G.o.d of Tennis Chapter 25.1: Kim Chun Open #0

Translator: Pineapple

Editor:

Han Woo Jin who finished the Metz Open in the top 16, which was an ATP 250 league tournament applied for the Kim Chun Open. He was able to easily get the 5th seed of the Kim Chun Open because of his victory at the futures tournament for his pro debut and reaching the top 16 at the Metz Open. 

"Wouldn't it have been better to be at the tournament a few days before it begins rather than arriving the day before?"

s.h.i.+n Sae Yeon spoke while driving without turning her head as Han Woo Jin sat in the back. The two people were driving towards Kim Chun today which was August 31, which is the day before the tournament. 

Usually, the players arrive a few days before the tournament starts, so that they can get into peak condition. s.h.i.+n Sae Yeon unknowingly had worry in her voice. But Han Woo Jin wasn't nervous at all. As he clenched and unclenched his fist, he checked his status.

Strength 61 / Stamina 62 / Agility 58

HP 2390/2480 SP 630/630

Forehand: 11/20

Backhand: 9/20

Serve: 12/20

Volley: 8/20

Smash: 10/20

Dropshot: 8/20

Lob: 7/20

Special skills: Sparrow (serve), Slug (smash)

'As I thought/expected.'

His status window showed him the results of his training during the last few days. Han Woo Jin, knew that his a.s.sumption would be correct when he saw that his strength went up by one. This number that increased in his status showed that his overall strength has increased by a little bit. 

For example, this number that went up included not only his strength but also his endurance.  You could say that it was obvious but you couldn't neglect that difference. Let's say that his arms and legs all had a strength of 50 but the system computes the overall average strength of your body. 

Han Woo JIn obviously knew about the limit of his strength. He recorded the amount of weight that he could left when weight training. He had only been training on muscle endurance ever since the Metz Open ended. In other words, his strength didn't increase at all.

However, his strength stat still increased by one. This was why he was sure that the strength stat was a combination of actual strength and muscle endurance. Then that also means that stamina and agility were calculated with the same kind of principle.

'Stamina is a mix of lung capacity and muscle endurance… then what about agility?'

Han Woo Jin was so engrossed in his thoughts that he couldn't even hear s.h.i.+n Sae Yeon speaking to him. But he was able to come to his senses when the brakes. .h.i.t the car and he realized that s.h.i.+n Sae Yeon was waiting for him to reply.

"… Ah, sorry, I couldn't hear you."

"I asked you if it wasn't better to have arrived here a few days earlier before it started? How's your injury?"

Han Woo Jin stopped looking at his stamina and closed his eyes to see his status. He checked his body condition by clenching his fist, turning his neck both ways, checking his fatigue status and twisting his back, checking his muscles. 

A player needs to know their body's status better than a doctor. But because of his heavy reliance on the system, he felt that his senses on his body's condition has dulled. He decided to fix his dependency on the system regarding his body's condition during this tournament.

After checking his body, Han Woo Jin answered her.

"I'm in the best condition.  I can go play on the court as soon as we arrive."

"That's a relief. We might get there a little late today."

"Mmm…"

Her voice sounded a bit tired and Han Woo Jin smiled at her with a worried face. Outside of the window, he saw cars were nearly touching each other b.u.mper to b.u.mper. They departed in the afternoon and they weren't even halfway there yet. They didn't know they reason why there was such heavy traffic in the area.

"If you're tired, we can switch and I can drive."

"It's fine. What if you get tired in the tournament, that's why I'm your manager."

Usually agents don't get too familiar with their player.because many agents have their contract to teams or to the company and are not designated towards one single player. It was a special case for Han Woo Jin and s.h.i.+n Sae Yeon who were moving together. 

Skillful agents took care of a few players at the same time and come to think of it, players like Han Woo Jin got many advantages due to having s.h.i.+n Sae Yeon as his agent. Driving, translation, understanding doc.u.ments, recording plays and a.n.a.lyzing game data… she was doing nearly three people's workloads. 

Han Woo Jin knew that the only thing that he needed to do for her was to rest. He didn't say anything and closed his eyes and pulled back his seat. He liked this car because he had plenty of leg room to lie down.

"Ah, Woo Jin ssi, did you read the files that I gave you?"

He thought that s.h.i.+n Sae Yeon was talking about the other top 31 players that were attending the Kim Chun Open. There were 31 players that had extremely detailed information about them.

"I read it all earlier. We were moving really slow, so I had some carsickness while I was reading and stopped, but I got bored and just read them."

If he read something while moving slowly in a car he got nauseous. He planned on reading it all after they arrived at their destination but the traffic was horrible and he was incredibly bored so he just read the papers. Fortunately he didn't feel too bad reading them. 

As soon as the car stopped, s.h.i.+n Sae Yeon turned his head and asked him. An agent and player's point of view are different. She was curious as to what he thought about this tournament's overall level.

"What do you think? Is there anyone you think you will have trouble with?"

Han Woo Jin made eye contact with her and shook his head left to right and he replied with a casual voice. 

"I'm going to win."

That was Han Woo Jin's expectation for the Kim Chun Open.

The time went by quickly after they arrived. They checked into the hotel and got settled in and they took a nap after they finished. If he moves around, the day before the tournament, then he will just be wasting energy. 

The Kimchun Open starts at 11 o'clock. Because of his fifth seed placement, he is one of the first to play. Han Woo Jin got ready and left the hotel around 10. As usual, his racket bag was slung over his shoulder. 

Han Woo Jin decided to place three limits on himself. 

'First, I won't look at my status window. Second, I won't look at my opponent's status. And third I won't use special skills.'

Of course, these limits will only apply if he is winning the game. If he comes across an opponent that he can't defeat then he will obviously get rid of these limits. He didn't want to make any stupid decisions just to 'train'.

He didn't need to place these limitations on himself, but if he wanted to get rid of bad habits, then this was the only way. As he kept on thinking about his status, he turned it off as he walked. It was hard for him to turn off the system as it was like he was forced to not use any skills.

"This is harder than I thought?"

Han Woo Jin clicked his tongue. He was more addicted than he thought. He tried to guess his opponent's level by remembering their profiles that he read and will fix any strategies and mistakes that he made from his expectations while during the game. That's how he will get better at determining an opponent's skill level.There is a certain limit of information that he will gain from only using the system to see his opponent's status. 

He got into the car that was waiting for him and kept on thinking about strategies to use during the game. The place where the tournament will be held wasn't very far. Before they arrived at the stadium, he already organized his thoughts. 

The opening ceremony went by quickly. Because the stadium was outdoors, the coordinators didn't want the opening ceremony to take too long. The sun was hot today and so the court and viewer's stands were pretty hot as well.

Han Woo Jin's match was third today. He was sitting in the designated area for players.

'At least this is in a shaded area.'

The tournament organizers most likely set up this shaded area for the player's conditions. It didn't look like it but the player's area was quite cool.

After speaking with s.h.i.+n Sae Yeon shortly from the audience seats, he went back to his area and sat down quietly. The first game already began. An unfamiliar j.a.panese and Korean player were rallying on the court.

The Korean player looked to have the advantage, but suddenly someone called out Han Woo Jin's name. He spoke as if he knew who Han Woo Jin was. Han Woo Jin who was watching the game didn't want to be disturbed.

"Wow! You're Han Woo Jin right? I didn't know that a celebrity like you who was on the newspaper would come to a tournament like this? You're 25 or 26?"

Han Woo Jin examined the man. The man's hair was dyed brown and had silver earrings that was dangling while he walked. He wasn't very friendly while he walked towards him. His voice had a tone of mocking as he spoke.

Han Woo Jin who unconsciously, moved his hand toward his racket was able to barely stop himself. It became a habit for him to look at a players status when he saw them. Instead of grabbing his racket, he opened his mouth.

"Who are you?"

"I'll introduce myself. I'm Park Sung Min who will be facing you today."

"Ah, yes."

So?

Han Woo JIn look at Park Sung Min. He didn't know why he began speaking to him. They don't know each other and they had nothing to speak about. Han Woo Jin just stared at him and Park Sung Min, spoke to him with an awkward face. 

"Do you really not want to speak to me that much?"

"Yes?"

"You look like you're in a bad mood. If you don't want to talk to me just say no."

What kind of shekki(b.a.s.t.a.r.d/b.i.t.c.h) is this guy? Han Woo Jin almost cursed at him at his face. He might have grabbed his s.h.i.+rt in anger because he kept on annoying him. 

Fortunately, one of the players who was next to them intervened.

"What are you guys doing? Do you guys want to get disqualified?"

If players use violence against each other or curse at each other, then they might get kicked out of the tournament. Or in a very serious case, because of their fighting, they might even be banned for playing for a year. Han Woo Jin didn't want to ruin his career with a stupid fight. That's why he moved his seat and ignored Park Sung Min.

He heard him say some irrelevant things but because he completely blocked him out he only heard "blah blah blah". He vaguely saw him in the corner of his eye angrily walk away. He didn't know why he came to him so angrily.

'… I feel like I've seen his eyes before.'

Han Woo Jin only remembered his two eyes that stared at him. He's definitely seen those eyes somewhere before. He knew that he looked at those eyes closely before. 

Suddenly an announcement from the intercom as the referee announced the next match.

Han Woo Jin ignored Park Sung Min who stared at him like a rat. Han Woo Jin walked on hard blue court. The court was very hot due to the sun .He could feel the heat through the soles of his shoes into his socks. 

'I think it would be best to wear something thick tomorrow.'

Moving comfortably is best, but it is also a problem if his feet are sweating which will make him feel unpleasant. Han Woo Jin was thinking about random things and suddenly remembered.

Park Sung Min's eyes. He remembered where he saw them.

Han Woo Jin turned to Park Sung Min who was staring at him. He definitely remembered those eyes. 

He saw those eyes everyday in the mirror. Those same emotions. 

'That's it.'

It was jealousy.

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