[The Noisy Records of Hwaro High School’s Hobby Discovery Club]

Won Chaehui rubbed her eyes.

But her eyesight had tested perfectly fine at last year’s checkup. Even the slight blur on the preview image couldn’t deceive her.

What was in the mockup image of the desk calendar was unmistakably Spark in school uniforms.

Each item came with its own detailed caption— a desk calendar and photobook made from photos of the club’s yearly activities, a diary for organizing activity plans, and even “activity commemorative cards for etiquette shots,” described as a must-have for well-mannered students.

What stood out the most was a sample page from the desk calendar.

On November 3rd, the phrases “My birthday” and “If you write it like that, people will think it’s your birthday” were written in Choi Jeho’s and Kim Iwol’s handwriting respectively.

‘Do they really do this kind of comedy skit every birthday?’

If she didn’t check the remaining five pages, Won Chaehui might actually be consumed by something suspiciously close to jealousy.

The diary also showed clear care in its design. Anyone who had ever bought a work planner would know—this layout was made for real use, no question.

On the club member list page, there was even an option to {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} fill in the recipient’s name and choose “Sparkler.” The blank spot labeled honorary member seemed meant for the fans.

After a Polaroid set said to be taken by the club members themselves, there was also a notebook, supposedly ideal for recording activity logs.

[Exchange Diary Written by Club Members (6p)]

[To. Honorary Member Rolling Paper (2p)]

‘Okay, I have to read the exchange diary.’

That was it. Won Chaehui pressed the “Add to Cart” button in her line of sight without hesitation.

At the peak of paper goods stood the photocards. There were four full sets—school uniforms, casual wear, vacation, and a school festival concept...

‘The school festival concept is “What I Want to Say”?’

...The previews included Kim Iwol with white hair, smiling while holding a toy crown, and Choi Jeho with a gift ribbon tied across his face like chains.

How could anyone not buy Lee Cheonghyeon reading a script like a bluebird? No Sparkler could possibly ignore Park Juu leaning his chin on the windowsill set, smiling softly, Jeong Seongbin sitting among the jewels seen in the music video, or Kang Giyeon adjusting his toy soldier cap.

Name tags and student IDs were standard for a school concept, so she only checked the design and moved on. There had been a time when “good photos” alone were enough—but surprisingly many companies couldn’t even produce a decent student ID with nothing more than a white background, a few lines of text, and a stamp.

The tin case had a note saying “contents included.” Thinking it might contain candy, she looked closer—inside were folded paper photos shaped like notes.

[Notes Written One by One During Class, Sent to the Honorary Member]

[Guess Who Wrote Each One!]

It created the feeling of being in the same class as the members. Judging by this, it didn’t seem like these guys were going for a “study hard” concept.

Though they had gone all out on group assignments. Then again, if they were the type to care about their academic records, they probably wouldn’t have joined something called the “Hobby Discovery Club” in the first place.

After the certification stamp that honorary members could use when completing club activities, and a deco kit for decorating Polaroids, came...

[Animal’s_pArk Soft Flint Doll]

...A set of dolls based on the members as animals.

‘They included dolls in an SG?’

Won Chaehui quickly scrolled down to check the price. As the saying went, plushies and acrylic goods were priced however the seller pleased.

The set included six 5 cm keyring dolls—small, pebble-like faces with different animal ears or features attached. The price was 50,000 won. On the higher end for Season’s Greetings, but still only about 5,000 to 10,000 won more than usual.

And the dolls weren’t cheap-looking either. They matched the “Hwaro High School” concept and Spark’s name with a flint motif, combined with a “With List” amusement park character setting that gave them mascot-level cuteness.

One interesting detail—Lee Cheonghyeon’s doll wasn’t an eagle. Instead, he had been turned into a fennec fox with wide, pointed ears.

Had Kim Iwol, a die-hard harpy eagle supporter, surrendered to production costs? That thought lasted only a moment.

With a faint suspicion, Won Chaehui searched “cutest animal in the world” on a portal site.

Unsurprisingly, the result matched exactly what she expected.

[Top 1 Cutest Animal in the World Selected by Foreign Media: Fennec Fox]

So that was why the ears were drawn so large. Kim Iwol must have been worried people would mistake Lee Cheonghyeon for an ordinary fox instead of a fennec. Seeing the bold “Fennec Fox” written under his name, Won Chaehui let out a small laugh.

Of course, Kim Iwol himself had avoided being turned into an octopus doll. After all, if the others were cute chinchillas and smiling foxes, releasing Kim Iwol as some dried bonito version would’ve gotten them pelted with stones.

≫ More than anything, the dolls are insanely good

Even if they sold the full six-member set for 40,000, people would’ve still thought it was good value

└ With otaku money sense, that reaction totally makes senseㅋㅋㅋㅠㅠ

≫ Dolls are expensive when custom-made, but if you simplify the design and mass-produce them, it’s not a loss product even if margins aren’t huge

After seeing so many weird-looking dolls, this is already making me excited

└ Why does Jeho’s bear have only one yellow ear?

└ It’s honey

└ Please

└ How deep did they dunk him in the honey pot

≫ Even their amusement park mascots are cute

Give us a Korean theme park with mascots like cats, bears, sparrows, chinchillas, fennec foxes, baby lynxes

└ Meanwhile some places have terrifying animals

Although they differed from the symbolic animals used since last year’s fan meeting, most Sparklers accepted them without hesitation. Anyone would rather have a bear or fennec fox doll than an anaconda or harpy eagle.

‘Those headbands in the May photos must all be these animal ones.’

Won Chaehui narrowed her eyes at the blurred preview. She felt like she could already tell what those fluffy shapes on the members’ heads were.

She scrolled through the detailed page from the top once more. Maybe because it was her second time, she could now see the overall flow she had missed before.

A group project report notebook, photos taken at an amusement park wearing matching headbands, concept photocards of preparing for a school festival—

‘They spent two years just to make one SG?’

It was hard to believe.

The final item, a large poster, showed Spark standing side by side in front of an old gym storage door.

Hobby Discovery Club

(Secret Base)

The handwritten papers stuck above the members’ heads caught her attention.

At this rate, you guys are seriously only going to end up top-tier......!

“The SG reaction is amazing. Have you seen it?”

Jukyung asked. Jeong Seongbin and I both nodded.

≫ Where do I go to see Mission Spark doing job experience

≫ All that praying for a happy ending paid off

We even got to see water-play Spark

Earth, I’m sorry. Thank you for forgiving humanity

≫ The timing of this momentum is art

They’re everywhere—variety shows, music broadcasts, SG, even a concert

└ We’ve always been rowing, even when the tide wasn’t coming in

└ Opportunities aren’t something you wait for, you seize them

There was no way not to look. Praise was always more enjoyable the more you heard it. None of us could put our phones down.

“It’s all thanks to the company’s support. Thank you.”

“You said in the meeting you knew this would still turn a profit, and now you’re acting modest?”

“Haha, it really does make money!”

“We never showed you the cost sheet—how did you know?”

Because I used to make those cost sheets. And I spent four years learning about market prices and profit margins. The only regret was not just choosing the most expensive vendors and draining Manager Nam’s budget dry—instead, I’d felt guilty and struggled to find optimal pricing.

“What about Cheonghyeon? Is his exam prep going well?”

Jukyung’s voice turned cautious.

With two weeks left until the college entrance exam, we had removed Lee Cheonghyeon from all non-essential activities. He had turned the studio into a study room, cramming nonstop.

If there was one regret, it was that Kang Giyeon had given up taking the exam. After Thursday’s music show appearance was confirmed, he decided that the team couldn’t afford to lose two members and willingly stepped back.

Giyeon

[I’m sorry, Sparklers]

[I wanted to be your support.......]

The Bubble message he sent after making that decision had been memorable. I could still picture the way he sulked after learning that non-test-takers weren’t included in grade cutoffs.

“I wish we’d had more time. It’s a shame we couldn’t prepare earlier.”

I wanted to say he was working himself to the bone, but I held back. There was nothing to gain from raising expectations for him. For exam-takers, the only meaningful things were post-exam allowance, chocolate, and the guaranteed nationwide discounts that came with their test slip.

“You said you’d make lunchboxes. What did you decide?”

“I’m planning to prepare them in advance, keep them warm, and just pack them early in the morning. We’ll have to leave before Cheonghyeon.”

“What’s the menu? Inari sushi again?”

“I’m thinking of making it a tradition.”

“There won’t be anyone taking the exam after this, though?”

I almost said I could take it, but stopped. No point tempting fate by talking about retaking exams in a household with a current test-taker.

Even after finishing the discussion about equipment rentals, there was still plenty to go over. Most of this week and next week’s schedules were led by Jeong Seongbin. I just sat and listened. Feeling like a freeloader, I busied myself taking meeting notes beside him.

“...That should wrap up the concert agenda. Any additional input? From within the team?”

“Juu has really high expectations for the sound system. He’s been watching senior artists’ concert videos nonstop.”

Jeong Seongbin mentioned Park Juu, who kept checking videos on his phone whenever he had a moment.

“We’ve already decided to mobilize the entire audio team. There won’t be any sound issues. I can say that with confidence!”

“What about on-site safety inspections?”

“We’ve selected a contractor and finalized the contract. Separate from crowd management, we’ll run set inspections before rehearsals and before the concert.”

At broadcasting stations, idols had no authority to request safety inspections, so every performance meant staying hyper-alert. Even with a contractor involved, we’d still follow every inspection in person.

“You just focus on practice. Got it?”

At Jukyung’s words, I felt a weight lift from my chest.