Chapter 11.1: Unexpected Break

Translator: Pineapple

Editor: Isalee

"He gave up?"

"Yes, the opponent told them that he gave up because his condition isn"t good. Congratulations, you just pa.s.sed the third round for the top eight."

It was a happy occasion but Han Woo Jin"s face didn"t show it. Even with Shin Sae Yeon"s teasing tone, he didn"t show an expression. He had intensely prepared for the third round so he was disappointed.

Han Woo Jin just sat on the bed with a depressed face.

"I should be happy, right?"

"That means that your talent was acknowledged by your opponents because they gave up."
Han Woo Jin"s level was probably the highest at this compet.i.tion. Everybody spoke about how he won two games consecutively and how he never lost a single game during those sets, which was even more impressive.

The players who played with him had experience and one of them was a veteran that had ten years under his belt. Han Woo Jin was able to beat him in a perfect game. This made the Korean players in awe of his skills.

Also, Han Woo Jin was a newbie. Andong Futures was his debut.

They couldn"t find anything out about him until now, including his junior years. [1] Han Woo Jin had the least experience out of everyone in this tournament. Of course, this wasn"t the truth but that was because only Han Woo Jin knew about his past.

"Should I compliment him about his quick-decision making skills?… However, I"m disappointed that I don"t get to play."

As the two people had expected, maybe it was obvious that his opponent had given up because he didn"t want to play against Han Woo Jin. Yet if you think about it, it was obvious that he would do that.

He was a rising newbie, but his skills didn"t match his experience. If an experienced veteran played against him and couldn"t win a single game, that would be very humiliating. And even if he won a game, it would be expected because he was going against a newbie. Even if he won the match, he would be exhausted in his next games.

So his opponent was thinking about his future, thus making the correct decision. Anyway, both options would lead to his loss so it was better to choose the decision where he didn"t have to lose face.

However, Han Woo Jin"s mind was like a bow that was ready to fire and play the game. When he heard the news about him not playing, he was disappointed. He won without any effort so he lost all his motivation.

"I don"t know what Mr. Woo Jin is thinking, but this is an advantage for him."

First of all, Han Woo Jin"s skills were praiseworthy and she was positive that he would reach the top four. With that, he would receive ATP points.

This free win will impact the events after this tournament and future opponents will not underestimate him because they will see that people chose to give up on their match. Shin Sae Yeon stared at the man who laid in bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. She evaluated him in her head.

Mr. "Woo Jin"s playstyle is very textbook-like. He isn"t the type that is overly talented, but he was able to reach this far through hard work and training his body."

Shin Sae Yeon"s evaluation was very precise.

Han Woo Jin never gambled and he always predicted where the ball would land, its spin, and he would constantly expect the next return. In order to not waste his movements, he always moved in a straight line towards his chosen direction. Even his breathing and the number of steps he took was regulated.

Instead of a human, he moved more like a machine while playing tennis. That style was most suitable one for him.

"Han Woo Jin is the only player who advanced because his opponent gave up on this tournament. That is why Han Woo Jin"s body is less burdened compared to other players. Mr. Woo Jin can use this advantage."

Han Woo Jin could perfectly pace himself to extend his stamina as much as possible and his specialty was configuring the game by even using the smallest thing to his advantage.

Shin Sae Yeon looked like she decided on something and put her hand in her pocket. She took out a card and gave it to him.

"Here, take this."

"… What"s this?"

Han Woo Jin took it and looked at the front and back. It was a black card with gold letters and had a fancy feeling to it. Shin Sae Yeon dropped a bomb on him.

"This is the company card for your personal use."

"Eh? Why are you giving this to me?"

Han Woo Jin almost dropped the card and held it carefully with both hands.

Shin Sae Yeon saw his actions and laughed. Then she spoke to him.

"Just take a rest today. During the tournament, resting is part of your job."

Before Han Woo Jin could say anything, she turned and left his room. This was her way of telling him to not refuse. She also trusted him to not do anything to harm his condition.

Han Woo Jin felt a heavy weight from the card and mumbled, "What do I do with this?"

"Anyway, since she gave it to me, I guess I"ll use it?"

Han Woo Jin got up from his bed and walked to his closet. He opened it, then closed it.

"Let"s buy some clothes."
Training Under Armour. He only had sports clothes and had no casual clothing. He first decided to go take a look at some clothes.

"Your total comes out to 238,000 won."

"Here"s my card."

With a trembling hand, Han Woo Jin gave her the card. It was his first time using a corporate card so he was nervous until the card was swiped and paid in full. The female cashier smiled and handed him back the card.

The woman looked at Han Woo Jin in awe. When he came in wearing training clothes she looked down on him, but after he changed clothes her opinion of him completely changed.

"Omo, he doesn"t look that bad? His body looks good."

Sports players and people who exercise extremely usually were in great physical shape. Except for those who did sumo and ssireum [2], the athletes normally all had attractive physiques.

Tennis is a sport that requires agility and strength, which is why tennis players have good body proportions. His short sleeve allowed his veiny and muscular arms to show, which made him look well-built. His shoulders and back were wide, and that displayed his manliness.

If Han Woo Jin stood next to a sportswear model, he wouldn"t lose out in terms of looks. Now that he was wearing some decent clothes, his appearance had leveled up.

He grabbed the bag that held his clothes and left the store.

"Have a good day."

"Yes! Please come back soon!"

He was confused by the cashier"s sudden change in att.i.tude, but he just ignored it and left. It wasn"t long after he left the store that he suddenly stopped.

"What do I do now?"

He had never experienced doing this kind of thing during a tournament. Han Woo Jin didn"t know anything about what he should do at Jeju Island. He just sat on the bench and thought about what he should do next.

Luckily, Han Woo Jin"s indecisiveness didn"t last long. It had been a while since he ate breakfast so his stomach rumbled.

"Should I go eat lunch?"

He took out his cell phone and browsed the internet. Compared to future phones, the speed was slow and it was uncomfortable to use it. However, it was still a pretty good phone in the current time period.

He had a game tomorrow so he couldn"t eat anything that would burden his stomach. He didn"t want to eat meat or fried foods. So he decided to google "Seogwipo restaurants".

He saw many reviews and recommendations. He didn"t know which restaurant was good, but he also could not go everywhere and ask which one was the best.

He scrolled past the donkatsu and fried restaurants.

He skipped the soup restaurants because it was hot during the summer.

"Grilled fish… I ate it yesterday, next."

Han Woo Jin browsed his phone for about ten minutes and saw the last thing which was a salad buffet. The reviews were pretty good and the pictures looked appetizing.

"Should I go?"

He suddenly heard a familiar voice that sounded lighthearted.

"Ahh~ I went there yesterday and it wasn"t that great. I think they paid a special blogger to write that review. I was fooled by it."

"… Who are you?"

Han Woo Jin asked his question with a sharp voice. Han Woo Jin didn"t like him already because he had spoken rudely. He looked back and saw a man that was about 180 cm tall and he was kind of good-looking. He had an unshaved beard and his hair was messy. With that look, he opened his mouth.

"Wow, rookies are totally different. I"m the person you"re playing next, You don"t recognize my face?"

"… Player Song Ki Joon?"

Han Woo Jin thought of the tournament roster and the name that had come up. Shin Sae Yeon told him that he was one of the favorites to reach the top four. He was supposed to be the first game today. Did he finish and wash up already?

Han Woo Jin remembered Song Ki Joon"s name which made him laugh flippantly. Han Woo Jin didn"t like his dyed brown hair.

"What do you want?"

Han Woo Jin asked, but he wasn"t interested.

Song Ki Joon just pointed somewhere. He was pointing at a restaurant.

It was a Jeju Island"s specialty fish restaurant.

"I was going to recommend a good restaurant to you. How about it? Do you wanna go eat there with me?"

"I"m good…."

He tried to refuse his offer but Song Ki Joon exaggeratedly waved his hand to stop him. It looked like a grown man that was acting like a child.

"Aiyee, don"t act like that! We"re both tennis players that will play against each other tomorrow. Let"s have a meal!"
"…Ha… alright."

Han Woo Jin was weak against people like him who had a straight personality. He used to live with not many relationships in his past life so he knew how to treat his enemies, but it was difficult for him to deal with opponents that had a kind face.

Agreeing to eat lunch together, they walked over and opened the restaurant door.

*Giiik~*

"Mm.. it smells good."

They could smell the fragrant food from the restaurant. His stomach began rumbling from the smell of food. Han Woo Jin sat on the chair in front of Song Ki Joon.

"The grilled fish here is good. Should we just order two servings?"

"I"ll trust you since you recommended this place."

As soon as Han Woo Jin agreed, Song Ki Joon called the waiter and ordered two servings of roasted fish and two egg stews.

"I"ll pay for the egg stews. Just think of it as a service from the person who recommended this place."

"Yeah, thank you."

His first impression of Song Ki Joon completely changed after speaking to him. Han Woo Jin thought that you shouldn"t judge a book by its cover.

After a short while, steaming hot food arrived at their table and the two people wordlessly grabbed their chopsticks.

They quickly finished their food and when there were only bones left Song Ki Joon opened his mouth.

His voice sounded very heavy.

Translator"s Notes:

[1] Junior years: Amateur pro league

[2] sumo and ssireum: j.a.panese and Korean wrestling, respectively

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