Chapter 39
Chapter 39
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: A New Future (4)
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"What’s your dream, young athlete?"
"To be a farmer."
"Ah... Haha."
The reporter on TV let out an awkward laugh. Her face grew even more embarrassed than when she’d hesitated to call him a young athlete. She was from Daegu MBS, a public broadcast affiliate, and about the same height as the kid.
"Heh, looks like they couldn’t cut that one."
Local station, huh? Chairman Hong Gi-jun muttered as he stubbornly rubbed his chin. A sharp glint flickered in his eyes.
"Still, it’s a shame to waste that talent. Don’t you want to use it to contribute to the nation and the development of sports?"
"I love track and field, but if my presence makes others suffer abuse by comparison, I don’t want that. I could face the same treatment someday, and it might pass down to juniors and future generations as a bad habit. That wouldn’t be contributing to the nation—it’d just be an excuse for ‘talent development’ that justifies corporal punishment for young athletes—"
Hong Gi-jun let out a long sigh and tapped the remote with his index finger—tap-tap.
Min Yong-rak fidgeted nervously. He’d only done as ordered: track down the broadcast video. But the manager, who always wore a smile, now had a grim expression—a rare sight.
After some contemplation, Hong Gi-jun picked up the receiver, as if forgetting Min Yong-rak was even there.
"Yes, it’s me, hyungnim."
Who could it be? Min Yong-rak furrowed his brow and tilted his head.
"Thank you. You’ve been a huge help."
As far as Min Yong-rak knew, only two people were called "hyungnim" by Hong Gi-jun.
"Could you do me one more favor? Yes. Tell them we’ll funnel activity funds and ads to whoever properly investigates academy sports corporal punishment. Send some honey to Daegu MBS too. That alone will get the other outlets moving. Yes, I trust only you, hyungnim. And Japan—did you handle it as I advised? Good work. After that..."
The man handling ad budget execution and media PR, earning "hyungnim" from Hong Gi-jun.
I think I know. Min Yong-rak nodded inwardly.
President Yu Mun-sik.
The chairman’s eldest son, president of Sein Chemical and group PR director.
Hong Gi-jun’s voice trailed off into the air.
He glanced alternately at Min Yong-rak and the door, twitching his eyebrows.
Min Yong-rak bowed deeply, quietly removed the video tape, and left the manager’s office.
Phew—stifling.
Manager Hong Gi-jun was always smiling and gentle, beloved by the staff, yet he had an oddly razor-sharp edge. Like he could scan your soul with a glance.
What if he told the employees that this scholarly manager was the real power moving behind the chairman’s firstborn son?
No one would believe it.
Considering the trust placed in him, he couldn’t tell a soul. Letting him overhear that call despite being right there? It was a test. Min Yong-rak pressed his lips tight and headed to his desk.
The boss’s ears are donkey ears.
"Whoa, impressive! At a national competition?"
It was the second day of the same topic.
After work, Hong Gi-jun had to listen to Son Gwang-yeon’s bragging.
His friend had been taciturn through college, but now he called constantly to boast. No kids, and he’s living the dream. Still, after a decade without word, seeing his old friend so happy warmed Hong Gi-jun’s heart.
He was the one who’d introduced him to his wife, making Gwang-yeon his benefactor in a way. Hong Gi-jun just smiled, congratulated him, and said he was jealous before hanging up.
"Gwang-yeon oppa? What’s this about nationals?"
"Jin-hyuk took three gold medals."
Yu Se-ra’s eyes widened as she took Hong Gi-jun’s jacket and hung it up.
"Wow. He was always running around with that puppy during break, and now this? Track and field?"
She’d heard he was smart. Big deal in a rural school with few kids. But a national track win? That was shocking.
"Doesn’t seem interested in joining a sports team."
Hong Gi-jun relayed everything Gwang-yeon had shared—the other schools’ training, disappointment in coaches, and all the details. He skipped mentioning the investigation he’d tasked his older brother with. His wife thought her brothers were pathetic.
"Remember watching the Olympics and lamenting why Korea doesn’t have athletes like that?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah."
Yu Se-ra blinked at the sudden remark.
Hong Gi-jun flashed a dad smile at his wife’s expression, identical to their daughter’s.
"Want to give it a shot? Grassroots sports development."
"Me? I know nothing about sports."
"I’ll help. Just trust your husband."
Grassroots sports to someone running department stores and hotels?
Her husband was pushing hard lately, but it felt out of left field to Yu Se-ra.
As if reading her mind, Hong Gi-jun’s eyes gleamed.
"Not some gallery like other chaebol daughters. Set up a foundation. You hate galleries anyway."
"Yeah, I do."
Her father-in-law, Famousun Chairman, had once suggested it, but she’d refused outright. Spotlit glamour masking the world’s shadows—a pantheon of the elite. She knew too well the whispers and stench in those private corners.
"Instead of something you despise, how about nurturing and sponsoring talented future sports stars?"
Yu Se-ra’s eyes lit up at his addition.
The couple saw eye to eye on many things.
"Like starting a foundation?"
"Might need one for sustainability. But the business I envision needs a star player."
"Star player? What’s that?"
The simple term felt foreign to sports-illiterate Yu Se-ra.
Explaining in depth here could backfire—like breaking up over explaining stolen bases to a girlfriend puzzled why the runner took off during baseball.
"Like luxury goods. Pick top talents and support them. Manager like celebrities, sales pitches to sponsors, legal reps too."
An agency.
Yet Yu Se-ra seemed hooked on "luxury."
"Managing star players into real stars? You see Jin-hyuk as that kind of talent?"
Even calling him "honey," she’d slip into "oppa" when excited—no more convincing needed. Paint the honey-dripping picture, and she’d bite.
A bit quirky, but as a chaebol daughter and CEO, she decided boldly when it benefited her.
Hong Gi-jun knew her ambitions.
"Managing and training in parallel? Massive PR boost and honors."
"Honors..."
Yu Se-ra murmured, eyes distant.
"Yu Se-ra, sponsoring grassroots sports and nurturing talent for the nation’s future. Not just fame—the mother of Korean grassroots athletics..."
Hong Gi-jun kept adding, but she’d already retreated into her own world.
Honors...
She’d once dreamed of acting, only for her father to force study abroad instead. Fame as Yu Se-ra, not the Sein Group heiress. She ran stores and hotels flawlessly, but headlines named the group, not her.
Why her husband suddenly pushed this, guiding her there? Unimportant.
"Jin-hyuk or another athlete—it doesn’t matter. Popular sport or not. Time and talent aplenty; we’ll scout. I’ll back you."
"Pfft—some manager pushing the president around?"
Her words said yes, but she was still lost in reverie.
Sports agency...
Yu Se-ra’s heart raced at the vast market and future.
Sports agency.
It just sounded cool. Global vibe from the name alone.
A foundation nurturing and managing athletes. Contracts with promising seedlings separate from training. Funds from the group—SI Agency, SI Foundation after Sein. Later, SR.
Am I the chairwoman?
Mother of Korean sports, SI Foundation Chairwoman Yu Se-ra.
She’d already hung the sign in her mind.
Hong Gi-jun narrowed his eyes at his cloud-walking wife.
Instead of specifics, she’d launched into fantasy—tough for long talks. He stared, then shook his head.
Sigh. That hero complex again.
Time to change topics.
"Where’s Su-jeong?"
"Slurp—huh? Who?"
Yu Se-ra wiped her mouth hastily, flustered.
She blinked hard, snapping back.
"Su-jeong’s jumping rope in the garden."
"Jumping rope?"
"Yeah. Says she needs strong legs to keep up with Jin-hyuk on break. Jeez—wonder who she takes after, chasing boys already."
Hong Gi-jun held back that it was the mom.
Well, he’d never seen her chasing guys, so fair enough.
The next day, Yu Se-ra started hustling—calls, visits everywhere.
Consulting study-abroad friends in Italy, UK, Germany; requesting papers. No US contacts, so Hong Gi-jun would handle it.
Come vacation, the Great Magician visited.
"Hello!"
"Our Su-jeong’s here. What’ve you been eating to grow so much?"
Han Yu-young hugged Hong Su-jeong tight, asking warmly after her.
But the chat didn’t last.
Hong Su-jeong was a goal-oriented kid.
"Well, I’ll be off then—"
The Seoul kid bowed to Han Yu-young—hair brushing the floor—then stuck to Jin-hyuk. His break began as babysitter to the two tots.
"Oppa, what’s a ghost?"
"Ghost."
"Hemisphere?"
"Hemisphere?"
"You’re in elementary—how do you know?"
"..."
What’s her deal, acting superior when she was too?
Early education, genius programs—every pricey cram school. But to Jin-hyuk, past genius, she was just a kid. Amused by her standing toe-to-toe, he patted her head. She’d close her eyes like a puppy, nuzzling in.
"Wow, she hates head pats from anyone but Jin-hyuk."
"Hoho, really, sis?"
"Yes. Her dad tries, and she freaks."
Yu Se-ra eyed her daughter narrowly. Compared to home behavior, and recalling last winter’s spit incident.
Then—
"Su-jeong, what if Jin-hyuk oppa wants a kiss?"
—out of nowhere.
Jin-hyuk yanked his hand back, stunned. What was this auntie saying?
Have I been babying her too much?
Unlike flustered Jin-hyuk, Hong Su-jeong peered into his face. Her ruddy brown eyes pierced like a cat’s, leaving him uneasy.
"Oppa."
"Yeah?"
"You gonna ask to kiss me?"
"...No?"
As she opened her mouth, Yu-jin smooshed a kiss on Jin-hyuk’s cheek—bold as a charging soldier. Common here; she loved oppa more than parents.
"Ehehe—kiss!"
Yu-jin clapped, giggling.
Was it his imagination?
Hong Su-jeong’s eyes dimmed with disappointment, then drifted back to her book.