Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols Chapter 535 - OFFICIAL

A member’s departure had a profound impact on a group. Whatever the reason, it came as a huge shock to the fandom, and it took a long time before the fans could accept the remaining members as the complete group.

 

This was especially true if the departure wasn’t due to the natural expiration of a contract. The more unexpected the issue, the greater the repercussions.

 

That was why I’d saved this method as an absolute last resort, but… with no better options left, I had no choice but to choose the lesser evil.

 

Regardless of everything, I couldn’t just let the sync rate reach 100% while the kids were watching. 

 

Furthermore, what if the fans were there too? How could I ever take responsibility for that trauma? It was thousands of times better for them to feel betrayed and angry at a despicable traitor than to have to experience a sudden, tragic parting from someone they cherished.

 

Once I had decided on a course of action, I focused all my resources on leaving the dorm as quickly as possible. If there was going to be noise regardless of when I left, I figured it was best to get it over with as early as possible so the group could regain stability sooner.

 

I didn’t just run away blindly, either. I’d made thorough preparations so that everything could be wrapped up smoothly on the inside as well.

 

I settled the penalty fee—I had already taken down all the advertisements, so all that remained was to resolve the financial matters with the agency. I made a list of paid services such as Bubblepop that would need to be discontinued because the company had never dealt with terminating an idol’s contract before. I’d even written the handwritten letter that needed to be posted on Spark’s official account in advance, taken photos of it without any shadows, and uploaded them to the shared drive. In other words, I hadn’t left anything undone that could expedite my departure.

 

And yet, why? Why on earth!

 

“Why aren’t they posting the withdrawal notice?!”

 

Neither Spark nor UtopiA had made a single sound, even though it had been nearly a week since I fled. I thought I had missed the notification for Choi Jeho’s birthday live because I was busy moving, but that rascal… he skipped the live entirely.

 

When even Kim Iwol, supposedly Bubblepop’s most devoted user, didn’t log in for more than two days, the Sparklers started talking. I’d written over a hundred pages of handover documents precisely so I wouldn’t have to see this kind of mess, and they went and caused trouble anyway?

 

I could understand if they couldn’t post a grim announcement around Choi Jeho’s birthday. ebut anniversaries and members’ birthdays were important days that took priority over almost everything else.

 

That was why I’d given them guidelines to post it after his birthday! Although I didn’t have the luxury of choosing the date of my own departure, I even included a special clause so the company could announce it whenever they felt ready. So why were they still showing no reaction…?

 

I felt guilty. It felt like I was doing something terrible to the people who had paid a monthly subscription fee just to chat with me, to the point that I could hardly swallow my food. In fact, I hadn’t been able to eat a proper meal in days.

 

‘Is there more to organize than I expected?’

 

Processing contract terminations and resignations was practically my specialty in my past life. Using that professional experience, I had settled all financial matters, advertising contracts, and work duties before leaving. 

 

Since my case wasn’t entirely unique in the entertainment industry, I had carefully read through cases of legal disputes and gave up everything to ensure the company suffered almost no disadvantage. I’d even paid nearly all the settlement money I’d received so far as a penalty.

 

Putting the material side aside, they might simply want to sue me for abruptly running away from home. If they were sharpening their blades to give me a taste of the bitterness of society under the pretext of contempt of court or breach of trust, I could understand.

 

But still, Spark, you guys have to do your part. Regardless of the company preparing legal procedures, you should at least show up on Bubble Pop. You’re not even turning on your live streams.

 

“What do you think I wrote that repackage album proposal for?”

 

Spark had never released a repackaged album even once. That was partly because Lee Cheonghyeon’s pace of supplying songs was good, but more importantly, I hadn’t allowed it.

 

Unless I’d taught myself composition in preparation for a shortage of songs, there was a reason we’d never simply gathered up songs from previous albums and renewed them. If remixing work had to be done, it would be more efficient to do it once only the five members who would continue promoting remained.

 

For me, who had been waiting for any opportunity to get out somehow, the repackaged album was the trump card I’d saved to announce the beginning of the five-member system.

 

If they were to hold a concert, they would only have to redistribute the parts once during the production of the repackage album, so it was cost-effective in many ways.

 

I’d even gathered up all the five-member-version photos I’d painstakingly edited over the years, making sure they could easily be adapted for albums or merchandise.

 

All that was left was for Lee Cheonghyeon to rearrange the songs. And even if he was too busy for that, I’d laid the groundwork so the A&R team could handle the mixing, and they would only need to re-record the vocals. I simply couldn’t fathom why they weren’t posting the notice.

 

…This was making me feel like an actual Sparkler. Feeling somewhat icky, I stopped thinking about it. Instead, I picked up my journal, which had become tattered during the move.

 

I turned the pages to the memo section in the back. There, a list of things I decided to do if I ended up alone—things I had jotted down whenever my head got messy—was revealed. It wasn’t because I was particularly motivated about life. I just felt like I’d go crazy if I did nothing but sit around waiting for the day I could run away, so I’d entertained myself with some pointless ideas.

 

The most urgent thing was the CSAT. When I submitted my application in advance, I’d wondered whether the day I’d actually take the exam would ever come, but now the test date was right around the corner. For the record, I had studied exactly zero percent.

 

‘An agricultural machinery license’ and ‘genetic registration’ were also on the list. I had considered the license as a way to make a living if I had a lot of time left after quitting being an idol, but since I drained my sync rate during the Truth or Dare with Choi Jeho, it became unnecessary.

 

I intended to do the genetic registration to prepare for the possibility of being connected with my older sister after my death. Given the system’s wonderful personality, it wouldn’t be strange if the connection to my sister suddenly appeared the moment I died…

 

If the penalty fee hadn’t been so high, I could have set aside as much as possible for my sister’s share, but thankfully, thanks to Spark’s tremendous popularity driving up my value, I had to cough up a considerable amount of money in penalties. Still, I was relieved that I could save much more than the initial 15 million won.

 

There were several smaller tasks as well. ‘Taking on freelance work so I don’t eat through my savings’ was a major one. I registered a business, realizing the weight of the saying that humans must work until they die.

 

Even amid all that busy time, whenever Spark came to mind, I couldn’t help but sit still for a long while. Whenever I spent a dull day doing nothing, I kept thinking about the group, so I busied myself with things like changing my registered address and whatnot.

 

Unfortunately, however, a person couldn’t move for 24 hours straight. I inevitably had to lie down in bed, and unless I passed out the second my head hit the pillow, there was always time to fall into my own thoughts. Every time that happened, Spark ran rampant through my head and made me restless.

 

I tried opening a workbook to attempt some last-minute cramming, but I couldn’t focus at all. After spending my days singing and filming variety shows in front of cameras, sitting at a desk made me fidgety.

 

I began to doubt how I ever managed to study as a high schooler. Remembering how hard it was to endure the evening self-study sessions during the filming of ‘We’ll Visit Your School’, I realized my ties with studying had definitely been severed.

 

When my idle thoughts reached this point, I would end up burying my head in my notebook and saying useless things—like how my daily life was boring.

 

While the six of us lived together, it was always bustling. Regardless of whether it was enjoyable, there was never a quiet day. Energy always brought unexpected incidents, and every day seemed to bring some ridiculous event that left us laughing until our stomachs hurt.

 

And then there were all the commotions that came with living together. When a bunch of completely different people were thrown together, not a single day passed peacefully. Even Lee Cheonghyeon and Kang Kiyeon would fight over the most trivial things whenever they were left alone together.

 

There were all sorts of reasons for their arguments. Because Lee Cheonghyeon’s newly purchased keyboard had loud clicking, because Lee Cheonghyeon had locked eyes with the prince on the cover of Kang Kiyeon’s manga in the middle of the night and screamed…

 

When the two were yapping in the living room over such nonsense, Park Joowoo would break out in a cold sweat trying to stop them. Jeong Seongbin would have a look of enlightened resignation as he scooped ice from the freezer to make cold water for his younger brothers. Choi Jeho would spare them little more than a glance before remaining sprawled out on the sofa and continuing to watch whatever he’d been watching on MeTube.

 

Oen day, Park Joowoo turned his back to the living room and spent forever watering the plants on the veranda. During that moment, Jeong Seongbin paced around the living room like a lost ant, unable to stay still.

 

‘What’s wrong?’

 

‘Joowoo and I got assigned to different groups for our practical assignment…’

 

Choi Jeho said that they were making a big fuss over nothing, but when he saw that Park Joowoo wouldn’t leave the balcony even though his slippers were completely soaked, he apologized.

 

Truly, all sorts of things happened. There was the time Choi Jeho’s broken drumstick was recycled as a support stake for Park Joowoo’s flower pots, and then there was the time Jeong Seongbin came home with an enormous amount of desserts he’d received from his classmates and held a tasting session, cutting financiers and madeleines into six pieces each.

 

IIt wasn’t as though I had quietly gone along with everything either. If I had to pick the member who nagged the most at the dorm, it was undoubtedly me. Not only did I religiously update the rules on the whiteboard, but I nagged so much that Lee Cheonghyeon gave me the nickname Pepto Manager.

 

‘Hyung, the term Micro Manager isn’t enough for you. You need to be at least a Nano Manager or a Pico Manager. Since we’re going all the way down into the ultramicroscopic world, I’ll combine femto and February and call you Pepto.’

 

Kang Kiyeon, who had seen the search-prevention keyword Kim Pep in my hate-comment files, didn’t know how to stop his friend and just kept raising and lowering his hand hopelessly.

 

I remembered finding it funny, and I figured that if I was called that nickname within the team, I wouldn’t be hurt by the dishonorable nickname Kim Pep anymore, so I told him to do as he pleased.

 

With nicknames ranging from ‘Cutie Pretty Visual’ to ‘Nano-Pico-Pepto Manager’, there was the day Chei Jeho complained that my nicknames were as long as my mouth, so I told him, ‘In that case, I’ll call you ‘The Demon of the Stage, Emperor of the Center, Choi Jeho’, and he looked at me with utter contempt. I didn’t know why all my own anecdotes ended up with this sort of ridiculous vibe, but anyway, life had never been boring.

 

I thought that once I was alone after living and noisy clashing with guys whose average height was well over 180cm, I would be able to regain my quiet daily life. After all, I had insisted on living in a single-person household ever since I became an adult.

 

But I was mistaken. I had misunderstood myself.

 

In the past, this studio apartment had felt like a prison that continued even after I got home from work. I used to think I would never be able to escape an environment that was always dark no matter how hard I tried, and where the distance between the bed and the desk was less than a meter, forcing me to jump up and work even after I had lied down to sleep.

 

But now, this studio apartment felt far too spacious. It felt so excessively big for one person that I wanted to bring anyone here just to have them sit with me. If I intended to go into hiding, I should have at least fully cured my anxiety symptoms first.

 

I kept fruitlessly turning my phone off and on. Blaming the account that wouldn’t post the notice, I waited for Spark to post any news at all.

 

As if they had heard my prayers, that night, Spark posted an announcement with ‘OFFICIAL’ in the header.

 

However, there was one problem. Perhaps because of the physical distance, there was an error in our telepathy.

 

≫ [OFFICIAL] Notice Regarding Spark Iwol’s Activities

 

What UtopiA brought forward wasn’t a withdrawal or a suspension of activities notice. It was an announcement that a member was entering a rest period due to health issues.

 

≫ . . .

The company will do its best to support the artist so that he can take sufficient rest and return.

We ask for the fans’ kind understanding.

Thank you.

 

Utterly crushing my proposal, Spark chose the path of putting ‘(Temporary)’ in front of ‘5-member activities’.

 

I jumped up, rubbed my eyes, and read it again, but the notice remained unchanged until daybreak.