Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols Chapter 522 - Decision

The KTX to Seoul was much more pleasant and comfortable. Choi Jeho didn’t pretend to be asleep. I enthusiastically filled my phone with photos of ‘our center returning home for Chuseok’. I no longer had to worry about eyewitness accounts of a discord rumor.

 

Upon arriving at the dorm, as soon as I unpacked, I headed to Woo Yoonjae’s hometown. This was to follow Choi Jeho’s instruction to stay out of the way for a while.

 

‘I’ll talk to them, so you go somewhere else.’

 

‘Jeho, where am I supposed to go?’

 

‘If you want to wait out on the balcony, be my guest.’

 

I had no desire to shiver on a balcony, so I belatedly accepted an invitation I’d previously turned down. Woo Yoonjae readily allowed the latecomer to join. Gu Jahan, who had arrived ahead of us, even came to the bus terminal to pick me up.

 

“You’re dressed completely differently from when we filmed Let’s Have a Meal.”

 

“This place is the real deal…”

 

Gu Jahan smiled, looking as though half his soul had already left his body. Both the foreign car and the car owner were covered in dirt. In the back seat, yellow baskets were stacked high. When I asked what they were, I received the terrifying answer that they were all songpyeon.

 

(TL note: Songpyeon is sweet steamed rice cake.)

 

“Was there really that much work?”

 

“You have no idea. Woo Yoonjae’s family owns a ridiculous amount of land.”

 

“I’m saying this just in case, but you shouldn’t mention personal private property like that on a variety show.”

 

“You think I’d actually go on TV and announce that Woo Yoonjae is land-rich?”

 

Yes. Are you really going to act offended, acting as if I’m worrying over nothing?

 

Even though I didn’t say it out loud, Gu Jahan caught onto my thoughts. He grumbled the entire drive, and I couldn’t begin to describe how noisy he was.

 

Woo Yoonjae’s family welcomed me warmly. Before I could even pull out the floral momppe pants I’d brought—just in case I was deployed into work—I was sat down in the warmest spot of the room and served songpyeon and apples. When I asked them to give me any task, I was assigned the mission of taking the dog for a walk along the field ridges.

 

After a lap around the vast fields, I found Gu Jahan in a gray jumper, striking a hand-hoe against the stone floor to shake off the dirt. Gu Jahan, squatting and hoeing cement… it was a very fresh sight.

 

“From a distance, I thought you were Woo Yoonjae sunbaenim.”

 

“Do I look like a proper farm worker now?”

 

“Full marks for the outfit.”

 

For someone who kept singing about how hard it was, Gu Jahan actually looked remarkably healthy. I heard that he ate three hearty meals a day, worked like a cultivator as long as the sun was up, and then drifted off to dreamland under a quilted blanket as soon as night fell. His ability to adapt was so impressive that I was honestly worried he’d announce he was quitting acting to become a farmer.

 

“Want me to tell you something amazing?”

 

Gu Jahan asked as he stood up, having shaken off all the dust from the hoe. He then leaned in to whisper a secret.

 

“This house… they light a brazier every night to grill something to eat.”

 

“Huh?”

 

As I stared at him in bafflement, completely caught off guard by the random statement, Gu Jahan whispered with a serious face.

 

“Tonight’s snack is roasted chestnuts.”

 

Just what had Woo Yoonjae and the autumn harvest done to Gu Jahan? My imagination wasn’t nearly creative enough to picture it.

 

 ***

 

Just as Gu Jahan said, once the sun set at Woo Yoonjae’s home, they brought a brazier out to the yard and lit a fire. But they weren’t just grilling snacks. I’d never seen that many jumbo prawns in my life.

 

“You have to eat grilled giant prawns in the autumn…”

 

Woo Yoonjae, laying out foil and salt in a pot to grill the prawns, looked like a… master who had reached enlightenment. Admiring how impressive he looked, I devoted myself to carrying plates of chili paste around.The mother and father placed a prawn in front of me every time they decapitated one.

 

“The day before yesterday, it was gizzard shad.” 

 

Gu Jahan said as he expertly peeled a prawn. There was a reason this man’s skin looked so healthy.

 

After the heavy meal, the family members went inside first. Only the Villain Trio remained outside to clean up and cut slits into the chestnut shells. We wrapped sweet potatoes Woo Yoonjae brought from the storehouse in foil and tossed them into the fire. Once we dragged plastic chairs in front of the brazier, the atmosphere became the perfect crackle campfire mood.

 

“Did you have a good trip to your member’s home?”

 

Woo Yoonjae asked, poking the sweet potatoes in the fire with tongs. Every movement sent showers of sparks dancing into the air.

 

“Yeah. I got plenty of rest.”

 

“Don’t you get sick of seeing each other on holidays when you live in a dorm every day?”

 

“Haha, what is there to get sick of!”

 

Explaining it would be too long and frustrating, so I just smiled brightly to keep the tears from falling. Stay strong, me.

 

“Even when I wanted to meet up with you, you were never in Seoul. I definitely heard news that you were in a car accident, but then you were in Busan, then Daegu. When the tour ended and I asked, you were in Gwangju. Aren’t they overworking you too much over there?”

 

Gu Jahan clucked his tongue as he poured himself a drink. Woo Yoonjae, sitting across the fire, quietly clinked glasses with his friend before emptying his own.

 

Quite a few people had contacted me over the past weeks, but these two had been relentless, bombarding my phone with texts and calls. I wondered just how much intimacy these people felt with me for them to act like this, but decided not to say anything.

 

“I rested enough in between. More importantly, why aren’t you giving me a glass?”

 

“You seriously have to ask? Drink your soda. Yoonjae went all the way to the Hanaro Mart to get that because he heard you were coming.”

 

When he put it like that, how could I refuse? So I alone filled my oversized cup to the brim with soda

 

“You might be sick of hearing this… but is your body okay?”

 

Woo Yoonjae handed me three roasted chestnuts that had split open perfectly. White steam billowed out as I peeled the chestnuts with my work gloves on. Meanwhile, Gu Jahan got hit in the shin by a chestnut that presumably popped because it wasn’t prepped correctly.

 

“You probably won’t believe me, but I’m perfectly fine.”

 

“It really is hard to believe,” 

 

Gu Jahan interjected while rubbing his shin. Out of basic human decency, I checked whether the flying chestnut had burned a hole through his pants.

 

“Can’t we talk about something more cheerful? What were you two talking about before I got here?”

 

I tried to change the subject, only to find out the depressing fact that these two middle-aged men had spent three days talking about their worries and anxieties regarding the future of their acting roles. Left with no better option, I just ate chestnuts and talked a lot about working out.

 

As the alcohol kicked in, the actors’ eyes slowly began to glaze over.

 

“I asked Woo Yoonjae when his contract expires and if he wanted to switch agencies, and he said he likes his current company. Then he told me to move over to his. Isn’t that shameless?”

 

“He’s been like that for two days just because I said my company is genuinely good.”

 

“You really make a habit of recruiting people. You told me something similar before too. I’m starting to suspect it’s just empty talk.”

 

Using my years of company dinner skills, I played along diligently. It didn’t feel like the weary assistant manager forced to flatter the CEO and department head despite wanting to go home. It felt more like staying at a gathering arranged by our team’s ill-tempered general manager, who had just come back from a confrontation with another team, to let off steam. The atmosphere wasn’t bad.

 

By the time the menu transitioned from chestnuts to sweet potatoes, the topic of Woo Yoonjae and Gu Jahan being offered the same role heated up the conversation as much as the brazier.

 

“Honestly, isn’t Woo Yoonjae the unreasonable one here? If we’re up against each other, obviously I’m the one losing. Right?”

 

“Please let me drink a penalty shot instead of giving a reaction to that. I’m begging you.”

 

“Hey, stop bothering Mr. Iwol.”

 

Gu Jahan threatened that he’d wait and see what the viewership ratings would be. Judging by the fact that he still intended to watch every broadcast despite all his complaining, he didn’t seem especially bitter that Woo Yoonjae had ultimately been the one the industry chose.

 

‘While one group was tearing their household apart with arguments, these two were strengthening their friendship around a campfire….’

 

Dumbfounded, I sipped on my innocent soda. I was about to just space out watching the burning embers when my pocket vibrated. It was a message from Choi Jeho.

 

[Center Emperor Choi Jeho]

[Talk is over]

[I explained things roughly. Told them it wasn’t as serious as they thought]

[They agreed to drop it without questioning you further]

 

It was his report that the mission had been successfully completed. Spokesman Choi Jeho’s performance was dazzling.Judging from his messages, those guys had apparently been discussing this until 10 p.m., the current time. It was an achievement worthy of buying him an #FF6600 shirt.

 

[Center Emperor Choi Jeho]

[Lee Cheonghyeon was no joke]

[He wasn’t like that back when he was a trainee]

[It seems his personality got worse hanging out with you]

[If that kid starts throwing himself onto the floor during arguments someday, it’ll be 100% your fault]

 

This guy was doing fine until he ruined it by blaming me. Seriously, he couldn’t let me enjoy a compliment for even one second. I swore to heaven that the only things I’d ever taught Lee Cheonghyeon were how to use Dotion, the 101 Ways to Sound Like You’re Appeasing Someone While Actually Persuading Them, and a few foolproof debate-winning techniques.

 

[Me]

[I am innocent.]

 

I explained myself with full indignation and put my phone away. In that short time, Gu Jahan’s face had turned as red as a cooked prawn. I couldn’t tell if his skin was flushed from the heat or the alcohol.

 

Looking at these men busy bickering and then seeing Choi Jeho’s message made me feel strange. The people getting drunk and leaving me out, the guys who would be gathered at the dorm without me—it kept giving me the impression that I was drifting away from the group. The crackling of the burning firewood sounded unusually loud.

 

Having used up a significant portion of my synchronization rate in the process of explaining things to Choi Jeho, the time had finally come for me to make a decision. The time had come to admit that I was no longer in a position to attempt anything, and that I had to accept reality.

 

I’d come all the way here because I wanted to postpone facing that truth. I supposed I couldn’t help feeling bitter.

 

I quietly stared into my cup, which still held about a finger’s worth of soda. Then, I picked up a newly opened bottle of soju and poured it into the glass. I slammed the bottom of the glass with a chopstick and downed it in one shot, leaving Gu Jahan and Woo Yoonjae frozen before they could even stop me.

 

“What are you doing?!”

 

“It’s sosa. Young people enjoy soju like this sometimes.”

 

(TL note: Sosa is soju mixed with soda.)

 

“You think we don’t know that? Hey, Yoonjae. Take the bottle away. Since when does anyone make a sosa with that insane a ratio of soju?!”

 

Woo Yoonjae and Gu Jahan jumped up and cleared the bottles away. Unable to get drunk and unable to go back to the dorm, I sat beside the fading flames and gazed at the full moon.