Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols-Chapter 266: Metamorphosis (2)

The music video for The Words I Want to Say began with a sound effect like a cascade of stars. A small but rhythmic drum sound added to the beat.
At a quiet and rustic village entrance, snowflakes fell onto Jeong Seongbin’s shoes as he sat on a cold stone step.
When the sun sets
The festival begins
Opening the long night
A time of fantasy
A bustling crowd could be seen behind Jeong Seongbin.
The streets were busy with people putting up ornaments on every house, and with colorful trees and lights.
And in that scene, Kang Kiyeon was watching from inside a house.
The stars, revealing themselves as twilight fell, shimmered in Kang Kiyeon’s eyes.
When the surroundings are dyed
When it gets dark
A brilliant cluster of stars
Lights up the sky
At the point where the instruments became richer, the streetlights turned on.
When stars
Coldly settled over the street
The town turns white
And a song echoes
The sound of metallic instruments clashing was reminiscent of a carol, yet it also created the illusion of a flash of light before one’s eyes.
The not-so-slow beat expressed the excitement of a festival.
The words of the lyrics added to this, and the cold imagery of the music video, made the listener and viewer recall something.
A magnificent parade that seemed like it would unfold at an amusement park deep in the mountains on a very cold night.
The members, dressed in white suits styled slightly differently for each, showcased a fluid and organic choreography.
The movements, which at the beginning of the music seemed to bloom like flowers in time with the start of the festival, spun around in the screen like stars swimming in the night sky, before they all knelt down together as if the stars were descending, and swept the floor with their hands.
Park Joowoo poked his head out from beyond the window of a two-story house with dry, black vines climbing the walls. Park Joowoo’s right hand rested on the window.
When the fireworks explode
Between the stars
Flames burst
Shining brightly
Choi Jeho, who had been watching him quietly, leaning against an old bookshelf, also gazed out the window. Every time a firework exploded, the form of the chains wrapped around his black robe was revealed.
With Choi Jeho at the center, the members spread out in a formation like a fully bloomed flower.
When the cold wind blows
When you close your two eyes
Choi Jeho opened his palm and blew, as if blowing on petals.
The worries you held
Melt away and disappear
Above the giant birdcage that had been confining Lee Cheonghyeon, rose vines made of ice began to climb.
By the time the bars were covered in white frost.
Lee Cheonghyeon, as if having discovered someone, grasped the bars with both hands.
It’s perfect weather
The wind-chilled cheeks
Joined hands tinted pink
My heart trembles again and again
The door of the birdcage froze and shattered like snowflakes.
Outside where Lee Cheonghyeon walked out, Kim Iwol was waiting for him.
As if caressing a bird’s beak, Kim Iwol lifted Lee Cheonghyeon’s chin slightly with his index finger. The king, covered in white and sparkling things, smiled.
The white streets
Shine brighter than the stars
The moon shines everywhere, dazzling
And the footprints are full of laughter
In the middle of the snowy field, Lee Cheonghyeon knelt on one knee.
The screen reversed again, and everyone except Lee Cheonghyeon lay down as if leaning on the floor. Among the members dancing while sitting on the floor, Lee Cheonghyeon clasped his hands together.
The day I counted down to
When this day comes
The one word
I wanted to convey
I repeat only that word
The sky and the ground
A sparkling boundary
On these stairs
I’m trying to tell you
The moment the last syllable ended, brilliant lights turned on from the dark floor. The members rose up using the strength of their legs without using their hands and reached out to Lee Cheonghyeon.
Starting with Lee Cheonghyeon’s rap, the song became more intense and clear.
The bass line grew like the drumbeat announcing a parade, and the sound effects placed in just the right spots add a visual imagery to the music.
Jeong Seongbin, who was in the middle of a cold city, and Kang Kiyeon, who was inside a warm home, locked eyes.
An ice mark is left on Lee Cheonghyeon’s cheek where Kim Iwol’s hand had touched.
Look at this, it’s beautiful
Lights turned on all over the city in the music video. Like magic.
The past year
And the arrival of
The 364th night
Park Joowoo opened the window with a trembling hand. His deep golden hair fluttered in the winter wind. Colorful lights poured down onto his beige velvet shirt.
The most brilliant night
I wanted to give you
The highlight of the song, the highest note, shot through the accompaniment like a nightscape, like setting off fireworks. The keyboard laid out a splendid path for it.
The most honest
Expression of love
That I could offer
The deepest feeling
The part went to Jeong Seongbin.
My confession to you
Telling you to see only shining things
And
A heart growing warmer
Next, it passed to Choi Jeho.
The melody endlessly drew out the next phrase like a meteor shower.
At the center of the lights spreading out in a circle, Kang Kiyeon sang.
As I wait for an answer
Above my head
Stars begin to fall
It must be a miracle
And the one who decorated the finale was Kim Iwol.
The bells are ringing
Kim Iwol smiled—pure and untainted.
* * *
After Spark’s title music video came out, Baek Haewon’s timeline refreshed endlessly.
At first, the impressions were simply about the aesthetic aspects.
≫ Lost my mind from the concept photos, regained it with the MV. Then lost it again.
≫ Is Snow Queen Kim Iwol real?
Is chains-bound Choi Jeho real?
Is Softest-Leader-Alive Jeong Seongbin turning into The Happy Prince real?
Is Solitary Poet Park Joowoo, living in his own world, real?
Does baby blue bird Lee Cheonghyeon really exist?
Is Kang Kiyeon, who played the little soldier because he’s the shortest, cute?
└ Ma’am, no one ever said Kiyeon was a little soldier. Kiyeon is the Nutcracker
≫ I thought Seongbin was another brown-haired guy since he had brown hair during Winter Night, but the thrill I felt when he came out with gray hair—
└ It’s partly because of The Happy Prince concept, but they also said they wanted to show a gray city covered in snow… I just fainted
└ Omg where did you get this infoㅠㅠ
└ It’s from the Spark hair designer’s Insta!
≫ This MV was an all-out non-human character party, and as a non-human lover, I’m just so happy
But the one top among them is definitely Kim Iwol…
Even an AI couldn’t draw it this well
└ How is a person an anime character…
└ If it had been just ‘bam! non-human!’, it might have felt cringy, but since the base is still human with symbolic elements of otherworldliness—it workedㅋㅋ They used their brains well
└ I’ve seen lots of ‘Iwol looks so white/bright’ memes, but I think this music video screenshot will take the top spot. It’s already hit the popular posts a few times.
≫ A long time ago, Iwol said that the country prospers when a handsome man dyes his hair.
I think he was right. I’m so happy right now
Light pink on the cool-type man Kang Kiyeon????  That’s basically emotional blackmail to buy the album
└ I was debating whether to buy the Note or the Story book, chose the Note, and then immediately ordered the Story book after watching the music video…ㅋㅋㅋㅋ I can’t resist the maknae-line’s photo album
Then came comments focused on the song itself.
≫ When Winter Night dropped: Omg, it’s a perfect fit for winterㅠㅠ It’s a waste to release it as a pre-release, they should have released it as the title
When The Words I Want to Say dropped: As expected, the producing-duo is never wrong. I was foolish for a moment
≫ No, how is an idol song the finale of the Everland Christmas season parade?
└ There’s not even a basic bell effect, yet they made it feel exactly like it with just the keyboard… I can only explain it as insane
└ That part where violins mimic fireworks before mixing into drums and orchestra—that was nuts. The drum beat in the latter half is so strong, I feel the liveness of a parade I haven’t even been to
└ I think the chimes that come in right before the 3rd verse is the kick. Lee Cheonghyeon is a genius
≫ Winter Night: Feels like Spark and Sparklers are cozily sitting together and sharing warmth while watching a parade
The Words I Want to Say: The parade princesses and princes shout at the end, “It’s a happy Christmas, you rascals!!!! You’ve worked hard this year, and happy new year!!!!!!”
└ A perfect metaphorㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
≫ Baby master singer chinchilla Park Joowoo pierces the ceiling with his high notes.
This child hits a G5 without batting an eye
└ Park Joowoo’s super high note power punch concludes today. Thank you to everyone who joined me (0 people)
└ Seongbin shot up a flame, but it feels like Joowoo froze all the embers in the sky and they became snowflakes… My ears are melting and freezing right now
Lastly, there were reactions from people who rewatched the MV multiple times or read behind-the-scenes posts.
≫ I thought the opening choreography that bloomed like a flower was beautiful—then I found out it was inspired by their debut track (cue sobbing)
└ The whole music video from start to finish is about the stories Spark has told. Sparklers can only shed tears
└ Honestly, the choreo was gorgeous throughout… It didn’t seem like a super intense dance, but the formation and flow were very artistic
≫ I saw a post about the illumination group dance scene at the end, and it was so moving I had to share:
Orange illumination → Design reminiscent of both a Ferris wheel and fireworks
Spark dancing on the lights → All members in white suits
In their debut, Flowering and With List lit Spark’s path. In The Words I Want to Say, it’s Spark themselves who carry the symbolism of snow (since they’re all fairy tale characters now)
I was so moved, not acting my age, thinking that this was the story they had wanted to tell all along, from the winter of their debut until this winter… Guys, noona really loves you
≫ Was I the only one who liked how they created new relationships by linking the fairy tales?
The blue bird raised by the Snow Queen
The ghost who couldn’t pass on, by the side of the poet who was cut off from the world
The soldier doll who, seeing the prince who had become shabby after giving everything away, thinks about wanting to become a soldier who protects such a prince
└ And right at that moment, I was looking ‘Produced by Iwol, Creative Directed by Iwol’
└ Don’t tell me it’s only Iwol’s name again this time?
└ Fortunately, other directors were listed. I was ready to launch a fax campaign
└ We should skip the fax and go straight to the trucks… If you’re running an entertainment company, you should be prepared for that much, UA
≫ Isn’t it so cute that most of the fairy tales in ‘The Words I Want to Say’ have a moral lesson?
It’s a really heartwarming music video
└ Really… the best year-end song
A spectacular comeback, an amazing concept, endless content, and her pitiful self, unable to go to the pre-recording.
It was depressing. But no matter how much Baek Haewon flew and crawled, she couldn’t skip school to go to a pre-recording.
So she settled into the couch to at least catch the broadcast live. In her hand was a cotton Iwol plushie (note: unofficial merch) that she had succeeded in getting from last month’s form-olympics.
“What’s that?”
Baek Haein asked as he passed by.
“It’s a Iwol plushie. So cute, right?”
“Wow…”
He could watch his friend, who had become an idol, appeared on a sports day program with her.
But he couldn’t accept his friend being turned into a plushie. Goosebumps rose on Baek Haein’s skin.
“Spark is making a comeback?”
“Yup. Wanna watch?”
“No.”
Baek Haein bolted to his room. If he stayed to watch on TV, he’d probably get his arms drummed by Baek Haewon out of sheer excitement. He knew well how powerful fans became during their idol’s comeback period.
The moment the living room finally became quiet, another group’s performance ended.
Simultaneously, Spark’s current concept photos passed by one by one, and the words ‘spArk COMEBACK’ appeared.