Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols - Chapter 169



Only Noblemtl

| Episode 169. Field work (3)

Jeong Seong-bin narrowly passed the cut line. Choi Je-ho’s octopus was half unripe, but he passed the test with a good amount of food.

And I, who recalled my memories from my active days and put on a hellish show of digging… … .

“Eighteen, nineteen… … . Twenty!”

“No, Mr. Lee Wol needs to change jobs?”

… … I was advised to change jobs. The captain’s eyes sparkled. I’ll consider it when I retire.

“What is the penalty?”

Choi Je-ho asked while sweeping up the octopuses spread out on the deck.

Seeing that kid cleaning up on his own without being asked, no matter how I look at it, he definitely wants to make octopus stew with the octopus that he can’t sell.

While I was watching Choi Je-ho’s dark tricks, the PD pointed to a black mid-sized car parked in the parking lot.

“There’s a place called Muan, about 40 minutes by car from here. There’s a tidal flat there too.”

“Are you going to go catch some octopuses again… …?”

“Hey, it’s no fun if you only catch the same things.”

The PD burst into laughter and waved his hand at Park Joo-woo.

I don’t know what the similarities are. Even though we caught the same octopus, Choi Je-ho’s octopus only had four legs.

“There is something special about that tidal flat.”

“no way…….”

Jeong Seong-bin flinched. It seemed that one of the ‘101 Creatures Living in the Tidal Flats’ that had been excitedly discussed in the car on the way to Mokpo came to mind.

Sad premonitions were never wrong.

“Yes, you can catch the clams!”

“Wow… … !”

Lee Cheong-hyeon and Kang Ki-yeon’s cheers were empty. Both of their faces were ashen.

So Spark’s first caught octopus and six sea-scented idols returned to land.

* * *

In order to carry out the penalty, we had to wait until the tide in the tidal flats receded once again.

Even considering the additional filming time taken upon reaching land and the travel time to Muan, this meant that there would be a gap of about 4 hours.

Thanks to ‘Do.Life’ lending us a container that the workers use to rest, we were able to get some sleep until the tide came.

‘There are underage celebrities, so they must not be allowed to film for long hours since they are forced to work night shifts.’

Perhaps to ensure the right to rest, there were no cameras installed inside the container. Thanks to this, the Spark guys were able to relieve the fatigue from the all-night filming.

Starting with Park Joo-woo, who fell asleep as soon as he touched his head on the floor, the guys huddled together and fell asleep.

As I found the remaining empty space and lay down, covered myself with the flower-patterned blanket, I was reminded of the time when I went to the countryside to take pictures.

But the hazy recollection only lasts for a moment.

The power of the hot floor was strong. Thanks to that, I became one with the floor and fell into a morning sleep that I never expected.

It wasn’t long before I opened my eyes. The outside of the container was a bit noisy.

As I opened the door and went out, the camera directors were taking out the equipment they had put away.

“Lee Wol-ah, why are you up so early?”

A writer who was passing by spoke to me. I didn’t bother to explain that I woke up because of the noise, because it would have been rude to others.

“Are the kids leaving soon?”

“Not right away, but in about 10 minutes? The staff will come wake you up.”

I looked back at the production crew who were preparing, and at the guys behind me who I couldn’t tell were either sleeping or passed out.

Although their legs were 2 meters long, they were still high school students. It must have been hard labor to have to travel all night from Seoul to Jeonnam and then spend hours digging in the mud flats on a boat without even a moment to catch their breath.

You’re saying that we have to put those kids on boats and send them out to the mud flats. Until each person can catch 100 clams.

I had no choice. If I just let this go, I would become an uneducated adult who grew up without a conscience and without even the slightest moral education.

“Author, would it be okay for us to do something like the Black Knight…?”

“Why? You should go to Yiwol?”

“Yes, I want to put the kids to sleep. They are all still growing.”

The author seemed moved by our friendship(?) and readily gave his permission.

There are three children who have to go to punishment. I can take care of one instead.

That means… … .

“Choi Je-ho, wake up.”

“……why?”

“Let’s go dig for clams.”

… … This guy has to go with us so that we can at least save the two youngest ones.

Choi Je-ho got up with a deep frown. Then he rubbed his face with both hands as if he was washing it.

“Instead of the kids?”

“uh.”

“under…….”

The guy lowered his head and let out a deep sigh.

Then he staggered to his feet and picked up the jacket he had left on the floor.

Yeah, what can we do about the fact that we’re the adults in this team? Let’s think of it as an effort to create a mature society.

While Choi Je-ho and I were exchanging detailed plans, Park Joo-woo also got up.

That guy has to go anyway, but if Choi Je-ho and I negotiate to catch 150 clams each, he might be able to rest.

“Ju-woo, do you want to go dig for clams?”

“… … Brothers, are you going to the store?”

“Yeah. I think Kiyeon and Cheonghyeon need to get some sleep. If you’re too tired, Choi Jeho and I will go dig up 300.”

“No, I want to go too. Let’s go together.”

“Aren’t you going to ask my opinion?”

So a new three-person group was formed. One of them complained, but no one listened. And they set off on a long journey to find some clams.

After that, nothing really special happened. Maybe Park Joo-woo was particularly good at riding a boat, or Choi Je-ho shook a basket full of clams and dirt to shake off the mud, and mud and clams ended up splashing everywhere?

Still, the mission to catch the clams ended easily. When I returned, I was able to receive a tearful hug from my younger siblings who found out about the situation belatedly. It was a fulfilling shoot in many ways.

* * *

There are some schedules that are familiar, like entertainment, but there are also some that are not.

Drama reading was like that. Since I had never watched a drama before, I spent the past few days watching all kinds of famous dramas, behind-the-scenes videos, drama communities, and script books. Today was the first day I set foot on the set.

As we entered the conference room we were guided to, there were two rows of long tables facing each other, just like we had seen in the video of the reading.

The staff placed name tags at each seat.

“Mr. Lee Wol, you’re here already?”

“Hello! Fortunately, the road isn’t blocked.”

After checking the seating chart, I picked up a name tag that would fit in a certain line.

“Oh, just leave it. I’ll put it away right away. Mr. Lee Wol’s seat is… … .”

“No. Can I just leave it as is?”

“I should have done all this before the actor came, oh my… … .”

“It’s because I haven’t completely gotten rid of my idol habits yet. I’m trying to be liked wherever I go.”

As we were chatting and organizing the conference room, people started coming in one by one.

The large conference room was filled with the director, writer, and actors I had met at the audition coming in.

My role was to not stand out among these people.

Without making any NGs or making a fuss.

His first acting challenge was not smooth.

“Who gives performance evaluations like this?!”

“If you have any complaints, Mr. Gu-an can change it. He will be number one in performance.”

Even though they had received cram lessons at the academy, everyone here was a veteran who had been acting for at least several years, and as many as 10 years. Even as a non-expert like me, I could tell that their vocalizations were different.

So then, how should I blend in with these people?

There is only one answer: ‘naturalness.’

Like when I worked at Hanpyeong Industries. As if I were an object, not a person.

Like a third party beyond the partition, whose presence or absence in the organization is unknown to people.

“Isn’t the new team leader crazy? Doesn’t that violate labor laws?”

“Haven’t our company been above the law for a long time?”

Don’t think about standing out while other people are saying their lines.

I should have done that… … .

“Even so, doesn’t it seem strange to you, Young-Hwan?”

There was a problem. Ha Seo-myeong, who played the role of the female protagonist, Seon Gu-an, suddenly threw an ad-lib at me.

Everyone who was reading the script with their eyes turned their gazes toward me.

I’ve heard that Ha Seo-myeong is famous for his ad-libs, but I never thought he would do that during a script reading. And that too with an actor whose level is close to 0.

“For now, I think I know that going home on time is wrong.”

I answered with a little of the despair I felt the day Chief Nam got promoted. I felt a relief in my heart as I watched the next line being connected without a hitch.

And for the rest of the time, I prayed fervently that there wouldn’t be too many scenes where I would be stuck with Ha Seo-myeong.

Before the reading, when the cameras rolled, everyone exchanged formal greetings. They took turns saying, “I’m ○○○ from ○○○ Station. Please take care of me!” and then bowed their heads, and everyone applauded.

On the contrary, after the reading was over, the atmosphere was really one of greeting each other. There were handshakes and exchanges of names.

There was someone who reached out to me before I could even finish organizing the script. It was Ha Seo-myeong.

“Mr. Lee Wol! You surprised me a little while ago, didn’t you? I keep telling myself that I need to fix this habit, that I need to fix it, but I can’t. It’s Ha Seo-myeong!”

“No, senior! I was surprised to see you act in person. I will learn a lot!”

“Oh my, even if it’s just empty words!”

This is not an empty remark. I was really surprised. Since my heart is as small as a bean, I leave the ad-lib to the experienced seniors.

I also had a chance to talk to the writer after a long time. He said that he had reviewed my materials and made major revisions to the words in the script. Somehow, the first episode had changed quite a bit.

“Looking at it, I think Mr. Lee Wol would have done well if he had studied business administration or something!”

He didn’t spare his praise. The lectures I had heard over the past four years flashed before my eyes.

I wish filming for the drama would start soon.

And I hope that everything goes smoothly and that I receive some skill points as a reward for finishing filming 12 episodes.