Chapter 7.2
Translator: Pineapple
Editor: Isalee
"Woo Jin, I chose your first tournament to be Andong Futures."
Coach Jeon said this to him in a soft voice. His voice sounded like he was informing him of what he was going to eat tomorrow for breakfast. However, the words were like a shock of lightning to Han Woo Jin. Finally, he could enter a tournament. A player"s life was all about tournaments.
"Does it start on July 11th?"
"You start on the 20th."
"What?"
Coach Jeon spoke expressionlessly to the clueless Han Woo Jin.
"The president submitted you as a wildcard. That"s why you"ll be entering without needing to go through the preliminaries."
"Wildcard…"
He was very thankful. Han Woo Jin had never experienced being in a tournament with a seed and not having to go through the preliminaries. To get a seed, he needed to get a recommendation from a higher-up or he needed to have excellent experience — that was how much influence he needed. Han Woo Jin was a player who didn"t have either of the two mentioned above.
Yet he was able to receive a seed in his first tournament. Han Woo Jin tightly clenched both his fists, because he felt that this was how much the president believed in him.
"Andong Futures will be held at Seogwipo city. It"s really hot in July there and we don"t know what the weather will be like. You need to train in accordance to the weather."
"Seogwipo? It"s called the Andong Futures, but why is it held in Jeju Island?"
"They"re only having the first couple preliminary matches there and the official tournament will be held in Andong."
Seogwipo. This place was basically at the center of Jeju island. There were courts there for international games and consisted of seven hard courts and three clay courts. They did not know which court he would be playing on. Han Woo Jin was deep in thought.
Coach Jeon"s voice brought him back.
"Your body is ready. But if you want to improve more, we need more time. Now, it"s time to polish your skills."
"Yes."
Han Woo Jin nodded. Just like Coach Jeon said, his body was in its best condition, but although his body was in peak condition, it didn"t mean that his skills were on par. He needed to practice his skills to bring them up to the same level as his body.
Han Woo Jin"s body had received harsh training since April until the beginning of June, and his body hadn"t changed that much since then.
His well-developed, lean muscles had extreme vascularity. When he checked his heart rate, his heart rate never went over 40 ever since his intense training. There were great improvements in his cardiovascular and pulmonary systems.
"Your body has improved more than I expected. Get rid of the rest of your schedule. From now on, we"ll only focus on your skills. Alright?"
"Yes sir!"
Han Woo Jin"s body"s latent talent wasn"t much, however, his body improved by leaps and bounds in such a short period of time because of the system"s help.
[Your stamina increased by one because of your repeated intense training.]
[Your speed increased by one because you trained with alacrity.]
[Your lung capacity increased by one because of your aerobic training.]
Since he repeatedly burdened his muscles through intense weight training until he couldn"t breathe, his stats went up.
In the beginning, he easily gained stats with just ten reps, but later on it became more difficult as the number of repet.i.tions increased to 100. He probably needed to do 1,000 reps to increase his stats now.
Although his training period was short, because of the intensity, he made great gains in the beginning. According to Coach Jeon"s predictions, it would take Han Woo Jin to the middle of July to reach a suitable level for his body to partake in a tournament in August. On the contrary, Han Woo Jin had improved very quickly.
"Ah, there is someone you need to meet before you go to practice."
"Who is it?"
"A person I need to meet?"
Han Woo Jin never thought about that. During his training, the only people that he had to meet were the other players, Coach Jeon, and the president. He didn"t really need to meet the other players either.
Of course, Coach Jeon persuaded Han Woo Jin to meet that person.
"You punk, do you think I have three bodies? Aside from the other players, I have to follow you and Yeon Hyuk everywhere?"
He realized that Choi Yeon Hyuk"s first tournament, the Daegu Open, would be starting in a few short days. However, Han Woo Jin was curious about that because Coach Jeon never left the players and training with Han Woo Jin.
"The company will be a.s.signing you a private agent so don"t do the afternoon training and wait in your room."
"An agent?"
"Yeah, soon you will attend international games, so you need someone who can translate for you."
International tournament.
Just hearing it made his heart beat faster. Tennis players only decided to take part in international tournaments after determining if they had enough money to pay for the expenses or if a sponsor would be able to support them enough.
That"s how expensive international tournaments were for tennis players.
Han Woo Jin only partic.i.p.ated in international tournaments two times during his ten years. Also, his level of English was bad, so it was difficult for him to even apply for the tournament. Yet they were already discussing international tournaments which made him feel awkward talking about it so early in his career.
"Th-then when is he arriving?"
"Look at this trembling punk. Are you excited?"
"Yes."
Coach Jeon laughed when he saw Han Woo Jin trembling in excitement. Coach Jeon thought that it was interesting to see this guy make this kind of expression.
"I was told your agent will arrive around 2 o"clock. So go to your room. I"ll call you when your agent arrives."
***
"h.e.l.lo, my name is Shin Sae Yeon who will be taking care of player Han Woo Jin."
The person had cold, white skin and was dressed in a black suit, exposing a white shirt underneath. The person also had a crisp, clear, and unwavering voice.
That"s the evaluation Han Woo Jin gave Shin Sae Yeon when he saw her for the first time. He thought she looked like a mannequin doll or a robot. He already felt repulsed by her because of her inhuman looks.
"I"m Han Woo Jin. Nice to meet you."
He extended his hand and shook her hand. He was surprised by her cold touch. Fortunately, he didn"t make any expressions.
Han Woo Jin and Shin Sae Yeon were expressionless, so when he stopped talking, Coach Jeon felt that it was awkward.
Since Coach Jeon was meeting the woman for the first time, he couldn"t speak casually to her. So he whispered to Han Woo Jin, "Hey, is that all you"re going to say? You need to say something."
"This is my first time so I don"t know what to say."
They gave an agent to a player with no experience?
This was something that was never heard of from Han Woo Jin"s past life. This is only possible because NK company"s whole support, that was why he was able to get an agent. It was also Coach Jeon"s first time a.s.signing an agent to an inexperienced player.
"…Are you not pleased with me?"
Shin Sae Yeon looked at the two people talking to each other and spoke to them with a cold voice. The two men stopped talking and looked at her because of her low voice.
"No, it"s just because this is my first time in this situation, so I don"t know what to do," Han Woo Jin said straightforwardly.
"If I make an excuse in this situation, it would make it worse. I need to speak frankly to be able to speak to her."
"It"s also my first time being an exclusive agent for a player. Let"s take a look at the contract."
"Yes, let"s do that."
Shin Sae Yeon opened the envelope with her thin fingers and took out several files. She placed them on the table.
Whenever she bent over, he could see her hair drop and dangle. Han Woo Jin couldn"t help but bend back.
"You can listen to me speak while reading. First, I was hired by NK company, so I don"t require any form of payment from you. I will accompany you and take care of your schedule. Also, I will be in charge of the company card to handle your finances during the day."
"Mm… in other words…"
"You are also Woo Jin"s coach?"
Coach Jeon interrupted their conversation and Han Woo Jin frowned, but Shin Sae Yeon didn"t bat an eye and she answered in the same tone.
"It seems so."
Shin Sae Yeon"s role was to be an agent and his coach.
In short, it meant that she would manage all tournament matters. She told them that she needed to take care of basically everything related to his career.
Han Woo Jin stared at the woman who might soon be with him throughout his tennis career. He examined her without any bias. Shin Sae Yeon also seemed to be used to this kind of observation. Or maybe her face was always like that, but she also she examined him.
Her fashionable clothes and makeup were finely done and her tidy hair made a good impression on Han Woo Jin. He also seemed to be fine with the contract in front of him along with the agent"s talent.
"She"s about my age… and she speaks four languages. She"s really good!
Furthermore, she has a lot of licenses. If she has the experience, she can also help him earn more publicity than famous athletes in other sports.
Han Woo Jin decided to trust her. He got up from his seat and extended his hand over the table. The palm of his hands, which were very tough, touched her soft hands.
"Please take care of me, Ms. Shin Sae Yeon."
"Me too, Mr. Han Woo Jin."
Han Woo Jin shook her cold hand. For some reason, he had a strange feeling about this new relationship, but he immediately started thinking about the Andong Futures tournament.
The empty cafeteria was soon filled with the voices of these two young adults.