Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols

Kang Kiyeon continued speaking, his eyes fixed on the floor.

 

“I’m not just making assumptions.”

 

“…”

 

“Jeho hyung, you lack enthusiasm for group activities, don’t you? You know what I’m talking about, right?”

 

Choi Jeho seemed to have an inkling. It was something even an onlooker on a KTX train could see.

 

Before we even debuted, hardships and adversities were pouring in like a tidal wave. Life indeed wasn’t easy.

 

As I watched the relationships crumbling like sandcastles, something came to mind.

 

It was the ‘stick function’ mentioned under the ‘new task’.

 

Since it was labeled as a function, there might be something helpful about it.

 

Praying inwardly, I pressed the task page that appeared as if on cue.

 

At the same time, the members’ movements froze as if time had stopped. A new explanation appeared.

 

I quickly read through the text, worried that these guys might get leg cramps if this went on too long.

 

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[SYSTEM] ‘Stick function’ is being notified to ‘subordinate’.

 

▷ Supports real-time monitoring of team members’ cooperation status.

 

▷ Information on the relationships of members bound by the stick will be disclosed irregularly based on KPI achievement performance.

 

▷ You can create a connection by selecting team members and writing a proper combination name.

 

+

 

The fact that this function appeared now probably meant I should connect Choi Jeho and Kang Kiyeon.

 

I dragged their names floating in the air into the box in front of me, and an empty square appeared.

 

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[SYSTEM] Please write a combination name.

 

▶ [        ]

 

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Without hesitation, I wrote ‘Oldest-Youngest Line’.

 

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[SYSTEM] Improper combination name

 

▶ Reason: The factual relationship does not match the combination name.

 

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And it was rejected in an instant.

 

“Why?”

 

I asked, but there was no answer.

 

Ridiculous. It was the official name that fans used to call them, so how could it reject it?

 

I slowly reread the reason for the rejection. Then I realized what the problem was.

 

‘Did Choi Jeho stop being the eldest because I came in?’

 

Strictly speaking, if we considered our birthdays, I was born in February and Choi Jeho in November, so he wasn’t the oldest now.

 

Who knew memorizing Choi Jeho’s birthday would come in handy like this?

 

After that, I wrote over ten combination names, all of which were rejected.

 

The reasons for the rejection were varied.

 

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[SYSTEM] Improper combination name.

 

▶ Reason: Insincere

 

[SYSTEM] Improper combination name.

 

▶ Reason: Meaningless and simplistic

 

[SYSTEM] Improper combination name.

 

▶ Reason: Excessive malice detected

 

+

 

The difficulty of the evaluation was sky-high. Naming these pairs made me feel like I should open a naming center.

 

Finding a nickname moderately original, affectionate, and cute was as contradictory as having a team dinner to promote friendship.

 

So, I decided to include the word ‘love’. This should convey affection.

 

When I got to ‘Lovey-Dovey,’ it started to sound a little cute.

 

But using ‘Lovey-Dovey’ would likely get rejected for ‘Not matching the associated image’.

 

Those guys… didn’t exactly give off a lovable vibe.

 

After much deliberation, I added the final word.

 

+

 

[SYSTEM] The combination name was confirmed as ‘Sandpaper-Dapper.’

 

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Fortunately, the system also acknowledged that this nickname suited these two prickly men.

 

Upon successfully creating the combination, the images they had of each other appeared.

 

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[Choi Jeho ― Can’t understand what he’s thinking → Kang Kiyeon]

 

+

 

I wasn’t sure if I should be glad it wasn’t ‘not interested’.

 

He seemed to live in his own world, but apparently, he had at least some interest in his fellow trainees.

 

The twist was on Kang Kiyeon’s side.

 

+

 

[Kang Kiyeon ― Feels disappointed → Choi Jeho]

 

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To think he was hurt because he felt disappointed in his hyung. Wasn’t that quite adorable?

 

It seemed that Kang Kiyeon, the maknae of Spark, was a person with a cold mouth but a warm heart.

 

This made it somewhat easier to understand why Kang Kiyeon had been suppressing his anger alone.

 

Above all, as long as they didn’t dislike each other, there was hope.

 

I immediately exited the stick function. The suffocating atmosphere returned at once.

 

Choi Jeho seemed about to open his mouth, but fearing he might say something like ‘I don’t know’ or ‘I don’t care’, I beat him to it and addressed Kang Kiyeon first.

 

“Could you tell us what part made you feel disappointed? That way, we can be careful in the future.”

 

“Disappointed….”

 

Kang Kiyeon’s eyes widened.

 

Sometimes it was disconcerting when your emotions were clearly defined in words. I could understand.

 

However, Kang Kiyeon spoke decisively, making his earlier hesitation seem meaningless.

 

“Jeho hyung, when I suggest we practice together as a group, you always say you don’t understand why we need to synchronize from the beginning when you already know your part. Every single time.”

 

“Hmm.”

 

“I don’t know if it’s because he hates the flow being interrupted by someone making mistakes, but he seems to think his role is done as long as he performs well. While that’s not exactly wrong… it doesn’t sit well with me.”

 

Kang Kiyeon’s words were refined and clear. The fact that his thoughts were this organized meant he’d pondered over the same issue multiple times.

 

“Then you should just ask him.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“Why didn’t you want to practice with Kiyeon when he asked, Choi Jeho?”

 

As the conversation shifted from Kang Kiyeon to himself, Choi Jeho was taken aback.

 

“I didn’t say I didn’t want to; I just didn’t see the need to practice together.”

 

It was a typical Choi Jeho response. After all, some people didn’t find great joy in achieving something as a group.

 

“I see. So you didn’t see the necessity because it didn’t seem to offer any better results?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“It’s natural for people to think differently, but I understand Kiyeon’s position a bit more.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Well, maybe because we’re preparing for a group debut, not a solo debut?”

 

I was reminded of Manager Nam, who often emphasized the importance of group culture in social life, and I felt a chill down my spine.

 

I chose my words carefully, trying my best not to resemble that image.

 

“It’s hard to develop teamwork just by debuting. While improving your skills might be your top priority, Kiyeon might also value additional factors like teamwork.”

 

“So improving individual skills isn’t important?”

 

“It’s important, but your skills won’t deteriorate significantly from a few group practices. That’s why I’m saying this.”

 

“…”

 

“So if Kiyeon asks to practice together, why not think, ‘Oh, he wants to try something as a team,’ and go along with it? Isn’t it commendable that he approaches his hyung first?”

 

“Is it such a commendable thing to approach me first?”

 

“If you’re curious, try counting how many times you speak to the members in a day.”

 

At that, Choi Jeho’s expression became peculiar.

 

Oops. That last part was meant to be a joke.

 

“That’s right, hyung. Because Kang Kiyeon is an only child, he’s not used to asking older people to play with him!”

 

“I didn’t ask him to play with me. Don’t twist my words.”

 

Lee Chunghyeon skillfully wrapped up the conversation before it could turn serious again. They all were quite commendable today.

 

And so, the sudden ‘Why do you talk like that?’ incident was concluded with the manager’s visit to the practice room.

 

After the long, tense confrontation, I returned to the cramped, stifling vocal practice room and finally calmed my startled heart.

 

‘Surely they won’t fight like this once a week, right?’

 

It was horrifying just to imagine. I’d rather go through Kang Kiyeon’s special training for three weeks straight than go through this ordeal every time just to gain 20 experience points.

 

Still, it was 100 times better for them to fight than to have a slump like Jeong Seongbin.

 

How did I end up in such a fragile group?

 

I seriously wondered if my assigned role of ‘producer member’ was actually ‘mental produce member’.

 

But next time, there would be no conversations or meetings.

 

I’d make sure I’d just say ‘I see’ and let them resolve it among themselves.

 

* * *

 

The conversation, which I thought just barely put out the flames, brought unexpected changes.

 

Although very subtle, the members started to engage in a bit more dialogue with each other beyond just greetings.

 

Even this morning, Choi Jeho…

 

“Are you baking that bread for teamwork too?”

 

…He asked that. It was such an unexpected question that I almost burned all the bread.

 

Lee Cheonghyeon was the one who led this atmosphere change.

 

Lee Cheonghyeon, whose energy tension had always been on a different level, sensed the slightly loosened-up atmosphere and dove into it like a fish in water.

 

“Hyung! Aren’t you hungry?”

 

This was the third time this kid had asked if I was hungry since he came to the practice room after school.

 

“Of course, I am. I was already thinking about what to eat for breakfast tomorrow.”

 

“But you’ll end up eating bread or jjolmyeon anyway!”

 

Well, that was true.

 

At twenty years old, an age when you should be eating a lot, it was impossible not to be hungry when you only ate bread for breakfast and only salads for lunch and dinner.

 

“Do you guys eat school lunch? I don’t think I’ve seen you bringing salads.”

 

“Oh, we don’t eat lunch during the school term.”

 

“What?”

 

I was shocked to learn these guys were suffering like this when I wasn’t looking.

 

Lee Cheonghyeon casually mentioned not eating lunch as if it was no big deal.

 

“Since we have less practice time, we have less exercise. If we eat like usual, we gain weight.”

 

“But… you’re completely skipping meals?”

 

“It’s better than getting criticized during weight checks.”

 

Then Lee Cheonghyeon sighed.

 

“Still, UA doesn’t check weight that often. I heard big agencies are really strict about it.”

 

“Aren’t you already on the skinny side among your peers?”

 

“Come on, hyung. Idols can’t be at the standard weight.”

 

The more I listened to Lee Cheonghyeon, the more disturbed I felt.

 

For the seven years that Spark had been active, they certainly had always maintained a consistent appearance.

 

The so-called ‘well-managed appearance’.

 

However, while people’s eyes were sensitive to change, they also became numb to things that didn’t change.

 

When you looked at people who didn’t change in height or weight for 7 years, you started to think, ‘I guess that’s just how they naturally are.’

 

In the process, their efforts naturally got erased.

 

‘They should at least be fed proper meals.’

 

Moving all day and then only eating salads already left them with little energy, and skipping a meal on top of that?

 

This shouldn’t happen in a country where rice was so important.

 

It was also strange to focus only on weight management when the debut was a year away.

 

Shouldn’t they be thinking about feeding themselves to grow taller? Height was crucial for male idols.

 

I knew managing their appearance was tough. But shouldn’t there be priorities?

 

You could always lose weight later, but you couldn’t grow taller once the growth period was over.

 

“We’re all just trying to eat and live, so this is just…”

 

“Of all the expressions I’ve seen on you lately, this one looks the most serious, hyung…”

 

Of course. High school students were skipping meals, so how could I not be serious?

 

Even the hellish Hanpyeong Industry gave out lunch breaks.

 

Of course, it was legally required, and I had to eat within 10 minutes because I had to deliver Manager Nam’s lunch, but still.

 

No fans would want their idol to be skipping meals.

 

I’d never seen a sticker on a fan-made lunch box that didn’t say, ‘Don’t skip meals!’.

 

I suddenly remembered how Spark debuted seven years ago, by my standards, as delicate high school boys in an ill-fitting high-teen style.

 

‘Did they go through such harsh dieting for that delicate boy concept?’

 

I looked at Lee Cheonghyeon in front of me and the other four members including Choi Jeho behind him.

 

Unfortunately, they all looked too coldly intimidating to be delicate youthful boys.

 

 Moreover, these guys were born with good bone structure, so unless they lost extreme amounts of weight, it wouldn’t be noticeable.

 

‘I have to think about the concept… in advance.’

 

Something that suited them as much as possible.

 

Above all, a concept where they didn’t have to wear skinny school uniforms.