I could look around the store.”

The store owner looked Do-jae up and down with suspicious eyes.

Unlike the usual middle-aged people who frequented such stores, he was a very young student.

“What are you looking for? Whatever it is, there won’t be anything a student like you would be looking for.”

“That’s a premature judgment.”

Unlike his pale and young appearance, there was a resolute aspect to his tone.

With a groan, as if annoyed, the store owner put his hands behind his back and let Do-jae look around the store.

Leaving the owner sitting on a chair and playing Omok [a Korean board game similar to Go] on his phone, Do-jae began to look around the store in earnest.

Even though it seemed like he had just walked in, Do-jae had already examined the items displayed in the glass case to some extent.

As expected, there were quite a few decent items.

‘Surprisingly, about half are good items, and half are terrible.’

The Korean Empire had not suffered significant loss of artifacts due to wars or Japanese colonial rule, so various artifacts from the Three Kingdoms period to the Joseon Dynasty remained.

Most were owned by the Imperial Family, and the Imperial Family operated museums and art galleries based on these artifacts.

Thanks to this, research on various artworks of the Imperial Family was very advanced, and Do-jae, even within the Imperial Family, had a deep understanding of art and even had a hobby of collecting artworks separately.

‘Modern art in Korea is slightly different from that of the Korean Empire… But when it comes to ancient art, I might be better than any researcher in Korea.’

Do-jae had decided to take advantage of that fact.

“Did you collect these items here, sir?”

When Do-jae asked, carefully examining the store, the owner replied insincerely without taking his eyes off the game screen.

“I inherited my father’s store, so half of them were collected by my father.”

“I see. How much is this?”

What Do-jae pointed to was a white porcelain jar displayed at the front.

The owner, glancing at the white porcelain Do-jae pointed to, let out a deflated laugh.

“Student, you have an eye for things. But that’s something else. Your allowance won’t be enough for that.”

The store owner shook three fingers.

“…300 million?”

“Hahaha! Ah! I wish it would go for that much. 3 million, 3 million won [Korean currency]. You might not have 300 million, but do you have 3 million?”

The owner chuckled and replied.

“…….”

Of course, the reality was that he didn’t have 3 million, let alone 30 million.

The remaining allowance on Kang Do-jae’s debit card for this month was only about 200,000 won.

But that wasn’t the problem.

In Do-jae’s view, that white porcelain jar was worth at least 30 million in this market, not 3 million.

‘It’s a pity… I’m glad that at least its formative value is being recognized.’

Do-jae shook his head inwardly.

The jar was a work by a famous Joseon potter who had not yet been revealed.

Due to the division of Korea after the Korean War, research on artists who worked in the North had been halted.

Whenever the potter of this work is revealed, its value will greatly increase.

“I don’t know when reunification will happen, but please keep it well.”

“Ah, why suddenly talk about reunification. Would Kim Jong-un like this porcelain? Student… are you a spy?”

The owner, unaware that Do-jae’s expression had hardened, laughed, pleased with his own joke.

‘I never thought I’d be demoted from royalty to a spy.’

Do-jae frowned and turned his head without replying.

Soon, Do-jae’s gaze stopped at a place where small items were collected like junk.

“This! How much is this?”

“Let’s see. Ah, that is…….”

Gulp. Do-jae swallowed without realizing it.

In fact, if he used his knowledge, Do-jae could even find national treasures.

However, if it was a relic of that scale, he would have to report it to the state unless he became a grave robber.

‘It’s being treated as nothing special, worth only 200,000 won… But if it’s reappraised, its value will increase dozens of times. That’s what I was trying to find.’

It seemed to be right in front of him.

The store owner, who had been leisurely getting up from his seat and approaching, examined the teacup Do-jae had pointed out with cloudy eyes.

And this time, he showed three fingers again.

“This.”

“Thr… Three million?”

“No, why are you thinking so big, student. Are you a son of a rich family? You’re handsome, but… Three million, what are you talking about. 30,000 won, 30,000 won.”

Cough, cough, the owner coughed, feeling a little guilty even as he said 30,000 won.

The jade-colored teacup that Do-jae had chosen was something the owner had bought on the street for less than a few thousand won while traveling in Beijing.

When Do-jae looked at him with knowing eyes, the owner tried to avoid his gaze.

That gaze was sharp and intense.

“You’re not going to ask for a discount on something worth 30,000 won, are you?”

“Have you… had it appraised?”

Of course, it was lying around here like this because he hadn’t had it appraised.

Do-jae asked, just in case.

“Appraisal? Why would I get something like this appraised. It looks like it was made recently.”

Well, he could understand why he thought it was a manufactured product, since it was in such a clean condition.

‘But this is definitely porcelain from the Qing Dynasty of China.’

It was worth over 10 million won at the very least.

As a member of the Imperial Family, Do-jae had always put the interests of the people of the Empire ahead of pursuing his own interests, so he felt a little guilty.

‘But… I can’t help it.’

He had to make a living.

A member of the Imperial Family was only a member of the Imperial Family when living in the palace, but now he was in a position where he was worried about transportation costs for the remaining days after spending half of his allowance.

“Give me all the teacups.”

“All three of them?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, wait. I’ll wrap them up for you.”

Since he was going to make dozens of times the price, the store owner quickly grabbed a bag with a much more welcoming expression than when Do-jae had entered.

“Here. 90,000 won.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Do-jae received the bag containing the roughly packaged tea and looked at the owner, who was unknowingly excited for a moment.

“Why, why. You’re not going to ask for a discount now, are you?”

“…No. I…. Can I use that for a moment?”

“Why suddenly that…. Sure, go ahead!”

The owner was puzzled by Do-jae’s request to use the paper and brush pen in the back, but he readily agreed.

He was usually generous to customers who bought things, except when they asked for a discount.

Do-jae put the notebook on the table and wrote letters with the brush pen.

It was truly done in a single stroke.

“What are you writing? You write Chinese characters well, unlike most students these days. Did you learn calligraphy?”

“I learned a little.”

[姜祹在] [Kang Do-jae in Hanja/Chinese characters]

“Kang… Do… Jae? What, is that your name, student?”

“Yes. I’m giving it to you as a token of gratitude.”

“What? What kind of gratitude is this…….”

The owner grumbled, thinking he was a strange student.

Even so, the owner, who had been staring intently at the letters Do-jae had written, muttered in surprise.

“You must have practiced a lot. It’s similar to the calligraphy of Grand Prince Anpyeong [a famous calligrapher of the Joseon Dynasty].”

“I hear that often.”

Grand Prince Anpyeong was one of the most famous calligraphers of Joseon.

Do-jae was actually evaluated within the Imperial Family as one of the descendants who most resembled Grand Prince Anpyeong.

“Someday…. Someday, if I become famous, it will still be quite valuable.”

He wanted to say what nonsense, but Do-jae’s eyes were too serious.

His black eyes even contained something like the radiance possessed by high-quality works of art.

Because of this, the owner was inadvertently putting away the paper Do-jae had given him.

***

After entrusting the appraisal of the teacups he bought from the store, Do-jae headed home.

He was certain that it would be worth enough to not have to work for a while.

‘The primary problem is solved… Now what do I do?’

In fact, Do-jae hadn’t really decided where to go after leaving New Enter.

Since he was chosen as a debut member, he had been somewhat recognized at New Enter, so he wondered if he should audition for the other two of the big three agencies.

But he wondered if the other two would even accept him.

‘The three companies have such different colors, and as a tacit rule, they don’t really accept trainees who have trained for a long time at other agencies.’

At least that’s what Kang Do-jae knew.

‘Still, should I try anyway? Agency management is as important as skill for a singer…. Hmm.’

There were many agencies, but agencies that could receive good songs were rare.

As he organized his thoughts and walked aimlessly, Do-jae had already walked to the front of City Hall.

“Kyaaaa-!”

“Oppa!” [Korean term used by females to address older male figures or celebrities]

It was then that an enormous decibel of screams shook Do-jae’s eardrums.

When he looked towards the sound, a stage was set up in the plaza in front of City Hall.