Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols

“Hello…?”

 

Before Park Joowoo could even ask why they were calling him, the voice of what was presumed to be his aunt came through the phone.

 

― Joowoo! Have you eaten?

 

“Yes, I have…”

 

― With who? Seongbin must’ve gone back home, right?

 

“There’s a hyung staying at the dorm, so we ate together.”

 

― Then you should have come together with that hyung! The galbijjim here tastes good.

 

― Joowoo, did you eat songpyeon? Should Dad pack some and deliver it to the dorm?

 

— Can you be quiet for a second? And wouldn’t it be faster to send it via delivery than for you to go?

 

When the person who was presumed to be his uncle joined in, the call became chaotic.

 

While I lost track of the flow for a moment, the topic had shifted to whether they should send songpyeon with or without the pine needles still attached.

 

It was a completely different atmosphere from Jeong Seongbin’s family.

 

‘Park Joowoo… can’t even get a word in.’

 

The race hadn’t even started, and Park Joowoo already seemed a bit worn out.

 

After a few more exchanges, his aunt spoke again.

 

— Can you come for the Lunar New Year? Or should Mom come and visit Seoul?

 

Park Joowoo flinched at those words.

 

But he didn’t show it and spoke in a calm tone.

 

“It’s okay. I’m doing fine”

 

And I saw it clearly. A slight smile was forming on Park Joowoo’s lips.

 

Judging from the fact that they referred to themselves as ‘Mom’ and ‘Dad,’ they were already a family. Trying to keep some distance wouldn’t change that.

 

After barely managing to stop the songpyeon delivery to Seoul, Park Joowoo ended the call.

 

“Park Joowoo.”

 

“Yes, hyung. Sorry for keeping you waiting so long…”

 

“For the Lunar New Year, go visit your aunt’s house.”

 

“Huh?”

 

Park Joo-woo looked at me, confused.

 

“What do you mean ‘huh’? I am telling you to go.”

 

“Still, it’s a holiday…”

 

Park Joowoo hesitated, slipping his phone into his pocket.

 

I didn’t really know what it meant for family members to gather.

 

“It’s exactly because it’s a holiday that you should go.”

 

Otherwise, you might regret it someday.

 

* * *

 

We ran for an hour.

 

A cool weather and quiet riverside. Weren’t these the perfect conditions for exercise?

 

Well, that was my thought, anyway.

 

Next to me, Park Joowoo was slowly falling apart. He didn’t complain about being tired, but he looked pitiful.

 

Before Park Joowoo’s breathing got any rougher, I stopped and looked for a bench.

 

‘How are you going to hold a concert with such a lack of stamina…’

 

As soon as I thought that, the system flashed. Additional labor support services were being activated.

 

I guess I am not one to talk, huh?

 

Though, in the first place, this had nothing to do with me. I wasn’t going to hold a concert.

 

Since I had decided to rest anyway, I figured I’d drink some water from what I brought with me from the dorm and catch my breath, but I suddenly heard a loud voice from under my feet. Even just hearing it in passing, it was full of vulgar language.

 

‘Are they drunk?’

 

I slightly lifted myself to look down and saw two men sitting on the stone steps below. Thankfully, it didn’t look like they were fighting.

 

“…Are they going to fight?”

 

Park Joowoo asked in a small voice.

 

“I don’t think so.”

 

I also spoke in a volume close to a whisper.

 

However, as if to contradict my answer, one of the men started to snap again.

 

“Ah, f*ck.”

 

This time, the profanity was crystal clear. There was no mistaking the tense atmosphere.

 

“He seems angry…”

 

Park Joowoo muttered. This was really awkward.

 

Just as I was about to suggest moving from the awkward atmosphere, the man’s companion stopped the man who was expressing anger.

 

“Hyung, what if someone hears you?”

 

“Let them hear, I don’t give a f*ck. Can’t I even speak my mind? This is really f***ed up.”

 

The man’s curses didn’t stop.

 

I cursed in my head too, but usually, when you grew up, you stopped letting those words spill out like that.

 

I grew up hearing my family members curse all the time, so my head was filled with vulgar language, but when I realized how ugly it sounded, I tried not to curse out loud.

 

I thought, ‘He must have a really bad day,’ and closed the cap on my water bottle. I was about to get up from my seat.

 

But something felt off. The man’s voice sounded familiar.

 

‘Where have I heard it before?’

 

First of all, it couldn’t be one of the Spark members.

 

They had sent me photos of their old albums they found at home to prove their arrival―I made them do that because I thought it might be used in a variety show.

 

If it was someone I had talked to even once, I would usually remember their voice, so it probably wasn’t someone close.

 

‘Is it someone I met at UA?’

 

As I hesitated to move, the man stood up first.

 

“Stop bothering me, you b****! Are you going to keep pestering me? You’re nothing without me, you f***ers!”

 

‘Gaun, do you hate it when I pester you? That makes me sad. I’d die without you and the other members.’

 

I remembered.

 

It was the voice of Song Minil, the center of the group Parthe, who would soon become Spark’s biggest obstacle, and who had one of the largest individual fandoms among rookie idols.

 

It went without saying, but there were always basic truths in our lives.

    

Of course, anyone could swear, but there were times when they shouldn’t.

 

Idols were held to stricter standards than regular people.

 

So, it was better to be cautious about swearing.

 

‘Though it seems some people don’t care.’

 

I thought, watching Song Minil venting his frustrations at my feet.

 

He had just been so upset that Gaun wasn’t paying him attention, but now he looked like he was ready to eat the guy alive.

 

I tried to pretend not to hear, thinking that he must have some personal circumstances or difficulty but…

 

“Just because I got a sasaeng’s number, the f*cking company and everyone else thinks they can f*ck around with me, f*ck them.”

 

I ended up hearing his pathetic excuse that he got caught getting a sasaeng fan’s number and was scolded by the agency.

 

More importantly, a sasaeng? Of course, that’s a big deal, you b****.

 

Just as I was about to make some noise and get up, not wanting to dirty Park Joowoo’s ears any further, Han Gaun’s desperate voice held me back.

 

“Hyung… If someone hears, we’ll be in trouble…”

 

Damn it, now I can’t get up.

 

Fortunately, it was particularly dark under the bridge, and they were below us, so it seemed they hadn’t noticed us…

 

If we were caught moving now, Han Gaun would probably beg us not to post about this on community sites.

 

No, who knew, maybe Song Minil would even threaten us.

 

Park Joowoo must’ve thought the same, because he didn’t even make a sound.

 

Still, as I was about to cover his ears out of courtesy, I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket.

 

And about 0.02 seconds later, the quiet Han River Park was filled with my ringtone.

 

At the same time, the medley of vulgar language that had been playing endlessly below stopped as if it were never there.

 

‘F*ck.’

 

If I wasn’t careful, we’d look like trainees who were about to debut and had been eavesdropping on an industry senior’s dirty laundry.

 

Park Joowoo’s pupils were already trembling like a leaf.

 

I had no intention of letting Park Joowoo get caught up in this. It was my fault for choosing the wrong place to rest.

 

But I couldn’t just turn myself in and leave Joowoo to keep hiding either, so I braced myself and answered the call.

 

― Hello. Iwol hyung?

 

“Huh… Hey, what time is it?”

 

― Yes?

 

“F*ck, hey. I think I fell asleep while drinking at the Han River.”

 

This was the so-called ‘I was too drunk to hear your conversation!’ strategy.

 

This time, the Parthe members below us went quiet. I must have sounded like someone they didn’t want to mess with.

 

Whatever they were feeling wasn’t my concern. They were probably holding their breath, just like us.

 

I put on my best performance, recalling the countless drunk people I’d seen during my night shifts at convenience stores in college.

 

“F*ck, I’m freezing. Hey, sorry. If I leave now, it’ll take me about… 30 minutes?”

 

Fully immersed in the role of a typical drunk man in his 20s, I rambled on alone until Jeong Seongbin asked,

 

― Hyung, is something wrong?

 

“Kihoon’s here too. This b**** is completely wasted. Can I just leave Park Kihoon behind?”

 

Park Joowoo, who was suddenly renamed to Park Kihoon, swallowed.

 

You’ll have to understand. If we use real names here and you debut, Parthe will remember this Han River incident.

 

Furthermore, Park Joowoo’s voice was quite distinctive. Later, even the general public, not just fans, would be able to recognize Park Joowoo by his voice alone.

 

We couldn’t rule out the possibility that if Park Joowoo spoke now, those two might recognize him.

 

So there was no other choice.  We had to go with the setting that Park Joowoo was drunk and unconscious.

 

“Uh, uh. I’ll be right there. I’ll call you once I catch a taxi.”

 

With that, I hung up the phone.

 

Then, after sending a text to Seongbin saying, ‘Seongbin, I’m sorry. I’ll call you in 5 minutes, I exaggeratedly scratched my head and muttered to myself,

 

“Ah, f***… This sucks…”

 

Then I carried Park Joowoo on my back.

 

Park Joowoo helped by giving me a running start without being obvious. His effort moved me to tears.

 

With that, I carried ‘Park Kihoon’ off to hail a taxi, getting as far from them as possible.

 

* * *

 

― You ran into Parthe sunbaenims?

 

“Yeah. Though, they probably didn’t see us.”

 

― What does that have to do with pretending to be drunk…?

 

Jeong Seongbin asked, but Park Joowoo and I couldn’t answer.

 

Because we had promised to keep everything we heard a secret when we got out of the bridge.

 

Regardless of whether they were talking loudly in a public place or we heard it unintentionally, it was not right to talk about things that people didn’t want others to find out.

 

Besides, Park Joowoo had to continue his career as an idol.

 

It wouldn’t hurt to develop the habit of not talking about others.

 

“It just happened.”

 

― If hyung says it’s nothing, then it really must be not a big deal, but…

 

“Don’t worry about it. More importantly, why did you call?”

 

― I was just checking on hyung. And Joowoo too.

 

Jeong Seongbin, this guy, must have been really concerned about the ones who stayed behind at the dorm.

 

Wouldn’t it be better for him to forget about trainee life during the few vacations he got each year?

 

‘I guess I should be thankful that he’s at least not cursing by the river somewhere.’

 

For a moment, I imagined Choi Jeho and Kang Kiyeon yelling, ‘F*ck you, UA!’ by the river. I squeezed my eyes shut.

 

“We’re fine. We’ve been eating on our own, so enjoy your break.”

 

― Yes, I will. Is there anything you want to eat?  I was thinking of bringing something back.”

 

“There’s plenty of food here, so come back empty-handed.”

 

I firmly told Jeong Seongbin before hanging up the phone.

 

When all these guys got home, we probably would be stuck eating three-color vegetable bibimbap, so what was the point of bringing food here?

 

“What did Seongbin say?”

 

“He asked if we wanted anything to eat.”

 

“…I’ll send him a text saying there’s a lot of food in the fridge.”

 

As soon as he finished speaking, Park Joowoo left to remind Jeong Seongbin. Then, the surroundings became quiet.

 

‘Yes, this is what a holiday should feel like.’

 

I never would have imagined that spending Chuseok with the reserved Joowoo would turn into such a chaotic experience.

 

As the familiar calmness settled back in, I finally started to relax.

 

‘It’s not so bad to experience a holiday like this once in a while.’

 

Thinking it would be a good experience, I laid down in bed and relaxed.

 

However, I didn’t know until then.

 

A holiday wasn’t over until it was completely over.