Perfect Agent [EN]: Chapter 31

First Salary Negotiation (3)

As the 퇴근길 [toeguen-gil, the way home from work] grew darker, I could feel winter slowly approaching.

I parked the car in front of my now-familiar house.

I opened the trunk, took out the gift I had prepared in advance, wrapped in a 보자 [boja, a traditional Korean wrapping cloth], and an envelope of documents, and walked into the building entrance.

I had only been here once, but it didn’t feel awkward.

I glanced at my watch as I climbed the stairs and saw that I had arrived a little early for the appointment.

Ding-dong.

I carefully pressed the doorbell.

I heard a flurry of movement inside, then footsteps approaching the front door.

-Who is it?

“It’s Kang Hyun-woo.”

-Senior, you’re here?

Before I could finish speaking, I heard the sound of the lock disengaging, and the door swung open.

Choi Jung-hwan greeted me with a bright smile from behind the open door.

“Senior, you must be tired from coming all the way here. Please, come in.”

“Jung-hwan, how have you been?”

Perhaps because we had gone through a significant event together recently, I felt much closer to him.

I patted Choi Jung-hwan on the shoulder and carefully stepped into the house.

“Oh my, welcome.”

“Mother, how have you been? Thank you for inviting me.”

I bowed to Choi Jung-hwan’s mother as our eyes met.

I had received a dinner invitation that she had mentioned in passing last time.

I thought it was just a polite offer, but she mentioned it several times through Choi Jung-hwan, so I couldn’t refuse.

“It’s not much, but I hope you enjoy it.”

I handed the gift I had brought to Choi Jung-hwan’s mother.

“Oh my, you shouldn’t have bought something like this. You should have just come empty-handed.”

“I happened to know a good butcher shop that had something special today.”

“Next time, just come comfortably. Really.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“Come, sit over here. You must be hungry.”

The house was filled with the aroma of delicious food.

I followed Choi Jung-hwan and his mother to the dining table.

“Wow!”

I couldn’t help but exclaim as soon as I saw the table filled with food.

“I didn’t prepare much, so I don’t know if there’s anything to your liking.”

She didn’t prepare much…….

The table was so full of food that there was no empty space.

Moreover, it was filled with foods that I couldn’t eat when I was a player because I had to take care of my body.

Even as I pulled out a chair and sat down, it was difficult to come to my senses because my eyes were darting around at all the food.

“Please, eat first.”

“Thank you. I will enjoy the meal.”

Starting with kimchi stew, I ate all the generously prepared dishes without being picky.

The taste of the food was beyond excellent.

She had exceptional cooking skills.

I ate heartily for a while and quickly finished a bowl of rice.

“Um… I heard about it recently.”

“Yes……?”

What is she talking about?

“Thank you for keeping Jung-hwan from going down the wrong path.”

“Ah…… That? I was just there; Jung-hwan did it all.”

“And… I apologize on behalf of our Jung-hwan for always putting Kang Hyun-woo in a difficult situation without giving him anything in return.”

As soon as his mother finished speaking, she suddenly bowed her head, so I quickly followed suit.

“What are you talking about? It’s nothing.”

“When I suddenly heard that you were retiring, I felt like the sky was falling, as Jung-hwan’s mother.”

“Mom… please.”

Choi Jung-hwan gestured as if to stop his mother, but it was no use.

People around me might think that I retired because of Choi Jung-hwan.

But rather, I was able to gain incredible abilities thanks to Choi Jung-hwan.

“I didn’t retire because of an injury. After much consideration, I realized that it was meaningless to force myself to continue my career with my lacking skills. More than anything, I quit because I wanted to become an agent.”

To put it coldly, even if I hadn’t been injured that day, the probability that a player named Kang Hyun-woo would continue to play professionally was extremely low.

That’s what agent Kang Hyun-woo thought of player Kang Hyun-woo.

“I hope that both my mother and Jung-hwan no longer think that way. It’s better for me and for both of you.”

“I’m so grateful that you said that.”

Then suddenly, I remembered what I had brought to give to Choi Jung-hwan.

“Would it be okay if Jung-hwan and I talked separately for a moment?”

“Of course. Feel free to talk.”

His mother said, nodding her head.

“Senior. Shall we go into my room then?”

When I nodded in response, Choi Jung-hwan led me to his room.

On the way to the room, we ran into Choi Jung-hwan’s sister, who was just coming home.

As before, we only exchanged awkward glances.

“What is it that you wanted to talk to me about?”

“First, take this.”

I handed the envelope of documents to Choi Jung-hwan.

“What is this…?”

“You’re going to have a salary negotiation soon. Take this with you when you meet the general manager; it will help you make your case.”

“In the salary negotiation? Can I open it now?”

“Then open it. If you have any questions, ask me right away.”

Choi Jung-hwan carefully took out the envelope and opened it.

After checking a few documents inside, he read from the first page.

The more pages he turned, the brighter his expression became.

“Did you make this, Senior?”

“This is what I do.”

“Wow. You even know things that I didn’t know?”

Seeing Choi Jung-hwan exclaim in admiration, my shoulders naturally lifted.

“But….”

Suddenly, Choi Jung-hwan’s expression turned gloomy in an instant.

What’s wrong?

“I’m really grateful, but… at my current level of skill and salary, having an agency feels like a distant dream. Realistically, I’m worried about the fees right now….”

Choi Jung-hwan’s voice grew smaller as he went on.

“Don’t worry. I’m just helping you out.”

“Yes?”

Choi Jung-hwan froze for a moment, unable to say anything.

“I’ll just help you out for now. You really don’t have to feel any pressure.”

“Still, that’s a bit….”

I fully expected that he wouldn’t feel comfortable receiving help without giving anything in return.

“Instead, if your performance improves and your salary increases a lot, sign a contract with me when you need an agency.”

He didn’t have a very high salary yet, and he wasn’t quite at the level of being called the team’s core player, but it was clear that he was a player with the potential to become the team’s ace and the league’s ace in the near future.

“Me… with Senior?”

“When you’re in a situation where you’re signing an agency and management contract, you have to negotiate with me first, no matter what. But don’t worry, I’m not going to offer you a 10- or 15-year slave contract.”

Choi Jung-hwan blinked rapidly, as if he didn’t easily understand the intent of my words.

“I’m not registered as your agent right now, so I can’t go directly to the negotiation table. Still, if you take this much data with you, you’ll be able to get the results you want.”

“Thank you. And… if I get a high salary thanks to Senior’s advice, I’ll give it to you as a commission.”

“I told you, it’s okay. I’ll make a killing when you sign your FA [Free Agent] contract in a few years.”

I smiled and patted Choi Jung-hwan on the shoulder.

* * *

When Choi Jung-hwan opened the door and entered, General Manager Kim Gyu-sang of the Doubles was waiting.

“Oh? Jung-hwan, it’s you. Come on in.”

“General Manager, how have you been?”

Kim Gyu-sang glanced at Choi Jung-hwan and continued what he was doing.

“Wait a moment.”

“Yes.”

Only after a few minutes did he raise his head and make eye contact with Choi Jung-hwan.

“You’ve come to negotiate your salary, right?”

“Yes.”

Choi Jung-hwan didn’t feel very good that Kim Gyu-sang didn’t apologize even after making him wait for so long.

Choi Jung-hwan tried to raise the corners of his mouth and pretended to be okay.

“You worked hard this year. It’s a great achievement to have maintained the starting rotation for a season without any injuries.”

“Thank you.”

Choi Jung-hwan felt relieved by Kim Gyu-sang’s unexpected praise.

“Your salary last season was 45 million won, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Kim Gyu-sang rummaged through the pile of documents in front of him and picked up a single sheet of paper in the corner.

“You’ve played a lot of games this season, so there’s no objection to a salary increase.”

Choi Jung-hwan’s face gradually brightened at Kim Gyu-sang’s favorable response.

“So, the salary calculated based on our club’s performance is….”

Choi Jung-hwan swallowed hard and waited for Kim Gyu-sang to say the next word.

“60 million won, a 33% increase.”

“Ah… yes.”

“Looking at the results alone, there are quite a few games where you gave up a lot of runs and were taken out early, so it’s not ideal, but considering that you pitched over 90 innings, I think this is appropriate. Do you agree?”

Kim Gyu-sang handed over the contract with 60 million won written on it.

Choi Jung-hwan, who received the contract, paused for a moment to think.

If I hadn’t met Kang Hyun-woo yesterday and come to this place, I probably would have signed it right away without saying a word, just like the last salary negotiation.

“General Manager, but….”

“Do you have anything else to say?”

“Could you take a look at this?”

“What is this?”

Choi Jung-hwan handed Kim Gyu-sang the data he had brought.

Kim Gyu-sang, who tilted his head at the unexpected development, received the data.

“As you can see from this season’s indicators, it’s true that my ERA [Earned Run Average] and WHIP [Walks plus Hits per Inning Pitched] are generally disappointing this season.”

“That’s right.”

Kim Gyu-sang nodded as if he already knew better than anyone else.

“But if you distinguish between games where I was taken out early and games where I wasn’t, the story changes. I heard that I played like an ace pitcher in about half of the games I played.”

“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“I’m not just saying it based on feeling, but if you look at the data you’re holding, you’ll see that what I’m saying isn’t a lie.”

Kim Gyu-sang looked down at the data again, and his eyes widened.

“So, so.”

“That’s not to say that I’m asking for a raise. I’m reporting myself, but it’s true that I was involved in an unpleasant incident during the season.”

Choi Jung-hwan took a deep breath and continued.

“I will sign the salary that the club has proposed. However, I want to be properly recognized for my value.”

Choi Jung-hwan threw out the last words he wanted to say without any change in expression.

Then, he just stared at Kim Gyu-sang, who was stunned as if he had been hit.