Chapter 106: What Happened in America.
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 106: What Happened in America.
“What are you doing?”
“Ah, Coach, you’re just in time. I’m in a bit of a difficult situation right now.”
“A difficult situation...?”
I pointed to the woman in front of me who was venting her frustrations in English.
Coach Lee Seo-hye looked at the blonde foreigner with surprised eyes.
“Miss Ollie?”
“Coach Lee?”
Huh?
Do they know each other?
“What happened here?”
“Do you two know each other?”
“Yes, something like that. This is Olivia Lawrence, the Chairwoman and CEO of Rhino Company, Hyun-kyung’s main sponsor.”
Rhino Company?
Could it be the same Rhino Company I was thinking of?
There was only one Rhino Company I knew.
A global giant in the investment world that had been expanding its influence like crazy recently through stocks and crypto.
And she’s the chairwoman?
A woman this young?
‘I heard the queen of stock investing was the head of Rhino Company, but still.’
Impressive.
It wasn’t every day you met a woman with such eye-catching looks who also had the capability to build a world-class company on her own.
Only then did I notice the security detail standing around her—men in suits with bloodshot eyes, looking ready to take me down at any moment.
“I’m sorry, Miss Ollie.”
Coach Lee spoke to Olivia in fluent English.
I couldn’t tell if she was introducing me or apologizing; my English was too limited to understand the situation.
[You’ve gotten yourself into trouble right from the start.]
As if it had been waiting, a system window popped up.
[If you use 5,000 Health Points, you will be granted a trait that allows for perfect English conversation.]
Are you kidding me?
Forget 5,000, I didn’t even have 2,000 points.
‘I haven’t been able to earn any Sex Points lately, either.’
An unprecedented point drought.
And in this situation, it wanted me to spend 5,000?
Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t.
[New Quest]
[Provide perfect care for Im Hyun-kyung.]
[Reward: Perfect Foreign Language A – Allows you to speak all foreign languages fluently.]
Now that’s a generous reward.
If you’re going to be like that, why not just give it to me now?
[Impossible.]
Tsk.
What a shame.
While I was doing that, Coach Lee exchanged several words with Olivia.
As Olivia listened, her eyes widened slightly, and her expression softened.
“The talk is over.”
“Is that so?”
“Ollie said she overreacted because she thought you might be sexually harassing her, Jae-ho.”
What kind of nonsense is that!
I’m a wholesome young man of 21st-century Korea.
I’m not so starved that I’d come all the way to a foreign country to harass someone!
Of course, Olivia was a beautiful woman, but she wasn’t so stunning that I’d lose my mind.
“I told her that you’re Hyun-kyung’s mental coach and not the type of person to treat others poorly.”
“I’m glad the misunderstanding is cleared up.”
“Miss Ollie said she’s sorry, so don’t take it to heart, Jae-ho.”
“Of course.”
I gave a slight bow to Olivia, whose expression had relaxed.
She also gave a small nod.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Choi.”
“Ah, well, I’m sorry too. Have a safe trip.”
She watched me for a moment, accepted my greeting casually, and then left.
Thanks to Coach Lee’s brief interpretation, we were able to communicate in our own languages without much trouble.
“That’s a relief. I’m glad nothing serious happened.”
“It’s all thanks to you, Coach.”
If Coach Lee hadn’t appeared, this probably would have ended at a police station.
“Let’s go. The Round of 16 is tomorrow.”
“There’s not much time left.”
“Even if you help her improve her condition, she needs time to get back on track.”
I followed Coach Lee and got into the car she had arrived in.
“Hyun-kyung should still be training right now, so we’ll be able to see her.”
“You kept it a secret, right?”
“Of course. I heard she’s been intentionally avoiding you.”
Sitting next to me, Coach Lee Seo-hye spoke in a calm, quiet voice.
“Jae-ho, do you remember what I told you last time?”
Coach Lee’s face turned cold as she looked at me.
The middle-aged woman, once Korea’s top tennis player, was glaring at me with sharp, piercing eyes.
It felt like she was ready to pull out every hair on my head if I made even the slightest mistake.
Just meeting her eyes sent shivers down my spine.
“You mean about not letting me off if I hurt Hyun-kyung?”
“I’m glad you remember.”
“Of course I do.”
How could I forget?
The look in Coach Lee’s eyes when she gave me that warning was still vivid in my mind.
“I hope you haven’t forgotten. I believe Hyun-kyung’s condition plummeted because of you, but the reason I allowed you to come here anyway is...”
The eyes of a predator flashed.
“Because it seems like you want to take responsibility for Hyun-kyung enough to come all this way.”
“So you’re saying I should consider this my last chance.”
“Exactly. If Hyun-kyung gets knocked out in the Round of 16 because of you...”
She glared at me with burning eyes.
“Don’t you dare ever show your face near her again.”
“...Understood.”
I just gained another reason why I had to take care of Hyun-kyung.
*
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
“Hyun-kyung, your posture keeps twisting. You’re rushing too much.”
Hyun-kyung shook her head at the words of Park Yi-man, her medical coach.
What did a medical coach know?
“Huff, huff.”
Hyun-kyung’s mind was filled with all sorts of negative thoughts, made worse by her frustration over the game she couldn’t seem to master.
Wiping away her sweat, she countered Coach Park Yi-man’s words.
“Mio’s smash in the Round of 16 will hit the corners even harder than this. This speed isn’t enough.”
“You know rushing doesn’t work. It’ll only create openings for her.”
“No. I have to be faster.”
“You’ll hurt yourself. If you get injured in the same spot again, there’s nothing I can do. You might have to see a specialist and be in worse shape than last time.”
Despite Park Yi-man’s reprimand, she had no intention of backing down.
Because there was someone she could go to if she got hurt.
“When that happens, I can just get rehabilitation from Jae-ho... ssi.”
“Sigh, Hyun-kyung.”
Park Yi-man frowned.
It was true that her unique stubbornness had brought her to this level.
She was a nearly perfect player with an eye for the game and the skills to match.
But that only applied when she was making sound judgments.
Right now, she wasn’t seeing the game properly.
Her perspective was fragmented, her vision narrow.
Trying to move faster to beat an opponent who aimed for the corners...
It was no different from a bull’s strategy of moving faster to catch a nimble matador.
Ultimately, she was trying to win points by exhausting all her physical strength.
‘This isn’t like Hyun-kyung.’
It was a strategy far removed from her usual playstyle, which involved managing the game by looking at the overall flow, not just relying on physicality.
Why?
Why had her vision narrowed so suddenly?
What was making her so impatient?
His contemplation didn’t last long.
For now, he had to focus on the training.
Thwack! Thwack!
“Aim closer to the corner!”
She immersed herself in the training.
*
“How does it look?”
As we watched Hyun-kyung’s training from outside the court, Coach Lee asked me.
“Her body’s balance is completely broken.”
“You noticed right away, even though you’re not a tennis player.”
“I’ve seen it many times.”
It was a scene I had watched countless times to help correct her posture.
I’d even seen her swinging a racket while naked, so of course I knew.
The moment I saw her, I was certain.
Her problem wasn’t her body.
‘She’s wavering.’
It was obvious enough that even I, a layman in tennis, could tell at a glance.
“Let’s go.”
“I’ll stay here.”
“Are you sure?”
“An athlete’s privacy should be respected.”
After saying that, Coach Lee Seo-hye smiled.
“Understood.”
I opened the door to the practice court and stepped inside.
Then, I locked eyes with Hyun-kyung, who was engrossed in her practice.
“Uh, huh?”
Seeing me, Hyun-kyung’s pupils dilated and her mouth fell open.
Thump. Thump. Roll.
The ball Park Yi-man had thrown for practice flew past Hyun-kyung and rolled uselessly across the floor.
“Hyun-kyung, what are you do— Oh, Mr. Choi!”
Park Yi-man, who had looked delighted to see me, must have spotted Coach Lee Seo-hye outside the court. He cleared his throat and headed for the exit.
“Oops, I suddenly need the bathroom... Hyun-kyung, let’s take a short break.”
“Coach!”
“It’s an emergency! An emergency!”
Park Yi-man adjusted his glasses and hurried out, pretending not to hear her.
“...”
An awkward silence filled the space.
“Wh-why are you here?”
Hyun-kyung’s voice trembled as she struggled to speak.
“I’m perfectly fine without Jae-ho... ssi’s help, so why did you come? It looked like you were having a great time dating another woman.”
“Hyun-kyung.”
“Don’t come any closer!”
As I took a step forward, Hyun-kyung backed away.
“I’ll explain everything from the beginning.”
“What are you going to explain? That you’re trying to trick me? That it’s all a misunderstanding? I looked it up after I hung up on you, Jae-ho ssi. She’s a fa-famous celebrity. She’s really pretty, cool, and seems to have a lot of money... When I think about that, I’m just... I’m just a girl who’s a little good at sports.”
Hyun-kyung’s voice cracked as she continued her tearful rant.
The hand holding her racket was shaking.
Hyun-kyung had always been energetic and confident, but the girl standing before me now...
Was just a fragile child trembling with fear.
“It’s not like that.”
“You said you couldn’t even watch my match because you were meeting that woman. You must have been having a great time flirting somewhere. And here I was, not knowing anything, just because we slept together once...”
Big, fat tears began to fall from Hyun-kyung’s large eyes.
Hiccup, hiccup.
She sobbed so violently that her shoulders shook.
I walked toward her.
Hyun-kyung, who was sobbing and gasping, didn’t even think to back away anymore; she just stood there and cried.
I wiped away her flowing tears.
“I didn’t miss your match because of a date. I was helping her with acting practice for her next project, so I couldn’t watch it live. I made sure to watch the recorded match later.”
I had watched all of her matches, just not live.
Though, because of the flight, I hadn’t been able to see her first main draw match in the Round of 32.
Sniffle, sniffle.
Hyun-kyung looked up at me while crying.
“Is that true?”
“That I watched all the matches?”
“Not that. That you couldn’t watch it live because of acting assistance.”
“Of course.”
“Then what was that I saw during our call? It looked like you were eating together...”
“She bought me a meal to thank me for helping her with her work.”
“...Really?”
Hyun-kyung asked, her lip pouting.
“Really.”
“Then you don’t have any kind of relationship with that unnie?”
I hesitated for a moment.
In that split second, I wondered how I should answer.
To heal Hyun-kyung’s mental state, the right answer was to say we were nothing.
But it wasn’t exactly nothing, either.
Thinking about it, we weren’t at a stage where I could define the relationship yet.
We were just in the process of getting to know each other.
“No. Though we are interested in each other.”
I couldn’t bring myself to tell a lie that would be easily found out.
“...Are you interested in that unnie too, Oppa?”
Hyun-kyung’s way of speaking had changed.
“She’s certainly an attractive woman.”
“So you are interested.”
“But I still came all the way here. Because I was worried it would affect your match, Hyun-kyung.”
I used the handkerchief I had prepared to wipe away the tears still flowing down her face.
Then, I gently stroked her hair.
“You looked like you were having a really hard time.”
“Did you really see it?”
“Of course. Though I missed the Round of 32 match because I was on a plane for 12 hours. I was worried you might have been eliminated after I came all this way.”
“...I’ll never lose.”
“Of course. You’re not the type of player to lose to just anyone.”
I gave her a light hug.
“It’s been hard, hasn’t it? I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have made you worry during the tournament.”
“If you know that, then treat me better.”
“That’s why I’m here. Right in front of you.”
Hyun-kyung’s sobbing shoulders gradually began to calm down.
“Do you feel a bit better now?”
“Mmhmm...”
“Shall we start practicing again?”
“No. I want to stay like this a little longer.”
She spoke with a nasal, stuffed-up voice.
I never imagined that Hyun-kyung, who always seemed so steadfast and strong, could be this affectionate.
It seemed she was the type to become clingy when she was struggling.
“Alright. Let’s stay like this for a bit longer.”
I patted her back until her hiccuping breath completely stabilized.