Perfect Agent [EN]: Chapter 39

39. What’s Best for the Player? (6)

The person who bumped into me was none other than Im Seung-jin, the general manager of the Dragons, whom I had met recently.

I couldn’t help but notice the information window displayed above him.

-He’s become anxious due to rumors that Na Jun-ho is negotiating with other teams.

-He’s worried about the team potentially exceeding the salary cap after the FA [Free Agent] contract.

Salary cap.

A system that limits the total salary of a team’s players to a certain amount.

If the limit is exceeded, penalties are imposed.

It was a regulation to enhance the league’s competitiveness by balancing the teams.

It was also the reason why a team couldn’t recklessly offer a high salary to a player, even if they were financially well-off.

For the Dragons, who had three more FA players besides Na Jun-ho, it was bound to be a troublesome concern.

I decided to worry about the information in the window later.

First, I was concerned about him, as he had bumped into me quite hard.

“General Manager, are you alright? I’m sorry.”

“Don’t mention it. It happens,” the Dragons’ general manager said with a good-natured smile, waving his hands.

“Thank you.”

“And Hyun-woo, about this time…….”

The Dragons’ general manager cautiously opened his mouth, as if he was about to say something.

I didn’t want to interrupt him, but…….

The situation I was in wasn’t very relaxed.

“General Manager, I’m sorry, but…… I really need to use the restroom right now…….”

“Ah! Go ahead. It wasn’t urgent. Haha.”

“Then, I’ll head in.”

I pointed to the restroom and smiled awkwardly.

Then, without looking back, I ran towards the restroom.

Phew-

Thanks to that, I managed to get to the restroom just in time and relieve myself.

Now that I had some breathing room, I could finally see my surroundings.

I once again felt that the old saying, ‘One’s feelings are different when entering and leaving the restroom,’ was true.

While washing my hands, I recalled the information I had seen from the Dragons’ general manager earlier.

It was clear that the Dragons desperately needed Na Jun-ho.

And I also found out that the salary cap was a significant concern for them.

So, how could I create a contract that would be a win-win for both sides?

Should I wait for the Dragons’ other FA players’ contracts to expire?

If he chooses to transfer, the salary cap would have some leeway as a high-salary player leaves.

But what if all the other players sign contracts to stay, and the Dragons have a limit on the salary they can pay?

Then, is there no way…….

* * *

I returned to the event hall.

Im Ye-ji was now talking with Jo Jae-won, the general manager of the Angels.

I quietly stood next to them so as not to interrupt their conversation.

I was trying to listen to their conversation quietly when…….

“Oh, Kang Hyun-woo. Nice to meet you.”

As soon as he made eye contact with me, Jo Jae-won greeted me.

“Hello.”

I bowed my head politely.

As soon as I raised my head, my eyes widened at the shocking fact I learned.

-He’s excited that the contract with Lee Sang-hoon of the Jaguars, whom they’ve been courting since the beginning of negotiations, is imminent.

-They plan to quickly finalize the contract within this week before the rumors spread.

What is this all about?

A contract with Lee Sang-hoon is imminent?

Was the reason why the Jaguars had to consider the possibility of a breakdown in negotiations because of the Angels?

It was shocking news.

The possibility of Lee Sang-hoon transferring, and the fact that the team was the Angels.

Both were news that no one could have even imagined.

Even if I spread the rumors, people would think I was strange.

I subtly avoided eye contact so as not to reveal the emotions that might have been on my face.

Then, Jo Jae-won turned his head back to Im Ye-ji and continued the conversation.

“It doesn’t seem like YJ has any players affiliated with our team?”

“Now that you mention it, that’s true.”

Im Ye-ji’s eyebrows twitched slightly as she pondered for a moment, but there was no significant change in her expression.

“Is there any reason why YJ isn’t interested in our players yet?”

“Well…… We’re always welcome to have suitable players.”

“It’s a bit much to say this as a general manager, but thanks to our team being in the lower ranks for several years, we have quite a few promising players. There will be quite a few players with potential in the future. Think about it carefully. It would be great if we could work together to achieve good results for everyone, right?”

The Angels’ general manager glanced at me and Im Ye-ji alternately and asked cautiously.

It didn’t seem like he was just throwing out words without any meaning.

“If we were to acquire all those players, it would be difficult to negotiate salaries later on.”

“Hahaha. I forgot about that.”

The conversation naturally shifted to another topic with Im Ye-ji’s joke.

“How’s the negotiation atmosphere this time?”

As expected, the general managers’ biggest concern at this time was negotiation.

“It’s not bad. They also seem determined to catch the players they need.”

“I guess so? Everyone says the team’s finances are tough, but when it comes to acquiring FAs, they bring out a lot of money from somewhere.”

Although it was something only I knew, the Angels were one of them.

“Thanks to that, people like us are doing well.”

A faint smile appeared on Im Ye-ji’s face.

After a while, when Jo Jae-won left, I quietly asked Im Ye-ji.

“Representative, but isn’t what the Angels’ general manager said true?”

“What do you mean?”

“The Angels have a lot of young players with potential, but is there a reason why you haven’t recruited any of them so far?”

“Well…….”

Im Ye-ji glanced at me for a moment and then answered.

“It’s because we haven’t found a suitable player yet.”

Does that mean there aren’t any suitable players?

It’s a team that has gathered the most talented players with the first overall pick in the draft for the past few years.

It was certainly true that the Angels’ performance wasn’t very impressive yet.

But if you look at the individual players, there were several with potential.

There was no way Im Ye-ji wouldn’t know something that even casual baseball fans could know.

“How many first-round picks do the Angels have recently?”

“Can we say that a player who was drafted first overall is a client that our agency needs?”

Of course, there was no guarantee that a player drafted first overall would have the best performance.

“There are several players among the Angels who are not just first-round picks but are also performing well.”

“There are limitations to judging based solely on baseball performance.”

“Then, what should we look at to judge?”

“Teams need players who are good at baseball. Our agency isn’t working to win the Korean Series [Korean professional baseball championship], right?”

Unlike me, who was confused, there was no change in Im Ye-ji’s expression.

“……?”

“We’re not a private education academy that improves baseball performance. We provide the services our clients, the players, need, and help them get their value recognized even a little more.”

“Then, if we help promising players to play baseball well, wouldn’t we be able to achieve that?”

“Conversely, the players who will become our clients must also have the ability to increase our value even a little more.”

“What…… does that mean?”

“Our company is already working with the best domestic players in various sports. Therefore, just becoming a player who is recognized in the team cannot increase the value of our company. They must be players who have the skills or sufficient recognition to attract attention from people other than domestic baseball fans. That’s necessary to realize our company’s vision.”

Does that mean that only league ace-level or popular players can receive the company’s management?

“……I see.”

The moment I answered in a weak voice, another person passing by us started a conversation with Im Ye-ji.

Thanks to that, I was able to take some time to sort out my thoughts alone.

At the appointed time, the awards ceremony began in earnest.

I sat in the audience and watched the awards ceremony.

The Golden Gloves for each position were finding their owners one by one.

Na Jun-ho also won the Golden Glove in the outfielder category as expected.

I cheered for them by clapping vigorously every time the name of the winner was called.

When the players who had reached their dream moment shed tears while giving their heartfelt acceptance speeches, I, who was sitting in the audience, also felt emotional.

However, I was disappointed that I couldn’t be there with the players I was working with.

I also had a pleasant imagination that the moment when I could shed hot tears with them in this place could come as early as next year if not later.

If my eye for seeing players wasn’t wrong, it wasn’t impossible.

* * *

After the awards ceremony, Im Ye-ji and I were about to get into our respective cars in the underground parking lot.

“Hyun-woo, you worked hard today.”

“I didn’t work hard. Today was really fun.”

Thanks to that, I came to the awards ceremony for the first time and received a flash of camera flashes in the photo zone.

A vibration sound was heard from somewhere.

Im Ye-ji took out the smartphone in her pocket and answered the phone.

“This is Im Ye-ji.”

The moment she picked up the smartphone with a bright expression, Im Ye-ji’s face immediately changed to a serious one as she listened to the story over the phone.

“Yes. I understand.”

By the time Im Ye-ji finished the call, she took a deep breath.

Then, she glanced at me and smiled.

“Hyun-woo, it looks like we’re going to have a lot more to do?”

“What’s wrong?”

Was there a serious problem?

Looking at the corners of Im Ye-ji’s mouth that were slowly rising, it didn’t seem like that was the case.

What kind of story could have been exchanged?

“It’s about Na Jun-ho…….”

I swallowed hard and focused on the words that would come out of Im Ye-ji’s mouth.

“It seems that a Major League team has requested a status check.”

“Yes? Major League?”

I spoke in a loud voice without realizing it.

I looked around, worried that other people might have heard.

A status check was a process that had to be done before making an offer.

Therefore, the fact that a status check request was made to the Baseball Association meant that there was a Major League team that wanted to acquire Na Jun-ho.

“I don’t know exactly yet, but I don’t think it’s just one team?”

Unlike Im Ye-ji’s face, which was brightening up.

Just the word Major League made me feel like I was going to stop breathing.