Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols - Chapter 47
Only Krnovel
| Episode 47. A colleague’s sick leave (1)
As soon as the song was completed, UA quickly began recruiting a lyricist to write lyrics for their debut song.
Since it was a company that made records, it seemed like they didn’t have to worry about hiring a lyricist.
When UA asked if there were any specific points that they wanted to include in the lyrics, I concretized the plan I had previously shared and added only references to submit it again.
Fortunately, this time the achievement rate for ‘Advice for the Stage’ increased.
With this, the large-scale project for my debut is more or less finished. At least, as far as I can handle.
I never thought for a moment that I would be able to rest.
It is common sense for all office workers that when one task is completed, a new task comes.
‘Now you’re going to make me do a bunch of weird stuff again… … .’
So instead of letting my guard down, I had to figure out how to make the most of every little bit of free time I had.
Whether it’s clearing up pending accounts before new work comes up, or drawing a love line between members that hasn’t been drawn for a while.
When you come to your senses, work is piled up like a mountain. The blessings of work are endless.
As long as I live in the Republic of Korea, a country of labor, I will definitely not have to worry about not having work unless I die and am buried in the ground.
So, after I quit being an idol, I hope that companies will post a lot of job openings. I will work with all my passion and sincerity.
“Hey, are you using the vocal practice room today? I think you wrote your name on the board.”
“Okay. I’ll go get some.”
I gave an appropriate response to Jeong Seong-bin’s words, “Don’t overdo it.”
Objectively speaking, I was in a position where I had to practice even if it meant pushing myself.
How can you say that, knowing that my skills stand out like a sharp stone among the six others?
It’s a distribution that is respectable no matter how many times you see it.
‘If you say it like that, I’ll feel even more guilty… … .’
Now I think I understand why Jeong Seong-bin’s fans were shouting ‘It’s all a sin.’
At that time, I thought that being affectionate was a good thing. Now, I agree. Being affectionate is a sin.
No matter how much my conscience was pulverized, some dust still remained. After all, I was still wearing the skin of a human.
Since Hanpyeong Industries was also receiving job support that they had never received before, it was only right to burn down the Sungdae.
I headed to the practice room with determination, dreaming of growing my vocal skills.
But the results weren’t very good.
Because the growing pains were too great compared to the small growth.
I couldn’t sing a three-note high note, but I tried to sing a two-note high note, and as if it were a lie, I ended up losing half my voice.
It was while saying hello to Jeong Seong-bin, who was walking out of the room diligently, that I realized that my voice had gone crazy.
“Good night, hyung.”
“Uh huh. … … ?”
I was about to ask, “Did you sleep well too?” but it felt like he was grinding cement into my neck.
I thought I had breathed the pungent air of the construction site right into my throat. Later, I felt a scratchy sensation in my throat.
“Brother, why is your voice like that?!”
“It’s morning, ahem, I guess so.”
Unfortunately, my lie didn’t work.
Anyone who heard my voice would agree that it was the voice of someone who had spent three hours at a karaoke room the day before. Or, it was the voice of someone who had spent three hours cursing their boss at the top of Mt. Bukak.
“Brother, you’d better not force your voice.”
Jeong Seong-bin, who saw me struggling to clear my throat, poured some warm water into a cup and handed it to me.
Although I was grateful for the kindness, my condition was nothing but disquiet.
How is it that my skills have improved by just a little bit, but my vocal cords are as if they were cut into pieces with a steel plate?
This is unfair. Hanpyeong Industries paid the minimum wage, but this idol power seems to be outside the bounds of the law.
What’s more, I’m receiving work support, so this is how it is. I can’t help but think that the physical damage is excessive compared to the results.
“Okay, uh. Oh. What are you saying? Ugh, I can’t say it.”
“I told you not to talk… … !”
As Jeong Seong-bin’s voice grew louder, Kang Ki-yeon opened the door and came out, asking what was going on.
“Brother Lee Wol’s voice is really hurt. I think he overdid it yesterday.”
“Is that a voice?”
“Okay. Hyung, we’ll eat breakfast and go, so you can get some rest and then go to the hospital.”
“What does a voice have to do with baking bread?”
When I said, “Stop talking and sit down and wait for some bread,” with a sore throat that seemed like it would be very bad if the concentration of ultrafine dust were measured, Kang Ki-yeon’s expression suddenly darkened.
“Uh… … I think you really need to go to the hospital first.”
Everyone was overly sensitive because a rookie trainee had treated their neck roughly even once.
It was frustrating that I couldn’t say that I would never sing for the rest of my life. It wouldn’t be a big deal if my voice got a little damaged.
If I had any pain somewhere and it was interfering with my practice, I would have gone to the hospital without delay, but my voice didn’t need that much treatment.
I said, opening the bag of bread.
“Hey guys.”
“brother…….”
“My throat hurts, don’t make me say it twice.”
Then finally the guys shut their mouths.
Those who want to be idols are so clueless. It’s obvious that they’ll have a hard time in the future.
Even though I told him it wasn’t that big of a deal, Jeong Seong-bin woke up Choi Je-ho anyway and said, “Please tell Lee Wol-hyung to go to the hospital!” before going to school.
“How bad is your throat?”
“It’s just like that.”
“I hear a clicking sound?”
Choi Je-ho made a face of shock. No, really?
It’s not just for a day or two that my vocal cords have been abused.
Because whenever it was interview season or there was maintenance or construction at the company building, my routine was to talk like a parrot for 8 hours straight.
So I didn’t really feel like it was strange, but it sounded quite strange.
“brother.”
Just as I was about to tell Choi Je-ho that I would take care of getting to the hospital on my own, someone called out to me from behind.
The only younger member who will be in the dorm at this time is Park Joo-woo.
When I looked back, Park Joo-woo was standing there holding a mug. Hot steam was rising from inside the mug.
“why?”
“… … Please drink this. It’s honey water.”
Park Joo-woo put his mug down next to my plate of bread.
The water was quite yellow, as if it had been infused with a lot of honey. But since I couldn’t smell any honey, my nose seemed to be blocked.
My greeting, which was meant to say thank you, was dashed by Park Joo-woo’s dissuasion.
The honey water I drank with my bare mouth was incredibly sweet and hot.
“Juuya.”
“Why, bro?”
“Honey… how much did you put in?”
“This much.”
The place Park Joo-woo pointed to was about a quarter of the way down the cup.
Our Mebo seems to want to kill me not with a cold or something, but with too much sugar.
It was extremely sweet honey water, but I was about to drink another sip out of sincerity when Park Joo-woo asked me.
“… … Would you like some more water?”
The moment I heard that, I remembered the old days when I was fifteen times more in pain and two and a half times more exhausted than I am now.
‘What hurts Manager Kim that he has to take medicine so often?’
‘It’s nothing. I just have a bit of a headache these days.’
It was about two years after I joined Hanpyeong Industries.
From then on, I started suffering from chronic headaches. I went to the hospital whenever I had time, but they just told me that the cause was unknown.
In the end, all I could do was take painkillers whenever it got worse.
Every time that happened, Manager Nam would always say something to me as he came and went.
‘Aren’t young people too dependent on drugs? That’s a lack of will.’
I couldn’t forget the famous words of Director Nam, who said that if you just have the will, your headache will go away and your blood circulation will improve.
However, as Director Nam got older, he complained of poor digestion and after meals he would go up to the rooftop and smoke a cigarette for an hour.
It was because of you that I had a headache in the first place.
Chief Nam took the medicine from my hand, which was about to split open, and threw it in the trash can, saying:
‘Anyway, stop taking medicine. Take care of your health on a regular basis.’
‘all right.’
‘I’m not protesting because I’m sick… … If someone saw me, they’d think I was just doing this because I didn’t want to work. Do you know what I mean?’
The problem was that I didn’t know what it meant, but I understood it.
The unchanging heart of Manager Nam, who always took care of me whether it was rain or snow, whether I was healthy or sick, was truly impressive.
After that, whenever Manager Nam saw me, he would ask me how I was feeling. When employees who didn’t know what was going on asked if Mr. Lee Wol was sick, he would make a fuss and talk about me as if I was going to die the next day.
‘Everyone, get some rest on the weekend. Especially Manager Kim! Don’t do anything stupid and don’t move on the weekend! Just rest!’
At this point, people who didn’t know the situation well thought of me as someone who did nothing but do useless things every day. Thanks to that, I even got a compliment from the executives, saying that taking care of my health was a skill.
Compared to back then, the treatment I am receiving now is embarrassing. It was something I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry about.
Still, it wasn’t bad to receive innocent concerns. It was just a little awkward.
I tried to suppress my embarrassed feelings and spoke to Park Joo-woo, who was feeling embarrassed.
“No, it’s delicious. Thank you.”
Then Park Joo-woo smiled much more faintly than my honey water.
After seeing that, I couldn’t bear to leave the honey water behind, so I had no choice but to drink all of it, which was so sweet that I would have believed it was the honeycomb itself.
Until this point, I had a somewhat complacent side.
As I received the work support service, my accumulated fatigue was reduced, so I mistakenly thought that if I assisted the members, they would also be able to endure the tough schedule without any problems.
Whether it’s mental or physical strength, forget that these guys are still kids who haven’t fully grown yet.