Perfect Agent [EN]: Chapter 6

6. YJ Sports Agency (1)

“Hello.”

“Oh! You must be Kang Hyun-woo?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

The first employee I encountered recognized me right away.

It could be because they knew I had an interview scheduled today, but the fact that I was once a professional player must have played a role as well.

Perhaps it would be harder not to remember a player who collapsed due to an injury in his debut game.

Whatever the reason, it felt pretty good to be recognized by someone.

I followed the employee into the office.

YJ Sports Agency’s office wasn’t as large as I had expected.

The employee led me to a conference room located at the innermost part of the office.

“Please wait here for a moment. The CEO will be here soon.”

“Yes.”

“Would you like juice or coffee?”

“Coffee, please.”

“Would you like it hot?”

“No, cold, please.”

“Okay. Please wait a moment.”

I wondered what the coffee tasted like here.

It wasn’t long before the employee brought the coffee.

It seemed to be a capsule coffee, which is popular these days.

I put down the coffee after taking a sip and looked around comfortably.

On one side of the conference room, there was a large board with the names of the agency’s players.

Uniforms of famous players from baseball, soccer, basketball, volleyball, and e-sports were framed, including Na Jun-ho, the Dragons’ ace and the best hitter in Korea.

After looking around for a while, I suddenly checked the time and realized that I was late for the interview.

I knew that the person I was meeting was the CEO of the best sports agency in Korea, so she must be busy, but being late for an appointment wasn’t very pleasant.

Just then, I heard two people’s voices from outside.

Judging by the tone of their voices, it didn’t seem like a pleasant situation.

The voices seemed to be getting closer, and then the conference room door opened.

“Hyun-woo, I’m sorry.”

The person who opened the door was Lim Ye-ji, the CEO of YJ Sports Agency.

With a bright smile and a neat beige semi-formal suit, she looked full of energy.

The person who seemed to be having a serious conversation just a moment ago suddenly had a vibrant expression.

I could feel her considerable inner strength just from that.

When she founded the company, sports agencies didn’t even exist in Korea, and no one knew what agents did or why they were needed.

In such a barren environment, Lim Ye-ji founded YJ Sports Agency, named after her initials.

And now, after several years, it has become the best sports agency in Korea.

“Hello, I’m Kang Hyun-woo.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Lim Ye-ji.”

She extended her hand with a bright smile, and we shook hands naturally.

“Please, have a seat.”

I went to the seat that Lim Ye-ji pointed to and sat down.

‘-@x$!’s growth is not satisfactory, causing stress.’

The information window appeared above Lim Ye-ji’s head as well.

I thought it was only visible to players.

Could it be because she is also involved in baseball?

But unlike the screens I had seen so far, it contained special characters.

I didn’t know why special characters appeared.

And it seemed like she was stressed because of someone, but I didn’t know who it was.

If I could only know which player was the biggest concern for the CEO right now, I could make a strong impression…

I couldn’t just throw away such a crucial hint, so I quickly racked my brain.

Since it said that the growth was not satisfactory rather than the recent performance being bad, it was likely a young player.

Given the nature of YJ Agency, which mainly consists of star players already recognized in the league, fortunately, there were not many young players.

Among them, if there was a player whose growth was slow these days…?

While I was lost in thought, Lim Ye-ji sat down and put down the documents she had brought.

“I’m so late, right? I’m sorry. The meeting before took longer than expected.”

“It’s okay.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

Lim Ye-ji, who smiled at me, looked at the resume she had brought and said.

“I heard a lot about you from Coach Yoo Sung-hwan. He doesn’t usually talk about people like that, but he praised Kang Hyun-woo a lot.”

“I think the coach has a good impression of me.”

The moment I gave an awkward smile at the sudden praise, Lim Ye-ji’s eyes, which had been smiling until just now, changed drastically.

“But Hyun-woo, why do you want to become an agent?”

“I want to help the players. There are many players who have talent but don’t know what kind of talent they have, so they can’t fully develop their abilities. I want to help those players unlock their potential.”

“Hmm… In that case, wouldn’t it be better to become a team coach rather than an agent? I heard that the Jaguars offered you a coaching position.”

It was a sharp question.

But it was something I had already thought about for a long time after receiving the team’s offer.

“I don’t think that baseball technique is the only thing needed to become a good player. Everything must be in harmony, from mental management to systematic data analysis, to meeting a team and coach that can maximize each player’s strengths. If even one of these is missing, there will be a problem. That’s why I thought there was a limit to what I could do as part of a team.”

I continued my answer without stopping.

“And one more thing. What’s more important to a professional player than skill is receiving the love of the fans. Aren’t professional players ultimately created by the fans? No matter how good a player is, if they are not loved by the fans, they can only be a half-finished player. Perhaps I am a prime example of that.”

“You are?”

“Yes. My first-team career is only one game. As you know, I haven’t even hit a single home run, let alone a hit. I spent most of my playing career in the second team. I retired against my will. From that point of view, I can be said to be a completely failed player.”

It was something that had already passed, but as I spoke, I thought of my insignificant self at the time, and I didn’t feel very good.

“But among the fans who like professional baseball, there are hardly any who don’t know me. A player who was seriously injured in his first-team debut and was in a vegetative state for a week woke up and returned to the ground, and the second-team game was even broadcast on TV. In that sense, professional baseball player Kang Hyun-woo was not good in terms of game performance, but he was a player who was loved by the fans.”

“A player who was bad in performance but loved?”

“That’s right. Professional sports are not loved just because they gather good players and play the best games. It is also important to discover and develop players who can be loved by the fans. That’s why I’m trying to become a sports agent rather than a professional team coach.”

I hadn’t practiced it separately, but I could answer easily because it was something I had been thinking about for a long time.

But contrary to my expectations, Lim Ye-ji, with a serious expression, was tapping the desk with her finger.

What was it because of?

After a few seconds of silence, Lim Ye-ji slowly opened her mouth.

“I agree with Kang Hyun-woo’s opinion. To some extent.”

To some extent?

“However, one important thing is missing.”

“…?”

“Our YJ Sports Agency is the best sports agency in Korea. Any professional sports player wants to sign with us. But our ultimate goal is not here. In five years, we will go beyond Asia and become world-class. We are working hard towards that goal even at this moment.”

Perhaps because of Lim Ye-ji’s sharp eyes, I swallowed without realizing it.

In Lim Ye-ji’s expression, I could feel a determination that went beyond determination.

“The love of the fans. Of course, that’s important too. But that’s not enough. The best agency must create results that are beyond the level that others expect, results that are on a different level. Nurturing players who are loved by the fans and who show the best performance. At our YJ Sports Agency, we must be able to achieve that.”

Lim Ye-ji, who took a moment to catch her breath, looked into my eyes and asked.

“Can Kang Hyun-woo do that role?”

“Of course, I’m confident.”

“Is that so? Then I’ll have to test you.”

Lim Ye-ji gave a faint smile and added one more word.

“If you work with our YJ Sports Agency, what is the first thing you want to do?”

The first thing I want to do…

‘-@x$!’s growth is not satisfactory, causing stress.’

Finally, it was time to use this information.

But it wasn’t certain.

From now on, it was a battle of probabilities.

Among the players belonging to YJ Sports Agency, Lee Ji-yoon, Choi Joo-hyun, and Oh Seok-hoon were young and had not yet unleashed their potential.

First of all, Lee Ji-yoon.

He was a relief pitcher, but he was playing a decent role in the first team.

His recent performance wasn’t bad enough to say that it was bad.

So Lee Ji-yoon was excluded for now.

Next is Choi Joo-hyun.

He was demoted to the second team a while ago.

I heard that he was recovering from a minor injury, although it hasn’t been released to the outside yet.

He had the weakness of having many minor injuries, so he was a player who had some possibility of being the answer.

Finally, Oh Seok-hoon.

In his debut days, he was also included in the first-team lineup, but recently he has been playing mainly in the second team.

Even up to his high school days, he was the best hitter with a perfect hitting mechanism.

He also won the batting title for three years in high school.

But he hasn’t shown any special performance in the professional league.

He was an attractive player with great potential, and many coaching staff members coached him, but he has not yet shown any prominence even in his fifth year as a professional.

Among the three, wouldn’t Oh Seok-hoon be the most likely?

That’s all I could guess.

Now I had no choice but to leave it to luck.

“I will do something that YJ Sports Agency has not yet been able to do.”

“Something we haven’t been able to do? Is there such a thing?”

In Lim Ye-ji’s expression, I could feel a pride that there couldn’t be such a thing.

“Oh Seok-hoon. I’ll take him on.”

At that moment, Lim Ye-ji’s eyes sparkled.