Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols

“What?”

 

“Like causing a ridiculous accident that needs to be covered up or dreaming of revenge after getting extorted by a scary senior.”

 

“It’s definitely not like that!”

 

Jeong Seongbin shook his head vigorously, startled by my examples.

 

Good. I couldn’t be in the same boat with someone having such scary thoughts.

 

With a lighter heart, I waited for Seongbin to speak first.

 

Before meeting Jeong Seongbin, I had promised to wait until he spoke first, so Choi Jeho was also keeping quiet because of that.

 

With the mouth of terror sealed, my mind felt much more at ease.

 

“I wanted to tell you something before you hyungs misunderstand.”

 

Jeong Seongbin began cautiously, despite the solemn tone.

 

“Well, we are debuting in the same group, but the CEO asked me… what I thought about being the leader.”

 

So things were proceeding as originally planned.

 

In a situation as volatile as Nam Manager’s mood, this news was welcome.

 

With a satisfied heart, I waited for what he would say next, but Jeong Seongbin just lowered his head and didn’t say anything.

 

‘No way. Is that your main point?’

 

Given Jeong Seongbin’s personality, it didn’t seem likely he’d call just the hyungs together to congratulate him on becoming leader.

 

Glancing next to me, Choi Jeho had ‘Is that all?’ written all over his face.

 

Spark members, be grateful to me. If I hadn’t shut Choi Jeho in advance, this meeting to serve your 7-year boss would have ended in disaster.

 

But if that really was all he wanted to say, the reason Seongbin called us was obvious.

 

He must have felt uncomfortable about becoming the leader when there were older members in the team.

 

There were some people at Hanpyeong Industry who found it difficult to deal with subordinates older than them.

 

It was common for age differences that were tolerable as peers to suddenly become apparent after promotion.

 

‘Still… doesn’t he realize there’s no one else suitable for the leader position?’

 

I thought of Spark’s dazzling lineup.

 

Starting with Choi Jeho, the world’s top trash talker, who caused discord just by speaking.

 

Park Joowoo, whose fans recorded the date when he spoke more than five sentences even in self-produced content.

 

Lee Cheonghyeon, the bright kid whose head seemed to be full of flower fields.

 

Kang Kiyeon, the bright-eyed madman whose gaze was always intense.

 

None of them were suited to stand in front of the public and say, ‘Hello, we are Spark! Please take care of us!’

 

It was like having a company of five employees where all five only did practical work and had no one to approve things.

 

In short, the combination was messed up. Without Jeong Seongbin, that is.

 

“I also thought you’d be the most suitable if we were to choose a leader among us.”

 

I honestly shared my opinion. But Seongbin’s expression was still dark.

 

“With you hyungs here, it doesn’t seem right for me to be the leader…”

 

“Are you that obsessed with seniority?”

 

It was half a joke, half a serious question.

 

It had been bothering me that Seongbin was the only trainee using extremely formal speech.

 

If I could get Choi Jeho to agree, I planned to introduce a more informal speech system in the group soon.

 

Seongbin’s shoulders trembled slightly as he finished speaking. He must have been really worrying a lot about this.

 

“If you’re feeling the pressure of having to represent members with poor social skills, I understand, but if you’re being conscious because of your age, there’s no need for that at all.”

 

“I never thought the members had poor social skills…!”

 

Seongbin waved his hands.

 

He was a really good kid. I definitely had thought about that a bit.

 

“So, the reason for your concern is truly because of age?”

 

“I think there’s a reason why the eldest usually becomes the leader in most teams. Compared to the hyungs, I lack leadership skills…”

 

I was surprised. I never thought Jeong Seongbin, who was reputed to be a top-notch leader with an impeccable personality, would be this timid.

 

I remembered the stories from his school days, known among the fandom, about how well he got along with everyone.

 

It seemed that as training life prolonged, self-esteem inevitably lowered.

 

‘That’s a bit concerning.’

 

Unlike me, whose self-esteem eroded from being beaten down at Hanpyeong Industry, these kids weren’t twenty yet.

 

It seemed this team needed to recover their self-esteem before debuting. Except for Choi Jeho.

 

However, apart from protecting self-esteem, it would be troublesome for us too if Seongbin didn’t become the leader.

 

Even if you excluded me, who had the disposition of a low-ranking employee not wanting to stand out.

 

Based on years of monitoring experience, Spark guys wouldn’t even be able to open their mouths anywhere without Seongbin.

 

For the sake of fans desperately scraping together content of their favorites, Spark needed Seongbin.

 

In times like this, the most effective method was to make them say with their own mouths why it had to be them.

 

“Putting everything else aside, Seongbin.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Do you think there’s anyone else in our team suitable to be the leader besides you?”

 

Seongbin paused at my words.

 

I knew.

 

Someone like Seongbin, who thought about a lot of things, would have imagined at least twenty times what it would be like if someone else became the leader instead of him.

 

“I don’t think it would look good for Choi Jeho, who took his fights seriously even with the maknae, or me, who can’t distinguish between left turn and right turn when explained verbally, to become the leader.”

 

“Why are you dragging me into this when I was just sitting quietly?”

 

“Are you denying what I just said?”

 

“Just continue what you were saying.”

 

Apart from his personality, there were plenty of reasons why Jeong Seongbin should become the leader.

 

He led the practices, and he took care of the trainees most meticulously.

 

That wasn’t something that could be explained simply by innate nature.

 

Willingly going through trouble for others wasn’t something that happened automatically just by wearing a title.

 

After kindly explaining ‘When younger members become leaders _Despair version.zip’, I added.

 

“So don’t worry about feeling guilty or whether the hyungs will be uncomfortable with a younger leader.”

 

“Hyung…”

 

“You’ll be fine with the other kids since they’re your friends or younger siblings, but if Choi Jeho doesn’t listen later, tell me then. I’ll have a big fight with him on your behalf.”

 

“Why do you think only I won’t listen? You could also cause trouble for Seongbin.”

 

“I’m the type to grovel before those in power, so that won’t happen.”

 

Seongbin finally relaxed his expression, perhaps misunderstanding my words as a joke.

 

Seriously. I meant it.

 

Even though he had nitpicked at everything I said, Choi Jeho also expressed his opinion indirectly.

 

“There’s no one else who could be leader besides Seongbin in the first place.”

 

Sometimes, one word from someone you wouldn’t expect to say such things could hit harder than a hundred words.

 

Having passed Choi Jeho’s gate, Seongbin finally smiled with relief.

 

‘I’m glad it’s not the position itself that’s burdening you, but…’

 

I thought we had overcome the big mountain while talking about rankings. I was too complacent.

 

It was troublesome that Jeong Seongbin’s self-esteem continued to plummet even after overcoming the ranking issue.

 

Especially when seeing the case of Kang Kiyeon, who was already struggling with lost confidence.

 

Watching Seongbin’s back as he headed to the practice room in the lead, I fervently hoped this wasn’t a side effect of me pushing forward the debut schedule, and that nothing else would happen from now on.

 

However, my prayer was completely shattered in exactly three days.

 

It was utterly and completely shattered.

 

* * *

 

The incident occurred while I was getting my phone from the manager and, at the same time, receiving a confidentiality agreement.

 

+

 

[SYSTEM] ‘New task’ has been assigned.

 

▷ Take a photo that includes the confidentiality agreement

 

▷ Reward: Exp (5)

 

+

 

It was a task completely different from anything I had encountered so far.

 

‘Did someone mess with the document?’

 

The system had never given me a task that would be detrimental to my idol activities before.

 

At first, I wondered if the confidentiality agreement had any toxic clauses. However, I couldn’t have missed something as significant as that.

 

‘It’s especially suspicious that it’s not the agreement itself, but a photo of the agreement.’

 

Looking at the task description, it seemed like the agreement was being used.

 

Even when I took a photo with the agreement right in the center, the notification that the task was completed didn’t appear.

 

‘What am I supposed to do?’

 

I took about twenty photos, putting the agreement in the left corner, in the right empty space, and so on.

 

Finally, when only the edge of the agreement was visible, and three-quarters of the break room door behind it was in the frame.

 

+

 

[SYSTEM] ‘Task’ completed.

 

▷ Reward: Exp (5)

 

▷ Total exp: 60

 

▷ Total point: 0

 

+

 

A notification of completion appeared with a bright light.

 

‘The photo’s poorly taken but it’s complete?’

 

I checked the last photo in the gallery.

 

The focus was so off that even the words ‘confidentiality agreement’ were unreadable.

 

The focus was so strange that Seongbin and a man behind the break room’s glass door looked clearly visible instead.

 

‘…Huh?’

 

I looked up from my phone to the break room in front of me.

 

Indeed, Jeong Seongbin was standing inside. With a face clearly showing tension.

 

The person sitting opposite was also a familiar face.

 

 Jang Junhoo, the owner of the song we recently recorded a guide for.

 

‘Are they close enough to meet separately?’

 

I had my doubts, but I already knew.

 

If one person was comfortably seated while the other was standing nervously, I should throw away any assumption that they were close.

 

As if to confirm my assumption, Jang Junhoo threw something toward Jeong Seongbin.

 

‘This crazy b*tch?’

 

I immediately knocked on the break room door and entered. Both their gazes instantly turned towards me.

 

“Seongbin, you were here?”

 

At my sudden appearance, both of their faces stiffened.

 

I looked straight at Jang Junhoo and greeted him like an inexperienced rookie who didn’t realize a senior was present.

 

“Jang Junhoo sunbaenim! I didn’t know you were here! Hello!”

 

“…Oh. Haven’t seen you before.”

 

“I’m Kim Iwol, a new trainee, sunbaenim!”

 

It had been a while since I used the voice projection from the days when I was disciplined in front of Manager Nam.

 

Glancing at the floor, I saw a water bottle with some water in it rolling around.

 

Sh*t, what if it had hit him?

 

I involuntarily clenched my fist. I barely managed to suppress my primal anger and spoke.

 

“The manager is looking for Seongbin. If you have something to discuss, should I wait outside? I’ll inform the manager.”

 

“No, it’s fine.”

 

“Thank you!”

 

I cheerfully bowed 90 degrees like an oblivious idiot, then pulled on Seongbin’s arm.

 

I hoped I was overreacting, but if Jang Junhoo had been harassing Seongbin, I needed to separate him immediately.

 

“Wait.”

 

Just as we were about to leave the break room, Jang Junhoo called us back.

 

Jang Joonhu’s gaze was on the phone in my hand.

 

“Aren’t trainees not allowed to carry phones around?”

 

Jang Junhoo asked, leaning back.

 

I maintained the most good-natured smile I could and answered.

 

“I’m using it with the manager’s permission due to special circumstances.”

 

Then Jang Junhoo beckoned to me with his hand.

 

“Bring it here.”

 

The atmosphere froze instantly.

 

My hand holding the phone tensed.