Every Sparkler knew that Spark was a sowhat strange idol group.
On the surface, all six mbers looked more than decent; they were incredibly handso n.
However, a closer look revealed that each of them had… well… so rather peculiar traits.
Take, for example, Choi Jeho, the center and visual of Spark.
『There’s a scratch on the table, what should I do?』
『Didn’t we have a table mat? You’re supposed to use that underneath』
『I did, but it went through the mat too.』
Because of his ability to destroy sheet vinyl, table mats, and the table itself in one go, Choi Jeho was always treated like a servant.
Whenever firewood needed chopping, his teammates would tell him, ‘Choi Jeho, it’s finally your ti to shine!’ and leave him to do all the axe work on his own.
The cold, tall center with a steely impression was reduced to a bottle opener, a firewood maker, a human compressor, and so on.
And there was another mber quietly growing into Servant No. 2 beside Choi Jeho.
『Kang Kiyeon, your skills have improved a lot, haven’t they?』
『I guess it’s because there’s a lot of things I want to chop.』
『That better not include .』
Kang Kiyeon was more balanced than Choi Jeho, who had only put points into strength.
However, ard with a sharper mind, he was gradually becoming more ruthless in how he treated his teammates.
『Oh my, look at our Seongbin hyung looking so fresh!』
『Huh…?』
『He’s so cute I could die. I have to put his picture on this!』
The way his sa aged-friend Lee Cheongyeon treated his hyungs wasn’t particularly good either.
Although his affection was more apparent compared to Kang Kiyeon, Lee Cheonghyeon’s way of expressing it was—to borrow the fandom’s words—a bit twisted. In other words, not normal.
Even now, Lee Cheonghyeon was folding his fiftieth paper heart, saying he would stick them on the slogan. He even remarked that using gold paper for his dear hyung was well worth it.
Once all those hearts were attached, Jeong Seongbin’s photo would end up looking like a frilled lizard.
『Joowoo, what are you going to write?』
『…I was thinking of writing “I’ll cheer you even in my death.”』
『Hmm… Let’s try to tone down the expression a bit.』
Then, there was Park Joowoo, casually making extre statents in his usual calm voice.
Despite his generally easygoing nature, Park Joowoo had an eerie sense of fixation on certain things.
A glimpse at his all-white bedding or pristinely clean sneakers was enough to hint at his silent convictions.
『No, this isn’t the kind of slogan I wanted!』
『What kind of slogan did you want?』
『A proper slogan that asserts its presence even when captured in a group shot on cara.』
『Do those even exist?』
‘But the strangest one is still Iwol.’
Seeing him vigorously making banners, she was relieved that he seed better, but Kim Iwol still looked distressed. Just because the slogans weren’t turning out to his liking.
Spark’s official ‘skilled drill sergeant’, Kim Iwol, who was reliable in everything except dancing, had a tendency to be fanatical about all things idol-like.
In the end, after much internal struggle, Kim Iwol finally embarked on a grand operation—changing Seongbin’s na from neon pink to neon green. It was a sight that couldn’t be seen without tears.
Creating cheer props as a group of wild young n was a constant battle.
At one point, Choi Jeho accidentally cut out a vowel backward, turning Jeong Seongbin into Jang Sangbin, while Park Joowoo’s banner was filled with such… ominous energy that it had to be discarded.
Spark’s trials and errors were vividly conveyed to the viewers.
≫ Choi Jeho, the embodint of brute strength
└ A man who shatters everything with an innocent face… exhilarating.
└ The first-ever idol who looks like he wouldn’t be swayed even by a bowl of warm rice.
≫ Our baby Kiyeon, what do you want to chop so badly?
Just tell , this noona will bring it to you
└ Kiyeon, don’t worry, noonas will chop it all for you
└ We won’t let a single drop of blood stain Kiyeon’s hands
└ How romantic
≫ Cheonghyeon is even more obsessive than Sparklers
└ It’s not easy to show more love for the mbers than Lee Cheonghyeon
≫ Joowoo is kind of like that, you know
An honor student with an obsessive streak
└ This sounds like Cheonghyeon’s nonsense but the discount version
└ Even if your characterization of him doesn’t match mine, that’s just going too far. See you in court—an endless legal battle awaits
└ I apologize, but your character interpretations are way off. I’ll be watching to see how far you go
└ = aning they’ll fight to the death.
└ I ca with popcorn thinking it was a fight, but it turned out to be a wedding.
Certainly, real-ti ntions had increased significantly after IDC. Baek Haewon’s heart was filled with happiness.
Even after discarding a banner that seed to be fernted with love, the handmade vlog continued.
Spark, the professional idols, didn’t forget to fill the video with comntary while focusing on their work.
Kim Iwol said with a serious expression,
『If we take out a loan with Jeong Seongbin’s voice as collateral, we could buy a Han River view apartnt.』
『If it’s near the Han River, wouldn’t the LTV regulations kick in and we wouldn’t get much of a loan?』
『Not a mortgage loan, a Jeong Seongbin collateral loan. Then it’s possible.』
『Right.』
Lee Cheonghyeon nodded in agreent.
“What’s LTV?”
With the ntion of a word she had never heard before, Baek Haewon turned to the to SNS, the vast sea of knowledge.
≫ Right < He just said right…
└ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└ But taking out a loan with Jeong Seongbin’s voice? LTV 90% easily possible
≫ At first I thought only Kim Iwol was crazy, but turns out Lee Cheonghyeon is just as bad
If you look closely, it’s always Lee Cheonghyeon who agrees with his hyung’s strange comnts ㅋㅋㅋ
└ Their vibes kind of matchㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ When there’s weird talk and banter, it’s those two
└ Nerds
└ That’s so funny ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
└ Ah, our kids are totally saneㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
In SNS, the cold-hearted adults were laughing amongst themselves.
They were the ones who always said they left their five-year-old selves at ho because they were ten years too heavy to carry around. Baek Haewon felt deeply betrayed.
After scouring the internet, she learned that LTV was Loan-To-Value ratio related to mortgages, but Baek Haewon still felt like she didn’t fully understand her idols’ conversation.
The only conclusion she could draw was: ‘To keep up with Spark’s humor, I need to study real estate’.
Of course, that didn’t an the video was filled with only nonsense.
Even amidst the artisan spirit battle, which told viewers to compromise with reality, there was a heartwarming mont.
『Iwol hyung, do you have anything else to cut?』
Kang Kiyeon, who was focused on cutting sothing away from the cara, ca to the living room and asked.
When Kim Iwol said there wasn’t anything, Kang Kiyeon picked up a bundle of sheet vinyl and went back to the kitchen table.
『Why are you two working over there? Co here and make them.』
『We’re coming now.』
Kang Kiyeon, who had his back to the living room, answered casually.
Following that, Kang Kiyeon was briefly captured in the corner of the screen, hiding the cutter knives he and Choi Jeho were using behind the trash and going into the room.
One cara followed Kang Kiyeon inside.
Kang Kiyeon opened a small toolbox in the corner of the room.
Well-organized tools were visible beneath his sleeve.
Blades, screwdrivers, small pliers, and such.
‘Oh my, why is Kang Kiyeon so thoughtful…?’
Kim Iwol himself seed oblivious to the fact that Kang Kiyeon and Choi Jeho were purposely standing in the kitchen, only bringing him the pre-cut materials. That made it even more touching.
Only after turning the living room into a ss did Spark’s slogan-making co to an end.
『I believe our Seongbin will do well. Let’s show them the leader’s spirit!』
『I hope you get good results for all your preparation. Fighting!』
『I’m so proud that my friend is standing on such a wonderful stage. Congratulations, and I’ll cheer you on hard…!』
『Don’t do too well without . I’ll be jealous. You know I love you, right? Our hyung is the best! Do well!』
『Don’t be nervous and do well. Leader, fighting!』
The mbers’ heartwarming cheers played during the post-credit video.
Baek Haewon, for the first ti in a long ti, enjoyed a mont of returning to the world of her pseudo-family, the place that felt like ho.
* * *
Even during their off-season, idols never truly rest.
They perford at local events, made appearances on various Tube channels or variety shows, and kept up with their schedules in one way or another. The rest of the ti was spent in self-practice.
Originally, they had planned to push out a digital single around this ti, but…
‘The company will fully support you this ti! Don’t worry!’
…UA said they would take full charge of the pre-production work, so they had nothing to do. These days, all I had to do was sit in on mid-stage etings.
Of course, just because the official work disappeared didn’t an there was no work at all. There was a pile of overdue English worksheets, data backups, and missed PT sessions.
While I was organizing my tangled schedule, a mo caught my eye.
Acting Class Readjustnt Needed.
‘Right, there was this too.’
Idols in modern society had to be able to do everything. That ‘everything’ included acting.
UA spared no expense in supporting our education, including acting classes for better expressiveness. I still rembered the hell I went through being stuck between Choi Jeho, a natural genius at emotional expression, and Lee Cheonghyeon, whose learning abilities were sharper than a sponge.
‘Co to think of it, hasn’t no one in Spark actually pursued an acting career?’
Idols acting was always a hot topic. Among all the controversies that Spark had stirred up, ‘branching into acting’ was one of the few they had never touched.
If no one planned to seriously pursue acting, maybe canceling the lessons wouldn’t be a bad idea. It felt like wasting money and ti on sothing they could learn sufficiently from their dance teacher.
But little did I know, these acting classes would co back to haunt in the most unexpected way.
“A drama audition?”
The CEO and manager dropped a bombshell on , a guy whose only acting experience was drunkenly mimicking the departnt manager.
To summarize their story:
A drama was about to start production, but casting was difficult because it was written by a rookie writer. As the roles of the main and supporting actors decreased and casting was continuously delayed, the possibility of broadcasting decreased, and the production company hurriedly ramped up casting efforts. To make up for the low-profile lead, they considered casting an idol to secure at least so dedicated viewers. Due to budget constraints, they wanted an idol who would accept a low fee, but since the role had very little screen ti and paid poorly, even that was proving difficult. Amidst this, I received an audition offer, and the company asked if I would like to audition. The end.
Even after I summarized it, I still couldn’t accept it. My mind kept denying reality.
“It’s just an offer, so you don’t have to accept it. Iwol, your condition is the most important.”
Just as I was about to decline, saying, ‘Then, I’ll…,’ sothing flashed before my eyes.
No way.
No freaking way!
At this mont!?
[SYSTEM] ‘New Task’ has been assigned
▷ Participate in the drama ‘In My Office’ audition.
▷ Reward: mory Data (1 piece)
Holy sh*t!
“So? Do you need ti to think it over?”
“I’ll do it.”
The system told to. My personal condition was no longer relevant.
Furthermore, the reward was mory data. I didn’t know what format it would be in, but for , whose head was full of more holes than volcanic rock, it was a much-needed reward.
Just auditioning would be fine. Knowing the system, if it was going to give more drama-related tasks, it would have set the new task as ‘Pass the audition’ from the start.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity. I’ll do my best!”
“You don’t have to try that hard. I’ll let them know you’ll be attending the audition, then?”
With autumn, the season of change, just around the corner—
It was ti to prepare for a thrilling new job interview as an office worker.
User Comments
0 comments from readers