Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols-Chapter 190: Preparations for the Follow-up Project (1)

Spark’s comeback announcement was released. Since the members valued secrecy and didn’t give out hints, Sparkler fans were hit by the news like a bolt of lightning.
It was the same for Baek Haewon. With final exams approaching and Spark’s comeback happening at the same time, she was doubly stressed. Spark, the beautiful men who came to ruin her life.
‘I hope they come with intense makeup and amazing outfits.’
This was their first comeback since UA had formed a dedicated team for Spark (not counting the fan song since the boys handled that themselves). There was no way she wouldn’t be anxious.
Until now, Iwol had been in charge of everything, handling it all smoothly and with flair, so she was worried about whether she could trust this incompetent agency.
But then again, it was not easy to mess things up with those visuals. Baek Haewon thought over and over again that if they couldn’t even achieve average results with Spark, the UA staff should be punished.
≫ UA, if you mess this up and come back with something weird, you’re dead
≫ This is your chance to prove the sincerity of your apology. Show us you’ve really reflected by investing properly
≫ Guys, come quickly and dominate the music scene with your faces. But UA, if you rush them and f*ck them up, you’re really dead
Correction. She didn’t just think it; she also posted it on social media.
‘If they’re having a comeback, I’ll finish all my studying for exams before then!’
Determined, Baek Haewon threw herself into her books and managed about two hours of math problems powered by sheer passion.
And as Baek Haewon’s concentration began to wane…
≫ @spArk_official
J / Leader
#Spark #spArk #Seongbin #MISSION
The first concept photo was released.
As expected, the world was fair. Hard work really did pay off!
Baek Haewon’s reflexes kicked in at the notification.
Jeong Seongbin’s upper body, sitting arrogantly in a CEO’s chair, filled the screen.
‘Suit? Three-piece all-black suit?’
The leader, wearing a dress shirt and vest, with sleeve garters on his arms.
He was in a dark room, gazing toward the light source, holding a pen between his lips.
The man who, until just the other day, was the most melancholic member of the group, was looking straight ahead with an expressionless face!
≫ omg
≫ Holy sh*t
≫ No, holy sh*t, Seongbin
≫ No, sir, no, OMG, what is this
≫ UA, thank you, I believed in you
≫ What’s with the sleeve garters? It’s driving me crazy, I love you so much it hurts, but you started it first
└ Sir, calm down.
Calm down? Who had the time for that? She needed to go show off her boy’s concept photo to the whole world right now, like the lion king proudly presenting Simba on that cliff.
Baek Haewon reposted, quoted, and downloaded the photo to re-upload it, expressing her overflowing emotions.
She even zoomed in on every insane detail, captured them separately, and gave a passionate speech about why each part was perfection.
≫ The way he’s ‘biting the pen like he’s not really biting it’ is driving me insane. So, is he biting it or not? There’s a shadow on his lips, so he must be biting it, right? Just tell me he is, quickly
≫ Leather gloves
(Sigh)
≫ Are these really the upper arms of a 19-year-old high schooler? Seriously, stop going to the gym with your hyungs—or no, keep going. Flaunting those arms with that porcelain face is a crime. It’s arrogance. It’s greed
└ Their physique is amazing, seriouslyㅠㅠㅠㅠ Just wear suits forever
└ What are you talking about??? He needs to wear uniforms and rash guards too. I need to see their shoulders from every angle before I die
└ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
≫ Men with their hair down are the best
└ Miheon-nim, I think I’ve been following you for about 3 years. You’re so consistent
└ Well, I never lost my original passion
Something big was coming.
Something huge was coming!
Her heart pounded. She desperately wanted to know the comeback date, or at least who would be in the next concept photo.
* * *
“Let’s run through that part one more time.”
Jeong Seongbin paused the music and dragged the playback bar forward. Heavy breathing could be heard from all around.
Lee Cheonghyeon, who was also gasping for air, raised his hand and stepped away from the formation.
“Hyung, I’m gonna sit this one out for a bit.”
“Are you hurt?”
“I think I’ll be fine if I rest just once.”
Under his practice shorts, you could see his knee wrapped in tape.
It wasn’t an injury. The kid was just growing like a bean sprout in a steamer.
‘Ow!’
‘What’s wrong?!’
He’d screamed in the middle of the night, and I’d rushed over, only to find it was growing pains.  He’d tossed and turned and groaned so much that I ended up massaging his legs all night.
No wonder he seemed extra frustrated while working on the ‘In My Office’ OST. It was a new type of project for him, and with the leg pain on top of it, he’d been more on edge than usual.
Anyway, now that we knew the cause, we made sure he rested properly during practice. Lee Cheonghyeon wasn’t the type to fall behind when learning choreography, and keeping the visual member’s height up was crucial.
Our eyes met in the mirror. He grinned as he massaged his knee.
“You’re in pain, so what’s with the smile?”
“Just thinking about looking down at you hyungs makes me happy!”
“Keep dreaming.”
I laughed. Did he know how many centimeters he’d have to grow to look down on Choi Jeho or me?
Still, it was reassuring to see everyone growing well. At least they seemed to be growing faster than before.
From Kang Kiyeon, who seemed like he’d never grow, to Lee Cheonghyeon, you could see them visibly getting taller, while Jeong Seongbin and Park Joowoo were the type to develop inwardly first.
I was also satisfied that my muscles were growing again after turning off the labor support thingy…
“Hey, face forward after the turn.”
“Sorry.”
But there was a slight problem.
Since Kang Kiyeon volunteered to cover for Lee Cheonghyeon’s slower progress, my dance teacher had changed to Choi Jeho.
“No, I’m telling you to look forward after turning.”
“Hold on. I’ve managed the turning part. Now I’ll look forward.”
“Didn’t Kang Kiyeon get an ulcer teaching you?”
“He got so many that he made a necklace out of them and sold it. Happy now?”
Maybe because I’d been teasing him so much, Choi Jeho had been giving it back to me just as hard. What goes around comes around, huh? I’d pay him back triple next time.
After repeating the same move several more times…
“Just sleep here tonight.”
Choi Jeho declared. I humbly accepted my fate.
When is ‘In My Office’ going to be released?
Come out quickly and let me raise my dance proficiency…
* * *
+
[SYSTEM] Work instructions from your ‘superior’ have arrived.
▶ Assistant Manager Kim, how’s the KPI achievement coming along?
+
Seeing that kind of system message the moment I opened my eyes. It made me want to quit.
Right, I was a freelancer without employment insurance. I needed to get my first paycheck soon so I could at least start contributing to the national pension.
Compared to when I worked at Hanpyeong Industry, my retirement plan was basically nonexistent. The money I made from selling stocks had to go to my sister, I was practically penniless. What should I do?
Should I get a heavy equipment license and immigrate to Australia, live frugally in a share house, and work my butt off to earn money…?
While I was racking my brain, Lee Cheonghyeon, who was getting down from the bed, spoke to me.
“Hyung, why are you still lying down?”
“I am contemplating my future.”
“Did you reach a conclusion?”
“I decided I need to study English more seriously.”
“Guess we won’t have any study sheets left for a while then.”
Well, I had to live diligently anyway. Hadn’t I already done all sorts of things just to meet my KPIs?
If we didn’t win first place with this album, KPI achievement would be pushed back until next year. I refused to see that happen.
Today’s schedule was the music video shoot. We wouldn’t be able to come back to the dorm for the next two nights and three days. That was how idol MV filming worked.
Park Joowoo, Lee Cheonghyeon, and Kang Kiyeon hid their newly styled hair for the shoot and got into the car.
They pulled their hoods over their heads and tightened the strings, making them look like a trio of webfoot octopuses. I made sure to get plenty of photos of the octopus trio to post on the main account later.
At the salon, everyone underwent a complete transformation. Thanks to the sweat we poured out at the gym and the nightly self-care, our faces and physiques were looking great.
To top it off, we emphasized a more mature look with detailed eye makeup. I didn’t even know how many layers of eyeshadow they put on.
Lee Cheonghyeon, who rarely wore heavy makeup, kept repeating ‘Oh… Ohhh…’ while looking at himself in the mirror.
“Everyone, take at least 50 selfies each. I’ll be checking.”
“The quota is low today…?”
Park Joowoo asked suspiciously.
“Don’t worry, I’ll take the other 50 myself.”
“Uh…”
There’s always demand for photos of our kids taken by someone else, you know. I’ll make sure to get plenty while you’re zoning out or sitting on the sofa.
The first shoot, as expected for a choreography-focused scene, had us all in suits. We maintained a sense of unity with black half-palm gloves and plain-toe shoes, with only slight variations in the suits themselves.
“We’ll film the group dance shots once against the gray background and once against the burgundy background. After the costume change, we’ll film together on that set.”
The assistant director explained, using the storyboard we’d received in advance.
I looked back and forth between the two sets and asked,
“We’re all wearing dark colors, won’t we blend in too much with the burgundy background?”
“We’re going to use strong lighting on that background. We’re more worried about the makeup getting washed out.”
I took a closer look. One set had a plain gray background that would draw attention to the members, and the other had a burgundy background with splashes of black paint.
It felt like just yesterday we were filming MVs in abandoned schools we scouted ourselves. Now we were filming in a proper set. It felt surreal.
“And besides the group choreography, we have individual shots for members 3 through 8, a blind shot for Kiyeon at number 13, a half-body shot for Iwol at number 14, a conference room shot for Joowoo at number 27…”
Ah, this wasn’t the time to reminisce.
Seriously, me. I had a mountain of work to do, and yet I was lost in thought. I’d become complacent…