Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols
SS Chapter 33: After-Party (1)
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TL: FoodieMonster007
Blowing the fanfare for our leader's solo debut had one result. spArk's over-the-top antics spread far and wide across the network.
≫ The thumbnail alone was so loud I had to turn down my brightness
I accidentally turned on the Metube subtitles and almost fainted at the speed the text appeared
└No one's even overreacting with their comments, everyone is being so formal, yet it's so chaotic
≫ The idol who has a strange fondness for agency anniversary towels
In his early debut days, he used a UA 10th anniversary towel, and now that he's a veteran, he uses a UtopiA anniversary towel
└The power of an original member is amazing
└└Hahaha
└In their dorm reality content, you only see those gray towels for chaebol male leads, so where does he keep getting these from? lol
└I don't know about the anniversary towels, but I heard a member orders the same gray towels whenever it's time to replace them
└└It's so obvious who it is, do you even need to say 'a member'???
└└└Kim Iwol buys the 40-count, 200g ones from Sonamu Towel every 2 years
└└└└"Cute embroidery is temporary, but thickness is forever (if you have a dryer)"
└└└└└(((If you have a dryer)))
└└└└└└ Please supply one Kim Iwol per household. We can handle the marriage part on our own, it's fine, just have him stay at home
≫ You guys really have some nerve
The oldest hyung holds such a long grudge, how could you have teased him so relentlessly? And it's not just the oldest hyung who's weird, everyone participates in this ridiculous skit as if it's breathing
└I was shocked after seeing their dorm. spArk is not sane
└Draping lace all over the dorm just to tease one member… There are no other idols like them
└Kim Iwol, if you have a conscience, you can't say spArk is swayed by the youngest members. You're the biggest problem
≫ Okay, grandpa
We get it! spArk's leader and main vocalist Jeong Seongbin is making his solo debut!!!!!!!!
└Someone send Iwol to a coin karaoke. The kid can't keep his mouth shut
Thanks to the noise I made all over town, everyone knew about Jeong Seongbin's solo activities. Not just Sparklers, but literally everyone. Staff members in broadcast station hallways would ask, "I heard Seongbin is having a solo?" even before promotions began.
If I had my way, I would have written the comeback date on my forehead and walked around. I was already holding back. Why didn't anyone understand how I felt?
Once promotions started, the efforts to support spArk's leader became even more famous. The buzz grew stronger when the behind-the-scenes video of the butler game was released, followed by a surprise visit to a music show.
≫ Fans are weak to their idols saying they're lonely because they're in the waiting room by themselves
Don't any of you dare leave. You're together until you die. Renew your contracts for life
└It's not just anyone, it's the leader saying he misses the members
└If Iwol finds out about this, spArk will have to be stationed in Seongbin's waiting room until his last broadcast
≫ Did you think we wouldn't see you just because you're squeezed between the chairs? ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ You're hiding so blatantly lol
It's surprising that Seongbin was so nervous he didn't even notice his members were there, and it's so touching that they all came as a group to help their leader relax
└Our boys may look like they have a temper, but to think that in front of their leader, they're just troublemaking kids who need a gentle touch
≫ Guess how many times Joowoo cried in the next video
Wiping away tears on the way to the surprise, holding back tears during the interview, crying while secretly watching the rehearsal, crying in a corner while Seongbin and the members share a touching hug after he comes down from the stage
└His friend was the one on stage, so why is his face the reddest after the hug? It's driving me crazy
Jeong Seongbin entered the music charts smoothly. From this point, the quality of the song itself was important. It was Jeong Seongbin's turn for his skills to shine.
≫ He's ridiculously good…
└No top comment can beat this one
└I've missed this kind of emotion and expression… It's been a while since a song came out that I want to listen to over and over.
└So this is how well you have to sing to be the leader of a group from a ballad powerhouse
└It brings back old memories, I like it~ I enjoyed listening~
≫ When the public's reaction is good, the rankings are definitely maintained well
It climbs higher through word of mouth, and it seems to be a figure that can't be ignored, beyond just what fans intentionally stream
└If you go to a karaoke, you're guaranteed to hear it from the next room at least once lol
└The problem is that no one sings it well…
└If you're going to miraculously mute the 'nal' in 'bichi nal tenikka', then don't sing it at all
The situation so far could be summarized as 'Jeong Seongbin spectacularly succeeded in his solo debut'. The market is a strange thing, and passing through this short sentence could produce a completely different result.
When a famous K-Pop idol group released a new song, people usually uploaded listening sessions or music video reactions. They could easily get views from fans by just watching and reacting to a music video less than five minutes long. Since music videos are made for that purpose, this was a natural phenomenon.
However, a new pattern appeared when the number of singers decreased, as with a solo or duo. People started making cover songs. This was a scene you wouldn't see if the comeback song was a dance track or a lyrical song with complex harmonies difficult for one person to handle.
Cover channels have their own independent and solid subscriber bases. Since they are gatherings of people who prefer the channel owner's style and vocal color, many people who wouldn't normally listen to a certain song came to know it through a cover. Jeong Seongbin fully enjoyed this benefit. It meant he had succeeded in imprinting his own name, all by himself.
≫ Thanks to Miu, I learned another great song today!
≫ Could you please cover another Seongbin song? ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
Among the comments were the usual instigators who stirred up trouble with unnecessary remarks like 'it's better than the original' or 'it's not as good', but they were not at a level to affect Jeong Seongbin, who was in his sixth year as an idol.
Thanks to that, the guy achieved more than he had hoped. He had modestly underestimated his own abilities, but in any case, he realized his self-assessment was wrong in a good way.
Our good leader did all the hard work himself but gave all the credit to the members. We nagged him that he'd be taken for a sucker, but it was no use. In the end, we were all dragged to a high-end Korean beef restaurant with our wallets already surrendered.
"Why doesn't this restaurant have a menu…" I muttered.
Jeong Seongbin just smiled. It was obvious he wouldn't give us one even if we asked. I saw on my way in that other tables had menus. Jeong Seongbin must have asked the staff to remove them when he made the reservation.
The price range of expensive restaurants is beyond imagination. A single meal could cost not just over 100,000 won but even 200,000 or 300,000 won. I could only swallow dryly.
"Is this place expensive?" Choi Jeho asked.
I retorted by asking if he'd left his glasses at home. The guy didn't say anything more. He seemed to understand the hidden meaning of 'Can't you see?'
"Sir, what's the most delicious thing here?" Lee Cheonghyeon asked, cheerfully bright and oblivious to my inner turmoil. He usually looked sharp enough to devour a person, but right now, he just looked ready to devour a cow.
"Let's start with the basic six servings…"
"No."
I had barely spoken when Jeong Seongbin immediately cut me off. His clear eyes sparkled.
"Please bring out what I reserved, and don't stop."
No words were more terrifying. I desperately looked for our manager, but it was no use. I couldn't call for the manager, who was probably enjoying a quiet meal in another room. My lips went dry as I watched the fine-looking meat arrive on a square plate.
Jeong Seongbin grabbed the tongs. It was a relief that Choi Jeho managed to grab the other pair. I boasted that my years of training at company dinners meant I wouldn't lose out, but no one listened.
"Give up…!" Park Joowoo said, looking at me with tired eyes. He had also failed in his attempt to take the tongs.
Jeong Seongbin controlled his friend more fiercely than when Park Joowoo had bought a ton of albums in the carrot trade. All Park Joowoo could do was powerlessly eat the mountain of meat with onions.
"Jeho, please give me the tongs."
"You're going to grill?"
"Yes, and I'm going to ask for more salt and oil dip. Should I order anything for you too?"
"No."
I felt like crying at the sight of the admirable Kang Kiyeon and the frustrating Choi Jeho. Was it okay for my eyes to get this moist at a dinner table, no matter how smoky it was?
Meanwhile, Jeong Seongbin looked disappointed, wondering why they would eat rice when they could have more meat. I started to suspect he had misread the price, maybe thinking there was one less zero.
"Kim Iwol, what about you?"
"I'm full just from breathing."
"What nonsense. Kang Kiyeon, two bowls of rice."
"Okay."
Choi Jeho managed to place an additional order. I didn't nag him, thinking it was more cost-effective for him to get full on rice than on meat, but when I saw new tableware and side dishes brought out for just one order of rice, I gave up on everything.
"Joowoo, should I order you some nurungji too? I hear the nurungji here is delicious."
"Don't places like this sell naengmyeon? I think Joowoo has exceeded his grease limit. If he washes it all down with something cold, he might be able to eat more."
Jeong Seongbin and Lee Cheonghyeon kept making such thoughtless remarks while grilling the meat. Kang Kiyeon made the slip of saying the meat was delicious, which caused even more meat to be brought out.
I should have just treated them all to a big meat dinner before coming here. Or at the very least, I should have treated them to beef or goat meat yesterday to celebrate Jeong Seongbin's final broadcast. Or maybe I should have grilled a mountain of soy meat to set an example as an idol.
If I had, then five grown men wouldn't have committed the atrocity of deliberately putting a hole in our leader's bank account. I failed to appreciate our leader's kind heart. He was so caught up in celebrating that he just wanted to do more for his members.
A bank transfer… he wouldn't accept it, would he.
Remembering the restaurant's stately entrance left me with nothing but despair. As I swam in self-pity, Lee Cheonghyeon nudged my side. I glared at him with a 'what did you do to deserve that' look, and the guy just cackled. He popped a piece of meat into his mouth, then leaned towards me and whispered.
"I have a card in my back pocket."
"……"
"Smile. You don't want to get caught, do you?"
Lee Cheonghyeon and I laughed and talked in secret, like customers at a barbecue place sharing a silly joke.
"Kang-geon, who was captured first, sent a text, so I quickly grabbed it."
"So that's why you guys were so calm?"
"The leader wants to treat us, so we should play along, right? Eat comfortably. We'll split it N ways later."
"You think I'd fall for that? Kiyeon hasn't given me his account number even once since the manga cafe incident."
"If you want to keep arguing with me until Seongbin notices, then go ahead."
"…Let's talk later."
And so, we formed a secret pact. We didn't order a single drink, worried about gaining weight, but we ate the meat with much more relaxed hearts. We were showing the utmost courtesy to the person who invited us out.
The meat was the most delicious I had ever had. I enjoyed the beautiful night, heartily congratulating Jeong Seongbin on his successful solo activities. All the while, I planned to either send Lee Cheonghyeon the full amount once I got his account number, or to squeeze half of it out of Choi Jeho and send our shares.
However, Lee Cheonghyeon's card was never used. Because Jeong Seongbin had already entrusted his own card to the manager, we could only stare at the receipt in the manager's hand when he returned. He said he'd brought the car around before any of us could even pretend to go to the bathroom.