Prince from another dimension becomes an Idol chapter 56

“Your Highness?!”

“…Ugh.”

A stark white wall.

Upon opening his eyes, Dojae felt his body stiff and tried to shift his position.

However, he barely managed a small movement.

After being bedridden for so long, his body wouldn’t respond the way he wanted.

“Your Highness, are you conscious now?”

“….”

He wanted to ask what was going on, but his lips wouldn’t move.

He attempted to prop himself up using his hands, but they lacked strength and he collapsed back onto the bed.

The IV line extending from his wrist was a nuisance.

“Please, Your Highness, don’t try to get up yet. It’s too early.”

Though Chamberlain Kim was as impeccably dressed as ever in his black suit, his face looked incredibly haggard.

He quickly laid Dojae back down, but Dojae’s body remained limp and uncooperative.

It was understandable, given that he had been unconscious for over two years.

“You really are awake, Your Highness.”

Even though Chamberlain Kim could see Dojae moving, he couldn’t believe it.

Since Dojae had lost consciousness, Chamberlain Kim had taken turns with other palace staff to watch over him.

For someone who had followed an elite career path, it was a pointless task.

Everyone thought Chamberlain Kin would apply for a different position, and the higher-ups in the palace even offered to transfer him, but he refused.

Although the royal family operated like a corporation, and a prince was merely a master to serve, Dojae was someone Chamberlain Kim had watched over since childhood.

He wasn’t a parent, but he had often played that role. He wasn’t a sibling, but he had spent more time with Dojae than with anyone else.

He didn’t claim to be as close as family, but as a fellow human being, he had developed a strong bond.

Knowing that someone he cared about had suddenly fallen into a coma, he couldn’t bear the thought of working elsewhere.

“Ugh…”

“Please don’t strain yourself to speak, Your Highness.”

For the first time, Chamberlain Kim felt truly glad that he had stayed by Dojae’s side.

“To think I would witness him waking up like this.”

Switching shifts the previous afternoon had felt like a fateful decision.

At midnight, when Dojae suddenly opened his eyes, it all seemed like destiny.

“I’ll call the doctor immediately.”

Chamberlain spoke with a choked voice, frustrated that the medical team hadn’t arrived despite his earlier summons.

Dojae, still groggy, blinked slowly.

After Chamberlain Kim left the room, Dojae swallowed with difficulty and looked around from his bed.

‘I can tell this is a hospital.’

The room was an enormous single suite.

It had a dining table, sofa, and TV.

If not for the medical equipment and IV line, it could have been mistaken for a hotel room.

‘Why am I in a single room…?’

Being in a hospital was strange enough, but the fact that it was a private room was even more puzzling.

His mother couldn’t afford such a room.

As he looked around, he noticed more oddities.

There were symbols on the walls that he had seen in history books, and the hospital’s name was strange.

‘Imperial Central Medical Center?’

Thinking back, the man in the suit had addressed him as “Your Highness.”

‘Who was that man…?’

His head started to ache, and he squeezed his eyes shut and reopened them.

Just then, Chamberlain Kim returned with the medical team: the attending physician, an assistant, and nurses.

“He’s conscious!”

The attending physician exclaimed in shock when they saw Dojae.

“Please, check his condition.”

At Chamberlain Kim’s urging, the doctor quickly began examining Dojae, checking his heart rate and other vital signs.

“Everything is normal,” the doctor murmured in disbelief.

“Normal?”

“Yes… To have recovered so suddenly… I’m sorry, but the cause of his coma was unknown, and similarly, we can’t explain his sudden recovery. But all his vitals are stable.”

Not only Kim but also the other medical staff looked astonished.

“His pulse is a bit slow, but it should improve soon. This is a miracle, Your Highness.”

As he explained Dojae’s condition, the doctor bowed to him. The rest of the medical team followed suit.

Dojae, bewildered, opened his mouth to speak but couldn’t form any words.

Chamberlain Kim urgently spoke to an assigned palace attendant.

“Contact the palace via the hotline.”

“Yes, sir!”

Dojae couldn’t make sense of the situation.

‘Is this a new form of torment? Even being in the hospital…’

He recalled his last memory, and his face contorted in pain as his chest tightened.

“Are you alright?!”

Seeing his distress, Chamberlain Kim panicked.

‘I wanted to die.’

It was the day of the song evaluation for the debut group.

The desire to die was overwhelming.

He no longer wanted to be a singer, a dream he had held for so long.

The years of effort felt meaningless.

Life at the agency had been hellish for the past year.

The bullying intensified daily, and the humiliation he faced was worse than the physical strain of practice.

Poverty wasn’t his fault.

His slightly reserved personality wasn’t a crime.

He wasn’t just timid; he was an ordinary person.

Sunghwan, who hit him without hesitation, and the friends who pretended not to see.

Sometimes, they even joined Sunghwan in mocking him.

And Yoo Myeongwoo, who always laughed behind them.

‘Why live? Just die.’

Just before the song evaluation, Yoo Myeongwoo mouthed those words to Dojae.

Just die.

The shape of the lips was unmistakable.

“Am I dead… or is this a dream?”

Tormented by the overwhelming pain, Dojae was confused.

“It’s okay… it’s okay.”

As the pain subsided, Dojae finally managed to speak.

His vocal cords, unused for a long time, felt sore, but that too soon passed.

“Are you sure?”

“…Yes.”

Just as Kang Dojae was about to ask where he was, someone spoke.

“His Majesty the Emperor and Her Majesty the Empress will be here shortly.”

“…His Majesty the Emperor?”

“Your Highness. All you need to do now is regain your health.”

At that moment, Dojae caught sight of his reflection in the window.

It was undoubtedly him, but something seemed different. Something had changed.

“During the two years you’ve been lying here, Their Majesties, the Crown Prince, the Princesses, and even the citizens of the Empire have all been deeply worried.”

Two years? He had been lying here for two years?

Stunned, Dojae opened his mouth in shock.

“In that time, His Majesty’s thoughts have changed greatly.”

“……”

“You don’t have to worry about anything anymore.”

“You don’t have to give up on your dreams, Your Highness.”

Chamberlain Kim’s words echoed slowly in Dojae’s ears.

‘My… dream?’

For a moment, it seemed like fireworks were bursting outside the window.

It felt like he could hear cheerful songs.

*

“Hyung!”

Suddenly.

At the sound of Louis’s clear voice, Dojae opened his eyes.

“……!”

“Hyung, wake up! We have to go now.”

“What…….”

Dojae looked around.

The colorful fireworks that had decorated the sky were no longer visible.

The place where Dojae was now was the waiting room at the MVS [Year-End Music Festival] concert hall.

‘I clearly saw the Imperial Central Medical Center…….’

Was it a dream?

Although he had visited the Imperial Central Medical Center for events, he had no memory of being hospitalized.

‘Unless it’s a serious condition, the physicians usually come to the palace…….’

Feeling slightly dazed, Dojae rubbed his forehead.

“What happened to me?”

When Dojae, still not fully alert, asked blankly, Louis answered with a worried expression.

“Hyung, you suddenly staggered right when it turned January 1st.”

“Oh…….”

“I should have realized then.”

According to Louis, Dojae only staggered briefly but acted normally afterward.

Heungmin, who saw Dojae wake up, added that it seemed Dojae couldn’t remember because he endured it with his willpower.

“And with about three performances left, we came to the waiting room to wait…. Then you suddenly!”

“Suddenly?”

“You collapsed.”

“I collapsed?”

“Yes! We thought you had fainted.”

The MOST waiting room was in chaos, and Manager Kim Seokchul quickly called for the medical staff.

The medical team, who had been on standby just in case, rushed to the waiting room to check Dojae’s condition.

They then looked at Manager Kim Seokchul and the tearful MOST members with a puzzled expression.

“They said you had fallen asleep.”

“Asleep?”

“Who falls asleep like that? We were so shocked. So shocked!”

“Yeah, Dojae. We were all sleep-deprived, but…. were you unable to sleep at night? You’re not worried about anything, right?”

“No, I’m fine.”

Dojae shook his head at the two who were worried about him.

To suddenly fall asleep like that in the waiting room.

Even as he heard the explanation, Dojae couldn’t believe it.

‘But somehow…….’

He had a suspicion.

That it might be related to the Empire and ‘Kang Dojae’—an instinctive connection.

‘As I thought. Kang Dojae is over there.’

It was an almost certain guess, but confirming it cleared away the lingering unease like sand in his shoe, leaving him feeling refreshed.

Although the place had been a medical center.

‘Are you conscious now, Your Highness?’

He vaguely remembered hearing Chamberlain Kim’s voice.

Though he couldn’t know what happened next, he could roughly guess the situation.

‘Kang Dojae remained unconscious even after their bodies swapped.’

It seemed there was a difference in the time their souls crossed dimensions.

Both had strong desires, but while Lee Dojae had a persistent wish to sing, Kang Dojae’s desire was to die.

That desire might have subdued his consciousness.

‘And it seems he woke up only today.’

In any case, it was fortunate that he woke up.

“Your tension must have released after finishing the last award ceremony stage.”

Dojae turned his head at the voice coming from his right.

It was Manager Kim Seokchul.

As he said, MOST’s schedule was empty until February after today’s, or rather yesterday’s, award ceremony.

There was only one festival-style stage in February where the singers gathered to have fun.

Even though it wasn’t because his tension had released, Dojae nodded as if it were and said.

“Sorry for causing you unnecessary worry.”

“No, it’s a relief that you’re not sick.”

For a moment, Dojae thought of Chamberlain Kim.

‘If Kang Dojae had been unconscious for so long, he must have been very worried.’

But there was no time to dwell on it.

Dojae quickly changed his clothes and left the waiting room with the members.

On the way to the dorm, Dojae and the members rejoiced in their achievement of winning two rookie awards at the [Year-End Music Festival].

It was a great start to the new year.

*

With two rookie trophies standing side by side.

The members, who were enjoying a sweet rest, received shocking news just two days later.