Y13 [EN]: Chapter 78

Y13-78 (78/296)

00078 2010-11 Regular Season =========================================================================

“Hey, hey! Shoot from there!”

Bang, bang!

“Ugh, too much talk! I’m already shooting…”

[HEAD SHOT!!]

“Argh! Wait, I’ll break you first!”

“……”

Youngjae, the owner of the video game console, silently put down the controller with an awkward expression and carefully watched Bobea’s play. Seeing Bobea skillfully manipulating the controller, it seemed he had played quite a few games in his younger days. Bobea, engrossed in the game, finally completed the co-op mission alone, clenched both fists, and stretched his arms upwards.

“Hahaha!”

“…… Bobea. Be honest. You have a game console at home, don’t you?”

“No? I don’t. It’s just that your control sucks.”

At the word ‘sucks,’ Youngjae gritted his teeth in resentment, but he couldn’t argue with Bobea’s gaming skills. If someone could single-handedly clear the two-person co-op mission of *Hell of Duty*, known as the most difficult in the FPS [First-Person Shooter] genre, no one, not even Youngjae, could dare to criticize Bobea’s control.

“You have to make dinner as promised!”

“Alright, alright. I’ll just whip something up.”

Bobea bristled at the word ‘just’ and started nagging Youngjae like a mother-in-law, starting with how he cleared the game because of him, and how could he just whip something up for a guest he invited. Youngjae had no choice but to surrender.

“I’ll make it as if I’m making it for my girlfriend, so please stop nagging…”

“Ew— what does a guy without a girlfriend know? Just make it with sincerity.”

Youngjae glared at Bobea, who uttered annoying words until the end, but he couldn’t help but smile slightly as he turned around. Since the last game, Bobea’s injury had completely healed, and he started to get back into games. Coach Carlisle also started giving Bobea playing time by adjusting Youngjae and Kidd’s playing time to help Bobea regain his game sense and overcome the trauma of his injury. Ultimately, what the Mavericks wanted was for Bobea and Youngjae to fill the void of Kidd and Terry’s aging from the next season and slowly transition into a new generation.

The game results weren’t bad. Except for adding one loss in the game against Phoenix, Dallas continued its strong performance with 6 wins and 1 loss in 7 games, with a record of 44 wins and 12 losses. Peja Stojakovic didn’t play much due to minor injuries, but he was the one who gave Shawn Marion, who had been playing both the 3 and 4 positions and being overworked, a breather. Averaging about 15 minutes, he recorded 8.5 points and 2.4 rebounds, which weren’t very noticeable, but with a 2-point and 3-point shooting percentage of 46% and 40%, he was properly showing the potential of a stretch forward [a versatile player who can shoot from long range] that perfectly matched Dallas’s basketball philosophy.

Bobea’s record wasn’t bad either. Since he hadn’t fully recovered from his injury, he played around 10 minutes in two games as Kidd’s backup, returning with a decent record of 5.5 points and 1.5 assists. However, the problem was that a fatal flaw that Dallas and Rick Carlisle couldn’t help but feel sorry for Bobea was beginning to emerge.

Bobea was basically a player whose strengths were explosive speed and accurate shooting rather than defense. In particular, his tremendous speed was so impressive that other teams requested him as a trade target. However, Bobea, who had recovered from his injury, seemed to have lost some of his unique speed. Dallas couldn’t help but feel disappointed. Even looking at Barea alone, his 3-point shooting percentage had returned to normal as he entered 2011, and he had already secured the fourth guard position.

In that situation, if Bobea continued to show this 모습 [state/condition], Coach Carlisle wouldn’t need to use Bobea. He could fill most of the playing time with Kidd, Terry, and Youngjae, so Barea’s playing time was also very limited. Moreover, the existing roster was working so well that it was even more so.

“Hoo.”

Still, Youngjae, who didn’t want to see Bobea, a friend and colleague who had come all the way up here from the Summer League, regress like this, was taking care of Bobea as much as he could within his ability. He was the colleague who was closest in age to him, and the colleague who had played with him first. He occasionally invited him to his house to play games, eat together, chat, and after team training, they would have 1-on-1 matches to help Bobea with his rehabilitation and recovery of his game sense.

“Here, eat.”

“You didn’t just whip it up, did you?”

“No, so eat it quickly.”

Youngjae simply boiled penne pasta and poured plenty of tomato sauce on top to make pomodoro. Bobea took a bite and exclaimed, “Oh!” and began to gobble up the pasta. Youngjae also ate some pasta, but he didn’t seem to have much of an appetite and pushed it aside after a few bites.

“Bobea, why did you think that way?”

Youngjae rebuked Bobea with a serious expression, but Bobea shrugged as if it were nothing and continued to concentrate on eating pasta.

“Bobea.”

“Why are you talking about that now when I’m eating?”

“Because I’m 황당 [dumbfounded/absurd]. Why did you suddenly say that to Coach Carlisle?”

Bobea also put down his fork as if he had lost his appetite and looked at Youngjae. His eyes didn’t contain any anger or annoyance.

“I’m struggling.”

“Huh?”

“I’m struggling. You too, and the people of Dallas too, are all struggling. It’s overwhelming.”

“……”

Bobea continued his story with a self-deprecating smile.

“The expectations for me, who lost speed after the injury. The vain hope that I’ll come back again. Tell them to eat shit. Do you think I didn’t try hard? Do you think I didn’t push myself until my ankle was stiff? I can’t get any more speed. I can’t get the speed I had before the injury. That’s why I said that. Don’t have expectations for me. Why are you talking when the coach didn’t say anything?”

Bobea frowned as if he was nauseous and pushed the pasta aside.

“And, you’re disgusting too. I can see it all. You’re acting cocky because you’re doing a little better, right? Are you being nice because I look pathetic? Yeah, come to think of it, I’ve never beaten you since the Summer League.”

Thwack!

“You son of a bitch!”

Youngjae was 정말로 [really] furious. If he hadn’t clenched his teeth so tightly that they made a grinding sound, he would have punched Bobea a few times already. The years of his past life barely managed to hold back Youngjae’s fist.

“Stop yapping like a kid. I was worried about a guy like you, and I took care of you. I’m the one who’s disgusted, so get lost. You hypocrite. Sorry for looking pathetic with my concern. How did you stand that disgust, huh? Do you think you’re the only one who’s unhappy? You son of a bitch!”

Youngjae let go of his collar and wiped his hands on a tissue as if he had dirt on them, then mercilessly threw it into the trash can. Bobea chuckled and nodded.

“Yeah, I’m a dog-like and pathetic bastard. Why? Why did this happen to me? And you, why did you say those things to me as if you knew everything? You told me to be careful of injuries as if you knew I was going to get injured. Didn’t you?”

Seeing Bobea’s 모습 [state/condition], Youngjae’s anger disappeared. Something tickling inside his chest kept suppressing Youngjae’s anger. Seeing Bobea’s childish 모습 [state/condition], Youngjae could understand.

“Hoo.”

Youngjae didn’t get angry at Bobea anymore. He just looked at Bobea with a somewhat detached expression.

“You’re looking down from above as if you know everything, and you have a cocky feeling as if you’ve won while pretending to take care of me! That’s why you’re doing this, right?! Even now, that expression!!”

“I’ll say it once. The reason I ate with you and hung out with you is because I felt sorry for you as a friend, always sulking like a dead dog in the training camp. The reason I had 1-on-1 matches or trained together is because I wanted to see Rodrigo Bobea, who was flying around in the Summer League, at least.”

And Youngjae mumbled one more word inside, unable to say it out loud.

‘Just like me…’

Bobea sighed deeply and shook his head.

“I, I don’t know either. I don’t know. I know… no, I vaguely knew. I don’t know why I’m like this either. It’s just that all the kindness seems to look down on me. Everything seems to burden me. I’ve never felt so uneasy and 싫은 [dislike] to play a game like this before. I just, just… want to throw everything away and run away.”

In Bobea’s 모습 [state/condition], Youngjae saw the frustration he had experienced immediately after his injury. After that, it’s time to choose. Change your style, 무리 [forcefully] to find your original skills, or give up. There is no answer to any of them. Just find and choose the one that is closest to the answer.

“Hey. Eat this.”

Youngjae cut a piece of dark chocolate, which he doesn’t usually eat, from the refrigerator and threw it to Bobea. Bobea put the chocolate in his mouth and sighed like a dejected child.

“Sorry.”

As if the sweetness had calmed him down, Bobea had returned to normal. Youngjae also just nodded awkwardly, saying it was okay.

“I just, I don’t know. It’s been worse lately.”

“Geez. Think about it. Other players are struggling to get to the position you’re in, but if you’re swayed by one injury like that, what will other players think of you? They’ll just see you as a 배나 부른 [ungrateful/spoiled] guy.”

“Is that so.”

“Yeah. And I think you’re getting better and better. That’s what I think, who’s been training 1-on-1 with you. And if your speed doesn’t recover, you’ll have to make a choice. No one will decide that choice for you. It’s your share to choose.”

Youngjae’s words flew like a dagger and pierced Bobea’s heart. He knew it too. If his speed didn’t return like this, he would have to make some kind of choice.

“It’s just that I was 더럽게 [damn] unlucky… There’s no meaning to it. And it just came a little faster than the time when others have to choose. That’s all. I don’t think there’s any point in giving meaning to that. That’s how it was when I played as a point guard and then as a shooting guard in college, and it’s not like I don’t have 고민 [worries/concerns], and it’s not like I don’t have pain. So don’t say things like I’m looking down on you, because I’m not.”

Bobea just nodded and didn’t say anything else to Youngjae. Youngjae also didn’t say anything and threw another piece of chocolate to Bobea, and poured the cold pasta into the food waste bin.

“Damn. How much is that worth?”

“You make so much money, you’re so stingy…”

“Shut up. I threw it all away because of you.”

“Yes, yes. I’ll keep my mouth shut.”

Before Bobea went home, Youngjae handed him a ticket that he had put in his pocket.

“What’s this?”

“Rookie Challenge game ticket. I’ll probably be starting, so come and watch and buck up.”

“Ugh, you sly guy. Alright. I’ll go.”

Bobea took the ticket and drove away. Youngjae thought he should call the remaining people to give them tickets and took out his smartphone.

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

★Thank you to those who gave 선작 [pre-orders], recommendations, comments, and coupons!!

＠Cleveland swept Atlanta. They couldn’t overcome the inside weakness of averaging more than 10 rebounds less per game. I thought this would be a problem in the playoffs, but in the end, they couldn’t handle it against Cleveland. The question in the West is whether Houston will be able to make the first 역스윕 [reverse sweep – coming back from a 3-0 deficit].

＠I changed the FPS game name a little. I only changed one letter ㅎㅎ

※Stretch Forward: Refers to a forward with a long shooting range that can shoot up to 3 points.

zigichacha, 커요커요, 카리아러브, 깡씨앨리스, 실용소설, 달의물방울º天, 권우현™/// It seems… so. It’s really complicated. I don’t like Korean basketball, but it’s not like this;;; I hope it’s not, but the circumstances are 불안 [unstable/uneasy]. I’m worried that more people will get involved.

정근/// He’s not an orphan. Family stories will come out a little later in the setting. Please wait ㅎㅎ

찬란한유산, 파이넨시아, 천상별리, 라피르and진트, misscherry, 오마리온, 쿤다라/// Always thank you for your comments~~~

가연을이, 여신유리찬양/// It was a really unfortunate thing as an old StarCraft 1 fan. If it wasn’t for that, it would have lasted a few more years. Of course, it wasn’t just Ma Jae-yoon, but Ma Jae-yoon’s status was the most critical.

huhcafe, 난돠김/// I’ll try to do 연참 [multiple chapters] when I have time ㅠ.ㅠ It takes us a little time because we research data and watch games. And Youngjae’s gesture is to succeed in the shot and point to his back number while back-coating.

-DarkANGEL-/// I think the referees should also be investigated. The referees’ problems are not one or two times, but they have never been investigated.