Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols

At the same time I quickly planned what came next in my head.

First, before the next self-content goes up, tell the company I want to withdraw. That way starting with the next video they’ll cut my parts.

As for the penalty, if I sell all the stock I’ve been sitting on, I can manage somehow. Worst case, I’ll work three part-time jobs and even sell my hair.

If I leave quickly, that punk Lee Cheonghyeon will probably put his work laptop or gear in the space my bedding used to be, so I should hurry and rent even a tiny study room.

Just in case, I’d slowly organized things: the next-concept proposals, idea lists, and handover notes—I planned to hand them to the Planning Team on a USB.

‘Let me just supplement them with the keywords from tonight’s live. And then...’

I glanced once at the guys, eyes shining as they watched our stage video, then pulled my gaze back.

It would be best to tell these guys as soon as possible, too.

Before telling the company, telling them first felt like the decent thing to do. They were the ones most harmed by my involvement, and the ones who’d keep taking image damage going forward.

It made me feel a little easier that leaving early would be better for the team than me staying and dragging them down.

Just as I was timing it—‘once this part ends...’ ‘once this verse ends...’—the system lit up again.

Already on edge, I snapped and checked the system, wondering why it was doing this now.

There was something written that made no sense.

▶ I looked at this round’s results, and Assistant Manager Kim managed to do about one person’s worth, huh? Well, you do have to earn your paycheck. Try a little harder on the next one.

[SYSTEM] The "Eul’s" KPI has been set to "Win first place on a music show as Spark, as six."

The KPI is already cleared, isn’t it? Why is this popping up again?

Staring blankly at the system window, I pulled up the "Performance Reward" entry I’d seen before.

My gaze snagged on one place at that moment.

"Final?"

In my memory, there was no word "final" in front of "Debut as a six-member boy group."

Feeling it—this vibe of being fXXked—I summoned the system, just in case.

Then the system screen changed again. A window about KPIs with content I hadn’t seen before.

▷ Phase 1: Debut as a six-member boy group

▷ Phase 2: Win first place on a music show as Spark, as six

▷ (the rest is confidential)

.

.

.

FXXk, how does this make sense?

You trick people with this kind of bullshXX wordplay?

I was so dumbfounded I couldn’t even speak properly. My head turned blank again, for a different reason than before.

My body trembled with emptiness and futility.

So I have to clear however many KPIs there are in the future for this so-called final KPI to show up.

And only after I complete all of those does a "final KPI reward" come out?

And I was getting jerked around, busting my back to prepare a farewell, not even knowing that?

Rage surged. I wanted to tear the system to shreds and chuck it in the trash.

"Hey, what’s wrong with you?"

While I was rattling off every curse I knew in my head like a machine gun, someone shook my arm and asked.

It was Choi Jeho.

"Hyung, are you okay? You don’t look well."

Then Jeong Seongbin asked with a worried face.

Now that I noticed, the living room was quiet. The other stage video was paused—who knows when they’d stopped it.

"Were you trying to turn in early because you were tired? Did I hold you back for nothing?"

Lee ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) Cheonghyeon scratched his head, looking awkward.

"It’d make sense if you were tired. We’ll wrap up and head in too, so go rest first."

"I’ll turn off the living-room light right away...!"

Kang Giyeon and Park Juu added a word each in turn.

The system needs to say things that make sense.

I’d already dumped a whole bucket of vinegar on their debut road. If it weren’t for me, they could’ve stuffed in high-difficulty choreography and gone viral as "rookie boy group boasting brutal difficulty," or cruised along on "all-vocal, top-tier skilled boy group."

And now I’m supposed to freeload on the bus they keep pulling over for me? With no end date?

I clenched my teeth and squeezed into the debut lineup, thinking I’d thrown away my conscience. Because I hated Hanpyeong Industries like hell, and because I wanted to save my sister somehow.

But I didn’t have it in me to use these guys over and over for my own selfish ends.

The lives riding on this team aren’t just the five shares that belong to them.

My chest felt tight. I didn’t have it in me to meet the five pairs of eyes directed at me.

"...Sorry, I guess I’m just a little tired. Don’t mind me—keep watching what you were watching."

So I ran away.

And I pulled the covers over my head and tried to sleep, doing my best not to hear the quiet sounds of them tidying the living room.

Naturally, I didn’t sleep a wink.

At least it was a small mercy that, in celebration of finishing promotions, Choi Jeho and Lee Cheonghyeon were sleeping in late.

I spent the whole night listing pros and cons of me staying with Spark.

The pros came to about two.

The cons, on the other hand, were a dime a dozen.

.

.

.

And more than anything, it weighed on me that it would be discourteous to future fans who will come to love five-member Spark.

I could see it without even looking in the mirror—my dark circles must have deepened. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

I trudged into the living room.

I almost habitually started toasting bread, then decided even bread was a luxury for trash like me and just sat at the table and opened my laptop.

Right then a message from the manager came in on PC Messenger.

Manager Chanyeong

[Guys, by today please整理 and drop your self-content ideas in here~]

It was about the individual self-content we’d planned to prepare and upload during the off-promo period to showcase each member’s charm.

Back at the planning stage, I’d only picked sample themes for the five and hadn’t thought about mine at all. The idea was to release my self-content only after my withdrawal announcement.

"Ha..."

I let out a deep sigh and scrubbed my face dry.

If I want to hit the early objective, I have to stay with this team no matter what. And aim higher, too.

Time wasn’t infinite either.

Spark got its first win in year four after debut. Results were pretty good after that, but until then, it struggled.

Considering I have to prevent my sister’s accident in a few years, I needed to secure as much time as possible. Who knows when the system will pull another trick and smack me in the back of the head.

In conclusion, I have to make this group a winner as soon as possible, and finish every last one of the remaining confidential KPIs.

If I could do that, would I have been living as Section Chief Nam’s lackey at Hanpyeong Industries.

Maybe because I’d been raging since yesterday, my head hurt now.

"First place... first place."

Like a machine, I searched "idol first place" on a portal site.

News about idols who’d recently taken first on music shows poured down the screen. A formidable lineup.

And Spark gets first through that. With a sandbag like me strapped on?

Yeah, no way.

A hollow laugh came out on its own. Maybe I could help bring the five their first win sooner, but Spark getting first with me in the mix? I couldn’t picture it.

My eyes shifted to the manager’s message.

Before worrying about that distant first place, this was more urgent. I’d been so focused on leaving that I hadn’t even thought about my own self-content.

But is there even anyone who wants to watch my self-content to begin with?

A live from a useless idol who cakes on base makeup to hide dark circles, spends dawn making glowing name headbands, and whose only "talents" are reciting subway lines and guessing star ratings for professions. Even I would lose all desire to watch.

I tried to recall what had been fun among Spark’s self-content I’d monitored.

And failed spectacularly. I’d momentarily forgotten these guys were a no-fun group even fans admitted to.

"Study with me... would that work?"

I wanted to go for a vibe like, "Let’s study together for finals!" but with a middle-aged guy long out of high school stuffed inside, it was obviously going to be boring, so I dropped it.

I’m confident at coming up with concepts for other people’s videos. If it’s Spark, I could even draft twenty items per member.

But if you ask me what I should do alone, I had no answer.

Right then, while I was racking my brains, I heard a door open. I turned to see Kang Giyeon coming out with a yawn.

"You’re up early. I thought you’d sleep in."

"My eyes popped open. You’re up early too for a Saturday."

"It’s a habit."

Seeing the laptop on, Kang Giyeon asked what I was doing in the morning. I closed browser windows one by one and answered.

"The manager asked us to decide what to do for self-content and let him know, so I was thinking. You decide yours?"

"I was looking at the list you gave and have some candidates. I was actually going to ask you later—do you have time?"

"Sure. But I’m the problem."

"Why?"

Pulling out the chair across from me, Kang Giyeon sat and asked.

"Nothing really comes to mind."

"Didn’t you find like ten each for ours?"

"When it’s me doing it, nothing feels like ‘that’s the one.’"

Listening, Kang Giyeon said without much hesitation,

"Hyung, do that one."

"What?"

"‘Ask Me Anything.’"