Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols
SS Chapter 97: Between Suicide and Homicide
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TL: FoodieMonster007
A single day at the 'Idol Solidarity Sports Day' yielded some sweet rewards. Choi Jeho received increased attention, Jeong Seongbin got sturdy vocal cords, Park Joowoo got expressive facial delivery, Lee Cheonghyeon got clear skin, and Kang Kiyeon received expressiveness.
As for me? My dark circles were reduced. Fuck.
The rewards for the other guys, excluding me, had no expiration date. It meant they would receive a permanent SYSTEM buff. They were all useful things, so until I checked the rewards, I felt that running my ass off had been worth it.
Then, something suddenly made me curious.
…Why did Park Joowoo get expressive facial delivery?
That was it.
Expressiveness is important for a singer. No matter how well you sing, if your stage presence is lacking, you are inevitably going to hear some criticism, but it was not like Park Joowoo was bad at facial expressions. He was never called out for it during the monthly evaluations.
In the first place, when Park Joowoo sings, people are left watching with their mouths agape. It did not seem like anyone would be nitpicking whether his sincerity was being conveyed through his clear eyes or not.
How many people would actually skip a two-second close-up of Park Joowoo?
This thought was just a brief ponderance. UA was thrown into chaos by the storm that was the new manager, Mr. Hong. With all sorts of incidents happening, I did not have time for carefree complaints like, 'Oh Lord, why did you give me porcelain-like, fair skin (temporary) and give Park Joowoo sincere, clear eyes!'
Then, though I did not want it, I found myself with time to contemplate. I ate something I should not have and got sick, so I could not even join practice and was banished to the sofa.
While spArk practiced their choreography, I lay comfortably on the sofa and just memorized song lyrics.
When the body is at ease, idle thoughts tend to multiply. My thoughts jumped to the SYSTEM's discriminatory rewards, which had been a brief hot topic not long ago.
It's not just Park Joowoo's that's a shame. Wouldn't it have been nice to give Kang Kiyeon something like 'unbreakable steel ankles'?
Thanks to me watching him like a hawk, the protection of Kang Kiyeon's ankles was still going smoothly. In other words, I could not let my guard down. In times like these, how great would it be if the SYSTEM gave him a steel ankle function? And while it was at it, it would be even better if it threw in something like a 'dark mouth shield' for Choi Jeho.
As I grumbled to myself, one side of the practice room grew noisy. I glanced at the clock. It was break time.
Park Joowoo and Lee Cheonghyeon, looking like they were about to melt, approached the sofa and plopped down at my feet.
"Why don't you sit on the sofa? I'll sit up."
Park Joowoo stopped me as I tried to sit up straight. "No, it's fine, stay lying down…"
If we used brute force, I would win, but my chest felt stiff, so I just lay back down. I wish people knew how dangerous allergies can be, enough to knock out even a healthy man in one go.
"Joowoo."
"Hmm?"
"Have you ever had a sore throat?" I asked out of concern.
Park Joowoo tilted his head, as if asking why I was suddenly asking such a thing. "Not really, other than when I've had a cold…?"
"Did the aftereffects last long?"
"No… all I had was a slight cough. I ate some steamed eggs, took some medicine, and got better."
What a warm and fluffy remedy.
Come to think of it, even when Park Joowoo got sick from strenuous practice and his voice became terribly hoarse, he recovered quickly. Although I took great care of him to make sure nothing went wrong, he healed better than the effort I put in.
Even back when he was in the five-member group, Park Joowoo never had a voice crack.
It might be partly thanks to his sensitive nature, which led him to maintain the same environment every day, but it was also true that he possessed vocal cords that anyone dreaming of becoming a singer would envy.
Anyway, if his throat was as sturdy now as it was then, I could form a hypothesis.
Does it not bother giving supplementary measures for problems that are not very dangerous or can be prepared for through management?
Pouring a SYSTEM-brand magic potion on already sturdy vocal cords would have had a negligible effect. If that were the case, he might have lost motivation, thinking, 'Park Joowoo's vocal cords are sturdy anyway, so I'll just give up on the reward.'
So maybe the system offered a benefit so tempting he could not refuse.
Because if 'Vocal Cord Nodule Prevention' popped up, you'd have no choice but to run for it.
Unlike Kang Kiyeon's chronic injury, which resulted from excessive practice, Jeong Seongbin's vocal cord nodules are an unpredictable accident that cannot be prevented. As long as you use your voice a lot, vocal cord nodules are something you might experience even with systematic vocal training.
It is a realm where you have no choice but to rely on the SYSTEM's superhuman power, so of course he was desperate.
Lee Cheonghyeon's skin is the same. Right now, under my strict management and control, Lee Cheonghyeon's skin was being maintained in a state softer and smoother than a peeled egg.
If I let my guard down for even a moment, his skin would burn right up, so it required constant attention. Besides, no matter how much effort you put in externally, you cannot create an inner glow, so the omniscient SYSTEM was absolutely necessary.
Conversely, Park Joowoo had no physical crises that would hinder his idol activities, so he ended up with something like eyes as clear as a spring. This made sense.
What a petty SYSTEM. It cannot stand to see people have it easy.
"What are you thinking so hard about?" Lee Cheonghyeon asked.
"A pleasant thought about how your skin will be as fair as jade for the rest of your life."
"Why do I, the person in question, get chills just hearing that?" The guy rubbed his arms as if he had goosebumps. Even so, his forearms were still white and smooth.
"And I was thinking it's a relief that Joowoo's vocal cords are so sturdy. Maybe all of spArk should follow Joowoo's throat care routine."
Since the topic came up, I picked up my phone to organize Park Joowoo's routine. My face reflected on the dark, unlit screen.
Instead of the fair skin I had gained from working my ass off at the sports day, all that remained was a pale face from being rushed to the hospital. It was similar to the last face I saw of myself in the memory data. As the synchronization progressed, my appearance would come to resemble the Kim Iwol who had been lying in bed.
I felt strange. Every time my heart beat, my chest felt tight, as if stress was melting into the places the caffeine had swept through.
The hospital said there was nothing wrong, so it must have been a psychological issue. I idly fiddled with Park Joowoo's hair, who was leaning against the sofa.
Since this body is already dead, you could have at least given me a permanent reward.
Maybe because I am in the process of dying, only my porcelain-like skin is temporary. Or maybe it is because if I work hard, there is a chance for improvement, even if it is not a certainty.
Well, I did not want to think too deeply about it while I was still breathing. I received the ultimate daily throat care routine from Park Joowoo and meticulously transcribed it into Notion.
"That hyung has so much energy," Lee Cheonghyeon muttered, watching Kim Iwol grab his smart pad and sit at the dining table the moment he got off work.
Within spArk, Kim Iwol had the best Earth power. His overall stamina was second only to Choi Jeho. He had suffered major injuries and had unexpected accidents, but even after taking serious damage from external factors, he recovered in no time.
Kim Iwol, who had collapsed after drinking the wrong caffeine, suffered considerable aftereffects. The test results came back normal.
However, he would occasionally press his palm against his heart as if feeling stuffy, or get dizzy. For a few days, he only ate porridge for his meals. He said he felt nauseous, and yet, when he was feeling better, he insisted on going to the practice room too.
"How about we just take him to the practice room and tell him to lie down? I'm scared he might collapse if he's alone…"
Everyone, sympathizing with Kang Kiyeon's concern, allowed Kim Iwol to join them on a conditional basis. Instead, they would only start practicing once Kim Iwol's back was on the sofa.
They tried not to make a fuss. However, their startled hearts did not calm down easily.
This was the same Kim Iwol who, even after a massive nosebleed, would be fine in an instant and practice until night, and who never once complained of pain right after injuring his head. For that same person to be so drained that he slept as if he had fainted, and to warm up more meticulously than usual, it was impossible not to be concerned.
Was even that concern a burden to him? It did not take long for Kim Iwol to shake it off and get back on his feet.
His recovery was so miraculous it was hard to believe he was someone who had collapsed from a heart problem. Immediately after, Kim Iwol returned to his daily routine of working from the moment he opened his eyes until he went to sleep.
While waiting for his turn to wash up, Lee Cheonghyeon struck up a conversation with Kim Iwol.
"Hyung, instead of making Joowoo-hyung's throat care routine a dorm rule, you should organize your own condition management routine and sell it as an online course. You'd definitely become a top instructor."
"Really? Should I pick a concept and do a live stream?"
"Why does this hyung's mind always jump to making more work whenever someone says anything? It's scary to even joke around." Lee Cheonghyeon looked appalled.
Seeing his younger brother's expression, Kim Iwol let out a small laugh.
"Isn't it great to be healthy? You can make a day feel like forty hours, practice hard, and not fall behind on work, which makes a quick comeback possible. That's why I'm always telling you to give it your all every time you go to the gym."
Kim Iwol really lived as if one day was forty hours long. His workaholism was incurable.
Like a man who did not know how to stop working, even when lying on the practice room sofa, Kim Iwol constantly held a piece of paper in his hand, checking something. For two whole years, Lee Cheonghyeon had never once seen Kim Iwol waste time.
"If you keep that up…"
The word that was supposed to follow would not leave his mouth. He felt that if he said something negative, something bad might actually happen.
At the words that were cut off and left hanging, Kim Iwol looked up. The light from the pad made him look even more grim.
Lee Cheonghyeon forced a laugh, telling himself that the reason he looked unusually lifeless was because of the stark blue light.
Kim Iwol lowered his gaze again. "As long as no one around me makes my life difficult, I live just fine."
His tone was dry and flat. As always, there was nothing wrong with Kim Iwol's words.
If it were not for Yoo Hansoo or Hong Unseop, Kim Iwol would not have been rushed to the hospital twice, and although the severity was different, he would not have had to burst with frustration trying to make a decent person out of Choi Jeho either.
However, even if the troublemakers disappeared, would Kim Iwol really be able to live just fine? If asked whether a life of working without a moment to breathe and being unable to sleep peacefully was a healthy life, Lee Cheonghyeon would answer 'no'.
Lee Cheonghyeon considered his hyung's 'condition', which never seemed to falter, to be his strong point. Kim Iwol explained that it came from 'health'.
The two words were similar but different. You might be able to appear to be in good condition even if your health is poor, but saying you are actually healthy when your condition is bad sounded awkward. It was like a shoddily wrapped gift.
Was it really others who were making Kim Iwol's life difficult? Lee Cheonghyeon thought that the one tormenting him the most might be Kim Iwol himself.
That day, too, Kim Iwol worked late as always, and was the last one in the dorm to turn off the living room light before heading to his room.