Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols Chapter 475 - Hanpyeong Industry (1)

The office of Hanpyeong Industry possessed the traditional visual one would expect from a company with its years of history.

 

There were partitions, old black computer towers and keyboards, a whiteboard that wasn’t used often but was pulled out at least once a month, cabinets overflowing with documents, and ugly green trash cans bought haphazardly from a general store.

 

‘It feels quite different from a startup.’

 

There was a decent demand for filming dramas or movies in actual offices like this. Even the show In My Office had been filmed by renting out the rooftops or lobbies of major conglomerates.

 

The executives, seeing that office-themed dramas were constantly being produced, had often told the staff not to let empty office spaces go to waste and to actively market them to studios.

 

However, almost no one wanted to use Hanpyeong Industry as a filming location. What scouts wanted was a space that looked like an office but was ‘functional, clean, and spacious’—where they could turn on computers or open drawers during filming. They didn’t want an office-worker’s hellscape where nobody had bothered with maintenance for years, water leaked through the walls, and the air conditioning didn’t work.

 

Since there was no demand, booking was easy. I could also cut the price significantly. It wasn’t the rainy season, so there was no worry about leaks. And seeing visuals worthy of a young team leader in a drama repotting dead office plants might even provide its own unique entertainment value.

 

If the deal went through, the staff representative would almost certainly be…

 

Someone from HR. That fell under their jurisdiction.

 

It was still too early for Assistant Manager Hwang to have joined the company. No matter how much I had fast-forwarded events by moving up various schedules, time wouldn’t have flowed twice as fast just for Assistant Manager Hwang, who was likely still a college student. After all, even the age gap between my sister and me hadn’t changed from the past.

 

There was a high probability that it would be the senior who vanished right after I joined, or perhaps the senior’s senior who reportedly cut off contact without leaving a single page of handover notes.

 

However, I would bet my carrier that Department Manager Nam would show his face at least once. Since Nam Jooah had been a fan of Spark since their debut, Department Manager Nam would have been aware of Spark’s existence by the time they debuted.

 

‘Disgusting human.’

 

I grumbled inwardly. I didn’t even want to see his face, but there were loose ends that needed tying up, so I was prepared.

 

‘I’ve lived years with a system patched with ‘Manager-speak’, so I should be somewhat immune by now, right?’

 

[SYSTEM] A work instruction from the ‘Superior’ has arrived.

▶ If you ask me… maybe about 90%? Assistant Manager Kim is always just a little unsatisfactory somehow. Always just slightly lacking.

 

The system appeared the instant I thought about it. Perhaps because I hadn’t seen it in a while, the screen seemed to glow even more brightly.

 

Its lack of manners was the same as ever. I wanted to turn it off again immediately. But the system didn’t care at all about my volcanic irritation.

 

[SYSTEM] A work instruction from the ‘Superior’ has arrived.

▶ I tell you this all the time. Report first even if your boss doesn’t ask, and if you have nothing to do, find something yourself. Be proactive and independent. See? I really like this attitude you’re showing right now.

 

If you like it, why don’t you give me a reward? Though if I said that, he’d probably ask whether Assistant Manager Kim only worked when rewards were involved. It’d go on about how the company even paid me for the time I spent sighing and slacking off, yet somehow I still expected more.

 

[SYSTEM] A work instruction from the ‘Superior’ has arrived.

▶ Come on, Assistant Manager Kim. You’re an expert at making people look stingy. Have you ever seen me withhold money I was supposed to pay? Besides, I always make sure to take care of you on the side, don’t I?

 

The guy who took forever to approve KPI achievement bonuses should really keep his mouth shut. I hope you realize you’re in a position where you wouldn’t have a leg to stand on if you were sued for wage theft.

 

The system, apparently reading my thoughts, spent quite a while grumbling. It was all about how disappointed it was in Assistant Manager Kim, and how Assistant Manager Kim could treat it like this.

 

As I tried to ignore it, the system asserted its presence.

 

[SYSTEM] A work instruction from the ‘Superior’ has arrived.

▶ Don’t try to slack off; just get to work. Since Assistant Manager Kim volunteered for overtime, I’ll give you a little something as encouragement. Trust me, okay?

 

And then, the thing vanished in an instant. With a slight time lag, a message arrived from Ms. Jukyung. It said the venue reservation had been finalized.

 

* * *

 

‘Assistant Manager Kim!’

 

Seeing me arrive at work, Department Manager Nam smiled so broadly that all his teeth showed.

 

The moment I saw that smile, I thought this had to be a dream. Because the only time Manager Nam ever welcomed me was when he was delivering news that Nam Jooah was thrilled with my work.

 

‘What are you doing? Sit down. If you’re at work, you should sit down immediately.’

 

Manager Nam moved behind me and gripped both my shoulders. I was pushed into my familiar seat by an irresistible force. On the desk sat a single white chrysanthemum.

 

Manager Nam pulled out the chair and sat me down. He acted as if the chrysanthemum didn’t exist. He took the initiative to turn on my computer and placed my hand on the mouse. It was hard to tell if what was rising inside me was anger or nausea.

 

‘Work.’

 

The short, authoritative command weighed down on me.

 

Even if it was a dream, I was sick of myself for returning here even after death, and I was sick of Manager Nam, who would undoubtedly treat a resurrected employee exactly the same way.

 

The blue desktop background made my eyes sting.

 

I didn’t want to carry this emotion anymore. I wanted to shake it off now.

 

A wake-up alarm rang from a far distance. When I turned off the alarm and got up, I could see the dim dawn through the window. I slowly prepared to head out.

 

It was a suit I had worn often since becoming an idol, but today, my wrists and waist felt terribly uncomfortable. IIt wasn’t the wrong size, but the sleeves felt constricting.

 

After tying my necktie, I noticed how stiff my expression looked in the mirror.

 

I tried to force a pleasant smile. It looked more unnatural than the thumbnail from a recently uploaded fancam.

 

I didn’t know when pretending to be okay in a bad situation had become so difficult. Was this another part of the system’s philosophy of ‘harsh, but ultimately mentally healthy in the long run’?

 

“Are you feeling uncomfortable somewhere?”

 

As I was agonizing, Jeong Seongbin, who had finished his hair styling, approached and asked. His hair, styled half-up to give off the vibe of a young director, suited him well.

 

“No.”

 

To think that I, who once stirred up UA to kick out the industry senior harassing Jeong Seongbin, would be taking Jeong Seongbin to Hanpyeong Industry. I felt the passage of time.

 

I remembered the day Jeong Seongbin first showed signs of depression; I had rambled in front of him, consumed by the fear that I might lose my leader. Looking back, it was ridiculous. How could anyone believe words about seeing the future or becoming the head of the pack?

 

And yet, I felt a strange sense of nostalgia. I looked at Jeong Seongbin and spoke.

 

“For some reason… I have a strong feeling that the place we’re going won’t be a good match for me, geomantically speaking.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“You know… the yin and yang energies aren’t balanced? I suspect it won’t be a particularly auspicious place for me.”

 

Back in our trainee days, Jeong Seongbin would have laughed out loud at nonsense like this. He might have even responded with weird questions and playful teasing.

 

It was the same when the fortune-teller octopus meme was going around. Jeong Seongbin’s usual approach was to joke around, exaggerate how eerily accurate my instincts were, and turn it into a fun story.

 

However, Jeong Seongbin did not laugh. Nor did he probe further with jokes.

 

“Should I tell them to cancel the shoot? We just have to pay the penalty to the company.”

 

“What?”

 

The response caught me completely off guard. I hadn’t even poured my heart out like when we were under the blankets confessing our consciences, yet Jeong Seongbin was serious.

 

As I stood there blinking, Jeong Seongbin turned around. He looked ready to actually blow up the shoot, so I quickly grabbed him.

 

“It’s a joke!”

 

“Really?”

 

“Yeah, sorry. I didn’t think you’d believe me.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“Because it’s such an absurd story. I didn’t think you’d take it seriously.”

 

An awkward silence followed. For my part, I was just making excuses because I didn’t want to die for the sin of leaking heavenly secrets, but since it was true that my attitude could seem frivolous to someone else, I apologized sincerely.

 

“If you feel offended because you believe in fortune-telling or divination and felt like I was making light of it…”

 

“It’s not that.”

 

“It’s not?”

 

“No. I don’t really believe in that stuff.”

 

Jeong Seongbin was firm. Since he was so composed, I felt like I was the strange one.

 

“Then why did you say we should cancel the shoot? You just said you don’t believe in fortune-telling.”

 

“It’s just that I don’t want to force you to do something you don’t want to do, hyung.”

 

‘Why go that far?’ was my first thought. Everyone who had ever worked a job knew that life wasn’t about doing only the things you wanted to do.

 

Jeong Seongbin explained his reasoning with a single additional sentence.

 

“Especially lately.”

 

Jeong Seongbin lowered his voice. It seemed he was still worried about my mental state.

 

“If it were an external broadcast recording, I might have responded differently, but internal company matters are things we have a lot of say in.”

 

“…”

 

“I know your intuition is unusually good, hyung. I was really surprised when you got the score for the Korea-Japan match right, but if I had to choose, I’m more on the side of believing your words rather than anything superstitious.”

 

“…”

 

“And it’s rare for you to say you dislike something.”

 

Jeong Seongbin smiled.

 

There was a time when I hated myself for reflexively smiling whether I felt good or bad, calling myself an idiot or a fool.

 

I thought saying I disliked something was an unrealistic thing I could never even imagine. Refusing something unpleasant was thousands of times harder than desiring something I wanted. In life, there were far more occasions where I had to take on things I hated than opportunities to speak about what I wanted.

 

‘And yet… things are changing so peacefully, without any dramatic turning point.’

 

Feeling strangely moved for no reason, I turned the arrow back toward the innocent Jeong Seongbin. I thought to myself that this guy was too naive, and that if he trusted others so blindly, he’d have a hard time surviving in the harsh entertainment industry.

 

Regardless of my worries, Jeong Seongbin continued to speak with untainted sincerity.

 

“If you went out of your way to mention that it doesn’t feel right, there must be something to it. I don’t intend to question it.”

 

“Even so, at least be a bit suspicious. What if I’ve just become lazy?”

 

“Is there any hypothesis less believable than you becoming lazy, hyung?”

 

His limitless trust left me completely at a loss. Just as I was suffering from the guilt of wondering if I had ruined the kid, Jeong Seongbin asked back.

 

“What should we do about the shoot? If we’re going to scrap it, let’s decide before we leave the salon.”

 

“I told you it was a joke! Let’s go. If the yin and yang energies really are out of balance, I’ll just stick you next to me to even things out.”

 

“You once said I only have yang energy when I’m inside Spark.”

 

“Well, it’s still better than being surrounded by nothing but yin energy, isn’t it?”

 

Do you know how hard it was for me to decide to visit Hanpyeong Industry?

 

Finding the courage to visit my former workplace again? I could never do it twice. It was only possible when the initial resolve was there; who in their right mind would make such a wrong choice twice? I didn’t want to back down now.

 

“But I’d like us to move as a group as much as possible at the filming site. I know it’s shameless of me, but I’d appreciate it if you could help ease my excessive worry and anxiety, even just a little.”

 

“I can do that as much as you want.”

 

Jeong Seongbin answered confidently and immediately headed toward where the managers were. A short while later, the various bags and gear that had been split between two vehicles were all moved into one.

 

All the members of Spark piled into the car that was now spacious after being cleared of luggage. Though we were touching shoulder-to-shoulder, it felt incomparably more comfortable than any rush-hour subway from hell.