Prince From Another Dimension Becomes An Idol [EN]: Chapter 89

The performance hall, its air conditioning blasting against the sweltering heat outside, was dim and cool.

Staff members bustled around, preparing for the semi-final performance, which would be broadcast live tonight.

To prevent any leaks of the songs, there was only one full rehearsal before the show.

Since it was the final rehearsal, they meticulously checked every detail.

“How are you feeling? Nervous? Or not? You’ve been on stage a lot,” the man standing next to Do-jae asked.

It was the owner of the café where he’d met Sprint.

He had also worked with Do-jae and Sprint on their semi-final competition song for a short period of less than a month.

Do-jae learned during their collaboration that he was Sprint’s previous solo album producer and a once well-known rapper and producer.

His stage name was Coca.

Do-jae had assumed it was a reference to the drug, but it turned out it was because his pet was a Cocker Spaniel.

‘I shouldn’t jump to conclusions,’ Do-jae reminded himself.

“I’m still nervous, though.”

It was the day Do-jae’s song, under his name, would be released to the world for the first time.

Sprint, who would perform the song, Coca, who helped with the mixing, and the MOST members had all praised the song.

However, he wondered how the anonymous masses, whose names and faces he didn’t know, would receive it.

He was very curious.

Do-jae looked at the still-empty stage, a tremor of anticipation running through him.

Sprint’s turn was fourth out of the five teams.

It took some time to redecorate the stage after the third team’s rehearsal had just finished.

He had waited backstage to go on stage before, but this was the first time he had waited below the stage for his song to be performed.

He felt a newfound respect for Ki-joon, who must have felt both kinds of tension simultaneously.

“Coca, who’s that guy next to you?”

At that moment, the rapper from the third team, ‘Chi-soo,’ who had finished his performance, gestured towards Do-jae and asked.

The conversation was within earshot of Do-jae and Coca.

“Ah, I heard he’s Sprint’s composer. The one who gave him the song this time,” answered Paranoid, the producer of ‘Chi-soo’s’ team.

Paranoid was the head of a famous hip-hop label, and many of the successful rappers these days belonged to his label.

‘Chi-soo,’ who had made it to the semi-finals, was also under Paranoid’s label.

He was about Do-jae’s age and had decent skills, but there were suspicions that he had reached the semi-finals because Paranoid was pushing him.

It was no wonder that Sprint’s rap, “The old-timers are too busy raising their own kids, so the real talents are all dying,” was said to be aimed at Chi-soo.

Thanks to this, this season of D.Hiphop Season 3 mainly featured a battle between independent rappers and those belonging to labels.

If Sprint was facing other competitors with the motto of ‘Let’s take care of our own skills instead of taking care of our own,’ Chi-soo and other label rappers criticized Sprint with the attitude of ‘There’s no place for outdated has-beens to join now.’

They were young, and they told him not to recklessly criticize the older artists who had promoted and solidified the hip-hop genre while he was gone, and not to freeload.

It was up to the viewers and listeners of hip-hop to decide who to support.

Do-jae felt that it was already a predetermined battle.

No matter what values they promoted, the public ultimately wanted a singer with good songs and a singer who sang well.

That was the singer’s job.

“A composer? Is he… an idol?”

“Yeah. I heard he’s from MOST, a rookie group that’s doing pretty well.”

“Ah, I know them. Why would you get a song from an idol? That’s hilarious, really. Is Sprint… a comedian?”

“He’s just desperate for popularity.”

“No, but with an idol… Haha. It’s so funny I could puke.”

Before Do-jae could frown at Paranoid and Chi-soo’s blatant remarks and giggles, Coca stepped forward.

“What did you say?”

He looked menacing enough to be mistaken for the owner of a loan shark company rather than a café owner.

As viewership increased with each episode, competition and conflict reached their peak.

He had expected some subtle jabs before the competition, but.

‘I didn’t expect them to be this low.’

Moreover, some hip-hop artists looked down on idols.

He realized that this was not just a concern.

“What? Did I say something wrong? Isn’t that guy next to you an idol?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Do-jae didn’t feel they were worth responding to.

But there was no reason to avoid it.

Paranoid’s expression showed a hint of annoyance at Do-jae’s calm and direct answer.

“Oh, that’s why. He’s handsome. Like a gigolo.”

“Thank you for the compliment.”

Paranoid and Chi-soo were momentarily taken aback when Do-jae readily thanked them for what was meant to be an insult.

“Pfft!”

Coca burst out laughing as if to say, ‘Serves them right.’

‘Yeonsangun [a Korean king of the Joseon dynasty] disliked the appearance of gigolos because of the era and his status as king… but for me, an idol, it’s practically a compliment.’

He couldn’t understand why they were using the term ‘pretty boy’ as an insult.

Just then, the stage was set, and Sprint came up on stage.

As the sound check began, Chi-soo and Paranoid glared at Do-jae and Coca before heading to the waiting room.

“There’s no need to listen, right?”

“Yeah, yeah.”

It was too childish to listen to.

It was ridiculous that they were disparaging him as an idol composer without even listening to the song.

Do-jae felt like he wanted to wash his ears, just like when he had met Yoo Myung-woo after a long time.

Coca apologized to Do-jae, feeling sorry for no reason.

“Those guys are so mad because they’ve been beaten by Sprint so much.”

“What can they do if they can’t do it with skill?”

Do-jae calmly muttered, having already watched their rehearsal performance.

Coca was impressed.

“Oh… you’re more hip-hop than those guys.”

***

N TV station parking lot.

The MOST members got out of the van and headed towards the elevator.

Since it was the same venue where they used to perform music shows, Ki-joon, Heung-min, Woo-cheol, and Louis moved without hesitation.

“Wow, it feels so different coming here like this.”

Woo-cheol said, humming happily.

It was definitely the first time they had come to see a performance, even though they had come to perform many times.

He was also reminded of the time when he and the other MOST members went to the hospital to see Do-jae and Kyu-sung’s performance.

The MOST members’ appearance on ‘D.Hiphop’ was decided when Do-jae agreed to work with Sprint on the song.

It was just to participate as an audience to support Do-jae, who was debuting as a composer, and Sprint, who was a rapper.

Originally, the ‘D.Hiphop’ production team invited famous celebrities to the audience for every live broadcast to show off the show’s popularity.

MOST was popular enough, and it was clear that they would become a hot topic as an unexpected presence.

For MOST, it was a win-win situation as it was an opportunity to show their faces on a show that was the hottest topic among people in their 20s and 30s and whose viewership was soaring.

“I used to be so nervous every time I came here. But I’m not nervous at all after listening to the completed song yesterday.”

Heung-min agreed with Woo-cheol with a proud look.

Since the sound source of the competition song would be released tomorrow morning after today’s broadcast, the completed song was already prepared yesterday, and the members had heard it first.

Thud.

When they opened the heavy door, the performance hall, with dry ice swirling in the air, was revealed.

The noisy voices of the audience who came to watch the show poured out.

Just before the performance, they could feel the atmosphere slowly starting to heat up.

Following the staff’s guidance, the members took their seats on one side of the audience.

The audience was soon in an uproar at the appearance of the members.

Since they were among ordinary people, they couldn’t help but attract attention.

“What? Are they celebrities? They’re handsome!”

“There’s no way there are people like that in this scene, so why are those kids here…”

“Oh, my gosh. Aren’t they MOST?”

“Wow. Why did MOST come?”

“Who are they?”

“They’re idols, idols. Who’s that friend? He looks so cute!”

Since there were quite a few female audience members, those who recognized MOST came out right away.

The members tried not to be conscious of the attention and waited for the stage.

In the meantime, Louis waved his hand at a woman who made eye contact with him.

Being in the audience, Louis shone like a fairy, as the fans said.

A small cheer erupted.

“Oh, come on… don’t ruin the atmosphere.”

“Why did idols come here?”

“Do they even know hip-hop?”

Then, some audience members openly spat out childish words.

Indeed, there were still many people in the hip-hop scene who rejected idols.

It was a word that made them frown, but the members didn’t care much.

There were far more people who recognized MOST and expressed their favor than those who did.

The members were not foolish enough to be swayed by envious gazes.

“Oh, isn’t MOST the special guest who came to support Sprint that was in the article?”

At someone’s words, there was a buzz, saying, “Sprint?”

“What’s their relationship with Sprint?”

“I don’t know… what is it? Oh, wow! Isn’t that Junk Kid [a popular hip-hop artist]?!”

“Jackpot.”

Interest in MOST subsided with the appearance of Junk Kid, the king of the hip-hop scene who had captured the public by taking first place every time he released a song, and other celebrities.

The members waited for the stage to begin, naturally blending in with the audience.

Soon, with the majestic opening music, the MC appeared and ‘DISS IS HIPHOP’ began.

***

A video showing the participants preparing for today’s stage was broadcast first.

In the video, it was revealed that Do-jae was Sprint’s composer, and the venue became noisy.

“An idol?”

“Ah… I don’t know. He’s so handsome.”

“It’s too much of a comparison when I see him compared to the other contestants.”

“So that’s why MOST came!”

“Is he originally a composer?”

Curiosity about what kind of song would come out focused the audience.

As the video ended, the full-fledged stage finally began.

The stages of the first and second participants passed like a storm.

And with the performance of the third participant, Chi-soo, the venue became completely heated.

As if he had been grinding his teeth at the previous criticism that his skills were a bit lacking, Chi-soo’s stage was the most complete of the many stages on this show.

The power of Paranoid, who came out in support as a featured artist, was also considerable.

Cheers erupted from everywhere at Paranoid’s rap.

While the next stage was being prepared, the MC interviewed Chi-soo, who had finished his performance.

As if he had expected the enthusiastic response, Chi-soo confidently showed off a flashy gesture.

“It was a great performance! A joint performance with Paranoid! You showed perfect harmony. How do you feel after finishing the stage?”

“I did it! It’s an answer to the people who were talking about my rap.”

“Wow…! The next stage is Sprint. Are you confident that you can beat Sprint too?”

“Well, he’s my senior… but I’m still confident.”

“Good, confidence!”

“Our Paranoid hyung’s [older brother/mentor] song will be better than the puppet idol song that wears shorts and acts cute.”

The venue was temporarily enveloped in silence.

The camera, as if waiting for it, showed the face of Do-jae, the composer of Sprint’s song, sitting in the front row of the audience.