Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols

K

ang Kiyeon couldn’t believe his ears.

 

It wasn’t just Park Joowoo’s soft voice and warm gaze that felt strange, but the topic of conversation he had chosen was something that would typically come up at a fan signing event.

 

It was so natural that it seemed like he had memorized the entire script, but there was one problem.

 

Kim Iwol rarely wore accessories.

 

‘Isn’t he going to get scolded for losing his concentration…?’

 

Startled, Kang Kiyeon hurriedly checked Kim Iwol’s hand.

 

His worries were for naught, Kim Iwol indeed had a really thick silver ring on his left ring finger.

 

It was a fashion ring that their manager, Chanyoung, often wore. It seemed Kim Iwol had borrowed it for today.

 

Still maintaining a cheerful tone, Kim Iwol replied confidently.

 

“Goodness, how did you know I got a new ring?”

 

“It suits your hand so well… Did you get it recently?”

 

“Yeah, I bought it just to wear today.”

 

It was unbelievable.

 

Who would have thought that there would come a day when Park Joowoo and Kim Iwol would say things like, ‘I wore it for you’ and ‘It suits you well’ about silver accessories?

 

For a brief moment, Kang Kiyeon worried if today was the day the world would end.

 

For the next three minutes—timed to the second—Park Joowoo and Kim Iwol engaged in a meaningful conversation.

 

When the timer eventually went off, Kim Iwol got up from his seat and clapped his seat.

 

“Joowoo, you don’t have to practice anymore. Go home.”

 

“Really…? Thank you, hyung.”

 

“Hyung! What about me? I worked hard too!”

 

“Lee Cheonghyeon, you lose points for not voluntarily bringing the stuffed hat while Joowoo was talking.”

 

With Kim Iwol’s cold response, Lee Cheonghyeon couldn’t argue back and stepped aside.

 

At that moment, the rest of Spark’s members, except for Park Joowoo, thought to themselves:

 

There’s no way we’re sleeping peacefully in our beds tonight.

 

The ominous feeling was not wrong.

 

Kim Iwol, who had been acting like an angelic fan, suddenly transformed into a demon, tearing into the members like a tyrant.

 

It reached its peak when Choi Jeho’s turn came.

 

‘What’s with the silence? You don’t want to talk?’

 

‘No, wait a minute…’

 

‘You think it’s funny that I spent time making up 20 questions, practicing outside the door just to make sure I wouldn’t mess up in front of you? I said Cheongyeon was handsome earlier so you think I am just Cheongnyeon’s fan and let your guard down? Are you not even your own fan or Spark’s?’

 

The feedback was harsh until then, but it was especially harsh toward Choi Jeho.

 

Choi Jeho also criticized him for speaking harshly, but Kim Iwol did not give in.

 

‘Do you think I don’t know you won’t be affected by words like this? People out there will say much worse. If we can fix it now, it’s better to do it before it becomes a problem.’

 

Choi Jeho clicked his tongue. There was no denying that Kim Iwol was right.

 

However, logic and feelings were a separate matter.

 

Choi Jeho frowned. It was obvious that he was holding back a sigh.

 

Kim Iwol quietly looked at Choi Jeho. And when Kim Iwol opened his lips again, Kang Kiyeon tensed up.

 

What was he going to say this time?

 

Would he call him out for not controlling his expression? Or tell him to quit if he didn’t want to do it?

 

In either case, it was impossible to imagine the atmosphere in the practice room would get better after his.

 

However, what came out of Kim Iwol’s mouth was something completely unexpected.

 

‘It’s not like you don’t have any questions for your fans. Why are you keeping your mouth shut like that?’

 

Kim Iwol sounded certain of this. It wasn’t just a guess.

 

Kang Kiyeon exchanged quick glances with the colleagues sitting next to him. No one understood what was going on.

 

However, Choi Jeho just stared at Kim Iwol with a twisted expression.

 

A few seconds later, he ran his fingers through his hair and responded in a nervous tone.

 

‘It’s not like that, my noona told me not to go around asking useless questions.’

 

‘Your noona?’

 

‘Yeah, she used to come home every day complaining about annoying kids at school or work who would ask her too many weird questions. She kept telling me to watch my mouth. …Haa, just thinking about it drives me crazy

 

Was he seriously trying to use that as an excuse? Kang Kiyeon was shocked.

 

Surely, Kim Iwol’s fury would rain down now. And they’d all be reduced to ashes floating in the practice room…

 

‘Aha. I understand what you mean.’

 

…?

 

Kim Iwol, who had been listening quietly, stroked his chin and nodded.

 

Was he really the type to be this understanding with such an explanation? That Kim Iwol?

 

Kang Kiyeon couldn’t figure out in what context Kim Iwol understood Choi Jeho’s thoughts.

 

And his confusion was resolved by the conversation that followed.

 

‘The annoying kids you mentioned are the people who keep pestering her or seniors and juniors she doesn’t care about, right?’

 

‘Yeah.’

 

‘They’re gross because they keep asking questions with impure intentions, even when the other person isn’t interested.’

 

‘Exactly.’

 

In summary, Choi Jeho’s sister had been so fed up with constant unwanted attention that she had given him strict instructions: ‘Don’t live like that, and especially watch your mouth’. And Choi Jeho had been diligently trying to follow that advice.

 

‘I wasn’t just sitting there doing nothing. I was taking time to think about whether the question I had was appropriate.’

 

‘I like that. But your noona was talking about people with impure intentions, right? Are you a jerk**s who harbors bad intentions toward fans, or are you planning on saying just anything when you meet them? Should I knock some sense into you?’

 

‘How did you even make that connection?!’

 

‘If not that, then just have a genuine conversation with them with sincerity and interest. If I feel like you’re crossing the line, I’ll stop you.’

 

Then, the two of them continued practicing for the autograph session as if nothing had happened. And they did so with a very serious attitude.

 

Kang Kiyeon thought that the eldest hyungs weren’t in their right minds. However, he was relieved that no fight broke out, and he was thankful that Choi Jeho was someone who knew how to ask questions in a gentle and sincere manner.

 

* * *

 

I found myself standing in the middle of a familiar campus.

 

Students bustled around, the sun shone brightly, and laughter echoed from afar. I even felt a pleasant weight on one of my shoulders.

 

As I walked into the familiar student center, I saw the club room where I stayed the longest after the lecture halls in campus.

 

As always, the seniors’ chatter was loudly leaking out from beyond the door.

 

As I opened the door and entered, the seniors waved me in as usual.

 

Although it was a band club, there was always more talking than actual playing. They talked as much as they played their instruments.

 

And everyone seemed strangely interested in the uncharming youngest member.

 

‘Iwol, what did you want to do that made you come to the business department?’

 

I had made it to college, but I wasn’t particularly focused on studying, and I spent all day tutoring and working part-time at a convenience store.

 

Other than that, I spent endless hours playing the shared bass in the club room, so it might seem strange to others.

 

But I never thought deeply about the future. People who were struggling to survive reality became short-sighted.

 

As I opened the bass case, I responded.

 

‘Wouldn’t you apply to any place that will accept your major?’

 

‘Aren’t you thinking of taking the civil service exam?’

 

The senior asked again.

 

Every other day, I would hear about someone in our department going through the grueling preparation for the civil service exam.

 

But I didn’t have time to prepare for months or years, nor did I have living expenses, and I was so busy that I would just collapse when I got home. It wasn’t a place I could afford to go.

 

So I smiled awkwardly and answered.

 

‘Not just anyone can become a civil servant.’

 

‘Hey, don’t put pressure on the kid. He should audition for one of those music competition shows like the ones on Ennet and become a singer.’

 

‘Aren’t you the one who’s putting the most pressure on him?’

 

Even though the vocalist never showed up in the club room, the seniors gathered around me and pushed me into the spotlight.

 

They would passionately discuss how far I might get if I went on an audition program and what songs I should choose to improve my chances of winning.

 

After talking for a long time, the seniors would always reach nearly the same conclusion.

 

‘Hey, that’s okay. Iwol just needs to try it out. Don’t worry about anything else.’

 

‘Iwol, even if you debut later, you shouldn’t forget me, okay?’

 

‘If Iwol becomes a top star because of you, he will probably say in an interview that he grew musically by overcoming the oppressive military discipline of his seniors.’

 

‘What are you talking about? You are the one to blame.’

 

During that time, I didn’t have much to say.

 

All I could do was perfectly tune the bass handed down to me by a senior who had graduated a while ago.

 

After finishing preparing for the ensemble performance as usual, as I was about to say to start practicing.

 

The alarm rang at my bedside. My eyes opened at the same time.

 

The wooden ceiling right in front of me informed me that what happened just now was a dream.

 

How funny. The memory was so vivid that it appeared in my dreams, but now I couldn’t even enter that club room.

 

‘The funniest thing is that I actually debuted.’

 

Even though it didn’t seem like I would become a top star, my long-awaited debut date had arrived.

 

Instead of growing through the seniors’ tough discipline, I grew through the grueling and unfair contracts of the system.

 

And speaking of the system, it seemed to know today was the contract expiration day, showing up at the crack of dawn.

 

+

 

[SYSTEM] Work instructions from ‘Superior’ have arrived.

 

▶ Assistant Manager Kim, you know today is the deadline for your performance evaluation, right? Don’t feel too pressured. If you have done well, you’ll get good results, if not… Well, you’ll just have to go with the flow. I hope it goes well for you. Don’t forget, I’m always cheering for you, Assistant Manager Kim.

 

+

 

You probably thought I’d get angry if you said it like this, right?

 

Too bad, you’re wrong.

 

Up until yesterday, I had been practicing my debut song, fan signing, and fan meeting routines like crazy, so now I was looking forward to my debut.

 

Come, sweet debut