#89

It was impossible not to compare him to Peter, who would provide a tactical plan based on a perfect analysis of the opposing team and then silently trust his players once the game began. The players’ expressions grew increasingly grim.

Ice hockey is an exhausting sport to begin with. Even if they focused solely on cooling down during the 15-minute breaks, recovery was barely possible; however, with the acting coach pouring out nothing but insults, fatigue accumulated in their muscles instead of dissipating.

A restless Yoo Gu-hwan put Shin Ho-jae into the game midway through the second period, but it was already too late to overturn a tilted playing field.

Ultimately, the Blue Wolves conceded one more goal and suffered a crushing defeat with a score of 0:7. Consequently, they immediately dropped to 3rd place in the league.

They were still within the safe zone for the playoffs, but if this continued, they would be pushed out of the top five in an instant, and their hopes for the playoffs would vanish into thin air.

“You fucking pieces of shit! Is that the best you can do!? Are you all retarded? Hey, Park Hyeong-hun! You’re a fucking forward, so what the hell are you doing with zero shots? Ji Min-chul, are you planning to defend or not? What use is a defenseman with a waist that stiff? If you’re going to play hockey like this, just quit, you bastards!”

Immediately after the game, the locker room was once again filled with Yoo Gu-hwan’s shouting.

The players simply sat there, panting for breath; not a single one of them looked as if they were sincerely listening to his words.

Once Yoo Gu-hwan finished fuming and left the locker room, the players finally began taking off their uniforms and preparing to wash. Every single one of them kept their mouths tightly shut.

Shin Ho-jae checked his phone first. Tapping the screen, he saw several missed notifications. There was no contact from Kwon Jung-hyun, whom he had been waiting for, but there was a message from an unexpected person.

Reporter Park Ha-na from Daily One.

[I’m leaving a text since I figured you’d be in the middle of a game.]

[It’s just that I’m a bit concerned about the article regarding CEO Kwon that came out today.]

Since this morning, many calls had come from unknown numbers. They were reporters wanting a comment from the team’s ace, Shin Ho-jae, regarding the owner’s allegations. Of course, Shin Ho-jae did not answer any of them.

For some reason, Park Ha-na’s contact didn’t seem to be of that sort. Avoiding the area where the other players were, Shin Ho-jae immediately pressed the call button.

“…The victim is Reporter Kim In-jung?”

The information he heard was completely unexpected.

—Yes. I heard it from a senior who covers the National Police Agency, so it’s certain. But it’s a bit strange if the victim is Senior Kim.

“Strange how?”

—You saw the report saying the reason for the assault was ‘because he wrote an article the CEO didn’t like,’ right? But wouldn’t it be unlikely for CEO Kwon to ask for an article when he even filed a lawsuit over Senior Kim’s previous article about Yuk Du-min? Moreover, I don’t think Senior Kim would have accepted such a request given his ill will toward CEO Kwon.

“…….”

—When I mentioned that, a senior in the social affairs department took an interest. Back then, the first piece of misinformation Senior Kim put out was an article about you, wasn’t it, Player Shin? Did you happen to be in contact with Senior Kim that day?

As Shin Ho-jae hesitated to answer, Park Ha-na added in a calm voice.

—I’m personally grateful to CEO Kwon for some things, so I want to help him if there’s anything I can do. I contacted you because I thought you might feel the same way.

“…….”

His heart beat quietly. Ho-jae told her about the contents of his phone call with Reporter Kim In-jung that day, and the conversation he had with Jung-hyun regarding Kim In-jung’s resignation.

It was content that could prove the two of them were on bad terms. Of course, it would be difficult to uncover the truth about the assault based on those circumstances alone.

Nevertheless, what had been a mere intuition—thinking ‘he’s not that kind of person’—had now become an actual ‘suspicion.’ Furthermore, in a situation where only indiscriminate articles of criticism were pouring out regarding Kwon Jung-hyun, it was reassuring that a fellow reporter shared his thoughts.

Ho-jae looked down at his phone after the call ended, his face slightly flushed.

Reporter Park Ha-na was right.

Recalling the personality of Reporter Kim In-jung, who had written a wrong article about his father and then acted brazenly, there was a high probability that he harbored a grudge against CEO Kwon over being fired from the company.

If so, did he put out this article to get revenge on CEO Kwon?

But if that were the case, the fact that he actually suffered injuries requiring eight weeks of treatment was a problem. He couldn’t have faked the photos of the assault injuries included in the article.

That meant he really was beaten by someone… but by whom?

Was someone other than Kwon Jung-hyun and Kim In-jung involved in the inner workings of this incident?

“…….”

He simply couldn’t tell. Ho-jae ruffled his hair wildly as if to cool his complicated mind.

* * *

The following day, Sunday, there was another game against the HI Tigers.

Following yesterday, several pieces of bad news awaited the players. First, the number of reporters loitering near the stadium had increased significantly, and second, the news that captain Choi Yong-su had finally decided to be out for the season.

Choi Yong-su, who had been diagnosed with a torn anterior cruciate ligament three years ago, chose to focus on rehabilitation for the next season after surgery.

The atmosphere in the locker room was disastrous. Following the owner and the coach, the captain—whom the players deeply trusted—had to step down, leaving them like a boat without a sail drifting in a vast ocean.

Acting Coach Yoo Gu-hwan appointed Moon Seung-yeol, who had been the vice-captain, as the interim captain and left after telling Moon Seung-yeol to choose the remaining vice-captain position himself.

“Shin Ho-jae, come see me for a second.”

Moon Seung-yeol called Ho-jae just as Ho-jae was wrapping tape around a new hockey stick.

Players wrap tape on their sticks according to their own preferences. For grip, Shin Ho-jae tends to twist the tape on the handle to create ridges and wrap the blade thinly overall.

Ho-jae stopped his work and moved his legs in the direction he gestured. After closing the door to an empty waiting room, Moon Seung-yeol paused with a deliberately serious face before starting with an unexpected opening.

“To be honest, I’m not confident that I can handle Yong-su hyung’s role on my own.”

Shin Ho-jae stared at him in silence.

“So, about that… could you take the remaining vice-captain role, Ho-jae?”

“…Me?”

“Yeah. No matter how much I think about it, I think you’re the most suitable person.”

It was an unexpected proposal. Shin Ho-jae looked at Moon Seung-yeol with a dazed expression.

Unlike other sports, ice hockey has a leadership group of up to three people: one captain and two vice-captains.

The authority to lodge a protest with the referee is granted only to the leadership group, and since player substitutions occur every one or two minutes, that many leaders are necessary.

It was an important position that required not only skill and leadership but also quick situational judgment and a fighting spirit. Since a vacancy had opened, he naturally thought Lee Sang-gon or one of the older players from that year’s class would be chosen.

As if reading those thoughts, Moon Seung-yeol spoke with a crooked lip.

“I still think your arbitrary style is obnoxious. And I don’t think you can do as well as Yong-su hyung. Don’t get cocky.”

“…….”

“But separately from that… I’ve seen several times that the reflexes you display during a game bring quite good results. Well, honestly, it wasn’t bad.”

Shin Ho-jae looked quietly at Moon Seung-yeol’s face.

As he said, whether they liked it or not, they had played together for two seasons. They couldn’t help but know each other’s play styles, habits, strengths, and weaknesses inside and out.

“You agree that our team is in a crisis right now, right? So I thought about what the team needs most right now…”

Moon Seung-yeol wrinkled the bridge of his nose slightly. It seemed that saying this wounded his pride.

“Scoring. And explosive scoring at that.”

“…….”

“…And there was no one else who could do it but you.”

As Moon Seung-yeol said this, he held out a palm-sized patch with an ‘A’ written on it. It was the ‘A’ signifying Assistant Captain.

Shin Ho-jae took the patch in silence. Though it couldn’t possibly be heavy, it felt as if it had weight.

“You’ll take the 2nd line with Yuk Du-min, Ji Min-chul, and Park Hyeong-hun. Sang-gon is the center for the 2nd line, and he won’t try to withhold the puck from you guys like he used to.”

After saying that, Seung-yeol awkwardly averted his gaze.

“That guy also knows now isn’t the time for internal fighting. Despite how he looks, he’s got a strong competitive streak.”

“…….”

“So I hope you’ll cooperate too. We have to avenge yesterday’s defeat to save face for Coach Peter and Yong-su hyung.”

Shin Ho-jae looked down at what he was holding. The patch, made of tens of thousands, no, hundreds of thousands of warp threads, looked like a solid surface rather than threads from above.

He felt he knew why a mere patch felt heavy. The aspirations of twenty-two players were hanging from it.

Moon Seung-yeol was right. If they collapsed helplessly in a crisis of this magnitude, they would have no face before Coach Peter, Yong-su hyung, and Kwon Jung-hyun, who were watching from afar.

“I’ll do it.”

“Good.”

“Seung-yeol hyung.”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you. For trusting me.”

Moon Seung-yeol scratched the bridge of his nose with his index finger, then gave Shin Ho-jae’s butt a playful smack before leaving the room.

A short while later, it was warm-up time, and the players, including Shin Ho-jae, went out onto the ice to loosen up.

There were more spectators in the stands than usual. Looking at them, Hyeong-hun grumbled.

“Ugh. I feel like everyone is cursing us.”

Ho-jae glanced up at the stands and said casually.

“From here, boos and cheers sound pretty much the same.”

“Uh… that’s true. …I guess so?”

Patting Hyeong-hun on the shoulder, Ho-jae went over to Lee Sang-gon, who was practicing his shots.

“Sang-gon hyung, don’t hesitate and just pass it. No matter where you are, I’ll definitely be nearby.”

At those words, Lee Sang-gon glanced at Yoo Gu-hwan on the bench through his visor.

This was because it differed from the defense-oriented strategy dictated by acting coach Yoo Gu-hwan.

Yoo Gu-hwan seemed overly conscious of yesterday’s crushing defeat. However, Shin Ho-jae and Moon Seung-yeol thought differently. The best defense is offense.

“Du-min and I will penetrate while cycling the puck. Even if it doesn’t go in at once, there will be continuous rebound opportunities. It was the same last year; the Tigers players start playing it safe in front of the goal once they pass the mid-season, probably because they’re afraid of injuries. You target those moments, hyung.”

“…….”

“You’re good at grabbing rebounds, hyung.”

At that, Lee Sang-gon looked at Ho-jae with a strange expression.

“If we just score the first goal, we can take the momentum.”

As Moon Seung-yeol said, what the Blue Wolves needed now was the confidence that ‘we can do it on our own.’

Soon, the whistle signaling the end of warm-up time blew. As Shin Ho-jae slowly circled the rink and glided back to the bench, the ‘A’ mark was prominently embroidered beneath the seam of his left shoulder.

There were about 20 minutes left until the start of the game.

90 – Puck Drop