Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols

The HR team people used to say about me, who had been used as Director Nam’s diatomaceous earth bath mat for several years,  ‘Mr. Iwol, you really know how to hide your emotions’.

 

Even when Manager Nam cursed or threw documents around, I always maintained the same demeanor, serving that jerk of a manager without a hint of emotion.

 

Even those who were adept at reading the mood of the organization acknowledged my secret weapon—’The art of not showing how pissed off you are’—so it was hard to believe that a mere nineteen-year-old, Jeong Seongbin, had seen through it.

 

I pretended to casually ask while rinsing out the inside of a mug I received from Jeong Seongbin.

 

“Did I look nervous to you?”

 

Jeong Seongbin, perhaps believing that my mood wasn’t affected by his parents’ surprise visit, replied in a lighter tone than before.

 

“Yes. Oh, but it wasn’t obvious from your expression or tone!”

 

“If I let it show like that, my nickname would be ‘dead-eyed’ right after debut.”

 

“Gasp…”

 

Jeong Seongbin was startled and shut his mouth.

 

What’s so bad about being ‘dead-eyed,’ anyway?

 

An idol who’s not managing their expressions without a good reason has to be prepared to be called that, don’t they?

 

Still, it was necessary to understand where Jeong Seongbin had noticed it. That way, I wouldn’t make a stupid mistake somewhere else.

 

“So what made you think that?”

 

I pretended to continue washing the dishes as if it wasn’t a big deal while observing Jeong Seongbin’s expression.

 

I didn’t sense any discomfort on Jeong Seongbin’s face, like when he was trying to hide something.

 

“Well, I’m not sure.”

 

“What?”

 

“I don’t really know what made me think you were nervous. I just felt that way.”

 

It was a deflating answer.

 

I felt foolish for even worrying that I might have let something slip.

 

Still, it was much better than having made an outright fool of myself. Feeling a bit more relieved, I said.

 

“It’s good to be perceptive, but don’t go around being too mindful of others. It’ll tire you out.”

 

“I’ll keep that in mind. Oh, right, hyung! Should I text my mom to make sure she got home safely, then come back to help clean up?”

 

“Do you think you’re the only one here who can clean up? Just go ahead and contact her.”

 

Jeong Seongbin insisted on getting my permission for something so trivial.

 

Contacting his mom, huh.

 

It was something I couldn’t even imagine. To begin with, I didn’t even have my parent’s contact information on my phone.

 

As I thought that next time someone’s parents visit, I should ask if they’d checked whether they got home safely, I continued wiping down the sink.

 

* * *

 

‘Manager Kim! Reserve a pension in Jeju Island. One with lots of parking and a view of the ocean.’

 

‘A pension?’

 

‘Yeah. It just needs to be big enough for a family of three. Book it according to my vacation schedule.’

 

‘You’ve submitted your vacation request, sir? When…?

 

‘I just submitted it. Can you make the reservation today? I heard that if we don’t book it soon, the rooms might be gone.’

 

Manager Nam had no trouble using up his vacation days, unlike me, who never got to use even one day off during the holidays.

 

Whenever he took a vacation, it was always four to five days in a row.

 

And it was always my job to take care of his vacation plans.

 

One day, it was booking round-trip flight tickets; another day, it was securing accommodations; and on another day, I even had to book theme park tickets.

 

I had to prepare a full course of arrangements just for Manager Nam.

 

It was better if it was a domestic trip.

 

On days when Manager Nam planned an overseas trip with his family or a golf tour with his friends, I would find myself staying at the office until 10 PM, wracking my brain over places like Saipan and Guam, which I had never even been to.

 

Because of this, I often thought that I might have been better off working at a travel agency.

 

Of course, these idle thoughts would quickly dissipate when the boss, fresh from his vacation, came back with complaints.

 

That was how I realized I had no talent for planning package tours.

 

‘Assistant Manager Kim, what’s with the dull sea view from the accommodation? I paid extra for an ocean view, but I didn’t get to see clear waters even once during the entire trip.’

 

‘Manager, that’s because the weather in Jeju Island was…’

 

‘And why didn’t you make a reservation at that grilled fish restaurant I mentioned? I had to wait 20 minutes and then ended up going to another place. Are you going to compensate me for the time I lost?’

 

‘As I told you last time, that restaurant doesn’t take reservations…’

 

‘Seriously, Assistant Manager Kim, your work is so frustrating. It’s only because it’s me that I’m letting this slide; if it were anyone else, they would’ve cursed you out by now. Got it?’

 

“I don’t give a sh*t, you bastard!”

 

I woke up with a single scream of vulgar language. It had only been two hours since I laid down in bed. The dream had been so vivid that it left me breathless.

 

Was it because I searched everywhere for a music video shoot location? My sleep had been anything but peaceful.

 

I worried that if I ever found myself dealing with another Nam with the same surname, I might just collapse foaming at the mouth.

 

Though I was furious, I knew it would be hard to fall back asleep. 

 

So, while cursing Manager Nam, who still haunted me like a persistent ghost from nine years ago, I reluctantly got out of bed.

 

When I walked into the living room, the night light that Choi Jeho had left turned on was faintly glowing.

 

With the faint green light to guide me, I grabbed the shared laptop and sat at the dining table, letting out a sigh.

 

If this wasn’t voluntary overtime, then what else could this be?

 

Fortunately, the task of selecting a shoot location was almost complete.

 

I couldn’t pursue overseas locations like the big groups like Parthe because I had to stick to the budget that I had heard from the planning team, but there were a few pretty good locations.

 

And unlike during my time at Hanpyeong Industry, when I asked for estimates at UA, I could confidently ask the location rental companies, ‘Can we get the estimate first?’. This was a revolution in cost management.

 

‘Manager, it’s currently a discount period, so we need to pay immediately. How should I proceed with the payment?’

 

‘About that. Just put it on your card for now and bill me later.’

 

‘Excuse me?’

 

‘I just can’t give you my card password, Assistant Manager Kim. Do you expect me to do a text verification every time you make a payment?’

 

Compared to the days when I had to pay the downpayment for Manager Nam’s trips, this was a much better environment. I was satisfied enough with this.

 

If I were the project manager, I would’ve already submitted the payment request and completed the negotiations, but my role was merely to suggest.

 

My job was to organize and report the preliminary designs, costs, and sponsorship possibilities.

 

In other words, this was the extent of my responsibilities.

 

After spending another hour or so on it, I was finally able to schedule an email to the planning team.

 

When I finished, the system glowed brighter than the night light.

 

+

 

[SYSTEM] ‘New task’ is awaiting approval.

 

▷ Content: Secure a music video shoot location

 

+

 

As the work I had been focused on for several days came to an end, I felt a sense of relief. I even felt a bit uplifted.

 

‘While I still have some concentration left, let’s look at some more costume concepts.’

 

Thanks to the work support service, my remaining fatigue was still at 40%.

 

After doing some light stretching, I looked for various costumes and typed on the keyboard until the laptop’s battery ran out.

 

* * *

 

Everything seemed to be going smoothly, but there were things that didn’t go as I expected.

 

The real issue was that it was clearly ‘my problem’, different from Jeong Seongbin’s wandering or Lee Cheonghyun’s runaway.

 

I stared at the large mirror covering the wall of the gym for a long time.

 

My body was noticeably thinner than the body I had nine years ago in my memory.

 

‘My muscles aren’t building up as much as they should.’

 

It was strange that even with clothes on, there was such a difference in my physique compared to the past.

 

Although I didn’t work part-time in logistics now, my activity level should be roughly similar since I was dancing day and night and even working out.

 

In that situation, it was hard to accept that I had less muscle now than before.

 

What on earth was the reason? Was it because I eat healthier?

 

Now that UA was covering my food expenses, I ate salads and chicken breasts, whereas during my college days, I used to eat high-calorie ramen and instant foods.

 

If it were a dietary issue, the difference should be in body fat, not muscle.

 

It was troubling that muscle mass wasn’t increasing despite diet control and exercise.

 

If I didn’t have enough strength to perform the choreography, it might give the impression that I was just going through the motions, depending on who was watching.

 

≫ While all the members are giving their all, this guy alone looks flimsyㅋㅋㅋ  Looks like someone’s being forced to debut against their will

 

└ They said they practiced the debut song for six monthsㅋㅋㅋㅋ Did he hibernate alone for six months?

 

└If he got a different choreography from the rest and only realized three days before the debut, I’d understand.

 

└ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ If that’s really the case, I’d have no choice but to tolerate it

 

I couldn’t risk ruining the debut stage that would become someone else’s portfolio.

 

So, I pushed myself harder with personal training, thinking that I needed to build my body. But the actual results were lackluster.

 

Then a thought occurred to me.

 

It was the explanation I saw when the additional work support service first appeared.

 

‘It definitely mentioned something like side effects.’

 

As I tried to recall the details, the exact description from the manual appeared in my mind. The section I was looking for was at the very end.

 

+

 

[SYSTEM] ‘Subordinate’ is being notified of ‘Additional Work Support Service’

 

▷ If the ‘Subordinate’ wishes to work additional hours but feels that physical limitations are hindering KPI achievement, support is provided to enable smooth additional work.

 

▷ Prolonged use of the service, excessive accumulation of fatigue, or exceeding a certain threshold of temporarily reduced fatigue may result in physical side effects.

 

+

 

If this system was designed for a successful idol debut, shouldn’t it remove such side effects?

 

I had never turned off the service since I started using it.

 

So if there was a side effect of not gaining muscle, it was likely due to the extended use of the service.

 

‘Should I turn this off only during workouts and turn it back on when I’m done?’

 

From what I remembered, my current fatigue level was 40%. The fatigue reduced through the support service was 20%.

 

A total of 60% would probably be average for a modern office worker. After all, most office workers in Korea were practically zombies.

 

I pressed ‘Yes’ when asked if I wanted to disable the service.

 

Then, along with a message saying the changes were being applied, the system disappeared.