Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols

Chapter 128: The Third Competition (1)

Compared to Choi Jeho, who was struggling with All Over, my practice life at Greenline was like paradise.

No one gave me judgmental looks for being from a different agency. Thanks to that, I could focus solely on practice.

Still, it didn’t sit right with me to just keep receiving their kindness without giving anything back, so I made an effort to uphold basic etiquette within my capabilities.

First, since the company was going out of its way to accommodate me, I made sure to express my gratitude sincerely.

Second, As much as Berion respected the opinion of an outsider like me, I treated them as colleagues.

I resolved to abide by these two principles during my time under Greenline’s care.

And keeping those two resolutions wasn’t particularly difficult.

 It was only natural for people to show appreciation for what they received and want to maintain good relationships.

‘What’s this? A heat pack?’

‘Yeah, I bought it to use at the dorm, but Heerang, was it? His knee didn’t seem to be in great condition. This one’s unopened, so if he needs it, he can use it. Our maknae said this brand is the best.’So I shared any extra items I had…

‘While choosing songs, I picked out a few that I thought would suit you guys. Do you need them?’

‘Songs that would suit us?’

‘I listed them while picking competition songs, but ultimately excluded them because they didn’t fit the overall concept. But I think they’d work well for individuals.’

I handed over songs that didn’t make the cut. It was not much of a gesture, really, since it was just work leftovers.

Oh, and I bought them a first-aid kit since they didn’t have one at their dorm.

I didn’t want to see a bunch of kids living together without basic medical supplies.

Since Berion had a foreign member, I wrote ‘headache’, ‘stomachache’, ‘cough’, and ‘chills’ in huge letters on sticky notes in English.

That was all I did—nothing extraordinary, and yet…

“Hyung, are you heading straight back to the dorm? If you have time, go see Heerang. He really wanted to say thank you in person.”

“Why not just stay for breakfast? There’s a really good gukbap restaurant in this neighborhood. Kongnamul gukbap is healthy, right?”

“Yeah, hyung, have breakfast with us. While we’re waiting for the delivery, could you teach us how you pick songs?”

Now, with the third competition round looming, these guys weren’t just getting chummy with me—they seemed determined to introduce me to the rest of the group.

Were they not tired after practicing all night? Their stamina was incredible.

And what? Eat breakfast with them?

While the gukbap was tempting, I was not shameless enough to get breakfast at another agency.

Besides, I had to go back to the dorm as soon as practice was over. The Spark members were waiting for me.

“I can teach you how I choose songs, but I’ll pass on breakfast. It’s not proper for an outsider to linger at another company. I’m sure there’ll be another chance to greet Heerang.”

I politely declined and quickly packed my bag. The three of them simultaneously looked crestfallen.

At this point, shouldn’t Greenline consider assigning an older member to Berion? The kids seemed to need a guiding hand.

Sighing, I took out three powdered sticks from the front pocket of my bag. It was unsweetened pear and bellflower root tea powder that I often made for the Spark members.

I handed the tea sticks to Moon Yeongyu and said, ‘Make a cup of this each once you get back to the dorm and go straight to sleep. The competition isn’t far off, so just hang in there a little longer’.

Moon Yeongyu looked touched by my words.

You don’t have to be so touched, Mr. Moon Yeongyu.

It’s just that our team’s center basically warned me he’d wreck the stage in the worst way possible, so I figured I needed to do my best too…

***

After all the twists and turns, the day of the third competition finally dawned.

Thanks to everyone either resting as needed or doing whatever they wanted, the Spark members looked impeccable. Except for me, of course.

‘Hyung, are the Berion sunbaenims overworking you?’

Jeong Seongbin asked seriously, noticing my dark circles. As soon as I stepped into the salon, I got thoroughly scolded.

Today, I was, for once, halfway free from the costume concept planning.

Choi Jeho and Lee Cheonghyeon would wear clothes matched to their respective units, and I’d wear the outfit coordinated with Berion.

With a lighter workload, I focused my efforts on dressing Jeong Seongbin, Park Joowoo, and Kang Kiyeon.

Beautiful seonbi-style hanbok (traditional Korean scholar attire) that matched IDC’s theme while looking stunning.

For Park Joowoo, to highlight his aloof puppy vibe, I dressed him in a light sky-blue hanbok reminiscent of a white puppy. For extra cuteness, I stamped paw-print patterns on the sleeves and coat hems.

I considered putting Jeong Seongbin in a gonryongpo[1]Gonryongpo = Gonryongpo is a general term for clothes with dragon patterns worn by monarchs. since he was our team leader, but if I did that, it would obviously lead to controversy about favoring a specific member, and I’d have to do another explanatory broadcast. So I opted for a light pink hanbok instead.

And I tried to add pink blush to emphasize his warm and gentle visual appeal, at least by Spark’s standards…

‘Hmm…’

‘Why does he look like a young noble trying rice wine for the first time and getting drunk?’

…So I returned him to his usual polished seonbi style. It was my mistake to try emphasizing a tender side with this group.

Lastly, I put Kang Kiyeon in a light yellow hanbok.

While purple would suit his image well, and he had worn a lot of dark-toned clothes so far…

Considering the demand for Kang Kiyeon’s maknae moments, I went with a special ‘Side Story: Kindergarten Class Kiyeon’ concept this time. He didn’t know this, of course.

“Hyung, don’t we need to wear a gat[2]Gat = traditional Korean hat. ?”

“Why would you wear a gat! It’ll cast shadows on your face!”

The gats would be used for shadow-enhancing season’s greetings shoots. They were absolutely not allowed for indoor filming like IDC.

Once I dressed them in pastel tones and had them sit side by side on the sofa, they looked like a stack of rainbow rice cakes—it was delightful. I also made sure to pin the Eosa Flower Badge they received from the previous competition onto their chests.

≫ A Chuseok self-content video without hanbok?

Life truly is tough

└ If we keep holding out, they’ll wear it someday

There were so many outfits Sparkler fans once fervently wished for.

Until my voluntary leave, I’d dress them up as much as possible. Hang in there, Spark, until you’ve worn everything.

While the three non-participants looked adorably dressed and ready to watch, the three competing members embodied truly distinct styles.

I was dressed like a classic adventure, in line with the main storyline of the anime about a protagonist embarking on a journey.

I had worn ties, but it was my first time wearing a scarf, so it felt unfamiliar. I asked if it looked too much like a Boy Scout, but the stylist, as always, just complimented me, saying it suited me well.

Since I was also in charge of the intro this time, I had to take care of the props too.

When I was with Spark, Jeong Seongbin usually took care of things like this. No wonder fans were so obsessed with the ‘intro fairy’.

Lee Cheonghyeon looked every bit the dark, menacing watchdog.

I didn’t know what kind of stage he had prepared with Log, but not only were his top and bottom all black, but he also had various black harnesses and leg holsters.

He even wore red colored contacts today. They should give this guy a lens commercial.

“What are you guys, assassins?”

“If this already shocks you, you’re in trouble.”

Then Cheonghyeon casually waved something in his hand.

“Is that a muzzle?”

Dangling in his hand was a leather strap muzzle, the kind you’d expect on a large dog.

“You little punk, I specifically told you not to cover your face…”

“I know, I know! I’ll take it off after the first verse!”

“If you’re going to take it off, flip it up, not down. Don’t hurt your nose.”

There goes his chances of pulling off a refreshing vibe. That bastard would probably have said yes even if I’d given him a cyborg warrior concept.

As shocking as Cheonghyeon’s look was, Choi Jeho’s was even more over the top.

His hair, styled with wax to look rebellious, was intimidating enough on its own, but he showed off his toned muscles with a deep blue cropped jacket, wearing only a see-through top underneath. Was it even appropriate to expose teenagers to such provocative visuals?

“Did you change your hair color? Did you even have time for that?”

“Spray.”

Choi Jeho’s hair shimmered with a subtle purplish-blue under the fluorescent lights.

Once he went up on the dark stage, the color would only show up when the spotlight hit him. Not a bad choice.

Looking at these two, it felt like I was the only one embodying the peaceful protagonist of a healing exploration game. Rap and dance were truly terrifying realms.

Just in case there wasn’t enough IDC action footage, we excitedly discussed as a group which unit we were looking forward to.

After about 30 minutes of chatting, the curtain rose on the third competition.

***

The first position battle started with the rap position.

Sticky and Berion’s combination was quite good.

Both groups seemed to have decided to capitalize on their strengths of brightness and cheerfulness, choosing a singing rap song that expressed a man newly in love.

Although it had a slow tempo, the back-and-forth exchanges were sharp, and the simple concept made it easy for the audience to enjoy.

The audience reaction was also positive. Thanks to their choice of a more mainstream and accessible song compared to typical hip-hop, many people in the crowd were even singing along to the rap lyrics.

‘Berion may be hit-or-miss, but their planning is undeniably solid.’

Just as Spark consistently pushed its youthful theme, Sticky’s commitment to their lovely, romantic concept also stood out for its steadfastness.

Next up were Parthe and All Over… and they were powerful.

From their visuals alone, they left a strong impression with their gothic-style outfits and intentionally heavy makeup.

But that wasn’t all. The chemistry between the members, who had been acquainted since their trainee days, was evident on stage.

Their choice of emo rap to blend Parthe’s mythical image with All Over’s dark and intense feel was also spot-on.

The previous performance was decent by IDC’s standards, but the following performance was visually and sonically much more impressive.

Well, what can you do but blame the match-up luck?

If a stage like that had been performed in the second round, both Sticky and Berion would have scored better back then.

And Parthe wasn’t going to stay at the bottom forever.

Sure enough, after placing second in the previous round, their determination was clearly visible this time.

Excellent. This was what made it enjoyable for the viewers. A successful program meant more recognition for Spark, too.

I enjoyed watching the performance, but I suddenly thought of this team’s maknae, who must be backstage right now.

‘Lee Cheonghyeon… I wonder if he’ll do well?’

1. Gonryongpo = Gonryongpo is a general term for clothes with dragon patterns worn by monarchs. 2. Gat = traditional Korean hat.