Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols

‘So he’s being meticulous about removing anything that could be nitpicked, huh?’ 

It was ridiculous. Then shouldn’t he just behave?

 

When I obediently held out my phone, Jang Junhoo snatched it from me.

 

‘It’s pointless anyway.’

 

I had already deleted all the photos of the break room entrance before entering the break room.

 

Those photos had served their purpose by alerting me to the situation.

 

Whether intentional or not, I had no intention of using anything potentially illegal, no matter the benefits.

 

The system’s intention seemed to align with my thinking. This notification popped up the moment I deleted all the photos.

 

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[SYSTEM] ‘Subordinate’ is exempted from penalties for complying with ‘Professional Ethics’.

 

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Unlike ‘tasks’ that rewarded you upon completion and had no penalties for failure, ‘professional ethics’ seemed to only impose penalties for non-compliance.

 

‘Basically, it means I should act properly without resorting to shortcuts.’

 

This was an unnecessary rule for someone like me, who felt guilty for not following the rules, even including Hanpyeong Industry’s absurd company policies.

 

Jang Junhoo continued to fiddle with my phone for a long time.

 

“Here, take it back.”

 

“Yes, thank you!”

 

And when nothing particular came up, he returned the phone with a dissatisfied look.

 

“But, sunbaenim.”

 

However, following rules is one thing…

 

“Did Seongbin do something to deserve a harsh scolding from you?”

 

…and pointing out mistakes is another matter.

 

What kind of grown man nearly forty years old picked on a kid barely out of their teens?

 

Jang Junhoo’s eyebrows twitched, seemingly affected by my remark.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“From what I briefly saw outside, it looked like Seongbin was being scolded by sunbaenim.”

 

“Hyung, it’s not like that…!”

 

This time, Jeong Seongbin, whose face turned pale, grabbed my arm.

 

Jang Junhoo smiled and said.

 

“You heard him. Don’t go around talking nonsense.”

 

“I think you’re the one who needs to be careful about your actions, sunbaenim.”

 

“What?”

 

What I said was that it ‘looked’ like Seongbin was being scolded.

 

If Junhoo had just said, ‘Did it look that way? It wasn’t my intention, I’ll be more careful,’ the issue would have ended there.

 

‘He’s the one who confirmed the situation by getting defensive.’

 

The speed at which he shot himself in the foot was impressive.

 

Clearly, this man wasn’t very wise.

 

Expecting decency from someone who behaved like this was laughable.

 

“If someone misunderstands your actions, it could be problematic, don’t you think?”

 

“Are you lecturing me now?”

 

“No, I was seriously considering it.”

 

I held back my laughter as I watched Junhoo try to intimidate me.

 

Did he really think he could intimidate someone trained by Manager Nam?

 

Regrettably, he was about 10 years too early.

 

“I was considering if I should stay at an agency where the seniors, who aren’t even caught scolding trainees, snatch the trainees’ phones to check them.”

 

Of course, I had no intention of leaving. If anything, if they told me to leave, I’d have to apologize for my wrongdoing.

 

‘But the current situation is entirely unfavorable for Junhoo.’

 

If I were a trainee who had been at UA for years like Seongbin, I would have no choice but to submit to Junhoo.

 

He was a senior in the industry and a colleague at the same agency.

 

The more one had to lose, the more cautious they had to be in front of those with power.

 

But I was a trainee who had just joined the agency and knew nothing.

 

I was closer to the outside world than the entertainment industry, meaning I had nothing to lose even if Junhoo exerted external pressure right now.

 

‘Unless he wants to be the subject of scandals… Like the downfall of a famous singer who tried to bury a trainee in the industry for whistleblowing their misdeeds.’

 

Whistleblower reports were always subject to constant suspicion about their intentions and evidence.

 

And I could easily prove that I was actually affiliated with UA with just one contract.

 

That was why I could act like a naive newcomer who was completely oblivious.

 

Someone who would go through a stranger’s phone and even destroy evidence probably wasn’t completely senseless.

 

Moreover, he was ten years older than me. He must have seen his fair share of dirty fights.

 

“Ha, f*ck you…”

 

Jang Joonhoo muttered, laughing bitterly.

 

He seemed to have concluded that there was nothing to gain by trying to win against me here.

 

He likely anticipated the backlash if I exposed everything just because he bullied me out of spite.

 

≫ Is it true that JJH bullied a trainee at UA?

 

└ Yeah, it’s true. The kid who exposed it provided all the proof

 

└ But calling it bullying just based on the post… I’m staying neutral for now

 

└ F**k these neutral stance people. Can’t we just split them in half and throw them to both sides? Instead of always shifting to neutral, it might be easier to split their brains in two in advance

 

≫ Who even is JJH

 

Why do people only talk about JJH?

 

└ He’s some singer who had a brief moment of fame and then faded awayㅋㅋㅋ

 

└ It’s so pathetic to harass kids who are just preparing to debut, sir ㅠㅠ

 

This would be the moderate response if I hadn’t debuted yet.

 

If I had debuted, there’d be more chatter about ‘noise marketing’ or ‘disrespecting a senior,’ but such assumptions were meaningless to Junhoo, who probably thought I could leave UA at any moment.

 

In the end, Jang Junhoo left the break room after telling me to be careful with my words.  He closed the door so hard, I wondered if the hinges had broken.

 

“Hyung… Are you okay?”

 

Jeong Seongbin, who had shrunk like a crushed can caught between me and Junhoo, asked.

 

“Why wouldn’t I be okay?”

 

“That’s a relief. …You said the manager was looking for me?”

 

“Ah. That was a lie to get into the break room.”

 

“What?”

 

“More importantly, Seongbin.”

 

“…Yes.”

 

“I think we need to talk.”

 

At my words, Seongbin hesitated before nodding.

 

It was the second group meeting after the fiery confrontation between Choi Jeho and Kang Kiyeon.

 

* * *

 

Even Jeong Seongbin himself knew he wasn’t always like this.

 

He had always been confident in his ability to work hard and never give up.

 

He believed that the time he spent putting in effort would eventually become an asset for him someday.

 

So the years of trainee life weren’t difficult at all.

 

Until he met an impossibly difficult senior.

 

‘A trainee.’

 

‘Yes, but he’s been singing for a long time and he’s really good. Even Eun acknowledged him.’

 

‘Hyung, I’m not in a position to receive guide vocals from a trainee, am I?’

 

Was it a problem that someone as inexperienced and green as him was assigned to guide someone who had already debuted?

 

Or was his skill really so lacking that it was embarrassing to show?

 

‘Hey. You recorded like this and no one in A&R had anything to say?’

 

‘I’ve listened to your guide track repeatedly. Your voice isn’t exactly mainstream. It gets tiresome after a while.’

 

‘I heard you’re going to be the main vocalist in your group? If you’re the main, your team is doomed, isn’t it?’

 

Whatever the reason was. And even before knowing what it was.

 

Seongbin had to hear criticism disguised as honest advice from Jang Junhoo every time they met in the hallways or the lobby.

 

Such words were unhelpful at all. They only left wounds on the listener.

 

To Jeong Seongbin, Jang Junhoo’s scathing remarks were no different from a dagger.

 

Unfortunately, Seongbin’s ‘respectful, humble, and self-conscious attitude towards elders’ only made him look like a ‘pushover’ to Junhoo.

 

It didn’t take long for teasing to turn into mockery, mockery to criticism, and criticism to turn into insults.

 

The low end-of-month evaluation rankings, the feedback that was disguised as praise but couldn’t hide the disappointment,

 

And most importantly, his own lack of progress over the years, all seemed to prove Jang Junhoo’s words true.

 

When it became a routine for Jang Junhoo to nitpick and criticize every aspect of his recordings, it started to feel like an established fact.

 

Jeong Seongbin began to believe he was truly incompetent.

 

‘Just keep doing what you’ve been doing, and the day will come when you’re recognized. Really.’

 

That was, until a newly arrived, indifferent colleague, who had no reason to be considerate of him, said the words he most needed to hear.

 

* * *

 

Silence fell in the practice room. Only Seongbin, with his reddened nose, occasionally let out small sighs.

 

The first emotion I felt after hearing the whole story was regret.

 

I had been happy about earning experience points for guiding Jang Junhoo’s songs, not knowing he was such a despicable human trash.

 

The next emotion was anger.

 

A few years ago, Jeong Seongbin was just a middle school student.

 

All these years, he took out his frustration for not being able to make a comeback on someone 20 years younger than him?

 

It was unacceptable and didn’t deserve any attempt at understanding.

 

At this point, all I could think of were profanities.

 

‘That ****…’

 

There were things a person should and shouldn’t do.

 

Even I, who had to work 20 hours of overtime a month because of Spark, was going through thick and thin with these kids. Who did he think he was to cause such a fuss?

 

Forget watching my words, I just wanted to say, ‘Excuse me, is Jang Junhoo here?’ and then set the place on fire while questioning his humanity.

 

Choi Jeho, who was next to me, was already cursing.

 

“F***, isn’t that guy a f***ing lunatic?”

 

“I get mad too, but let’s not swear in front of the kids.”

 

It was not Jeong Seongbin’s fault, and having the two older members rage would only make the younger ones more anxious.

 

I swallowed my anger and asked Jeong Seongbin.

 

“Seongbin, how do you want this resolved?”

 

If Jeong Seongbin wanted an apology, I was ready to publicize everything until Jang Junhoo’s face was pixelated on every news portal.  I was confident in my ability to persistently drag this out.

 

However, Jeong Seongbin seemed to want everything to be quietly buried.

 

“I… don’t want to interact with that senior any more than I already have.  Even if it’s for the sake of resolving things.”

 

“Okay. But I don’t think it’s a good idea to keep working with that person. Do you agree on this point?”

 

“…Yes.”

 

“Then let’s move in pairs of two within the company at least. Kiyeon, please keep an eye on him when he goes home.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“And if you hear any nonsense anywhere, make sure to tell at least two members. Got it?”

 

The meeting continued as we discussed ways to keep Jeong Seongbin and Jang Junhoo apart.

 

“What if they suggest another guide? I know they’ve been assigning it to trainees for convenience.” 

 

“I’ll practice until my throat bursts and then I’ll go.”

 

At Cheonghyeon’s concern, I raised my hand and volunteered.

 

I figured it was better for my throat to bleed than to send these kids into a dangerous situation.

 

After a lengthy 30-minute meeting,

 

“Lastly, Seongbin, I’d like you to do just two things.”

 

“Yes… yes.”

 

“First, never think you’re lacking.”

 

I said this while looking at Seongbin’s still youthful face, which seemed incapable of saying harsh words even if he was told to use them.

 

It was a face I rarely looked at directly, afraid my own buried sorrows might resurface.

 

“When you feel a bit better later, bring me everything that could be evidence of how that person mistreated you.”

 

That damn as*hole. Did he think he could steal away a capable new employee like this?

 

We couldn’t take revenge now because we hadn’t achieved anything yet.

 

But I’d show him how petty a working adult could be when protecting promising young sprouts.