Chapter 5.2

TL: Pineapple

Editor: Isalee

Choi Yeon Hyuk looked at Han Woo Jin expectantly. This hurt his pride badly. Choi Yeon Hyuk was a genius but he didn"t know that Han Woo Jin had ten years worth of experience. If he lost this game, that would mean that his ten years was practically worthless.

"His serve isn"t anything special. It"s just really fast."

However, he could not ignore the speed. Like in baseball, a fastball has incredible power and its only strong point is being fast.

Yet a fastball has a weakness.

Whether in baseball or tennis, if an incredibly fast ball or serve was returned, it would be impossible for the server to get to it. That"s why experienced players predict where the ball will go and position their bodies accordingly.

As long as it was not a curveball and the player can predict the timing and the place, it will land where the player can always return it.

"It"s coming."

Choi Yeon Hyuk tossed the ball up.

He was also very tall and he hit the ball with an overhead stroke so he couldn"t even react to the speed.

The ball was. .h.i.t diagonally across the court and Han Woo Jin immediately ran. As soon as he hit the ball with his racket, his foot twisted and he pushed the ball back.

Han Woo Jin"s body was behind the service line, and as soon as the ball hit the court he reflexively swung his racket.

*Tung!*

"Ack, it hurts!"

The ball barely hit the outside of the racket and went out of bounds. Han Woo Jin clenched his teeth as he felt a sharp pain in his wrist. Since the ball didn"t hit the sweet spot on his racket, he felt the pain from the impact of the ball all the way to his wrist.

At least received the serve. It was not on purpose, but the return was a drop shot. Choi Yeon Hyuk should not have been able to reach the ball from his position. [1]

*Pang!*

"… No way."

"3-30:0!"

Coach Jeon announced the score with a trembling voice. This wasn"t a match that could be played by newbies. The quality of this match was good enough to be in the finals of a Korean tournament.

Han Woo Jin"s face turned ugly after he saw the ball bounce next to his right foot. No, he was surprised to see the large shadow in front of the net. Choi Yeon Hyuk was already in front of the net as he hit the ball.

"… Serve and volley?"

"I really like serving and moving right up to the net."

Choi Yeon Hyuk smiled confidently. He deserved it. Serve and volley wasn"t a technique that a random amateur or new pro could use. Furthermore, as soon as he hit the fast serve, he immediately returned the drop shot that was right in front of the net. If Han Woo Jin succeeded in his drop shot he probably would have gained several levels in it.

"Drop shots won"t do." Han Woo Jin lost multiple points from the serve and volley. He needed to make it so that Choi Yeon Hyuk couldn"t return the ball with a volley. Otherwise, he couldn"t just continue to rally with him.

In his mind, he began to come up with a way to counter his opponent"s playstyle. Han Woo Jin couldn"t compete with physique and technique against Choi Yeon Hyuk, the only thing he could use was strategy.

Choi Yeon Hyuk threw the ball up again. This time he just used a standing serve because the repeated use of a jumping serve exhausted his stamina.

*Pang!*

His speed dropped a little and he already knew where the ball would land. Han Woo Jin hit the ball quickly as soon as it bounced. Rising strike.

"He"s already at the net!"

Han Woo Jin saw Choi Yeon Hyuk"s huge figure move. His quick speed and confidence in his net play made Han Woo Jin nervous.

Choi Yeon Hyuk received the ball with his backhand that was heading towards the left side of the court. His backhand was as strong as his forehand. Han Woo Jin received the ball with a volley.

Yet he wasn"t used to using volley so the rally didn"t last long. Han Woo Jin made the mistake of hitting the ball with the frame of his racket and lost a point. 40:0.

"… Are they really newbies?"

"They must"ve gotten special training when they were young."

The audience slowly began to change their opinions about them. As pro players, they understood how high the level of their play was. Those who played against Han Woo Jin and Choi Yeon Hyuk especially felt more admiration.

"Choi Yeon Hyuk will definitely win this match. When I played against him, I thought I was playing against a world ranker. Forehand, backhand, serve and slice. He"s perfect. He has no weaknesses."

"Han Woo Jin is also good. If you saw his strange serve, you wouldn"t say that."

"No, regardless of his serve…"

Their voices right now sounded more like anxious chattering compared to the idle chattering from before. Coach Jeon had no intention of stopping them from talking because he too was nervous. The higher the level a game is, usually the more excited the viewers become.

The viewers stopped talking as soon as Choi Yeon Hyuk threw the ball. It was sudden throughout the entire court, but it was broken by the sharp swing of the racket hitting the ball.

*Pang!*

Jump serve. Jumping as high as a basketball player, as soon as the ball bounced, before Han Woo Jin was able to get into position, the ball was already far away from him. Though it was the same serve, the speed and the angle were drastically different.

"1-0! First game goes to Choi Yeon Hyuk! Switch sides and serve!"
Han Woo Jin"s rally was consistent but he didn"t even score a single point. Han Woo Jin clenched his teeth and switched sides. Choi Yeon Hyuk threw him the b.a.l.l.s.

"Woo Jin, could you show me that?"

"What?"
He put his racket on his shoulder. He looked like a fierce predator looking at its prey.

"The serve that you used at the entrance exam. Use it on me."
Choi Yeon Hyuk was asking him to use Sparrow.

As soon as they switched sides, Coach Jeon spoke.

"First set, second game, Han Woo Jin serve! Start!"

Sparrow.

Han Woo Jin thought for a moment.

"Is it alright for me to use this as my first serve? Even if it"s Choi Yeon Hyuk."

He cannot return Sparrow"s speed and angle. Sparrow was a serve that could make the user"s wrist numb; that"s how strong it was.

Yet he couldn"t help but feel nervous. The genius in front of him was like a huge mountain towering over him. Choi Yeon Hyuk was not someone that Han Woo Jin could predict.

"Anyway, I"ll do a regular shot first."

Han Woo Jin tossed the ball up. A regular overhead serve. His level 10 serve was a little bit better than Choi Yeon Hyuk"s. His speed and precision could not be ignored. If his physique was just a little bit better he could have served even faster than Choi Yeon Hyuk.

However, that was up to the opponent.

As soon as Choi Yeon Hyuk realized that it was a regular serve, he ran into the service court. It was only two steps. He only took two steps to get into a perfect position to receive the ball.

The ball was. .h.i.t in the service court and was returned right away by his racket. The ball was sent back with a strong spin onto the court.

"Slice!"

*Pang!*

"0:15!"

Hearing Coach Jeon"s voice, Han Woo Jin looked at Choi Yeon Hyuk. He gave him a look as if he was saying, "You can"t beat me with that." That made Han Woo Jin angry.

"Alright. If you want it that much, I"ll give it to you."

As soon as he made the decision, he threw the ball up. The ball was tossed up high above Han Woo Jin"s head, different from the previous serve. Choi Yeon Hyuk"s eyes brightened in excitement.

As soon as the ball was about to drop, Han Woo Jin"s body twisted drastically diagonally. His whole body twisted starting from his ankle up to his waist and shoulder. It almost looked like a smash but it had a more downward swing to it. That was Sparrow.

*Pang!*

The ball flew in a straight line and hit the other side of the court.

"15:15!"

"Good, he can"t return it. I"ll win this game using Sparrow."

Han Woo Jin checked the amount of SP he had left.

SP 265/400

He could use Sparrow 17 more times. If he finished the game only using service aces, he can win four games.

Han Woo Jin threw the ball up high once again to use Sparrow. Coach Jeon and the players who were watching him couldn"t breathe because they didn"t want to miss a single thing he did.

Only one person, Choi Yeon Hyuk, was closely looking at the ball and the way Han Woo Jin"s body was moving.

*Pabang!*

He couldn"t even see the ball hit the court. Choi Yeon Hyuk still didn"t move. It"s not that he couldn"t move. He just didn"t.

Thirty minutes into the game, Han Woo Jin realized why Choi Yeon Hyuk didn"t move when he used Sparrow.

Translator"s Notes:

[1] So a drop shot is basically hitting the ball to make it land right next to the net. Choi Yeon Hyuk should have been way too far to return it from the service line.

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