Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols
SS Chapter 59: Upgrading Office Supplies on Labor Day
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TL: FoodieMonster007
Yeo Hana's holiday was dull and listless. The rest felt as welcome as rain after a long drought. She felt alive after waking late, eating whatever was in the fridge, and lounging on the sofa while scrolling through her phone.
My Dream is to be a Unicycle Master-yeyoung [What's everyone up to] [Bored]
Future Ginseng Farmer Ssong [Enjoy it] [Don't go whining tomorrow about not wanting to go to work]
Chomin Who Hates Mint Choco [Hahahahaha]
Her friends seemed no different from her. In their more energetic days, they would have started a flash mob, shouting, "Hey, don't just stay home, let's meet up!" Now, they lacked the energy. It was a relief if they just managed to check in on each other online.
My Dream is to be a Unicycle Master-yeyoung [Hana, what are you doing]
Me [On the sofa, experiencing the joy of being alive]
Future Ginseng Farmer Ssong [Hahahahahahahahaha] [Your brother didn't tell you to go to a one-day class today?]
Her friend Ssong asked. The brother she mentioned was her biological younger brother, Kim Iwol, whom she had found and connected with last year.
The younger brother she had known for just over a year was an extraordinary person. His initial formality felt like a distant dream. He had become as familiar to Yeo Hana as a sibling she had known since birth.
Kim Iwol constantly sent signals that he wanted to do things for Yeo Hana. He would randomly send gift cards that looked like he had sorted them by the highest price. Through Kim Iwol, Yeo Hana first learned that 100,000-won mobile gift cards for franchises even existed.
When she snapped at him that a working adult like her gets plenty of gift cards and he should keep them, he went quiet. Then one day, he suddenly asked if he could send her cosmetics. He claimed he received them as a promotional item, had too much, and as an idol, he would get in trouble if he was caught disposing of them carelessly. It was a plausible excuse. She told him she would only accept skincare products to share with her mom. The next day, a premium package wrapped in a cloth arrived via quick delivery.
Kim Iwol [Why leave out Father] [You'll make him feel left out]
Me [What kind of promotional item is this]
Me [Do you think I'm an idiot?]
Me [You don't think Mom and I each have three faces, do you?]
Me [Excuse me]
His timid demeanor from their first meeting was gone. He wasn't slick, but he was shameless. With a bland tone, he was a master at getting under people's skin. She worried, half-jokingly, if the other spArk members were okay with him being like this.
Lately, Kim Iwol was fixated on one-day classes. Every Wednesday afternoon, when everything but work seemed fun, she would be flooded with information about various classes. Her Wednesday despair, realizing only half the week was over, nearly drove her to make several impulsive reservations. The timing was very aggressive.
The list of classes Kim Iwol pushed on her was endless. It ranged from familiar ones like bead and glass art to things she had never heard of, like tufting and rattan crafts. Every single one was near a station and had good student reviews.
Me [He wants me to go make candles]
Me [It comes every week like a newsletter]
Me [Isn't this something people do in their 20s?]
My Dream is to be a Unicycle Master-yeyoung [Your brother must know you were too busy living a diligent life in your 20s to be a good daughter~]
My Dream is to be a Unicycle Master-yeyoung [His effort is admirable, how about you go just once?]
Me [You want me to go make candles?]
The lounging women in their 30s began sharing reviews of workshops they had heard about from others. They discussed how much it cost to make perfume and how pretty the suncatchers were. Amidst the flood of information, Chomin, who had been quiet, appeared.
Chomin Who Hates Mint Choco [Since Yeo Hana won't go to a one-day class, looks like her brother decided to open one himself?]
Me [What are you talking about?]
A screenshot arrived instead of an answer. It showed Kim Iwol laying out a bunch of things on a table. In the top left corner, the title '~A little magic to brighten up the office~' shone clearly.
Chomin Who Hates Mint Choco [He's making keycaps]
Her brother, one of the strangest people Yeo Hana had ever met, was doing resin art with his large hands on this golden holiday.
With help from an idol-fan friend, Yeo Hana installed an app to watch live broadcasts.
Her mother saw her daughter engrossed in her phone and asked, "What are you staring at so intently?"
"They said if I install this, I can watch Kim Iwol's broadcast."
"Iwol is?"
Her mother quickly came and sat beside her. It was far from ideal for them to watch one small screen together. The two sat huddled close, focusing on Kim Iwol, who chattered away while wearing white gloves.
"What's written in the corner here? The letters are too small, I can't see."
As her mother looked for her reading glasses, Yeo Hana read the words on the board for her.
"It says he's ventilating. I guess he wrote it for the fans to see."
Yeo Hana, a novice at watching live streams, had no idea how many backseat comments that one short line prevented. To his sister, Kim Iwol's thorough preparation just seemed like a peculiar idol culture.
『A staff member at the company let me borrow a keyboard because I said I wanted to film some content. You can't just touch or damage office supplies, so I got permission from the general affairs team in advance! This keyboard… many of you are familiar with it, right?』
Kim Iwol held the keyboard up to the screen. He had covered the logo, but anyone could tell it was a Logitech keyboard.
『I thought a bit about what keys office workers would use the most. I considered making a backspace key for when work isn't going well, or just the standard ESC.』
Following that, two separated keys appeared. The two cute keys were 'Alt' and 'Tab'.
『I figured there's nothing better than this!』
The chat flooded with comments telling the "old man" to take the video down. Even after leaking an office worker's top secret, Kim Iwol was unfazed. He said in a calm voice, 『It's a joke. Keys as important as these should be kept inconspicuous. If they stand out, the probability of getting caught at a critical moment will increase…』
For a moment, the face of a world-weary office worker flashed across his. As if nothing had happened, Kim Iwol brightly held up today's star, the 'Home' key. He chose it because it most directly represented the desire of office workers to go home.
Was I the only one who saw that expression just now?
Seeing no mention of it in the chat, it seemed Yeo Hana was the only one who noticed. Then again, it had been an incredibly fleeting moment.
『They told me to be sure to wear a mask while working. Please understand if the audio cuts out for a moment! And I need to wear safety goggles… even with the goggles on, would it be better if my face was showing, or if the table with the keycaps and my hands were showing?』
The viewers chose his face with goggles and a mask. After deciding on an angle that showed his upper body, Kim Iwol held up a whiteboard.
『To prevent boredom, I'll communicate by writing after I put on the mask! If this were our own pre-recorded content, I could do a voice-over later, but since it's live… I'm sorry. Please think of this as some light content and enjoy it casually!』
After that, Kim Iwol focused on making the keycaps. Even after her mother left to answer a phone call, Yeo Hana continued to watch Kim Iwol's endless craft time. It wasn't because she was interested in resin art…
The soju glass… I bought a disposable one just to film this! We don't have soju glasses at our dorm. We hardly ever buy alcohol for the dorm. We don't have beer glasses either! The wine glasses are from when we bought them to pour juice for Seongbin when he was being made a lord, but we haven't used them since!
You're worried I'm putting too much strain on my shoulders, but I'm fine! It's just taking a little longer because it's hard to get the position right with tweezers! This is a high-level task…
They said if bubbles appear, I should wait for them to pop or apply heat, but we don't have a lighter at our dorm either, so I brought the matches left over from lighting the candles on Seongbin's birthday. Is it okay to use these?
I got rid of all the bubbles!
I heard they even make keycaps with 3D printers these days. Technology has really improved.
Do I sound like an old man?
What should I do…
…it was because Kim Iwol had a talent for being noisy even through text. It was a strange talent.
≫ Iwol-ah, what are you mumbling about?
Meanwhile, though there was no sound, his jaw moved slightly. Kim Iwol replied.
Teacher… Teacher…
The chat flooded with 'lol's at the sight of him seeking the Metube teachers as if in prayer. After a long, clumsy session, he filled all the prepared molds. They were all 'Home' keys, a testament to how much he wanted to send his fans home.
I have to let this dry for about a day! I hope it comes out well without any bubbles…
A question arose about why he wasn't using a UV lamp. Someone mentioned there were products that hardened quickly when exposed to light.
Kim Iwol, who was reading the chat, grabbed his board and began to write diligently.
≫ Here he goes again, writing the Tripitaka Koreana.
There were no frustrated reactions. Everyone seemed used to this kind of situation. Kim Iwol energetically flipped the board over.
They say this method has less color change and shrinkage than using a lamp! There were also reviews saying that while it takes longer to cure, fewer bubbles form.
It was like watching a PowerPoint presentation on resin theory. The last line, however, was quintessentially idol-like.
I chose the method with a lower chance of failure because I plan to give them to Sparkler if they turn out well!
Now she understood why Kim Iwol was making so many identical keycaps.
Having finished his work, Kim Iwol picked up the phone that was presumably filming and left the room. She hadn't realized it when she could only see his upper body, but the amount of equipment and tools around suggested he had rented a workspace. After taking off his safety goggles, mask, and gloves, Kim Iwol ruffled his hair. The marks from the equipment were clear on his face.
『I'm not very tidy… but I should at least say goodbye face-to-face, right?』
Kim Iwol grinned.
『Actually, there's one more reason I chose the Home key. It's my wish that spArk will always be a place for Sparkler to return to, so I want you to be reminded of that just by looking at it.』
『We'll always be here. So when it's time to come home, please make sure you do!』
『I'll come back and let you know as soon as they're cured. If they fail, I'll have to make them again, so don't take out your Home key in advance, just wait!』
≫ Whenever Sparkler thinks about switching fandoms, spArk shows their 'eternal idol' core… I really love this story…
≫ I was going to take out my key and wait so he'd have no choice but to give me one, but I got caught.
The tiki-taka between Kim Iwol and his fans was great. It was natural, as if they were always like this. It looked comfortable and fun. Yeo Hana stared blankly at the screen. After the live broadcast ended, she posted in her group chat.
Me [Recruiting the first 3 people for a friendship candle-making gathering]
Future Ginseng Farmer Ssong [That's just your way of telling everyone to come lollll]
Chomin Who Hates Mint Choco [Goodness, that family's little brother is roping in all the big sisters]
My Dream is to be a Unicycle Master-yeyoung [Iwol-ah, us noonas will take your noona to go make candles~]
Trying a new hobby. An unexpected item had been added to her schedule. It was ambiguous whether it was a reward or revenge, but Yeo Hana vowed that next time, she would definitely find and share a hobby popular with men in their 20s.