Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols
SS Chapter 17: A Growth Narrative (2)
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TL: FoodieMonster007
Choi Jeho picked up a basketball with a troubled expression. As his rough fingertips tightened on the ball, the screen cut to Kang Kiyeon's face, lost in thought. Kang Kiyeon's fingers pressed lightly against his lips, then the scene changed to a hand grasping a newspaper. Kim Iwol covered his face with the newspaper, looking bored.
A pleasant drum sound rushed into Yeo Hana's ears, and a guitar soon joined it.
『I hate it when you ask what time it is』
A wide lawn appeared on screen, creating a sense of openness. Kim Iwol led the members, holding a light sky-blue bass. All of them held instruments. They had played instruments at the concert, so this seemed to be a full-on band song.
『Because so much time has passed』
Kim Iwol sang with a smile that curved his eyes into crescents. The sight was incredibly unfamiliar to Yeo Hana. To her, Kim Iwol was a big, handsome younger brother with a sensitive side. He was also unpredictable, polite but strange.
She had not known him long, but she thought they had grown close. That was a miscalculation. The Kim Iwol on the screen was simple yet glamorous. He wore no sparkling beads or heavy makeup, yet his face lacked any empty space. His long eyes and the rising corners of his mouth completely filled his features when he smiled.
『Until I met you, it stayed slow』
Lee Cheonghyeon, struggling at his computer, leaned back fully in his chair. The camera showed Jeong Seongbin's face head-on as he looked at the ceiling. Then, the focus shifted to Park Joowoo plopping onto a chair in an empty clubroom. The strange space held only a single chair and a uniquely shaped stand microphone. An abstract, symmetrical pattern in the background created a dreamlike atmosphere.
『The moment the door opened and you came』
Park Joowoo's eyes blinked slowly.
『It flows uncontrollably fast』
The scene returned to the field. Everyone now wore glamorous casual outfits. Kang Kiyeon sang while playing a guitar as intensely blue as his gaze. He looked mature for the youngest member, and his slight smile was charming.
『Can you skip asking how I've been』
The individual cuts showed each member in a bad situation. Kim Iwol listlessly scrolled through internet news. Choi Jeho continuously bounced a basketball on a court. Jeong Seongbin tapped a calculator while reading dense numbers. Lee Cheonghyeon listlessly sucked on an energy drink straw at his computer. Kang Kiyeon struggled to suppress his anger after slipping while carving plaster.
『I want to hear your story』
Bathed in pouring natural light, Choi Jeho pounded on the drums. The image of him singing with a smile was strikingly memorable. The vivid blue sky behind him seemed like a backdrop made just for Choi Jeho.
Yeo Hana remembered when she first learned about her younger brother's profession and started looking into idols. She had wondered why one member was always called the 'center' even when the person in the middle of Gawoon changed.
Once she learned the meaning, she understood perfectly. Choi Jeho truly stood out. He had the power to capture a person's gaze.
『It's unfair』
Next, Lee Cheonghyeon appeared. The music grew richer with every press of his keyboard. A stylish camera angle captured his long, pale fingers moving across the keys.
『My time is still stopped at the moment our eyes met』
His eyes sparkled like they were studded with stars. Every scene was as beautiful as a painting. His hair swayed along each time he moved his body to the music.
Park Joowoo sat before the standing microphone in the clubroom. He bent the mic, bringing the head near his mouth. The mic was covered in a strange plastic case. When he inverted it, the cord at the bottom pointed toward the sky. Its rectangular shape, large head, and upward-pointing wire resembled an old-fashioned telephone receiver.
His expressionless eyes stared straight ahead.
『Just one word』
Sunlight slowly crept over his eyes. The moment Park Joowoo opened his mouth, another instrument seemed to join the song. His voice was a sound that cleared the ears, a vocal tone that defied description.
『At the words, 'It's already come to this'』
Streams of water from a fountain and splashing droplets blended exquisitely with the song.
The damp grass and blue sky were clear and bright, without a speck of dust. Everything on screen was so vivid that Yeo Hana felt she could smell the fresh grass.
『A whole day just disappears』
The singing voice, like someone speaking, rode a clean high note and then scattered.
A change occurred for the members in their individual spaces. Cracks appeared in their daily lives, replaced by new things.
『When I come to my senses, as if someone other than me turned the page…』
Kang Kiyeon gashed the plaster with a sharp, triangular tool. The keyboard before Lee Cheonghyeon's monitor was now a multicolored, light-up one like gaming equipment. His straight fingers played across it as if typing.
『It's time to go back』
The moment the lyrics ended, Choi Jeho jumped high. His large hand slammed the basketball into a drum tom attached to the backboard. Confetti exploded from the tearing drumhead like fireworks. The strong wind scattered the confetti and his hair, but the eyes under his prominent brow bones shone without blinking.
『Can you put away the word goodbye』
The ensemble scene reappeared. Kang Kiyeon's hand holding a pick and Lee Cheonghyeon's futuristic keyboard caught Yeo Hana's eye.
『It's too sad to part』
The index tabs on their varsity jackets, sneakers, and instruments, combined with their fresh, passionate energy, made them feel like college students. Yeo Hana had a time like that too, when her friends and she herself were full of life.
『Tell me to stay with you a little longer』
Their smiling faces and dynamic movements were dazzling as they looked at each other. It was not just the pretty colors or good style. Their expressions, which seemed to hold audible laughter, and the atmosphere they created evoked a special sentiment.
This is youth.
Yeo Hana smiled pleasantly as she watched the music video. Kim Iwol looked very happy, his fingers wrapped around the neck of his bass. It was a different kind of refreshing feeling compared to the concert where he had dripped with sweat.
The instruments shone as blue as the clear sky.
It's a good time in life. A really good time!
Lee Cheonghyeon always became unusually stiff on days a new song was released. He was not tense with excessive anxiety and worry. That phase had passed long ago.
His mindset was now closer to a professional checking the market's reaction from a business perspective. The important question was, 'Will the fans, our listeners, like it?'. He was not worried that personal expectations for him would fall.
However, today he had a tension-mate. Park Joowoo, his face pale, clung tightly to Lee Cheonghyeon's shoulder. He stared only at the constantly refreshing screen.
"Joowoo, relax a little."
"How can I…"
Park Joowoo had been sick with worry ever since the title track was decided to be a band song. He felt they were catering to him excessively.
"We haven't promoted a single band song until now. What are you talking about, Joowoo?"
"Even if it came out as a B-side, it could look like we're just rehashing things…"
"Is a performance without a music show even a performance?! Are you telling me we're going to commit the sin of not leaving a single fancam when we have the incredible specialty of all playing instruments! I didn't raise this team to be so complacent!"
He worried so much that I pulled out the proposal I had submitted to the dedicated team and showed it to him. Park Joowoo only shut his mouth after reading about the demand for band music, the genre classification of spArk's title tracks, and the public opinion polls for 『Speaker』 and the band's live version of 『Connect』.
I don't know why he's so worried when he was pushed to the very back with Choi Jeho because of the DJ booth issue. Even during music show promotions, you guys are fixed in the back row. Just worry about how to get caught on camera more beautifully.
The music video was uploaded right on time. Jeong Seongbin scanned reactions on SNS while Lee Cheonghyeon checked the Metube channel. Kang Kiyeon and Park Joowoo stuck close like cicadas, reading the comments over their shoulders.
I should have told him not to worry.
It was not that spArk's albums had lacked a youthful glow. An effort to preserve spArk's identity meant that passion, vitality, and showing off their good looks had been a continuous thread in all their albums.
Still, they had not produced the 'genuine youth story with an 80-year tradition' present from their debut to 『speaker』. This did not count twisted underworld fantasies or passionate choreography that made them dance until their feet burned. As they grew tall like bean sprouts and tried various concepts to avoid boredom, the classic youth concept was sealed for about three years.
However, I had not forgotten how spArk's initial fanbase was formed. I also knew that people still looked for spArk's youth narrative.
If that was the case, we had to prepare it for them. So, after a long time, (spArk's faces) showed off their skills.
The plan was for hair, makeup, and coordination to be more mature than their high school rookie days, but without losing their pureness. This meant transparent makeup and styling that embodied the 'simple is best' spirit, not excessive color makeup or flashy outfits. The color palette would be refreshing, centered on white and blue. The music would be light and rhythmical, with heart-fluttering choreography and lyrics.
…It meant the entire team worked their asses off to fulfill the fans' wishes. I was so moved when I saw the final version of the music video that I almost cried. It was a truly ideal result. It would have been difficult for this to fail.
Who says you can't do a refreshing concept again after a sexy one? There's no such rule in spArk's dictionary. As long as the coldness doesn't leave these bastards' faces, we'll forever do concepts that are clear and transparent like icicles. Let's go for a never-ending youth, powered by the anti-aging of modern medicine.