Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols - Chapter 109
Only Krnovel
| Episode 109. Vacation
I spread out a mat on a deserted beach because it wasn’t yet the holiday season.
Then, he set up a parasol borrowed from a nearby cafe and pushed Lee Cheong-hyeon into the shade.
“Okay. Now play as you please.”
“yes!”
I even set up the makeshift table we had borrowed together, and he took out his laptop on his own.
Every time the sea breeze blew, waves would gently crash before my eyes.
Do geniuses get inspiration just by looking at a landscape?
I don’t know because I’ve never really lived my life creatively, except when I was writing my resume.
I did some monitoring while Lee Cheong-hyeon was fiddling around on his laptop.
Even on the bass video where my hands were stiff from playing for the first time in a long time, fans only left good comments. I was thankful.
Thanks to finishing all the other little things on the train, I was able to become free sooner than I thought.
Lee Cheong-hyeon was now focused on the screen to a frightening degree.
I don’t know if it’s because of the Pomodoro method or because I dragged him around and made him do tasks, but his concentration has evolved to a respectable level.
If things continue like this, Lee Cheong-hyeon will be able to write songs without noise cancellation even in the middle of a night market.
Anyway, even though I can’t help you, I can’t get in the way of someone who is working hard at their job.
I sat quietly with my mouth shut, occasionally checking to see if there were any calls from work.
Then suddenly, my eyes landed on a place.
There was a cigarette butt right in front of the mat. It had to be the same brand as the one that Manager Nam had sent me on an errand for.
I came all the way to a place with good water to give you a creative experience, so why are you bringing cigarettes?
The cigarettes that showed off their white presence on the sand were quite irritating.
I tried hard to ignore it, but once I saw the cigarette butt, it lingered in my head like the smell of Manager Nam’s cigarette.
I barely held back the sigh rising from my lower abdomen. Then I got up from my seat, grabbing my wallet.
“Is there anything you want to eat?”
“No. Are you going to the convenience store?”
“Hey. Don’t go anywhere and stay still.”
“Is there any possibility of that!”
I went straight to a convenience store and bought two garbage bags and a pair of stainless steel tongs.
Okay, today I’m dreaming of a beach in this area.
Picking up trash on the beach was quite rewarding.
Except for the regret of having to wear a ball cap to prevent my face from getting sunburned, the volunteers didn’t wear sun caps for nothing.
I felt a little annoyed when some people passing by threw their trash into my bag instead of the trash can that was right there, but I held it in.
It was because the children who were playing in the sand saw me and collected ten pieces of trash each. It felt like dead humanity was coming back to life.
There were a ton of shell casings on the beach. Isn’t it illegal to set off firecrackers at the beach? Why did I pick up more shell casings than I did in the military?
He muttered for a long time, jumping out whenever he saw a cigarette butt like a wasp, and even went near someone else’s mat.
After realizing that I had made a mistake and apologizing sincerely, I turned around to leave, but the owner of the mat shouted, “Isn’t that Spark?!”
Are you watching, Spark guys? You’re not anonymous anymore.
He asked if I could sign it, but neither I, who was picking up trash, nor the person who was playing on the beach, had any writing utensils.
I had no choice but to apologize and return to my seat. I searched through my backpack, took a few notes that I had stuck in my diary, and returned with Lee Cheong-hyeon.
And while the ladies were admiring Lee Cheong-hyeon’s face, I put a ballpoint pen in his hand.
So I did a makeshift autograph signing event on the memo that said, “I’m quitting my job” – Min Joo-kyung gave it to me. I took it because she said it was leftover – and after filling up two of my pay-as-you-go boxes, the sun was setting beyond the horizon.
When I returned to my seat, I saw Lee Cheong-hyeon lying face down, looking at the sea.
“Brother! It’s not that I’m slacking off, I just need to think for a moment!”
“Who said what?”
I wonder why I’m so nervous even though it’s a vacation.
Well, even when I was working at Hanpyeong Industries, I didn’t get any vacations. At that time, I was on standby for Manager Nam for three minutes.
“Once you’ve done everything you have to do, take a break and do whatever you want. You never know when you’ll be able to take a break in the future.”
“Wow, that’s so scary.”
What’s really scary is that you guys might be resting for the rest of your life after 7 years. But I’m an adult, so I won’t say it out loud.
“Go and soak your feet. I have a towel.”
“Just looking at it is enough for me!”
“It’s simple.”
Lee Cheong-hyeon laughed. It wasn’t an empty remark, his face lit up.
“Isn’t that simple? I just accomplished my bucket list.”
“What? A water splash?”
When I asked again, Lee Cheong-hyeon’s expression became strange. He looked like he had brought up the subject for no reason.
Should I ask about this or should I pretend not to know?
If I asked, I would seem like an ignorant newbie, and if I ignored it, I would seem like a cold-blooded person who didn’t care about the members at all.
But no matter what, if it’s a loss, it’s better to be a little tactless than cold-blooded. Choi Je-ho is enough of a tactless guy in this team.
“Why are you so concerned about a bucket list?”
“No, um… … .”
Lee Cheong-hyeon, who was scratching the ball, avoided eye contact and said.
“… … Now that I think about it, it sounds like a full stomach?”
“Do I have to take that into consideration when making a wish?”
“That’s not it!”
Ha. It’s so hard to talk to kids.
“I just wanted to come to a place like this and leisurely look at the ocean.”
“What kind of nonsense is that? It’s ordinary.”
I gave a vague answer and sat down on the mat.
When he ran away from home, he ran into the mountains, so maybe this guy has a habit of recovering his mental health in nature.
Then suddenly, an idea occurred to me.
That’s right. He was the son of a wealthy family.
Then I understand what they mean by full stomach.
“Why? If you say you’ve never been to a white sand beach because you’re always yachting, I’ll be like, ‘Wow… Lee Cheong-hyeon, you’re talking nonsense.’”
“No! That’s… … !”
“Isn’t that true?”
“… … .”
“Why do you care about that? It’s not like you even picked on me because I’ve never been on a yacht.”
More than that, I wonder if he’s actually been on a yacht. Do rich people really go on vacation in such things?
Lee Cheong-hyeon, who saw my curious eyes, stepped back in embarrassment.
“Cheong-hyeon-ah.”
“why.”
“You really go on a yacht every summer?”
“Am I some kind of third-generation chaebol?! Why would a realistic gentleman act like this?”
Lee Cheong-hyeon criticized me for watching too many dramas.
And he initially explained that he was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth, but since I had seen Lee Cheong-hyun ranked in the top 13 of idols born with a silver spoon in the past, it didn’t really hit home.
“On the contrary. This is my first time coming this close to the sea.”
“okay?”
“My parents don’t like going out for fun. Even when traveling, we always go to certain places. Libraries, museums, exhibition halls.”
“You had an academic vacation.”
“When I played the piano, I went to other places… … .”
“Did you go to the concert then?”
“Of course. Thanks to that, the sea I saw when taking off from Incheon Airport was the closest sea I’ve ever seen.”
Lee Cheong-hyeon continued to watch me while grumbling.
I guess you think it’s some kind of deception to say something like this less than a month after I was told I was beaten at home.
“So. Are you happy with my coming?”
I looked at the guy who was sitting with his knees together and asked.
“It’s good. I feel comfortable and the view is nice!”
“Okay then. Come with other kids next time.”
“Why are you trying to sneak out, hyung? If you’re going to come, you should all come together!”
“I’ll get out. I’m at an age where it’s more fun to find out what the real estate prices in tourist destinations are than to just have fun.”
“This is truly unbelievable.”
Lee Cheong-hyeon snorted.
But this is the truth.
If you ever come to the sea again, I hope it’s with Spark, not me. Don’t come back with your face burned like before.
* * *
Lee Cheong-hyeon and I had a deep conversation about music for several hours while feeling the sea breeze.
Lee Cheong-hyeon said all the deep things and I just responded, but if there was any exchange of words, then it was a conversation, right?
As we talked about Spark’s musicality, the members’ tones and growth potential, and the catharsis of popular music, the sun set. Thanks to that, we were able to see the night sea.
While Lee Cheong-hyeon was washing up, I read the latest news posted in the Spark chatroom—everyone was saying they had arrived home—and turned on my laptop.
I was thinking of leaving a message on the fan cafe, but the category for leaving one-line notes to the members was quickly regenerating.
I was wondering if anyone had any eyewitness accounts… … .
≫ Did you go to Busan with Lee Wol-ah and Cheong-hyeon??
≫ Hey guys, tell me about your trip to Busanㅋㅋㅋ
≫ Hold your breath until the Producing Line Travel Vlog comes out (Day 1)
… … That was our story. You guys really went straight home.
As I was reading through the comments left by fans, I was able to find a link to the original eyewitness account.
≫ I saw a celebrity for the first time in my life
(with certification)
I came to Busan with a friend and was just dazed, and I saw someone walking along the beach picking up trash.
I said, “You’re doing a good job~” and when I looked, I saw that your face was really really really handsome
My friend and I kept saying, “Hey, aren’t you a celebrity?? You seem like an idol. I kept wondering who it was, and it was Spark Iwol!
I was searching on my phone to see who it was when it came running towards us.
Are you trying to tell me not to take a picture with my friend? ㅠㅠㅠ I didn’t take one ㅠㅠㅠㅠ Like this
But I came here to pick up cigarette butts… … I’m embarrassed
He even apologized for coming too close. He was a good person.
I asked him to sign for me, but he said he didn’t have any paper so he asked me to wait a moment. Then he brought in another member whose face was shining.
It was funny because they were both wearing arm warmers, but anyway
He signed for me and my friend, but the memo was like this lol
(I’ll hide my name!)
When I asked if he bought it, he said he was just using the ones his coworkers gave himㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Then he thanked me for noticing him and went back to picking up trash. It really was like a skit.
└ How is it in person? I saw him walking around in Confo, and he was handsome.
└ It feels like washing my eyes with gargle. My eyes feel refreshed.
└ Understand in one go
└ I took a noteㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└ He said this was all he had and handed it to me, but my friend and I burst out laughing ㅠㅠ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
This review couldn’t have been more detailed. I’m grateful that you looked upon it favorably, even though it was full of embarrassing elements.
Since the activity was over, there was nothing special I needed to take care of.
After organizing all the unnecessary materials I had prepared for the 『With List』 project, I was able to finish all the things I had planned.
‘How long has it been since I’ve had something like this happen?’
The work is over.
It’s an unfamiliar feeling. It’s the first time in a long time that I’ve felt this way since I joined Hanpyeong Industries.
“Brother, why is the atmosphere suddenly so lenient?”
“Do you see it?”
“Yes. The discomfort is no joke.”
I must have looked quite dirty, so Lee Cheong-hyeon pushed me into the bathroom and told me to hurry up and wash up.
Strictly speaking, we are not even halfway to achieving the KPI.
As I expected, there would be a signal about it soon.
Until then, I guess I can at least take a shower and relax.
After such a great shower… … .
“Brother, I think I need to check the group room now.”
… … The signal that I had a feeling was going to arrive has arrived.