Chapter 90: Job Competency Improvement Program (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 90: Job Competency Improvement Program (4)
‘At this point, is the inside of my nose just torn?’
I stared at the droplets of blood falling from my hand onto the tips of my shoes and thought for a moment. Why the hell did I get nosebleeds so often?
I was seriously considering whether I needed laser cauterization when a wad of tissues was suddenly thrust in front of my face.
Lifting my head slightly, I saw Park Ju-woo, his face as pale as the tissues he held.
“Hyung, the tissues…”
“Oh, right. Thanks.”
I pinched my nose as hard as I could. Jeong Seong-bin asked me, his voice laced with concern.
“Hyung, are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. It’s nothing.”
At that, Choi Je-ho began ripping tissues out of the box with a series of loud thwips.
“How is this nothing? The floor is bright red.”
“The floor?”
I looked down.
It was just something that needed to be wiped up, so why were they making such a big deal—
“Wait, why does the floor look like this?”
The practice room floor was covered in blood.
I must have stepped in it while stumbling around, because there were even bloody footprints in a few spots.
“Why do you think? Hyung, take off your shoes and go sit over there!”
Lee Cheong-hyeon started scrubbing the soles of my shoes with wet wipes. Kang Gi-yeon took a few wipes from him and joined in on cleaning the floor.
“Hey, it’s fine. I’ll do—”
“Do what? You’re going to wipe the floor? While bleeding like that?”
Kang Gi-yeon, crouching as he wiped my shoes, shot me a sharp glare.
Lee Cheong-hyeon added his two cents.
“I knew this day would come. Do you think a human body can hold up when you spend every single day working and practicing without any sleep?”
“Cheong-hyeon, is it just my imagination, or do you sound like you’re enjoying this?”
“It’s just your imagination.”
While I traded barbs with Lee Cheong-hyeon, Park Ju-woo gently took my arm and led me away. He sat me down on the sofa and pressed fresh tissues into my hand.
“You should go back early and rest today,” Jeong Seong-bin said.
But I couldn't do that.
I had to fill the rest of my practice hours to color in the boxes for the Job Competency Improvement Program!
I only had two hours left to endure. I couldn't leave like this.
Deciding to endure the embarrassment for the greater good, I spoke with grim determination.
“No, I’ll just plug it with tissues and keep going.”
“Excuse me?”
Lee Cheong-hyeon’s voice drifted over, sounding utterly dumbfounded.
When I looked up, all five of them were staring at me.
“This kind of thing stops quickly. If I just plug my nose and—”
“No. No matter how you look at it, dancing in this state is not the answer, Hyung.”
“I agree with Seong-bin. It’s not like you’re just walking around…”
Jeong Seong-bin and Park Ju-woo nagged me from both sides.
This was ridiculous. I wasn't even going to do that much! Just let me do two more hours!
Things were getting complicated. I ruffled my hair in frustration and offered a more moderate compromise.
“Then can we at least just go over the formations?”
“Do you really think practicing a few more hours today is going to change anything? Just give it up and go back to the dorm.”
Choi Je-ho said as he tossed the blood-soaked tissues into the trash.
Actually, it would change a lot, buddy. How long do you want to stand on the same stage as a member whose dance proficiency is still in the single digits?
‘I guess he doesn't feel like he's missing out.’
It was truly exasperating. It was sorrowful enough being the worst dancer; they didn't have to interfere with my practice too.
Left with no choice, I sent a silent plea for help to Kang Gi-yeon.
He was more obsessed with practice than anyone else, and he clashed with Choi Je-ho more than any other member of Spark. Surely, he would take my side—
“Gi-yeon, what are you doing?”
I watched as Kang Gi-yeon picked up my bag without even making eye contact.
He opened it and began stuffing my water bottle and diary inside.
“Packing your things.”
“That’s my bag, though?”
“That’s why I’m packing it.”
Once he finished, he even meticulously snapped the buttons shut before handing the bag to me.
“Let’s go to the dorm, Hyung.”
“What?”
“If you’re worried that practice won’t go right without you, then we’ll end our practice here for today too. Seong-bin Hyung, it’s okay if we head out early just for today, right?”
Kang Gi-yeon’s expression was icy.
No one tried to stop him. In fact, Park Ju-woo and Lee Cheong-hyeon were hurriedly packing their own bags, as if afraid Jeong Seong-bin might say no.
“What are you guys doing?”
“What does it look like? We’re packing to go home!”
Lee Cheong-hyeon slung his own backpack onto his shoulders and then hoisted my bag onto his chest before standing up.
I was flabbergasted. They usually acted like they’d die if they couldn't practice, so I couldn't understand why they were suddenly acting like this.
If someone is lacking, you should be helping them act like a functioning human being, not this. Is this really the time to be showing me "kindness"?
The final blow came from Choi Je-ho.
He followed the younger members as they hurried out, then stopped by the door, his hand on the light switch.
“What are you doing? Aren't you coming?”
Dammit, just leave me alone!
The room was dim with the lights off.
The warm light seeping in from the living room and the sweet words of my roommate telling me to get plenty of rest…
It was all crap. Dammit.
I pulled the blanket over my head and agonized. Twenty hours of my life were about to vanish into thin air.
It had been a long time since I’d felt such intense rage.
My nose had been quiet for a while, so why did it have to act up now?
‘Did my fatigue level go up again?’
With a sense of dread, I activated the system. It glowed brightly in the darkness under the covers.
+
.
.
.
Cumulative Fatigue Level: 45% (Labor Support Service in effect)
+
Wait, when did it get this high?
I thought it was in the 30s the last time I checked, but it had jumped up significantly.
‘Come to think of it, my limbs were shaking when it hit 60% before.’
So it made sense that I ended up like this.
Still, back when I was an employee at Hanpyeong Industry, I had to stuff cotton up my nose and keep working no matter how much it bled.
As I muttered "boomer" proverbs to an audience of none, I heard someone enter the room.
Soon after, the sound of a switch clicking echoed, and the light in the living room went out.
“Goodnight, Hyung!”
“Yeah.”
I heard Lee Cheong-hyeon and Choi Je-ho exchanging goodnights.
I’d heard them talking in the living room earlier about health management and lack of sleep.
It seemed they had agreed to take the rare opportunity of an early finish to get some "refreshment" and go to bed early.
Refreshment is great. Better than collapsing from a nosebleed.
I heard the sound of blankets rustling above me and across the room a few times before it went silent. The living room outside grew quiet as well.
How can you guys sleep while leaving a clumsy person like this?
My blood was boiling so much I couldn't even close my eyes.
I wondered why these guys were wasting such high-level security skills on being idols—
…Wait.
This meant they were all asleep.
Then didn't I just need to sneak out without getting caught?
I only had two hours left to finish today’s practice quota.
It was such a waste to lose all the practice time I’d accumulated because of this.
If I’d spent that time doing something else, it might be different, but since all I’d done was practice, it would be incredibly unfair to get no results.
I’d had enough of that kind of experience back when I worked overtime like a dog but didn't get paid for it because of the inclusive wage system.
I clenched my fists under the blanket. I made my decision.
‘Let’s bolt!’
I couldn't set an alarm because it might wake someone up, but I could just stay awake and wait.
I’d worked so hard to fill those practice hours. I couldn't let it all go to waste because of someone else’s interference.
I prayed for them to have a silent, holy night as I kept my eyes wide open, focusing all my senses on my ears.
The Spark kids fell asleep even faster than I expected.
After waiting about thirty minutes, there was no sign of life in the living room.
This was all thanks to how hard I’d worked them. Good job, past me.
“Phew…”
Fortunately, my nose didn't bleed again while I practiced. Right, if it had any sense, it would stay quiet.
If things had gone south, I would have had to practice while mouth-breathing. What a relief.
I was so desperate, yet those Spark punks wouldn't even cooperate.
I felt like crying as I recalled my image from two hours ago, having to sneak out with my socks in my hand.
If they’d just let me practice from the start, I wouldn't have had to do something as insane as voluntarily returning to the office in the middle of the night.
I grumbled internally as I turned off the music. At the same time, the empty box for Dance (2) in the system was filled in.
+
[SYSTEM] Job Competency Improvement Program Progress
▷ Kim I-wol
Dance (1) ■■■■■□□
Dance (2) ■■■■■□□
Vocal ■■■■■□□
+
Yes! Another day of perfect attendance!
If I could just hold out for two more days, I would finally become a slightly more evolved clumsy person—
“Hyung!”
Gah!
I clutched my heart, which felt like it was about to drop out of my chest, and turned toward the door where the loud voice had come from.
There stood Jeong Seong-bin, drenched in sweat, having thrown the door wide open.
-
Jeong Seong-bin’s mind had been complicated lately.
Work-wise, there wasn't much to struggle with.
People tried to treat them well since they were the youngest in the company, and on the rare occasions when a problem almost arose, Kim I-wol, the eldest member of the group, would step in and straighten things out.
The atmosphere of the group was good too.
There was a time when Jeong Seong-bin had worried about what would happen if they debuted as they were.
Back then, they weren't exactly on bad terms—though perhaps some were—but they weren't on good terms either. Every time he saw the members creaking awkwardly around each other, he worried.
Even though he knew that relationships between boys couldn't improve overnight, he had hoped they would.
Perhaps it was thanks to his earnest prayers.
After the eldest, Kim I-wol, joined, the group moved past the precarious-looking rifts of conflict and gradually began to take on a better shape.
So, had the team finally entered a period of stability?
Jeong Seong-bin couldn't easily answer that question.
It was because of the very person who had been mentioned throughout all of this: ‘Kim I-wol.’