Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols Chapter 477 - Hanpyeong Industry (3)

An unexpected person appeared.

 

‘Deputy Manager Ahn?’

 

Deputy Manager Ahn from the Marketing Team had come to find us. His arms were full of bottled drinks and snacks.

 

The members sitting near the door immediately sprang to their feet and helped carry everything inside. Seeing that the manager from earlier hadn’t returned, he was likely getting chewed out somewhere by Manager Nam or Team Leader Cho.

 

“I brought some things for you to drink. I heard you hadn’t started filming yet.”

 

“Thank you!”

 

At Hanpyeong Industry, the company ordered the cheapest snack sets available from a monthly vendor. It looked like the Deputy Manager had personally picked out the most diverse selection of snacks he could find from that limited stock.

 

And if my memory served me right, at this point in time, he should still hold the same rank as Manager Nam.

 

Deputy General Manager Ahn and Department Manager Nam had joined the company around the same time. Up until they reached the rank of Deputy Deputy Manager, their promotion speeds had been similar.

 

The gap started when Manager Nam seriously started playing office politics.

 

In the Hanpyeong Industry, it wasn’t uncommon for the higher-ups to pick at trivial flaws of people they disliked just to deny them promotions. This coercive behavior was even worse for employees in difficult personal situations. It was a common occurrence to break someone’s self-esteem and trap them there with words like, ‘Do you really think you have anywhere else to go if it’s not here?’

 

Deputy Manager Ahn was a similar case. Because Manager Nam had secured powerful connections within upper management, he used his position in the HR team to give her unfair performance reviews, saying things like, ‘I noticed Deputy Manager Ahn doesn’t stay late very often’.

 

After the Marketing Team Leader resigned due to various internal conflicts, everyone thought Deputy Manager Ahn was the perfect person to take over the role.

 

However, the CEO made the absurd decision to leave the Team Leader position vacant while assigning Deputy Manager Ahn as the person in charge of all handover duties. It was a typical case of labor exploitation: piling on the responsibility of a higher role without increasing the pay.

 

This was in stark contrast to (former) Manager Nam, who took over the Team Leader role the moment the HR Team Leader was promoted to Head of the Management Support Division. Manager Cho had also attained his position in a similar way when Manager Nam became the Head of Management Support.

 

The bizarre situation—where he performed the duties of a Team Leader but was blocked from being promoted to Department Manager of the Business Division, and where no one officially recognized him as a manager—continued until the time I joined and became an assistant manager myself.

 

Normally, in a situation with such blatant disparity, one would at least try to keep it quiet, but Manager Nam was shameless. He bragged openly about how well he had scouted out which line to stand in and what he had done to his colleagues of the same seniority by using his power.

 

Despite all this, Deputy Manager Ahn never left the company. No one knew if he wanted to be recognized by the company that slighted him, or if he had unavoidable personal circumstances.

 

But one thing was certain.

 

‘Hanpyeong Industry didn’t deserve someone like him.’

 

Anyone who knew Deputy Manager Ahn said the same thing. I felt the same way.

 

He was kind even to members of other teams—even to the subordinate of the man who interfered with his own career at every turn. He had always been worried about me being worn down under Manager Nam. More than once, he’d told me he wished I didn’t have to endure that.

 

…The fact that he had called me late that night, just before I drew my last breath, was likely because he was worried about me being worked to death.

 

I only realized that Deputy Manager Ahn had been the caller on that final phone call after revisiting my memory data while preparing to act out Cheon Yunseong’s ending scene.

 

At the time, I was so preoccupied with Park Joowoo’s situation that I didn’t have the chance to reflect. Only after everything had settled down did the realization hit me. Although he had once given me his contact information saying he’d buy me a meal, we had never actually contacted each other privately. It was a coincidental timing.

 

Seeing him taking care of visitors even though he wasn’t part of the HR team overlapped with the image of my phone screen, which hadn’t stopped ringing until the unanswered call went to voicemail.

 

“Good luck with the shoot.”

 

The Deputy Manager bowed his head slightly and left the meeting room. It was hard to take my eyes off the closed door.

 

* * *

 

The filming didn’t take long. In fact, it ended quite smoothly.

 

During the role assignment, whether by chance or fate, I pulled the ‘Department Manager’ lot.

 

Thanks to that, I spent the entire recording spitting out boomer boss quotes with such soul that there was nothing left in me. I treated it as a rehearsal for dealing with Manager Nam and spent the shoot poking at the juniors from every direction like a hedgehog with starch-coated toothpicks strapped to its back.

 

My performance—becoming a living embodiment of an abusive boss—received high praise from both the members and the staff. t was exactly the sort of commendation that brought no honor.

 

After checking if we had enough footage and confirming the remaining rental time, we filmed some ‘behind-the-scenes’ clips and took selfies that might be used later.

 

Just as I was about to take off my props and tidy up after a final check, the office door opened.

 

“Oh my, everyone from Spark!”

 

A voice that made me feel sick just hearing it. A shameless attitude that ignored the boundary between public and private matters.

 

“It’s an honor to meet you!”

 

I knew without even looking at his face. It was Manager Nam. My stomach churned.

 

Manager Nam had always been exceptionally skilled at flattering people when he needed something from them. I was sure he had calculated that this was the perfect time to approach us—after the work was done and everyone was in a good mood.

 

I knew that for a matter like this, he wouldn’t send someone else; he would come himself. Who knew how much more he could squeeze out if he played his cards right? There was no way he would entrust such an important task to an ‘insubordinate employee who didn’t treat the boss’s daughter’s business like their own’.

 

A stale human being who never deviated from expectations. A man who was narrow-minded even when he was younger.

 

My brain, instinctively repulsed, continued to attack Manager Nam.

 

“So, how was the shoot? Did it go well?”

 

“Yes, thanks to you.”

 

Manager Nam brushed past Manager Daeyeon, who was offering polite thanks, and approached us. Then he enthusiastically grabbed the members’ hands one after another and struck up a conversation.

 

“My daughter is a huge fan of Spark…”

 

There it was again. Goosebumps broke out on my arms.

 

Manager Nam’s hand was moving toward me…

 

“Which member is your daughter a fan of?”

 

…and it stopped. Choi Jeho was shaking Manager Nam’s hand and asking the question.

 

“She says she likes the older members. Could I take a few photos with my phone? At home she talks about Spark all day long.”

 

“Sir, because of spoiler restrictions, we’re not allowed to let outsiders take photos.”

 

Manager Daeyeon rushed over to stop Manager Nam. But Manager Nam didn’t care at all.

 

“Who would an old man like me leak this to? I’m just showing it to my daughter. And besides, for something like this, shouldn’t the people involved be allowed to use their discretion?”

 

His habit of half-listening to people he didn’t consider important, and his attitude of acting only for his own convenience without considering others, remained unchanged. His total disregard for rules was just a bonus.

 

Honestly, I was glad to know he’d always been this much of a bastard. Otherwise, I might have felt bad about causing a scene right in front of him.

 

“If she likes the older members, that includes me too, doesn’t it?”

 

I took Manager Nam’s hand, shaking it and starting a conversation. Perhaps thinking I would be easier to talk to than Choi Jeho, Manager Nam patted my arm and babbled on about his daughter’s love for Spark.

 

“In that case, we should do something for her. My CEO will scold me if she finds out, so I’ll take a video for you in secret.”

 

“Wait, what kind of company manages things like that?”

 

“Exactly. It’s quite suffocating for us, too. Instead, I’ll record a video message for her!”

 

The members of Spark stared at me with bizarre expressions as I complained along with Manager Nam. Only Manager Nam was excited at the thought of bringing an idol video to his daughter. I asked politely.

 

“Is there a quiet place where we won’t hear outside noise? We don’t have enough time to record multiple takes. It’d be better if as little background noise as possible got mixed in, right?”

 

“Young people know best. There’s a quiet place right next door. Let’s go.”

 

Choi Jeho tried to intervene, but I quickly stepped on his foot after checking the surroundings. He caught the hint and shut his mouth.

 

I laid out all the conditions needed for the recording to Manager Nam. It had to be a space blocked from view so no one would see us. It had to be sealed off so outside sound wouldn’t reach us. And the premise was that we had to make the most of a short amount of time.

 

In this situation, there was only one candidate Manager Nam would think of.

 

The office that had been relegated to a supply room, the one we had passed on our way here.

 

“After you!”

 

Without hesitation, Manager Nam led me into a small storage room inside the supply room. This area, attached to the office, had once been used as a break room.

 

The supply room wasn’t opened often unless it was a day for deliveries. Hanpyeong Industry wasn’t generous enough to replace employees’ electronics frequently.

 

Items that were frequently used were stacked in boxes around the room, and whenever a request for a refill came in, the HR staff would move them to each department, restroom, or pantry. This meant the only people who came here were the HR staff, and even then, they didn’t come often.

 

Nonetheless, the probability of someone entering the supply room wasn’t zero. There were always exceptions. For Manager Nam—currently Deputy Manager Nam—there were superiors like the Team Leader or Department Manager who were outside his control. Every quarter, an employee would inevitably ignore the notices and sneak into the supply room to take things.

 

So, it was a natural progression for Manager Nam to choose the most secluded spot within the supply room. A dusty storage closet packed with old inventory and broken equipment nobody ever touched, kept only because someone thought throwing them away would be wasteful.

 

Manager Nam turned on the light in the storage room. The lighting flickered weakly before finally illuminating the room brightly.

 

Dust was visible in the air. When Manager Nam waved his arm, the dust floated around before settling. The metal shelves that had looked capable of giving someone tetanus when I first joined the company were still standing there, their paint surprisingly intact.

 

“How is it? Is this place enough?” 

 

Manager Nam asked.

 

It was enough. Of course.

 

This was a place I frequented for years; where else could be more suitable?

 

“It’s perfect!”

 

I smiled brightly. Then I mentally reviewed everything I had prepared.

 

Writer, PD, I’m sorry. I’m going to borrow Cheon Yoonsung just this once without permission. I’ve never acted with that much of an attitude in my life.

 

I will do my best to act so as not to bring shame to the character, and then I will return him quietly without a word.