Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols

“The group has eight members, and their age range seems similar to ours.”

 

“It’s been a while since MYTH released a boy group, so I thought the age range would be a bit higher… Is that not right?”

 

Jeong Seongbin and Lee Cheonghyeon spoke in turn.

 

MYTH was a massive entertainment agency, much larger than UA. 

 

As such, MYTH had a vast pool of trainees. Even if they only chose the young and talented ones, there would have been plenty of candidates.

 

The image of being an idol powerhouse wasn’t for nothing. Even the usually composed Park Joowoo looked quite serious.

 

‘Is this the recognition level of a major agency?’

 

Well, it was not easy for most groups to build name recognition before their debut. 

 

Dozens of idol groups appeared and disappeared in a year.

 

In fact, it was not uncommon for over a hundred teams to debut in a single year.

 

It was an oversaturated market, and within it, generational shifts were bound to happen in the K-idol scene.

 

In such a fiercely competitive environment, a group from a major agency with the highest potential for this generational shift was about to debut.

 

‘It would be strange not to pay attention.’

 

The article revealed the profile photos and stage names of the members that would debut soon. 

 

It wouldn’t be surprising if they already had a fan base, given that their profile pictures were all set.

 

‘There are agencies that promote their trainees even before debut.’

 

In addition, a company like MYTH, which had been in the idol business for a long time, had a distinct identity and values, which also became a marketing element.

 

Thus, they had a solid fandom that followed not just the groups but the company itself.

 

In other words, they secured supporters from the beginning for ‘any idols in MYTH lineage.’

 

Looking at the atmosphere, everyone seemed to have thought this far.

 

It was a good thing that there were no naïve comments like ‘How lucky they are to debut from a major agency!’.

 

I said as I scrolled down the article.

 

“First of all, we lost in terms of numbers.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“They have eight people.”

 

Their strategy of ‘One of them might suit your type’ was their strategic victory. The risks that came with personnel management were their own problem, so let’s put that aside.

 

“How are we going to win then?”

 

“Win…?”

 

“If we lost in numbers, we need to find another way. If it’s about height, our team would win with Choi Jeho.”

 

After fully absorbing the article’s content, I closed the internet window.

 

“I understand your concerns, and they are very real and important issues.”

 

“…”

 

“But let’s not get discouraged before we even try.”

 

Although I generally advocated for realistic goals, considering that about half the members had low self-esteem, I decided to shift towards encouraging their motivation through warm support.

 

“You need to think about winning to feel motivated to do anything.”

 

“That’s true. Hyung, should we work on individual talents? If we practice three per person, we could even do a medley of individual talents!”

 

“I don’t think just overpowering them in numbers is a good strategy. If they practice three skills each, Parthe will have twenty-four individual skills.”

 

“Huh, really?”

 

“Why is the conversation going in that direction again…?”

 

Choi Jeho, watching the exchange between Lee Cheonghyeon and me, looked perplexed.

 

I couldn’t understand why he seemed so puzzled by my objective review of the members’ opinions.

 

“In my opinion, the best approach is to improve our skills. If we have the skills, we’ll find a way to compete.”

 

I knew well how Spark had survived seven years despite controversies and upheavals due to their skills.

 

If the time came for them to focus on something, the members would likely choose to hone their skills to the very end.

 

And the next most important thing was maintaining a ‘controversy-free’ image.

 

Well, talking about this now would just be a pain in the butt, so I’d work on establishing discipline later.

 

“Anyone disagree?”

 

Since it was a group activity, I thought I should hear their opinions, but there were no objections.

 

“Then let’s all get some sleep to win in terms of height. Let’s wake up early tomorrow and improve our skills…”

 

…As I was speaking, a chill ran down my spine.

 

Something felt ominous. It was a very bad feeling.

 

It felt like going to a meeting room at 4 o’clock only to find out that the meeting had already started at 3:30 because Manager Nam didn’t inform me about the time change…

 

‘Monthly calendar!’

 

I hurriedly pulled out the hologram calendar that I had forgotten about since advancing the debut date.

 

In today’s date box, ‘Parthe debut plan release’ was written, and in tomorrow’s date box…

 

[(???) Confirmed debut team press release distribution]

 

Indeed, the ‘press release’ schedule, which used to start circulating two years before debut, drawing all kinds of attention but draining the actual substance, was listed for tomorrow.

 

Oh, my gosh.

 

I should have anticipated that this issue would also be accelerated. I was too complacent.

 

Could it be that my discipline had slackened because Manager Nam wasn’t here? If that was the case, I needed to overhaul my mindset.

 

“Hyung! The manager said they’re also releasing a debut announcement for us tomorrow!”

 

“Tell them to stop it right now.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“Tell them you’d rather hang a ‘Congratulations to UA’s First Idol!’ banner at your debut instead!”

 

* * *

 

After that, we wasted about an hour communicating with our manager via PC messenger.

 

Manager Chanyeong

 

[Why? When you debut, there will be several times more articles^^ If you’re already getting embarrassed by this, what are you going to do later?ㅋㅋㅋ]

 

Our manager interpreted our hesitation about the press release as the humility of a rice plant that bowed its head.

 

(TL note: ‘The humility of a rice plant that bowed its head’ refers to the idiom ‘the riper the rice plant, the more it bends its head’. It means ‘people who know a lot are humble about their knowledge’.)

 

Frustrated, I tried to retreat, but Park Joowoo supported me. It was a heartbreaking sight.

 

I thought I had earned at least a level 1 certificate in ‘keeping quiet if you lack experience’, but I was completely wrong.

 

I couldn’t stay silent in this situation, knowing that we’d regret it deeply right before our debut if we let this slide.

 

Me

 

[Manager, I’m cautiously suggesting that if our debut schedule isn’t confirmed, it might be too early for a press release. In Parthe’s case, their debut is scheduled for next month…

 

See more]

 

[Manager, I thought some reference materials might be needed, so I’ve summarized some promotion articles and debut schedules of groups that debuted in the past year. Due to time constraints, I couldn’t conduct a full survey, but I conducted a sample survey…

 

See more]

 

[20XX Group Debut Marketing Article Sample Survey.png]

 

Manager Chanyeong

 

[I’ll talk to the company about it…!]

 

In the meantime, since WebCell still wasn’t installed, we had to work on a shared spreadsheet online and send screenshots.

 

The work environment was too poor. I should have asked for a program account.

 

“So you stayed up all night waiting for a reply?”

 

“Yeah. They decided not to distribute the press release.”

 

“You’re really something, aren’t you.”

 

Indeed.

 

If the company had insisted on the press release, that would be a real something. 

 

I had even prepared to stand next to the staff’s desk for two hours, like when I asked Manager Nam for approval.

 

“Staying up all night to save the impact is not a bad deal.”

 

“You’re a tough one.”

 

“I’ll take that as a compliment for my survival skills.”

 

Everything had gone as desired, so the outcome was perfect.

 

Incidentally, a hidden task also popped up. This jack*ss system.

 

+

 

[SYSTEM] ‘Hidden Task (Stop the Press Release)’ completed.

 

▷ Reward: Exp (5)

 

▷ Total exp: 65

 

▷ Total point: 0

 

+

 

It seemed blocking the press release distribution with all my might was the right move.

 

To be honest, ethically, it should have notified me. Even if it gave me two hearts, both hearts would have dropped.

 

Moreover, this task was directly related to achieving KPI. Are you kidding me?

 

Moreover, I was a weakling, so I was weak to sudden events like this. They should at least have some consideration for a jaded office worker like me.

 

Imitating the king of self-management King Kang Kiyeon, I mechanically chewed on a plain bread slice without even a spoonful of jam, and said to Choi Jeho:

 

“Joowoo and I are going to the practice room first.”

 

“Why?”

 

“I need to stop by for a moment because I have somewhere to go.”

 

Today, I had to visit the Artist Management team.

 

Since I never knew what UA might do, it was time to take the initiative.

 

For Assistant Manager Kim Iwol… no, for Intern Kim Iwol’s first project.

 

Of course, considering my narrow perspective that only knew Spark as an idol, I had consulted with an expert in advance.

 

‘Concept?’

 

‘Yeah. I’ve been working on something that I think will suit Cheonghyeon’s song.’

 

‘What kind of concept is it?’

 

‘I’ve decided on something that suits you all.’

 

‘A real youth drama…?’

 

Jeong Seongbin had a hesitant expression.

 

It was understandable. Spark nearly got buried without a trace when they debuted with a classic youth drama concept in the past.

 

It seemed they were quite objective about their visuals. None of them looked particularly youthful.

 

However, my primary goal was to sneak my concept past UA’s insistence on the traditional idol image and push it through.

 

To do that, it was best to slightly alter the original debut concept of Spark.

 

Fortunately, my idea was evaluated as a bit too classic but potentially good depending on the details.

 

“Considering the nature of the task, I think I need to go to the Planning Team… but I should probably talk to Mr. Jukyung first.”

 

The only way for trainees to communicate with the company was through the manager or Min Jukyung.

 

Skipping this might seem like ignoring the system, so I decided to follow the regular procedure.

 

I had heard enough of the ‘crossing the line’ lecture from Manager Nam five times a week.

 

At least, the bright side was that UA appreciated trainees’ proactive attitudes.

 

Mr. Min Jukyung kindly listened to my bold proposal without showing any annoyance. He was an outstanding talent, rare in this era. I only hoped UA paid him well.

 

While flipping through the planning document I printed, he said.

 

“You planned this?”

 

“Yes. But I don’t know who to ask for advice.”

 

“Usually, it goes to the Production Division. They have the Planning Team and the Album Production Team. But… there’s a meeting with the CEO this week, so I’ll bring it up then!”

 

The speed at which the proposal was moving up was extraordinary. UA was indeed a small company.

 

“How did you come up with this idea?”

 

“I wanted to try something.”

 

“I’m not really a planning person, so I don’t know much, but it seems well-organized. You must have worked hard.”

 

I followed the basic items from UA’s concept planning proposal format, so it would have been a problem if it wasn’t well-organized.

 

Still, I couldn’t say, ‘I got this from a valuable document’, so I quickly bid farewell and left.

 

“I appreciate your help.”

 

“Yeah. Keep up the practice.”

 

Fortunately, the busy Mr. Min Jukyung didn’t hold me back any longer. Thanks to that, the planning report scheduled for the morning ended smoothly.

 

After that, it was back to the usual practice routine.

 

“Sorry to interrupt your practice, but Iwol, can you come out for a moment?”

 

This was right after lunch when I was called to meet with Mr. Min Jukyung.