Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols Chapter 474 - The Result (3)

Immediately after the music video and song release, Spark’s official channels began pouring out an endless stream of Alight–related content. Comments recommending the best order to watch the group choreography video, member-specific individual dance cams, and the recording and filming behind-the-scenes received massive amounts of upvotes.

 

≫ Ever since Bright, I felt like their MV style had changed a bit. So this is what they were preparing for.

The visual beauty is breathtaking…

└ I’ve taken so many screenshots my hard drive is about to explode.

└ Aside from everything else, it just fits the song so well lol.

 

≫ The eldest hyungs… ○○○ seriously ○○○ if they aren’t ○○○ how can they be like this?

My ○○○ fingers can only type curses, and my mouth is just drooling ○○○ my humanity is completely shattered ○○○

You could do this all along and yet never gave us this concept before? ○○○ is the loyalty between Spark and Sparklers ○○○ only this much? Ha… ○○○

I can’t watch the MV with a sane mind.

└ It’s amazing that in a comment this long, only one sentence survived the profanity filter.

└ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

 

≫ They wore leather setups, bared their chests like that, and then did a group wave?

I can’t believe this isn’t a dream.

└ Wasn’t it just yesterday that Iwol hyung said he’d only consider a sexy concept once the kids’ IDs were issued and the ink was dry? Time flies so fast.

└ After watching Alight, I discovered I can hold my breath for five minutes.

 

≫ My head is gonna explode trying to organize the good points of the choreography.

The time-lag choreo, group waves, floor-sweeping, lip-touching, belt-grabbing, sudden back-profile appeal, arm-lifting to emphasize upper body muscles, thigh-sweeping… A full-on power-sexy dance.

└ Character limit, damn it.. What am I supposed to remove? Increase the capacity.

└ >Sudden back-profile appeal<

└ Super intense dance for a super intense song… I praise this.

└ There isn’t a single second of rest, and somehow they’re even busier when it’s not their own part lol.

└ Seongbin and Joowoo are busy even during their own parts though.

└ Save the main vocals lol.

└ It doesn’t even feel like they’re trying to seduce me. It’s just overflowing with pure madness, and somehow that makes it sexy.

Such a weird sexy concept.

 

≫ Turns out I really like scary-looking men performing powerful dance tracks.

└ The more powerful the music, the better… bb.

└ I was done for the moment I heard the sound of a motorcycle startingㅋㅋㅋ

└ I was shocked when someone pointed out there weren’t any backup dancersㅋㅋ Their formations use such huge movements. Since their arms and legs have long reach, the stage looks full.

 

≫ Kiyeon was definitely King of Cuteness Kang Kiyeon before.

When did he become King of Sexy, Authority of Sexy, Kingly Dignity Kang Kiyeon?

└ This post is liked by the ‘Where did Cutie-Pretty go and who is this Sexy-Gorgeous Visual-ly?’ Cheonghyeon stans.

└ Mr. Lee Cheonghyeon, you were truly incredible… I got distracted for a moment.

└ Mr. Kang Kiyeon, you were truly stunning… I’ve put you in my pocket.

└ Hey, give him back.

 

≫ All day long I’m just going ‘Turn up the temperature, let it burn, melt it all, let it burn’ like a crazy person.

Get out of my head

└ You’re better off than me. I’m just going ‘Let it burn, let it burn’

└ I watched a few reaction videos and when they explained why the hook is good, I was like ‘Oh, I see’, then turned off my phone only to find myself going ‘Let it… burn’

└ Did the person above install a CCTV in my house? Take it down before I report you.

 

≫ I thought I’d just give the new song a listen, but then I watched the dance practice, then the fancams, then the comment compilations, then the reactions, then the relay dance.

So, what I’m saying is, when are the music show performances coming out…?

└ For 3 weeks starting next week!

└ 3 weeks?? I desperately hope for those stage-mix edits.

 

≫ Jeong. Seong. Bin. Forehead. Exposed.

Kim Miheon [User] dies here.

But seriously, are Seongbin stans okay?? Our boy is no longer the ‘Warm-Handsome Guy’ exclusive to Spark; he’s become the vanguard of the Blue Flame Squad now.

└ Seongbin is… Seongbin is way too much of a man now, Miheon-nim… T_T

└ To see all-back hair Seongbin in various versions… there is no other luxury buffet like this.

└ They only offered a tasting corner at the encore con, but now they’ve finally brought out the full-course meal.

 

≫ The charts are insaneㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Are they getting first place on their very first music show stage?

└ Crazy. When did their fandom power get this big?

└ Sparklers are basically streaming machines.

└ Getting all the B-sides to line up on the charts at dawn is one thing.

Staying at the top even in broad daylight is another level entirely, it can’t be achieved by streaming alone

└ Looking at how they’re maintaining rankings outside peak streaming hours, it’s a guaranteed hitㅋㅋㅋ

 

Alight generated overwhelming buzz. Since it contained both the public appeal of Hideout and the know-how of Bright in creating organic synergy between the song and the video, it was, in a way, an expected result.

 

Even so, nobody became arrogant and acted as though they were merely receiving results they deserved. Despite seeing the song lock itself onto the charts and watching its graph blast through the roof, the members still expressed heartfelt gratitude after earning first place during comeback week.

 

“This is all thanks to Teacher’s outstanding music.”

 

“Not at all. Thank you for making us look pretty again this time.”

 

“Your face didn’t exactly become pretty because I ‘made’ it so, but thanks for the compliment.”

 

Lee Cheonghyeon and I shared a heartwarming victory handshake. Park Joowoo clapped with a satisfied face.

 

***

 

The moment promotions began, Spark’s road of hardship effectively reopened for business. Like proper idols who needed to work hard while people were paying attention to them, Spark rarely turned down incoming schedules…

 

[Cutie Pretty Visually Lee Cheonghyeon]

[Wow]

[Am I the only one at the dorm today?]

 

…And eventually, a situation occurred where only one person was sleeping in the 6-man dorm.

 

[21-Year-Old Metal Marble Park Joowoo]

[I’ll be back at dawn! ㅠㅠ]

[Wait just a little longer]

 

[Cutie Pretty Visually Lee Cheonghyeon]

[I’m all alone until 11:59 PM though]

[You guys are staying out way too much]

[We’re supposed to be living together, could you please not ig.nore. your housemate’s loneliness?]

 

[Center Emperor Choi Jeho]

[On my way]

 

[Cutie Pretty Visually Lee Cheonghyeon]

[Papa, Cheonghyeon is bored]

 

[Me]

[You have to leave at dawn anyway]

[Go to sleep early]

 

[Cutie Pretty Visually Lee Cheonghyeon]

[Yes, Father…]

 

[Me]

[Why am I ‘Father’ and Choi Jeho is ‘Papa’?]

 

[King of Cuteness Kang Kiyeon]

[Calm down, Father.]

 

[Me]

[I truly can’t believe you guys.]

 

[Mental Pillar Jeong Seongbin]

[Cheonghyeon, aren’t you going to work at 3 AM tomorrow?]

[It’s your day to be a Special MC]

 

[Cutie Pretty Visually Lee Cheonghyeon]

[Since the hyungs keep nagging, Cheonghyeon is going to sleep while crying~!]

[Everyone, send a kind word for Cheonghyeon who fell asleep crying~!!]

 

[Me]

[The sun won’t rise tomorrow because your face will rise first, Cheonghyeon.]

 

[King of Cuteness Kang Kiyeon]

[I don’t know…]

[If he sleeps while crying, maybe his eyes won’t open because they’ll be swollen.]

 

[Me]

[Whoever gets back first is responsible for putting a heated eye mask on Cheonghyeon.]

 

[21-Year-Old Metal Marble Park Joowoo]

[I’ll do it~ Vv^^vV]

 

[Mental Pillar Jeong Seongbin]

[Joowoo and I will be in before 2 AM!]

 

And like that, even before the morning sun rose, they were loaded into the car as a group to run through music shows and group variety schedules.

 

Having rested right before the comeback helped a lot. Spark, with their stamina fully charged, flew around from morning till night.

 

The fact that it was a full album with various songs added fun to the activities. Alternating between the pre-release, the title track, and the b-sides kept things from getting stale.

 

There were also events that kept us from getting lethargic in a different way. Since the most recent major issue regarding Spark was the ‘miraculous quick-wittedness that safely overcame a major accident on an outdoor stage’, this episode was mentioned on every variety show we attended.

 

Since nobody had been injured, people felt more comfortable asking about it. The great chaos behind the scenes was a story only we knew, so to others, it had become a ‘dangerous but ultimately harmless event happening’.

 

So, I just went around answering nicely for the sake of views.The emotional damage had already been dealt with, and since I couldn’t exactly scowl in front of the cameras anyway, I talked my head off with the mindset of getting more promotion.

 

Combine a moderate level of tension, long-suppressed energy, and cheering crowds right in front of you?

 

Endorphins rush like crazy. I barely even felt tired. I wanted to show more than what we prepared, so even while chatting every day in the car on the way home, I was happy.

 

That excitement translated into results.

 

≫ What is this discipline?

Their eye-glint is legendary.

└ People really do need proper rest. The kids came back looking completely different.

└ Our boys have always looked good, though?

└ No, they came back looking sharp as a blade

└ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋis that supposed to be a compliment?ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

 

≫ Miheon-nim, Gold Iwol is here!!!!

└ What?!?!?!

└ His hair was black yesterday! When did he dye it?!

└ OMG, Kim Iwol’s personal color was blonde all along, yet he didn’t do gold hair until now? Please, know yourself before you try to style your dongsaengs.

└ Sorry but do you people think just telling about Gold Iwol is enough?? Are you keeping Choi Jeho’s Neo Purple hair to yourselves? I’m literally crying from the betrayal.

 

≫ Seeing other idols mention Alight, the song must definitely be good.

Every idol doing karaoke streams seems to sing it at least once.

└ I like it because even though the dance is intense, there’s no awkward silence in the karaoke room.

└ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└ That’s actually important ㅋㅋ

 

≫ Racing uniforms (faints).

Do you only give us these precious outfits on stage…? Could you not have given them to us in the MV…?

…is what I said a week ago.

The performance version MV teaser just dropped.

I can die without regrets now.

└ An idol that gives you everything without you even asking.

└ They’re such dutiful idols that if you go to raid the storehouse, they’ll leave the door open and wait for you.

└ There are so many interesting point choreographies and formation changes. I figured the dance practice video would blow up, but seeing that they had a performance MV prepared too, they probably expected word-of-mouth to spreadㅋㅋㅋ

└ Leader Jeong is still making legendary moves… Black hair slicked back with wax and goggles? Yeah, I’ll die for that…

 

From the radio on the way to and from work to various broadcasts and music quizzes, Alight appeared constantly. In a market where album sales didn’t necessarily correlate with digital chart performance or public popularity, Spark’s sales graph and buzz graph rose in remarkably similar patterns.

 

“…How can we possibly repay this level of support?”

 

Jeong Seongbin asked seriously. Since we had received so much, he felt the need to do even more. We put our heads together to brainstorm.

 

“The easiest option would be another long-form self-produced content series, right? We upload vlogs all the time, so it’d be nice to do something different.”

 

“Should we look at the survey we took last time?”

 

Jeong Seongbin opened a spreadsheet from the shared drive. It was the compilation of the ‘Content Sparklers Want Spark to Do’ survey, which Spark collected opinions on every year.

 

Rank #1, ‘Skit’, and Rank #2, ‘Observation Cam’, had already been filmed before the comeback. The bizarre family sitcom where members worked as village guardians, village chiefs, and various other strange professions had always been popular.

 

Since fans wanted to see the ‘Everyday Spark’ even closer, we also filmed a day of Spark resting properly during their break. This one was scheduled to be uploaded tomorrow.

 

However, the one that narrowly came in at Rank #3 caught my eye.

 

“‘Mission Failure Hardship Era’ is still consistently popular.”

 

The Mission Failure Hardship Era series had originally been created during the MISSION promotions to showcase Spark wearing various styles of suits.

 

We needed variety-show-style fun, and since Spark’s professional worker moments were already known through things like the IDC meeting scenes, I thought showing similar scenes wouldn’t have much merit. Thus, we produced this series where they were only office workers in appearance, while each member’s original personality was revealed in its rawest form. Unexpectedly, this series developed a long lifespan.

 

Just recently, the latest Hardship Era episode featured six cold, handsome men who had supposedly entered the company through nepotism thanks to powerful connections, yet somehow possessed encyclopedic knowledge about the love triangle between tteokbokki, fried food, and sundae, along with the ultimate food combinations.

 

‘Do they like seeing us look like fools…?’

 

Seeing as it became such a steady seller, the scene where we looked perfectly fine but sat on newspapers spread on the floor to dip fried food into tteokbokki sauce must have been memorable.

 

Regardless, I wanted to prioritize what Sparklers wanted, so I inquired with the dedicated team. Unfortunately, the answer came back that it wouldn’t be easy due to the schedule.

 

— Filming and editing aren’t the problem, but finding an office location on such short notice is difficult….

 

They said all the places they had previously used for filming were fully booked. The situation didn’t allow for renting a space on such short notice.

 

“I see.”

 

There was, however, one candidate location the dedicated team hadn’t contacted.

 

A place I had intended to visit someday, but had kept putting off because I didn’t quite feel like it.

 

“Ms. Jukyung, could you check one more company for me? The rental fee shouldn’t be expensive… and they’ll probably adjust their schedule to fit ours if possible.”

 

— What company is it?

 

I took a deep breath and answered.

 

“Hanpyeong Industry.”