Perfect Agent [EN]: Chapter 258

Dream Agency Tryouts (2)

The day of the tryouts dawned.

Jung In-gyu, Lee Ju-hyuk, and I headed to the stadium before sunrise to prepare in advance.

As soon as we arrived, we had to start setting up for the event.

The film crew, who had arrived around the same time, was also busy preparing for the shoot.

They planned to capture everything from the beginning to the end of today’s tryouts to share with fans, and the game footage would be provided to the club’s scouting team.

At the same time, products from companies sponsoring today’s tryouts also arrived.

From sports drinks to chicken, sandwiches, and lunch boxes.

There was no need for the players to worry about food during today’s matches.

With so many different kinds of sponsorships coming in, it took our agency staff quite a while to organize everything.

As the setup was being completed, officials from professional clubs who would grace today’s tryouts began to arrive.

I personally greeted each of the officials who had come a long way.

Among them was Hwang Yun-seok, a scout from the Jaguars.

I approached Hwang Yun-seok, who was setting up his scouting equipment and preparing.

“Yun-seok, thanks for coming all this way.”

Hwang Yun-seok jumped up when he heard my voice.

“Wow, CEO Kang. You’re even doing events like this now; you’re really amazing.”

“Oh, am I doing this with my own strength? It’s all thanks to our players being so famous.”

“You’re too modest. It’s all possible because CEO Kang has lived a good life.”

“By the way, I heard it was neck and neck until the last minute to decide who to pick in the first round of this draft?”

“Don’t even mention it. It was fierce until the very last night. Really.”

Hwang Yun-seok shook his head.

“So, how did you come to a final decision?”

“Well, the manager made the decision in the end. It didn’t seem like we could come to an agreement through discussion.”

“I think Woo-jin is much better. Don’t you think so, *hyung* [older brother or male friend]?”

I wasn’t just saying that because I was biased; I sincerely thought so.

“I’m thinking that way too, but there’s a point to the argument that we should pick a player with greater potential for future growth rather than just looking at their current performance. And it’s also common to pick a potential fireballer [a pitcher known for throwing very fastballs] first and then worry about it later.”

“That’s not wrong either.”

“Anyway, he’s our team’s first-round pick now. From now on, he’ll probably be treated the best and start a development program.”

“I should go ahead and tell them to take good care of our Woo-jin, right?”

I knew a lot of people at the Jaguars, so it was easier to talk to them.

“What do you think of the players coming today?”

“Actually, I’m seeing them for the first time today, so it’s too early to judge, but there will probably be a lot of interesting players.”

Even just looking at the applications, there were quite a few players with interesting backgrounds and stories.

Hwang Yun-seok looked around and said in a low voice.

“If there’s a player who looks good, can you recommend them to the Jaguars first?”

“If the Jaguars actively consider them, of course, I have no reason not to.”

Hwang Yun-seok couldn’t hide his joy when I smiled.

* * *

As the tryout start time approached, I could see players arriving one by one.

After completing the check-in process at the entrance, the players received uniforms with their names on them and entered the stadium.

I could feel the tension in the expressions of the players walking in with heavy equipment bags.

Then, they slowly started to warm up for the tryouts that would begin shortly.

I stood at the entrance, personally greeting the players who had completed the check-in process.

“Welcome.”

The players who saw me as soon as they came in were surprised and pleased.

“Oh, CEO Kang Hyun-woo.”

“I’m a real fan. Thank you.”

I was happily greeting the passing players when someone called my name in a loud voice.

“CEO Kang Hyun-woo!”

I turned my head towards the sound.

I could see a player running towards me as if charging.

As he got closer, I could see his face, but….

Who is it?

I didn’t remember at all.

Seeing that the information window wasn’t up, it seemed like I had never met him in person.

“Hah, hah. CEO, I really wanted to see you again, and here we meet.”

“Ah… Welcome.”

I tried to remember while we were greeting each other, but I still couldn’t recall where I had met him.

“I don’t know if you remember me, but I saw you passing by when I participated in the tryouts a few years ago.”

“Ah….”

If it was when I participated in the tryouts….

It seemed like he was talking about the day Lee Ju-hyuk took the test.

“I got injured while running during the game that day and was substituted in the middle.”

“Ah! You’re that person!”

He was the player who collided while dashing to third base before Lee Ju-hyuk pitched and got injured.

I still vividly remembered how sad he looked sitting in the corner and sobbing after being replaced.

“Are you okay now? You couldn’t play the game back then.”

As I naturally made contact with his body, the information window finally appeared.

-He is exhausted both physically and mentally from a long period of rehabilitation.

-If he doesn’t receive a good evaluation at this tryout, he is thinking of giving up baseball.

Even if I didn’t know Kim Yu-rim’s entire career, I could guess a little thanks to the information window.

For athletes, injuries are inevitable but unavoidable.

As someone who knew better than anyone how difficult and exhausting it was to rehabilitate for a long time, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him.

“I’m much better now. Honestly, I can’t say that my physical condition is the best today, but there won’t be any major problems playing the game. It’s not like I’ve only been injured once or twice.”

Kim Yu-rim touched his shoulder and replied with a smile.

“Aren’t you afraid of getting injured again? It’s not easy even if you get hurt once.”

“I’m scared, but playing baseball is really fun.”

A smile appeared on Kim Yu-rim’s face.

“I hope you have good results. Don’t get hurt today.”

I patted Kim Yu-rim on the shoulder.

“Yes, thank you. I’ll do my best.”

Kim Yu-rim greeted me and ran towards the stadium.

Seeing his cheerful appearance, I felt a little relieved.

I continued to greet the participating players.

The players I greeted had different positions and physiques.

Besides that, the players who came here had their own unique stories.

Among them, I could see information windows that caught my eye.

-I’m worried about getting hit in the face by a batted ball again.

It was the content that appeared from the pitcher.

After talking to him, I found out that he was hit in the face by a batted ball that flew after hitting the batter’s bat after throwing the ball.

Since the speed of a batted ball is often faster than the ball thrown by the pitcher, there was a high possibility that he was hit by a more threatening ball than me.

I was amazed that he was still throwing the ball without giving up.

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t overcome the fear of standing in the batter’s box.

And another player with an information window caught my eye.

-My experience playing baseball in the Mexican League has been a great help.

If you were here today, you couldn’t not know this player.

He was a pitcher who had played professionally in Korea.

He was a player who had been active in the first team, but he did not sign a contract after declaring FA [Free Agency] because he did not receive the desired conditions.

The last thing I heard was that he had moved to the Mexican League to continue his career.

It seemed like he was planning to come back to Korea and try a new challenge.

There was also a hitter with a familiar face who was no less than him.

-I want to make good use of my failed experience in the United States and perform well on the Korean stage.

He was a player who had briefly received attention a long time ago, so he was a player whose name was known but whose face was unknown to many fans.

He was considered the best prospect from high school, receiving deep interest from major league clubs.

And he actually signed a contract with a major league club and went to the American stage as soon as he graduated from high school.

Even after several years had passed, I couldn’t hear the news that he had set foot on the major league stage.

Eventually, he ended his life in the United States and returned to Korea.

Even if he had experienced setbacks in the United States, he was still a player with the skills to be considered for recruitment by domestic professional clubs.

However, players who went directly to the United States without going through the domestic league were penalized in the process of returning to the Korean stage, so they were not able to sign a contract immediately.

Both players were players who should never be dropped if only their names were considered.

However, past fame would not be reflected in this tryout.

The only evaluation criterion was the performance shown on the field today.

* * *

It was time to start the tryouts.

The players had already finished preparing and gathered on the field.

I picked up the microphone and stood on the platform.

After climbing two steps, I could see many players standing densely in front of me.

There were as many as 300 players here now.

Everyone was looking at me with sparkling eyes.

“Hello, everyone, I’m glad to meet you. I’m Kang Hyun-woo, CEO of Dream Agency.”

“Wow-”

When I bowed to the players, enthusiastic applause erupted.

“First of all, thank you for coming all this way.”

I paused for a moment and continued.

“Officials from domestic professional clubs are also here. If you impress a club representative at today’s tryouts, we plan to proceed with contract discussions immediately.”

“Oh.”

I could feel the players’ expectations and envy.

“We’ve worked really hard to prepare, just as you’ve taken the time to come, so I sincerely hope you get good results. You can all show off the skills you’ve honed so far, right?”

“Yes!”

I could hear the players’ thick and spirited answers.

“Then let’s start with the physical test. I hope everyone has good results.”

I finished my last greeting and came down from the platform.

Soon after, Jung In-gyu took over the microphone.

“We have divided the groups to take the physical test. Please check and prepare according to the time. Warm up enough so you don’t get injured.”

The players who checked their groups moved to warm up.

And after a while, the tryouts began with the physical test.