Chapter 206: Audiovisual Education
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 206: Audiovisual Education
Won Chae-hee’s long Friday shift finally came to an end.
She should have been shouting for joy, but she didn't even have the energy for that. She felt utterly haggard and worn out.
A few years ago, Won Chae-hee would have been thrilled on a Friday, promising herself a legendary weekend of fun. Now, the current Won Chae-hee just wanted to lie down and fill all forty-eight hours with nothing but sleep.
I need to get back to my fangirling, but real life keeps getting in the way... Maybe I should just quit my job.
Won Chae-hee agonized over the same thought the entire way home on the crowded subway. Once she arrived, she soaked her body in a hot shower and lay down in her tiny, cozy bed—the smallest, most comfortable place in the world—to recharge.
She hadn't been able to log into her fansite master account for days. Sure enough, as soon as she signed in, a "View More Posts" button greeted her.
She tried her best to keep up with official news as a priority. During her commute, instead of relying on the frustratingly slow subway Wi-Fi, she used her data to watch every single stage performance and self-produced content (jacon) without fail.
She had even asked a friend to help her host a streaming event and saved every single photo uploaded to Bubble Pop. It went without saying that she had a full set of every photocard.
However, she hadn't been able to touch anything beyond that. For instance, she hadn't yet caught up on Kim I-wol’s first drama, In My Office, which was currently the hottest topic among Sparklers.
Her backlogged timeline was flooded with shots of Kim I-wol’s character, Do Yeong-hwan, in a suit. Every single one was a masterpiece. He already had the perfect frame for clothes, so putting him in high-quality threads only made him look even more stunning.
But dramas had such long running times, and...
I just got home from work. I don't want to watch a story about work.
...That was the problem.
She knew the reception was great. People were buzzing about how he delivered a realistic performance as an office worker that belied his twenty-one years.
And that was exactly the issue. For Won Chae-hee, a corporate worker who had just clocked out, watching a hyper-realistic office drama felt like a form of torture.
Why did Kim I-wol have to play an office worker in an office drama, of all things? Couldn't he have just done a cameo in a sitcom? If he had, she could have finished it in one episode.
Should I watch it, or not...
After agonizing for a while, Won Chae-hee switched to her private account. Immediately, a flood of raw, unfiltered reactions poured in.
≫ Do Yeong-hwan, marry me.
Yeong-hwan, you just focus on work. I’ll handle everything else.
≫ How can you not love a black-haired younger male colleague who is blunt but competent, looks perfect in a suit, is over 180cm tall, and has wit to boot?
≫ Mr. Do Yeong-hwan drawing graphs in WebCell in real-time.gif
└ Are the keyboard shortcuts in the script too? lol He’s basically a machine.
└ The actor himself is a WebCell master... lol
└ There’s even a jacon called "I-wol’s 10-Minute WebCell Crash Course."
└ Why does an idol have content like that?
≫ I lose it every time Do Yeong-hwan appears lol.
He clearly has social skills, but you can feel that he’s someone who really doesn't fit into society.
└ He’s the talent every company wants, but he’s the one who doesn't want the company.
"Sigh..."
They say the one who loves more is the one who loses.
Won Chae-hee picked up her tablet. For the first time in a while, she opened her streaming app.
The drama was actually quite a masterpiece. It made sense why it was rumored among office workers to be the definitive drama representing junior employees.
To be honest, she didn't even notice Do Yeong-hwan when he first appeared in Episode 1. That was because Kim I-wol only showed his back.
His calm hairstyle, clearly intended to avoid standing out, and his lifeless eyes were a stark contrast to his idol persona, where he beamed brightly whenever he stood before a camera. It felt strangely unfamiliar.
Do Yeong-hwan began to slowly assert his presence from the latter half of the first episode.
There was Do Yeong-hwan, perfectly setting the table during an emergency after-work gathering following a sudden change in team leaders.
Do Yeong-hwan, handing a stapled document to a left-handed teammate with the staple on the right side; Do Yeong-hwan, whipping through WebCell charts on the screen with just a few keystrokes; Do Yeong-hwan, whose desk was so clean it seemed he had some ulterior motive; Do Yeong-hwan, making full use of dual monitors with a four-way split screen...
Do Yeong-hwan was definitely a scene-stealer. And he stole those precious scenes like a phantom thief.
The way he replaced the toner in the multifunction printer while giving advice to Seon Gu-an, who was struggling with his conflict with Team Leader Ji Seong-in, was so natural it could be seen in any real office.
It was so realistic it made her feel sick. But because it was so real, it was fascinating.
The way Seon Gu-an’s seemingly eternal competence began to slip as his romance with Ji Seong-in developed was surprisingly suspenseful.
"If I had to choose between love and work, I’d choose work."
"..."
"That’s why I can’t date you, Team Leader. I hate office romances. I can’t do it. I want to keep working at this company."
Exactly. An office romance isn't something you jump into with half-hearted resolve.
She didn't have to look far for an example. Just recently, a male employee in the department next to Won Chae-hee’s and a female employee two departments over had dated, broken up, and then quit the company one after the other.
Though they would likely end up together in the end, Won Chae-hee fully understood Seon Gu-an’s desire to avoid being swept up in rumors.
Just as the conflict reached its peak, a familiar song began to play. A well-known voice drifted softly into the background.
It was the second ending OST for In My Office, composed by Lee Cheong-hyeon and sung by Jeong Seong-bin.
I’ve already watched seven episodes?
Won Chae-hee couldn't believe her eyes. But the clock didn't lie.
As the bassline kicked in, Jeong Seong-bin sang, his voice wrapping around the sounds of rustling paper and the clacking of keyboards.
If I open this door and leave
Will you and I
Walk the same path?
Or will we turn our backs and drift apart?
Is the reason we meet and smile
Because we are happy?
Or because we want to be happy?
Even if I look forward to the morning
When I get to see you
When night falls
I feel like I’m all alone.
As the song faded, the sound of heels clicking on a hard floor echoed. Just hearing it brought to mind the corner of a gray, dim office hallway.
The screen zoomed in on the two people who had developed awkward feelings within the confines of the office.
The song is really well-made too...
Won Chae-hee clicked "Watch Next Episode" without hesitation.
After finishing the marathon, she moved on to the "In.My.Office Behind-the-Scenes Compilation" without a word. There, she watched endlessly as Kim I-wol bit onto a cable tie while diligently bundling HDMI cables, went around greeting every single staff member individually, and picked up trash even while on his way home.
About seven hours later.
≫ Just finished In.My.Office... I can’t keep this overwhelming feeling to myself, so I’m releasing some saved-up photos of I-wol. Please give lots of support and interest to Spark’s Kim I-wol and In My Office’s Do Yeong-hwan. :)
└ Fanmeeting_QuizTime_Iwol(1).png Fanmeeting_QuizTime_Iwol(2).png
Fanmeeting_QuizTime_Iwol(3).png Fanmeeting_QuizTime_Iwol_Gif.gif
└ The oldest member getting embarrassed after his contact names for the members were exposed.
└ ○○_Commute_Iwol(Greeting).png ○○_Commute_Iwol(FingerHeart).png
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.
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≫ I’m doing a giveaway of self-produced photocards for those who provide streaming proof for the In.My.Office ED, "Words Left Unsaid." (Not limited to followers / Looking for 100+ streams)
└ The lineup will be a 3-member set of I-wol, Seong-bin, and Cheong-hyeon! I plan to design the cards with images that match the drama’s vibe as much as possible. I might also distribute a small amount to acquaintances later.
Won Chae-hee shed tears of blood as she did a massive dump of her photo drive. Then, utilizing her veteran skills, she began editing screenshots of Do Yeong-hwan.
Her entire weekend was surely going to disappear, but that was fine. Moments like these were the reason Won Chae-hee was a fan.
"You want to tie the jacon content to In My Office?"
Faced with this sudden, dangerous proposal, I hurriedly checked the planning document.
My Self-PR Score was already sufficient. I’d rather lose a point of Self-PR than watch a controversy over member favoritism erupt by releasing even more Kim I-wol-centric content.
Unaware of my inner turmoil, the members of the dedicated team wore bright smiles.
"The reaction to In.My.Office among fans is really good. Since UA hasn't been able to do any major press releases or promotions for it yet, I think it would be perfect to release it right when they appear on variety shows!"
Haha, you’re trying to bury me alive, aren't you?
Since the dedicated team was formed, the workload for big tasks like comeback preparations had certainly decreased. The reason they were able to stabilize so quickly was that they only had to take things they’d already done—like planning or showcases—and tweak them in a slightly new way.
However, the idol fandom market has some very tricky aspects. Fans can easily feel fatigued by even the smallest points. In a way, it’s only natural. Fans are already passionately supporting their idols in their daily lives.
If you ignore this uniqueness and try to apply the success formulas of traditional mainstream singers, disaster strikes. Trying to capitalize on the In.My.Office hype could easily lead to a backlash.
Since the goal was to increase Spark’s recognition anyway, I was all for the members adding their two cents about the drama to increase the buzz. It would be even better if Lee Cheong-hyeon and Jeong Seong-bin shared some stories about producing the OST.
At the same time, we had to avoid focusing solely on Kim I-wol. I was already busy enough keeping these guys in check because they kept messaging fans asking if they were watching In.My.Office.
So, for the first time in a while, I asked for permission to sit in on the dedicated team’s meeting. The staff members, who had once seen me rolling on the floor in desperation, gave me the floor and told me to say whatever was on my mind.
As a result of a peaceful conversation and a healthy exchange of opinions—without me having to roll on the floor—we reached a conclusion.
"Today, Spark is! Challenging ourselves to a six-way debate!"
"Whoo!"
We decided to film a "Debate Jacon"—something that both fans who had watched the drama and those who hadn't could enjoy.
It would allow all members to pour out TMI unrelated to the drama according to their personalities, while subtly pulling debate topics from the drama to promote it without crossing the line.
I don't know if a debate will even work since they’re all so soft-hearted, though.
Normally, the fun of a debate is watching people push their opinions without yielding.
Spark, on the other hand, were the type of guys who would immediately accept the other person's opinion as soon as it made sense. To put it nicely, they were open-minded; to put it bluntly, they had no ego.
Would a debate with guys like this actually be interesting? I was worried, but for now, I decided to trust Lee Cheong-hyeon’s quick wits and Choi Je-ho’s festival of illogic.
However, my worries were misplaced.
"No, really, how can you choose work over love?"
"That’s a dangerous statement for an idol to make. You know that, right?"
"Hyung, your perspective is incredibly narrow. Do you think love only refers to dating? Aren't we active as idols because we want to spread positive effects based on our love for humanity to society?"
...I had briefly forgotten that Spark once had a "personality controversy" precisely because they were so blunt with their words.