Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols-Chapter 228: Review Time (1)

Spark’s days were busy. And mine were even busier. Jeong Seongbin and I were the only ones officially responsible for monitoring Spark’s activities.
Even though we weren’t promoting on music shows after the 『MISSION』 promotions ended, we still had to keep an eye on the public’s reaction as footage from our appearances began to circulate.
Apart from the shared sheet we used to monitor and document Spark’s broadcasts, I had my own private file where I collected personal feedback… which Kang Kiyeon deleted.
‘Since I recklessly messed with your pillbox last time, I won’t tell the others about this file. But please don’t collect stuff like this again.’
Kang Kiyeon’s expression was so menacing that I ended up agreeing. Thus, numerous criticisms and accusations against Kim Pep were permanently deleted.
Today, it was time to check the community’s reaction to ‘Act on’, which had been released that evening. I’d missed the real-time reactions because we’d been in a meeting about the new song, but as I was about to look for discussion posts, Spark logged into the OTT platform and started the broadcast.
“Aren’t you guys going to sleep?”
It was 2 a.m., but they were just taking turns showering, showing no signs of going to bed.
“We have to watch ‘Act on’! Weren’t you going to watch it too, hyung?”
“I wasn’t planning on watching the whole thing. Just checking the reactions.”
“Aw, where’s the fun in that?”
Lee Cheonghyeon settled onto the sofa, unceremoniously squishing Choi Jeho’s outstretched legs.
“…It feels like watching a movie.”
“Yeah, I want popcorn.”
Park Joowoo and Jeong Seongbin snuggled into cushions and sat on the floor in front of the sofa. Why were they all gathering so naturally?
“Iwol hyung, come on. Let’s start.”
“Kiyeon, didn’t you say you wanted to grow to 180cm?”
“Today’s already shot anyway. The meeting ended at dawn—what’s sleeping now going to change?”
Kang Kiyeon retorted and picked up the remote.
Fine, do whatever you want.
I squeezed into the corner of the sofa and opened my laptop. The opening sequence played, and the title ‘Act On’ filled the screen.
***
≫ Wow, the set design
It seriously looks like they just took our office and placed it there
And Jo Yonghan really resembles the assistant manager in the team next to ours
└ Younghwan…!
└ Who’s Younghwan?
└ It’s the name of the character Jo Yonghan’s actor played in another dramaㅋㅋ
└ The way he just went straight to the computer and started typing down—so like an office worker starting afternoon tasksㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
≫ There’s a lot of psychological warfare this season
Maybe it’s because the communication method is an internal office messenger—it really feels like actual corporate politics
It’s fun watching them subtly provoke each otherㅋㅋㅋㅋ
And who invited a real manager onto the show?
└ Team Leader Ahn Joyong is so realㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ He talks exactly like our CEO
≫ Wow, how are they going to make Seong Silhan, the overseas-educated character, work?
Should he type in English in the messenger?
└ Seong Silhan: Why me?
└ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
≫ Anyone watching Act On live?
Let’s guess the target together!
└ Based on the first round, I think it’s Yoo Yeonseong
└ So Moonnan
└ So Moonnan
└ I’m thinking Yeong Yangga… He talks too much, which makes him suspicious.
└ One vote for Yoo Yeonseong
“That hyung is doing the same thing even there.”
“Cheonghyeon, words can hurt, you know.”
At my comment, Lee Cheonghyeon grinned wide. He was definitely trying to get a rise out of me, but the system’s ‘Luminous Inner Glow’ effect was so dazzling that I could only admire it.
Just then, the cubicle I was in appeared on screen.
『I am the one who resigned.』
The light from the monitor made my face look even more sinister.  Anyone watching would think  I was out for revenge after being fired.
≫ Wait, he figured out he’s the target after finding only two clues?
Just from the login issue and the file date?
└ It would be funny if he wasn’t the target and just caused mass confusion for no reason
└ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Chaos incoming
≫ Excuse me, Mr. Kim Iwol, but what exactly do you do?
You were putting so much effort into organizing the scrap paper, I thought you were searching for something—but you were just sorting them by dateㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└ Our boy is a bit of a neat freak, but he’s diligent
└ Mr. Seong Silhan is someone else (TL note: Seong Silhan = diligent. This comment is basically making a pun using Seong Silhan’s name)
└ Oh, pleaseㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
The camera panned across the different contestants. One was unlocking a cabinet after finding their employee ID, another was reading documents. The suspenseful background music added to the intrigue.
And finally…
≫ (Spoiler) Wow, Act On’s target
It is indeed Jo Yonghan
He even guessed he was the resigned employee early on, and he was right
└ Am I the only one who thought the target would be the chairman’s son and was checking the desk for expensive items?
└ Whoever wrote this—Don’t ever play escape rooms, dude
…My face appeared on screen, discovering the resignation letter amongst the scrap paper.
“So you decided to leave that crappy company?”
Lee Cheonghyeon asked, pretending to tear up. I didn’t respond.
Even after finding the resignation letter, Jo Yonghan didn’t stop. I remembered hesitating a bit when I saw the gray stamp on it. They must have cut that part out for dramatic effect.  As a result, I looked like a mole burrowing through scrap paper.
≫ Iwol, stop rummaging through the scrap paper
There won’t be any left…
└ Even after finding the resignation letter, Iwol’s love for scrap paper continues
└ ???: You can use scrap paper like this at the company, but you have to check the back for important information first
└ When was this even said?
└ Just dropping by—this was from Spark’s behind-the-scenes UA exploration episode! Check around 12:38
≫ Why isn’t Jo Yonghan opening the cabinet?
This is so f*cking killing me, it’s such a basic clue
└ I know, right? He seemed sharp at first
≫ F*ck, where did those annoying armchair critics who were pissed off that Mr. Jo Yonghan wasn’t opening the cabinet goㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└ Right? ㅋㅋ As soon as he saw the cabinet lock, he was like, “Since I’m the resigning employee, I probably already cleared out my stuff… but I’ll check just in case.” He knocks, hears it’s empty, and instantly moves on—so funny
└ The target’s goal isn’t to find more clues, but to avoid being discovered. Why are people whining that he’s not playing detective? Do you even know the rules of Act On???
Reading through the posts, I noticed something.
Even if someone initially criticized my actions, public opinion could shift over time as misunderstandings were cleared up.
If my feedback file was still around, I probably would have written something like, ‘Pay close attention to the basic directing requests from the production team’.
And I wouldn’t have paid much attention to the comments that came after that, since they were mostly praise.
‘Haven’t you heard that too much of anything is bad?’
Choi Jeho’s words came to mind.  So, I decided to read more comments from the people actually enjoying the program. For balance.
***
The reactions from the community and the viewers—by which I mean the Spark guys watching right next to me—hit a fever pitch as Mr. Jo Yonghan actually found the real resignation letter.
≫ Seriously, why did that company throw out so much stuff in the scrap paper box?
I thought the clue would be easy, but there’s so much stuff mixed in with the paperㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
The Act on production team must have been determined
└ Jo Yonghan meticulously piecing together those scraps of paper is also insaneㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└ Yeah, he’s a dead-eyed maniac
└ And in the middle of all that, the fact that a good office worker should throw shredded paper into general waste is f**king hilarious
≫ Wow, the real resignation letter appeared
;;;;;;; The first one was a fake
└ That flashback scene where he compared the official seals gave me chills. So he kept searching for the real resignation letter after seeing that
≫ The first resignation letter stated the reason for leaving was ‘personal reasons’
But the real one says ‘workplace harassment’…
If he hadn’t found this, it would’ve just been a disgruntled ex-employee playing saboteur, but this resignation letter turned it into a revenge drama
└ True. The atmosphere completely changed
≫ Jo Yongha is seriously terrifying
He’s like ㅠㅠ in the messenger, ‘Would you mind sharing any findings ㅠㅠㅠㅠ’ while piecing together the torn resignation letter with his hands
└ A textbook example of two-facedness
└ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└ Yeah, those kinds of people are the scariestㅋㅋㅋ
“Hyung! Teach me that too!”
“What?”
“Like, tips on surviving a toxic workplace!”
Lee Cheonghyeon said, his eyes sparkling.
Just wait until contract renewal season. You’ll learn whether you want to or not.
“Did you get scammed on a part time job or something?”
Choi Jeho, who had been watching the broadcast, chimed in.
“Securing the original documents is essential. If you can’t keep the original, you print two copies, one for personal use, don’t you know that?”
“No.”
System, can you bring me the document security manual I made at Hanpyeong Industry? It was incredibly well-organized. If necessary, I’ll have to comb through my memories during the break period and recreate it.
The broadcast became more engaging as the contestants’ inner thoughts were interspersed through cross-editing. I was the only one shown standing silently in front of a giant, empty whiteboard.
The viewers were kind enough to frame my behavior in a rather admirable light..
≫ Looks like Jo Yongha has grasped the situation
He doesn’t seem to be paying much attention to the messenger conversations after returning from Yeong Yangga’s room
└ Yeah… The others are still trying to figure things out and keep checking the messenger
└ Isn’t it because he’s the target?
└ Then he should be pretending he isn’t the target and trying to find common ground, but Jo Yongha doesn’t seem to be doing that… It’s hard to tell what he’s thinking
≫ The highlight is when they choose who to eliminate and confront them
The way he looks at the contestants is chilling
└ Everyone in the silent room talking about how old Jo Yongha isㅋㅋㅋ Yeah, he doesn’t seem like a 21-year-old kid
└ The actor playing Jo Yongha is 21 years old?!
└ No wonder it was the hottest topic in the silent room
≫ Some people just naturally give off that kind of presence……
I feel drained just watching through the screen. I definitely don’t want to get involved with him
└ I want to avoid him at all costs
As the broadcast progressed, Mr. Jo Yongha became the employee no one wanted to work with.
I’m sorry, everyone. For what it’s worth, I wasn’t exactly unpopular back at Hanpyeong Industry. Probably.
And just as Mr. Jo Yongha’s reputation hit rock bottom…
My face appeared in a close-up, writing a list of names on the whiteboard.