A quick scan of the realtime trends showed Spark like this.
≫ As expected
Idol ranked no.1 for suspiciously good work sense
└ I don’t know about the rest, but Castlebin and Idal have definitely done cafe part-time before
≫ 2X05XX Life Experience Spark
If a cafe had part-timers like these, I’d go every day ㅠㅠ
└ A smoothie made by Emperor Jeho? I could drink it even in a freezer warehouse
≫ As a current cafe part-timer, I really enjoyed this week’s Life Experience......!
I kept wondering when they’d do a cafe part-time episode and it finally came out, I’m so happy
Spark did such a good job...... I was shocked......
They’re way better than our cafe’s newbies...... boss, please swap our part-timers
└ Thank you for seeing our kids kindlyㅎㅎ They’re good at the job, but they’re also great at their main gig! If you’re up for it, please watch their stage tooㅎㅎ
└ They seemed just average;;; being “shocked” feels like an exaggeration
└ Uh, they really did work well! With customers flooding like that, it’s not easy for beginners to get zero drink mistakesㅎㅎ
└ Since it’s a broadcast, they probably cut out any complaintsㅎ Looks like ratings ticked up thanks to idols, so they edited hard to position them as “work geniuses”ㅎ The producers’ scheme was obvious, so I wasn’t a fan
└ XX do our kids already have forced hate attached......? If they look like rating-drivers now, doesn’t that mean our babies have grown......?
≫ The others give off a simple “wow, nice hands-on skills~” vibe,
but Iwol and Cheonghyeonㅋㅋㅋㅋ they’re practically electronic brains
PD’s face when he saw them rattle off every outgoing drink = my face
└ Their memory really is insaneㅋㅋ Iwol’s specialty isn’t “memorizing the subway map” for nothing
└ Please notice Dishwashing Master Giyeon too ㅠㅠㅠ Our kitten isn’t touching scary things like the blender...... but that obsession with limescale is so cute......
Everyone was getting mentioned, and no one was receiving negative evaluations.
It was the perfect appeal.
In an idol group where many members promote together, push is a sensitive issue.
One specific person drawing attention means the opportunities for the member I like diminish.
In the past among Sparklers, this kind of checking was quite intense.
As misfortunes piled up and chances for the team to show their faces dwindled, fans were fighting to seize the few opportunities left.
‘If we’d shown a lot of “getting along” among members, it might’ve eased, but that wasn’t the case either.’
So up to now, I had focused on giving everyone roles.
As equal a share of screen time as possible, equal rights to speak, and so on.
And I believed without doubt that it was yielding good results.
"Iwol, stories about the members are great, but could you talk more about yourself?"
At least until I heard this at a fansign.
It wasn’t the first time I’d met someone who had Kim Iwol as their bias.
I kept thinking, what on earth do they like about me that they’d pick me out of these six, but that’s secondary.
People who had Kim Iwol as their bias did share certain traits.
≫ Anyone who can teach me how to love Spark more than I love Iwol
Even on a solo live, he always reports where the members are
Sometimes he can’t get a good shot of himself because he’s busy taking pictures of the members
Members say he practices the latest, but he says if he doesn’t want to burden them, that’s the least he should do
I love that kind youㅠ
But those who go “where is Jeho?” every live, I wish they’d all disappear
For some reason, they thought of me as a very warm-hearted eldest.
They viewed everything I did extremely positively. To the point I wondered if I even deserved such a warm evaluation.
What I could do for fans who liked Spark or other members was clear.
Keep the group from sinking into a mire, or diligently drop the crumbs the boys hadn’t scattered so far.
But...
‘What should I do for people who like Kim Iwol?’
...I couldn’t help but think that.
Photos? Honestly, my face doesn’t have the conscience to be posted as an idol selfie.
No way a cover song by me, who only recently started learning to sing, would be pleasant to hear.
Dance... not even worth discussing.
So I figured the best I could do was show up daily on the official cafe and chat as often as possible.
"My story?"
"Yeah!"
At my echoing question, the fan in front of me nodded fervently.
"Honestly, I like whatever you talk about, okay? But I want to hear what you like, and what you did today, Iwol."
Even as we talked, the fan’s gaze was fixed straight on me.
"You mean hobbies or recent happenings?"
"Right! Ah, not that stories with the members are boring. You know that, right?"
"Of course. Thank you for being curious about my daily life."
I finished the autograph with a smile.
And as I scribbled a short TMI on a Post-it, I thought:
What exactly should I use to appeal for myself?
Up to now, the reason I mentioned the members even on my personal lives was simple.
The ones who should be getting attention are them, and Spark’s fans are fans for those five.
I didn’t think anyone would be curious about me.
But after the fansign, I couldn’t do my broadcasts the same way. If a fan wants that, I can’t not do it, can I?
‘The problem is, who’s going to enjoy the boring daily life of an office-man uncle?’
I felt like I’d sold a falsely advertised product to the people supporting Kim Iwol. My heart was heavy.
I couldn’t even guess what I should talk about.
I even recalled the division head’s daughter who wanted to know every move of Choi Jeho—but at least back then, the subject was Choi Jeho.
Comparing myself to a guy who was the group’s center and top tier in recognition would be rude to him.
I let the members’ self-content auto-play endlessly while I searched for an idea.
Then my eyes stopped on Lee Cheonghyeon’s piano cover of "With List."
‘Should I play bass?’
Bass was a hobby that was at least hobby-like. It wasn’t far from Spark’s activities, and above all, I really liked it.
Since I suddenly became a trainee, I hadn’t touched it in over a year and would need practice to get my feel back, but I had nearly ten years of playing behind me, so I wouldn’t fumble too badly.
The problem was not having an instrument. It felt wasteful to buy one just to film a video.
‘Should I look at secondhand trades?’
It felt like the task was snowballing, and my head hurt. Maybe it’d be better to tell the story about not being able to pay tuition and not getting into college and reinvent myself as a legendary scatterbrain...
"Hyung, what are you watching? Hey, that’s my video."
Just as my eyes started to get misty, someone yanked me back {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} to reality by the hair.
It was Lee Cheonghyeon, back to the room.
"Are you monitoring my video? Oh no, I’m so embarrassed."
"It’s not like that. I was wondering what to film for my personal video, so I was watching for reference."
I finished speaking and shut the laptop.
In my mind, that action signaled the end of the conversation, but Cheonghyeon perched on the edge of Choi Jeho’s bed across from me and asked:
"So? Did you decide on a topic?"
"Huh?"
"You said you’re still thinking. For someone like you who doesn’t show when you’re worrying, to say that much means you’re totally stuck, right?"
His words stabbed me in the vital point. It felt like I’d taken a hole to the solar plexus.
I looked at him, showing no sign of leaving, and said:
"That’s true. I don’t know how to fill ten minutes doing something solo."
"You do talk about us a lot. Oh, what about work?"
"I’d like to exclude that as much as possible."
"Uh... then that’s really hard. You only work."
"Are you pouring oil on a fire right now?"
At my line, Cheonghyeon burst into cackles. I was still serious, but I guess this situation amused him.
"Come to think of it, don’t you have any hobbies? I feel like I’ve never seen you play even when you rest."
Why wouldn’t I have any hobbies. Since turning back the clock, I even started reading webnovels.
"The only thing I have that’s showable is bass, but I don’t have an instrument, so that’s tough too. What a headache."
"Bass? There should be a few practice ones in the band rooms."
"What?"
Pointing toward the company, Cheonghyeon continued:
"You know, on the second floor of the building there are seniors’ practice rooms and band rooms. The band rooms have all the band session instruments! They’re not as good as the ones we use for pulling source, though."
As expected of music powerhouse UA—bad at work, but loaded with resources. I was moved to tears.
Just like Cheonghyeon said, UA had quite a lot of instruments.
I was able to borrow a bass after filling out the reservation ledger in the equipment room. Back in a little closet-like practice room, holding the instrument, I was flooded with an indescribable feeling.
‘I really played a lot back in college.’
It’s not that I stopped after my age rewound; in reality, the days I touched the bass were few even after joining Hanpyeong Industries.
I hoped I hadn’t forgotten my fingering. Even the feel of the strings was so久 that I grinned.
Just as Cheonghyeon said, it wasn’t some incredible instrument, but the one I used to play was ordinary too, so I wasn’t uncomfortable.
With the instrument secured, only song selection remained.
If what the fan wanted was TMI about the human Kim Iwol, covering a Spark song didn’t seem like a great choice.
Then I thought I’d just play Park Juu’s favorite song like I’d promised before—and stopped, startled.
No matter what I thought about, my thoughts drifted toward the group. Is this what people mean by "it soaked in"?
But...
‘If I’ve never asserted myself in my life, then maybe staying still is exactly my nature.’
Honestly, my head was a mess.
