Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols

The first radio program that Spark appeared on was ‘Midnight Talk’, hosted by a famous idol group member.

 

The DJ, ‘Polo’, who had been leading the show for a few years, was also the rapper of MYTH’s top group, ‘Hellas’.

 

“Well, then, our Mr. Iwol… Pft. Sigh, I’m sorry! I mean, everyone looks so handsome, but those cute headbands you’re wearing are just too adorable!”

 

He couldn’t help but laugh every time he looked at us. I thought he’d be more professional, but it seemed I was wrong.

 

“For those watching through the live stream, you can see that the Spark members are all wearing cute headbands with their names on them.”

 

“We wore them with the spirit of rookies!”

 

“Did the company tell you to do this?”

 

“No, it was Iwol hyung…”

 

At Polo’s question, Park Joowoo, who I trusted, immediately tattled. After all the food I’ve shared with you, how dare you tattle on me?

 

“Do you buy custom-made headbands like that? Can they make them with your name?”

 

“No, I made them myself.”

 

“You did?”

 

“Yes. We had the materials at the dorm.”

 

I made it with great care, step by step, using my experience making school festival supplies for Hanpyeong Industry CEO’s son.

 

“You’re surprisingly frugal, Iwol!”

 

“Right? Hyung looks like a real gentleman, but he’s really frugal!”

 

At Polo’s words. Lee Cheonghyeon excitedly chimed in.

 

More importantly, a gentleman, you said. Shouldn’t that title go to you instead?

 

After that, Mr. Polo and the members continued their boring conversation throughout the first part, reading comments like, ‘The headband is of great quality!’

 

Even during the commercial break, the talk about the headband didn’t end.

 

Mr. Polo looked at me with his hands clasped together and his chin raised, and asked.

 

“I’m genuinely curious, why do you have these materials at the dorm?”

 

“We had some leftover materials from when we made props for our content.”

 

“You make props too? That’s amazing.”

 

At first, I thought he was making small talk because he had nothing to talk about with a rookie group, but no matter how I looked at it, this person seemed to be firmly fixated on my handmade headband.

 

I observed for about 3 minutes to see if his interest was genuine or just acting, and then said.

 

“I made one for you just in case, sunbaenim, can I give it to you now?”

 

“For me? A headband?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Really?!”

 

I took out a gold-shining headband from my bag outside the recording booth and handed it to Mr. Polo, hoping that he would wear it if he wanted it so badly. He held his stomach and laughed.

 

“Mine is gold?”

 

“You’re the DJ of Moonlight Talk. I designed it to look like a shining golden moon.”

 

I made a weak pun while watching Polo wear the headband and applauded him. It was a habitual compliment, commenting that it suited him well.

 

Kang Kiyeon, who was sitting next to me, leaned in and whispered.

 

“When did you make his headband?”

 

“I made that one first. Always take care of the boss’s stuff first.”

 

I straightened Kang Kiyeon’s slightly crooked hairband and then tidied up his remaining hair. It was soon time for Part 2 to begin.

 

“We’re back after the ad! And during the break, everyone, I got my own name headband too!”

 

“Wow!”

 

Thanks to all our reaction training, everyone’s reaction speed was top-notch. Of course, I also laughed and joined in enthusiastically.

 

“In Part 2, it’s time to learn more about our Spark! We’ve prepared a member quiz!”

 

The format of the quiz was simple. The member opposite you would ask a quiz about themselves and you had to answer as many questions as possible within the time limit.

 

We had already filled out a pre-interview questionnaire with the writers before the broadcast.

 

The problem was, I had a feeling these guys wouldn’t get any of my quizzes right.

 

In this kind of quiz, it was common to reveal trivial details about the members. Things like birthdays, the number of siblings, or favorite songs.

 

And I’d never shared that kind of information with them. In other words, they had no way of knowing the answers.

 

I was afraid that if they got too many questions wrong, rumors of discord would spread, so I considered giving Jeong Seongbin, who was sitting across from me, the answers in advance, but I held back because I thought that if he got too many right, rumors of rigging would start to spread instead.

 

‘At least there’s no question about siblings, thank goodness.’

 

If I were asked that question in this situation where my voice would fail me and my mind went blank whenever I tried to talk about my sister, I might end up saying I was an only child even though I had an older sister.

 

First up was the Park Joowoo–Kang Kiyeon duo. They each got about four or five out of ten questions right, showing a decent level of mutual understanding. The years of being roommates paid off.

 

The other roommates, Choi Jeho–Lee Cheonghyeon pair, weren’t bad either.

 

Although Choi Jeho only got three questions right, Lee Cheonghyeon nailed seven, making up for it.

 

“Jeho hyung, aren’t you too uninterested in me?”

 

“No, How am I supposed to know the color of your socks today…”

 

“I even got the color of your shoelaces right!”

 

“…Sorry.”

 

Still, getting three answers right was an amazing growth. Last time I checked, he only got two right in their year.

 

“Okay, now it’s Iwol and Seongbin’s turn. Seongbin, please say a few words of determination!”

 

“I’ll try my best! Hyung, let’s do our best!”

 

Sitting across from me, Jeong Seongbin cheered me on with a fist pump.

 

And he lived up to his determination, performing surprisingly well.

 

‘What’s the video I’ve watched the most recently?’

 

‘Our music video.’

 

‘Then which member do I think suits this concept the best?’

 

‘Cheonghyeon!’

 

He got four questions right. I was really surprised.

 

I thought he was just guessing, but Seongbin seemed to have his own reasoning.

 

“Does Cheonghyeon really suit the concept of this album well?”

 

“Ah, Iwol hyung really likes Cheonghyeon’s face!”

 

“I do?”

 

Was this because I once said Cheonghyeon was handsome during fan-signing practice? His reasoning seemed too flimsy, and I was taken aback.

 

“Now Iwol has to get five questions right. How about that? Are you confident?”

 

“I’ll try my best!”

 

I answered energetically, and Seongbin clapped. This was all so ridiculous.

 

Despite my inner turmoil, Polo enthusiastically continued the segment.

 

“Okay! Let’s start!”

 

“I am not sure hyung will get this right… Hyung, what’s my favorite song?”

 

“Seongdo sunbarnim’s『The Sun Shines』.”

 

“Correct answer! Which class was I in last year?”

 

“Class 3?”

 

I answered the second question as if I hesitated a bit, but honestly, I was confident I could answer anything. Unless they asked for the last digits of their social security numbers, I was good.

 

“What’s my favorite color?”

 

“Purple.”

 

“Tell me the title of my favorite movie!”

 

“『The Last Performance』!”

 

Next to him, Kang Kiyeon muttered, ‘Hyung, what the…?’

 

Of course, I would know this much. I’d been listening to Spark’s radio for years.

 

The minute was over in an instant with one question left. Everyone around us gasped in amazement.

 

“Iwol, you got nine in total!”

 

“Hyung, if you had more time, you could’ve answered them all! What the hell, you’re like a living wiki!”

 

Lee Cheonghyeon attempted a long-distance high-five. I waved my hand in the air in moderation.

 

“Wow, Iwol must really care about his members!”

 

“Luckily, the questions were ones I knew. I guess I was lucky!”

 

I had to say this to avoid being labeled as ‘Kim Iwol, the diehard fan of Jeong Seongbin.’

 

I hoped the system realized how much effort I was putting into avoiding excessive exposure with the members. So that they’d hurry up and process my reward faster.

 

Thanks to me getting nine questions right, Seongbin and I ended up winning first place.

 

The prize for the first-place team was a friendship selfie. Since Seongbin was terrible at taking selfies, I held the camera instead. It was a monumental schedule.

 

* * *

 

The system didn’t respond much after that.

 

Not only was its speech similar to Manager Nam’s, but its speed of approval was also in sync with Manager Nam’s. My frustration was building up.

 

The system finally responded to me one day, right before our final broadcast.

 

While in the car returning from filming a MiTube program, the manager surprised me with a completely unexpected remark.

 

“We’re going to wear the uniforms we actually used in real life?”

 

“Yeah, since it’s the final broadcast, we thought it’d be fun to go with a more authentic concept! The company’s already approved it.”

 

Apparently, the planning team had come up with the idea ​​’Let’s show our kids’ real school days!’ before the last episode.

 

“Manager, I didn’t go to high school, so I don’t have a high school uniform…”

 

“Uh… Wouldn’t your middle school uniform still fit, Joowoo?”

 

My head started to pound.

 

Bringing our actual school uniforms was an idea that had crossed my mind too.

 

But I never put it into action. Because not all six of us had uniforms.

 

Even if we exclude the day when I ended up at the Spark dorm with nothing but a suitcase.

 

Park Joowoo, who didn’t go to high school, wouldn’t have a uniform that fit him, and Choi Jeho, who graduated high school long ago, would have his uniform far away at his family’s home.

 

So, with two members already lacking uniforms, I figured I didn’t need to worry about my own uniform…

 

“I’ll ask my family if they can send mine via courier.”

 

“Then, Jeho hyung is sorted. Joowoo, how about you wear casual clothes that give off a school look? Manager, if we’re each wearing our own uniforms, the colors don’t necessarily have to match, right?”

 

…The situation was taking a strange turn.

 

Choi Jeho said he’d ask his family, and now Jeong Seongbin was helping coordinate other people’s outfits.

 

“That’ll be fine. Then everyone will have no problem bringing their own clothes, right?”

 

There are some problems.

 

Lots of them!