Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols

Even after hearing Jeong Seongbin’s story, our daily lives didn’t change much.

 

The most we could do was for me to cause a scene by quitting and shouting, ‘That jerk**s deserves to die!’.

 

‘I’m certainly confident in my ability to create chaos.’

 

Instead, we decided to compliment the next person by age once a week.

 

The idea was to encourage each other, whose self-esteem had taken a hit.

 

Surprisingly, it was ‘that’ Park Joowoo who first suggested the idea.

 

‘I’m a bit worried that Choi Jeho will be the one to compliment Jeong Seongbin, but…’

 

If he had any sense, he’d watch what I did and follow along.

 

Oh, I mentioned it once in the office when I went to return my cell phone to the manager.

 

‘Manager, there’s no such thing as hazing in our company, right?’

 

‘Of course not. If there were, it’d be a big problem!’

 

‘Really?’

 

‘Absolutely. Don’t the trainees also avoid such things?’

 

‘They do. I just wondered if there’s something to observe between seniors and juniors.’

 

‘Basic manners are important, but there’s no bullying. If there were, it would be the end of them.’

 

This conversation took place in the office used by the Management Division.  It meant I spoke in a space with more than ten pairs of listening ears.

 

And about a sensitive power abuse issue in the entertainment industry, at that.

 

Jeong Seongbin’s face turned pale, perhaps thinking I might immediately report Jang Junhoo’s actions.

 

But since I didn’t actually say anything, Jeong Seongbin also let it go without comment.

 

It might seem like nothing now. But someday, someone might understand the context of these random words I blurted out.

 

If it didn’t blow up, that was fine, but if it did, that would be nice. I considered it a form of insurance.

 

While I didn’t particularly hope for it, a series of events naturally led to group membership training. For the first time since joining, a group meeting with all the trainees was scheduled.

 

This marked the beginning of the official debut preparation project.

 

* * *

 

UA’s meetings was more civilized compared to those at Hanpyeong Industry.

 

For starters, there was no shouting or pens flying across desks.

 

It was so different from the meeting room scenes at the company I had been part of until recently.

 

‘Who cares about legal and ethical ways? Bring me shortcuts, you know, shortcuts.’

 

‘The ones not coming to the mountaineering club are all new employees, right? Compile a list of their names. No, tell them all to come to my desk right now.’

 

‘The management is cursing at us, so what else can we do? Does everyone hate working in society? If you hate it, write your resignation and leave.’

 

No matter how much I thought about it, I should have left then.

 

If I had left, at least I wouldn’t have had to light Manager Nam’s cigarettes every 15 minutes.

 

Even though UA’s building was a non-smoking zone, whenever I thought about that time, I felt like I could smell the acrid scent of cigarettes on my clothes.

 

In this much more fragrant atmosphere compared to my previous life, I heard again about this group’s initial concept, which I had grown tired of while being forced to be a fan of Spark.

 

“The management team says you all have cold handsome guy vibes. So we’re thinking of giving the overall album and group logo a winter boy feel.”

 

That was why they shot the debut music video in a field where all the grass had frozen to death.

 

Wait a minute.

 

Then why did they name the group Spark?

 

Usually, you’d choose a name that reflected the team’s image, right?

 

I shouldn’t be the one to talk, having changed my name to Kim Iwol just because I was born in February.

 

Anyway, there was a bit of a contradiction between aiming for a winter boy feel and having a team name that means ‘flame’.

 

“The company has four candidate names in mind for now: SPARK, FLAKE, GLINT, and FLAME. We’re always open to ideas, so feel free to speak up if you think of anything.”

 

The candidates were all simple and flashy. Just hearing the names made my eyes dazzle and my face heat up.

 

I almost forgot. This was a company obsessed with classic idols.

 

These incredibly glamorous names clearly showed their desire to include symbolism and mass appeal, throwing everything in and planning to sort it out later.

 

This was why project proposals should be written by one person. When multiple people wrote it, the content went off track.

 

Personally, I wanted to keep the original team name. It was respectful to preserve Spark’s legacy as much as possible.

 

However, the conversation didn’t go the way I hoped.

 

“If we’re sticking with the fire theme, isn’t Flame a stronger name than Spark?”

 

“If we want to go strong, shouldn’t it be something like Blaze?”

 

The staff’s passion for the rookie group was burning brightly in the group name discussion.

 

Of course, there were some rational people among them.

 

“Um, didn’t you say we were going with a winter boy concept…?”

 

But intellectuals were always lonely in a crowd.

 

The trainees, including myself, could only silently watch as the group name turned into a blazing pillar of fire.

 

“This is what we’re discussing. Any thoughts?” 

 

The CEO asked.

 

I answered with a bright smile.

 

“We’ll discuss it at the dorm and share our thoughts through the manager!”

 

For now… Let’s just end this pointless discussion!

 

When the CEO gave the okay sign, Jeong Seongbin, sitting opposite me, let out a small sigh of relief.

 

Yeah, even you probably thought it was absurd to have a fire show over the group name.

 

After that, the usual precautions followed.

 

“We know you’re all diligent, so I won’t say things like ‘work hard on your practice.’ Instead, be much more careful with your actions from now on.”

 

I fully agreed with the CEO on this point.

 

Especially considering when Park Joowoo got heavily criticized for not paying attention to his expression when greeting a senior group.

 

“And we’ll be adding more classes from now on. We’re thinking about foreign languages and fitness, but which one did we say we’d start with again?”

 

“Foreign languages first, CEO.”

 

With fitness as an option, why start with foreign languages?

 

That didn’t make any sense. Muscles built during adolescence could last for ten years.

 

It was not like SPARK was going to expand overseas right away. They debuted in Japan in their fifth year, so why foreign languages now?

 

Moreover, all SPARK members were in their growth period. If utilized well, they might grow a few more centimeters than before. Neglecting that physical potential was clearly a loss.

 

‘Since Lee Cheonghyeon knows English anyway, foreign languages aren’t that urgent.’

 

To my knowledge, Jeong Seongbin was also quite proficient in Japanese.

 

He might not have learned it yet, but considering how fluent he was during activities, he might have a knack for learning languages.

 

If worse came to worst, I could always showcase my ‘100 Business Sentences for Office Workers’.

 

I thought my last English study would be when I prepared for TOEIC Speaking just before graduation.

 

Just the thought of it made me weary, but it couldn’t be helped.

 

“Alright. Let’s aim for basic conversation, reading, and writing in English and Japanese. Mr. Jukyung will give you the details later.”

 

I took a hundred deep breaths in my head.

 

Objecting to a higher-up’s decision would have gotten a stack of documents thrown at me at the Hanpyeong Industry.

 

But…

 

‘If it’s just me taking the hit, I should prioritize the group’s average height.’

 

Thinking about Kang Kiyeon, who had looked sunken among the lined-up members, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of duty.

 

“CEO!”

 

I took a deep breath in my mind and called out to the CEO.

 

Even if everyone accuses me of freeloading in the distant future, Kang Kiyeon, you at least shouldn’t.

 

“Yes?”

 

“I’m sorry, but could we start with fitness classes first?!”

 

This isn’t a request. Approve it right now.

 

It’s all for the growth of your charges.

 

Perhaps sensing my determination, the CEO reacted positively.

 

“Iwol, you want to start with fitness? Since you want it so badly, should we start with fitness first?”

 

“Since we’re starting with a month’s difference, I don’t think it will make a big difference if we do fitness first, CEO.”

 

“Then let’s do that. Just report back to me later on when you’ve managed the expenses.”

 

“Yes!”

 

And so, the objection to secure fitness training was peacefully concluded without a single flying object.

 

Though I felt like managing expenses might suit me better than building muscles.

 

* * *

 

Along with securing fitness classes, there was one more piece of good news.

 

“Hyung! Hyung!”

 

“What?”

 

“I finished the song!”

 

Lee Cheonghyeon had completed the song he’d been working on for several weeks.

 

I wasn’t sure how long it typically took to compose a song, but it seemed impressive to create a first piece in this amount of time.

 

Especially considering that Lee Cheonghyeon had no memory of working on music before, yet he produced something better than his previous work.

 

It wouldn’t be fair to dismiss his effort as mere talent, but his ability was truly remarkable.

 

“Did it change much from before?”

 

“It’s almost the same, just tweaked the ending a bit.”

 

As he said this, Cheonghyeon fumbled for his earphones. Watching this, Kang Kiyeon asked.

 

“What? Hyung, you’ve heard it before?”

 

“The pre-edited version? Yeah, Cheonghyeon played it for me.”

 

“What’s with you, Lee Cheonghyeon? Why haven’t you let me listen to it until now?”

 

“I was waiting to let our Kang Kiyeon hear the finished version!”

 

Cheonghyeon kneaded Kiyeon’s face like dough, asking if he was upset.

 

I had told him so many times not to touch faces to avoid potential trouble. He didn’t listen to me at all.

 

By the way, it was surprising that Kang Kiyeon hadn’t heard the song either. Given Lee Cheonghyeon’s personality, I thought he would have asked everyone to listen to his song twice a day.

 

‘Did he not play it for anyone except me and the A&R team?’

 

Oblivious to my puzzled look, Lee Cheonghyeon handed his wired earphones connected to the laptop to Kang Kiyeon.

 

“What do you think?”

 

“Wait. It’s only been 13 seconds.”

 

While Kang Kiyeon listened to the song with his chin resting on his hand, Lee Cheonghyeon looked extremely nervous, like a child approaching a flock of pigeons.

 

And after about 4 minutes.

 

“It’s good.”

 

“Really?!”

 

Cheonghyeon’s face lit up.  Kang Kiyeon still had an indifferent expression, but answered seriously.

 

“Yeah. Really.”

 

Then Kang Kiyeon turned to Choi Jeho, who was lying on the sofa, dozing off.

 

“Hyung, want to work on a choreography together later this evening?”

 

“For what?”

 

“For Lee Cheonghyeon’s song.”

 

Before, they would glare at each other at the slightest eye contact. This was remarkable growth.

 

I was so moved that I considered changing their relationship status from ‘Sandpaper-Dapper’ to ‘Lovey-Dovey’. The thought only lasted for 2 seconds.

 

As the dance line duo set up a constructive practice plan, Lee Cheonghyeon, who was tidying up his laptop before bed, exclaimed.

 

“Huh?”

 

On the laptop screen was the unchanging pink UI of an entertainment news site that had remained the same for years.

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

Even Jeong Seongbin, who was drinking water, approached Cheonghyeon and made a strange expression after seeing the article.

 

“…MYTH is debuting a boy group.”

 

Indeed.

 

This was the group that would dominate the rookie boy group scene for the next three years.

 

The group that would engage in an exasperating performance battle with SPARK, who could never get their comeback timing right, for years to come.

 

And the group that always emerged victorious in those battles—the debut of ‘Parthe’ had been announced.