Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols - Chapter 111
Only Krnovel
| Episode 111. Kickoff (1)
The presence of survival programs on the stone plate is strong.
The moment a promising program comes out, all the buzz is taken over by the survival program.
Established idols are anxiously trying to prevent fans from leaving, existing fans are watching their timelines fill up with issues related to the program, and the cast engages in a fierce battle of wits to somehow make a splash.
In order to generate huge advertising revenue for the broadcasting company, officials spent emotions, time, and even money, repeatedly attacking or defending until the program ended.
Of course, the early royal family was not that influential. Nevertheless, the viewers suffered every day.
≫ XX Why did I come into this mud?
What good is it that you’re holding me back from looking good? XX
Even I, who have never watched a survival show, knew very well that viewers who have been caught by the bait of their cheering target would shed tears of blood.
I rented a conference room at UA for the last day of my vacation.
And then I shoved all the Spark guys into the conference room.
‘I know it’s shameless to say this after insisting that I leave, but you have to agree with me about your motivation for applying.’
In order for the team called Spark to solidify its ‘attitude towards the royal family’.
Fans try to look favorably on whatever their idols do.
When an idol makes a sound out of place on stage, they worry that it means they are not in good condition, and when the choreography is intense, they praise it and say it is great, but they are also concerned about the idol’s joints.
But if my idol enters the competitive system, the story is different.
Even though I know in my head that my child is a hard worker who practices diligently, I feel uneasy. I have a feeling that he will make a mistake again at an important moment.
In an era where sharp swordsmanship is essential, it can be frustrating if the choreography doesn’t match up properly.
It feels like the section in question will be played at 0.5x speed with the subtitle ‘The actual level of ◯◯◯, who was praised as a military idol’ at any moment.
You can’t watch the ongoing performance with peace of mind because you’re anxious, hoping to do well, and praying that you won’t hear the words, “Mistakes are also skills.”
And I have no intention of putting Sparkler through that experience.
I’m grateful that you’re accepting me as a spark, but I can’t make you suffer any more.
‘The reason I applied is because I want to be on stage more often. My goal is to make every stage fun.’
‘Isn’t that obvious?’
Lee Cheong-hyeon asked back.
‘Before I answer, I want to ask everyone. What do you think is a fun stage?’
Then each of them gave their own answer.
Something with a flashy performance, a good song, a twist, something perfect.
Finally, Jeong Seong-bin, who had been listening to the members’ answers one by one, said:
‘Isn’t this a good stage?’
‘As expected, it’s Seongbin. He has a keen understanding of the fandom.’
A stage that is not lacking no matter where it is displayed.
A stage that anyone who sees it cannot help but acknowledge.
So, it is a stage where you can just believe, watch, and enjoy without any anxiety.
‘Do you remember when you were a student? In our country, doing well is still considered happiness.’
And we’re going to make every stage fun.
As if they sensed what was going to happen next, the guys swallowed their saliva.
‘Let’s create a stage where no one can refute us if we win first place, and where people will look at us with wonder if we don’t win first place.’
‘… … .’
‘Let’s be prepared to win no matter who we face. Have fun.’
So Spark’s concept was decided to be a fun gamer who ‘does whatever he wants without worrying about what others think, but doesn’t really have anything to say because he has the skills.’ Very one-sidedly.
* * *
By boarding the last train of the A-Wang cast, Spark became the youngest member of the A-Wang cast. He is a hot rookie who debuted only three months ago.
“Spark, you’re the youngest in our program, how does that feel?”
Perhaps that is why many of the interview questions asked in the pre-meeting were related to years of service.
Questions were asked such as, “Wouldn’t it be burdensome being the youngest?” and “Do you have a group of close seniors?”
Even so, the maximum difference is only one year.
It’s not that we didn’t talk about this part when deciding to appear.
Excluding Jeong Seong-bin and Lee Cheong-hyeon, they are the ones with the lowest level of sociability. They won’t do anything that will get them cursed at, but they aren’t the type to act cool either.
However, thanks to the smile training they received since they were trainees, the correct posture of an idol was engraved in their bones.
Even now, they are continuing their interview with the production crew in a friendly manner.
This is enough.
I don’t think you should try to be sociable just because you’re on the same show, unless you find someone you want to be friends with.
Relationships are only important within the same group, and they don’t have a positive effect on grades.
“I don’t know yet which seniors I will be working with, but I plan to have fun!”
Jeong Seong-bin answered.
By the way, that statement is a lie.
I already shared with the members who I thought would appear from the lineup I remembered. Thanks to that, we even had to practice pretending to be surprised when we heard that we were the youngest.
First, Parte, who will be the core cast of this season among the six groups.
They are an eight-member performance group that debuted last year.
‘If possible, avoid getting involved with Parterre.’
‘yes?’
‘Let’s avoid it.’
The members were taken aback by my announcement.
‘Why is your reaction like that?’
‘Isn’t that a stark contrast to what you said about aiming for first place, hyung?’
I kindly explained to Lee Cheong-hyeon, who had suddenly become very aggressive.
‘I didn’t say that we should avoid it because it seemed like we would be compared.’
‘then?’
‘I said let’s avoid it because it’s not good to get involved.’
As soon as I finished speaking, Park Joo-woo averted his gaze. It seemed like he was reminded of the time he heard Song Min-il’s medley of curses while running along the Han River.
Even if it wasn’t necessarily Song Min-il’s case, Parte was just as talked about as Spark in the past. Even I, who knows little about idol affairs other than Spark, could recall a few major incidents when I thought about it deeply.
Dating a private person, two-timing, tax evasion, attitude controversy… … .
There is no need to say more. Parte does not allow anything other than an objective evaluation. The end.
The next promising prospect after Parte is Allover.
This group has good chemistry with Parte and is the second biggest beneficiary of the royal family after Parte.
I had no recollection of this team, so I searched again. And I found a face that made me wonder how I had forgotten it.
There was a guy who went to jail.
I almost got confused for a moment whether A Wang Sil was a program that had become hot due to controversy. So, I decided that this team would not allow anything other than objective evaluation.
On the other hand, there were groups that didn’t particularly come to mind. Those teams ended up just sharing a group name.
‘And Senior Log, Senior Sticky, and Senior Berryon will appear. We’ll be the youngest.’
‘How did you know this…?’
‘Thanks to the detailed analysis.’
Not everyone seemed to completely believe it, but whatever.
“What is Spark’s target rank?”
“You said to dream big, so should I go for first place?”
Then Lee Cheong-hyeon smiled naturally.
Jeong Seong-bin and Park Joo-woo also laughed heartily. I could see cold sweat running down their backs, but I’ll give them bonus points for at least not showing it on the outside. I hope they keep working hard until the last episode.
* * *
After the pre-meeting, we gathered again in UA’s conference room.
It was to prepare for the self-PR stage that would be held on the first day of recording for A Wang Sil.
I, who had been actively hoping to appear on Awangsil, decided to be the host and proposer of the concept. Thanks to that, I gave up all my vacation days and just made the PPT.
“Cheong-hyeon, did you turn on the recording button?”
“Okay. Let’s get started!”
Lee Cheong-hyeon gave me the okay sign.
When it was his turn to be the secretary, that guy immediately paid for the application, saying he would use the AI subtitle generation function to write the transcript.
He said he would personally improve any shortcomings, so I told him to do whatever he wanted.
Anyway, the important thing is not Lee Cheong-hyeon’s digitalization, so let’s skip it.
“Then, on May XX, we will begin the concept meeting for the Idol Dynasty Silrok self-PR stage. Did you all check the agenda that was shared in advance?”
“Yes, we compiled the opinions submitted by the members and uploaded them to the group chat.”
Jeong Seong-bin scratched off the comments in the message window and displayed them on the monitor. At the same time, Kang Ki-yeon, who was sitting near the door, turned off the lights in the conference room.
“Half of the opinions were that we should use youth material, which is Spark’s unique concept, and the other half were that we needed to refresh our image. Are the opinions that each of you gave still valid?”
“yes.”
“uh.”
The guys nodded.
The screen was filled with the claims the guys had submitted by the deadline.
I told Jeong Seong-bin that he had a hard time, then glanced at the monitor again.
Title
Summary: New concept hope
Reason: Keeping the same image over and over again doesn’t leave an impression.
Seongbin
Summary: Hope to maintain the existing concept
Reason: Considering the nature of the self-PR stage, I think it is right to show the team’s colors.
Joo Woo
Summary: Hope to maintain the existing concept
Reason: I think the current members and current concept fit well together.
Cheonghyeon
Summary: New concept hope
Reason: Due to the nature of survival programs, it is necessary to leave a strong first impression / Overly similar concepts can feel boring / Since many programs often feature stages for fans, I think it would be more appropriate to do a youth concept on a fan tribute stage
Chance
Summary: Hope to maintain the existing concept
Reason: There must be a reason why fans like the current concept → It is expected that there will not be much resistance from the public either.
It’s great, even with the evidence.
Lee Cheong-hyeon… … It seems like I raised a tiger cub.
“It seems to me that everyone has a point. So I’m going to try to come up with a plan that incorporates as many of these opinions as possible.”
I immediately turned the page to the PPT screen.
The main theme of this stage was revealed to be ‘A new idol’s awkward survival entry’.