Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols Chapter 430 - Misfits (2)

Spark’s attendance rate on BubblePop was basically 25 days or more per month on average. When even squeezing their sleep left them short on rest, they sometimes skipped a day to force the members to rest for the sake of their next schedule’s quality. But unless it was an unavoidable situation like that, everyone left messages almost every day.

 

The standard for whether Spark’s BubblePop activity was ‘infrequent’ or ‘frequent’ wasn’t very typical either. Someone like Choi Jeho, who said whatever came to mind, was faster and more frequent compared to the cautious Jeong Seongbin.

 

However, everyone knew it wasn’t because Jeong Seongbin was ‘lazy’ that he sent fewer messages. It was just the difference between sending 10 or 20 messages a day; it was never something that would escalate into a controversy about his sincerity.

 

The same went for Park Joowoo. He was the type to send all sorts of things like Choi Jeho, and although his reply intervals had recently become a bit longer, it didn’t seem like something that would lead to claims of him neglecting fan service.

 

But then…

 

≫ Does that akgae think the idol is their friend?  Stop with the solo stan nonsense

≫ They’re already squeezing time out of nowhere to practice and even record sessions, what more do you want?ㅋㅋ Did you fund a solo album or something??

≫ I know it’s mostly the recent newcomers doing this, but the stress is real… Joowoo has said so many times that he likes singing with the members.

≫ Are these crazy idiots for real? spamming for 3 hours straight? How is an artist supposed to reply if you send stuff like that?

≫ Joowoo didn’t mention it so it almost got buried, but thanks for taking screenshots and spreading it aroundㅋㅋ What exactly were you proud of posting this? Asking to get flamed?

 

…The screenshots and posts that surfaced didn’t look normal at all. Among them, the most mentioned post was this one:

 

≫ I heard Spark’s BubblePop attendance was top-tier so I looked forward to it, but I haven’t gotten a single replyㅋㅋDisappointing… Don’t go around marketing yourselves as ‘loving your fans’.

 

The four attached screenshots showed a long list of messages the user had sent to Park Joowoo.

 

[Joowoo]

[.]

[.]

[Joowoo, why aren’t you replying????]

[Joowoo, you want to go solo too, don’t you?]

[It’s actually more hypocritical of you to pretend you’re not when you monopolized the vocal parts during ‘Speaker’…… You can be honest. I can understand everything.]

[I can see that you’re reading this.]

[The ‘1’ disappeared again.]

[This is too much. Do you know how many messages I’ve sent? Not even one reply??]

[Are you scared? ㅎㅎ cute.]

[Joowoo, but I’m serious. I want you to go solo.]

[We are the only ones who know you originally wanted to be a solo singer.]

[Park Joowoo, answer me.]

[I don’t want to say harsh things to you either. I’m only doing this because we are the only ones who can give you objective advice right now.]

 

I already knew that after ‘Speaker’, a large number of solo fans had flocked to Park Joowoo. Even just looking at live chat windows or MeTube comments, there were many people specifically calling for him.

 

Those who became fans after seeing Park Joowoo’s vocals didn’t necessarily expand their interest to the other members. For people who got hooked after hearing him sing an entire song, idol song parts were simply too short. 

 

This dissatisfaction soon led to negative evaluations.

 

≫ He would have been a huge success even if he went solo, so why specifically an idol…? Especially since his agency is UA, so it’s not like they can’t handle solo projects. His vision seems too narrow

≫ How long does Joowoo have to keep sacrificing…? One person sings, but others get to go on variety shows and gain recognition. Watching this just makes me upset, but I know he’s probably the most hurt of all, so I try not to say more.

 

Negative reactions that appeared when everyone was together were easily washed away by other chats. We had seen several times how the fans of each individual member or the all-member fans push back through sheer numbers.

 

However, BubblePop, where Park Joowoo was alone, would be different. Gaslighting that occured in an isolated space was difficult to block in real-time. Even if just one out of a hundred people acted like this… considering the number of subscribers on BubblePop, it was dizzying to think about.

 

‘I didn’t realize the situation had gotten this bad.’

 

I tried to talk to Park Joowoo immediately, but failed. It happened to be the day he attended a radio show as a fixed guest.

 

“What’s up with Joowoo?”

 

Jeong Seongbin, who I had been holding onto, asked.

 

“It’s nothing. I just had something I was curious about while monitoring.”

 

“Is it about the solo talk?”

 

Jeong Seongbin hit the mark. After startling me, Jeong Seongbin gave an awkward smile.

 

“It suddenly became a hot topic, so I talked with Joowoo about that issue for a bit.”

 

“The two of you?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Why was I left out?”

 

“You were busy, hyung. And it wasn’t an urgent matter.”

 

Jeong Seongbin said that Park Joowoo wasn’t as shaken as I had imagined. In fact, the attitude of Park Joowoo as described by Jeong Seongbin was quite calm.

 

“So he just asked what he should do going forward?”

 

“He knows the existing fans like him as a member of Spark, and he understands that the new fans want to see more of him. It seems he gave it some thought.”

 

That was certainly a wise and commendable attitude, but…

 

“Was Joowoo very stressed?”

 

“No. Don’t worry too much. I’ll keep a close eye on him.”

 

“No, I’ve got plenty of time too.”

 

After calming Jeong Seongbin, whose eyes were starting to narrow in concern, I left the room.. At that point, I naively thought I could breathe a sigh of relief.

 

The situation changed rapidly when a foreign label proposed a solo album release to Park Joowoo.

 

Everyone at UA was very excited. It was unusual for such an offer to come in even though he was already signed to a company, which would make the contractual relationship complicated. UA even said they needed to seek new legal advice.

 

“…I won’t do it.”

 

Park Joowoo rejected the offer flat out. He didn’t even ask for time to think it over.

 

“Joowoo, you can decide after thinking about it a bit more.”

 

Min Jukyung, who knew Park Joowoo had joined the company dreaming of being a solo singer, tried to soothe him. But Park Joowoo was adamant. Even Jeong Seongbin, caught in the middle, looked troubled.

 

It wasn’t certain whether Spark would be able to release solo albums. The fact that the contract period had been shortened was the biggest reason, and the fact that group activities had to be the first priority couldn’t be ignored either.

 

On the other hand, partnering with a label would act as a kind of shield. UA could prioritize Spark’s activities and just say, ‘The offer came in, so we accepted this one offer as a special case’. Opportunities like this didn’t come often.

 

Moreover, it was an opportunity to release an album in the global market. Park Joowoo definitely had talent. If an opportunity had come for him to take a step toward his dream, then as a teammate, it was only right to support him wholeheartedly.

 

Among the people dispersing in an awkward atmosphere, I lightly tapped Park Joowoo’s arm. Park Joowoo looked back at me.

 

“Can you spare some time?”

 

Park Joowoo nodded readily. We took our seats in an empty meeting room, each holding a cup of warm water.

 

“Joowoo.”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“You really don’t want to release a solo album?”

 

Park Joowoo stared at me and then lowered his head. Fiddling with the steaming paper cup with both hands, he answered.

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Even though it’s a band?”

 

A label from the home of rock had proposed a band album. This was the reason I had sat Park Joowoo down again, despite him already expressing his refusal.

 

“Yeah.”

 

Even so, Park Joowoo didn’t budge. He might avoid my gaze, but it seemed he wouldn’t change his mind.

 

“Can you tell me why? It’s not like you’ve never thought about going solo before.”

 

“…”

 

“I’m not trying to pressure you. I just want to know what you think.”

 

Park Joowoo remained silent for a long time. As was his habit, he just slowly swayed his body from side to side. I waited for him to finish organizing his thoughts.

 

“Hyung.”

 

“Yeah, go ahead and say it.”

 

“I like how things are now.”

 

His voice was firm.

 

“I don’t want anything else. Recording with the members, standing on stage… that’s enough.”

 

Park Joowoo moistened his throat. Over his image, the live stream of Park Joowoo I had seen in the past overlapped.

 

‘Joowoo, please cover a RoseD song…? I like RoseD too, but I need to practice to cover them. It’s hard to get that old feeling right anymore… I think it’s because I changed my singing style. I’ll practice hard.’

 

‘A band song… hmm. Yeah… it’d be nice if I got the chance.’

 

The Park Joowoo of the past, who couldn’t even sing a song he liked on stage and whose songs he sang alone from beginning to end could be counted on one hand.

 

“It’s not multiple times, just this once. You still don’t want to?”

 

“……”

 

“You don’t get many chances to sing songs where you only focus on the vocals.”

 

Lee Cheonghyeon did all his activities with his own songs. While Choi Jeho and Kang Kiyeon danced to their hearts’ content and Jeong Seongbin sang on competition programs and OSTs, Park Joowoo quietly did only his assigned parts. In two years, the stages where Park Joowoo did what he wanted were only two.

 

Even at the concert, he sang Jeong Seongbin’s OST together. It was easy to imagine how few personal stages he would get in the future and how slim the chances would be of receiving a song he truly loved among those rare opportunities.

 

“You can do the real band music you wanted to do. It’s true everyone worked hard, but if you match up with people who specialize in sessions, surely……”

 

“Stop.”

 

Park Joowoo cut me off. His gaze was cold.

 

“I don’t want to talk about this anymore.”

 

“Joowoo.”

 

“I won’t do it alone.”

 

“You might not feel like it now. But you don’t know how it will be in the future.”

 

I chose my words carefully. There were things I had to point out to Park Joowoo and things I had to remind him of.

 

“The members might not be able to do a band with you again. Of course, the company would support you if you wanted it, but normally, the time it takes for the first solo album to come out in an idol group is…”

 

“Ever since I decided to be an idol, I’ve never said I wanted to go solo. You know that too, hyung.”

 

And yet you were full of regret.

 

The words I couldn’t say lingered in my mouth.

 

“Joowoo, I’m… not saying this because of public opinion.”

 

“……”

 

“Because you like singing, and because the genre you like has a very different style from the songs the group sings. That’s why…”

 

Park Joowoo’s face contorted.

 

I had no choice but to stop speaking.

 

“Don’t talk as if I don’t like our songs.”

 

Park Joowoo stood up with an expression as if he were about to cry. The conversation ended there.