Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols

After the police investigation, my body recovered at an incredible pace. I heard the doctors whispering amongst themselves, calling it a miracle. Getting rid of my pent-up stress definitely played a part.

 

On the other hand, the pain decreased very slowly. Since my body was healing well, my prescribed painkillers were reduced, but the pain remained the same. I had no choice but to bite my lip and endure it. At this point, I wasn’t sure what the right choice was anymore.

 

Then, two people who looked just as miserable as I felt showed up in my hospital room.

 

“Are you guys sick too?”

 

“It’s from working too much…”

 

Lee Cheonghyeon grumbled as he took out his laptop. Today’s hospital visitors were Jeong Seongbin and Lee Cheonghyeon, and the reason for their visit was an ‘urgent meeting request for the final competition’.

 

“You said we were going to discuss the final competition, but none of the dance-line guys came?”

 

“They’re basically zombies right now.”

 

“They look like walking corpses.”

 

According to Jeong Seongbin, Choi Jeho and Kang Kiyeon were apparently refining, discarding, and revising their movements and choreography dozens of times a day.

 

“They even dragged Joowoo hyung into running simulations with them.”

 

Lee Cheonghyeon chuckled. He looked a little unhinged.

 

“Anyway, this is choreography plan number 1.”

 

“Number 1?”

 

“There are three versions. We weren’t sure what would be comfortable for you, hyung, so we recorded them all.”

 

Lee Cheonghyeon played the video. At the same time, Jeong Seongbin handed me a piece of paper. It was a blueprint of the IDC live broadcast stage set.

 

“The areas marked in red in the video are the main stage, and the areas taped in blue are the side stages. Please use it as a reference.”

 

“Got it, thanks.”

 

Everyone’s preparedness had improved significantly. Thanks to them, I didn’t have any particular questions while watching the video.

 

“…So, you’re saying you’re going to leave me alone on the side stage?”

 

Except for the fact that my position was overly conspicuous.

 

“You don’t like it? Then take the lift up to the main stage.”

 

I don’t want that either!

 

I wouldn’t mind popping in and out quickly, but I don’t want to stand out alone!

 

Why should I be the one getting a solo shot while leaving you guys in the background?

 

“Can’t I just dance? I’ll stay as far back as possible so I don’t stand out.”

 

“Are you serious? How can you dance right now, hyung?”

 

“I can. I’m recovering really fast.”

 

“How are we supposed to believe that?”

 

“If you don’t believe me, come by during the doctor’s rounds tomorrow.”

 

While Lee Cheonghyeon and I were bickering, Jeong Seongbin replayed one of the choreography drafts.

 

Then, he turned the laptop screen back towards me and said,

 

“The doctor also said it’s okay, and if your recovery speed continues like this, we might be able to change the choreography for the third verse and perform together. What do you think?”

 

“Honestly, it’d be perfect if you could join from the dance break. Hyung, get better fast.”

 

“If I could control that, would I be an idol? I’d have opened a natural healing research lab by now.”

 

The meeting continued for quite some time after that. By the time we finished our discussions, all three of us were completely drained.

 

“Oh, hyung. Does this TV work?”

 

Lee Cheonghyeon, sprawled out on the chair, asked, pointing to the large TV.

 

“I don’t know, I’ve never turned it on. Why?”

 

“If it does, I was going to unplug it before leaving. Otherwise, you’ll stay up watching IDC live, won’t you?”

 

“You don’t think I’ll just watch it on my phone?”

 

“I know you’ll watch the broadcast on the TV and follow the real-time chat on your phone.”

 

This guy knew way too much about me.

 

“If they postponed the final competition, shouldn’t this week or next week be a rerun episode?”

 

“They increased the training camp footage. They said they’ll air something like a recap the week before the live broadcast. So I don’t think there will be reruns.”

 

Jeong Seongbin kindly explained. It seemed everyone but me had been busy.

 

I was relieved that the broadcast wasn’t canceled, but I felt a little guilty.

 

“The show airs late at night anyway, so just sleep while you’re hospitalized. Don’t get all excited about having a private room and stay up watching live. We’ll handle the monitoring.”

 

“Didn’t I ban you guys from monitoring?”

 

“Ah, then tell Jeho hyung to watch it!”

 

Lee Cheonghyeon snapped. That guy was… not the type to get mentally affected by monitoring. Fair point.

 

“Fine, I’ll rest well, so you guys better take care of your skin. If I get discharged and see blemishes on your faces, you won’t be able to leave the dermatologist’s office for four hours that day.”

 

At my words, Lee Cheonghyeon half-heartedly responded while packing up his laptop. He probably thought I was just making an empty threat, but this was the perfect chance to show him the true wonders of aesthetic treatments.

 

* * *

 

For the past few days, Baek Haewon had been in a state of utter distress.

 

The unprecedented situation had thrown the entire idol fandom into peak chaos.

 

Naturally, Baek Haewon’s timeline, filled with Spark-related content, was no exception.

 

≫ A company has a duty to protect its artists.

 

The Spark fandom demands a responsible explanation and follow-up measures from UA.

 

#UA_Protect_Your_Artists

#Idols_Have_The_Right_To_Be_Protected

#UA_Get_Your_Act_Together

 

≫ I saw our baby trending while I was working and it was like a bolt from the blue…

 

I only want to see good news, why do things like this keep happening?

 

Thankfully, news quickly spread that Kim Iwol was recovering well. And as if to prove it, he frequently visited the fan café and messaging app—sending over 999 messages in the process.

 

Baek Haewon, for one, felt like storming into UA and throwing eggs at them.

 

Yet, aside from his initial reassurance that he was okay, Kim Iwol never once brought up the incident himself.

 

While the fandom was in an uproar, Baek Haewon and fellow long-time fans realized something.

 

Ah, he’s doing this to keep us from getting worried…

 

It was a decision as wise as his good looks. Thanks to that, so many Sparklers also refrained from deliberately bringing up Kim Iwol’s injury.

 

[Iwol]

 

[Are you watching IDC today?]

 

[I’m going to watch it!]

 

[Could you keep it a secret from the members? Cheonghyeon threatened to unplug the TV.]

 

Even today, Kim Iwol was talking about the same old topic of watching the program live.

 

If Iwol wanted them to watch, then what else they could say? They had to watch.

 

Baek Haewon turned on IDC, a show that Sparklers couldn’t help but have a love-hate relationship with.

 

‘If they do evil editing again this week, I’ll kill them…’

 

It was an incredibly boring show, but she endured episode 1, only to see them edit her boys like absolute trash and film their performance like a low-quality fan cam.

 

It was maddening for Baek Haewon, who had seen Spark’s performance live in the audience.

 

She had clearly seen with her own two eyes how awesome Spark was, but the broadcast only showed their lower bodies.

 

≫ How did this stage win first place on-site?

 

No matter how I look at it, it’s not that good;;;;

 

└ If you watch the full stage version, you can tell they actually killed it. The broadcast just screwed them over.

 

└ I just watched it and it’s trueㅋㅋㅋ Is it okay for a live broadcast to be this malicious?

 

No one would ever know how much blood, sweat, and tears Baek Haewon had poured into sharing links to the full-stage version of the performance.

 

If only the damn IDC production team had edited it properly from the start, none of this would have been necessary!

 

It seemed they came to their senses from the second stage, but honestly, she was still anxious.

 

At least it was comforting that this week’s episode featured a peaceful training camp. After all, fans regained their energy from new content.

 

Last week, the fandom had exploded over Spark’s incredible performance. The thrill of that moment was still vivid.

 

On the bus, Iwol mostly stared out the window, but the moment they got off, he was busy doting on the younger members and chatting with contestants from other teams. Iwol, you’re really a social butterfly, huh?

 

It had been obvious for a while. Despite having the shortest training period in Spark, there were plenty of anecdotes about Kim Iwol and the members.

 

‘When Cheonghyeon ran away, Iwol hyung went to find him.’

 

‘Seongbin hyung, isn’t it unfair to bring that up now?’

 

‘Jeho hyung, you spend the most time with Iwol hyung at the gym. What do you talk about?’

 

‘Why would we talk while working out?’

 

‘We don’t really cook much at the dorms, but when we do, Iwol hyung usually takes the lead.’

 

‘Everyone, Iwol hyung’s pan-fried meatballs are delicious…!’

 

‘When did he make meat patties again? And why did he only give them to Joowoo hyung?’

 

‘I recently changed all my bags because of Iwol hyung. Now I only use backpacks.’

 

‘Why? Did he say your shoulders were getting uneven?’

 

‘Yeah. I got scolded for 30 minutes because of one bag.’

 

‘No wonder all of Kang Kiyeon’s bags looked new.’

 

There were some trap cards in between, but still!

 

Considering how friendly and caring he was, it made sense that he had so many people around him.

 

Even her own brother, who wasn’t particularly close to Kim Iwol, had a good impression of him.  The emotional wounds left from Kim Iwol’s characater controversy felt as if they were finally healing.

 

But just as Baek Haewon’s heart recovered, it was thrown into turmoil again—because Iwol was now part of the grocery shopping team.

 

『I saw some gochujang in the cupboard earlier. Let’s just buy ssamjang.』

 

『The lettuce doesn’t look so good. Should we get the ones next to it?』

 

『Since there are many people, it would be cheaper to buy in bulk. Let’s get the large one.』

 

Kim Iwol on screen was just… a mom.

 

Not the warm and nurturing kind who embraced everyone like a mother figure, but the realistic kind who went grocery shopping and came home with nothing but vegetables.

 

Even after returning, Kim Iwol was busy. Taking out the drum, arranging the charcoal, and lighting the fire.

 

At least IDC had finally blessed Spark with decent editing. The boys got plenty of screentime, and it was clear the production team was being considerate of the recent uproar in the fandom.

 

However, with the Parthe members nowhere to be seen, the sight of only the eldest members of the team handling the drum and torch was both heartwarming and saddening.

 

Baek Haewon’s complicated feelings melted away as she watched Jeong Seongbin diligently delivering meat and lettuce wraps. The way the younger members waited like baby birds for Iwol to sit down and eat was adorable, too.

 

Yes, as long as you guys are happy, that’s all that matters. Baek Haewon surrendered to the sight of Spark, who looked genuinely harmonious.