Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols

‘At this point, is the inside of my nose just torn up or something?’

 

I looked at the droplets of blood dripping from my hand onto the tip of my shoes and briefly wondered. How could I get nosebleeds this frequently?

 

I was seriously considering whether I should get electrocautery when a tissue was suddenly shoved in front of me.

 

I raised my head slightly and saw Park Joowoo’s face as pale as the tissue he was holding.

 

“Hyung, tissue…”

 

“Oh, thank you.”

 

I pinched my nose as hard as I could. Jeong Seongbin asked.

 

“Hyung, are you okay?”

 

“Yeah, I’m okay. This is nothing.”

 

Choi Jeho, pulling out tissues, muttered.

 

“This is not nothing. The floor is red.”

 

“The floor?”

 

I lowered my gaze and looked down at the floor.

 

I could just wipe it off, why make such a fuss…

 

“What the—why is the floor like this?”

 

There was a sizable bloodstain on the practice room floor.

 

I must have stepped on some blood while I was hesitating, as there were even shoe prints left in a few places.

 

“Why do you think? Take off your shoes and go sit over there, hyung!”

 

Then Lee Cheonghyeon started wiping the soles of my shoes with a wet tissue. Kang Kiyeon, who received a few wet tissues from Lee Cheonghyeon, also joined in wiping the practice room floor.

 

“Hey, it’s fine. I’ll…”

 

“Do what? You’re going to wipe the floor, hyung? While your nose is bleeding like that?”

 

Squatting down as he wiped my shoes, Kang Kiyeon gave me a side-eye.

 

Lee Cheonghyeon also added.

 

“I knew this day would come. A person can’t keep up with daily practice and work without any sleep—of course, the body’s going to give out eventually.”

 

“Is it just me, or was that sarcasm just now, Cheonghyeon?”

 

“Of course.”

 

As I exchanged words with Cheonghyeon, Park Joowoo quietly grabbed my arm. He then sat me down on the sofa and handed me a new tissue.

 

“You should head back early and rest today.”

 

Jeong Seongbin said.

 

But that wasn’t an option.

 

I needed to complete the practice hours to mark it on my job skill enhancement program!

 

I just had to hold out for the next two hours. I couldn’t let it end like this.

 

Resolving to endure the embarrassment for the sake of my goal, I said with determination,

 

“No, I’ll just plug it with tissues and keep going.”

 

“Huh?”

 

From a distance, Lee Cheonghyeon replied, sounding utterly baffled.

 

When I looked up, all five of them were staring at me.

 

“This kind of thing will stop soon. If I just block my nose…”

 

“No. No matter what, I don’t think it’s right to dance in this condition, hyung.”

 

“I agree with Seongbin. You can’t just move around…”

 

Jeong Seongbin and Park Joowoo spoke up from the left and right.

 

This is ridiculous. I am not asking for much. Just give me two hours!

 

Things were turning awkward. Scratching my head, I tried a more diplomatic approach.

 

“Okay, then how about I just go through the motions?”

 

“Do you really think practicing a couple more hours today will make a huge difference? Just head back to the dorms.”

 

Choi Jeho said as he threw the wet tissues into the trash can.

 

It does make a huge difference, you punk. How much longer do you want to be on stage with a teammate whose dance skills are still in the single digits?

 

‘He’s got nothing to lose, huh.’

 

How annoying. As if it was not bad enough that I was struggling, now he was getting in the way of my practice too.

 

I had no choice but to look at Kang Kiyeon asking for help.

 

That guy, who was obsessed with practice more than anyone else and had frequent clashes with Choi Jeho, would surely take my side…

 

“Kiyeon, what are you doing?”

 

I asked, looking at Kang Kiyeon, who was picking up my bag without even making eye contact with me.

 

Kang Kiyeon opened my bag, put my water bottle and planner in it, and answered.

 

“Packing up.”

 

“That’s my stuff, though?”

 

“Exactly, which is why I’m packing it.”

 

Once he finished, he carefully closed the clasp and handed the bag to me.

 

“Let’s go to the dorm, hyung.”

 

“What?”

 

“If you’re worried that practice won’t go well without you, then we’ll all call it a day too. Seongbin hyung, can we leave early today?”

 

Kang Kiyeon’s expression was cold.

 

No one tried to stop him. In fact, Park Joowoo and Lee Cheonghyeon hurriedly packed up their own things, as if worried that Jeong Seongbin might tell them they couldn’t leave.

 

“What are you guys doing?”

 

“What does it look like? Packing up to go home!”

 

Lee Cheonghyeon got up, slinging his own backpack onto his back while carrying mine on the front.

 

It was ridiculous. They’d all acted like they’d die if they missed even a minute of practice, so why were they suddenly doing this?

 

If a teammate was struggling, shouldn’t you at least help them reach a functional level on stage? This wasn’t the time for a misguided show of support.

 

As I sat there helplessly, the one who dealt me ​​the final blow was Choi Jeho.

 

He followed his dongsaengs who were rushing out, then stopped next to the practice room door, put his hand on the switch, and said.

 

“What are you doing? Aren’t you coming?”

 

F**k, leave me alone!

 

* * *

 

A dim room with the lights turned off.

 

The warm glow seeping in from the living room and my dongsaengs’ gentle words telling me to rest well.

 

F*ck them all. F*ck.

 

I lay under the covers, endlessly frustrated. My 20 hours of practice were about to go to waste.

 

It had been a while since I felt this intense anger.

 

My nose had been doing fine for a while, why was it suddenly acting up again?

 

‘Did my fatigue level go up again?’

 

With a hint of doubt, I turned on the system, and within the dark cocoon of my blanket, the screen lit up brightly.

 

+

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

Total fatigue: 45% (Work Support Service Activated)

 

+

 

Wait, when did it go up this much?

 

Last time I checked, it was in the 30% range, but now it had climbed up significantly.

 

‘Come to think of it, at 60% fatigue, my limbs would tremble.’

 

At least this explained why I felt so terrible.

 

But still. When I worked at the Hanpyeong Industry, no matter how many nosebleeds I had, I just stuffed cotton up my nose and got the job done.

 

As I muttered these pointless boomer values to myself, I heard someone entering the room.

 

Soon after, the lights in the living room went out with the sound of a switch being pressed.

 

“Good night, hyung!”

 

“Yeah.”

 

I could also hear Lee Cheonghyeon and Choi Jeho saying their good night.

 

Since earlier, I’d been hearing them talking about managing their stamina and getting enough sleep in the living room. 

 

It seemed they had agreed to call it an early night for once and refresh themselves by getting to bed early.

 

Refreshing was definitely a good thing, better than having a nosebleed and collapsing.

 

I could hear the sound of the blankets turning over a few times above my head and across from me, and then it became quiet. The rest of the dorm soon quieted down as well.

 

You guys are sleeping while leaving the klutz like this, seriously?

 

I was so frustrated that I couldn’t close my eyes.

 

Why on earth are they going through all this military-level discipline to become idols…

 

…Wait.

 

Now all the members were asleep.

 

Then, I could just get out without being caught, right?

 

I only had two hours left to complete today’s practice requirement.

 

Losing all my previously accumulated practice hours over this felt like such a waste.

 

If I’d been doing something else with my time, that’d be one thing. But all I did was practice, and now I had nothing to show for it? That would be infuriating.

 

I’d already had enough of that feeling back when I worked insane overtime, only to find that the company’s all-inclusive wage system didn’t compensate me for it.

 

I clenched my fists under the blanket. And I made up my mind.

 

‘Let’s go!’

 

I couldn’t set an alarm because I might wake someone up but I could just stay up and push through.

 

I’d worked too hard for these practice hours—I wasn’t about to let them go to waste because of this.

 

Hoping they’d enjoy a truly peaceful night’s sleep, I kept my eyes wide open, all senses on alert.

 

* * *

 

The Spark kids fell asleep faster than expected.

 

After about 30 minutes, there were no more sounds coming from the living room.

 

This was all thanks to all the hard work I put in. Good job, my past self.

 

“Whew…”

 

Fortunately, my nose didn’t bleed again while practicing. Yes, if you have a conscience, you should just stay like that.

 

If worse came to worst, I’d have practiced breathing through my mouth. Thankfully, it didn’t come to that.

 

Here I was, putting in so much effort, and those Spark kids wouldn’t even cooperate.

 

I almost teared up, thinking back to myself two hours ago, sneaking out with just my socks to avoid waking anyone up.

 

If they had just let me practice from the start, I wouldn’t have done something crazy like voluntarily returning to work in the middle of the night.

 

Grumbling to myself, I turned off the music. At the same time, the blank spaces for the dance (2) in the system were filled.

 

+

 

[SYSTEM] Job Skills Enhancement Program Progress

 

▷ Kim Iwol

 

Dance (1) ■■■■■□□

 

Dance (2) ■■■■■□□

 

Vocal ■■■■■□□

 

+

 

Heck yeah, another day with full attendance! 

 

If I could just hold on for two more days, I might actually level up from being a klutz…

 

“Hyung!”

 

Gah, that startled me.

 

Feeling like my heart nearly jumped out of my chest, I turned my head toward the door where the loud noise came from.

 

There stood Jeong Seongbin, drenched in sweat, flinging the door wide open.

 

* * *

 

Jeong Seongbin had mixed feelings these days.

 

The work itself was not difficult.

 

The people at the company tried to treat them well as the youngest members, and whenever there was potential trouble, the group’s eldest, Kim Iwol, would step in and smooth things over.

 

The group atmosphere was good, too.

 

There was a time when Jeong Seongbin worried about what would happen if they debuted just like this.

 

It was not that they disliked each other—though, admittedly, there might have been some friction—but they weren’t particularly close either, and every awkward moment between members left him wondering.

 

Jeong Seongbin knew that relationships between boys couldn’t improve right away, but he still hoped for it.

 

Was it because of his earnest prayers?

 

After the arrival of the eldest member, Kim Iwol, the group gradually got over the seemingly precarious conflict between them and began to develop a better dynamic.

 

So, had the team finally reached a period of stability?

 

Jeong Seongbin found it difficult to answer that question.

 

And it was all because of the very same Kim Iwol.