Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols

The demonstration of the basic choreography also ended without any major issues. Thanks to having memorized the choreography, the worst situation of my body freezing up in the middle did not occur.

 

The teachers who watched my dance demonstration applauded.

 

“Iwol, you’ve improved a lot!”

 

“Thank you.”

 

“Your posture is really good too. That’s why your voice comes out well. You must have been very nervous since it was your first time, but you did really well.”

 

Objectively, there was a significant skill gap compared to the other members, but perhaps because of my overwhelmingly short practice period, the evaluation was generally favorable.

 

What was surprising was that the system appeared at this point.

 

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[SYSTEM] Upon completing the ‘task’ adaptation period, an adjustment effect based on performance will be applied.

 

▷ Being recognized for ‘excellent attendance management’, you will receive a high evaluation.

 

▷ This will have a positive effect on the monthly evaluation.

 

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…So it said.

 

In other words, the performance evaluation scores on my resume would also affect reality.

 

My attendance management score was 18 out of 20.

 

If the only activated item was attendance management, it would be hard to expect any adjustment effect unless the score was significantly high.

 

‘I’d be grateful if they gave me even one extra point.’

 

At this point where every word of praise was precious, I couldn’t afford to be picky.

 

“We can go a bit tougher from the next class, right?”

 

“I… will work hard.”

 

“Hey, you weren’t nervous at all just a moment ago, so why are you getting nervous now?”

 

The teachers laughed out loud at my solemn answer.

 

Sorry, but it was already hard enough for me to keep up with this class. Please don’t take it as a joke.

 

Since I couldn’t complain, I laughed along with the teachers. It was the true sorrow of being a subordinate.

 

“One last question. What’s the most decisive reason you chose this song?”

 

The vocal teacher asked. The answer to this was clear.

 

“I thought it was the best song to showcase what I learned.”

 

The teacher smiled, looking satisfied at my answer.

 

It was important that there was someone who acknowledged my efforts to think things through. It was an achievement beyond my expectations.

 

* * *

 

The evaluation ended after the individual feedback.

 

We were finally able to catch our breath after the staff left and the practice room door closed.

 

“Hyung!”

 

As I was putting away the desks and chairs that were set up for the evaluation, someone jumped onto my back.

 

Trying to keep my balance, I looked in the mirror and saw it was Lee Cheonghyeon clinging to me.

 

“Amazing. I’ve never seen someone get so much praise on their first evaluation! Are you perhaps a genius, hyung?”

 

A genius refers to someone like you, who has a porcelain-like face, raps smoothly like flowing water, and is great at composing music in the future.

 

It would have been nice if he used that outstanding ability to take good selfies too.

 

You guys would never know how cumbersome was for me to go to the post office to exchange photocard on the Manager’s daughter’s behalf. 

 

I held onto his legs, worried he might fall, and Cheonghyeon clung to my back like a cicada.

 

“I’m glad they appreciated my efforts. A lot of it is thanks to your help, too.”

 

“How humble! I need to learn that from you.”

 

“If you’re going to keep saying weird things, get off.”

 

“If I am not going to say anything weird, can you just carry me on your back?”

 

“Sure.”

 

“You’re strangely generous about weird things, hyung.”

 

Even so, Lee Cheonghyeon got off my back right away.

 

Kang Kiyeon, perhaps impressed that I did well on the evaluation, taught me a new move.

 

I, too, worked hard with the thought, ‘If I could sacrifice this body to soothe your troubled heart…’

 

Unfortunately, however, Kang Kiyeon’s face remained grim throughout the practice. He had clearly forgotten my words that there were natural-born klutzes in this world.

 

* * *

 

After the monthly evaluation concluded, the staff who attended as judges gathered in the conference room on the second floor of the company.

 

“The kids are continuing their practice, right?”

 

“Yes. They’re all very diligent.”

 

Min Jukyung immediately answered the Director’s question.

 

UA’s trainees were truly diligent. For years, no one at UA had seen their trainees slacking off.

 

Moreover, they all had mild personalities, so compared to the scandalous stories coming out of the big management agencies famous for producing top idols, UA’s trainees could definitely be described as docile.

 

“Iwol seems to be getting the hang of things already. Wasn’t it you who brought him in, Jukyung?”

 

“Yes. I was surprised that he did better than I thought.”

 

Since the trainee he cast was mentioned, Min Jukyung added a comment.

 

‘I thought he seemed promising, but I didn’t expect him to be this good…’

 

When the casting story of the new trainee Kim Iwol was brought up, the trainers laying out the evaluation sheets showed interest and asked questions.

 

“Jukyung, you brought him in? From where?”

 

“From Hongdae. He was watching people busking and I scouted him on the spot!”

 

“Even the location sounds intriguing.”

 

“Iwol does have a presence that stands out even in a crowd.”

 

As Min Jukyung answered, the Director and the dance trainer each chimed in.

 

Min Jukyung recalled the first time he met Kim Iwol.

 

‘He definitely stood out.’

 

When he saw Kim Iwol’s pale, shadowed face on the streets of Hongdae, he thought,

 

‘He would fit perfectly with our kids…!’

 

Kim Iwol’s noticeable presence was partly due to his exceptionally upright posture.

 

He was tall and had an upright posture, so his distinctiveness stood out more in the crowd.

 

“Jukyung, you really are a bulldozer. What were you thinking when you brought in a non-major?”

 

“I actually asked him about it before. He said he had a good sense of hearing.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Yes. Hongdae was very noisy, yet he could immediately tell if an instrument was out of tune.”

 

Everyone looked surprised at Min Jukyung’s words. It was indeed surprising.

 

Usually, Kim Iwol only showed his stubborn dedication to practice, not a sensitive ear for catching every single note.

 

However, Min Jukyung clearly saw it that day.

 

Standing quietly a little away from the stage, Kim Iwol slightly furrowed his brow whenever a certain part of the melody repeated.

 

Kim Iwol didn’t linger near the busking stage for long.

 

While Min Juyung was wondering if maybe he wasn’t very interested in the song, the vocalist grabbed the microphone and started giving a speech.

 

At that moment, he noticed the guitarist tuning their instrument again alone.

 

There was no more hesitation after that.

 

Min Jukyung immediately approached the young student who looked wary of his sudden approach and earnestly explained he wasn’t a suspicious person.

 

And as he watched the student politely accept the business card he was offering with both hands, he thought, I really hope he joins us.

 

‘Initially, I did scout him for his looks, but…’

 

Min Jukyung cleared his throat. As long as the outcome was good, the process didn’t matter.

 

At that time, Oh Eun, a vocal trainer who was still listening to the three men’s conversation, said.

 

“He does seem to have a good sense. He works hard, too.”

 

Oh Eun’s words drew the attention of the people in the conference room.

 

She was a former main vocalist of a girl group which debuted through a small agency but did not leave much impressive results and disbanded after three years.

 

Having been an idol herself, Oh Eun was known for her objective evaluations of the trainees among the UA staff.

 

It was not easy to hear Oh Eun saying, ‘He works hard.’

 

It was certainly a notable achievement for Kim Iwol, who had been a trainee for less than a month, to have his efforts recognized, especially when long-term trainees like Jeong Seongbin or Kang Kiyeon hadn’t received such acknowledgment.

 

Min Jukyung couldn’t help but look forward to what kind of evaluation Kim Iwol would receive on his first monthly evaluation.

 

* * *

 

In high school, I could go home after the mock exams were over.

 

But as a trainee, even after evaluations, it was practice, practice, and more practice.

 

After finishing the remaining practice with the feeling of making a wrong answer note, the time came to return to the dorms.

 

Today, the members assigned to turn off the lights were me and Jeong Seongbin.

 

On the way out of the company, Jeong Seongbin asked.

 

“Are you getting used to things now?”

 

It was not easy for just anyone to always look out for others in a situation where they had a lot to do themselves.

 

And yet, Jeong Seongbin was always consistent. Enough to make me think that these were the kinds of kids who would become leaders.

 

“Yeah. Except for the one hour of personal training from Kiyeon where I got thoroughly thrashed.”

 

“If it was only one hour, that means you got off easy.”

 

“So you do know how to joke around.”

 

Jeong Seongbin laughed, half-embarrassed. Unlike him, I couldn’t laugh when I felt like I’d been tossed around like roasted chestnuts in midwinter by Kang Kiyeon.

 

Jeong Seongbin looked at me and asked.

 

“You always stay until the end to practice. Aren’t you tired?”

 

“The teachers are kind and everyone helps out, so it would be rude if I didn’t work hard. Luckily, I have the stamina to keep up.”

 

“I respect your physical strength…”

 

Jeong Seongbin trailed off, probably recalling how he had approached to teach me some moves only to end up collapsing like a boiled bean sprout.

 

This was what happened when you only feed salads to growing teenagers.

 

This company didn’t understand the importance of the growth period. Maybe Kang Kiyeon wouldn’t understand until he failed to surpass 175 cm.

 

“You’re not just diligent about staying to practice. You even walk around during breaks.”

 

In the practice room, Jeong Seongbin moved like someone who didn’t know what rest was. That didn’t change even after debuting.

 

Upon hearing my words, Jeong Seongbin paused briefly. It was so fleeting that I wouldn’t have noticed if I hadn’t looked closely.

 

He soon relaxed his expression and smiled.

 

“I’m just normal.”

 

It was a humble thing to say, but really?

 

Could you really call a lifestyle of waking up at dawn and repeating dance and song practice from morning until night for years ‘normal’?

 

In today’s world, even paid overtime was limited to 12 hours a week.

 

‘Going back to being a trainee vs. going back to the military…?’

 

Jeong Seongbin, whose reputation had been established as one of the five sages of idols, couldn’t answer that question during his discharge celebration live broadcast. That said it all.

 

If he was that diligent, he should at least have pride in the time he invested. But strangely, Jeong Seongbin seemed to think his efforts were only natural.

 

If there was an employee in our department who was diligent, didn’t hesitate to lend a hand to others, and worked hard every day to improve their work capabilities?

 

I might carry that person on my back to work every day. This modern society was just too stingy with praise.

 

‘Maybe I should just give him a compliment.’

 

Giving out compliments didn’t cost you anything.

 

Moreover, Jeong Seongbin was the least troublesome among the five members of Spark.

 

He arranged the taking turns so that their voices didn’t get mixed up during the broadcast, and he called out the members’ names consistently so that they were easy to remember.

 

For a novice forced into becoming a Spark fan, Jeong Seongbin’s consideration was a ray of light.

 

For such a virtuous person, I could certainly spare a word of praise.

 

If Jeong Seongbin had managed to prevent the disbandment, he might have saved me from collapsing and aging nine years younger.

 

After walking a few more steps with Jeong Seongbin, I spoke up at an appropriate timing.

 

“Ordinary people may have things they want to achieve, but they don’t put in the daily effort like you.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Even more so when you’re young. There are so many fun things in the world. Knowing there’s fun to be had but being able to hold back—not just anyone can do that.”

 

For some reason, I suddenly felt like I was having a long-overdue talk with a junior.

 

I didn’t prefer conversations with this kind of atmosphere, but I couldn’t just bail and head to the dorms, so I forced myself to continue the conversation.

 

“And you’re good at so many things. You sing well and dance well. Look at me. I can’t sing, and I can’t dance either.”

 

“Hyung?”

 

I had clearly intended to console Jeong Seongbin, but for some reason, it pained my own heart.

 

Meanwhile, Jeong Seongbin’s expression changed strangely, perhaps because I  had rambled on too much.

 

They said you would become a boomer if you just talked about what you wanted without regard for others—that was exactly what I had done.

 

“…Of course, considering the countless fans you’ll gain in the future, it’s good that you’re working hard to develop your skills now.”

 

I didn’t forget to apply some careful pressure, since you never knew with people.

 

While Jeong Seongbin wasn’t that kind of person, if I misspoke and lost my leader of seven years, I felt like I wouldn’t be able to face the remaining Spark members.

 

“Fans… huh…”

 

Jeong Seongbin smiled bitterly.

 

‘Huh?’

 

For a moment, the back of my neck felt cold as if a cold wind had passed by.

 

I recognized this unsettling feeling.

 

A person whose self-esteem had dropped as far as it could go. The uncertainty about themselves seeping through their expression. The tone that clearly showed they had given up and didn’t expect anything from the future.

 

‘Assistant Manager, I’m planning to quit by the end of this month.’

 

This was a clear sign of resignation.