Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols - Chapter 163



Only Noblemtl

| Episode 163. Men’s Daycare (3)

After that, we ran around the daycare center with the kids who were as energetic as a fully charged cell phone.

I respect the teachers at kindergartens all over the country. I don’t know how they do such hard work every day, and yet maintain such a kind and gentle attitude.

Even with just five Sparks, my patience is going up and down. I still have a long way to go before I can become a person of integrity.

Still, it was fortunate that the children had adapted to our faces. They became close enough to joke around with each other.

Some friends even bravely climbed onto Choi Je-ho’s shoulders to experience the thrill of riding on his back. Choi had to bend his knees quite a bit to avoid hitting the ceiling, but everyone managed to safely ride the 187cm tall horse.

I looked at Choi Je-ho, who had become a human stand, and the Spark guys who were surrounding him from all sides in case of an emergency, and asked Jae-yoon, who was sitting next to me.

“Jaeyoon, don’t you want to ride a horse?”

Jaeyoon shook his head excitedly. Then he sat right next to me and read a picture book that didn’t even have ten words on a page. It was a story about a cat and a child going on an adventure in an alley.

‘Are you shy?’

It didn’t seem like that was the case, considering that I often talked to my friends, but I decided to keep quiet because I thought it wouldn’t be pleasant when adults suddenly barged in.

As if far removed from the hustle and bustle, the sound of pages being turned could be heard.

Then the sound of paper turning stopped.

“teacher.”

Jaeyoon called me. Jaeyoon’s fingertips pointed to a spot in the picture book.

A small black cat was depicted that followed the main character on an adventure to the end of the alley.

“They look alike.”

Jaeyoon smiled brightly.

It was such a pure smile.

* * *

At first, I was worried about when this ordeal would end.

The time of separation came sooner than expected.

“Teacher, are you coming again tomorrow?”

A friend asked, holding a magic wand in one hand and a transforming car in the other.

“I have to say goodbye to teachers now.”

The children’s eyebrows began to change shape at the teacher’s words. Some even had tears in their eyes.

“Then, teacher, aren’t you coming now?”

At those words, someone started to cry loudly. Choi Je-ho picked up a child who was crying and snotting.

“Why are you crying? You said you’d dance along the next time you saw me on TV.”

Are you saying that you made such a secret pact? Choi Je-ho’s fan management is no joke. There was a reason he was the center.

As Choi Je-ho patted the child’s back a few times, the child in his arms started to cry, but soon stopped crying.

‘This is something I can’t do… … .’

Adults are used to brief encounters, but the kids must have accepted us while showing affection. I felt bad. I think I had also become affectionate.

As I was trying to get the children, who were shedding tears, down, one by one, the hem of my pants was pulled down.

Jaeyoon was looking up at me.

“Jaeyoon, it’s time to go home now. Did you have fun today?”

Jaeyoon nodded. His silence really reminded me of Park Joowoo from our house.

“I’m glad you had fun.”

I smiled as brightly as I could and buttoned up Jaeyoon’s coat. Then Jaeyoon handed me something.

It was a neatly folded piece of colored paper.

“It’s a cat.”

Jaeyoon whispered in my ear.

Then, he held his guardian’s hand, said ‘hello’ in a small voice, and left the daycare center.

I looked at Jaeyoon’s back as he left, once, and then at the colored paper neatly placed on my palm.

If I hadn’t heard its identity, I would never have been able to recognize the black cat, but I kept seeing it.

Since I started doing this, I feel like I’m just receiving.

So I keep worrying about how I can repay all these affections.

* * *

On the way back, I took time to reflect on the happy times I had spent with the cute children.

“How come all your shoes are so small? Have you seen them lined up in the shoe rack?”

The roots of your bangs, Lee Cheong-hyeon, are more aligned than those shoes.

“I really thought you were a toy. You look so pretty. We just walk around in trash cans.”

“Did you really wear slippers today?”

When I turned my head, Lee Cheong-hyeon, who was sitting behind me, shrank his feet. Luckily, the guy was wearing bright navy Converse shoes.

“Why are you looking at me so scary!”

“I’m worried that you might forget your duties as an idol and commit the atrocity of coming to the scene wearing slippers.”

“Anyway, before we left the shop, we all stood in front of a full-length mirror and checked ourselves.”

“There is always something called an emergency.”

I turned my head forward again and made eye contact with Choi Je-ho through the rearview mirror.

Yeah, I can’t leave that guy out either.

“Choi Je-ho, you did a great job today.”

“what?”

“Well done. It was unexpected.”

Choi Je-ho frowned. Why doesn’t that guy’s expression brighten even when you praise him?

“Try putting it on from above and below. Don’t you get used to it?”

The atmosphere suddenly became tense with the casual remark. No, is it true that my family history has become something that cannot be mentioned?

While Choi Je-ho and I, who suddenly became mood-smashers, were rolling our eyes, Lee Cheong-hyeon came in at a good time to strike.

“Brother, I’m also second.”

A guy with a kind face and brains. If the world were to end tomorrow, I would place you on the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. Your face would remain on the satellite.

“Brother Jeho, are you close with your younger sibling?”

Kang Ki-yeon asked. It seemed like he couldn’t imagine it at all.

“Just ordinary.”

“Hey, you seem used to seeing kids like that. You were a very skilled assistant!”

Lee Cheong-hyeon continued to hit MSG without stopping. Kang Ki-yeon nodded quietly in agreement without saying anything to stop him.

“It’s because Choi Mi-ho throws a tantrum when she doesn’t like something. I don’t like hearing that, so I ask if she wants to come… … .”

“Brother, is that the case with your younger sibling too? Jeong Seong-jun too… … .”

And then suddenly Jeong Seong-bin joined in. Jeong Seong-bin started revealing stories about Jeong Seong-jun as if he was holding something back. It was as if he was thinking, “Is this the K-brothers?”

“But Seongjun hyung and Miho are kind. The people in my house… … Oh my.”

“Have you seen Choi Mi-ho?”

“Yeah. Chanyoung asked me to interpret for you because you didn’t speak for three weeks before.”

Did that happen to you? That new X was really hopeless.

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Why, why? There must have been something wrong with Kang-Gyeon.”

“Why are you bringing up old stories?”

“That’s right. Something I don’t even remember well.”

Choi Je-ho and Kang Ki-yeon grumbled at the same time. At times like this, there’s no way they can get along so well.

“But I also understand how Jeho and Seongbin feel. I also have a younger brother named Kiyeon who doesn’t listen to me and throws tantrums.”

“Why am I your little brother?”

“Have you forgotten that our birthdays are almost 11 months apart? I mean, I’m closer to Joo-woo hyung than you are.”

Lee Cheong-hyeon laughed heartily.

“Oh my, our Giyeon! Say ‘hyung’! Okay!”

“When our team has palm tree time, I’ll take care of you first.”

The scary remarks started to come out. Jeong Seong-bin had a hard time cleaning it up, telling them to stop and get along well.

Meanwhile, I made eye contact with Park Joo-woo, who was sitting in the passenger seat. The guy who had been looking at the back with interest smiled brightly when our eyes met.

* * *

Even though I gave it my all at daycare, I still had to practice.

Jeong Seong-bin’s expression, “Everyone took a nap at daycare, so you still have some energy left?” reminded me of the teaching assistant I saw in the military.

Only Lee Cheong-hyeon and I got a bad feeling because we didn’t take a nap. Thanks to that, I rolled around until the sky was blue. I need to quickly put on some muscle. I need to cut down on PT or something.

Even after exercising like that, most of the members were completely exhausted. All the way back to the dorm, they kept saying, “It was a long day.”

Without needing to say anything, the people who were ready to shower went into the bathroom first, and as soon as they got out of the shower, they dried their hair, finished their skin care routine, and then collapsed on the bed.

When I was the last one to wash up and come out, the room was as quiet as a mouse. I couldn’t even hear anyone making the bedding.

‘I guess I’m tired.’

There were plenty of events to come. Spark’s schedule was packed for the next three months.

Since I didn’t know when I would be able to sleep well again if not now, I turned off the lights in the kitchen and living room for those who forgot to turn off the lights, turned on Choi Je-ho’s mood light, and then went into the room.

As I lay down on the bed, I heard deep breathing above and beside me. It was such a peaceful feeling that I thought I would fall asleep at any moment.

But I couldn’t sleep like this. My day wasn’t over yet.

I called up a system that had been sitting idle for a long time.

+

[SYSTEM] ‘Task’ has been completed.

▷ Reward: Memory Data (1)

+

My eyes were bright. When the surroundings are this dark, shouldn’t the brightness be adjusted to dark mode? It’s making my eyesight worse. It seems like an outdated system.

‘More than that, it’s a memory… … .’

I tried to imagine what kind of memories the system would give me. I knew that the system wasn’t all that malicious, but its creed that as long as I was alive, nothing else mattered seemed to have changed.

‘Since it’s compensation, shouldn’t it be related to KPI?’

The current KPI is #1 on music shows. If it doesn’t go against my expectations, this KPI could be resolved in the near future. So, I wish you could give me some more macro information.

It would be nice if it was directly related to my sister, but I don’t expect things to work out that way. I don’t know how many KPIs are left.

There was also a possibility that the system was screwing me over. That’s why they decided to hack the data while everyone was asleep.

‘Or what kind of medicine Lee Cheong-hyeon is taking, or whether Choi Je-ho’s father has had any trouble in the past, or what the condition of Jeong Seong-bin’s throat is… ‘

There was so much to learn at every step. Next time, I’ll have to ask them to sell my memory data as a package.

‘But how do I use this?’

I looked at the ‘Memory Data (1)’ shining brightly and asked myself a question.

Then, all of a sudden, my vision went dark. I felt like I was floating, and my body’s senses became blurred.