Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols Chapter 417 - Concert (4)

By the time the band version of Hideout finished, the concert hall was overflowing with heat. The atmosphere was exactly like the rock festival she had attended the year before last.

 

After a short VCR, End and On A High Note followed.

 

In certain verses of End, they sang lyrics from On A High Note, and in On A High Note, they sang lyrics from End. It was only after listening to both that she realized it wasn’t a mistake.

 

Still, the reason I can’t stop

Is because this moment

Is joyful

 

The bright and hopeful atmosphere of On A High Note…

 

Everywhere I go, what remains

Is an empty city

Eternal silence

 

…And the heavy, sharp lyrics of End gave off opposite impressions, yet they were paired with the exact same syllable counts. The reason it didn’t feel awkward even when the lines were swapped was thanks to the similar sentence structures. She had heard that the members worked themselves to the bone preparing the double title tracks, and clearly, it had been for a reason.

 

Even though they said the pairs were chosen by drawing lots, the cover stages featured combinations that could only be described as the ‘Tall Duo’ and ‘Short Duo’. The live performances were non-stop.

 

Watching Spark, who looked perfectly fine compared to the audience just sitting and watching, inspired a sense of awe. Maybe she really should start going to the gym next year.

 

Fortunately, before Baek Haewon could pass out, Spark moved into a comment segment. Judging by the timing, it felt like the final segment was approaching. As if reading Baek Haewon’s mind, Jeong Seongbin pushed a cart from the edge of the stage carrying a large cylinder. Inside were large, rolled-up sheets of paper.

 

The giant papers turned out to be rolling papers. The members hadn’t even unfurled the sheets yet, but Baek Haewon already felt like she was going to burst into tears.

 

(Tl note: rolling papers here mean messages written to each other.)

 

“Who should read first?”

 

“I’ll go first.”

 

Choi Jeho raised his hand to Jeong Seongbin’s call for volunteers. While peeling off the tape, Choi Jeho accidentally tore the paper a little and received a heavy earful from Kim Iwol.

 

“……?”

 

Choi Jeho tilted his head as he scanned the paper.

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

“There are two messages that start with ‘Jeho’.”

 

It seemed one younger member was being cheeky… or so she thought.

 

Park Joowoo noticed something strange.

 

“Would Iwol hyung write ‘Jeho’? He’d get caught immediately…”

 

At the news that half of the younger members had fearlessly attempted a rebellion against Zestralo Erectus, the Spark members’ eyes darted around busily. Choi Jeho himself, however, began reading the letters with a calm face.

 

There were words of comfort about how hard it was for him to diet for the concert when he needed to eat a lot to maintain his physique; thanks for opening every bottle or container he held in his hand, along with the reassurance that they could do it themselves so he didn’t need to worry; and a desperate plea to please discuss with the group before choosing companions if he ever went to a deserted island.

 

“Except for Seongbin’s, none of these are normal.”

 

“How are you so sure Seongbin wrote that? It could have been me.”

 

“Yeah, right.”

 

While Kim Iwol attempted a camouflage operation regarding the touching letters, Jeong Seongbin simply smiled silently.

 

Lee Cheonghyeon cried while reading his rolling paper. He managed to hold it together through ‘best friend’, but he crumbled at ‘the world’s most loved maknae’.

 

“From now on, the mention of ‘love’ is banned in our team.”

 

The members on either side comforted the sobbing Cheonghyeon. The hearts of the viewers felt like they were breaking, but a corner of their chests felt warm nonetheless.

 

As if to prove they were indeed best friends, Kang Kiyeon also created a reservoir of tears. By this point, the Sparklers were crying so hard they could barely see. Jeong Seongbin patted the sobbing Kang Kiyeon on the back.

 

After the wave of sadness passed, Kim Iwol pulled out his share of the rolling paper.

 

“I’ll go with a brighter mood since it’s been emotional so far.”

 

“Hyung, this is no joke. The tears just come out on their own.”

 

Lee Cheonghyeon said, handing him a tissue in advance. Kim Iwol checked the letters with a microphone in one hand, the rolling paper in the other, and a tissue resting on his knee.

 

“Earlier, you said there were two messages that started with ‘Jeho.'”

 

“Yes.”

 

“There are three that say ‘Iwol’. How did this happen?”

 

Laughter erupted from the crowd. Kim Iwol pointed at Park Joowoo, Lee Cheonghyeon, and Kang Kiyeon in turn. The members protested fiercely at Kim Iwol’s decisive narrowing down of suspects.

 

“It could be that Jeho hyung wrote ‘Iwol hyung’ to avoid getting caught, and Seongbin hyung wrote ‘Iwol’!”

 

“Our Jeho isn’t that smart.”

 

“Aren’t you insulting me a bit too much to my face?”

 

Kim Iwol ignored Choi Jeho’s complaint. He then focused on reading the letters. He didn’t offer any commentary for a while.

 

“Oh…”

 

“What is it?”

 

“I just realized… everyone wrote so sincerely.”

 

Kim Iwol wore an unreadable expression.

 

“I told you everyone wrote with 200% sincerity. Do you think I cried for no reason?”

 

Lee Cheonghyeon asserted the legitimacy of the tears he had just shed. Kim Iwol picked up the microphone he had set down.

 

“I’ll read. ‘Iwol, it’s been a while since I wrote a handwritten letter. I guess I had a lot to say. Seeing you not taking your pen off the paper makes me worry about what you’re writing.'”

 

Like most letters, it started lightly.

 

“You went up to the coldest place saying you’d be the roof of the team, and thanks to you braving all the snow and rain, we were able to light the fireplace.”

 

Kim Iwol read the sentence, which was a long explanation of the word ‘eldest hyung’, slowly and clearly.

 

“I hope you can come down now and enjoy the campfire with us.”

 

Even though the subject himself, Kim Iwol, was calm, the tip of Baek Haewon’s nose stung. Her eyes felt hot enough to burst.

 

“Oh dear, everyone is crying so much…”

 

Kim Iwol stood up awkwardly. Looking to the side, Jjaye was also covering half her face with a handkerchief. Baek Haewon’s tears finally burst forth uncontrollably.

 

“Hurry, read Jeho hyung’s message.”

 

“I should do that.”

 

Kim Iwol immediately accepted Kang Kiyeon’s solution.

 

“…No, this won’t work.”

 

He revoked it just as quickly. Choi Jeho himself was staring at Kim Iwol with an indifferent face.

 

“But it’s still content! I’ll read it quickly.”

 

Declaring this, Kim Iwol gripped the mic again.

 

“To Kim Iwol. You’ve been working hard consistently since our trainee days. I won’t tell you to do this or that because you’re the type of person who has to do what you’ve set your mind to, no matter what others say.”

 

It showed an even deeper understanding of Kim Iwol than the birthday letter shared at the livestream. Kim Iwol paused for a moment and then finished the letter.

 

“Do everything you want to do. If there’s something to be ordered, order it. I don’t think you need to do it alone when there are five other people remaining.”

 

Kim Iwol’s gaze turned toward Choi Jeho. He looked like he couldn’t believe Choi Jeho had written those words. Choi Jeho watched Kim Iwol for a moment and then turned his head away.

 

Baek Haewon remembered something Kim Iwol had said in passing during a live broadcast. That Choi Jeho carried a lot of responsibility for the team. He said that because Jeho was there, there were things he could trust and leave to him, and Choi Jeho always followed through without a word of complaint.

 

‘It’s the same with skateboarding. Without Jeho, it would have been hard to create that much impact. I can’t tell you how reassuring it is to have a center who steps up ahead for the team.’

 

To that Kim Iwol, Choi Jeho was pushing him forward, telling him to do whatever he wanted from now on. Because he would continue to take on the role of supporting him.

 

“If I were the only one in my age, I might’ve been lonely. Thanks for coming.”

 

Kim Iwol finished his words with difficulty. His voice was so thick with emotion it made the listeners feel choked up as well.

 

* * *

 

With the ending song, Winter Night, the stage lights all went out. It was time to chant for an encore.

 

At one time, an encore was a special event, but now most singers included encore songs in their setlists in advance.

 

The singer knew the fans would shout for an encore, and the fans know the singer had prepared encore songs. In a way, it was a scripted play.

 

So, Baek Haewon joined forces with other Sparklers who had become refined spirits from their long years of stanning. On behalf of high school senior Baek Haewon, who provided the idea, someone else took the lead, and talented fans like Jjaye joined in to prepare.

 

≫ We’ll show that events aren’t just for the artists.

We’ll show them an encore reaction.

 

The preparation process was not easy. To avoid Spark’s monitoring, they even had to go through the trouble of writing the group name as Kraps in all posts related to the fan event.

 

The process of contacting the Spark planning team through the fan manager was like a spy movie. Since there was never a day when Kim Iwol and Jeong Seongbin didn’t show up at the office, it wasn’t easy to dodge the members’ eyes.

 

Thanks to the staff shielding them, the Sparklers were able to finish the task of placing slogans under the seats in pairs. Nothing was easy—from timing the event announcement to deciding the method of delivery—but they succeeded in reaching the encore stage without any spoilers.

 

“Encore! Encore!”

 

While calling for the members, the Sparklers reached under their seats. They grabbed the slogans that had been hidden deep so they wouldn’t be noticed.

 

The event slogan was only completed when two people combined theirs. It was made with the meaning that Spark and Sparklers should walk together forever.

 

Baek Haewon’s slogan read: ‘Spark and Sparklers are’.

 

‘Then my partner is…’

 

Jjaye pulled out a slogan with a contrasting color to Baek Haewon’s. It read: ‘Going to be together forever’.

 

“We just hold them together, right?”

 

“Yes! Should I move closer?”

 

Baek Haewon closed the distance. The sentence on the back of the slogan, ‘Please coordinate with the Sparkler next to you so it can be read as one sentence!’ stood out particularly well.

 

Baek Haewon, who had been shouting for an encore incessantly, asked Jjaye.

 

“Did you enjoy the concert?”

 

Jjaye, who was holding her slogan perfectly in line, answered with a smile.

 

“So much.”

 

Jjaye’s voice mixed with the sound of a chime.

 

When the sun sets

The festival begins

Opening the long night

A time of fantasy

 

The song the Sparklers had prepared was The Words I Want to Say.

 

It was a song that perfectly captured Spark’s first year since debut and was reminiscent of the final parade of a festival.

 

The words Spark wanted to say to Sparklers, which arrived like a gift at the end of the year.

 

So this time, the Sparklers decided to convey their hearts to Spark.

 

When the surroundings are stained

When it becomes dark

Lighting up in the sky

A brilliant cluster of stars

 

The fan section simultaneously turned on their phone flashes.

 

They couldn’t put stars in the sky, but in the concert hall, Sparklers could even create a Milky Way.

 

The screens on both sides illuminated the fan seats. Amidst the twinkling lights, the ‘easy-to-read slogans’ that Kim Iwol had emphasized until his mouth was dry were clearly visible.

 

The next verse did not follow. While the accompaniment played, Spark stood still for the first time, unable to sing.

 

The most brilliant night

I wanted to give to you

 

The crowd’s unison singing filled the empty melody. Kim Iwol, who was supposed to handle his part, also couldn’t bring himself to speak in the end.

 

The most honest

Expression of love

I can give

 

There wasn’t a single person who wasn’t cheering; The Sparklers cheered loudly every time a member was caught on the screen one by one. There was no affection quite like this, expressed by everyone in one voice.

 

In front of your eyes

As you stand on the stage

I’ll fill them with stars

Because I love you

 

And, when they returned the lyrics to Spark with a slight change…

 

I hope you are happy

 

Kim Iwol, the owner of the part, was shown in a close-up.

He wasn’t smiling as usual, nor was he composed as when he was acting…

 

He had an overwhelmed expression.