Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols
SS Chapter 25: Club (2)
Day/Night Mode:
Change Font Size:
TL: FoodieMonster007
The practice room was already packed when I arrived. Staff handled pre-setup while the filming crew milled about.
It's been a while since I was here.
My part-time job kept me from visiting often, but I always stopped by the practice room when I could. With so many members, opening the door meant greeting at least five or six people.
My visits became sparse as an upperclassman while I prepared for employment. If I had known all that effort would land me at Hanpyeong Industry, I would have just played bass. The thought made me chuckle.
"Do all university clubs have rooms like this?"
"I'm not sure. I heard there are different types, like central clubs and department clubs…"
Lee Cheonghyeon did his best to explain for his friend, who was visiting a university for the first time. Jeong Seongbin took out his guitar while Park Joowoo showed interest in the tightly packed sheet music. Choi Jeho simply adjusted the drum stool's height.
I slowly looked around the club room. The pile of unclaimed stuff from my time was still there, along with the smudges on the wall where it had leaned for so long.
Some things had changed. For instance, the blanket a senior used to wrap himself in like a second skin was gone. The nagging voices that asked if he ever washed it were also absent.
"It must've smelled really bad for Iwol to take it home and wash it."
"No, it's not that. I was just going to dust it off, and it happened to be time to run the washing machine at home…"
"So you're saying it was dusty."
"No!"
I got a free drink instead of laundry money. I also listened to a junior, his bag covered in keychains, tell epic tales of his claw machine victories.
I once fell asleep in a corner with my padded jacket over me, only to wake up with another long padded jacket draped over me. The nagging that my legs were sticking out came as a bonus. I vividly remembered my face turning beet red. I had to go into the hallway to cool my cheeks before returning.
The junior who haunted the claw machines would have graduated by now. If I had come earlier, I might've heard news about them. Still, the old me would've scheduled another meeting, not visited this club room. When would I have had the time, busy as I was clearing missions?
"Do we need to take those photos down?"
"I don't think you can see their features, but should we take them down just in case?"
Two staff members discussed something in front of a corkboard next to me. A few Polaroid photos were pinned beside a crude notice, likely printed from a school printer.
"Is it okay if we take these photos, store them separately, and then put them back?"
"I'll take care of it!"
A student in a department jacket popped out from between the staff to answer the crew member. I knew he was a freshman the moment I saw the student ID number on his shoulder.
Where did all the seniors go, leaving a brand-new junior to supervise? What if something gets stolen? How is a young kid supposed to take responsibility for that on his own?
The student, a new club member, was much more composed than I was. I lamented his situation despite being neither his university senior, department senior, nor anything else anymore. He quickly ran over to confirm if the entire board needed clearing or just the photos, even in the chaos.
"The important thing is that no faces are visible, so focus on the stickers with names and the Polaroids where faces are showing…"
The staff member pointed out the items that needed portrait rights protection. They were within my reach. I offered to clear the top row, partly as penance for getting lost in nostalgia when I should have been working.
"You might hurt your hands if you carry it like this. I'll leave the thumbtacks in and just take out the photos for you. Is that okay?"
"……"
"If the arrangement is important, we should take a picture before taking them down."
"It's not that important of a board."
We laughed together at the bold joke and quickly started removing the items. Here too were the faces of the 'fossil' seniors who were supposedly here since the Stone Age.
Seriously, they never clean up.
I remembered being too timid to do anything in my early club days. After my military service, though, I would use my breaks between classes to gather ownerless items in a small bag. I would take pictures of the unidentified objects in the practice and club rooms, post them, and then dispose of anything left unclaimed.
If a member like me was gone, shouldn't someone else have cleaned up? With no junior to block the view and no one to cover with a padded jacket, they should've had plenty of time. So why was this space still so messy? That's what I wanted to know.
A faded photo caught my eye. It was not old enough for the image to disappear, but it was not as sharp as a new one.
"…These people must be club members, too."
I tilted the paper toward the freshman and started a conversation.
"That's right! Most of them graduated a while ago, and I heard only one of them graduated this February."
Though they had all graduated, the shutter had been pressed long ago. It left a vivid image of their vibrant selves in this club room. Their easygoing smiles, the fashionable clothes of the time, and the dolls on their instrument cases made me smile.
They were always friendly to their juniors because they were seniors. Looking back now, having aged much more than they had then, I felt in my bones how young even those seniors were. I must have seemed like such a kid to them. How enjoyable must it have been to laugh and chat without a care in the world?
Aigoo, you guys.
I thought they should grow up a little, but their innocent smiles were still nice to see.
The freshman, the club's new owner, and the memories in the photos came into view at once, like a picture in a single frame. The quick-handed student had already collected all the photos. I gently placed the Polaroids I had gathered onto his outstretched hands.
"Thanks for your cooperation. We'll use it cleanly and return it."
I smiled and greeted him politely. The student bowed deeply. He said he was counting on us and then disappeared among the staff.
The self-produced content of spArk's university band club activities was released during their final broadcast week. It was more than enough to salvage their rapidly deteriorating image. The structure, which brought the music video's setting to life with a behind-the-scenes story, was particularly well-received by fans who valued narrative.
≫ I didn't know what department Joowoo was in because the writing wasn't visible and I couldn't guess, but it was Psychology lol. It seems to suit him?! k
└I guessed Philosophy, can't I get at least 50% credit? hahaha
└ The person who said the wallpaper pattern looked like a Rorschach test was rightㄷㄷ
≫ Club President Park Joowoo « fresh, different
Lackeys Kim Iwol Choi Jeho « this is so funnyㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ The oldest hyungs don't have the face of a subordinateㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└Putting aside his friend Seongbin, do Cheonghyeon and Kiyeon have the face of a subordinate?ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└ They have aegyo
└Our maknaes have aegyo on their faces…?
└Our maknaes have aegyo all over their bodies, just not on their faces
└ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
≫●●● spArk Practice Room Live Full Version video is up
└ You should have uploaded this at the same time, you UtopiA bastards–
└During the band song survival show, they only released one b-side and one title track, but for this, we got the competition stage, concert, music show, studio + practice room versions. It's legendary - I praise this buffet-style management.
It was not publicly announced, but the effort was worth it. It was a fitting start for a project that would continue for the next year.
External schedules rushed in alongside the self-produced content. On the day we filmed a mukbang variety show, we counted it as our meal. Some members' voices grew hoarse from all-day interviews. We often lost track of the date while traveling. If I didn't keep my eyes on Dosyeon, I wouldn't even know what day it was.
"If I'd known it would be like this, I would've strengthened your vocal cords too."
"How would you strengthen our vocal cords?"
"With waterfall training?"
"How are we supposed to get to a waterfall? Say something that makes sense."
"Why doesn't it make sense? If I sit you in a bathtub and pour water over your head, that's a waterfall. The mindset is what's important, Jeho."
Choi Jeho didn't even pretend to listen to my kind explanation.
Is this really the attitude of someone trying to be friends? How dare he ignore my sincere response? If we ever do waterfall training, I'm throwing you in first.
"The way you call him has gotten friendlier, but why does your temper seem even more vicious?"
"How should I know."
Choi Jeho replied to Lee Cheonghyeon's words without emotion. He was like a cyborg interested only in boiling water and adding quince syrup to a mug.
The warm quince tea was soon delivered to all the members. He was infuriating, but I decided to forgive him this once. He did have the beautiful heart to make quince tea for his colleagues.
"Cheonghyeon and Kiyeon said they're going straight to bed after their tea, and Joowoo has to go to the radio show, right?"
"Yeah…"
The few remaining daily tasks were crossed off the list one by one. Park Joowoo, a guest on a late-night radio show, chugged the quince tea Choi Jeho had specially cooled for him and grabbed his bag.
"Hyungs, when are you…!"
"Ssssp."
The moment Jeong Seongbin opened his mouth, a sound like an overworked employee emerged from his throat.
I gave him a look, and the kid quickly quieted down. I had just spent three hours scolding him like a madman.
Of course he deserves to be scolded. How dare he overwork his vocal cords right before his solo debut?
Honestly, it wasn't Jeong Seongbin's fault. The other members shared the burden of introducing the album and filling the audio, but the microphone was inevitably passed to the leader more often.
Choi Jeho and Lee Cheonghyeon had many schedules that just showed their faces, but Jeong Seongbin had many that required his singing. His professional need to secure screen time, combined with his sincere personality, pushed one of spArk's two main vocals to his limit. Making comments while singing is also incredibly damaging to the throat.
The SYSTEM had strengthened my vocal cords, but I couldn't be complacent. The moment Jeong Seongbin's voice went hoarse, I screamed like the world was ending, shouting that we had to get him to a hospital immediately. I just hope no manager filmed it as proof that I was bullying my dongsaeng.