Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols - Chapter 26
Only Krnovel
| Episode 26. Debut Evaluation (2)
“Brother, it’s your turn for the interview.”
“okay?”
Lee Cheong-hyeon opened the practice room door and came in and called me.
It was only 30 minutes after the guy was called in for an interview.
Starting the day after the end-of-month evaluation, the company began conducting 1:1 interviews with Jeong Seong-bin.
Considering that the last interview was held at the beginning of the month after the evaluation results were released, it seemed that they were really forming the outline of the debut group.
‘Well… I did everything I could.’
Now I had to figure out what I should do during the interview.
For example, when you hear something like, “Rather than debuting in a team with a big skill gap, let’s wait for the next time,” how can you grab the representative’s trouser leg?
I headed to the conference room, once again determined to be filial to my older sister.
When I knocked and went in, there were three people inside: the CEO, the manager, and Min Ju-kyung.
The atmosphere in the conference room was quite different from what I expected.
“Is the transfer here? Sit down, sit down.”
“What would you like to drink?”
Well, it was quite favorable.
Why? Usually, to persuade someone who is older and lacks skills like me, I have to be prepared to give up everything I have at any moment.
‘Manager Kim, you’re not afraid of your performance evaluation even though you work like this? If it were me, I would’ve sold out and given up my position first.’
‘You’re not thinking about changing jobs, are you? Get a grip on reality? Manager Kim, aren’t you turning 30 soon? Do you think you’ll be competing with kids in their 20s?’
… … That’s what I’m saying.
When I recalled my memories with Manager Nam, my mood became three times dirtier. Because of that, I had to do my best to control my expression.
The interview began in earnest as I sat down.
But something was a bit unexpected.
“How was it spending time with the members, Lee Wol?”
“I heard you guys gathered in the practice room together and talked a while ago? Wasn’t that difficult?”
“Lee Wol, in your opinion, who would be a good fit to be the leader of the team?”
All the questions I was asked were for personality interviews.
For a moment, I almost suspected that someone had made an accusation, saying, “Kim Yi-wol’s human nature seems to have exploded.”
Of course, it wouldn’t have been strange if someone had said that.
I tried to use the social skills I had honed at Hanpyeong Industries to have as many conversations as possible, but I never made small talk with Spark first.
So I emphasized that I really enjoy this life with the members and that I am very satisfied because I feel that our relationship has become closer recently.
In addition, I spoke as calmly as possible about how healthy and developing the trainees were, and how great their personalities were.
Since my KPI was to debut as a six-member boy group, there couldn’t be a single member left behind.
In particular, when asked who he thought would be the most suitable leader for the team, he nominated Jeong Seong-bin with a pounding heart. Without him, the team would fall apart.
After talking for a while, the CEO opened his mouth.
“Actually, the company was thinking about making you the next group leader.”
It wasn’t an unexpected suggestion. Even I wouldn’t want to put a skewer on a well-prepared table.
The title of leader was beyond my expectations, though.
There’s nothing we can do about it now that it’s come to this.
When submitting a resignation, you have to show off the desperate kneeling that you have been honing for years to gain momentum… … .
“But you had such good chemistry with the existing trainees.”
yes?
This was a completely unexpected development.
I was so mistaken that I wondered if the representative had misunderstood the meaning of the word chemistry.
You wouldn’t say there’s good chemistry when you see the youngest members standing in the middle of a practice room and being whipped around by judges for two hours or being told to write songs.
“Teamwork is really important in idol groups. The word ‘relationship’ isn’t used for nothing.”
I know that. I’ve seen enough of how individual the Spark guys of the past are.
How difficult it was to make a series called ‘Understanding Spark Relationships’ by forcibly cutting and pasting scenes of the members who disperse or maintain a distance apart from each other in an instant except at the beginning.
I almost thought that it would be better for their future if the stick function was forced to match them up.
Whether I was confused or not, the representative, who clearly did not know the meaning of chemistry, continued talking.
“The kids aren’t that friendly, but you seem to be getting close to them quickly. Your skills are also improving day by day.”
“thank you.”
“I told you that there wasn’t a single person who didn’t talk about you during the interview?”
I felt depressed.
It seemed like these people hadn’t seen the expression on Kang Ki-yeon’s face while she was dancing.
The representative told me that he was considering all-rounder Jeong Seong-bin as a leader.
“So, I mean, as an older brother, can you sometimes help Seongbin and coordinate with the members?”
“……yes?”
I’ve never once lost my mind while talking to someone.
But now, I felt like I was losing my mind for a moment.
‘What does that mean?’
While I was thinking about it, the manager hit my back so that it didn’t hurt.
“You’re debuting with the kids too! Congratulations!”
ah.
Is that what you’re talking about?
Compared to the direct verbal abuse of the Nam department head, the representative’s words were almost like classical poetry. His ability to speak in a sophisticated and roundabout way was top-notch.
“You always acted like a jerk, but you never thought you’d make it to the debut lineup?”
Minju Kyung said it as if she was proud of me. I was thinking that if it didn’t work out, I would have to get on my knees.
The system appeared in a flash in the air, as if the people involved were collectively deceiving me.
+
[SYSTEM] ‘Task’ has been completed.
▷ Reward: Experience (20)
▷ Cumulative experience: 55
▷ Accumulated points: 0
+
It was a touching phrase. It was so dazzling that it made my eyes tingle.
Sister, cheer me on.
I’m about to debut as an idol.
* * *
A few days later, we were congratulated on being confirmed as a debut group member with a small whole cake. We all only got to taste it because we had to have our weight checks soon.
There were only two good things about having the debut group completely decided.
The end-of-month evaluations have been eliminated and the practice room hours have been extended to 2 a.m.
And the bad part is… … .
The company started to seriously focus on weight management, the one-hour limit on cell phone use per day became a bit stricter, each trainee had to develop a special skill, and foreign language study was added… … to that extent.
In the meantime, the system also brought in new tasks.
+
[SYSTEM] Work instructions from ‘Manager’ have arrived.
Mr. Kim, this time, Mr. Kim, please plan the unity event. With a young sense. Oh, and the executives will be attending the event, so don’t be too innovative. Just something a little bit retro, but fresh, please!
[SYSTEM] ‘New task’ has been assigned.
▷ Deciding on the concept for the debut album
▷ Reward: Experience (10)
+
Come. I’ve been waiting for you.
What I’m saying is that the album concept was something that I had been preparing in advance.
It was my first time planning an idol album, but I didn’t feel overwhelmed because I had the documents.
Since we knew what the components were, once we had the form, it wasn’t a big deal to just fill in the contents.
The problem was that I couldn’t just use the documents the system gave me.
‘If someone asked where I got the proposal form, what would I say?’
I thought I had downloaded it from the universal form, but upon checking, I found that there was no such form on that platform.
However, it was not possible to accuse an innocent person of leaking internal documents.
In other words, you have the documents, but you have to pretend you don’t.
In the time it took to think about the concept, I had to figure out how to hide Schrödinger’s papers.
I also have to think about how I can pretend to be a trainee with exceptionally good intuition.
It’s really not easy being a K-idol trainee.
‘Come to think of it, I haven’t even opened that document.’
I took out a set of three proposals that I had received and left unattended, and which were now floating around somewhere in the virtual world.
And as soon as I saw the form, I had a gut feeling.
This form will be discarded once the debut album planning is complete.
If there is no basis in the document, that is what happens. If even a non-expert in planning can tell that this is not the case, then this guy is considered to be unrecoverable.
I scanned the outline list with blurry eyes.
‘The overall concept and message are one set, and the costumes and music video are three areas in total.’
It hasn’t been long since I decided to get rid of my dark circles, but they already feel like they’ve gotten twice as dark.
‘If an office worker works, he or she should at least get paid… … .’
I had a moment of materialistic thoughts, then remembered that Hanpyeong Industries didn’t provide overtime pay either, and immediately returned to my life as a trainee. As long as I achieved my KPI, I had to get a job at a company that didn’t have a comprehensive wage system.
* * *
After overcoming the big mountain called evaluation, my daily life continued in a relatively peaceful manner.
I’m talking about the days when I practice as scheduled and wrestle with the plan every day.
I thought things would continue this way for a while, but unfortunately the peace did not last long.
This morning, while getting ready for school, Jeong Seong-bin left something behind without telling the other kids…
‘Can you spare me some time this afternoon?’
… … It was because of this one word.
‘I can make time. Do you have something to say?’
‘Yes. And… …Jeho hyung too.’
‘Choi Je-ho?’
The personnel selection process was extremely ominous.
Of course. The moment Choi Je-ho joins in, the probability of the conversation flowing smoothly approaches zero.
When Jeong Seong-bin’s request was relayed to Choi Je-ho himself, his reaction was not much different.
‘me?’
‘huh.’
‘why?’
‘I don’t know about that.’
And now again. The only two adult members among the trainees are trembling in fear.
I wanted to ask Jeong Seong-bin and his roommate Park Joo-woo if they had noticed anything strange, but I couldn’t even ask them because Jeong Seong-bin didn’t seem to want to tell anyone yet.
“I really don’t know what to say, but did you do something wrong to Seongbin?”
While waiting for Jeong Seong-bin to return home in the lobby, I poked Choi Je-ho.
Then Choi Je-ho answered seriously.
“I was thinking about it anyway.”
“okay…….”
But now he’s thinking about it. It was a huge step forward compared to last month when he confronted Kang Ki-yeon with physiognomy.
After waiting for about 30 minutes, Jeong Seong-bin came home in his school uniform through the main gate.
Whether Jeong Seong-bin had told us in advance or not, Kang Ki-yeon just greeted us and went down to the basement practice room without saying much.
Jeong Seong-bin looked at us, took off his bag, and bowed.
“Thank you for your time.”
“No. Did anything happen at school?”
I waved my hand and asked after Jeong Seong-bin’s well-being. Jeong Seong-bin nodded twice.
“Yes. Are you guys okay?”
“Nothing happened except that Choi Je-ho tried to swear at me.”
While we were having a light conversation, I secretly observed Jeong Seong-bin’s expression.
His complexion wasn’t bad, but his face looked a little uneasy.
A guy who is usually well-behaved and has been controlling his mind lately has an awkward reason to reveal to others.
Choi Je-ho and the old me, who belong to a group that would make frost fall in May just by looking at their appearance, called by that guy.
When I thought about these various factors, no matter how much I racked my brain, only one answer came to mind.
I asked cautiously, hoping that Jeong Seong-bin would definitely say no.
“That… … is there anyone who wants to ask you a favor?”