Prince From Another Dimension Becomes An Idol [EN]: Chapter 65

#65.

‘It’s elaborately done in every corner, but it feels like it lacks impact in the introduction.’

It wasn’t a major problem, but it was a disappointing aspect.

In any performance, capturing the audience’s attention and focus from the start is crucial.

Only then can the subsequent stages resonate more deeply.

―We can meet again

The song concluded with Do-jae singing the final verse.

Five dancers, with one portraying Louis at the center, slowly formed a circle and knelt.

It was an ending that mirrored the beginning, connecting in a full circle with the choreography that began with them lying around the piano and rising one by one.

Overall, the choreography symbolized the cycle of a flower blooming and withering over many years.

As the singing faded completely, only the dancers’ heavy breathing echoed in the practice room.

“Okay! Did you see that?! That’s how it’s done.”

At Yang-mal’s [a nickname, possibly referring to his socks or style] shout, the dancers rose.

The members, who had watched the entire demonstration, clapped and applauded.

“The details are really amazing,” Heung-min said to Yang-mal.

He clapped, but his face betrayed a hint of worry.

Even after watching the video, he was concerned about mastering the choreography and matching the steps.

At Heung-min’s words, Yang-mal shrugged. “Indeed. Lee Heung-min, you know your stuff. How is it? Awesome, right?”

“Yes, the choreography is awesome… but it looks like we’re going to die. Lying down, getting up, sitting down… it’s really intense.”

“Tsk. Are you turning into Woo-cheol? Complaining before you even start.”

“Wow… I haven’t even said anything yet, Teacher!” Woo-cheol protested, feigning offense.

However, Heung-min wasn’t exaggerating.

MOST was known for their dynamic and precise choreography, as well as their outstanding live performance skills.

Thinking about performing the choreography live made it impossible not to feel overwhelmed.

“It seems difficult to do live…” Even Gi-jun muttered quietly.

Still, the conclusion remained the same.

“We can do it if we practice. Everyone is good,” Do-jae said confidently. The five members were silent.

It was both a compliment and difficult to argue with, coming from a fellow member rather than a trainer.

“Right! You’re all good! Don’t exaggerate. Any other opinions besides the difficulty?” Yang-mal asked. The members looked thoughtful.

Then Woo-cheol looked around the piano and said cautiously, “Actually, a little…”

“What? Just say it comfortably. You’re the ones performing on stage, and your opinions are important—except for asking to make it easier because it’s difficult.”

Woo-cheol pursed his lips at Yang-mal’s words and continued, “I wish there was something impactful at the beginning of the choreography! Bang! Something like that.”

It was the same issue Do-jae had been pondering.

‘Even if I want to find a solution…’

Compared to other fields, he was an amateur when it came to dancing, so he couldn’t immediately come up with a good idea.

“Wow… Woo-cheol, you’ve definitely developed an eye for the stage. Actually, that’s also a concern for me,” Yang-mal readily admitted.

Heung-min confessed honestly, “Since the attention is scattered at the beginning, Do-jae’s entrance, which is the first part, might seem less impactful.”

“Ah, is that the problem? I just thought it would be nice to have something with a bang!”

“What do you mean by bang!” Yang-mal, who had been listening to Heung-min and Woo-cheol’s conversation, crossed his arms and sighed.

“I know it too… but I don’t have a good idea yet. Since the problem is with the beginning, I was planning to practice the rest as it is and change it when a good idea comes up.”

The members nodded. The feeling was different when the dancer team did the choreography versus when the members did it, so there were always slight modifications during practice.

“If you have any ideas, tell me anytime. I’ll keep thinking about it too.”

“Yes, sir!”

Yang-mal looked around at the dancer team and the members and spoke. Heung-min and Louis answered loudly.

“Then let’s start by breaking it down and memorizing the choreography. You’ve all roughly memorized it, right?”

It was a word like a spell announcing the start of hard training.

Yang-mal always said, ‘You’ve roughly tried it, right? You roughly get the feeling, right? Let’s roughly try it once,’ but the moment you did it roughly, it was over.

It was just repetition after repetition until it was perfect.

Thump―― Bang!

At that moment, the sound of piano notes clashing messily and a crashing sound were heard.

“What?!”

Woo-cheol, who was taking his place, lost his footing and fell onto the keyboard.

It felt like the keys under Woo-cheol’s butt were screaming.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” Woo-cheol apologized with a good-natured smile.

The dancers chuckled and told Woo-cheol that it would be a big problem if he broke the piano.

The members quickly found their places again and lay on the floor.

But at that moment.

Something flashed in Do-jae’s head.

Do-jae, who had been lying down, raised his body and raised his hand.

“Yang-mal Teacher.”

“Uh, uh? Uh… Why?”

At Do-jae’s call, Yang-mal responded with more embarrassment than when Woo-cheol fell on the piano keys.

It was a title he could never get used to, no matter how many times he heard it.

Trainees generally called him ‘Yang-mal Teacher,’ and staff members called him ‘Choreographer’ or ‘Trainer.’

If he had known that he would have a student who called him ‘Yang-mal Teacher’ so seriously, he probably wouldn’t have chosen Yang-mal as his stage name.

Yang Ma-ru, whose real name was, put aside his fleeting thoughts and waited for Do-jae’s words.

“How about doing the intro choreography like this?”

Do-jae quickly conveyed the choreography he had come up with.

Yang-mal, the members, and even the dancers were captivated by Do-jae’s words.

When Do-jae finished speaking, everyone’s reaction was the same.

“Great! Let’s go with that!”

***

While practicing the title song choreography, MOST accelerated their album preparations even further.

In one corner of the office.

Even while putting on and taking off dozens of outfits brought by the stylists, the members were busy mastering the title song choreography.

The choreography was incredibly detailed.

Even the timing of folding and unfolding a finger had to be precise to avoid looking distracting.

“You guys have really lost a lot of weight. How do you keep losing more every time I see you?” Ji-woo Han, the chief stylist, said in surprise as she put a shirt on Gyu-seong.

The fit was different from when she had him wear a denim jacket last week.

“I did lose weight…”

“Can’t you tell by looking? Your pants are this much bigger. Wow. I think you’ve lost the most?”

Chief stylist Han Ji-woo was right.

Woo-cheol, who was entrusting his body to another stylist next to him, explained, “Our concept this time is slightly lost and wandering youth. Our PT [Personal Trainer] teacher asked if we’ve ever seen a rebellious person with a full stomach… *sniff*.”

Woo-cheol said, pretending to cry exaggeratedly.

Everyone was losing 2kg more than their weight at the time of their debut, so it was bound to be difficult.

It was certain that the difficulty of both the choreography and the management had increased.

“I gained a little weight during my vacation… so it probably looks like I’ve lost more.”

“Oh my… You’re really going through a lot. But the fit is definitely better. It’s so good, Gyu-seong.”

Chief stylist Han Ji-woo said, patting Gyu-seong, who looked tired, as if to comfort him.

She was sincere. He was closer to the image she had in mind than when he wore the clothes last week.

“Then we’re not losing any more weight from here, right? We need to start making the clothes soon…”

“Yes, I think we’re going to maintain this weight from now on.”

Chief stylist Han Ji-woo, who had been nodding at Gyu-seong’s answer, opened her mouth in surprise.

“I thought you were already perfect, but this is…”

She was talking about Do-jae’s sharp jawline and firm upper body without a single ounce of fat.

Since he exercised about 1.5 times more than others, the effect was that much greater.

Other stylists were also busy admiring Do-jae.

“Noonas [term for older sisters/women used by younger males], you’re going to dislocate your jaws!” At Woo-cheol’s words, the stylists gave embarrassed smiles.

There was even a stylist who shamelessly pretended to wipe her saliva.

Looking at them, Do-jae gave a business smile for the first time in a while.

Do-jae’s appearance, smiling with his shirt buttons not fully fastened and his hair disheveled, was truly admirable.

Chief stylist Han Ji-woo, who had been blinking and taking in Do-jae’s appearance, quickly came to her senses and said, “Woo-cheol, if you don’t act up, you have a pretty mature attitude… Oh, everyone looks better because you’re taking care of yourselves.”

“I’m already twenty-one years old. I’ve been an adult for a while.”

“Yes, yes.”

Woo-cheol smiled and shrugged.

Then Louis, who had changed his pants, asked, “Chief, me, me! How about me?”

The stylists burst into laughter at Louis, who was asking so actively.

“Of course Louis looks good too!” Chief stylist Han Ji-woo answered as if asking what he was asking.

Even so, she carefully examined Louis again, who had changed his clothes.

“Maybe it’s because your face is pale, but pastel tones suit you well. It’ll really suit this concept.”

At Chief stylist Han Ji-woo’s words, Louis said as if he had thought of something, “Hot pink would also look good, right?!”

“I think so, why? Did you buy a hot pink outfit? You’re so bold!”

Chief stylist Han Ji-woo knew that Louis’s usual fashion was quite flashy.

However, it was a style that added flashiness with unique designs or accessories within achromatic colors, and he didn’t prefer bright colors, so it was unexpected.

“No. It’s not my clothes… I’m doing a special stage. All the tops there are hot pink.”

Only then did Chief stylist Han Ji-woo nod as if she understood.

“That’s right. Who does the styling for that team?”

“The Origin stylist team.”

Heung-min, who had been listening from the side, suddenly asked, “They’re not just dressing The Origin members well, are they?”

“Everyone is wearing the same hot pink knit and jeans.”

“Ah, is that so?”

The original song’s coordination for the remake was like that.

All the same clothes with only different details such as earrings, necklaces, and brooches were added.

“Wow… Then there might be a lot of comparisons.” Louis nodded, clenching his lips tightly at Woo-cheol’s words.

Do-jae, who noticed what Louis was worried about, said, “I don’t think you’ll ever be overshadowed.”

“Of course! And I’m going to compete with my dance.” Louis answered with a look as if flames were burning in his eyes.

“Wow, Kim Louis, you’re really determined! Go win them all!” Woo-cheol encouraged Louis.

Louis was an inevitable ‘attention seeker,’ so he liked being noticed and standing out.

However, he had no intention of standing out while ruining the team’s harmony.

The special stage was the same. He didn’t want to be the only one acting differently while creating a stage as a team at that moment.

However, he wanted to show Chae-hyun, who kept provoking Louis’s feelings at every practice, how much Kim Louis, a member of MOST, has grown and changed differently from when he was in New-E.

How happy he is on stage.

***

A few days later.

The MOST members left their dorm early in the morning for the first time in a while.

It was to participate in KVS ‘Gayo Festival’ [a year-end music program in South Korea].

However, the members tilted their heads as they got into the van parked in front of the dorm.

“I don’t think this is our van…” Gyu-seong, who was getting into the van, hurriedly checked the driver’s seat.

Of course, Jung Gil-joo was in the driver’s seat.