Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols-Chapter 216: Group Training (1)

On a peaceful Monday morning, Producer Yang and his team arrived at an old gymnasium in Gangwon-do at the crack of dawn.
“Hello, PD-nim!”
As the crew arrived, Kim Iwol approached them with his usual bright smile.
Many groups wouldn’t show up for practice until filming preparations were complete. But Spark had not only designated their own training location but also seemed to have fully acclimated before the filming crew even arrived.
“How long have you been here?”
“Since dawn. Should we help you move your equipment?”
“Oh, no need to bother when you’re so busy. We’ve got it covered.”
“We’re just on a break, so it’s fine.”
With that, Kim Iwol casually picked up one of the equipment bags from the floor. His movements were practiced, as if he’d done this many times before. Right—this wasn’t his first rodeo.
They had mentioned that practice would mainly be indoors, so Producer Yang was about to designate camera locations when he heard pained groans in the distance.
“Ugh, huff…”
“Urgh…”
Several tall young men ran towards the gymnasium entrance, looking like they were about to vomit.
Kang Kiyeon, the maknae of the group who arrived first, wiped his sweat with a pale face and said,
“Hyung, I finished running…”
“Good work. It looks like Cheonghyeon and Seongbin are coming. Where’s Joowoo?”
“He couldn’t make it. He’s retired.”
“What’s he going to do with such weak stamina? I’m worried, really.”
Kim Iwol sighed and pointed to a building next to the gymnasium, telling them to go in and wash up.
“Did you all go jogging together?”
“We ran as a warm-up. We decided that whoever arrives early can shower first, but they’re taking longer than I thought.”
Kim Iwol himself looked perfectly fresh, despite his words. He seemed to have already showered and dried his hair while his other members were still running and panting.
‘Well, not just anyone can perform on stage after an eight-week injury…’
Producer Yang muttered to himself.
Just then, someone emerged from the building Kang Kiyeon had entered. Choi Jeho, the center, walked out drying his hair with a white towel. Seeing Producer Yang and his team, he bowed in greeting.
“Why didn’t you dry your hair properly inside? There was a hairdryer.”
“Was there?”
Choi Jeho perfunctorily dried his hair a couple more times with the towel and then picked up the remaining luggage.
As the two entered the gymnasium to move the equipment, the other members arrived, looking as haggard as zombies.
“Huff… hello… huff… I’m… huff… Seong… bin… of Spark…!”
“Don’t worry about greetings—drink some water first! Catch your breath!”
The assistant director quickly opened a bottle of water and handed it to Jeong Seongbin. Despite politely receiving the water with both hands, the leader emptied the bottle with impressive speed. There was hardly any water left when he finally spoke.
“Hello… Urgh… I’m… Cheong… hyeon… I’m the rapper! Cough.”
“You too, drink some water!”
His usually flower-like, radiant face was flushed crimson. The group’s symbolic gem seemed to have changed from a diamond to a ruby.
Producer Yang had always been impressed by Lee Cheonghyeon’s visuals, but he hadn’t expected him to look aesthetically pleasing even when resembling a boiled cherry tomato.
He was once again struck by Spark’s physique and visuals up close. He had noticed they stood out among the idols on ‘IDC’, but seeing them in person like this, their celebrity aura was even more pronounced.
Seeing them together like this, they resembled a grand painting on a canvas, a well-coordinated color palette.
This must be why Spark’s second performance was still being talked about, earning the honorary title of ‘Van Gogh – The Stage Adaptation of Starry Night’.
Beautiful young men running in the early morning and dripping with sweat for a one-time appearance—it was enough to inspire admiration. But before he could dwell on their passion, Kim Iwol returned after moving some luggage and immediately scolded his teammates.
“Guys, don’t stink up the staff with your sweat. Go wash up quickly.”
“That’s mean. This is proof of how hard we ran!”
“If you hadn’t run hard, you’d be hanging upside down from a tree by now.”
Kim Iwol was even ruthless.
‘Didn’t have a gentler image on IDC?’ Producer Yang wondered, but Kim Iwol’s call snapped him out of his thoughts.
“PD-nim, would it be okay if I stepped away for a moment while you prepare for filming?”
“Sure. Where are you going?”
“There’s another member who hasn’t arrived yet. I’m going to check on him. He should be here soon, but just in case.”
Kim Iwol then jogged lightly towards the back of the building where Jeong Seongbin and Lee Cheonghyeon had appeared.
Around the time the crew finished setting up the lights and cameras, Kim Iwol returned, pushing Park Joowoo, the team’s vocalist, along.  Park Joowoo, drooping like a wet cotton ball, weakly greeted the staff and stumbled towards the showers.
If this was just the warm-up, how intense was the actual practice going to be? Producer Yang couldn’t understand why UA was so intent on turning their idols into athletes.
***
To carry out the new task assigned by the system, Spark rented a free indoor gymnasium. To be precise—I did.
‘Why are you the one renting it? You could’ve just asked the company!’
‘Well, I know a place we can rent for free if we just make a reservation…’
I got chewed out by Lee Cheonghyeon during the reservation process. But what could I do? I happened to know a good gym from my Hanpyeong Industry days. It was the perfect place for a team-building event. Damn it.
On the bright side, specialized places like the archery range were arranged through UA.
A team-building event I didn’t have to prepare for all by myself—honestly, I was touched from the prep stage alone.
Once the venue was secured, we decided on the events we would participate in. I put in almost as much effort as I did for concept meetings.
Next, we created a training routine. I worked closely with the trainer to make the most of our precious two-night, three-day training camp. I initially included Choi Jeho, but he wasn’t much help, so I kicked him out.
Park Joowoo and Lee Cheonghyeon said that since it was our first group retreat, they wanted to prepare something on their own.
I did have my doubts, thinking, ‘You two…?’ But I figured if I worked them hard enough, they wouldn’t have the energy to cause trouble, so I let them be.
And now, after arriving at the gym at the crack of dawn and completing a 10km jog…
With the start of filming, Spark’s journey to upgrade their visuals had also begun.
For me, the plan was to have one-on-one basketball training with Choi Jeho in the morning. We were both going to participate in the basketball event.
Since it was a high-contact sport, we, who had completed our body strengthening, decided to participate.
For the record, I’d wanted to join futsal too, but Jeong Seongbin shut that down. Apparently, there was a risk I might instinctively go for a header.
‘For the same reason, jokgu is also out. Understood?’
(TL note: 족구 (jokgu) is a Korean sport that combines elements of soccer and volleyball. It’s a popular recreational game in Korea, especially in schools, military bases, and parks.)
‘If I just don’t do headers…’
‘I know, but if you
do
, it’ll be a disaster, hyung. You have so many metal pins in your head…’
Jeong Seongbin trailed off, clearly not wanting to visualize it. The mood turned grim.
So, for my safety and the members’ peace of mind, I decided not to participate in any events with a risk of head injury.
‘Why don’t you just skip basketball altogether, hyung?’
Of course, Kang Kiyeon interjected with an even stronger objection.
‘Don’t worry. I’ll just shoot from outside the line.’
But I defended my position perfectly. I needed to participate in at least three events to get that ‘Porcelain-like Fair Skin’.
It was good that I secured my spot in the basketball event after such a difficult process. Until I was paired with Choi Jeho.
Lee Cheonghyeon had assigned him as my human airbag… but considering average boy group height, it was obvious either of us would end up battling under the hoop, so it was not ideal.
“You said you’ve played basketball before, right?”
I asked while bouncing the ball. Choi Jeho answered casually.
“Yeah.”
“What position?”
“Center.”
“You’re destined to be a center no matter what you do.”
I regretted my words as soon as I said them. The image of ‘Center Emperor Choi Jeho’ flashed in my mind. Choi Jeho’s expression also stiffened, probably thinking the same thing. Yeah, you wouldn’t want to be saved in your friend’s phone as ‘Center Emperor’ either. My bad.
“What about you?”
Choi Jeho asked.
“I was also a center.”
In pick-up games between average high schoolers with no real players, anyone over 180cm ended up playing a similar role. Unless they had exceptional basketball skills and were known for being good at the game.
“I mean, I’ve never been told I sucked at it.”
The basketball felt good in my hand. The sound of the ball bouncing on the gym floor was pleasant.
I could see a fire light up in Choi Jeho’s eyes.
***
For lunch, we finally got to eat a regular meal for once. That was because we planned to burn off all the consumed calories while we were still awake.
The camera directors diligently filmed us as we sat on the gym floor, unpacking our delivered food. Was it my imagination, or did I see pity in their expressions?
As I savored jjolmyeon, which felt like I hadn’t had in 300 years, Jeong Seongbin spoke.
“How was your morning practice, hyungs? It looked pretty intense earlier.”
“It was. And I won, ultimately.”
I proudly boasted about my morning’s achievement.  Choi Jeho continued shoveling down his pork cutlet rice bowl next to me, uninterested.
“What about you guys? Was it manageable?”
At my question, their spoons stopped mid-air. You’d think I’d just asked them to hand in a card or something.
“We’ll… do our best.”
Park Joowoo replied with difficulty.  Come on—do I look like I’m going to scold you for not performing well?
Ignoring my frustration, they emptied their bowls with expressions as if they were chewing on sand. Then, they cleaned up neatly, returned to their designated spots, stretched, and resumed practicing.
“Why are they acting like that? Is there some kind of penalty if we don’t get a good ranking?”
I asked the PD, but he assured me there was absolutely no such thing.
Just then, Choi Jeho, after downing his miso soup in one gulp, said,
“They think you want to win the whole thing.”
“Huh?”
What are you talking about?
Explain properly, you unhelpful jerk.