Y13 [EN]: Chapter 133

Y13-133 Conference Final

“Hahaha! So cute! So cute~ Emily, why are you so cute?”

Emily, who had her eyes tightly closed, looked upset as Youngjae hugged her tightly, as if she had been tricked again. But soon, she wrapped her arms around Youngjae’s neck and kissed him.

The two of them stayed like that until they burned a frying pan. [A Korean expression meaning they were engrossed in each other for a long time.]

Emily’s visit to Youngjae’s house after finishing her shoot was a great source of strength for him. It had become natural for her to stay at Youngjae’s house whenever she wasn’t shooting. Emily already knew the password to Youngjae’s house, and Youngjae was secretly hoping she would come over, telling her to come anytime.

“When should we go see the game?”

“Hmm… I asked you to come to the Finals. I think it’s better to rest this time. The long shoot is over, and I don’t want you to be all over the news. If you come to the stadium, there’s bound to be talk.”

Of course, there was still quite some time until the expected air date of *Walking Dead* Season 2 in October, but the filming for *Walking Dead* Season 2 had not yet officially ended. Although Emily was a main character, she was a new addition in Season 2 and didn’t have a love line with Steven Yeun like Lauren Cohan, so she came to Youngjae’s house after finishing all her scenes.

“Let’s just watch at home. There’s not much we can do at the stadium anyway. And when I go to away games, you’ll be bored alone. Go visit your parents and have some personal time.”

“Don’t worry, this *is* my rest and personal time.”

“Still, go see your parents. See your friends too.”

Press- Press-

“Ah! My nose is going to get flatter, you know?”

“It’s okay. I’m not dating you for your nose.”

Press- Press-

May 17, 2011.

After a few more days, the first game of the Conference Finals was finally held at the American Airlines Center, the Dallas home stadium. Youngjae checked his condition by shooting from various spots before the game, and he felt much better as his body felt surprisingly good.

Swish-

As the turnaround fadeaway after the post-up, reminiscent of his tough shot image, went in cleanly, Youngjae clenched his right fist without realizing it and nodded. He didn’t feel any pain because he had taken painkillers, and his movements were natural enough. He had known since long ago that there were no athletes who played without pain.

‘If this is the case, there won’t be any major problems playing in today’s game.’

He was starting on the bench today, but that wasn’t important. Whether he was a starter or a bench member, his biggest goal was to get into the game and help the team. And he thought that was his role in helping the Dallas Mavericks win the championship.

“Yo~ Your shooting touch is pretty good?”

Chandler whistled from the side, admiring Youngjae’s quick recovery.

“It’s reassuring to see you swishing those tough shots in the game.”

“Ah- Chandler, you’re getting to the age where you have to worry, so I’m trying to make it easier for you when you go for offensive rebounds. Oh, wait, Chandler *needs* to get offensive rebounds to score.”

Chandler retorted to Youngjae’s joke, “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all!”

“Um…, wait a minute, Yoon.”

But Chandler seemed a little strange today. Chandler, whose charm was his outspokenness and cool personality, was hesitating, showing a hesitation that could never be seen normally.

“Hey, why are you being so unlike Chandler? Did you catch a case of shyness?”

“What?! Ugh. It’s just a sensitive topic.”

Chandler called Youngjae over for a moment, and Youngjae nodded, handed the ball to Brewer, and followed Chandler to a corner of the court.

“What’s the story that you’re being so hesitant about? Is it something that other people shouldn’t hear? Just tell me straight.”

Chandler hesitated for a moment, then sat down on the bench and carefully spoke to Youngjae.

“That… Bynum, you know. That guy! That, uh? Just a total jerk.”

“Yes, what about that jerk Bynum?”

“Uh… well, um… I only heard it briefly, so I couldn’t protest properly. It wasn’t said in an official setting, and there’s no evidence. But Yoon, it sounded like he said something racist to you. It was such a chaotic situation that no one around seemed to hear it… If I stir things up, Bynum can just say he didn’t do it. I don’t think anyone else heard it, and honestly, I’m not sure if I heard it correctly.”

Chandler heard Bynum say something that sounded like “Yellow Monkey” to Youngjae, but he couldn’t bring it to the surface. Youngjae had experienced racism since he came to the United States for school, and such racism was like a vestige that remained in every country.

“He probably got angry because I elbowed his ribs, but he fell down and I made the shot. I’m not angry that a player with that level of skill said that. He’s probably more frustrated and annoyed.”

Chandler, relieved by Youngjae’s dignified but conceited tone, made a “weh” sound and lightly patted Youngjae’s back.

“Yeah. You just have to beat that kind of guy with skill. You’re going to beat that guy properly next year, right?”

[Hello! This is the Western Conference Finals brought to you by ESPN! We will be broadcasting the first game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Oklahoma City Thunder. I’m your announcer, Mike Breen, and with me are analysts Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy!]

[Nice to see you! Ah, this is a really exciting game today. Finally, the last gateway to the Finals, the Conference Finals, has arrived! Now, only strong teams are left, so it wouldn’t be surprising no matter which team goes up!]

Jeff Van Gundy nodded and carefully shared his views.

[Oklahoma City has Kevin Durant, who has won the scoring title for two consecutive years and is challenging LeBron James’ throne, and Russell Westbrook, who shows explosive movement, as key members of the team, showing excellent scoring and game-leading abilities! In addition, Serge Ibaka has shown remarkable growth compared to the beginning of the season. In particular, his inside defense is excellent, as he ranked first in total blocks this season. However, Oklahoma City’s weakness is stamina. The Dallas Mavericks have had a 9-day break, while Oklahoma City has only had one day of rest due to their fierce battle with the Memphis Grizzlies until Game 7 the day before yesterday. No matter how young the members are, the physical burden of playing a rough and muddy game against Memphis until Game 7 will definitely be revealed as the series progresses.]

Mark Jackson took over Jeff Van Gundy’s explanation, took a sip of the drink in front of him, and explained about the Dallas Mavericks.

[The Dallas Mavericks’ biggest strength is that they have Dirk Nowitzki, an ace who can put on a one-man show. And the two veteran duos, Jason Kidd and Jason Terry, are still showing decent performances. In addition, Y13, Youngjae Yoon, who has been performing better than a second option in the playoffs, is showing even better performances as the playoffs progress. Tyson Chandler and Peja Stojakovic are also showing better-than-expected performances. The backup members are also solid. J.J. Barea is showing a terrifying performance as he enters so-called crazy mode, and Shawn Marion is also showing good rebounding and defense, even if his shooting percentage is a bit low. Finally, Corey Brewer has supplemented the energy and fast-break ability that Dallas lacked, and as a decent perimeter defender, he sticks to the opponent’s swingman ace to lower their shooting touch. However, with Brandon Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson’s endless fall, Rodrigo Beaubois’ playoff departure, and finally Youngjae Yoon’s left elbow ligament injury, it is unclear how his shooting touch or playing time will be. They need to overcome this crisis well!]

As the two commentators’ logical explanations came to an end, Youngjae started the game as a substitute for the first time in a long time. Jason Terry, who was going out instead, joked that he was a little nervous to be playing as a starter for the first time in a while.

“Hey, JET, where are you going? The jet just has to bomb and destroy everything.”

“That’s right~ Anyway, you’re exaggerating. Or is it that age is catching up and the bombing isn’t working properly… Ouch!”

*Paak!*

Terry lightly kicked Chandler’s shin with the toe of his shoe in response to Chandler’s annoying joke.

“If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all! The jet, you idiot, age isn’t important.”

“Okay, okay, I get it. I get it about the age and everything, so let’s go out quickly. If I joke twice, I’ll break my knee!”

Chandler also joined the exaggeration line and grumbled before going onto the court, and Youngjae also got up from the bench wearing his jersey. Looking around, Youngjae felt his heart beating without realizing it.

‘Yeah. There’s really not much left now.’

As he smiled and looked around, Youngjae, who was scanning the area between the bench and the goalpost, discovered someone and opened his mouth in surprise.

“?!!”

Even if she was wearing sunglasses and a hat backwards, anyone could tell that it was Emily. But Emily didn’t care, and when she saw Youngjae while watching the game, she smiled, lowered her sunglasses slightly, and winked at him.

“Haha, really.”

Youngjae nodded in response to Emily’s support and turned his gaze to the court. Dallas’ Tyson Chandler easily won the jump ball. Kendrick Perkins was a good starting center, but he was bound to be at a disadvantage in terms of athleticism and size compared to a healthy Tyson Chandler this season.

Watching the game start from the bench, Youngjae was able to feel a different feeling than when he was playing directly for the first time in a long time. Unlike watching the game from the bench after coming in during the game, being excluded from the starting lineup and starting the game from the bench made him even more eager to get into the game.

The beginning was literally a seesaw game. Oklahoma City was scoring points thanks to Kevin Durant’s ultra-precise shooting, who was emerging as a new scoring machine.

[Kevin Durant! Pushing Shawn Marion into the post and then a fadeaway!!]

Shawn Marion was giving Kevin Durant good position, making the nickname Matrix pale in comparison. In the first place, it was generally accepted that Kevin Durant was 6’10” (208cm) to 6’11” (211cm) even if he played power forward, and Shawn Marion was 6’7″ (201cm) compared to that, which was average at best among small forwards. He was a player who could defend up to the power forward position with his excellent athleticism, but the problem was that the opponent was Durant, who had won the scoring title for two consecutive years.

Swish-

[BANG!!! Clean. His right foot is high, as if he borrowed Nowitzki’s crane kick a little.]

[Haha, that’s right. Originally, Durant is much bigger than Marion, but since he secured the distance, there’s no way to stop him! He’s tall and has a long standing reach, so the height of the hitting point is too different. There’s a reason why he’s won the scoring title for two consecutive years.]

[The early momentum is good. Of course, they are not properly controlling Dallas’ jumpers in the defensive part, but Oklahoma City is leading by 1 point, 7 to 6, with a little over 3 minutes left in the first quarter. Dallas is Nowitzki, Oklahoma City is Durant. A showdown between the two aces is taking place.]

============================ Author’s Note ============================

★Thank you to those who gave advance reservations, recommendations, comments, and coupons!!

mvp33/// Oh, thank you!!

KingDomBrothers/// Haha, no. Thank you for always leaving comments~~

CupInCup/// Hmm??

Financia, Kirarupi, Kundara, ㅎ0ㅎ, VanishingSoul, CaBaBam, Omarion, CountOfDark/// Thank you for the comments!! Everyone, take care of your umbrellas on rainy days~~

goimosp/// Yes. I have to beat Bynum again next year.

zigichacha/// Euhㅋㅋㅋ Youngjae’s frustration??

MoonDewº天, Lapir and Jint/// Yes. Thank you for your opinion^^

misscherry/// There are times when the saying that reality is more like a novel than a novel really hits home ㅋㅋㅋ

Yabes/// This season, unlike his past, he is a confident lead, so his feelings will be quite new. Of course, next year or after that will be even newer.