#3

A cheerful ringtone suddenly pierced through the sunken atmosphere. Choi Yong-su, who had looked as if he were carrying all the worries of the world on his shoulders, pulled out his phone with a noticeably brighter expression.

“My third daughter is calling. Ho-jae, if the coach looks for me, tell him I’m on the phone.”

Shin Ho-jae nodded. As Choi Yong-su hurriedly stubbed out his cigarette and left the smoking room, his footsteps were the lightest Ho-jae had seen all day.

Watching him, Ho-jae felt his own mood sink further, and he remained rooted to the spot in the smoking room.

Shin Ho-jae let out a long sigh and stretched out his long legs. He looked down at his toes, crossed his ankles, and slid his hands into the pockets of his sweatpants.

Just then, he heard the sound of the smoking room door opening. Thinking that Yong-su hyung had already finished his call, he looked up. The person he locked eyes with was unexpected.

It was Kwon Jung-hyun.

He also seemed slightly surprised to see Shin Ho-jae, but he quickly gave a light nod of greeting. Ho-jae responded with a reflexive tilt of his head.

The man took out a cigarette from the inside of his jacket and put it in his mouth. There was a hiss as it lit, followed by the faint sound of a breath drawing in the smoke.

“…….”

Ho-jae had missed his timing to leave. Of course, he could just stand up and walk out now, but for some reason, he didn’t feel like it.

Shin Ho-jae took his hands out of his pockets and aimlessly fiddled with the seam of his sweatpants. It was Kwon Jung-hyun who broke the awkward silence.

“Player Shin Ho-jae.”

As the man shifted his angle, his smooth cheek gave way to the sight of a sleek, well-defined bridge of his nose.

“I imagine you’ve received quite a few transfer offers from other teams. Are you not interested?”

“…….”

“I thought the Tigers would be a decent alternative if you plan to continue your activities domestically.”

Shin Ho-jae’s brow slowly furrowed.

What the man said sounded strange.

First, generally, people didn’t give Shin Ho-jae advice to ‘transfer to the Tigers’; instead, they asked, ‘Are you going back to Canada now?’

Since the team was disbanding, most believed there was no reason for Shin Ho-jae to stay in Korea. Yet, Kwon Jung-hyun skipped that question and asked about transferring to a domestic team—as if he already knew the circumstances. Though, it was unlikely he did.

Second, it was a fact that this man must have received an offer to acquire the club from Coach Park.

The reason the coach and the assistant coach had asked him and Yong-su hyung to give them some space was obvious. The mood had ripened, and they likely wanted to bring up serious business discussions.

A club coach was doing the work that the association should have handled, even going as far as providing entertainment during the off-season. There was no way this man was unaware of that desperation.

And yet, the moment he stepped out of that room, he was suggesting a transfer to another team to one of the players.

Furthermore, Kwon Jung-hyun didn’t stop there.

“Since you’re in a team that doesn’t match your level, you have no choice but to struggle alone. A one-man show worked last season, but there’s a limit to how far that can take you in terms of winning a championship.”

The man held the cigarette between his long fingers and glanced down at Shin Ho-jae.

“Ice hockey is a team sport, after all.”

“…….”

A quiet hostility welled up in Shin Ho-jae’s eyes.

So, the comment about him ‘doing the work of five people alone’ hadn’t been his imagination.

As Shin Ho-jae looked up without moving a muscle, the man calmly put the cigarette back to his lips.

“Coach Park Nam-woong must be naturally soft-hearted. He was tearing up several times just now while talking about the acquisition. He doesn’t seem like the type suited for a head coaching position.”

“…….”

“There’s no need to look at me so defensively. I’m just saying this because your individual talent is a waste.”

Then, with the cigarette still in his mouth, the corners of his lips curled up slightly.

“I’m quite a fan of Player Shin.”

“…….”

There were people who thought they could be forgiven for saying anything as long as they attached the word ‘fan’ to it. Exactly like this man. Shin Ho-jae scraped the sole of his sneaker against the floor of the smoking room and slowly opened his lips.

“I have no intention of playing for anyone other than the Blue Wolves.”

He shouldn’t have expected anything great from a man he met for the first time today, but perhaps because he was the grandson of Chairman Kwon, he had unconsciously harbored something akin to expectation.

“But I believe today was your first time meeting Coach Park, yet in just a couple of hours, you’re evaluating him as if you’ve figured the man out completely. And doing so right in front of a player on that team.”

Kwon Jung-hyun raised an eyebrow with the cigarette still in his mouth.

“I don’t think that’s a very good choice.”

It would have been better if he had stopped there, but the anger at the insult toward Coach Park drove him to spit out one more sentence.

“I’m only saying this because the name of the Myeong-jeong Group is being wasted on you.”

The words spilled out onto the floor like overturned water.

Kwon Jung-hyun stared intently at Shin Ho-jae’s face. The way he parted his dry lips to exhale smoke was as slow as a motion picture.

Ho-jae was aware that he had spoken rudely, but he had no intention of apologizing. If anyone was being rude, it was the other man.

After a few seconds passed, a sudden chuckle was heard.

“Player Shin, you’re good at reading people. I really don’t suit Myeong-jeong.”

As he laughed, a single dimple dipped below his mouth. Just as Ho-jae’s gaze was inadvertently drawn to it, the man spoke his next words with that same smiling face.

“Do you want to sleep with me?”

Ho-jae’s brow contorted sharply. For a moment, he wondered if he had misheard, and he could only ask back blankly.

“……What?”

“I’ve wanted to sleep with Player Shin at least once.”

Kwon Jung-hyun didn’t take his eyes off Shin Ho-jae, merely turning his head slightly to blow smoke into the air.

Ho-jae wasn’t so naive as to miss the sexual implication in those words. That made it even more absurd. No matter how you looked at it, the opponent was a man. A Beta, at that.

This was a society where heterosexuality was the norm. It was certainly not a society open enough for a Beta male to make such a proposal to an Alpha male as a matter of course.

Out of habit, Shin Ho-jae pressed his thumb and middle finger against his furrowed brow and temples.

“What kind of joke is that….”

“I told you I’m a fan.”

“Not every fan wants to sleep with the person.”

“Is that so? I do.”

His tone carried the characteristic lightness of someone who viewed such things as trivial. Ho-jae’s brow furrowed again in disgust.

“Are you aware that I am a player who received personal sponsorship from Chairman Kwon? And that I was quite close to your grandfather?”

Kwon Deuk-jeong, the founding chairman of the Myeong-jeong Group who passed away four years ago, had been Shin Ho-jae’s benefactor.

Anyone who knew Ho-jae agreed that the current Shin Ho-jae existed thanks to Chairman Kwon. Without his sponsorship, a sport as expensive as ice hockey would have been an impossible dream.

Shin Ho-jae had followed the chairman like his own biological grandfather. He would always mention the chairman after his family whenever he had the chance to do an interview.

“What about it? Just because Player Shin called my grandfather ‘grandfather’ doesn’t mean we share the same blood.”

It wasn’t about blood; it was a matter of moral decency. However, looking at the reaction, it seemed the other man was not someone he could reason with.

Shin Ho-jae let out a faint sigh.

“…Forget it. And obviously, I refuse.”

“What if I said I’d acquire the club instead?”

“……What?”

“Exactly what I said. If Player Shin accepts my offer of sponsorship, I might suggest the acquisition of the club to those stubborn old men on the board.”

“…….”

“I may not suit Myeong-jeong, but I have that much power. Or rather, I should say I’ve acquired it.”

At the words spoken with a smirk, Ho-jae’s mouth hung open stupidly.

While he was unable to even blink at the unbelievable story, the smoking room door swung open.

“Ho-jae! The coach is very drunk, so you should… Ah, Director, you were here.”

It was Choi Yong-su. The tension that had been pulled tight snapped like a rubber band, scattering instantly.

Director Kwon crushed his long cigarette into the ashtray. Then, he pulled a business card from the inside of his jacket and held it out to Shin Ho-jae.

“I’ll give you two days. Think about it and contact me here.”

“Ah, were you talking with Ho-jae? I’ll leave you two alone.”

“No need.”

Director Kwon gave Choi Yong-su a bright smile and then abruptly left the smoking room. Choi Yong-su, glancing at his retreating back, scratched the nape of his neck.

“Did I interrupt some important conversation…?”

“…No.”

“I didn’t know the Director was here. Anyway, Ho-jae. Can you take care of the coach and get him home? He’s pretty wasted.”

“Ah, yes.”

Shin Ho-jae nodded and put the business card in his pocket. He could feel the rough surface of the rectangular card against his palm.

4 – Puck Drop