Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols
SS Chapter 22: The Chaotic Self-Produced Content Diary (4)
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TL: FoodieMonster007
If Baek Haewon had to choose one unique experience in her life, it was that her sibling was friends with her ultimate bias.
Baek Haewon defied the saying that a fan never gets lucky. She had access to everything, from high-quality graduation photos of her ultimate bias just by opening her sibling’s album, to attending events in invited guest seats and even receiving signed albums.
As a seasoned fan, Baek Haewon never gave outsiders a reason to attack. She quietly enjoyed her happiness and never spread rumors.
Even so, she still faced her own tragedies.
"Why couldn't I get the Kim Iwol t-shirt!"
Baek Haewon had lost the raffle for the coveted t-shirt that Kim Iwol himself had touched. While she knew it was impossible to be lucky every time, she felt a deep regret. A true fan’s heart believed in never missing a single BubblePop message and collecting every episode featuring their bias.
Seeing the reviews that there were even handwritten autographs on the inside of the t-shirts—except for Jeong Seongbin's t-shirt, which had the signature on the back—doubled her jealousy and envy. Since the prizes were shipped randomly, all six members had apparently signed every t-shirt for the winners, whose ultimate biases were unknown. It was truly perfect fan service.
Idols who understood a fan's heart were as rare as wild ginseng. Unless they had been a fan themselves or were exceptionally empathetic, most celebrities failed to give the impression that they sympathized with their fans' circumstances.
≫ Who goes to a concert by drinking one or two fewer cups of coffee and taking the bus instead of a taxi? I can't go even if I skip 30 cups of coffee, and I can't take a taxi to begin with because the fare is like 1 billion won.
└ For fans from the countryside, we have to add KTX and accommodation fees. When you, who live in Cheongdam, talk like that, it just sounds like you're mocking us, lol.
≫ While fans were lining up on the street for pre-recordings, receiving freebies of the products you endorse, and posting proof shots, you were buying luxury goods for your amazing celebrity friend, weren't you? Does that friend buy your albums or boost your chart rankings? A fan and a friend can't be the same, but you should at least think of us as customers and show a minimum level of respect. You used to think saying 'You all worked so hard to get here ㅠㅠㅠ' was enough, but now you don't even do that and just whine about your schedule being too tight.
└ Wow… Distorting the fact that he was giving the agency a hard time because he was worried about the fans and said, 'It's too hard for you to come to the schedule, right?' The intention is so blatant that I'm not even angry, just dumbfounded heh;;;
└ 'It's so hard to wake up at dawn,' 'We haven't eaten yet either,' 'We have to move to the next location right after this' ≪ How is this worrying about the fans and not whining? Answer me, you son of a bitch.
≫ I could sort of turn a blind eye when controversies occasionally popped up, but the power trip with the staff pisses me off. Yehwan-ah, 90% of your fans work part-time jobs and bow their heads just like the staff you looked down on… They earn money like that and spend it on being your fan. So if you treat workers like shit, how am I supposed to see you? Did you learn nothing from seeing ㅍㄹㅌ blow up?
Their role was to shine on stage, not to provide support, so in a way, this was natural. Working with the help of dozens of staff members like managers and stylists, and earning an income incomparable to that of ordinary people, their sense of daily life was bound to be different.
Still, when only one side sent enthusiastic support, moments inevitably arrived that highlighted the difference in their realities. Throughout her long history as a fan, Baek Haewon often felt that 'They just see us as money,' or worse, 'They don't even see us as money, they just find us annoying.' The moment she could no longer endure that feeling, she would leave the fandom.
spArk became famous for taking the exact opposite path. While stars regularly fell from grace each year over controversies, Kim Iwol created countless memorable quotes and always kept his word.
A public sentiment of, 'Let's see when you'll slip up,' definitely existed. Many people found entertainment in the downfall of others. Cyber Rekkas constantly tried to instigate public opinion, and Kim Iwol and spArk had been attacked from the outside for the most trivial things.
However, Kim Iwol steadily built trust over a long period. The frequency of his BubblePop messages and his fan service remained the same as in his early debut days.
The other members were the same. The cover content they had posted as rookies continued, with the upload cycle only slightly lengthening as their fixed schedules increased. Not a single one was insincere during group schedules. If a member started a personal live stream, the others would always greet the fans through chat, a phone call, or a surprise appearance, unless they had other schedules.
There were areas where they had grown even more. The members, who had shown great potential from their debut, did their best to ensure Sparkler would never feel discouraged anywhere, providing trendy 'reverse-support' items that did not miss the current trends and various events they could hold as their seniority grew. The agency also improved by leaps and bounds, so there were no frustrating operational issues ahead of the happy occasion of a comeback.
≫ I wonder how much they monitor the ㅇㅌㅍㅇ celebrity forum. It's amazing how they desperately struggle not to get caught for anything.
└ In my head, I'm like, 'Is it really that hard to operate normally??' But there are more places that don't, so ㅇㅌㅍㅇ seems like a rare species.
≫ I've never seen an agency that does its job well. It's usually a matter of whether the idol loses their original passion or not, so it's amazing that s*a*k is still raw. As for agencies… there are only three types. The incompetent agency, the XX incompetent agency, and a den of criminals.
└ Aren't Yulpi and Green La* a bit better?
└└ I lost all affection for them after they made KIW read the clarification statement alone during the favoritism controversy.
└└└ That's right, there was that.
└ Forgivable because they saved us from the random photocard hell.
└└ Just for not doing the random goods business, I can give them one indulgence. Not two.
≫ To my friends who are fans of senior idols, there's no need to beat on the agency… Unless it's a place with unfair contracts bad enough to make the news, the idols themselves have more influence than the staff. If it feels like the company is just doing business with you, it's not because the agency is a villain ㅅㄲ, but because the idol has no interest in their own fans.
└ I can't agree that the agency isn't the villain, but you're half right. Still, if the idol steps up and gives their opinion, there aren't many places that can completely ignore it…
└ If they knew we pay over 80,000 won more just to see a 15-minute soundcheck, even if the company set the price, they should at least dress well for it, lol. The sound is the facility's fault, the outfits are the staff's fault, but if you also sing half-heartedly and fill the time with talk, then what exactly is it that you do?
└ Don't you know from the fact that Kim Iwol still attends meetings? If you try, you can do anything~
The idol worked diligently, and the agency actively supported them without holding them back. As long as those two things worked well, a devoted fan would not leave easily. Why leave when they provided good fan service and so much content to enjoy?
There were, however, occasional moments that sent a chill down her spine. It was like when Kim Iwol seemed to see right through the hearts of fans chanting for him to wear a suit, or when they uncannily noticed the 'Without Seongbin knowing~' talk on Jeong Seongbin's BubblePop. They were so skilled at grasping public sentiment that it made her wonder just how much they monitored.
Is this also… some kind of fan service content?
Baek Haewon paused in thought. The title of the new video she found while struggling kept bothering her. What on earth was a 'Sparkler Fan V-log'?
A Sparkler V-log was familiar. Baek Haewon even filmed them herself sometimes. They showed Sparklers from all over the country ticketing, decorating photocards, tying ribbons on light sticks, and unboxing albums. A video of daily life related to spArk, filmed and uploaded, was a Sparkler V-log.
As video production became easier, fan v-logs grew common enough to become part of fan culture. The topics were diverse. Some people uploaded their own versions of an idol's challenge video. Others gathered for fan-girling sleepovers or meetups and filmed them.
But why are you being fans of us?
A video showing spArk's daily life would have just been a 'spArk V-log'. She had seen plenty of those, but being a fan of Sparkler… what was that? Question marks popped into her head.
The thumbnail was also extraordinary. It was overwhelming, starting with Kim Iwol, who was entirely black except for his skin. It was not just black clothing. From the charms on his outfit to the numerous rings and nail polish, he was the personification of pitch-black.
The hip-styled Choi Jeho and Park Joowoo, who seemed to be Kim Iwol's opposite in white and sky blue, were just as eye-catching. By comparison, the kitschy-dressed Lee Cheonghyeon and Kang Kiyeon in a heavily studded leather jacket looked cute.
Jeong Seongbin looked very normal at first glance, wearing a crisply ironed shirt and horn-rimmed glasses. His uniquely neat appearance and clear eyes, however, gave off an unsettling impression.
Meanwhile, all their outfits looked familiar. They were clearly exaggerated versions of their actual styles, yet the looks were not unfamiliar. For some reason, she felt like she had seen this kind of styling very recently.
…No way?
Baek Haewon looked back and forth between the video's title and the thumbnail. Seeing Kim Iwol's pitch-black figure, dark enough to be nicknamed part of a murder of crows, made her want to deny reality. The secondhand embarrassment was already creeping in.
Here, men gathered for a fan meeting of the idol fandom 'Sparkler'. Six empty chairs showed the capacity of the small gathering.
『Seongbin : Has no one arrived yet?』
Jeong Seongbin peeked his head in, fiddling with his crossbody bag strap. The Sparkler fan Seongbin was the first to arrive, befitting a fan of the leader Jeong Seongbin, who reviews often said took the lead at offline events.
『Cheonghyeon : Hello-!』
Lee Cheonghyeon entered the quiet rental space, his hands full of luggage. Seeing his full body, not just his shoulders from the thumbnail, made the severity of the situation hit even harder. His accessories, keychains, and clothes were all sparkling and colorful.
『Seongbin : Cheonghyeon!』
『Cheonghyeon : Seongbin! It's been so long! It's great to see you!』
The two fans hugged with bright smiles. The sight of them jumping up and down in an embrace looked just like the intro of a Sparkler meetup v-log. Their raw, private lives, not secret but embarrassing to see, were being laid bare.
Just as Baek Haewon trembled, the door slammed open. Kim Iwol, who looked about 190cm tall in his high-heeled walkers, leaned against the doorway holding a large ita-bag.
『Iwol : You didn't start the Spalk (※ Sparkler talk) without me, did you?』
Seeing the subtitle, complete with parentheses, was too much for Baek Haewon. For the first time, she paused a spArk self-produced content video for a reason other than being overwhelmed with emotion. Then, she buried her beet-red face in a pillow.
"Stop surveilling civilians!"
Baek Haewon's grief-stricken cry did not reach spArk. The playback bar still showed 57 minutes remaining.