Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols

The sound came from a small plaza where fountains would run in summer.

 

There, Choi Jeho was standing with his feet submerged in a small waterway.

 

Wait a minute.

 

Waterway?

 

“What are you doing, going in there?”

 

“It was in the water, what was I supposed to do?”

 

Choi Jeho held a dripping ziplock bag in his hand. A neatly folded note was visible beyond the transparent plastic.

 

“Because of that, you just stepped in there?”

 

“They said it’s okay to go in because it’s where kids play in the water. And I took my shoes and socks off before going in.”

 

It was important to check if an area was off-limits.

 

Still, wasn’t his feet cold?

 

I took a handkerchief out of my pants pocket and handed it to him.

 

“How did you find it, Jeho hyung? That’s amazing.”

 

“I just saw it.”

 

Choi Jeho answered casually, but the conditions were far from ordinary. First, it was dark, and with the fountain turned off, almost no light was entering the waterway.

 

It might be easier to understand this as his sense being at an animal level.

 

We went under the light and unfolded the note Choi Jeho retrieved.

 

Inside, it was written:

 

【Come to the place where we all smiled and took a picture!

 

Don’t be late!】

 

“Is it talking about the place where we took the thumbnail photo?”

 

“Isn’t it where we took a group selfie earlier?”

 

Jeong Seongbin and Kang Kiyeon offered their opinions in turn.

 

But something felt off. It wasn’t exactly wrong, but something was ambiguous.

 

‘Usually, these are written more colloquially.’

 

The place where we all smiled and took a picture.

 

I repeated it several times in my head, but it didn’t quite roll off the tongue. ‘The place where we all took a picture with a smile’, would have been more natural.

 

In cases like this, it was one of two things.

 

Either I was overthinking something trivial, or it was intentional.

 

A few scenes flashed through my mind.

 

However, it wasn’t good to be overconfident, so I called upon Lee Cheonghyeon, Spark’s official electronic brain.

 

“Cheonghyeon, do you remember what scene was in the third chorus of our 『With List』 MV?”

 

“The third chorus?”

 

If my memory served me right, the backgrounds for 『A Dreamlike Breeze』, 『Even Just Once』, and 『Sharing Joyful Stories』 were the studio where the members’ individual shots were filmed.

 

And in the next lyrics…

 

“In 『Smiling a happy smile』we were on the Ferris wheel!”

 

Lee Cheonghyeon, realizing the intention of my question, responded with a bright expression.

 

At the same time, I looked at the other members and shouted.

 

“Heard that? Everyone, run!”

 

* * *

 

It was quite a distance from the garden to the Ferris wheel. Thanks to that, we had to run until we were breathless.

 

As a result of sprinting through the amusement park like signal flares cutting through the night sky—

 

“Joowoo!”

 

“Hyung! You guys…!”

 

In front of the Ferris wheel, we were able to have a tearless reunion with Park Joowoo, who had been waiting alone for two hours.

 

“You must have been cold waiting until sunset.”

 

“No, I am fine.”

 

“What do you mean, you’re fine!? Come here. The maknae will give you a hug.”

 

Park Joowoo joined the center of the group, receiving the utmost care and protection from Jeong Seongbin and Lee Cheonghyeon.

 

“So, did we succeed in the mission?”

 

And Kang Kiyeon shrewdly confirmed the success of the mission. Really, everyone except me had a clear role.

 

“Before that! Everyone, what was the condition for the mission success?”

 

“Wasn’t it finding Park Joowoo before 8 o’clock?”

 

Choi Jeho asked, placing his hand on the top of Park Joowoo’s head.

 

Then it happened.

 

A bell rang from somewhere. Like a church bell signaling the hour.

 

At the same time, we heard something cutting through the sky.

 

“Hyung, behind you!”

 

Turning around, magnificent fireworks were blooming in the sky beyond the Ferris wheel.

 

‘What would you want to do at the amusement park?’

 

‘Yeah, Joowoo, you’re the main character in this music video, so feel free to share your ideas.’

 

‘We’ve already talked about riding attractions… If I had to choose something else I want to do with our members…’

 

What Park Joowoo in the music video wanted to see with his friends…

 

‘I want to watch fireworks together, all six of us.’

 

And like magic, the fireworks that Park Joowoo outside of the music video wanted to see with the members…

 

‘I think the me in the music video… would want that too.’

 

Colorful shooting stars rained down from the night sky.

 

It was such a grand and beautiful sight that the production team’s voices congratulating the mission’s success and concluding the activities seemed so distant.

 

And so, our second activity period came to an end.

 

* * *

 

With the 『With List』 promotions over, UA granted us our first vacation.

 

It had been a year and three months since I joined UA as a trainee, and I hadn’t taken a single day off from practice. Tears of gratitude welled up in my heart.

 

I had never used all my annual leaves at Hanpyeong Industry either. But not having any vacation days at all was a different matter.

 

I wanted to immediately apply to the Ministry of Employment and Labor to establish an idol job code for the maintenance of the K-Pop industry and introduce a mandatory vacation system. But since they were letting us rest for a whole week, I’d hold back.

 

“It’s been so long since we’ve had a week off, what are you all going to do?”

 

Jeong Seongbin, who couldn’t remember the last time he had consecutive days off, asked with an excited face. Yes, someone who worked hard like him deserved a break.

 

“I’m going home.”

 

“I’ll probably go home too.”

 

The dance line’s destinations were the same as during the holiday.

 

Come to think of it, these guys had faced all sorts of issues, but never any club or casino controversies. Should I be thankful that I didn’t have to worry about them wandering around to random places?

 

Ah, there was one person whose destination had changed from the holiday.

 

“Me too! This time… I’ll visit home.”

 

Park Joowoo decided to go to his aunt’s house for this vacation. I could practically hear his aunt’s voice over the phone, saying she’d have galbi ready and waiting for him.

 

By the way, Park Joowoo also invited me to come along. But I refused.

 

‘Aunt said to bring hyung along…’

 

‘No, I’ll be here practicing hard.’

 

I was so flustered when Jeong Seongbin’s parents came to the dorm, how could I possibly go to someone else’s house?

 

I would definitely become a mess. It was a hundred times better to avoid that situation altogether.

 

“Oh? So Iwol hyung will be alone in the dorm?”

 

At Lee Cheonghyeon’s words, everyone turned to look at me.

 

“I guess so?”

 

“Then I’ll stay too.”

 

“Why are you staying, Seongbin?  Do you think I’m not trustworthy enough to be left alone in the dorm?”

 

“No! Absolutely not!”

 

Jeong Seongbin waved his hands frantically.

 

“I’m twenty-one. I’m perfectly capable of being alone.”

 

“It’s not that…”

 

“It’s not that?”

 

When I asked back, no one could readily continue speaking.

 

I knew what these guys were trying to say. They felt bad about going home and leaving one member with nowhere to go all alone.

 

But like I said, I was a full-fledged adult.

 

And not even twenty-one, but twenty-nine… No, it had been over a year since I became younger, so if we were just counting the years I’d lived, I was over thirty.

 

Did it make sense that a thirty-year-old man couldn’t last a week on his own? I had the pride of a head of household who had been responsible for a single-person household for years.

 

“I appreciate you looking out for me, but even if I had somewhere to go, I would have stayed at the dorm this time. There’s something I want to practice.”

 

“Practice?”

 

Kang Kiyeon asked. Judging by the slight sparkle in his eyes, he seemed interested.

 

“Yeah. But I won’t include you.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Think about your recent dance break. If you don’t rest here, your joints will be begging for mercy.”

 

I’d been working hard since last year to prevent his ankle injuries, I couldn’t risk damaging his knee.

 

Kang Kiyeon couldn’t hide his displeasure but still agreed with my point. I was just grateful that he saved me the trouble of arguing.

 

Just as the mood seemed to settle down, for some reason, Lee Cheonghyeon, who had been quiet until now, slammed the desk, drawing our attention.

 

“Everyone, why doesn’t anyone ask me where I’m going?”

 

“Aren’t you going home?”

 

“I was debating it, but I just decided. I’ll stay at the dorm with Iwol hyung!”

 

“With me?”

 

I was taken aback. I really was planning on spending my time in a hellish solo dance practice, flailing my limbs around.

 

“You don’t have to force yourself, Cheonghyeon.”

 

“No, this is a choice for both you and me, hyung.”

 

“Why?”

 

Lee Cheonghyeon answered my question with an unfocused smile.

 

“Because even if I go home, my hyung and dongsaeng are in the middle of midterms, so I wouldn’t be able to breathe…”

 

“I see…”

 

“Therefore! I’ll spend an awesome vacation with hyung!”

 

“Alright, do what you want.”

 

After a long conversation, Lee Cheonghyeon and I ended up spending the next week together.

 

But I never imagined…

 

“Hyung! It was awesome! Did you see the seagull just take off with my anchovy snack bag?!”

 

…that during that week, we’d end up all the way in Busan.

 

I looked at him excitedly running towards me after having all his snacks stolen by a seagull.

 

And I thought to myself.

 

‘How did I end up here with this kid?’

 

The incident traced back to the day before the vacation started.

 

Starting with Choi Jeho, who lived farthest from home, the members began leaving the dorm one by one.

 

Meanwhile, Jeong Seongbin, worried about us until the very end, repeatedly told us to contact him if anything happened.

 

And so, only Lee Cheonghyeon and I remained in the dorm.

 

‘Hyung, are you going to practice?’

 

‘Yeah. You can rest if you want.’

 

‘No, how can a dongsaeng rest when his hyung is setting such a good example!’

 

Up to this point, things were going according to my plan. After finishing our usual late-night practice, we returned to the dorm.

 

‘Hyung! How about we watch a movie before going to bed?’

 

‘Aren’t you tired?’

 

‘Thinking about how tomorrow’s the start of our vacation is giving me a dopamine rush. I’m completely wide awake right now.’

 

The guy who had been exhausted enough to stick to the floor was now excitedly picking up the remote.

 

I told Lee Cheonghyeon to put on whatever he wanted to watch and came out of my room with my laptop. Since I was not really into watching videos, I thought I’d use the time while he watched a movie to sort out some upcoming plans.

 

However, when I came out of my room, what was playing on the TV wasn’t a movie selection screen, but a documentary.

 

Small letters in the corner of the screen read, ‘National Environment: Mysteries of the Ocean’.

 

Lee Cheonghyeon stared at the ocean on the screen, his eyes shining.

 

‘Does he like the ocean?’

 

It seemed his claim about diligently reading the ‘Slippery Sea Creatures Encyclopedia’ in his childhood wasn’t an empty boast. Lee Cheonghyeon’s eyes sparkled as much as the waves on the TV.

 

At that moment, I made a somewhat troublesome choice.

 

Since I had been going out of my way to give Lee Cheonghyeon experience for composing, I thought I might as well let him have some real-world exposure to gain inspiration and ideas during the break.