Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols - Chapter 5
Only Krnovel
| Episode 5. The Old Man System (4)
My mood has sunk to hell again.
I went back in time after 9 years, only to find myself on the train to work again. It was miserable.
This resulted in me losing energy, happiness, and a sense of accomplishment, but gaining 20 basic steps and experience points.
“What a rewarding day, F**k.”
I felt skeptical about life.
But instead of giving up, I started cleaning up one by one. I had to leave the practice room before 12 o’clock when the security guard left work.
I shouldn’t have to make others work overtime because of me. If that happens, I’ll feel so guilty that I’ll die.
As I turned off all the lights in the practice room, the quiet office building became even more bleak. I could feel the familiar air of working overtime.
Just as I was about to feel depressed, I felt a presence in the lobby. Soon, a tall shadow appeared in the hallway.
The owner of the shadow was Choi Je-ho.
Even though he was just standing at the desk, Choi Je-ho looked extremely gloomy.
It’s not like I hate the guy and only pick out the negative aspects, really.
As Choi Je-ho was walking towards me, our eyes met and he took off the earphones he was wearing. I asked him in a voice full of suspicion.
“You haven’t gone yet?”
“uh.”
“I’m just asking because I didn’t mean to, but did you make me wait?”
“uh.”
Choi Je-ho seemed annoyed and gave all his answers in one word.
“Why did you wait?”
“Do you think a guy who’s coming to the company for the first time will be able to find his way to the dorms properly?”
“Are you being considerate?”
“Jeong Seong-bin said he would stay, but it was too late for the kids to go out.”
I meant that it wasn’t because I liked it, but whatever.
Our prospective leader was now eighteen years old. If he had any conscience, Choi Je-ho should have stayed instead of a minor at this late hour.
However, since I knew very well that Choi Je-ho lived his life alone, I patted him on the back and gave him a forced smile to silently praise his consideration.
Choi Je-ho was very displeased.
* * *
When we returned to our accommodations, Lee Cheong-hyeon, who was sleeping on the upper bunk of the bunk bed above me, was waiting for us without sleeping.
“Why weren’t you sleeping until now?”
“I waited for you, bro!”
When I pointed to Choi Je-ho, Lee Cheong-hyeon confidently pointed to me.
Are there any deep-rooted customs like new recruit initiation ceremonies in the idol world?
Like buying thirty cups of coffee by myself. Or washing all the shoes in the dorm.
Lee Cheong-hyeon looked flustered as he looked at him with eyes that said, ‘I didn’t know you were that kind of guy… ‘
“Why are you looking at me with such sharp eyes?”
“No, I just thought you were going to start ordering me around from now on.”
Some vicious acts you can do at this time would be ordering someone to buy you lunch boxes from different brands at a convenience store or asking someone to pack up some hangover soup from a 24-hour hangover soup restaurant and have it delivered to your doorstep before it gets cold.
For me, who has even run errands for cigarettes from Gangnam to Gangbuk, this is nothing.
I steeled my resolve and recalled what restaurant I had stopped by on my way back, and Lee Cheong-hyeon said:
“Who would order something like that!”
“You’re not going to order it?”
“Of course! Why are you saying such scary things?”
I was already running a simulation where I asked the owner of the hangover soup restaurant to wrap some radish kimchi. If not, then fine.
While Choi Je-ho, who had lost interest in us early on, went to wash up, Lee Cheong-hyeon sat on the floor next to my bed. I also ended up on the floor with him.
“The dog had inflammation in its ankle. I saw it earlier and it was wearing a brace.”
It seemed like Lee Cheong-hyeon was waiting for me to talk about Kang Ki-yeon’s ankle.
When Kang Ki-yeon said she was sick, she was the most upset, but now she seems to have calmed down quite a bit.
“Then I guess I’ll have to take a break from practicing for a while.”
“Well? He’s so stubborn.”
I guess that’s the case. I nodded and agreed with Lee Cheong-hyeon’s words.
“How did you know, hyung?”
“What? Your ankle?”
“Yes. None of us knew.”
“Just. I didn’t notice it when I looked at it up close. I could see it when I looked at it from a distance.”
Here I am… … .
‘I’m from the future, and I was a proxy fanboy at work when the manager told me to do it, and thanks to that I found out that Kang Ki-yeon’s ankles were weak, and that confirmed my opinion.’
… … I didn’t think she would believe me even if I said that. I didn’t really want to explain it at length.
Lee Cheong-hyeon’s eyes widened as if he really believed my half-hearted answer.
“Hyung, you must have good visual acuity. It’s not easy to tell just by looking at something like that.”
Don’t you usually think that when someone who knows nothing gets lucky and guesses something, it’s beginner’s luck?
I guess this guy is a guy who is generous when it comes to judging others.
“I guess I was lucky. If you watch the video again, you’ll see it right away.”
“Even though I came back to the dorm and watched the video with Seongbin hyung, I didn’t notice anything. I think hyung’s eye for detail is no joke.”
I kept my mouth shut, not because of my keen eye, but because of the big data I’ve accumulated over the years.
If you gain recognition by improving your skills through practice, then that’s fine, but if you stand out for something strange, then that’s a shame.
I got up from my seat, saying that I should wash too, taking advantage of the moment when Choi Je-ho came back from washing up.
Lee Cheong-hyeon looked disappointed, but he returned to his seat obediently. He was a guy who was quick to read the mood.
After I finished showering and laid down on the bed, I felt belatedly that the day was over.
‘If possible, I’d like to understand some things related to the system at times like this. But it might be difficult.’
There is nothing more troublesome than an issue that suddenly arises while you are working quietly.
While I was trying to minimize these unfortunate events, the system really appeared before my eyes. It seems like if you pray earnestly for it to come out, it will.
What appeared this time was the same phrase I saw last time.
+
[SYSTEM] Status of handover progress
▷ Notice of work progress period: February 1X, 20XX (synchronization completed and cannot be changed)
▷ Check the manual
▷ Process Verification
+
Instead, there were two items underlined, which seemed to indicate that they were complete.
‘The manual is probably talking about the manual for reusing life.’
I decided to put that manual aside because thinking about it only made me angry.
Then all that remains is to verify the process.
I tried to imagine myself checking the process in my head. Then, naturally, articles related to the process appeared. The speed of the brain linking with it is quite fast.
+
[SYSTEM] ‘process’ is applied to ‘.’
▷ ‘Tasks’ or ‘KPIs’ are delivered to ‘乙’ irregularly.
▷ ‘Welfare points’ are awarded based on the performance of ‘乙’’s work.
▷ The ‘Welfare Points’ paid out can be added to your ‘Skill’.
▷ As the handover process progresses after the process is applied, the difficulty of the ‘work’ increases. (Disadvantages occur due to failure of the work)
[SYSTEM] The job group of ‘eul’ is set to ‘producing member’.
+
X-Fuck, if you’re going to do something like producing, why don’t you just have a new member of the planning team do it instead of the other members?
It was also quite unpleasant that there were disadvantages.
If I don’t debut, I won’t be able to support my older sister and I’ll have to re-enter the company. What other penalty is needed here?
I should have distanced myself from this fucking old fart system since the time when his speech was exactly like Manager Nam’s.
I tried to find options to change the navigation voice, but I held back. I didn’t want to look into the system or anything anymore.
Still, I liked the fact that I could increase my abilities instead of spending points to buy ice cream.
I felt bad that others were taking the fruits of their labor and sweat for granted, but since my family’s lives and a lifelong contract were at stake, I had to resort to any trick, even if it was a cowardly one.
‘But how can it be that there is no condition to work together for 7 years?’
The condition for achieving the task was clearly debut.
In other words, it could mean that it doesn’t matter if I debut and then leave the group.
As for the deposit, you can just borrow money and pay it back over the course of your life.
It would be better for the team if I got out early rather than having an incompetent like me stay.
Strictly speaking, since it is a false admission, I must contribute enough to make up for the loss caused by the member’s early withdrawal.
I opened my pathetic holographic resume with a pang of conscience.
+
Performance Evaluation (100)
– Vocal proficiency: 4/20
– Dance proficiency: 1/20
– Self PR: 12/20
– Attendance management: 18/20
– Adaptability within the organization: 10/20
Cumulative experience: 40
Accumulated points: 0
+
The precious 40 experience points gained through relentless dance practice and overtime work were revealed.
wait for a sec.
So now… … even if I dance like a rabbit at Tiger’s birthday party and voluntarily work overtime, I won’t be able to raise my skill level by 1 point.
It wasn’t a cowardly trick, but rather the ultimate life-saving learning experience.
I think I looked for my conscience in the wrong places. I was so naive, not knowing that my life was the most fucking shit.
Anyway, the thing to do right away was clear: work hard to collect experience points.
At this point, gathering 60 more experience points felt like an eternity away.
But the very next day, I filled up all my experience points in an instant and received the points.
* * *
The incident started with a new work order that was sparkling from the morning and shouting, “Look after me.”
+
[SYSTEM] ‘New task’ has been assigned.
▷ Take your first dance class
▷ Reward: Experience (20)
+
This system, after it was discovered that it only gives 20 experience points, doesn’t even hide the reward experience points.
Because it was their first time creating an idol group, the company was still in the process of creating a program to train trainees.
Perhaps that’s why, instead of having a trainer on staff at UA, a vocal trainer and a dance trainer visit once a week.
Today was the day the dance trainer came.
At the same time, it was also the first time in my life that I showed off something called dancing in front of a professional.
I did my best to move around loudly in front of the dance instructor, who I had seen a few times on Spark’s reality show.
In the end, I ended up proving that I was a total empty shell.
The faces of the reserve spark guys were filled with shadows, not a single smile.
It seemed like he was fed up with my helplessness, as I had helped him so hard the day before.
Because you guys don’t smile like that, even though I send you a correction, Manager Nam says to me every day, “My kid just wants you to raise the corners of his mouth a little. It’s nothing, so do it right away.” Thinking about it makes me mad again.
The teacher, who saw me staggering about in a daze, hesitated and then opened his mouth.
“Lee Wol-i… … .”
“yes.”
I stood with my hands folded somewhat humbly.
I could sense that the teacher was choosing his words with difficulty.
This space, this tension.
Everything was perfect for me to handle.
In such a situation, a teacher who tries to refine language is truly a person of character.
“I need to practice a lot.”
“All right.”
“Just doing a lot isn’t enough. You have to do it a lot, and you have to do it with the utmost sincerity.”
“Yes, I will work hard.”
I am confident that I can say that I will work hard more sincerely than anyone else. Because my sister’s life and my future are at stake.
The teacher didn’t say anything more to my earnest request that came from the bottom of my heart. He was just grateful.
The problem was that the system this guy popped out and opened his mouth.