Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols - Chapter 91
Only Krnovel
| Episode 91. Internal Discord (1)
To Jeong Seong-bin, Kim I-wol was clearly the most reliable member of the team.
It seemed like I could talk lightly about my worries that I would find difficult to talk about with my friends or younger siblings in front of Kim Yi-wol.
Moreover, Kim Il-wol was capable, talented, and even proactive.
Although he started his training late and had no talent for dancing, Kim Yi-wol gradually grew through his efforts that were acknowledged every time.
So, Jeong Seong-bin never worried about Kim I-wol even once.
Just one thing, except for health care.
Kim Yi-wol had much better stamina than the other members. Even when the other members collapsed from exhaustion after long hours of practice, Kim Yi-wol always remained calm.
And that’s not all?
Even when everyone else was returning to their accommodations exhausted and going to sleep, Kim Yi-wol would routinely sit down in front of his laptop before his wet hair had even dried.
He has never missed a PT class. Rather, his trainer was surprised by Kim Iwol’s unchanging training volume, like a machine.
One day, my younger brother Kiyeon, who was walking to school with me while eating bread baked by Kim Iwol…
‘Brother Lee Wol is actually a cyborg, isn’t he?’
… … He was so consistent that it could be said that.
Although the dark circles under his eyes became darker during times when he was too sleep deprived, Kim Yi-wol was always calm.
I didn’t get tired because I didn’t sleep enough, and I didn’t get irritable because I controlled my diet.
There was just one time when we were all monitoring together and he said he was tired and went into the room first.
I knew without even having to ask that it wasn’t because he was feeling unwell. I figured there must have been some reason, so I didn’t ask any further.
Besides, Kim Il-wol was not the type to fully accept when someone was worried about him.
Most of what Kim Iwol says is… …
‘I’ll take care of it. Don’t worry about it.’
‘It’s okay for now. Go in first.’
‘I’ll clean up and go when I have time.’
… … because it was like that.
Jeong Seong-bin knew that Kim I-wol always drew a firm line when it came to work and schedule.
Because of this, all Jeong Seong-bin could do was occasionally express concern for his health or occasionally nag him to go to sleep quickly, mentioning his younger brother Lee Cheong-hyeon.
So when Kim Il-wol had a nosebleed in the middle of the practice room.
Jeong Seong-bin was greatly surprised, but he couldn’t shake the thought from a corner of his mind that this was coming.
Everyone was shocked, but Kim Iwol remained motionless.
Instead, Kim Il-wol calmly held a wad of tissues under his nose and said, “I’m going to practice while blocking my nose.”
Even though blood was gushing from between his fingers, Kim Yi-wol was calm.
It was to the point where I thought it was torn somewhere and bleeding.
Everyone advised Kim Yi-wol to return to his quarters, but he refused to listen.
Even though the bleeding didn’t stop for over 10 minutes, Kang Ki-yeon, who rarely raises his voice to his hyungs, forcibly packed his bags before Kim Yi-wol left the practice room.
Only after confirming that Kim Yi-wol was lying down on the bed in the room could everyone breathe a sigh of relief.
When I wake up in the morning, I must contact my manager.
With that thought in mind, Jeong Seong-bin also lay down on the bed and fell asleep. Until someone woke him up.
Someone placed a hand on his sleeping shoulder and shook it gently.
And then he called himself in a small voice.
‘Seongbin, Seongbin… … .’
The person who called my name several times was my friend and other roommate, Park Joo-woo.
Jeong Seong-bin opened his eyes with difficulty. In the dark room, he could vaguely see Park Joo-woo’s shadow.
‘Ugh… …Why?’
‘I’m sorry for waking you up. But… Where did Lee Wol go?’
‘what?’
At that moment, Jeong Seong-bin woke up with a shock as if he had been hit in the back of the head.
‘What are you talking about? Isn’t your brother in his room?’
Jeong Seong-bin sat up abruptly and asked. His eyes, adjusted to the darkness, saw Park Joo-woo’s anxious expression clearly.
‘I was worried that Iwol-hyung might have another nosebleed after waking up, so I went to check on him, but his bed was empty… … Did he tell you before he left?’
Jeong Seong-bin had never heard such a story.
Jeong Seong-bin immediately kicked off the blanket and headed to the other members’ rooms.
As Park Joo-woo said, one of the beds on the first floor was empty.
Some might say that it is okay for a fully grown adult male to leave his bed at night.
The Kim Yi-wol that Jeong Seong-bin had seen so far was the type of person who never did anything that went against the rules.
There must be a reason why Kim Il-wol left the room without saying anything.
Jeong Seong-bin hurriedly went into the living room, picked up the phone, and called his manager.
If Kim Yi-wol had rushed to the hospital in the middle of the night, his manager would have definitely accompanied him.
However, to Jeong Seong-bin’s dismay, after the beep sound was cut off, the manager’s voice, who seemed to have been in a deep sleep, was heard.
‘……hello?’
‘Ah, bro… … .’
‘Seongbin? What’s going on at this hour?’
Jeong Seong-bin was taken aback by the sleepy voice.
Jeong Seong-bin hung up the phone as calmly as possible, saying that he was calling because he suddenly forgot his schedule for tomorrow and apologized.
Park Joo-woo, who was watching Jeong Seong-bin, who was kneeling in front of the living room cabinet and talking on the phone, asked.
‘… … Even the manager doesn’t know?’
‘Yeah. I think my brother went out alone.’
Jeong Seong-bin tried hard to hide his anxiety and touched his lips.
I kept thinking about Kim Yi-wol’s pale white face that I had seen during the day, and the blood that was constantly flowing down the back of his hand.
It was then that Park Joo-woo, who was watching Jeong Seong-bin, spoke.
‘I’ll just take a walk around the neighborhood… … I might go to the convenience store to buy some medicine.’
‘Huh? No, I’ll go. You sleep more.’
‘Seongbin, you have to go to school tomorrow. I can sleep until practice.’
Then, Park Joo-woo headed to the front door. Suddenly, Jeong Seong-bin remembered the time when Park Joo-woo had a high fever.
At that time, Kim Yi-wol ran outside in the middle of the night without hesitation. That’s why Park Joo-woo now might be more proactive.
At the same time, Kim Il-wol also remembered what he had suggested to the team for himself.
‘Then at least within the company, let’s work in pairs.’
… … Those words.
Jeong Seong-bin got up from the floor and left the dorm with Park Joo-woo.
The two of them ran around the neighborhood for a while.
I went to every convenience store I could find and even went to the emergency room of a nearby hospital.
I asked if there had ever been a tall man named Kim I-wol, but the only answer I got was ‘No.’
‘You didn’t go out to buy medicine… …?’
Park Joo-woo muttered, trailing off. It was already past midnight.
At that moment, something flashed through Jeong Seong-bin’s mind.
It was a question that Kim Yi-wol suddenly asked a while ago.
‘If I told you that if you practiced hard as I told you for just one week, you would definitely get the corresponding results. Then would you do as I said?’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Yeah, definitely.’
A week. And after that, Kim Yi-wol checked the time to make sure the members practiced every 5 hours.
And even Kim Yi-wol himself practiced for almost 15 hours every day.
‘Juuya.’
‘huh?’
‘I think I know where my brother is.’
Jeong Seong-bin ran straight down that road.
When Park Joo-woo asked where he was going, Jeong Seong-bin did not stop walking and simply answered that he was going to the practice room. Park Joo-woo seemed surprised, but did not raise a question.
Even as he hurried his steps, Jeong Seong-bin hoped that his practice addicted brother would not be in the practice room.
I pray that it wasn’t just because of a revelation from my ancestral spirit or something that I persisted in practicing until the end.
However, what greeted Jeong Seong-bin and Park Joo-woo in the basement of UA was clearly the white light leaking out from the practice room where the lights had been turned off.
As Jeong Seong-bin opened the door to the practice room, he saw Kim Yi-wol standing there, covered in sweat, looking relieved.
* * *
I looked at Jeong Seong-bin’s face once and the clock hanging on the wall of the practice room once.
“What’s going on at this hour? Are you alone?”
As soon as he finished speaking, Park Joo-woo’s head appeared over Jeong Seong-bin’s shoulder.
Two minors holding hands and going out at night. They’re going to get in trouble.
Just as he was about to contemplate whether he should point out that she ran out in the middle of the night without calling or praise her for coming together anyway, Jeong Seong-bin became serious.
“Brother, is that important right now?”
For the first time in a while, Jeong Seong-bin even had a wrinkle between his eyebrows.
“Do you know how shocked we were when you disappeared? And why are you still in the practice room at this hour when you’re not feeling well?”
It was only then that I realized that these guys had come here because of me.
It’s a shame to get caught, but I’ve already run out of time, so I won’t regret going back. I said as I closed the cap on the water bottle.
“Sorry. I thought you were all asleep. Let’s go in now… … .”
“No, I don’t want to hear an apology!”
Jeong Seong-bin’s voice echoed in the practice room. Jeong Seong-bin shouted as if he was frustrated.
“You’re bleeding so much, but you keep saying you’re fine, and you won’t even listen when I tell you to go to the hospital! What if it’s a serious illness?”
“Seongbin, it was just a nosebleed… … .”
“Usually, a little nosebleed doesn’t get your clothes all wet. It doesn’t even make you stagger while walking!”
Jeong Seong-bin didn’t back down an inch. It seemed like he was quite shocked that my T-shirt was covered in blood.
But I really didn’t need to go to the hospital. My nosebleed wasn’t a health problem, it was a penalty from the system.
Besides, I haven’t had a single problem in the health checkups I’ve had in the past 9 years. There’s no way I could have a serious illness.
I was at a loss as to how to explain this. I was grateful that Park Joo-woo tried to stop Jeong Seong-bin, however clumsily.
Despite Park Joo-woo’s dissuasion, Jeong Seong-bin did not stop.
“We came together because our hyung told us to go in pairs. We practiced all the time and did everything he asked us to do. But why didn’t you keep your promise to tell the members when you were sick?”
“It wasn’t because it hurt. Who would expect a nosebleed?”
“If Cheong-hyeon or Gi-yeon did that, would you say the same thing? Just fill up your practice time and go, since this amount of nosebleed is nothing?”
Jeong Seong-bin was more persistent than when I was hit by Yoo Han-soo.
I sighed softly inwardly. I didn’t want to argue with a child.
“Seongbin, you were like that back then too.”
“… … What is it?”
“I’m talking about practice. I said I’d do it even if it didn’t produce results.”
When I asked him whether he would practice hard under the assumption that he would achieve results if he did as I said, Jeong Seong-bin clearly answered yes.
And as expected, Jeong Seong-bin, who had a good memory, immediately remembered the conversation from that time.
I didn’t miss this opportunity and continued speaking.
“I did it because I thought it would definitely work. I wanted to make sure it was in good shape before making a comeback. That’s not a bad thing.”
“There was no premise that it would be this difficult.”
“That’s a problem that comes from differences in condition. Are there any members who don’t practice to their limits right now?”
“Why are those limitations so harsh on you, hyung? It’s true that we all do our best, but we don’t sleep as little and practice as much as you do. Because you take care of everything! But why do you only focus on yourself in everything…?”
“Seongbin, you’re not asking because you don’t know, are you?”
I said with a shrug.
“I’m doing this because I’m so inferior to you guys.”