Chapter 14: Interview

Translator: Pineapple

Editor: Isalee

"There"s no need to be so nervous~~"

*Click!*

Filled with nervousness, Han Woo Jin sat upright in his chair.

The reason for Han Woo Jin"s awkward posture was because Reporter Kim Sang Pil asked him to take a few pictures. This was his first time getting pictures taken by a reporter, so he couldn"t help but be nervous.

Kim Sang Pil laughed inwardly. It was funny watching this tennis player who was so cold and serious on the court be nervous in front of a camera.

"He"s kind of cute."

Compared to the player that he had an interview with two weeks ago, Han Woo Jin was a lot better. People couldn"t always live their lives looking up at the sky. Sometimes we see mountains in the distance and other times we have to live facing the ground.

A player like Han Woo Jin who didn"t shine like the sun in front of people could become a star that shined brightly in the night.

Reporter Kim Sang Pil unconsciously had a more favorable opinion of Han Woo Jin.

Shin Sae Yeon, who was silently off on the side, suddenly voiced her thoughts.

As an agent before she entered the sports world, she memorized all the relevant information regarding media companies. She memorized director names, reporters, and etc.

Kim Sang Pil was a reporter who boasted 20 years of experience at Daehan Sports. If he wanted to, he could have been promoted to a higher position than where he was at right now.

Though Han Woo Jin was an excellent rookie, he wasn"t at the level where reporters should be coming to ask him for interviews.

"Reporter Kim, how did you find this place?"
"You are really close to the tournament grounds… so I just wanted to meet you and ask for an interview."

He replied with a light-hearted laugh. However, Shin Sae Yeon didn"t believe him.

For a veteran reporter like Kim Sang Pil, he had many sources that only he knew about. It was obvious that he was only here to interview Han Woo Jin.

There was no basis for him to ask for an interview, but for a veteran reporter like Kim Sang Pil, if someone like him interviewed Han Woo Jin, it was good for him. Shin Sae Yeon decided she would back Han Woo Jin up.

"Ah, Player Han Woo Jin, you"re affiliated with NK company right?"
"Yes."
Han Woo Jin replied without thinking and then was asked another question.

"Then you must know Player Choi Yeon Hyuk?"

"…Well, yeah."
"Is that it?" Both Han Woo Jin and Shin Sae Yeon slightly frowned.

Choi Yeon Hyuk had won the Daegu Open that took place before the Andong Futures tournament. Kim Sang Pil probably heard about Han Woo Jin entering NK company around the same time as Choi Yeon Hyuk.

Kim Sang Pil felt something weird from Han Woo Jin"s answer. He thought that they had some sort of special relationship. In sports, there was always some drama or some type of gossip.

Before Kim Sang Pil went any further, he asked about Han Woo Jin"s personal life.

"When did you start tennis?"
"I started in elementary school. Of course, I couldn"t play that well."
A tennis racket is bigger than what we imagine, but you can hold it with an adult body. If a young child holds it, their arm will shake and they will get tired after swinging it a few times.

But pro tennis players start playing tennis even when their rackets are bigger than their bodies. They needed to start earlier to have a headstart on their opponents.

"Hoh, you began early. I saw your experience and noticed that you went to a special middle school for tennis. Were you a player there?"
Kim Sang Pil"s question directly hit Han Woo Jin"s dark past. The reporter felt a bit apprehensive after seeing his expression darken.

"…No. I quit after a while."

"That means… You practiced by yourself this entire time?"
"My father helped me a bit. He was quite busy while taking care of me and going to work."
His voice was cold. Since he was speaking in a monotone voice, Kim Sang Pil slightly sensed Han Woo Jin"s feelings. Reporter Kim just wanted to ask a little bit about his past, but he quickly discovered that he had brought up some bad memories.

But he had to ask these kinds of questions. His past could be good gossip and report material.

"Mmm. So that"s why you only had a few tournaments during your junior years?"
"At that time, my skills weren"t that good."

Of course, being reminded of his past was painful. There were no opportunities for him to take part in any tournaments. Additionally, with his two years with his dad, he only played in three tournaments…

However, Han Woo Jin didn"t think once about glorifying his past. Those things happened because of his weakness caused by his lack of talent.

Han Woo Jin cut off Kim Sang Pil"s consoling. The Han Woo Jin that was nervous while taking pictures disappeared and what now appeared was a player with sharp eyes.

"Mmm…!"

Kim Sang Pil now had a higher evaluation of Han Woo Jin.

He swallowed his saliva. He just simply thought of Han Woo Jin as a young guy that played tennis well, but he now realized that Han Woo Jin was actually a sharp blade. He mindlessly tried to get closer to him and now he felt like he was going to get cut.

The impression he had of him was totally different from when he had first come into the room. Kim Sang Pil remembered the player who talked about Han Woo Jin in a recent interview.

He said that Han Woo Jin was a player that gave him the feeling as if he had a sword next to his neck. It was a great expression. Kim Sang Pil touched his neck.

"Mm, so after that you weren"t in any clubs or agencies and just played tennis?"
"Yes."

Kim Sang Pil looked at his notebook. There were many facts about Han Woo Jin"s time in the tennis world in there.

The number of times he played in junior tennis tournaments, he never won any awards and …..

Even he admitted that Han Woo Jin probably thought about giving up when he was young. Maybe it wasn"t that he didn"t want to be in an agency, but that he couldn"t get in. No agency probably knew of him at that time.

Yet he persevered for many years and kept on playing by himself — today, he bloomed. Kim Sang Pil felt something and smiled. "This is amazing."

"Then is this the first tournament that you"ve ever won?"
"Yes."
"You must be excited, is there anything you would like to say in this interview?"
Han Woo Jin opened his mouth for a while. He wanted to say something but didn"t know what to say. He felt something moving in his chest which made him frustrated.

"What do I say?

"Do I need to thank my parents because they were the ones who allowed me to keep playing tennis?

"Do I need to express happiness about winning this tournament?"
Various thoughts went through his mind.

Finally, he said one thing.

"This is the beginning."
***

"Sunbae, where did you go?"

"I interviewed the tournament champion."
Kim Sang Pil was watching TV while answering Lee Jung Soo"s question. Lee Jung Soo, who was laying down on the twin-sized bed, suddenly got up from watching TV.

"Why did you go alone? You should have brought me."

"There"s no need to bring two people to interview a rookie. I"m interested in him now."

Kim Sang Pil ignored Lee Jung Soo"s complaint and opened his laptop to begin typing. He had quite an impressive typing speed. He probably was capable of typing 600 letters per minute.

Watching him type, there was a change in Lee Jung Soo"s expression in response to Kim Sang Pil"s answer.

"What did he say just now? He"s interested in him?"

"You"re talking about Player Han Woo Jin? You think he has a future?"
Kim Sang Pil was quite famous in the reporter world. He was a special reporter. The athletes he followed almost always became quite famous. Soccer, baseball, for any sports player that he interviewed in any sport that he was interested in, they always somehow ended up becoming famous.

He already had the qualifications to become the chief editor, but he still chose to be a reporter. This meant that the company trusted his unusual instincts.

Kim Sang Pil might just be a reporter, but even the chief editor couldn"t ignore him.

He roughly replied to his question.

"It"s not just one. This time it"s two players."

"Two?"
Lee Jung Soo didn"t know what he was talking about.

"Two? Han Woo Jin is only one person, so why two? Are his senses finally decaying?"

However, Lee Jung Soo had been a reporter for a long time. He remembered that Kim Sang Pil had conducted another interview with somebody two weeks ago. Lee Jung Soo asked him again curiously with confidence.

"Choi Yeon Hyuk. You"re talking about him, right? A genius tennis player and a person who lived under harsh conditions. He has a pretty interesting story right?"

Reporters were people who the talent to create stories for the ma.s.ses. They were also capable of making those stories exciting.

Lee Jung Soo was excited to write about the rivalry between Choi Yeon Hyuk and Han Woo Jin. All in all, they were completely different, but they were both great athletes that would bring great compet.i.tion.

They might create an amazing atmosphere for tennis in Korea.

"I"m not trying to pit them against each other. They already have a rivalry. We just need to fan the flames."

Kim Sang Pil already knew that Choi Yeon Hyuk and Han Woo Jin had intense feelings of rivalry towards each other.

As soon as they heard the other person"s name, both of their bodies tensed up and their eyes shined. It looked like they would immediately go onto the court and play tennis with each other. Kim Sang Pil felt that they were clearly rivals.

He looked at the report about Han Woo Jin as the champion of the Andong Futures and stretched his arms. He laid down the foundations and now he needed to add more details.

"Now… how should I do this?"

It had been a long time since he typed in the air thinking about what he was going to do.

He was also really excited because he had found two people.

Finals With a Perfect Score.

Compet.i.tion Between Korean and j.a.panese Players.

Newbie.

First Tournament.

Each t.i.tle was great. Even though there is only one, he had four stories that he wanted to tell.

Thinking about Han Woo Jin, he knew that he will sooner get better stories.

While pretending as if he were Han Woo Jin playing tennis, Kim Sang Pil moved his fingers.

The empty word doc.u.ment was quickly filled with words.

On the monitor screen, you could see the t.i.tle of the article in a well-written font.

/  /