Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols - Chapter 4



Only Krnovel

| Episode 4. The Old Man System (3)

Going back and getting harassed by the Spark guys was a pretty gut-wrenching experience.

First, Choi Je-ho and Kang Ki-yeon, who are like the embodiment of dance.

These guys seemed to see me as some interesting alien creature.

The guys gave me, a beginner, a shocking lesson by showing me a dance with all sorts of flashy movements and asking, “Do you understand?”

I tried hard to show them that teaching them that way was not enough. Both of their faces turned pale.

But what can I do? I’ve been a salaried worker my entire life.

My mind was so complicated that I almost asked Choi Je-ho, “Center Emperor Choi Je-ho, am I doing things right now?”

After the simulation of receiving contemptuous looks from the guy went on, I even practiced calling him by his nickname in my head without anyone knowing.

The next ones to sink after the two blunt boys were Jeong Seong-bin and Park Joo-woo.

The two famous vocalists tried to impart their knowledge in a more humane way, unlike the artists who came before me who showed off their violently broken movements.

Unfortunately, my stamina was better than theirs, so they collapsed first.

Lee Cheong-hyeon, who had been watching the entire disaster, made eye contact with me and gave me a thumbs up.

“Brother, you’re really amazing! Fighting!”

Then he even winked. He had the perfect personality to be an idol.

Why didn’t you do more wink-jakkon? Then I could have made a collection of your winks in one day.

Thanks to my efforts and the cheers from Lee Cheong-hyeon, I was able to straighten my arms out to the side while looking straight ahead. This was the first time in four hours.

I looked to the side and saw Kang Ki-yeon clap his hands with his lips tightly clenched.

That was exactly the expression I made when I saw the boss’s son coming to work part-time one day. Life is really not easy after all.

At this point, I couldn’t help but be curious.

What on earth did the casting director see when casting me for UA?

I think the Spark guys would be just as curious about this as I am.

Wouldn’t it be suspicious if a trainee who suddenly joined a few days ago couldn’t control his left and right feet?

Even though no one shows it, you can tell. One of my few talents is reading other people’s minds.

But there was nothing he could do. It was impossible for an office worker whose whole life was spent touching webcells to learn how to dance well in just one day.

Even more so if the reward is 20 experience points.

I’ve been in a similar situation before.

So… … I’m talking about the situation where Manager Nam asked me to organize over 5 years’ worth of unorganized documents by the same day.

What to do when you can’t believe your current situation and there’s no way to make it any better.

That’s right… … .

‘It’s just repetition.’

I felt my eyes getting moist. It seemed like the sweat I shed at that time was synchronized in both my eyes.

There was definitely an advantage though. At least there was no Nam here.

Even if there is someone who helps you, you should be grateful.

Even if it’s the first legion of enemies in life.

It didn’t seem right to not even try to learn when they had taught me so well, so I used my anger as a driving force and did as they told me to do.

If you think about it as just a 20% salary increase, it’s a big percentage. As expected, a mental victory is something that depends on how you do it.

* * *

How long has it been since I moved without any sense of shame?

When I looked around, I heard heavy breathing and saw the Spark guys sitting down one by one in the corner of the practice room.

Weak guys. With that level of physical strength, they can’t even climb Mt. Bukaksan while carrying the thermos flasks of the management team.

Taking advantage of the lull in teaching, I also picked up a bottle of water and quenched my thirst.

It was then that the door to the practice room opened and a familiar face came in.

At the same time, the sparkling guys who had been spread out like office workers working overtime suddenly stood up.

The sight of them standing with their military discipline was just like the spark from their debut days. It made my stomach churn.

“Is everyone having a hard time practicing?”

“it’s okay!”

“It’s okay. I saw Lee Wol for the first time during the casting. Did you say hello to the kids?”

Clean business casual attire and a friendly tone that doesn’t make you look like a trainer.

And more than anything, that comment confirmed my suspicions.

Is it you who brought me into this pit of evil?

I wanted to grab that person right away and ask him what on earth made me want to be an idol. Was there really no talent in Hongdae that day?

“Yes, everyone is helping me a lot.”

But I barely held on. It was thanks to my patience that I had trained myself to the limit.

“Hey. We also have high expectations of you, Yiwol!”

This person should have seen Spark’s two eyes that lost their light earlier.

If that were the case, such words wouldn’t have come out. Even I, who has nothing but ill feelings toward Spark, felt sorry for them.

I would have been willing to rewrite my resume and apply for a new manager position at Spark right now if my friend System would only allow it.

But there was no answer from the system. Anyway, it is only quiet at times like this.

The unexpected visitor took out his cell phone and said he was there to film the five Spark members’ military dance.

“Since there are more trainees, we have to look at things like drawings again. After we finish learning the choreography, Yiwol and you will join us and film it again.”

If you don’t know how to do something, you have to answer in a hurry.

I answered that I understood for now, although I wasn’t sure if that day would ever come.

While Spark prepared to take a picture, I moved to the opposite mirror and stood next to the staff member.

The scene that unfolded before my eyes was quite amazing.

The sight of the five trainees dancing to the beat like a knife was pretty cool, even to my ignorant eyes.

‘When I was making cross-edits, I thought that people my age had strong joints.’

If you look closely, you can see it for sure.

These guys, at least when they do their job, they’re powerful.

I think the public opinion that this group was able to last for 7 years despite having more controversies than the number of employees at their agency was right because of their looks and skills.

For the first time, I was free from the obligation of video editing and was able to enjoy their spectacular movements to my heart’s content.

Instead, I didn’t even look above their necks. I would get angry if I saw their faces.

By the way, the moves that I learned over the course of several hours and earned me 1 welfare point went by in an instant.

It feels like… … about 1.8 seconds?

‘It’ll take me about two full weeks to finish one song.’

Whether that level of force can be generated by rolling is another matter.

It was really just a simple monitoring video shoot, and the shoot was done in one go.

“What do you think of the transfer?”

“yes?”

“The kids. Are they doing well?”

You ask such a difficult question.

The answer was set. All I could say here was, ‘Yes, it sucks.’

The problem is that even if I praise you for a hundred days, it’s unlikely that it will be conveyed to Spark since I’m the one who said it.

“Yes, it sounds great.”

I answered with all my heart and soul, keeping a straight line so as not to seem like I was bragging.

Thanks to that, I was able to recall the time when I first joined Hanpyeong Industries.

Those were the days when I used to get used to social life by eating rice cakes like a meal. Of course, I didn’t miss it at all.

Fortunately, my mediocre answer seemed to have left no impression.

It was thanks to the speaking skills that I had practiced for 29 years that I had never wanted to stand out in my life.

However, there was one thing that bothered me. I hesitated for a moment and then finally opened my mouth.

“however…….”

All eyes were on me. They were wondering if a newbie who didn’t know anything was going to spit on this wonderful dance.

I took a deep breath and opened my mouth.

“Kiyeon, can you dance?”

“yes?”

“It looks a little difficult.”

As the idiot who couldn’t even take care of his own body spoke, Choi Je-ho’s gaze was fixed on me. It was a gaze I sometimes saw on fan sign cams.

I didn’t want to say anything because I thought it would stand out.

To make an excuse, the situation was a bit difficult to keep my mouth shut and pretend not to know.

I don’t know about other things, but isn’t it against logic to ignore someone who looks like they’re in pain?

When he taught me the choreography one-on-one, I was hesitant, but when I saw several people dancing the same dance, I couldn’t help but notice.

I thought maybe no one knew since no one told him to rest.

As if my prediction was correct, the gazes that had been directed at me immediately turned to Kang Ki-yeon.

“Kiyeon, where are you sick?”

“No, it doesn’t hurt.”

Kang Ki-yeon answered the employee’s question with an expression that was no different from usual.

But my eyes cannot be deceived.

That X-boy is 100% lying.

Even before I went back in time, Kang Ki-yeon had said with that expression, “We will continue to work hard in the future.”

You said that at the New Year’s concert and then disbanded less than a year later? You shameless bastards.

“I heard Kiyeon is okay?”

“I think something isn’t right. My left ankle.”

I, whose judgment was distorted, held onto the tail of my words with a face that was admirably worried.

Then, Kang Ki-yeon’s expression became strange. It felt like he had been hit hard, as if he had been hit right in the face.

“Kiyeon, does your ankle hurt?”

“Since when!”

The staff member and Lee Cheong-hyeon shouted at the same time. Then Kang Ki-yeon looked flustered.

“No, it’s not like I need to go to the hospital… … .”

“What are you talking about, Kiyeon? If you’re sick, of course you should go to the hospital.”

Now even Jeong Seong-bin was involved. Instead, unlike me who was so disgusting, he looked genuinely worried.

Now that I’ve spoken out loud, I’m sure people around me and myself will take care of it.

I turned my back on Kang Ki-yeon with a light heart, having fulfilled my duty.

At that moment, a scene suddenly came to mind.

It was a scene of Kang Ki-yeon sitting alone on a chair and singing on the Imjingak outdoor stage.

It was because of a chronic ankle injury that had developed due to practicing difficult choreography without rest since I was a trainee.

You could tell that it was a dark time for Kang Ki-yeon just by looking at his lifeless face breaking through the low-quality sound of the public radio.

As an adult who knows the future, I thought it was my moral duty to help him at least once, and I took the trouble to talk to Kang Ki-yeon again.

“You must go to the hospital.”

“yes?”

“I have a friend who ignored his ankle pain and suffered from it. If it becomes chronic, it’s a headache.”

I felt guilty about lying and saying that I was friends with someone I was just in the same class with.

But when I saw Kang Ki-yeon’s eyes wavering as if my words had been accepted, I felt relieved and thought that I would be able to break this guy’s stubbornness.

Since it’s nothing else than sending a patient to the hospital, I’m sure my classmates will understand.

Thanks buddy. You saved the life of a future dance prodigy.

After that, it ended with a heartwarming ending where the manager, who showed up late after receiving a phone call, and Kang Ki-yeon took a taxi to the hospital.

As I was seeing off Kang Ki-yeon as he left for the hospital, a gentle feeling of drowsiness came over me.

Half of the thoughts in my head were, “Why did they worry about me because I was pretty?” and the other half were, “But I can’t ignore a sick person.” A fierce conflict arose in my head.

No matter what happens next time, don’t worry about it.

But if I just keep doing this a few more times, I might be able to see all five of them standing and dancing at Imjingak.

That is, if I don’t die of illness before then, unable to control my rising anger.

* * *

Despite a brief moment of disarray, practice continued until 10 p.m.

‘An episode from when we were trainees?’

‘What is there…? Is there…? Me?’

‘It really feels like we only practiced… … . Sorry, Sparkler. Aren’t we having fun?’

When the live broadcast transcript came up, I thought, ‘I have to write 10 summary threads before I can sleep, so say something,’ but now I know. If I just practice all day, I won’t have anything to say.

How could there be an episode when all you do after eating is dance and sing?

But now, I can at least tell the story of when Lee Cheong-hyeon tried to carry Kang Ki-yeon, who had a sore ankle, and they both fell down. It was a touching friendship.

My first practice in life was definitely pretty tough. But it wasn’t so tough that I had to stretch myself out.

Besides, if I just keep knocking on the door, my debut will be out of the question, so even though I’m shedding tears, I decided to practice a bit more.

Fortunately, there weren’t any members who tried to dissuade me. I think my dynamic movements were quite a shock to them.

Those guys were expected to become regulars in the rankings of South Korea’s top idol groups just 3 years after their debut.

What this meant was that I only had to do well in this group project.

For the first time in a group project, I felt like I was in charge of researching data rather than being the group leader.

This feeling of being carried away… … . It was full of guilt, but it was a refreshing experience.

I was confident that I could learn skills by doing the same thing over and over again.

My ancestors gave me no special talents, but they gave me a tenacity that doesn’t easily get boring.

I only repeated the basic movements a few times, but seeing two hours pass by in a flash made me realize once again that human nature does not change easily.

‘I wonder if I’ll get any experience points this time.’

I smacked my lips in regret.

Do you know? If you collect 1,000 points, you can get a free ice cream or something.

As if reading my thoughts, the system appeared again after a full half day.

But this time the source of experience was a little different.

+

[SYSTEM] ‘Hidden task (first overtime)’ has been completed.

▷ Reward: Experience (20)

▷ Cumulative experience: 40

▷ Accumulated points: 0

+

“F*ck… … .”

What can I do if I don’t want to swear?

It’s a situation where I can’t help but swear.