Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols-Chapter 268: Roommate For Sale

The news of the move was delivered out of the blue while everyone was eating.
“Moving?”
To my bewildered question, Manager Chanyoung nodded with a happy expression.
“We’re moving to a building between the company and the broadcasting stations, so the commute time will be much shorter. It also has one more room than here!”
When Jeong Seongbin asked whether there was a general hospital nearby, they quietly dodged the question. To sum it up, we were moving to a place with much better security and location than our current dorm.
“So decide in advance which furniture to throw away. If you need anything, tell Daeyeon in advance.”
As soon as Manager Chanyoung finished speaking, Manager Daeyeon took out a notebook. He was truly reliable.
“I have a question! Can I change my bed?”
Lee Cheonghyeon shot his arm up and stood up from his seat.
“My feet keep sticking out of the bed!”
“That’s right. It’s a bit scary when I wake up and see it.”
At my words, the sound of laughter erupted from all over the practice room.
As if he were living in a bean sprout steamer all by himself, Lee Cheonghyeon grew day by day. As a result, his feet kept poking out of the bed at night.
“Ah, you can all consider your bunk beds as being thrown away.”
“What?”
“I told you the new place has an extra room. Wouldn’t it be better to use it as double rooms? I think it’d be best to get bigger beds too.”
It was like rain in a drought. I had started to feel guilty about cramming Lee Cheonghyeon into the top bunk.
Plus, everyone had grown so big, even single beds were starting to look cramped in those small rooms.
“I checked, and if you’re over 180cm, it’s better to have beds custom-made. So I’m thinking of ordering six ground-level beds.”
“Then Kang Kiyeon, can’t you just bring the one you’ve been using?”
“Do you think I’m the only one who has to? Seongbin hyung is the same.”
Kang Kiyeon clung to Jeong Seongbin. Jeong Seongbin smiled bitterly. Still, since we were getting new beds anyway, the story concluded with all of us getting a big, wide bed each.
That left the issue of roommates.
“We’ll have to pick a new roommate too…”
Park Joowoo muttered, sounding disappointed. Seemed like he had fond memories of the time when the three of them shared a room.
Not me, though. I was getting out of the cell I shared with Choi Jeho and Lee Cheonghyeon, even if it was the last thing I did.
“Actually, we’re going to film the next self-produced content with that theme, so the planning team asked us to write this in advance.”
“We’re moving next year, but we’re filming the self-produced content already?”
“Next year’s not far off. And since the beds are being custom-made, they’ll need to be delivered before we move in. That’s why we need to decide on rooms and roommates soon.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Manager Chanyoung handed each of us two sheets of paper.
On the paper, the title ‘Introducing My Old Roommate’ was written.
* * *
I stared intently at the subtitle written under the title.
[Introducing My Roommate ( )]
I knew this one. This was a plan to firmly brand me as a respectable rascal.
Thinking of the humiliation I received in the past, my arms still trembled. I couldn’t have imagined that Kang Kiyeon, that guy, would betray me like that.
But now, I couldn’t even lay a finger on a single strand of Kang Kiyeon’s hair. The only ones left for me were Choi Jeho and Lee Cheonghyeon.
Once again, I envied Kang Kiyeon, whose roommates were Jeong Seongbin and Park Joowoo. System, you bastard, how can you even arrange the rooms like this?
For now, I wrote down the name of Lee Cheonghyeon, who lived on the upper bunk above me. I then proceeded to fill in the columns for strengths and weaknesses in large letters.
[Introducing My Roommate ( Cheonghyeon )]
Strengths
Tolerant of roommate noise.
Welcomes members cheerfully when they return home.
Makes the room cheerful.
Makes the room beautiful.
Weaknesses
Also makes a lot of noise himself. (About the level of a typical office)
Comes home late at times.
Sometimes, his feet stick out of the frame, and it’s scary. (This is expected to improve if everyone uses a single-story bed.)
“Hmm.”
A perfect roommate introduction. There wasn’t a single thing lacking.
I picked up the next paper with a satisfied expression.
[Introducing My Roommate ( Choi Jeho )]
This one… made me sigh from the start.
In truth, Choi Jeho was not a bad roommate to live with. He was quiet and just did his own thing.
But considering that back when he roomed with Kang Kiyeon, his dongsaeng was supposedly called in from Gwangju to act as an interpreter, I felt like I had to fill this out carefully. We couldn’t have the dongsaeng come all the way from Gwangju again.
As a result of agonizing over it, Choi Jeho’s introduction sheet became like this.
Strengths
Tolerant of roommate noise.
Never nags the roommate.
Sleeps when it’s time to sleep, wakes when it’s time to wake.
Weaknesses
Occasionally lets out a groan in the middle of the night. (Suspected to be from bumping into the corner of the bed. The decibel level isn’t too high.)
Usually wears earphones, so he requires extra effort to get his attention. (Needs to be called twice or waved at directly in front of him.)
The way he looks at his roommate isn’t exactly warm. (Though there’s no ill intent.)
There was more I wanted to say, but I held back for the sake of Choi Jeho’s idol image. I had to protect the center’s dignity.
While some people filled out the sheet without hesitation, others spent a long time writing, erasing, and rewriting over and over again.
How many more minutes passed like that?
After much trial and tribulation, we were able to enter the meeting room holding our roommate introduction sheets.
* * *
There was a floor plan posted on the whiteboard. A flashy banner reading “Con★gratulations SPARK’s First Move☆” hung on the wall. If only they’d spent that money during the IDC era instead… No, no use bringing up old stories now.
‘Still, it’s a relief that the floor plan isn’t the real dorm floor plan.’
If they’d brought a real one that gave away the building or room size, the fans would’ve been furious, accusing them of announcing Spark’s new location to sasaengs. I appreciated the delicate handling of the matter.
Jeong Seongbin, who had received the roommate introduction sheet and the script together, familiarly opened the proceedings.
“…So, as you can see, before we move into our new dorm, we’ll be deciding roommates!”
“I have a question! Is the room size the same as in the drawing?”
Lee Cheonghyeon asked. There was one largest room, and the other two were similar in size.
“That’s what I heard. Are you eyeing the big room, Cheonghyeon?”
“Of course. I’m a maximalist, you know.”
Lee Cheonghyeon said confidently. It seemed the room-deciding content would not be an easy fight.
It was decided that the roommate introductions would be read starting from the youngest. Kang Kiyeon cleared his throat with a cough and then read Jeong Seongbin’s introduction.
“Introducing my roommate, Seongbin hyung. Seongbin hyung’s biggest strength is his consideration. Even if a problem arises, if Seongbin hyung is your roommate, it will be resolved smoothly.”
You called me a respectable rascal. Isn’t the gap too big?
“Seongbin hyung also has a very tidy lifestyle. I’ve learned a lot from him.”
You told me I only eat jjolmyeon for a whole month and that I have an uncompromising personality. You said I was an incomprehensible guy who didn’t even know his own uniqueness.
“As for the weakness, I really had to think hard about it… Since being allowed to use his phone, he often raises his voice during calls. Hyung quickly goes out to the veranda, but we can actually hear everything. Seongjun hyung, please don’t stress out Seongbin hyung too much!”
Kang Kiyeon approached Jeong Seongbin’s side and quickly formed a heart with one arm. Jeong Seongbin, with a bewildered face, also completed the heart.
Park Joowoo’s strength was listed as creating a clean environment, and his weakness was the pressure of feeling like you should also live cleanly. Since Kang Kiyeon was also quite a tidy person, it wasn’t really considered a weakness.
“Next is my turn, right?”
Lee Cheonghyeon spread out his paper with a triumphant air. Choi Jeho propped his chin on his hand and stared at him.
“First, my first roommate! Introducing Jeho hyung!”
His voice was also confident. I could feel his excitement from here.
“His impassiveness is an advantage. You all know, right, that Jeho hyung is quiet when he’s alone?”
If he were noisy when alone, that would be the real issue.
“I listed his weakness as ‘not interested in his roommate,’ but this can be a strength, too. No matter who becomes his roommate! No matter what you do in the room! Jeho hyung won’t even look!”
“Still, if you do something like breakdancing in the room, wouldn’t he at least look…?”
Park Joowoo asked with a concerned face. Not sure why he’d ask something like that. Did he do breakdance in his room or something?
“Jeho hyung has another advantage. You can borrow his clothes anytime.”
“Can’t you just borrow clothes from the other members?”
Kang Kiyeon asked. However, Lee Cheonghyeon shook his head firmly.
“Jeho hyung’s hoodie is the perfect! A nicely fitting oversized fit.”
“Is that why you were always asking me to lend you a hoodie?”
Choi Jeho asked with a dumbfounded expression. Lee Cheonghyeon retorted, ‘Wasn’t it obvious?’
“And as for his weakness~ there’s the disinterest issue I mentioned earlier! Our Jeho hyung wouldn’t even know if I didn’t come back to the dorm.”
“You should come on time then.”
“Cheonghyeon is busy, you know.”
Lee Cheonghyeon, who had been busy until just the other day, said as if he were spitting blood. Choi Jeho, who was not unaware of this fact, kept his mouth shut this time.
“But well, as the person who has shared a room with Jeho hyung the longest among us, I guarantee that he is a good roommate! Trust me!”
Lee Cheonghyeon patted his chest with his palm. We responded with mechanical applause.
“Next, I’d like to introduce my second roommate, Iwol hyung!”
Lee Cheonghyeon rearranged the papers.
“First strength! He is tolerant of his roommate’s mistakes! Even when I accidentally drop things on his bed, he just picks them up without saying anything—such a gentleman!”
“Ooh.”
“Second strength! He’s really attentive to his roommate! A complete opposite of Jeho hyung, right?”
Our gazes, Choi Jeho’s and mine, met in mid-air. I guess… our personalities really are the opposites.
“That’s all for strengths.”
“Why are the strengths so short?”
Kang Kiyeon pointed it out. But Lee Cheonghyeon didn’t care.
“If you guys wanted to hear more strengths, you hyungs should have treated Cheonghyeon well, right?”
Lee Cheonghyeon said with a flash in his eyes. The words ‘let’s skip my weakness’ rose to the tip of my tongue.