Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols Chapter 412 - Preparing for the Show

The effect of becoming the ‘Public’s Pick among Public Picks’ was powerful. Hideout held the number one spot on the music charts for the longest period in Spark’s history.

 

The song, which started echoing through shopping districts across the nation, instantly infected listeners. Meanwhile, Speaker consistently maintained its position, hovering between 2nd and 3rd place.

 

Lee Cheonghyeon was worried that their momentum might dwindle while he was away taking the CSAT, but that never happened. Even on the final broadcast after his return, Hideout took home the first-place trophy.

 

On top of that, as the concert announcement was released and fan club pre-sales began, Sparklers were fired up beyond control.

 

≫ There’s too much to do

Have to watch music shows, watch self-produced content, watch livestreams, buy the SG, and do the ticketing

└ I like Spark, but I’m disappointed. Are they trying to ruin Sparklers’ social lives? Can’t even attend year-end gatherings now

 

≫ I thought we’d be resting in the second half of the year because of IDC, but I underestimated these boys.

└ Honestly, it feels like the second half is even busier…ㅋㅋ

 

≫ ??: What? Not enough time to handle a comeback, a SG, and a concert all at the same time at the end of the year?

Then just start making the SG two years in advance

└ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└ They even started preparing the Hideout album before IDCㅋㅋ

└ Effectively, they went all-in on concert prep for the 4th quarter, but looking at the timing, it looks like year-end cramming. ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

 

≫ I trust Spark

I trust that they’ll give every Sparkler at least one seat at the concert.

└ I don’t think even Iwol can pull that off;;;;

 

I wanted to make it happen for them somehow, but I didn’t think it was possible. Even in the past, ticketing had always been the hardest part. Getting one or two seats might be doable, but more than that was unrealistic.

 

Since an idol couldn’t just give away concert tickets as a social media giveaway prize, the only thing I could do was pray that everyone could snag a an available seat quickly without any server issues.

 

Ah, speaking of tickets, something came to mind.

 

“Ms. Jukyung.”

 

“Yes, what is it?”

 

“Did the members not take any invitation tickets?”

 

On the concert seating chart scheduled to be uploaded soon, there wasn’t a single invitation seat. It was considered a virtue to secure as many seats for fans as possible, and that had been our plan, but… don’t people usually invite their families?

 

“Ah, they decided to turn all of them into fan seats.”

 

“…Is it because I told them to reduce invitation tickets as much as possible?”

 

“No, it’s not that! The boys said they wanted to do it that way.”

 

Ms. Jukyung looked startled. However, my uneasy feeling didn’t go away.

 

‘Jeong Seongbin has so many friends, too.’

 

The memory of Jeong Seongbin and his twenty friends at the graduation ceremony was still vivid. It was also a bit strange that he hadn’t even invited Jeong Seongjun, who held a significant stake in Spark’s various contents.

 

“I heard you guys didn’t request any invitation tickets?”

 

When I went to the practice room and asked, everyone rushed to make excuses.

 

“My family said they absolutely can’t make the time!”

 

There was Jeong Seongbin, whose entire family supposedly had to work on the weekend…

 

“We’ll have a DVD anyway, so why bother?”

 

…And Choi Jeho, who said they could just watch the DVD that would be released next year. The reasons were flimsy. Putting everything else aside, does it make sense to give a DVD to family? You should at least think about giving them a Blu-ray with a player included.

 

The exact reason this was happening came from Park Joowoo. He called me over to the water dispenser and, after hesitating for a long time, confessed.

 

“Actually… we all agreed not to invite anyone.”

 

“Why?”

 

“…….”

 

“Could it be because I’m the only one with no family to invite? That’s not it, right?”

 

“…….”

 

“Are you serious…?”

 

Park Joowoo avoided my gaze.

 

“No matter what, you have to invite your family! It’s your first concert!”

 

I kicked the practice room door open and yelled at the top of my lungs.

 

“But still…”

 

“What do you mean ‘but still’! Do you think I don’t invite people because I don’t have family? I don’t invite them because I don’t want to see them! Is that the same as people who want to come but can’t? Call them right now!”

 

“My sister said she was going to do the ticketing herself.”

 

“Stop talking nonsense and send her a text right now.”

 

I checked Choi Jeho’s phone and sent Jeong Seongbin off as a messenger. Not long after, Jeong Seongbin returned with the news that he had secured his invitation tickets.

 

“Hyung, your temper hasn’t changed at all. You’ve been quiet lately so I thought you’d mellowed out.”

 

Lee Cheonghyeon clapped his hands with an impressed expression.

 

“How many did you reserve?”

 

“Two. For my dad and my brother, but if they say they aren’t coming, I’m returning them.”

 

“Fine.”

 

“Are you not going to scold me for not inviting my mom and little brother?”

 

“You just left out people you don’t want to invite. Why would I scold you for that?”

 

Perhaps thinking I had taken his side, Lee Cheonghyeon jumped up and hung onto my back.

 

“What about you, Joowoo?”

 

I asked Park Joowoo, who was sitting blankly with his phone in his hand.

 

“…My aunt’s family is all coming.”

 

“Book a place for them to stay. It’ll be hard for them to travel a long distance after the concert ends.”

 

Park Joowoo stared at me quietly. Then, he gave a faint smile.

 

“Yeah.”

 

A brief answer came back.

 

* * *

 

There was a mountain of things to prepare to open a single concert.

 

Being an idol wasn’t just about practicing with a set list. Measuring sizes several times for costume preparation was basic, and we had to review every single detail of the formations and blocking, which changed dozens of times.

 

We also had to take care of the special events to be inserted in the middle. Since we had already set aside time for a ‘Talk Time’, we just had to decide on the topics.

 

While brainstorming content that hadn’t been shown before but could get good reactions…

 

“Watching videos from our early debut days…?”

 

“Joowoo, I’m sorry. For this one, I can’t take your side.”

 

…There was the unfortunate incident of Park Joowoo making a terrible suggestion. It had been a long time since I’d seen Jeong Seongbin so firm. For the record, I opposed that idea too.

 

“How about Casual Speech Time?”

 

Next, Kang Kiyeon offered an opinion.

 

“Didn’t we do that once in our self-produced content?”

 

“We did, but it was really short. No one was really aggressive.”

 

“Kiyeon, did we do something to upset you?”

 

At my question, Kang Kiyeon waved his hands.

 

“It’s not that! I just saw comments saying they were disappointed because that segment was too short.”

 

That was true. Since it was a makeshift corner done quickly during the training camp, we barely said a few words.

 

“If we’re going to do Casual Speech Time, we need to improve it. Like Kiyeon said, there needs to be a device to increase stronger reactions.”

 

“Does it have to be mean though…? I don’t really have any complaints about the members…”

 

Park Joowoo said. However, improvement was essential.

 

By nature, Spark wasn’t well-suited for insubordination. If these guys got together for Casual Speech Time, it just ended up as an awkward informal speech play.

 

“You don’t necessarily have to talk about complaints. But it needs to be fun. Otherwise, let’s think of something else.”

 

In addition to this, there were many active opinions about taking on new challenges. Since the progress of the unit stages changed every day, there wasn’t just one or two things to revise. Kang Kiyeon, who was in charge of taking today’s meeting minutes, had already turned on the voice recorder early on.

 

After talking for a long time, we ate Jajangmyeon as our last feast before the concert. The managers were worried, asking if just Jajangmyeon was enough before we started our strict diets—but while meat could be substituted, nothing could replace carbs + oil.

 

Just as I was about to grab some tangsuyuk, a notification rang in the group chat. It was a message from the dedicated team.

 

[Spark Planning – Jukyung]

[Delivery items regarding the Music Festival stage… See More]

 

Several people who were eating Jajangmyeon quickly put down their chopsticks. Only Choi Jeho kept his screen on and continued eating as if nothing were wrong.

 

“Hey, we have to go through the year-end stages starting right the week after our concert ends, right?”

 

Lee Cheonghyeon, who was staring at his phone, said.

 

“Right.”

 

“A week won’t be enough time to prepare, will it?”

 

Perhaps having seen the time allotted to Spark, his voice trembled.

 

“Nowhere near enough.”

 

At my words, silence fell over the meeting room. As if planned, the members pushed aside their bowls and reopened their laptops; I had to yell at them for 30 minutes to finish eating first.

 

* * *

 

The CSAT was over. Baek Haewon had officially become a ‘Post-CSAT High School Senior,’ the freest person on Earth.

 

The past week had been a time of absolute frenzy. Her exam slip was tattered from being stamped so many times for discounts, and on the weekend, she watched MeTube until dawn and woke up in the middle of the day.

 

While others got lazy when playing around, Baek Haewon somehow had more to do. She had to watch the self-produced content she missed and learn the fan chants she had skipped over for a while. She couldn’t go to the concert unprepared.

 

‘I praise myself for securing tickets to all concerts.’

 

Right.

 

Baek Haewon was going to both days of the concert!

 

While her friends were booking train tickets for a trip, Baek Haewon was biting her nails while doing the ticketing. And she succeeded. On the evening she got her hands on tickets for both the first and final shows, she ordered spicy tteokbokki as a reward for herself.

 

The day after her concert attendance was decided, Baek Haewon immediately bought an extra lightstick. She couldn’t stand having even one hand free. She also pulled out her attachment bag that she wore every time she went to an offline event. Inside the bag, a portable fan, a power bank, and an L-shaped folder to safely carry the slogan were waiting for their owner.

 

How long had it been since she’d seen them in person? It felt like an eternity since she last saw Spark.

 

Although she had pre-ordered the Season’s Greetings, the delivery was still far away. Baek Haewon, who was rich in time but lacking in content, needed new updates.

 

Please release the concert MD soon. Someone please host a fan event. If not, I’ll host one myself… Baek Haewon’s legs shook as she refreshed social media every ten minutes. Occasionally she saw scalpers trying to sell tickets for a premium and she reported them.

 

≫ They’ll perform ‘Speaker’ right???

└ Please

└ Wow, Speaker

└ Those IDC bastards, they got to see it live alone

 

≫ I started running today to prepare for the concert

Offline events are a battle of physical strength

└ For real. If you don’t have stamina, even just getting there is hard if you live in the provinces

└ Thank god it’s seated-standing… if it weren’t, this grandma would have had to aim for the 2nd floor

 

That shared excitement—everyone loving the same idol together. For Baek Haewon, the sense of belonging in the fandom was just as joyful as supporting the idols themselves. Talking about what you love never gets boring.

 

While ending her semi-hiatus, she also heard news from Jjaye, a famous homma she had recently followed back.

 

≫ I want to bring something to celebrate the first concert.

Does anyone have good ideas?

 

Honestly… one photo from you is enough…

 

Baek Haewon, who pressed ‘like’ on the new photo uploaded with the tweet, left a calm and mature comment.

 

└ Just being in the same concert hall as Jjaye-nim makes me happy.

 

Ha, I showed restraint. Baek Haewon patted herself on the back.

 

And on the first day of the concert, Jjaye, one of the most famous hommas in the Spark fandom, and Miheon, the representative of the original Sparklers, would fatefully end up sitting next to each other.