Chapter 92

Royal Roader on My Own – Chapter 92: Today’s Main Character (3)

“Is he going to record another albatross?”

“Is he really?”

The announcers stared blankly for a moment. They didn’t even know what they were saying as they mumbled on while staring into the screen.

The ball that landed on the green was rolling toward the cup at a decent speed.

However, the ball lost strength with about 3 meters left to the cup. That was where the severe uphill started.

“Ah, it was a bit weak. The direction was really good.”

“So close, yet so far. If it rolled just 3 meters more, he could have had another albatross.”

“Is an eagle still doable?”

“It’s a short distance, but the break is pretty severe so it will not be easy.”

“This is so thrilling! Will player Kang Hwi Ram be able to record this dream-like 49 stroke round?”

***

Thump. Thump.

I felt like my heart had moved up to my ear. My heart was beating like a drum in my ear.

‘I shouldn’t have listened.’

I shouldn’t have put my earphones in at all. I ended up hearing what Han Sul Yi and the announcers had to say and now the nervousness had multiplied quite a bit. It was because they kept saying, ‘Dream-like 49 stroke.’

I took the earphones out of my ear. I then closed my eyes and started to mumble to myself as I calmed myself down.

‘It’s fine. Just do like you’ve always done. If you miss it, oh well. You’ll be golfing a lot in the future. Do not feel burdened.’

I was still greedy. I even debated using a Jewel of Luck.

But there shouldn’t be a reason to do that. Even if it is not today, I can always hit 23 under par for 49 strokes in the future.

More importantly, I did not have many Jewels of Luck left. I barely had enough to use on stocks.

In addition, if I was planning on using the Jewel of Luck, I would have used it in the first half of the rounding. They last for 4 hours.

It would be a complete waste to use it right now when the rounding is almost completely done.

The other players went up and hit their shots.

I felt a bit sorry for them. I created such a situation for myself that the other players must feel like they don’t even exist. They all seemed to be just waiting for my turn to come back around.

After waiting a bit, it was my turn once again.

The other players recorded a par and birdie to hole out and it was left with just me in booth 15. Just me and my eagle putt.

Everybody’s gaze was focused on me even more.

Was that the reason I feel like my heart was beating even faster?

‘Do not be nervous. You’re just hitting with a skill anyways.’

I grabbed my putter and stepped up to the plate. I closed my eyes and calmed myself for a bit.

Everybody was being respectful. There were quite a lot of people in the gallery, but I could not even hear them breathing. That was how much they were looking forward to this historic moment.

“I can do it.’

I opened my eyes and clicked on a skill.

[Line Reading: Intermediate level 1, 16%]

I worked so hard at it for the last couple of days, but it was still only intermediate level 1. This skill improved much slower than any other skill.

But I was just thankful that the skill was even created.

I activated the skill and calculated the direction.

The break was pretty severe. It was a green that significantly tilted from the right to the left. Maybe it was thanks to the skill, but I felt like I could see the path the ball needed to follow.

‘It should be fine if I send it about 40 centimeters to the right.’

Of course, it was not accurate. The skill level was still too low.

But for some reason, I felt good about it. My luck had been pretty good today.

I opened the second skill.

[Putting 5 skill: intermediate level 3, 36%]

I picked up my putter and started the back swing. Make it feel like it stops at the top and let it down smoothly.

The ball started to roll with a tap! Noise.

It curved significantly to the left following the slope.

My eyes became large at that moment.

‘I did it!’

It wasn’t just me who felt that way. The gallery behind me started to shout like fireworks going off.

‘It’s going in!”

“It went in!”

“Wow, an eagle! 49 strokes!”

They were extremely excited. Some of them even started to hug each other.

The other players crowded me and started to give me some high fives.

Personally, I felt a bit out of it. I feel like I achieved something amazing, but it did not feel real.

I just responded to each of the people who came up for a high five.

“He really is our Lions’ ace.”

“Good job, Kang pro!”

“I would have lifted you up in the air if I was even 10 years younger. Hahaha.”

“Thank you for the thought. Haha.”

Han Sul Yi personally arrived at booth 15 while I was sharing the joy with the club members.

It was not for personal reasons. It was an interview with the winner of the first round. Other sponsors and the cameramen came with her to prove that was the case. Behind them, I could see a tent full of the Golden Dragon Group logo.

This was my first ever interview. I didn’t know what kind of questions would be asked or how I should answer them.

Han Sul Yi seemed to be in the same boat. She had a notepad in her hand, but the questions were not organized. The writing seemed like she was rushed.

It seemed like she quickly wrote them down.

I guess nobody would have expected me to finish with such a record in the first round.

In fact, even I did not expect this type of score.

“You did something amazing today. Many viewers are probably curious about Mr. Kang Hwi Ram. Please give us a short introduction.”

How should I introduce myself? I couldn’t come up with anything. I just answered with whatever came out of my mouth. I’m sure they’ll edit it if I say something weird.

“My name is Kang Hwi Ram and I am part of the Lions Golf Club. I came out here for experience since I have not been golfing for a long time, but I never expected to get such a good score.”

“When did you first start golf? Was there a special reason?”

“I think it’s been about 7 months. There was no special reason I picked it up, I was just curious.”

“Omo! Has it really only been 7 months?”

Han Sul Yi’s eyes opened widely like she was completely shocked.

Is she just a good actress? I doubt she forgot about it since it has only been a few days since I told her.

Then maybe she thought I was lying when I said that last time.

Other people must feel the same way. It is almost impossible for a newbie who started 7 months ago to finish with this dream-like 49 stroke score.

That was why I needed to emphasize this fact even more. That was the way to leave a really lasting impression on people.

No, if I play this card right, different portal sites or even media websites would fight to publish this information. Then it would be good publicity for sure.

“I had never even held a golf club before then.”

“Is that really possible? Normal people would have a hard time even getting under par after 7 months.”

“I agree. I think I just might have a knack for golf.”

“Even still, it is hard to believe. You went a whole whopping 23 under par today. Did you expect this type of score?”

“Of course not. I just told myself, ‘Don’t worry about OB or Hazard and just play a refreshing game,’ and that led to getting a good score.”

“What score do you anticipate in the second round final tomorrow?”

“Since it is like this, I will attempt to finish an overall 40 under par.”

“I look forward to another great performance tomorrow.”

What? That’s it?

Is the interview short because we only finished the first round?

I was a bit disappointed. I wish she would have said something about the uniform. Then more people would have been interested in this Dandelion uniform during tomorrow’s broadcast.

But Han Sul Yi must have been feeling disappointed as well. She added one last thing before finishing the interview.

“And……”

What is she trying to say? She seemed to be hesitating while looking into my eyes.

She then just said it like, ‘Whatever, I have nothing to lose.’

“Your uniform is so cool.”

Did Han Sul Yi read my mind or something?

I started to smile really widely.

“Thank you very much.”

***

“It’s great for the whole family to have dinner like this.”

Chairman Jung Man Yong seemed to be very happy. The smile did not disappear from his face throughout dinner.

Hwang Joon Yul was smiling brightly as if he was responding to the chairman.

Of course, this was a very uncomfortable situation.

In addition, this was a big family meeting with close to 30 family members. His uncles and others took all the good seats while Hwang Joon Yul barely had any room to stretch his legs. That made it difficult for him to even get any of Chairman Jung Man Yong’s gaze.

But a single mistake can bring the reaper’s scythe. He had to maintain his bright demeanor in case Jung Man Yong ever looked his way.

His mom Jung Hee Sook was the same way. She was grumbling all morning but was doing her best to keep Chairman Jung Man Yong happy.

“Dad, prepare a gathering like this more often.”

“We should. Let’s do something like this at least once a year.”

“Oh, I heard you hit under par last time? You must be getting younger, dad. Hoho.”

“Getting younger my ass. I was just lucky. Huhuhu. Anyways, is Joon Yul hitting the ball these days?”

He finally got Chairman Jung Man Yong’s attention.

It was thanks to his mom Jung Hee Sook. Once they started to talk about golf, the attention came to the only Golden Dragon Kid in the room, Hwang Joon Yul.

Hwang Joon Yul quickly responded.

“Yes. I am playing whenever I have some time.”

“I heard you participated in the screen competition today?”

‘He knew about it.’

It was not good news. His score during this screen competition was very bad.

In addition, the other Golden Dragon kids did not get good scores either. Well, their scores themselves were fine, but they did not manage to get first place.

It was because of Kang Hwi Ram. If it was not for that bastard, he could have proudly answered.

“Yes. I did not do well though.”

“Is your condition bad these days? I heard you didn’t do well in the club rivalry competition either.”

Hwang Joon Yul almost dropped his spoon. For Chairman Jung Man Yong to know about the match against the Lions.

That means that lying would just bring his wrath. He also had a decent excuse as well.

“They brought in a very talented member. I tried to do what I could to beat him, but I have not had any luck yet. I seem to have fallen into a slump after that.”

“Is that so?  How well must he be playing for our Joon Yul to say such a thing?”

“That friend won the screen competition today.”

Chairman Jung Man Yong’s eyes opened wide almost instantly.

“Kang Hwi Ram who recorded a 49 stroke game?”

He really is a golf maniac. It hasn’t even been 2 hours since the screen competition ended. For him to know about it even with his busy schedule. He even accurately remembered his name at that.

I guess there was no way the secretaries would have missed that news.

“Yes, grandfather.”

“Huhu, No wonder you fell into a slump playing with an expert like that. So, did you build up a friendship with that friend?”

Friendship my ass. He’s a bastard I want to rip to shreds if he was in front of me.

But this was not the time to bring up his personal feelings. This was a business and politics.

Hwang Joon Yul’s head started to spin quickly. He decided it would be better to make this situation advantageous for himself.

“To be honest with you, he is a friend I have been close to for a long time.”

“Friend?”

“Yes. He is a classmate from middle school. I knew he would do something amazing someday, but I didn’t know it would be like this.”

The lie came easily once he started to talk.

Thanks to that, Chairman Jung Man Yong’s expression became bright. He was not disappointed, even though two Golden Dragon Kids did not manage to leave an impression for themselves.

Instead, you could even see the anticipation for a new star.

“Tomorrow’s course is difficult, right?”

“It is Master’s Island.”

“Then we will be able to know that friend’s true abilities tomorrow. If he does well tomorrow as well, engrave that Golden Dragon logo on that friend’s hat. I can rely on you for that, right Joon Yul?”

Hwang Joon Yul felt his heart drop.

‘God damn it!’

This could end up becoming a complicated situation. If Kang Hwi Ram thinks about his relationship with Hwang Joon Yul and say something like, ‘Over my dead body,’ when offered a Golden Dragon sponsorship…… just thinking about him made him cringe.

But this was a command from Chairman Jung Man Yong. His lips moved on autopilot.

“Yes, grandfather.”

***

‘Sigh, how am I going to engrave the Golden Dragon logo into that bastard’s hat?’

Hwang Joon Yul thought it would be impossible.

No, even if someone else was sent to do it, it would still be difficult. Even Kang Hwi Ram knew that Hwang Joon Yul was one of the Golden Dragon Group’s people. Because of that, Kang Hwi Ram would have a lot of negative feelings about the Golden Dragon Group.

There were only two methods.

First, give him a giant sum of money to break down his hatred of the Golden Dragon Group.

But he did not like that method.

The other method was to prevent such a situation from even happening. He just had to make sure Kang Hwi Ram could not get a good score tomorrow.

‘I need to make sure that happens. But why are these bastards so late?’

He finally heard a knock on his door.

Knock knock.

“Enter.”

The door opened and two young men around 20 years old entered.

Hwang Joon Yul kicked their shins as soon as he saw the two of them.

“Ahh!”

“Ugh!”

The young men fell down. Hwang Joon Yul was even more angry after seeing that. This time, he was beating at the two of their backs.

“It hurts? Hmm? You sons of a bitches, does it hurt?!”

The two young men quickly got up and stood up straight.

“No, not at all.”

“We apologize.”

“You think that is enough? Do you know how much money we spent on the two of you? How could you screw things up like that. Hmm?”

Slap Slap-

The young men’s heads moved to the side with the noise before returning to their spots.

“Focus. Tomorrow is the only chance. I will personally kill the two of you if you cannot recover the Golden Dragon Kid’s fame. You understand?”

“Yes sir.”

“Get out. Damn bastards. I don’t even want to see you.”

***

“Sigh, what are we going to do?”

Shim Sang Chun let out a deep sigh.

Truthfully speaking, Choi Sung Ook and Shim Sang Chun did not get bad scores. They each had 12 under par and 10 under par.

WIth that kind of score, it should have been an overwhelming lead compared to third place.

That was indeed the case. Fourth place was 6 under par, so they would have been in the lead by a landslide.

Furthermore, Hwang Joon Yul himself was from the Golden Dragon Kids program but he recorded an over-par. So how could he tell them they did terribly?

But none of that mattered. Someone else who was not part of the Golden Dragon Kids was currently in first place. He was there with an overwhelming lead that wouldn’t be wrong to say he was stepping all over the Golden Dragon Kids.

A dream-like 23 under-par. An 11 stroke difference compared to Choi Sung Ook in second place.

No matter how much they thought about it, there was no way to catch up.

But they had to do something. Even if they overdid it a bit.

Choi Sung Ook who had made up his mind looked toward Shim Sang Chun.

“I will take one for the team, so you push forward.”

“What do you mean take one for the team?”

“Golf is a mental game. Since he’s only being golfing for 7 months, if his mental breaks once, it will completely break down. If that happens, it is possible to overtake him.”

Shim Sang Chun could tell what Choi Sung Ook was planning at that point.

That was the only method in Shin Sang Chun’s mind as well. Since Choi Sung Ook said he’ll take the bullet, he couldn’t be more thankful.

“Alright. Let’s try it.”

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Translator : Miraclerifle

Proofreader : Borderline Masochist