Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols-Chapter 257: Bag Inspection (2)

I trembled with betrayal. I completely understood how Park Joowoo and Kang Kiyeon felt.
Lee Cheonghyeon beat his chest in frustration.
“Okay, maybe I upset you once or twice! But! If your standard is Jeho hyung, shouldn’t I also have no mark?”
“Why are you dragging me into this?”
Choi Jeho asked with his arms crossed. The slightly raised tip of his chin was truly infuriating.
“Jeho hyung never misses his schedule. He always eats the right amount, and he consistently increases his workout volume. He takes good care of his health, so there’s nothing to worry about him.”
Jeong Seongbin explained point by point. But Lee Cheonghyeon wasn’t backing down so easily.
“What about me? Have I ever been late? I eat well too! I work out hard! Since our debut, I may have shed tears on stage, but I’ve never shed snot. I’m a man of health!”
Shedding snot would be a problem in its own right. An idol couldn’t really afford to lose points for that.
Jeong Seongbin still smiled warmly as he answered the indignant Lee Cheonghyeon.
“Cheonghyeon.”
“What!”
“What time have you been going to bed lately?”
Lee Cheonghyeon’s mouth snapped shut.
“What’s the point of setting a curfew for the studio? Did you think I wouldn’t find out if Iwol hyung covers for you and Jeho hyung doesn’t notice because he’s sleeping?”
“That was all because I wanted to make a comeback with a good song for our members…”
“……”
Jeong Seongbin stared at Lee Cheonghyeon without a word. Under the silent gaze attack, Lee Cheonghyeon slowly sank into his seat.
“Next, is there anyone else who would like to raise an objection?”
Jeong Seongbin asked, his gentle tone belying the atmosphere. Breaking the iron-clad silence, Kang Kiyeon raised his hand.
“…I dare to object.”
“Go ahead.”
“I think it’s possible I’ve given you a hard time, hyung. We’re roommates, so we spend a lot of time together, and we go to school together…”
His preamble was long. Even the great Kang Kiyeon couldn’t stand firm before Jeong Seongbin. Well, who could, when you’re one ‘忍’ mark away from figurative death?
“I must have upset you because I was lacking. I’m sorry about that. But how can I be on the same level as Lee Cheonghyeon?”
“Is that your problem right now?!”
Lee Cheonghyeon, who had been shriveled up in his chair like a wrinkled mushroom, shot to his feet. Starting with this, Lee Cheonghyeon and Kang Kiyeon began to argue fiercely.
“Aren’t we friends, huh?! Shouldn’t we die together and live together? As the maknaes, we should be cheering each other on, but instead, you’re throwing me under the bus to save your own skin?”
“Is this a life-or-death situation? It’s about character and values, okay? I guarantee I haven’t given hyung as much trouble as you have.”
As far as I could tell, both of them just earned themselves another “忍” mark each. Just look at Jeong Seongbin’s expression.
“Let’s both stop there. Kiyeon, why didn’t you go to your physical therapy last week?”
“…Huh?”
“What?”
This was a matter that I, too, could not help but be indignant about. Kang Kiyeon, caught between me and Jeong Seongbin, broke out in a cold sweat.
“Well, last week, I was, uh, just so busy.”
Hearing Kang Kiyeon’s words, I could understand. Someone had collapsed during a meeting, the leader was talking about a lawsuit, and they had to film a commercial, so it was understandable that he would be busy.
However, Jeong Seongbin didn’t budge. Rather, he just stared at Kang Kiyeon even more firmly.
“You know how much your hyungs care about your knee and ankle. If you really think about the members, you should take good care of your own treatment. The manager hyung reminded you, but you still postponed it, didn’t you?”
“……I was wrong.”
Kang Kiyeon also neatly declared his surrender.
All that was left was me and Park Joowoo.
Park Joowoo, his face pale, trembled as he spoke.
“I’m sorry… for buying too many albums.”
“……”
“…I’m sorry I listened to music so loudly that the sound leaked outside.”
“……”
“…I’m sorry I went around with the non-woven fabric duster at 12 AM…”
That was a lot. How did he end up with only one ‘忍’ mark? And conversely, what on earth did I do to get two?
Jeong Seongbin patted the shoulder of his friend, who had shrunk back pitifully.
“That’s all fine. It’d be good for your hearing if you lowered the volume a bit though.”
“…Then why did I still get a mark?”
Park Joowoo asked, looking like he was about to cry.
“Joowoo, did you know the velcro on your gym gloves was torn?”
“……Huh?”
“I saw it. You were using them even though they were tattered. What if you injure your wrist? Why do you keep using them?”
“Ah…”
“So I bought you new ones, but you didn’t change them, did you? I bought the exact same brand and color, so why won’t you throw away the old gloves? What if you slip?”
Jeong Seongbin’s nagging exploded. Park Joowoo’s spirit scattered like volcanic ash.
In the end, this conversation also ended with Park Joowoo’s apology. He explained he kept using them because he was just used to them. With a sigh, Jeong Seongbin erased Park Joowoo’s ‘忍’ mark. One way or another, he was weak when it came to his friend.
Well then, there was only one person left… me.
My eyes met Jeong Seongbin’s. He smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling, and asked.
“Surely… you’re not going to raise an objection too, hyung?”
His voice was heavily laced with a ‘how dare you be so insolent’ tone.
However, I did not back down either.
“Of course, I am.”
Whatever it was, I had to know the reason why I received a death sentence that even Choi Jeho didn’t get. Go on and lay it out, I dare you.
* * *
At Kim Iwol’s provocation, Jeong Seongbin paused to think. Just how much should he say to convince this hyung while still keeping things airable on the broadcast?
In this regard, Kim Iwol was truly admirable. He constantly made a person think.
“First of all… I’m amazed at your confidence in objecting at all, hyung.”
Jeong Seongbin landed a solid blow. Kim Iwol looked genuinely startled by the weight of his dongsaeng’s words.
“How can you, of all people, not know the reason?”
Maintaining the clear, serene smile that Kim Iwol had practically engraved into his brain, Jeong Seongbin continued speaking in a calm voice.
“I saw what time you commented on Dotion recently, hyung.”
At Jeong Seongbin’s words, Kim Iwol’s eyebrows twitched. His face seemed to say, ‘So what?’
“It was 4 AM.”
“Wow.”
Lee Cheonghyeon let out a shocked exclamation.
“Let me explain. You know that once I wake up, I can’t go back to sleep, right? I just happened to wake up at that hour. I didn’t stay up all night.”
“Then I’ll continue with my questions. Do you remember the late-night porridge we had together recently?”
Jeong Seongbin continued. Technically it was recovery food, not a midnight snack, but Kim Iwol seemed to pick up the hint.
“Do you remember what time it was then?”
Jeong Seongbin asked Kim Iwol, even though he already knew the answer.
Ever since that night, Kim Iwol had been waking up consistently around 4 a.m. It continued even after the seizures had stopped.
The problem was that instead of just lying down and resting, Kim Iwol would work. He would constantly check Dotion for updates and read backed-up messages.
He had even tried confiding this concern to his friend, but…
‘Iwol hyung… actually looks more energetic when he’s working.’
…He hadn’t received a very helpful answer.
It was true, though. Kim Iwol would tear his hair out over certain tasks, but when he had nothing to do, he’d grow anxious—and when he did have something to work on, he’d throw himself into it with intense passion.
Still, just because working gave him energy, was it okay to let him keep working from 4 a.m. even in his condition?
Jeong Seongbin didn’t think so. And so, without hesitation, he wrote down the ‘忍’ character.
“…Alright, I understand that part. What’s the other one?”
Kim Iwol, sensing Jeong Seongbin’s subtle emotions, skillfully changed the subject. However, the content on this side wasn’t much different either.
“There’s something I heard from the staff members.”
“Go on.”
“They said you laid down on the floor of the company office?”
When he first heard it, he thought the company staff were joking. But it meant that ‘Kim Iwol’ had literally ‘lain down’ on the ‘floor,’ didn’t it?
“If you bring up a case past its statute of limitations, I can only say it’s regrettable on my part.”
Kim Iwol retorted brazenly.
“Does the passage of time make the fact that you lay down disappear? Do you know how shocked I was when I first heard this story!”
“But you admit the act was done with good intentions, don’t you?”
“Trying to shift the argument like that won’t work. The ‘忍’ mark is based solely on how much you get on my nerves.”
“In that case, I am sorry. Let it go.”
It was a clean declaration of surrender. Rather, it was so clean that Jeong Seongbin clutched his throbbing forehead as his blood pressure soared.
* * *
I readily admitted defeat.
See, I told you. Jeong Seongbin is scary.
I decided I should tread carefully from now on, cherishing the one life I had left, when Kang Kiyeon raised his hand.
“I have a question.”
“What is it?”
“What happens if I get a third mark?”
So now the ‘忍’ character had been demoted to a brand mark. Considering it implied absolute obedience to the leader, it wasn’t exactly wrong.
“Let’s ask the person who achieves it first.”
Jeong Seongbin smiled brightly. It was the same smile he had when mentioning Mr. Jeong Seongjun. None of us said a word.
Lee Cheonghyeon’s bag was full of miscellaneous items.
From a device for recording melodies, a notebook, wireless earphones, cleansing products, a mini book—today’s novel was ‘Beneath the Wheel’—a TOEIC vocabulary book… and so on.
“You’re taking the TOEIC?”
I asked, looking at the TOEIC vocabulary book that had appeared out of nowhere. Lee Cheonghyeon answered.
“I got eliminated from ‘Shining Star, K-Civil Exam’ because of a TOEIC word. It keeps appearing in my dreams.”
Is there really a need to study this already? All you need is a score two years before graduating from university.
Since a book had come out, Lee Cheongheoun also took the opportunity to introduce his hobby.
Despite having the face of someone who should be on the cover of 100 Masterpieces of Greek Art, his actual hobby was reading. It was just interesting that Lee Cheonghyeon himself read books instead of being featured in them.
“What’s this notebook? Are you tallying ‘忍’ marks too?”
Choi Jeho waved a worn-out notebook. Unlike Jeong Seongbin’s, which was a cheap notebook with a plastic cover, this one had a striking black leather cover.
“Ah, that’s Cheonghyeon’s top-secret notebook!”
Lee Cheonghyeon exclaimed. To think that solemn design belonged to the top-secret notebook of Spark’s Cutie-Pretty Visual. It was quite an interesting story.