Having finished the contract with Manager Ho-yeong Kim, Byeong-jin wiped the sweat from his brow with his hand.

"Whew~ I thought I'd be late."

"You made it right on time, though?"

"You've no idea how anxious I was, worried I'd be late."

Director Jeong-seop Yun watched with a wondering look as Byeong-jin and Seong-ho chatted so comfortably.

Seong-ho explained his relationship with Byeong-jin to Yun.

"Before we were representative and deputy head, we were friends from long ago. Before coming to the Ilhyeon baseball club, we were together at Ilhyeon Securities, and before that we worked together at the company as well."

"Ah… so you were friends."

Yun thought that perhaps that rumor might not be true after all.

"Then the talk about him not coming to work because he's out drinking…"

"So you heard that one too, Director. That was all something I asked of Deputy Head Jo."

"Asked?"

"How do you suppose I picked out players like Jeong-u Hong? Beyond bringing in Chang-ho Im, there was a need to weed out the cancerous presences on our team. The ones who do nothing but spoil the team's atmosphere. I meant to throw them out along with the rest."

"Still, Jeong-u Hong is a player the fans love…"

"We win a championship for the fans' sake."

At Seong-ho's words, Yun could say nothing. Because he too knew that winning a championship was more for the fans than protecting a player the fans loved.

"Deputy Head Jo went down to Jinju and made the rounds of many a drinking table to find the players spoiling the team atmosphere. Finding such players is surer done by seeing and feeling it with your own eyes than by listening to others or to the coaching staff."

"That's true. If you ask the players and staff, personal feelings can enter into it. Deputy Head Jo, who had no prior connection with any of them, grappling with it and feeling it out directly would have been the most accurate way."

Feeling that Seong-ho's decision had been sound, Yun nodded and looked at Seong-ho with fresh eyes.