PUCKD Ch 3

In the subdued atmosphere, a cheerful ringtone suddenly rang out. Choi Yongsoo, who seemed to be carrying all the worries of the world on his shoulders, took out his phone with a much brighter face.

“It’s my third daughter. Hojae, if the director looks for me, tell him I’m on the phone.”

Shin Hojae nodded. Choi Yongsoo’s footsteps as he stubbed out his cigarette and hurried out of the smoking room were the lightest he had seen all day.

Watching him, Hojae, on the contrary, felt his heart sink and remained seated in the smoking room.

Shin Hojae let out a long sigh and stretched out his long legs. Looking down at his toes, he crossed his ankles and put his hands into his sweatpants.

Just then, he heard the smoking room door open. Thinking Yongsoo might have finished his call already, he raised his head. The person he met eyes with was unexpected.

It was Kwon Junghyun.

He, too, seemed a little surprised to see Shin Hojae, but he quickly gave a light nod of acknowledgement. Hojae awkwardly responded with a nod of his own.

The man took a cigarette from inside his jacket and lit it. Chik, the sound of the lighter followed by the small sound of him inhaling the smoke could be heard.

“…….”

He had missed the opportune moment to leave. Of course, he could get up and leave now, but strangely, he didn’t feel like it.

Shin Hojae took his hands out of his pockets and fidgeted with the seam of his sweatpants. It was Kwon Junghyun who broke the awkward silence.

“Shin Hojae.”

As his smooth cheek shifted angles, his elegantly sculpted nose came into view.

“You must have received quite a few transfer offers from other teams. Any thoughts?”

“…….”

“If you plan to continue playing domestically, the Tigers would be a decent alternative.”

Shin Hojae slowly furrowed his brow.

What the man said sounded strange.

First, people generally ask Shin Hojae, “Are you going back to Canada now?” not “Transfer to the Tigers”.

They think there’s no need for Shin Hojae to stay in Korea, especially with the team disbanding. But Kwon Junghyun skipped that question and asked about transferring to a domestic team. As if he knew the situation. Of course, that couldn’t be possible.

Second, it was a fact that this man must have received an offer from Director Park to take over the team.

The reason why the director and coach asked him and Yongsoo to excuse themselves was obvious. The atmosphere was ripe, so they must have wanted to start a serious business discussion.

The director of a team, especially during the off-season, is working hard, even entertaining guests, to do what the association should be doing. This man must be aware of that desperation.

Yet, right after leaving that meeting, he suggests that a player transfer to another team.

Moreover, Kwon Junghyun’s words didn’t stop there.

“Being on a team that doesn’t match your level, you have no choice but to struggle alone. Your one-man show worked last season, but it has its limits in terms of winning a championship.”

The man held a cigarette between his long fingers and glanced down at Shin Hojae.

“Ice hockey is a team sport.”

“…….”

Quiet hostility welled up in Shin Hojae’s eyes.

The comment about ‘doing five times the work by himself’ wasn’t his imagination after all.

As Shin Hojae stared up at him without moving, the man nonchalantly put the cigarette in his mouth.

“Director Park Namwoong seems to be a soft-hearted person by nature. He teared up several times while talking about the acquisition. He doesn’t seem like the right type for a director.”

“…….”

“There’s no need to look at me with such suspicion. I’m just saying this because your individual talent is being wasted.”

Then, with the cigarette still in his mouth, he slightly lifted the corners of his lips.

“I’m quite a fan of yours.”

“…….”

There were people who thought they could get away with saying anything as long as they added the word ‘fan’. Just like this man. Shin Hojae scraped the floor of the smoking room with the sole of his shoe and slowly opened his lips.

“I have no intention of playing for any team other than the Blue Wolves.”

He shouldn’t have expected anything from a man he met for the first time today, but for some reason, he had a glimmer of hope because he was Chairman Kwon’s grandson.

“But you met Director Park for the first time today, yet you’re evaluating him as if you know him completely after just a couple of hours. And you’re saying this in front of a player on his team.”

Kwon Junghyun raised an eyebrow with the cigarette still in his mouth.

“That doesn’t seem like a very good choice.”

It would have been nice if he had stopped there, but angered by the insult to Director Park, he ended up saying one more thing.

“I’m just saying this because the name Myungjeong Group seems wasted on you.”

The words spilled onto the floor like water.

Kwon Junghyun stared intently at Shin Hojae’s face. The act of parting his dry lips to exhale smoke felt like it was happening in slow motion.

He was aware that he had been rude, but he had no intention of apologizing. If anything, the other man was rude first.

After a few seconds, he suddenly heard a chuckle.

“You’re a good judge of character. I don’t really fit in at Myungjeong.”

As he laughed like that, a dimple appeared below his mouth. Hojae’s gaze was drawn to it inadvertently. With the same smiling face, he uttered the next words.

“Wanna sleep with me?”

Hojae’s brow furrowed sharply. For a moment, he wondered if he had misheard, so he could only ask back foolishly.

“……What?”

“I’ve always wanted to sleep with you.”

Kwon Junghyun, without taking his eyes off Shin Hojae, slightly turned his head and exhaled smoke into the air.

He wasn’t so naive as to miss the sexual implications in those words. Which made it even more absurd. The other person was clearly a man. And a beta at that.

Heteronormativity is prevalent in society. It was definitely not a society open enough for a beta male to make such a proposal to an alpha male.

Shin Hojae habitually pressed his thumb and middle finger against his furrowed brow and temple.

“What kind of joke is that…?”

“I told you, I’m a fan.”

“Not all fans want to sleep with their idols.”

“Is that so? I do.”

His tone carried the characteristic lightness of someone who didn’t take such things seriously. Disgust wrinkled Hojae’s brow once again.

“Do you know that I was a player personally sponsored by Chairman Kwon? And that I was quite close to him?”

The late founder of Myungjeong Group, Kwon Deuk-jeong, who passed away four years ago, was Shin Hojae’s sponsor.

Everyone who knew Hojae agreed that the current Shin Hojae existed thanks to Chairman Kwon. Without his sponsorship, a sport as expensive as ice hockey would have been impossible to dream of.

Shin Hojae treated the chairman like his own grandfather. Whenever he had the chance to do an interview, he would always mention the chairman after his family.

“So what? Just because you called my grandfather ‘grandfather’ doesn’t mean we’re actually blood-related.”

Isn’t it more of a matter of ethics? However, judging by his reaction, it seemed like reasoning with him would be futile.

Shin Hojae sighed softly.

“…Forget it. And naturally, I refuse.”

“What if I offer to take over the team in exchange?”

“……What?”

“Literally. If you accept my sponsorship offer, I might propose to those stubborn old men on the board to acquire the team.”

“…….”

“Even though I don’t fit in at Myungjeong, I have that much power. Or rather, I’ve come to have it.”

Hojae’s mouth fell open foolishly at his words, delivered with a chuckle.

As he stared blankly, unable to blink at the unbelievable story, the smoking room door burst open.

“Hojae! The director is really drunk, so can you… Oh, Director, you were here.”

It was Choi Yongsoo. The taut air instantly dissipated like a snapped rubber band.

Director Kwon crushed his cigarette butt in the ashtray. Then, he took out a business card from inside his jacket and handed it to Shin Hojae.

“I’ll give you two days. Think about it and contact me here.”

“Oh, were you talking with Hojae? I’ll leave you two alone.”

“It’s alright.”

Director Kwon smiled at Choi Yongsoo before leaving the smoking room. Choi Yongsoo, glancing at his retreating figure, scratched the back of his neck.

“Were you in the middle of an important conversation…? Did I interrupt?”

“…No.”

“I didn’t know the director was here. Anyway, Hojae, can you take care of the director and take him home? He’s really drunk.”

“Ah, yes.”

Shin Hojae nodded and put the business card he received into his pocket. He could feel the rough surface of the rectangular card in his hand.