Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols
SS Chapter 41: An Idol's Word Is Worth a Thousand Gold (3)
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TL: FoodieMonster007
Lee Cheonghyeon and Kang Kiyeon once gave a groundbreaking interview. To celebrate the group becoming all adults, they promised to show a new side of the younger members, who had been kept under wraps.
spArk did not make empty promises. They maintained their noir-style sexiness while executing a stunning stylistic reversal. This was more than just swapping stiff, classic suits for rougher outfits. It was more than Kang Kiyeon simply throwing off his tailored jacket to reveal the top of his pectoral muscles.
Baek Haewon stared at her laptop screen, paused for ten minutes. She could not bring herself to resume playback. Below, her phone screen showed a picture of Jjae-i. Kim Iwol, in a silk shirt as glossy as his drenched hair, sprawled like a figure in a painting.
His hair was slightly longer than during 『MISSION』. His eyelashes cast shadows on his pale skin, exciting Baek Haewon. The clash between his high-collared top’s restraint and his heavy makeup’s decadent mood truly imprinted him on her mind.
She knew well from Kim Iwol’s love for clingy knits that a good frame could look sexy even when fully covered. Seeing it with her own eyes, however, hit differently.
Unlike the simple base of 『MISSION』, these flamboyant outfits were loud in every detail. The chain-laden belts and wide harnesses made that clear. The gleam of black leather and the reflection from accessories doubled the splendor. Overwhelmed, Baek Haewon repeatedly banged the back of her head against the innocent wall.
When did he get so good at dancing?
In 『Sprint』, Kim Iwol showed presence. As a sub-vocalist, he focused on his parts without standing out. When he took the center, he became the title track's face. The song required a power he already possessed, highlighting his long limbs and strength.
The Kim Iwol in 『MooNStruck IOve』, however, was closer to a delicate performer. Baek Haewon, who spent eighty percent of her screen time on Kim Iwol’s fancams, noticed the subtle changes in his dance lines.
She saw him skillfully control his strength in every movement, whether raising his upper body from a lean or using his arms.
Lee Cheonghyeon’s looks were truly beyond human. He had been the cute, pretty visual since his debut, but a scowling Lee Cheonghyeon, completely without a smile, was an incredibly rare commodity that gave her a new impression.
She had often seen a brightly smiling Lee Cheonghyeon, a gently smiling Lee Cheonghyeon, and a bitterly smiling Lee Cheonghyeon, but a Lee Cheonghyeon who glared as if roaring, his fiery eyes burning through the gaps in his hair, was enough to leave viewers speechless.
The thin fabric under his bolero spiraled with every twist of his waist, catching her eye. Baek Haewon felt moved by his grim determination to fulfill the promise of a reverse 『MISSION』.
And after all that, Choi Jeho is wrapped in leather.
Baek Haewon thought this as Choi Jeho appeared. He wore a leather shirt buttoned to his neck and leather pants that hugged his thighs and calves perfectly.
The unnies who are Choi Jeho fans are definitely going to film soju-chugging vlogs today.
That you could feel his well-built body even through thick clothes said something. His shape was more than enough to resurrect the older fans who had gone quiet in fear after the Sparkler doting vlog.
Sure enough, posts from people with Choi Jeho's face as their profile picture were scarce. They had all definitely gone out drinking. It was a miracle that neither the leather nor the fans' hearts had burst.
The makeup, focused only on his features, and the simple, well-formed hairstyle sent a clear message. It was a signal to compete with his natural looks. Choi Jeho, the face of the "cold handsome" group and a man with striking double eyelids and lips, would not lose such a fight.
What about my liking the youngest members' over-the-top outfits? As Kim Iwol said, every field requires its own appropriate policy design. UtopiA seemed to have finally grasped the aesthetics of subtraction.
Finally, there was the man who perfectly matched the video’s primary silver color. Park Joowoo dyed his hair silver like his eyes, making his temperature drop even lower than in 『MISSION』. He pushed the concept’s completeness to the extreme. Just as a sense of mystery arose from his deep eyes, his sharp voice would pierce your ears and burrow into your mind.
The moment Park Joowoo turned for the group dance in the highlight.
In that extremely short second, the words 'most viewed part' started to appear.
≫ Park Joowoo, you're really setting Sparkler on fire.
'That jacket' which had made Kim Iwol the man of 『MISSION』
was resurrected. It still had the clear incision down the center.
Gray shadows fell on the curves of his white muscles, resembling a giant plaster statue. It was the dawn of the next crop era. Baek Haewon humbly surrendered to the new wave and logged into social media to leave a review filled with profanity.
The grand physiques, as grand as the music, became a hot topic day after day. The mature faces and desperate gazes of the giant men had that much of an impact. Sparklers, used to seeing these men with 2-meter-long legs in a youthful campus story, were now confronted with them rolling in the mud, unable to even cling to the one they loved. They just watched the music video on repeat like crazy.
≫ Rolling a cigarette
└I thought you didn't smoke
└We have virtual MeTubers, why can't we have virtual cigarettes
≫ The best welfare for fans who have grown old with their idols
[A Sparkler who got hooked in high school and is now a working adult… the corners of my mouth won't go down…]
≫ A trait of dutiful idols: They come back with a sexy concept when their young girl fans have become wallet warriors, so the fans won't regret not having money and begging them to come back years later.
└Alright, boys, noona finally understands what you were aiming for.
└If you're a noona to spArk, wouldn't you have understood what they were aiming for even back then?
└Be quiet. You wanna get flamed?
Everyone stomped their feet in anticipation of the music shows, driven mad by the concept. At the same time, they worried if the outfits would pass broadcast censorship. Baek Haewon, who could not go to the station because of her part-time job, anxiously waited for audience reviews.
The late spoiler she got was a bit ambiguous.
≫ The Demon of Symmetry, Kim Iwol
"What does 'Demon of Symmetry' even mean…"
Baek Haewon grumbled and struggled to find other reviews among the posts that avoided search-prevention tactics. The text was filled with written screams. Still, everyone seemed happy. Any idol fan knew what kind of screams came out during a truly terrible situation.
The broadcast time arrived after she waited with a mind that was anxious but not worried. In the meantime, Baek Haewon had rushed home, bathed, and finished preparing to greet spArk. With a bowl of soy sauce egg rice to soothe her starving body, she waited for spArk to appear. This was why she liked stanning a veteran idol group. You could roughly guess their appearance time and eat at the beginning.
Baek Haewon cleanly finished the savory soy sauce egg rice. She scanned the stages of the newly debuted idols while adding kimchi. Seeing a certain group as thin as rose thorns, she thought of spArk, who had slimmed down before their activities.
Still, you need some muscle for the upper body to fit nicely, right?
If the clothes hanger is too thin, the shape is not right. Many people loved flat idols, but it was always case by case. Not utilizing a blessed physique was akin to deception.
Just as she felt disappointed, the previous stage ended. The screen switched to the MCs and filled with dark-clothed men. These black masses were spArk, who had come for an interview.
"What the…"
Baek Haewon caught the falling spoon with superhuman reflexes. She could not close her gaping mouth. The interview area, which usually had space even with large idol groups, looked cramped without a single gap.
How could she have forgotten that spArk could never become stick-thin, no matter how hard they tried? How could she have forgotten that you can lose weight, but you cannot shrink your bone structure?
Their broad, straight shoulders and inverted triangle torsos soothed Baek Haewon's fragile heart, which had been disappointed by the news of their weight loss. The boys who were men even during their campus concept had become real, legendary men.
As it was the first broadcast, the outfits were mostly the same as in the music video. Still, Baek Haewon, who had watched the MV until it was worn out, instantly spotted the changes.
Choi Jeho's top has been changed to a regular shirt. Jeong Seongbin is also in a normal short-sleeved shirt. Did they both get censored because their clothes were too damn tight?
Lee Cheonghyeon had changed his inner shirt to a white collared one, but in exchange, he wore a bolero so small it looked more like epaulets. His desire to show his waistline if he could not wear see-through was blatant.
Kang Kiyeon’s zipper was pulled up much higher than in the music video. His hair, however, was still damp and radiated a dark aura.
While spArk focused on their talk, Baek Haewon grinned and activated her hawk eyes, but when spArk smiled brightly while showing their highlight choreography, she could not hide her shock.
Did Park Joowoo pass censorship with those clothes…?!
From the front, it looked quite decent. With the front securely fastened and a harness on, one could say it was a normal idol stage outfit, aside from the glimpses of his sides when he politely folded his hands.
His back, however, was more exposed than Kim Iwol's in 『MISSION』. It was probably styled that way, but it looked as if the jacket could not handle his back muscles and had split in two. The broadcast station must have made a radical choice, unable to give up on his fancam’s guaranteed views.
Amidst this chaos, the person who troubled Baek Haewon the most was someone else. The protagonist was Kim Iwol, who had covered the back and waist he once revealed, yet unbuttoned his shirt without hesitation. His outfit made her understand why he was called the 'Demon of Symmetry'.
Did he think I wouldn't notice if he stood demurely in the back row? One moment he was a flawless businessman in a full suit, and the next, a shameless idol casually revealing his skin. She was moved by the sight of her favorite.
Before she could even ask where he had put the harness, Kim Iwol stole her gaze by smiling, his eyes curving into crescents. Every time he laughed, he brought a hand to his mouth, revealing shirt cuffs that completely covered his hands.
Oh, great stylist…
Beyond the camera, silver chains jingled, swaying like Baek Haewon's sanity. Was the opposite of an exposed back and waist an exposed chest? Baek Haewon readily admitted her knowledge was too shallow. She also retracted her past statement that covered-up fashion was the best.
≫ Miheon-nim, are you alive?
No. I'm dead. I died the day the MV dropped and was shipped directly to heaven. To the golden land where two suns rise, the crop jacket and the shirt with runaway buttons.
≫ If spArk is going this far and you don't use the tools, you're not a fan.
Stream and vote like today is your last. Baek Haewon posted the determined announcement. On this day, when the god of styling descended upon the humble broadcast station, she burned out white on her sofa while watching spArk receive a congratulatory bouquet for their first week's number one win.