Chapter 82: The Opportunity that Came Earlier than Expected (2)
Chapter 82: The Opportunity that Came Earlier than Expected (2)
Hwang Joon Yul started to laugh in disbelief.
“Haha, you playing golf? The kid cooking ramen in a greenhouse has succeeded.”
He’s talking about that again.
I told you, that is spitting in my face.
“I practiced with a hungry desire. But now that I think about it, I don’t think I’ve ever gone against you one on one. You always pushed your minions forward to win by numbers. I don’t even know if you have the courage to go against me.”
“Why would I lose face by playing golf with a beggar like you? Come at me when you have the courage to bet 1,000,000 won per stroke.”
If it was the old me, forget a million won, I would have lowered my tail even if it was 100 won per stroke.
But things were different now.
Honestly, if we were talking about personal wealth, I was probably multiple times wealthier than Hwang Joon Yul. It wasn’t like he had a lot of money. His family was just wealthy.
Just a freeloader who gets a lot of allowance.
It made me quite curious. How much would I need to take from him for him to reach rock bottom? It might be fun to figure that out too.
I answered without an ounce of hesitation.
“Call! You seem to have gotten some allowance from your daddy, but I will take that money as a lesson fee to teach you a life lesson.”
“Hahaha. I’m about to go crazy. Do you even have the money?”
If it was a million won per stroke, then for the entire rounding, it could be tens of millions at the low end, and even in the hundred millions on the high end.
Who carries that much cash on them?
That should be the same for Hwang Joon Yul.
But there is an easy solution.
“Boss-nim. I will deposit 50 million won to your account right now, so please give me 50 coins. At the end of the competition, you can return 1 million won per coin.”
“That sounds like a good idea. But will 50 milbe enough? Shouldn’t you at least put 500 mil?”
You’ll find out once we start the rounding.
I will not make it an overwhelming victory. It will be a slim victory, with only a one or two stroke difference.
That will make Hwang Joon Yul boil even more. Then, he will challenge me again and again, and I can step on him over and over.
If I step on someone who has already been stepped on, it would multiply the satisfaction.
Of course, I plan on taking as much money as I can. Even if it is a single stroke victory, if I use the multipliers correctly, I can still earn a lot of money.
It is not a matter of amount, but a matter of feeling. Today’s goal is to shove Hwang Joon Yul’s feelings down into the dumps.
We first received the boss’s account number and each deposited 50 million won.
While we did that, we determined the rules.
But Hwang Joon Yul must be full of confidence. He’s being very pushy with the rules. Especially the multiplier rules.
“Birdies and eagles will be 2x and 4x. Triple bogey, or if three people or more tie, the next hole will be a multiplier.”
I can’t lose in this momentum battle.
I pushed even more, as if I was shouting at a race.
“Multipliers can layer on top of one another, right?”
“Of course, dumbass.”
“If an eagle is 4x, then is a hole in one 8x and an albatross 16x?”
“Haha. You even know what an albatross is. You must have heard a lot about golf. Fine. Sure.”
It wasn’t easy to get an albatross or a hole-in-one, but since there were some chances, I needed to make the rules right now.
While we did that, the boss brought over the coins. There were exactly 50 of them each.
“Should be fun. Then, shall we start?”
Everybody must have been waiting for this moment, since the atmosphere between Hwang Joon Yul and I was very tense. It was to the point that the revenge battle between the Lions and Winners was pushed to the back.
Was that the reason? Once it looked like we were about to start, one of the gallery members quickly stepped forward to be the moderator.
He was someone from the Winners club who was in his early 40s.
“Wow. I can feel the flame. Should be a fun game. What course should we pick?”
“Let’s do the easiest course. How does Highwin sound?”
Hwang Joon Yul sounded off, as if he had thought about it in advance.
I’ve been to Highwin once too.
It’s actually known as a pretty difficult course. The fairway is narrow, so even the slightest miss shot can end up giving you a penalty stroke.
But it didn’t matter to me. Since my driver and iron skills passed intermediate level 4, the ball doesn’t go far out of my control.
In fact, the course it pretty short, so there should be a lot of eagle chances. The problem is how skilled is Hwang Joon Yul. No matter how well I play, it won’t matter if he plays better than I do.
I need to pay close attention today.
“I don’t care where it is.”
“Then please make it Highwin. Make all of the difficulties as high as it goes. Back tee with no mulligans or concede and strong winds.”
“If we are going to do that, should I set it for the hole-in-one competition mode? Highwin is in the preliminary course anyways.”
“That is good. Please set it as competition mode.”
I let Hwang Joon Yul pick as he pleased. The conditions would be the same for both of us anyways.
Plus, the only weak aspect of my golf is putting. The rest doesn’t really matter much, no matter how hard the settings are.
With that, the game settings were completed.
“Then let’s start.”
There were a total of four people rounding.
But the other two were just the sideshow, and the main was Hwang Joon Yul and myself. The 1 million won per stroke bet is only between Hwang Joon Yul and I as well.
“Wow, there’s quite a lot on the line.”
“It’s making me nervous and I’m not even playing! Sigh, my heart is shaking.”
“Shh! They’re starting!”
I was the owner.
There was no special reason. The boss inputted data as he pleased, and I just ended up hitting the first tea shot.
Hwang Joon Yul was trying to get on my nerves from the beginning.
“Boss, good sense! Since he won’t be the owner for any of the other holes, you put him in there as the owner for the first hole so he can experience it at least once.”
Will that really be the case?
I pretended to not hear him, and grabbed my driver before stepping up to the tee.
The first hole is a 319 meter par 4 hole.
But there is such a significant downhill slope that the green is located at -30 meters. The headwind (TL: blowing toward you) is strong, at 5.9 meters per hour, but it is still possible for a one stroke on-green if you send it about 300 meters.
Hwang Joon Yul started to distract me once I started my address.
“You won’t split up this short of a distance, will you? Boss, do you have a skirt and lipstick? I want to give it to him as a present if he breaks it into two 200 meter shots.”
His manners are dogshit!
But it wont work on me. I’m using a skill to hit anyway, so that kind of distraction wouldn’t shake my shot.
Plus, once he started trying to distract me, I suddenly came up with a bright idea. A method to break Hwang Joon Yul down with certainty today.
Since Hwang Joon Yul started it, I just need to follow.
Then I should be able to send his mental to Andromeda, like I did to Jang Yoon Shik at Master’s Island last time.
If I create the right atmosphere, I could even gift Hwang Joon Yul his worst score.
I turned my head and looked toward Hwang Joon Yul. I then responded shortly.
“Of course you punk. I will show you what a man’s shot is so pay close attention.”
“Punk, talking big. Hurry up and hit. Don’t stall for time.”
I started my address again. I then enlarged the skill.
[Driver 300 Skill: Intermediate level 6, 18%]
I refreshingly swung my driver. Well, rather than saying I swung it, it was more accurate to say the skill read my intentions and controlled my body.
Clang- Pangya!
Good sound!
Fishermen often talk about, ‘Feel.’ When a fish bites, they can tell what kind of fish it is based on the feel.
Golf was the same way. You get a feeling the moment you hit the ball. Based on that, you can draw an image about how far and in what direction the ball will fly.
At least, it as that way to me. That may be because of the skill too.
‘It was a good hit. It’s going on the green.’
I properly finished everything, including the follow swing as the skill guided me. Only after that did I finally turn my head and look at the screen.
The screen image had already changed. So it meant the ball was not dead at the very least.
The gallery’s response was already starting.
“Wow, good distance!”
“As expected of Kang pro! Fighting!”
The ball fell on the fairway in front of the green. It then had a big bounce and continued to move until it rolled about 15 meters onto the green.
After that, the system sent out a congratulatory message.
There was only about 8 meters left to the hole.
It was further than I expected. I thought, if it hit this well, it would be only about 3 meters away from the hole.
Well, the driver has more chances of error than the iron. In order to lower the chance for errors, I need to raise the skill level even more.
Hwang Joon Yul was up next.
Now it was my turn to cause a distraction. I was just returning what Hwang Joon Yul had done to me.
“Boss, you haven’t brought the skirt and lipstick yet, have you?”
Hwang Joon Yul looked toward me before heading up to the tee.
But he could not say anything since he started it.
Just this much should be enough. Since he was the one to throw around, ‘Skirt,’ and, ‘Lipstick,’ first, he would be too embarrassed to cut it into a two-on. Whether it ends up as porridge or rice, he will aim for a tee shot on-green. [1]
“But president-nim. What does owner mean in golf? Does it mean it is mine?”
Hwang Joon Yul was loud when I was up, but I lowered my voice as much as possible as I asked. This much should still be loud enough for Hwang Joon Yul to hear.
Plus, whispers are more distracting than loud noises anyways.
I was keeping my manners while getting my revenge.
The president responded in a similarly quiet whisper.
“It is not owner to say it is yours, but to say it is an honor. Which means, you have the honor to make the first swing.”
“Ah, that is why the person who wins the last hole becomes the owner. Then I should keep being the owner.”
“Let’s quiet down.”
It came from the gallery. When I looked at the person, he was someone in his early 40s, but I didn’t know who it was. He must be one of the Winner’s Club people.
Is he one of Hwang Joon Yul’s minions?
But he wasn’t wrong. When a player is getting their shot ready, it is proper manners to be completely quiet.
But you can’t be selective when enforcing that manner.
That is where you are wrong Mr.
“Why didn’t you say that when Joon Yul was blabbing on earlier?”
To turn red at that one sentence.
If you were going to back away that easily, you shouldn’t have said anything in the first place.
While that happened, Hwang Joon Yul made his swing.
He does have some skills though. Even with all this distraction, the impact was properly in the ball.
The bullet-like noise proved that to be the case.
Clang- Pangya!
I went for a straight shot while Hwang Joon Yul went for a fade shot. And his shot was pretty accurate. It went in an odd direction at first, but it rode the wind and turned toward the direction of the green.
“Wow, the screen changed!”
“It’s going on! Nice shot!”
I could feel my heart drop as well. The ball beautifully landed on the green and went close to the cup.
‘Hwang Joon Yul’s skill was this good?’
I’m going to have to stay alert in order to not be embarrassed today.
Hwang Joon Yul showed his skills in the 2nd hole as well. I did pretty well too, but we ended up tying again.
Then the 3rd hole.
I was the owner again. I grabbed my driver and stepped up to the plate.
Once I did that, Hwang Joon Yul continued his distractions.
“It’s finally a multiplier round! Is it time to empty a beggar’s pockets?”
I didn’t even pretend to listen. I just focused on the game.
A 358 meter distance with a 14 meter downward slope.
The wind was blowing fast, at 5.7 meters per hour to the right. There’s was some wind blowing in reverse as well. With the distance being so far and the wind being so strong, it would be very difficult to get the ball to the location you want.
The more thrilling part was that the size of the green was the size of a fist, and right behind it was an OB area. If you hit too weak of a shot, you’ll fail your on-green, but on the opposite end, if you hit it a bit too far, it will automatically end up in OB.
There is a high chance of making a mistake when aiming for a one stroke on-green.
Which means, it was a chance to send Hwang Joon Yul’s mental flying.
I shouted for everyone to hear.
“On-green challenge!”
The gallery started to waver. Especially the Lions Club members. This was a battle between Hwang Joon Yul and I, but also between Lions and Winners.
“You’re going to do a one-on here?”
“Don’t push it too much. There aren’t any mulligans.”
“Ai, this is not somewhere to aim for an on-green. Just cut it into two”
Everybody was pushing for safety.
Of course, Hwang Joon Yul wasn’t going to miss this opportunity.
“A man needs to keep his word. Are you going to say two things with one mouth? If you want to cut, put on the skirt and lipstick before cutting.”
He was trying to put a period on my chaotic atmosphere.
“If you are a man, you have to do a one-on. I am someone who does what I say I will do.”
I then took the strong wind into consideration,and turned the tee shot enough to the left. That was followed by a thrilling shot!
[Driver 330 skill: Intermediate level 4, 20%]
I sent a refreshing shot without an ounce of hesitation.
The resulting noise was that much more refreshing as well.
Clang- Pangya!
Everybody’s eyes turned toward the screen as if they would fall out.
It was followed by sounds of awe.
“The screen changed!”
“Impossible. It’s so narrow!”
“Is it really going on?”
“It’s going on!”
“It’s going to stick! Oh, it stuck!”
The ball stopped on the green with the system’s congratulatory message.
As the gallery mentioned, the ball was about 3.2 meters away from the cup.
Taking a quick look, the green slope wasn’t too bad either. There wasn’t much slope to the left or right, just a pretty heavy uphill.
With something like this, there is a good chance for an eagle.
“Wow, so amazing!”
“You truly are a man, a man!”
“The Lions got a bundle of luck!”
“Winners, what are you going to do? You’re not going to cut, are you?”
Now, I didn’t even need to step up. Everybody was berating Hwang Joon Yul for me. It meant he had to attempt a tee shot on-green like I did.
Of course, the Winners were feeling very differently.
“A real pro has good mind control. Do not be swept up by them.”
“Of course. A pro plays based on their skill, not luck.”
“Let’s safely cut. The wind is too strong.”
They said that last thing very well. I added a couple things to it.
“Our Joon Yul is always safety first. Even in middle school, he was a coward, so he never fought 1 on 1. So just cut. That is more like you.”
“You son of a… Shut up.”
Hwang Joon Yul was glaring at me. He must think I would get scared if he did that.
But why am I laughing?
‘He’s finally starting to get affected!’
Golf is a mental sport. No matter how skilled you are, if your mental shakes, you cannot hit a good shot.
That was the reason I was looking forward to Hwang Joon Yul’s next shot. If he screws up once, I can send his mental to Andromeda.
Hwang Joon Yul turned the screen to the left like had done. It was the right decision after calculating the wind.
Then he put a lot of strength into the practice swing. No matter who looked at it, he was definitely aiming for a tee shot on-green.
“You really should cut.”
“You can’t get drawn in by them.”
The members of the Winners started to raise their voices.
But Hwang Joon Yul had already made up his mind.
“I am swinging. Please quiet down.”
Only then did they all quiet down.
Hwang Joon Yul took a long time even after that. I feel like he did at least five empty swings. Finally, he put all of his strength and swung his driver.
But the sound of it hitting was weird.
Puk!
______________________________
[1] a metaphor to mean for better or for worse. If you put too much water into your rice, it ends up porridge.
Sponsor chapters are now open for Royal Roader! If you would like to support my translation and want more chapters released quickly, please help out! Thank you all in advance ??
Translator : Miraclerifle
Proofreader : Borderline Masochist