Prince from another dimension becomes an Idol chapter 24

The day of the meeting to decide MOST’s title track had arrived.

Just like the last title track meeting, the same people gathered in the conference room in groups.

“Hello, Team Leader.”

“Director, you’re early today?”

Everyone greeted each other as they found their seats, creating a busy atmosphere in the room.

The first arrivals had a look of determination on their faces, thinking that today the debut title would finally be decided.

Click. The last person to enter the meeting room was Oh Jungho, the founder and president of Kingdom Entertainment.

“Hello, President!”

“President, it’s been a while.”

“President!”

It had been a long time since he had shown up at the company, having delegated operational responsibilities to Vice President Jung Hyeongseok and stayed out of the limelight after Big Boys had established themselves.

Employees and members alike stood up and greeted him warmly.

“Ha ha ha! Good to see you all. It’s been a while! No need to stand up, just take your seats.”

With a hearty laugh, President Oh accepted their greetings.

‘He looks different from what I imagined. In the newspaper, he looked… a bit younger.’

Dojae recalled the time he researched Kingdom Entertainment in New Entertainment.

Contrary to the internet photos where he wore a suit, today he wore traditional Korean hanbok, looking more like a sun-tanned rural grandfather than a company president.

‘Still, discovering composers like Lee Jungyeop and producing outstanding ballad singers like Baek Johee multiple times hasn’t changed.’

President Oh was one of the reasons Dojae had decided to join Kingdom.

Vice President Jung led President Oh to the members.

Starting with Kijoon, the members who knew President Oh greeted him first.

“Hello, President.”

And when it was Heungmin’s turn,

“Oh! Our Heungmin! How have you been?”

“Fine, thanks to you…”

“I’ve been losing sleep for days thinking of a stage name for you.”

Heungmin froze at his words.

The other members also perked up, focusing on President Oh.

“…”

“…”

“What about ‘Lee Sangbak’?”

“…Pardon?”

Heungmin couldn’t hide his expression and asked back.

Next to him, Woochul and Kyuseong bit their lips to stop their laughter, looking up to avoid eye contact.

“Or… how about ‘Dragon Lee’? Doesn’t it sound cool? Honestly, I like this one better.”

“Dragon Lee…”

Heungmin repeated the name that could possibly be his stage name, stunned.

‘He’s really fixated on dragons and tigers.’

Dojae immediately understood President Oh’s intention.

Given the name D&T, he was clearly obsessed with dragons and tigers.

‘Once he gets fixated on something, he strives to achieve it no matter what.’

This was President Oh’s secret to success.

There was no falsehood in the newspaper articles.

By sheer luck, most of the things he pushed forward with had succeeded.

Even in the idol business, which everyone said would fail, he had made it happen.

‘I just hope he doesn’t insist on those stage names.’

Lee Sangbak was odd, and Dragon Lee might be mocked as an imitation of the famous singer H.Dragon.

“Um, President.”

“Yes, tell me! Which one do you prefer? Hmm?”

“I was thinking… how about just using ‘Min’ as my stage name?”

“Min?”

The joyful atmosphere dissipated, and President Oh looked disappointed.

“Yes, I’d like to keep the name my parents gave me as much as possible.”

Heungmin had thought for days about how to avoid the names President Oh would come up with.

Heungmin watched President Oh, waiting for his response.

President Oh’s deliberation was brief.

“Hmm… well, since it’s the name your parents gave you… alright! Let’s go with MIN!”

“Thank you!”

Heungmin breathed a sigh of relief, having been tense at the thought of being called Lee Sangbak or Dragon Lee.

‘Nothing works better than using parents as an excuse in this peaceful society…’

It was Dojae’s idea, so Heungmin shot a grateful glance at him.

Soon after, President Oh finished greeting all the members and took the head seat.

“Shall we start the main discussion now?”

With President Oh’s words, the meeting officially began.

Tension and anticipation filled the room.

“Since we’re deciding the debut title track… I want to hear the members’ opinions first. After all, it will be your song and you’ll be the ones performing on stage.”

At President Oh’s suggestion, the members exchanged glances.

***

Up until the early hours of the morning, the members’ opinions were divided.

Given the importance of the decision, no one was willing to back down, nor push too hard, making consensus difficult.

Thinking that at least among themselves they needed to reach an agreement, the members had discussed it all night after practice.

At least Kijoon, as the leader, had a firm opinion.

“I still think we should go with ‘I Am Different’ as the title track, like I said in the last meeting. ‘Dynamic’ doesn’t showcase our ‘team’ well enough.”

“Isn’t it too dismissive just because it’s your song? I think ‘Dynamic’ shows us off well. Who knows us better than you? Although, for the rap parts, ‘I Am Different’ is good.”

While Kijoon was set on ‘I Am Different,’ Heungmin was leaning more towards ‘Dynamic’ as time passed.

As Kijoon and Heungmin debated each song, Kyuseong cautiously offered his opinion.

“…Both songs are really good. Maybe we should release both, like Dojae suggested.”

“‘Dynamic’ can be saved for the next album. Or used as a b-side track.”

The other side disagreed with the standard.

They believed there was no need to go out of their way to make the title track.

“That’s different. A debut title is a one-time thing and it’s special!”

Woochul countered.

Despite this, he expressed concern.

“But if we do both songs… will we have to extend practice time? We’re already practicing twelve hours a day.”

Heungmin, who usually had something to say to Woochul’s worries, surprisingly half-agreed this time.

It wasn’t just about increasing practice time.

“The practice time is one thing, but can we really perfect both songs? That’s also a problem.”

Growing after their debut was important, but they needed to present a polished performance right from the start.

Heungmin worried whether they could practice both songs to near perfection.

“Why not? We can do it!”

Louis, who had been silent, suddenly shouted.

In fact, Louis had always planned to follow Dojae’s opinion without question.

Seeing the youngest member’s enthusiastic behavior, Heungmin’s serious expression softened into a small laugh.

“Having two title tracks is just one opinion. Both songs are good…”

Dojae spoke, hoping the members wouldn’t feel too burdened, as he shared Heungmin’s concerns.

“Well… I am worried, but if the company approves it, I’d like to try having two title tracks. It would be sensational. Really.”

“Geez. Do you want to be sensational like Son Heungmin?”

“Can you joke at a time like this?”

“I don’t know. If practice time increases, I might want to run away. But… I do want to try it. It would be the first time a rookie debut album has two title tracks.”

Woochul grumbled but admitted.

Dojae’s idea had sparked a sense of challenge among the members.

Gradually, their opinions were leaning towards having two title tracks.

“It’s a rare chance to have two such good songs. Let’s not waste this opportunity.”

Louis added firmly.

By dawn, the members’ opinions were unified.

***

“…So, if possible, we’d like to try both songs.”

Kijoon conveyed the members’ decision.

Team Leader Jung Heeyoung and the Planning Team 2 staff nodded with serious expressions.

The staff’s opinions were similar.

From planning onward, everything would require double the effort and time, if not more.

It wouldn’t be easy, but they also had a desire to try something new and break the mold.

“…Actually, Planning Team 2 feels the same. It’s rare to have two songs good enough that you can’t let either go, and a two-title strategy is a new approach.”

With the members and staff in agreement, the issue now was the funding to make it happen.

The decision was now in the hands of the higher-ups.

“A two-track strategy… As I said, the company is willing to invest the best in MOST. We happen to have some surplus funds too.”

Vice President Jung Hyeongseok calculated the costs after hearing Dojae’s idea.

After a brief pause, he continued.

“But… it’s also true that there’s a significant risk. I’m worried about the tight preparation period with this new strategy. What do you think, President?”

President Oh Jungho, who sat with an inscrutable smile, turned to Dojae instead.

“Ha ha. I’m curious about what the person who first proposed this idea thinks.”

All eyes in the meeting room turned to Dojae.

“I…”

Despite the tense moment before a major decision, Dojae remained calm.

“I trusted in everything. I trusted my ears that heard the good songs.”

“Oh… I like that confidence.”

“I also believed that if we were determined to take on the challenge, the members would manage it somehow.”

Having spent over six months together, he knew the members had both the talent and the perseverance.

“And finally, I believed that Kingdom would see this potential and not hesitate to invest.”

“Ha ha!”

President Oh burst into hearty laughter at the mention of trust in the company.

“Actually, no matter what everyone thought, the moment I heard about the two-title idea, I knew we had to push it. Do you know why?”

“…Why?”

“The day I decided to form the next group, I had a dream of a dragon and a tiger appearing!”

The room fell silent.

Oh Jungho was known to sometimes rely excessively on his instincts and even superstitions, despite his evident competence.

He was aware of this flaw and knew the idol industry was too young to rely solely on gut feelings, which is why he had stepped back.

But it was also undeniable that his survival strategy in the unpredictable entertainment industry had worked.

“Is there a better auspicious dream than that?! I thought it was a sign and wanted to include dragons and tigers in the group somehow, but it didn’t work out. But now… two title tracks! Isn’t that like presenting both the dragon and the tiger?!”

“……”

“Given this level of ambition, it’s right to take on the challenge as you wish! Even if we fail, let’s fail big!”

The staff flinched at the last remark, but it was a fitting response from their bulldozer-like president.

“You’ve picked very spirited members and staff. I could completely retire now.”

President Oh gave a proud smile to Vice President Jung Hyeongseok, who smiled awkwardly.

There was no need for further discussion.

The situation allowed it, and they had a bulldozer president both then and now.

As soon as the decision was made, everything proceeded quickly.

It marked the beginning of a truly hellish schedule.

This was because it was like working on two albums at the same time.

However, everyone was eager to see the fruits of this effort.

The members also gave their all to prove that the choice was the right one.

Of course, there were things that their efforts alone couldn’t accomplish.

“Is this… going to be okay for us?”

“It doesn’t seem okay.”

Worry was written all over the members’ faces as they prepared for the music video shoot.