Chapter 9.2
Translator: Pineapple
Editor: Isalee
"[Why are you here?]"
Shin Sae Yeon spoke expressionlessly. She didn"t have any particular feelings for him. She just knew that Han Woo Jin was a little wary of him. To put it nicely, she had a dull impression of him; to put it badly, he simply didn"t have good sense.
Okuta scratched the back of his head and answered, "[We haven"t seen each other in a long time, why didn"t you greet me? Also, do I need a reason to greet you?]"
"[I don"t have anything to say to you.]"
Okuta couldn"t say anything back to her. This wasn"t her putting up walls, it was a complete ice wall. He felt like he got frostbite from her words. He thought she would open up once he poked her a bit, but that finger was frozen.
Of course, Shin Sae Yeon spoke without thinking. Since she only saw him once, she didn"t have a reason to greet him.
Compared to her work qualifications, she lacked experience in socializing. She simply didn"t know how to respond which is why she always had a poker face.
"[Mmm, I"m here to check on Han Woo Jin"s skills. Coach Sato told me that I need to watch him play.]"
"[You mean Woo Jin?]"
Okuta nodded.
As soon as Okuta mentioned Han Woo Jin, his face turned serious. Shin Sae Yeon saw his change in expression and thought that he finally looked like a pro. He turned serious only when they spoke about tennis.
As soon as their conversation ended, they heard the announcer"s voice to start the match. And almost immediately, they heard the sound of the ball get hit loudly on the court.
"[It"s begun.]"
"[Yes.]"
Half expectation and half curiosity.
Shin Sae Yeon looked at Han Woo Jin who had just served.
Han Woo Jin hit the ball with all his strength from the beginning.
His level 12 serve was pretty high, and that probably made him the top in Korea. He couldn"t compare himself to world rankers since he hadn"t met any of them, but he had never seen anyone with a serve level that was over ten.
He only saw Choi Yeon Hyuk reach ten recently. However, it was different from Han Woo Jin.
"If someone reaches level ten in their skill level, don"t they get a special skill? Or is it only for me?"
Choi Yeon Hyuk"s special skill was only a receive that he saw in his game with him. Ever since Choi Yeon Hyuk"s serve level hit ten, he saw Choi Yeon Hyuk"s status several times when they crossed paths, but he never received a special skill. Han Woo Jin realized that he still didn"t know his the full extent of his power.
Yet he knew one thing for sure. The fact that he was fully confident in his serve.
*Pang!*
The ball landed on Lee Yong Hoon"s side of the court but the ball flew past him before he could even respond. The game had just begun, but it started off with a service ace.
"15:0!"
The serve is the basic move that shows a strong attack and it showcases the player"s skills at the same time.
Lee Yong Woon"s face darkened after he saw his serve. It was necessary to distinguish the opponent"s skills and compare them to one"s own skills. Lee Yong Woon immediately determined Han Woo Jin"s high skill level even though it was just a serve.
Since Lee Yong Woon was a pro, he couldn"t give up. Lee Yong Woon tightly gripped his racket and tried to continuously attempt to rally.
"He has a good mindset… But you can"t win with just that."
Who didn"t know better than him? Han Woo Jin saw himself in Lee Yong Woon. He felt a little depressed but quickly erased those thoughts as he threw up the ball.
*Pang!*
This time, the ball was headed straight towards the middle instead of the side. Lee Yong Woon, who was about to move to the side, quickly moved back to his original position.
*Tung!*
The ball flew up high towards Woo Jin. Lee Yong Woon looked at the high flying ball and his facial expression was perplex compared to Han Woo Jin"s expressionless face that simply just watched the ball. Han Woo Jin lifted his racket and fiercely swung downwards.
*Pang!*
"30:0!"
If his opponent made a mistake, he needed to punish him for it. After determining his weakness, he needed to immediately attack it. That was proper etiquette in sports. Not doing so would be showing pity for one"s opponent. Han Woo Jin threw up the ball and Lee Yong Woon glared at him.
Han Woo Jin didn"t need to use Sparrow in this game. His regular serve would be enough for this game.
If he controlled where the ball would land with his serve, it was impossible for players with slow reactions to be able to return his serve.
His serves landed on both sides of Lee Yong Woon"s service court, so the game ended very quickly.
"Game Han Woo Jin! 1-0!"
[Perfect game! You won a game against a pro so one random stat went up.]
He heard the notification in his head and he saw his physical stat go up by one. He felt his breathing slightly become lighter.
The two players pa.s.sed by each other and switched sides. It was time to change courts and servers.
Han Woo Jin saw Lee Yong Woon"s veins pop out on his hands. He was probably holding back his frustration.
Anyone would be angry if they lost, and they would be happy if they won.
"I have lived ten years filled with angriness. So don"t give in to your anger, and don"t worry about it too much.
"If you"re going to give up now because of that, that means that this is your limit.
"I will destroy you completely."
If they had the same physical capabilities, then they would be able to rally back and forth, but that was not the case. Han Woo Jin could easily beat him.
"Second game, Lee Yong Woon serve!"
Lee Yong Woon fiercely threw up the ball. The difference in their serve level was too wide and so his serve came toward Han Woo Jin in an arc that was easy for him to predict where it would land.
*Pang!*
This serve was something even an amateur could return. Han Woo Jin waited for the right moment and hit the ball. He used the flat. Therefore, the bounce of the ball would be very high.
*Pung!*
Like a popped balloon, the ball bounced up way over Lee Yong Woon"s head. Lee Yong Woon had no choice but to look at the ball that traveled all the way back to the service line.
"0:15!"
Return ace. When you wanted to show off the difference in skill level, aces were the best way to go about it. Service ace, return ace, or whatever ace; that was the best way to demoralize your opponent.
"It"s over."
Lee Yong Woon"s eyes no longer had a fire in them as he gave up. Seeing that, Han Woo Jin clicked his tongue. Han Woo Jin was unsatisfied with this outcome. He didn"t want to see him give up. He wanted him to persist until the end.
Weak serve, heavy footsteps, and drooped shoulders.
He didn"t want to see his opponent"s distasteful figure any longer, which is why Han Woo Jin sped up.
*Pang!*
He was supposed to try with all his strength, but the serve came in a slow arc and Han Woo Jin was easily able to hit a return ace. 0:30.
He continued to serve with no strength and Han Woo Jin used a drop shot, which Lee Yong Woon hadn"t predicted. He tried to hit the ball but swung nothing but air. 0:40.
Han Woo Jin quickly earned three points and he hit the ball with a smash again. He was sorely disappointed with his opponent who couldn"t even react to his smash.
"Game Han Woo Jin! 2-0! Serve change!"
[Perfect game! Because you beat a pro in a game, your experience increased.]
[Your opponent lost his will to fight. Due to the large difference in skill, you will not receive as much experience.]
This announcement from the system made his bad mood even worse. That meant that he would gain practically nothing when he played against opponents that were too weak. The notice from his status window didn"t show exactly how much experience he gained, but he felt that his experience gain was negligible.
"It will now be difficult to improve skills with easy games. It"ll be better for me to practice on my own rather than partic.i.p.ate in low-level tournaments."
He knew that he improved really easily so far, but it was human nature to become complacent and lazy after achieving a few minor feats. Han Woo Jin still had a long road to travel so he couldn"t afford to become complacent.
It was his turn to serve again and he tightly gripped the green ball, throwing it up without any hesitation. Anyway, he first needed to finish this game first before he could organize his thoughts.
*Pung!*
The ball immediately flew over to the left service side of Lee Yong Woon"s court. A useless service ace. He could either lament about his opponent"s lack of fighting spirit or he could complain about the fact that his skills had improved too quickly.
This tennis match was no fun for Han Woo Jin and it was completely one-sided.
The referee only shouted out the score for Han Woo Jin and the audience that had come here for the match was completely silent.
As soon as the first set ended at 6-0, Lee Yong Woon went to the referee. Everyone knew what he was going to say.
Han Woo Jin coldly looked at him.
It was a very boring match. Was winning always like this?
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