Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols - Chapter 71



Only Krnovel

| Episode 71. First Day of Work (2)

After knocking on the door of the Parte waiting room and asking from outside, “Seniors, may I come in?”, I received a rough reply.

“What is it?”

It was Song Min-il’s voice.

I’m talking about that guy who almost ran into Park Joo-woo and me on Chuseok, who got scolded at MYTH and took it out on the Han River.

We were barely allowed in before we could say hello as a group.

Then Song Min-il stood up from his seat and asked.

“Which agency are you from?”

“It’s UA, senior!”

Jeong Seong-bin answered cheerfully.

Even though he felt unwelcome throughout the waiting room, Jeong Seong-bin did not seem discouraged. One thing that was commendable was his confident attitude.

On the other hand, the other side was so screwed up that they had to taste some bitterness.

As evidence, Song Min-il said with a dumbfounded expression.

“Idols are coming out from there now too? Kind of… … Yes.”

I think so too, but you, a third party, shouldn’t say that.

It may be that our character has exploded due to our rude remarks, but how can we know where and how to complain and act so recklessly?

Even though our debut article came out, it seems like they don’t even monitor groups that debut in small and medium-sized companies since they didn’t know about it.

It’s not surprising that large corporations are the ones to be controlled.

While Song Min-il was standing there chatting with the guys around him, I glanced around the waiting room without being noticed.

There are two guys who snicker at Song Min-il’s words, and two guys who don’t care what Song Min-il says.

And there were even some members who couldn’t bring themselves to stop Song Min-il and were fidgeting from afar.

It seemed like Song Min-il, who had a pretty face and many personal fans, had quite a bit of influence in the team.

The reason Spark had so many personal fans was… … .

It was Choi Je-ho and Lee Cheong-hyeon. I think I need to manage these two guys so they don’t get particularly arrogant.

While I was wondering how to deal with the handsome men on our team, Song Min-il looked at us with his eyes. Then he stopped in front of Lee Cheong-hyeon.

“What is your name?”

“This is Lee Cheong-hyeon, senior!”

“Where did you train as a trainee?”

“UA is my first agency!”

“sincerity?”

“yes!”

Lee Cheong-hyeon answered with a blank expression.

Song Min-il chuckled at that sight, then tapped Lee Cheong-hyeon on the shoulder and said.

“Are you scared? With such a young chest, what are you going to do as an idol?”

If only there weren’t rookies like you, I’d be fine.

Every word he said was uncultured. He had not even debuted for a year, but his personality was extraordinary.

‘Why do you think I’m on Spark’s side?’

I desperately hoped that it would be Song Min-il’s turn to quickly get his makeup done.

Fortunately, no unfortunate incident occurred while waiting intently for Song Min-il’s turn.

Because one of the Parte members got really annoyed and told me to get some sleep.

Thanks to him, who was sleep-deprived, we were able to escape the suffocating waiting room. It was a five-minute period that reminded me of the Hanpyeong Industrial days.

I watched the Spark guys closely to see if they would come out of the waiting room and start complaining.

‘It’s not easy to maintain manners when you’re tired. So, don’t take manners lightly and try to be polite in everyday life.’ He also kept nagging me.

But no such unfortunate incident occurred.

The guys exchanged glances, made a shushing sign with their index fingers, and returned to their waiting room in a most solemn silence. It was a great gesture.

The guys, with a somewhat solemn air, immediately closed the waiting room door and sat down on the sofa for about five minutes.

Then, Jeong Seong-bin stood up, clenched his fists with determination, and spoke.

“Let’s practice.”

“uh?”

“It’ll be our turn soon. Can we all just try to match a little bit?”

It was a wonderful thing to say.

Perhaps he was inspired by Parte’s great personality. He seems to be a senior figure who is more helpful to his juniors than he thought.

“Can I practice here?”

Choi Je-ho asked. Hearing that, I was so scared that I picked up my bag that I had left on the floor and said.

“I think it’ll be fine if I just clean it up a little. Let’s just adjust the arm and hand movements, leaving out the movement lines. Joo-woo, can you help me?”

“Okay. I’ll clean this up… …!”

“Okay. But let’s get permission from the owner before removing other people’s belongings.”

“yes!”

We unpacked in unison and began additional practice.

I don’t think those who were already good will improve much if they practice a few more minutes at the end.

If this habit helps the guys, it won’t hurt them. For now, that’s enough.

And not long after.

“I’ll prepare the spark!”

It was Spark’s turn to take the stage.

* * *

The backstage was chaotic.

Several staff members moved busily without exception, and idols dressed up in flashy attire went up and down the stage according to the timing.

From a distance, the sound of fans cheering for their respective idols and the sound of the director giving the signal to film could be heard and stopped repeatedly.

Behind the dark stage, a single ray of intense purple light was visible. It was the light coming from the stage.

‘Going in there’. Not anyone else, but me.

I never dreamed that I would have to give a presentation in front of many people or do penance, or that I would have to dance and sing. If that were the case, then life would be really long and full of things to see.

However, even amidst the restrained noise, there were some voices that particularly caught my ear.

“phew…….”

Or the sound of Kang Ki-yeon sighing from afar.

“Kang-Gyeon, if you sigh too much, your fortune will run away!”

Lee Cheong-hyeon’s joke that seemed to ease Kang Ki-yeon’s tension.

“No water?”

“There’s something that Lee Wol-hyung packed earlier… …!”

Even the conversation between the strong-hearted duo Choi Je-ho and Park Joo-woo.

As I was checking attendance by voice, I couldn’t hear Jeong Seong-bin.

Looking around, Jeong Seong-bin was muttering something with his eyes closed and his lips touching.

I walked up to the guy and called his name.

“Seongbin-ah.”

Then Jeong Seong-bin was startled.

“Yes, bro! Do you need anything?”

“No, I want you to relax.”

If Jeong Seong-bin were the only one who could do mind control, I would leave him alone, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.

As if my prediction was right, Jeong Seong-bin smiled awkwardly and scratched his head.

“Umm… … . It’s my real debut, so I feel like I might make a mistake, so I’m nervous… … .”

Anyone who has watched Jeong Seong-bin will know that not wanting to make mistakes comes from really trying hard.

But I don’t think a capable person should feel burdened.

“Don’t worry too much. It’s just one of hundreds of stages you’ll be performing on.”

“Brother, you really have a different perspective.”

Then Jeong Seong-bin smiled weakly.

I guess this guy thinks I’m joking.

If you heard that I was an idol for 7 years straight, you’d be shocked. And I worked hard right up until the moment of disbandment.

“And this is a side note.”

I leaned toward Jeong Seong-bin and whispered softly in his ear.

“The ancestral god said we will have good luck today.”

Anyway, this won’t be caught in the weather leak thing. It’s a lie.

“Haha, that’s fortunate!”

Thank goodness. With just one word, the main vocalist’s spirit was revived without penalty.

And when each member had a microphone in their hand.

“Spark will go up!”

From a distance, we heard a voice calling us.

It was hotter on stage than expected. The lights poured down from above like the sun.

The audience seats were also much better than I had imagined.

Who is holding which cheering stick, what facial expression they are making, etc.

50% of the people here will be fans of a popular group that finished recording before us. The next 30% will be fans of another group.

The members might be scared of having to perform on stage in an environment where no one is watching them, but I liked it anyway. I’m used to performing alone without anyone listening.

I don’t think there will be any regrets or blame since I know that everyone practiced with the determination to die.

But if you really want to blame someone, blame the CEO who gave them less budget, and me who took all the budget for the showcase and spent it on the music video and album. And the prices are skyrocketing, making it difficult to hold a showcase.

Anyway, I’m wearing much better stage costumes and I’m wearing new name tags every time, so it’s actually better, isn’t it?

While I was looking around while thinking about this and that and waiting for the staff to finish tidying up, a few women in the front row caught my eye.

They were very surprised when their eyes met mine. Then they hurriedly unfolded the small slogan they were holding in their hands.

[♥Congratulations on Spark’s debut♥]

[Kyung Spark Debut + 1 Day Celebration]

[Let’s just walk the path of fireworks]

It was actually a slogan for this group. The fireworks were a little scary though… … .

I politely guided the fans’ locations with both hands, patting the shoulders of each of the Spark guys who were supposed to see the slogan.

Because the filming preparations were delayed, the guys including me were able to gather on one side of the stage where the fans were.

As I was doing a group greeting to Jeong Seong-bin’s slogan and waiting for the members to introduce themselves one by one, I felt a little uneasy.

Because I was wondering if I could introduce myself and the guys in front of these people.

Still, we couldn’t afford to be careless towards those who had waited for hours in worse conditions than us.

I said, smiling, trying to look as good as I could.

“Hello, this is Spark Ewol!”

Then, someone holding the slogan, “Let’s only walk the path of fireworks” shouted.

“Kim Yi-wol is handsome!”

“Me?”

For a moment I thought I misheard.

I gave him a chance to correct his remarks by pointing his finger at me, but he remained firm.

“Yeah, you!”

“Thank you….”

Those who waited for hours on site to see their idols were truly different. They didn’t hold back on giving me such generous praise.

But you’d be remiss if you didn’t recognize Spark’s true gem.

I still remember the lamentations of the many stone tablet ghosts (as they used to refer to themselves).

≫ ShiX It’s so unfair… … I can’t believe I found out about Lee Cheong-hyeon so late… …

≫ Choi Je-ho, this bastard… … How was this face buried until now? It’s the world’s 8th greatest mystery

If you don’t look at the faces of the other members clearly right now, you will definitely regret it.

So I crouched down on the edge of the stage and explained in a small voice.

“The visuals are taken care of by other members, not me. I think it would be better to focus on the faces of those friends.”

“You’re handsome too!”

And the fans still did not back down. Their momentum was like that of the generals from the old Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

Still, I felt truly grateful. Thanks to that, I felt like I could perform on stage today without feeling a little bit of guilt.