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## Chapter 2. When I Opened My Eyes (2)
It was disappointing.
If I was going to be reincarnated, I should at least have been given the body of a proper man who could face Lee Jae-seong on the field.
Instead, I got the body of an injured retired player.
It made sense, though. The only way I could utterly crush that bastard was through golf...
If I ever got the chance, I would never show him consideration or yield to him like I had in the past.
That treacherous son of a bitch! Even tearing him limb from limb wouldn't be enough!
I would make him understand what humiliation was and what a disgraceful defeat felt like...
I would break him thoroughly and make sure he understood it for good.
But an injured retired golfer daring to dream of such a thing...
I soon shook my head.
Reality hit me like a truck!
No matter how much the soul of the genius golfer Yoon Choseong resided within me, conquering the PGA with this body was nothing more than an impossible, delusional dream.
I lay on the bed and fell into thought for a while.
Then, suddenly, something occurred to me.
‘Come to think of it, what about my hideout...?’
The life of the golf emperor, Yoon Choseong, was a brand in itself.
Wherever I went, I was a walking billboard, with the spotlight constantly shining on me.
What I ate, what I wore, what I put on my feet, what I drove, and even the tissues I used to blow my nose.
Everything Yoon Choseong used immediately became a topic of discussion.
A one-man corporation that walked around on two legs.
That was the life of a sports star.
Naturally, I desperately needed a private place where I could rest.
Besides, I had a well-built physique honed through exercise and a handsome face that could rival a movie star...
Even though they knew I was married, everyone from the wives of chaebol families to famous actresses constantly made advances toward me, so even filtering them out was exhausting.
That didn't mean I had ever cheated.
The only woman I loved in this world was my wife, Song Mi-yeon.
Anyway, for various reasons, I had prepared a hideout under a borrowed name and was secretly using it as my own private space.
Without even my wife knowing.
Of course, I had already planned to give it to her as a surprise gift after I retired from golf, so I didn't feel guilty about it.
I immediately got up and opened the closet to change my clothes.
But was this guy's fashion sense completely hopeless?
Why were there so few clothes?
And what was this?
There were barely a few sets of clothes to change into, yet the closet was overflowing with hats.
Had he invested his entire salary in hats?
There were so many different kinds of hats packed tightly inside the closet that anyone who saw them would believe he was a hat collector.
What was this?
Was it because he worked as a caddie? Or because he had once been a golfer?
Or was it some kind of social anxiety that had developed after giving up on becoming a golfer?
“Well, I guess I'll find out with time.”
For now, I grabbed whatever clothes I could and hurriedly put them on.
They weren't clothes I had worn before, but they felt strangely familiar, as though I had been wearing them for a long time.
As expected, the body remembers even when the mind doesn't.
‘Let's see... That one should work.’
I needed something to cover the bump on my forehead.
Luckily, I spotted a bucket hat that was just right.
Thanks to the ridiculous number of hats, I had plenty of choices.
In any case, I considered myself lucky.
After putting on the hat and looking in the mirror, the bump on my forehead was completely hidden.
‘Good!’
My mood shot up just because I had managed to hide a single bump.
But...
Was I really happy about something like this?
Had my emotions become more volatile after changing bodies?
The Yoon Choseong who had nerves of steel had almost no emotional fluctuations.
It was practically an occupational disease.
As a human being, it was impossible to have absolutely no emotional ups and downs, but maintaining composure was essential when you spent your life as a professional athlete.
Then why was I acting like this?
It was the first moment when I felt that something about me was distinctly different from the Yoon Choseong of the past.
It felt strange, but I soon shook my head.
‘I'll stop worrying about it for now and get out of here.’
I pulled the bucket hat down firmly over my head and left the dormitory.
I changed buses and trains several times before arriving in Gangnam.
Familiar streets, familiar atmosphere, familiar people.
The golf genius Yoon Choseong, who had once shaken the entire world, had died, yet nothing had changed.
Tsk, those ungrateful bastards!
When I was alive, they had praised me like I was a god...
And now they were peacefully going about their daily lives.
I lowered my head and let out a hollow laugh.
“Of course.”
What could I possibly expect when I had died after getting completely crushed by someone I had considered my own younger brother?
I'd be the idiot for expecting anything.
I lightly shook my head and walked toward my hideout.
Before long, the hideout came into view.
New World Median.
It was a shabby, 25-story apartment complex with commercial facilities, tucked away in one corner of Gangnam.
Just like its tacky name suggested, the apartment was about twenty years old, and the paint on the exterior walls had peeled off in various places, leaving the building looking rather unsightly.
No one would ever imagine that a sports star lived in such a run-down place.
That was precisely why I had chosen it as my hideout.
I immediately got into the elevator and pressed the button for the 17th floor.
With a rattling vibration and a loud mechanical noise, the elevator slowly began to rise.
Ding.
The elevator reached the 17th floor, and the doors opened.
My destination was Unit 1702.
For some reason, my heart was pounding.
It had only been a week since my death, but I was worried that something might have happened to the hideout.
The apartment was under a borrowed name, and all the utility bills were set to automatic payment, so even if the place remained empty for ten years, there wouldn't be any major problems.
Other than the maintenance fee notices piling up in the mailbox.
Beep, beep, beep, beep!
I entered the familiar passcode.
Ding-dong!
I carefully turned the doorknob and stepped inside.
‘Let's see...’
I opened my eyes wide and quickly scanned the living room.
“Phew!”
A sigh of relief escaped me.
The paintings and ceramics I had received as gifts, the silk curtains covering the living room windows, the cute accessories decorating the house, and even the wine glasses hanging upside down...
Everything was exactly as I had left it, perfectly preserved.
The inside was filled with luxury and splendor that couldn't even be compared to the shabby exterior of the apartment.
Of course it was.
Whose hideout was this?
It was the hideout of Yoon Choseong, the idol of golfers around the world and a walking one-man corporation who earned tens of billions of won in advertising revenue every year.
It had to be this impressive to maintain my status.
I quickly entered the bedroom.
There was one last and most important thing I needed to check.
‘Hmm!’
The door of the safe beside the bed was also securely closed.
‘Still, I should check.’
I placed my thumb against the safe.
Beep, beep, beep!
A warning sound rang out, indicating that the fingerprint was incorrect.
“What?”
I tilted my head in confusion.
“Ah, right. It's not my fingerprint, is it?”
For a moment, I had forgotten that I had been reincarnated.
I entered the seven-digit password and entered the safe's settings mode.
I needed to change the fingerprint.
The safe had a state-of-the-art dual-security locking system that would never open unless both the fingerprint and password matched.
I registered Na Tae-su's fingerprint in the safe.
Your fingerprint has been successfully registered.
I immediately scanned my thumbprint.
Click!
“Okay.”
Inside the safe were more than a dozen gold bars, bundles of Korean won and U.S. dollar bills, and certificates of deposit.
Even by a rough estimate, there had to be at least five billion won in there.
“Fortunately, everything's still here.”
After confirming that everything was in its proper place, I suddenly found myself craving some strong liquor.
Too many conflicting emotions had come rushing over me at once...
I needed something to help me deal with them.
I went into the living room, opened the cabinet, and took out a bottle of Hennessy that I had been drinking before putting it away.
Then I drank straight from the bottle.
Of course, I normally didn't drink like this.
Self-discipline was essential for someone who exercised professionally.
But...
“Cough!”
I couldn't even get a single sip down my throat.
This guy...
“Can't he drink at all?”
‘What kind of guy is this?’
A lot of things would be different from now on.
I had to accept reality and live accordingly.
They say that if you can't avoid something, you should learn to enjoy it.
Thud.
I placed the bottle on the table and sank into the sofa.
At that moment, a horrifying scene suddenly flashed through my mind.
And it was unbelievably vivid.
Miyaka Pines Golf Course, Florida, USA.
4:15 p.m.
The blazing sun was gradually easing its intensity, while the gentle early-autumn breeze brushed against our hair.
“Hyung! Isn't the weather absolutely perfect today?”
“Yeah, it's ideal for playing golf.”
After hitting powerful tee shots on the 485-yard par-4 fifth hole, the two of us walked across the soft grass with our irons in hand, preparing for our second shots.
“Hyung, do you know what my wish is?”
“You have wishes too? You already have everything.”
I had a pretty good idea what the guy wanted to say, but I deliberately didn't show it.
I thought listening quietly was what a hyung should do.
“What is your wish?”
As though he had been waiting for that question, he opened his mouth.
“To play a round alone with you, hyung. Just the two of us. Of course, with no caddie.”
“What? Then didn't you already get your wish today?”
“Something like that. That's why I ordered them to clear the course after 2:30.”
“I knew it. I thought it was strange that I hadn't seen a single person.”
The guy's name was Lee Jae-seong.
He was 32 years old.
He was the youngest son of the AP Group, ranked number one among Korean business conglomerates.
In other words, he was fourth-generation chaebol royalty.
He was also the owner of Miyaka Pines Golf Course, making him the real deal even among the children of wealthy families.
But his profile didn't end there.
He was ranked second on the PGA Tour rankings and second in prize money.
For the past three years, he had never once lost his second-place ranking.
In short, he was a golf genius born in Korea and raised by the AP Group.
And...
To me, who had no brothers or sisters, he was a precious person who could never be replaced by anything else, a younger colleague and younger brother whom I loved and cherished more than anyone.
And that guy had emptied the entire golf course just so he could play a round with me.
“But isn't your wish a little too modest?”
“Seriously, hyung. Do you think I'm the only person whose wish is to play a round with you? If you lined up all the people who wanted that, you'd probably get two lines stretching from Florida to New York.”
“Isn't that a little too much...?”
That was when it happened.
The alligators lingering in the water hazard left the water and slowly crawled onto the bank.
They had sensed our presence.
Sunlight glistened across their wet scales.
“Ugh, I wish those things weren't here. They're so disgusting.”
“Why? They're cute. Those guys are the reason the golf course never runs out of customers.”
“Well, it's true that Miyaka Pines became famous because of the alligators. Anyway, the things Americans do are just unbelievable.”
Just then, the phone began vibrating.
When I looked at the screen, I saw Mi-yeon's face.
“Oh, it's Mi-yeon. Hold on.”
I waved the phone to show him, and he smiled and nodded.
I pressed the call button and started a video call with her.
“Honey! What brings you to call at this hour? It must be the middle of the night in Korea.”
“I just called because I was curious. You're with Jae-seong, right?”
“Yeah, but is something wrong?”
“No. It's just...”
At that moment, Jae-seong leaned his face toward the phone and waved.
“Sister-in-law! Hello.”
“Oh my, Jae-seong! Hello!”
She happily waved back as well.
The two were close in age, so they tended to get along like friends.
“Sister-in-law! Today I'm going to have a cozy round of golf with hyung, so could you please not disturb us? Hahaha.”
“Ah, yes. Sorry for interrupting. Then I'll call again after you're done with golf.”
“Okay. Get some rest.”
Jae-seong waved his hand, and she ended the call.
What was that about?
Didn't she have something to say to me?
Anyway, after the call ended, Jae-seong continued speaking.
“By the way, hyung, there's something I want to ask you. Can you answer honestly?”
“That came out of nowhere. What could I possibly have to hide from you? Ask me anything. Just go easy on me. Heh!”
“Seriously, you call that a joke...”
I truly didn't want to hide anything from him.
No, throughout my entire life, I could confidently say that I had never shown him a single lie or false pretense.
“Hyung, you don't hate alligators, do you?”