Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols

‘Let’s decide on positions first.’

 

That was the first thing I said to the members when I arrived at the dormitory last night.

 

‘Position?’

 

Lee Cheonghyeon asked back.

 

Given that we had all learned everything together—from making Americanos to blending smoothies, his question was understandable.

 

But doing it that way would make customers wait 40 minutes for their drinks. There was a reason why the division of labor had become more sophisticated in modern society.

 

I divided the roles based on the performances the members had shown.

 

First, I assigned Jeong Seongbin to handle the counter and take orders, considering his natural ability to engage with people with a smile and his attention to detail.

 

Next, Lee Cheonghyeon was tasked with comparing prepared drinks to the order slips and calling out customer names, utilizing his excellent memory and quick thinking.

 

Kang Kiyeon and Choi Jeho were paired together to handle the preparation of smoothies and tea-based drinks. Since they complemented each other well, it made sense to assign them tasks as a team rather than individually.

 

And Park Joowoo…

 

‘Joowoo, your task is just to make shots all day.’

 

‘What if the customers order a lot of drinks that don’t contain coffee…?’

 

Not gonna happen. Even if you only make Americanos all day, you’ll barely manage to keep up.

 

Lastly, I decided to take on tasks like making coffee-based drinks other than Americanos, taking out the trash cans, and doing the dishes if Choi Jeho and Kang Kiyeon couldn’t keep up.

 

As expected, as soon as we entered the café, everyone took their assigned positions and started checking the supplies.

 

“Did you plan where to stand like this in advance?” 

 

The PD asked Jeong Seongbin, who was sticking a memo on the POS machine.

 

“Yes! Iwol hyung found an image of the cafe’s interior yesterday, so we discussed it in advance!”

 

Maybe because it was their first official variety show, they were very disciplined. I was about to give them some mental kudos, but the camera suddenly turned to me.

 

“Mr. Iwol, how did you know the cafe was here? We only told you the general location yesterday.”

 

“I narrowed it down to open-kitchen cafés in the area you mentioned, ones that usually employ at least three part-timers. Since you said it would be event-style, I focused on cafés with entrances facing the main road.”

 

“You found this place just from that?”

 

Well, I wasn’t 100% sure at first. I shortlisted about ten places, narrowed it down to the top three, and checked out all three interiors just in case.

 

Worried that explaining all of that in detail would make it seem like I was bragging too much about something trivial, I just brushed it off.

 

Just then, an alarm rang to mark the start of the business preparation.

 

By rule, production staff intervention stopped from the moment prep time began. And that moment was now.

 

I put on my apron and prayed silently.

 

I had an absurd wish: May all the workers going to work in Gangnam today would be in good spirits.

 

* * *

 

“Maknae.”

 

“Yes, PD-nim!”

 

“Didn’t you say that they’ve never worked part-time before?”

 

The main PD asked in disbelief. The youngest writer glanced toward the kitchen and gave a slight nod.

 

“Then why are they so quick and efficient?”

 

Spark was so calm and efficient that it was hard to believe that their average age was barely twenty.

 

‘I thought they were unusual from the moment they all showed up in matching black T-shirts.’

 

Since they had rented out a private café, there were no uniforms provided. 

 

The production team had assumed that, being an idol group where the individual appeal was important, they would naturally come dressed in something appropriately stylish yet neat.

 

However, Spark showed up in black short-sleeved T-shirts, breaking expectations.

 

On top of that, they had somehow acquired six identical aprons. From a distance, they looked exactly like the café’s official staff.

 

‘Why did you bring aprons?’

 

‘It felt disrespectful to use the cafe supplies carelessly.’

 

…Was what they said. Their preparedness was on another level.

 

Up until this point, the production crew was only a little surprised, but not too flustered.

 

After all, anyone could have a plan. Until reality hit.

 

And soon enough, office workers who were about to start work at 8 o’clock came rushing in.

 

This was the moment when the production team filmed the cast panicking, struggling to take orders.

 

Or so it was supposed to be.

 

“Let me confirm your order! Was it an iced Americano?”

 

“Seongbin hyung, from now on, let customers know there’s at least a 10-minute wait when taking orders!”

 

“Ah, three iced Americanos are coming now…!”

 

Behind the bar, drinks were being made with the precision of a factory assembly line.

 

And that wasn’t all.

 

“Choi Jeho, are your hands free? Open a new carton of milk for me.”

 

“I don’t have work right now, does anyone need help with anything?”

 

“Kiyeon, could you wipe up the coffee grounds over here…?”

 

When work piled up on one side, the other members would rush over to help and then quickly return to their original positions. 

 

‘The members are good at communicating.’

 

The sound director, who was listening to the series of conversations, was impressed.

 

Even amidst the chaos of a crowded café, they always made sure to clearly call out the name of the person they were addressing and specify their requests as much as possible. It was to avoid any need for repetitions.

 

Kim Iwol, who referred to himself as being in the odd-job position, also had impeccable timing when stepping in.

 

Kim Iwol would rustle around the kitchen and come back every 30 minutes to produce endless Americanos with Park Joowoo.

 

Sure enough, right on cue, Kim Iwol came back, calling out toward the kitchen.

 

“I’ve filled the paper cups and washed the dishcloths, so use them as needed.  I left the folded carriers in the break room because there wasn’t space out here!”

 

“Yes!”

 

As soon as Kim Iwol finished speaking, customers came rushing in again.

 

‘Does he have some kind of customer-attracting superpower?’

 

The main PD couldn’t help but think that Kim Iwol had an unusual knack for getting buried in work. But then, it dawned on him that it wasn’t just luck.

 

While many workplaces were experimenting with flexible working hours, Korea still had fixed start times. 

 

Although 9-to-6 was the standard, many places staggered their start times by 30-minute intervals beginning at 7 or 8 a.m.

 

Every time Kim Iwol emerged, like a cuckoo clock announcing the hour, it coincided with a fresh wave of customers—timing that was far from accidental.

 

The production crew, who started filming early in the morning to create a picture that said ‘Those people are working hard,’ had not even considered this point.

 

As the war-like rush finally eased around 10 a.m., the café began to settle down.

 

It was finally time to catch their breath…

 

“Who’s eating lunch early? Come grab your lunch boxes.”

 

“Me, Kang Kiyeon, and Seongbin hyung!”

 

…It was also time for half of the staff to eat lunch.

 

* * *

 

After distributing lunchboxes to his dongsaeng, Kim Iwol took over the POS system from Jeong Seongbin.

 

Seizing the moment when the kitchen cleared out, the PD entered the kitchen with the camera crew and asked.

 

“Is Mr. Iwol going to take orders?”

 

“Yes. Seongbin left some notes, so I think I can manage.”

 

In the place Kim Iwol pointed, there was a memo that Jeong Seongbin had put up before opening.

 

The note neatly outlined scripts for taking orders, the types of coffee beans, and final confirmation phrases for orders.

 

Kim Iwol handled the occasional orders without any trouble.

 

Occasionally, there were customers ordering multiple drinks for office errands, but with Park Joowoo in charge of Americanos and Choi Jeho handling other beverages, there was no need to call back anyone from their lunch break.

 

“Is there a reason for deciding the lunch order in advance?”

 

“Yes. Our members are still growing, so it’s important they don’t skip meals.”

 

Kim Iwol smiled. It was a smile that made you think, ‘He’s good at social life’.

 

The afternoon was twice as hectic as the morning.

 

First, office workers returning from lunch swarmed the café.

 

The rumor about the free event had also spread. People who had heard about it from their coworkers came to visit, crowding the cafe.

 

The production team had put a cafe employee on standby in case of such a situation, but Spark handled it with calm precision.

 

With Jeong Seongbin informing customers about wait times in advance, those in a rush naturally left without placing orders.

 

The remaining customers, aware they would need to wait, placed their orders without complaints.

 

‘Still, the drinks came out in 10 minutes.’

 

With each member handling a specific task, they seemed to have become more skilled, and everyone’s work speed increased.

 

The only difference was Kim Iwol’s movement pattern.

 

Kim Iwol, who used to go back and forth between odd jobs and Park Joowoo in the morning, was now busily moving between the refrigerator and the blender.

 

“The mango yogurt smoothie and shine muscatade you ordered is ready!”

 

The menus that Lee Cheonghyeon shouted out were also much more diverse than in the morning.

 

The main PD glanced between the array of colorful drinks laid out in front of Lee Cheonghyeon and Kim Iwol, who was pulling a fresh pack of frozen strawberries from the industrial refrigerator.

 

‘They’re… really good at this.’

 

It seemed that new cast members would be added to the ‘Casts Who Conquered Challenge Life.zip’ video soon.

 

* * *

 

The filming of Challenge Life ended without a hitch.

 

While Choi Jeho and I were doing the closing cleanup, the guys who had left earlier came back in their casual clothes, surprising us.

 

‘What are you doing here?’

 

‘What do you mean? We’re customers!’

 

‘Owner, please give us four cups of the most popular menu in this cafe!’

 

That was what they said. But when I actually started making an Earl Grey Peach Shake, they freaked out and refused it.

 

Then they started complaining about how dusty the café was and grabbed cleaning tools themselves, finishing up all the tidying.

 

‘What kind of café makes customers work?’

 

‘If you don’t order a drink, you’re not a customer.’

 

After bickering and making closing remarks, it was already 11 PM.

 

I stayed up all night, worried we’d get a call from the company saying, ‘Did you guys have an accident at work?’ But no such call came.

 

So, we thought Spark’s first appearance on a variety show was just a moderate success.

 

“Hey guys.”

 

“What is it?”

 

“Spark’s trending!”

 

“For real?!”

 

Not long after the filming day, on the day our Challenge Life episode was aired.

 

The manager suddenly came into the practice room, so the boys immediately stopped dancing and ran over to him.

 

The word Spark was clearly visible on the manager’s phone screen.

 

Challenge Life Spark

 

1,210 posts

 

Challenge Life buzzer guy

 

2,509 posts

 

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“Wow… Wow!”

 

Lee Cheonghyeon, who was gaining popularity as the ‘Challenge Life buzzer guy’, repeatedly checked the phone in disbelief, his eyes sparkling.

 

Next to him, Choi Jeho squinted slightly as he stared at the screen. Without his glasses, he probably couldn’t make out the text very well.

 

“Looks like scrubbing that blender paid off.”

 

Kang Kiyeon said with a shrug.

 

Jeong Seongbin, who had been silently looking at his phone, also smiled faintly and muttered, “Guess so.”

 

Maybe it was the satisfaction of getting off to a good start without anyone making a mistake.

 

At that time, I had no idea that my own small mistakes were quietly starting to accumulate.