Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols - Chapter 67



Only Krnovel

| Episode 67. Public Business Registration

When I was young, I went hungry a lot.

It wasn’t because we were poor. I realized that my family was not poor when I looked at the national scholarship income bracket.

It’s just that none of the adults in the house were interested in the child’s livelihood.

Back then, when a fully grown man would watch TV and eat just one snack, or if the food in the refrigerator ran out, he would be cursed at.

The space called ‘home’ in those days was full of incomprehensible things.

Why can’t I eat when there’s food? Why is it okay to say I’m hungry?

No matter how much I thought about it, the question was not resolved and I just felt hungry all the time.

So I kept on doing things like boiling a cup of ramen without the adults knowing and secretly going to the apartment recycling center. I kept doing this until I earned my own money and started eating outside the house.

Since then, hunger has become a word that brings about very complicated feelings for me. I guess I should just say that I feel worried.

There’s no adult who would yell at me for only eating rice, so I feel a little sorry for these kids who have to starve like this.

These guys aren’t so helpless that they can just eat and lie down with their stomachs full.

I thought about it for a moment, then glanced at them and said.

“… … Then let’s order one and share it.”

“yes?”

Jeong Seong-bin looked at me with rabbit eyes.

“With grilled chicken, on the condition that you drink it with water instead of a beverage. If that’s okay with you, then order it.”

“Oh, of course it’s okay!”

Lee Cheong-hyeon, who had regained his energy as if he had never been depressed, shouted.

Jeong Seong-bin was half in doubt, but then began to seriously research the demand for chicken brands.

Then, the guys gathered up the last bit of their conscience and ordered just one charcoal-grilled chicken from the place that delivered the fastest.

This was in stark contrast to my colleague, who said he was going to really cut down on coffee, but still had three cups of coffee mix in his tumbler the next morning.

While the guys were busy setting up the table, I opened the box of chicken that had arrived first. I divided the steaming chicken evenly between five plates.

While I was carefully dividing the meat into pieces, the kitchen became noisy.

“What? Why?”

When I asked the question, the guys surrounding the table turned and looked at me.

Lee Cheong-hyeon called me with a trembling voice.

“Hey, hyung.”

“Uh. Why?”

Lee Cheong-hyeon put his hand into the envelope that Jeong Seong-bin was holding.

What came out of Lee Cheong-hyeon’s hand was… … cola.

“The boss said he included it as a service, so I can’t not eat it… … What should I do with this?”

“Yeah, don’t be ridiculous.”

So we had a moonlit chicken party and even received an unexpected gift.

Oh, I didn’t eat it, so I’ll correct it from ‘we’ to ‘them’.

But if you ran along the Han River with me, I did my best. I even ran the longest, so that says it all.

That night, for the first time, I had the precious experience of sneaking out to the recycling center with others to throw away our late-night snack waste.

And I fell asleep, hoping that the Spark members weren’t the type to have their faces puffy from eating a few pieces of heavily salted chicken.

* * *

With only one person missing, things went smoothly. The Spark guys rarely caused any trouble, so everything was satisfactory.

‘Iwol-ah, I heard you’ve had a hard time.’

‘Thanks to the company’s great consideration, I’m okay now… … .’

‘I saw the curse. Seriously, PD Yoo didn’t see it that way… … .’

Except that it’s burdensome to have pity on me from all sides.

Because of my work with Yoo Han-soo, I would always say hello to him before going to any meeting and get to the main point. It was an overwhelming amount of attention.

It was the same in the conference room today.

There were so many people who patted my shoulder and told me to tell them whenever I had a hard time. I couldn’t even raise my head because I was always bowing at a 90-degree angle to express my gratitude.

As I was returning to the practice room, receiving lots of warm gazes, Lee Cheong-hyeon suddenly looked in my direction and waved his hand.

“Hyung! Your timing is perfect. Our teaser is out!”

“Teaser?”

I thought it felt somehow familiar.

That line is exactly what Lee Cheong-hyun said when Parte’s debut song teaser came out. It’s been a long time since then, though.

“Yeah? How was it?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t seen it yet.”

Then, Kang Ki-yeon moved slightly to the side to create space.

“You didn’t see it? Why?”

“I think my brother will be here soon.”

Are you saying that you were waiting to see this with me?

I took a quick look around and the guys were busy chatting, saying things like, “Shall we turn it on now?” and “Shall we watch it on our laptops?!”

I don’t understand. Usually, don’t you want to see their debut teaser quickly?

I sat down in an empty seat, telling him to do as he pleased.

As the chaotic atmosphere died down, Jeong Seong-bin spoke.

“Then I’ll turn it on.”

When Jeong Seong-bin pressed the play button, the dark screen split up and down.

Through the gap, the ankles of Lee Cheong-hyeon, running in untied canvas shoes, appeared.

Next, Choi Je-ho’s hand stopped while putting the nippers in his bag, then picked up the hand hammer and put it in his bag.

Next, the back and shoulders of Park Joo-woo, carrying a backpack, were seen standing still in front of a fire extinguisher in a large mart. In the background, a noisy inst was playing.

Jeong Seong-bin’s eyes, intently reading something, were captured on the screen.

And the screen changes.

Kang Ki-yeon’s hand, emptying the cans and bottles out of the recycling bin behind the school, and my hand, tearing up a notebook and throwing it on the floor in a dark space, passed by one after another.

The moment when Jeong Seong-bin reappears and inserts the key into the lock hanging on the warehouse door.

The screen suddenly went black with a flickering effect, as if it had been suddenly shut down.

Soon, with a crackling sound like a match being struck, a small white flame appeared on the black screen, then scattered and disappeared like ash.

“oh…….”

With a small exclamation from Lee Cheong-hyeon, the guys groaned and walked away from the small cell phone.

It seems like everyone is nervous. It’s something new to see even though we were monitoring it on site.

‘But it’s definitely different because it’s done by experts.’

The atmosphere was exactly as intended. This made my trust in the experts rise again.

“What do you think, Lee Wol-hyung? Do you think it turned out the way you expected?”

Jeong Seong-bin asked cautiously.

“Yeah. It’s somewhat ambiguous.”

“yes?”

“It means that it came out exactly as planned.”

To put it nicely, you could say it’s a classic teaser featuring a rebellious character.

By only showing part of the body, the sense of mystery and visual beauty is enhanced, and the sound harmony is also excellent.

To put it badly… … .

≫ I came back after watching Jang Jun-hoo’s music video. I support Jeho!

≫ I came after looking at your profile picture, but which scene is Lee Cheong-hyun’s cut? Cheong-hyun, please let me see your face. I’ve turned around three times, but I still can’t figure out where you are.

You could say that it’s a teaser that isn’t very intense. The extreme omission of the military dance scene may have also played a part.

“I’ll read the comments and then join, so everyone start practicing first.”

“Can’t we just watch and practice together?”

“I told you, Kang Ki-yeon, that monitoring is prohibited.”

Is there anything that could lower your self-esteem before your debut?

I pushed them away from the mirror and sat down in the empty corner. I propped my laptop on my lap and slowly scrolled through it.

As expected, there weren’t many comments related to the teaser in the comments section.

There must have been one or two music videos depicting adolescent youth wandering in the idol market.

Especially in a market where strong concepts are the trend these days, it is even more difficult to attract attention with a pure concept.

If you were expecting such an ordinary music video, this teaser is a huge success.

‘This one is actually a bit more interesting.’

I scrolled down and read the comment again.

≫ Hey guys, you guys are finally debuting ㅠㅠㅠ Please show lots of love to Spark, the face restaurantㅠㅠㅠㅠ Please show lots of love!!!

Kim Yi-wol♡Choi Je-ho♡Jeong Seong-bin♡Park Joo-woo♡Lee Cheong-hyeon♡Kang Ki-yeon

After the press release was released, I expected that there would be a few people who had their eyes on individual members.

But I didn’t know that people would comment like that for a group that only has six ID photos that are known so far, and it’s not even clear how much of the editing was done.

furthermore…….

‘Why is my name at the front?’

I fiddled with my name attached to Choi Je-ho’s front.

The names the author wrote were in the order of our ages and birthdays. He probably compared our dates of birth registered on portal sites one by one.

The oldest Spark I know was Choi Je-ho. Naturally, the fans’ cheering always started with calling out Choi Je-ho’s name.

That’s why comments that didn’t start with Choi Je-ho felt very unfamiliar. Like comments directed at something other than Spark.

A feeling of guilt surged through my mind.

How to deal with the complicated emotions that come every time? This was also homework.

‘Isn’t it better to get stuck in the middle and then awkwardly fall out later?’

I tried to slightly cover my name with my left thumb.

And so that no one would look strange, I pressed and rubbed my name as if I was wiping away dust on the screen.

≫ Hey guys, you guys are finally debuting ㅠㅠㅠ Please show lots of love to Spark, the face restaurantㅠㅠㅠㅠ Please show lots of love!!!

♡Choi Je-ho♡Jeong Seong-bin♡Park Joo-woo♡Lee Cheong-hyun♡Kang Ki-yeon

“… … Yes. That’s right.”

I laughed at the familiar sight. Was it because of the heat? My fingertips felt tingly.

I checked all the few comments, turned off my phone, and got up.

“Face lovers, can I come in now?”

“Of course!”

Still, I guess I’ll have to think about it.

Someday, when I’m gone, I wonder what three-letter word would be natural to add to the cheer that ‘Kim I-wol’ used.