Fostering Talent!
‘Now that’s a sight for sore eyes.’ Watching Eunha smile so brightly made my heart feel at ease.
‘…But the fact that I did that to this Eunha…’
That thought didn’t last long. The memory of groping her breasts in the Training Room suddenly flashed in my mind, and a wave of guilt surged up.
‘What the hell do I do about this?’
I wanted to tear my hair out.
“Um, hey…”
“Yeah?”
Eunha suddenly spoke up.
“Today was pretty weird, right?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah… it was.”
We’d definitely gone through something you only experience once in a lifetime.
‘Girls like Yu Seoyeon don’t come around often.’
Tsk tsk. I clicked my tongue and nodded at her words.
For some reason, Eunha’s face turned bright red as she clasped her hands in front of her chest.
“What happened today… I’m really sorry. It was all because of me… If I hadn’t called that sister…”
“Huh? No, don’t be sorry! If anything…”
If anything, I’m the one who should apologize. I swallowed those words that rose to my throat and continued calmly.
“…I’m glad I got to help you out like this, Eunha.”
“R-Really?”
“Really. Let’s work hard together and catch that creep.”
As I said that and placed my hand on her shoulder, she burst into a shy smile.
“Yeah!”
Having boosted Eunha’s spirits like that, I started walking again toward the villa where we both lived.
After arriving at the villa, I headed up to the third floor to walk her all the way to her door.
“I-It’s fine! Oppa, you go ahead!”
Of course, Eunha found my kindness burdensome.
“What’s fine about it? It’s just one floor difference.”
“That’s why it’s fine!”
“You don’t get kindness like this every day, so take it. And who knows—that pervert might show up while I’m not around?”
“Eek…!”
My words must have hit home threateningly, because she let out a small groan and shuddered.
“…Y-Yeah, you’re right.”
“See? Come on, let’s go up.”
Urging her along, I headed straight to the third floor.
Once we reached Room 302, Eunha turned to me and spoke.
“This is good, right?”
“Yeah, it’s fine. Go on in. I’ll head down.”
As I turned to leave, she grabbed my sleeve.
“Th-Thanks for today, Oppa…”
“No big deal.”
I gave a light chuckle in response and headed down to the second floor.
Once inside my place, I pulled out the blanket I’d stored in the wardrobe and collapsed onto it.
‘Tired.’
I hadn’t done much, but my whole body felt limp, drowsiness washing over me.
‘…Guess I’ll just sleep.’
As I closed my eyes with that thought, sleep came rushing in like it had been waiting.
“We’re just syncing up our breathing lightly today, so no one overdo it! And be extra careful with injuries—you know that without me saying, right?”
“Yes!”
All the players shouted in unison at the coach’s words.
With Seo Yuin and now Min Juhee injured recently, everyone was on edge.
In this situation—especially right before a match—an injury would be disastrous.
They all knew it, so they were extra vigilant.
“Alright, warm up lightly and get back out there!”
“Yes!”
With that, the coach wrapped up, and the players dashed onto the court with energy.
Of course, this included Minseo, who’d joined the team just yesterday at lunch.
‘Hoo, I’m a little nervous.’
It had been so long since her last match that her heart was already pounding hard.
‘…Can’t be like this even for a practice game.’
Thump thump. Suppressing her racing heart, Minseo stared at the net in front of her.
‘Why does the net look so high?’
It seemed impossibly tall, like she might get dizzy just looking at it.
Could she really jump higher than that?
Everything felt uncertain.
“Minseo.”
That’s when Yoon Hayoung-sunbae, standing behind her, tapped her shoulder.
“Yes?”
“Relax. Your face is pale.”
“Oh…”
“No need to tense up your shoulders like that. And some of these girls are your juniors, right?”
“Yes…”
“They say you were flying high back in high school?”
Minseo gave an awkward smile at that.
Indeed, when she was fearless and thought she was the best, she’d racked up tons of points and brought a championship cup to her alma mater.
That might have been the happiest time of her life.
“…Do your best. It’ll be better than back then, right?”
With that, Hayoung-sunbae smacked her back hard—thwack!—making Minseo stumble.
But only for a moment. Regaining her balance, Minseo shouted, ‘Yes, Sunbae!’ and straightened up.
‘Huh?’
Looking at the net again, surprisingly, it was back to its normal height.
‘What’s this?’
And her frantically pounding heart had calmed down too.
‘Amazing.’
Just a few words from sunbae and a pat on the back, and her tension melted away like magic.
‘…Alright, I can do this. I’ve got it!’
Regaining her confidence, Minseo got into position.
Beep!
The game started with Kim Yuri’s serve, quickly turning into a fierce back-and-forth rally.
Even though it was just practice, KGC Ginseng Corporation—here as the scrimmage opponent—showed no mercy to Hyundai Construction, holding firm with their signature solid defense and blocking attacks.
As a result, Minseo’s confidence started crumbling against Ginseng Corp’s ironclad defense.
‘Why won’t it go in?’
She’d already spiked twice, but both times they were blocked, leaving the score at 0-0.
Of course, Hyundai Construction was putting up brilliant defense too, repelling Ginseng Corp’s counters.
Especially Libero Hayoung, who dove for stunning saves that drew cheers from players on both sides every time.
‘Everyone’s so good… and here I am…’
With things like this, Minseo’s anxiety peaked.
“Wooah!”
Then, Ginseng Corp finally broke through Hyundai’s defense for a point.
“Focus! Focus! It’s just one point!”
The mood soured instantly after losing the first point, but veteran Hayoung shouted encouragement like the team leader she was.
Thanks to her, the sunken spirits began to lift.
‘I need to step up. I need to score!’
Slapping her cheeks hard, Minseo lowered her stance and focused.
“Receive!!”
As Ginseng Corp served, the ball flew toward the end line.
It looked like it might go out, but Setter Yeojeong didn’t think so—she called for it loudly.
“Whoa!”
Kim Yuri moved fast, receiving it cleanly to the setter. Yeojeong immediately tossed it to Minseo.
Thwack!
“Nice!”
“Great one!”
The perfect set led straight to a point, revitalizing the team after losing the lead.
“Well done, Minseo!”
The other players seemed thrilled with her spike, cheering her loudly.
But Kim Minseo herself couldn’t snap out of it right after scoring—because of the window floating in front of her eyes.
You have successfully scored!
Recording a great point after losing the lead grants 5 experience points.
However, since this is a practice match, the experience gained is halved.
‘This is…’
Minseo couldn’t hide her shock at the alert that appeared right after scoring.
‘…Is this what the demon meant?’
Calming her thumping heart, she reached out toward the alert.
But before she could touch it, it melted away like snow.
At the same time, Hayoung grabbed her shoulder and shook her.
“Minseo!”
“Ah, huh? Yes!”
“What’s wrong?”
“N-Nothing!”
“You okay?”
“I’m fine!”
Hayoung looked worried for a moment before speaking.
“Don’t push yourself. Got it?”
“Yes!”
“Good. Let’s keep going!”
Clapping her hands, Hayoung signaled, and Kim Yuri served again.
‘F-First, let’s figure this out slowly.’
Gulping, Minseo waited for the opponent’s attack.
“Block it!”
Ginseng Corp’s #12 cleanly received Kim Yuri’s serve and passed to their setter, who tossed to their right-side hitter.
Watching that, Setter Yeojeong shouted, and Minseo jumped for the block like she’d been waiting.
Thud!
“Woooah!!”
The ball hit Minseo’s arms and bounced into the opponent’s court.
Block successful!
A great defense following the score!
You gain 7 experience points.
However, since this is a practice match, the experience gained is halved.
‘Yes!’
Minseo let out a gasp of admiration at the alert.
“Great job!”
“Kim Minseo’s alive!”
With her back-to-back brilliant plays, the teammates showered her with praise.
Especially her high school classmates, who knew her glory days—they felt like she was back in her prime.
“Alright, let’s keep this momentum going!”
With Minseo’s two plays seizing control, Hyundai Construction tightened up and served.
After that, Kim Yuri’s serve clipped the end line for a point, and Ginseng Corp seemed to lose their fight, no longer clinging with fierce defense.
If it were a real match, they’d fight to swing momentum back, but since it was practice—and considering Hyundai’s match against GS Caltex tomorrow—they backed off to preserve condition.
Thanks to that, Hyundai Construction enjoyed a satisfying win over Ginseng Corp before heading to lunch.
Ding!
“Nngh…”
Ding!
I was deep in sleep when the relentless phone alerts started blaring early in the morning, jolting me awake.
Ding!
“…What the?”
Scratching my head as I sat up, I quickly grabbed my smartphone to check the source.
Kim Minseo has successfully scored!
Right after receiving the setter's toss, she unleashed a fantastic spike.
You gain 5 experience points.
However, since this is a practice match, the experience gained is halved.
Kim Minseo has succeeded in a toss!
Her fearless reception is impressive.
You gain 1 experience point.
However, since this is a practice match, the experience gained is halved.
Kim Minseo has drawn the opponents' attention.
Thanks to her performance, a teammate scored.
You gain 6 experience points.
However, since this is a practice match, the experience gained is halved.
“What is this…?”
There were tons more alerts like these, all related to Kim Minseo.
Ding!
Victory against KGC Ginseng Corporation!
You gain 20 experience points.
However, since this is a practice match, the experience gained is halved.
Settling experience points.
Please wait a moment.
Kim Minseo has gained 175 experience points. (Cumulative: 175)
==========
Author's Note