#35

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─No, I told you that was off the record! What the hell are you doing, Reporter Kim, turning that into an exclusive article!

Kim In-jung of Daily One held his phone tighter, a cigarette dangling from his lips. Coach Yoo Gu-hwan of the Blue Wolves, who usually acted like a brother to him in private, referred to him strictly as “Reporter Kim” throughout the call.

─I’m in a very awkward position right now! If things go south, I’m the one who’s going to take the fall because of you, Reporter Kim!

“Who was the one who gave me information that wasn’t even accurate? I heard Shin’s father isn’t even in a brain-dead state!”

─How dare you raise your voice at me?! Take the article down right now! Unless you want to be sued by Myeong-jeong!

With that irritable shout, the line went dead.

“Damn it,” Kim In-jung cursed, lighting the cigarette in his mouth. The glowing red ember quickly exhaled a pungent cloud of smoke.

The old building had low ceilings and little sunlight, leaving it dim even as noon approached. Kim In-jung clicked his tongue, smelling the scent of decades-old piles of paper surrounding him.

A journalism career that didn’t even pay. He really should just quit.

The days of being called “Mr. Reporter” and lining one’s back pockets were a thing of the past. Ever since that damn Anti-Graft Act was passed, free overseas hospitality disguised as reporting trips and boxes of ham stuffed with bundles of cash every holiday had become stories from the ancient days.

That was why he had been more excited than usual when CEO Kwon offered to buy him dinner as a gesture of hospitality. Since it was a drinking party hosted by the heir to Myeong-jeong, he had intended to get a few crumbs for himself.

Once he got there, he felt a bit deflated to find several other reporters present. Still, since Coach Yoo, whom he had been close with for a long time, was there, he enjoyed the pleasure of drinking expensive liquor.

During the night, he had overheard a few intriguing stories. Because he had been quite drunk, his memory was hazy on whether it was Coach Yoo or CEO Kwon who had mentioned them. However, the phone call just now had confirmed it was Coach Yoo.

He had written an article that actually garnered some views for once, and he’d even received a “Not bad” from the editor-in-chief. Just as he was thinking that, Kim In-jung suddenly recalled the unpleasant phone call he had received this morning.

Some brat, young as a babe, had abruptly told him whether to take the article down or not. Just then, the door to the archives swung open without warning.

“Senior Kim! How can you smoke in here! Don’t you know everything here is paper records?!”

It was a shrill voice. It was Reporter Park Ha-na, who was in charge of baseball and soccer for the Daily One sports department. Kim In-jung grumbled loud enough for her to hear as he crushed the cigarette butt against the window frame.

He didn’t have a good opinion of that bitch Park Ha-na; she never said a word when the editor-in-chief smoked, yet she would swoop in like a ghost to nag him whenever he did.

Are those two actually having an affair? If not, why is a green girl like her in charge of baseball and soccer—the cream of the sports department—while someone with twenty years of experience like me is sidelined?

Casting a glance at Park Ha-na’s face and chest with eyes full of contempt, Kim In-jung couldn’t actually say anything to her and slunk out of the editing room. Or rather, he tried to.

“Senior Kim, you have to clean up your cigarette butt before you go! Is there a separate person for smoking and a separate person for cleaning here?!”

“…….”

“Clean it up properly, spray some deodorizer, and then leave. Got it?”

She then thrust a lemon-scented spray into his hand. Swallowing a curse that included the word “bitch,” Kim In-jung was left alone in the archives once again.

“Fucking bastards. Do they all think I’m some kind of punching bag? Huh?!”

Driven by spite, Kim In-jung tossed the deodorizer spray into the corner of the sofa and pulled another cigarette from his shirt pocket.

Having started his career in journalism back when everyone boarded the subway with a bunch of radishes in one hand, Kim In-jung felt the rapidly changing world was cruel.

These days, one had to write articles that guaranteed views. This was because the advertising revenue from those views was the sole source of income for small internet media outlets. The company openly paid incentives based on the number of views.

He heard that bitch Park Ha-na’s incentive last month alone was twice her salary. Fuck, she made all that money just by writing articles sucking up to soccer players.

Who couldn’t write articles like that? It was just that ice hockey articles couldn’t pull in that many views.

Kim In-jung sank his hips into a worn-out leather sofa and accessed an internet community out of habit.

It wasn’t for nothing that people said all the memes and clips trending online these days were created in this community. Ignoring the ice hockey board, which was rarely updated, Kim In-jung sought out the “General Chat” board, where the so-called ‘regen’ was most active.

His heart burned with envy as he recalled a certain internet media outlet that had made a killing in views recently through a revelation war involving a famous baseball player’s ex-girlfriend.

I just need one hit like that.

Like a hyena eyeing the scraps of a reindeer hunted by a lion, it was then that something caught Kim In-jung’s eye as he scoured the board.

It was a single, dark photograph. One that exuded a distinctly erotic atmosphere.

It was a photo of a man with the physique of an athlete sitting on a bed, nearly naked. The problem was that what the man was wearing was a women’s bra and a miniskirt…

Feeling a vague sense of déjà vu, Kim In-jung stared intently at the photo, which looked like it had been taken by an amateur.

Although the face had been cropped out, the pink hair covering the back of the neck hadn’t been completely removed.

Kim In-jung swallowed hard.

The rectangular screen reflected in his small pupils glowed a vivid blue.

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The first period against the Tigers had ended.

The score was 0-0.

The Tigers showed game management befitting a team that had won the league for three consecutive years. Furthermore, since it was their home stadium, Coach Peter’s new strategies failed time and again.

In the Blue Wolves’ locker room, a somewhat agitated Peter and Coach Yoo were finishing the first-period briefing and shouting out the second-period strategy.

『Who takes the momentum in the second period is what matters! Ho-jae, Moon, Park, Du-min, Ji. Your unit goes in first as soon as we start. Absolute offense! Got it?』

Shin Ho-jae nodded and glanced at Du-min sitting next to him.

Yuk Du-min had been dissatisfied with the unit assignments throughout the last training camp. Ho-jae had checked his face, thinking he would be happy.

But unexpectedly, Du-min’s face was pale.

“……?”

“Alright guys, let’s go!”

One of the coaches stood the players up. The second period was about to begin.

As he put on his helmet and grabbed the hockey stick standing beside him, Ho-jae saw Du-min hurriedly shove his phone into his bag.

The expression he had just seen on Du-min’s face was forgotten as he headed toward the rink amidst the roar of the crowd.

“Ah… the twins are out.”

Ho-jae looked up at the sound of Moon Seung-yeol’s mutter.

He could see the Tigers players lined up. Among them, two were familiar faces. The twin forwards who had been a thorn in the Blue Wolves’ side throughout last year’s league: Na Myeong-il and Na Dae-il.

Both were two-way forwards like Ho-jae, and their specialty was clinging to an opponent like leeches and hounding them until the end, no matter how much they were separated.

Not only Ho-jae, but all the Blue Wolves players avoided them, and part of the reason was their dirty talking intended to break the opponent’s mental state.

Standing at the center line for the puck drop, Shin Ho-jae lowered his stance. He had to win the face-off here to bring the momentum to their side.

While he was focusing all his attention on the puck held by the referee, a sneering voice drifted from his right.

“Pretty boy, I enjoyed the photo.”

It was the voice of Na Dae-il, whose stick was clashing with Yuk Du-min’s.

“I’m genuinely curious, why were you wearing women’s underwear? Do you like that kind of thing?”

“…….”

“If I put those on you, will you spread your asshole for me too?”

What kind of bullshit is this?

It was just nonsense blurted out in hopes that anyone would bite. Did he really think that would work on Yuk Du-min? If there was one thing Du-min was superior at, it was talking nonsense without rhyme or reason.

Thinking this, Ho-jae glanced at Du-min’s face. Ho-jae’s assumption—that Du-min would be sneering back at Na Dae-il—was wrong once again.

Although half of his face was covered by the visor, Du-min’s shaken expression was plain to see. And that expression must have been clearly visible to Na Dae-il as well.

Dae-il curled one side of his lip and whispered so only Du-min could hear.

“Fuck, a disgusting Alpha piece of shit.”

And at that moment, the puck dropped from the referee’s hand. A fierce struggle for the puck ensued, and ultimately, the Tigers took possession.

Ji Min-chul and Yuk Du-min raced toward the puck, and Min-chul intercepted a pass to create an offensive opportunity. The sound of Na Dae-il cursing as he lost the puck blended into the sound of skating.

Shin Ho-jae grabbed the puck and shook off a defender with a dazzling spin, but Na Myeong-il, rushing in from the opposite side, delivered a body check to Shin Ho-jae.

With a thud, his vision shook. In that brief moment, Na Dae-il snatched the puck back and bolted, and Moon Seung-yeol was seen racing to cover for Ho-jae.

It almost led to a goal, but Alexei and Ji Min-chul threw their bodies to block the puck. Possession returned to their side.

The play from both teams was somewhat rough and impatient. It was the aftermath of a first period that ended without a score. Sticks tangled and clashed with sharp cracks. Eventually, Ho-jae’s stick snapped.

Sticks breaking during a game happened more often than one might think. Just as Ho-jae left the snapped stick on the ice and headed toward the bench to receive a new one…

He saw Ji Min-chul, Yuk Du-min, and Na Dae-il battling it out in his field of vision. Keeping his eyes on them, Ho-jae snatched the new stick the coach was holding out.

And then it happened.

CRASH—!

Ji Min-chul used his entire body to slam Na Dae-il into the boards. Ho-jae instinctively followed only the movement of the puck. The puck Na Dae-il had been holding was already sliding toward the opposite side.

But in the very next instant, Ji Min-chul threw his stick to the floor and launched a punch at his opponent.

With a thud, the roar of the crowd erupted.

Not to be outdone, Na Dae-il also threw his stick and lunged at Ji Min-chul. A brawl broke out immediately. They ripped off their helmets and gloves, swinging punches at each other.

Min-chul rained punches on Dae-il’s face until he was finally grabbed by the referee. The cheers of the crowd, excited by the sight of blood, seemed to batter his eardrums.

The game was immediately halted. Na Dae-il was sent to the penalty box for five minutes, and Ji Min-chul was given a game misconduct.

It had happened less than a minute after the second period began.

36 – Puck Drop