Perfect Agent [EN]: Chapter 11

“You wrote all of this by hand?”

“I apologize. I’m not used to computers yet.”

“It’s okay. The content is what matters.”

“I’ll work hard to learn from now on.”

A faint smile touched Im Ye-ji’s face as she read the report.

“But can you really do it?”

“Yes, of course.”

Im Ye-ji put down the report and looked at me.

“Actually, this kind of proposal is quite burdensome for the agency. Managing the game on-site is strictly the director’s unique authority. We need to be careful about proposals that could touch sensitive areas.”

“I have no intention of infringing on the director’s authority.”

“Then have you thought about how to proceed?”

“I have to persuade him. The data already provides enough answers. Even if you divide Oh Seok-hoon’s hitting and fielding stats by position, the answer isn’t hard to find. His performance was significantly better when he played as a right fielder than in other positions.”

As I spoke confidently, Im Ye-ji tilted her head slightly.

“Do you really think that will be enough?”

“Pardon?”

“Do you really think you can solve this problem with just that one piece of data?”

“……?”

“The director and coaches probably know the data as well, unless they’re fools.”

I nodded, listening to Im Ye-ji.

“With such clear data, why aren’t they playing him as a right fielder?”

“Ah… I understand.”

“Right. Do you know what the Buffaloes’ second-string director’s style is like?”

“Yes. I know it well.”

Any baseball fan would have heard the name Lee Jin-won at least once.

He was a Buffaloes player who became the second-string director after serving as a hitting coach for five years.

Some described Lee Jin-won as a leader with strengths in developing players, but I didn’t agree.

To put it nicely, he was a charismatic leader; to put it bluntly, he was hot-tempered, direct, and emotional.

He was the type to push players to their limits rather than carefully manage them.

There were cases where players grew significantly as a result of this method.

However, there were also many cases where players’ self-esteem plummeted because they couldn’t adapt to this leadership style.

“You won’t have any chance of winning him over if you come at him half-heartedly.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“It’s not easy from the start, is it? Prepare properly and give it a try.”

“I’ll show you good results.”

“But don’t forget that everything you say and do outside represents me and our company.”

A smile flickered on Im Ye-ji’s face, but it quickly disappeared.

“Yes, I understand.”

“Keep reporting on the progress, and ask Team Leader Kim for anything you need at any time. I’ve told him to help with anything the company can do.”

After receiving the PDF file, I decided not to expect any help from that person.

I only hoped that he wouldn’t get in the way of my progress.

“I don’t know if he’ll need any help separately, but I’ll keep it in mind.”

I bowed to Im Ye-ji and left the office.

“Hyun-woo.”

As soon as I came out of the president’s office, I heard a voice calling me.

I turned my head toward the sound and saw Kim Min-hwan approaching.

“Let’s talk for a moment.”

I was planning to meet him in person before going to the stadium anyway, but he came to me on his own.

“Sure.”

I went into the pantry with Kim Min-hwan.

Kim Min-hwan closed the pantry door and looked at me with a serious expression.

“Is this your first time in this kind of organizational life, Hyun-woo?”

“No. I’ve lived in a group while playing as a player.”

“Not that. I mean the company.”

“Yes. This is my first time in a company.”

“I can definitely tell it’s your first time.”

“What do you mean?”

“Hyun-woo, employees don’t report directly to the president when they have something to report, just like a regular player doesn’t talk directly to the director. You have to go through the captain or coach. It’s the same in the company. You have to go through the team leader.”

“Is that so?”

I had something to say, but I waited because Kim Min-hwan seemed to have more to say.

“If the president asks the team leader something and the team leader doesn’t know anything, what will happen? The team leader just becomes a fool. If a subordinate makes their team leader a fool, how is that different from spitting in the sky?”

“Yes, I guess so.”

“From now on, report everything to me first, no matter how trivial.”

I kept nodding, matching his rhythm.

“But how should I report?”

“How do you report? Ha… Hyun-woo, do you really not know anything, or are you pretending not to know?”

Kim Min-hwan looked at me with a frustrated expression.

“No, it’s not that. I was wondering if this company delivers daily reports in handwriting.”

“Write it by hand?”

“Isn’t that why you sent me the form as a PDF file? Or should I draw pictures and send them every time?”

“Ah… it went to that? Hey, you should have told me right away. I must have accidentally sent it wrong because I was busy.”

Kim Min-hwan scratched his head awkwardly, smiling.

I stared at him without saying a word.

Kim Min-hwan slightly averted his gaze, trying not to make eye contact with me.

“You sent it wrong, Team Leader? I thought our president liked the analog style. But after looking at the report earlier, the president seemed to like it. Ah? Is it because the content is perfect, not because he likes analog?”

I took out a paper cup, inserted an Americano capsule into the coffee machine, and pressed the button.

“Team Leader, if you want to receive proper reports from your subordinates, please send them properly instead of being petty.”

I picked up the Americano and glanced at my watch.

“Oh, I’m late. I’ll be on my way.”

I smiled at Kim Min-hwan and immediately left the pantry.

I could feel Kim Min-hwan fuming behind me.

* * *

“It’s about time he came.”

I looked around, scanning my surroundings.

There weren’t many people passing by, probably because there was still a lot of time left before the game.

After a while, the person I was waiting for approached from afar.

“Coach Park!”

“Oh? Hyun-woo. What brings you here?”

It was Park Chi-ho, the Buffaloes’ second-string defense coach.

I had some acquaintance with him because he was briefly a Jaguars coach when I was a player.

However, we weren’t close enough to meet and talk separately.

But he was the only Buffaloes coach I could reach out to right now, so I mustered up the courage.

“Coach, how have you been?”

“Living is all the same, you know.”

Park Chi-ho smiled brightly and held out his hand.

I naturally shook his hand.

The information window popped up above his head without fail.

-Anxiously worried about defensive errors by players in the game.

It was ordinary information without anything special.

I was slightly disappointed because I had hoped to get some good information that wasn’t known to the outside.

“Are you free right now?”

“Sure. Got some time. There’s a seat over there, shall we sit down?”

Park Chi-ho and I headed to a bench in the corner.

Park Chi-ho rummaged through his pockets and pulled out two drinks from the vending machine, handing one to me.

Oh, shoot.

I felt embarrassed the moment I received the drink.

I only thought about what I needed, and now I realized that I came empty-handed.

“How’s your body these days?”

“Yes, it’s much better.”

“I heard the rumor that you turned down the Jaguars’ power analysis team, what have you been up to these days?”

“Actually… I joined an agency.”

“An agency? A baseball agency?”

Park Chi-ho was surprised and widened his eyes.

“Yes. I’m working at YJ Sports Agency.”

“Really? So you’re an agent now?”

“It somehow turned out that way.”

“Wow, that’s great. I think you’ll do well.”

Park Chi-ho smiled brightly and patted me on the shoulder.

“So what kind of work are you doing?”

“I started by taking on Seok-hoon.”

“You’re talking about our team’s Seok-hoon, right?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

“Please take good care of him. Our team will do well if you do well. Haha.”

Park Chi-ho seemed to show a bright smile, but it quickly darkened again.

“Coach, about that…”

I carefully continued.

“Is it your opinion that Seok-hoon’s position keeps changing?”

“Ah……. That’s…”

Seeing Park Chi-ho hesitating, I could fully anticipate the reason.

“Is it the director’s idea?”

Park Chi-ho checked that there were no people walking around, lowered his voice, and quietly said, “You know our director’s style well.”

“That’s true. But it seems too much lately. There are days when he changes positions twice in one game.”

“I’ve talked about it many times. But do you think that old man’s style will change overnight just because people around him says something?”

“That’s true, but… I think Seok-hoon would be much better if he just fixed his defensive position as a right fielder. If you look at his career stats, the results are clearly visible.”

“If he fixes his position, there’s a high possibility that he won’t be able to play many games.”

“He can’t play games?”

“The director doesn’t trust Seok-hoon at all. That means there’s no chance he’ll start in a fixed position. Unless he’s put into the empty position that day, like now, it’ll be difficult for him to play in the game.”

I didn’t understand what Park Chi-ho was saying at all.

“How can a player earn trust if he has to keep changing positions?”

As I retorted without realizing it, Park Chi-ho looked around again. Then, he gestured for me to lower my voice and said with a sigh, “I don’t know whether the director has to show trust so that the player can prove himself, or whether the player has to prove his skills so that the director can trust him, but either way, that’s the reality right now.”

I was about to ask a question again because I didn’t understand the words.

Ring ring.

Park Chi-ho’s phone rang.

Park Chi-ho paused for a moment, looked at the name on the phone screen, and quickly got up from his seat.

“Hyun-woo, I’m sorry. I have to get up now.”

“Ah! I took up too much of your time. Coach, thank you for making time for me today.”

“Don’t mention it. Let’s have a meal next time we meet.”

“Yes. I’ll treat you.”

I bowed to Park Chi-ho, who was hurriedly getting up from his seat.

Park Chi-ho shook hands with me once again and walked away quickly, answering the phone.

I stared at his back and slumped down in my seat.

I was trying to solve it without meeting the director directly if possible…

Now there was no choice.

The only way was to meet the director and persuade him.

“But I can’t just open the director’s office door and go in…”

What’s a good way to meet Director Lee Jin-won?

“Ah… I have no choice.”

It was a card I really didn’t want to use, but I couldn’t think of a better option right now.