Chapter 16
Chapter 16
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: Low-Cost, High-Efficiency (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
A Agency CEO Wayne James picked up the phone right after Ma Jeong-woo and Richard Geers left.
His expression shifted from red to blue by the second.
"That kid turned down every single player I proposed."
His voice was laced with edge.
"I heard he was the grandson... but he's definitely not like the previous owner."
A somewhat flustered response came from the other end of the line.
James pressed on relentlessly.
"Anyway..., if things keep going like this, you're the one who's going to be in trouble. We've already put six of our agency's players on the release list, haven't we? Four of them have already been sold off dirt cheap."
Through his conversation with Jeong-woo, Wayne James had become convinced.
If he stayed silent, all the clients he had deeply embedded might soon be released from Bolton.
"That damn bastard. He acted like even listening to me was a chore..."
With years as an agent under his belt, he had developed a keen eye for people.
And James had seen it clearly.
Jeong-woo's eyes...,
"That guy's got the eyes of a madman. The type who charges ahead no matter what once he sets his mind to something."
At the end, Wayne James growled.
"If you want to make money too, you know what you have to do."
Click!
With that, James unilaterally ended the call.
* * *
That night.
Richard Geers was in the midst of preparing for a late exit from work.
Tap, tap.
The footsteps echoing in the hallway belonged solely to Geers.
"Hm?"
Geers halted abruptly.
Through a familiar door, light was subtly leaking out.
It was the owner's office.
Word had already spread like wildfire among the staff that the owner was living out of the office instead of going home.
A few who thought poorly of the owner spread negative rumors about it.
'He sells off players without a second thought to build his fortune..., and now he treats the owner's office like his own home.'
'And that's not all? They say he gets all three meals from the first-team cafeteria!'
'But it only operates breakfast and lunch, right?'
'He packs dinner during lunch.'
'Ah, I saw it too. He was grinning ear to ear while piling up food...'
They even said he was scraping together every penny he could to sell off the club as soon as possible.
Geers narrowed his eyes.
'I thought the same at first.'
After the previous owner passed away, the office had sat empty for nearly a month.
Because the current owner, Ma Jeong-woo, hadn't taken up the role.
'He didn't even board the flight to England.'
In the meantime, sale rumors had swirled endlessly.
It was enough to amplify the suspicions among the front-office staff.
Even Geers had half-given up.
He'd even thought a sale might be for the best.
If it turned out to be someone no different from the previous owner..., Bolton as a club would only regress.
His initial appearance had been disappointing too.
His clothes were decent enough, but there were thuggish vibes peeking through here and there.
Like he was wearing ill-fitting attire.
But after observing Jeong-woo for a few days, he was clearly different from the previous owner.
'More passionate than anyone.'
The previous owner had no interest in learning about Bolton's facilities or structure.
He just sat there, fixated solely on ways to make money.
Meanwhile, he pinned the team's repeated slumps on Derek Scott, driving the team further to the brink.
But Jeong-woo was the opposite.
'He's already mastered every aspect of the club in that short time.'
On top of that, he'd mathematically calculated the club's current situation and the targets needed for survival.
The grit and ambition he'd shown on that radio appearance were enough to make the listeners' skin crawl with excitement.
In fact, the radio staff in the booth at the time had become Jeong-woo's fans.
Of course, it wasn't enough to make the heart of a veteran like Richard Geers pound wildly.
But one undeniable fact.
'The club is changing.'
The club was changing.
Contrary to his looks, Jeong-woo was an incredibly diligent person.
Beyond proactive, he was utterly unhesitant.
He was no doubt holed up in the office right now, working.
On transfer matters.
'Workaholic doesn't even begin to cover it.'
Geers knocked, a mix of anticipation and worry swirling within.
"Come in."
Jeong-woo's voice came from beyond the door.
Geers pulled the handle without hesitation.
He intended to at least briefly discuss the upcoming schedule.
But he froze at the unexpected sight.
"O-Owner?"
A tent was pitched squarely in the center of the owner's office.
Beside it, Jeong-woo was crouched in a camping chair.
He'd paused halfway through dumping half a pack of ramen noodles into a bubbling portable pot and turned toward him.
"..."
A wooden chopstick dangled from his mouth.
Park Hee-won, who had come over from Korea with him, sat nearby.
Spotting Geers, Jeong-woo soon greeted him with delight.
"Want a bite?"
* * *
Jeong-woo, Hee-won, Richard Geers.
The mismatched trio sat side by side in camping chairs in front of the tent in the owner's office, savoring ramen.
"Whew, whew!"
Jeong-woo blew on the steaming noodles with a deeply satisfied smile.
Hee-won claimed 50% of the bowl with kimchi, crunching away.
Geers had tried ramen before, so though a bit clumsy, he managed the chopsticks without issue.
Even as he slurped the noodles, Geers couldn't suppress an incredulous smile.
'Ramen here, of all places...'
He never dreamed he'd be eating ramen in the owner's office.
In full outdoor camping vibe, no less.
Then, Jeong-woo casually asked,
"Did you catch any whiff of something fishy from that old fogey Derek Scott..., I mean, the manager?"
At the sudden question, Geers chewed his ramen thoughtfully before replying flatly.
"Just your typical asshole. A cancer on the club."
"Pfft! Cough, cough!"
Despite his mild-mannered look, the rough language made Hee-won choke on his ramen midway.
Jeong-woo, used to it, nodded along.
Geers added,
"To be honest, after Derek Scott took over as manager, my relationship with the previous owner grew even more distant."
No surprise there.
Jeong-woo had confirmed it while reviewing the files.
'The executive director's files were completely ignored.'
Most of the executive director's opinions opposed the previous owner's plans.
Meanwhile, Derek Scott...,
'Just went "good job, good job" and blindly supported him.'
Jeong-woo poured more soju into Geers' shot glass, urging him to continue.
"Ramen calls for soju."
From then on, the conversation was dominated by Richard Geers' laments.
This guy...
Turned into a total motormouth once the booze hit.
"Fucking...!"
"..."
"mot...herfucker!
You fucking prick!"
The occasional hooligan side emerged more vividly at intervals.
Time passed.
"Ahem, it's been a while since I drank..., I'm worried I might've said something foolish."
Geers, sobering up quickly, flashed his usual affable smile.
Hee-won shrank his shoulders at the sight of him.
His eyes darted downward.
'This guy's scared.'
Instead of replying, Jeong-woo smoothly handed over a stack of papers that had served as a trivet for the ramen pot.
"What's this?"
Geers adjusted his glasses and examined the documents.
Jeong-woo said with a serious face.
"You know a good chunk of the first-team players were brought in through collaboration with A Agency..., and Derek Scott joined even before that. And this..., there are two of his relatives on the player roster."
In fact, they'd been discussing it just before Geers arrived.
Jeong-woo especially had a nose for this sort of thing.
'I saw so much dirty shit in the K-3 League.'
Even if he couldn't avoid the 150 billion debt bomb.
Geers' eyes flashed with surprise as he reviewed the contents.
These details weren't even listed on the player profiles.
Scott had even falsified some documents.
"What the hell is this...?"
Shrugging at the question, Jeong-woo replied,
"I drop by the first-team training center whenever I have time to work out. Naturally, I got friendly with some players and heard about it."
It was true.
He'd overheard some grumbling among themselves about Scott's favoritism toward relatives being unfair.
Those relatives subtly boasted about their connection to Scott everywhere.
"There's no such thing as a perfect secret. Slip into the crowd, and you'll hear all sorts of unwanted secrets."
That was human society in a nutshell.
Afterward, Jeong-woo had pulled aside a few players for individual talks.
"And some vented to me about discrimination in playing time due to family ties."
Beyond that, Jeong-woo sharply pointed out other oddities.
All players recruited from A Agency had transfer fees way out of line with their ability.
Derek Scott had led all those signings.
And all from the same agency.
"...Doesn't this remind you of the Sam-shik incident?"
Hee-won, who'd been quiet, chimed in.
Jeong-woo stroked his chin and nodded.
"Yeah, just like the Sam-shik case."
The Sam-shik scandal was infamous in the K-3 League.
Director Ko Sam-shik, who had a relative's agency, blinded the clueless owner and ran the club like his own.
He freely signed players only from that agency.
Hee-won muttered bitterly.
"That bastard brought in players through his relative's agency and pocketed massive illegal kickbacks from the agents."
It blew up in the media, leading to expulsion and indictment.
Suddenly, Hee-won sniffed the air.
"Whoa, this really stinks...? Like grilled squid, all coppery!"
Jeong-woo nodded calmly.
"Yeah, grilling squid. It's best fresh off the flame."
"Oh..."
Hee-won dropped his gaze.
Jeong-woo was indeed grilling whole squid on a portable burner.
Geers, listening quietly, finally spoke up.
"If that's true..., this is a serious crime. Shouldn't we report it to the police and start legal proceedings right away?"
"No hard evidence yet. Just suspicions."
Jeong-woo's lips drooped.
"So how do we catch 'em?"
Hee-won asked, eyes wide.
Jeong-woo glanced between the two, a meaningful expression crossing his face.
"Among A Agency's players at Bolton..., who are the ones who've been bleeding money lately?"
Hee-won scrunched his face further and mumbled.
"The released ones...? They're bleeding because of you."
"So, how do you think it'd feel to have something given taken away?"
Hee-won was puzzled.
"Dirty..., right?"
Brushing off the dubious Hee-won, Jeong-woo turned to Geers with a request.
"Hook me up with someone solid."
"What kind of..., solid person?"
"Someone with good connections, lots of contacts...,"
Jeong-woo trailed off with a grin.
"Especially someone loose-lipped."
"Pardon?"
"No one like that?"
"I'll..., find someone."
"Then let's do some negative PR."
"What negative PR?"
Hee-won jumped in again.
Jeong-woo bit into a perfectly grilled squid leg and said,
"Spread that A Agency's dumping our existing players cheap to collaborate with Bolton and sell new ones expensive. Make it seem like they're the reason for our poor results. Classic scapegoating, with Bolton and the agency in cahoots to scrape together transfer funds."
────────────────────────────────────