Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols

Getting repeatedly trampled by the Spark members was quite the harrowing experience.

 

First up were Choi Jeho and Kang Kiyeon, who were like the incarnations of dance themselves.

 

These guys seemed to see me as an interesting alien creature.

 

They would demonstrate intricate dance moves to a beginner like me and then ask, “Do you get it?” with a shockingly nonchalant teaching style.

 

I flailed around vigorously to let them know that kind of teaching method wasn’t enough for me. They both turned pale.

 

But what could I do? I’d been an office worker all my life.

 

My mind was so confused that I almost asked Choi Jeho in front of me, ‘Center Emperor Choi Jeho, am I moving correctly now?’

 

After running a mental simulation of getting a disdainful look from him, I had been secretly practicing calling him without his nickname in my head.

 

After the two blunt boys, Jeong Seongbin and Park Juwoo were the next to sink.

 

Unlike the previous artists, these top-notch vocalists tried to pass on their knowledge in a more humane way to me, who was showcasing severely malfunctioning movements.

 

Unfortunately, my stamina was better than theirs, so they collapsed first.

 

Watching all these disasters, Lee Cheonghyeon met my gaze and gave me a thumbs-up.

 

“Hyung, you’re really amazing! Fighting!”

 

He even winked at me. His personality was optimized for being an idol.

 

Why didn’t you wink more during your solo shots? If you had winked more, I could’ve finished making a compilation of your winks within a day.

 

Thanks to Cheonghyeon’s sparkling support, I was able to straighten my arms out to the side while facing forward. It only took 4 hours.

 

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kiyeon clapping with his lips tightly pressed together.

 

It was the exact same expression I had when looking at the boss’ son who came to work part-time once. This second life was really tough.

 

At this point, I couldn’t help but wonder.

 

What on earth did the casting director see in me to cast me for UA?

 

Surely, the Spark guys must be wondering the same thing.

 

Wouldn’t it be suspicious if some guy who recently joined as a trainee couldn’t even control his left and right feet?

 

They didn’t show it, but I could tell. One of my few talents was reading the room.

 

Still, I couldn’t help it. It was unrealistic for an office worker whose whole life revolved around fiddling with web apps to learn to dance well in just one day.

 

Especially when the exp rewarded were only 20 at a time.

 

I had been in a similar situation before.

 

Specifically… It was like when Manager Nam dumped 5 years’ worth of unsorted documents on me and told me to organize them by the end of the day.

 

When the situation was unbelievable and there was no obvious way to improve.

 

The only thing you could do was…

 

‘Simple repetition.’

 

I felt my eyes getting moist. It was like the sweat I shed back then was syncing with my eyes now.

 

But there was a definite improvement. At least there was no Manager Nam here.

 

I should be grateful that there were people helping me.

 

Even if they were my enemies from my first life.

 

Since they put in the effort to teach me, it wouldn’t be right not to try to learn, I vigorously rolled around as they instructed, fueled by anger.

 

If I thought of it as a 20% salary increase, it was actually a big percentage increase. As expected, mental victory was all about perspective.

 

* * *

 

How long had I been moving in a trance?

 

I heard rough breathing around me and saw the Spark members one by one collapsing into the corners of the practice room.

 

Weaklings. With that level of physical strength, they wouldn’t even be able to climb Bugaksan Mountain carrying the executives’ thermos.

 

Taking advantage of the lull in instruction, I grabbed a bottle of water and quenched my thirst too.

 

It was then. The practice room door opened, and someone vaguely familiar entered.

 

Simultaneously, the Spark members, who had been sprawled out like overworked office workers, sprang to their feet.

 

Their disciplined figures were exactly like Spark in their debut era, making my stomach churn.

 

“You all must be working hard practicing.”

 

“We’re fine!”

 

“Of course. I haven’t seen you since the casting, Iwol. Have you greeted everyone?”

 

Clean business casual attire and a friendly tone that didn’t seem to belong to a trainer.

 

And most of all, that remark confirmed my suspicion.

 

It’s you, the one who drag me into this pit of hell.

 

I wanted to grab this person and demand to know which part of me seemed like idol material. Was there really such a lack of talent in Hongdae that day?

 

“Yes, everyone has been helping me a lot.”

 

But I managed to hold myself back, thanks to my patience honed to the extreme.

 

“Come on. We expect a lot from you, too, Iwol!”

 

This person should have seen Spark members’ lifeless eyes just a moment ago.

 

If he had, he wouldn’t have said that. Even I, who held nothing but animosity towards Spark, felt sorry for them.

 

If my friend the system would allow it, I’d be willing to write a new resume and apply as Spark’s new manager right now.

 

But there was no response from the system. It was always quiet at times like this.

 

The sudden visitor took out his phone, saying he came to film Spark’s group dance video.

 

“Since we have a new trainee, we need to rework the formations. Once you all know the choreography, we’ll film again with Iwol in it.”

 

When you don’t know what to do, just nod your head.

 

So I replied that I understood, even though I didn’t know if that day would ever come.

 

While Spark prepared for the video shoot, I moved to the mirror opposite and stood next to the staff member.

 

The scene that unfolded in front of my eyes soon after was quite spectacular.

 

Even to my untrained eyes, the five trainees dancing in razor-sharp synchronization looked impressive.

 

‘When I made cross-edits, I thought these guys my age were just limber in their joints.’

 

Seeing it up close, I could tell for sure.

 

These guys at least had the power to do their job.

 

It made sense why this group had lasted 7 years despite all the controversies outnumbering their agency’s employees—the public opinion about their looks and skills was right.

 

For the first time, free from the obligation of video editing, I fully appreciated the trainees’ dazzling movements.

 

I made sure not to look above their necks, though. Seeing their faces would just make me angry.

 

By the way, the move I spent hours learning and earned 1 welfare point for passed by in an instant.

 

It felt like… about 1.8 seconds?

 

‘I guess it’ll take about two whole weeks of rolling around to complete one song.’

 

Whether just rolling around would give me that kind of power was another matter altogether.

 

The filming, which seemed to be a simple monitoring video, ended in one take.

 

“What do you think, Iwol?”

 

“Yes?”

 

“The kids. They’re good, right?”

 

What a difficult question.

 

The answer was obvious. The only thing I could say here was, ‘Yes, they’re awesome’.

 

The problem was, no matter how much I praised them, it didn’t seem like it would be conveyed to Spark if I was the one saying it.

 

“Yes, I think they’re great.”

 

I answered with as much sincerity as I could muster, being careful not to sound sarcastic.

 

It reminded me of when I had just started working at Hanpyeong Industry.

 

Back then I tried to learn social life by pretending to enjoy it. Of course, I didn’t miss those days at all.

 

Fortunately, my mundane answer seemed to leave no impression.

 

It was thanks to my 29 years of experience in blending in, with the intention of never standing out even once in my life.

 

However, there was one thing that bothered me. After a moment’s hesitation, I opened my mouth with difficulty.

 

“But…”

 

All eyes turned to me. Their look was asking ‘Is this clueless newbie really going to criticize this impressive dance?’

 

I took a deep breath and opened my mouth.

 

“Kiyeon, are you okay to be dancing?”

 

“Yes?”

 

“You looked a bit strained.”

 

When a clumsy guy like me who couldn’t even control his own body was making comments, even Jeho Choi’s gaze was locked on me. It was the look I’d only seen in fancam videos.

 

I didn’t want to say anything because I knew it would draw attention.

 

If I had to make an excuse, it didn’t feel right to stay silent when someone looked like they were in pain.

 

When Kiyeon was teaching me one-on-one, I wasn’t sure, but watching them dance together, it was hard to miss.

 

Nobody else told him to rest, so I wondered if they just didn’t notice.

 

It seemed I was right, as the gazes quickly shifted from me to Kang Kiyeon.

 

“Kiyeon, are you sick?”

 

“No, I’m not sick.”

 

Kiyeon replied to the staff member with his usual expression.

 

But he couldn’t fool my eyes.

 

That guy was 100% lying.

 

Even before I turned back time, Kang Kiyeon had said with that same expression, ‘We’ll continue to work hard’.

 

You said that at the New Year’s concert, then disbanded within a year? Shameless bastards.

 

“Kiyeon says he’s fine.”

 

“I don’t think he’s fine. His left ankle.”

 

Feeling irritated, I stood firm on the issue with a genuinely concerned expression.

 

Then Kang Kiyeon’s expression became strange. It seemed I had hit the mark and struck a nerve.

 

“Kiyeon, is your ankle hurting?”

 

“Since when?”

 

The staff member and Cheonghyeon shouted at the same time. Kiyeon looked flustered.

 

“No, it’s not so bad that I need to go to the hospital…”

 

“What are you talking about, Kiyeon? If you’re hurt, of course you should go to the hospital.”

 

Now, even Jeong Seongbin chimed in. Unlike my despicable self, he genuinely seemed worried.

 

Since I had brought it up openly, those around him would take care of it now.

 

Having done my part, I turned away from Kang Kiyeon with a lighter heart.

 

Then a scene suddenly flashed in my mind.

 

Kang Kiyeon singing alone, seated on a chair, at the Imjingak outdoor stage.

 

It was due to a chronic ankle injury from relentlessly practicing difficult choreography since his trainee days

 

Just looking at his listless face through the low-quality public broadcast, you could tell that it was a grim period for Kiyeon.

 

As someone who knew about the future, I felt I had an ethical obligation to help him out. So I endured talking to Kiyeon again and said:

 

“Make sure you go to the hospital.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“I had a friend who had a hard time because he ignored an ankle injury. If it becomes chronic, it’s a real pain.”

 

I felt guilty for trying to pass off that boy who was just in the same class as my friend.

 

But seeing Kiyeon’s wavering gaze as if my words got through to him, I felt relieved that I could break his stubbornness.

 

Considering I was doing this to get him to the hospital, my classmate would understand.

 

Thank you, friend. You helped save a future dance genius.

 

After that, it wrapped up nicely with the manager who showed up late taking Kiyeon to the hospital by taxi.

 

As I saw Kang Kiyeon off to the hospital, a quiet realization hit me.

 

Half of me wondered why I even worried about these guys. The other half thought that I couldn’t just ignore someone in pain.

 

Next time something happened, I wouldn’t pay them any mind.

 

Still, if I kept needling like this a few more times, I might see all five of them dancing together at Imjingak.

 

That is, if I don’t die from frustration and rage before then.

 

* * *

 

Despite the brief commotion, practice continued until 10 pm.

 

‘Any memorable episodes from our trainee days?’

 

‘Let’s see…um…’

 

‘I think we just practiced all the time… Sorry, Sparklers, we were pretty boring, huh?’

 

When I used to transcribe live broadcasts, I thought, ‘Just say something so I can summarize 10 threads and get some sleep.’ But now I understood. When you practiced all day, there was nothing to talk about.

 

All we did was eat, dance, and sing, so of course there weren’t many memorable episodes.

 

Still, now we could probably share the story of Cheonghyeon trying to carry the injured Kiyeon and them both falling down together. A touching display of friendship.

 

My first-ever practice was definitely demanding. But not to the point of collapsing.

 

Besides, my debut would be in jeopardy if I just continued to flail around, so even though I was in tears, I decided to practice a little more.

 

Fortunately, none of the members tried to stop me. My clumsy moves seemed to have shocked them quite a bit.

 

These guys were set to become regulars on the list of top talented idols in Korea within three years of their debut.

 

Which meant, as long as I did my part well in this group project, that would be enough.

 

For the first time in a group project, I felt like I was the one in charge of just gathering data, not the leader.

 

The feeling of freeloading… It filled me with guilt but it was also a refreshing experience.

 

I was confident in mastering skills through repetition.

 

My ancestors didn’t give me any special talents but endowed me with a stubborn tenacity that didn’t easily give up.

 

Seeing that two hours flew by with just a few repetitions of basic movements, I realized again that people’s nature didn’t change easily.

 

‘Are you not going to give me exp this time?’

 

I clicked my tongue in disappointment.

 

Who knew? Maybe if I collected 1,000 points, they’d give me a free ice cream or something.

 

As if reading my thoughts, the system reappeared again after half a day.

 

But this time, the source of the experience points was a bit different.

 

+

 

[SYSTEM] ‘Hidden Task (First Overtime)’ completed.

 

▷ Reward: Exp (20)

 

▷ Total exp: 40

 

▷ Total point: 0

 

+

 

“F*ck…”

 

Even if I didn’t want to curse, I had to.

 

It was impossible not to curse in this situation.