Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols - Chapter 23
Only Krnovel
| Episode 23. Concept Planning (2)
I sat on the practice room floor next to Kang Ki-yeon.
Kang Ki-yeon was reflected in the mirror across from me, just fiddling with her bare hands.
The awkward atmosphere was suffocating.
I was wondering if it would be better to lighten the mood, but I thought it would be better to set the stage for this guy rather than being considerate, so I made the first move.
“If you have anything to talk about, feel free to talk about it.”
However, Kang Ki-yeon did not speak right away.
Did you want me to at least make small talk? I don’t think you’re the type of person who has a hard time expressing yourself.
Fortunately, before much time had passed, Kang Ki-yeon opened his mouth.
“I was wondering if you could give me some advice on… … being nervous.”
The reason Kang Ki-yeon requested an interview was surprisingly ‘I need advice.’
It seems that my courage in not giving up on the first evaluation was impressive.
‘Is there anyone in Spark who looks mentally strong? … other than Choi Je-ho?’
Jeong Seong-bin said that he became quite strong-minded later on, but they were all still children.
Choi Je-ho, who is worth seeking advice from, has extremely difficult conversations.
So, as a result of the method of elimination, I am the only one left.
‘I acknowledge that if there is anything you regret, you will seek advice from even Ttuktakki.’
It doesn’t usually take courage to be directly criticized by others. This part was truly admirable.
Kang Ki-yeon asked me, who was genuinely touched.
“Are you the type of person who doesn’t get nervous easily?”
“I didn’t do it much, but I didn’t do it at all. I think it was average.”
“How did you fix your nervousness?”
Yeah, I fixed it by breaking it and making an example of it to the manager in front of the management.
I closed my eyes, trying to forget the sight of the conference room where the loud noises were going on.
Let’s be honest. Kang Ki-yeon is a high school student, not a working adult.
Instead of telling Kang Ki-yeon about the bitter taste of the organization, I tried to explain the painful memories as purely as possible.
“I practiced a lot like the real thing. It was like a mock interview.”
“Just like in real life… … .”
Kang Ki-yeon recited along with my words.
“I imagine breaking things, and I imagine making mistakes. Then I think about how I would react if I made a mistake, and what kind of situation would make me the most nervous.”
“I tried a lot of mock tests, but they didn’t really work. I even installed cameras.”
“If the pressure is less than in a real match, you may still feel embarrassed even if you practice a lot.”
Even if you prepare a presentation all night, if your boss just says, “Manager Kim, what’s with your expression?”, you feel like all the blood drains from your body.
“Did your teachers give you any special advice?”
“You said that since you were doing well, you just need to practice as much as you used to… … That’s what they said.”
As expected from UA. The advice was kind.
It may be that they intentionally didn’t provoke the idols because they thought they would become mentally unstable later on.
I can only hear other people’s compliments when my ears are open.
In a situation where he was unable to show his skills right away, receiving praise for doing well would not have had much of an impact on Kang Ki-yeon.
“How can we create pressure?”
Kang Ki-yeon asked.
First, I held a Q&A party where I asked myself hundreds of follow-up questions that Manager Nam would ask.
It’s a good thing I live alone, if I had a roommate, they would’ve thought I was losing my mind.
“I think I’ll be able to adapt if I practice by creating as many stressful situations as possible… … but I guess I can’t ask the teachers to create the environment for me every time.”
“That’s why.”
I thought for a moment and then suggested it to Kang Ki-yeon.
“Should I be your evaluator?”
“yes?”
Kang Ki-yeon’s eyes widened slightly.
You’ve been speaking calmly and without raising your voice until now. I guess this was unexpected.
“Just putting a camera there isn’t enough. It might be more effective if you make the surroundings or atmosphere more realistic.”
“If you open your mouth, the atmosphere will become relaxed and you won’t lose that feeling, right?”
“Don’t worry. I’m good at playing the old fart.”
Kang Ki-yeon made a face that said he couldn’t believe it at all. He’ll be shocked when he sees my passionate acting that contains the soul of Chief Nam.
I never thought I would do something sparkly in my life.
Kang Ki-yeon has helped me a lot so far, so I decided that I had no choice but to repay the favor.
“Then… … I ask you to do so.”
Kang Ki-yeon either had no other choice or was truly desperate, so he accepted my offer without much thought.
“You can watch my practice during the day. If you want to practice at night, just let me know.”
“Let’s start tomorrow.”
“I really respect your passion.”
I couldn’t help but praise Kang Ki-yeon’s attitude, which clearly said that if there had been just a little more time left in the practice room, we should start today.
And I added a brief word about something that had been bothering me since earlier.
“More than that, you don’t have to hesitate to ask for this much.”
Rather than wasting time agonizing over whether or not to consult with others and letting things grow, it is 50,000 times better to report first and then deal with the aftermath.
It was the same with fighting. Rather than fighting in a place where they couldn’t see and getting emotionally torn, it was better to fight in front of them.
It’s best to fight in a place where no one can see you and then make up.
‘If he had asked Choi Je-ho several times to practice with the group, he probably wouldn’t be the type of person who would have difficulty asking others for something.’
Even Kang Ki-yeon surprisingly didn’t feel dissatisfied when it came to achieving his goal.
It meant that he wasn’t the type of person to waste time asking for just this one thing or to waste time.
Then, a rather surprising answer came back from Kang Ki-yeon.
“Hyung, you seem busy these days, so I was wondering if I could ask you a favor.”
And that too with a pretty good reason.
The personality of Manager Nam, who had asked to reserve the Spark birthday cafe, saying, “Manager Kim, you look busy?”, was completely different.
It was a moment when my old thought of eating all the rice cakes myself rather than giving one more to the person I hated became meaningless.
Yeah, it’s human nature to take the rice cake from the person you hate and give it to the person who works hard.
I thought of Manager Song, who was a good-natured, hard-working, and conscientious person who was a model of hard work.
Manager Song, I’m sorry I couldn’t take better care of you.
The manager laughed out loud at the impression of Manager Nam… I’ll try to use it here too. Please don’t work overtime today and have a safe trip.
Just as my heart was about to feel moist, I noticed the clock pointing to 11:50.
It was time for me to finish my overtime work before others had to worry. It was bittersweet.
* * *
After the midnight conversation, my relationship with Kang Ki-yeon became a little more interesting.
‘Here, I should go for the hot pot, but my brother just likes the cold pot.’
‘I’m sorry.’
During the day, Kang Ki-yeon grabbed me by the collar and dragged me… … .
‘Kang Ki-yeon, don’t shake your hands. Keep your gaze straight. Straighten your back.’
‘yes.’
At night, I caught Kang Ki-yeon like a rat.
There was even a day when Lee Cheong-hyeon, who had been left behind every night, would nag her for 20 minutes about controlling her facial expressions, and then run away.
“Straighten your shoulders and straighten your back. If your posture is hunched over, you’ll feel more tense.”
“… … I feel tense even when I straighten my posture.”
“Lie down on the floor over there for about three minutes and then get up.”
It was a joke meant to ease tension, but Kang Ki-yeon really did collapse on the floor.
It must be that desperate. How frustrating it would be to have outstanding abilities but not be able to show them.
I approached Kang Ki-yeon, who was lying down, with the determination to make sure that my dance teacher would see the light.
“How is it? Do you feel a little more relaxed?”
“… … Yes. I guess it’s because it’s comfortable.”
Kang Ki-yeon’s expression seemed much more relaxed, as if it wasn’t a lie.
I said this while watching Kang Ki-yeon regain his breath.
“Then get up now. Let’s run the simulation again from the beginning.”
Kang Ki-yeon got up from her seat with great difficulty. I highly valued Kang Ki-yeon’s endurance, as she never once told me that it was hard.
That doesn’t mean Kang Ki-yeon just took up my practice time.
As I watched it every day, I unintentionally learned something from this side as well.
I was able to see the movements in more detail by watching the best practices dozens of times with a feeling of monitoring.
For example, like this.
“It seems like there’s less weight on your left foot than before. Is that because you’re tired or because you’re nervous?”
“It’s hard.”
“It’s hard. But you know that the teachers won’t take the fact that you’re having a hard time into account when evaluating, right?”
“……yes.”
When I told him that the angle between his index and middle fingers changed every time he danced, Kang Ki-yeon’s face clearly showed signs of weariness.
What. What do you want me to do? Even if I don’t say anything, he’ll worry about it later.
I asked Kang Ki-yeon, whose body was drenched in cold sweat even though he hadn’t moved a single time.
“Have you had any ankle pain since then?”
“Yes. Is that because you went to the hospital early?”
“So, if you’re sick, go to the hospital right away. Don’t put it off because it’s annoying and end up with a bigger illness.”
“yes yes.”
Kang Ki-yeon answered mechanically, as if he had become accustomed to the constant nagging.
“Still, I feel like I’m moving a lot more naturally now than I did at the beginning. At least for me, I think I’ve adapted.”
“I feel that way too.”
“It may be that I look sluggish and the mood is not set well. Wouldn’t it be better to have Choi Je-ho sit down instead?”
“yes?”
Kang Ki-yeon looked dumbfounded at my words.
“Do you think… hyung looks sluggish?”
“I think it’s either normal or slightly blurry, one of the two.”
I held back from saying that at least it would look more runny than boiled dumplings.
Otherwise, Manager Nam would not have been so persistent in harassing me only three days after I joined the company.
But the answer that came back was quite shocking.
“Brother, uh… … I don’t know if I can say this.”
“say it.”
“Honestly? Without a filter?”
“When did you ever have a filter? Speak frankly.”
“I get scared just by looking at your face.”
……what?
“Lee Cheong-hyeon said that when he first saw his brother, he thought he was the director and not a trainee.”
“What are these cool-toned, poison-deprived bastards talking about?”
“Brother Joo-woo, when you first came here, you were so nervous that you couldn’t even eat dinner properly.”
“Are you lying?”
“It’s true. I think you don’t have to worry about that part because they’re putting a lot of pressure on you.”
The more I listened to Kang Ki-yeon’s words, the more perplexed I became.
I felt like I needed to get rid of my dark circles as soon as possible.
* * *
When I returned to my lodgings after hearing Kang Ki-yeon’s shocking confession, Lee Cheong-hyeon was waiting for me.
At this point, it almost felt like we were onboarding new employees one by one.
Lee Cheong-hyeon, who had taken over Kim I-wol’s back office past midnight, asked.
“Brother! I’ve finished composing the melody, but what should I do now?”
“Shouldn’t you be asking that question to another expert, not someone like me, Director, Cheong-hyeon?”
“Did Kang Ki-yeon say that?! When I spoke to him, he didn’t even pretend to listen!”
“If you two keep talking about weird stuff, I’ll tell Seongbin and ask him to practice more.”
“Hey, we talk a lot about constructive things!”
Then, Lee Cheong-hyeon started praising me, displaying the social skills that I had accumulated at that age.
There were stories like, ‘Hyung, don’t you watch your movements very well?’, ‘Kang Ki-yeon also talks about it often.’
However, Lee Cheong-hyeon’s response was not entirely smooth.
“Brother, if your visual acuity is so good, why can’t you output it?”
He threw a very heavy punch at the end.
“If you look at a Picasso painting, can you draw it exactly like that?”
“aha.”
Thanks to that, we had some rather boring conversations.
After exchanging a few words like that, I changed the direction of the conversation to work.
“I heard you made the melody. Can I listen to it?”
“Of course. But please give me gentle feedback.”
“gently?”
“I feel like I’m revealing a house that has been built from the roof up.”
Lee Cheong-hyeon spoke in a cautious tone, not wanting to answer.
In the first place, I’m not an expert so there’s no way I can give you any advice.
I put on my earphones and played music next to Lee Cheong-hyeon, who was covering his eyes as if he couldn’t see.
What flowed out was clearly the melody of the song 『Beginning』, which I knew and which Lee Cheong-hyeon had composed in the past.
But there was something that was clearly different from before.
‘Isn’t the song a little better than before?’
How much better it has become, it’s a shame that I can only express it this way with my limited vocabulary.
Lee Cheong-hyeon’s song was good. I can vouch for it with my psd files as a Spark fanboy for n years.