Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols

After the teaser dropped, mentions of Spark increased slightly but noticeably.

 

Once the teaser was released online, my debut became inevitable as well.

 

At the same time, all of us were thrust into hellish training.

 

Didn’t the company avoid forcing us to practice?

 

“Guys, is it hard?”

 

“Yes, hyung…”

 

“I’m having a hard time too. But I can still open my eyes, so let’s try a little more.”

 

Yeah, I was the one forcing them. They were already great, but they got better the more time they spent practicing, so I kept squeezing them to the last drop.

 

After the Park Joowoo incident, I made sure to consider the members’ conditions, whipping them into shape carefully. At this point, it was practically VIP treatment.

 

My accumulated fatigue was also skyrocketing… But I could still open my eyes in the morning, so it should be fine.

 

As I was trying to catch my breath and drink some water, Park Joowoo came up to me and asked.

 

“Hyung, we’re practicing for the signing event tomorrow morning, right?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Spark’s ‘practice’ wasn’t limited to the debut stage.

 

I created a separate comprehensive onboarding program for Kim Iwol’s debut.

 

As soon as the debut date was confirmed, I sought permission from the company and arranged for the members to practice for their stage during the day and for fan signings and meetings at night.

 

UA didn’t provide much education on fan service, and the reason Spark was involved in minor controversies during their debut was because of their responses in fan events.

 

≫ Sharing my fan sign experience and why I left the fandom

 

To be honest, I knew my idol’s fan service was badㅎ

 

When you’re deep in the fandom, you just close your eyes and ears and do fan activities, right?? I was the same

 

I just covered up their sh*t, saying my kids were shyㅋㅋㅋ

 

But when I spent hundreds of thousands of won on a fan sign event and all five of them just said, ‘Ah.. Thank you,’ I was hit hard by reality.

 

Ah, these pieces of sh*ts are just parasites. That day, I stayed up all night and quit the fandom the next day

 

└ Totally agree… I got all dressed up, full makeup, bought a new outfit, and even got my nails done, while they arrived in a manager-driven car, fully styled by their salon, and still had the nerve to act tired. Infuriating.

 

└ Could you give us a hint about who you were stanning, even just with initials?

 

└ SPK

 

└ You spent your own money and didn’t get the fan service you wanted, and now you’re blaming the idolㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Did you leave something with them to take care of?

 

└ I spent my own money to buy albums and get into the fan sign, so why can’t I expect at least that? I hope the person who wrote the comment will order a set menu and not complain if they only receive individual items and just eat whatever is served.

 

The forums were full of harsh comments back then. Even Manager Nam’s daughter was up in arms, debating whether to compile all of this into a PDF or not.

 

The reason Spark ruined the fan signing event was later revealed through Jeong Seongbin’s mouth. It was because all the members were extremely nervous.

 

They had seen other senior idols get slammed for having blank expressions during fan sign events, so they were determined to do something, but had no idea what to actually do.

 

Some people took this as an honest explanation, while others thought it was a cowardly excuse.

 

However, I could understand Jeong Seongbin’s feelings to some extent.

 

At that time, he had been sitting next to Choi Jeho, who could say something unexpected at any moment.

 

Although Choi Jeho never crossed the line at a fan sign event, the other members had said multiple times that they were hurt by his tone during their trainee days, so Jeong Seongbin’s worries were understandable.

 

I, too, had joined Manager Nam during some interviews and ended up sweating through my shirt more than once.

 

Whether the eldest member was reliable or not could have a significant impact. In that sense, while Choi Jeho was a good center, he wasn’t a good hyung.

 

Furthermore, at that time, Kang Kiyeon was the type of person who would lose his temper whenever he was nervous, so the only people Jeong Seongbin could count on were Park Joowoo, who had to scrape together his social skills, and Lee Cheonghyeon, who was younger than him.

 

How could they possibly focus during an event? It was a miracle they didn’t spout nonsense.

 

But that didn’t justify their inadequate fan service. If you’re getting paid, you have an obligation to deliver on what you’ve received.

 

So let’s go ahead.

 

To Spark’s mock fan signing event.

 

* * *

 

Last weekend, I analyzed about 200 boy group fan signing reviews and post-its to create a FAQ list and shared it in the group chat.

 

[★Notice★ 1. Check the gas before leaving if you’re the last one out. 2. Trash should be…]

 

Me

 

[By the day after tomorrow, come up with three answers to each question.]

[We’ll be practicing how to respond when asked random questions.]

 

Cutie Pretty Visual Lee Cheonghyeon

 

[Maknae has checked in~]

 

Mental Pillar Jeong Seongbin

 

[Seongbin, Joowoo checked in. :)]

 

Mental Pillar Jeong Seongbin

 

[I told Jeho hyung too! :)]

 

Me

 

[Jeho *^^* You didn’t make dongsaeng do this because you were too lazy to reply, right? *^^* You’re not that kind of boomer who can’t reply, are you? *^^* If you’re really that kind of person, I’m a little disappointed ㅠㅠ *^^*]

 

Center Emperor Choi Jeho

 

[Tsk, I didn’t make him do it]

 

Putting Choi Jeho’s wronged feelings aside, the day to check on their preparedness came around quickly.

 

To create a realistic setting, we set up long tables and chairs in the practice room, recreating the scene like in the photos from fan sign reviews.

 

Choi Jeho, who was placing water bottles on the desk according to the number of people following my instructions from across the room, asked.

 

“But who will play the role of the fan when we practice?”

 

“Me.”

 

“You?”

 

Choi Jeho asked back in a shaky voice.

 

But think about it.

 

Between me, who might only do fan sign for 3 months at most, or might not have a chance to do a fan signing event at all.

 

And you, who have to do signing events for at least 7 years.

 

Which of the two of us should practice signing more diligently? Of course, it’s you guys.

 

“Is that a good choice? It probably won’t be easy to meet a fan like hyung.”

 

“What kind of fan is a fan like me?”

 

“Do you really want to hear it?”

 

Even Kang Kiyeon chimed in to support Choi Jeho.

 

It seemed they were all doubting my acting skills.

 

How absurd. I’ve watched so many fan signing event videos to the point where I can practically lip-read you guys now.

 

There must be about 15,000 Sparklers that I had seen in videos. Thanks to that, I could imitate the gestures of the fans without even looking at them.

 

Can’t be helped.

 

Let me show you. The dignity of the first-place winner of the Hanpyeong Industry HR Team Manager Nam’s voice impression contest.

 

The first batter at the first Spark (mock) fan signing event was Jeong Seongbin.

 

Jeong Seongbin seemed slightly nervous, as he clenched his fists tightly.

 

Unlike the others, he seemed to be taking this situation seriously to some extent. As expected, he was a guy who didn’t disappoint expectations.

 

Deeply moved, I handed Jeong Seongbin the scheduler I had prepared as a prop.

 

And I laughed brightly and shouted.

 

“Seongbin, I’ve made you my bias!”

 

“…Yes?”

 

Jeong Seongbin, who was trying to pretend to sign, froze and looked up at me with a creaking sound.

 

Why couldn’t this deeply moving moment last even 5 seconds? I said with a serious expression.

 

“Seongbin, your fan has made you their bias, and you’re zoning out? Do you want to go from being their bias to (former) bias during the signing?”

 

“No, I was just too flustered for a moment… I’m sorry!”

 

“That comes from a lack of practice. Keep that in mind.”

 

I gave a warning to the other four people sitting next to Jeong Seongbin and then sat back down in my chair.

 

Now, the atmosphere between us was more than just tense; it was tense and serious.

 

“Post-it! Check the answers to the Post-it questions!”

 

“Y-Yes!”

 

Get your heads together, you guys.

 

After this, we still have to practice the talent show for the fan meeting.

 

* * *

 

When Kim Iwol first suggested practicing for the fan signing event, Kang Kiyeon didn’t think much of it.

 

It was not that he was indifferent to it. It was that he was just doing what he had to do, so he didn’t feel any special emotions.

 

Still, it was surprising that Kim Iwol had even considered something like this. Moments like these always made Kang Kiyeon feel that Kim Iwol’s obsession with perfection could sometimes border on the extreme.

 

However, by now, he was no longer surprised by such eccentricities from Kim Iwol.

 

In fact, considering Kim Iwol’s personality as a perfectionist, it had reached a point where he could understand this older man’s eccentric behavior.

 

For example, watching Kim Iwol meticulously arrange the tables, water bottles, and chairs to match the photos he’d seen on social media seemed entirely natural at this point.

 

But still…

 

“Gasp… Cheonghyeon, you’re really handsome…”

 

Now, as Kim Iwol spoke to the second member, Lee Cheonghyeon, it was clear to anyone that he wasn’t in his right mind. Either that or he was possessed by something.

 

His acting, with the way he covered his mouth and made an expression of awe, was top-notch. If Kang Kiyeon believed in local superstitions, he definitely would have thought his hyung was possessed by a ghost.

 

“Aww, if you keep complimenting me like that, what if I start getting spoiled?”

 

And his friend, who was accepting that…

 

Well, that guy had always been a weird one.

 

Kang Kiyeon gave up on trying to make sense of it.

 

“It’s okay. If power is determined by look, then our Cheonghyeon would be the president.”

 

“Really? You won’t say that to the other members later, right?”

 

“Sorry, I’ll have to pretend I didn’t hear that.”

 

They were having a blast.

 

Kang Kiyeon held back from shaking his head. He didn’t know what kind of trouble would happen if he shook his head cockily at the virtual fan signing event.

 

However, despite Kang Kiyeon’s efforts, Kim Iwol’s head turned to the remaining members.

 

There was no light in Kim Iwol’s dark, deep eyes.

 

“Guys.”

 

“…Yes.”

 

“Why have your smiles faded during the fan sign? Didn’t I tell you to maintain a bright smile unless you had a valid reason not to? People might say, ‘Spark in the fan sign event ended up looking like discounted frozen fish at the end’, do you guys want to hear something like that?”

 

“Just smile, just smile!”

 

“Yes, Choi Jeho, especially you. Why haven’t you smiled yet and made me repeat myself?”

 

“…”

 

“Understand it perfectly when I say it once, okay?”

 

Kim Iwol’s face radiated murderous energy but his eyes smiled kindly. It was the smile that Lee Cheonghyeon had dubbed ‘false kindness.’

 

Kang Kiyeon swallowed hard. He knew for sure that if he got on this man’s bad side, there was no way he’d be going home peacefully today.

 

And of all times, it had to be Park Joowoo’s turn, the third member to step up.

 

Park Joowoo, who was notoriously shy and had received countless one-on-one lessons from Kim Iwol, caused everyone to hold their breath — but they all maintained their smiles — as they watched the two closely.

 

They could only hope their proud main vocalist would not be dragged to the vocal practice room and receive harsh private lessons.

 

“Hello, Joowoo!”

 

Kim Iwol’s cheerful greeting came out once again, not dying down.

 

Then Park Joowoo smiled faintly and answered.

 

“Hello. Hyung, the ring looks good on you.”

 

What?

 

Park Joo-woo… to Kim Iwol?

 

In such a kind and affectionate tone… What?