Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols Chapter 448 - Everyday Stories (3)

“From what I can see, the Cream Kingdom is never going to fall.”

 

Lee Cheonghyeon, looking perfectly suited for the role of a tactician, spoke while fiddling with the chain of his monocle. True to his character Mariba—an imperial prince from an allied nation—his clothes were dazzling. While no one here was wearing anything low-key, his cobalt blue long coat and gold embroidery boasted a presence akin to a sapphire gold ring exhibited at a high-end jewelry exhibition.

 

“Our Knight looks way too scary.”

 

“I can’t even pick a fight with the Knight because of his hair.”

 

“You don’t have to. I can chase everyone away with just my face.”

 

I struggled to move the strands of hair touching my face without getting oil from my skin on them. You had to put in a lot of effort to live with long hair. I had learned yet another thing today.

 

“Would it be more comfortable to tie it up for a bit before filming?”

 

Jeong Seongbin, wearing a wig the color of dried tea leaves, asked as he looked at my curtain-like hair.

 

“No. It’s already styled, so I’ll keep it as is.”

 

Someone else was suffering too, for a different reason. Choi Jeho, playing the arrogant second prince, had to wear a magnificent cloak adorned with heaps of fur. He kept complaining that fur got into his mouth every time he spoke, so Park Joowoo stayed right next to him, diligently brushing the clumps of fur.

 

“Is it okay to make a hyung serve you like this?”

 

“A guy who flirts with another while having someone to marry isn’t a hyung. He’s trash.”

 

“I’m sorry. Just know that I absolutely do not agree with those actions…”

 

Park Joowoo, having become a prince of the Cucover Kingdom, took great care of his ‘dongsaeng’. Despite looking like a man of considerable wealth in those clothes, the way he assisted his ‘dongsaeng’ was very natural. Thanks to Park Joowoo’s touch, Choi Jeho’s fur looked as glossy as a well-made raccoon plushie.

 

Compared to everyone else who had undergone a glitzy transformation, Jeong Seongbin belonged to a slightly different genre. Perhaps because fantasy settings didn’t strictly require unified historical periods, he was the only one in adventurer’s gear with a hint of steampunk, despite being a character from the same work.

 

Unlike me, who had a fearsome sword, Jeong Seongbin only had a worn-out backpack that looked like it would drop coin pouches if shaken, and a cute ‘companion creature’ plushie. Even so, this outfit was the most decent one among the character Uron’s costumes.

 

‘Doesn’t Uron ever wear something flashy? Something shiny that doesn’t break character?’

 

‘It appears in a flashback, but there are no shops that sell that outfit. It’s not her main attire.’

 

‘I’ll go learn how to use a sewing machine, so let’s make it happen.’

 

Fortunately, I didn’t have to learn to sew. The production team, discovering me searching for sewing machines on a second-hand app, went into ‘in-house production’ mode for the sake of peak visuals. They sourced materials from Dongdaemun and assembled each part one by one, completing Jeong Seongbin’s outfit beautifully.

 

I had even watched a video titled ‘Kindergarten Event Costumes? Don’t sew, stick! You too can be a costume master with just a stapler and glue’ just in case. I offered a bow of gratitude so deep my crown nearly touched the floor.

 

“Shouldn’t a character like this usually be animal-shaped or fairy-like? What even is this?”

 

Choi Jeho asked, poking the cube-shaped stuffed doll dangling from Jeong Seongbin’s shoulder.

 

“It’s inspired by dried fruit jelly. You know, the kind you sometimes get in tea bags.”

 

Lee Cheonghyeon explained kindly. You could feel the depth of his bond with Kang Kiyeon, forged through years of friendship.

 

“No matter how I look at this, it’s a bit…”

 

Kang Kiyeon, with white short hair, was the last to join after finishing his grooming. True to a princess striving to be a leader proficient in both literary and martial arts, his jacket shoulders and uniform pants looked ready to burst from his muscles.

 

“Doesn’t it look awkward? Soda Princess is supposed to be elegant.”

 

“The carbonation got stronger, but the elegance is similar, so it’s fine.”

 

“If you want to be king, you need at least this level of training.”

 

“You guys only care about brute force and intimidation, don’t you? Neither of you has what it takes to be king.”

 

Lee Cheonghyeon roasted me and Choi Jeho. I was a low-level employee by nature, and Choi Jeho was a born laborer, so he wasn’t exactly wrong.

 

“Did you find boots that fit?”

 

“They said they spray-painted a pair of men’s boots.”

 

Kang Kiyeon proudly showed off her shiny boots. The remodeling quality was excellent. Wearing them, Princess Kiyeon confidently strode toward the studio.

 

***

 

The April Fools’ live stream started with explosive energy. The chat scrolled so fast it froze multiple times. In the end, we had to restart the live stream twice and wait for the comments to settle until the server stabilized. To become a perfect idol in the truest sense, we might even need to build our own live-streaming platform.

 

The chat window, once it started running smoothly, was… a mess.

 

≫ Look at that giant note on the whiteboard saying they got the author’s permission

≫ Our maknae has became a princessㅋㅋㅋㅋ

≫ Why is the makeup so high-qualityㅋㅋㅋ

≫ Even if they cosplay, the friendship bracelets are eternal.

≫ Congratulations on your wish coming true, Kang Kiyeon!!!!

≫ I came expecting April Fool’s fun, but I guess I should have come prepared for this.

≫ From what I can see, the princess alone could beat ten people with sheer presence

≫ OMG Long-haired Kim Iwol.

≫ Jeho and Joowoo really became brothersㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ. So cute T_T.

≫ Seongbin, brown is your personal color! ♥ It looks great on you!!

 

Spark spent the time talking about their impressions of entering a Romance-Fantasy setting, the details they prepared for today, and the similarities between members and their characters pointed out by fans.

 

We also had a ‘Kiyeon’s Choice of Favorite Hyung’ segment, inspired by ‘Finding the Princess’s Partner’.

 

“Should I consider the relationships within the work, or just choose purely based on my own will?”

 

“If you consider the relationships in the story, I’m at a disadvantage…”

 

“Me too…”

 

Jeong Seongbin and Park Joowoo hung their heads.

 

After some thought, Kiyeon chose Jeong Seongbin. He said he had received a lot of help from Jeong Seongbin last year and this year.

 

“Without the leader, it’s not easy to survive in Spark.”

 

“How can you say something so shocking?”

 

“Go look in the mirror, hyungs.”

 

I couldn’t look in a mirror, but I peeked at the live screen to read the chat. Everyone was taking Kang Kiyeon’s side, saying the hyungs definitely didn’t have easy-looking faces. I wanted to deny it, but since it was a fact that Jeong Seongbin was Spark’s top ‘Soft-Handsome’ guy, I didn’t argue.

 

We danced to Bright and sang cover songs in these outfits. We wanted to play a high-class card game, too, but we didn’t have time to memorize rules, so we played Halli Galli. The bell ended up breaking, which conveniently ended the game at just the right moment. Truly a broadcast-savvy bell.

 

We didn’t feel anything particularly strange ourselves, but judging by the surge in viewers, it must have been quite a shock to the idol scene.

 

≫ Everyone is just so ignorantly strong. I never thought I’d say this about princes

≫ Joowooㅋㅋㅋ Look at him touching Iwol’s wig. As expected, Visual Rock is all about the long hair.

≫ Why is Lee Cheonghyeon so feisty?ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ The tactician is so scaryㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

 

We couldn’t miss the ‘Royal Family’s Treasured Items Auction’ (it was an auction in name only; we drew winners from pre-registered event participants), mimicked trending Seongbin memes, and held an elegant drawing contest.

 

“Originally, we were going to try writing letters with fountain pens.”

 

At my comment, Kang Kiyeon asked while working hard on his drawing:

 

“Why was the content changed?”

 

“It was rejected because some princes looked like they would break the pen nibs.”

 

“But still, would we really break a pen?”

 

“Jeho, look at the number of crayons you’ve snapped.”

 

Choi Jeho shut his mouth immediately. Kind-hearted Park Joowoo silently picked up the broken crayons and kept coloring.

 

“This feels like something from a kindergarten photo album.”

 

“The outfits do have that ‘school recital’ vibe.”

 

Agreeing with Jeong Seongbin, Lee Cheonghyeon showcased his finished drawing.

 

“Tada! The title of the work is ‘The Magnificent Mariba Mansion’!”

 

The design was top-notch, simple yet sophisticated, reminiscent of the vast sea and Santorini. As expected, someone with good fashion sense also had great aesthetic sense.

 

“I’ve prepared special rooms for the members. Ocean views cost extra, but I’ll give you a discount. Kang Kyeon can use the penthouse!”

 

“Isn’t that just locking me in at the top floor?”

 

The commentary didn’t stop, with things like the room assignments highlighting their friendship and Jeong Seongbin’s ‘surprisingly refined drawing skills that you wouldn’t believe come from someone whose younger sibling is an art major,’ and more.

 

We wrapped up with a 1st quarter K-pop settlement dance medley. When everything was over, the live stream time was clocked at 6 hours.

 

***

 

After wrapping up a major commemorative event, we ended up with a short three-day, two-night break. It wasn’t exactly a vacation, just a lucky gap in the schedule.

 

“What are you guys going to do starting the day after tomorrow?”

 

Lee Cheonghyeon, whose schedule finished the latest among the members, asked. He had a photoshoot scheduled for tomorrow.

 

“Choi Jeho said he’s going to action school. He said it’s been a while since he last went there.”

 

“I have assignments…”

 

Park Joowoo and I answered in turn. Kang Kiyeon said he had no plans, and Jeong Seongbin said he was thinking of going to karaoke for a bit.

 

“Hmm.”

 

“What is it? If there’s something you want, just say it.”

 

At my words, Lee Cheonghyeon started gauging our reactions.

 

“It’s shameless to suggest hanging out together on a rare day off when we already spend all year stuck together, right?”

 

“If you’re okay with just hanging out with me, I can join you. I don’t have any plans anyway.”

 

“Really?”

 

Lee Cheonghyeon’s voice instantly went up a pitch.

 

Park Joowoo declared he would work hard to finish his assignments early while Lee Cheonghyeon was at his photoshoot. Jeong Seongbin and Kang Kiyeon, since their plans weren’t something major, readily offered to hang out if it was something he wanted to do.

 

“…So, now that it’s come to this, what about you, Choi Jeho?”

 

“Do I even have the freedom to answer that question?”

 

“Of course.”

 

“Fine. I’ll just go to action school next time.”

 

We even secured the generous cooperation of Choi Jeho. With the full group assembled, the younger members began planning the schedule. Since Lee Cheonghyeon had to work, Park Joowoo—whose ‘soul resonates with his the most when it comes to playing’—would represent his opinions.

 

“Let’s go outside the metropolitan area if possible. There’ll be fewer crowds, and if it’s in Seoul, we can go anytime even without a long break.”

 

“But somewhere too far would be difficult. It’ll be hard for Manager Daeyeon hyung to drive.”

 

“Daeyeon hyung said he’d take us…?”

 

“He said he wanted to go for a drive, and he’d take us if we wanted.”

 

Is Manager Daeyeon just someone who genuinely enjoys driving? I should probably check with him privately soon. If he were doing it out of a sense of responsibility despite being tired, I should graciously decline.

 

I had heard that people relieved stress by going on drives, but even unintentional pressure could arise from hierarchy or external factors, so you always have to be careful. I shouldn’t let him feel like, ‘Somehow, I feel like I have to do this.’

 

And just because we had a car didn’t mean we should recklessly pick places that were hard to reach by public transport. The driver should have an easy route, too.

 

— Actually, I feel cooped up if I stay indoors. I can drop you guys off and even head somewhere else afterward.

 

Fortunately, Manager Daeyeon turned out to be a true driving enthusiast. With transportation settled, all that was left was choosing a destination.

 

‘Outside the metropolitan area, but the travel distance isn’t too long, and a place where the manager knows the road conditions to some extent, and we can rest comfortably…’

 

While I was pondering, Park Joowoo’s phone rang.

 

“Yes, Auntie.”

 

Park Joowoo answered with a few  ‘Yes, yes’ then hung up after saying he’d ask the members.

 

“You know… my aunt said we should all come over to visit sometime. Are you interested, by any chance?”

 

And so, the destination was decided as Park Joowoo’s aunt’s house.