Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols Chapter 427 - Rural Experience (3)

≫ I’m hungry

I don’t even have things like aged kimchi at my place since I live alone…

If I want a bundle of winter spinach, I have to put on a long padding coat and trek to the mart…

└ They were just making food with whatever they had, but it looked so delicious ㅠㅠ That kimchi color ㅠㅠㅠㅠ

└ That ssamjang was the highlight ㅠㅠ Aren’t they going to share the recipe????

└ Check Woo Yoonjae’s Insta! He’s posting the recipe step by step right nowㅋㅋㅋ

 

≫ It was nice seeing everyone work hard on this week’s Let’s Have a Meal

I mean, Iwol is already known for his usual behavior, but Yoonjae and Jahan sunbaes were honestly surprisingㅋㅋ

I thought Gu Jahan was the prickly type, but he’s just a laid-back farmhand, and Yoonjae is… just so refined and sweet…

It was also hilarious how they made a sled just to give the maknae a ride.

And they kept eating sweet potatoes.

Constantly.

└ Sweet potatoes ㅋㅋㅋㅋ They were eating them the whole time. Except for Kim Iwol, the other two always had one in their hands like hand warmers

└ I hope Woo Yoonjae appears on more variety shows. Please.

└  When the water was freezing, they poured warm water for each other while washing dishes—it was so heartwarming.  Just the two of them standing there filled the whole kitchen and it was funnyㅋㅋ

└└ ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Since they’re actors, everyone is so tall and lanky ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

 

≫ The topics the three of them talk about are really similar

And they’re so wholesome.

Workout, supplements, how to memorize scripts, workout again, supplements…

└ Among them, the maknae works out the most.

└ Overwhelmingly so.

└ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

 

≫ A collection of clips from ‘Have a meal’ for those who love Kim Iwol’s maknae moments!!

*   The seniors all came in thick padding jackets, but he came alone in a coat, so he ended up bundled in a borrowed scarf.

*   After bringing hoes for the seniors, he didn’t have one for himself, so he dug up sweet potatoes with his bare hands in the corner.

*   They told him to get just a little firewood, but he came back carrying a whole basin full on his back

*   Getting melted in the heated floor spot

*   Sweet potato.

*   Chomping on sweet potato rice.

*   Giving hand-written letters to the seniors at night.

*   Getting scolded in the morning for going on a morning run (“Where have you been since dawn?!”).

*   Chomping on a cabbage wrap.

*   Sweeping the porch.

*   Sewing the seniors’ torn pants.

└ There’s not even an explanation for the sweet potato one ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└ ‘Chomping on sweet potato rice’ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ But honestly, there’s no better explanation than that ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└ When did our ‘Cool-type Elite Eldest Brother’ become such a Giant Baby Tree?

└└ No lie, this is the first time I’ve seen fans give their idol a nickname like Giant Baby Tree

└└└ Sparklers just call him whatever comes to mind… ㅋㅋㅋ

└└└└ To begin with, the official titles are already like Cutie Pretty Visually, Center Emperor

└└└└└ Is that really official? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

 

≫ Kim Iwol, go to sleep!!!!

Seongbin!!!!!!!

└ @Seongbin!!!!!!!!!!!

└ Sparklers have now chosen to summon the leader instead of giving long lectures.

└ Because it’s the fastest and most effective way.

└ He usually goes out and does something during overnight shoots, but since Jahan said cold air would come in, he stayed stillㅋㅋ cuteㅠㅠ

 

≫ Am I the only one who felt the difference in attitude based on their previous works?

Manager–Young Master: relaxed / take great care of each other / the manager tries to treat him like a greenhouse flower, but the young master is already too grown and does everything himself

Team Leader–Employee: formal. They’re not even unfriendly, and you can tell the boss is like ‘Oh… quite a capable worker’, but the employee is like ‘How does the professor know my name?’

└ Best analogy of the year ㅋㅋㅋ

└ I wonder if there will be a Season 2 for IMO or Exclusive Report ㅠㅠ

└ Exclusive Report might be hardㅋㅋㅠㅠ It had such a closed ending

 

***

 

The new concept combo, which I had worried might only result in awkward vibes, was a success. Everyone loved this group of simple-minded people who were incredibly serious about their meals.

 

There was even a debate between those wanting to invite guests (Choi Jeho was mentioned the most) and those wanting to see just these three gather once more. As for me, I would go if they called. As long as they didn’t ask me to bring Jang Junhoo.

 

≫Iwol and his sister have a big age gap.

Eight years…

└ Doesn’t that mean she’s already thirty-one?

└ To think she’s lived 30 years not knowing she had a younger sibling… sigh.

 

≫ It’s hard enough to find someone who looks like him, how are we supposed to find someone who doesn’t? ㅠㅠ

└ Didn’t he mean it was just a feeling that they wouldn’t look alike?

└ Would a kid who can guess a stranger’s ancestral home be wrong about his own sister’s face?

└└ That… makes sense!

 

There were many posts mentioning my sister. My speculative remarks gained considerable credibility due to my past track record. You really never know how things will turn out in life.

 

After spending time eating and enjoying myself at the filming location, recording was already right around the corner. I started rolling like a hoop again. Since it was a concept I pushed myself, I couldn’t just dump it on others and pretend not to know.

 

I still knew best how to present Spark in the coolest way possible, so until people started saying Kim Iwol had lost his sense, I would keep working myself to the bone.

 

Kang Kiyeon was also racking his brain. He was struggling to choreograph for a new concept that was even more intense than MISSION.

 

“Hyung, this is definitely going to get flagged by the censors.”

 

“Is that so?”

 

It was especially true because his collaboration partner was Choi Jeho, the walking definition of ‘likely to be censored’.

 

‘I wonder if we’ll even be able to broadcast this…’

 

Watching Choi Jeho and Kang Kiyeon bickering back and forth, it looked like a rough road ahead for a while.

 

* * *

 

Amidst the chaos, there was good news. The biggest one was that Lee Cheonghyeon got accepted into university.

 

At first, he didn’t say whether he passed or failed. Even though he clearly knew it was the day the results were announced, he didn’t even look at his phone or laptop.

 

There was no way the results would be bad. I had checked the acceptance cut-offs ages ago.

 

“Cheonghyeon, aren’t you going to check the acceptance page? You need to confirm the registration period.”

 

Don’t end up like me because of a lapse in attention. When I told him this with a heart that felt like it was bleeding, his expression turned strange.

 

“Oh, right, I should!”

 

Then he ran over to Kang Kiyeon, who was still locked in a fierce struggle with Choi Jeho. The reason for his mysterious attitude came from someone else’s mouth.

 

“Well…”

 

Even Jeong Seongbin hesitated a lot before speaking.

 

“It’s probably because he’s afraid it’ll look like he’s bragging too much.”

 

“Why shouldn’t he brag? It’s an achievement he earned through his own hard work.”

 

Jeong Seongbin looked troubled. I realized the reason for that reaction a moment later.

 

“Ah.”

 

He didn’t feel comfortable celebrating his college admission in front of me, whose admission vanished because I withdrew my registration. Even though it wasn’t their fault.

 

“Cheonghyeon needs to be accepted so that my portfolio as a college admissions consultant stays intact.”

 

“Does an idol… need a portfolio like that? Hmm.”

 

Jeong Seongbin, who had various rules for idols drilled into him, was eventually persuaded by me. He was also given the heavy mission of making his hesitant dongsaeng stand tall.

 

A few hours later, Lee Cheonghyeon appeared in the office with his acceptance letter printed out and stuck to his forehead, standing proudly.

 

“I told you not to just stick things on your face!”

 

Literally! On his forehead! I don’t even know what he used to stick it on!

 

“I stuck it over my headband, Hyung!”

 

“I told you to refrain from any actions that could leave a mark on your face unless necessary!”

 

“The band marks disappear after a little while…”

 

“Do! Not! Put! Pressure! On! Your! Skin!”

 

If that fluttering certificate left even a scratch on his face, I wouldn’t be able to face the fans. While I stood there not knowing what to do, Lee Cheonghyeon laughed for a long time before finally taking the band off.

 

“So, where did you get accepted?”

 

“Really, nobody listened to a word I said, did they?”

 

Lee Cheonghyeon marveled at Choi Jeho’s indifference.

 

But well, do I really need to hear it? I already recognized the logo.

 

“You have the tuition money, right?”

 

“I do.”

 

“If you don’t, tell me. I have emergency funds. If your account has a limit, clear it in advance.”

 

“I have it! I said I have it! You saw the settlement statement!”

 

“Make sure you pay the tuition and keep a record. Call the admissions officer before the deadline to confirm. This is exactly what Seongbin and Joowoo did.”

 

“Got it, got it.”

 

Lee Cheonghyeon was perfectly prepared to become a freshman. Spring was coming.

 

* * *

 

“Let’s check the footage!”

 

At the camera director’s words, we all swarmed toward the monitor. The screen was dazzling. Even a jewelry store advertisement wouldn’t be this sparkly.

 

“The storyboard for this scene was a group shot, right? But I think just showing up to the bust would be good too. It’s a waste of the costume details and the composition to only catch it from a distance.”

 

“Directors, if you’re okay with it, shall we just try filming it?”

 

The director who worked on ‘End’ and ‘On A High Note’ was with us again this time. He had posted on Insta that the rainy sea scene was the work of his life, and he said he really wanted to film this storyboard, too.

 

‘Even though this music video doesn’t have as many narrative or symbolic elements as before?’

 

‘He’s just really hooked on the title.’

 

I then checked the final storyboard that Jukyung had reportedly handed to the director…

 

[A music video that exists solely to show the most beautiful scenes in the world]

 

‘This went through without any edits?!’

 

‘We thought there couldn’t be a better line to capture the core idea.’

 

…The title of the document I had temporarily written down was included exactly as it was. Thanks to that, it felt like I had added another point to my Public Embarrassment stat.

 

‘He said he’s going to give it his all to film it!’

 

Jukyung gave me a wink. Thanks to not dying of shame back then, I was surviving now to film such a magnificent music video. Stay strong, me.

 

“Let’s move quickly. We need to shoot as much as possible while there’s still natural light.”

 

At the PD’s signal, everyone returned to their positions.

 

The sunlight leaking through the ornate gold lace curtains brightly illuminated the golden set.