Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols Chapter 502 - Chat Time (2)

When idols stay overseas for an extended period, it inevitably creates tension within the domestic fandom. It was even more pronounced in the case of a tour, since it wasn’t a schedule that ended in just a month or two.

 

Once people started saying that the group was neglecting the domestic market, dissatisfaction tended to spiral out of control. After all, the fans who had supported them from the beginning were the ones at home, yet the group would be accused of chasing profits while taking those fans for granted.

 

Since those criticisms were understandable and the feelings behind them perfectly natural, Spark did everything they could to make sure there was never a shortage of content while they were abroad. Before leaving, they’d filmed an enormous amount of footage, which was released as hour-long self-produced content, and they even hired a photographer to upload concert photos to the group’s official account after every performance.

 

They didn’t neglect Live broadcasts, communication apps, or the fan cafe either. Since it was their first tour, I had worried that real-time communication might be difficult if we didn’t manage our stamina properly, so we had stockpiled content before leaving. However, it turned out we could make time if we really tried. Besides, everyone was so talkative that as long as we turned the camera on, the audio filled itself.

 

≫ The blessings of livestreams never end.

I momentarily forgot about you guys’ stamina.

└ How are they turning on lives this frequently while constantly flying, moving accommodations, and doing rehearsals and concerts?

└ I believe Spark’s true talent isn’t singing or dancing, but their physical stamina.

 

≫ This is so sweet…

Please keep doing more livestreams.

└ The video team is already filming everything that’ll become vlogs later, so these sweet guys turn on the camera every night just to show us something different.

 

≫ Nobody told me we’d get literally every possible member combination served omakase-style.

Now that I’ve tasted it, there’s no going back.

Spark must take responsibility.

└ Take responsibility and give us daily life clips for every pair.

└ Well, Kim Iwol just did.

└ WTF when was it uploaded????

└ He posted them on the official cafe earlier, saying today was a day off.

 

≫ I thought I wouldn’t have any more lingering regrets since they do lives so often and show every possible combination, but I was wrong.

Why are these raw, unscripted livestreams without a whiteboard or planned agenda so much fun?

└ Usually, you don’t have those unless it’s an anniversary or a comeback liveㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└ I appreciate that they don’t want to waste Sparklers’ time with livestreams that have no content, but these spontaneous natural streams are way too entertaining.

└ These are the same guys who used to collect questions in advance for communication streams, but now they’re just eating lunchboxes and talking about whatever pops into their heads, and it feels completely freshㅋㅋ

 

≫ Side-by-side comparison of ‘Before and After’ removing makeup.

I’m sorry, but what changed?

└ I seriously cannot believe Kang Kiyeon’s nose bridge isn’t made with shading… Why is his nose still exactly like that even after removing makeup?

└ I heard that when they do makeup, they try not to touch Cheonghyeon’s original face too much and I was like ‘Ah, okay, that makes sense’, but after seeing Kang Kiyeon’s stream, I’m in a state of ‘Isn’t Kiyeon not wearing makeup either?’

└ What I imagined: My bias revealing an unexpected soft/cute side after removing makeup / Reality: My bias still looking like a frozen icicle after removing makeup.

 

≫ Freshly washed hair that’s only been roughly blow-dried without styling is such a vibe

When else would we get to see the eldest brothers with messy down-hair as much as we want?

└ Guys, sleepy Iwol is something we only get to see at times like this. We have no idea when we’ll ever get this relaxed version of him again.

└ Jeho, let’s try living without hair wax for just one month… I can’t bear to lose your slicked-up hair either, so just for one month…

 

≫ In the beginning, he complained so much about the robes, but now everyone just comes out in robes like it’s nothing ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Humans really are creatures of adaptation.

└ After three weeks, the most unbelievable part is that Kim Iwol has started tying the other members’ bathrobe ribbons neatly for them ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└ Seongbin always comes out wearing an undershirt beneath his robe, and he looks like the perfect proper leader… but I keep remembering the ‘Third-Born’ written underneath the robe

└ Our Seongbin… is strange.

└ He has always been not quite right

 

***

 

Through diligent updates, Spark managed to maintain public favor. To be honest, about half the livestreams weren’t out of obligation—we simply enjoyed turning on the camera ourselves—but since everyone loved them, I decided the outcome was good either way.

 

“Are you still monitoring?”

 

My new roommate, Lee Cheonghyeon, asked while drying his hair with a towel. This was already our fifth accommodation. Before we knew it, the tour was heading into its second half.

 

“I’m done. I should go wash up now.”

 

“The hot water here is great. Five stars.”

 

Lee Cheonghyeon gave a thumbs-up. Then, he tied his robe ribbon prettily—exactly the way I had taught him recently—and lay spread-eagle on the bed for some healing time.

 

“Dry your hair with the blow dryer before you lie down. You’ll catch a cold.”

 

“Just five minutes.”

 

“Leaving wet hair as it is can cause hair loss or dermatitis…”

 

“Ugh! Fine, fine!”

 

At the nagging that now came out like an automated response, he sighed and grabbed the hair dryer. y the time I came back from my shower, his hair was fluffy and completely dry, and he was rolling around on the bed proudly telling me to admire just how thoroughly he’d dried it.

 

“We don’t have any schedules tomorrow, right?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

At my answer, Lee Cheonghyeon stretched.

 

Since the early summer of last year, Lee Cheonghyeon had been running without a single moment of rest. It wasn’t as though he’d taken things easy before that, either. The only difference was that he had increased the speed of the treadmill he was already on; he was running endlessly.

 

Even grown-up office workers get burnout if they only work. People wear themselves out much more easily than they think, and often gradually without even realizing it. I couldn’t help worrying that the same thing might happen to Lee Cheonghyeon.

 

‘Though it’s not like he listens whenever I tell him to slow down.’

 

It was to the point where I wondered, ‘Was this how the Spark members felt when they looked at me during my early days at the company?’ I never dreamed I would experience such a reversal of perspectives.

 

“Cheonghyeon.”

 

“Yeah?”

 

His eyes, which had been blankly staring at the ceiling, turned to me. His sharpened jawline was particularly noticeable.

 

“Are you having a hard time because there’s so much work?”

 

“Why suddenly bringing that up?”

 

Lee Cheonghyeon asked with a puzzled look. He seemed to fall into thought for a moment, then sat up.

 

“Well… I guess it isn’t exactly out of nowhere. You ask me things like this every now and then, hyung.”

 

He hugged a pillow with one arm and scratched his head with the other.

 

The fact that he didn’t answer with a joke meant Lee Cheonghyeon had something he wanted to say about this in his own way. I didn’t rush him and waited for him to answer.

 

“It’s hard to answer with a simple yes or no. Compared to studying, or compared to our domestic schedules where I could recharge at the dorm, it’s definitely tougher. But I enjoy the work, and the stimulation of constantly being in new places refreshes me. It kind of balances out the hardships.”

 

“I see.”

 

“While we were preparing, I felt like my head was going to explode from making setlists and rearranging songs. But rearranging songs also means I get to improve the parts I personally wasn’t satisfied with before. Thinking of it as getting another chance to make up for those things made me excited.”

 

“I’m glad there were positive aspects.”

 

Despite saying I was glad, I felt a bit uneasy. It felt like hearing a polished answer from a job applicant during an interview.

 

‘There’s no reason for him to try and look good for me, so why?’

 

Just as a sense of déjà vu was setting in, Lee Cheonghyeon spoke up.

 

“Can I be honest?”

 

“About anything.”

 

“I was more worried about something else than the work itself.”

 

“May I ask what you were worried about?”

 

“Hmm…”

 

It was rare for Lee Cheonghyeon to choose his words so carefully. After a long silence, he found the right words to express his thoughts.

 

“I was worried about whether we’d last.”

 

“…”

 

“In the past—no, it wasn’t even that long ago. Until recently, I had this anxiety of not knowing how long the six of us could promote together.”

 

Lee Cheonghyeon calmly explained where that feeling came from. He said the trigger was when I had the accident because of Yoo Hansoo. With the company being noisy inside and out, controversies popping up everywhere, family opposition, and the intervention of a large agency—he said it left him feeling unsettled in many ways.

 

“I felt like I had to do something, so I tried to work hard at what I could do. If we had songs ready, then we wouldn’t have to postpone a comeback because we didn’t have music, and if there’s demand, people will keep calling for Spark.”

 

It seemed the fear that everything might someday come to an end had followed Lee Cheonghyeon for a very long time. I asked him carefully.

 

“Are you still anxious now?”

 

“No.”

 

Lee Cheonghyeon’s answer was concise and clear.

 

“You said you’ve never considered us a burden, hyung.”

 

This was the conversation we had when I opened a bottle of liquor in the dorm living room.

 

“Do you know what you used to say all the time, from our trainee days through the beginning of our debut?”

 

When I couldn’t easily find the answer, Lee Cheonghyeon kindly provided it.

 

“‘You guys.'”

 

“…”

 

“‘You guys are going to succeed.’ ‘You guys don’t have anything to worry about.’… Those kinds of things always bothered me. And I don’t think I was the only one. The reason Seongbin hyung insisted on us performing together even though your head was injured was for a similar reason.”

 

I remembered. Whenever I said things like that, Jeong Seongbin always looked hurt.

 

“At first, I couldn’t figure you out. It felt like you didn’t want to be with us, but you still took care of everything for us. I thought maybe you were just a genuinely kind person… but you were always especially soft toward us. You’d admit that yourself, wouldn’t you?”

 

“…Yeah.”

 

“That’s why I felt relieved when I heard from your own mouth that Spark isn’t a burden. And you’ve really changed a lot, hyung. I don’t know if you realize it, but you don’t back out when we wear group tees, and you don’t scold the members for mentioning you anymore.”

 

Not every idol group stayed close even in private. Some maintained purely professional relationships, and some practically treated each other like enemies. Those teams must have their own reasons, but Lee Cheonghyeon confessed that, if possible, he’d always wanted everyone to genuinely get along.

 

“Going on fun trips, calling each other when there’s something delicious to eat. Finding a funny t-shirt, wearing matching colors, and chatting for hours about nothing.”

 

“…”

 

“I loved those little things because they felt like a family. So now there’s nothing left for me to be anxious about. I can see how much everyone treasures this team.”

 

At the same time, he said his heart never wavered while he was writing music. Even if their relationships had once seemed uncertain, he’d always believed everyone would support him when it came to work. Without embarrassment, Lee Cheonghyeon admitted those feelings honestly.

 

“If the songs were bad, I knew you hyungs or Kang Kyeon would have set up a meeting to discuss it seriously, so I wasn’t too worried. If everyone had done nothing but praise me, I probably would’ve felt more pressured instead.”

 

“Because we all try to stay objective when it comes to work.”

 

“Right. And I had this certainty that if I ever hit a slump, everyone would step up to help me regardless of what our personal relationships were like, so I didn’t really have stress regarding work.”

 

Every word Lee Cheonghyeon said was true. Including the fact that my heart had changed.

 

“Our team’s been through so many incidents that I still get worried sometimes. But now I’ve got something to rely on, so I recover much faster than I used to. I’m okay now!”

 

“Should I perform an exorcism so you can feel even more at ease?”

 

“No. Instead, I’d rather you actively cooperate with a much more constructive goal of mine.”

 

“If you tell me what constructive goal you’ve set.”

 

“Originally, my goal was for the six of us to promote as much as possible, right?”

 

Lee Cheonghyeon straightened up as though he were about to reveal some grand secret plan.

 

“Now, my dream is for us to promote together for a long, long time.”

 

He grinned.

 

“If it’s us, we can do it.”

 

To those hopeful words, there was nothing I could do but smile back.