Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols Chapter 421 - Role Model

Spark, dressed in outfits reminiscent of sci-fi enthusiasts, opened the stage with Speaker. Won Chaehee picked Park Joowoo’s transparent horn-rimmed glasses and Jeong Seongbin’s check shirt + leather guitar strap combo as the best items.

 

It was also fun to see Kim Iwol with his bangs down for the first time in a while. Styled that way, he truly looked like a loner genius who spent all his time studying in his room, only occasionally picking up the bass as a hobby. Though, it’d be hard for someone who only studies all their life to have forearms like that.

 

Having seen the live band performance at the concert in person, Won Chaehee thought it was a wise choice to have Hideout as a pre-recorded segment and Speaker as a live one. It would have been a waste for such a stage to be seen only by a small number of Sparklers.

 

As expected, Band-Park received a great response from the international audience. Many people sang along to the chorus. It was a song that showed especially strong performance on overseas charts. Thanks to Jeong Seongbin’s dual-vocal live setup, even those who had only watched the IDC finals could enjoy it in a new way.

 

Aside from the fact that the sound quality was worse than Spark’s solo concert—despite them claiming to create a global music festival—it was perfect. She felt a strong urge to tell them to go ask UA for advice. It was a shame, but it wasn’t Spark’s fault.

 

Next, the pre-recorded video for Hideout was played. The background was a deserted factory decorated with LED camping bulbs, old movie posters, and neon signs to create the feeling of a secret hideout. Spark sat huddled together on small chairs as they sang. Jeong Seongbin’s acoustic guitar created a warm, cozy atmosphere.

 

‘So that’s why Jeong Seongbin’s name was on the arrangement credits….’

 

Kang Kiyeon looked incredibly cool yet cute, wearing knit earmuffs with a stoic face. Park Joowoo’s cape also did a great job of neutralizing his icy impression.

 

≫ Spark’s initial impression at debut: ‘How is this even a group where over half are minors?’

Current impression: ‘How is this even a ‘refreshing’ boy group?’<- I just keep repeating this like a parrot.

└ During promotions, they’re total youth-incarnate boys, but at all other times, they’re like chaebol male leads. A very unique group.

 

≫ They’re fine when it’s just them.

But they shouldn’t be with other people

When that happens, no matter what’s going on, our kids look like the culprits

└ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└ Seongbin was a certified ‘Warm-Handsome Guy’ among Sparklers, though.

└ Baby Harvest Mouse Chinchilla’s head is about to hit the ceiling of the recording booth~~!!!

 

≫ Eldest Hyungs’ album detail cuts (Athlete pictorial style)

(Photo)

(Photo)

It’s not just sports; they’re definitely from the rugby team.

 

Won Chaehee recalled a post she had seen in passing on social media and agreed. Among Sparklers, it was a daily struggle to figure out whether they should be worried about the members’ faces getting sharper every year or feel relieved that they all looked intimidating together so it didn’t stand out.

 

The flickering LED bulbs toward the end of the song looked familiar. As Won Chaehee wondered if it was just a common prop, the title of the next song appearing at the bottom of the monitor caught her eye.

 

『End + On A High Note │ Composition: Lee Cheonghyeon, Lyrics: Jeong Seongbin……』

 

The ending scene of the On A High Note music video was similar to this. This level of similarity was clearly intentional. After all, Kim Iwol was someone who believed that ‘unnecessary elements are just a waste of capital and resources’.

 

A familiar instrumental began playing, but there was something unfamiliar about it at the same time. It didn’t take long to figure out the cause of the déjà vu. The two songs Won Chaehee knew so well were mixed in an unexpected form, as if they had originally been one song. It was as if they had been created with this specific result in mind.

 

Belatedly, Won Chaehee remembered that there was one more name listed as an arranger for the track, which had been transformed into a fast-tempo, intense dance song.

 

『……Arrangement: Kim Iwol, Lee Cheonghyeon』

 

The songs that had subtly bled into each other at the concert had completely merged into a new shape by the end of the year. It was clear that this was a track crafted with a specific purpose. Kim Iwol, what a ruthless and meticulous pro idol.

 

While the pre-recorded video played, Spark changed outfits and returned to the stage in new looks. The members, dressed in flight jackets, vintage denim pants, and jumpsuits, rose up on a lift and stroled across the stage. The numerous instruments added to the high-teen-style song evoked the feeling of a festival.

 

Gold paper confetti showered down over the members’ bright smiles.

 

Even so, the reason I climb without end

Is because this memory is precious

 

She remembered the sunlight and raindrops mixing and sparkling on the surface of the sea in the End music video. And the colorful confetti fluttering in On A High Note.

 

Because it makes my heart race

 

The various lightsticks visible beyond the zoomed-out screen overlapped with the highlights of the two music videos.

 

Let’s leave on an endless journey

 

The choruses of the two songs swirled together in an intersection. The atmosphere of a long year passing and a new one coming to a close filled her small studio apartment.

 

* * *

 

Even though it was past midnight, sleep would not come. Four hours had passed since he lay down in bed, but Gu Jahan’s mind was as sharp as it had been before he lay down.

 

Three hours ago, irritated by the ticking of the second hand, he had taken the batteries out of the clock and tossed it onto the sofa. Two hours ago, he replaced all his bedding because it felt uncomfortable. Just a moment ago, he had even gotten fully dressed, gone outside into the heavy snowfall, and smoked a cigarette. Still, his wide-open eyes refused to close.

 

[Looking down on others so carelessly won’t help you in life.]

 

It was happening again. Every time he tried to clear his head, that text message popped up.

 

‘The brat, trying to lecture me.’

 

Gu Jahan closed his eyes irritably. Normally, Gu Jahan would have quickly forgotten the words of a cheeky junior and just turned on the TV.

 

‘What did I even do that was so wrong?’

 

He apologized. And after that, he thought he’d taken good enough care of him.

 

[I am truly grateful for the way you looked after me in both material and spiritual aspects, sunbaenim.]

 

He admitted it himself.

 

How can a person be good to everyone? Why should I even live like that in the first place? It’s natural that there are people you don’t get along with. Why should I have to hold back from saying I dislike someone?

 

He didn’t even want to recall the foul mood he had when he first received the text. He was so dumbfounded he was speechless. Gu Jahan had to exercise superhuman patience just to hold back all his words and send a single ‘Okay’.

 

Every day since then had been hell. Several times a day, resentment surged up. He was enraged at the thought that Kim Iwol must have viewed him as human trash. Considering that he hadn’t lashed out verbally, it was clear how much he had changed, yet being denounced for something so trivial made him furious.

 

[However, favors limited only to me are uncomfortable. I can’t ignore someone else being disrespected. Knowing how kindly you’ve treated me makes me feel even more sorry and conflicted.]

 

Even when he asked his manager recently if his personality had improved, he only got positive answers. What would some inexperienced kid know?

 

But then, when the anger subsided, a sense of defeat from an unknown source rushed in.

Because Kim Iwol’s words, though he hated to admit it, had struck the core.

 

If it had been someone spouting empty, self-righteous nonsense, he would’ve felt better. He would have just cursed them for being a hypocrite when they were just as bad as him and forgotten about it.

 

But Kim Iwol actually lived the way he spoke. He never spoke ill of others carelessly and never stepped up to do something that would make him disliked. He did the work given to him, whether it was fair or unfair.

 

At one time, Gu Jahan didn’t understand why he lived like that and looked down on him as frustratingly pathetic, but…

 

≫ [Best] His luck is truly miserable.

He never received special treatment, never rebelled against his family or used violence, but in one day he became a power-tripping, immoral person

Fake news is so scary

 

When he thought of Kim Iwol, who had been pummeled by the public despite doing nothing wrong.

 

[Public opinion is truly terrifying; it is easy for things to be distorted and for words never spoken to be created. In an entertainment industry where you don’t know what kind of misunderstandings you might face even if you live honorably, I do not know what value there is in inviting such risks upon yourself.]

[If you’ve done nothing wrong, at least you can stand proud. But in a society that doesn’t easily accept the truth, someone who actually has faults would find it even harder to survive.]

 

He couldn’t say he didn’t understand with what kind of heart Kim Iwol had spoken at such length.

 

Even toward Kim Iwol, who had lived as upright as could be, people were cold-blooded. Everyone was busy trying to bite a piece out of one person.

 

[They say even sinners can live just fine, but criticism eats away at a person.]

 

Gu Jahan had also clearly seen with his own eyes how Kim Iwol, who stepped forward confidently because he had nothing to hide, collapsed at the press conference.

 

[I hope you don’t walk such a precarious path. And if something happens someday, I hope you don’t end up deeply hurt from ignoring the piling abuse just because you seem fine in the moment.]

 

F*ck. So annoying.

 

Could he just dismiss the image of Kim Iwol getting back up and smiling in front of people as if nothing were wrong—even though he was on the verge of having a hole in his stomach—as mere ‘professionalism’?

 

This was a matter of values. A kind of compass held by someone who had decided how to live their life. A lesson learned from the wounds of life, something one would never think about without having lived fiercely or having collapsed before.

 

Gu Jahan sat up. He picked up his phone, which had been tossed at his feet, and checked how many people were left in his contacts. Even in a contact list with so few names saved, there were countless people who weighed on his conscience.

 

Gu Jahan pressed the contact at the very top. It was a company employee he had recently lashed out at, face flushed with anger.

 

He had no idea what to say first. His finger hovered over the keyboard for a long time.

 

< Gil Haeun

Me

[Haeun. This is Gu Jahan….]

 

Gu Jahan began to write, very slowly and with great difficulty.