Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols

The trainee system that required debuting as young as possible, and the idol market that changed faster than the barely gathered data could keep up with.

 

These two factors meant that time was truly money.

 

However, UA couldn’t afford to rush. The reason was simple.

 

They had no one to work.

 

UA, which had been trying to launch a new business with only existing employees and no dedicated personnel for the idol team, had recently come to realize how arrogant they had been.

 

‘We need a manager solely responsible for business related to Spark!’

 

It was a realization that came far too late. The company had no manpower, no experience, no know-how… In short, they were utterly unprepared.

 

Still, UA had at least some sense of conscience.

 

Seeing Kim Iwol, the newest trainee, who practiced during the day and for some reason worked at night, becoming as worn out as the employees, the company made a decision. 

 

They brought in a team leader-level experienced professional who had launched idol groups before and worked in the entertainment industry for a long time.

 

UA thought this was the best support for their trainees.

 

Little did they know that their trainee Kim Iwol would experience the urge to resign exactly three days later due to this new face.

 

* * *

 

‘New personnel will be coming on board…’

 

The news delivered through the manager wasn’t all that surprising. 

 

I had anticipated that UA would eventually realize the need for more staff.

 

Even though UA was in the entertainment business, the idol business was a new challenge for them. There was no way they could manage it with just the existing staff.

 

The important thing was what kind of person the newcomer would be.

 

I didn’t learn much about UA’s internal affairs while doing my proxy fangirling.

 

Fans’ discussions about the agency mostly focused on management policies or activity plans.

 

≫ You bastards, how dare you make the photo cards such poor quality XX XX

 

└ Never experienced something like this while stanning before… This is a new low in album sales history.

 

≫ The previous initial sales were 500,000 copies, but why prepare only 300,000 copies for the initial stock this time? The kids are trying their best to achieve good results, but the company is holding them back

 

≫ At first, I thought UA was just new to idol-making, but now it feels like they’ve gotten lazy because they know fans will spend money no matter what.

 

First time I’m considering quitting being a fan because of the agency

 

└ Can’t you quit quietly? Why are there so many people announcing their departure to the whole neighborhood? No one cares, XX

 

Most of the talk was filled with such anger-fueled criticism.

 

So, unfortunately, I was clueless about who the new hire was.

 

What was the use of knowing the future 7 years ahead when I couldn’t even predict what would happen 7 days from now? It was an ironic situation.

 

“They’ll probably be in charge of producing for you guys. Iwol, you’ll be able to learn a lot too.”

 

“Does this mean we’re finally getting an idol team?”

 

Jeong Seongbin asked.

 

It seemed he was quite anxious about the lack of a dedicated idol team in the company.

 

Given his long experience as a trainee, he must have seen and heard many things, which made him more worried.

 

In response to Jeong Seongbin’s question, the manager answered.

 

“That should happen soon. The new person graduated from a good university and has worked at several idol agencies. You guys will be able to rely on them.”

 

I’m sorry, but I don’t trust people’s academic background or career. Even Manager Nam graduated from a good university.

 

While listening to the manager’s explanation, I asked casually.

 

“Could you tell me his name in advance?”

 

“My bad. I forgot to tell you the PD’s name. It’s PD Yoo Hansoo.”

 

The manager said.

 

It was a familiar name.

 

A person my body instinctively remembered, and the only individual who was singled out and stoned from all directions in UA, a company where usually the entire company would be criticized rather than one person being targeted.

 

≫ Please, I’m begging you

 

Get rid of that XXX Yoo Hansoo

 

If you do, I’ll forget all the crappy albums you’ve released so far

 

The lifelong wish of the early-day Sparklers was ‘Get rid of UA’s PD’.

 

The PD who was the subject of that wish was none other than Yoo Hansoo.

 

It would take more than two days and nights to list all of Yoo Hansoo’s achievements.

 

All the masterpieces, including the ‘Cyborg Warrior’ that kept haunting my dreams, were born through Yoo Hansoo’s hands.

 

And that was not all.

 

Yoo Hasoo even committed the heinous act of forcing Park Joowoo to remain silent at the 21st Century Fan Meeting, claiming that it would strengthen each member’s identity.

 

The community’s reaction at that time was…

 

It was hard to even recall. It was scary even for a 29-year-old adult to see.

 

The backlash was so severe that even UA, which seemed invincible to criticism, couldn’t withstand the fanbase’s relentless attacks and ended up posting an apology.

 

It was an apology filled with nonsense about wanting to give fans a new experience, stating that the concept reinforcement had not been communicated well.

 

Nevertheless, UA was the kind of company that cherished every employee it hired, which was probably why they didn’t let go of Yoo Hansoo easily.

 

And so, Yoo Hansoo thoroughly ruined Spark’s albums during their three-year golden period.

 

Looking back, it was quite strange. The results Yoo Hansoo had produced before coming to UA weren’t particularly bad.

 

In fact, many idols who were directly produced by Yoo Hansoo achieved moderate success or gained new attention.

 

‘So why did his demonic talent suddenly bloom only after coming to UA?’

 

If Yoo Hansoo’s production for Spark was the only thing that went disastrously wrong, I could only think of two possible reasons.

 

Either Yoo Hansoo suddenly became senile, or the company collaborated on some bizarre ideas with Yoo Hansoo.

 

Either way, it was a headache. I already felt like a piece of pickled radish on a keyboard.

 

Still, I doubt things went that far solely due to Yoo Hansoo’s personal issues.

 

After all, things going wrong were rarely the responsibility of just one person. Wasn’t that how company matters usually were?

 

Maybe Yoo Hansoo tried his best, but UA was too small a vessel to contain Yoo Hansoo.

 

So instead of immediately going on high alert, I decided to investigate. As soon as night fell, I logged into Job Planet and Work.com from the dorm.

 

Then I searched for companies where Yoo Hansoo had stayed or collaborated, matched the job positions, and after comparing the timelines, I could see reviews mentioning individuals presumed to be him.

 

The reviews were overwhelmingly despairing.

 

≫ Everyone’s good except for one person who ruins everything

 

If you don’t get rid of that person, there’s no hope. Keep working like that forever. I’m leaving.

 

≫ An extreme job where you have to applaud when your superior makes trash without even putting in effort

 

It’s an extreme job where you can’t even call trash what it is. It’s like living in the shoes of Hong Gildong, who couldn’t call his father ‘father’

 

And in the end, that person gets all the rewards… Come here if you want to have your career stolen

 

≫ The company is trash and the boss is even trashier

 

Pros: There’s only one problematic person

 

Cons: That person won’t leave

 

After legally and illegally scouring all corporate review pages, I thought.

 

‘This seems f*cked up.’

 

First off, his personality seemed to be rotten. And judging by the repeated mentions of ‘performance thief’ his abilities didn’t seem that exceptional either.

 

But he received good evaluations from the company and monopolized the rewards?

 

This was 100% a sign of office politics. And a very severe case at that.

 

Maybe UA wanted to teach me a harsh scolding for being so insolent.

 

Unless they wanted me to deeply experience how hard it was to debut by making me taste the bitter reality of society, there was no other reason UA would do this to me.

 

“Ha…”

 

I let out a deep sigh. I really didn’t want to work anymore.

 

* * *

 

Unfortunately, Yoo Hansoo joined UA just a few days later.

 

At the same time, a small meeting was arranged for us to formally meet the person who would be in charge of us.

 

A simple introduction in a meeting room would have sufficed, but UA, a company proud of its harmonious atmosphere, went out of its way to book a restaurant during lunch hours, insisting that we all ate together.

 

Thanks to that, we had our first meeting at a traditional Korean restaurant.

 

After everyone’s introductions, Yoo Hansoo spoke up.

 

“Was it Choi Jeho? I had high expectations after seeing Jang Junhoo’s music video, and you look good in person too. CEO, you must have worked hard to gather these trainees.”

 

Evaluating someone’s appearance right after meeting them? This was already not going well.

 

But I couldn’t make a sour face, so I just smiled with my eyes like I did at Hanpyeong Industry. Then Yoo Hansoo looked at me.

 

“You’re Kim Iwol, right?”

 

“Yes.”

 

I once again put on the social smile I had trained at the Hanpyeong Industry.

 

And he was wearing the same smile. Damn it, we are fu**ed.

 

“I’ve heard a lot about you from the CEO and the planning team. They say you’re very interested in planning?”

 

“I am, though I still have much to learn.”

 

Can’t we talk about this later? I just want to eat in peace at the restaurant.

 

But Yoo Hansoo, like a fool who only knew work, didn’t stop talking.

 

“Your ideas aren’t bad. There’s a lot of room for improvement, though. But it’s good to have enthusiasm.”

 

Although his tone didn’t sound like he approved at all, I expressed my gratitude as gently as possible.

 

Yoo Hansoo’s ‘evaluation of a passionate trainee’ continued.

 

“Still, it’d be better for you to focus on practice for now. I heard you only recently decided to become an idol?”

 

“Yes, that’s right.”

 

“It’s good to be enthusiastic, but I’ve seen many kids who try to do everything and end up ruining both. I’ve seen a lot of those kids.”

 

While Yoo Hansoo was rambling, all I could do was desperately pray for the rice to arrive quickly.

 

When someone tells you to shut up and focus for the time being, what else can you do?

 

A quick glance to the side showed that the others didn’t look too happy either.

 

While it was good they were getting better at reading the room, it was disappointing that they still hadn’t fully grasped the importance of managing their expressions, despite all my explanations.

 

The CEO, possibly trying to be considerate since we were still young, spoke up.

 

“PD Hansoo probably sees some areas that need improvement. But Iwol has a good sense, so PD Hansoo, please guide him and help him grow.”

 

It sounded like he was acknowledging Yoo Hansoo, but there was a hidden message.

 

He was saying not to completely separate me from planning. It was better than becoming a kite with a broken string.

 

Yoo Hansoo, not entirely oblivious, nodded repeatedly, saying, ‘Of course’.

 

After thinking a hundred times about how I just wanted to eat and get this over with, the long-awaited food finally arrived.

 

I made a big show of thanking the CEO for the meal, then waited until the CEO and Yoo Hansoo took their first bites before opening the lid of my hot pot. Just then, Yoo Hansoo spoke up.

 

“CEO, since we’re on the topic of planning, there’s something I’d like to discuss.”

 

“Hmm, what is it?”

 

Let them chat or whatever.

 

Like a child trying not to butt into adults’ conversations, I fixed my gaze on the food.

 

As I was counting how many chestnuts were in my portion of rice, Yoo Hansoo made a statement that made me doubt my ears.

 

“About these kids’ debut album. I think we need to scrap the plan and redo it, at least for the music video.”

 

Steam rose from the pot.

 

My vision became blurry. Just like my future.

Me too, Iwol-ah. My stomach churned at the thought of having to translate your suffering in painstaking details.