Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols
SS Chapter 19: The Chaotic Self-Produced Content Diary (1)
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TL: FoodieMonster007
About a year ago, I arrogantly declared I was leaving the group and ran away from home.
Confident he would not be caught, his audacity swelling, the group-destroyer Kim Iwol boldly stood in line on a street in Imjingak to watch an outdoor spArk concert. It was there that I made a new friend.
"Have you seen Lee Cheonghyeon's new photoshoot? It's absolutely legendary."
"You're a Sayder fan, but you also keep up with spArk's photoshoots?"
The person I met in the queue back then was a fan of Sayder. Even though she stanned another group, she was a kind fan who talked about spArk just because the person she was with was a Sparkler.
"Is Iwol doing really poorly?"
She even worried about my well-being. My conscience pricked me, but I still remembered her loyalty, which warmed my heart despite the cold weather.
"Should I tell them they can bring their waiting room cam in?" the manager asked for confirmation.
My idol's interactions with others were always well-received by the fandom, so I wanted to let them film a video. Still, my colleagues' opinions were most important. I first asked the spArk guys if it was okay to film.
"We should grab any chance to get our faces out there!"
A single wink from Lee Cheonghyeon was all it took. Sayder entered with their company's video team.
"Hello!"
"Hello! Would you like to sit down?"
"No! We're fine!"
As if their booming greeting was not enough, Sayder showed strict discipline by standing in a neat line. We also stood facing them, our hands clasped politely.
"Our album…" the leader said, holding out a magnificent-looking album.
Jeong Seongbin, spArk's representative, received it.
"The song is really good."
"You've heard it?!"
"Of course," Jeong Seongbin replied with a smile.
Befitting his 'Human Karaoke' nickname, Jeong Seongbin always listened to new songs despite his busy schedule. He was a guy who never neglected his professional development.
They say it is polite to look at a gift on the spot. We admired the splendid album cover and gave a 10-star review of anticipation, saying we wanted to see their stage soon.
We also handed over a signed album we had brought for promotion. After all, affection coming in should be met with affection going out.
Sayder praised our songs until their mouths went dry. My face flushed as if I had shoved it into a thorny cushion.
We just wanted to give them something since we received an album, not to hear sycophantic praise like, "You're the best!"
However, they must have been taught that this kind of social maneuvering was necessary to survive.
My heart grew heavy. I felt like I had become a 'boomer' receiving forced respect from our distant juniors.
I should have just told all of spArk to stay in the car instead of the waiting room.
"If you don't mind, perhaps a challenge…" the member next to the leader brought it up carefully.
I knew that difficult feeling all too well. You know the other party will find it bothersome, but company orders and the pressure to get famous do not wait for you to build rapport before making the request.
"If you don't mind me, shall we do it together?" I offered with the kindest smile I could muster.
A boomer had to do at least this much. I had to remember that if I only received, I would truly become a freeloader.
"It's an honor! We came so suddenly… If you just tell us when it's convenient, we'll come right away!"
"I can film it right now. It's this, right?"
As I performed their signature move, Sayder put on a diligently surprised reaction. While Jeong Seongbin checks new songs to update his 'software', I check new songs and choreography videos to monitor the competition. My choreography learning ability is the worst in spArk, so I have to put in this much effort to survive the society of challenge exchanges.
"Looking for a spArk member to do a challenge with Kim Iwol."
"If the Sayder members are teaching the choreography instead of Kim Iwol, then I'm in."
"To think you'd voice your opinion so proactively. Our Kiyeon has really grown up."
Kang Kiyeon, the master of cover dances, insisted on taking the lesson. He could not give up his obsession with details, even though he already knew the moves. Thanks to Kang Kiyeon's high-speed special lecture, the challenge finished quickly and smoothly. Two guys in blue varsity jackets danced in front of men decked out in intimidating chains. They were huge, yet adorable. It reminded me of dancing in our pajamas during 'IDC Season 2', and I felt a little nostalgic.
spArk's comeback made Won Chaehee's daily life much busier. Work was actually less busy. She handled her assigned tasks as usual, but now she also constantly checked social media whenever she went to the bathroom or ate lunch.
From 6 PM sharp, not a single minute could be wasted. The packed schedule of an idol fan began, starting with checking if her music streams were running properly.
Even the eternal-feeling commute home passed in an instant as she read community posts. To use her time efficiently, she had to quickly read titles and sort posts to check or skip. She filtered out posts with no images and those with clickbait titles, and after reviewing about 20 forum pages, she could roughly catch up on all the content released during work.
When I get home, I'll watch the music show video and the fancams, then wash up… Ah, they said the albums arrived.
Won Chaehee calmly organized the tasks she had to do when she got home. The mere thought of unboxing the packages piled by her door made her shoulders ache. Even as her mind raced, Won Chaehee's hands were busy screenshotting the members' BubblePop messages.
While walking from the subway station, she reviewed her social media feeds. The timeline grew active around dinnertime, so she had to check her account often to avoid missing any issues. Just as she expected, minamhunter, who occupied a significant portion of Won Chaehee's recent feed, was diligently posting new content.
≫ Why are you guys showing up here?
The format of the four attached photos looked unfamiliar. The logo in the top-left corner and the subtitle style were formats she had never seen on spArk's channel. The squared shoulders, unhidden by a baseball jacket, and the facial features breaking through the pixelated preview suggested the subjects were spArk.
After reading the accompanying text, she understood the situation. It seemed spArk had appeared in a junior group's self-produced content. A challenge video had been uploaded on a music show day a while ago, so she deduced the video filmed then had just been released.
It really was a great challenge…
They say a fan only has eyes for their favorite, but even so, the video suited Kim Iwol and Kang Kiyeon perfectly. No matter how much spArk tried to exude youthfulness, their height and inverted-triangle torsos gave off more of a young man's vibe than a boyish one.
In that respect, Won Chaehee was quite fond of their latest music video. Innocent concepts become rarer as an idol's career progresses. Once their bone structure changes and a public image is set, a pure, flawless outfit starts to look out of place.
≫ Image is really so important
No matter how hard they try to dress him up, that picture of him smoking as a minor just pops up like stock footage
└How can anyone forget that soju bottle pictureㅋㅋㅋㅋ It's going to follow him for life
≫ Every time I see this guy, I feel bad thinking how he's the textbook example of growing up ugly
He was one of the top 3 visuals of the 3rd generation until his early debut days, why did he end up like this
└You never know with male idols until after they've gone through their growth spurt
└No one can predict a growing jaw or a sagging faceㅋㅋㅋㅠㅠㅠ
There was a reason people said to shoot many youth-themed albums as a rookie. Bone structure development is not something one can control like diet or exercise, yet it becomes a target for attacks. When you get beaten up from all sides for such trivial things, how can you wear a rugby shirt and shorts again?
There was no sadder event than seeing her idol push an unfittingly young concept only to be called pathetic or pitiful. This was a problem of aging from the uncontrollable flow of time, not the members' capabilities, so it was hard to blame it on a lack of grit.
However, spArk pulled it off. They appealed with maturity while also capturing a fresh, green feeling. They even added a narrative to their more mature image by linking it to their debut album.
Besides all that, the campus concept was bound to tug at every idol fan's heartstrings. Everyone knows you will not find a senior like that in college, so why does everyone give them nicknames like '○○-sunbae'?
Classics are loved because they are fundamental. spArk perfectly met these needs. You could tell just by watching Won Chaehee make varsity jacket gifs for each member.
She had assigned them different majors based on their personalities. The choreography video was filmed under the natural light Kim Iwol adored, with the members wearing matching shirts that looked like club t-shirts. She prayed they would wear those shirts for the next music show.
After all these thoughts, Won Chaehee arrived home and moved like a machine. She postponed only unboxing the packages, since filming an unboxing video was too much hassle, and accomplished her other tasks one by one. After plugging her phone into the charger, Won Chaehee went to the bathroom to shower.
Why does it feel like I forgot something?
A nagging feeling prompted her to work up a huge lather of shampoo. Just then, an upbeat alarm rang from her phone on the toilet paper holder. It was the intro song for spArk's self-produced content. She had forgotten that today was their content release day. Of all times, it had to be now, when she could not even get out because of the soap suds!
Others might ask what was the big deal about watching a video 20 minutes after its upload, but Won Chaehee could not hold back a curse.
Why the hell do you think I dedicated nine hours of my life to this shitty job and squeezed onto a hellish subway to get home? If it weren't for earning money for my fandom life, I would've quit that damn company long ago, you know?
Berating herself, Won Chaehee finished her shower in tears. She hastily wrapped her dripping hair in a towel. With her body still damp, she pulled on a stretched-out t-shirt and grabbed her phone.
Last week they gave us the behind-the-scenes for the concept photo shoot, so are they giving us the music video or choreography video behind-the-scenes this time? Or maybe a music show review like Sayder? They wouldn't release similar content back-to-back.
As Won Chaehee's imagination ran wild, a new series of the legendary 'Age of Suffering from Mission Failure' loomed before her. It was an item that endlessly generated gifs for office workers.