Y13 [EN]: Chapter 162

Y13-162. 2011 Off-Season

“Alright! Everyone grab a bottle!”

Mark Cuban, the team owner, was shouting like an excited child among the players, forgetting he was the owner. Players who were either doing interviews or still caught up in the championship excitement each grabbed a bottle at Cuban’s call.

“Umm…”

However, Youngjae, who was not yet of legal drinking age, was flustered, unsure of what to grab. Brewer chuckled, grabbed a non-alcoholic beer from the last ice bucket, and handed it to Youngjae. Youngjae was the only underage player on the team. Even Bobo, the next youngest, was already 23 years old.

“Here.”

Youngjae smiled awkwardly and accepted the non-alcoholic beer. Cuban was shaking a champagne bottle wrapped in fancy paper. The players were also excited, shaking their champagne and beer bottles, waiting for Cuban’s signal.

“We were able to win the championship thanks to you all. As the owner, I am so grateful! Alright! Let’s eat, drink, and be merry!”

“Yeah!!”

Pop- Pop pop!

Starting with Cuban’s champagne bottle, the bottles in the players’ hands burst open with a ‘poof!’ The alcohol soaked the floor, clothes, and cameras, but the players, seemingly unconcerned, smiled broadly and gulped down the alcohol.

It was a completely festive atmosphere. Everyone had a bottle, spraying, pouring, and drinking, creating a complete mess. Everyone seemed to have lost their minds.

Mark Cuban’s excitement continued for a while. The players gathered in groups of three or five to enjoy the drinking party with Cuban, respond to interview requests from various media outlets, or reminisce while looking at the trophy.

“After the semi-conference finals, I had a vague feeling that we could finally win the championship this season, and it became more and more certain. So, I took the time and got this tattoo.”

Terry subtly showed the tattoo on the inside of his right forearm, then smiled awkwardly, as if embarrassed. The tattoo was none other than the Finals championship trophy. Terry lowered his sleeve again and smiled shyly, unlike his usual self.

“I asked Marion, who likes tattoos, after getting the tattoo. I asked him what he thought. Marion made fun of me, asking why I was hiding the tattoo, and if it was because the shape didn’t come out well, but in the end, this tattoo was a lucky charm.”

Marion, who was listening to Terry’s interview from a distance, rushed over before the interview was even over and began to tease Terry while looking at the tattoo.

“It’s good that we won the championship, but it’s still ugly!”

“What the hell?! We won because of this!”

“It’s ugly even if we won! It’s totally ugly! How could you make it so ugly?”

Terry and Marion bickered during the interview, but those were the kind of jokes that were only possible because they had won the championship.

“…”

On the other hand, the veteran players, feeling a wave of emotions as they looked at the championship trophy, could only sit side by side on the chairs and stare at it.

“It’s been 17 years, right?”

Jason Kidd nodded lightly at Nowitzki’s words. A player who had reached the peak of his skills as a point guard over 17 years since his debut, but had never won a championship. He had advanced to the finals for two consecutive years, but had finished as runner-up both times. In the end, his wish was fulfilled only after returning to his former team. The same was true for Dirk Nowitzki. He, who had been playing only for the Dallas Mavericks since his debut in the 1998 draft, was naturally more moved by this championship than anyone else.

“That’s right.”

…

“It took a long time.”

“Yeah, it took a long time.”

Again, silence. The two men soon smiled slightly and looked at the trophy. Kidd kissed the trophy lightly, deeply moved. Nowitzki nodded in understanding and kissed it once again himself. The two were lost in emotion for a while. After some time, Kidd patted Nowitzki’s large back and said.

“We won the championship, so there’s no need to be depressed because we’re old, right? Let’s go drink!”

Nowitzki nodded at Kidd’s words and jumped up, then slipped into the midst of the players who were having a drinking party with Cuban. When you think about it, they weren’t the only ones who were old on this team.

“Now is the time!!”

At that moment, in accordance with the signal from Cuban, who shouted in a childlike voice, the players poured the opened champagne and beer onto Nowitzki and Kidd.

“…”

Coach Carlisle didn’t seem to care much and held a bottle of alcohol, but he only fiddled with it, seemingly regretful as he watched Nowitzki continue to be soaked. He was quiet by nature, and he was still wearing a suit. Youngjae imagined what that alcohol would taste like and enjoyed the excitement while drinking his slightly bland non-alcoholic beer.

Like that, a party that wasn’t really a party went on in the locker room for several hours. Cuban glanced at his watch while drunk and gave the players a sly smile.

“Alright. Let’s start the main game now.”

“Huh??”

The players looked puzzled at Cuban’s sudden words, but Cuban only gave them a meaningful message, ‘Just wash up and follow me.’ The players washed their alcohol-soaked bodies in the shower room, piled the wet clothes in the center of the locker room, finished tidying up roughly, and changed into the casual clothes they had brought. Youngjae also wore a navy blue polo shirt and black jeans, put on a leather-strap wristwatch, and began to move with the players to the place where Cuban had told them to gather.

“What on earth is the main game?”

At Brewer’s words, Youngjae shrugged and said, “Maybe a pub or something like that?”

“Hey, then you can’t go. It doesn’t make sense to have a championship party without you. Wouldn’t they have booked a place where everyone can go? It feels like it’ll be something wholesome…”

“Well, maybe they rented a place separately. Why would they take us to a wholesome place on a day like this?”

“Wow!!”

When they came out of the stadium, four luxury limousines were waiting, and the players cheered with excitement.

“Alright, is everyone ready?! Ready to burn the night of the championship!”

As expected of a passionate, eccentric owner, Cuban was enjoying the fun with the players without caring how much money it would cost.

“Where are we going?! Don’t tell me…”

As expected, the veteran players, especially Marion, who was single, spoke in an excited voice, and Cuban gave his usual sly smile, neither confirming nor denying.

“Just get in! I’ll show you heaven!”

“Woo!”

Like that, the day of the championship, which had been spent in a frenzy of celebration, passed. Youngjae did not take personal stretching and exercise lightly, even though he was busy. Although the season was over, there were quite a few local events and team event schedules. These included meetings with fans, events hosted by sponsors, and charity events hosted by the team. It was characteristic of American professional sports, which are closely connected to the local community and based on capitalism. Still, he tried to eat at least one meal with Emily at home and talk to her.

“Three~ Two~ One!”

“Ugh-”

Youngjae stretched according to Emily’s chant, then released his posture and sprawled out on the floor. Emily wiped the sweat from Youngjae’s face with a dry towel, saying he had worked hard, and lay down next to Youngjae.

“I’m so busy, I feel like I’m going to forget your face.”

Youngjae let out a light exclamation as he looked at Emily, who was speaking so openly.

“What’s wrong~ Did the sun rise in the west today? The Emily I know is a very shy woman?”

“Well… that’s what I mean. Why, do you not like it? Doesn’t Yoon want to see me?”

Looking at Emily, who was pouting with her cheeks full of air, Youngjae poked Emily’s puffy cheeks with his index finger, saying, “I want to see you~”

“Well, Yoon went to the club and met a lot of pretty and young women.”

Youngjae groaned as if he remembered what happened on the day of the championship and shook his head, saying absolutely not. The place where Mark Cuban took the players in a limousine was none other than a high-end club. In the United States, the age to enter a club was 21, so it was off-limits for Youngjae, who was not even 20 years old yet.

Originally, Youngjae was not old enough to enter, but they publicly announced that it was a team-level event and asked for understanding, and the club itself was rented out entirely. Just because it was rented out entirely didn’t mean that only the Dallas Mavericks players could gather and play in that large club, so general customers could also use the club, but Cuban had arranged for the Dallas players to freely use everything without worrying about money or time.

Of course, the hot stars in the club were the Dallas Mavericks players. The popularity of major sports players who had won the championship was bound to be enormous. That day, they were nothing short of heroes of the city. As a result, Shawn Marion was grinning, saying that he had been in good contact for two days and had exchanged contact information with a woman he liked, and the players who had girlfriends were busy diverting the topic, saying that they had just drunk alcohol without saying anything to their girlfriends.

“I said I was underage and dropped out, you know? So, I wanted to see Emily right away at night, so I came to see you. Huh?”

Youngjae actually declined in front of the club and asked Cuban and his teammates for understanding. Even though it was a publicly rented situation, it was difficult to play properly because he was not yet 21 years old, and he thought that it would be a big image blow to the team if it was known incorrectly, even if he had obtained consent. With that plausible excuse, Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks players said, ‘Okay~ This won’t be the only championship, so let’s look forward to next year!’ and coolly sent Youngjae away. Rather than sending him away coolly, it was probably because they wanted to enter the club as quickly as possible. Besides, it wasn’t like he hadn’t experienced a championship party, although he wasn’t the main character.

“Hee- So that’s why you gave me such a passionate kiss yesterday… Because you couldn’t meet another woman in front of you, so you replaced me with her?”

“Ex?! That’s not it, I’m telling you. If you keep doing that, I’m going to shut that mouth up?”

Emily closed her eyes, saying, “Try to stop me if you can~” and Youngjae said, “Then I won’t refuse,” and wrapped his right arm tightly around Emily’s waist, and put his left hand on Emily’s head to prevent her from escaping.

“Wait, wait a minute, really?”

Emily pursed her lips as a joke, but her eyes widened as she felt Youngjae gently pulling her in with a serious expression, and her whole body tensed up to calm her pounding heart.

“Hoo, hoo…”

Emily unknowingly swallowed hard and clenched her fists, waiting for Youngjae to lead as she felt his breath on her lips. But as time passed, Youngjae’s lips didn’t touch hers, and Emily opened her eyes with a questioning sound.

Tap tap-

“Ah, Ack!”

At some point, Youngjae put his chin on the top of Emily’s head and tapped it while clicking his teeth together. Emily screamed and tried to avoid it, but there was no way to escape Youngjae’s gently wrapped arms.

Kiss- Kiss-

“Kyaaak!! What are you doing!”

Then, Emily’s face turned red and she screamed as Youngjae lightly kissed her forehead, and Youngjae looked at Emily with an innocent expression.

“I’m kissing you?”

“Kyaaa~!! Ah, I understand. I surrender! I surrender! I’ll believe Yoon’s words! You didn’t go to the club, and you came straight home because you missed me so much!”

At Emily’s surrender, Youngjae finally released her, and Emily seemed to jump up, but then she burrowed into Youngjae’s arms and tickled his side.

In the end, Youngjae spent time rolling around with Emily after training, hurriedly ate breakfast, and hurriedly left to fulfill the team’s official press conference schedule.

============================ Author’s Notes ============================

★Thank you for your pre-selections, recommendations, comments, and coupons!!

＠At the time, Dallas was a city that had all four major sports (American football, baseball, basketball, and ice hockey), but it had not won a championship for more than a decade. The Texas Rangers had made it to the World Series the previous year, but were defeated by the even-numbered team, the San Francisco Giants. So, when the Mavericks won the championship, the city was incredibly enthusiastic. In the United States, sports and the local community are closely intertwined, so most local residents are fans of one or more of the local sports teams.

Nirdi/// Thank you for the first comment~~~

GaYeonEul/// Well, Nowitzki’s words are made up, but LeBron’s words are real. He generated a lot of anti-fans because of that. If he hadn’t won the championship the following season, LeBron’s evaluation might have hit rock bottom. Nowitzki’s interview also had a similar comment, so I used it. In fact, after winning the championship, he wanted a one-two punch level player who would reduce his burden rather than being the first option himself, and he said that he would be happy to be the second option.

Lazze/// Well, it would have to be at least a munchkin level to some extent, but it won’t go as far as breaking the balance. As you said, physical abilities can’t be acquired in just one season, and there’s always something to lose when you gain something. Techniques and mentality can be gained without losing anything.

EuiSeol/// LOL That person is… too far beyond the wall LOL

goimosp/// I’m thinking of unraveling that part in the off-season. From this season onwards, it will change a lot from reality. The performance of other teams and the performance of the players within the Dallas team will also change.

Swanlake/// Should I find a ten-thousand-year-old wild ginseng and feed it to him? LOL

YeosinYuriChanyang/// As far as I know, Cuban has a very close relationship with Howard’s agent, Dan Fegan. That’s why he had the only two meetings during the Di Jordan incident. At the time, Howard also said in several interviews that he wanted to go to the Nets or Dallas. So, I think he believed that, but the Dallas’s performance and situation in the 11-12 season were not attractive to Howard at all. Due to the aging of the veteran starters and Odom’s mental breakdown due to the lockout, the team collapsed and was eliminated in the first round… If I were Howard, I would have lost interest. If they had gone to at least the second round, he would have thought that he had a chance to win if he went there. Considering Chandler’s performance the following season, I think there was a good chance of winning if they had safely re-signed Chandler, as you said.

Yawooro/// Real underdog LOL

Ultra10/// Haha, there will be no coincidences like that. Don’t worry about that part~~~

ㅡMinTㅡ/// LOL There were so many sarcastic remarks like that at that time

h0h/// LOL Sweet…….

CountOfDark/// As you said, a complete player has a hard time growing explosively in one area. It is possible to grow little by little in all areas. Exceptionally, there are cases like Harden. Harden was a complete player, and he was picked at an older age and grew from a sixth man level to this season’s MVP level. In particular, there are some cases where they grow more when the team or coach changes.

RappierandJint/// As you said, LeBron’s most problematic behavior or words were the biggest bang. The Decision or the flu taunt were nothing compared to that;; I’m going to unravel the off-season soon and continue after the lockout is lifted.

SeongjuSeongpyo’s younger siblings, HanAreumBrightLight/// That’s right. The coach changed and the style became more of a passing soccer…

Clives/// Hmm… The national team game will be skipped briefly. There are many ambiguous parts to write about for a long time, and the majority vote came out that way in the previous survey. Besides, Youngjae becomes too fraudulent there LOL

SarajilYounghon/// We also think that Joara needs to come to her senses a bit.

PainenShea, Omarion/// Thank you for your comments~!

Yabes/// It may not be as impossible as LeBron, but it will have some influence. I’ll try to solve it in my own way.

-DarkANGEL-/// That’s right. At this point, Youngjae is already good enough to form a two-man team with Novi from next year. In the case of baseball, they struggle a lot in the sophomore season, but in basketball, they often develop more in the sophomore season. I guess that’s because it’s such a dynamic sport. Of course, it is necessary to have tremendous personal effort behind it. Of course, the support of the coaching staff is also important.

rtg98/// LOL What an amazing eccentric team. It’s possible because it’s Europe LOL