Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols

B

efore announcing the results, Mr. Yur took a moment to personally encourage each participant for their hard work. It wasn’t just empty words—it genuinely felt heartfelt, revealing the depth of his character.

 

The results announcement that followed was equally smooth. No excessive embellishments or unnecessary delays.

 

I wasn’t sure if they toned it down because it wasn’t a live broadcast, or if the production team intended to edit it dramatically and thus kept the commentary concise.

 

Oh, there was one surprising moment, though.

 

Parthe came in 5th. Considering their magnificent stage, the rank was lower than expected.

 

But there was something called presence in a live performance.

 

There was a reason why people spent a lot of money on concerts or went out of their way to watch in person. Focusing solely on visual effects for the broadcast was a careless choice. In a way, it was a natural consequence.

 

Perhaps because they were too young, or simply hadn’t anticipated the outcome, some of them couldn’t manage their expressions.

 

If they were not prepared for the worst like us, it would be better to at least force a smile. What a pity.

 

The rankings continued to be announced.

 

“Log in 6th place, Parthe in 5th, Berion in 4th, All Over in 3rd…”

 

With these results, only Spark and Sticky remained as contenders for 1st place.

 

The outcome was just as I had predicted.

 

No team had delivered a performance that completely surpassed my expectations.

 

But my members wouldn’t even consider that possibility.

 

To put it nicely, they were humble. To put it bluntly, they didn’t have a proper grasp of their own abilities.

 

“And in 1st place… congratulations, Spark!”

 

“Wooo!”

 

That was why they were so ecstatic.

 

With a strange yell, Lee Cheonghyeon leaped into the arms of the members.

 

As Choi Jeho and I propped him to prevent him from tumbling down, I finally caught a proper look at the members’ expressions.

 

Next to Kang Kiyeon who looked utterly flustered, Jeong Seongbin and Park Joowoo were grinning from ear to ear.

 

Mr. Yur then stepped forward and pinned an eohsawa badge onto each of our jerseys as the winning prize. It looked rather odd overall, but they seemed to love it regardless.

 

I fiddled with the crudely painted badge and thought,

 

‘A win is still a win. I wonder if this will count towards my KPI achievement?’

 

While patting the members’ backs, I glanced up at the empty air, but the system remained silent.  Honestly. What a stickler.

 

***

 

The first-place victory in the first competition was certainly something to celebrate. 

 

It marked Spark’s first-ever victory under their name. Of course, the guys were thrilled.

 

However, the positive vibes didn’t last long.

 

The very next day, episode 2 of IDC aired, and Spark unexpectedly received the ‘blessing of editing’.

 

While other contestants were shown enthusiastically supporting each other’s stages, our team—watching with genuine focus—was framed with captions like ‘Overly serious expressions…’ and subsequently portrayed as arrogant.

 

To add fuel to the fire, the warm camaraderie in the show was shattered with a divisive remark, ‘Everyone except Berion is a mess!’  The online community forums exploded.

 

≫ (Data Warning) Guys, objectively evaluate this

  

Recycled their usual concept

 

All six members are in identical outfits

  

Prepared new camera angles in advance

 

Customized outfits to highlight individual member’s personalities

 

Which stage looks better?

 

└ Obviously B, right?

 

└ B

 

└ Who even judges stages based on photos… And if you put it this way, of course, the stage that spent more money looks better.

 

└ The point is, spk reused their usual stuff but still claimed the other teams’ stages were worse.

 

└ Spark changed their lyrics, choreography, and AR, what are you talking aboutㅋㅋㅋㅋ Parthe also brought the same old concept, just changing their outfits from uniforms to fantasy.

 

└ Really, the only group that significantly changed their concept was Berion. Spark stepping up makes sense.

 

≫ An idol isn’t just about singing well,

 

There are teams focused on vocals, and there are teams focused on performance.

 

It’s frustrating to see performance skills being so undervalued.

 

└ Gee, I wonder who your favorite group isㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ So did Spark fail at dancing? Did they fail at rapping? ㅋㅋ

 

└  A team that sang live and danced vs. a team that lip-synced with AR and only danced.

 

└ Spark wasn’t completely MR, though

 

└ No, can’t you people tell the difference between backing vocals and AR?

 

└ So, what I’m saying is that being good at live singing doesn’t automatically mean they’re good on stages

 

└ ???? Am I the only one who doesn’t understand this?

 

└ They’re saying performance-centric groups shouldn’t be discredited for not singing live.

 

└ What? If you’re not going to sing, you should have gone on Dancing Stars, not IDC. You’re in the wrong show

 

We had already agreed within the team to react honestly to the performances, so it didn’t really matter.

 

Actually…

 

≫ Kim Peb isn’t entirely wrong

 

They complimented each other, but honestly, I found the rest boring. At least Spark’s live vocals were memorable.

 

I don’t remember anything about the other groups’ stages.

 

└ I have to admit, even the group that brought backup dancers didn’t leave any lasting impression…  It might be because the IDC set is shabby, but the impact was weaker than music shows, and it lacked uniqueness.

 

└ It’s not about whether it’s right or wrong; the issue is about their attitude.

 

└ There are still people who believe the broadcast edit is realㅋㅋㅋ  Think a bit, who acts like that on TV these daysㅠ

 

≫ I figured Spark would win first place

 

But what’s with the backlash??

 

When I watched it with my family, we all agreed their performance was leagues ahead.

 

└ People are just mad because they think Spark didn’t innovate. Considering this was a self-PR stage, sticking to their concept makes sense.

 

└ Agree. And it’s not like they didn’t change anything at all…  They were clearly trying to promote themselves as a rookie idol group with a youthful concept. I was surprised by the negative reaction.

 

…And so on. It was thanks to the strong stance of ‘let’s view the broadcast as just a broadcast’.

 

However, Spark, who had only received hate from Parthe fans after the first episode, now faced criticism from all sides. Especially me.

 

Those who had initially remained neutral after episode 1 immediately switched to attack mode after episode 2. So I got hit full force.

 

The sensitive Spark members were worried about me, but honestly, they didn’t need to. Compared to the future scolding I’d get from Manager Nam, this was nothing.

 

I was more worried about the fans. I felt bad for making them unnecessarily stressed because of me. So, I was constantly apologizing in the fan cafe, telling them not to worry too much about the online reactions.

 

And now…

 

“Hyung, should we set out the snacks?”

 

“Yeah. If we don’t, they might not eat them because of the microphone picking up the sounds.”

 

I was setting up snacks with Kang Kiyeon in preparation for filming in the meeting room.

 

IDC decided to film the preparation process from this episode onwards.

 

I did wonder why they hadn’t filmed the stage preparation process. It would have been so much better if they had done this from the first competition.

 

I was glad they started filming it now, but I couldn’t help but feel disappointed. Our team would have to do a separate behind-the-scenes live stream later.

 

Before that, let’s finish today’s meeting.

 

“Seongbin is leading the meeting today, right? It’s his official MC debut.”

 

“I heard he was checking the script all night.”

 

“He already does well even without it; he’s so meticulous.”

 

Even though I said that, I was very proud of him. Once again, I felt grateful for Jeong Seongbin’s existence.

 

“Where’s Cheonghyeon? He said he’d bring the cushions.”

 

“He went to the rooftop with Jeho hyung to dust them off.”

 

“Are they wearing masks? You can dust off the cushions, but not vocal cords. Are they all getting lax because they’re not responsible for the high notes?”

 

“Don’t worry, Joowoo hyung was keeping an eye on him.”

 

“Good job.”

 

Having our guests sit on the floor was an unprecedented situation for a businessman. But if that was what they preferred, I had no choice but to strive to create a comfortable environment.

 

Room temperature, equipment connections, cleanliness—all optimal.

 

And thus, preparations for welcoming multiple guests into the UA meeting room, for the first time in history, were ready.

 

* * *

 

The last filming location for Team 2 was UA.

 

The sudden addition of the shooting schedule had everyone in a frenzy. Notifying each agency and rearranging work schedules had left everyone exhausted.  

 

Sometimes, it felt like no industry was as conservative as broadcasting, and other times, it felt unbelievable that something like this could actually air on television.

 

Probably everyone on the IDC production team was thinking the same thing. Perhaps they were already making plans to escape to a better-structured program next time.

 

The only solace in this chaotic scenario was the soft cushions. After spending two consecutive shifts sitting on cold office floors, the writers felt as though their very bones were aching.

 

Spark’s Kim Iwol, who was carrying the remaining chairs and cushions out of the meeting room, looked at the writers and asked.

 

 “Do you need anything to drink? Or is there anything else we should clear out?”

 

The back of the meeting room was already neatly arranged with cold drinks, snacks, and hot beverages.

 

The area around the outlets was also tidy. Thanks to that, connecting the lighting equipment was incredibly easy.

 

After the production team vehemently insisted they didn’t need anything else, Kim Iwol smiled and said, ‘Then please let us know if you need anything’.

 

The writers thought to themselves, The members are so much more down-to-earth than they appear.

 

This was a stark contrast to a previous team, where a member had let slip profanity during their meeting scene, forcing the accompanying manager to promise to mark the edit points and follow up later.

 

And the team before that? 

 

The writers had inwardly groaned as they watched the members struggle to lead the conversation during their entire meeting. It was understandable for rookie groups to be cautious of their company’s gaze, but it felt like that group was only good at following orders.

 

In that sense, Spark stood out for their initiative.

 

When the production crew arrived, some members even came down to the building’s entrance to greet them. Others, like Kim Iwol, ensured everyone was well taken care of.

 

Even the meeting room for filming was prepped perfectly.

 

This wasn’t just about cleanliness. There was no inadvertent branding exposure or misplaced objects that might obstruct a camera angle.

 

The only things on the table were two laptops, six planners of various designs, and a few pens.  There was nothing the production team needed to tidy up.

 

Shortening the preparation time for the already arduous final shoot was a blessing. The production team felt a bit of energy return as they rubbed their tired eyes.

 

And as soon as filming began, they found themselves rubbing those same eyes again, gazing at the brightly glowing screen.