Prince From Another Dimension Becomes An Idol [EN]: Chapter 95

#95.

As Do-jae approached, the group of about ten Japanese tourists surrounding Woo-cheol turned their heads, their eyes fixed on Do-jae.

“(Who is that?)”

“(Is he a friend of Taku? He’s handsome; is he an actor too?)”

“(Oh… he’s really good-looking!)”

Do-jae understood Japanese, though he couldn’t quite grasp the context of their chatter.

“I was just inflating the tube… and walking along this path, enjoying the view of the sea because it looked pretty, you know?” Woo-cheol said, a hint of desperation in his voice.

Woo-cheol grabbed Do-jae and launched into a detailed explanation. “These people saw me from the other side and came running over. Then they surrounded me and kept saying… ‘Sugoi’? That means amazing, right? That’s all I could understand. What’s so amazing about me?”

“……”

“Even when I said I don’t speak Japanese and tried to leave, they kept stopping me. I don’t understand what they’re trying to say…”

Woo-cheol, looking slightly panicked, glanced at the women.

“I think there’s some misunderstanding,” Do-jae said, quickly stepping in to clarify the situation, having pieced it together from their earlier remarks.

“(This person is not the Taku you think he is.)”

At that, they burst into laughter and waved their hands dismissively.

“(There’s no way he’s not Kageyama Taku-san. He looks exactly like him!)”

“(It’s no use pretending you don’t understand us and acting like you’re not him.)”

“(We met you in such a faraway place; please just give us one autograph. We’ve always been such big fans. Please.)”

Hearing the tourists’ pleas, Do-jae asked with a genuinely puzzled expression, “(Who is Kageyama Taku?)”

There was no hint of deception in Do-jae’s tone or expression.

The Japanese tourists exchanged flustered glances.

One of them pulled out a phone and displayed a photo of Kageyama Taku saved in their album.

“(Actor! Right?)”

Do-jae and Woo-cheol couldn’t help but be surprised by the photo.

Because the person in the photo indeed bore a striking resemblance to Woo-cheol.

However, his style was different, and upon closer inspection, the shape of his mouth was slightly different as well.

“(To look so alike! And if he’s not an actor, there’s no way he could be this handsome!)”

“(Hee… that’s unbelievable.)”

Do-jae, overhearing their murmurs, calmly explained, “(We are singers from Korea. Members of a group called MOST.)”

With that, Do-jae retrieved his phone.

He found and showed them a group photo of MOST, a stage photo where their faces were clearly visible.

This time, the Japanese tourists who saw the photo exclaimed in surprise and buzzed with excitement.

“(What! Really! We must have been mistaken.)”

“(Oh my… goodness!)”

“(A Korean idol!)”

Those who even searched for MOST on their phones realized belatedly that they had made a mistake.

Admitting their error, they quickly bowed their heads apologetically.

“(You look so much alike… we couldn’t even imagine that you weren’t Taku-san. We’re sorry.)”

“(We’re sorry.)”

“(We’ve committed a great discourtesy. We’re sorry.)”

Do-jae explained the situation to Woo-cheol.

Woo-cheol, upon learning that they had mistaken him for a Japanese actor, said it was okay and responded to those who were bowing with clumsy Japanese.

“Uh… Daijoubu!” [It’s okay!]

At Woo-cheol’s words, they bowed again, thanking him for his understanding.

Do-jae and Woo-cheol exchanged farewells and walked away.

Behind them, they could hear the Japanese tourists repeatedly pronouncing the group name MOST, lamenting that they should have gotten an autograph after all.

On the way back to the members, carrying the giant dinosaur tube, Woo-cheol wiped the sweat from his forehead.

“Wow. If it weren’t for you, hyung [older brother or male friend], I would have been stuck there. They thought I was pretending to be Korean… when I’m just really Korean!”

If it had been a familiar place, Woo-cheol would have easily extricated himself, but being in an unfamiliar location, he was momentarily flustered and unsure of what to do.

But now that he was out of it, he didn’t feel bad.

Rather, he felt a sense of satisfaction.

“I really did look like that handsome actor. It’s understandable that they mistook me.”

“Yeah. You really did look alike.”

Do-jae separately searched for Kageyama Taku online.

Upon searching, he discovered that Taku was currently the most popular mixed-race actor in his 20s in Japan.

“Wow. I have a face that works even in Japan,” Woo-cheol said, puffing out his chest.

Do-jae smiled lightly, watching Woo-cheol bask in his newfound pride.

“When we do activities in Japan, I’ll have to hard carry [do all the work]!”

“Yeah. You could do that.”

“Ah. But hyung. You’re really good at Japanese. Almost at a native speaker level!”

“It’s not that level.”

“Hey! No need to be modest! Just tell me honestly, hyung. It must be tiring being so perfect. I feel the same way. Even today…”

Woo-cheol chattered on in a cheerful voice.

Seeing Woo-cheol return with a beaming face, the members asked where he had been.

When Woo-cheol recounted the events on the way back, the members wore incredulous expressions.

“You look like an actor?”

“A popular actor?”

However, when Woo-cheol showed them a photo of Kageyama Taku, they looked surprised.

At first glance, they really did look alike.

“See, I told you.”

Woo-cheol, full of pride, grabbed the tube and jumped into the pool.

Louie and Heung-min also went back into the water, eager to try it out too.

***

After a day of splashing around under the hot sun, the members took a long nap in their rooms, enjoying the cool air conditioning in the afternoon.

After dinner, they gathered in Heung-min and Louie’s room, playing Rummikub and card games all night long.

Even though they were members who were always together at the dorm, the time they spent laughing and chatting in a foreign country felt special.

The next day, they enjoyed sightseeing, visiting local restaurants near the resort.

After two days of enjoyable rest, it was time for the photoshoot.

Stylists, the photography team, and other staff who had arrived from Korea the night before filled an entire building of the resort.

The members got their makeup done early in the morning for the photoshoot and came down to the lobby at the appointed time.

“Good morning!”

“Hello.”

“Hello!”

Lee Jung-yeon and Han Yu-na were in the lobby with the photography team staff.

The visual creative team from Planning Team 2 had also arrived.

The members, wearing pastel-toned short-sleeved T-shirts and light jeans, greeted the staff.

“Oh!”

Do-jae, who was politely bowing his head, suddenly paused.

A face he had seen in a cultural book was among the staff.

“Jin Ha-ru?”

Louie, next to him, also seemed to recognize the face, muttering in a small voice.

Do-jae and Louie’s eyes were correct.

The woman with a tall height and stylish bobbed hair, who could easily be mistaken for a model, was indeed photographer Jin Ha-ru.

Lee Jung-yeon stepped forward to introduce Jin Ha-ru to the members.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Jin Ha-ru.”

Her voice was neither too low nor too high.

At the name Jin Ha-ru, the other members also flinched and were taken aback.

She had emerged like a comet, winning major awards at the French Photography Festival. More active in famous overseas magazines than in Korea, she was a world-renowned photographer who held photo exhibitions in Europe.

Since she was recognized even in foreign countries, her reputation in Korea was needless to say.

Even though it was a job where it was difficult to become publicly known, the fact that Do-jae or Louie recognized her was enough to gauge her recognition and fame.

The other members also knew her name, even if they didn’t know her face.

She was a top photographer in Korea.

“Why…”

While greeting her, Ki-joon looked at Lee Jung-yeon and Kim Seok-cheol, seemingly bewildered.

Ki-joon’s ‘why’ implied the question, ‘Why are you here? Don’t tell me you’re here to shoot our photobook?’

She was a photographer who mainly shot fashion models, and only a handful of Korean celebrities had worked with Jin Ha-ru.

Lee Jung-yeon, guessing his meaning, explained.

“You all know Jin Ha-ru well, right? Director Hong Jong-hoon introduced us, and we were lucky enough to have her shoot our photobook this time.”

Director Hong Jong-hoon was the director who filmed two title music videos for MOST’s debut album.

He was quite cold at first, but he recognized MOST’s potential early on and even posted praise on his blog.

Team Leader Jung Hee-young, who had aspirations to shoot a proper photobook, not just a roughly made one, asked Director Hong Jong-hoon, who had a wide network in the industry, to recommend a photographer.

It was a very good choice as a result.

Director Hong Jong-hoon, who had a good impression of MOST, took the initiative to spread the word to his acquaintances.

‘Don’t just think of it as an idol photobook, but think about making a proper photo book with artistic merit.’

‘Although the members are not professional models, they each have their own charms and are worth shooting.’

And that news reached Jin Ha-ru’s ears.

Jin Ha-ru happened to be tired of fashion photoshoots and was taking time to recharge in Korea.

She needed something new to work on.

Of course, choosing an idol photobook as that new project was quite unconventional.

Even considering that she had a young and flexible mind, it was still surprising.

“I was impressed with the music video. I thought I wanted to work with you guys, and as the manager said, the timing was good.”

Jin Ha-ru added an explanation.

It was truly perfect timing.

When Lee Jung-yeon said that she was connected to Jin Ha-ru, she thought again about MOST’s momentum.

‘When things are meant to be, anything is possible…’

The reason why the photobook was kept as secret as possible was also because of the collaboration with Jin Ha-ru.

The news of working with Jin Ha-ru was sure to be a hot topic, and it was important to expose it at the right time for marketing purposes.

“Shall we go to the shooting location right away then?”

At Jin Ha-ru’s words, the staff nodded all at once.

Jin Ha-ru and the photography team went ahead, followed by the members and the Kingdom staff.

“Did the team leader know? I had no idea Jin Ha-ru was coming…”

“Wow… shouldn’t we have practiced more separately?”

Louie and Woo-cheol gave Kim Seok-cheol a resentful look.

The other members also looked nervous ahead of the collaboration with the world-renowned photographer.

It was the first photobook to be published since their debut.

It was also to commemorate the 1st anniversary of their debut, so the members originally intended to do their best in the photoshoot.

However, if it was a photobook taken by Jin Ha-ru, Jin Ha-ru, who took the photos, might be more important than MOST, the model, in some ways.

It wouldn’t be a photobook at the level of goods for fans, but a completely different level of work would come out, and everyone would expect that.

“I didn’t tell you because I thought you’d be so burdened.”

At Kim Seok-cheol’s words, the members made upset expressions.

It was a shoot to capture natural appearances anyway.

There was nothing to be gained by being nervous and worried in advance.

Do-jae was the only one who wasn’t nervous, just a little surprised.

‘The imperial family photos were always taken by the best photographers in the empire.’

It had been like that since the first 100-day photo he took after Do-jae was born, so there was nothing to be nervous about now.

“Think of it comfortably.”

At Do-jae’s words, the members looked at Do-jae at the same time.

It was a look that said, ‘How can you say that?’

The members were nervous not only because she was great.

Unlike Do-jae, who knew Jin Ha-ru through cultural books, the members who encountered Jin Ha-ru on the Internet knew all sorts of rumors surrounding her.

Like the time during a shoot with a male actor…