#12

＊＊＊

On his way home, Shin Ho-jae stopped by Coach Park’s house. He had been worried since the coach hadn’t reached out to him.

The ultimate reason Shin Ho-jae played for the Blue Wolves was that it was the team Coach Park was on.

Coach Park Nam-woong was a first-generation South Korean ice hockey player who had steadily walked the solitary path of ice hockey since the days when Korea was a wasteland for the sport.

As such, he overflowed with love for the game, and his gentle nature earned him the respect of many. Some rumored that he lacked decisiveness and was too swayed by his emotions, but…

Ho-jae recalled the way Kwon Jung-hyun had bluntly disparaged Coach Park during their first meeting.

No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t shake the feeling that the new owner’s influence had played a major role in this coaching change.

After waiting for a few minutes on a bench in front of the apartment complex where the coach lived, he heard a kind voice calling his name. Ho-jae turned his head and stood up.

“Coach.”

“Wow. It’s still cool at night. You’re on your way back from training, right?”

“Yes.”

Park Nam-woong patted Ho-jae on the shoulder and sat down on the bench with him.

“I should have told you in advance. Things were so hectic that I didn’t realize how much time had passed while I was scrambling. So, what do you think of the new coach?”

“…….”

“I heard he’s from the NHL. And that he has coaching experience in the States.”

“Yes… I guess.”

Ho-jae trailed off, unlike his usual self.

In truth, as soon as he met him, he had intended to demand if he was alright and if the owner had forced him out of the head coaching position, but facing the coach’s face, the words wouldn’t easily come out.

It was because the coach’s expression looked unexpectedly relaxed. Of course, he might have been hiding it on purpose because he was in front of Ho-jae. Frustrated, Ho-jae lightly tapped his knee with his fist.

“…I wanted to bring you a championship trophy, Coach.”

“Hmm?”

“If I had known it would turn out like this, I would have worked harder last year.”

“You rascal. Are you still talking about that? If things became that easy just because you worked hard alone, what would happen to the other teams? I’m more than satisfied with finishing 4th.”

“…….”

Shin Ho-jae dropped his gaze.

Though Coach Park spoke gently, Ho-jae knew what he meant.

Looking down on your teammates and the entire Asian league like that is your critical weakness. Because you have no intention of blending in with your teammates and try to handle both defense and offense alone, you are bound to hit a limit.

“…….”

During the last season, Ho-jae had played only in lines with Yuk Du-min, Ji Min-chul, and the captain, Choi Yong-su. Since he didn’t mesh with the other players at all, it must have been an inevitable choice for Coach Park.

However, from a leadership perspective, a player like Shin Ho-jae was a problem whether he was there or not. Especially since Park Nam-woong was personally close to Ho-jae, there was a side of him that couldn’t harshly reprimand Ho-jae when he acted as he pleased.

“Actually, I was the one who first told the club I was retiring.”

“…What?”

At the casually dropped remark, Shin Ho-jae looked beside him in surprise.

“I hesitated to tell you because I knew you’d react like this. In truth, I had been thinking about retiring even before you arrived.”

“…….”

“Starting about three years ago, I felt like the club was using me out of mere inertia. Well, I suppose it’s hard to find a coach who accepts a salary like mine and listens to the club so well.”

Park Nam-woong let out a hearty laugh.

“But when a truly outstanding player like you, Ho-jae, arrived, it became clear. That I am a far too lacking leader compared to you.”

“…Coach.”

“Isn’t this year a crucial season for the Blue Wolves as well? Whether the acquisition becomes official or if they end up being disbanded. If I stay, we’ll just repeat last year’s results. It’s time for a new challenge.”

“…….”

“So I told them. That I hoped a better leader would come in instead of me.”

Ho-jae shook his head. That couldn’t be.

Even if he felt lacking, shouldn’t he think about studying more, putting in effort, and taking on the challenge? The Coach Park he knew was that kind of person.

Therefore, it was hard to abandon the thought that there had been external pressure regarding this personnel change.

“Are you sure Representative Kwon Jung-hyun didn’t subtly pressure you while saying those things?”

When he asked with conviction beyond mere suspicion, he was met with a bewildered expression.

“What are you talking about? Do you think Representative Kwon is that kind of person?”

“What?”

“If anything, it was Representative Kwon who followed me around for several days trying to stop me. He said the team needs people like me too. Because he said that, my heart felt lighter, and I’m the one who insisted on it.”

Looking at Coach Park’s profile as he chuckled, he didn’t seem to be lying.

Ho-jae frowned. Were they even talking about the same person?

“I’ll drop by the club occasionally. Representative Kwon asked me to serve as an advisor. I still had a bit of lingering attachment, so it worked out well. I’ll come visit once you guys have adjusted to the new coach.”

“…Is that true?”

“What is?”

“The part about Representative Kwon trying to stop you from quitting.”

“Of course it is. Why on earth would I lie about that?”

“…….”

As Ho-jae lowered his head in silence, Coach Park patted his shoulder as if to comfort him. He had come to offer comfort, but in the end, it was he, not the coach, who received it.

Shin Ho-jae gently held Coach Park’s hand. He felt a warm heat. After sitting on the bench together for a while longer, Park Nam-woong checked the time and spoke.

“It’s gotten very late. You should head inside too.”

“Yes.”

“Now that I’m free, I’m really going to go see your father.”

Ho-jae laughed softly at the joke. As Park Nam-woong stood up from the bench and turned toward the apartment complex, he suddenly turned back and looked at Shin Ho-jae.

“By the way, Ho-jae. Did you already know Representative Kwon? I mean, before your father collapsed.”

Ho-jae tilted his head and replied.

“No.”

“Really?”

“Why do you ask?”

Park Nam-woong waved his hand as if it were nothing.

“Nothing. Must have been my imagination. Get going. It’s late.”

Having spoken dismissively, Park Nam-woong waved and entered the apartment building. After watching him disappear completely, Ho-jae slowly walked out of the complex.

A lingering feeling of uncertainty left a bitter taste in a corner of his heart.

It was a relief that the coach’s expression wasn’t bad, but it was hard to believe his words at face value.

How could he believe that a man who coldly replaced existing players and even the goalie had been soft only toward Coach Park?

＊＊＊

“Whoa. Isn’t that our owner?”

Someone’s voice pierced his ears while he was in the middle of training at the rink. Ho-jae lifted his jersey to wipe the sweat flowing down his forehead and over his eyes.

When he looked up, the owner was indeed in the spectator seats.

“Shin Ho-jae, stop spacing out! The puck is coming!”

The trainer’s sharp voice rang out. Shin Ho-jae immediately focused and struck the puck sliding across the ice with his stick. With a clack, the puck was sucked into the goal. It was a simple shooting drill.

Screeech!

Shin Ho-jae braked loudly, scraping the ice. Ice crystals sprayed toward where the other players were standing. Ji Min-chul grumbled while wiping the ice crystals off his face.

“Ugh, what the. Why are you suddenly acting all cool?”

“When did I?”

“Look at him pretending he doesn’t know.”

Shin Ho-jae glanced at the spectator seats again.

He saw Coach Peter Choi taking a seat next to Kwon Jung-hyun. Coach Peter was doing most of the talking, while Kwon Jung-hyun listened attentively with his arms crossed.

It wasn’t common for the owner to visit the training center alone without any attendants, but it was equally a first-time sight to see the owner and the coach talking comfortably as if they were old friends.

After that day, Shin Ho-jae had a few more meetings with Kwon Jung-hyun. He was very nervous every time he went to the meeting spot, but nothing like the previous incident happened again.

It seemed he had a lot of work since he had just acquired the club. Several times, he had said, ‘It’s hard to carve out separate time, so I called you to the office. Is that okay?’

All Shin Ho-jae did was kill time in the same space, giving short answers to a few questions (which weren’t personal questions about Ho-jae, but club-related matters such as where last year’s training camp was or how many players used the club’s fitness center), and eating the food set before him.

Well, no matter how much of a predator Kwon Jung-hyun was, he couldn’t do anything more than that in an office where other employees came and went. If not that, then his interest in him was slowly cooling down. It was a welcome development.

Just then, his eyes met with Kwon Jung-hyun, who was looking down at the rink. Shin Ho-jae did not avoid his gaze and looked back at him.

Then, Kwon Jung-hyun gave a slight wink and smiled. Though it disappeared quickly because Peter tapped Jung-hyun’s arm to say something.

Shin Ho-jae frowned, took off his helmet, and stepped out of the rink. Perhaps because he had trained too hard, his face felt flushed.

13 – Puck Drop