Y13 [EN]: Chapter 79

Y13-79 2010-11 All-Star Weekend

February 18, 2011.

Staples Center, Los Angeles, California.

The All-Star Weekend is the only event during the NBA’s intense season where everyone can enjoy themselves, regardless of their team’s record. This event, which includes the Rookie Challenge and All-Star Saturday Night, takes place over three days at the Staples Center (home of the LA Lakers and LA Clippers) in Los Angeles, the second-largest city in the United States. Because it spans three days, it’s commonly referred to as All-Star Weekend.

Youngjae headed to the Staples Center early that morning, hoping to avoid reporters and slip into the stadium unnoticed. He smoothed out his black suit, striving for a neat appearance.

“It’s Y13!”

“As expected, Y13!!!”

Just as Youngjae was trying to enjoy some quiet time, he heard cheers from several reporters.

“Ugh?!

Y13! I’m Richard Powell from Culture Map Dallas!”

“I’m Irock Lyker from the Dallas Morning News!”

Amid the bustling reporters, two particularly loud individuals stepped forward, smiling warmly as if they were old friends. They spoke just loud enough for Youngjae to hear. Initially, Youngjae was taken aback and took a few steps back, but after hearing their proposal, he nodded and shook hands with the two reporters.

“Alright, let’s go this way.”

Richard Powell and Irock Lyker, seasoned reporters with years of experience, skillfully navigated through the crowd, leading Youngjae into the stadium via a shortcut. Youngjae was surprised at how easily they bypassed security through a route he didn’t even know existed. He briefly considered memorizing it, but decided it would be easier to simply befriend the two reporters.

As they walked, the two reporters asked questions and took notes, careful not to overwhelm Youngjae. They seemed to have gauged his personality, avoiding rapid-fire questions. Instead, Powell would ask a question, followed by Lyker, minimizing any discomfort. Youngjae suspected some kind of pre-arrangement between them, but decided to ignore it.

“As we mentioned earlier, are you still aiming for the Rookie of the Year award?”

“Of course. I believe ambition is essential for progress. Blake Griffin of the Clippers is playing exceptionally well, so it might be difficult, but I’m working hard and believe I have a chance.”

“The biggest difference between you and Griffin is playing time. Griffin has been a starter since the beginning of the season and gets a lot of possessions, while you have relatively less playing time due to veterans like Kidd and Terry. Do you have any regrets about this?”

“I prefer being on a contender team with less playing time than being on a tanking team with more. And compared to Griffin, I may have less playing time, but I think I’m getting a significant amount of time compared to other rookies. The rest is up to me to work harder.”

Lyker responded with an “Oh-” while taking notes. Powell, a skilled reporter, waited until Youngjae finished a sip of water before subtly posing his next question.

“Your play style seems to involve a lot of mental disruption of your opponents, particularly through provocative celebrations. Do you have any reservations about that approach heading into today’s game?”

“The game is the game, but today is a festival for everyone, so I’m not thinking about that. In the regular season, we’re enemies, and we have to compete fiercely, right? So it might seem that way. But they’re also professional players, so they know I don’t have any ill intentions. I don’t play rough, and I don’t engage in trash-talking.”

They continued with several more questions and answers. After the brief interview, Youngjae entered the still-empty stadium and bounced the ball. This was an All-Star stage he had never experienced in his past life. Although it was just the Rookie Challenge, essentially an All-Star Eve event, Youngjae felt he was having a satisfying debut season. It was also thrilling. He was proud to have surpassed other lottery pick players and made it into the starting roster of ten as the 25th overall pick, selected much later than many of his peers.

Swish-

His shooting touch was on point. The shots he took while lost in thought were miraculously finding the net. About 80-90% of the shots he took during his light 30-minute warm-up went in cleanly, with half of the remaining 10% bouncing on the rim a few times before dropping, and the other half bouncing off.

“Has the time already come for this?”

Youngjae gathered the balls and headed to the stadium’s shower room to clean up. After washing, he took a taxi to a cafe.

“Welcome to Starb… Wow! Youngjae Yoon!”

The cafe employee’s surprise drew the attention of the few customers present. The employee shyly handed over a white piece of paper, saying he was a fan, and Youngjae smiled awkwardly and signed it. After signing autographs and taking pictures, Youngjae looked around for the people he was actually meeting.

“Oh~ You’re a superstar, huh?”

“Ah, Steve!”

The person was none other than Steve Yeun. Youngjae had agreed to Steve’s suggestion to meet up and go together, and they had decided to meet at this cafe.

“Ah~ Hello! Nice to meet you!”

Youngjae looked puzzled at the two women standing next to Steve Yeun. He didn’t recognize them from Walking Dead Season 1, as Season 2 hadn’t aired yet.

“I’m Lauren Cohan, and I’ll be appearing in Walking Dead Season 2. Nice to meet you!”

Lauren Cohan, who would play ‘Maggie’ from Season 2 onwards and have a romantic relationship with Steve’s character, greeted him with an energetic vibe that matched her short black hair. Youngjae smiled and shook her hand.

“I’m Emily Kinney, and I’ll be filming from Season 2. Nice to meet you too.”

As soon as Youngjae heard Emily’s voice, it sounded familiar. He was sure he had heard it somewhere, but couldn’t place it. He grabbed Emily’s hand and shook it lightly. Her blonde hair and fair skin were typical of a Caucasian, but her hairstyle gave her a pure and youthful charm. Youngjae thought, ‘She’s really pretty.’

“Steve, you brought two incredibly beautiful women? As expected… you’re a real Casanova.”

Youngjae said with a hint of playful jealousy, and Lauren and Emily exchanged knowing glances with Steve.

“I knew it, Steve talks to a lot of girls on set.”

“He’s also very close to Norman [Norman Reedus, another actor in The Walking Dead], isn’t he? Could it be…”

“Wh, what are you guys talking about! Shh, shh!”

Steve hurriedly ushered the group outside to change the subject. He squeezed the three of them into his subcompact sedan and drove towards the Staples Center.

“Ah!”

Youngjae nodded with a satisfied smile, as if something had just clicked. The others looked at him, curious. Youngjae took out his smartphone and started playing a song.

“Ah?!”

Of all the money that e’er I had-

“Is this the one Emily sang?”

The Parting Glass, which he happened to hear. Youngjae finally remembered where he had heard Emily’s voice. Emily was visibly flustered and stammered, and Youngjae shrugged and enjoyed the song.

“This… how did you…?”

“There’s a music app I use. I can pick songs by genre, and a folk song suddenly came on in the rock section.”

Youngjae smiled, remembering his training sessions.

“At first, I thought the app was wrong, but then I heard this song. I’ve been using the app for a long time, and the song list resets periodically, so I figured it was a good song and bought it.”

Steve laughed, saying, “Oh, I don’t think this is just a coincidence?” Cohan, in the passenger seat, playfully pinched Steve’s side, saying, “Look straight ahead and drive properly!”

“Actually, that song is the one I sang during my Walking Dead audition. It’s not supposed to be distributed commercially… I’m sorry.”

Youngjae said it was okay, looking at Emily, who was apologizing even though she wasn’t responsible for its distribution. He closed his eyes slightly. Just listening to the song made him feel comfortable and helped him concentrate on his training. It was a different kind of stimulus for Youngjae, who was usually immersed in intense music.

“Whoever the distributor is, I’m grateful. Thanks for letting me train while listening to this song.”

Emily smiled slightly at Youngjae’s words and nodded. The two, sitting side by side in the back seat, were immersed in the song as they headed to the Staples Center.

“Wow! Superstar!”

“It’s the Aztecs’ wannabe perfect!”

As if he were back in his student days, Youngjae excitedly greeted the San Diego State Aztecs members who were there. It had only been a few months since he had seen them, but he made a fuss like he was reuniting with friends after years, high-fiving and bumping shoulders to show his joy.

“Kawell! What happened? You’re completely slimmed down?”

Starting with Kawhi Leonard, Chase Tapley, Alec Williams, and Billy White had transformed into more muscular bodies than before. With Youngjae, Gay [Rudy Gay], Davis [Brandon Davis], and Thomas [Malcolm Thomas] gone, the remaining players were working harder together in training. But the biggest change was Brian Kawell, whose previous massive muscles had disappeared and were now replaced by a balanced physique with clearly defined muscles.

“My knees weren’t very good, so I decided to go in a different direction. Bro!”

Kawell’s enormous muscles and power were unmatched even in NCAA Division 1. However, this put a lot of stress on his knees and ankles, making it difficult to play basketball. So, after much deliberation, Kawell decided to change his body shape.

“You’ve changed a lot as much as Kawell. Now you have a plausible body.”

Youngjae responded to Leonard’s compliment with a “Really?” as if it were no big deal, but he couldn’t hide his smile, as everyone enjoys compliments.

“You can all do it. Look at me, don’t you think?”

“Well, when you first entered the school, you were a complete skeleton. You were so short~”

Billy White indicated a length about the size of an eraser with his thumb and forefinger, and Tapley laughed, saying, “That’s right, that’s right.”

“So, a dragon was born from a ditch [a Chinese idiom meaning someone rose from humble beginnings to achieve great success]. Come quickly, ah, I can’t live because I’m so bored.”

Youngjae shared some silly jokes and said goodbye to the Aztecs members, telling them to watch and write a review. After greeting the Aztecs members and Coach Fisher, Youngjae went to Steve, Lauren, and Emily, who were sitting a little further away, and greeted them.

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

★Thank you for your advance subscriptions, recommendations, comments, and coupons!!

※The All-Star period is also called the All-Star Break.

@The GSW [Golden State Warriors] vs. CLE [Cleveland Cavaliers] Finals have been decided. Harden [James Harden] seems to have run out of steam in the end. He practically carried them alone to 2nd place in the regular season and to the 2nd round of the playoffs, so it would be strange if he didn’t run out of steam. Houston should replace McHale [Kevin McHale, the coach at the time] or make a big deal. If they keep their salary flexibility, they will only be a playoff team.

@I’m feeling better now. I’ll post the amount I couldn’t post yesterday during the weekend^^ Thank you for your support as always.

STNㅣFㅣRehan-nim/// Yes. He tends to have a high mental age, and people who have experienced it themselves tend to be more understanding than others.

Goddess Yuri Praise-nim, -DarkANGEL-nim, Financia-nim, Kundara-nim, Omari-on-nim, huhcafe-nim/// ㅎㅎ Thank you for your comments~~

Rough99-nim, dio2n-nim, Gahan 可汗-nim, Lapir and Jint-nim, misscherry-nim, Still Cloudy Sky-nim/// ㅎㅎ Boboa. He’s a very unfortunate prospect. How far he will be saved… is a secret lol. In reality, he completely failed and couldn’t even do well after returning to Europe ㅠㅠ

Jeonggeun-nim/// ㅎㅎ Thank you. Jeonggeun-nim, be careful of the heat too^^