Perfect Agent [EN]: Chapter 21

The Secret Temptation (2)

Not all sports gambling is illegal.

There is legal sports gambling in Korea where you can bet on sports games.

However, in legal sports gambling, you can only bet on wins, losses, and the total score.

Especially in professional baseball, which involves dozens of players, it’s nearly impossible for a specific player to single-handedly determine the outcome or the score.

But in illegal gambling, the situation changes.

In many cases, it’s set up to allow betting on various specific events within the game, not just wins, losses, or scores.

For example, whether a hit-by-pitch [when a batter is hit by the pitcher’s throw and gets to advance to first base] will occur in the first inning.

Under these conditions, the will of just one player can change the outcome.

And that was about to happen right before my eyes.

“It seems like you two need to talk, so I’ll be going now.”

“Ah… Okay.”

I tried not to show my embarrassment.

“Hyun-woo, it was an honor to meet you. I hope to see you again.”

Lee Joo-ho smiled unpleasantly until the end as he said goodbye.

“Goodbye, *hyung-nim* [older brother or respected male figure]. Drive safe.”

Choi Jeong-hwan bowed to Lee Joo-ho.

I was busy organizing my complicated thoughts as he left.

“*Sunbae-nim* [senior colleague or mentor], please sit down.”

“Oh… Okay.”

I patted Choi Jeong-hwan’s shoulder and sat down, hoping to gather more information.

Fortunately, new information was available.

-Was momentarily tempted by the offer of a large sum of money.

-Couldn’t refuse immediately because of his friendship with Lee Joo-ho.

It seemed that Lee Joo-ho had been cultivating a friendship with Choi Jeong-hwan for a long time.

The same request is harder to refuse when it comes from someone you’re close to.

That’s the angle that brokers exploit.

Fortunately, Choi Jeong-hwan knew that this was wrong.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t show you a good game today.”

“What are you sorry about? You’re doing great right now.”

“But I wanted to be the winning pitcher today, even if it was just by luck.”

I could even sense Choi Jeong-hwan’s apology towards me in his expression.

“But, you know… by any chance… that person we just met. Do you know him well?”

I mustered up the courage to ask carefully.

“Ah… he’s just a close *hyung*. He’s also been a fan who’s supported and helped me since my debut.”

“You’ve known him since your debut?”

“Yes. I got to know him through introductions from *sunbae*s. He often contacts me, so we greet each other.”

It would have been difficult to suspect him since he was someone who was also close to the *sunbae*s on the same team.

“Are you still close these days?”

“I don’t see him often, but he sometimes calls me out separately and buys me food to encourage me to work hard.”

It was a typical method for brokers to gradually build friendships with players.

“Do you know what he does?”

“He said he’s in business. He seems to have a lot of money. He drives an expensive car too.”

“You don’t know what kind of business he’s in?”

“Oh… I didn’t ask him about that.”

As expected, he didn’t seem to have even considered suspecting Lee Joo-ho.

“Is he trustworthy?”

“Of course. I’ve known him for several years, and I’ve met him with the *hyung*s too.”

Choi Jeong-hwan might not be Lee Joo-ho’s only target.

What if he had already built friendships with several other players?

What would happen if I pretended not to know and moved on?

It was clear that it would grow into a major incident that would shake not only the Doubles but the entire league in a few years.

Now that I knew about it first, I had to stop it no matter what.

But what if he’s already involved?

If money has already been exchanged and manipulation has been carried out, Choi Jeong-hwan can’t simply be called a victim anymore.

I was afraid of getting an unwanted answer, but I needed to check and move on right away.

How should I check?

Should I just ask him directly?

No.

Choi Jeong-hwan and I weren’t in a relationship where we shared a deep sense of trust yet.

If he tried to hide this fact from me, things could get more complicated.

It would be better to approach this indirectly.

“By any chance, you don’t have any money dealings with him, do you?”

“Mo, money dealings?”

I focused on watching how Choi Jeong-hwan’s expression changed.

“I, I’ve never had any.”

“Really? You’ve never dealt with him even once?”

“Yes. Of course. Not at all.”

His eyes didn’t waver, so it didn’t seem like he was lying.

If so, that was a relief.

“But is something wrong?”

He was starting to get nervous as I kept probing.

“It’s not that, but even if you’re close, you have to be careful with money dealings.”

It was hard to come up with excuses on the spot.

“I heard that close friends had a few money dealings recently and their relationship soured. I was just worried.”

“Ah… Okay. I’ll be careful. I’m an adult now.”

I seemed to have avoided raising suspicion.

Choi Jeong-hwan’s next start is in 5 days.

He must have been asked to manipulate the game in that start 5 days later.

I had to solve this problem somehow before the match-fixing was carried out.

* * *

About 30 minutes had passed since I left the office by car.

We entered a quiet neighborhood.

There were no more buildings that could be called buildings around.

“Team Leader, how much further are we going?”

“We’re almost there. It’s right there.”

Kim Min-hwan pointed somewhere with his hand.

My gaze followed his hand.

Huh! Really?

“Is it really there?”

“Yeah. That building on the left now.”

“Wow! That’s awesome.”

My mouth dropped open as soon as I saw the new house.

“Is this really the house?”

“Of course. Would I lie?”

The car stopped in front of a two-story house with a yard.

The yard even had grass.

“Do you like it this much?”

“I do like it, but… it seems too much for me to live alone?”

That’s not what I wanted.

“You’re not going to live alone forever, and new family members will be coming soon.”

“New family members? Who’s coming?”

“When players affiliated with our company suddenly need a place to stay, they can come here and stay for a few days.”

“That’s good. I felt burdened because the house seemed too big for me to live alone.”

It would have been lonely to live alone in a house like this.

“Training equipment will be coming soon too. In the yard and two places in the basement.”

“There’s a basement too?”

“You can train in the yard, and you can train indoors in the basement on days when it’s difficult to train outside.”

“Oh… But how did you find a place like this?”

It takes days to find a studio apartment to live in alone, but I was curious how he found this house so quickly.

“As the number of players increased, the CEO felt that we needed a place where players could stay at any time, so I was looking into various options.”

“Ah.”

“Hyun-woo, you’re lucky. The timing was perfect.”

“Thank you. It’s all thanks to you, Team Leader.”

“What did I do?”

Kim Min-hwan’s answer and expression were quite different.

His upturned lips, which had been lifted up a little, didn’t seem to be coming down easily this time either.

He’s the kind of person who won’t be hostile to me if I keep praising him like this.

“Hyun-woo, you’re going to have to do some work. Manage the players here and let me know if anything is needed.”

“Yes. That’s not difficult.”

“Instead, all the living expenses here are free.”

“Really?”

My eyes widened at the unexpected words.

“It’s also work to manage things here.”

Not having to pay for housing while living near Seoul was a huge benefit.

“The company will pay for utilities too. But don’t waste too much.”

“Of course.”

No management fees either.

“And a cook who will manage your diet will visit every day.”

They’re even going to cook for me.

“I’ll work hard.”

I bowed without realizing it.

“Everything is cleaned up. There’s no problem living here right away. Is all your luggage in the car?”

“Yes.”

“It’s simple. Let’s move it right away.”

I only had the things I needed, so I didn’t have much luggage yet.

Even though I thought I had packed generously, there were only five boxes.

It was over in less than 10 minutes as Kim Min-hwan and I each carried one.

“Do you have any more questions?”

“No, I don’t.”

“Organize your luggage today and get some work done here.”

“But when are the other players coming?”

“Well… I just signed the contract. I think you’ll have to live alone for a few days?”

“Yes. I understand.”

With that last answer, Kim Min-hwan left, and I was left alone.

I hurried into my new room.

There was a desk and chair that I used in the office, as if to tell me to work hard here too.

But there was something more important than looking around the house that would be my haven right now.

I recalled the memories I had been worrying about all night since yesterday.

‘How do I handle this?’

At first, I thought about telling the company, but it was difficult because Choi Jeong-hwan wasn’t a player affiliated with our company.

Besides, I don’t have a very wide network right now.

I had to find someone who could mobilize more connections and resources.

No matter how much I thought about it, there was only one person who came to mind.

I hesitated for a long time before pressing the button even after turning on the smartphone screen.

Then I carefully pressed the name.

I heard a voice before the call rang three times.

“Hyun-woo. I was just about to contact you.”

It was reporter Lee Soo-min with a bright voice.

“Have you been well?”

“Well? It was a mess.”

“A mess? Did something big happen?”

“Thanks to Hyun-woo, my treatment at the company has changed.”

I burst into laughter.

“It was a mess in a good way.”

“Yes. How about dinner soon? I’ll treat you.”

“That’s good.”

“Tell me what you want to eat.”

“Really? I should pick something properly then.”

“Except for something too expensive. Something that’s possible with a salaryman’s salary.”

I smiled and threw in one more word.

“Before that, how about I give you a scoop as a gift?”