Prince From Another Dimension Becomes An Idol [EN]: Chapter 86

#86.

“Oh, a message!”

Heungmin exclaimed, pointing at his phone screen.

[Re: Rapper Sprint]

It was a reply from Sprint.

***

Thanks to Louie’s hard carry [exceptional performance], the stage was a hot topic every day.

It wasn’t just Louie showing off his cuteness at the end of each performance like the first day.

It was thanks to the other members being ‘awakened’ by the stimulation and ‘turning the stage upside down’ [giving it their all and energizing the performance].

Louie showed different gestures at the end of each stage, and Woocheol, not wanting to be outdone, struck a new pose every time while being carried on Gijun’s back.

Thanks to that, the one who suffered was Gijun, who was carrying Woocheol.

Fans even captured and compared Gijun’s expressions, saying his face seemed to be getting gaunter day by day.

There was also the time when Heungmin, who hadn’t paid much attention to his armpits while shaving his leg hair, felt even more embarrassed than when he had a nosebleed on stage…….

“Ah, let’s skip that.”

“But it’s for the fans! Let’s do it!”

“Let’s do it, Bro!”

The short two-week promotion period was coming to an end.

Before their last music show, the members gathered at the dorm to plan an event for the fans.

It was meaningful because it was the end of the follow-up song promotions and also the last broadcast of their first full album activities.

Woocheol, who loves surprise events, took the lead, and Louie, who couldn’t participate in the members’ surprise event last time because he was the main character, actively offered his opinions with excitement.

Everyone agreed to the idea of creating a banner for the fans instead of choreography at the end.

However, Gijun and Heungmin were reluctant to have everyone do the aegyo [acting cute] that Louie had made a hot topic in the first broadcast.

“Just change the lyrics and say, ‘I’ll wait because I like you!’ How easy?!”

“Louie, it’s easy for you. But if I do it, it might seem like a threat, not aegyo.”

Gijun nodded silently next to him at Heungmin’s serious assessment.

From Heungmin’s point of view, it wasn’t that he didn’t want to do it, but whether there was a demand for this aegyo.

“Gyuseong, can you do it?”

“Uh… I…….”

Heungmin dragged Gyuseong in like a drowning man grabbing at straws.

As expected, Gyuseong also hesitated.

But soon, he said as if he had made up his mind.

“I might be able to if I try.”

“Wow…. You’re quietly strong as always. King Gyuseong.”

Heungmin glanced at Dojae.

“I’m confident now. I did well at the fan signing and got compliments.”

Dojae stepped forward confidently.

It was as if he had an emoticon saying ‘^^’ behind his words.

Dojae, who had been very embarrassed by the aegyo requests at the first fan signing, had now practiced and trained quite a bit and had no hesitation in showing aegyo.

It was easy because he thought it was similar to acting.

There was also a human textbook next to him that was no different from Dongmongseonseup [Elementary Confucian textbook] and Gyeokmongyogyeol [Confucian primer for youth].

Finally, the only one left was Gijun.

Heungmin looked at Gijun.

Gijun was focused on checking a message from his older sister.

[You sold your heart?] (30 days ago)

[Crazy] (30 days ago)

[Don’t you dare say you’re my brother anywhere] (30 days ago)

[Mom only orders Byeolbyeol Chicken, it’s annoying, next time you be a model for Yanggatjip Chicken, it’s tastier there] (25 days ago)

[Hey] (5 days ago)

[Ignoring me?] (4 days ago)

[Is Louie actually cute in person? Louie should have been my brother, not someone like you] (4 days ago)

[Hey, are you ignoring me?] (2 days ago)

[You’re dead when you come home] (2 days ago)

[I’ll forgive you for ignoring me if you get Louie’s autograph during your vacation] (5 minutes ago)

Gijun, who had been sending ‘ㅇ’ or ‘ㄴ’ [Korean equivalents of ‘okay’ or ‘no’], had not been responding to his sister’s messages since the Byeolbyeol Chicken commercial.

It was clear that he would be tormented terribly when he got home.

The thought alone made Gijun shudder, and he couldn’t help but look at Louie instead of Heungmin and ask.

“Louie, can you sign something for me?”

“Why not! But why do you need my autograph, hyung [older brother/male friend]?”

“My sister is your fan…….”

Gijun’s voice was weak.

Regardless, Louie was happy that Gijun’s sister was his fan.

At the same time, he smiled and asked Gijun.

“Do you agree to this event?”

“…Yeah.”

With this, there was no place for Heungmin to back down either.

“Your fans will love it, hyung.”

At Dojae’s words, Heungmin was soon burning with determination, saying, “If we’re going to do it, let’s do it right!”

After the event details were agreed upon, the conversation moved on to the banner slogans.

By the time they decided on the banner slogans, it was already midnight.

The members scattered to their rooms for the photoshoot and radio schedule tomorrow.

“Ah. Isn’t tomorrow the day you meet Sprint?!”

Heungmin asked Dojae as he was about to return to his room.

Gijun also paused briefly at the word Sprint.

“Yes. I’m going to go for a bit between the photoshoot and the radio schedule.”

Curiosity and anticipation flickered in Heungmin and Gijun’s eyes.

***

Dojae was also curious.

What kind of work was Sprint proposing?

Sprint said in a reply email that he wanted to meet Dojae in person.

He wanted to exchange opinions in person rather than by email.

He only mentioned that he wanted to discuss song work, with no other mention.

No comments on Dojae revealing that he was a MOST member, nor specifically what kind of work he wanted to do.

Dojae also thought that talking in person rather than by email would be better to understand the other person more quickly.

However, it was not easy to make an appointment due to their busy schedules.

Today was the only time they could squeeze in.

“Is this the cafe you mentioned?”

“Yes.”

Team Leader Kim Seokcheol’s mid-sized car smoothly stopped in front of the cafe.

The cafe was in a secluded alley in Cheongdam-dong.

It was the place Sprint had chosen.

He explained that his friend had just opened the cafe, so there weren’t many customers and it would be a good place to talk.

“Welcome. Oh! MOST?!”

As Team Leader Kim Seokcheol, who had parked next to the cafe, and Dojae entered, the owner, who looked like he loved hip-hop, greeted them.

A large boxy t-shirt and jeans that flowed down to the floor.

He was also a large man who could be mistaken for someone from the dark side of the world.

When Dojae nodded and greeted him, the owner, who muttered to himself, “Oh, he’s really handsome,” said.

“You’re here for an appointment with Sprint, right?! That bastard…. No, that friend is waiting in the corner over there.”

“Thank you.”

“Can I ask for an autograph when you leave…. Ah, no. He’s going to bark about losing face.”

He was rough around the edges, but he didn’t say anything bad to Dojae.

Rather, he felt a bit cheerful.

“I’ll do it if you need it when I leave.”

“Oh, you have a good personality.”

As he led them to the corner seat behind the pillar, Sprint, whom he had seen in photos and videos, was there.

His hair was cut short in a buzz cut with an ‘H’ shaped scratch, which was immediately noticeable.

“Hello.”

As Dojae approached and greeted him first, Sprint, who was wearing headphones, took them off and immediately stood up.

His eyes were quite sharp, and if you had to compare, he had a similar impression to Gijun.

However, he was much thinner than Gijun, so he even had a slightly gaunt feeling.

“Oh, nice to meet you!”

“This is the team leader in charge of our team. I thought it would be better to bring him along since he should hear about work-related matters as well.”

“I’m Kim Seokcheol. Please don’t mind me and have a comfortable conversation.”

As Team Leader Kim Seokcheol handed over his business card, Sprint received the business card with both hands.

“I don’t have a manager and I’m alone. Idols are different!”

It wasn’t a sarcastic tone, he just seemed curious.

Dojae gently raised the corners of his lips and sat down with Team Leader Kim Seokcheol.

“I used to do a lot of broadcasting activities in the past…. I’ve never seen anyone so handsome. Isn’t it cheating for a handsome person to be good at music too? What are people like us supposed to live on?”

“You’re too kind.”

“Too kind…. Too kind, huh. Don’t be too polite.”

Dojae smiled awkwardly at his words.

“Ah. Please speak comfortably.”

“Is it okay to do that at a first meeting…?”

“Yes. That’s more comfortable for me too.”

Sprint was six years older than Dojae.

Even though there was a hiatus in the middle, he had been in the industry for much longer.

It seemed that the conversation would be much smoother if Sprint spoke comfortably.

“Looking at it, Dojae-ssi [term of polite address] is too polite, so I look too rude, right? Dojae-ssi, please be comfortable too.”

“Yes. I’ll do it slowly.”

“Okay. Let’s do it as we’re comfortable. I’ve been in a world where everyone is rude for so long that I can’t speak nicely.”

Dojae laughed at his honest words.

He wasn’t even thirty yet.

His expressions and tone, which could be said to be young, smelled like someone who had gone through thick and thin.

Perhaps it was natural since he had experienced the betrayal of his friends and the disbandment of his team, and had to endure a long hiatus alone.

It was a type that Dojae had never met in the palace or around the MOST members.

His uninhibited attitude, as he said, didn’t seem ‘rude’ but rather comfortable.

He felt like an honest person without anything to hide.

Sprint immediately brought up Sound.Pie.

“I saw that you uploaded music to Sound.Pie, so I didn’t even think you were a debuted idol.”

“I just uploaded it for archiving purposes. The color is different from our team’s music, so it probably won’t be used…….”

“Yeah, you did well. Thanks to that, I heard it. To be honest, if an idol said they worked on it, I probably wouldn’t have listened to it.”

Dojae paused for a moment and thought about what he meant.

Sprint quickly added as if to avoid misunderstanding.

“It’s not that I mean anything else. It’s because the music you make is so different. Just like Dojae-ssi said the color is different.”

“Ah…. Yes.”

“It’s just that it was a bit unexpected and surprising that Dojae-ssi is an idol. The important thing is whether we can work together or not. Something like that.”

Dojae nodded.

“To be really honest, I was a bit burdened because you’re a popular idol these days. I should just die if I’m scared of this now.”

His tone was definitely rough.

Dojae wasn’t flustered because he had expected it to some extent and asked.

“Are you saying that you want to write my song because you want to work together?”

“Exactly.”

Sprint nodded, his eyes shining.

At his confirmation, Dojae briefly clenched his hands and then released them.

Just like he hadn’t thought about becoming an idol when he dreamed of becoming a singer, he hadn’t thought that a hip-hop singer would want to write his song when he started composing.

Especially someone who was once one of the top in the hip-hop scene.

He wants to write Dojae’s song.

It was a different kind of overwhelming feeling than when he participated in MOST’s album.

He was already looking forward to how the song would be completed.

“But it’s not a song to put on the album.”

Dojae tilted his head at Sprint’s next words.

“Then where are you going to use the song?”

“. You know, ?”

Dojae’s eyes widened slightly.

There was no way he wouldn’t know the program.