Y13 [EN]: Chapter 178

Y13-178 2011 Off-Season

As the two exited the arrival gate, a storm of camera flashes erupted. With the help of his manager, Jaeyun, and the bodyguards, Youngjae navigated his way to the press conference area. Soon, Youngjae was seated at the prepared booth, and as the microphones and cameras were adjusted, Jaeyun announced that the interview would last only 20 minutes, signaling the start of the press conference.

“Bang Si-yoon from SKE SPORTS here. How does it feel to be back home after three years?”

“It’s good to be back after so long. Overall, I’m feeling great.”

Bang Si-yoon nodded at the perfunctory answer and immediately launched into the question he really wanted to ask.

“Yoon Youngjae’s performance has been sensational. Most media outlets agree that you’re the best rookie to come out of Korea. What are your thoughts on this? How would you evaluate your first NBA season?”

Youngjae smiled subtly and responded appropriately to Bang Si-yoon’s question.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better first season. For me, it was 100%—no, 200%—satisfying. I received the valuable gift of a championship, which will help me in the future, and I gained a lot of experience.”

“You finished second in both Rookie of the Year and Finals MVP voting. Are you disappointed?”

“There’s nothing to be disappointed about. The gap between first place and me was significant in both cases. The difference was too great to feel regretful. Personally, I was satisfied with second place. The Rookie of the Year award is gone, but I plan to work hard to win other awards in the future.”

He didn’t dwell on either award. He knew that the winners would achieve insurmountable records, and he didn’t have the ability or the right circumstances to surpass them.

Youngjae diligently answered several questions about his life in the NBA and the past season. He had already received countless similar questions in the United States, but this was his first interview in Korea, so it proceeded along similar lines. Perhaps because it was his first interview since returning home, the questions and answers were relatively polished. Eventually, the questions turned to his selection for the national team.

“Lee Seok-il from Basketball Monthly Jump Shot here! You’ve been selected for the national team. What are your plans?”

*Monthly Jump Shot*. Along with *Rookies*, one of the two leading basketball monthly magazines in Korea. Since it was someone from *Jump Shot*, Youngjae answered in more detail than he would have for a general broadcasting station. They knew more about basketball than general broadcasters and would write a longer article about his interview.

“It’s been a few years since I’ve felt the time difference between the United States and Korea, so my body is a bit tired. I plan to rest for a day to adjust and then immediately join the national team training in Yongin tomorrow. Coach Heo Jae was kind enough to grant me a day of rest. I plan to focus solely on basketball until the Jones Cup [an international basketball tournament] and Asian Championships are over. Any other schedules will be arranged after that.”

Lee Seok-il from *Jump Shot* typed so fast his hands were a blur, while simultaneously asking Youngjae the next question.

“I understand that you’ll be participating in both the William Jones Cup and the Asian Championships. What are your goals for these tournaments?”

Youngjae, impressed by his speed, nodded with a confident expression.

“My goal is to win both tournaments. I believe that if we don’t underestimate any team and do our best in every game, we can achieve that goal. In particular, I’ll do my best to win the Asian Championships and secure a spot in the 2012 London Olympics.”

“There are high expectations for Yoon Youngjae on this national team. You’re the only world-class player on our team. We’ve been falling behind countries like Iran, the Philippines, and China recently. Do you feel any pressure about that?”

“It’s okay. That level of pressure can actually be a positive motivator. We have great senior players on our national team, and if I can work well with them, I believe we can achieve good results—the results that the fans are expecting.”

From Youngjae’s perspective, this year wasn’t a big deal. It was just the Asian level, a comfortable tournament. He sighed at the thought of the world-class teams he would meet at the London Olympics, but he couldn’t express that directly.

After that, the press conference focused more and more on the national team, and as a result, questions about the national team continued to pour in. Just as the tedious press conference was dragging on, the question Youngjae had been waiting for finally came. The company had been diligently engaging in media play [strategic use of media to shape public perception], but Youngjae believed that nothing would be as effective as an interview with the player himself, so he had been waiting for this moment.

“Yang Mi-young from *Rookies* here! I understand that the NBA, where Yoon Youngjae plays, has been in a lockout since July 1 due to the breakdown of negotiations between the players’ union and the NBA office! I also understand that because of this lockout, the insurance provided by the league isn’t in effect, and players have to pay for it themselves! In other countries, the associations pay for the players’ insurance, but the Korean Basketball Association has refused to do so. Nevertheless, you’ve personally decided to join the national team, even at a financial loss. How were you able to make such a decision?”

This was the crucial part. He absolutely couldn’t reveal his true feelings, but he also couldn’t gloss over it. He needed to follow the flow he had planned, without being too forceful or appearing foolish. That was the only way to maximize the impact of the media play he had been doing. And that was what he wanted.

“To be honest, I was a little disappointed. Many NBA players were hesitant to join the national team until the insurance issue was resolved. That’s how much of a burden insurance can be for players. Especially for those with high salaries, it’s even more so.”

Youngjae paused for a moment before finishing his story.

“But this is my first time being called up to the national team, and I wanted to lend a hand in achieving our goal of reaching the Olympics for the first time in 16 years, so I decided to bear the financial loss. It wasn’t entirely satisfactory, but I decided to endure it for the honorable position of being on the national team. Now that I’ve taken on this burden, I want to win the Asian Championships even more. I’ve been disappointed by the declining popularity of basketball in Korea, and I hope that the success of this international tournament will help to revive that popularity. Since I’ve come here at such a personal cost, I hope that the association will provide sufficient support to the national team. If they can’t provide financial support, I hope they can at least support us with scheduling or training facilities.”

Youngjae’s answer was a well-packaged blend of patriotism and concern for Korean basketball. It would have been fine to simply portray him as a kind person who joined the national team despite the high insurance costs, but he also needed to say something to the association. Korea was probably the only place in the world that needed players but couldn’t even provide that much money. Moreover, they were borrowing the training facilities of the national team coach’s club (Heo Jae’s KCC Yongin training center) because they couldn’t secure a national team training facility.

“Finally, a word to the fans, please.”

“Thank you for sending me so much support, even though I’m just a rookie. I’ll continue to work hard to become an even better player, and I’ll do my best to show you a good performance next year as well. Above all, I’ll do my best to bring good results with good performances in both tournaments as a member of the national team.”

The 20-minute interview ended without any problems, with both the press and Youngjae satisfied. Youngjae answered personal questions appropriately without refusing, and the reporters were able to gather enough material for their articles without asking unreasonable questions. Thanks to it being his first press conference, there was more than enough content to write about.

Youngjae had thoroughly learned from his years of experience that it was detrimental to alienate reporters, even though it wasn’t necessary to become close to them. As long as they didn’t cross the line, it was necessary to maintain a decent relationship with them. That way, he could benefit when he needed to. Especially in Korea, where the media is called the fourth power [a term referring to the media’s influence on society], there was no need to pick a fight with them.

Youngjae finished the interview and got into the car with the help of the bodyguards. Of course, the driving was the responsibility of his manager, Jaeyun. Youngjae put his luggage in the trunk and slumped into the passenger seat.

“You did well. It was a good response, hard to believe it was your first time back.”

“Is that so?”

Youngjae leaned back in the car seat as if he was finally relieved. After a moment of awkward silence, Jaeyun glanced at the back seat and said to Youngjae.

“Get some sleep. You should rest as much as possible today to join the team tomorrow. You may have adjusted to some of the time differences in the United States, but you’ve also crossed the International Date Line. And you’ve been on a plane for over 10 hours. It will take quite a while to get to your hotel.”

“I thought I had adjusted to traveling back and forth between the East and West Coasts in the United States, but coming to Korea feels different. I need to adjust quickly…”

Youngjae trailed off, then smiled again as if nothing had happened, and leaned his head back on the seat.

“Then, I’ll close my eyes for a bit.”

Youngjae felt tired from the long flight and time difference and asked Jaeyun for permission to sleep. He had gotten used to short time differences, but this was the first time since his regression that he had experienced a time difference of almost half the globe. He had slept to some extent on the plane, but that wasn’t enough to completely relieve his fatigue. If he didn’t relieve his fatigue quickly, he would bear the brunt of the consequences. The situation of an athlete, whose body is their livelihood, was bound to be different from that of an office worker.

“Youngjae. We’re here. Get ready to get out.”

“… Ugh!”

Youngjae stretched out his cramped body and smiled contentedly as he unbuckled his seatbelt.

“Thank you. I slept well thanks to you. You seem to be a good driver too.”

He was tired, but he had also slept comfortably without any discomfort. The car provided was good, but the driver’s ability was also one of the reasons why he could sleep comfortably.

“It’s nothing. There are no more schedules for today, so you can rest at the hotel. It has most of the facilities you need, so if you need to go outside for anything, just let me know and I’ll take care of it for you.”

“Okay. I’m not really here to sightsee. So, I’ll be heading down to Yongin tomorrow morning?”

Jaeyun nodded and briefly reiterated the schedule for tomorrow.

“Yes. I’ll pick you up at 8 o’clock. There will probably be more interviews when you join the training tomorrow. It seems like they want to do a joint interview with the coach, coaching staff, and some of the national team players.”

Youngjae sighed. He wondered why the reporters had given up so easily. He thought it was because he had answered them so thoroughly, but there was another interview tomorrow. The good thing was that he didn’t particularly like interviews, but he didn’t hate them to the point of being terrified. However, one problem was that he needed to be more careful if it was a joint interview with the national team coaching staff and players.

“So that might be why the reporters gave up so easily. It’s because they have another chance tomorrow. So, what will you be doing, Jaeyun?”

“I’ll be staying nearby and then take you to Yongin tomorrow. I’ll be staying in Korea for a while to sort out your future commercials and interviews. You can contact me whenever you need me.”

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

★Thank you to those who favorited, recommended, commented, and gave coupons!!

★Thank you for the support coupon, Yeommo Seol!

@I plan to skip the national team story quickly. Looking at the news and the state of affairs these days, I don’t want to include the players outside of the games;;; I’m just thinking of dealing with it in the news. It’s not just the association that’s the problem, but the players are in that state too…

@The gag of the national team training at a professional club’s training facility… is, of course, a true story.

FrogPower///I’ll try not to be boring lol

Eunseolya, Ultra10/// It’s a basketball completion, ho ho.

Goddess Yuri Praise/// Age;;; Our country cares about age lol. You have to be in your mid-20s, and even if you become the captain, I’m not planning on describing it;;;

H0h/// It’s the dark side of elite sports… World-class players often emerge, but other players become victims. Moreover, in most sports, there are many sports that are not as good as overseas players who combine academics. I wonder if there has ever been a player in the top 10 of any position in team sports such as baseball, soccer, and basketball. Park Chan-ho and Cha Bum-geun were the closest to the top. Kim Byung-hyun was also one of the best for a short time.

Cowardly Loser, goimosp/// I think volleyball has the best visuals among the four major sports in Korea for both men and women lol. Yang Hee-jong is also considered handsome. Personally, I rate Kang Byung-hyun the highest. The image I had in mind is close to Kang Byung-hyun.

-DarkANGEL-, Omari On, 1234567890123///Thank you for your comments!!

Finencia/// Thank you for pointing out the typo.

Milk Boy/// I think he can hard carry at the Asian level. Of course, he’ll get crushed at the Olympics lol. At the Asian level, Youngjae is hard to stop even with biased calls. Unless the referees assigned to a game are entirely Hwang Hyun-woo (Hwang Soon-pal changed his name), Jang Jun-hyuk, etc. With these referees, even Jordan wouldn’t be able to win, let alone Youngjae. They are at the level of referees like Park Geun-young, Kwon Young-cheol, and Na Kwang-nam in baseball. Last year, E-Land requested the KBL to review 9 incorrect calls in a game between E-Land and Dongbu, and the KBL actually acknowledged that 6 of them were incorrect. The legendary Kim Joo-sung and Powell double foul game;;; Kim Joo-sung charged but it was a double foul lol