Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols

It was only the second comeback, but there were noticeable changes in the community.

 

During debut, only a handful of people with consistent usernames posted about them, but this time, there were quite a few threads mentioning Spark.

 

≫ Is Seongbin the leader again?

 

└ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ  look at them feeling sorry for himㅋㅋㅋ

 

└ Seong-Leader…

 

└ Seong-Leaderㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

 

≫ Looks like Spk is doing a youth concept again this time

 

It’s strange, how can they do this when there’s no youth on their face

 

└ ㅋㅋㅋNo youth in their face you said

 

└ That’s mean, sir. Except for the oldest members, the rest are actual high school boysㅠ

 

└ It’s refreshing, though, seeing this pure youth vibe you rarely find in the idol world these days.

 

└ These days, most of the concepts are strong, so it gets tiring, but they must be aiming for that

 

≫ Is Lee Cheonghyeon a genius?

 

Even though I only listened to it briefly, the melody sounds amazing

 

└ The more I see of Cheonghyeon, the more I’m impressedㅠㅠ He doesn’t have a long career in composing, but he always comes up with good songs, I think it’s really amazing

 

└ Isn’t it just ㅇㅇㅇ pushing for him?

 

└ Jealousy is ugly, dude;;;;

 

≫ UA is working hard

 

They’re timing these comebacks perfectly to keep up the momentum.

 

└ If they don’t push hard at the start, then when would be the right time? ㅠㅠㅠ Now is the time to go all in

 

└ If you really work hard when you’re still new, you have a higher chance of survivingㅠ If you don’t get popular after a year, it’ll be really hard to recover

 

Maybe because they hadn’t gotten a lot of attention yet, there were mostly only good posts on the forum.

 

There were perks to stanning a group that wasn’t super famous yet.

 

‘Keep this form going… No, please get famous… Taste the sweetness of success… But also, please don’t get too famous…’

 

Baek Haewon turned off her phone with conflicting thoughts.

 

As she read more related articles, she felt like her heart would burst out from the overwhelming emotion.

 

‘I hope the music video comes out soon.’

 

Baek Haewon prayed earnestly like a child making a wish on Christmas Eve.

 

And soon after, the music video was released like a gift.

 

* * *

 

As the video began, a distant bird chirping set the background as Jeong Seongbin, wearing a gray hoodie, walked forward.

 

Jeong Seongbin passed the deserted school and climbed the mountain behind the school, stopping in front of a tree.

 

Pushing a large rock aside, he opened his backpack, pulled out a trowel, and began to dig into the damp soil.

 

After the sound of digging dirt was heard several times.

 

Jeong Seongbin stopped moving when there was a sound of the trowel hitting something.

 

The angle shifted to the ground, showing Jeong Seongbin’s hand clearing away the dirt, revealing the open sky above.

 

The camera was pulled up from the ground along with Jeong Seongbin’s hand movements as he took something out.

 

Jeong Seongbin tapped the cookie container he had dug out underground, shaking off the dirt and opening the lid.

 

The title appeared, and the song began with the sound of a stainless steel container opening.

 

『Even without an alarm, I wake up

 

And just seeing the morning sun makes me feel good

 

That day』

 

As the first verse began, the screen changed to the whiteboard scene from the teaser.

 

Jeong Seongbin wrote ‘The Ultimate Playtime Mission!’ in large letters, then attached a worn, colorful piece of origami paper he’d taken from the time capsule. Next to it, he pinned a large, printed amusement park flyer.

 

『That’s right, the day we promised!』

 

Jeong Seongbin looked straight ahead and his part started playing, followed by the members’ group dance scene.

 

The hair colors of the members dancing in front of the carousel were dazzling.

 

Out of all of them, Jeong Seongbin’s bright yellow-blonde hair and Park Joowoo’s light pink hair stood out.

 

『To have fun properly

 

You have to prepare properly

 

A cell phone that was turned off

 

A small wallet and sunglasses

 

Did you pack everything?

 

Are you ready to play?』

 

In an elegant living room, Kang Kiyeon discreetly slipped an expensive-looking camera from a glass cabinet into his bag, while Lee Cheonghyeon broke open a piggy bank.

 

The scene then moved to Choi Jeho, laying out several outfits on his bed, and Kim Iwol, packing his bag full of drinks.

 

The scene ended with Park Joowoo trying on different animal headbands in front of a mirror, before cutting back to the chorus, with the group dancing together.

 

『Playing is the best

 

In a place with a nice view

 

Eating all the delicious things

 

Doing only what I want

 

I want to live every day like a vacation』

 

Bubbles rained down behind the brightly smiling members.

 

As the second verse began, the members enjoyed their time at the amusement park.

 

『A gift for a good child

 

The best vacation for a cool adult

 

That’s right

 

And time with you!』

 

Kang Kiyeon took pictures of the members riding all kinds of rides, and Jeong Seongbin tied up six helium balloons to his friends’ wrists.

 

Soon, the screen was filled with pictures of the members wearing ridiculous sunglasses and eating food sold at the amusement park.

 

After the happy moments, they left the amusement park, with a parade playing in the background.

 

With the flow of the melody all settled and gradually built up to a climax toward the chorus.

 

The five members Choi Jeho, Kim Iwol, Lee Cheonghyeon, and Kang Kiyeon all led by Jeong Seongbin visited a small hospital in a secluded land.

 

In the hospital room they visited, Park Joowoo was lying with his eyes closed.

 

『It’s a dream-like wish,

 

But even once

 

I want to have a pleasant conversation

 

and smile happily

 

and live every day like a movie』

 

Jeong Seongbin put an amusement park entrance bracelet on Park Joowoo’s wrist, and Kim Iwol placed the headband Joowoo had chosen on Park Joowoo’s head.

 

As Cheonghyeon tied the helium balloons to the foot of Joowoo’s bed, Choi Jeho wrote the phrase ‘Park Joowoo’s one wish has come true!’ on the balloon.

 

Then, Kang Kiyeon held up an album in front of Park Joowoo’s face, showing a photo of him edited into their amusement park pictures. 

 

Park Joowoo’s face, which was closed, was naturally included in the photo, as if it was taken with his eyes closed on purpose.

 

Having playfully decorated Joowoo’s space, the members sat around his bed, happily chatting together.

 

『Right now, right this moment!』

 

With the last chorus, the focus gradually moved away from the hospital, and soon the blue sky was revealed.

 

『With List』

 

The title appeared again on the brightened screen.

 

With a large circle marked over it, the video came to an end.

 

* * *

 

As soon as the music video was released, the online community began to heat up.

 

≫ From now on, Spark is the definition of youth

 

That’s just how it is

 

└ The MV alone makes the story perfect…

 

└ It’s actually a pretty sad story if you look closely, but I love how they kept it lighthearted till the end

 

└ Yeah, I love that it doesn’t feel overly dramatic but rather gives the sense that they genuinely believe their friend will wake up any timeㅠㅠ

 

≫ I apologize for complaining about the reused youth concept.

 

Please, stay forever young.

 

└ ㅋㅋㅋㅋLook at the change in attitude

 

≫ Is the title With List because it’s the combination of With You+Wish List?

 

Ha tlqkf

 

└ Seeking someone to fulfill Park Joowoo’s wish (1/1)

 

≫ Summary of the contents/spoilers of this Spark MV (continuously updating)

        

└ At around 00:32, you can see that the time capsule says ‘Open when tweny’… It’s so sad and touching to think they made this time capsule as kids who didn’t even know proper spelling, and now, as high schoolers about to turn twenty, they’re opening it hoping to wake up their friend

 

└ Oh, so that’s what it means? (mind blown)

 

└ **** Joowoo…

 

≫ Has anyone heard spk’s new song?

 

The song seems really goodㅇㅇ

 

Though I wonder if they can perform it liveㅋㅋㅋ It’s super fun to listen to

 

└ Didn’t Mr. Park Joowoo actually collapse while recording?

 

└ This is it

 

└ The comment aboveㅋㅋㅋ Top commentㅋㅋㅋㅋ

 

The response was good. And the reviews were generally favorable.

 

Just looking at SNS, there were a lot of recent posts about Spark.

 

Probably because about half of the music video was filmed at an amusement park, the screenshots were also quite pretty.

 

The colors, the composition. Everything turned out well without any noticeable flaws. Maybe because they dyed their hair in pastel tones, even the members looked like they belonged to the amusement park.

 

Above all…

 

≫ Perfect seasonal vibes.

 

The more I listen to it, the more I want to just throw everything away and have funㅋㅋㅋ

 

└ That’s why it fits perfectly with May~early summerㅋㅋㅋ The song is also upbeat

 

└ This is kind of like an escape song for students who have midterms coming up

 

…The release date and the mood of the song were just right as planned.

 

Thanks to this, it received a great response from students who were in the middle of their exam period and office workers eagerly counting down to Children’s Day even though they weren’t kids anymore.

 

For a relatively unknown group like Spark, it was crucial to row when the tide came in. And they had to row so hard even if it meant having their arms fall off.

 

They had to keep releasing content to make sure that anyone who thought, ‘Oh, these guys are pretty good!’ stayed interested.

 

Typically, the music video and track release happened at 6 p.m. But even with the earliest music show performance the next day, there was still too much time to fill.

 

‘It’s about time for the marketing team to upload the video.’

 

I checked the time on the bottom of my laptop.

 

6:05. By now, those who started watching the music video right at six were likely finished watching.

 

And right on cue, as requested beforehand, Spark’s official channel uploaded a lively behind-the-scenes video from the recent farm experience.

 

* * *

 

Baek Haewon felt like she was going crazy.

 

Sure, part of it was the disastrous midterm scores…but mostly, it was the flood of new content that kept swaying Haewon’s heart this way and that.

 

Baek Haewon, who had been watching the 5-minute music video over and over again, thought it would be better to stream the music video, so she had been streaming the music video for 50 minutes straight.

 

‘The kids’ faces are amazing… The song is amazing too… But their real faces are amazing…’

 

A stream of tears seemed to flow inside Haewon’s chest. The ending’s lingering emotions refused to go away.

 

When was the last time she had felt this kind of pride and exhilaration for stanning such talented idols?

 

Baek Haewon realized that happiness was, indeed, not far away.

 

She took a deep breath to calm her madness.

 

And she began to carefully frame her impression so that as many people as possible could accept her words without feeling any resistance.

 

If even at least one of her many acquaintances joined her in her passion for Spark, Baek Haewon could die with no regrets.

 

With a determined heart, Baek Haewon returned to SNS, where she had momentarily stepped away to rewatch the MV. 

 

New unread posts greeted her.

 

≫ @spArk_official

 

The Ultimate Fun Adventure for Adults!

 

Let’s go experience the mountains together!

 

Adult with a wish: Kim Iwol

 

Special Note: An old soul with a love for vintage tastes

 

[Spark] 2X05XX Let’s go to the mountains, City Friends ep. 1

 

In the attached thumbnail, six members wearing colorful floral pants were looking at the camera side by side.

 

‘If it’s labeled ep.1, that means they’ll give us a second episode too, right?’

 

If it ended up being just ten minutes per episode, Baek Haewon swore she’d report them for toying with a high schooler’s heart.

 

Determined, she clicked on the video link.

 

Then, a massive-scale episode lasting a full 53 minutes greeted Baek Haewon.