Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols-Chapter 160: A Minor Slip-Up

When handling the A to Z of content creation myself, unexpected issues rarely arose.
I preemptively eliminated any elements that might lead to mistakes from the members and avoided topics that had previously received poor responses. Since I had already briefed them on behavior and attitude, there was no reason to be nervous during the live broadcast.
On the other hand, filming content planned by someone else felt like riding a rollercoaster in the dark. With no way of knowing what might pop up, my mouth went dry from anxiety.
‘I told you to show me the plan in advance!’
Resentment welled up. Are you watching, UA? This is the result of your neglecting your employees’ needs under the guise of welfare.
As a result of you all overprotecting me, I am now incredibly anxious.
Fortunately, the overall topics were lighthearted. They seemed aimed at alleviating the fans’ fatigue after the recent string of events.
Before I knew it, time had flown by as we chatted about things like ‘Sparks’ Best IDC Performances’, the Pororo Cutlery Set Incident, and personal handmade slogan collections from Gender-Swap.
“The Sparklers are asking if we’re going to watch the soccer game today.”
Kang Kiyeon read the chat. The chat window was indeed flooded with talk about soccer. Idol live broadcasts were amazing. I couldn’t keep up.
“Of course, we have to watch! Speaking of which, Seongbin hyung, let’s lift the bedtime curfew just for today.”
“But then what’s the point of rules, Cheonghyeon?”
“So you’re saying you’re not going to watch? It’s Korea vs. Japan.”
“Nationwide events are exceptions.”
And you guys are amazing too—switching topics so smoothly like that.
Compared to the past, when they’d freeze up like statues at the slightest provocation, this was a remarkable improvement. Although I had no idea what they’d want to watch an old game instead of the live one at this point.
“What about you hyungs?”
Lee Cheonghyeon turned and asked. Surprisingly, even Choi Jeho agreed.
Did they always like soccer this much? Enough to want to watch together?
I did keep up with major matches, but I’d never seen Spark get this into it.
‘Well, the Korea-Japan matches around this time were intense.’
It was practically a national sentiment that even if we lost every other game, we had to win against Japan. Seeing our team, once considered an underdog, pull off a dramatic comeback victory had made even my exhausted post-work self feel a surge of endorphins.
Lost in memories, I was dragged back to reality by Lee Cheonghyeon’s prodding.
“Iwol hyung will watch too, right? Let’s all gather in the living room today, Spark. We’re going to pour our souls into it.”
“I already watched it, but… Sure, let’s do it.”
It wasn’t like I’d be allowed to work anyway, and I wasn’t tired after all that sleeping.
A masterpiece never gets old, so watching it again wouldn’t hurt.
I readily agreed, but the reaction I got was strange.
“You already watched it?”
Lee Cheonghyeon asked with a strange expression.
“Yeah.”
“The Asian Games Korea-Japan match?”
“Aren’t you confusing it with another game?”
Kang Kiyeon joined in, questioning me.
I heard Park Joowoo whispering from the corner, ‘Hyung, your head…’.
Silence fell over the room like a bucket of cold water.
‘Did I talk about a different match than they meant?’
At this rate, I was going to ruin the live broadcast atmosphere, so I quickly tried to confirm.
“Aren’t you talking about the 20XX Korea-Japan match?”
“That’s right.”
“We won 3:2, and there were articles about it. Didn’t you guys watch it live? Maybe you couldn’t because it was on early in the morning.”
After saying this, I glanced at the chat window.
I hoped there weren’t comments like ‘awkward silence’ or ‘Kim Iwol, focus,’ but the chat was heating up with different comments.
≫ ?
≫ ?
≫ Iwol, what did you confuse it withㅋㅋㅋㅋ
≫ ??
≫ Did Korea and Japan already play without us knowing?
Spark and I looked at each other without a word.
Suddenly, it hit me.
“It’s currently…”
The unfinished sentence slipped out before I could stop it.
Park Joowoo, who somehow caught it, whispered in a trembling voice,
“20XX, hyung.”
I’m screwed.
I was so focused on managing the flow of conversation that I completely forgot to control my mouth. Damn it, why was I as bad at multitasking as a modern human?
This particular time was a period when the Korean national soccer team’s offense was considered weak.
It was a time when no one could easily say, ‘Of course Korea will win!’ So my confident statement ended up attracting massive attention.
≫ ????
≫ It would be amazing if we actually won 3:2
≫ Is my idol a time-traveler???
≫ Human fortune-telling octopus
≫ Ah, our country will win, Iwol said so
In the rapidly scrolling chat window, the words ‘Is my idol a time-traveler???’ stood out as if written in 44-point font.
+
[SYSTEM] ‘Subordinate’ is notified of the ‘Penalty for Breach of Confidentiality.’
▷ Any information that could affect areas beyond the successful activities of Spark, including details related to future events, is considered confidential and must be kept secret.
▷ ‘Subordinate’ is responsible for maintaining confidentiality regarding the aforementioned details….
.
.
.
+
Don’t explain it again! I didn’t do it on purpose!
I mean, who remembers exactly what happened in what year? And I even rolled back nine years! Of course, I might get things mixed up!
As I was pondering how to fix this, I made eye contact with Jeong Seongbin, who was sitting nearby. His pupils trembled.
But he remained calm.
“It’s that thing, right? The Seodongyo technique.”
Although a bit awkward, Jeong Seongbin did his best to act nonchalant.
“What’s that…?”
“It’s talking about something that hasn’t happened as if it already did. People use it a lot, hoping that by saying it repeatedly, it will actually come true.”
I desperately nodded in agreement with Jeong Seongbin. What a smart kid. All that nonsense I spouted about seeing the future was finally paying off.
“Right. I hope our country wins, that’s what I mean.”
“What? If that’s the case, you should have said we’ll win 8:2!”
Then Lee Cheonghyeon started spreading the rumor that Korea would win 19:1.
Just as the chat was about to smoothly gloss over the incident with the Seodongyo explanation, the system made a grand entrance.
+
[SYSTEM] Work instructions from ‘Superior’ have arrived.
▶ Assistant Manager Kim, this company outing is ruined because of you.
+
No way.
You’re not going to make Korea lose because of me, are you?
You think I can still live as a K-idol in this country after that?
I could practically see the system sneering at me in the text. My mind went blank.
In the end, as a penalty, I had a massive nosebleed after the live broadcast while watching our country’s miraculous tying goal and comeback victory.
I managed to avoid another trip to the hospital by begging Jeong Seongbin to believe me when I said, ‘This is just… spiritual warfare, trust me’.
That night, I added the phrase ‘Keep your mouth shut’ 50 times to my journal planner.
***
Following Jeong Seongbin’s appearance on ‘Gender-Swap’, the SPARK members went off one by one to film their assigned variety shows.
Choi Jeho, who had consistently focused on mukbang since the IDC folk games…
『Wow, Jeho, you eat so well.』
『How do you stay in shape when you eat like this?』
『I don’t usually eat this much. My members and PT trainer control my diet.』
……ended up on a gourmet tour program, where he single-handedly demolished a four-person serving of shabu-shabu, polished off a bowl of kalguksu, and scraped up every last bit of the scorched rice from his fried rice.
As if that wasn’t enough, he was later seen standing in front of an ice cream counter with a line of children, which sent the panelists into fits of laughter.
『Mr. Jeho, you look so charismatic, but you act like my eldest son.』
『Really?』
『Yeah. Be honest, Mr. Jeho. You still have room for more, don’t you?』
『…Yes.』
Perhaps pleased with his performance, the people around him kept offering him more food.
He took the absence of nagging as a license to let loose, huh? No wonder after the filming he climbed the stairs to heaven like crazy.
Still, Choi Jeho was cute compared to this.
Our quiet little kitten, whom I never expected to cause trouble, went and completely demolished the kitchen.
Kang Kiyeon had to endure all sorts of hardships on a program that tested the limits of human patience under extreme conditions.
Eating spicy jjampong, a challenge many MeTubers had attempted, was just a warm up.
Waiting for him next was highly bitter kudzu root tea for ‘palate cleansing’.
『Ugh… Are you sure this is fit for human consumption?』
『It’s good for you. Just hold your breath and drink it.』
『You can say that because you’re not the one drinking it!』
While the panelists chattered noisily, Kang Kiyeon merely furrowed his brow and downed the shot in one go, leaving no room for argument.
『…Can I have some hangwa?』
(TL note: hangwa is a traditional Korean sweet.)
『Eat, eat quickly!』
『Alright, Mr. Kiyeon is the only one who cleared the kudzu tea challenge!』
Afterward, Kang Kiyeon conquered jump roping on acupressure mats and a wet sauna, successfully becoming the 21st King of Endurance.
We were told to do nothing in advance, so we didn’t even research the show—who would’ve thought it’d be this brutal? I shouldn’t have sent the maknae.
“Next schedule is our self-produced content shoot, right?”
“Yeah, it’s been a while since we had a group schedule.”
Jeong Seongbin checked his planner, and Park Joowoo beamed at the mention of a group schedule, as if he wasn’t tired of seeing us every day at the dorm.
“Does anyone know what we’re doing today? No one told me anything.”
Everyone shook their heads at my question.
“We haven’t heard either.”
“You’re not secretly scheming behind my back, are you?”
“I am serious. That’s why it’s not even on our shared calendar.”
As Lee Cheonghyeon said, the schedule slot on the calendar was empty.
“If it’s this mysterious, it’s definitely Challenge Life.”
“Does anyone know what Challenge Life did recently?”
“They did a wild ginseng digger special. I checked.”
At my words, Kang Kiyeon rubbed his face. He seemed quite despairing at the show’s consistently high difficulty level.
But there was good news.
“I don’t think it’s our turn for Challenge Life this time. Actress Maehee’s spoiler was leaked!”
“Thank goodness…!”
“So today really is our self-produced content shoot. What’s the theme, then?”
“Whatever it is, as long as it’s not Challenge Life I’m good.”
Before leaving the dorm with determined hearts, we each took a ginseng stick.
However, after a 30-minute drive, we arrived not at a steep mountain or a bustling cafe, but…
“Hello, nice to meet you!”
A woman with a bright smile and a high-pitched voice, full of professionalism, greeted us.
And behind her, a rainbow-colored sign.
‘Flora Daycare Center.’
That’s right.
Our workplace for the day was a daycare center overflowing with dreams and hopes.