Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols

The fatigue that had been slowly draining away returned in an instant.

 

At the same time, my legs gave out, and I nearly collapsed onto the floor.

 

Even while standing still, my head was spinning. It was a familiar kind of exhaustion.

 

‘Wow. It really feels just like when I was working at the office.’

 

Whether to exercise after a long 10-hour workday or just drag myself home to collapse in bed.

 

I remembered the past when I’d struggle between those two choices. I felt like crying.

 

But I had no choice in the matter.

 

I had a mission to debut Spark as an ‘incredible synchronized dance group’.

 

I bit my lip hard to avoid groaning while exercising.

 

And lying on the gym floor, fighting the urge to surrender to gravity, I somehow managed to complete today’s workout.

 

When I returned after recovering my exhausted body through the labor support service, the atmosphere in the practice room was a bit different than usual.

 

For one thing, I could hear laughter even before opening the door.

 

In a place where Lee Cheonghyeon was usually the only one who engaged in personal conversations, it was a rare occurrence.

 

‘What day is it today?’

 

As I entered the practice room, the expressions of some of the guys warming up in front of the mirror seemed oddly excited.

 

The most notable were Lee Cheonghyeon and Jeong Seongbin.

 

Combining the roster and the date, I quickly arrived at the answer.

 

‘Right. It’s the day their exams end.’

 

I approached Kang Kiyeon, who, despite being in the same grade, was maintaining his usual calm demeanor.

 

“You don’t seem any different even though your exams are over?”

 

“I didn’t study hard enough to be happy that they’re over.”

 

“Your self-awareness is impressive.”

 

I was about to applaud Kang Kiyeon for not forgetting his duties as a trainee and focusing solely on debut preparations when someone jumped on my back.

 

The only one who would do such a thing among us was Lee Cheonghyeon.

 

Sure enough, Lee Cheonghyeon shouted loudly from atop my head.

 

“Hyung! The stuff you taught me came out on the exam! Isn’t that awesome?”

 

“So, did you get it right?”

 

“Of course! If I got it wrong, hyung would probably call me out and say, ‘Cheonghyeon, how can you still smile after getting that wrong?'”

 

“You know me well. And you’re good at impersonating voices. You should use that as a personal talent later.”

 

“Haa. What should I do? I am so talented.”

 

Then Lee Cheonghyeon laughed loudly.

 

Supporting Lee Cheonghyeon’s thighs with both hands as he clung to my back, I said.

 

“What do you mean, ‘what should you do?’ You should carry the team if you ever go on a variety show.”

 

“Oh… That’s so real it’s scary, hyung.”

 

Lee Cheonghyeon’s clinging show soon ended at Jeong Seongbin’s urging. However, Lee Cheonghyeon didn’t stop talking.

 

“Hyung! Hyung! Our exams are over, should we all do something together?”

 

“Do what?”

 

“Going on a trip would be perfect, but that seems difficult due to our practice schedule… Hmm, it’s a dilemma.”

 

He was so excited that you’d think he’d just come back from an extreme sports trip rather than exams.

 

Unable to bear the excited atmosphere, Choi Jeho had moved far away from Lee Cheonghyeon.

 

“Why are you so excited? Did you do well on the exam?”

 

“Well, as long as I didn’t mess up the OMR sheet, I think I would’ve come in first in the class.”

 

I casually threw out the question as a joke, but Cheonghyeon nonchalantly dropped this bombshell.

 

“Really?”

 

“Really.”

 

Lee Cheonghyeon grinned as he saw me repeat the question in surprise.

 

I knew he was smart, but this was truly remarkable intelligence.

 

I had to study day and night for several days just to barely get first place, but this kid managed to achieve similar grades by cramming only during the exam period.

 

‘I now understand why his family initially opposed him becoming an idol.’

 

Coming from an intellectual family, Cheonghyeon had faced strong opposition from his family before his debut.

 

It seemed that K-Pop idol was a somewhat unfamiliar occupation to his mother, who was the deputy director of a research institute, and his father, who was a high school teacher.

 

Perhaps because of this, scenes of Lee Cheonghyeon solving workbooks often appeared in corners during Spark’s vlogs.

 

‘Sparklers, isn’t it exam season now? Turn off the live quickly. I’m going to finish grammar after today’s live too!’

 

‘I really need to study today. If I do poorly on the exam, my mom will scold me.’

 

Fans loved this side of Lee Cheonghyeon, calling it ‘Idol K-high school student moments’.

 

Unexpectedly, I had to scrape through the vlogs to create a video called ‘Study with Cheonghyeon (SPARK Lee Cheonghyeon)’ at the request of Manager Nam’s daughter.

 

He was so tucked away solving workbooks that when making the video, I had to zoom in so much that his face looked like a pixelated game character.

 

Anyway, if he felt pressure at home, it made sense why he would wake up early to study for exams.

 

Looking at Cheonghyeon, who finally got off my back thanks to Jeong Seongbin’s intervention, I said.

 

“If there’s something you want to do to celebrate finishing exams, tell me. If it’s something we can do together, I’ll do it.”

 

“Really?!”

 

“Nothing too fancy though… We can’t go out for a meal since Kiyeon is on a diet. And we definitely can’t skip practice. We’re short on time as it is, and I’m under a lot of pressure right now.”

 

“Hey, then there’s nothing we can do!”

 

“If you’re dissatisfied, aim for the next final exams.”

 

Lee Cheonghyeon looked at me incredulously.

 

What, why do you look at me like that?

 

It’s your grade that turns out good, not mine.

 

While the smart Lee Cheonghyeon struggled to find maximum joy in an environment with limited money, time, and gourmet options, Park Joowoo approached.

 

“…How about friendship items?”

 

“Friendship items?”

 

Friendship item, huh.

 

It was a word that didn’t seem likely to come from Park Joowoo’s mouth.

 

All of us in the practice room—including Choi Jeho, probably—doubted our ears.

 

Park Joowoo calmly held out the shared phone we used in the practice room.

 

The screen showed search results for ‘students who finished exams’.

 

Below were search histories like ‘post-exam bucket list’, ‘things to do after exams’, and so on.

 

“I thought you’d like this kind of thing, Cheonghyeon…”

 

“I love it! How did you know my taste so well?”

 

Lee Cheonghyeon’s face as he said this really looked excited. It made me wonder, ‘Was he always such an affectionate member towards the team?’

 

“Friendship rings sound good. What do you think about rings, hyungs?”

 

“You guys are in the middle of your growth spurt. If we get them now, they might not fit later.”

 

“Is that so? Then let’s get them for Jeho hyung and Iwol hyung first, since they’re done growing.”

 

“Can we call it a friendship ring if we get them at different times…?”

 

Before we knew it, we were putting our heads together to select an item to show off our friendship.

 

Some were less enthusiastic about it. Like Choi Jeho, for instance.

 

Seeing the look on his face that seemed to be thinking, ‘Do we really need to get something matching?’, I pointed to Kang Kiyeon.

 

Choi Jeho quickly clammed up. It seemed he hadn’t forgotten why they’d fought last time.

 

But even after 10 minutes, no good ideas came up.

 

There were too many reasons why certain items wouldn’t work for everyone.

 

“Where on earth would we wear rabbit headbands?”

 

“They’re cute! And funny too.”

 

“You just want to make the members look silly.”

 

Lee Cheonghyeon suddenly went crazy and suggested animal ear headbands.

 

“Why don’t we just go with necklaces or something?”

 

“Doesn’t Joowoo hate necklaces? They make him feel suffocated.”

 

“Yeah… But I’ll wear it if we all get matching ones.”

 

“Come on, there must be better options than necklaces!”

 

Necklaces, bracelets, and anklets were all rejected due to personal preferences.

 

We could have compromised, but everyone seemed fixated on the idea of ‘friendship items’, insisting that ‘we need to get something everyone can be satisfied with!’.

 

Still, it wasn’t good to waste practice time endlessly on this unproductive conversation.

 

“You’re not planning to talk about friendship items for the entire practice time today, are you?”

 

“Oh no, it’s already been almost 20 minutes…!”

 

“Yeah. It’s great and all, but we need to get back to work…”

 

At that moment, a thought occurred to me.

 

Something that would suit these guys well, that everyone could wear.

 

A friendship item that could be used for a long time compared to the cost invested.

 

Three days later, a fairly large package arrived at the dorm. It was the friendship item we had ordered.

 

While Jeong Seongbin and Lee Cheonghyeon were opening the package, Choi Jeho asked me.

 

“Hey.”

 

“What is it?”

 

“Do people usually get matching workout clothes as friendship items?”

 

Right.

 

We had ordered matching workout clothes that we could wear 365 days a year. In black, so it wouldn’t show dirt easily.

 

“Can’t we think of it as a uniform?”

 

“How is this different from giving a student a stationery set as a Christmas gift?”

 

“What’s wrong with a stationery set? If you receive one, you should say thank you and accept it.”

 

While Jeho and I were having this pointless conversation, Seongbin approached with clothes in our sizes. The others were already opening their packages.

 

“Hyung, should we film a dance practice video wearing these later?!”

 

“That’s the reason we got them. So if you lose them before filming the video, you’ll be in trouble.”

 

I don’t want to watch your choreography practice video in your end-of-the-century casual clothes. It was painful to watch.

 

I didn’t embroider numbers or names on purpose.

 

So it wouldn’t be noticeable when I left later.

 

‘It’s been a while since I had group clothes, after the company hoodie zip-ups.’

 

Holding the black friendship tracksuit set gave me a strange feeling. It was inexplicable.

 

* * *

 

The joy over their first friendship item following the end of the midterms was short-lived, as Lee Cheonghyeon soon had to return to reality.

 

The deadline for the debut song was fast approaching.

 

In fact, Cheonghyeon’s song was already of high quality.

 

It was much better than when it had been included as a B-side track in the past, and it had received good evaluations from the A&R team.

 

However, it seemed that the planning PPT and choreography practice guidance I had sent him as references felt like a different kind of feedback to Cheonghyeon.

 

With his creative passion ignited, Cheonghyeon began a major revision process, reworking the song as soon as the exams ended.

 

I stayed up late as well in case I needed to intervene if the revisions went in a strange direction, but fortunately, no such mishap occurred.

 

After going through a schedule even more intense than the exam period.

 

“…What do you think?”

 

Lee Cheonghyeon asked cautiously as the audio playback ended.

 

His voice was hoarse from staying up until nearly sunrise.

 

I removed my earphones and looked at Cheonghyeon. The area under his eyes was dark.

 

“You want me to be honest, right?”

 

“…But maybe say it gently?”

 

Cheonghyeon responded playfully, though it was clear he was being completely serious.

 

There was only one thing I could say to Lee Cheonghyeon.

 

“It’s the best version I’ve heard so far. Let’s go with this.”

 

“Really…?!”

 

Lee Cheonghyeon clenched his fist in excitement.

 

A raspy sound came from Cheonghyeon’s throat. He probably wanted to shout an exclamation like ‘Yes!’

 

+

 

[SYSTEM] ‘Task’ completed.

 

▷ Reward: Exp (5)

 

▷ Total exp: 5

 

▷ Total point: 0

 

+

 

At that moment, a system notification appeared, confirming the finalization of the task.

 

“Yeah. For real.”

 

This marked the moment of overcoming the biggest hurdle on the path to debut.