Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols - Chapter 63
Only Krnovel
| Episode 63. How to resolve friction with your boss: Get rid of your boss (1)
Our strategy was this:
#Take 1.
Lee Cheong-hyeon joins Jeong Seong-bin and Kang Ki-yeon on their way home, and the two youngest brothers ask their leader what happened.
Cheong-Hyeon: Hey, what’s going on these days?
Kiyeon: I didn’t want to tell you because it seemed like you weren’t trying to show us, but I was worried… … .
In this way, it was as if he had finally brought up the subject after watching his brothers’ reactions recently.
Then, the weak-hearted Jeong Seong-bin will surely give some answer. Jeong Seong-bin is not a great person who would be less kind to others because he is upset.
#Take 2.
At the same time, in front of the water purifier in the practice room hallway, Choi Je-ho speaks with difficulty to Park Joo-woo.
Title: You, what are you… … . … … Did you fight with Jeong Seong-bin?
Choi Je-ho’s lines are not delivered smoothly, but let’s say it was directed to give a more hesitant feeling.
First of all, Park Joo-woo will be surprised. This is because the number of 1:1 conversations between Choi Je-ho and Park Joo-woo is approaching 0.
Although Park Joo-woo will hesitate for a while, he will answer.
The more information the better, but if Choi Je-ho can salvage just one key factor, it will be a success.
I don’t expect to hear the A to Z of the incident from a silent brat and a silent innocent. So just extract the important stuff yourself.
#Take 3.
While Jeong Seong-bin is called to the manager and Park Joo-woo goes into the vocal practice room, everyone except for the two gathers together to share their achievements.
“So? Did you find out anything?”
The first person to answer was Lee Cheong-hyeon.
“Wow, I thought Seongbin hyung wouldn’t open his mouth?”
Oh man. This was doomed from the start.
“You should have shaken Sungbin’s heart even if it meant acting like you were crying. Are you kidding me?”
“I tried to make you shed tears even if it meant poking my eyes out. But Seongbin hyung changed the subject so pitifully!”
“Honestly, I couldn’t ask any more because it was too sad to see.”
Kang Ki-yeon, who was sitting with his arms folded, nodded and said at Lee Cheong-hyeon’s unfair cries.
“Then tell me what you heard. You, Cheong-Hyeon, start first.”
“It’s not like I had a huge fight with Joo-woo hyung or anything. We just had some differences of opinion.”
“Then what do you think of Kiyeon? You share a room with two people.”
“You say they didn’t fight… … They barely talk in the room.”
Kang Ki-yeon, whose back was completely broken by his brothers’ cold war, shrugged his shoulders.
“But it’s ambiguous to say we fought again.”
“What kind of point?”
“It’s more like a feeling of avoiding each other. Usually when you fight, you get angry at the other person or something.”
Certainly, that was unusual. There was a clear difference between someone leaving because they didn’t want to see you and someone avoiding you because they didn’t have the face to face you.
Kang Ki-yeon continued speaking.
“Seongbin hyung also said that he thought he made a slip of the tongue.”
Then Lee Cheong-hyeon also chimed in on Kang Ki-yeon’s words.
“That guy is not the type of person to make a slip of the tongue easily. Isn’t it possible that there was just a misunderstanding between the two of you?”
“That’s right.”
I also agreed with Lee Cheong-hyeon’s opinion.
Then, an unexpected statement came from someone who was not expecting it.
It was Choi Je-ho who came back with a useful answer.
“It’s true that the two of them are awkward with each other.”
“what?”
“I heard that both of you spoke loudly while talking.”
I was so flustered that I forgot to ask, ‘What are you talking about?’ and just blinked.
They spoke loudly? Of all the others, it was Jeong Seong-bin and Park Joo-woo? Those two who are as soft as tofu in their hearts?
As we rushed in, Choi Je-ho began to tell us about his conversation with Park Joo-woo.
‘Should we fight about telling the company about Kim Il-wol’s incident?’
‘……yes.’
‘Didn’t that story end because Kim Iwol asked?’
‘I guess Seongbin was still worried.’
It seemed like Jeong Seong-bin was trying to persuade me one more time somehow.
And Park Joo-woo tried to dissuade Jeong Seong-bin.
“I don’t know what the circumstances are for you, so I told you not to ask too many questions.”
“… … .”
I’m thankful that Jeong Seong-bin didn’t bring up the issue again.
But it was unclear why Park Joo-woo suddenly spoke out of consideration for my position.
If there’s one point that stands out, it’s that Park Joo-woo is the member who unintentionally overheard the most conversations revealing my family history.
I had heard that he couldn’t go to college because he didn’t have money (this was Park Joo-woo’s misunderstanding) or that he didn’t have a good relationship with his family, so I couldn’t even imagine how much Park Joo-woo had imagined.
Rather, I think Jeong Seong-bin’s position is understandable now.
I do not agree with Jeong Seong-bin’s opinion that we should report Yoo Han-soo.
But isn’t it understandable to be taken aback when a friend you were getting along well with expresses strong opposition to something you believe is right?
“Seongbin must have been upset.”
“Is this really so?”
“You’re already upset, and now you have a friend trying to stop you. You probably don’t feel at ease.”
It was so disheartening to see teammates I believed I could rely on betray me by sticking with Manager Nam.
Anyway, the emergency response committee that found out the cause of the problem was cleanly disbanded before Jeong Seong-bin and Park Joo-woo returned.
And somehow, I, who had become the seed of discord, activated the stick function while the guys were coming back to practice.
I had been refraining from using it because it was similar to looking into other people’s minds, but since it was not a private matter between the two people, I decided to use it for the public good this time.
[SYSTEM] Please enter the combination name.
[ ]
‘I think the fans called it Meboz… … I think that would be rejected as being too cliche.’
How evil is this system.
Wasn’t he the one who rejected my union name until he even tied Choi Je-ho and Kang Ki-yeon together as ‘Sapodungi’?
As expected, this time I was faced with countless ‘Inappropriate combination of names’ windows.
The name of the group that was barely approved was… … It was something like a game nickname that sometimes appeared in internet memes that my classmates would share.
[SYSTEM] The combination name has been confirmed as ‘Omoknun 2’.
In this team, there are two kids who were born randomly, so that’s how they ended up naming them… I just hope that no one finds out about my naming skills.
As expected, the stick that was drawn with difficulty gave off a strong ‘I’m upset!’ vibe.
[Jeong Seong-bin – I wish you would treat me as a more comfortable friend → Park Joo-woo]
[Park Joo-woo – I wish you could let go of the burden a little → Jeong Seong-bin]
It’s a touching friendship.
As expected, they were friends who had been by each other’s side for over 7 years before. But this time, it was almost ruined because I got involved.
If I were a morally responsible person, I would have resolved this issue amicably even if it had nothing to do with KPIs.
I joined the practice formation, thinking that I had to call an emergency meeting, which has been held countless times so far and will likely be held countless times before my debut.
* * *
The next day, I called all the members who had finished practice and returned home to the living room of the dorm.
“Today’s agenda is… … I didn’t mention it in advance, but I think everyone knows.”
Jeong Seong-bin flinched visibly at my words. Park Joo-woo glanced at Jeong Seong-bin and then immediately turned his gaze away.
“Before that, I have something to say.”
The members looked at my face as I spoke.
“A few days ago, I should have been the first to thank you for worrying about me, but I didn’t. I’m sorry.”
First of all, I apologized to prevent the atmosphere from being created where people would blame Jeong Seong-bin for being overly concerned. Today, my goal was not to accuse anyone of doing something wrong.
From the guys’ perspective, it seemed like they were a bit taken aback by the unexpected introduction, but I didn’t stop and continued on to the next step.
“I still think it’s better not to tell the company. But I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable because of my decision. That’s why I created a place where we can all talk about it.”
“… … .”
“It’s been a few days, so everyone’s heads have cooled down, right? Let’s first discuss whether or not you want to talk to the company about Producer Yoo Han-soo.”
My plan was to put it to a vote on whether people wanted to stab finite numbers, and then if the votes were split, we could debate the idea and come to a unified opinion.
But the vote was virtually meaningless.
Because five people, excluding me, agreed that Yuhansu should be reported.
If I had known these guys would come out like this, I would have taken pictures on the day I got hit. It was pointless to have nagged Jeong Seong-bin to leave behind evidence.
When I felt regretful, Park Joo-woo asked.
“Do you really need evidence? We all saw your face that day… … .”
“He’s a guy who can be caught and left behind. It would be fortunate if the trainees didn’t try to get rid of him by plotting against him.”
Park Joo-woo’s face turned pale at my words.
It’s unfortunate, but there’s nothing I can do. What can I do when that guy Yoo Han-soo meticulously calls me to a conference room without CCTV?
“But it’s not like there’s no evidence at all.”
I took out the paper packet I had brought in advance from my trouser pocket.
It was the remains of an MP3 player that I had acquired through a second-hand trading, broken by a few people.
If possible, I kept it to use it by connecting it to the motherboard.
The battery and memory were completely torn in half, making recovery impossible.
“This is my MP3 player, but the PD broke it. I put it aside so that no one would step on it and get hurt.”
Jeong Seong-bin, who was looking at the MP3 fragments, asked with a pale face.
“PD-nim broke this?”
“Yeah. I bought it used so it’s not worth much, but I think the company knows that people who break other people’s stuff aren’t normal.”
The expressions of those who looked at the shattered pieces, now so big that it was embarrassing to even call them MP3s, darkened.
Lee Cheong-hyeon frowned and asked.
“What can I do to cause my electronic devices to break like this?”
“It happened after I stepped on it a few times. And didn’t I tell you not to get wrinkles on your face?”
“Are wrinkles important now?”
Isn’t that obvious? There’s nothing more important in idol history than that.
“Anyway, if that’s what you think… … I’ll try to figure this out.”
Kang Ki-yeon shrugged as I spoke while picking up the MP3 fragments again.
“Are you okay? Just listening to what he says, that PD seems like a total bad guy.”
“I can just be more vicious.”
It seems that they don’t know how angry an employee who has been bullied at work can become.
“Then Seongbin, I’m sorry for interrupting practice, but I’ll be back in a bit.”
“Where?”
“Where? It’s the artist management team.”
Choi Je-ho’s eyes widened when he heard those words.
“Should I go right now?”
“Uh. Let’s talk about it as soon as possible?”
Lee Cheong-hyeon looked somewhat uneasy at my words.
“Is it okay if we don’t come up with any countermeasures?”
“I’ve thought about it all, so don’t worry.”
It is difficult to continue practicing with this kind of depressed teamwork and stagnant atmosphere.
Now that the conclusion has been reached, it’s time to move. I dust myself off and stand up.
“Just a minute, bro. What are you trying to say?”
Jeong Seong-bin asked with a worried face.
I smiled brightly and said that I hoped Jeong Seong-bin could sleep well tonight.
“What should I do? I have to make it so that the people at my company can’t listen to my story without crying.”