Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols
SS Chapter 89: Collaboration Cafe (2)
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TL: FoodieMonster007
"I was really conflicted, Kiyeon-ah."
Kim Iwol picked up the remaining melon soda. The bright yellow straw, seemingly chosen for its vivid color, was striking.
It was the first time a heart-shaped straw had ever looked so menacing.
"It was hard to ignore your desire to do well on your own, Kiyeon, but it was also hard not to take care of our youngest. My heart ached hearing that you worked so hard you even skipped meals, with no time to watch that manga you love. How could I just stand by?"
"Is that why you did… all this?"
"'Did all this?' Don't you think this is pretty soft?"
"What part of this is soft?!"
"The part where we decided not to film this more seriously and release it as our own content."
In an instant, the light vanished from Kim Iwol's eyes. His words carried the weight of sincerity.
The only sound in the kitchen was the fizzing of carbonation in the glass.
"We're familiar with Sparkler's fan talk sessions, so that part was easy to imitate. However, we couldn't perfectly master the culture of manga readers, so we considered the possibility of making mistakes. We even gave up on filming it. We did all this research and prepared everything without illegally using any official content, all just for you, Kiyeon. Are you dissatisfied?"
"No…"
"We read the books, carefully considered the menu, and even printed photocards with our own pictures to avoid copyright issues. Was it not enough to satisfy the needs of a fan like you?"
Kang Kiyeon could not say a single word in response. Everything Kim Iwol said was painfully true.
Instead of arguing, Kang Kiyeon put a piece of tteokbokki, the main dish of this collaboration-less collaboration cafe, into his mouth. It was warm. The chicken was crispy too.
It was clear they had prepared it to be ready just as he arrived at the dorm. Once the guest of honor picked up his fork, the other members finally started to eat as well.
These are people who rarely ever eat late-night snacks.
Kang Kiyeon was not oblivious to the sincerity of them laying out the exact food he was craving, especially when he was so hungry and tired. It was a calculated kindness, down to the last detail.
This was Kim Iwol's specialty, his way of cheering someone on.
"I'm really touched…"
Kang Kiyeon forced the corners of his mouth up into a smile. Beside him, Lee Cheonghyeon was struggling to hold back a burst of laughter.
When Kiyeon told him to just laugh, a puff of air escaped Lee Cheonghyeon's lips.
"The hyungs felt sorry for you, thinking you've probably never been to an offline event. As your friend, I had no choice but to cooperate."
"An idol who goes to manga events would have been a fresh concept."
While having their late meal, spArk shared the behind-the-scenes story of preparing the cafe. The most surprising part was that Kim Iwol himself had made the ambiguously low-quality menu.
"It seems there aren't many cases where they focus on the visuals for the menu."
Kim Iwol showed them the reference images he had used. The only design element was a colorful border. The layout, with just the menu item name written under a picture of the food, was identical to the menu 'made by Kim Iwol'.
The only difference was that Kim Iwol's creation had no price information. However… with drink prices that would make you doubt your eyes, it was a hundred times better not to have them listed.
"Seongbin and Cheonghyeon chose the menu…" Park Joowoo added shyly.
The two of them, who knew Kang Kiyeon's tastes well, had put their heads together. No wonder the food was so detailed.
The tteokbokki, which was more sweet than spicy, and the fried chicken that could be dipped in either seasoning sauce or salt, were all exactly to Kang Kiyeon's preference.
"No wonder. I was surprised the rice cakes were actual rice cakes."
In spArk, there was one useless member who would argue that konjac tteokbokki was pretty much the same as regular tteokbokki. Another was an idol of madness who insisted you should only eat tteokbokki once a year if you did not want to show a bloated face to the fans, and yet another was the pinnacle of purity who claimed that just dipping things in the sauce was enough to enjoy tteokbokki.
The diet dominated by those two was healthy and simple. He could feel the sincerity of the hyung and friend who had overcome their influence.
Choi Jeho, who said he had gone to pick up the food himself because he was worried it would get cold if they had it delivered, chose to eat instead of joining the conversation. He devoured the food like someone who had been dragged along to a collaboration cafe by a friend only to engage in a food fight.
"This is delicious. I've seen things like this… on the internet, but I've never actually been to one."
He added the last part on purpose. He wanted to give a reaction that repaid their sincerity. As Kang Kiyeon reached for more tteokbokki, his eyes met Kim Iwol's.
Kim Iwol grinned. His face showed that he understood the youngest's desire to make his hyungs proud. There was no winning against him.
"Eat up. We have a long way to go."
Kim Iwol encouraged him, scooping some gnocchi onto a new plate.
"Huh?"
A long way to go? It is almost midnight.
Kang Kiyeon looked bewildered.
"Are we going to an outside gym instead of the community one?"
After such a luxurious special meal, he had expected they would go to the residents-only gym in their apartment building. Their old dorm did not have one, so they used to go for group runs along the Han River, but now they could just go down to the common area to use the fitness facilities.
I guess the apartment's own facilities aren't enough to burn off such a high-calorie meal…
Kang Kiyeon, who had been managing his physique since his youth, was no different. However, looking at the arms of Kim Iwol and Choi Jeho, who seemed like they had never slacked off a day in their lives, the possibility of such a plan seemed high.
Besides, on second thought, unlike the private gyms that celebrities usually go to, the public gym would probably be closed by now.
"Then we should probably get going. If we leave now, we can get at least an hour of exercise in."
"Huh? Where are you going? Today was your last broadcast. You'll get hurt if you work out without resting after running so hard."
"You said we have a long way to go. Is there something to do besides working out?"
"Of course. If you were just going to get up after eating, you could go to any cafe. Why would you specifically go to a collaboration cafe?"
"I didn't go to a collaboration cafe, the collaboration cafe came to me!"
What do people usually do at collaboration cafes? Kang Kiyeon quickly opened the information folder in his mind. It was not an official event, so there was no point in taking proof shots.
They were not online acquaintances he rarely met, so there was no need to ask for life updates… As was typical for a reader who had quietly enjoyed his hobby alone with his manga, Kang Kiyeon had no idea what else he was supposed to do at an offline event.
"Are we… decorating photocards?"
That was the only thing he could think of. The fluorescent lights reflected off the glossy photocard he had received from Lee Cheonghyeon.
Unfortunately, this was also the wrong answer.
"We already did a 'decorating photocards' segment for our own content before, and people usually bring their pre-decorated photocards to cafes anyway. Instead, I've prepared a segment more fitting for a collaboration cafe."
"What kind of segment…?"
"At a collaboration cafe, you're supposed to have a 'fan talk,' right?"
Kim Iwol's dark eyes gleamed, blacker than usual. As if it had all been pre-arranged, while Choi Jeho and Jeong Seongbin cleared the table, Park Joowoo and Lee Cheonghyeon started bringing out manga from their rooms.
The books were stacked neatly on the table, which had been wiped clean with a kitchen spray, leaving not a trace of grease.
"Bring it on. I, who have read every volume of 「Kingdom Cafeteria ~Another~」, will be your opponent."
The main event for Part 2 was the '2nd spArk Cup Kingdom Cafeteria Another Debate Tournament'. Kang Kiyeon was dumbfounded by the unimaginable segment.
However, he was not given a chance to ask, 'Why are you going this far?' The whiteboard that Choi Jeho rolled in from the living room was covered with printed and pasted debate topics.
[Was Mariba a necessary character in the story?] [Is Uron a villain or a hero?] [Was the contrasting character design of Princess Soda and Uron effective in enhancing the work's quality?] [Does Menol qualify as a secondary male lead?] [If Blanche could/could not become the main male lead, what are the reasons?]
For a true fan, energy springs from places you did not know you had. Kang Kiyeon, who had just returned from his tense solo promotions, was no exception.
The love for one's favorite work was enough to ignite a passion that made one forget the weariness from exhaustion and a full stomach.
For Kang Kiyeon, who never had a 'Kingdom Cafeteria Another' mate, this stage set for an all-out manga discussion was a pure endorphin rush. The debate floor ignited in an instant, like a match dropped on gasoline.
"Mariba was originally supposed to be a minor character who made a brief appearance and then left, right? But he proved to be quite popular in a fan poll, so his role was extended and a narrative was added for him. The author's original plan probably didn't include a significant role or weight for Mariba, so can we really call him an essential character?"
"We need to distinguish between looking at it with outside context and looking only at the original work. Without Mariba, Princess Soda wouldn't have been able to show the narrative of her checking the Dennoban through a trade agreement with an allied nation. When you consider only the original work, the existence of Mariba, who was friendly to the princess and wanted to weaken the Qucoveo Kingdom's power, was essential."
"The narrative of the oppressed rising up against the establishment and overthrowing power has been a formula for a long time. If this work had been from ten or twenty years ago, Uron might have been the protagonist."
"I agree that Uron could have been the protagonist, but I don't think he's a Cinderella-type character representing the common class. The Leaf Tea Continent was a greater power than the Fruit Soda Continent in terms of landmass and history. Unlike Princess Soda, who was constantly worried about the limited resources of the Cream Kingdom, trade wasn't a matter of national destiny for Uron and the Leaf Tea Continent. So how can you say Uron was in a more disadvantaged position than Soda?"
"This is something Choi Jeho asked before, but does Menol, who falls for Uron despite having a perfectly good fiancé, even deserve to live?"
"I don't think so."
"Did I really put it that harshly?"
"Wasn't the topic 'Does he qualify as a secondary male lead'…?"
The discussion was so high-class that even the members who were wandering around getting ready for bed could not resist chiming in. As the night deepened, so did the debate.
The number of empty 500ml water bottles, opened to quench their thirsty throats, grew one by one.
The heated battle ended in great success. According to Lee Cheonghyeon's later recollection, the debaters' mouths and minds worked so tirelessly that it felt like they were burning off all the calories without even needing to exercise.