Episode 18: A face genius is good at soccer

Episode 18: Woman Power Magazine Editor Kang Su-yeon (1)

For some reason, Senior Yoon Hyuk, who had been inexplicably fired up, stayed behind after regular practice to do additional training with me.

No, to be honest, it was more like he stuck around while I was trying to do self-training, constantly explaining tactical advice, sharing his knowledge, or recounting his own experiences and playstyle.

‘What’s going on? Why is this senior so motivated all of a sudden?’

Whenever I looked at him with confusion, he'd smile and say,

“Ah, I see. You think it's still not enough? Alright, I'll do my best to teach you.”

He’d nod with satisfaction, as if everything was going according to plan.

What was going on?

Even though it was annoying to have this senior needlessly burning with a sense of achievement, the results weren’t bad at all. In fact, they were surprisingly good, to the point where it felt strange.

"Hong Min-jun! Yes, that’s it! Move like that!"

Even the coach, who usually only yelled during practice matches, praised me.

The only regret was that my stats didn’t go up after that day. It would’ve been perfect if they had, but I guess it’s not too bad since I’ve confirmed that I can improve my stats through my own efforts.

And so, four days passed.

During the day, I followed the team’s regular training schedule, in the evenings, I did self-training with Senior Yoon Hyuk, and at night, I spent time teasing Ji-kyung noona. Every day was fulfilling, and before I knew it, the day of our second match had arrived.

“Hurry up! Make sure you’ve got all your gear. Don’t sleep on the bus. We’ll get to Sung-sil University in no time. Don’t mess up your biorhythm by falling asleep—listen to some music or something. Got it?”

Under the coach’s urging, we boarded the tour bus provided by the school.

Today was our second league match and our first away game.

Our opponent was Seongsil University, an hour away.

* * *

Kang Su-yeon shifted her phone to the other hand.

“E-Editor-in-chief… well, you see… the Women’s Association at Sung-sil University has also been shut down…”

—What!?

Despite having prepared herself, the editor-in-chief’s shout pierced through her hand and echoed painfully in her ears, nearly causing her to drop her phone.

—Whaaaat!? Did you really just say that!? Who’s in charge of that women’s association!? Get in touch with them and find out how they plan to revive it!

“The, the association was shut down by a student vote, so there’s no chance of it being revived…”

—I-Ick…! Iiiiick…!!

Hearing the snorting sounds coming from the other end of the phone, Kang Su-yeon felt like she was about to burst into tears.

‘Damn it, I want to cry too. What am I supposed to do if it was shut down by a student vote!?’

Overwhelmed with frustration, tears welled up in her eyes, but as a woman dealing with a female superior, she knew that her ultimate weapon, the first-to-cry advantage, wouldn't work here. Su-yeon silently waited for her sentence, hoping for a merciful decision.

—W-what do we do… We’re supposed to go to print next week. Just get me one story, even just one article that can reassure our anxious readers!!

“E-Editor-in-chief! The women’s association has been shut down—where am I supposed to find a story in this backwater? I’ll head back up to Seoul and see if I can find something there.”

Despite Su-yeon’s desperate plea, the editor-in-chief kept snorting…no, grunting and then let out a shriek.

—It’s a regional special issue! What’s the point of putting in a Seoul article!! No way. Get me one story from there!!

“Editor-in-chief!!”

—I don’t care! Fix it somehow! If you don’t send it by tomorrow, consider your desk gone!!

The grumbling sounds gradually faded away before the call abruptly ended with a beep.

Su-yeon stared blankly at the now black phone screen.

‘That bitch… This is your job….’

How could it not be the editor-in-chief’s responsibility when there was a risk of a hole in the magazine that was scheduled to go to print the next week? What was the point of being an editor-in-chief then? Because she’s the boss’s niece? …Right, that must be it.

Su-yeon felt wronged.

Just yesterday, wasn’t it the editor-in-chief who had pressured her, saying there was a story and she needed to get down there quickly?

After being urged down there with no preparation due to the editor-in-chief’s fiery temper, there was no story to be found. The women’s association had been completely shut down—what kind of story could there be?

Oh, right, there was one.

Maybe she could track down one of the leaders and do an interview like, ‘The last remaining women’s association in this region has also been shut down~ It was an overwhelming student vote, so there’s no chance of it being revived~’

Of course, the moment that story is published in the magazine, it will explode.

The bulletin board, the website, the company’s phones… Everywhere will be flooded with grunting noises, and everything will blow up in one way or another.

The company, and Su-yeon, too.

Well, maybe not the company, but at least Su-yeon’s desk would be shut down, just like all those women’s associations across the country.

Su-yeon stared blankly at the darkened screen of her smartphone before she slowly started walking.

The weight of the bag containing her carefully prepared DSLR camera, camcorder, and recorder was making her shoulders ache as if they were about to break.

Squeak.

As she entered the used car she had bought from her ex-boyfriend—who was a used car salesman—when she first stepped into society (well, more like she got scammed by him), the old, worn-out Morning car door made its usual unpleasant sound.

“Nothing’s going right.”

She got into the driver’s seat with a frustrated expression and turned the ignition,

Peeeeemimimimimi—

Peeeeemimimimimimi——

The car made a loud noise as she turned the key, but the old, faithful car, as if it had decided it no longer wanted to work, persistently refused to start.

“Damn it, as expected from a crappy car made by a man! Start, come on, start!”

Gritting her teeth, she kept turning the key over and over.

Peeeeemimimimimimiik—!

Already on the verge of tears, Su-yeon felt like she was about to explode as the engine failed to catch just when it seemed like it might.

“Oppa, oppa. Look at that. It seems like her car broke down. What should she do?”

“Wow. When was that Morning model made? It’s so old…”

A passing couple, drawn by the loud engine noise, peeked over at her.

Su-yeon’s eyes met the guy’s as he glanced in her direction.

“…Ahem. M-Miss, would you like some help?”

“Oppa!?”

The guy offered a clumsy smile and exaggerated kindness as he awkwardly tried to be helpful.

“N-no… I don’t need your help.”

“What? What did you say?”

“I said I don’t need the help of a shrimp d*ck maleeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!”

Tears burst forth as Su-yeon slammed her head against the steering wheel and screamed.

Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep—!!

“Ahhh! Is she crazy? Oppa, let’s get out of here quickly.”

“B-but it looks like she’s crying…”

“Hey! Choose now! Me or her!”

“O-of course—”

Still clinging to his indecision, the guy hesitated and glanced back at Su-yeon, who was still slumped over the steering wheel, before making a quick decision.

“Of course, it’s my baby~”

Beeeeeeeeeeeeep—!!

“Ahhh! I’m going to lose my mind!! Oppa, let’s go quickly!”

After dealing with the pesky couple, Su-yeon finally lifted her face from the steering wheel, a serene smile on her face.

“...Damn it. Life sucks.”

Su-yeon reflected on her life. Where did things start to go wrong?

Kang Su-yeon. Age 29. A graduate of Korea (Women’s) University, where the country’s brightest minds gather. There’s an extra word in there that doesn't need to be, but the fact remains. It’s true.

“I never should’ve joined this company.”

Su-yeon lamented. Su-yeon, who had lived a life without envy, blessed with a pretty face that attracted attention everywhere she went and a naturally gifted body, began to see her life unravel when she joined her current job at 'Woman Power Magazine'.

The company Su-yeon worked for primarily published newspapers and magazines. It had only been around for less than 10 years but had grown significantly during the last administration, which emphasized policies favorable to women and supported the company's growth with its women-friendly agenda.

However, with the change in administration and shifting societal views, the company was now facing severe backlash, to the point where they were worried about going out of business.

Su-yeon, whose credentials were a bit… just a tad… lacking, managed to join the company during its peak, thanks to the women’s quota system. And now that the company was going downhill, she was being singled out as the top candidate for layoffs.

It wasn’t that Su-yeon was incompetent.

In fact, the only people who really did any work were a small number of well-qualified male employees. The majority of the company, composed of women who had also been hired through the women’s quota system, were either on par with Su-yeon or even less competent.

But despite this, Su-yeon had become the top candidate for dismissal...

“Damn feminists. I’m so done with this.”

...simply because she was pretty.

Before joining the company, Su-yeon had been indifferent to feminism. With her natural beauty and the attention she received from men, what need did she have for feminism?

But as they say, women are empathetic creatures. After being surrounded by coworkers who constantly bashed men, Su-yeon had pretended to have an epiphany — “Oh! So men really are the bad guys!” — more out of a desire to avoid the subtle ostracism than any real belief.

But now, even that wasn’t enough to save her.

Su-yeon got out of her old, malfunctioning car and looked up at the sky. The clear blue sky was shining brightly.

“I don’t even care anymore. Whatever happens, happens.”

She began walking aimlessly. Once she made up her mind to quit, her head felt clear, and her heart felt lighter than it had in a long time.

Yeah, I’m not living like this anymore.

I’ll start dating again, get back into the whole grooming… no, proper makeup routine…

As she walked for a while, Su-yeon suddenly found herself standing in front of a wide-open space.

“Make sure you stretch properly!”

“Don’t slack off and get injured! Move with purpose!”

No, it wasn’t a plaza.

“…A soccer field?”

It was a soccer field, just before a game was about to begin.

As she stood there, absentmindedly watching the field, Su-yeon’s attention was suddenly drawn to a striking sight.

A beautiful boy, laughing and joking with a handsome guy standing next to him.

“Wow, he’s gorgeous.”

He was so stunningly handsome that his face seemed to glow.

Without thinking, Su-yeon raised the camera slung over her shoulder and clicked the shutter, capturing his image.

“Gasp! What have I done? I wasted this precious shot on some random guy instead of a foreigner—”

But before she could come to her senses… no, even though she still hadn’t fully regained her senses...

“…But he’s better than a foreigner. Wow, what did his parents feed him to make him grow up so good-looking? This is therapeutic~”

...the impact of his 95 attractiveness points finally brought her back to her senses.

“Yeah. After all, a Korean woman belongs with a Korean man.”

Giggling foolishly, she raised her camera again and began snapping pictures like a maniac.

And that was the day Kang Su-yeon, who would later become the dedicated reporter providing exclusive interviews with Hong Min-jun, met him for the first time.

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