Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols - Chapter 187



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Episode 187. End of Short-term Project

“Team Leader! No, Director! Congratulations on your promotion!”

“Okay. Please take care of me in the future, Team Leader Sun.”

The two main characters shook hands. Everyone around them gave them congratulatory applause.

A cool cut sound was heard. It was the end of ‘In My Office’, which drew a noisy love curve like a stock graph.

It’s a happy ending for everyone. They both get promoted, get married, and My Asset Management becomes number one in the industry.

The level of completion was not bad. How much editing would support it is another matter.

Today, after finishing filming the last scene, the entire ‘In My Office’ production team went to a meat restaurant.

It wasn’t easy to even find a seat for this many people at once.

As soon as the room was cleared, the director drank a glass.

“Hey, is there anyone who doesn’t have a glass? Quick, get your glass!”

The table became busy. I, who was usually the youngest, was filling my soju glass incredibly fast when a familiar hand came into view.

Gu Ja-han was sitting next to me.

As I was getting up to politely say that I would go and pour her a glass, I heard the director’s toast from afar.

“I’ll start the toast. Our stocks!”

“Let’s be warm!”

As the short toast wishing for the stock price to hit its upper limit ended, the sound of glasses clinking could be heard from all directions.

This is similar to the Hanpyeong Industrial toast. It was ‘Our company is going bankrupt!’ By the way, I made it.

Moving seats seemed wrong, so I gave up everything and had a toast with the people at our table.

“Mr. Lee Wol, thank you for your hard work on your first work.”

“No, everyone took good care of me so I was able to adapt quickly!”

Team leader Ji’s senior team members filled my glass. I guess they love me too much. It’s overflowing, really.

‘But the lead role is Gu Ja-han, so I think it’s a bit strange for me to take care of the picture first.’

Since I couldn’t ignore the situation, I drank the soju without thinking. The smell of alcohol hit my nose.

“I know.”

As I was carefully putting my glass down, Gu Ja-han said.

And he thrust the bottle mouth towards me.

“Mr. Lee Wol, thank you for your hard work.”

Encouragement?

Gu Ja-han? To me?

Isn’t this guy the type to pay attention to what other people think?

Until recently, he acted like he would kill anyone who dared to pick a fight, but these days, he seems to have stopped causing trouble. I wonder if he realized that he had crossed the line.

“Do you not want to drink from me?”

“No way. I will be grateful!”

Gu Ja-han filled my glass. Three-quarters of the way full. A drink without ill intentions, perfect for sharing.

“Can I have a drink too?”

“Okay.”

Gu Ja-han emptied the remaining soju and handed me a glass. I filled it up in the same amount and returned the favor.

As soon as the alcohol started flowing, people started getting noisy. I was the only one in this strange atmosphere, grilling meat skillfully like a part-timer.

The one who broke the awkward silence was Ha Seo-myeong, who came to say hello from another table.

“All of our team members are here! You worked so hard!”

“Where were you, Mr. Seo? Our whole team was here, but you were missing, so I almost got upset.”

“I sat at the same table as my family. No matter what, it’s more than work, right? Isn’t it family?”

“Oh, what are you doing at that table without taking your son-in-law?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m on the verge of divorce because of that guy’s affair.”

Since it was off the record, the jokes kept coming and going. (Former) son-in-law and prospective lover Gu Ja-han quietly ate their meat.

“Our youngest, Lee Wol, has worked hard too! Why are you sad that you won’t be able to see him often anymore? Do you have to wait until Spark’s comeback?”

“Oh, then we should come back quickly.”

“I’ve been on a music show for about 8 weeks. I need to get a drama buff.”

Mr. Ha Seo-myeong said with a serious face. As expected, he is a senior in the industry. He knows how to not miss an opportunity.

“Mr. Gu Ja-han, would you like a drink too?”

Mr. Ha Seo-myeong asked his partner, who had been in a lot of trouble, but had managed to finish it off properly.

“Yeah.”

Everyone applauded the main couple’s reconciliation shot rather than their friendship.

That gentleman, Gu Ja-han, has matured. Feeling strangely satisfied, I poured myself a glass of soju.

* * *

The company dinner was long. It was really, really long. Since becoming an idol, I’ve gotten used to the life of sending off the group Spark, which has minors, early, so it took me some time to get used to the company dinner that ran until dawn.

“Mr. Lee Wol, are you holding out long?”

“I’ll drink slowly. Are you okay, Assistant Director?”

“Oh, it’s okay.”

The assistant director struggled to pick up the noodles with one pair of chopsticks. Now it looks like we’ll have to send another person home.

In my head, I wanted to go home too.

No one forced me to drink. However, after I returned from a company dinner in the middle of the night and was told by Manager Nam to make a U-turn and come back, the problem was that whenever I tried to return home in the middle of the night, it felt like my ankle was tied and I couldn’t move.

The side dishes were tasty, but I couldn’t eat them all at once because I was building muscle. So all I could do was drink the alcohol they gave me at an appropriate pace and stamp my face.

If I think about the fact that Jeong Seong-bin was able to appear on ‘My. Family. Jang’ because of my connection with Mr. Newry, that Mr. Polo liked me and let me appear on the radio, and that Mr. Ha Seo-myeong took care of me more often at Mr. Eun’s request.

I concluded that I should get my face painted because I don’t know what kind of opportunity will come in the future.

So far so good. It’s not like I’ll be going out because of my drinking capacity, and there aren’t many people either.

The problem is… … .

“Mr. Lee Wol, you’re drinking alcohol.”

“Is that so? I don’t know much about drinking parties because I haven’t had much experience with them yet, haha.”

“Are you going to the third round too?”

“If my seniors go, I have to go too!”

… … This guy Gu Ja-han has been following me around for no reason since a while ago.

I don’t know why they do this. It makes people uncomfortable.

‘It looks like you drank a lot.’

His face turned red and he kept talking to me in a sly manner, but I couldn’t understand his intentions, so it just got annoying.

‘If I ask you if you’re going to the third round, you’ll make a fuss about why I’m your senior, and if I don’t ask, you’ll curse me out for ignoring me when your senior asks… ‘

I’m in a dilemma. I want to just pretend to be drunk and collapse, but Gu Ja-han is quiet.

After a long silence, Gu Ja-han opened his mouth.

“Follow me.”

With those words, Gu Ja-han left the restaurant.

I thought I was rehabilitated, but you’re calling me to pick on me again? Or are you threatening me to never set foot in the industry again?

It doesn’t matter either way. After going through Nam Bu-jang and Yoo Han-soo, I have no fear.

I left a message to Mr. Ha Seo-myeong, saying, “Senior Ja-han called me, so I’ll be back shortly.”

Gu Ja-han, who was smoking a cigarette, came out and asked me.

“Do you smoke?”

“no.”

“You look like a heavy smoker.”

I’ve heard that a lot. There were more people who said that he’d smoke cigars instead of cigarettes, but I don’t know what kind of car he’d be, so that’s okay.

Gu Ja-han, who heard that he was a non-smoker, put out the cigarette by rubbing it on the floor.

Just then a van came into the alley.

The passenger window opened and someone’s face appeared.

“Mr. Jahan, have you been waiting long?”

“Not really. Just open the car door.”

I think you are Gu Ja-han’s manager.

It looks like they’re trying to throw me in their car and dump me somewhere.

I should have quit my Jiu-Jitsu lessons ASAP. Or at least followed Choi Je-Ho to an action school… … .

“Mr. Lee Wol.”

Unlike me, who hesitated and took a stance, Gu Ja-han put his upper body into the car first.

Then he rummaged around inside, took something out, and handed it to me.

“Take it.”

Each was a caught shopping bag.

‘If you don’t want to be forced to board an ocean-going fishing boat, fill this up with cash… Is that it?’

If that’s true, there was something inside.

I opened it with great caution and found a set of top and bottom clothes wrapped in plastic.

“Why this… … .”

“You threw away your pants.”

There was a day that suddenly came to mind. The day when Gu Ja-han asked me to run an errand that didn’t seem like much and I ended up wetting my pants with the leftover drink.

I asked, looking inside the heavy shopping bag.

“Do you have a top too?”

“The staff gave it to me because they said it would suit them. Just wear it.”

So, are you apologizing now? Sorry for making you run errands that day?

“I tried to give it to him when he went home, but the kid just drank a lot of alcohol.”

So that’s why he was interrogating me like that, asking if I was going to the third round.

I already thought he wasn’t the type to go to company dinners, but I wondered why he stayed so long.

It was an expensive-looking material, but I didn’t bother to say it out loud. I was the one receiving the apology, so I didn’t want to be humble.

“Yes, I will wear it well.”

“okay.”

Gu Ja-han answered while looking at the distant mountains. He looked embarrassed.

Gu Ja-han had a brief conversation with the manager, saying he would just say hello.

In the meantime, out of habit, I picked up the long stick that Gu Ja-han had rubbed.

“What are you doing? Dirty.”

“It’s okay, it’s just a habit.”

Of course, it would be ideal for you to pick it up after you throw it away. But I don’t want to be the type of person who just passes by something that has the potential to cause a fire.

As he was about to throw away the cigarette butt and run away, Gu Ja-han’s face turned bright red as if it was on fire.

“Give it to me.”

“yes?”

“Give it to me, I’ll take it and throw it away!”

Gu Ja-han snatched the cigarette butt from my hand. He then went into the restaurant grumbling, and then, after saying hello somehow, he grabbed his coat and came out within 30 seconds.

Without even saying goodbye, Gu Ja-han got into his car and drove off.

I looked down at the shopping bag in my hand.

I received an apology from someone who had no promotion at stake, no publicity, and no fear of repercussions. The other person had changed their mind and was acting of their own free will.

‘There are people who know how to reflect.’

I was surprised. It felt strange.

But I didn’t hate it.

If the story had ended like this, it would have been really beautiful and happy, but unfortunately, the bad relationship between me and Gu Ja-han did not end in front of the meat restaurant.

Because the face of Jeong Seong-bin, who was familiar with the clothing brand, turned pale as if he had been in a hurry when he noticed the price of the clothes I had received.

“Is this an expensive brand? I’ve never heard of it before.”

“It’s very expensive. It’s a brand that came into Korea about two years ago, but the price of a pair of socks here is… … .”

After hearing Jeong Seong-bin’s muttering, I called Gu Ja-han directly.

And then, without even taking a breath, he said, ‘Yes, are you Mr. Gu Ja-han? The pants I wore that day were ordinary pants, but it seems like you sent me gold-plated pants. I’m not the type of person to covet big things for small reasons, so I’ll return them to you.’

I thought he would have bought it at a level that he wouldn’t regret considering his celebrity status. I thought there was no need for him to bow down and say, “Oh my, such nice clothes… ” since I was the one receiving the apology.

But this is not it. The price of clothes is beyond my common sense. If I don’t fix this, I will definitely get into trouble later.

─ I knew you would do that, so I removed all the tags. Just wear it.

“If you tell me the account number, I will… … .”

─ If I pay for those pants, will you wear them?

I can’t wear it. Maybe if I just let Choi Je-ho wear it to work sometimes, he’d know.

─ Grow up.

The phone call was disconnected.

Leaving behind the strong smell of alcohol and a set of expensive new clothes, ‘In My Office’ ended like that.

Manager Kim hates idols