Chapter 23
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: Strange Woman. (1)
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"Whoa, check out that foreign car. It's sleek."
"Focus, will you?"
"Ah, sorry, noona."
"Isn't the car Maeng-ho's riding in even better?"
"Domestic cars are the best, and among them, Hye-jin noona's the top."
"Then how about driving a bit faster?"
"You got it. Starting her up."
Just as they gazed out over the wide sports field from the school rooftop, savoring the thrill of outdoor sex, his pocket buzzed with vibration.
"What's that? Hold on, noona. Phone call."
It was Won-ho. What did this guy want?
-"Hey, where are you? Someone's here looking for you."
"Bathroom. Who is it?"
-"Tsk. Skipping practice all the time like this, you're gonna get screwed."
Had he skipped that much? Well, with Hye-jin noona dropping by school sometimes, and Hyun-ah on her five-minute standby, he had no choice but to ditch training to enjoy sex life with both at school.
"I'm really hurting, man. So, who's here?"
-"Not sure, but she's got sunglasses on, kinda career woman vibe? Looks young, though. My gut says agent's the type. Most with that aura are agents."
She was finally here? He'd killed it at the Golden Lion Tournament, after all.
"Got it, thanks. Hanging up and heading down. You hang up."
-"Yeah, hope you shit well."
He ended the call, and Hye-jin noona, who'd been listening, scowled.
"What? Ending it here and going down?"
"Come on, noona. This is life-or-death stuff right now."
"Still..."
"Hey now. A real man's at a crossroads in life, and his woman's whining?"
"Hahaha, Maeng-ho, are you nuts?"
...Her face turned dead serious mid-laugh, making him flinch a bit.
"Anyway, you heard the call? That's it for today."
"Aw. Fine, noona gets it. Dinner then?"
"I'll text once I see what's up."
"Sure. Let's go."
"But noona, where'd you get the rooftop key? It's always locked."
"Made copies ages ago."
Hye-jin noona, alright.
"Then I'll head down first."
"Yeah, noona'll wait a bit and go."
He left Hye-jin noona behind and descended from the rooftop. A bit disappointing, but sex opportunities were plentiful—agent visits, not so much.
'Heh. An agent for a punk like you? Sign of the apocalypse.'
'Rogers knows agents too? They have those before you died?'
'Nope.'
'Then how do you know?'
'This body's omniscient.'
'Speaking Korean's weird too, come to think.'
'Idiot, we've been together almost a year—now it's weird?'
'......Ghosts scare me a little. No time to marvel.'
'Kuhuhu, you cowardly mutt. Guts turned to dick, huh.'
'Oh? Admitting it's big?'
'Yeah. Not quite my level, but...'
Mid-chat with Rogers while heading to the spot Won-ho mentioned, Rogers suddenly vanished. First time ever—he panicked and called out loudly.
"Rogers!"
'Shut it. Can't vanish if you're yapping.'
What was going on? Unsettling... Rogers vanished again after that. Not gone for good, just temporarily, which eased his mind, but still anxious, he called once more.
"Rogers?"
No answer from Rogers. Instead, a strange woman spoke up. About 165cm, sunglasses hiding her face, but her sharp nose and kissable lips screamed beauty.
Her suit fit perfectly, and the curves peeking underneath—full where it should be, slim elsewhere—stirred curiosity.
"Who...?"
"Hello. Ji Maeng-ho player. I'm Cheon So-young from SY Agency."
She handed him a business card. Her brushing hand felt soft—not an athlete's.
"SY Agency—that one?"
He'd heard of SY Agency. The one contracting promising players for the last 4-5 years and sending most to the majors.
"Yes. The one that's sent tons to the majors and holds many All-Stars."
"No title on the card?"
"Mm... something like investor."
"You look young for that."
"What does age matter for investors? It's the money that counts."
"Ah..."
"I'm no scammer."
She pulled out another card.
"Also operations team leader for AT Thunderbirds."
"AT Thunderbirds?"
"Yes. Meeting as Thunderbirds staff would be tampering. Here as SY today."
"Ah..."
Even more scammy. Do teams allow side gigs? A young woman as investor in a big agency? Scam vibes everywhere.
"Not great here—awkward. I know a spot. Shall we? Oh, Coach approved it."
He considered refusing, but legal hooky appealed. Plus... Cheon So-young was hot.
'Scam? So what. Let her scam once, then bang her—net gain.'
"Sure."
"Hop in the car."
They walked to the parking lot; a cool foreign car awaited. She unlocked it with the key fob.
"Whoa, gullwing doors?"
"Get in."
He didn't follow cars, but it screamed money. Or loan-sharked for the con.
The ride was buttery smooth.
"We're off."
"Where to?"
"Training facility run by our agency."
*
'Hasn't grown much. Well, less than a month.'
At a light, So-young eyed Maeng-ho's stats. She'd checked at Golden Lion, but crowds and distance made it imprecise—this was first clear read.
'Contact and eye still lacking, but league average—so plenty usable.'
KBA league average was 30-35; fine for non-immediate MLB use. Higher stats without MLB debut was a blessing.
'Oddity: shortstop stats beat second base, but potential higher at second. Good he found his fit now?'
This guy would make it. So-young wanted him more.
Not all max potential, but even now competitive in KBA; full bloom meant MLB domination.
She knew: post-debut allowance founded agency proved her eye, but high potential didn't guarantee stardom. Side cash too.
Korea's top SY Agency born of that—baseball folk would freak if they knew, but origin secret held.
'Hmm. For AT dynasty, better he bombs league mildly, stays forever—but tough with this generational talent.'
Agent deal then MLB? No loss.
'Alright, he's mine.'
"Staring too much, aren't you?"
"Ah, sorry. Eyes keep drifting. Been hitting the gym hard?"
"Yeah, something like that."
'Heh. This chick's into me? Rogers would rate her fuckability right now, but where'd he go?'
Boosted by fun times with Hye-jin and Hyun-ah, Maeng-ho mistook her gaze for attraction. Her peeking eyes past shades? His type.
Of course, So-young's interest wasn't that.
Chaebol daughter, no dating or love—ambition for heights. No guy measured up.
"Here we are."
"This is...?"
"Training spot for SY players off-season. You know."
Top-tier for SY pros: cutting-edge gear. Maeng-ho gawked at firsts.
'Wish I could show you what I see, but can't. Gotta show scout idiots the data.'
"Miss, you're here? All prepped."
"Guest today—call me team leader."
"Ah, sorry. Team leader."
"Nice facilities."
Maeng-ho tried chatting So-young; reply came elsewhere.
"Our agency's players train here off-season. Pitching machines top MLB spec—up to 180km/h, spin adjustable. So..."
"Hanchego's Ji Maeng-ho. Promising prospect I'm eyeing."
"Ah, yes. If team leader's watching... he's set. Maeng-ho player. Nice. HitTrax analyzes exit velo, distance, etc. Better than most teams' setups."
"Yeah."
Maeng-ho curt to the intruding guy.
'Who the hell's this punk, butting in.'
Oblivious, staffer boasted facilities. Maeng-ho half-listened, ogling So-young's hips ahead.
'Hands soft, but works out steady? Nice lines. Not athlete-level like Hye-jin noona or Hyun-ah, but toned enough.'
Gawking lewdly, So-young turned suddenly.
"Maeng-ho player interested in majors?"
"Ah! Majors!"
Voice cracked in surprise—no laughs. Precious guest to both.
"Interested, yeah. But military first, conquer Korea then go—my plan."
Truth to ideal woman.
"Smart. Majors trend away from young debuts now. Prime prospects wait till 22-24 body maturity. Service time tweaks delay full seasons further."
"Oh, really?"
He didn't know: sans MLB-chewing super-talent, 20yo debut near impossible.
Money-driven MLB manipulated service for extra cheap years—full-time tough early.
"Better solve military, earn here, then majors. Fail from Korea? Means meh even direct. Pro here smarter."
"I'm confident."
Seeing his brimming self-assurance, So-young smiled softly.
"I see that potential. Starting KBA's perfect. That's why agent contract. You can reach majors. Tour over—talk ours?"
"Good. With you, team leader Cheon?"
'Don't wanna chat stuffy dude.'
"Of course. Investor here, Thunderbirds ops leader too."
Unaware of his lechery, So-young replied.
"Team leader Cheon's no mere investor. Practically SY owner."
"Don't spout nonsense..."
"Sorry, team leader. Mouth ran."
'Yeah, punk. Pipe down.'
Maeng-ho snickered inwardly at the rebuked man, stepping on.