Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols

It was past 10 PM, but most of us were still wide awake. 

Jeong Seongbin and Lee Cheonghyeon were busy checking the music charts in real-time, and Kang Kiyeon tried to meditate in the dressing room, saying he would mentally prepare himself before the first episode.

 

Only Choi Jeho and Park Joowoo, who never seemed to get nervous, had already drifted off to dreamland.

 

Keeping my distance from the two guys who were seriously analyzing the charts with their foreheads stuck against each other, I opened my laptop to check the reaction to our new content.

 

If the traffic hadn’t hit rock bottom, there would have been some responses related to the content by now.

 

And fortunately, there were quite a few comments on the MiTube video.

 

The first comment that caught my eye was quite impressive.

 

≫ The thumbnail is really scary and hilarious

 

I think I would believe it if you said that they were gangsters hiding in the mountains to avoid arrest.

 

└ Why are you doing this to our kids?ㅠㅠㅠ

 

└ But… It was such a reasonable suspicion

 

└ Ranked #1 for groups you can’t believe are mostly underage

 

Well, this group’s face value was a bit too much.

 

Rather than saying that the face value was high, it would be more appropriate to say that they all looked the same, but whatever.

 

Still, the thumbnail was definitely over the top. Even from my perspective, it looked like a group of tough guys heading to the countryside to help out a senior.

 

This was all because of Choi Jeho. If it weren’t for that guy, we might’ve been able to pull off an innocent youthful vibe.

 

≫ The two oldest brothers are a real duo

 

└ They wouldn’t have to worry about not being able to get a refund wherever they go

 

Or maybe not.

 

There were a lot of new posts below that too.

 

What was unusual was that there were quite a few posts related to me this time.

 

≫ What do you think of a guy with visible veins in his arms while scrubbing a large pot?

 

That alone says it all.

 

└ Iwol, with that innocent face and fierce veins showing, you could get sued under some kind of law.

 

└ Let’s just be realㅠ Honestly, his face isn’t innocent exactly eitherㅠ

 

└ What are you talking about?? Our Iwol is literally a baby kitten

 

└ 0.3 seconds before baby kitten yawnedㅋㅋㅋ

 

≫ Spark’s Iwol, who doesn’t put up with nonsense but will tolerate anything for cuteness.

 

When he told another member to pull out a green onion, but said member brought back an onion instead:

 

Jeho, have you seriously never bought green onions from the store? Have you just been eating onions with your eyes closed?

 

When the dongsaeng said he wanted to make pancakes shaped like rabbits:

 

‘Do they really need to be in that shape?’ but when Cheonghyeon said, ‘They say good-looking food tastes better!’, he immediately agreed

 

He looks so cool but has an unexpectedly high sense of aesthetics—it’s honestly hilarious!ㅋㅋ

 

└ Our boy really loves cute things… He even takes 100 pictures of the members during their schedules…

 

≫ I was wondering why all the members were wearing arm guards

 

It turns out Iwol made them wear them so they wouldn’t get splattered with oil

 

But he was the one who actually fried everythingㅋㅋㅋ

 

If that’s the case, why did he put on the arm guards to the kids in the first placeㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

 

└ Seriouslyㅋㅋㅋㅋ he made sure they were all protected but wouldn’t let anyone near the stove.

 

└ Truly a classic, overprotective older brother.

 

└ overprotective older brotherㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ That’s accurate

 

≫ I heard Iwol got scolded by Seongbinㅋㅋ

 

I wonder why he got scolded

 

└ It’s hard to imagine, but at the same time, you just know there’s somethingㅋㅋㅋㅋ

 

└ true thatㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

 

≫ Ah, the kids reading each other’s rolling papers was so moving.

 

UA, if you have a brain, please scan and release the full text!

 

└ Please

 

└ Please

 

└ Please

 

≫ An idol who stays behind to help pack up the cameras after filming

 

Spark’s Iwol (21 years old/eldest/vocal)

 

He said he stayed because he wasn’t tired yet, but he didn’t leave until the staff had finished packing up.

 

└ Even after putting away the cameras, he didn’t go back in right away, so the writer took a picture with their phone, really… It shows his personality so well, it made me tear up

 

└ The fact that he waited until all the members were asleep before coming out is just too… It’s seriously too much. He said that if he came out on his own, the other members would feel like they had to come help too, so he didn’t want to do that. He said they’re still young and need their restㅠㅠㅠㅠSpark members are seriously angels.

 

└ XXㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ Iwol, you’re still a baby tooㅠㅠㅠ

 

The other members might have kind sides, but I didn’t.

 

I just had a stubbornness that was deeply ingrained in me.

 

I couldn’t bring myself to fall asleep when others were still working, so how should I clear this misunderstanding?

 

Oh, there were some really unique reactions.

 

≫ The oldest hyung’s physique is insane.

 

Just wearing a T-shirt and floral pants, and he still looks good? Even for an idol?

 

└ The others were laughing at how silly it looked, but I was just here in awe—those long legs, and the camera just kept going up.

 

└ The fact that he can pull off pants like that without losing his cool is unreal;;

 

They were comments complimenting my appearance.

 

Maybe I was getting a bit of a boost just by being around these good-looking guys, but thankfully, I didn’t see any harsh comments like, ‘This guy’s face wrecks the group’s average looks.’

 

‘Should I be thankful for this or not?’

 

Still, I suppose I should be grateful they kept me from getting any hate. May my shining looks last forever.

 

But I wondered if I could just leave this alone.

 

I knew they were free to post what they wanted, but I felt like the attention that should be directed to the other five was being diverted because of me.

 

Hoping that at least these people’s bias was not me, I turned off my laptop and sent all the members who hadn’t gone to bed yet into their rooms.

 

* * *

 

On the first day of the broadcast, we visited the music broadcast studio again after about 2 months.

 

Having been there a few times, we were somewhat familiar with the broadcasting station.

 

Today, we had an early morning pre-recording. At 3 AM.

 

There were a few early morning pre-recordings during our debut activities, but this was the first time it was this early.

 

Back in my days as a working professional collecting photos of Spark, I’d often wondered about this part of the idol life:

 

‘When there’s an early morning pre-recording, what time do the broadcasting station employees and staff go to work?’

 

‘It’s a 4 am pre-recording, but they check in at 2 am? Where do the audience members even wait for those two hours?’

 

‘They performed twice that day? Do fans from out of town travel through the night just to see two performances?’

 

For me, who struggled like a zombie to even get to work at 9 am, that passion was beyond my understanding.

 

Now, as an idol myself, I dove into fans’ reviews of dawn pre-recordings as soon as our schedule was set.

 

The internet was filled with tear-inducing, heartfelt accounts.

 

Taking night trains to wait at 24-hour cafes until the recording began was just the start. 

 

Some fans even took days off, with others arranging substitute shifts on weekends, and some even booked accommodations because their hometowns were too far.

 

It wasn’t even a concert—it was just a few performances. The fact that they gave their time like this couldn’t be expressed as a simple driving force.

 

‘So, this time, I was thinking of giving gifts to fans.’

 

(TL note: The official term is yeokjogong. It’s gifts from celebrities for the fans. It’s the opposite of gojong, gifts from fans for the celebrities.)

 

I still hadn’t received my earnings, but I had some stocks gradually increasing in value. If I sold just a few of them, I could buy a few snacks.

 

‘For this pre-recording?’

 

‘Yes, I just feel so sorry about the early morning time slot…’

 

‘That’s true. Since we’re recording at 3 o’clock, fans will be here even earlier.’

 

Once the members who heard my idea gathered one by one, the meeting about this gift-giving became serious.

 

‘We should probably hand it out in person, but is that not possible?’

 

We’d need approval from the company and fan managers. I heard there are set protocols for the site.’

 

The meeting was mainly about me giving my opinion and Jeong Seong-bin deciding whether it was possible or not.

 

Then, the other members would chime in with their ideas.

 

‘If we’re talking about snacks, how about macarons? I’ve seen them a lot at events!’

 

‘Cheonghyeon, your idea is good, but it probably needs to be refrigerated. It could be a burden to those who don’t eat it right away.’

 

‘I guess so. Maybe we should change it to a sandwich…’

 

‘I think it would be good to have drinks. If they’re going to wait for a long time, they definitely need water or drinks…’

 

‘There are a lot of reviews saying that people have to wait at cafes, so I’m a bit worried about whether it would be okay to give them drinks. Seongbin, what do you think of Joowoo’s idea?’

 

‘A bottled drink might be okay. Since there might be some people who can’t drink high-caffeine drinks, we could prepare one coffee and one juice and let them choose.’

 

While we were having such a heated discussion, Choi Jeho intervened.

 

‘Have you thought about the budget?’

 

‘I’m still figuring it out. Why do you ask?’

 

‘Then what about giving out a self-defense spray?’

 

‘Spray?’

 

First of all, it wasn’t on the list of items I‘d expected. I hadn’t come across it in any of the gift examples I’d researched.

 

However, I could understand why Choi Jeho brought up this item. Safety was the most important thing.

 

‘Fans have to keep waiting outside at dawn. There aren’t many stores with their lights on at that time, so it’s a bit worrying.’

 

‘That’s right. It’s too dangerous.’

 

‘Money can be split among us.’

 

I was moved—how thoughtful of Choi Jeho to say something like that.

 

Furthermore, Choi Jeho even told us the name of the product he had bought for his dongsaeng.

 

Choi Jeho wasn’t the only one who was impressive.

 

The day after we had this talk, Jeong Seongbin immediately suggested to the manager that he wanted to hand out gifts and requested permission from the company.

 

‘You’re going to pay for it yourself? You haven’t even received your first earnings yet.’

 

‘If we don’t do this, we’ll feel so bad…!’

 

Of course.

 

Who else would travel by night train, just to sit around and wait for hours in an uncomfortable spot, all to see someone for barely an hour? If you don’t feel bad, you should question your humanity.

 

Hearing how some fans even stayed overnight at saunas, the company graciously offered to cover all the costs of the fan gifts.

 

Instead, we wrote handwritten letters as much as we could, using the money we saved. The stationery was carefully selected and bought by Kang Kiyeon on his way home.

 

Writing the letter wasn’t easy.

 

Because I wrote it with concern, I ended up nagging more than expressing gratitude.

 

My letter…

 

【Hello, this is Iwol.

 

Thank you for coming to see us at this early hour.

 

But safety always comes first, right?

 

If something happens, please use the spray!

 

 The nearest police station is straight ahead from the waiting area, then right at the first intersection…】

 

…was like this.

 

‘No, hyung. Are you writing a public service announcement?’

 

Lee Cheonghyeon was shocked when he saw my letter.

 

So I silently pointed to Choi Jeho’s letter next to me.

 

This guy was even worse than me.

 

【* How to use the spray *

 

Take off the cap, maintain an arm’s length distance from the attacker, then spray.

 

When it’s windy, always turn your back to the wind and watch out for your eyes.

 

If someone keeps walking around or following you, pretend to talk on the phone and move to a crowded place…】

 

‘Are you writing a manual, hyung?!’

 

‘I wrote it because I thought the product manual wouldn’t be readable at night. This kind of thing should be written clearly.’

 

In the end, Choi Jeho and I had to rewrite our letters. Still, we decided to print out the police station location and the spray usage instructions in large letters and include them with the letters.

 

After all these preparations, the day of the recording finally arrived.