Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols - Chapter 29
Only Krnovel
| Episode 29. The Emergence of a Competitor (1)
After hearing Jeong Seong-bin’s story, our lives didn’t change much.
The most we could do was to throw a tantrum by resigning and shouting, “That son of a bitch is a killer!”
‘I’m confident enough to make a mess of things.’
Instead, we decided to compliment the next person once a week, based on their age.
The purpose was to encourage each other when their self-esteem was low.
Interestingly, it was Park Joo-woo who first expressed his opinion.
‘I’m a bit worried that the person who will praise Jeong Seong-bin is Choi Je-ho… … .’
If you have any sense, you will probably watch what I do and follow along.
Oh, I did mention it once in the office when I went to return my phone to the manager.
‘Manager, there’s no such thing as a downward spiral in our company, right?’
‘No. If there is something like that, it’ll be a big problem!’
‘Really?’
‘Of course. Don’t trainees have that kind of thing too?’
‘No. But I think there are things that need to be kept in mind between seniors and juniors.’
‘Basic manners are important, but don’t harass or anything. If you do that, you’ll be banned from the store.’
The office where this conversation took place was the office used by the management headquarters. This means that the conversation took place in a space where more than ten ears could hear.
It is also a sensitive issue of bullying in the entertainment industry.
Jeong Seong-bin’s face turned pale, as if he thought I would bring up Jang Jun-hoo’s work at any moment.
Since he didn’t say anything in the end, Jeong Seong-bin also passed it by without saying anything.
It may not seem like much now, but there may come a day when someone will understand the context of the words I blurted out out of the blue.
If it doesn’t explode, there’s nothing we can do about it, but if it does explode, that’s great. So I’ve included it as an insurance policy for now.
Although I hadn’t really hoped for it, a series of events led to the group’s membership training naturally taking place, and for the first time since joining the company, a group interview with all the trainees was scheduled.
The full-scale debut group training project has begun.
* * *
UA’s meetings had more limited corners than Hanpyeong Industries’.
First of all, it was because the notebook and ballpoint pen did not move around on the desk.
What did the conference room at the company I worked for look like until recently?
‘Who wants to know the most legal and moral way? Bring me a shortcut, a shortcut.’
‘Are all the kids who don’t come to the mountaineering club new employees? Go through their list. No, tell them to come to my desk right now.’
‘What are we going to do when the management is being sarcastic? Don’t you all want to live in society? If you don’t like it, just write a letter of resignation and leave.’
No matter how much I thought about it, I should have left then.
If I had gone out then, I wouldn’t have had to go to the manager’s office every 15 minutes to light his cigarette.
Even though UA’s building was completely non-smoking, thinking back to that time made my clothes smell like acrid cigarette smoke.
In a much more fragrant atmosphere than my previous life, I was able to listen to the early concepts of this group that I had been physically exposed to while forcing myself to be a Spark fan.
“The management team said that you all have the cold-boy vibe. So we plan to give the album and group logo a lot of the winter boy vibe.”
That’s why we filmed our debut song music video in a field where all the grass was frozen to death.
wait for a sec.
Then why did you name the group Spark?
Don’t you usually give your team a name that captures its image?
It’s not something I should say, as I changed my name to Kim I-wol because I was born in February.
Anyway, it was a bit awkward for the team name to be Fireworks, given the feeling of a winter boy.
“The four group name candidates that the company has in mind are Spark, Flake, Glint, and Flame. Ideas are always welcome, so feel free to share any ideas that come to mind.”
The candidates were all simple and flashy. Just hearing their names made my eyes dazzle and my face turn red.
I almost forgot for a moment. This was a company obsessed with classic idols.
In names that are extremely flashy, it was clear that they wanted to throw in symbols and popularity, and then organize them later.
That’s why a plan should be written by one person. If there are multiple writers, the content will become a mess.
Personally, I wanted to keep the original team name. It’s polite to preserve Spark’s path as much as possible.
But the conversation didn’t go as I had hoped.
“If you’re going with the fire series, wouldn’t it be better if Flame felt a bit stronger than Spark?”
“If you want to go out strong, shouldn’t you be at least as strong as Blaze?”
This is because the employees’ passion for the new group was ignited by the group’s name.
Of course, there were rational people among them.
“Didn’t you say you were going with a winter boy concept… …?”
But intellectuals are always lonely in a crowd.
The trainees, including me, had no choice but to watch silently as the group name became a blazing pillar of fire.
“We’re discussing this, do you have any opinions?”
The representative asked.
I answered with a bright smile.
“After discussing it at the accommodation, we will share it with you right away through the manager!”
First of all… … let’s end this pointless discussion!
When the representative gave an okay sign to what I said, Jeong Seong-bin, sitting across from me, let out a small sigh of relief.
Yeah, I guess it’s a bit much to put on a fire show with the group name.
After that, the usual precautions were given.
“I know you’re all sincere, so I won’t say things like, ‘Practice hard.’ Instead, you have to be much more careful with every action you take.”
I also completely agree with the representative’s opinion on this part.
Thinking about how Park Joo-woo got beaten to pieces when he didn’t pay attention to his expression when greeting his senior group, it was even more inevitable.
“And there will be more classes added in the future. I’m thinking of foreign languages and fitness, but where did you say you’d start?”
“Starting with foreign languages, sir.”
Why choose a foreign language when there is an option called fitness?
That’s ridiculous. The muscles you build during your teenage years will be gone in 10 years.
Spark wasn’t going to go overseas right away. They debuted in Japan in their fifth year, so what about foreign languages?
Besides, all the Spark members were in the growth phase. If they made good use of the present, they might grow a few centimeters taller than before. It would clearly be a loss to leave that skeleton alone.
‘Since Lee Cheong-hyeon can speak English anyway, learning a foreign language isn’t that urgent.’
From what I remember, Jeong Seong-bin was also quite good at Japanese.
He may not have learned Japanese yet, but judging from the fact that he used it fluently during his active period, he may have a talent for learning languages.
If it’s not too much trouble, I’ll just present ‘100 Business Phrases That Office Workers Can Use’.
I thought the last time I studied English in my life would be when I took the TOEIC Speaking Test to get good scores right before graduation.
It was disgusting to think about, but I couldn’t help it.
“Okay. Let’s aim for basic conversation, reading, and writing in English and Japanese. Joo-kyung will tell you more details later.”
I took a hundred quick deep breaths in my mind.
If it were Hanpyeong Industries, it would have been a file flying out right away, to refute something that the higher-ups had decided.
but…….
‘If I’m the only one who’s going to break, then I should take the average height.’
I couldn’t help but feel a sense of mission when I saw Kang Ki-yeon, who had been the only one standing still among the members lined up.
“Representative!”
I took a deep breath and called the representative.
Even if everyone criticizes me as a free rider in the distant future, Kang Ki-yeon, you alone should not be like that.
“huh?”
“Excuse me, but can I take the fitness class first?!”
This is not a request. Permit me right now.
This is all for the growth of your children.
The representative responded positively, as if he had conveyed my sorrow.
“Do you want to go to the gym? You want to do that, so should you quit fitness first?”
“Since we’re going to start a month apart, I don’t think it’ll make much of a difference if we start working out first, sir.”
“Then let’s do that. Just report back to me after you’ve processed the expenses.”
“yes!”
So the protest for health ended peacefully without a single object being thrown.
I think I’m better suited to handling expenses than building a body.
* * *
In addition to getting my fitness classes, there was one more piece of good news.
“Brother! Brother!”
“why?”
“I finished that song!”
Lee Cheong-hyeon has completed a song that he had been working on for several weeks.
I don’t know how long it takes on average to compose a song, but it seems like a lot of time to create one piece for the first time.
Even though Lee Cheong-hyeon had no memory of working on it in the past, he produced better results than before.
Although we cannot arbitrarily judge another person’s efforts as talent, it was truly an incredible ability.
“Has it changed a lot since I told you?”
“It’s almost the same, but I changed the ending a little.”
Then, Lee Cheong-hyeon took out his earphones one by one. Kang Ki-yeon, who was watching him, asked.
“What? Have you heard this before, hyung?”
“Before the revision? Yeah. Cheong-hyeon told me.”
“What is Lee Cheong-hyeon? Why haven’t you told me about it until now?”
“I was planning to tell our Kang Ki-yeon about it once it was finished!”
Lee Cheong-hyeon groped Kang Ki-yeon’s face like it was dough for dumplings, asking if he was upset.
I told you not to touch your face because it might cause trouble. But you don’t even listen to me, not at all.
By the way, it was surprising that Kang Ki-yeon hadn’t heard the song either. That’s because, with Lee Cheong-hyeon’s personality, he would have told everyone to gather together and listen to my song twice a day.
‘Have you not told this to anyone else besides me and the A&R team?’
Lee Cheong-hyeon, unaware of the curious look on my face, handed the wired earphones plugged into his laptop to Kang Ki-yeon.
“how is it?”
“Wait a minute. It’s only been 13 seconds.”
While Kang Ki-yeon rested his chin on his hand and listened to the song, Lee Cheong-hyeon had an extremely anxious expression on his face, as if he was watching a child approaching a flock of pigeons.
And after about 4 minutes.
“Good.”
“really?!”
Lee Cheong-hyeon’s face lit up. Kang Ki-yeon still had an indifferent expression, but answered seriously.
“Oh. Really.”
Then, Kang Ki-yeon asked Choi Je-ho, who was sleeping on the sofa.
“Hyung, do you want to choreograph a dance together later tonight?”
“With what?”
“With Lee Cheong-hyeon’s song.”
In the past, they would light up their eyes just by looking at each other in the air. It was an incredible growth.
I was so touched that I thought I could change their relationship from ‘supporter’ to ‘lover’. For about 2 seconds.
While the two members of the dance line were making constructive practice plans, Lee Cheong-hyeon, who was putting away his laptop for sleep, shouted.
“uh?”
On the laptop screen that I could see at a glance was a pink entertainment news UI that had not changed for years.
“what’s the matter?”
Jeong Seong-bin, who was drinking water, approached Lee Cheong-hyeon and made a strange expression upon seeing the article.
“… … MYTH is releasing a boy group.”
Yes, that’s right.
A first-class group that is confident of becoming the top rookie boy group for the next three years.
A group that has been fighting a bitter sexual battle for years with Spark, who can’t even figure out when to make a comeback.
Even the debut plan of ‘Parte’, who won every fight, was revealed.