Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols

The monthly evaluation at UA proceeded in the order of the best performance from the previous evaluation.

 

Since I had no evaluation record, I was assigned the last turn.

 

Although it was my first time participating in the evaluation, I knew who must have come in first place last month.

 

“Shall we start with Joowoo?”

 

It was Park Joowoo, who was set to become the main vocalist of Spark in the future.

 

Park Joowoo had quite peculiar characteristics from the beginning of his debut.

 

≫ He sings well, dances well, looks good, has a nice personality—is there anything this guy can’t do?

 

└ If you drop him in the middle of the Coex Starfield Library, he might not find his way home.

 

└ Aren’t you being too mean to our clueless boy?ㅠㅠ

 

└ You’re laughing at him too

 

└ (Smile)

 

The unique atmosphere created by his cool demeanor and languid impression was something rarely seen in a nineteen-year-old boy.

 

Among the stubborn members of Spark who insisted on saying whatever was on their minds, Park Joowoo maintained a calm expression, quietly observing them.

 

In the idol world, no matter how diligently one reacted, if they gave the impression of being passive, they were bound to be criticized.

 

For the first year after his debut, it seemed Park Joowoo could not escape such controversy either.

 

But that was only if his singing skill had been at a mediocre level.

 

『It was a night when everyone took out the alcohol they had been saving….』

 

Park Joowoo began to sing along to a famous band song that any student who had ever picked up a band instrument during their school years would have inevitably heard.

 

Even amidst the strong band sound, Park Joowoo’s voice shone.

 

Who needed elaborate techniques? Hitting every note perfectly was a technique in itself.

 

By the way, his English pronunciation was also perfect. Because this song was Park Joowoo’s favorite song.

 

Even during practice, his performance was stunning, but when he gave his all, it was nothing short of impressive.

 

The teachers showered Park Joowoo with praise as he finished the song cleanly and bowed. The CEO sitting in the middle also looked fully satisfied.

 

It was only natural, if I were his mentor, I would have already soaked three tissues with tears from his performance.

 

“Joowoo is amazing. I feel like you’ve improved even more than before. Do you feel it?”

 

“…Thank you.”

 

“He has a knack for choosing songs that suit his voice. Song selection is a skill too, and he has a good sense for it.”

 

From then on, the evaluation of Park Joowoo was filled with nothing but praise.

 

However, it did not end on an entirely pleasant note.

 

“But from now on, I hope you practice more conceptual songs. Like I mentioned last time. Okay?”

 

“…Yes.”

 

“Good job. Next is Jeho, right?”

 

A slight hint of bitterness appeared on Park Joowoo’s face as he switched places with Choi Jeho.

 

‘Maybe it’s a matter of taste.’

 

Park Joowoo, who resembled a fluffy cotton ball, had a taste in music that was quite different from his outward appearance.

 

This guy was a hardcore rock band music enthusiast with rock spirit running in his veins.

 

However, you could only see Park Joowoo sing rock music in the cover content. Even that was when Spark was in its second year.

 

The reason Park Joowoo had to put aside the rock he loved so much for a while was revealed during a live broadcast one day.

 

‘Joowoo, can you cover a RoseD song…? I like RoseD too, but I need to practice if I’m going to cover them. I can’t quite capture the old feeling… I think it’s because I’ve changed my singing style.’

 

Park Joowoo ended the conversation by saying he would practice hard.

 

And a few months later, he did cover a famous song by that band and uploaded the video.

 

But the day when Park Joowoo sang his favorite songs on stage or in front of people never came.

 

Considering the grand concepts Spark had pursued in the past, it wasn’t hard to guess his reasons.

 

‘It just didn’t fit the image of an idol that UA was going for.’

 

Unlike when preparing as a solo singer, the genres Park Joowoo could sing became much more limited once he chose the path of an idol trainee.

 

Moreover, Park Joowoo was the member who could hit the highest notes in the team. For that reason, the company wouldn’t easily allow him to sing rock songs that would excessively strain his vocal cords.

 

I glanced sideways at Park Joowoo, who was sitting next to me with a wilted expression like boiled spinach.

 

Even to me, who had to strain to listen to Joowoo’s faint voice and struggled to write subtitles for fan videos, he looked a bit pitiful.

 

While Choi Jeho was preparing the music file, I spoke softly enough for only Park Joowoo to hear.

 

“I like that song too.”

 

“…?”

 

“You really sing well. I enjoyed it.”

 

Park Joowoo, who had looked puzzled, suddenly brightened at my words. Even though it only brightened based on his usual standard.

 

‘Hasn’t he heard enough compliments about his singing?’

 

As I pondered his unexpected reaction, I quickly found the answer.

 

None of the Spark members had the same taste in music as Park Joowoo.

 

It suddenly occurred to me that it could be quite lonely to sing every day without having colleagues who shared your musical preferences.

 

Choi Jeho’s, Jeong Seongbin’s, and Lee Cheonghyeon’s performance next were all excellent.

 

UA, who had postponed their debut for another two years despite having such skilled members, was impressive in its own way.

 

“Next, Kiyeon.”

 

When Kang Kiyeon’s name was called, Lee Cheonghyeon mouthed ‘Fighting!’.

 

I, too, shook my fist in a show of support, as a disciple.

 

“Whew.”

 

Kang Kiyeon took a small deep breath.

 

In conclusion, Kang Kiyeon’s performance was good.

 

However, it fell short of the performance he usually displayed in the practice room. Even considering that he hadn’t been able to showcase his specialty, dancing, due to an ankle injury, it was still lacking.

 

If even an amateur like me could notice, it must have been even more obvious to the experts.

 

And Kang Kiyeon himself seemed to know this fact better than anyone.

 

“Kiyeon.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“We all know what you’re capable of.”

 

Kang Kiyon’s shoulders twitched slightly. Perhaps anticipating the words to come.

 

“But you need to perform well during evaluations to prove your real ability.”

 

It wasn’t wrong, which made it an even bigger blow to Kang Kiyeon, a perfectionist who would take it deeply to heart.

 

“Relax and just do it. There aren’t many people your age who can dance and sing well like you.”

 

“Yes, thank you.”

 

“You’ve worked hard. Let’s do better next time.”

 

I could see each warm word engraving itself into Kang Kiyeon’s bones.

 

As Kang Kiyeon sat down with a stiff expression, Lee Cheonghyeon enthusiastically ruffled his hair.

 

As far as I knew, Kang Kiyeon’s habit of getting nervous in important moments would last for quite a while. Four types of calming pills had appeared in his ‘What’s in My Bag?’ content, after all.

 

But now was not the time to worry about Kang Kiyeon.

 

“Now, Iwol, shall we see what you’ve prepared?”

 

I had to worry about myself first.

 

If I didn’t want to get cut from UA today, I had to get my act together.

 

“Since this is your first evaluation, was it difficult to prepare?”

 

Perhaps out of consideration for me, a new recruit, they added some icebreaker, unlike with the other members.

 

It had been a long time since I was on the receiving end of such consideration, rather than being the one to offer it.

 

“Everyone helped me a lot. Thanks to them, I gained a bit of confidence.”

 

“For just a bit of confidence, you don’t seem nervous at all?”

 

“I’m very nervous inside.”

 

The teachers laughed, perhaps taking my words as a joke.

 

But I was actually serious. If I got cut off here, I was ready to go to every intersection in the country and camp out until my sister showed up.

 

I had prepared as much as I could. All I had to do was show what I had built up until now and give my best.

 

And in situations like this, I’d never made a mistake before. Because I strived not to make mistakes.

 

“I prepared『Sitting by the Window』.”

 

The three teachers sitting in front of me looked surprised. Only the Director seemed pleased with my choice.

 

It was understandable. 『Sitting by the Window』was an older ballad, not a song my peers would typically listen to.

 

Even the future Spark members, except for Jeong Seongbin, looked like they were hearing it for the first time.

 

“Having a wide spectrum is a good thing. Let’s listen to the song.”

 

At the signal from Vocal Instructor Oh Eun, the accompaniment track was played.

 

As the lyrical music began to play, I took a deep breath and focused on the song.

 

『I thought about it for a long time.』

 

The song 『Sitting by the Window』, sung by a man in his late 30s, conveyed heartfelt regret for the time that slipped away unnoticed.

 

Thanks to the gentle progression characteristic of ballads, singing this song did not require Korean-style high notes or great technique.

 

It was a song that painted simplicity with notes, with a clear progression of beginning, development, turn, and conclusion.

 

To give the impression of ‘singing it properly’, you had to maintain proper diction and vocal production without faltering.

 

These were the basics I had learned in vocal lessons over the past three weeks.

 

I was confident in thoroughly embodying what I had learned.

 

With ears so sensitive that I could discern Manager Nam’s mood just from his voice, I could strike the right pitch note by note in real-time, as if squeezing out each sound.

 

The same applied to strategizing for the evaluation.

 

After all, I had plenty of experience setting up evaluation criteria at the Hanpyeong Industry. After three years in the HR department, I could recite performance review references by heart.

 

Applying this, I could reverse-engineer the algorithm used to set the evaluation criteria.

 

I simply extracted the keywords from the tasks given in class, grouped them by category, and created a scoring sheet. It was a method I often used during school exams.

 

I could bet my brick phone that the deviation between my predicted scoring sheet and the actual one would be less than 5%.

 

Once I identified the problem, I intensively prepared for the items that would be included in the grading criteria. The strategy was to avoid deductions even if I couldn’t earn extra points.

 

Of course, there were some difficulties. Creating a calm emotional tone to match the sentimental lyrics was a prime example.

 

The disparity between the song and the appearance of a freshly twenty-year-old was palpable even without looking in the mirror.

 

So, I devoted most time to understanding the song and incorporating feedback.

 

I deeply contemplated what I truly regretted the most.

 

My deepest regret in life was joining the Hanpyeong Industry. But singing with that mindset would result in a song filled with social criticism and satire.

 

Instead, I recalled the past when the open recruitment process that I had completed after two weeks of overnight work was overturned by Manager Nam’s words, ‘I don’t get it.’

 

The hours of work turned to waste, leaving related tasks lingering like remnants.

 

The moment when the project deadline was imminent, but progress had returned to 0%.

 

『It’s disappearing, leaving me behind. Everything―.』

 

I sang, channeling the raw emotions of a man who suddenly felt the futility and emptiness on the brink of success.

 

I confessed. I almost cried while singing it.

 

『—The wind is dying down.』

 

And so the nearly 4-minute song ended.

 

Without a single mistake.