Xu Junyan watched in astonishment as the little bread roll was snatched away at lightning speed by Miss Bae Joo-hyun in the next seat. She immediately turned her head, faced away from him, and began munching away with soft rustling sounds, like a little squirrel guarding its food while sneaking bites.
"This..." Xu Junyan could not help but laugh. Then he looked at the bottled water in his other hand, hesitated briefly, and poked her back with it.
"Mm?" Bae Joo-hyun whipped around. A few tiny bread crumbs still clung to her soft pink lips, while her eyes held a trace of embarrassment.
She was just too hungry. She truly could not take it anymore!
"Have some water. Eat slowly, don't choke."
Xu Junyan still could not understand what Bae Joo-hyun was saying, but that did not stop him from saying what he wanted to say.
Whether Bae Joo-hyun understood, caught his meaning, or something else entirely, her cheeks flushed crimson. She hurriedly accepted the water, then turned away again and ate her bread like a little squirrel.
After quite a while, a faint "Kamsahamnida" drifted over.
Xu Junyan, who had been about to close his eyes and continue sleeping, froze for a moment. He blinked, then, for some reason, held out his own little bread roll as well.
Bae Joo-hyun had already finished her own bread while facing away with her pretty face lowered, yet she was still not satisfied when she suddenly saw his outstretched hand and the new bread roll resting on it.
As if possessed, she stared at that hand for a while longer. It truly was a beautiful hand. She had never seen a man with such attractive hands before—his fingers were slender and well-proportioned. If he learned piano, he would definitely have had the hands for it.
Could he be a piano teacher? Bae Joo-hyun wondered, but she could not spare the thought any longer. Her pretty face turned red as blood again.
Xu Junyan had offered her another bread roll. He had obviously seen how embarrassingly ravenous she had looked just now, right? Definitely!
She did not dare turn around. Her stomach was still painfully hungry, and though she clearly did not want to, she shamefully accepted it anyway. She quietly thanked him again, and his hand withdrew.
After finishing two whole bread rolls, Bae Joo-hyun finally felt that absurd hunger in her stomach fade away.
But the hunger problem was solved. What about her image?
How mortifying!!
She swore that today had absolutely been her most humiliating moment in front of a stranger!
Red Velvet's leader, Irene, had always maintained the image of a gentle, charming older sister in public. Though she occasionally carried a tiny hint of comedian energy, she was overall still incredibly impressive.
But today?
A complete glutton!
And on top of that, with her taking the initiative to strike up a conversation earlier, he might even have misunderstood her as an unreserved woman!
"Ah~~, this is so embarrassing. I really should've checked Aries's horoscope before leaving home today."
Bae Joo-hyun covered her face with both hands and collapsed weakly against the seatback, despair filling her heart. But then she remembered that Xu Junyan did not know her at all. She blinked twice and somehow calmed down again.
Through the gaps between her fingers, she tilted her head ever so slightly and looked toward Xu Junyan in the neighboring seat. He had his eyes closed and appeared to have fallen asleep.
"I really am an idiot," Bae Joo-hyun muttered. She silently lowered her hands, put on her sunglasses, and closed her eyes to rest as well.
Incheon, SKT Club, manager's office.
kkOma had arrived early today in a formal suit. After knocking on the door, he received permission to enter.
"Coach Kim Jung-gyun, have a seat. What brings you here?"
SKT's team manager, Park Ji-young, was also responsible for the team's overall expenses and directly liaising with the owner.
kkOma smiled and did not stand on ceremony. He took a seat across from Park Ji-young and said, "Today will be our second match of the Spring Split."
"Mm." Park Ji-young nodded slightly, his gaze still fixed on kkOma. He knew kkOma surely had more to say.
"Our current roster: Untara in top, Blank in jungle, Pirean in mid, and Bang and Wolf in bot lane. What do you think? What kind of strength can this roster show in the Spring Split? What kind of results can it achieve?" kkOma asked.
Park Ji-young wore an odd expression. "Well, I know quite a bit about LoL too, but isn't this supposed to be your area of expertise, Coach Kim Jung-gyun?"
"Yes." kkOma nodded. "The kind that can only make one last push at the playoffs but will most likely fail to get in. Even if I do my utmost in the Spring Split, I can only bring this team to that point."
Park Ji-young frowned.
kkOma continued, "Such results would undoubtedly declare that SKT's three-title dynasty has completely fallen... What awaits us next will be fans abandoning us en masse, sponsors pulling out en masse, and the team's reputation..."
"Wait, wait! What about Faker?" Park Ji-young finally remembered something and asked in confusion, frowning.
"In SKT's current tactical system, he is not suited to play. If he forces himself into it, not only will it ruin him, but the team's record will only become worse," kkOma said.
"Who says that? No matter what, having him play means adding another strong star player. That has to be better than—"
"Do you understand this, or do I?" kkOma's tone suddenly hardened. Frowning, he stared at Park Ji-young. "Manager Park, you just said this was my area of expertise. Could it be that you understand it better than I do?"
Park Ji-young was instantly left speechless. For a moment, he did not know what to say. After pondering for a long time, he gave a bitter smile. "Coach Kim Jung-gyun, what exactly are you trying to say? Why not just say it directly?"
"I have a second plan."
kkOma's expression finally eased. "If we don't want SKT to fall into a passive position from this point onward and sink into a vicious cycle of poor results, then we should take a gamble!"
"You want to buy a player?" Park Ji-young tensed and quickly waved his hands. "No money, no money! I don't have any money left! You know it too—our investment this year isn't much. There really isn't any left!"
"Five hundred million, plus one import slot."
As though he had not heard him, kkOma said, "Meet just those two conditions, and I'll bring you a new championship."
Park Ji-young's eyes widened in disbelief. "Are you crazy?!"
Five hundred million was certainly not a small sum, but for the LCK's renowned top players, it was little! Far too little! It could not buy anyone worthwhile!
Not to mention someone at Faker's level, who cost them more than five billion a year to sign, even someone like Peanut would cost roughly two billion.
So five hundred million?
What kind of impressive player could five hundred million buy? And after spending so much money last year without winning a championship, this year they only needed to invest another five hundred million to buy a rookie?
Park Ji-young did not believe it at all. He thought kkOma had to be crazy.
Besides, given SKT's current investment situation, he could scrape together five hundred million if he gritted his teeth, but it would undoubtedly leave them badly hurt. At the very least, life would become difficult afterward, and they would need to budget carefully in every aspect.
And even more outrageous was the import slot. kkOma actually wanted to bring in an import? Had he lost his mind? He must have truly gone mad! They were the strongest region in the world right now, the LCK! What player could they not find in the LCK that they needed to bring in an import from another region?
However, Park Ji-young suddenly thought of something... Could kkOma be seeking an import because they were cheap?!
"You don't need to concern yourself with the rest. As long as you can meet those two conditions, I can make sure SKT's jerseys have a fourth star in the future. Otherwise, we can only keep playing with the current roster for the entire season. I'll still give everything I have to coaching the team and won't neglect my duties, but our best possible result will still only be one last step short of the playoffs. You choose."
kkOma's tone remained incomparably forceful. After speaking, he gave Park Ji-young a slight nod, turned around, and left the office.
Before you continue