Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols Chapter 431 - Misfits (3)

Park Joowoo, kind-hearted as he was, apologized immediately on the evening of the day we had our argument. Since we were in the middle of a promotion period with a packed schedule, it seemed he didn’t want to hold onto negative feelings for long.

 

However, when the cameras weren’t rolling, Park Joowoo looked depressed. No matter how hard he tried not to show it, his discomfort couldn’t be entirely hidden. How long did you think I’d been watching Spark?

 

“Park Joowoo, aren’t you eating?”

 

“Yeah, I’m not really hungry…”

 

Choi Jeho urged him a few more times, but in the end, Park Joowoo skipped his meal.

 

≫ 2X03XX Coral Art Hall Fan Meeting

Bright era Joowoo, remembered as an all-time peak era

└ Sir, the photos you take of Joowoo are the best.

└ ㅠㅠㅠ Thank you for always taking such pretty photos of Joowoo ㅠㅠ This time he looked so amazing I didn’t want to miss a single moment, I’m so happy I can see it like this!! ㅠㅠㅠㅠ

└ He captured his peak at Sanho Art Hall! This is his prime

└ Park Joowoo is the idol of Coral Art Hall. Everyone loves him.

└ Park Joowoo is the best.  Have you seen Bright Joowoo?

└ Just how much exposure did this get for the Blue Mark AIs to be swarming a fansite account like this;;;;;;

 

≫ So this is what an adult is like

So this is a grown man…

└ Feels like the group is split 3:3 between sexy and gentle

└ Kim-Choi-Park : Jeong-Lee-Kang

└ Kang Kiyeon looks like the biggest delinquent, but put him in a suit, and he becomes a killer male lead, really drives me crazy

└ Park Joowoo is insane, what happened to him?

└└ This concept fits him exceptionally well ㅠㅠ I used to be a fan of the dance line’s fancams, but for Bright, I watched Joowoo’s the most.

└└ He didn’t even have weight to lose, but it looks like he lost more… Is his health okay?

 

≫ Setting everything else aside, his aura is practically a cheat code

Six people with unique rare faces in the idol world, and each has a slightly different color + the overall vibe is the same, so it still feels cohesive

But I guess the greatest talent is having a face like that and not being a jerk.

└ That last line is the point

└ Guys, it’s not too late. Don’t regret it later, join the fandom now.

└ There’s a reason why all the older fans like them.

 

Even amidst the praise, Park Joowoo slowly withered away. When the manager handed him an energy stick, he would keep it in his mouth all day. Only after sucking on it in front of Jeong Seongbin did he finally put it down.

 

Once a wave of interest started, no individual power could stop it. We all knew that for the current Joowoo, attention was poison, but as the group moved beyond immediate promotions to the stage where each member was being spotlighted, Park Joowoo could not escape the glare.

 

≫ Spark Park Joowoo Alumnus Verification

I thought he looked familiar, and it turns out we went to the same elementary school. It’s cool seeing someone I know become a celebrity.

└ An alumnus of Rock-Joowoo…? What kind of good karma did you build in your past life

└ Rock-Joowoo made it all the way here ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└ Rock-Joowoo is a legend.

 

Park Joowoo’s school life, which had been shrouded in mystery, was revealed through the testimony of an old classmate—someone who already knew him as ‘Rock-Joowoo’ among rock music enthusiasts.

 

≫ I’m the one who wrote the schoolmate post

Didn’t expect this to blow up like this;;;;;;;

There are many comments asking how I couldn’t recognize Joowoo-hyungnim, so to explain, his personality wasn’t like that back then.

He was extremely quiet and kept to himself (another classmate who was in the same room says they didn’t exchange a single word for a year). People who knew his name thought it was just someone else with the same name.

Some say they barely remember him since he didn’t come to school much

What’s certain is that he absolutely did not have the personality to be an idol ㅋㅋㅋㅋ The school wasn’t very big so I ran into him a few times passing by, but I never saw him smile once. I guess he had that extraordinary aura even then.

 

≫ I already showed the album, what more proof do you wantㅋㅋㅋㅋ f*ck

I swiped a class photo from a friend. Is this enough?? You people don’t believe sh*t, you’re just full of suspicion ㅋㅋㅋ

Extraordinary aura is a nice way of putting it, but like someone wrote in the comments, he was closer to being a social misfit. There’s a reason the classmates don’t remember him.

Logically, if you go to school together for 6 years, someone should stay in your head to some extent.

 

Once a label was attached, it gave weight to the person making the claim. Even those who didn’t know the full situation find it easier to jump in and add their opinions. In this case, ‘social misfit’ acted as the keyword.

 

As soon as the new controversy caught fire, we gathered in the dorm living room after our schedule ended. Even in that short time, the number of posts had increased significantly.

 

≫The classmate isn’t exactly wrong

P-J-W’s has f*ck-ass social skills ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└ ? On what grounds are you saying this?

└ Not talking to akgaes, sorry

└ At least an akgae is a fan, why are you dragging another idol while stanning your own?

 

≫ There are a lot of reactions saying it’s surprising P-J-W has low social skills…?

I thought everyone knew and was just pretending not to see it

Turns out you were all genuinely babying him.

Shocking… You guys aren’t all pulling a prank on me, are you?

 

≫ Anyone who stans other members knows why Joowoo is annoyingㅎㅎ

Always gets makeup last

Always sits in the passenger seat

Got a solo stage in the survival show finals

└ In group life, people take turns sacrificing and being cared for…ㅋㅋ you’ve never lived in a group, have you?

└ Exactly, so why does ‘only one specific person’ have to keep receiving that consideration?

└ He gets skin irritation from cosmetics, stop twisting that into hate

└ The members decided that themselves, you’re just nitpicking… don’t call yourself a Sparkler

└ The members themselves say Joowoo is the most considerate, so what is this nonsense… Do you even watch their self-produced content?

└ Is there any other evidence besides those three points?  Feels like someone who hasn’t even bought a Spark album is just stirring drama out of boredomㅋㅋ

└ I joined the fandom during the Third Letter era, and everyone suffers equally, so it’s annoying to see only one person getting pampered. That’s why I’m saying this ^^

└ People who say this kind of stuff always claim they joined during Third Letter like they rehearsed it… You think people will believe you became a fan because you were moved by a fan song? Who joins a fandom by watching a stage for a digital single that only has one concert video ㅋㅋㅋ Especially someone who wasn’t a fan before listening to a fan song ㅋㅋㅋㅋ What do you even know about their narrative ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Of all things, it’s a digital single that you can’t even provide physical album verification for ㅋㅋㅋ

└ ‘Solo stage’ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ You’re completely erasing the effort of the kids who practiced instruments for a year just to do a band. Who is undermining whose consideration right now?

 

It was true that Park Joowoo had some unique quirks. But these were individual traits. The rest of the members didn’t get motion sickness, so what did it matter if Park Joowoo sat in the passenger seat? And the commuting time was about the same anyway, so what if he got his makeup done a bit later? They probably didn’t even consider that Park Joowoo might be the one putting up with the more insensitive members.

 

The others felt the same way I did. They surrounded Park Joowoo and comforted him, telling him not to take those opinions to heart.

 

Then, Park Joowoo replied flatly.

 

“……They aren’t wrong.”

 

“What?”

 

Choi Jeho asked back.

 

“I said they aren’t wrong.”

 

“…….”

 

“I am a social misfit.”

 

At Park Joowoo’s nonchalant reaction, Jeong Seongbin, who was beside him, was the one who was flustered.

 

“Why do you think that? What have you failed to do so far, Joowoo?”

 

“I couldn’t even go to high school. If it wasn’t for you, Seongbin, I wouldn’t have gone to college either.”

 

“Joowoo.”

 

When I called his name, Park Joowoo looked at me.

 

“Not everyone has to go to school and learn the same things. Some students replace compulsory education with homeschooling, and plenty of people don’t go to college. You know that everyone’s way of living in society is different.”

 

“That’s not the part I’m talking about.”

 

Park Joowoo bit his lip.

 

“I’m talking about how pathetic it is that I can’t make a single friend unless it’s through a contract, and how I don’t want to do anything alone. And all of that… it’s my problem.”

 

“…….”

 

“Is it normal to refuse to use blankets that aren’t white, to hate even touching spicy or salty food, and to feel like I have to turn the dorm upside down to clean it? Is it normal to have to wear a wristband first just to wear a single bracelet…?”

 

Park Joowoo tugged at the bracelet with his fingertips before letting go. Occasionally, he had worn a bracelet without a wristband, and the scratch marks were still on his skin.

 

“Not everyone has to make multiple friends. Everyone has colors they like or foods they hate. What matters is that you’re living well.”

 

“Even if the hyungs and my dongsaengs are suffering because of me?”

 

Perhaps because his emotions were heightened, Park Joowoo’s voice rose.

 

“Most people wouldn’t understand. The members are just kind, so they put up with me. I know that much.”

 

“It’s not because we’re ‘kind.’ It’s because it’s not something that causes a problem, so there was never a reason to clash.”

 

“…….”

 

“Everyone makes that much of a concession for each other. That’s why group life has been maintained until now. You’re the same, Joowoo.”

 

When the level of cleanliness didn’t satisfy him, Park Joowoo chose to act on his own. He would always ask for understanding first, then step up to do the cleaning and laundry himself. The other members becoming a bit tidier as a result could be called a change, but everyone was satisfied with the current clean environment.

 

Despite being so sensitive, Park Joowoo always slept with an eye mask so that Choi Jeho could turn on the light at night if he needed to. No member was unaware that Park Joowoo had cooked hangover soup for me when I made the dorm smell like alcohol after drinking whiskey, or that he had rushed from Daejeon to Seoul in a heartbeat because he was worried about Lee Cheonghyeon, despite becoming a total wreck whenever he got in a car.

 

We all knew his kindness, so why did he…

 

The other guys surrounded Park Joowoo. They told him they didn’t consider it a burden and that they knew how much effort Joowoo was putting in for the members and the fans in so many ways.

 

In the end, Park Joowoo burst into tears. I knew those weren’t tears of sadness, but tears that came from being unable to resolve his feelings of guilt. My heart felt heavy.