Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols-Chapter 306: Hobby Life (2)

Watching the life story of Princess Soda while eating jajang ramen was incredible. The level of immersion was different from when I was reading in bits and pieces while traveling in the car. It felt like there was nothing in the world but me and the Cream Soda Kingdom.
When the air between the princess’s fiancé, Prince Melon, and the adventurer Urong started to get suspicious, I couldn’t help but call Kang Kiyeon.
“Are they having an affair?”
“Who?”
“Prince Melon.”
“You’re at that part. Is it okay if I spoil it?”
“Yeah.”
“The two of them have a thing, and Princess Soda catches them, but the princess tells them not to be tied down by a political marriage and sends them off to live freely.”
“Does that make sense? Is this right?”
Kang Kiyeon chuckled, watching me tear my hair out.
“I feel like my mind is going to collapse.”
“It’s a natural phenomenon. I was like that too when I first read that part.”
“Even if she sends them off, she should at least get some alimony…”
“Where would the Cucumber Kingdom get that kind of money? It’s a country that was trying to marry off its eldest son to the Cream Soda Kingdom as a son-in-law.”
“Don’t tell me she ends up with Denovan after this?”
“You’ll have to read that part yourself.”
After throwing me into confusion, Kang Kiyeon became engrossed in reading his own comic book.
Fortunately, the unfortunate incident of Princess Soda having a thing with Prince Denovan, the bratty red-haired second son of the Cucumber royal family and Prince Melon’s younger brother, did not occur in the first part.
But I couldn’t help but be impressed by the magnanimity of the princess, who gave a scoop of the kingdom’s precious asset, vanilla ice cream, and pushed the backs of her fiancé and the adventurer who had briefly stopped by her country, telling them to develop a new drink that had never existed in the world.
* * *
If Kang Kiyeon’s hobby was static for an outdoor activity, Choi Jeho’s was the opposite. The guy preferred the most dynamic among outdoor activities.
Actually, our first choice had been trying out an action school, but everyone except me vetoed that, so we postponed the action-school visit. And so, for the next hobby activity, I got to experience the second choice, ‘riding a bicycle on the Han River at 10 PM.’
They said there were separate pants for bicycle riding, so I also borrowed clothes from Choi Jeho. After taking off the helmet and protective gear, the riding preparations were complete.
“How many kilometers do you ride when you go out?”
“I’ve never really thought about it while riding.”
It was such a Choi Jeho-like answer. Since he’d been kind enough to lend me gear, I decided not to make a sarcastic remark today.
Since it was late, there were more people cooling down or packing up than people riding their bikes hard.
It was dark, and the pedestrian and bicycle paths were separated, so it seemed unlikely that a rumor would start about ‘Choi Jeho and his clone are riding bicycles on the Han River.’
Choi Jeho and I rode our bikes for about two hours in silence. In the first place, since we were riding our bikes in a line, there was no reason to talk. I just matched his pace and pedaled.
By the time there were almost no people to be seen by the stream, Choi Jeho stopped his bike on the side of the road.
Following him, I took out the water bottle I had packed in advance. While I was catching my breath, the night view of the Han River came into view.
When I looked down, all I could see was the dark river. But from below, the world was so sparkly.
“The night view is pretty.”
At my words, Choi Jeho took the water bottle from his mouth and said.
“You know how to say things like that?”
“I’m actually a pretty sentimental person.”
The wind was cool, the scenery was nice and calm, and after moving my body I felt refreshed. It was perfect.
“It’s different from riding a cycle at the gym.”
What?
Did I hear that wrong? Choi Jeho is empathizing? And on such a sentimental topic?
Is the system going to fall from a clear sky? My gaze unconsciously turned to the sky.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m just surprised to learn that you have emotions too.”
“What the…”
Choi Jeho took off his helmet and ruffled his sweaty hair. When I followed suit and took off my helmet, a cool breeze blew over my head. When I shook out my hair, I could feel the air passing between my fingers. It was refreshing.
On the way back, we rode our bikes at a slightly slower speed. Unlike when we were speeding, we could talk from time to time.
“Have you ever gone biking since debut?”
“No.”
“Then this is your first time riding in a while, too?”
“That’s right.”
The entire time he was talking, Choi Jeho only looked ahead.
Because of that, there wasn’t much of a view for me. While riding the bike, all I could see in front of me was Choi Jeho’s back, his waist, which would not yet have a surgery scar.
≫Our kid is a dancer, and he has to have back surgery?
Jeho is only in his 20s
He has to live with a herniated disc? As the main dancer and the center?
A fan’s enraged post also wouldn’t leave my mind.
I recalled the past Choi Jeho, who was also famous for his ghost-like reflexes.
Even if I looked like a jerk for this, maybe I could turn it to our advantage.
“Choi Jeho.”
“What.”
“How far will you go if I tell you to do something?”
At my words, Choi Jeho stopped his bike. I also came to a screeching halt. Luckily, there was no one following behind.
Choi Jeho put one foot on the ground and asked.
“For example?”
“Like telling you to lie down in the middle of a stage, or telling you to jump off the stage while dancing, or telling you to go away during a live broadcast.”
“That’s crazy.”
Choi Jeho furrowed his brow. Then he sighed and said.
“Aren’t we already doing that enough?”
“Huh?”
“I’m already doing everything you tell me to. No?”
The guy got back on his bike.
“…I guess.”
That guy did do everything I told him to.
Without even asking for a reason, just grumbled a little and went along.
“If I get criticized for being told to do something strange, I’m going to blame you.”
Choi Jeho drew a sharp line.
“Of course, I’ll take the criticism. I’m a professional at that.”
“Bullsh*t.”
With a curse, Choi Jeho started pedaling. Look at him, he couldn’t even say one word nicely. Live your life that way—just ride straight ahead without turning back.
* * *
Jeong Seongbin decided to teach me how to play a game. I asked if we were going to an internet cafe, but he recommended a single-player game, saying it would be better for me to play a game where I didn’t have to interact with people.
“The title is ‘My Farm’?”
“Yes. It’s famous as a healing game.”
I didn’t need
that
much healing. I had been doing nothing but healing for three days straight now.
Regardless of my will, Jeong Seongbin started the game. A peaceful BGM began to play.
It began with character creation. Since I figured this was just a game I’d try once or twice and never touch again, I didn’t bother putting much effort into the settings. I even just typed my real name in the name field.
As my character arrived at the entrance of a small, rustic village, a man came running towards me as if his socks were on fire.
『Yiwol, so you’re the new farmer, eh?』
『I’ve heard the rumors. You came all the way here looking for a second life, didn’t you?』
This man is psychic. I can hand over my fortune-telling octopus position to him.
“The characters like this mayor are called NPCs. After the tutorial ends, quests will appear, but since it’s a game with a high degree of freedom, you don’t have to be obsessed with completing the quests in a short period of time.”
Jeong Seongbin added an explanation.
『I can tell just from your eyes how motivated you are. I too once had those days… haha!』
『Ah, what am I doing wasting time. You must be dying to see your farm, right?』
“The man talks a lot. Is all this important information?”
“You can skip it… haha.”
Jeong Seongbin smiled awkwardly.
With the teacher’s blessing, I skipped through the dialogue and finally arrived at my farm…
『So? Doesn’t this just fire you up with determination?』
…It looked painfully familiar. The state of the field was exactly like the weekend farm where Manager Nam made me pick rocks.
To have fallen into this stone-filled field twice. Life is too harsh.
“I want to quit the game now.”
“Huh, you don’t like it?!”
“It’s not that, but it hurts my heart.”
Still, for the sake of Jeong Seongbin’s sincerity, I decided to play for at least an hour. After all, the goal was to experience a new hobby.
The newly created pixel dot-Yiwol didn’t have much money. The only things dot-Yiwol could buy at the supermarket were barley seeds and bean seeds.
‘Wait a minute. Isn’t barley double-cropped?’
In the world of My Farm, crops weren’t affected by the seasons, and they could be harvested after a set amount of time for each crop.
And as I had expected, the cultivation period for barley was shorter than for beans. A balance patch had been applied in the game to implement the characteristics of the crops to some extent.
I paused the game for a moment and brought over my precious journal planner. Then I opened a new page and made a grand cultivation plan.
‘Since each crop has a different time required for cultivation, I’ll utilize this to its fullest and create a planting cycle like a hamster wheel.’
The memo page of the journal was quickly filled with calculations on when to plant and harvest beans and barley for the best results.
That wasn’t all. The instinct I had in the early days with the system, where I would predict and guess new tasks, was slowly coming back to life.
‘The content will be lacking with just the primary industry. They’ll definitely tell me to make something with the crops. Since the most likely thing to be produced right now is beer, I’ll fix half of the field as a barley production area, and in the other half, I’ll alternate between beans and barley to prepare for quests and at the same time, accumulate wealth…’
I hadn’t even cleared the rocks out of the field yet, but the workload was already sky-high. I was getting anxious.
“Hyung? Are you already done with the game?”
Perhaps hearing that the keyboard sound had stopped, Jeong Seongbin, who had deliberately left the room so I could play comfortably, returned. I answered, tearing my hair out.
“I haven’t even started yet.”
“I heard the controls weren’t difficult… Wait. Hyung, what are you doing right now?”
“I’m racking my brain to find the best efficiency.”
“Why are you playing like a Korean-style player when I haven’t even taught you how! You didn’t by any chance look at a strategy guide, did you?”
“A strategy guide? Have the wise men of old already created a treasure trove of wisdom?”
“My goodness.”
Jeong Seongbin put a hand to his forehead. At his urging that I please take it easy, I promised I’d play the game on my own without looking at walkthroughs.