Prince from another dimension becomes an Idol chapter 43

“…It’s not possible, right?”

“Yes, it’s definitely not possible.”

Manager Kim Seokchul’s voice was firm.

“Heungmin.”

“Yes, Manager.”

“Is it true that you don’t want to do this for personal reasons rather than concerns about your image?”

“…I’m sorry.”

It was an admission.

‘Personal reasons?’

A question mark popped up over the heads of the shocked members.

It seemed to be something only Manager Kim Seokchul and Heungmin knew about.

“MOST is a team. We agreed from our trainee days not to let personal reasons cause harm to the team.”

It was a point Heungmin had repeatedly emphasized to his younger members.

Heungmin, who almost went against his own words, lowered his head deeply.

He was ashamed in front of Manager Kim Seokchul and the members.

“I’m sorry. I have no excuses.”

He felt sorry that the atmosphere had dampened because of him while everyone else was excited.

However, his mind became complicated upon hearing about the proposal to be a promotional video model from the city hall, making it hard to think clearly.

“Heungmin.”

Manager Kim Seokchul called out to Heungmin again, his voice softer this time.

“Bringing personal matters into the team is not a good thing, but… I think this might actually be a good opportunity.”

“Manager…”

Heungmin trailed off and looked down.

Manager Kim Seokchul explained further without adding more pressure.

“The city hall side mentioned that the model recruitment was delayed, so the filming schedule is tight. Once the schedule is set in a few days, we will inform you right away.”

“Yes, Manager.”

“Yes!”

The members quickly responded.

“Then go home today, get plenty of rest, and be ready for tomorrow’s schedule.”

Manager Kim Seokchul stood up and looked around at the members.

The members stood up and bowed to him.

Even Heungmin, who had not responded clearly until the end, got up hesitantly and bowed.

***

A while later.

MOST won first place again on [Music Show: Victory].

Though it was a cable broadcast, they managed to win first place for two consecutive weeks.

Moreover, they also achieved first place on another cable network.

The members were ecstatic.

Even on a national network broadcast, they had reached fifth place.

“Wow, this feels amazing!!!”

“Oh, yeah!”

The youngest members, drenched in sweat after finishing the ending stage, roamed the waiting room.

There was a particular reason for the extra joy of these two members.

Thanks to the agency’s consideration, Woochul and Louis’s parents had come to see the stage in person.

Kijoon’s parents were in the provinces and couldn’t come, and Kyuseong and Heungmin’s parents were busy with work.

‘I wish my mother could have come.’

Dojae thought, recalling the bright faces of the parents who visited the waiting room before the stage.

Seeing the parents of the members who endured hardships together rejoice was as moving as winning first place.

‘They said adjusting the schedule was difficult, so it couldn’t be helped…’

Dojae’s mother also seemed very regretful when he contacted her.

‘Hopefully, there will be another opportunity in the future.’

With that thought, Dojae looked at Woochul and Louis with a pleased expression.

“What are you two doing?”

Kijoon asked, looking at the two taking a ‘selfie’ with the trophy in a bizarre pose.

“We’re making a heart, a heart!”

“We’re going to post a photo of us together on Twitty today.”

“I get that you’re drawing a heart, but can’t you do it a bit more normally…?”

Kijoon was about to ask but closed his mouth.

Though it was chaotic, it wasn’t a big problem.

He knew that fans liked the unique actions of the youngest members.

“Just don’t drop the trophy.”

“Yes, sir!”

Louis, knowing how much Kijoon cherished the trophy, answered energetically.

As the members hurriedly took selfies before changing out of their stage outfits, Jung Giljoo entered the waiting room and shared news with them.

“Guys, the city hall video shoot date that Manager mentioned has been set.”

“Oh. When is it?!”

Woochul, who was busy taking selfies, asked.

Dojae and Kyuseong, standing side by side, naturally turned their gaze to Heungmin.

Heungmin, who had been making a finger heart for the photo, froze in that position.

No one had discussed the city hall promotional video with Heungmin since that day.

Even when Woochul asked why he didn’t want to shoot the video, Heungmin only got annoyed and didn’t give a clear answer.

“Tomorrow!”

“Wow, that’s quick.”

“They’re in a hurry, and tomorrow is the only available day for our schedule.”

The members, except for Heungmin, nodded at Jung Giljoo’s explanation.

“The concept isn’t difficult. I’ll send the shooting script via message, so please familiarize yourselves with it.”

“A script?”

Kyuseong’s eyes widened at the word ‘script.’

Jung Giljoo reassured him.

“It’s almost just one line per person. It’s mainly about shooting in front of heritage sites. Think of it as similar to the album introduction lines you memorize.”

“Oh, that’s a relief.”

Kyuseong quickly felt relieved and smiled, but not Heungmin.

“Heungmin, are you… okay? Manager told me to take good care of you. He will be there tomorrow, but…”

Manager Kim Seokchul had been absent all day for a meeting with the city hall side.

Usually, Heungmin would have smiled as if to say not to worry, but not today.

“He definitely seems off.”

Jung Giljoo looked surprised at Heungmin, who had his lips tightly closed.

The members exchanged glances.

“Hyung, he really seems to not want to do this.”

“I don’t get what’s so bad about it.”

While Heungmin was changing clothes, Louis and Woochul muttered.

“Heungmin hyung… He’ll be okay, right?”

Kyuseong seemed worried and cautiously asked Dojae about it.

Looking at Heungmin’s head peeking over the top of the temporary screen, Dojae gave a vague answer.

“It’ll be fine.”

After all, Heungmin was a professional who had debuted after a long trainee period.

A professional has to do things even if they don’t want to.

Heungmin knew this better than anyone.

‘Though I don’t know why he doesn’t want to do it.’

Dojae turned his head back and continued changing his clothes.

***

The production scale was small and the appearance fee was minimal, so the shoot was only for a single day.

However, the shoot itself was outdoors with three location changes, so the members had to start moving from early dawn.

Despite being tired from the music show the previous day, the members were energetic.

Throughout the journey, Kijoon unconsciously hummed, and the younger members spoke louder than usual.

“Suits, huh… the costumes are nice! I was worried they’d make us wear hanboks.”

“Even if it were hanboks, Dojae hyung would have looked good.”

“True. Louis, you would’ve looked like a foreigner on a Chuseok special.”

“Ah, hyung, I’m a real Korean.”

In any case, it was the first time they were modeling for something.

It was another chance to realize that they had become singers and celebrities.

“Has everyone memorized their lines?”

“Yes, Manager.”

Dojae responded to Manager Seokchul’s question.

“Even though Heungmin hyung didn’t want to do it, he memorized his lines perfectly yesterday! Even though it’s just two lines!”

“Really?”

“Yes!”

Woochul laughed.

Normally, Heungmin would have scolded him for being cheeky, but he just glared at Woochul slightly.

Manager Seokchul seemed relieved by Woochul’s words.

“If we go directly to the shooting location, the person in charge will be there. Just do what you always do.”

With Kim Seokchul’s final words, the car soon arrived at a quiet forest.

Their first shooting location was Seooreung. (Royal Cementery)

***

“Wow! I’ve heard so much about you! Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you. We are the filming team for today.”

“I’m Kim Jihae, in charge of promotion for the city.”

In front of the heritage site they were visiting for the first time, the members of MOST bowed politely to the people in charge.

“And this is our section chief! You know him well, right?”

MOST members, smiling and being introduced to Section Chief Lee by Kim Jihae, momentarily stiffened.

She asked if they knew him well, but none of them recognized the man in his late 50s.

“…Ahem.”

Section Chief Lee awkwardly cleared his throat.

Dojae’s eyes sharpened for a moment.

‘Something…’

It was then that Dojae glanced toward Heungmin.

At the same time, Section Chief Lee spoke Heungmin’s name.

“You don’t even greet properly after seeing each other for so long, Lee Heungmin.”

“……!”

The members looked at Heungmin with shocked eyes.

They looked as if asking how he knew him.

‘Could it be his father?’

Dojae quickly thought.

The deep wrinkles made it hard to tell, but the drooping eyes without double eyelids resembled Heungmin’s.

The suspicion was soon confirmed.

“You haven’t contacted home at all.”

“Because you said you’d cut ties with me…….”

Heungmin responded bluntly to Section Chief Lee’s words.

Realizing it was Heungmin’s father, the members hurriedly greeted him again.

“Oh, hello!”

“Hello, sir.”

“We’ve heard a lot about you.”

Woochul couldn’t manage his expression out of confusion.

The members suddenly understood Heungmin’s behavior over the past few days.

None of them knew that Heungmin’s father was a city official, but they all knew Heungmin and his father were on bad terms.

Indeed, Section Chief Lee, still stuck in the past, had blown up when Heungmin decided to become a singer.

‘If you’re going to live your life your way, get out! I won’t be your parent anymore!’

At Section Chief Lee’s outburst, the stubborn Heungmin left home immediately.

He started his trainee life in a tiny room near the company.

For a while, his mother sent him some money, but that soon stopped, thanks to his father.

Because of that, Heungmin had to juggle tough trainee life with part-time jobs to cover living expenses.

‘He said he had a hard time until he made it to the debut team and got to live in the dorm.’

Dojae recalled a story Heungmin had told him late one night after practice.

Heungmin had spent a year working night shifts at a convenience store, eating expired triangle kimbap.

There was no way he could have good feelings towards his father.

“We had a hard time finding a suitable model for the promotional video… It’s such a relief that Section Chief Lee’s son’s group could do it.”

As the atmosphere grew heavy, Kim Jihae quickly stepped in.

Heungmin, trying to be polite, smiled at Kim Jihae rather than his father.

“When Section Chief Lee first mentioned it, I wondered how he knew about a group that had just debuted. I had no idea his son was in it.”

“Oh…”

Heungmin responded awkwardly.

Section Chief Lee also looked away into the distance.

“Honestly, we didn’t have the budget, so no suitable dance singers wanted to do it… We were really in a bind.”

Kim Jihae openly shared the situation she had already explained to Manager Seokchul.

It was a mess due to budget issues.

They had bought lots of advertising boards for the promotional video, but they lacked the funds to pay the models.

Since it was a city promotion video and didn’t pay well, most singers declined.

They were on the verge of hiring an unknown dance team.

“Thanks to Section Chief Lee, we found the perfect model!”

Kim Jihae said with genuine joy.

‘No wonder we were scouted right after making headlines… They were discussing it from the start.’

Dojae quickly grasped the situation.

For MOST, it was a good opportunity despite not being lucrative.

‘Manager probably also thought about improving the father-son relationship…’

Looking alternately at Heungmin and Section Chief Lee, Dojae hoped their relationship wouldn’t end like his own.

‘Because I completely ruined mine. When I said I wanted to be a singer.’