Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols Chapter 495 - Neighbors (1)

Park Joowoo, bravely and boldly, went on a variety show where he played all sorts of games alone. And he brilliantly appeared as the main focus on screen every five minutes.

 

≫ Pale skin + slow speech + insane forearms

Rock heaven is still heaven.

└ As expected, he truly is the god of rock.

└ The most amazing thing is how he casually flips people’s arms around without changing his expression.

└ And despite all this, he still comes in second place in arm wrestling in the team…? Is first place Choi Jeho?

└└ Yeah.

 

≫ Game interrupted due to first-ever equipment malfunction in the game room.

Park Joowoo exploded the decibel meter ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

└ I still can’t forget the comment: ‘His face is like ice, but his voice is like a train whistle’ㅋㅋ큐ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

└ The way he got all nervous because the staff kept saying there was a problem after his volume pierced through the microphone’s limits was adorableㅠㅠ

└ The funniest part was when he sincerely tried to accept the ‘bad singer’ punishment by singing with 20% real voice and 80% breathinessㅋㅋㅋㅋ

 

≫ Energetic Park Joowoo

He got caught doing a shoulder dance, became the center of attention, and turned red. So cute.

└ He does that a lot in the dorms, so I guess he felt really comfortable on setㅋㅋㅋ

└ ??: ‘Why is your face so red?’ Joowoo: ‘I get shy easily /////’ Me: ‘But you’re an idol’

└ Spark and Sparkler should all reflect on themselves. We kept saying it was cute how Joowoo looked like he was peeking out between all those tall guys while dancing, and the kid actually thought he wasn’t visible, so he started dancing outside the group. This is despite being 185 cm tall with shoulders as broad as the Pacific Ocean.

└ If you truly cherish Joowoo, I think the fandom should now call him ‘Big Joo’ instead of ‘Park Joowoo’

 

≫ Joowoo at the game room opening: A noble young master visiting to observe commoners’ outdoor play.

Joowoo at the game room ending: ‘Oh, sir, the business is over. It’s time to close’ << He’s playing the role of the customer.

└ + Things Joowoo broke today: Arm wrestling handle, decibel meter, foam board partition, rules of the game, sound director’s ears.

└ Sorry, Director.

└ Our Joowoo didn’t do it on purpose

└ The partition wasn’t Joowoo’s fault; the partition came and crashed into him.

└└ But the wall was completely destroyed…

 

Following the Legends of Eccentrics he displayed in the previous chase variety show, he presented another King of Destruction moment, further solidifying his image as something that had long since transcended ordinary humanity.

 

…As a result, should I consider my wish—to turn Park Joowoo into an elf, give him the setting of being ageless, and stop changing his contact name—to be coming true? If so, maybe this wasn’t such a bad phenomenon after all.

 

Kang Kiyeon appeared as a guest on a sports variety show where the cast learned a different sport every week. The sport for the day Kang Kiyeon participated was boxing.

 

Within Spark, it was rare for Kang Kiyeon to stand out dramatically in athletics. The first reason was that there was an unrivaled member in that area, and the second was that I had consistently and strongly opposed any exercise outside of his set routine.

 

Unless it was part of an unavoidable program, I didn’t allow him to engage in any exercise outside the gym that might put excessive strain on his body. However, his growth spurt was over, his joints had stabilized, and the offer to appear was valuable, plus it was a side of him we hadn’t often shown to fans, so we ultimately accepted.

 

I didn’t think Kang Kiyeon would be bad at exercise. I expected him to perform at an average level. And Kang Kiyeon far exceeded my expectations.

 

≫ Sir,

Would you not consider boxing?

 

Boxing and Kang Kiyeon had such good chemistry that it looked like it was a tailor-made sport for him. His quick and accurate footwork and dynamic vision were Kang Kiyeon’s strengths. Since he specialized in learning movements and reproducing them physically after being taught, he mastered every technique almost immediately.

 

His stamina and tenacity were also remarkable. Whether he was asked to jump rope hundreds of times or throw jabs repeatedly, Kang Kiyeon rarely gave up. From basic aptitude tests to practice drills and even live sparring, he remained the model student throughout the entire shoot.

 

≫ When comparing only beginners, KKY is definitely overwhelmingly good.

The sound his arm makes when he punches is different.

└ KKY -> Kang Kiyeon?

└ Yep! I think the initials got stuck together when typing.

└ The coach explained exactly what made him good, so it was easy to understand. And whenever he got feedback, you could visibly see his form improve immediately.

 

≫ Idols really need good stamina.

If it were me, I’d lie down the moment I passed 50 jump ropes.

└ The only jump rope I can do is choreographed jump rope to a one-minute songㅠㅠ

└ Music jump rope ㅋㅋㅋ Nostalgia.

└ It’s amazing that he did a three-hour live stream after filming.

 

≫ As he grew taller, his aura became very strong.

Before, he was already of average height and had good proportions, giving a strong imposing feeling, but now he’s just plain scary to look at ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Especially those slightly sanpaku eyes

└ And even before, his face never lost out when standing next to the other members. The ultimate maknae…

└ Before, when he was with his hyungs, he was small and cute ㅋㅋㅋ But now his physique is so amazing… He grew up well… I completely understand why Kim Iwol held a celebration.

 

If the group’s popularity had been weak, the individual achievements they gained through variety shows might never have translated into success for the team as a whole. But because the name Spark and its members were already well known, each person’s activities combined organically and reached viewers together.

 

≫ Spark, solidifying their position as a variety show trend, becoming an icon driving viewership ratings.

≫ Collection of male idols that make you go, ‘Is this THAT guy?’ 

≫ ‘Do you need a home?’ Deserted island hyung, gaining explosive popularity among students on set.

≫ Spark’s relationships are even more fun when you know about them.

≫ 20XX Star Brand Reputation Index revealed… Group #1 ‘Spark’.

 

With our growing recognition, various advertising offers came in. There were many places calling for Spark, both individually and as a group. It was something to be grateful for, but we rejected all solo advertisements to prepare for any unforeseen circumstances.

 

As is often the case with worldly affairs, there were some minor side effects.

 

≫ Iwol is definitely part of the Deserted Island faction.

He doesn’t look out of place next to Jeho.

└ Iwol was on Act On too, so why are you only saying that about Iwol?

└ We have to save at least the other two…

└ Iwol’s eyes are too crazy to be salvaged.

 

My image had been very firmly linked with the Deserted Island members. The theory that ‘Kim Iwol belongs to the anti-intelligence faction’, which had quietly circulated since my appearance with Choi Jeho, fused with the ‘Manager Kim’ character from our self-produced content and produced a horrifying hybrid. I considered boycotting but held back.

 

Aside from this, Spark’s daily life was more than peaceful; it was smooth sailing. The phrase ‘advancing with sails billowing in a fair wind’ came to mind.

 

‘I almost got overwhelmed because of the System, but I don’t even have time for that.’

 

Thoughts about the System would pop up unexpectedly even when I was still. It was hard to completely ignore its existence. Sometimes it felt like the System was lurking right behind me every moment, and if work hadn’t been pouring in nonstop, I might have been consumed by anxiety. So having even brief opportunities to clear my head—or stop thinking altogether—was a blessing.

 

However, I wasn’t just ignoring reality. On the day I returned from the daycare shoot, I demanded the System explain the exact meaning of ‘opportunity to nullify death’.

 

The System replied:

 

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

▶ I saw Assistant Manager Kim’s request, and it looked like we just needed to reassign seats. So I transferred the person concerned to a distant location. They won’t be coming back.

 

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

▶ As for what happens to someone who has left… well, that’s not something I can interfere with.

 

Interpreting that through the System’s usual translation function, it meant: ‘The possibility of your sister dying in a traffic accident at that intersection has completely vanished, but your sister will not come to the scene, nor will you encounter her there. Even if harm comes to your sister for reasons other than a traffic accident, I cannot prevent that’. It had promised to cooperate for a smooth resignation, and apparently that included handing over information.

 

Since I remembered the accident location, the ideal outcome from the System’s perspective would have been preventing my sister from ever going there in the first place. This way, there would be no ‘trouble’ by the System’s standards, as I, who had been secretly waiting, wouldn’t have to prevent the accident that was supposed to happen.

 

The System’s words could also be interpreted to mean that the accident itself would not become something that never happened. Only my sister would simply disappear from the scene.

 

And there was one more person there whom I shouldn’t forget.

 

‘Jaeyoon will be just their size when he gets a little older.’

 

The child I had only seen through blurry CCTV footage. Without my sister there, what would happen to that child remained uncertain. Which meant there was still a reason for me to continue attending action school.

 

‘Still, it’s good that I can prepare.’

 

I overcame the growing fatigue with sheer willpower. I focused on the fact that the situation had significantly improved compared to when I might have had to save both my sister and the child.

 

“Hyung, you’re going to the studio after practice, right?”

 

Lee Cheonghyeon asked me as I tried to shake off stray thoughts. The studio was bustling with final work on the digital single, which was soon to be released. He seemed to be referring to the schedule we had set for checking these files.

 

“Yeah. Is anyone else going besides us?”

 

“All the members are going, they said.”

 

“Why?”

 

Unless it was to check the final version, they usually just sent the files during intermediate stages. The typical routine was for me and Lee Cheonghyeon to organize improvement plans and implement them in cooperation with the A&R team once feedback was posted in the group chat. So, why now?

 

“Because it’s the first time one of your self-composed songs is being released, hyung.”

 

It was a ridiculously trivial reason. I told them to do whatever they wanted, and these guys really did pile into the elevator together. Before the doors had even fully closed, they were already chatting.

 

“Our team has such good camaraderie. Don’t you think so, hyung?”

 

“Yeah, we’re a harmonious bunch.”

 

As I vaguely answered Lee Cheonghyeon’s words, the elevator stopped on the first floor. We made some room for anyone waiting to get on, and the doors opened.

 

“Ah, Spark.”

 

Yur, who seemed to have been waiting for an elevator going up, smiled and greeted us from in front of the door.