Prince from another dimension becomes an Idol chapter 7

Though no one asked him to, Louis, who had broken away from the agency, clung to Dojae, insisting that he take him along wherever he went, clearly anxious about the future.

Dojae managed to peel him off with a promise to contact him soon.

“Make sure you call, okay? You have to, bro!”

Despite only having met today, Louis acted as if they were blood brothers, his tone full of earnestness.

‘He’s acting more familiar with me than I am with my own brother.’

The Imperial siblings weren’t on bad terms. However, their relationship prioritized formalities, so they were never truly close. This was true with any family member in the Imperial household.

So, having Louis cling to him and call him “bro” felt quite awkward for Dojae.

It also made him feel the reality of not being a member of the Imperial Family anymore.

‘It’s not a bad feeling, though.’

Dojae allowed a small smile to creep onto his lips as he headed towards his destination.

—

The place he arrived at by subway was Anguk Station on Line 3.

On a weekday afternoon, Anguk Station was relatively quiet. Dojae sensed a familiar presence and turned his head.

In the distance, he could see the stone wall leading to Gyeongbokgung Palace.

“Ah…”

Dojae paused for a moment, looking up at the side of Geunjeongjeon, which loomed above.

It felt unreal that this was the place where he had been born and raised.

Gyeongbokgung Palace in South Korea had been rebuilt during the time of Heungseon Daewongun, so the materials and colors were subtly different from those of the Gyeongbokgung Palace of the Korean Empire.

Still, the atmosphere was unmistakably that of the ‘Gyeongbokgung Palace’ of the Lee Dynasty.

‘Though I’m no longer a Lee.’

Kang Dojae.

Dojae reminded himself of the name of his new body once more.

The reason he came to Insadong, passing through Anguk Station, was none other than to find money.

‘Sunghwan won’t stay quiet.’

His mother was likely to lose her job. It was also uncomfortable knowing that his mother worked in a building owned by Sunghwan’s family.

They would need money until she found a new job. Besides, the Kang family definitely needed money.

‘With no money, Kang Dojae couldn’t escape bullying and was pushed to the brink.’

The only one earning a proper income was his mother, who worked as a cleaner.

After paying the rent and repaying the debt left by his father, there was barely any money left for basic living expenses.

Buying a single chicken was a luxury for them.

For the past three years, Kang Dojae had relied on school meals for lunch and meals provided by the agency for dinner.

After becoming an adult, he also worked part-time jobs to cover living expenses.

But recently, he had to quit all his part-time jobs to prepare for an evaluation just before his debut.

Kang Dojae had endured, thinking he just needed to hold on a little longer.

Shaking his head, Dojae opened the door of a shabby shop that caught his eye.

Ding.

Contrary to the clear sound of the bell, the shop was filled with the musty smell of old dust.

Though it wasn’t poorly managed, the smell was inevitable with so many old items around.

“Anyone here?”

Dojae asked, carefully looking around the quiet shop.

Only then did a middle-aged man with a cap pulled low over his face appear from the back room.

“What do you want?”

“May I browse your shop?”

The shop owner eyed Dojae suspiciously, looking him up and down.

Unlike the usual middle-aged customers, Dojae was a very young student.

“What are you looking for? Whatever it is, you probably won’t find it here.”

“You’re jumping to conclusions.”

Despite his innocent and young appearance, his tone was firm.

Grumbling, the shop owner reluctantly let Dojae browse around, although he himself sat down to play a game of Omok on his phone. (Gomoku in japanese)

Dojae started to thoroughly inspect the shop.

He had already glanced at the items in the display window as he entered.

As expected, there were quite a few decent items.

‘Surprisingly, about half are good items, and the other half are junk.’

The Korean Empire had preserved many artifacts from the Three Kingdoms period to the Joseon Dynasty, as it had not suffered significant losses from the Japanese occupation or wars.

Most of these artifacts were Imperial possessions, and the Imperial Family used them to operate museums and art galleries.

As a result, the research on various Imperial artworks was at a very high level, and Dojae, who had a deep interest in the arts, had a hobby of collecting such pieces.

‘Contemporary art in South Korea is somewhat different from that of the Korean Empire… but when it comes to ancient art, I might know more than any researcher here.’

Dojae decided to make use of this knowledge.

“Did your father collect the items in this shop?”

Dojae asked as he meticulously examined the shop. The owner responded without looking up from his game.

“I inherited the shop from my father, so about half of the items were collected by him.”

“I see. How much is this?”

Dojae pointed to a white porcelain jar displayed at the front.

The shop owner glanced at the jar and let out a small, deflated laugh.

“You’ve got an eye for this stuff. But that’s way out of your price range, kid.”

The owner held up three fingers.

“…30 million?”

“Haha! If only. It’s 300,000 won. Got 300,000?”

The owner chuckled.

“……”

In reality, he didn’t even have 30,000 won to spend, let alone 300,000 won. Kang Dojae’s check card had only about 200,000 won of his allowance left for the month.

But that wasn’t the problem.

To Dojae’s eye, that white porcelain jar was worth at least 3 million won, not 300,000.

‘How unfortunate… At least it’s recognized for its aesthetic value.’

Dojae shook his head inwardly.

The jar was the work of a yet-to-be-identified famous potter from the Joseon Dynasty.

Research on artists active in the northern region had stalled after Korea was divided following the Korean War.

Once the creator of this piece is identified, its value will skyrocket.

“We don’t know when reunification will happen, but hold onto this carefully.”

“Oh, why are you talking about reunification all of a sudden? You think Kim Jong-un would like this pottery? Student… are you a spy?”

The owner chuckled at his own joke, oblivious to the hardening expression on Dojae’s face.

‘From being an Imperial to being called a spy… I didn’t see that coming.’

Dojae frowned and turned away without responding. His gaze landed on a corner filled with small, miscellaneous items.

“This! How much is this?”

“Let me see… Ah, that one…”

Gulp. Dojae swallowed involuntarily.

With his knowledge, Dojae could identify national treasures. However, finding artifacts of such scale would require reporting them to the state unless he turned into a grave robber.

‘This item is worth mere 200,000 won now, but a reappraisal could multiply its value several times over. That’s what I’ve been looking for.’

It seemed like it was right in front of him.

The store owner, who had shuffled closer, inspected the teacup Dojae had pointed out with his cloudy eyes.

Once again, he held up three fingers.

“This.”

“Three… hundred?”

“Why do you think so big, student? Are you from a wealthy family? You’re handsome, but three hundred, really? It’s thirty thousand won, thirty thousand.”

Ahem, the owner cleared his throat, feeling a twinge of conscience even as he named the price.

The jade-colored teacup Dojae had picked was something the owner had bought on a trip to Beijing for a few thousand won.

When Dojae looked at him intently, the owner averted his gaze. That gaze was sharp and intense.

“You’re not asking for a discount on thirty thousand won, are you?”

“Have you had it appraised?”

Of course, it wouldn’t be lying around here if it had been appraised.

Dojae asked just in case.

“Appraisal? Why would I get this appraised? It’s obviously a modern piece.”

Given its pristine condition, it was understandable why he thought it was mass-produced.

‘But this is definitely a Qing Dynasty imperial porcelain.’

It was worth at least ten million won.

As a member of the imperial family, Dojae always prioritized the nation’s interest over personal gain, but he felt a slight pang of guilt.

‘But… I have no choice.’

He had to survive.

An Imperial Family member might be Imperial in a palace, but now he was someone who worried about transportation costs once his allowance ran out.

“I’ll take all the teacups.”

“All three?”

“Yes.”

“Alright, wait a moment. I’ll pack them for you.”

Making a profit several times over the price, the store owner quickly fetched a bag with a bright expression, different from when Dojae first entered.

“Here. Ninety thousand won.”

“Thank you, sir.”

As Dojae accepted the poorly wrapped bag of teacups, he glanced at the excited owner who knew nothing.

“Why, why? You’re not asking for a discount now, are you?”

“…No. Um… May I use that for a moment?”

“Why all of a sudden… Sure, go ahead!”

The owner was puzzled but agreed readily when Dojae asked to use the paper and brush pen behind the counter.

He was generally accommodating to customers who had bought something unless they asked for a discount.

Dojae placed a notebook on the table and started writing with the brush pen.

It was a fluid motion, without hesitation.

“What are you writing? You write Chinese characters well for a student. Did you study calligraphy?”

“I learned a bit.”

[姜祹在]

“Kang… Do… Jae? Is that your name, student?”

“Yes. I’m giving it to you as a token of gratitude.”

“What? What kind of gratitude is this…”

The owner muttered, thinking the student was strange. But as he looked at the characters Dojae had written, he mumbled in surprise.

“Seems like you’ve practiced a lot. This resembles Anpyeong Daegun’s calligraphy.”

“I hear that often.”

Anpyeong Daegun was one of the most famous calligraphers of the Joseon Dynasty.

Dojae was indeed regarded within the imperial family as one of the closest descendants to Anpyeong Daegun.

“Sometime… someday, when I become famous, this will have significant value.”

The owner wanted to dismiss it as nonsense, but Dojae’s eyes were too earnest.

In his dark eyes, there was a glimmer like that of high-quality art.

Because of this, the owner carefully put away the paper Dojae had given him.

***

Dojae headed home after getting the teacups appraised.

He was confident that their value was enough to support him for a while.

‘The primary problem is solved… now what.’

In truth, Dojae hadn’t made any definite plans after leaving New Entertainment.

Being selected as a debut member meant he was somewhat recognized by New Entertainment, so he considered auditioning for the other two major agencies.

But he wondered if they would accept him.

‘Each of the three agencies has a distinct style, and it’s an unwritten rule that trainees who have trained for a long time at one agency are rarely accepted by others.’

At least, that’s what Dojae knew.

‘Still, I should give it a shot. In the music industry, planning is as important as talent… hmm.’

There were many agencies, but few that could provide good songs.

Lost in thought, Dojae found himself walking all the way to City Hall.

“Ahhhhh-!”

“Oppa!”

The deafening screams that shook Dojae’s eardrums caught his attention.

Looking towards the source of the noise, he saw a stage set up in front of the City Hall Plaza.