Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Becoming a manager for the group he was slowly growing to despise was not exactly the path Kim Iwol had foreseen for himself. It felt as though one moment he had been working long hours editing fan content for Manager Nam’s daughter with no breaks and constant scorn thrown his way, until to, in the next blink, be handed a position caring for that same idol group his former manager’s daughter adored.

UA, for all intents and purposes, seemed like a nice enough company. Their hours were more fairly set, and while the wage wasn’t high, it wasn’t necessarily that much worse than he had had at his previous job. The CEO, who had met with him, had been surprisingly kind, and almost every other employee he was introduced to smiled.

The whole situation was so bizarre, if his sister hadn’t insisted on it, Iwol wouldn’t have even considered taking it.

Getting an email back after his 72-hour sleep deprived message to UA for making his job harder and offering better options for their content had been shocking, to say the least. Who knew how many emails an entertainment company got? Iwol hadn’t been expecting anyone to even look at what he had sent, much less respond to it. But they had. And, even more baffling, they had invited him to meet with the CEO and their creative team to share his ideas.

Apparently they had been so impressed by his suggestions that they wanted to speak with him more about them.

Iwol didn’t know what to make of that. His time swimming amongst fan communities while fan-girling (?) for his manager’s daughter had led him to have a good understanding of what fans were looking for. Never in his life would he have expected that to lead to him being offered a job with UA.

The meeting itself, which Iwol had essentially been forced into by his sister when he had called her for advice over this extremely puzzling situation, had been just as strange. Everyone had sat around the table listening intently to the powerpoint Iwol had thrown together for them with his ideas. There had been no yelling, no one threw anything, and no one had even insulted or belittled his work.

Clearly, UA was a very different company from most.

In fact, they had all been watching his presentation with rapt attention and interest. When he had finished and broke for questions, they had even praised him and given him a job offer on the spot.

Apparently, there were no current positions on the planning team open as they had just recently hired a new PD, but spArk was in need of a new manager as their work increased, and he could additionally help give ideas sometimes when he had time. How his presentation led to that, he didn’t quite know. Still, when he saw the conditions for the job, he had asked for a few days to mull it over and then immediately contacted his elder sister once again.

She had, of course, jumped on it instantly. Previously she had said that she thought that he and spArk could get along in another life, and now used this chance to say it might be fate. She encouraged him to take it so heavily, Iwol found himself unable to say anything back, and ultimately agreed. 

He wouldn’t lie, sending the resignation letter he had kept in his desk to the others in HR had felt liberating–in that tiny part of him that wasn’t overtaken by shame and frustration that he wasn’t able to hold out longer. 

Leaving Hanpyeong Industries for the last time had felt odd. It was freeing knowing he would never have to sit with his desk by the bathroom to watch for employees skipping out on work while he almost passed out from the heat and Manager Nam yelled at him for taking medicine, but he also felt a sense of…emptiness. 

Everything he had worked for up until this point had just ended in an instant. Going to university for a degree related to business, working hard to get a position at the company, and even enduring all he had for years with his fellow coworkers ultimately leading up to him simply walking out one day felt wrong. Like he had wasted all of his time and efforts up to this point. Like he had suffered through years of the company for nothing in the end. 

He had always imagined himself simply staying at Hanpyeong Industries forever. Sure, he had daydreamed about quitting or about another company trying to recruit him, but he had never truly considered either scenario happening in reality.

You had to work to live. That was the rule of society. While he may not have made a lot of money, he had had enough to get his own apartment and put food on the table. There had never been any fallback for him to rely on if he wanted to quit and switch jobs without already having one lined up, so he had endured as best as he could and kept going, even when he didn’t think he could do it anymore.

If his sister hadn’t been so insistent on him quitting and taking this offer, Iwol would never have done it. For some reason, she had seemed almost desperate in her words, encouraging him with such strong force behind her voice that he hadn’t even thought about saying no.

That was how he had ended up here: Outside of UA, dressed in a suit for his first day.

To be honest, he wasn’t entirely sure what the dress code was for an idol manager. He didn’t exactly have a wide array of clothing in his closet either way, so he had simply gone for the safe route of wearing a business suit like he would have at any other job. 

The group’s current main manager, Manager Chanyoung as he had been told to address him, had been who he was directed to meet when he had walked inside the building. 

“...Hello, you’re Kim Iwol, the new manager, correct?” the man greeted him with a smile after a strange but brief moment of surprise, gesturing for Iwol to sit on the other side opposite from him in the meeting room. It was a fairly small room, with a table and two chairs across from each other. 

Giving a nod and a quick low bow, he took the offered seat and responded, “Yes, it’s nice to meet you, Manager Chanyoung,” making sure to reply as respectfully as possible. Even if the other man seemed nice, he didn’t want to cause any possible grudges early on. While he still wasn’t entirely sure why Manager Nam had hated him to such a degree at Hanpyeong Industries, he would do his best not to repeat what had happened there here. 

Luckily, it seemed to work, as the older male kept his friendly demeanor as he continued to speak, “Today I’m going to walk you through what you need to do to help take care of the kids. They may seem a little rough at times, but they’re a good group. I heard you’re around the same age as them, isn’t that right?” 

In fact, Iwol was the same age as the oldest member, Choi Jeho, only a few months older. Keeping his posture straight, Iwol nodded once more and repeated aloud: “Yes, I’m the same age as member Choi Jeho,” the member he could barely stand to even think about. Manager Nam’s daughter’s favorite.

“You should get along well with them then,” Manager Chanyoung smiled. There were a few papers in front of him, which he began to shuffle through now, “Since it’s your first day, I thought we could start off with going over the members and their likes and dislikes first. I recommend keeping a planner on you to write down any information you would need to remember, and keeping it for their daily schedules as well. Your main job would be helping them get to places, though sometimes they might need drinks or other things, too,” he explained, pulling out one particular page in the bunch.

“I’ve written down some things I learned from information available online, but if you would be willing to look over it and let me know if anything is incorrect or needs to be added, I would appreciate it,” Iwol said, pulling out the small planner he had kept on him specifically for keeping up with spArk. He had done quite a lot of research into the group in the three years they had been active so far, but it was harder than not to find information on them with how taciturn they could be. Besides, he didn’t want to act like he knew everything already or be haughty, but he also did want to show he was somewhat prepared for the position. 

Manager Chanyoung looked surprised, but not in an unpleasant way, and replied, “Oh, really? Well then, I’d be happy to look it over for you.” 

Internally letting out a sigh of relief that his gamble had worked, Iwol held out his planner for the other man while trying to remain calm. He still didn’t know the temperament of his new superior, so he had to try things like this to figure out the baseline for what was seen as an undermining of authority by a junior and what was seen as being a proactive employee.

Silence reigned in the room as the manager flipped through the pages of the well-worn planner. Iwol could feel the tension rising within him, but did his best to keep his body from showing it outwardly. 

After a few moments, the older man had finished and turned his attention back to Iwol, “I can see you really did a lot of research, unless you were already a fan…?” 

Iwol knew the planner and pages were worn enough to know it wasn’t a new book he was using. That said, he didn’t want the manager to think he was an obsessive fan stalking spArk or something of the like, so quickly explained, “Ah, my previous boss’ daughter was a fan. He would often ask me to look things up about the group and help organize fan events on her behalf, so I know some information, but I’m not an idol fan myself.”

Adult idol fans didn’t exactly have the best reputation. While idol fans in general were usually thought of in a similar way to those with other niche fandom interests, idol fans were different in how they could become obsessed with real life people. There had been famous cases in the past of certain fans over-spending money, causing excessive waste, and harassing idols. He didn’t want to be mistaken for someone like that, even if he were working for a related company now.

In truth, aside from being forced to look into spArk for Manager Nam’s daughter, Iwol had never had much interest in idols. He had listened to live music performances at universities when he was younger sometimes, but that was for the music itself and less for the performers. That was also part of why he had joined the music club at his school and learned to play the bass, his one hobby he hadn’t had much time to practice with since he had first joined his previous company.

Should he have mentioned he knew some things about music? It didn’t seem entirely relevant to his position, but given they were also having him do production work on the side, maybe it would be something to bring up later.

Manager Changyoung seemed a bit surprised by his response, but ultimately nodded in understanding, “...I see. Still, everything seems accurate as far as I can tell. Since you already know everything I had planned to share with you, I can go introduce you to the kids while I tell you their schedule for the upcoming week,” pushing aside most of the papers he had brought and standing up.

Iwol moved to follow the man as he got up, the pair walking out through the building to the car while the elder explained, “The dorm isn’t far from our building, I’ll take you there and you can copy down the address. This week’s schedule is fairly light since it’s the period between comebacks, so it should help you ease into things. The kids mostly have practice this week, which they come to our building’s basement to do every day, and then the only things we have are a commercial shoot for Lee Cheonghyeon on Wednesday and a dance show appearance on Thursday with Choi Jeho and Kang Kiyeon. Unofficially, Park Joowoo might ask you to take him to a record store sometime, and I know Jeong Seongbin was thinking about visiting his home on Friday.”

SpArk was a group that couldn’t be called totally unknown, but they weren’t exactly popular either. Their debut had been a complete failure, and subsequent comebacks hadn’t shown anything impressive either. What was saving them more than anything were the impressive looks each of the members sported, summed up in the fan nickname: “Five Dukes of the North” that they had.

Iwol hadn’t found any of their songs or music videos particularly impressive himself. He could understand why fans had lamented so much at each out of date and cringey concept UA seemed to come up with, and the complete lack of interesting personal content or variety show appearances certainly didn’t help.

But spArk had somehow kept afloat. The members weren’t untalented or anything of the sort, they just didn’t have good songs going for them and seemed somehow uncomfortable around the camera, even after all of these years. In fact, that was part of what had frustrated Iwol so much. He could tell each of them had genuine talent and skill in singing and dancing, yet for some reason, whether due to UA or by decision of the members themselves, they seemed unable or unwilling to actually show those abilities in their performances. 

That was part of why Iwol had been so shocked and confused by the invitation to become a manager for the group. For a lower-to-mid-tier group that had sparse schedules, was it really necessary to have a second manager? He wondered if the members might actually have even more difficult to handle personalities behind the scenes than it appeared, and that that was really why he had been hired. Would the cost to pay for a new manager really balance against the profit margins made by a group that didn’t sell particularly well? 

Well, if he could manage to make it through every day under Manager Nam and the others in Hanpyeong Industries, he could deal with a group of idols younger than him who might have a complex about their positions. He would bet his 1,127 days of working at Hanpyeong Industries on it. 

Now that he had quit his job, Iwol had gone from having no backup plan for Hanpyeong Industries to having no backup plan for UA. He needed this job to succeed, or at least to do well for long enough to find a new job to have lined up for after he got fired. If nothing else, he had already become a master at interviews, having sat on the interviewer side for so long. He would have to find some place to hire him first, though, which was easier said than done in the current job market.

Holding back a sigh, Iwol thought about having to dive back into the demoralizing grind of job hunting. 

In the meantime, he would have to do his best to make sure spArk succeeded as much as possible. If spArk did well, UA would have more money and be less incentivized to cut corners, where they would have likely started with him. Maybe if he were lucky, he could even get a raise one day. For now, he would have to try to help the group improve their comebacks, both as their manager and as someone who was unofficially part of the planning and creative teams.

There would never again be a horrible futuristic robo-setting with cringey outfits. No more out of date concepts that fans could barely stomach only thanks to the cooling balm that was the averaged five billion won faces the members had.

Of course, he wouldn’t have that much power in the planning process, but he hoped that if he could provide nudges here and there with fan data and presentations on trends to back up his opinions, things could turn out a bit better for the group.

Tuning back into the conversation, now having sat in the passenger side seat of the van, Iwol listened as Manager Chanyoung spoke, “We’ll send you the new schedule information every Sunday evening so you’re prepared for the week. I recommend keeping it in your calendar on your phone so you can reference it even when you’re out driving them or picking something up for the kids. It’s honestly mostly a lot of driving, and I’ll always be here as a backup if anything happens,” reassurance clear in his tone.

It was a good thing Iwol had gotten his driver’s license just in case back when he had first finished his military service. 

“I often kept my phone calendar while working at my old position, so I have some experience with using it. Even if something is scheduled last minute, it’s not a problem,” Iwol explained, thinking back to his previous schedule. Every day he would look at his scheduled days that started from five in the morning and ended anywhere from one to four in the morning while feeling a deep sense of dread. At one point, he could barely even stand to look at his phone for fear of seeing a new call or message from Manager Nam for something he wanted him to add at the last minute to his calendar. 

Before long, the pair had made it to what was clearly a dorm building close to UA. It wouldn’t be a long drive to take the members to and from practice daily, it seemed.

After the car had been parked, the men both got out and made their way towards the building. Manager Chanyoung started up the conversation again as they walked, “I think you’ll get along with the group, they’re good kids. Some of them can be on the quieter side, but they’re well-behaved,” he said, sounding like he was trying to prepare Iwol for what he was about to be met with.

Iwol couldn’t say he was exactly excited to meet spArk. He didn’t necessarily have positive feelings towards them after everything he had experienced, but he also knew it was technically not their fault and he had no real reason to think negatively of them before even meeting them. Still, somehow, he felt some trepidation walking up to the front door of the building.

“Kids, it’s me!” Manager Chanyoung called out and knocked on the door, giving Iwol another smile, “They should all be here right now, it’s their last full day off after their most recent comeback,” he said, “Oh, and like I said earlier, I’ll email you the addresses to the places you need to go when I send the schedule to you later, including this one.”

Before Iwol could even so much as nod, they both heard the door give a quiet click, opening to show a friendly-looking brown-haired man on the other side.

“Manager Chanyoung, it’s good to see you,” the person, who was undoubtedly identifiable as Jeong Seongbin to anyone who had studied spArk as extensively as Iwol had (unwillingly) done, greeted them. The younger man’s eyes seemed to take a moment to find Iwol, a brief look of surprise crossing them before he offered a similar smile and said, “Ah, it’s nice to meet you…?” he trailed off, clearly confused who Iwol was.

Had UA not informed spArk that they were getting another new manager?

“This is the new manager I had mentioned to you before, he’ll be starting on Monday, so I thought I should introduce you all to him now,” Manager Chanyoung said.

Jeong Seongbin looked startled at the information, perhaps having completely forgotten about the news, “Oh..! Then, would you like to come in and meet everyone? We’re all here right now, I was just looking over some things when I heard the door. I’m spArk’s leader, Jeon Seongbin, I hope we can work well together in the future,” he explained, introducing himself and giving a greeting once more, although this one more of a genuine statement of hello rather than an invitation for introduction.

“I am Kim Iwol, it’s nice to meet you as well,” Iwol greeted, giving a deep bow. If he wanted to stay here long enough, he had to make a good impression not just on his fellow staff members, but also on the idols he would be managing as well. 

“Ah, you don’t have to bow, you look older than me. Please, come in,” the leader of spArk seemed somewhat unsure of how to react to Iwol’s actions, quickly leading them inside and shuffling them towards the dining area. 

Both Iwol and Manager Chanyoung took a seat at the table, with Jeong Seongbin excusing himself to go collect the other members.

While they waited, Iwol took the time to look around the dorm, curious about what it was like. SpArk was not a group that made a lot of personal content, so fans had quite literally no information about the room assignments, decorations, or living habits that the members had. He had read many forum users complaining about how little they knew about their favorites, trying to guess who could room well with whom and so on.

He would have to find some way to suggest to UA that the group start making some self-produced content. Not something that revealed their exact location or gave away too much about them, but at least videos that shared a typical amount of information to placate fans’ curiosity. 

At the least, the dorm didn’t look too messy. He wouldn’t call it necessarily spotless, but there was no dust and no clothing or trash sitting out. The sink had a few plates in it, but with five young men living together, that wasn’t wholly unusual. Still, it wasn’t something to show on video. He’d have to clean a bit before they could do that, then. Hopefully they all knew how to do their own laundry, at least. 

The other members slowly trickled in, with Jeong Seongbin shepherding them towards the table. Who could only be Lee Cheonghyeon bounded in first, looking all too interested in who was waiting in the room. After him came Park Joowoo, who had a bit of an odd air about him, then Kang Kiyeon, and finally Choi Jeho. Each was someone Iwol had seen in countless photos for hours at a time. To be honest, there was something discombobulating about seeing them in real life instead of from behind a screen.

They say the camera can’t do even the most aesthetically pleasing idol justice, and that seemed to be proven true with the idols sitting here. Lee Cheongheyon, who was already known as having a face akin to a flower, looked like he was made up of pure gold bars in person. If he had to put a value to it, maybe somewhere around 166,067 won per square millimeter of his face? 

Once everyone had taken a seat, Manager Chanyoung was the one to speak up. Gesturing towards Iwol as though presenting him, the older man introduced him with: “Kids, this is your new manager who will be starting tomorrow. I thought I’d come by and let you meet him before you began working together,” showing a smile on his face.

Taking his cue, Iwol stood up and bowed just as low as he had when it was only Jeong Seongbin he was greeting. Without looking at any of them in the eye, he said, “I am Kim Iwol, please take care of me. I look forward to working together with you,” while wondering if they would prefer it if he just got down and kneeled on the floor if they really did have idol syndrome.

While he bowed, he repeated in his mind: If he wanted to stay here long enough, he had to at least get the idol group he was managing to not hate him. Showing this much respect should be enough, shouldn’t it?

“Ah, Manager Kim, there’s really no need for that, please stand up,” Jeong Seongbin waved his hands, not having been desensitized enough yet from only experiencing this once before.

“Yes, then,” Iwol stood back up, returning to his seat.

One by one the members went around introducing themselves, although Iwol already knew who each of them was without it needing to be said. The way they said their own names said a lot about their personalities, however. It seemed as though who they were in front of the camera and off wasn’t as different as he had predicted, which, in its own way, wasn’t too much of a surprise.

Lee Cheonghyeon, who seemed the most excited by his presence, raised his hand high, as though he were in class trying to ask a question. Practically jumping out of his seat, the man asked, “I have a question! How old are you, Manager Kim? You look like you’re around our age,” somehow, the prospect seemed to interest him.

Iwol wasn’t entirely sure why his age mattered that much, but he replied easily enough, “I’m twenty-four this year.”

“I knew it!” the younger man exclaimed, “You’re the same age as Jeho-hyung, then!” for whatever reason, the confirmation made the idol even more excited.

Iwol sent a quick look towards Choi Jeho, the man in question looking back at him with an unreadable expression. He didn’t really want to be compared to this jerk, to be honest.

“A manager around our age, huh…” Kang Kiyeon mumbled to himself, not realizing he hadn’t said it quite as quietly as he might have meant to.

Not wanting to cause them to think he was incompetent due to his age, Iwol was quick to respond, “Although I’m young, I have worked in previous positions involving management and organization in the past. I assure you, I am prepared for this role and will do my best to meet all expectations you have for this job,” keeping his speech succinct and polite. He did not want to start off on a bad foot with spArk. They had to be able to work well together, at least until Iwol could find another position somewhere.

Even if he didn’t stay that long, his sister would be happy that he at least tried, right?

With a small frown, Kang Kiyeon replied uncomfortably, “That’s not what I…”

“What did you do before this?” Park Joowoo asked, seeming both genuinely interested and wanting to change the subject all the same.

Iwol resisted the instinctive tug of a frown at the memory of his previous company. Knowing they likely wouldn’t have heard of it before, he replied simply, “I was an assistant manager in the HR department of a large company,” which should be enough for the average person to generally know what sort of job he had.

Choi Jeho, with his arms crossed, took now to ask a question: “Do you actually have a license and driving experience?” his tone enough to get Iwol’s hackles raised.

He already didn’t like the guy who was Manager Nam’s daughter’s favorite, but the way he spoke really rubbed him the wrong way. After watching spArk for long enough, Iwol generally had a sense for their personalities, even if only in front of a camera. This guy, Choi Jeho, was the type who seemed unable to speak properly even if his life depended on it.

“I do, yes. I received my license three years ago and have practiced driving others around when necessary at my old company,” he replied, barely resisting the urge to grit his teeth. Both Choi Jeho in front of him and the memories of having to drive some higher-level employees thanks to Manager Nam’s gracious volunteering of him for it late at night after they were all drunk and rowdy, chafed at his mood.

Would he really be able to work with this guy for the long-term? Maybe he really should start job hunting as soon as he got home.

“Iwol will also be helping with creative ideas and production, so he might ask you guys about your opinions on things or other related questions,” Manager Chanyoung cut in, reminding Iwol that he technically had one official and one unofficial position here.

“Really?” Lee Cheonghyeon asked, looking at Iwol with a new kind of interest in his gaze. The other members of spArk also seemed intrigued by this, likely curious about how the situation ended up being as it was.

With a nod, Manager Chanyoung explained, “Yes, actually, the CEO had originally been interested in Manager Kim’s abilities with regards to the planning team, but given we had just hired the new PD, we ultimately decided to have him work as your manager while unofficially giving some ideas and opinions in a less professional capacity on the side.”

Some members of the group seemed to want to ask more questions, but it was at that moment that Manager Chanyoung’s phone went off. Looking down at it, he silenced it and explained, “It’s about time for another meeting I have to attend. I drove Manager Kim here, so I’ll drop him off back at UA now before I have to go in. You guys can get to know each other more tomorrow, but I wanted to make sure you were at least introduced to each other first today. I’m glad everything seemed to go well,” he smiled, and Iwol had to wonder where exactly he had seen any part of this going well.

As far as he could tell, both Kang Kiyeon and Choi Jeho were less than pleased with his presence. Lee Cheonghyeon and Park Joowoo at least seemed interested, while Jeong Seongbin simply wanted to work well together.

It wasn’t the worst first impression with the group, certainly not as he had imagined it to be, but it definitely wasn’t something he would label as having gone well. Still, if Manager Chanyoung was pleased, who was Iwol to contradict him?

The two bid farewell to the idols, with Iwol once again bowing before making his way back to the car. He could swear that Lee Cheonghyeon had been staring at him until the door closed behind his back, but he didn’t look back to confirm it. Whatever the reason why the younger man seemed to fixate on him, it wasn’t something Iwol could parse at the moment.

The trip back to UA was thankfully short, and Manager Chanyoung appeared to have decided to keep quiet to allow Iwol some time to mull over the meeting. He was grateful for the chance to think, although he still wasn’t sure what to make of spArk or how exactly he was going to deal with the members that seemed to dislike him. Choi Jeho especially was a challenge, a man who Iwol himself had less than pleasant feelings for.

After a brief farewell to Manager Chanyoung, Iwol made his way back to his apartment. It was dark by the time he returned, but he had no appetite for dinner. Deciding it was fine to skip a meal if he couldn’t stomach the idea of it as it would be more of a waste than anything if he forced himself to eat at times like these, Iwol laid down on his bed and looked up at the ceiling. He hadn’t returned home so early with nothing to do in what felt like decades, even if, in truth, he hadn’t worked at Hanpyeong Industries for even five years.

Staring blankly at the white walls of his apartment, Iwol could only wonder how he had ended up here. To be frank, he had expected to simply work at Hanpyeong Industries until he died one day. There had been no concept in his mind prior to this that he could possibly quit one day. It just hadn’t seemed possible in his life story, no matter how he thought about it.

Yet somehow, against all odds, here he was. An idol manager. For spArk, of all groups. 

If it hadn’t been for his sister, he wouldn’t have even considered this…

Chapter Text

Im Chanyoung sat back up in his chair and stretched his arm, feeling his muscles get some much needed movement after sitting in the office for the past few hours. He had been working to put together the kids’ schedules for as far ahead as he could for the new hire, and had finally managed to send out the promised email to Kim Iwol.

The younger man had made a good impression on him. He was clearly driven to do his job well, and while he hadn’t gotten to look into the new manager’s background in detail like the HR team had, just from talking with him, he could tell Kim Iwol was the type of person who worked hard and was sincere in his efforts. Compared to what he had heard about some of the other recent employee hires, they seemed to have lucked out getting him in their division.

Min Jukyung had told him a bit about the situation that had landed their new team member on their side. Apparently he had actually originally been brought in with regards to the production side of things, but there hadn’t been any space left for him on the team. The CEO had been particularly interested in him, though, and with the other older members of the planning team also pushing for it, Kim Iwol had been offered the next first opening at the company with the option to help out on the side.

He would have to do his best to make sure the younger man didn’t get overwhelmed with technically having multiple jobs, but given that spArk was in between comebacks right now, this was a good time for Kim Iwol to become used to the situation without being overworked. 

Still, he was a bit curious.

Kim Iwol had mentioned being a member of the HR department at his previous company, so what had led to him changing his career so suddenly? Of course, he was a young man who might just not be sure what he wanted to do quite yet, but most people would typically try to solidify an early career for themselves in one area and stick to it. It was somewhat unusual, so he had some interest in hearing about what other positions the younger man had had prior to joining them. Not to mention, Kim Iwol had said something odd about having to look into idols for his boss’ daughter. Of course, if he had a particularly good relationship with his superior it was possible it was done as a willing favor, but…

Turning to the side, Im Chanyoung looked at one of the only other people still in the office with him. Whether Min Jukyung would know the information he was curious about or not, he couldn’t exactly say, but she was at least more likely to have it than him.

Deciding it wouldn’t hurt to ask, he called out, “Ms. Jukyung?”

Engrossed in her own work, it took a moment for the woman to respond. After a few seconds, she looked up with a hum, “Did you need something, Manager Chanyoung?”

Taking the chance, he replied, “I was just wondering–Do you happen to know where our new manager worked before coming here? He mentioned some things about his old company, so I was curious. I didn’t get the chance to see his resume, but I know you had talked with HR before we started onboarding,” curiosity coloring his tone.

“Hmm,” thinking for a moment, Min Jukyung responded, “If I recall correctly, I believe it was a company called Hanpyeong Industries,” recalling what she had seen on the papers that had been shared with her. Kim Iwol’s resume had been taken in more as a formality than anything, as he had already been essentially hired from the moment he had given his presentation and impressed both the CEO and the planning team. 

Happy to have gotten the answer he was looking for, Im Chanyoung gave his thanks and turned back to his computer.

Hanpyeong Industries. It wasn’t a company he could say he was familiar with either, although that wasn’t too unusual given his job was in a more specialized sector. 

Pulling up his web browser, he quickly typed the company name into Naver and read what he could find.

It seemed to be a typical corporate company that hadn’t been around for too long. Prestigious enough to have multiple SKY graduates working there, but not to the level of something that would have national recognition or the like. 

Thinking back to what Kim Iwol had alluded to about his previous boss again, Im Chanyoung was tempted to open up JobPlanet and search around for reviews from employees about the working conditions there. There were some he could probably find on Naver, too, but he had a feeling he would find more accurate ones in one place than the other.

With a quick new tab opened, the man typed in the url for the website and began his search anew.

What he found was both surprising, and confirmation of his suspicions at the same time. 

Hanpyeong Industries had one of the lowest ratings he had ever seen on JobPlanet, although he admittedly didn’t look at it often. The reviews listed commonly mentioned workplace abuse, excessive overwork, long hours of OT with no pay, and horrible managers with no respect for their employees. Specifically searching for ones related to the HR department, he found posts talking about how it was one of the worst departments to work for and how terrible the conditions were.

One had even mentioned how an anonymous co-worker they had had gotten in trouble for trying to take medicine while ill, and how this co-worker had even been yelled at previously for attempting to use a small personal hand-fan in the heat during the height of summer when the A/C wasn’t working in the office. Apparently, the manager had a strong inferiority complex towards that particular co-worker and often vented out their frustrations on them.

Whether all of the details of the post were true or not, Im Chanyoung couldn’t possibly know for sure, but it sounded nightmarish enough. Had their new employee really been working in such a company, and even further still, in such a department? No wonder he seemed so nervous and ready to prove he could do anything. He must not have been able to take working there anymore and been desperate to make a good impression here in fear of something similar happening at UA.

He didn’t want to assume anything without Kim Iwol himself saying it, but Im Chanyoung decided he would try to help the new manager find his place among them. While it wasn’t a perfect company by any means, compared to what Hanpyeong Industries seemed like, Im Chanyoung was fairly confident in saying he thought Kim Iwol would be much happier and more comfortable at this company with all of them and the kids. 

***

Waking up at four in the morning was more of a blessing than a struggle for Iwol. Given his new career, he would likely have to wake up even earlier at times depending on the schedule he was given, so in a way, his previous work schedule was helpful in his new role, too. He had been having trouble sleeping, anyways.

He had stayed up late last night inputting the schedule he had been sent into both his phone calendar and a new back-up physical planner. He still had his previous one with the information written down about spArk for reference purposes, but he had copied in the general important details about each member onto the free pages of his new one already and mostly kept the older one just in case he forgot something. In truth, a part of him wanted to throw it into a fire if possible, but that wasn’t the right move to do now with his new job.

Along with the schedule, Iwol had drawn up a meal plan for the members, and created a note on his phone with their drink preferences to keep on him at all times. He knew Park Joowoo in particular was more sensitive when it came to what he ate, so it would be important to always have a reminder on hand on what to get. 

The meal plan was more of a suggestion table than anything, although he was planning to step in and cook for them if none of them had the skills to do so. As far as he could recall from his prior research, there was no one in spArk who was especially known for being good at cooking. Iwol himself wouldn’t say he was a master, but he could make things that were at least edible if given a recipe and time. 

Today, spArk only had to be driven to and from practice officially. Unofficially, he would have to remain present until late in case they wanted to be taken anywhere for any reason. He also had been given an invitation to come meet with the planning team to formally introduce himself sometime this week, so he might do that after making sure the group was settled into their practice time.

After making sure to triple-check that he had everything prepared for today, Iwol walked out the door, trying not to feel too much trepidation about his new position.

As he made his way to UA, his thoughts could only turn once more to the unexpected twist his life had taken. The night before, he had called his sister to debrief her on his “first day” experience and his initial meeting with both his new co-worker and spArk. His sister had been happy to hear it went more-or-less well (meaning that, at the least, Manager Chanyoung hadn’t seemed to dislike him), and had encouraged Iwol to keep her updated on how his new job was going.

It was nice, in a way, to have an excuse to call her more often. Even if he felt like he was taking up too much of her free time. As a worker within modern society himself, he knew how precious and rare a commodity it was. Still, if she specifically wanted him to call her more, he would do it. 

Thinking on it again, it was unbelievable that he had gone from being forced to fangirl for this idol group in his out of office hours, to now being their new manager. It almost felt like one of those webnovels he had seen people mention about online before, where the main character has a sudden almost unbelievable surprising turn in their life that kicks off the story. Not that Iwol would consider himself the main character, but maybe he should look around for stories about idol managers later…

Arriving at the dorm after picking up the work van from the company took less time than expected, although according to what he had been told and his own prior knowledge, the members would be waking up around now. The passcode to the dorm had been included in the email Manager Chanyoung had sent him, along with an encouragement to go in to wake the kids when needed, or to freely walk in if they forgot something at home and asked him to pick it up. 

Usually Iwol would be hesitant to simply enter others’ home like this without them letting him in first, but apparently spArk themselves had approved of it. He remembered yesterday Manager Chanyoung had knocked on the door before going in rather than letting himself in like this, but that could have been more of a formality for the new hire’s eyes than anything else.

Pressing the combination for the passcode, Iwol slowly opened the door and let himself into the dorm. 

It was quiet now, despite his expectations. The living room was devoid of anyone, and when he peaked his head into the kitchen and dining area, they were similarly cleared of any and all residents.

Technically the members didn’t have to be awake for another hour or two before heading off to morning dance practice, so he wouldn’t wake them. They had all finished their schooling by now, though some attended university on and off, so no one had to be up for that either. 

Iwol once again found his eyes drawn to the small stack of plates in the sink. They seemed to be different from the ones that he had seen yesterday, but they were there all the same. Iwol himself liked to do the dishes as soon as he finished eating so nothing would stick to them or have time to attract any sort of bugs, but he knew not everyone did the same.

Still, if he had the time and was already here…

Some minutes later, Iwol’s attention on the pan in front of him was taken by the sound of footsteps coming closer to the direction his back was facing. Deeming it safe enough to move his gaze for a short period of time–the bread was almost finished being toasted anyways and was the last one he had to make–he turned to look back at the doorway to the kitchen.

Jeong Seongbin stood there with an almost blank look, like he had just woken up and was still unsure of what he was seeing was the waking world. Before Iwol could even say anything, the man seemed to come back to himself and blinked his eyes after a slight shake of his head, probably to wake himself up more, and smiled, “Manager Kim, you really don’t have to do that. I was just about to…”

Apparently, spArk’s leader was the one who made breakfast for the group in the morning. Going over the database of knowledge in his head, Iwol tried to remember if he had already known that. He didn’t think it was something that had been revealed before, but spArk had barely revealed any information about their dorm life in the first place, so that wasn’t anything shocking. It was one of the biggest complaints fans had, and something that had made him almost tear out his own hair on more than one occasion.

He would definitely be influencing that, at least. 

Making a note in his head to add that to the separate production-side notebook he had bought and started on the night before, Iwol replied, “I apologize for using your kitchen without asking. I didn’t have anything else to do while waiting for you all to wake up, and with how much time was left, you wouldn’t have been able to eat before we had to go if it was started now, so I thought I would make something for you all to reduce time. I also wrote up a meal plan and made some copies for each of you, if you want to look through them. I made it based off of your preferences and what the company has told me about your diets beforehand, but please let me know if there’s anything I need to change,” keeping his tone deferential. He would get this group to be ready for their next comeback starting now! It was never too early to begin preparing, and meal management was an important part of being an idol.

Not that spArk had ever had any controversies about that. It was one of the few areas they had never been criticized on, but Iwol did wonder if the more muscular members (including that jerk Choi Jeho) were properly getting the right nutrients they needed for maintaining their physiques while also sticking to their diet plans. He had brought a variety of different vitamins with him as part of his medkits, just in case.

“Ah, thank you then, and I’ll be sure to give the copies to the members when they wake up,” Jeong Seongbin replied in a friendly manner, picking up the papers on the table. 

Pleased that both the fact he had cooked without permission and the plan he had made had been accepted without any pushback or drama, half of which he had been expecting, Iwol let himself partially relax his tense posture. Then again, Jeong Seongbin was one of the members who didn’t seem to have much of a problem with him. The real test would come when one of the others saw it. 

Iwol wasn’t sure how they would respond, he could only hope that it wouldn’t lead to any trouble. He was more than willing to compromise on things if possible, but he also wanted to make sure spArk did well so UA could flourish as well. 

Turning back to the stove, Iwol finished up toasting the bread he had been working on and slipped it onto one of the empty plates on the counter beside him. Each of the five had a piece of toasted bread, with some having egg on the side, while others had different accompaniments. 

Iwol had done his best to guess what the members would prefer based on what he knew, but there was still a chance he had messed up somehow and would have to face the indignation of a spArk member. Still, somehow, despite his mixed feelings towards them that seemed returned in same, dealing with that sounded better than having to listen to Manager Nam again.

With his back once more to the door, Iwol didn’t notice the other members coming up behind Jeong Seongbin until he had turned back around with two of the plates in hand. Stopping in place at five pairs of eyes suddenly staring back at him, Iwol spoke somewhat awkwardly, “...Good morning.”

Lee Cheonghyeon was, perhaps unsurprisingly, the one to break the silence. With a bright smile, he pushed himself forward through the group and replied, “Good morning! Did you make all of this for us?” looking excited by the prospect of food.

The older man, who had been about to put the plates down at the table before realizing he didn’t know who usually sat where, responded with a nod, “I did. I apologize for not asking for permission first. It’s important for you to eat well while still sticking to your diet. I made a tentative meal plan that Jeong Seongbin has for you. If you have anything you want to change on it, let me know,” wondering how he should go about asking where to put what plate.

Somehow, the young idol seemed to know what he wanted to ask about without him actually having to say it, and sat down in his own seat while saying: “Guys, Manager-hyung made breakfast for us! Sit down!” urging the rest of the members to take a seat as well. 

Manager-hyung?

The address felt too familiar for someone he had just met yesterday for the first time for only a brief period, but Iwol did often hear idols refer to their managers like that. There was also the fact that Lee Cheonghyeon was the most personable and outgoing of the members of spArk as well.

Deciding to just let it slide, Iwol took the chance to put the designated plates he had crafted in front of each person as they slowly made their way to the table. 

Once everyone had a plate in front of them, he turned back around to start washing some of the dishes he had used to make the meal. The pan needed some more time to cool down before he could wash it, but the bowls and other utensils he had used could be done while the members ate at least. 

“Wow, how did you know what everyone would want? Hyung, are you going to cook for us from now on?” Lee Cheonghyeon’s voice called out from behind him, right as Iwol had started to rinse the knives he had used. 

It hadn’t necessarily been his intention unless it was needed, but Iwol didn’t really have a problem with the idea. The opportunity would give him more of a chance to help keep the members to their diets, at least. He had a feeling Choi Jeho was an especially difficult member when it came to that.

“If you want, I don’t mind,” he replied easily, still somewhat unused to being called hyung by someone. Iwol hadn’t had anyone he would consider close to a friend since he was in school, and even then they were mostly same-age friends or people older than him he spent time with. This was really the first time he had someone he would be seeing often addressing him in such a way.

It felt somewhat unfamiliar.

“You don’t have to do the dishes, I can do them,” another voice spoke up now, easily identifiable as Kang Kiyeon. Did he not like Iwol touching their kitchenware like he lived there too? Iwol remembered Kang Kiyeon as one of the members who seemed most uncomfortable with him yesterday.

While Iwol didn’t want to have a bad relationship with one of the people he had to care for at his new job, he also had some principles. Continuing his washing, he replied, “Since I made the mess, I should be the one to clean them. You all have to finish eating and get ready so we can leave on time, too. I apologize for doing the dishes that were left in the sink earlier, though. If you don’t want me to touch them, I can leave them next time. I also don’t have to cook for you all if you don’t want it, I didn’t mean to overstep. I did my best to guess what each of you want, but you’d probably know better than me,” making sure to sound apologetic and wondering if he should bow or not given how spArk's leader seemed to dislike it when he did.

Different superiors had different preferences for apologies. Some would only feel satisfied if an employee bowed low to the floor, while others might perceive that same thing as a mockery. It was yet another part of the cruel working world adults had to learn to properly navigate to be able to survive in this modern society. 

“I-”

“No, no! It’s fine, hyung, you really did get what we each like! And compared to Jeho-hyung, you can actually make things edible!” Lee Cheonghyeon cut off whatever it was Kang Kiyeon was about to say, throwing a shot at Choi Jeho while he was at it.

Now drying the dishes he had washed, Iwol listened, but the eldest member of spArk said nothing to refute that claim. 

Lee Cheonghyeon made a few attempts at small talk from there, but breakfast finished at a rather quick and quiet pace. When he turned around to collect their plates for cleaning, the aforementioned member insisted strongly on cleaning them himself, leaving Iwol to awkwardly stand near the table while the other members loitered in the dining area.

Both Park Joowoo and Jeong Seongbin seemed like they wanted to say something, but before they could, Choi Jeho stood up and excused himself to get ready.

That seemed to be some sort of signal, with the other members giving Iwol a quick thank you and heading off to their respective rooms to change. With nothing else to do, Iwol waited with Lee Cheonghyeon, who hummed a vaguely familiar tune while happily cleaning.

If he hadn’t already somehow upset Kang Kiyeon and possibly the other members, Iwol would have insisted on the composer member not doing the dishes. His hands were like a precious jade treasure to spArk, how could he let anything possibly happen to them while he did tasks like this! But the idol had been so oddly unrelenting, Iwol had no choice but to give in rather than risk the possible emotional fallout of continuing to push. 

“By the way, hyung, you didn’t make anything for yourself?” the younger man asked, keeping his back to Iwol as he worked on the dishes.

Surprised by the sudden question, Iwol took a moment to answer, “Ah, I had something at home before I came over,” which was not entirely a lie. Millions of officeworkers across the globe relied on little more than a drink before having to come into work, and Iwol had often been in the same situation. While he didn’t drink coffee, he would sometimes have some water or non-caffeinated tea to help wake him up.

One didn’t need caffeine to wake up with a drink, even the shock of the hot or cold temperature of a beverage was enough to change someone from barely rolling out of bed to ready to open up a spreadsheet with the daily report’s numbers already on their mind. 

Before long, the dishes were done and Lee Cheonghyeon similarly made his way to his room with a thank you and a smile.

Completely alone now, and with the kitchen cleaned, Iwol walked back into the living room to wait for the members to finish getting ready. He had already memorized the short route from here to UA, so they would just have to get in the van and he would take the short trip back to the company for them to practice at.

Thankfully, he didn’t have to wait long before spArk congregated in the living room with him. After making sure all five of the members were there, Iwol led them out to the van and got into the front seat.

To his shock, the passenger side door opened and Jeong Seongbin appeared. Looking at him in surprise, Iwol wondered why the leader had chosen to sit next to him in the front rather than in the back with the rest of the members.

“We usually have someone sit up front with the manager,” Jeong Seongbin explained the unspoken question with a smile, buckling himself into the seat.

Iwol was fairly certain that wasn’t common practice among idols, but he wasn’t an expert on anyone aside from spArk, so it was hard to say. It seemed a more polite notion than he would have expected from the group, but then again, maybe Jeong Seongbin was just saying that and really just wanted to make sure that Iwol drove well enough to meet his standards.

Either way, it wasn’t Iwol’s place to deny him.

Readjusting the mirrors, he spoke to the group in the car when there was a lull in the quiet conversation going on in the back, “Today’s schedule is morning dance practice and then evening vocal practice. If there’s anywhere else you want or need to go, or anything you need me to get for you, please let me know,” keeping his voice polite.

He was technically on a probationary period right now and wanted to make sure to show he could do his job as diligently as possible. 

Once he had gotten confirmation from the members that they had heard him and assurance no one needed anything at the moment, he made the quick drive to UA, thankfully without any fanfare. Jeong Seongbin seemed happy to just sit silently in the front seat, while the other members in the back had their own conversations he could barely hear. 

After they had parked and been shuffled into the practice room, Iwol looked down at his phone again. They had told him that they didn’t need anything when he asked, but he should probably get them drinks. There was no way none of them wouldn’t be thirsty after dancing for hours on end.

If he recalled correctly, there was a convenience store not far from here that the members often frequented. 

Preferring to walk rather than drive for such a short trip, Iwol made his way over while thinking about how odd it felt to not have sat in an office yet today. It seemed almost like he was skipping work somehow, even though it was just that the type of work that he did had changed.

With his list on his phone, it didn’t take long for Iwol to find the drinks each member preferred after entering the shop. He briefly considered getting a hand towel to help cool down some of the colder drinks so that they didn’t interfere with the vocal practice the members had next, but ultimately figured that having the members press them against their skin to help with cooling down would be enough to lower the temperature to a more acceptable level while simultaneously reviving their energy.

After paying, Iwol made his way back, entering the building with a plastic bag in hand. The practice room was in the basement of UA, so he had to go through the main building to get to where spArk were staying.

As he walked through the halls, he happened to notice a man, perhaps a decade older than him, coming from the opposite way. He looked somewhat familiar for some reason, but Iwol couldn’t place his face.

Before he could think further on it, the man seemed to become aware of his presence as well.

Chapter Text

Stopping in place, the other man scrutinized his face, then opened his mouth and said, “You…”

Iwol stopped as well, unsure of whether this was someone in a higher-level position than him. It was better to be safe than sorry when it came to these kinds of things, although he did want to make sure to give the drinks to the members before they cooled down too much. Keeping his expression a friendly business-like look, as he had learned to wield every day while working at Hanpyeong Industries no matter who he was speaking to or how they insulted him, Iwol asked with a patented pleasant smile, “Yes?”

The man scanned him up and down, a half-frown on his face as he asked, “...Are you a new trainee?” sounding less than pleased at the idea.

The question was so out of nowhere Iwol didn’t know how to react for a moment. A trainee? Him? He had absolutely no idea why the other man would think that was the case. Iwol had never been particularly talented in singing or dancing, and he couldn’t recall ever having anyone comment on his looks fitting that of an idol. In fact, he worried that when he took spArk out to schedules where fans waited, they might even feel put-off having someone like him standing next to them even for a moment.

When he saw his own face in the mirror, Iwol saw a regular office worker surviving in the corporate world of Korea, not an idol. He had never even considered the idea of becoming one.

The way this person spoke was with a similar level of disdain that was commonly found in those who were at least a manager. Even the way he was looking at Iwol reminded him of how Manager Nam looked at him on his first day. Despite his best efforts to avoid something similar with those in his department, to some (?) possible success, he had to make sure to resist getting a negative reputation within the company as a whole. It was highly likely this man was someone with some power in the company, so Iwol would have to tread carefully here. He couldn’t make a mistake here and get fired before even having a new job lined up.

Putting into practice training he had cultivated at Hanpyeong Industries when meeting new higher-ups Manager Nam wanted to impress at meetings, Iwol took a step back and bowed his head low, introducing himself, “I am Kim Iwol, the new manager for spArk. It’s nice to meet you,” keeping his tone business professional. 

With these types of people, speaking in a tone that was both respectful and deferential, but not to the point of sounding overly-so that they could take it as mockery, was important. It was a lesson Iwol had learned early on, and he was confident in his ability to keep it even if he had coffee dumped on his head or the things on his desk thrown to the floor.

After waiting for a moment for a response, Iwol stood back up, making sure to keep his gaze on the other man’s face, but not look directly into his eyes. 

“Oh,” the man replied, Iwol pleased to see some of the tension in the older man’s frame loosening at his words, “A manager, huh.”

Something seemed to shift after the other person appeared to digest and accept that information. The cold expression on the man’s face changed into one more neutral. Iwol could only conclude the man also agreed it was better he wasn’t an idol trainee, although he still wasn’t certain how he had come to the conclusion Iwol might be. Not only because Iwol wasn’t idol material, but as far as he was aware, UA had no plans to make another idol group after spArk, did they? He couldn’t recall hearing anything like that so far, though it might be only something certain higher-ups were aware of.

The man looked at him for another moment, then nodded his head, and said, “You’ve got your work cut out for you. Some members of that group are…difficult,” a certain level of dislike hidden within his tone.

Was Iwol’s initial thought that spArk was a group with members who had celebrity disease correct, then? From his interactions with them so far, he didn’t see any signs of it, although he couldn’t say he knew them well yet. 

“I’ve worked with Jeong Seongbin before, he can be disrespectful and rude. You shouldn’t let him push you around just because he’s the leader,” the older male continued, what Iwol could recognize as faux-concern in his voice. 

While Iwol would appreciate advice on how to deal with spArk, it was apparent to him something else was going on here. Out of all of the members, Jeong Seongbin was perhaps the one he felt he didn’t have to worry about the most. Their interactions so far had been surprisingly polite and respectful, more so than he had guessed based on the leader’s on-screen behavior. It was Jeong Seongbin who had told him there was no need to bow, thanked him and told him he didn’t have to cook, and had even sat in the passenger seat upfront with him.

Despite their short acquaintance so far, Iwol thought the words “rude” and “disrespectful” were the furthest thing from how to describe Jeong Seongbin. Of course, he didn’t know the younger man well and had only met him twice now, so it was possible this individual who likely knew him longer would have a more accurate picture of his personality.

Still, given his experience and how this man reminded him of some people from Hanpyeong Industries he had had to pour alcohol for on more than one occasion, Iwol thought it best to tuck the warning to the back of his mental notepad rather than take it as face value.

He recognized that tone of voice, too. It sounded just like how Manager Nam would talk when Iwol came into work sick. 

Making sure not to show any of his skepticism at the advice, Iwol gave another bow and expressed his thanks. 

He waited until the other man seemed pleased enough and continued on his way, passing by Iwol without a second glance. Keeping the position, Iwol only lifted his head after he was sure he was alone in the hallway once more. He debated whether or not he should tell Jeong Seongbin about the encounter. It would be better if he had more information about other workers here, including the man he had just met, so he could make better decisions, but that was just another hardship one had to endure when still in the new employee stage.

After a moment of internal debate, he decided to at least mention meeting the man and describe him to see if any of the members could tell him who he was. All Iwol knew was that he wasn’t a manager or part of that department, which wasn’t saying much given how much larger UA was than just spArk’s dedicated team.

Feeling the bag of drinks still in hand, Iwol jolted out of his thoughts and continued on his way back down to the practice room. He couldn’t afford to let the drinks get too warm, although it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing they had cooled down a bit. He had been worried that they might be too cold even if the members used them to press against their skin to cool down, so they might even be better at this point.

The practice room looked just as he had left it not even an hour ago. Checking the time on his phone, Iwol noted there was still a while to go until dance practice ended and the members broke for lunch. Since no one had objected to his meal plan even after Jeong Seongbin had distributed them, Iwol decided he would make the salad he had researched for them while he waited.

First, though, he had to give them the drinks he bought.

Not wanting to interrupt, Iwol stood outside until the sound of the song playing stopped, then opened the door. 

Every head turned towards him when he walked in, almost making him stop in place just from having all of spArk’s eyes looking at the same moment. Doing his best to ignore the weight of their gazes, he held out the plastic bag he had been holding and explained, “I got drinks for each of you. Your name is written on yours with a sticky note. If you’d like a different drink or I made a mistake with your usual order, please let me know,” refraining from physically bowing, but hoping his tone conveyed the sentiment enough.

Having someone like Jeong Seongbin who preferred he didn’t bow, and other members like Kang Kiyeon who seemed to stare at him whenever Iwol did something for the group, made it difficult to figure out how to behave. He couldn’t appease all five of them at once no matter what he did, so he had to make concessions and compromises here and there. 

While they may not be as difficult as Manager Nam, at least with him, Iwol had known exactly how to behave to get the least amount of ire thrown his way. With five people he barely knew, it was much more difficult to judge what to do and what not to do.

He could only hope to figure it out quickly as the days passed before any of them asked for a different manager. 

“Wow, hyung, how did you know what we all like? Even Joowoo-hyung!” Lee Cheonghyeon exclaimed, looking at his own drink in surprise.

Luckily, every member seemed to find their designated drink acceptable. The one he had been most worried about, Park Joowoo, who had been described as someone with a somewhat picky taste in food, was even sipping his offering with no discernable complaints.

Iwol almost let out a sigh of relief at the hurdle he had just safely passed. He had agonized over Park Joowoo’s drink the most, trying to choose between one of the few that had been listed in his notes. After a while, he had settled on the one he thought fit best for morning practice, but he had been worried about whether or not it would be accepted. 

He wondered if he should keep a spreadsheet of which drinks Park Joowoo accepted on which days and at what times for reference material. 

“Thank you,” Jeong Seongbin said, taking his own drink with a smile. 

Seeing the leader of spArk, Iwol was immediately reminded of the strange encounter he had had on his way here. If he asked now, it might disturb practice for the rest of the day if it was something unpleasant for Jeong Seongbin, but Iwol also knew if he didn’t ask now, he might never get the chance to for the rest of the day.

“On my way here…” he started, grabbing the attention of the members, who all immediately turned to look as soon as he spoke up.

The pressure of celebrity gazes was incredible. He had to wonder if there was some sort of output versus input for how often one is subjected to many gazes versus the weight of their own. 

Continuing before he could stop himself, Iwol said, “I ran into another employee, but I didn’t get his name. He looked a bit older than me and seemed familiar with you all, especially member Jeong Seongbin,” he carefully spoke, not wanting to outright say he had been warned against Jeong Seongbin by the man, but also finding it an important detail that spArk’s leader had been singled out, “Do any of you happen to know who he is?”

The members all exchanged glances at his words, something passing between them that Iwol couldn’t read.

Surprisingly, or perhaps unsurprisingly, Jeong Seongbin was the one to speak up. With a familiar pained smile, one Iwol had seen on his own face and those of his former co-workers whenever a difficult superior entered the office again after having gone to another room, the younger man explained, “...That was probably Jang Junhoo-subaenim,” something uncomfortable in his expression.

“He’s a solo artist here. Seongbin does guide tracks for him,” Park Joowoo supplemented, evidently also familiar with this individual.

So it was another artist Iwol had run into. That could have been dangerous if he had made a wrong move, especially given he seemed to have seniority here. Jang Junhoo… Iwol tried to recall if it was a name he was familiar with, but he couldn’t say he had heard of it before. 

With his work schedule, Iwol often didn’t have time to listen to music. That wasn’t to say he never heard any songs, he at least was (unwillingly) very familiar with spArk’s music, but he didn’t think he had heard any from UA artists beyond them. He wouldn’t have wanted to after having to fangirl for them for his boss’ daughter, either, by the negative association.

“Hyung, you shouldn’t listen to anything that guy says! He’s always–” Lee Cheonghyeon started, only for Choi Jeho to cover his mouth. Iwol was surprised the dancer had actually stepped forward to take part in the conversation rather than just hanging back like he seemed to usually do. Kang Kiyeon, nearby the pair, was frowning at Choi Jeho’s actions. For the first time, Iwol felt like he could connect with the younger man on something.

Jeong Seongbin, still seeming awkward, continued, “We’re familiar with each other because of that, but…” 

Even without the leader finishing his sentence, Iwol felt like he had somewhat of an understanding of what was going on now. 

The conversation soon ended at that, with Kang Kiyeon moving to turn the music back on again. Before anyone could say anything else, Jeong Seongbin seemed to have some sort of silent agreement with their youngest member and called for everyone to start again.

Iwol watched them for a bit to make sure no one seemed to have any signs of injuries or cramps. The drinks were all finished before the hour was up, which confirmed for him that he really had chosen well. He’d have to make a note of his specific choices later, and revisit his idea of making a spreadsheet for Park Joowoo’s particular tastes.

After a few hours, when lunch was coming upon them, Iwol excused himself to go to the office kitchen. He had prepared the ingredients for the members’ lunches just in case they accepted his meal plan earlier in the day, and given they supposedly had, he got to work quickly putting together the simple salad and pre-cooked chicken breast he had seen online.

It would probably be better to actually cook the chicken breast himself next time, but today he hadn’t known whether or not it would work out, so he had brought pre-packaged ones that were vacuumed sealed. He’d have to prepare their lunches in the morning when he made breakfast before they woke up, if he really was being designated as the group’s chef now.

As he worked mixing the salad leaves with the dressing he had put together, Iwol thought back to Jeong Seongbin’s reaction to his mentioned interaction with Jang Junhoo. Given how the man had reminded Iwol of Manager Nam, and how Jeong Seongbin had given him no reason to find the accusations the man had shared along with the expression he had shown and the words the other members had said about the soloist, Iwol thought it seemed to be a case of workplace bullying. 

There wasn’t enough evidence, of course, but that was his view of the situation as an experienced human resources assistant manager in a company with at least thirteen reports of similar incidents every quarter. At Hanpyeong Industries, these were swept under the rug in cases of superiors bullying junior employees without sufficient evidence at the side of the aggrieved party, but Iwol wasn’t familiar enough with UA to discern whether or not they’d behave similarly in a situation like that.

At the least, Iwol had memorized employment laws well enough to know how much evidence was necessary and what sort of situations would cause unavoidable issues if brought up with the right people.

For now, he would have to keep an eye on Jeong Seongbin and chaperone every incident where the two would meet. If he could get enough evidence, he could help the younger man compile it all together in a report to be filed with the relevant parties.

He may not know the leader of spArk well, but there had been no reason for him to ignore a situation like this happening. 

As a former human resources team member, it was his duty to pay attention to things like that (theoretically, at least). As spArk’s manager, it was even more so his job to step in when issues arose. If the idols he was watching had trouble and wanted to leave UA due to workplace bullying, he would have to leave too. 

That wasn’t the only issue he was concerned about, either. While Jeong Seongbin’s situation involved an external party, Iwol had noticed internal friction among certain members as well. 

Choi Jeho and Kang Kiyeon had an odd tension around them throughout all of practice. Or, at least Kang Kiyeon had one with Choi Jeho, who didn’t seem to care about anything or even notice. Iwol had first noticed it when he saw the youngest member of spArk frowning at the oldest member stopping Lee Cheonghyeon from speaking, but as he watched them practice, there was an air between the two that looked to be due to something beyond that conversation.

With a sigh, Iwol began to pack each of the salads and pieces of chicken into separate containers he had received earlier.

Would spArk really survive like this long enough for him to find something? With both internal and external conflicts…

Of course, he would do his best to look into each issue and resolve them, but they really did seem like a mess of a group at times. He’d have to look into what was going on between the two members and see if he could find some way to mediate it. In his previous position he had had to mediate between employees before, but dealing with the two members who disliked him the most at the same time seemed like it would be more of a challenge than staying up all night to get tickets to spArk’s concert for Manager Nam’s daughter. 

Maybe he could get them to bond over their mutual dislike for him?

With different possible solutions and plans swirling around in his mind, Iwol finished making the members’ lunches and headed back down to practice. A quick check of his phone showed there was still a few minutes until it was time for them to stop for the morning, so he should make it in time.

***

As the next day came and passed, Iwol observed his objects of observation to the best of his abilities while evading their notice. Jeong Seongbin was the more immediate concern for him, given the seniority power Jang Junhoo held in their interactions versus Kang Kiyeon and Choi Jeho being members of the same group. 

A part of him was hoping to deal with the tension between those two before he drove them on Thursday, but he had a feeling it wouldn’t be as simple as he hoped.

Jeong Seongbin’s issue, however, revealed itself much more readily than he had expected. 

With no little trepidation, Iwol had asked Manager Chanyoung about the relationship between the leader of spArk and the solo singer when the man had come to check on them during spArk’s vocal practice. Of course, he made sure to do so outside of the earshot of the group, and had gotten a surprising response.

Apparently, the view other employees had of the two of them was that of a stern but caring senior and a well-behaved junior. Iwol, who had enough experience to know that what the popular general thought was around the office in these situations wasn’t always necessarily accurate when it wasn’t coming from the same department, had thanked the man and thought over how to further investigate himself.

As luck would have it, Manager Chanyoung happened to mention before he left that Jeong Seongbin actually had a voice track to record today. Iwol wondered why it wasn’t on the schedule that had been sent to him, but then realized the reason the man had come was to both check on them and also to take the idol with him to the recording booth.

Iwol would have offered to take Jeong Seongbin himself, but knew he was being trusted to look after the other members while Manager Chanyoung brought the group’s leader up to where he needed to go.

As Jeong Seongbin was leaving, Iwol didn’t miss how the younger man tightened his hold on his drink for a moment when being told where he was going.

Wanting to go see the situation, but also wanting to do his duty and stay with the members like he was supposed to, Iwol felt torn. If he could, he would want to convince Jeong Seongbin that keeping a running camera on him to record his interactions with Jang Junhoon was good both for evidence and for Iwol to look over for him.

His thoughts must have been obvious, as the other members of spArk seemed to wrap up their dance practice earlier than usual. Iwol wouldn’t have thought much of it aside a burning frustration with the group members cutting corners at their work when they should be practicing at least the amount scheduled to avoid being criticized and please the fans, had Lee Cheonghyeon not very obviously given him a wink and said they would be eating lunch in the cafeteria today.

Iwol almost ran after them and blocked the door at those words, but then he remembered that he had pre-packed and handed out lunches to each of them this morning. He was still worried about Choi Jeho, who had proven himself to be exactly as Iwol had expected the prior night when Iwol had made dinner and he asked for multiple portions despite it already being a fairly hardy meal, but hopefully the other members would rein him in. 

Maybe he should just have all of the members have cameras with them. It would help in situations like these where Iwol wanted to make copies of himself to follow all of them around to different places but physically couldn’t. It’d also provide valuable footage for personal content, even having them walk around and film without stopping for 847 days wouldn’t be enough to make up for the amount they had already missed out on.

Pondering on bringing up the idea when he attended his first planning team meeting, Iwol quickly made his way towards the recording booth Jeong Seongbin was supposed to be at with his phone already out. 

Although he wasn’t sure what he would see if he walked in there, Iwol knew the two singers had been left alone for a while now. Manager Chanyoung would walk Jeong Seongbin there, but he didn’t usually stay unless it was necessary, and by this time the technician would likely have already left themselves. The man had explained it himself as he was leaving, saying Iwol might have to do the same sometimes.

Walking down the hallway, Iwol’s eyes quickly turned to the room he knew to be his destination. There were a few windows one could look into while passing through the area, but he didn’t see anything from the angle he was coming from. While he would usually knock before walking into a room like this, Iwol didn’t want to alert Jang Junhoo to his presence before he entered in case anything was going on he might walk in on.

Before he opened the door, Iwol pressed the record button on his phone, placed it in his suit jacket pocket, and walked in.

As he had expected, Jang Junhoo and Jeong Seongbin were the only two in the room. He happened to come in just as Jang Junhoo was throwing a water bottle at Jeong Seongbin’s face, a clear look of disdain on his face.

A water bottle hitting an idol’s face was absolutely unacceptable. An injury to a face worth 12,228,227 won was akin to taking a golden statue and smashing it on the ground.

Before anyone could move, Iwol leaped in front of Jeong Seongbin, letting the water bottle harmlessly bounce off of his chest.

His sudden entrance seemed to shock both of the singers. Jang Junhoo stood on the other side of the confrontation with wide eyes, the anger on his face replaced with surprise. Iwol couldn’t see behind him, but he was pretty sure he heard Jeong Seongbin make a small sound as well.

“You’re…the manager?” Jang Junhoo said, regaining his stance and looking Iwol over with some level of recognition. 

Iwol gave a nod and smiled, “Yes, I’m glad you remember, Mr. Jang Junhoo. It’s time for the members to eat, so I came looking for Jeong Seongbin,” he lied, although not technically. It was indeed time for the members to eat and Jeong Seongbin should have been back by now, but Iwol hadn't come explicitly for that purpose.

“Manager Kim…” he heard Jeong Seongbin say, still not moving from in front of the younger man.

Not losing his own calm disposition, the staff member spoke, “I understand there can be frustrations with recordings, but it’s wrong to throw things at your junior. Member Jeong Seongbin is an idol, his face is important for his position.”

Jang Junhoo frowned, his gaze moving from Iwol to try and look behind him, although with Iwol’s height, there was no way he could see Jeong Seongbin at this angle. Turning his attention back to the manager, the singer threw on his own smile and explained, “It’s all a misunderstanding. Seongbin and I were just talking after we finished recording and my water bottle slipped out of my hands. We’re close and he can be difficult at times, but I would never hurt him,” he replied without even a hint of shame.

Iwol was somewhat surprised by the response himself. He had thought Jang Junhoo wouldn’t think much of him for being a new hire and just a manager, but apparently he didn’t want the staff to know about what was going on at all. 

“Is that so? Then, I hope you won’t mind if I take Jeong Seongbin to lunch with the other members now. It was nice to see you again,” Iwol replied, pretending he believed it. 

It was hard for Jang Junhoo to argue against the manager coming to take his charge to lunch, and perhaps wanting to escape the situation as well without causing Iwol any suspicion, he quickly excused himself from the room. Iwol only relaxed his stance once he was sure the older man had left, thankful that he hadn’t seemed to notice the phone recording him from Iwol’s pocket. 

Turning around as he took out the device, Iwol turned off the recording function and addressed Jeong Seongbin, “Are you alright?” he asked, putting his phone away after making sure the recording had stopped and the video was saved. It would be evidence piece number one in the locked file he had made on his desktop last night. 

Jeong Seongbin was looking at him with wide eyes, a clear worry in his own voice as he replied, “I’m fine, but more importantly, are you alright?” 

“I’m fine, he didn’t throw it that hard,” Iwol said, bending down to pick up the abandoned bottle. It was one of those reusable plastic ones, and while the throw hadn’t been gentle, it hadn’t been hard enough to cause any harm to Iwol. The fact it was mostly empty had also helped, although a bit of the water had splashed on his suit.

Luckily, Iwol had a lot of experience getting thrown drinks out of his suit. All things considered, water was the easiest of them all, which was a relief. 

“But, does he usually throw things at you?” he asked, turning the subject to the real reason he had come here. 

SpArk’s leader’s eyes traced around the room, eventually finding their way back to Iwol as he admitted, “...Not usually. Jang Junhoo-sunbaenim usually likes to stay behind after recordings to give me advice,” he explained without explaining. It was clear he felt guilty about Iwol taking the hit for him and wanted to tell some level of the truth, but he also seemed to not want to be completely open about what was going on.

Looking at Jeong Seongbin, Iwol gave a small thoughtful frown. After a moment, he pulled his phone back up and opened up the video, pressing play. 

Jeong Seongbin’s attention was drawn to it, the two of them watching the entire interaction once more clearly shown on the phone. Looking at Iwol, the younger man questioned, “You recorded it…?”

Iwol gave a nod and said, “I did. If he behaves similarly, you should too. It’d be a good idea to keep evidence of what’s going on so you can report him for workplace violence. I mentioned to you before I worked in human resources at my previous job–if you have enough evidence, you can easily make a report to the labor board even if the CEO won’t listen. I can help you put it all together too,” thinking back to all of the cases he had seen over his few long years at Hanpyeong Industries. Few ever actually went anywhere, but it had happened enough that Iwol was intimately familiar with the process. 

“I appreciate it, but Sunbaenim is just giving me advice, I don’t think there’s anything to report. Today was just an accident,” Jeong Seongbin said, looking off to the side with what was obvious to Iwol was a fake smile. He seemed to be wanting to convince himself more than Iwol.

It was an expression Iwol had often seen on employees in the past. Usually when a junior employee didn’t think there was any hope for them to get any sort of actual help, they would just give in and endure until they couldn’t anymore. 

Iwol may not like spArk as a group for what he had experienced, but he didn’t think they deserved to go through something similar. Much less Jeong Seongbin on an individual level, who had been one of the most welcoming and polite members so far.

Still, Iwol knew he couldn’t just push his own opinions and thoughts on the younger man. Instead he said simply: “If anything similar happens or if you change your mind, you can let me know.” 

It was his job as a manager to take care of the idols under him, this would definitely be something that he should pay attention to. A part of him also wanted to help because it reminded him of situations he had seen in the past, ones where he usually wasn’t in a position to do as much as he could here.

The situation seemed to wrap up with Jeong Seongbin giving a reluctant nod. Knowing better than to keep pushing, Iwol suggested they go to the cafeteria to have lunch with the other members. He still had to make sure Choi Jeho didn’t get a second lunch from what was being served, too. 

Speaking of.

As the two quietly walked towards the lunch room, Iwol broke the silence to ask, “Is there something going on between Choi Jeho and Kang Kiyeon?”

“Ah, about that,” Jeong Seongbin started, an awkward smile on his face, “The two of them had a disagreement over something recently and haven’t gotten over it yet…It’s nothing to worry about,” he said, trying to sound reassuring.

Iwol would say the awkward smile looked at least 63% better on the singer’s face than the one he had been wearing earlier during their conversation about Jang Junhoo. Not good enough to post or put on a PC, but one that could show up in the background on a variety show without any controversy. 

Still, a disagreement, huh? 

“Hopefully the two of them make up quickly then,” he said, more to himself than to Jeong Seongbin, but the younger man made a sound of agreement. 

Unfortunately for Iwol, he should have known better than to think a stubborn jerk like Choi Jeho could make up with someone on his own.