Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols Chapter 509 - Surprise Appearance (1)

“Then, that’s it for today’s meeting…”

 

The planning team leader in charge of Hellas announced the end of the long session. People everywhere began stretching or letting out groans of exhaustion. Everyone was drained after the four-hour marathon.

 

If early Spark had fought for survival in the industry, and present-day Spark was fighting to maintain its momentum, then Hellas had to prove that transferring agencies had been the right decision.

 

The company’s professional competence was also being put to the test. If they had managed Spark well but failed to revitalize a much more experienced group like Hellas, people would undoubtedly criticize them, asking what they were even good for besides collecting paychecks.

 

Because of this, everyone in the Hellas team—from the idols themselves to the staff—was sharpened to a competitive edge. Fortunately, the final product turned out very well. Anyone who knew how difficult it was to reach a conclusion that satisfied both the agency and the artists wiould understand the hardships of everyone involved in this project.

 

“Mr. Iwol, you worked hard.”

 

Yur, who was sitting diagonally across from me, offered some encouragement. The other Hellas seniors sitting next to him joined in with a chorus of praise.

 

“I barely did anything besides sit here!”

 

I waved my hands in dismissal. It was vital not to get a big head from polite compliments. However, the overwhelming praise kept coming.

 

“I wondered why Chaejun praised Spark so much, but you really are different.”

 

“You have great sense. Do you know that most people didn’t believe it when Spark said they were self-producing from the start?”

 

“Many thought it was a collaborative effort with the company.”

 

I hadn’t been outside of UA much, so I didn’t know that. And even now, I didn’t think it was information I particularly needed.

 

“Even MYTH was greedy for you.”

 

Yur, who had been quiet, dropped a remark that was too heavy to be dismissed as a simple compliment.

 

On the surface, it was simply something people familiar with the industry might say. Idols who had come over from MYTH would naturally know what had gone on inside the company. However, until recently, there had been corporate-level conflict between MYTH and UA. It was a sharp thing to say for someone who had just transferred.

 

‘There’s no way he’d make a slip like that… so what’s going on?’

 

I wasn’t the only one flustered. A subtle tension drifted through the meeting room.

 

“Because you’re talented and hardworking. Any company would want you.”

 

The moment I heard the final comment, I realized why Yur was doing this. This senior was warning the company: ‘If you don’t want to lose Spark when it’s time for contract renewals, you’d better behave.’ Since Hellas themselves had transferred under similar circumstances, his words carried considerable weight.

 

A typical employee might be criticized for making such a provocative statement, but Yur was an investor with the authority to voice his opinion on company operations.

 

For his own team, Hellas, to settle stably into the new agency, it was objectively better for Spark to remain as their juniors and colleagues. He wasn’t making threats; he was looking out for the company’s interests and making sure they understood the reality beforehand.

 

‘He must have heard about Jeong Seongbin being offered an honorary position and turning it down.’

 

His point was that if the company didn’t hold onto them with attractive treatment, Spark could leave at any time. He was asking what they intended to use to keep Spark when so many others were calling for them. His affection for his juniors really was something else.

 

More than that, I couldn’t understand how someone who had once been an idol could switch gears so effortlessly. Did spending over ten years at a major agency do that to a person? Was it no different from an office worker who had survived for years at a huge corporation.

 

“Not at all. I still have much to learn.”

 

I broke into a cold sweat trying to calm down these seniors, who looked gentle but were remarkably skilled at throwing verbal punches. Yur accepted my efforts to change the atmosphere.

 

“Is the comeback preparation for Spark going well? It’s coming soon, right?”

 

“Yes. That’s why today’s my last meeting.”

 

The comeback date was confirmed for early September. Then, beginning in the middle of the month, we’d spend every weekend performing in cities all across the country.

 

Now, as we approached the end of August, Spark and the staff were incredibly busy. Hellas knew that perfectly well.

 

“You really went through a lot. I don’t know how to repay this debt.”

 

“On the day Spark makes their comeback, I’ll post three insta posts to decorate your feed.”

 

“Isn’t our comeback shortly after Spark’s final music show? Let’s film a challenge together. No one ever asks us to do challenges.”

 

The seniors said terrifying things quite casually. If they stopped to consider how senior they themselves were, they’d realize exactly why other groups didn’t dare ask them to film challenges. Everyone burst out laughing as I hurriedly gathered my journal planner and pencil case to escape.

 

“Is the concept coming out the way you wanted, Mr. Iwol?”

 

“Fortunately, yes.”

 

“That’s good. You worked so hard balancing the tour and album prep.”

 

Polo, who had been horrified when he first heard our schedule, clapped and laughed. Even I had to admit our schedule had been absolutely brutal. It was only because Lee Cheonghyeon never stopped composing and communicated smoothly with the company remotely that things hadn’t become a complete disaster.

 

‘It helped that my own role wasn’t that large.’

 

My responsibility for this album was limited to the main concept and style that ran through the entire album, such as outfits and photography. Compared to previous albums, my contribution had decreased, but with Jeong Seongbin’s support, the overall member participation remained at a similar level.

 

It was a good thing that more people were actively contributing opinions at a practically applicable level rather than just offering passing comments. While Lee Cheonghyeon was a born artist who could write songs in a million genres alone, the ideas coming out of my ordinary brain had their limits. I always welcomed the influx of new brains to diversify the concepts.

 

Matching the new concept led to a big change in my own style. Specifically, the brown hair—the signature look of a kind-hearted second male lead. My hair was changed to a light brown that turned into a sunset glow when it hit the sunlight, a look I thought only someone like Jeong Seongbin could pull off in Spark.

 

To match the preppy styling, the other guys had also transformed into versions of themselves that looked like they’d spent a little too much time overseas. I’d lost count of how many times we’d gone back and forth between the salon and the dressing room. How much effort I put into highlighting the chemistry between the shining eyes duo of Park Joowoo and Lee Cheonghyeon… Ah, I needed to fix this habit of going off on a tangent when I thought about work.

 

Just as I was trying to snap out of it and head back to the practice room, my pocket vibrated. It was a notification that the samples for the physical album—the first one in almost a year—were ready.

 

‘Is this the A version?’

 

The design, which looked like the cover of an old fashion magazine, caught my eye. The scrap-book-style inner pages, which looked like photos had been torn out by hand, perfectly captured the vintage vibe I wanted.

 

Was it because of the nostalgic layout? I used to only know how to pre-order idol albums, not how to make them well. It reminded me of the days when I ran around and racked my brain just to complete our debut album.

 

‘We started with nothing but guesswork and somehow made it this far.’

 

I felt deeply moved. Compared to the time when my goal was just to squeeze out a decent result, it felt like a dream to be able to focus solely on achieving the highest quality without worrying about the budget.

 

The change in the Spark members—who were now handling two or three people’s worth of work while their standards kept getting higher—was also noteworthy. The company and manpower had stabilized, and the members were fully displaying their capabilities. Could there possibly be a more perfect example of teamwork?

 

No matter how much I searched my memories, there had never been a group project this good in my life. That thought put me at ease.

 

* * *

 

The three months and one week that Spark was away from Korea were far too long. Time in the world had stopped from the day Spark left. At least, that was the case in Baek Haewon’s world.

 

Since they were scheduled to go on a domestic tour almost immediately after the overseas tour, she had a sad premonition that if Spark were to have a comeback this year, it wouldn’t be until the end of the year.

 

‘Still, they gave us the digital single and the self-produced content…’

 

Baek Haewon decided not to be too disappointed. No fan likes seeing their bias working their fingers to the bone overseas just to be treated like cash cows.

 

But knowing the realities of Korea’s small domestic market, and knowing how desperately Spark tried to give Sparklers even one more piece of content while staying busy so the fandom wouldn’t lose momentum, she didn’t want to complain.

 

So, like the bear that hid in a cave for a hundred days surviving only on mugwort and garlic, Baek Haewon spent those hundred days rewatching everything Spark had done since debut, replenishing her fangirl energy.

 

It wasn’t an easy journey. True to the joke that the contents dropped during a single comeback could feed all the fish in the Atlantic, Spark had left behind a staggering amount of livestreams and videos.

 

Baek Haewon spent her time doing various tasks like adding BGM to memes she’d watched so often they were on the verge of digital erosion and uploading them to short-form platforms, or cutting self-produced content frame-by-frame to make fan-made videos while waiting for her boys to return.

 

≫ Fine, just open concert ticket sales already.

We need to fight for tickets and reserve Haidilao afterward.

└ UtopiA, please open the reservations quickly so the people who grabbed the available seats can plan their Girls’ Night Planet.

 

While Sparklers were eagerly waiting for the ticket sale date that had been announced months earlier…

 

≫ ??????????????????????

You guys are having a… comeback?

 

The reservation date they wanted didn’t come, but a comeback event that ruined the rotation (to borrow an expression from a gacha-game fanatic friend) arrived.

 

≫ Summary of the announcement for busy modern Sparklers

1. Album Title: Dear. My_ (Mini Album)
2. Total 3 versions (Magazine, Magic, Maniac)
3. Pre-orders start tomorrow

└ Thank you, Summary Fairy…!

 

≫ Guys, it hasn’t even been two weeks since you got back to Korea.

You’re touring the country in September, so when are you going to promote…?

└ Looks like they’ll promote hard starting September 1st for about two weeks before going straight into the concerts.

└ This schedule is insane.

└ Where did the 2-week thing come from??

└ Iwol mentioned on BubblePop that he prepared 2 weeks’ worth of music show outfitsㅋㅋ

 

Baek Haewon hurriedly clicked the link, flustered by the sudden comeback news. From behind a blurry filter, Kim Iwol greeted her, resting his chin on one hand while wearing a knit vest, his daring light brown hair dye so drastic it was practically a new identity.

 

Having been starved of her bias every minute of every day, the overly deprived Sparkler immediately flooded her private fan account with words far too feral to ever post publicly.