Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols

“

Hyung, your complexion looks terrible today. Did you pull an all-nighter again last night?”

 

“Yeah. But thanks to Seongbin’s help, I survived.”

 

“When did you even talk to that hyung? Seongbin hyung is incredible, right? He’s like a human song encyclopedia!”

 

I completely agreed with Lee Cheonghyeon.

 

The songs Jeong Seongbin double-checked for me early this morning fit my requirements perfectly.

 

Thanks to him, I only had to listen to thirty songs on repeat until my ears bled and then made up my mind.

 

All that was left was to understand the songs, listen to both the original and cover versions, sing them perfectly, incorporate feedback, check if the feedback was reflected, sing them perfectly again, and repeat the process.

 

‘Who said if you make a good start, you’re already halfway there?’

 

I felt like sighing but I held back to avoid bringing down the atmosphere in the dorm.

 

Meanwhile, Lee Cheonghyeon, oblivious to my thoughts, spoke excitedly from the top bunk bed.

 

“Right. We need to order breakfast.”

 

Lee Cheonghyeon picked up the phone, then looked at me and asked.

 

“But hyung, do you usually keep eating the same thing you get hooked on?”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Jjolmyeon. You’ve been eating it for breakfast for over a week now.”

 

“Huh?”

 

Now that he mentioned it, it was true.

 

All the trainees had the same meal routine.

 

We ordered delivery for breakfast and ate salads and shakes for lunch and dinner.

 

We always ordered from the same place, and now that I thought about it, I had indeed been getting jjolmyeon for a week straight.

 

Back when I was about twenty, I went through a phase where I was really into jjolmyeon, so I ate as if I was taking a trip down memory lane.

 

A bit embarrassed, I carefully asked Lee Cheonghyeon.

 

“Don’t new trainees not get to choose their menu?”

 

“What are you talking about? You’ve been ordering jjolmyeon every day since your first day!”

 

“…Have you been asking me every morning, ‘Hyung, do you want jjolmyeon?’”

 

“Yes. You always said ‘Yeah’ without even changing your tone!”

 

It was only then that I realized why I had only been delivered jjolmyeon every day for the past week.

 

Perhaps because I’d never gone against Manager Nam’s wish when he asked a question like, ‘Shall we eat this today?’

 

I had been mechanically saying yes to Lee Cheonghyeon, who had been earnestly asking me about the menu.

 

It was absurd that such a trivial reason had led to me eating jjolmyeon every day.

 

“Shall we order something else?”

 

“No, I’ll have jjolmyeon.”

 

“What?”

 

“The jjolmyeon there tasted good.”

 

At my response, Lee Cheonghyeon looked somewhat perplexed, shook his head a couple of times, and disappeared from my sight.

 

It must be a hassle for him to place the order every morning. I should take over the ordering next week.

 

* * *

 

There were some parts that reverted back to 9 years ago, like my taste for jjolmyeon, but there were also some parts that were not the same as before.

 

A prime example was my muscle mass.

 

I used to take care of myself consistently until I graduated from college.

 

Since I didn’t want to spend all my part-time job money on hospital bills, health management was not an option but a necessity.

 

However, after joining the company, my workout time gradually decreased, leading to muscle loss, and my current body seemed to reflect that state.

 

Though I could handle hours of dancing for now, it was clear that without muscles, enduring future physical labor would be tough.

 

Given the circumstances, I needed to carve out time for exercise, even if it meant splitting up my daily routine.

 

Next was my dark circles.

 

When I was younger, my age seemed to cover it up, but now the area under my eyes was pitch-black. No matter how you looked at it, I didn’t have the vibrant face of a twenty-year-old anymore.

 

The shadows that had loomed over my skin seemed to have followed me back through time.

 

The muscle didn’t come, but the dark circles tagged along. Frequent overtimes were really taking their toll.

 

More importantly, an idol with discolored skin… was that okay?

 

I rubbed my dry face. Of course, it wasn’t okay, so I needed to take care of it.

 

In addition to this, I had to keep checking because there were things that had changed and things that had not, although I didn’t know what the criteria were. This was why I took out a copy of the registry of my old home.

 

When I found out Hanpyeong Industry had already been established, I felt a bit of despair.

 

But I decided not to dwell too much on the old company, since I could somehow start a new life regardless.

 

All that was left to be considered was Spark.

 

As far as I knew, Spark’s debut date was about 2 years away.

 

I had to move up this debut somehow.

 

One of the reasons I decided to bring forward my debut date was because I wanted to get rid of my current lifestyle as soon as possible.

 

However, there was a more important reason.

 

‘If they debut 2 years later, Spark will end up going through the same trial-and-error process they experienced before.’

 

As UA’s first idol group, Spark received quite a bit of attention once their debut took shape. It was seen as ‘the new challenge from a ballad powerhouse’.

 

However, in the entertainment world where interest quickly faded if something new didn’t come out soon, UA made the mistake of continually postponing Spark’s debut.

 

They delayed it by a whole year. This was a misstep by a company that only managed seasoned singers who took years to prepare an album.

 

As a result, the attention Spark could have received upon debuting completely evaporated.

 

Due to excessive pre-debut hype, when they finally debuted, the reaction was merely, ‘Oh, they finally come out?’.

 

While UA was hesitant about the direction to take, MYTH, one of the two major agencies, debuted a major rookie group.

 

From investment to promotions, the gap between large and mid-sized agencies was significant.

 

Later, as the idol generation split centered around MYTH’s new group ‘Parte’, who would become representative of the 4th generation, Spark’s standing became shaky.

 

≫ Why do I keep seeing posts asking what generation spk is these days?

 

Honestly, spk should be 5th gen but those dumb Sparkles insist on shoving them into 4th gen

 

└ ㄹㅇㅋㅋ Seriously, there’s a huge gap in their debut years.

 

└ No, Spark is definitely the fourth generation, the last spark of the fourth generationㅇㅇ

 

└ You’re so mean ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

 

└ I could accept them being 4.5 

 

└ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

 

≫ But I can see why they’d want to be part of the fourth generation.

 

Not only was 4th gen the golden age, but when Spark debuted there was a flood of boy groups so they got washed away while Spark remained ㅇㅇ The 4th gen groups hang out a lot as peers and are all making progress ㅋㅋ

 

└ I hardly ever hear about Spark being part of anything, they’re like an isolated island in the boy group world

 

└ Friendship isn’t strictly tied to debut years, right??

 

└ They’re excluded by both the older and younger groups, so they just hang out among themselves.

 

└ Putting all that aside, the members themselves seem to really lack social skills

 

└ What are the people above saying? Stop speculating without any basis.

 

While generation affiliation didn’t directly affect performance, it was crucial in the idol world.

 

In an industry where just being mentioned was vital, being grouped in the same generation helped spread their presence significantly.

 

The flow of broadcasts also played a role.

 

A survival program called ‘The Idol Dynasty Chronicles’ was launched, gathering male idols who weren’t too senior, had some popularity, and could grab screen time while competing against each other—groups like Parte.

 

Although the concept was to strip away ranks and compete, the debut years were all similar.

 

Since Spark debuted the year the show aired, they naturally couldn’t participate. It was due to their low recognition.

 

And this survival program ‘The Idol Dynasty Chronicles’ became immensely popular.

 

As the trend of grouping the groups that appeared in ‘TIDC’ as one generation grew stronger, and fandom competition and issues became focused on that side, Spark ended up as an odd one out.

 

≫ Whether a band is considered a 4th gen or not can be determined by the TIDC lineup

 

With top fourth-generation groups like Parte and Allover all appearing, the generation is practically defined by the show.

 

└ It’s like the broadcast company unofficially decided the generationㅋㅋㅋㅋ

 

└ Why is everyone going this hard over the generation thingㄷㄷ

 

└ I’d understand if they were fighting over sales figures, but this?

 

Unlike before when Spark was at least mentioned occasionally, after the program’s success, mentions of Spark became rare.

 

It felt like the path might be visible if they pushed a little further, but there were no easy signs of success.

 

At this point, the groups that had appeared on ‘TIDC’ made rapid comebacks to maintain their popularity from the show.

 

If UA had persistently pushed Spark’s activities instead, the outcome might have been different.

 

However, with a lack of personnel and many other singers they had to support, the unexpectedly high amount of support required for Spark led UA to temporarily drop them.

 

Thus, Spark, in its first year, faced a hiatus of one year and two months after only two activities.

 

This lengthy hiatus was the biggest reason Spark didn’t have many debut fans.

 

Many fans likely saw the team’s bleak future under UA’s haphazard management. If I were a fan, I would have left as well if I saw no vision for the team.

 

Given that Spark had to debut no matter what, it seemed best to eliminate any potentially fatal elements for the group.

 

‘We can’t afford to face a hiatus without even a comeback.’

 

Since debut was the goal, I thought a task related to the debut date would come up eventually.

 

This time, instead of words, an object appeared before my eyes. It was a thick, green notebook. It looked like a scheduler.

 

Coincidentally, a part of the life manual came to mind.

 

+

 

▷ For smooth life reuse, additional tools (resumes, schedulers, etc.) will be provided.

 

+

 

Right, they did say they’d provide a scheduler too.

 

The holographic scheduler that appeared in front of me automatically flipped pages without me touching it.

 

As it reached the monthly page, I saw monthly calendars with occasional notes written on them.

 

The last recorded schedule was the debut date, which would be my KPI achievement date, two years from now.

 

‘Can’t you… move this date forward?’

 

If you’re going to push others for debut, you should at least grant some autonomy.

 

I fiddled with the [Debut Date] section, which was about 730 days away.

 

‘Huh?’

 

The text area became selectable. Thinking it was worth a try, I moved the debut date to the day before, and a notice appeared.

 

+

 

[SYSTEM] Do you want to change the ‘Debut Date’?

 

▶ Yes/No

 

+

 

‘Got you.’

 

I reflexively clenched my fist. No more waiting around for a year and two months like a tea bag in hot water!

 

I reselected the debut date and this time kept moving it forward continuously.

 

The date moved smoothly until about a year ahead, where it wouldn’t move any further. Considering various factors, it seemed 1 year was the practical limit to how far I could move it forward.

 

‘Even 1 year earlier is better than nothing.’

 

It would have been better if Spark had debuted early and could have increased their weight class. After all, they were already perfect idols in terms of skills.

 

I chose ‘Yes’ after setting the debut date as early as possible, and a new notice popped up.

 

+

 

[SYSTEM] ‘Precautions’ are being notified to ‘B’.

 

▷ Excessive changes to the existing schedule may result in corresponding disadvantages.

 

▷ Even if the schedule is advanced, the frequency of occurrences for planned events remains valid, and their time of occurrence will be adjusted to the changed schedule.

 

▷ If schedules are postponed, the need for attendance management will be raised, imposing restrictions on activities.

 

+

 

To put it simply, it was telling me not to change the schedule carelessly.

 

Any issues that would arise within two years would now occur within one year. No wonder things were going too smoothly.

 

If the universe was helping me enough to be considerate of my situation in the first place, it wouldn’t have forced me to do this idol stuff.

 

Still, looking at this, it didn’t seem like I’d suffer any major losses. Having already lost my academic status and home, there wasn’t much more for me to lose.

 

The only thing I could lose in exchange for debuting early was my youth.

 

But even if my youth were taken away, my goal of debuting as a new idol wouldn’t be hampered to the point where my identity would immediately revert to 29 years old.

 

If problems were going to arise anyway, it might be better for them to happen sooner.

 

Without hesitation, I checked the box stating I fully understood the precautions and agreed to the contents.

 

Now, all that remained was to shed my label as the ultimate klutz.

 

If it doesn’t work, make it work. The words that management used to chant like a broken tape had never resonated more deeply than they did today.

 

I looked with satisfaction at the new debut date, which was shining brightly and with a countdown of fewer than 370 days.

 

And this choice would soon be recorded as the dumbest decision in the second chapter of my life.

 

* * *

 

After practicing until I felt as wilted as blanched spinach, the day of the monthly evaluation finally dawned.

 

At the same time, today would determine whether I would obtain a passing score and 30 exp, or get cut from UA and have my life completely end.

 

“Hyung! You don’t seem… nervous today! I can tell by looking at your face!”

 

“Really?”

 

“Yes, you look really at peace!”

 

Lee Cheonghyeon gave me a thumbs up.

 

I was past the age to be nervous about things like evaluation.

 

I recalled my tear-inducing past experiences in the vocal practice room.

 

The vocal practice room, which had looked like a small heaven for music genius when I saw Lee Cheonghyeon’s vlog of him singing while playing the keyboard, had degraded into a dimly lit coin karaoke room when I entered.

 

In that place, I had to confront my raw voice alone. It was a harsh introduction to the idol world, devoid of any echo microphone effects.

 

Thanks to that, I spent every minute and second enduring the ordeal of hearing my unfiltered voice. It was a miserable time.

 

By the way, I was told that the voice I heard and the voice others heard was different, so I tried recording and listening to it. It was the stuff of nightmares.

 

After enduring those grueling days, evaluation day had finally arrived.

 

Normally in situations like this, rather than nervousness, you’d feel a sense of relief that it was finally over.

 

As I was stretching to wake up, Lee Cheonghyeon, who had finished all his preparations, was putting on his shoes by the front door.

 

“Got somewhere to go?”

 

“A morning walk. I’ll go straight to the practice room after!”

 

Lee Cheonghyeon answered energetically.

 

I remembered hearing on the radio about taking a morning walk on evaluation day.

 

It was a story about how Lee Cheonghyeon walked around the neighborhood every morning on evaluation days with his same-aged friend Kang Kiyeon, who got very nervous.

 

It struck me as a rare example of friendship in our harsh modern society.

 

“Be careful of cars. And watch out for the cold wind on your skin. Remember, your face should be the top priority above all else.”

 

“Yes, hyungnim!”

 

“Isn’t your parting remark a bit strange?”

 

“What’s wrong with my parting remark?”

 

“Nevermind…”

 

Choi Jeho, who was trying to nitpick for no reason, ended up being stumped by my rebuttal.

 

Oh, dear. Maybe he wasn’t fully awake yet.