Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols
SS Chapter 8: A Newbie's Observation Log (2)
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TL: FoodieMonster007
"Is this that gift card?"
Lim Chanyoung turned the card over and over, inspecting it.
"And you're going to treat us to coffee with this…?" Pyeong Daeyeon asked for confirmation.
Unlike his hesitant seniors, Dong Euion was full of energy. "Wow!"
"Aigoo, what is the rookie doing? Put it away."
Lim Chanyoung forcefully pressed the card back into Dong Euion's hand. He said Iwol would glare daggers at them. Pyeong Daeyeon's expression showed he agreed.
"But you two always buy for me!"
"Isn't that natural? Euion, I'm your team leader."
"There's enough on here to treat you both and still have enough for me to drink for a whole month."
"Then drink for a month and two more days."
Faced with their firm refusal, Dong Euion ultimately could not bring himself to open his wallet. The three of them returned to the company, each holding a fresh fruit juice.
While the members practiced, the managers had their own work. When they were not managing and supervising practice, they were busy checking schedules and attending meetings.
The meetings were, of course, about spArk. Even during their off-season, their schedules were always packed. As they went through each member one by one, their individual styles naturally became clear.
The team's center, Choi Jeho, received weekly inquiries for advertising contracts. The business department would first review if the contract interfered with his idol identity and if the brand image was wholesome. Then, they would rack their brains on where to squeeze a new ad shoot into his packed schedule.
Lee Cheonghyeon, who often filmed commercials as one of the top two with Choi Jeho, was in a similar situation. He had even more to consider. Surprisingly, he was also taking seasonal classes, which gave him overwhelmingly less time than the other members. Dong Euion clicked his tongue when he heard it gets even more hardcore when they start working on an album.
In Kang Kiyeon's case, true to his ambitious nature, he invested a lot of time in self-development. He never missed a day at the gym and spent most of his daily life in the practice room. The joke, 'If you put him in the practice room, that's it for picking up Kiyeon for the day,' did not come from nowhere.
When it was Park Joowoo's turn, everyone agonized over the same issue, as if on cue. It was because of the recurring 'When is Park Joowoo's solo coming out?' meme.
At one time, the artist's own intentions were so firm that the company had no reason to consider solo activities. However, Park Joowoo had recently been accepting schedules with a more open mind. People from all over were now putting their heads together to find the best way not to let a precious talent go to waste.
The end of all these agenda items was concluded with, "~I will organize this and pass it on to Seongbin!"
All meeting contents were reported to Jeong Seongbin without fail. Jeong Seongbin always knew what the members were doing at any given time.
spArk's suggestions also all came through Jeong Seongbin. When Lim Chanyoung started listing the agenda items he had gathered, everyone's typing speed increased. Compared to the easygoing members, the leader was relatively level-headed, so they meticulously checked each issue to provide a clearer answer.
The stories that came up regarding Kim Iwol were mostly similar. It was all about checking his existing contracts and catching up on notifications piled up in Dotion. There were not many new issues, so he was generally mentioned last.
Dong Euion had heard he was a producing member, but his name did not appear in the meeting minutes as often as Jeong Seongbin's. His schedule was also more consistent compared to Lee Cheonghyeon, who was in charge of composing. This was thanks to his several fixed broadcast appearances.
He thought today would be no different. That was, until the meeting room door opened and people came flooding in. They were personnel from the planning and A&R departments whom he had greeted in passing.
"You're right on time."
"What if we're late and Iwol hears about it?"
"True, we can't stop that."
Minor greetings were exchanged. Dong Euion, who bowed to each person coming in, looked slightly puzzled.
He's charismatic, but… he didn't seem like the type to get angry at the staff.
Although he had not known him for long, the Kim Iwol he had seen so far was strict with himself and generous to others.
It was obvious at a glance that he was the type to value basics. However, he was not the type to openly impose his standards on others.
Before Dong Euion could even grasp the situation, the meeting flowed into a new phase. The large monitor filled with pages he had never seen before.
Was there a page in the handover materials that I forgot about?!
A cold sweat ran down his back. Pyeong Daeyeon, sitting next to him, noticed the fidgeting Dong Euion. Pyeong Daeyeon wrote something in his notebook and slid it in front of Dong Euion.
[What's wrong?]
[I don't think I've fully grasped my duties…! I'm so sorry ㅠㅠ]
His handwriting trembled as if it had been hit by a cold wave. Thinking he had made a huge mistake, Dong Euion squeezed his eyes shut.
[Album preparations are handled by other departments for security reasons, so it's natural you haven't seen this content before. It's only passed down to us when it's time to practice, so don't misunderstand.]
It was because of the security issues he had heard about dozens of times since joining the company. He belatedly remembered that the annual operation plan had a comeback scheduled for around spring. Only then did Dong Euion manage to calm his racing heart.
Having barely regained his composure, he focused on the screen. The contents started to register one by one. A flood of invitation alarms also popped up on his pad. The pages were created at the end of last year, and the author for all of them was Kim Iwol. The memos and comments were longer than the receipts from a reverse-tribute payment.
"…The recording date has been finalized, so I think you can proceed with this schedule as the focus. The substitute is…"
"I've sent the final revised reference book to the studio. As for the meeting, I'll represent the planning team…"
"You know that contract we issued last time? The promotion scale has grown, so we're proceeding with a renegotiation reflecting the changes in the amount."
The conversation moved quickly. The progress rates were mostly at 70%. In the reference column of the checklist for mid-point inspections, Kim Iwol's name was always there.
"Who's going to relay today's discussion to Iwol?"
"I'll tell him when the minutes are out. He said he'd stop by the office later."
Kim Iwol was mentioned until the very end. When he looked at the clock, four hours had passed in the blink of an eye.
"This is on a whole other level compared to the meetings we've had so far…"
Lim Chanyoung and Pyeong Daeyeon chuckled at Dong Euion's dazed expression.
"It's like this when a comeback or concert is near. You'll get used to it soon."
"Just be careful not to leak anything externally," Lim Chanyoung advised.
Dong Euion nodded eagerly.
The seniors went down to the practice room first on behalf of their junior. Dong Euion was given 30 minutes to catch his breath.
In the breakroom he stopped by for a moment, there were familiar faces. They were employees who were not much different from Dong Euion in terms of years of service.
"Euion, welcome. Want something to eat? We just restocked the snacks."
"Get some sugar in you. You must be busy these days."
Dong Euion, who had just been lectured about observing the embargo, had his eyes go wide. Seeing Dong Euion flustered and at a loss for words, an employee laughed and told him not to be nervous.
"Anyone at the company could guess by looking at the meeting room reservation status, so there's no need to be nervous. We don't know anything more than that either."
"The spArk team booked a meeting room for five hours, so we just figured they must be in the final stages of comeback preparations."
"Is that what it was?!"
As field staff, managers often worked outside the office. Meeting room reservations were almost always handled by internal staff like Min Jukyung, so it was a point Dong Euion would have no way of knowing.
"This might not be the right thing to say after surprising you, but be careful outside the company. There's a scary legend at UtopiA."
"A legend?"
Dam Gyehyuk from the accounting team recounted the oral tale.
A long, long time ago, on an afternoon when a music leak happened at a certain company, a not-so-uncommon occurrence in the idol scene. The office of the former UA, now UtopiA, which was in the same entertainment business, also became quite noisy.
Where did it leak from? A partner company? An internal employee? How much of the track was uploaded? The demo? The full thing was leaked? On a music cloud? The title track?
Kim Iwol was also in the office, which was buzzing with murmurs at the time. Min Jukyung tried her best to reassure him, who she said used to frequent the office in the early days. She said their company had never had a leak issue. To Min Jukyung, who said that any leak could be traced back, Kim Iwol replied with a bright smile.
"'I don't get why people do things that can be traced in a day,' he supposedly said."
"Can they really be caught that quickly?"
"He made a way to find them. Most agencies leave markers on their works, but for spArk, it's more thorough, I should say. Plus, when it comes to legal issues, he shows no mercy."
"It's like he's prepared for every possible bad situation…"
At the HR Team employee's words, everyone except Dong Euion nodded.
All the way down to the practice room, the stories about Kim Iwol swirled in Dong Euion's head.
An idol who glares if his manager spends money, the eldest of the team who is so diligent he does not slack off in the practice room even without supervision, the producer who was working the hardest behind the scenes, and a competent employee who could catch a leaker in a day.
He's a truly unique person, Dong Euion thought as he opened the door to the practice room.
It seemed to be break time, as everyone was sitting on the practice room floor.
He was about to go to the sofa where Lim Chanyoung and Pyeong Daeyeon were, but from a distance, Kim Iwol stood up.
With his long legs, Kim Iwol strode over and made a gesture as if to whisper something in Dong Euion's ear. "Manager."
"Yes?"
Dong Euion's low, suppressed voice gave off a cool impression. His clear and distinct pronunciation also played a part.
Kim Iwol whispered softly, "A takoyaki truck is coming to the front of the station starting this week."
"Pardon?"
"If you like spicy, try the half-and-half. It's delicious there."
Kim Iwol was tall and had a cold appearance, yet he often said things that made no sense. He also smiled easily, and right now, he was beaming brightly as always.
"No one at the company knows yet. I'm only telling you, Manager, so be sure to go before the line gets long."
After imparting this great secret, Kim Iwol returned to the members. When asked if he had something to say, he said it was nothing and changed the subject. His security was thorough here, too.
If you were to count his strange aspects, you would run out of fingers. Kim Iwol was so unique he could be presented as a textbook example of the definition that humans are multifaceted beings.
He's a person with a strange charm, Dong Euion thought.