Prince From Another Dimension Becomes An Idol [EN]: Chapter 70

#70.

“Is this for real?”

Woo-cheol couldn’t contain his frustration at Heung-min’s dazed reaction and jumped up from his chair.

“Tell us already!”

The other members laughed at Woo-cheol’s eagerness, but they were just as anxious.

Fans who had already checked the rankings on music sites with their phones were busy signaling the ranks with their fingers.

Shouts of, “…It’s this rank!” came from everywhere.

However, it was too chaotic, and many fans were only holding up one finger, making it hard to gauge the ranking.

Do-jae looked at Heung-min with an expectant expression.

‘The staff wouldn’t have come up to tell us unless it was good… It can’t be number one, though.’

If it were 100th place, it would be worse than the last album, so they wouldn’t have bothered to announce it. That leaves…

“10th! Is it real? Are we really 10th?”

Heung-min’s excited voice echoed loudly.

The fans shouted, “Yes!” in unison.

The members couldn’t react and froze for a moment.

“R-really?”

“Really? What a surprise!”

It was truly an unbelievable ranking.

Woo-cheol and Louis managed to react.

Gyu-sung bit his lower lip as if he was touched, and Ki-joon briefly lowered his head.

“Uh oh! Is Ki-joon *hyung* [older brother or male friend] crying again? Fans, you might not know this, but even though Ki-joon *hyung* looks a bit cold, he’s actually very warm-hearted….”

“He’s a crybaby!”

Woo-cheol chimed in as Heung-min teased.

Laughter erupted from the audience.

Ki-joon, who gave off such a cold impression that you’d think he wouldn’t bleed if you pricked him, had shown tears during an awards speech, so the fans knew he actually cried easily.

And Ki-joon’s fans quite liked that unexpected side of him.

“I’m not crying, everyone.”

Ki-joon lifted his head and quickly explained.

Then, he expressed his gratitude.

“Really… I didn’t expect such a high ranking… Thank you.”

“Yes. It’s a bit of a new style, so we wondered how you would receive it. Thank you so much!”

“You’re the best! Thank you, BEST! So much!”

Heung-min and Woo-cheol also said a few words each.

Louis adjusted his microphone and said,

“We really put in a lot of effort into this album. No, I don’t mean you have to acknowledge our effort! Um… When we were doing our debut album, we just wanted to debut quickly, and that was the main thing… This time, it was different.”

“That’s right. Because you guys were waiting.”

Do-jae added to Louis’s words.

Louis quickly nodded and said,

“So we worked harder, and this is the result… It’s just the beginning, but! Still, it’s totally great! Love you, BEST!”

As the content didn’t seem to be wrapping up, Louis hurriedly finished his speech and blew a hand kiss.

However, the fans fully understood what Louis wanted to say and cheered at his hand kiss.

Watching that, Do-jae, who had been quietly smiling, continued,

“I hoped it would be an album that wouldn’t disappoint those who waited, and that it could bring even a small amount of joy to your lives… But it seems we’re the ones who received a gift.”

“……”

“Thank you so much.”

Do-jae stood up from his seat and bowed deeply to the fans.

Gyu-sung, who had been quiet the whole time, also stood up and bowed with Do-jae.

“Thank you! Really….”

Starting with Gyu-sung, the other members also stood up and bowed with Do-jae.

However they expressed it, their hearts were one.

The members were sincerely grateful to the fans.

They knew that from the moment the song was released, fans who had come to the fan meeting and those who couldn’t make it were doing their best to stream the song on music sites to raise its ranking.

Of course, reaching 10th place wouldn’t have been possible with just the fans’ efforts.

It was also because non-fans clicked on MOST’s song, which was featured on the main page after its release, and continued to listen to it because they liked the song.

However, it wasn’t just about being grateful for the streaming.

A rookie singer who debuted last year.

The fans had waited for and anticipated their album, which only had one single album.

As Louis and Do-jae said, MOST was able to do their best to create good music thanks to the existence of these people.

It was reason enough to give all the credit to the fans.

And the members’ feelings were perfectly conveyed to the fans.

“…Ah, geez. The *oppas* [term of endearment used by young women to refer to older brothers or male friends] are too nice.”

“I know, right.”

The fans in the audience felt a lump in their throats because the people they had poured their affection into were expressing their gratitude for that affection.

***

Following that, MOST additionally performed the new album’s B-side tracks, , and .

Although they were newly released songs, the fans did their best to support the performances.

MOST’s first fan meeting concluded with an encore performance of .

The members entered the waiting room and greeted the staff.

“Thank you for your hard work!”

“Thanks for your efforts!”

“You worked hard!”

It was the same greeting as always, but the members’ greetings were louder than ever.

From the reaction to the first performance to the news that came in between.

It was such an enjoyable hour and a half.

So much so that they wished it could last forever.

As soon as Heung-min saw Team Leader Jung Hee-young, he quickly greeted her.

“Team Leader! Thank you. Really….”

It was gratitude for the good music ranking.

It wasn’t just the composer, lyricist, and singer who made the album.

Heung-min knew well that such a result would be difficult without the hard work of the Planning Team 2 staff, who controlled everything from album planning to scheduling, production, and promotion.

“Thank you! I’m really the one who’s grateful. Everyone worked so hard.”

Team Leader Jung Hee-young replied with a proud face.

Woo-cheol said to Deputy Lee Jung-yeon, who was smiling next to Team Leader Jung Hee-young,

“Deputy! Our Remora is getting a good response, so the song is entering the charts at a good rank!”

“That’s true, but the company also invested a lot… First of all, the song is good.”

Deputy Lee Jung-yeon answered modestly, as if embarrassed.

Then, Woo-cheol said to Do-jae and Ki-joon,

“That’s right. It’s all thanks to Director Kang and *hyungs* [older brother or male friend] for working hard on the song!”

“We have a genius composer on our team!”

Heung-min added exaggeratedly.

Do-jae shook his head.

“I only did the arrangement.”

“The atmosphere is largely thanks to you.”

Ki-joon immediately took the words.

Do-jae didn’t argue further and cooled the heat on his face with a cold towel.

The members enjoyed the celebratory atmosphere, not hesitating to praise themselves.

It was only the first day the song was released.

It was an atmosphere where Kim Seok-cheol, who was usually like that, would have said a word or two, telling them not to get too excited because it was too early to judge success.

However, Team Leader Kim Seok-cheol didn’t say anything and allowed the members to be happy enough.

‘Entering the music charts at 10th place… That’s definitely amazing.’

It was an unusual start for anyone to see.

***

The interest in the music video, which was released at midnight, was also high.

The music video was set in four locations.

A wide field and a hilltop that were breathtakingly open.

In contrast, a narrow bathroom and a ruin with only a desk.

The backgrounds were so different that it was hard to imagine how they could become one music video, but the atmosphere was matched with a dark reddish tint.

The music video, which strangely mixed neon and pastel colors, resembled the light of an uneasy youth and was truly ‘hip.’

Thanks to that, the reaction was good even in foreign countries.

It was already circulating as an emotional image on various image sites.

It was the achievement of the Planning Team 2 visual director, who recommended a new director with excellent artwork as the music video director, following the merchandise.

With the good response to the music video, Woo-cheol, Louis, and Gyu-sung were so busy going in and out of music sites that they forgot they were tired.

It was already 1 AM.

“You guys… aren’t you sleeping?”

Heung-min, who had just finished showering, asked, looking at the three people who were gathered in the living room, making a fuss looking for reactions.

Ki-joon and Do-jae had gone to the office for a while to work on the arrangement for the music show comeback stage.

“We’ll sleep in a bit. Do-jae and Ki-joon *hyung* [older brother or male friend] haven’t come yet either.”

“Gyu-sung, nice excuse?!”

Gyu-sung made an awkward expression at Heung-min’s laughing words.

Considering the remaining performances tomorrow, they should go to sleep soon.

Even if they went to sleep now, they wouldn’t be able to sleep for even five hours.

However, they couldn’t help but keep looking at the comments on MyTube [parody of YouTube] and the real-time charts on music sites.

“So, what rank are we now?”

Heung-min asked, also curious.

Woo-cheol answered confidently right away.

“Us? 9th!”

“What?! Did it go up? It went down to 12th earlier. Is it because the music video was released?”

“It might go up more in the early morning. Originally, idol groups with fandoms are strong in the early morning.”

Since most people are sleeping, it is the time when fandoms that leave the song playing for 24 hours shine.

Heung-min reacted with an “Oh” at Woo-cheol’s words, who was well-informed about this information because he used the internet a lot.

It wasn’t for nothing that the three couldn’t fall asleep.

“Still, you have to sleep. Considering your condition tomorrow….”

Heung-min, who became the oldest *hyung* [older brother or male friend] in the absence of Ki-joon, said with a sense of responsibility.

Just then, the front door opened, and Ki-joon and Do-jae came in.

“Oh… you’re just coming in now. You two worked hard. You must be tired.”

“*Hyungs* [older brother or male friend]! Do you know what rank our song is now?! It’s 9th, 9th.”

Heung-min and Woo-cheol greeted Ki-joon and Do-jae in different atmospheres.

The two, who were taking off their shoes, looked at the members with dazed expressions.

Do-jae asked back.

“9th?”

“Yes!”

Louis shouted excitedly.

Smiles appeared on Ki-joon and Do-jae’s faces as well.

It was news that would make the fatigue accumulated in the studio disappear.

It was clear that releasing a song that was not a powerful dance song but a dark but more popular and seasonal emotional song had worked.

***

The atmosphere of the second fan meeting the next day could only be described as a festival.

The fans, who had memorized all the lyrics and cheering methods for in just one day, sang along to in loud voices.

—my everything is yours!

—is yours!

—is yours!

Although it had gone down again in the morning, the song had risen to 6th place on the music charts in the early morning.

The number of views on the music video was also continuing to rise.

The reaction itself was also good.

There was talk in every community that the quality of this MOST album was good.

Thanks to the fancams and direct photos of the first MOST fan meeting stage, all sorts of communities were buzzing with MOST stories.

It was ‘the rediscovery of Kang Do-jae.’

-He’s crazy sexy ㅠㅠㅠㅠ

-What’s up with the chest muscles between the shirts???

-I’ve always thought he had a good physique, but I really feel like he’s solid

-What’s up with his forearms when he breaks the piano?

-His eyes are so sexy

-Rough eyes ㅜㅜ Awesome ㄷㄷ

-The model student.. is a school bully?! -_-;;

-You crazy bastard ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-I sometimes shed tears.. Do-jae.. let’s date..

-Do-jae, my king, I’ll take you ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ My King Wang Jjang.. [Konglish slang meaning “the best” or “ultimate”]

-King Wang Jjang was Do-jae

-He’s so handsome ㅠㅠ He’s good at everything, face, body, song, dance, this man..

..And that evening.

achieved the feat of settling in at 6th place on the daily chart.

The members hugged each other and shouted with joy.

Do-jae was just as happy.

However, Do-jae suddenly became uneasy.

‘Everything is going so well…….’

He had a bad feeling.