Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols Chapter 407 - Study With Me (1)

For thirty minutes, the only sounds were the scratching of pens, the rustling of turning pages, and the rhythmic clicking of keyboards.

 

Baek Haewon, just about to stretch her arms, caught sight of the chat window, which was already being plastered with ‘ㅋ’.

 

≫ Jeho, you’ve done enough. Just stop now.

≫ ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Kiyeon, get up and go grocery shopping. Say the Sparklers ordered you to.*

≫ How is it that neither of them can focus for more than 10 minutes?ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Me neither, though…

 

On the screen, Choi Jeho was frowning and pushing up his glasses every five seconds. The page wasn’t turning at all.

 

Kang Kiyeon was just as grim. With one hand supporting his forehead and a ballpoint pen in the other, he looked more serious than anyone else. The pen in his right hand was shaking like crazy.

 

≫ What is English that it tortures people like this

≫ Choi Jeho, it’s not too late. Switch books.

≫ This live stream… I wonder how long they can actually keep it up.

≫ The ‘Produce Line isn’t moving at all

≫ Guys, fighting ♥♥♥♥♥♥

≫ If Seongbin had studied like this, he wouldn’t have won that gold medal.

 

The viewers watching this lonely battle from afar were basically just eating popcorn. Everyone only cared about who would be the first to drop out.

 

The one who earned the glorious title of ‘The Member Least Suited for Studying in Spark’ was…

 

『Hey, what do you want to eat?』

 

…Kang Kiyeon. Surprisingly, Choi Jeho was still staring at his book, though he was currently cleaning his glasses for the third time.

 

『Pizza.』

 

『How can we make pizza right now? There’s nothing but cabbage in the fridge.』

 

『Pizza.』

 

『You have to ask for something possible. And the calories…』

 

『I’m taking the CSAT!』

 

『Do you think I’m not eating it because I don’t want to?』

 

The maknaes only quieted down after receiving a sharp stare from Seongbin hhyung. With one final sigh, Kang Kiyeon exited the frame.

 

≫ ㅋㅋㅋㅋKiyeon ㅋㅋㅋ he’s looking up recipes ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

≫ His posture is like a Master Chef judge ㅋㅋㅋ

 

In the distance, a thumb-sized Kang Kiyeon could be seen standing at the kitchen table, leaning over his phone. Meanwhile, his shoulders looked as wide as Baek Haewon’s kitchen sink.

 

‘Fans said they wanted Giyeon to wear an animal pajama, so we looked into it. We even bought one, but there was a shoulder issue so he couldn’t wear it. The shoulder line didn’t fit—the seams kept riding up. His shoulders are wider than you think.’

 

The long-winded explanation Kim Iwol once gave during a live stream titled ‘How Wide are Kang Kiyeon’s Shoulders’ flashed through her mind…

 

The heavens were truly indifferent. Why is it that she couldn’t remember a single thing from the online lecture she watched two hours ago, yet a live stream from three months ago was so vivid?

 

Baek Haewon pulled herself together. Fortunately, the Spark boys had returned to their work without further chatter.

 

Midway through, the sound of the dorm’s front door opening echoed. She was curious, but Baek Haewon focused on her Korean History workbook.

 

And a long while later.

 

≫ㅋㅋㅋㅜㅠㅠAh, Jeho is stretching the dough in the background ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ T_T

 

Having finished her wrong answer notes, Baek Haewon was greeted by the sight of Kang Kiyeon, half-hidden by a giant grocery bag, and two thick arms pulling at flour dough in mid-air.

 

* * *

 

During the brief time Baek Haewon was immersed in her studies, many things had happened to Spark. So much that the chat alone wasn’t enough—you had to rewind to understand.

 

Choi Jeho, who had seemed inwardly proud of Kang Kiyeon’s early dropout, failed immediately once the fifteenth foreign character appeared in his book. After a deep discussion in the corner of the screen, the two went out. They returned an hour later with their arms full of bags.

 

In the meantime, Park Joowoo finished all his homework. Fans suggested he translate the lyrics of his favorite songs since he had nothing to do. The problem was that Joowoo was such a hardcore rock fan that he already knew the lyrics to every song he loved by heart. There wasn’t a rock song he didn’t know the lyrics to.

 

He seemed to want to share the workload, but soft-hearted Park Joowoo chose to back off rather than disturb the focus of the three people currently firing lasers from their eyes.

 

Walking toward the empty kitchen, Park Joowoo stopped at the dining table. He picked up a memo pad that was on the table. The surprise memo, which was also revealed to the Sparklers, read:

 

To the next person who drops out:

Can you put some parchment paper on the table?

We need to roll the dough.

 

Park Joowoo diligently laid out the parchment paper by himself. He even brought out a large bowl. He wandered around for a while looking for something, and when the video was fast-forwarded, he was seen wrapping plastic wrap around a long cardboard mailing tube.

 

While Park Joowoo, now truly had nothing left to do, was wandering around with a shiny cardboard tube reflecting the fluorescent lights (which the viewers found a bit creepy), the Dance Line returned from grocery shopping.

 

It was 10 PM, a time when half the members were studying with fire in their eyes. A pizza party began to unfold in the kitchen.

 

The three communicating in the kitchen used only hand gestures. It seemed they didn’t want to interfere with the purpose of the broadcast. There was a reason Baek Haewon hadn’t noticed anything strange for a while.

 

Just as Kang Kiyeon was gesturing with his shoulders for the tenth time as if to say ‘What are you talking about?’, Jeong Seongbin rubbed his eyes. He got up, grabbed some eye drops, and trudged back.

 

『If your eyes hurt, stop there. Your vision won’t come back once it drops.』

 

Kim Iwol firmly made Jeong Seongbin drop out. Jeong Seongbin turned off his tablet after uploading the final compilation of his work to the group chat.

 

The camera shook for a moment, and the angle changed. Now, the screen only showed Kim Iwol and Lee Cheonghyeon sitting forward and working.

 

Soon, a new notification popped up saying Spark’s live stream had started. Checking it revealed the Pizza Team’s cooking live stream. Jeong Seongbin spoke in a whisper.

 

『Since more people have dropped out, we turned on another camera so you can see all the members. If you like studying in silence, watch the hyung and Cheonghyeon’s side. If you need ASMR, watch our side!』

 

『Can’t they watch both at once?』

 

『Iwol hyung said they can use the multi-view feature.』

 

While Choi Jeho and Jeong Seongbin chatted, Baek Haewon calmly turned on her charging tablet. What was the point of splitting a tiny screen? Good things should be seen in full size. Whether it was silence or noise, it didn’t matter. Just don’t leave me alone in this barren land of studying…

 

Intent on making a real pizza, Spark was getting serious. While Jeong Seongbin washed a cotton cloth, the sound of Choi Jeho beating up the dough hit Baek Haewon’s eardrums. If she hadn’t been healed by the sound of Park Joowoo chopping bell peppers, she might have had nightmares all night.

 

Kang Kiyeon acted as the commander of the scene. His determination to gift his friend the best homemade pizza was evident.

 

No matter how loudly Choi Jeho slammed dough into the steel bowl, Kim Iwol and Lee Cheonghyeon didn’t budge. The sound of their typing remained constant, neither slowing nor speeding up. Some viewers even suspected they were just doing typing practice.

 

≫ Don’t people usually pause typing when thinking?

≫ Even with typing practice, you make mistakes sometimesㅋㅋ

≫ Incredible. Neither of them has looked away once.

≫ So this is how you get top grades…

≫ I have to make sure my mom doesn’t see this.

≫ Please never appear in my mom and dad’s algorithm again.

≫ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

≫ Let’s get that CSAT jackpot, Cute-Pre-Vi~~!

 

While Lee Cheonghyeon read the answer key and Kim Iwol pounded his laptop, the dough entered the oven.

 

『We’ll ferment it for about 40 minutes.』

 

『What should we do while waiting…?』

 

『Should we take some questions?』

 

At Jeong Seongbin’s suggestion, the three tried to head to the maknaes’ room, which was supposedly the largest in the dorm, but…

 

『Isn’t there no space in their room…?』

 

…Because of Park Joowoo’s one comment, the location was changed. Two sat on the floor, and two sat on Choi Jeho’s bed to start reading the chat.

 

『They’re asking if Jeho hyung changed his glasses.』

 

『Yes. The day before yesterday,』

 

『It was 3 days ago…!』

 

『Jeho hyung stepped on them and they snapped in half!』

 

Baek Haewon cried tears of blood having to only hear this hilarious story with her ears. You said we’d study together. You didn’t say you’d make me study alone while you guys had a tea party. Even while feeling betrayed, Baek Haewon memorized English words as she watched herself feeling happy. How contradictory…

 

While the hyung and the dongsaeng were devoted to their work, the remaining members held a fruitful Q&A party. During the full 40 minutes, the viewer count swelled like the dough in the oven. Even fans who didn’t want to study and were planning to only watch the highlight reels flocked to the news of the cooking experience.

 

While Park Joowoo, with his hoodie sleeves rolled up, rolled the dough with the plastic-wrapped cardboard tube, Choi Jeho began pulling at the remaining dough with his bare hands. This was the scene Baek Haewon witnessed after finishing her wrong answer notes.

 

『Aren’t you being too stingy with the cheese?』

 

『It’s our promotion period… doesn’t it still look like pizza?”』

 

『It looks like it was made by a petty shop owner.』

 

At Kang Kiyeon’s remark, Jeong Seongbin poured a mountain of pizza cheese on.

 

『We can’t look petty in front of the Sparklers…!』

 

Park Joowoo, looking a bit flustered, quickly added more toppings. He seemed to foresee that this would turn into a triple cheese bomb pizza if left alone.

 

Meanwhile…

 

≫ Guys, please look at Jeho too.

≫ Choi Jeho: The Master of Cooking.

≫ The owner is generous and the pizza is thick.

≫ This place is secretly a Chicago pizza restaurant

≫ I’ll have the pizza baked by the owner over there, please.

 

…Choi Jeho, The Master of Cooking, the man who had mastered the essence of Chicago pizza, the generous chef who had never once in his life created a pizza with insufficient toppings, was busy putting his soul into making an ‘Accelerated Aging (Unhealthy) Pizza’.