Perfect Agent [EN]: Chapter 34

34. What’s Best for the Player (1)

The Korean Series, the climax of the season, was drawing to a close.

This also meant that free agent (FA) negotiations were about to begin in earnest.

I was in my room, reviewing Na Jun-ho’s game footage and compiling data.

I already knew it, but watching him play again only reinforced how incredible he was.

Anyone who scrutinized Na Jun-ho’s performance would be left in awe.

Contact hitting, power, speed, defense, throwing ability—he was a true five-tool player, possessing every skill a hitter could desire.

The data from the past few years unequivocally placed him at the top of the league in every significant metric.

Trying to find flaws in his performance felt like a futile exercise.

The key to these negotiations would undoubtedly be which team offered the most attractive terms.

Na Jun-ho’s team, the Dragons, had repeatedly stated their intention to retain him at all costs throughout the season. It was easy to predict fierce competition, as other teams would also be actively vying for his signature.

Even with the Korean Series still underway, the media and fans were already intensely speculating about which team Na Jun-ho would be playing for next season.

The Dragons were determined to keep a player who was practically a franchise icon. Other domestic teams were subtly expressing their interest behind the scenes, and numerous Major League teams were sending scouts to observe him during regular season games.

Clearly, Na Jun-ho was the hottest commodity in this FA market.

Among some fans, rumors were already circulating that Na Jun-ho was close to signing a contract with a specific team, creating a buzz of anticipation.

Of course, since the agency hadn’t even begun negotiations, these rumors were completely baseless.

Regardless, the more these stories spread, the more eager teams would be to contact the agency as soon as the official negotiation period began, so it wasn’t entirely unwelcome.

They were all waiting for the official date when FA negotiations could commence.

That’s when I’ll be bombarded with calls from team officials.

Vibrating—I turned towards the sound, and sure enough, a call was coming in.

The caller was Lee Soo-min.

I cleared my throat and answered.

Before I could even speak, Lee Soo-min’s voice came through the phone, as if she’d been waiting for my call.

-Hyun-woo, are you swamped these days?

“About as much as you’d expect, I imagine.”

-I figured. But by any chance…

I could anticipate what Lee Soo-min was about to ask without her saying it directly.

“You know we can’t officially make contact yet.”

-I suppose so…? It just seemed like there were rumors, and I was wondering if anything had progressed.

“What’s certain is that we haven’t had any substantive discussions with any team yet.”

-Then just one more thing. Is there any interest in moving to Major League Baseball?

“The Major League? I’m not sure. I haven’t met with anyone directly to discuss it, but if a concrete offer comes, it’s certainly a possibility, wouldn’t you say?”

-This stove league [off-season period of player trades and negotiations] is going to be interesting.

“But nothing is certain yet. I’ll contact you first if anything develops.”

-Really?

“Of course. But you have to write good articles.”

There would inevitably be times when I’d need the media’s help during negotiations with various teams.

I ended the call with Lee Soo-min and stretched my arms overhead.

As I felt the stiffness in my body ease, I glanced at the clock and realized that two hours had already flown by.

Knock. Knock.

Someone was knocking on my door.

“Sunbae [term of respect for a senior colleague], come out here for a second!”

“What’s wrong?”

I opened the door to find Park Seong-ju standing there.

“Something’s up. But you have to see it in person.”

“In person?”

“Hurry. Come on.”

Park Seong-ju, standing behind me, grabbed my shoulders and ushered me out.

Park Seong-ju stopped me in the living room.

Oh Seok-hoon was there as well.

“Why did you tell me to come out?”

I looked back and forth between Park Seong-ju and Oh Seok-hoon, puzzled.

“Don’t you notice anything different?”

“What’s different… Oh?”

My gaze landed on the TV that dominated one wall of the living room.

It was enormous, dwarfing the one we had before.

“What is this?”

“We saved up and bought a new one. We thought it might help with analyzing games, and it would be much better for watching TV while relaxing.”

“This thing is huge, isn’t it?”

I stared at the TV, which was unlike anything I’d ever seen, my jaw dropping.

“It’s 85 inches and 8K. A brand new model.”

“Wow! That must have cost a fortune, right?”

“It was pricey. But Sunbae got us a lot of salary increases. We thought about buying you a car, but not quite yet…”

I felt grateful for their thoughtfulness, but also a little burdened.

“You got those raises because you guys did great work. I didn’t do anything.”

“Next year, we’ll get even bigger raises and repay you with something even more expensive and better.”

Oh Seok-hoon and Park Seong-ju suddenly bowed.

“Since you’re out here, let’s play a game.”

“What game, all of a sudden?”

Park Seong-ju fiddled with the TV and something connected to it, and the screen changed.

“There’s nothing better than a game to clear your head.”

After a moment, the words ‘Major League Baseball’ appeared on the screen.

“The game isn’t by any chance…”

“Playing games might seem like just having fun, but it’s also image training. It’s also an opportunity to become a world-class player… virtually, anyway.”

“This is something. I might be worse than you guys in real life, but you’ll have a hard time beating me in a game.”

A nervous laugh escaped me, but a smile spread across my face.

“Hey. I’m not a pushover either.”

“The loser has to clean the office.”

“Deal.”

I picked up the controller and sat down in front of the TV.

Oh Seok-hoon, who was behind me, sat down next to me, excited.

And a little later, in stark contrast to the smile on my face, Park Seong-ju was clutching his head in dismay.

Aside from the score of 5-0, Park Seong-ju hadn’t even managed to get a single hit.

The gap between the game and reality was vast.

* * *

“Shall we talk first, just the two of us?”

“Yes, let’s do that.”

With a bright expression, Im Ye-ji sat across from me, and the meeting began.

“Na Jun-ho will be arriving soon. Do you two know each other?”

“We don’t have any personal relationship. I’ve never met him privately to talk.”

“Not knowing each other personally shouldn’t be a problem. Our goal is to secure the best possible contract for the player.”

Im Ye-ji nodded in response.

“Have you prepared for the negotiation?”

“Yes. I still see some areas that need improvement, but I’ve created a draft.”

I handed Im Ye-ji a copy of the materials I had prepared.

Im Ye-ji carefully read through them, turning each page.

“What do you think is the most important aspect of the Na Jun-ho negotiation?”

“His performance is undeniable. However, it took him a while to accrue enough service time to qualify for free agency, so his age is a slight drawback.”

Im Ye-ji, about to turn the page, paused, tilted her head, and looked at me.

“Hmm… Is there really no weakness in his performance?”

“It’s not that he’s completely without flaws. If I had to identify a weakness, it would be that he has a relatively high strikeout rate compared to his walk rate.”

“High strikeout rate… That’s true.”

“Since he’s a player who swings for the fences [tries to hit home runs], a higher strikeout rate is somewhat inevitable. But compared to last season, his strikeout rate has increased significantly this year.”

I flipped through a few pages in my materials and continued, referring to the data.

“Na Jun-ho has never had a BB/K ratio [walks to strikeouts ratio] exceeding 0.5 since his debut. Last year it dropped to 0.32, and this year it’s fallen to 0.24.”

“I see.”

“The fact that this is a weakness is undeniable, but his other strengths more than compensate for it.”

Im Ye-ji nodded, but continued to examine the data with a serious expression.

She scrutinized every page, not missing a single detail, before finally putting the materials down.

“We might also consider the lingering effects of the knee injury he suffered two years ago. What about that?”

“Ah… I hadn’t considered that.”

I couldn’t hide my embarrassment at the unexpected question.

Even though the surgery was successful, it was a major injury that required almost a year of rehabilitation.

I was so focused on his recent performance that I had overlooked the significance of that past injury.

“Everyone agrees that Na Jun-ho is the top free agent this year. But to get the best possible deal, an agent can’t afford to miss even the smallest details. Each of those details will influence the size of the contract.”

“I’ll revise my analysis and prepare again.”

“In addition to this, think about any other potential negative factors that might be raised.”

“Yes.”

I jotted down a few things that immediately came to mind.

Knock knock knock.

After a moment, there was a knock at the door, and a man entered.

“Na Jun-ho. Welcome.”

“Sorry I’m late.”

“Don’t worry about it. Thank you for coming.”

As soon as Na Jun-ho entered, Im Ye-ji approached and greeted him.

Then she turned and gestured towards me.

“This is Kang Hyun-woo, who will be assisting with these negotiations.”

“Nice to meet you.”

Na Jun-ho looked at me, smiled warmly, and greeted me.

“Sunbaenim [a respectful term for someone senior], please, speak comfortably.”

Perhaps it was because Na Jun-ho was two years my senior, but I sensed an aura of confidence and experience about him.

I knew the height difference between us wasn’t significant, but thinking of him as a top star player made him seem larger than life.

“Please take care of me.”

Na Jun-ho greeted me with ease, and I was able to shake his hand naturally.

-My biggest goal is to become the first player to have his number permanently retired by the Dragons.

-If I have the opportunity to play in Major League Baseball, I’d also like to test my abilities there.

Thanks to the information window I saw from Na Jun-ho, I was able to figure out in advance what he wanted.