Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols

Here was a quick glimpse of Spark in Challenge Life.

 

≫ As expected

 

The idol ranked number 1 for having an unusually sharp work ethic!

 

└ I don’t know about anything else, but Kaeseulbin and Idal definitely have worked part-time at a cafe before

 

≫ 2X05XX Challenge Life Spark

 

If the cafe has these kinds of part-time workers, I’d go every dayㅠㅠ

 

└ The smoothie that Emperor Jeho makes? I could even eat it in the freezer

 

≫ As a current cafe part-timer, I really enjoyed watching Challenge Life this week…!

 

I was wondering if a cafe part-timer episode would ever come out, I’m so happy that it finally did

 

I’m surprised that Sparks are so good at their jobs…

 

They’re way better than our new employees at our cafe… Boss, please change the part-timers

 

└ Thank you for the kind words for our kidsㅎㅎ They’re good at their jobs, but they’re also good at their main job! If you don’t mind, please come watch their stageㅎㅎ

 

└ Honestly, it was just average;;; The surprise seemed a bit exaggerated

 

└ Hey, they did a great job! It’s not easy for a beginner to not make a mistake in the drink when they have so many customersㅎㅎ

 

└ Since it’s a show, they probably cut out any complaints or mistakesㅎ  I think they edited the show to really push the ‘hard worker’ image to boost the ratings because of the idol,ㅎ The production team’s intentions were so obvious, so I wasn’t really into it

 

└  F*ck, are people already unfairly criticizing our kids…? They’ve grown so much that they’re even seen as driving up the ratings…?”

 

≫ Everyone else is like, ‘Wow, they’re good with their hands~’

 

While Iwol and Cheonghyeonㅋㅋㅋㅋthey’re practically human calculators!

 

PD’s expression when he saw them memorizing drinks = my expression

 

└ The kids really have good memoriesㅋㅋ  Iwol’s ability to memorize subway routes wasn’t for nothing.

 

└ Please also give a shoutout to Kiyeon, the dishwashing masterㅠㅠㅠ He’s so cute, he’s obsessed with water stains… but it’s so endearing when he’s cleaning.

 

Everyone was mentioned, and no one was evaluated negatively.

 

It was the best possible publicity.

 

In an idol group where multiple members work together, this was a sensitive issue.

 

Because when a specific member got attention, your favorite member’s opportunities were diminished.

 

In the past, Sparklers used to seriously keep each other in check.

 

As the group’s opportunities to be on screen diminished due to various setbacks, there was a kind of rivalry among fans who wanted to grab even the slightest chance for their favorite member to shine.

 

‘Maybe if the members were shown getting along, it wouldn’t have happened, but well.’

 

So up until now, I’d been faithful to giving everyone a chance to shine.

 

Making sure everyone got equal screen time, equal opportunities to speak, etc.

 

And I had no doubt that it was producing good results.

 

“Iwol, it’s good to talk about the members, but can you talk about yourself a little more?”

 

Until I heard this at the fan signing event.

 

* * *

 

It wasn’t the first time I’d met someone who picked Kim Iwol as their bias.

 

I always wondered, ‘What could they possibly like about me, out of all six members?’ But that wasn’t the point right now.

 

Those who loved Kim Iwol had something in common.

 

≫ Someone please teach me how to love Spark even more than Iwol does

 

Even during personal live streams, he would always tell where the members were

 

There were many times when he couldn’t take his own pictures because he was busy taking pictures of the members

 

He practiced the longest, but he said he had to, to avoid inconveniencing the members

 

I like how kind he isㅠ

 

But honestly, if someone asks ‘Where is Jeho?’ during his solo streams one more time, I might snap

 

For some reason, they saw me as this kind-hearted eldest brother.

 

They viewed everything I did through an incredibly positive lens. To the point that I often wondered if I deserved such generous praise.

 

When it came to fans who liked Spark as a whole or the other members individually, it was clear what I could do for them:

 

I could work to keep the group from falling into a slump, or I could create plenty of content to fill the gaps the others hadn’t yet covered.

 

But…

 

‘What should I do for those who like Kim Iwol?’

 

…I couldn’t help but think this way.

 

Photos? Honestly, my face was hardly good enough to post as an idol selfie.

 

Covers? I’d only been learning to sing for a short time—there’s no way my singing would sound good.

 

Dancing… Not even worth mentioning.

 

So, I figured the best I could do was show up on the official fan cafe every day and chat as often as possible.

 

“My story?”

 

“Yes!”

 

The fan in front of me nodded passionately at my response.

 

“Honestly, anything you talk about is great. But I also want to hear what you like and what you did today, things like that.”

 

Even as we talked, the fan’s eyes were fixed on me.

 

“Do you mean hobbies or updates about my daily life?”

 

“Exactly! Oh, but that doesn’t mean the anecdotes about the other members aren’t fun. You know?”

 

“Of course. Thank you for being curious about my daily life.”

 

I finished signing with a smile.

 

Then, while jotting down a brief TMI on a post-it note, I thought to myself:

 

What exactly should I do to promote myself?

 

* * *

 

The reason I constantly mentioned the other members even during my solo live streams was simple:

 

The ones who deserved the spotlight were them, and Spark’s fans were fans of those five members.

 

I didn’t think anyone would be curious about what I had to say.

 

But after what happened at the fan signing event, I couldn’t approach my broadcasts the same way. If that was what the fans wanted, I could not help but do it.

 

‘The problem is, who would find the boring daily life of an office worker interesting?’

 

I felt like I was selling a falsely advertised product to the people supporting Kim Iwol. My heart felt heavy.

 

I couldn’t even figure out what to talk about.

 

I even recalled the time Manager Nam’s daughter was obsessively curious about Choi Jeho’s every move—but that was about Choi Jeho.

 

Comparing myself to him, the group’s center and one of the most recognizable members, would be rude.

 

I aimlessly played the members’ self-produced content on auto-repeat, searching for inspiration.

 

My eyes stopped on Lee Cheonghyeon’s piano cover of 『With List』.

 

‘Should I try playing the bass?’

 

Playing bass was one of the few hobbies that felt like a real hobby. It wasn’t too far removed from Spark’s activities, and most importantly, I genuinely enjoyed it.

 

I hadn’t touched it in over a year since becoming a trainee, so I’d need some practice to get back into the groove. But with nearly ten years of experience prior to that, I probably wouldn’t struggle too much.

 

The real problem was not having an instrument. Buying one just to shoot a video felt like a waste of money.

 

‘Should I look into second-hand deals?’

 

The thought of it spiraling into a bigger task made my head hurt. Maybe it’d be better to tell some story about how I couldn’t afford tuition and drop out, rebranding myself as the ultimate clumsy character…

 

“Hyung, what are you watching? Huh, it’s my video.”

 

Just as my eyes were starting to mist up, someone dragged me back to reality by the hair.

 

It was Lee Cheonghyeon, who had just returned to the room.

 

“Are you monitoring my videos? What should I do? It’s so embarrassing.”

 

“It’s not like that. I was thinking about what kind of personal videos I should make, so I looked at them for reference.”

 

I closed my laptop as I spoke.

 

To me, this action signified the end of the conversation, but Lee Cheonghyeon sat on Choi Jeho’s bed across from me and asked.

 

“So? Have you decided on a topic?”

 

“Huh?”

 

“You said you were brainstorming. If someone like you—who never seems to worry about anything—is saying that, it must mean you’re really stuck, right?”

 

His words hit me like a dagger. It was as if a hole had been punched in my chest.

 

Looking at him not showing any signs of leaving, I said.

 

“That’s true. I don’t know what I should do to fill 10 minutes by myself.”

 

“Hyung does talk about us a lot. Oh, what about work?”

 

“I want to leave that out as much as possible.”

 

“Uh… Then it’s really difficult. You do nothing but work.”

 

“Are you adding fuel to the fire?”

 

Lee Cheonghyeon burst out laughing at my comment. While I was seriously agonizing over it, he seemed to be enjoying the situation.

 

“Come to think of it, hyung, don’t you have any hobbies? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you actually having fun, even when you’re resting.”

 

Why wouldn’t I have hobbies? I even started reading web novels recently, trying to feel young again.

 

“The only thing I could show is the bass, but I don’t have one, so that’s out too. It’s giving me a headache.”

 

“Bass? There must be a few in the practice room for practice, though?”

 

“What?”

 

Lee Cheonghyeon pointed his finger toward the company building and continued.

 

“You know, on the second floor of the office building, there’s a practice room and a band rehearsal studio for the seniors. They’ve got all the band session instruments there! They’re not as high-end as the ones used for recording, but they’re still decent.”

 

As expected, UA, a music powerhouse, might not be good at management but they had a lot of resources. I was so touched that I felt like crying.

 

* * *

 

As Lee Cheonghyeon said, UA had quite a few instruments.

 

After signing the reservation log in the equipment room, I managed to borrow a bass guitar. Returning to the small practice room and holding the instrument brought about an indescribable feeling.

 

‘I really played a lot when I was a college student.’

 

Though it seemed like I hadn’t played since my voice changed, in truth, I could count on one hand the times I’d picked up the bass since joining the Hanpyeong Industry.

 

Hopefully, I didn’t forget all the fingering techniques. It felt so unfamiliar to touch the strings again that I couldn’t help but laugh.

 

It wasn’t the fanciest bass, as Lee Cheonghyeon had mentioned, but since the one I used before was a standard model, I didn’t feel uncomfortable.

 

Now that I had the instrument, all that was left was the song selection.

 

If what the fans wanted was the TMI insight into the human Kim Iwol, covering Spark’s song didn’t seem like a good choice.

 

So I thought about playing Park Joowoo’s favorite song, as I’d once promised, but then it hit me:

 

No matter what ideas I thought, it all circled back to the group. This must be what people called ‘completely immersed’.

 

But…

 

‘If I’ve never really asserted myself before, maybe staying in the background is just my natural inclination.’

 

Really, my mind was in a mess.