SS Chapter 7: A Newbie's Observation Log (1)

TL: FoodieMonster007

The self-produced content, which scraped together even non-existent acting skills, generated huge laughs. Its 'crumbling' moments looked like they would fall apart at any second.

≫ What happens when the well-behaved leader holds a grudge

"I'd lie down and protest right away."

└Kim Iwol I bet he's like that in the dorm when the cameras are off hahaha

└Our Seongbin was so quiet in his early debut days

└Five years is enough to change a personality

≫ Choi Jeho is such a fascinating person…

When he's the hyung, he's like an uncle, but when they make him the maknae, he's like a really big younger brother. Maybe because he's the second oldest? And his dance line is really just so-so. He's just a tall Kang Kiyeon, right? There's just one difference. He keeps causing trouble. Our Kiyeon isn't that much of a troublemaker, but Mr. Choi Kiyeon keeps breaking things somewhere.

└I think he wanted to express Kiyeon's maknae personality of trying to do everything himself, but because he's too big to scurry around, Mr. Choi Kiyeon ends up bumping into everything and arriving like a wreck…

≫ A compilation of Cheonghyeon going to the veranda to talk to a potted plant whenever he wants to speak

4:36 7:14 12:28 12:55 . . .

└ Brilliance My ears are gonna burst

└Hahahahahahaha I can feel how fed up the comment is hahahaha

└4:36 is when he ran out as soon as the skit started haha

└Joowoo was too heavy a punishment for Cheonghyeonㅠㅠhaha

≫ Kim Iwol's teasing is seriously so annoying hahaha

You're the eldest hyung of this team, you know hahahaha

└It's even funnier because his determination to squeeze out new content is still the same hahahaha

≫ The way they all switch to 'speak nicely' mode as soon as the notebook comes out hahahaha

└I never knew these men could be this quiet

└Hahahahaha

Kang Kiyeon, wearing the mask of Jeong Seongbin, did not become a second head butler. I had never seen such a submissive spArk. I suppose I was the same. I will proudly rank this in spArk's hall of dark history.

After the small self-produced content was released, we also held an MVP vote for a week. The competition was fierce because every single candidate was formidable. After a close contest, the honor went to Park Joowoo.

≫ The other kids imitate the members, but Joowoo swallowed a member

But could you please tell him to spit him out now? I'm scared our Joowoo will get sick. It's so… so realistic, I'm worried he'll get Jeho-fied like this.

└I'm serious. Joowoo seems to have a real knack for it. At this rate, he's going to become Park Jeho.

Park Joowoo, who successfully cloned Choi Jeho's soul, shared his thoughts through spArk's official account.

≫ It's unthinkable that the imperial throne wouldn't return to the Center Emperor (´･J･`)و

Thanks for letting me protect the crown-!

The younger brother's love for his hyung was intense. The post filled with comments from Sparklers who did not hold back their applause. I screenshotted them one by one and posted them in the group chat, which flooded with roaring laughter emoticons.

"It's chaos, absolute chaos."

I smiled and put my phone in my pocket. The car stopped at a red light.

The manager, who was driving, asked, "Is something wrong?"

"No, the guys are just being noisy in the group chat."

The manager laughed, a sound that showed he was used to it.

"You hyungs really get along well."

"Do we?"

When I asked back, spArk's new manager, Dong Euion, nodded his head.

The average age for new celebrity managers is on the younger side. This was thanks to the low barrier to entry, which required only a driver's license.

Dong Euion was one of those cases. He got his license and found a job early after graduating high school. It had been almost three months since he joined the company after an acquaintance recommended him for an interview.

He had to stay sharp so he would not tarnish the reputation of the person who introduced him. Like all young professionals just starting out, Dong Euion entered UtopiA carrying a sense of responsibility and pressure. The first celebrity he was assigned to was the agency's flagship idol group, spArk.

He had heard many times that celebrities look different in person than on screen. However, there was a huge difference between reading about it and experiencing it firsthand. On his first day, during introductions with the members, Dong Euion kept his head up in constant tension and ended up with a stiff neck, groaning all night.

Their tall statures and cool appearances also played a part. Not a single one of them had an approachable impression. It was as if someone had gathered the scariest-looking people not just from a single class, but from the entire school.

It was a huge relief that they were all good people…!

With faces that looked like they could have caused trouble several times over, spArk treated Dong Euion kindly. He most frequently communicated with the maknae line, who were similar in age, but despite the small age gap, the members who had debuted in high school were much more mature. They even encouraged him, saying that a maknae knows a maknae's heart, and told him to talk to them anytime if he felt he had to walk on eggshells around the other managers.

In Choi Jeho's case, he had an intimidating, deep voice that made one flinch just by hearing it. Thanks to that, Dong Euion had been busy trying to read the mood more than once, wondering if Choi Jeho was angry.

Seeing him tremble until his pupils shook, Choi Jeho asked first if it would be less stiff if he called him by his name. When Dong Euion said yes, Choi Jeho really did start calling him 'Euion', helping Dong Euion feel a little more comfortable talking to him.

Park Joowoo, whose thoughts were completely unreadable, would always sit in the passenger seat. He became a navigator for Dong Euion, for whom every road was new. Park Joowoo would tell him to detour around roads under construction and helped him not to miss parking lot entrances.

After finding out they had similar taste in fashion, Park Joowoo even brought a shopping bag full of clothes he no longer wore. Because of his neat personality, the clothes Park Joowoo brought always seemed like new.

The leader, Jeong Seongbin, had a side to him that was a bit difficult to approach. He was affectionate and gentle, but when it came to work, he was meticulous. Whenever he had a suggestion for the managers, he always presented his opinion clearly and point by point.

Jeong Seongbin also asked a lot of questions. For a single drink delivery, he would sometimes check which cafe it was ordered from. If they had an early morning schedule, he would ask if the manager had any drinking plans the night before.

The surprise questions did not come often, so Dong Euion did his best to answer sincerely every time.

He had acted as he was trained to in the beginning, so he had nothing to feel guilty about.

As much as he gave the impression of being meticulous, Jeong Seongbin felt difficult to deal with. However, whenever Dong Euion made an unintentional mistake, the first one to cover for him was Jeong Seongbin.

"Euion rarely makes mistakes like this, you know."

The habit of checking even small details early on and showing his efforts to those around him came back to help Dong Euion himself. Dong Euion realized that instead of just leading and supervising, Jeong Seongbin was also playing the role of a shield to block arrows for him. He came to rely on Jeong Seongbin like an older brother.

And the last remaining member, Kim Iwol. He was the person Dong Euion found most difficult, not just within spArk, but in all of UtopiA.

His appearance was certainly a factor. Kim Iwol was tall with a large frame. His features were so sharp he would be sad to be called second-best, so even when he smiled, he looked like a powerful figure from a noir film. His perfectly straight posture, which never faltered, gave off an impression of having no openings. The corners of his mouth were always turned up, but he never once looked like an easy person to deal with.

His eloquence was also exceptional. When Kim Iwol decided to speak, few could refute him. Within the company, Kim Iwol was always mentioned alongside Director Yuur as someone you should not get on the wrong side of. It was not for reasons like having a bad personality. It was because he was never wrong.

It is hard to get close to a perfect person. It is even more so for someone who aims high. The Kim Iwol that Dong Euion had observed was a pro who never let anything slide when it came to his own work.

He was unreserved in expressing his opinions to his colleagues, managers, and the company, and was always full of conviction. To do so, he worked and communicated with those around him without a moment's rest. To Dong Euion, who had lived an ordinary life, Kim Iwol was a truly extraordinary figure.

"I guess it's because the members are nice."

Kim Iwol was also the only one who did not speak casually to Dong Euion. The other members called the older Lim Chanyoung and Pyeong Daeyeon 'hyung', but Kim Iwol consistently used the title 'Manager'. They said he would never call them 'hyung' even if they told him to speak comfortably, yet, Kim Iwol himself asked to be called the same as the other members. A strange relationship formed where Dong Euion called him 'Iwol' and Kim Iwol called him 'Dong Euion'.

To use a metaphor, he was like a glass wall. He treated others honestly, without hiding dark intentions or acting one way to their face and another behind their back. Since he was always smiling and never treated others coldly, no cold draft came through. Only enough sunlight to maintain a moderate relationship was transmitted.

However, a wall that prevented anyone from getting close definitely existed. A good and kind person, but someone you did not know how to get close to. To Dong Euion, this was exactly what Kim Iwol was like.

"By the way, Dong Euion, did your probation period end last week?"

Just as they were about to enter the underground parking garage, Kim Iwol asked.

"Yes. How did you know?"

"Your start date was the 7th, wasn't it?"

Dong Euion knew Kim Iwol was brilliant, but he did not know he memorized this much. Dong Euion was inwardly amazed.

"Do you have a savings account? There's a product called the Youth Dream Savings Account, it has a good interest rate."

"……"

"I thought it'd be good to sign up for it when you're just starting your career. You'll meet the conditions since you earned your first income at the end of last year, and the subsidies are high, so it'll be much more advantageous than a regular bank product. There's still time before this month's new subscriber recruitment ends, so I even found a poster to send to you, Dong Euion. Just a moment."

Kim Iwol took out his phone and typed. A vibration came from the pocket where Dong Euion had put his own phone.

"How's the place you're renting?"

"I've got all my household items now. It's thanks to the hyungs and the seniors. My commute has gotten much more convenient too!"

"That's a relief. Make sure to keep a copy of the contract. You'll need it to apply for a tax deduction during the year-end tax settlement. Quite a few people store their documents well and then can't remember where they put them."

While saying this, Kim Iwol explained one by one who was in charge of the year-end tax settlement and what kind of local rent support programs were available. Seeing his pocket vibrate each time Kim Iwol finished speaking, it seemed he was also sending the information via text message. For Dong Euion, who had just gotten a rental and was still flustered, the information was overflowing.

While parking the car, Dong Euion hurriedly expressed his gratitude. From the passenger seat, Kim Iwol gathered his things to go up to the dorm. Rummaging through his bag, he held something out to Dong Euion, who had just turned off the engine.

"What's this?"

"A gift to congratulate you on finishing your probation period."

The gift's identity was a gift card for a franchise cafe. It was from the biggest and closest brand to the broadcasting station.

"The cherry blossoms in that neighborhood are beautiful in the spring, so when you have a long waiting time, go get some fresh air while drinking something cool."

Asking him to take good care of them in the future, Kim Iwol smiled brightly. The glass wall melted away like snow.