Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols - Chapter 46
Only Krnovel
| Episode 46. Group Goods Order
It was only a matter of time before the fatigue that had been reduced returned.
At the same time, the strength left my legs. I almost collapsed on the floor.
I felt dizzy even though I was standing still. It was a familiar feeling of fatigue.
‘Wow. It’s exactly the same as when I was working at the company.’
Do I overcome this fatigue that feels like I’ve worked for 10 hours and exercise, or do I struggle back home, eat, and sleep?
I remembered past memories of being torn between the two. I felt like crying.
But I have no choice.
Because I had a mission to debut Spark as a ‘great sword dance group’.
I bit my lips hard to keep from making noise while exercising.
And I fought my way through today’s workout, lying on the gym floor and fighting the urge to give up in a fight against gravity.
When I returned after recovering my exhausted body through work support services, the atmosphere in the practice room was a little different than usual.
That’s understandable, because laughter could be heard even before the door was opened.
It was an unusual situation for a place where the only person having a private conversation was Lee Cheong-hyeon.
‘What day is it today?’
As we entered the practice room, the expressions on the faces of some of the guys warming up in front of the mirrors looked strangely excited.
The most representative examples were Lee Cheong-hyeon and Jeong Seong-bin.
Let’s combine the list and the date and the answer comes out quickly.
‘That’s right. I think it was the day their exams ended.’
I approached Kang Ki-yeon, who was maintaining the same tension as usual despite being in the same class, and asked her.
“Even though your exams are over, you don’t look any different than usual?”
“I didn’t study hard enough to be happy that the exam was over.”
“Your self-objectification is perfect.”
I was about to give a round of applause to Kang Ki-yeon, who was faithfully preparing for his debut without forgetting his duties as a trainee, when someone jumped on my back.
The only one among us who would do something like this is Lee Cheong-hyeon.
As expected, Lee Cheong-hyeon shouted loudly above my head.
“Hyung! What you told me was on the test! This is awesome!”
“So. Was that right?”
“Of course. If I made a mistake, my brother would call me out and say, ‘Cheong-hyeon, are you laughing at me for making a mistake in what you just learned?’”
“You know it well. And you’re good at impressions, too. You can use it as your personal skill later.”
“Ha. What should I do since I know how to do so many things?”
Then Lee Cheong-hyeon laughed loudly.
I said this while supporting Lee Cheong-hyeon’s thighs with both hands while he was on my back.
“What should I do? If you go on a variety show, you have to carry it hard.”
“Oh… … . It’s so real it’s scary, hyung.”
Lee Cheong-hyeon’s hanging show was quickly brought to a close due to Jeong Seong-bin’s dissuasion. However, Lee Cheong-hyeon did not stop talking.
“Brother! Brother! Our exams are over, so should we all do something together?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Going out to play would be perfect, but I think that would be difficult because of my practice schedule… … . Hmm, I’m worried.”
The tension was so high that I thought it was an extreme sport rather than a test.
Choi Je-ho, who couldn’t stand the excited atmosphere, stayed far away from Lee Cheong-hyeon.
“Why are you so excited? Did you do well on your test?”
“Well, if I hadn’t pushed the OMR, I think I would have been first in the class?”
Lee Cheong-hyeon calmly recounted the shocking news in response to a question thrown out as a joke.
“really?”
“really.”
Lee Cheong-hyeon smiled brightly as he looked at me asking in surprise.
I knew he was smart, but his cleverness was truly amazing.
I had to study for days and days from day to night to barely get first place, but this guy only studied hard during the exam period and got a similar score to me.
‘I understand why my family initially opposed my decision to become an idol.’
Lee Cheong-hyeon, who comes from an intellectual family, faced strong opposition from his family before his debut.
For his mother, who is a vice president of a research institute, and his father, who is a high school teacher, being a K-Pop idol seems to have been a somewhat unfamiliar occupation.
That’s probably why Lee Cheong-Hyeon was often seen solving problems in a corner of Spark’s vlog.
‘Sparkler, isn’t it exam period now? Hurry up and turn off the live. I will finish grammar after the live today!’
‘I really have to study today. If I don’t do well on the test, I’ll get in trouble with my mom.’
Fans loved Lee Cheong-hyeon’s appearance and called it ‘the idol’s K-high school moment.’
Suddenly, at the request of Director Nam’s daughter, I had to scrape together my vlog and make a video called ‘Studying with Cheong-hyeon (Spark Lee Cheong-hyeon)’.
He was so hunched over in a corner solving problems that when he made a video, he zoomed in so much that his face looked like a dot game character.
Anyway, if he felt pressured at home, I can understand why he woke up early in the morning to study for the test.
I said this while looking at Lee Cheong-hyeon, who had finally gotten off my back due to Jeong Seong-bin’s persuasion.
“If there’s anything you want to do to celebrate finishing your exams, just tell me. If it’s something we have to do together, I’ll do it.”
“Really?!”
“It’s delicious… … I can’t do it because Kang Ki-yeon is on a diet. I can’t skip practice either. I’m on fire right now because every second counts.”
“No, then nothing will work!”
“If you’re not satisfied, try the next final exam.”
Lee Cheong-hyeon looked dumbfounded at my words.
What, why?
Are your grades good or mine?
While the smart Lee Cheong-hyeon struggles to find maximum enjoyment in an extreme environment with limited money, time, and food, Park Joo-woo approaches.
“… … How about something like a friendship item?”
“Is this a friendship item?”
A friendship item.
It was a word that really didn’t seem like it would come out of Park Joo-woo’s mouth.
All of us in the practice room—including Choi Je-ho, I guess—believed our ears.
However, Park Joo-woo calmly handed over the air conditioner he used in the practice room.
The screen displayed a search result for ‘students who finished their exams’.
Below, there were also search records for things like ‘bucket list after exam’ and ‘things to do after exam’.
“I think you might like this kind of thing, Cheong-Hyeon… … .”
“I absolutely love it! How did you know my taste so well?”
Lee Cheong-hyeon’s face looked really excited as he said that. I thought, ‘Is this the member who has this much affection for the team?’
“Friendship rings are nice. Hey guys, what do you think of the rings?”
“You guys are still growing a lot. If you get them right now, they might not fit later.”
“Is that so? Then let’s go first with Jeho hyung and Iwol hyung who are finished growing up.”
“Can something that was matched with such a time difference be called a friendship ring… …?”
Suddenly, we started putting our heads together to decide on an item to show our friendship.
Among them, there was someone who was not very active. Namely, Choi Je-ho.
I secretly pointed at Kang Ki-yeon because he seemed to be thinking, ‘Do we really have to match everything?’
Then Choi Je-ho also obediently kept his mouth shut. It seemed that he hadn’t forgotten the reason why the two had fought before.
But even after about 10 minutes, no good opinions came out.
Because there were too many reasons why it was unsuitable for everyone to wear.
“Where on earth are you going with your rabbit headband?”
“It’s cute! And it’s funny too.”
“You just want to make fun of the members.”
Suddenly, Lee Cheong-hyeon, whose eyes turned around, suggested an animal ear headband.
“Can’t you just wear something like a necklace?”
“Why aren’t you wearing a necklace? It’s stuffy.”
“Yeah… … . But I’ll do it if we can all match it.”
“Hey, there are probably a lot of good things besides necklaces!”
Aren’t necklaces, bracelets, and anklets all rejected one after another due to individual tastes?
There was a lot to be done to coordinate opinions, but everyone seemed to be fixated on the idea of a ‘friendship item’ and were obsessed with ‘making something that everyone can be satisfied with!’
Still, it was difficult to waste practice time on such wasteful conversations.
“You’re not going to talk about friendship items during the entire practice session today, are you?”
“Oh my. It’s already been almost 20 minutes… … !”
“Yeah. Everything is good, but I’ll do what I have to do… … .”
At that moment, I stopped talking and a thought occurred to me.
It suits these guys well and can be worn by everyone.
This is a friendship item that can be used for a long time and is worth the money spent.
Three days later, a fairly large package arrived at our accommodation. It was the friendship item we had ordered.
While Jeong Seong-bin and Lee Cheong-hyeon were opening the package, Choi Je-ho asked me.
“hey.”
“why?”
“Do you usually wear tracksuits with your friendship items?”
Yes, that’s right.
We made a group workout outfit that we could wear 365 days a year. It was black, so it wouldn’t get dirty easily.
“Can’t we just think of it as a uniform?”
“What’s the difference between this and giving a student a set of stationery as a Christmas present?”
“What’s wrong with a set of writing utensils? I should just say thank you and accept it.”
While Choi Je-ho and I were having a pointless conversation, Jeong Seong-bin came over with clothes in our size. The other guys were already unpacking their bags.
“Hyung, should we wear these and film a dance practice video later?!”
“That’s what I set it for. So if you lose it before filming, I won’t let it go.”
I don’t want to watch the video of you guys practicing your choreography in your fin-de-siècle casual clothes. It’s kind of uncomfortable to watch.
I didn’t intentionally carve anything like numbers or names.
Because I don’t want anyone to notice me missing later.
‘It’s been a while since I’ve worn a group uniform since the company hooded sweatshirt.’
I felt strange holding the black friendship training suit set. It was something I couldn’t explain.
* * *
With the midterm exams over and the first friendship item created, Lee Cheong-hyeon was only happy for a moment, but he had to return to the real world right away.
Because the deadline for the debut song was approaching.
In fact, Lee Cheong-hyeon’s song was quite well-made.
It was much better than when it was included in the past, and it received good reviews from A&R.
However, the instructions I sent for reference in the planning PPT or choreography practice seemed to be felt by Lee Cheong-hyeon as a different type of feedback.
Lee Cheong-hyeon, whose creative desire was burning, began to revise the song as soon as the exam was over.
Conversely, I couldn’t sleep because I had to stop it from being modified strangely, but fortunately, no such unfortunate incident occurred.
After working through a schedule that was even tighter than the exam period.
“……how is it?”
When the audio playback finished, Lee Cheong-hyeon asked cautiously.
Lee Cheong-hyeon’s voice was hoarse because he had stayed up until it was almost sunrise.
I took the earphones out of my ears and looked at Lee Cheong-hyeon. The area under his eyes was dark.
“You want to be honest with me?”
“… …And yet, with a soft expression?”
Lee Cheong-hyeon answered playfully, but he himself did not think it was a joke at all.
There was only one thing I could say to Lee Cheong-hyeon.
“This is the best version I’ve ever heard. Let’s go with this one.”
“Really… … ?!”
Lee Cheong-hyeon clenched his fist.
A cracking sound came from Lee Cheong-hyeon’s locked neck. It seemed like he wanted to shout an exclamation like ‘Ah-ssa!’
+
[SYSTEM] ‘Task’ has been completed.
▷ Reward: Experience (5)
▷ Cumulative experience: 5
▷ Accumulated points: 0
+
At that moment, a system appeared that notified the final confirmation of the work.
“Yeah. Really.”
It was the point where I overcame the biggest mountain before my debut.