Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols

8 PM.

 

In the city, this would be peak practice time, but in the countryside where the sun had set and there was no internet, it was the perfect time for a game of truth or dare.

 

I felt like the system gave me a task like ‘sharing secrets with members’ because it knew things would turn out like this.

 

The members all peeled cucumbers and sat in the living room, their faces seemed a little more moistened.

 

“Ah, this would be even better if we each had a candle to hold!”

 

“Isn’t that more like a retreat?”

 

“It sets the mood!”

 

To cater to Lee Cheonghyeon’s need for ambiance, I borrowed the writer’s phone and put on a video titled ‘[1 hour/1 Hour] Campfire Time’, then handed it to him.

 

Holding a digital bonfire in his hand, Lee Cheonghyeon immediately shut his mouth.

 

“So, how should we decide the order?”

 

When I asked, Jeong Seongbin answered right away.

 

“We haven’t done our weekly compliments yet, so how about we start by complimenting the person next to us? Whoever gets stuck can go first.”

 

“Sounds good.”

 

Jeong Seongbin confidently stepped forward, saying that he should be the one to start it since he was the one who brought it up.

 

“I want to compliment you, Cheonghyeon, for your spirit of service. I was touched when you took charge of stacking the bricks for the oven so the older members wouldn’t hurt their hands.”

 

“I feel like he just wanted to do it, though.”

 

Ignoring Kang Kiyeon’s muttering, Lee Cheonghyeon happily accepted Jeong Seongbin’s compliment.

 

The praise relay continued. Thanks to having done this a few times at the dorms, everyone was able to compliment each other with ease.

 

The turn went around and eventually came to Choi Jeho.

 

I was the one who would receive the praise. I motioned for him to say it quickly.

 

Choi Jeho furrowed his brow and hesitated.

 

“Uh…”

 

“What’s with that silence?”

 

As if something was stuck in his throat, Choi Jeho couldn’t say anything.

 

Couldn’t he at least follow Jeong Seongbin’s lead and compliment me on something from today? Like ‘Iwol, thank you for diligently cleaning the pot lid!’ or something like that.

 

Of course, Jeong Seongbin must have been sincere in his praise.

 

I put my hands together.

 

“You really don’t have anything?”

 

“No, I mean, you got scolded by Jeong Seongbin the day before yesterday.”

 

“So you’re saying I only do things that deserve scolding, and there’s nothing to compliment?  You should be the first to ask questions.”

 

I immediately pushed Choi Jeho into the pit of the truth game.

 

But it wasn’t a very good choice. No one dared to ask him questions.

 

Well, they must be afraid of what might come out of this guy’s mouth.

 

‘What kind of stories would get the best reactions from the fans?’

 

First of all, no one here was crazy enough to bring up stories about their first loves.

 

Questions about his school days… He didn’t seem to have many friends, so let’s skip that.

 

I opened my mouth after thinking about it.

 

“If we were traveling for a schedule in the provinces or abroad, who would you want to share a room with?”

 

It wasn’t a question meant for today in particular. After all, tonight we’d all be sleeping cramped together in one room.

 

Choi Jeho answered without hesitation.

 

“Park Joowoo.”

 

“Why?”

 

“He’s quiet. Less interaction makes things more comfortable, doesn’t it?”

 

“I think we should hear Joowoo’s opinion on that too.”

 

“I’d like to share a room with Jeho hyung…!”

 

Such a good guy. Park Joowoo, you’re exempt from the next laundry duty.

 

Choi Jeho, you’re going to have 100 lessons on speaking politely.

 

Next up was Jeong Seongbin, who lost in the game of wits.

 

As soon as Jeong Seongbin’s turn came, Lee Cheonghyeon jumped in as if he had been waiting for it.

 

“I’ve been wanting to ask this question! Hyung, would you prefer five Iwol hyungs, or one five-year-old Iwol hyung?”

 

Am I playing a punishment game?

 

Ignoring my bafflement, Jeong Seongbin seriously pondered the question.

 

Next to him, a heated debate was taking place between the third parties.

 

“Why are you asking such a question? It’s obviously the five-year-old Iwol hyung.”

 

“Why?”

 

“You can teach him to dance early.”

 

Kang Kiyeon, fully invested, said something horrifying.

 

I went from being twenty-nine to twenty, so back to being five years old was probably not impossible for me. What was the point of this debate?

 

After thinking it over for a full five minutes, Jeong Seongbin said with a solemn expression.

 

“I’ve made my decision.”

 

“Oh! What are you going to choose?”

 

“I’ll go with five-year old Iwol hyung.”

 

When Park Joowoo asked why, Jeong Seongbin tightly closed his eyes and said.

 

“If there were five hyungs, we’d each have to look after one. But if it’s just one hyung, we can all watch him together…!”

 

“I’m sorry, but are you planning on co-parenting me?”

 

I was so dumbfounded that I could only laugh.

 

Those idiots. If it were up to me, I’d turn them all into five versions and make them do five times as many events.

 

Once the questions started flowing, all sorts of things came up.

 

Having been trained through years of drinking games, I was able to escape the hell of questions without getting caught once. Well done, past me.

 

* * *

 

With the morning mission instructions from the production team delivered, today’s recording finally wrapped up.

 

Since the majority of the team members were minors, we had pre-arranged not to hold any night-time recordings.

 

The guys removed their makeup and returned to their natural state only after the camera turned off.

 

Maybe because it wasn’t stage makeup, there was not much difference from their bare face. Or maybe it was because they were all still young.

 

By the time I came out from washing up last, there were neatly laid-out blankets for each person in the room.

 

We were used to dorm life, but unlike when there were usually three people per room, today there were six people per room. It reminded me so much of the military.

 

‘At least the blankets are bright and nice.’

 

I glanced around and saw that the guys had also laid down with their own colorful blankets.

 

Just as I was about to cover myself with my own blanket, someone called out to me.

 

It was Jeong Seongbin.

 

“Hyung, are you going to sleep?”

 

“Yeah, I have to.”

 

The company had warned me not to let my dark circles grow before the comeback.

 

If I knew how to manage that, I would have gotten a job at a dermatology clinic.

 

“You go to sleep too. We have to wake up at 6 tomorrow.”

 

“Yes.”

 

Jeong Seongbin answered obediently and crawled into bed.

 

Then, after 30 seconds, he popped his head out again.

 

“But, hyung.”

 

“What is it?”

 

“Can I ask why your back is like that?”

 

Jeong Seongbin glanced at me.

 

“Why? Are you worried that I might have been doing something stupid?”

 

“No! I would never think that…!”

 

Jeong Seongbin waved his hand in surprise.

 

At the same time, we quickly checked the surroundings to see if anyone was awake. The other guys were still motionless, perhaps exhausted from the rural activities during the daytime.

 

Jeong Seongbin said he didn’t doubt me but he must be worried inside.

 

It was not uncommon for an idol to disappear because of something that happened in the past.

 

I was a trainee who joined late, at the age of 20.

 

If someone with an unknown background suddenly showed up with a large scar on their back, I’d be wary too.

 

But I didn’t really want to talk about my family history, which had no dreams or hopes.

 

Even if I talked about that, it’d just make things awkward for both of us.

 

As I was thinking about what to say to Jeong Seongbin, the system appeared on the dark ceiling.

 

+

 

[SYSTEM] ‘New task’ has been re-issued

 

▷ Share secrets with members

 

▷ Reward: Increase the probability of a stable comeback

 

+

 

Secrets?

 

Didn’t we already share secrets in the truth game? What else do you want me to talk about here?

 

I was quite curious.

 

The system could be lazy at times, but it never missed new-task-related content.

 

As if it could read my thoughts, the system popped up again.

 

+

 

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

 

▶ Assistant Manager Kim! You don’t think you can just slip away with that, right? I am upset. We need everyone on board for team bonding and all that.

 

+

 

Ah.

 

So because I was the only one who didn’t get caught in the truth game, it was invalidated?

 

Since the footage would be edited, I thought it wouldn’t matter if one member didn’t participate. I was too short-sighted.

 

“If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine!”

 

“Huh?”

 

Jeong Seongbin, who was watching my reaction, said urgently.

 

“Weren’t you worried that I might have caused trouble?”

 

“Not at all?!”

 

“No? Then why did you ask?”

 

“Well, it’s not that important…”

 

Jeong Seongbin darted his eyes around for a while and then said.

 

“If it’s something hyung doesn’t want to reveal, I was just wondering if there was anything I could do to help…”

 

“Huh?”

 

“Like, I could let the company know when we’re deciding on costume concepts… Not that I’m trying to take charge or anything! I just….”

 

For this guy who was so smart, his rambling got unusually long.

 

I quietly waited for Jeong Seongbin to finish what he wanted to say.

 

After some hesitation, Jeong Seongbin carefully brought out what he really wanted to say.

 

“You seemed flustered when I mentioned your back earlier. I’m sorry if I brought up something uncomfortable…”

 

“…”

 

“I know it’s not much, but if there’s anything I can do to make sure it doesn’t happen again, I’d like to help.”

 

Only then did I understand why Jeong Seongbin couldn’t meet my eyes.

 

He’d been feeling guilty, thinking he’d unknowingly touched a nerve. How can you live in this harsh world with such a conscience?

 

I couldn’t help but laugh.

 

“It’s nothing like that. You don’t have to worry.”

 

“…That’s a relief.”

 

“It’s true.”

 

I slowly closed my eyes. Next to me, I heard the sound of Jeong Seongbin pulling his blanket up.

 

“It’s not like I had been doing something stupid.”

 

Outside, I could hear the sound of cicadas,

 

When the sound of cicadas stopped, I could hear the breathing of someone who had already fallen asleep, and then the cicadas started crying again.

 

“…The atmosphere in my house was a little rough, and sometimes things went too far.”

 

Even though I chose my words carefully, the meaning should have been conveyed. Jeong Seongbin was a smart guy.

 

Another sound of cicada was heard from afar.

 

The atmosphere of the countryside night was so unfamiliar that it made me feel as if my childhood memories weren’t mine.

 

So, it felt like reading a very old, faded diary of someone I had no connection with.

 

“It was just bad luck at the time. I barely notice it since I don’t see my back much.”

 

I let out a small laugh and turned to Jeong Seongbin. He had a complicated expression on his face.

 

“It’s not nice to look at, so I’ll keep it hidden. Don’t worry too much.”

 

“Hyung…”

 

I told him I was tired and that we should go to sleep and turned my gaze away from Jeong Seongbin.

 

Country nights were scary. They made people recall the past in an instant.

 

I tried to hide my awkwardness and turned to sleep, but I heard someone sniffling on the other side of Jeong Seongbin.

 

‘Did someone catch a cold?  Or maybe they have allergies to the unfamiliar environment? Or…?’

 

I got up to find the culprit who was sniffing in the middle of the night.

 

A few blankets rustled, then everything went silent.

 

“Hey.”

 

“…”

 

“Could it be… someone wasn’t asleep?”

 

The three heads hidden under the blankets didn’t move at my question.

 

At that moment. I heard another sound of sniffling from behind Jeong Seongbin.

 

No way.

 

None of you were sleeping?

 

I’m a little… embarrassed, guys…