Chapter 92
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 92
Chapter Title: Pro Basketball Draft
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The rookie selection for Korea's professional women's basketball league is conducted via draft.
First, the six pro teams across the country receive marbles based on their regular season rankings from last year. The first-place team gets six, second place five... down to the sixth-place team with one.
All the marbles are put into a machine and spun.
The team name on the first marble drawn gets the first overall pick.
This year, the team that snagged the top pick was Busan BUK, who had finished third in last season's league.
"Kim Ijin! Welcome aboard!"
They selected Kim Ijin, the nation's top high school basketball prospect.
Incheon IKB, with the second pick, chose a player from a high school in Suwon. The third pick went to a player who had skipped last year's draft to attend college.
After the first round, picks seven through twelve go in reverse order. The team that picked sixth gets the seventh pick, and so on.
They go backward for another full round.
"We select Myeong Seonju."
Myeong Seonju was taken twelfth overall, Busan BUK's second pick, officially joining the pro ranks.
"Busan BUK also holds the thirteenth pick."
"We'll pass on the next pick."
From the third round onward, some teams made selections, but far more passed. No team took on four or more rookies this year.
Only fifteen players were drafted in total. Just making the cut was a huge accomplishment.
Myeong Seonju was thrilled, of course. Absolutely over the moon.
"Haha, we're so lucky Myeong Seonju was still available. You and that other player really stood out at the nationals."
"Thank you! Take care of me from here on out, Ijin."
"You got it."
But she couldn't shake the nagging doubt.
Partly because she'd be joining the league in the same class as Kim Ijin.
But mostly because, unlike Kim Ijin—the player BUK had coveted with their top pick—she felt like she'd been a consolation prize from the leftovers.
Regardless, they'd ended up on the same team, whether they liked it or not.
National team selection trials.
Everyone around her made a huge fuss, but Myeong Seonju chalked it up to coincidence.
It wasn't especially hot, and she wasn't overly tense.
She hadn't run hard or stood around forever.
And it wasn't even during a game.
Just a brief pause while standing during a strategy huddle.
'Hmm... my stomach feels a bit off...'
It was stuffy. Her heart seemed to be beating a little faster.
Then her chest and stomach started to tighten.
Whoosh.
Her vision blurred.
Her legs buckled.
'...?'
By the time she realized what was happening, her upper body was already supported by Kim Ijin's arms.
"Myeong Seonju, you okay?!"
"I'm fine!"
She shot right back up, but her vision was still swimming.
She was forced to sit in a chair and pondered why this had to happen today of all days.
The symptoms cleared up in less than five minutes.
Blood pressure normal. ECG normal, just slightly fast. Blood work normal. Brain blood flow normal.
"No need for an echocardiogram or brain MRI."
The doctor said she was fine, and Myeong Seonju truly felt perfectly okay—not the slightest issue.
Fortunately, no recurrence after trials.
She made it through the season unscathed.
...So when did it happen again?
"Heading to the clinic again this weekend?"
"Nah, back to my alma mater. A junior asked me to drop by."
It was the day Kim Ijin—who'd squeeze in clinic visits even during training camp—made an excuse to head out.
"What about Lira?"
"Should she come? She invited me, so she'll probably be there. She's the captain, after all."
Chae Lira! Hearing her name brought a smile.
She'd made captain of Jungun High, just as expected.
The player who'd been handling captain duties for Jungun High since last year, filling in for the skill-focused Kim Ijin. They'd crossed paths often since middle school, and her unique name stuck. She was always at the team's center, drawing the eye.
And suddenly, guilt washed over her.
Hadn't she injured that girl's arm at last year's nationals?
"Ask if her arm's all better now, and pass along my regards."
"...? If I tell her you're asking, her perfectly fine arm might start hurting."
"Get lost!"
"Kidding."
She'd planned to just exchange greetings through Kim Ijin and call it a day.
"What should we do?"
"Hmm... Want to grab some basketball shoes?"
Somehow, they ended up meeting in Nampo-dong.
Chae Lira had messaged that her arm was no big deal, and in chatting, Myeong learned she was skipping the draft for college.
They agreed to meet up while she was in Busan.
"Sure, why not?"
But in person, it was painfully awkward.
What do you even do with a junior from your rival school who'd always pick fights whenever you crossed paths?
They awkwardly shopped along the street.
"I've never been to Yongdusan Park~."
Then rode the endless escalator up to Yongdusan Park.
"I've never checked out the tower either."
What was this, like a first date for a couple of lifelong singles?
Fine! She admitted she was a bit nervous!
She even regretted suggesting they meet!
But still.
"Kyaaah! What do we do? Hey! Myeong Seonju! You're messing with me, right?"
Why collapse out of nowhere like that?
"Ah, it's fine~. It happened once before—back to normal in under five minutes!"
"Shouldn't we call 119? I forgot how to do CPR. Should've practiced!"
"I'm telling you, I'm fine."
Chae Lira freaked out like crazy.
Even faster recovery than at the national team trials, too.
"Don't move a muscle. What if you trip going down the park stairs?"
Yongdusan Park's escalator is one-way. Down means stairs, no choice.
No big deal for a healthy girl like Myeong Seonju, but Chae Lira was talking helicopters and carrying her down.
"You collapsed again?"
Kim Ijin's words when they finally made it back to the dorm after all the drama.
"Collapsed? I just sat down for a quick break."
"Same difference. Lira said take you to the clinic."
"I'm fine, why..."
"Should I tell the coach?"
"..."
And so, Myeong Seonju reluctantly ended up at Kim Ijin's regular clinic.
So, she was hanging out with an awkward friend when the symptoms flared up again.
Hard to call that a major mental shock trigger.
"No history of acrophobia?"
"None at all~. We live on the 40th floor!"
"No other triggers besides a bit more tension than usual."
After hearing Myeong Seonju's story, my diagnosis felt even more solid.
"It's vasovagal syncope."
"Vaso... what?"
Myeong Seonju blinked blankly at the unfamiliar term.
"Some kind of nerve thing, right?"
"Obviously! Um, Doctor, I skipped a lot of studying for sports, so I'm clueless on this stuff. I've heard of cranial nerves, sympathetic, parasympathetic..."
Kim Ijin tried to play it cool, so Myeong Seonju rattled off nerve names to show off her science chops.
"It's a type of parasympathetic nerve. You've heard how sympathetic kicks in during stress and tension, while parasympathetic handles rest?"
"Yes!"
"Yeah."
Myeong Seonju nodded confidently. Kim Ijin seemed less sure.
No plans for a full science lecture, so I stuck to explaining the mechanism of vasovagal syncope.
"At trials and this time, even if you felt fine, your body was tense to some degree. That excites the sympathetic nerves."
"Right."
"Heart races, digestion stalls—that tightness in your gut and chest. But if sympathetic overdrive drags on, it's bad news for the body."
"Yeah."
"So when it goes overboard, the vagus nerve kicks in as a counter—slows the heart, drops blood pressure."
Both nodded like they'd gotten it.
"Heart's a pump supplying blood. Slow it down, and what happens?"
"Blood doesn't reach limbs—legs give out. Doesn't reach brain—lose balance!"
"Exactly. Severe cases lead to full blackout. Lying down quick kept blood flowing to your brain, so you snapped back."
This girl's sharp.
I praised her, and Myeong Seonju beamed. For some reason, Kim Ijin shot her a jealous side-eye.
Obviously easier to grasp when you've lived it.
"Ah~ Lira was right to make me rest."
Myeong scratched her head.
Then her face turned worried.
"But what if it happens again? Not serious is good, but... this level of tension happens anytime."
"Lie down fast as possible, loosen tight clothes."
"What if it's mid-game?"
That's the issue.
For average folks rarely stressed, a one-off vasovagal episode doesn't scream 'must treat.'
Last month, a similar case—a young woman tensed up singing at a friend's wedding, brief faint. Sent her home, no prescription.
But Myeong Seonju was different.
National trials, awkward junior hangout.
Tense situations, sure, but...
"If you want to keep playing pro, treatment's essential. Second episode already, and your threshold's low compared to an athlete's daily stress."
"Treatable?"
"Yes. Name's vasovagal, but root is sympathetic overexcitement. We'll prescribe to dial down sensitivity."
"Herbs, right?"
"Yeah?"
Even hearing it was treatable ramped up Myeong's worry.
"Uh... it won't trigger doping, will it?"
Ah, figures.
"No chance. Some herbs could flag doping, but those excite sympathetic nerves and boost alertness—opposite of what you need."
I pulled up a list of doping-risk herbs on my screen for her.
Ephedra tops it—dries mucus, phlegm, aids dieting by revving metabolism, so sympathetic ties.
Pinellia, Asarum, Aristolochia, etc.—none relevant to her symptoms.
"Doc'll prescribe safe ones."
"Phew, had to ask. Okay, whatever you prescribe, I'll take it. First time passed, but fainting mid-practice or game? Can't stay on the team."
I nodded.
"Smart thinking. Vasovagal means chronic tension. Easing that improves mood, digestion, sleep—everything."
UlSan Hwayeong High was a powerhouse, right?
Captain there, under pressure. Now pro with Kim Ijin—more burden.
Great physical gifts, but tension debuffing her.
Hoping to lift that burden big-time.
I began the patient interview.