Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols

The stage soundtrack for Spark’s debut song, 『Flowering』, began with the sound of a heavy iron gate opening.

 

As I turned my body in sync with the beat, I saw the back of Lee Cheonghyeon, who was in charge of the intro of our debut album, opening the stage.

 

Lee Cheonghyeon sat down on one knee, resting his chin on it, and looked at the camera.

 

Lee Cheonghyeon must be wearing a meaningful and mysterious smile that was playful but not excessive.

 

I didn’t have to see it to know. I’d practiced with him several times and watched him through the mirror.

 

And…

 

『Let’s Go』

 

Lee Cheonghyeon’s voice, which sounded like narration, coolly announced the start of the song. At the same time, the stage lights burst into brightness.

 

A bright and cheerful accompaniment resonated. This was the part that Lee Cheonghyeon had worked hard on for several days.

 

‘Iwol hyung, can’t we make this feel refreshing like the summer sunshine while keeping the cold image alive?’

 

‘Reference… No, I mean, pick out a few reference images and work while looking at them. Something like a picture of a blue sky over a snowy field.’

 

‘Wow, hyung, you’re a real genius!’

 

Lee Cheongyeon didn’t even know he was the genius. Only a genius would be able to write a song like this, like a warm iced Americano.

 

I thought to myself as I danced to the song I had heard thousands of times.

 

Are my movements perfectly in sync with the other members?

 

Did I miss a note during my part just now without realizing it?

 

Why is it still the first verse? It feels like I’ve been through 130 verses by now.

 

I was worried that I was the only one messing up. Especially since the Spark members were nailing it effortlessly.

 

Lee Cheonghyeon’s song was beautiful and gorgeous.

 

Jeong Seongbin and Park Joowoo didn’t miss a single note, and Kang Kiyeon also performed his part without a hitch.

 

Choi Jeho was perfect beyond comparison. Even to me, who had moved to the back of the formation, Choi Jeho standing at the center seemed larger than life.

 

It was just me. I was the only one who didn’t fit in on this stage.

 

My heart pounded. At this point, I was amazed I could still find the camera with the red light on.

 

But losing composure wasn’t good. A lack of stability could lead to a mistake at any moment.

 

‘Stay calm.’

 

I took a moment to catch my breath as I moved my position,

 

‘You know that if you just do what you practice, you won’t make a mistake.’

 

I muttered the words to myself as if reciting a spell. I quickly pushed them out of my head instant, fearing that I would forget the lyrics.

 

The next minute passed in a blur, with no time to even grasp my thoughts. It felt like my head was spinning.

 

It was hot.

 

I couldn’t breathe.

 

I didn’t want to hinder these guys, but I didn’t think I could help it…

 

Just as those thoughts came to my mind along with the shortness of breath,

 

As the six of us gathered in line and the melody reached its peak.

 

The moment when all the members had to sing the first chorus of this song together.

 

I spotted the fans I had a brief conversation with earlier in the crowd.

 

Their slightly flushed faces and their hands tightly clutching the slogan.

 

I couldn’t hear them because I was wearing earphones, but I could clearly see their mouths cheering loudly among the indifferent crowds.

 

And…

 

[Congratulations on your debut]

 

A paper banner with those 4 words.

 

My stomach lurched. Emotions that were difficult to articulate swirled inside me.

 

Maybe it was because of the stage lights, but my face felt hot…

 

『Until the world heats up, until it burns!』

 

The melody that Lee Cheonghyeon had worked hard on every night saw the light of day for the first time.

 

My heart pounded again.

 

『Look here, I’ll show you a one-time magic』

 

Why did I have to be the one singing these lines?

 

It would’ve been better to let the spotlight shine on the other members.

 

This song, this stage, and the audience—they were all for those guys.

 

As I was lost in thought, the chorus returned as if it were natural.

 

I gripped the microphone tightly, ensuring I wouldn’t drop it.

 

And I sang while stepping forward with all my might.

 

『Let the warning sound ring out, let the cheers explode』

 

『Until my heart boils over and overflows!』

 

The harmony we painstakingly perfected, recording until we drained ourselves, until we finally found the perfect combination, resonated flawlessly.

 

Now, I felt like I could hear the cheering through the earphones. Maybe I could actually hear it.

 

The fact that there were lyrics for someone like me to sing, that I was included in the cheering, and that there was a place for me in the layered melody.

 

All of this was so strange and tender that the fleeting moment felt like a long dream.

 

* * *

 

The stage was a success.

 

Park Joowoo and Jeong Seongbin flawlessly hit their high notes that seemed capable of even splitting ice, and Kang Kiyeon also fulfilled his role without making a single mistake in the lyrics.

 

Lee Cheonghyeon, who was naturally made for the stage, had practiced well but performed even better in the actual performance.

 

If we had debuted with a ballad instead of a dance track, we wouldn’t have made this much of an impact at our debut. Thinking about it that way made UA’s past decision even more regrettable.

 

As for Choi Jeho, he was flying high on his own.

 

Even in the midst of all the chaos, you could feel the audience’s attention being drawn to him. He really was something special.

 

After finishing the first recording brilliantly, the area beneath the stage turned into a sea of tears.

 

As soon as the staff gave the signal, ‘Yes, great work, everyone!’, half of the members burst into tears, as if they couldn’t believe how they had managed to endure from the rehearsal all the way through to the recording.

 

Kang Kiyeon, after watching the video recorded by our manager several times and confirming that he had completed the stage without any major mistakes, finally broke down into tears and Lee Cheonghyeon, eyes brimming with tears, teased him playfully.

 

Then there was Jeong Seongbin, sobbing as he finally reached the end of a long wait to truly debut. The area beneath the stage wasn’t just damp—it was practically soaked with tears.

 

Thinking that I had no right to appease their overwhelming emotions, I silently patted their backs and herded them into the waiting room as if they were a flock of sheep.

 

At that moment, Choi Jeho spoke to me.

 

“You’re not crying.”

 

“I didn’t suffer enough to cry, did I?”

 

“Is that so?”

 

“Why? Are you going to comfort me if I cry?”

 

“You’re crazy…”

 

Choi Jaeho shuddered and went into the waiting room alone.

 

You cold-hearted brat. Like I’d ever cry in front of you.

 

* * *

 

Baek Haewon, a high school student in South Korea, was lying in bed during the vacation, reflecting on her life.

 

At that time, Baek Haewon was lying in her pink bed, pondering on how to become an adult without going through the ordeal of the third year of high school.

 

Baek Haewon’s cell phone vibrated several times, desperately seeking its owner’s attention.

 

It was a familiar SNS notification.

 

Recently, Baek Haewon hadn’t posted anything new, meaning there was no real reason for her to get a notification.

 

With a puzzled expression, Baek Haewon picked up her phone. Someone had tagged her.

 

≫ Ah I think they might be @minamhunter’s type

 

It was a tagging that piqued her curiosity.

 

Baek Haewon immediately checked the posts she was tagged in.

 

≫ It’s been so long since I saw such a good-looking guy, my heart almost stopped, had to flee to my private account;;;

 

└ You said you were going to watch Ennes. …Did you catch a big fish?

 

└ Yes… I think I’m losing my mind. If I talk about this on my main account, I’ll get roasted, but I can’t keep this to myself.

 

└ Ah I think they might be @minamhunter’s type

 

There, Baek Haewon’s old friends were having fun talking.

 

Once upon a time, they had bonded over their shared love for a certain boy group’s looks and charms.

 

In other words, they had become online friends while fangirling over their idols on social media.

 

Their love for their idols and their friendship seemed like it would last forever.

 

But the only things that lasted forever were the agency’s terrible handling of the group, their bias’ three-syllable name, and their friendship.

 

An agency that did sh*t job for 4 years.

 

Their bias, who aged faster than them due to lack of proper management, with no trace left of his former glory.

 

And the final blow came when they saw their idol not in the entertainment news, but in the general news section.

 

Baek Haewon had never agreed more with the statement that idols who embarrassed their fans this much deserve to fail.

 

Did they really need to keep fangirling like this?

 

Baek Haewon and many other fans had a harsh moment of reality check.

 

And after much thought, they decided to abandon the fandom.

 

However, even as they resold their albums and merchandise, there was something they couldn’t let go of.

 

It was the camaraderie they had formed—cheering for their bias together, cursing those who had cursed their bias together, and eventually even criticizing their bias together.

 

The struggles and hardships had evolved their relationships beyond just being casual fan friends.

 

≫ It may sound funny to say this now that all the fans are leaving, but… Honestly, I don’t want to lose you guys. Where else can I meet such entertaining people…

 

└ Yeah, everyone, let’s make a private account

 

That was how Baek Haewon…

 

No, Minam Hunter and her gang of about 30 bandits roamed the vast entertainment world like outlaws in search of a treasure-like genre.

 

The journey wasn’t smooth, so they only confided in their private accounts, where they gushed over their respective men (who were real people, characters on paper, or even 2.5D hybrids) and indulged in all kinds of chatter in spaces that embraced everything about them.

 

But.

 

Recently, in a place where only information like ‘Which place sells the best pancake?” was uploaded,

 

someone had called out to Baek Haewon, saying that an idol of her type had appeared.

 

These were the same people who knew better than anyone how Baek Haewon had a habit of falling for the visual members in every group!

 

Baek Haewon replied right away.

 

└ So, why tag me without telling me who it is?  Is this all our friendship amounts to? I’m disappointedㅡㅡ

 

As expected, they also gave a quick response.

 

└ I thought Hunter-nim had already caught them in the net

 

After a playful push and pull, Baek Haewon was able to get his hands on the name ‘Spark’.

 

The intel was reliable. Her friends never judged based solely on heavily edited photos.

 

Baek Haewon typed ‘Spark’ into the search bar with a pounding heart.

 

And then she found it.

 

The perfectly symmetrical, sculpted faces of the gorgeous men in their clean-cut profile photos.

 

Without hesitation, Baek Haewon saved the images from the portal site and rushed back to SNS.

 

≫ I’m about to faint right now

 

This isn’t a fake listing, right????? If what I see on the screen is different from the real thing, I’ll sue you all for fraud

 

└ Nope, they’re the real deal~

 

└ How dare you call them fake? They’re real

 

Everyone laughed, but Baek Haewon was being serious. Of course, the unnies were being serious too.

 

Thanks to the words of her trustworthy colleague, Baek Haewon even found a video of a stage that had just been uploaded.

 

‘Wow. They’ve only had one debut stage.’

 

There had never been a rookie group this new.

 

But the surprise was short-lived, as Baek Haewon clicked on the video, mesmerized by the thumbnail featuring an incredibly handsome member in close-up.