Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols

It wasn’t peak vacation season yet, so I set up a mat in a quiet corner of the beach.

 

After setting up the parasol I borrowed from a nearby cafe, I shoved Lee Cheonghyeon into the shade.

 

“Here. Now go entertain yourself.”

 

“Yes!”

 

As I unfolded the portable table we’d rented with the parasol, the guy took his laptop as if it were natural.

 

Gentle waves lapped at the shore as the sea breeze danced by.

 

Do geniuses get inspired just by looking at the scenery?

 

I wouldn’t know—I had never lived a creative life outside of writing cover letters.

 

While Lee Cheonghyeon clacked away on his laptop, I caught up on overdue monitoring.

 

Fans left nothing but kind comments even on my bass-playing videos, despite how rusty I’d become since my last performance. I was grateful.

 

Thanks to finishing all the other minor tasks on the train, I became free earlier than expected.

 

Meanwhile, Lee Cheonghyeon was concentrating on his screen with frightening intensity.

 

I didn’t know if it was thanks to the Pomodoro Technique, or if it was because I’d been dragging him around to work so much, but his concentration had evolved to a truly impressive level.

 

If he kept that up, one day Lee Cheonghyeon would be able to compose songs in the middle of a bustling night market without a noise-canceling headphone.

 

Anyway, I couldn’t bring myself to disturb someone diligently working, even if I wasn’t much help otherwise.

 

I quietly shut my mouth and occasionally checked for any contact from the company.

 

Then something caught my eye.

 

A cigarette butt lay in front of the mat. Of the same brand that Manager Nam had me run errands for.

 

We came all the way to this pristine spot for a creative getaway, and someone had to ruin it with cigarettes?

 

The sight of the cigarette, flaunting its white existence on the sand, really bothered me.

 

I tried to ignore it, but once I noticed, it lingered in my head like the smell of Manager Nam’s cigarettes.

 

I barely suppressed a sigh rising from my core. Grabbing my wallet, I got up.

 

“Anything you want to eat?”

 

“No. Are you going to the convenience store?”

 

“Yeah. Don’t wander off and stay put.”

 

“Yes, sir!”

 

I went straight to the convenience store. I came out with two garbage bags and stainless steel tongs.

 

Alright, today, I’m the beach cleanup crew of this area.

 

Picking up trash along the beach was surprisingly fulfilling.

 

Except for the fact that I didn’t wear a ball cap to protect my face from the sun, which I truly regretted. Now I understood why volunteers used them.

 

I did get annoyed when some people ignored the nearby trash can and threw their garbage into my bag, but I let it slide.

 

Because the kids playing in the sand saw me and collected handfuls of trash and brought it to me. I felt like my faith in humanity was restored.

 

But the sheer number of fireworks casings on the sand was astonishing. Wasn’t setting off fireworks on the beach illegal? I could have sworn I picked up more casings here than in the military.

 

Muttering to myself, I darted around like a hornet, picking up cigarette butts, even going near other people’s mats at some point.

 

Realizing my rudeness, I politely apologized and turned to leave, but the owner of the mat exclaimed, “Aren’t you Spark?!”

 

Are you seeing this, Spark? You’re not nobodies anymore.

 

They asked for an autograph, but neither I, who was picking up trash, nor these people who were enjoying the beach, had anything to write with.

 

So, I returned to my mat, dug out some memo paper from my diary, and brought Lee Cheonghyeon along.

 

Then, while the ladies admired Lee Cheonghyeon’s face, I handed him a pen.

 

So, we had an impromptu signing event on the ‘I’m quitting my job’ memo paper – Min Jukyung gave it to me, saying that he had extras – and after filling two garbage bags, the sun was setting beyond the horizon.

 

When I returned to our spot, I found Lee Cheonghyeon lying down, looking at the sea.

 

“Hyung! I wasn’t slacking, I just needed a moment to reflect!”

 

“I didn’t say anything though?”

 

It was a vacation, why was he so nervous?

 

Then again, vacations weren’t truly breaks when I was at the Hanpyeong Industry. Back then, I was Manager Nam’s 3-minute standby.

 

“If you’re done with your work, get some rest and do what you want. Who knows when we’ll get another break.”

 

“Wow, that’s scary.”

 

What’s actually scary is that in seven years, you guys might end up with all the free time in the world. But I was an adult, so I kept that to myself.

 

“Go dip your feet in the water or something. There’s a towel here.”

 

“Just watching is enough for me!”

 

“You’re easy to please.”

 

Lee Cheonghyeon smiled. It wasn’t an empty statement—his face lit up with genuine contentment.

 

“I am not being ‘easy to please’. I just checked off one thing from my bucket list.”

 

“What? Staring at the water?”

 

When I asked back, Lee Cheonghyeon’s expression turned awkward. He looked like he regretted saying anything.

 

Should I press him, or pretend I didn’t notice?

 

If I pressed him, I’d look like a clueless jerk. If I ignored it, I’d look like a cold-hearted person who didn’t care about his teammates.

 

But all things considered, it was better to be a clueless jerk than a cold-hearted one. This team had enough clueless people with Choi Jeho alone.

 

“Why are you so self-conscious about your bucket list?”

 

“No, well…”

 

Lee Cheonghyeon scratched his cheek and averted his gaze.

 

“…It feels like a privileged thing to say.”

 

“Do you have to consider that when making a wish?”

 

“It’s not like that!”

 

Sigh. Talking to these kids is so exhausting.

 

“I just wanted to come to a place like this and leisurely watch the sea.”

 

“What’s so privileged about that? Sounds normal to me.”

 

I answered casually and sat down on the mat.

 

Considering how he ran to the mountains during his runaway stint and now this, maybe nature was where he mended his mental state.

 

Then, it hit me.

 

Right. He was a rich kid.

 

That explained the ‘privileged’ comment.

 

“What? Were you afraid I’d say, ‘Wow… Lee Cheonghyeon, how privileged,’ if you said you were too busy sailing on yachts every summer to step on the beach?”

 

“No! That’s…!”

 

“You really were not?”

 

“…”

 

“Why worry about that? It’s not like you ever mock me for not knowing what a yacht feels like.”

 

More importantly, I was curious if he actually rode yachts. Do rich people really ride those things during vacation?

 

Seeing my curious gaze, Lee Cheonghyeon backed away, looking exasperated.

 

“Cheonghyeon.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Do you really ride yachts every summer?”

 

“Do I look like a chaebol heir to you?! Why is such a realistic person saying this kind of thing?”

 

Lee Cheonghyeon scolded me, saying I watched too many dramas.

 

And he explained that he wasn’t even a silver spoon kid, but I’d seen him ranked in the top 13 of ‘Silver Spoon Idols’, so his words didn’t quite register with me.

 

“It’s the opposite. This is the first time I’ve been this close to the sea.”

 

“Really?”

 

“My parents don’t like going out. Even when we travel, the destinations are always the same. Library, museum, exhibition hall.”

 

“An intellectual kind of vacation, huh?”

 

“When I played piano, we went to other places, but…”

 

“Don’t tell me you only went to concerts?”

 

“Of course. Thanks to that, the closest I’ve been to the sea was seeing it from the plane during takeoff in Incheon Airport.”

 

Lee Cheonghyeon grumbled but kept gauging out my reactions. He probably thought it might come across as boasting, considering it hadn’t even been a month since the story about me getting beaten at home came out.

 

“So. Do you like it here?”

 

I asked, looking at him sitting with his knees drawn up.

 

“I do. It’s relaxing, and the scenery is beautiful!”

 

“Then that’s all that matters. Come with the other guys next time.”

 

“Why are you trying to dip out? If we go, it’s all of us or nothing!”

 

“I’ll pass. I’m at the age where checking real estate prices at tourist spots is more fun than playing around.”

 

“You’re unbelievable.”

 

Cheonghyeon snorted.

 

But I was actually serious.

 

If you ever come back to the sea again, I hope it’s with Spark and not me. And don’t just come back with a sunburn like before.

 

* * *

 

Lee Cheonghyeon and I spent several hours enjoying the sea breeze while having an in-depth conversation about music.

 

Well, he did all the deep talking, and I just responded, but as long as words were exchanged, it counted as a conversation, right?

 

We talked about Spark’s musicality, the members’ vocal tones and potential for growth, and the catharsis of popular music, and before we knew it, the sun had set. Thanks to that, we got to see the night sea as well.

 

While Lee Cheonghyeon was washing up first, I read the latest updates on Spark’s group chat—everyone had arrived home safely—and opened my laptop.

 

I had planned to write a post on the fan cafe, but I noticed a section for quick member notes being updated at a rapid pace.

 

I wondered if there had been a sighting of one of us, and sure enough…

 

≫ Iwol, did you go to Busan with Cheonghyeon??

 

≫ Guys, tell us about your Busan tripㅋㅋㅋ

 

≫ Holding my breath until the Producing Line travel vlog drops(Day 1)

 

…It was about us. You guys really did go straight home, huh.

 

As I scrolled through the fans’ posts, I found a link to the original eyewitness account.

 

≫ Saw a celebrity for the first time in my life

 

(Proof included)

 

I came to Busan with my friend and we were spacing out by the water when we saw someone walking around the beach picking up trash

 

We thought, ‘What a good deed~’ but then we saw his face and he was soooooooo handsome

 

My friend and I kept saying, ‘Isn’t he a celebrity?? He looks like an idol’.  We kept trying to figure out who he was, and we realized it was Spark’s Iwol!

 

We were searching for confirmation on our phones when he suddenly ran in our direction.

 

My friend and I were like, ‘Oh no, is he gonna tell us not to take pictures?ㅠㅠㅠ We didn’t take any!ㅠㅠㅠㅠ’

 

But he just came to pick up a cigarette butt near us… awkward

 

He even apologized for coming too close. Such good manners

 

We worked up the courage to ask for an autograph, but he said he didn’t have any paper and asked us to wait a moment. Then he brought over another member whose face practically glowed

 

Both of them were hilariously decked out in arm sleeves to pick up trash, but anyway,

 

They both gave autographs to me and my friend, but the state of the memo pad is soㅋㅋㅋ

 

(I’ll blur out my name!)

 

When we asked if they bought it with their own money, they said they just use what the company staff providesㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

 

Then they thanked us for recognizing them and went back to picking up trash. The whole thing felt like a skit.

 

└ What do they look like in real life? Their photos already seem amazing.

 

└ It’s like washing your eyes with mouthwash. My eyes feel refreshed

 

└ I understand completely.

 

└ The memo padㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

 

└ They handed it over like, ‘This is all we have,’ and my friend and I burst out laughingㅠㅠ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

 

It was a surprisingly detailed account. Even though there were plenty of embarrassing details, I was just grateful they saw it in a positive light.

 

With our promotional activities over, there wasn’t anything pressing to deal with.

 

After organizing all the unnecessary materials I had prepared for the ‘With List’ project, I was finally done with everything I had planned.

 

‘It’s been a while since things have been this uneventful.’

 

The work was over.

 

It was a strange feeling. It was something I hadn’t experienced in a long time since joining the Hanpyeong Industry.

 

“Hyung, why do you suddenly seem so laid-back?”

 

“Do I?”

 

“Yeah. It’s unsettling.”

 

I must have looked so out of character that Cheonghyeon hurriedly pushed me into the bathroom, telling me to take a shower.

 

Technically, I was still far from hitting my KPIs.

 

But if my predictions were correct, I’d receive a signal related to that soon.

 

Until then, I should at least be able to enjoy a shower in peace.

 

And after I finished the absolutely refreshing shower…

 

“Hyung, I think you need to check the group chat right now.”

 

…As expected, the signal arrived.