Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols Chapter 482 - Part-time Job (2)

≫ Kim Iwol ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

This is the first time I’ve seen a concept that fits him this poorlyㅋㅋㅋ

└ Hey, quiet down. Our Iwol is working hard to squeeze out every drop of cuteness he has.

└ At this point, it’s not even squeezing it out; he took out a loan on it.

└ You guys are so mean ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

 

≫ Iwol, it’s hard to earn a living, isn’t it?

But the viewers are having the time of their lives.

I’m sorry for being this kind of fan.

└ He did the finger hearts, the winks, and the aegyo perfectly, so why is it so funny? ㅋㅋㅋ

└ Usually, when he has to do stuff like this, he tweaks the lines or gestures to fit his style, but since he was a last-minute substitute, he couldn’t even do that ㅠㅠ He had to do exactly what he was told ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅠㅠ

 

≫ A man wearing a leather crop bolero acting shy… I enjoyed that.

└ If I were Kim Iwol, I would’ve cried reading this comment.

└ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ What’s the point of the outfit being so aggressive when the role is Aegyo-Clap-Bot? ㅋㅋ

 

≫ Did he take the role seriously? [O]

Did he mess up the lines? [X]

Did the other MCs ignore him? [X]

Did he look awkward? [X]

Was it hilarious? [O]

└ The writer who had to rewrite the script because of the sudden emergency, the rookie MC who went live without a rehearsal, and the other MCs who raised their energy even more than usual to keep things running smoothly all tried their absolute best, which somehow made it even funnier.

 

≫ A streak of dark history in Kim Iwol’s otherwise flawless idol life.

I’ll remember this.

└ If he had just looked lost, I would’ve thought, ‘Yeah, you must have been flustered looking at the script, too’ But he swapped his personality so completely ㅋㅋㅋ Sparklers who know Kim Iwol’s real personality just couldn’t hold back their laughter ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

 

My MC debut caused a huge wave. A very big one. ‘Innocent Maknae-style’ Kim Iwol was honored with the glory of being compared side-by-side in split-screen videos with the ‘Black & Silver Undercut’ Kim Iwol from that day’s performance fancam.

 

Compilation videos of the comments were uploaded, too. I didn’t watch it because I knew I’d burst into tears within three seconds of starting the video. I always thought he was amazing, but now Lee Cheonghyeon—who always managed to show off his refreshing handsome charms whenever he filled in as an MC—felt like a being from another dimension. God truly played by different rules when creating him.

 

“Cheonghyeon, I respect you.”

 

“I respect you too, hyung.”

 

“You don’t have to force yourself to comfort me.”

 

“I’m serious. Cheonghyeon is ‘so excited for your next move that he doesn’t know what to do’!”

 

“……”

 

Lee Cheonghyeon landed a critical hit and disappeared. I was left behind, clutching my gaping wound and nursing it alone.

 

At least the busy schedule and the flood of reactions helped me forget the painful memory… or so I thought.

 

≫ OMG.

Mr. Kim Iwol ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Congratulations on being selected as an official MC ㅋㅋㅋ

 

Carrying on the will of the senior MC who stepped down to focus on a speedy recovery, I gained the wonderful title of New MC.

 

* * *

 

The Alight promotions left several records for Spark. Despite being a full-length album with a high price tag, sales hit a new career high, digital charts proved their mainstream appeal, and their image transformation was a success.

 

Experimenting with various visual changes was also effective. Every member changed hair color at least once, and some as many as three times during promotions. At a time when the trend was shifting toward quick one- or two-week music-show runs, Alight was praised for ‘reviving the dying split-screen edit market’.

 

The Spark members, who already had little facial fat, reached a point where they could practically cut paper with their jawlines by the final week. I thought there was no more weight to lose since we maintained our body fat consistently, but perhaps because the choreography was so intense, everyone’s faces became sharp.

 

“Hyung, are you guys secretly eating something while we’re sleeping?”

 

Kang Kiyeon once asked with suspicious eyes. His logic was that it was suspicious how only Choi Jeho and I looked fine. I told him to follow me to the gym at dawn if he was curious, and he actually did. The whole thing was so funny and pathetic that I ended up buying him sweet-potato cheese pork cutlets at a 24-hour restaurant.

 

Usually, as promotions draw to a close, the buzz gradually dies down. Most content drops happen during the comeback week, and things transition into fan-event-centered schedules after that.

 

However, there was an incident that set the fire ablaze once more.

 

≫ After a long battle against the clickbait channel, the truth has finally been recognized

 

The trial had ended. It was a complete victory.

 

My mother and father could not withstand the multiple civil and criminal lawsuits. They didn’t win a single case. By the end, they were facing ballooning legal fees from dragging things all the way to the appellate court, settlement payments, and even potential bail expenses if they wanted shorter prison terms.

 

When they claimed they had no money, my lawyer and I dug up their MeTube donation history and estimated membership profits to prove they were wealthy. I’d heard tax investigations tended to follow whenever suspicions of tax evasion surfaced among MeTubers. They wouldn’t be bored in their later years, as they would have plenty of audits to deal with.

 

Just try being late with the settlement payments. I’ll keep suing until you beg me to take the money and cut ties forever.

 

The trial didn’t just end with my personal matters being settled. Because it became a national issue through the news, the trial results also spread like wildfire. Moreover, because it was a refreshing ending to a frustrating situation, Spark and I received congratulations and support from all over.

 

With a successful promotion and the resolution of the problem that had weighed on my mind, my physical and mental condition fully recovered. My synchronization rate was high, but my total fatigue hovered around only ten percent.

 

I often heard from others that my face looked ‘bloomed’. If I had known the exorcism effect of dealing with Manager Nam would be this effective, I would have settled things much sooner.

 

I poured my restored stamina into variety shows without hesitation. Whenever an offer came in, I didn’t even ask questions; I just grabbed one or two Spark members with free schedules and took them along under my arms.

 

Normally, appearances during a promotion period were arranged long before the comeback. In a fierce competition where one must record at least a month in advance to time the comeback promotion perfectly, sudden casting became even rarer.

 

However, I discovered that once popularity crossed a certain threshold, waiting lists stopped mattering. Every network was willing to clear space in their schedule if it meant securing a walking source of buzz.

 

Spark didn’t turn down any offers. We did every trending challenge, releasing the results of the brutal training we underwent in the basement practice room, and went wherever we were called. Advertisements filmed before the comeback also began to be released.

 

In this way, Spark became a category of its own. Among the countless K-pop idols, the name Spark alone was now enough for recognition.

 

≫ Spark is really working hard.

They’re everywhereㅋㅋ

└ Seriously, every time I change channels, they’re there.

 

≫ Everyone else is doing the Alight challenge, but our boys are doing something weird.

Guys, you’re supposed to promote your own challenge.

└ Instead of doing a Random Play Dance with their own songs, they’re obsessed with a ‘Masterpieces of the Year’ Random Play Dance. They don’t care about promotion.

└ Did they do nothing but dance during their break? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ They know every song ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└ If they’re this synchronized even with other people’s songs, how much must they have practiced?

 

≫ Every Spark fancam becomes a trending post the moment it’s uploaded

The buzz is insane.

└ I always click on them whenever I see a post ㅋㅋ I’m curious about the outfits.

└ I thought competent stylists were mythical creatures.

└ The clothes suit them, but they also highlight the dance lines well, making you want to watch the fancams more ㅋㅋㅋㅋ It was cute how they styled them to match each member’s personality.

└ Giving Kang Kiyeon all those fake piercings was a legendary move.

 

≫ Crap, this is hilarious.

My sibling doesn’t care about idols and only watches a few famous variety shows, but when they heard Choi Jeho was appearing, they were like, ‘I gotta watch the variety cheat-key…’

└ The dignity of a center.

└ Kim Iwol, cover your ears.

└ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└ How is the visual center a variety-type member?

 

≫ Whenever Spark finishes filming something, a verification post or behind-the-scenes account always appears either immediately or later.

Their personalities must be amazing.

└ Speaking from a ‘T’ perspective, it’s probably because mentioning Spark is good for engagement ㅋㅋㅋ but seeing how the content is all positive, they must be genuinely nice.

└ Even other celebrities mention them often. Look at Pollo. Then again, if a junior came to my radio show carrying a custom DJ headband, I’d find them adorable too.

 

≫ I think I understand why Spark succeeded.

Right now, the idol market as a whole is…

A lot of kids can’t sing live, so it’s normal for one or two main vocals to hard-carry + only the dancing has been standardized upward + trainees are often kids from wealthy backgrounds with short training periods + the fandoms have lost their bite, so they mostly turn a blind eye even if an idol messes up. Isn’t this the current state?

If they have a decent face, they debut even if they’re awkward, and after receiving a few luxury gifts, they start seeing fans as wallets and even find them annoying.

 

But Spark has live singing as a baseline. Their training period is long compared to their debut peers… part of that is because UA was a tiny agency, but still.

Even with the dancing, only Kim Iwol was a bit stiff in the beginning, but he never became a useless member. He did his part correctly.

Honestly, I might have a boomer mindset, but it’s true that people prefer and support someone who works hard rather than someone who tries to get a free ride. Between an idol who is late despite the manager driving them every time and an idol who attends idea meetings regularly because they’re afraid fans will get ripped off by buying scam merch, who would you stan?

I’m not saying they should work until their joints grind down, but I trust everyone understands what I mean.

└ I agree with everything else, but I don’t get the part about fandoms losing their bite. Isn’t the idol world known for ‘Truck Protests’ and public statements at every little thing?

└└ ‘Truck Protests, you say’. In the old days, it was blood letters and ‘Package Protests’.

└└└ If you haven’t seen a ‘Package Protest’, don’t even talk… the company doors get blocked.

└ Usually, the members who take the main positions in a group, whether it’s main vocal or main dancer, are good at other things like acting or variety too. Because they have experience working their asses off with a do or die attitude… we shouldn’t overwork people under the excuse of looking for desperation, but I think hard work should be recognized.

└ If you look at their self-produced content for planning meetings, you’ll see why they haven’t had a failed concept yet. They monitor trends and audience needs obsessively. Even if it hadn’t happened now, they would’ve become huge eventually.

 

They had several songs that were mainstream hits.

 

The general public knew who sang those songs.

 

The general public could distinguish the members of the group.

 

The members built a track record in various fields and exert influence.

 

Once these conditions were met…

 

≫ There is no more room for debate regarding Spark.

They are definitely Tier 1.

 

The standard used to measure Spark’s influence had changed.

 

Tier 1.

 

A ranking often dismissed as a fan-created fantasy with no official authority.

 

Yet within the industry, it was an indicator of popularity that no one could ignore.

 

The final gate before reaching the Grand Prize had opened.