MWFL 22

Chapter 22

An Obedient Man

As if waiting for her answer, Shinwoo remained silent.

“Who did you hear that from?”

Instead of answering, Harin returned the question.

“I asked the CEO about it that day. I asked why, if Manager Joo was such a capable and exceptionally outstanding employee that he couldn’t praise her enough, the company didn’t provide her with a car.”

After explaining the situation, Shinwoo glanced at Harin, silently urging her to tell him the reason.

“I’m not very good at physical coordination, so I’m not good at driving.”

She answered lightly, as if it were nothing important.

“Is driving really that closely related to physical coordination? Maybe reflexes or spatial awareness, but…”

Instead of simply accepting her answer, he started digging again.

“I don’t know exactly what it’s related to, but I never seem to improve.”

“So you’re not planning to drive from now on either?”

“No. It would be a problem if I put other people in danger because of me.”

After finishing her sentence, Harin kept her lips neatly closed for a moment before speaking again.

“But you don’t have to worry. I’ve never caused any problems with the players’ schedules so far.”

She wondered if that was why Cha Shinwoo had asked.

“Then take a taxi. If you stubbornly keep taking the subway or buses and end up being late, I’m not going to tolerate seeing that.”

“That won’t happen, so don’t worry.”

After answering firmly once again, Harin suddenly turned her gaze toward the road outside the window.

“But we are going to the stadium right now, aren’t we?”

For years, Harin had traveled back and forth between the company and the Seoul Griffins’ home stadium countless times.

But the scenery passing outside the car window was not the route to the stadium.

“No. I’m taking Manager Joo out for a drive.”

Harin’s eyes widened, and she instantly turned to look at Shinwoo.

Why the hell would I be doing that with you right now? Are you out of your mind?

Shinwoo let out a quiet laugh as he looked at the woman, whose eyes were practically shouting her thoughts at him.

“It was a joke. Why are you so surprised? You probably don’t know, but this is a shortcut.”

“Is it really a shortcut?”

“Have you been fooled your whole life? I said it is.”

Shinwoo answered with a slight frown, then chuckled again.

“But would you die if you went for a drive with me? Why are you making such a serious face?”

“It’s not a matter of life or death. The bigger issue would be causing trouble by missing our schedule, having to deal with the aftermath, and damaging both your reputation and mine.”

“I know. That’s why I’m driving properly, so don’t worry.”

He answered Harin’s overly serious voice in an unbothered tone.

At that moment, Harin felt as though she was the only one overreacting every time Cha Shinwoo casually threw out a remark without meaning much by it.

She pulled her gaze away from his face and took a slow, deep breath to regain her composure.

“You heard about this afternoon’s schedule from the manager, right?”

A club profile photo shoot and an interview for the club’s official social media channel, Bangri TV, were scheduled.

“Yeah. I heard.”

“The PD of Bangri TV asked if we could film some of tomorrow morning’s training as well. They want to include training footage in the video.”

“I met the PD earlier, but he didn’t say anything to me. Do even minor things like that all have to go through the agency?”

“It depends on the player. Some players don’t like that sort of thing, and the PD doesn’t know your preferences yet.”

Shinwoo nodded lightly.

“Tell them it’s fine. But what does my schedule look like tomorrow afternoon? I heard you told Donggu that you’d rearrange it and let him know.”

“Yes. Your schedule has finally been completely organized, so I was just about to tell you.”

Harin quickly took her phone out of her bag.

“First, after tomorrow morning’s training, you have an interview with the Why Not Sports Channel starting at two. Then, starting at five, you’ll be attending a charity event for pediatric patients at one of the hospitals sponsoring the club. And then…”

As if she had been waiting for the opportunity, she began listing his schedule.

Shinwoo quietly listened to her clear voice as each appointment landed in his ears.

By the time she finished telling him only about the coming week, his eyes had gradually narrowed.

When exactly am I supposed to rest?

The schedule was packed enough to make him want to ask that question.

He turned his gaze toward Harin and slowly opened his mouth.

“Is the title of this schedule ‘Why Don’t You Just Die?’ Or maybe, ‘Let’s See If You Still Don’t Terminate the Contract After This’?”

Harin received his displeased look and fell silent for a moment.

Honestly, even she had to admit that the schedule was excessive.

After Shinwoo had left the day before, the CEO had released the official announcement confirming the contract as if he had been waiting for it.

“After the contract confirmation article came out yesterday, I received dozens of calls and emails.”

Since Shinwoo was such a high-profile figure, offers had poured in from all over the place.

But in reality, most of the appointments had been arranged under pressure from higher-ups.

Apparently, quite a few people had seen this as their chance and pushed their connections to get access to him.

“I prioritized the club’s schedule, and I selected and arranged the rest myself.”

Still, Harin decided there was no need to explain the internal situation to Shinwoo.

“Of course, you don’t have to follow every single appointment. Please look them over and let me know what you’d like to adjust.”

Since someone in a lower position had little power and had to follow orders, she decided to give Shinwoo the final choice instead.

She didn’t have even the slightest expectation that Cha Shinwoo—who had always done exactly as he pleased—would agree to follow the entire schedule.

Harin couldn’t cut the appointments herself, but if she reported that Shinwoo himself had refused them, no one would be able to complain.

“Why adjust anything? We should follow the schedule our Manager Joo worked so hard to put together.”

But her plan fell apart in an instant.

“What? You’re going to do all of this?”

“Didn’t you make the schedule because you wanted me to do it?”

“Ah… yes. That’s true, but won’t it be exhausting?”

If you do all of this, it won’t just kill you. It’ll kill me too.

“You’re not usually the type to agree to everything people ask of you.”

“I’m actually a pretty obedient man. You didn’t know?”

Does he even know what ‘obedient’ means?

Just refuse things according to your usual temperament.

Harin swallowed the words she wanted to say, her lips twitching slightly.

The company had a system in place to prevent specific employees from making private arrangements with players or gaining personal benefits.

Normally, matters were cross-checked between the player, the club, and outside partners, including sponsors.

Manager Joo told him not to do this.

If words like that ever got passed around through someone else’s mouth, it would only be a matter of time before she became unemployed.

“Ah. Yes. Thank you for being so obedient.”

Harin wrapped things up in a completely soulless voice and looked straight ahead.

Then she remembered the lottery shop near her home where someone had recently won first prize.

I’m definitely buying a lottery ticket on my way home today.

When she thought about it, Cha Shinwoo wasn’t the one she should blame.

In the end, the real problem was that she was simply another Korean office worker desperately clinging to even the faintest shred of hope to survive.

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.

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Shinwoo’s car entered the players-only parking area of the home stadium.

After parking neatly, he turned off the engine.

“Thank you for the ride.”

At that moment, Harin spoke politely.

She hadn’t asked him to do it, but since he had come to pick her up, it was only right to show him at least the minimum courtesy.

Instead of answering, Shinwoo merely lifted the corner of his mouth slightly and got out of the car first.

“Oppa!”

At that moment, a woman’s voice echoed loudly through the parking lot.

Harin got out of the car a beat later than Shinwoo and saw three women hurrying toward them.

“Oppa, we finally got to see you!”

“Ahh! We missed you so much!”

Without giving Harin even a glance, two of the women stopped in front of Shinwoo, bouncing excitedly and cheering.

The third woman said nothing.

She was filming Shinwoo with her phone.

All three appeared to be somewhere in their early to mid-twenties.

“What? How did you get in here?”

Shinwoo’s voice was indifferent as he slightly frowned.

“How did we get in? We walked in openly, of course. You know who I am, don’t you?”

One of the women answered confidently.

“All right, I know. Now quit bothering me and get out of here.”

“Oppa! What do you mean, bothering you? Do you know how hurt we were when you saw us last time in the States and just walked right past us?”

“Did I tell you to come? You came on your own.”

It was unusual for ordinary baseball fans to call the player they supported oppa.

Harin guessed that although they were fans, they might also have some kind of personal connection with him.

It would probably be better if I just went inside first.

As Harin quietly tried to leave, she suddenly felt someone’s gaze fixed to her cheek.

She turned her head.

At the same time, she flinched and slightly widened her eyes.

The woman who had been filming Shinwoo with her phone was now staring directly at her.

Simply being stared at wasn’t enough to surprise Harin.

But there was something strangely dark and chilling about the black eyes that were fixed on her, as though they were engraving her image into their depths.