Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols

『Hello, listeners of Midnight Talk. I’m Iwol from the group Spark, here as the final stand-in to fill in for DJ Polo.』

 

Kim Iwol’s voice was smooth yet firm.

 

A clear pronunciation with an appropriate pace and a neat tone.

 

Anyone listening might think he was a well-organized DJ. If they were only hearing the voice.

 

However, Kim Iwol’s voice was the complete opposite of his own appearance. Polo couldn’t help but wonder where he got such bizarre bracelets from.

 

‘Isn’t his agency UA? That company wasn’t so bad that they couldn’t hire a stylist, right?’

 

Polo couldn’t even begin to assume that he had come like that on purpose, half listening to the introduction of the junior group Parthe.

 

The good news was that, apart from his awkward style, Kim Iwol’s hosting skills were outstanding.

 

Of course, Polo had expected that Kim Iwol would do reasonably well. After all, he had recommended Kim Iwol as a substitute after only meeting him once.

 

However, Kim Iwol easily exceeded Polo’s expectations.

 

More than just not relying on the script, Kim Iwol rarely even glanced at it.

 

‘Did he memorize it?’

 

Polo knew logically that was impossible.

 

Not only did scripts not come out weeks in advance, but with the nature of the program—requiring constant talking for an entire hour—the DJ had a substantial portion to cover.

 

But on screen, Kim Iwol’s gaze was always directed at one of three things: the guest who was speaking, the prompt displaying comments, or the staff.

 

It didn’t end there.

 

Kim Iwol’s strengths became even more apparent as the radio show progressed.

 

A deep understanding of the guest. A smooth flow that didn’t make anyone uncomfortable.

 

Despite being a first-time DJ, Kim Iwol skillfully ensured that no one was left out, giving everyone a chance to speak.

 

And…

 

『Thanks to the opportunity given by Polo sunbaenim, I was able to have a valuable experience, despite my lack of skill.

 

I feel lucky that our group Spark’s first radio appearance was on Midnight Talk. From next week, I’ll return as a devoted listener to the show.

 

Thank you to all the listeners who have been with me despite my shortcomings.』

 

Even Polo’s fans and listeners couldn’t find a single fault with Kim Iwol’s flawless wrap-up—it was praiseworthy.

 

Polo, wearing a satisfied smile, closed the replay. His mind was now filled with thoughts of boasting to his leader that his judgment had been spot on.

 

* * *

 

“Hey, Iwol, it seems Mr. Polo contacted you.”

 

The manager, who had come to check on break time, approached me and said.

 

“Sunbaenim did?”

 

“He said he was really grateful that you filled in for Midnight Talk and said you did a great job.”

 

I was surprised that he even went out of his way to send me a message.

 

As expected, seasoned idols were different. Highly specialized idols were no different from working professionals.

 

“I didn’t do anything particularly well. Thank you for letting me know.”

 

I bowed my head to thank the manager, but Lee Cheonghyeon interrupted.

 

“You did well, hyung! You never made a mistake!”

 

“How do you know I never made one?”

 

“We all turned on our laptops and listened, so we knew!”

 

“You guys did something cute like that without me knowing?”

 

The thought of the five of them huddled together listening to my radio show made me feel a bit uneasy.

 

Thank goodness they didn’t have personal phones to send in story messages. If they had, they surely would have sent something.

 

‘More importantly… all of them together?’

 

I looked at Choi Jeho, who was stretching from afar.

 

And then I asked Lee Cheonghyeon.

 

“Does ‘all together’ include Choi Jeho?”

 

“Yes. Isn’t that great?”

 

Yeah. It truly is.

 

The fact that the five of them gathered for something was meaningful. It meant they were willing to do things together outside of work.

 

No matter how much drama there was in the past, it was still a fact that Spark worked together for seven years. And that wouldn’t have been possible without at least some sense of bond.

 

‘Looks like they’re building their own closeness little by little.’

 

These guys would experience more moments like this and continue to work together for another seven years.

 

The fact that my radio show was the reason for this development was a little annoying, but I’d take it as a way to repay the ones who always gave me a bus ride.

 

Besides these guys had been listening well to me these days.

 

After pushing them hard with their individual content, the six individual contents were chosen very well.

 

≫ ㅅㅂㅅㅂ Choi Jeho is a crazy guy

 

He’s a natural at captivating women in their 20s.

 

└ I need someone to tell me how to stop watching this video… Sh*t got me good, I’ve been watching it for 40 minutes.

 

≫ Why does Kang Kiyeon’s life comic feel exactly like mine?

 

I feel like I’ve found a comrade in my life of pure comic books

 

└ And he’s consistently supporting the second male leadㅋㅋㅋㅋ Kiyeon, I can smell the rosin on your screen

 

≫ Joowoo, please start a MiTube channel

 

Upload a playlist, pls… I’m serious

 

└ I’m hearing all these songs for the first time, but I like them all… You’re a legend in the pop world.

 

└ I’m in my 30s and thought I knew a lot about pop songs, but I barely recognize half of theseㅎㅎ Thanks to you, I learned some good songs

 

└ It’s impressive that you even know half of them…

 

≫ I knew he composed music, but he plays piano so wellㅠㅠ Cheonghyeon is truly a gem in the idol world.

 

└ Cheonghyeon originally wanted to major in classical music!

 

└ I wish he’d cover not just the title songs but also the b-side tracks on the pianoㅠ

 

≫ㅋㅋㅋㅋThis is the first time I’ve seen an idol leader seriously introducing a leadership book.

 

└ I was ready to skip it because I thought it was a paid ad, but no skip ad button ever appearedㅋㅋㅋ

 

The response was so good that I almost smiled while monitoring. How unprofessional of me.

 

By the way, I also checked the comments on my content.

 

Originally, I wasn’t going to, but since I would continue my idol career, I couldn’t avoid feedback.

 

≫ The thumbnail with ‘members’ pore care tips’ was so intense I had to click.

 

≫ 3:19 I was startled when I saw the web cell. He seems to use the web cell better than me

 

└ “When you work, you often have to use the web cell.”

 

Why would an idol need to use web cellㅋㅋㅋㅋ

 

≫ You’re the first idol to be this honest, Iwol

 

└ Seriouslyㅋㅋㅋ I thought there’d be random anecdotes or something since he said it was a big TMI dump, but he actually told me about the dorm management fee

 

└ This idol even reveals the product numbers of the shared laptops.

 

The comment section was mostly positive. Some even mentioned they came over from the radio show.

 

However, like everything in the world, not all feedback was good.

 

≫ Doesn’t Kim Peb seem trying to force a concept?

 

Pretending to be the smart member.

 

Feels like he’s just sly.

 

└ ㅇㅈㅋㅋㅋㅋ You can tell just by looking at him that he’s trying to push a character, but it’s funny that people think it’s his real personality.

 

└ Even when passing by in the car, you can tell it’s a concept thing. Only the fans don’t realize itㅎㅎ

 

└ Who is Kim Peb?

 

└ Spk Kㅇㅇ

 

└ Why is he Kim Peb?

 

└ Don’t you know the

unwritten rule of communities

^[1]

The unwritten rule of community here is actually popular slang. It means that for the first three days of joining a community, you should not write anything yourself and only read the posts that are posted to get a feel for the community atmosphere and unwritten rules. I don’t think this slang means it literally. It’s more like saying ‘If you don’t know the situation, don’t butt in’.

???? ^^^^^^

 

└ Try to spell the name in English

 

└

Kim + the first letters of February

^[2]

Koreans don’t have the letter f so it turns from Kim Feb to Kim Peb. I contemplated whether to use ‘Kim Feb’ but ‘Kim Peb’ rolls in the tongue easier.

 

≫ Honestly, the kids are kind, so they listen to Kim Peb^^

 

He had the shortest training period and his skill suck a**

 

Peb must be happy^^ Thanks to the members, he can just take it easy^^

 

I often saw this kind of reaction.

 

They seemed to think I was faking a concept. Was my corporate social mask finally showing?

 

I agreed to some extent with the comment that the kids were kind. They caused trouble sometimes, but it was nothing unmanageable.

 

So I decided to take this level of feedback as a fair opinion.

 

I organized the key points from the negative comments in web cells and closed the laptop.

 

Then I spoke to Lee Cheonghyeon, who was lying on the floor, wrestling with his composition notes.

 

“Any progress?”

 

“None at all!”

 

“Well, at least your confidence is impressive.”

 

Lee Cheonghyeon was working on polishing one of the songs he had written before debut.

 

Having done music for quite a while, he had amassed quite a few melodies.

 

But turning those into a complete song was a different challenge, so I had discussed with the company to have him focus on composing whenever he had time off from practice or broadcast schedules. Of course, we had reached an agreement with him as well

 

To help him transition his classical music sense into idol music more easily, I even planned some content where he arranged K-pop songs into piano versions.

 

Maybe it wasn’t just because of that, but somehow, Cheonghyeon was showing remarkable growth.

 

Even I, who was completely ignorant of composition, found Lee Cheonghyeon’s ability to learn amazing.

 

“Which part are you stuck with?”

 

When I asked, Lee Cheonghyeon approached my bedside with his notebook as if he had been waiting for me to ask.

 

“First of all, I’ve already figured out the bass line.”

 

“Didn’t you start from the top last time?”

 

“The god of bass has bestowed me with inspiration… No, that’s not it.”

 

Lee Cheonghyeon ruffled his hair.

 

“So, we’re going for a super energetic concept, right?”

 

That’s right.

 

Our second comeback, which I’d planned, was scheduled for two months later in May.

 

And the title concept was ‘The mischievous youth who think playing is the best thing in the world!’

 

For a moment, I remembered the reaction of the members when I first shared this idea with them.

 

‘Hyung… do you need a vacation?’

 

I’d never forget the look of pity on Jeong Seongbin’s face at that time.

 

But unfortunately, I didn’t come up with the idea because I wanted to rest. It took me an hour to explain to them how I came up with that concept.

 

So while I was monitoring and doing the planning and final organizing, Cheonghyeon was working on composing the title track candidate.

 

Seeing Cheonghyeon struggling more than expected, I started wondering if I should revise the plan.

 

Since the system’s given goal required a long-term effort, I didn’t want to push Cheonghyeon too hard early on and risk burning him out.

 

“Yes. Is it really that hard to express?”

 

“Rather than that, the keywords hyung gave me just aren’t clicking.”

 

“Which part?”

 

When I asked, Lee Cheonghyeon answered.

 

“Hyung told me that if I needed an image, I should imagine children playing joyfully in May, right?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“But in my house, my parents only gave out workbooks on Children’s Day. Children’s Day wasn’t that exciting for me! I don’t have any super exciting memories, but the song needs us to feel excited, so I feel left out!”

 

“… What?”

 

“It’s like when all my friends were getting toys, but I only got school supplies! It’s like learning about KidZania but realizing I am too old to enter that year! Or going to a trampoline park only to find out there’s an extra fee for high school students!”

 

Oh, so that’s the problem?