Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols Chapter 424 - New Year’s Greetings

≫ The fact that the Grand Prize winner and the team with the highest stage views are different never seems to change

Between all that trash paid voting, the fact that Spark, who had the longest set, has overwhelmingly high views says a lot

Basically, this year’s Music Festival was just a Spark solo concert.

└ Number 1… They’re Number 1!

└ When the cue sheet first leaked and fans saw the 11-minute slot, so many other fandoms were talking sh*t, but they all vanished once the stage aired ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└ I mean, why shouldn’t Spark get 11 minutes? ㅠ They provided the ‘Best 1 Minute’ for IDC, and both the double titles and Hideout hit #1. Don’t they deserve it??

└ Seriously, even after seeing Cheon Yoonsung’s fancams and Emperor Jeho’s behind-the-scenes clips flooding NBC’s official channel, people still couldn’t tell?ㅋㅋㅋ

└└ Even though Exclusive Report was a TVm production! ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

 

≫ I think I’m going to be rewatching the final song, On A High Note, for a long time.

I thought their live skills were already well-recognized, so I didn’t need to brag anymore, but I take it back. I need to talk about it until I lose my voice.

└ Even people who aren’t idol fans say they keep replaying it. It makes me proudㅠㅠ

 

≫ One-line review of the Music Festival: Was it really necessary for SMI to be the center…

They used every title like ‘Genius Center’ and ‘Visual Center’ and called it the ‘Gateway to the Temple’, but you can’t even tell he’s gone. MI, what happened?

└ Naos fans raising their hands because they’re happy Gawoon got more lines thanks to the song parts being redistributed (1/1,000,000)

└ Naos hand raised (2/1,000,000)

└ Naos hand raised (3/1,000,000)

└ Minil! You can’t sing for sh*t yet you threw a tantrum to get the highlight part, and look how that turned out! Not even sad. Bye!!!

└└ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

 

≫ People were keeping them in check by calling Spark ‘NBC’s favorite child’ on social media, but the actual venue was just a party…ㅋㅋㅋ

There’s a reason Hideout stayed at #1 from the comeback stage to the final broadcast on the year-end charts.

Literally everyone was singing along. ㅋㅋㅋㅋ And don’t even get me started on Speaker.

└ I’m a total dance fanatic, so when I saw ‘Acoustic ver’ next to Hideout on the cue sheet, I was a bit disappointed… but it was so good. My emotions are fully charged.

└ I’m so jealous of the people who were there… I could have sung along so well too…

└ The decibel level of the people singing the chorus in the fan cams is insane. ㅋㅋㅋ It looks like it was so much fun. ㅠㅠㅠ

 

≫ A 30-something Ajusschi here, watched the Music Festival for the first time in a while.

I stopped watching because I didn’t recognize many songs anymore and the stages weren’t fun, but I happened to turn it on and that group Speak was really good…

I’ve been looking up their songs since seeing them play as a band.

People my age would probably feel quite a bit of nostalgia.

└ Spark?

└└ Oh, right. I got the most important name wrong;;;

└└└ Probably because the song title is Speaker?? I just looked it up and that song is the band one. ㅋㅋ

└└└└ Why did they pick names that are so easy to confuse?

└└└└└ Just be glad they’re short. don’t you know naming trends these days???

└ I relate to not recognizing songs anymore, and there aren’t many stages worth watching

└└When I see heavy CG sets, instead of thinking ‘cool’, I just go ‘what is that…?’ Guess I’m really getting old

 

***

 

Spark wrapped up the year with widespread praise. And with the new year, they went through several changes.

 

First, the maknaes turned twenty. With this, Spark became an all-adult group.

 

Accordingly, the team rules became more detailed. Previously, there was a trust that the young ones would behave themselves; now, since no one else would take responsibility for their actions, the regulations were renewed to emphasize individual accountability for every behavior.

 

Second, the members’ fitness preferences began to diverge. After the disclosure of exercise intensity issue at the concert, everyone became honest in expressing their opinions.

 

There were those like me and Choi Jeho who stuck to the gym, those who wanted to enjoy active sports, and those who maintained their physique out of professional duty. I wouldn’t specify who fell into which category.

 

Third, we withdrew our second ‘friendship savings fund’ upon maturity. Previously, the younger idols had used the interest for group dinners, but this time they added part of the principal and donated it. With companies adopting ESG management, they concluded that idols should also consider ways to create positive influence.

 

Their yearly schedule was also finalized. We set three major milestones: two comebacks a year and an overseas debut.

 

From this year, we decided to add a slight image transformation. Having concluded the school concept with the Season’s Greetings, it was time to show something fresh. That was why I was currently struggling with Excel files, repeatedly applying and removing filters for no real reason.

 

Objectively, I couldn’t participate much in the business side of things during the latter half of last year. But now that my personal issues were nearly resolved, there was nothing left to hinder me.

 

The encore concert was confirmed, so I had to plan the detailed content. While encore concerts typically reused similar setlists, things like rolling papers or skits couldn’t be repeated, so we spent a week deciding on games that could be done on the spot.

 

“Hyung, would it be better for me to take one more semester off?”

 

Jeong Seongbin, unable to watch everyone being physically and mentally ground down, tentatively made a suggestion. Fortunately, my condition improved quickly, so it was decided that Jeong Seongbin would return to university this year along with Park Joowoo as planned.

 

All of this…

 

“The number of rules suddenly decreased?”

 

“The previous rules have already become second nature… Even without writing them down, everyone’s probably used to them.”

 

“Seongbin’s pretty good at badminton. Are you going to keep playing?”

 

“No, I’m putting it on hold for now…!”

 

“Seongbin hyung checks my messages later than usual ever since we started going to the gym together.”

 

…Aside from the encore concert and comeback schedule, we ended up chatting about all sorts of trivial things during the New Year livestream. The main content was supposed to be slicing rice cakes for tteokguk while wearing hanbok, but we talked more than anything else.

 

Once Jeong Seongbin added the egg garnish, which was as yellow as his hair, the tteokguk was complete. The dumplings Choi Jeho made all burst open as if trying to assert their presence, so it didn’t look great, but thanks to that, the broth was rich.

 

“If I eat three bowls of tteokguk, can I join the ‘Eldest Hyungs’ line?”

 

“You could, but can you burn all those calories today? Even after lowering it, it’s still 400 kcal per bowl, you know?”

 

At my words, Lee Cheonghyeon shut his mouth. Perhaps as a tiny rebellion, he aggressively shook pepper into his bowl. The conversation never stopped the entire time we ate.

 

* * *

 

Because we were so busy, we didn’t get separate holidays for the Lunar New Year. I was at the point where my brain was half-gone just trying to decide on Spark’s next concept.

 

Then, I got a schedule that wasn’t exactly ‘work’ since it didn’t require much thinking, but also wasn’t exactly ‘relaxing’ since I’d be filming with veteran celebrities.

 

It was an invitation for ‘Let’s Have a Meal’, an observational healing variety show where viewers suggested interesting combinations of guests, who were then gathered in a small countryside house in the mountains or by the sea to cook meals and talk about life.

 

“The other guests have been decided, right?”

 

Except for unusual cases, the cast usually already knew each other. After all, to boost ratings, they needed lineups that would attract viewer interest. Well-known groupings like the ‘○○ line’ or ‘○○-age line’ were typical.

 

And I…

 

“It’s a ‘Trio of Villains’ concept!”

 

“Excuse me?”

 

…I ended up going on a special episode titled ‘The Unusual Daily Life of Villains’. Cheon Yoonsung was a character, not me. I had no idea how Kim Iwol the person ended up labeled a villain too.

 

The other guests were familiar.

 

“…Mr. Iwol, you’re early.”

 

“Not at all, I just got here!”

 

Woo Yoonjae, who played my partner, entered first. Since he had ended up in the same boat as me, he’d gained the dishonor of being labeled a villain too. I made a mental note to send him a heartfelt handwritten letter apologizing for that.

 

The last guest appeared from afar, already radiating an unusual aura.

 

“Long time no see, sunbaenim.”

 

“Indeed. It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other on broadcast, right?”

 

Gu Jahan greeted us with a carefree face. He was so friendly you’d think he was a next-door neighbor.

 

“It’s… been a while.”

 

“It has. I received the gift.”

 

Gu Jahan and Woo Yoonjae exchanged an awkward greeting. I broke a sweat trying not to make it obvious I was sitting on needles, saying things like, ‘Ah, Jahan sunbaenim was so surprised!’ or ‘Yoonjae sunbaenim really wanted to see you!’.

 

“I did. I haven’t seen you since our last project…”

 

“We haven’t had many chances to run into each other. But I guess we’re meant to meet, seeing as we ended up on the same show like this.”

 

Fortunately, the two of them helped me save face. I was tearfully grateful for the seniors’ sincerity in playing along instead of refuting my words.

 

After the awkward introductions, we took time to look around the filming location. After seeing the harvested rice paddies, the vegetable garden covered in plastic, the chicken coop wrapped in bubble wrap, and the yard with a large dog and a shed, it was already time to prepare our first meal. For smooth working, we decided to change our clothes first.

 

“Sunbaenim, is that seriously your work gear…?”

 

“Yeah, why?”

 

I ended up nagging Gu Jahan, who brought slim-fit sweatpants as ‘work clothes’. How could this older man be more obsessed with style than Choi Jeho, an active idol? Either Gu Jahan or Choi Jeho, they both frustrated me so much I could only thump my chest.

 

After finishing styling Gu Jahan with a pair of padded trousers I had brought just in case, Trio of Villains could finally head to the kitchen.

 

“Do we seriously have to cook rice in a cauldron?”

 

“There was no electric rice cooker inside, right, sunbaenim?”

 

“No… but I know how to do it, so don’t worry.”

 

Gu Jahan’s worries were quickly dispelled by Woo Yoonjae.

 

“So, if Mr. Jahan could wash the cauldron…”

 

And thus, a bit of revenge for the past was served. Gu Jahan ended up scrubbing a real cauldron lid with those hands that fans loved for being as large as a cauldron lid.