I Have Too Many Money-Making Talents - Chapter 80

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Too Many Talents That Make Money — Episode 080
“As your business partner.”
Shock and bewilderment.
Neither was easy to put into words.
Business.
Partner.
It was a proposal I hadn’t seen coming.
“If this contract goes through, it’s the kind of achievement that could get you nominated for the youngest Branch Manager.”
“But then… why are you telling me to turn it down?”
“Because it’s good for me, not for you.”
She took a sip of whiskey.
A falling line traced from her brow down the bridge of her nose, across her lips, and along her throat.
Whether from the warmth of the alcohol or something else, her skin had flushed a pale rose.
“The main sponsor contract should come after you’re selected for the national team. Even if compound archery is an off-sport, and Korea doesn’t have any remarkable achievements on the world stage, there are plenty of people who’d think breaking through Korean preliminaries is the more impressive feat.”
I nodded quietly.
Most Koreans only watch archery during the Olympics.
They know Korean archery is the world’s strongest and assume it’s naturally a medal-winning sport.
In reality, the majority couldn’t tell the difference between recurve and compound if you asked them.
She quietly pulled another document from her bag.
[Kim In-ha Brand Strategy — Prepared by Jung Soo-yeon.]
No corporate logo anywhere.
Only a proposal meant for me.
It was a blueprint created by Jung Soo-yeon, the career woman who’d chased nothing but success, and she’d made it just for me.
“… Are you doing PR?”
“You didn’t notice? I’ve been doing it this whole time. I wore this outfit and did my makeup to look good for you.”
I let out an involuntary laugh.
It was too honest a confession.
I’d thought she’d dolled herself up a bit much, but it turned out every bit of it had been calculated.
She dropped the smile again and continued in a serious voice.
“Baduk is limited to Asia, but compound archery gets more attention in America and Europe.”
Her gaze, which had paused for a moment, found me again.
“I started wondering — just where is the limit of your talent? You’ve shown such brilliance in two completely different fields: baduk and archery. If you can excel in both, I’m genuinely curious how far you could actually expand your reach.”
“… It doesn’t seem like it would be easy?”
“You haven’t said you can’t do it. Which gives me hope.”
Jung Soo-yeon parried with wit.
I smiled silently.
Light and brief.
The reason I hadn’t said I couldn’t do it.
While I couldn’t say for certain, there was a “what if” stirring inside me.
[Your talent ‘Baduk’ confirms evolution potential. Next is ‘Realm of Enlightenment’.]
Maybe — just maybe — the Realm of Enlightenment could manifest in other mind games too.
Just as S-rank talent in archery had proven indifferent to whether it was recurve or compound.
That possibility was feeding something in me, spurring me on.
Jung Soo-yeon rested her fingertip on the whiskey glass and traced it slowly across the rim.
“Kim In-ha. You’re the kind of person who can become a brand all on your own. And if I’m the one making that happen, wouldn’t you be able to trust me with it?”
“… That’s good to hear.”
I meant it.
Being acknowledged for your worth — that’s bigger than you’d think.
Even for the things I haven’t yet proven.
If someone could offer you that belief — that you’d pull it off — you wanted to believe in them too.
“Should we make a toast?”
I quietly raised my glass.
Fruity notes.
High proof.
It was a bit strong for someone used to soju, but in this moment, with this conversation, it felt right.
Clink.
Our glasses touched.
The sound that rang out was light and clear.
“Oh, and Kim In-ha.”
She set down her half-empty glass and gazed at me with her chin tilted slightly to one side.
Half-lidded eyes.
Bewitching.
“……If you’re unhappy with the business partner, you can refuse whenever you like.”
“At this point?”
“Well, I’m fairly open-minded. But in exchange…….”
In her gaze as she trailed off, playfulness and sincerity coexisted.
“I rather like you. How about the other side?”
Jung Soo-yeon closed her eyes in a soft smile.
An undeniably captivating smile.
And a beauty mark that made the heart quicken.
I found myself laughing at the moment I was caught staring.
“……You leave no room for escape.”
Jung Soo-yeon laughed quietly.
“Let’s go far together. Kim In-ha.”
I nodded, barely perceptibly.
Her words lingered with a thrill I couldn’t quite name.

* * *
I saw the red light ahead and pressed the brake.
The road leading to the Korea Baduk Association.
Today was the opening ceremony of the National Hand Tournament and the main draw.
Unlike the Ciel Bank Tournament, which had been held at a hotel venue, the National Hand Tournament took place at the Korea Baduk Association headquarters.
A tournament that was practically a resurrection.
Perhaps that’s why.
The organizers seemed to emphasize symbolism over formality.
Just then, a text notification chimed through the car’s Bluetooth speaker.
[Compound Archery National Team Second Selection Tournament Schedule Notice]
While waiting at the light, I scanned the message quickly.
Athlete village check-in.
Three-day intensive training session.
Top eight finalists to be selected for the Reserve Squad.
Following evaluation matches, the top four would compete in the Olympics, World Championships, and Asian Games, while the bottom four would compete in the Asia Cup and Archery World Cup.
“……I’m aiming only for Olympic gold.”
Next year happened to be an Olympic year.
Since the World Championships and Olympics weren’t held in the same year, there was only one international tournament I could compete in.
The Olympics.
Until the day I wore the Taegeuk Mark, I planned to focus everything on that.
And.
“Once the second selection tournament ends……I’ll sign with Team Leader Jung.”
A one-person agency combining management and representation.
Someone who had given up her promotion to Ciel Bank Branch Manager and went all-in on me.
Her proposal came with a single condition.
National team selection.
And I was ready to meet that condition.
The Korea Baduk Association building came into view in the distance.
The Go Board logo on its exterior.
Seeing the familiar emblem, my mind grew quiet instead.
‘Maybe because it’s my primary job now, it feels comfortable.’
I parked and headed toward the first-floor Baduk TV studio where the draw ceremony would take place.
Several reporters seemed eager to speak with me, but the atmosphere was cautious as the opening ceremony was about to begin.
When I arrived at the studio, most of the participants were already there.
“Kim In-ha, please take your seat over here.”
Following the staff member’s guidance, I sat at the prepared seat.
Many of the domestic professionals were faces I’d seen at the Ciel Bank Tournament draw ceremony.
‘Kim Eun-woo, 9-dan.’
Consistently ranked second in domestic baduk.
Flawless play.
‘Park Eun-jung, 9-dan.’
The Empress.
Ranked 13th in domestic baduk overall, she had held the top women’s ranking for over a decade.
Beyond that, the highest-ranked players from the top ten—those who had broken through the qualifying rounds—had advanced to the main tournament.
‘Team Leader Jung said the National Hand Tournament championship was a crucial turning point.’
The tradition and authority carried by the title of National Hand.
She said that was the completion of a brand story.
And next, a Compound Archery national representative.
Not an issue, but the completion of a narrative.
The catalyst for turning multiple talents into a single story.
That was the National Hand Tournament.
And above all.
‘……She said there was no need to sign with just one sponsor.’
That was the most shocking thing she’d said.
There would be a main sponsor, certainly, but there was no need to be bound by that alone.
What mattered now was raising the value of the name Kim In-ha itself, she’d said.
A female emcee stepped onto the platform.
Her low, measured voice carried across the microphone.
“The premier tournament, the traditional tournament—the National Hand Tournament—has been revived anew under the DN Automobile Nameplate. We now begin the opening ceremony to announce the magnificent start of the 60th DN Automobile National Hand Tournament.”
A cascade of applause erupted.
Followed by opening remarks from the Korea Baduk Association’s president and a DN Automobile executive.
And then, at last, the drawing ceremony began.
“First, the ranking seed draw. We would like Kim Eun-woo, 9-dan, to come forward.”
At the announcement, Kim Eun-woo, 9-dan, stepped up to the platform.
Sharp, defined features.
A tall frame that suited formal attire well.
Taking the microphone, he expressed his resolve.
“Since childhood, I’ve admired Cho. I want to follow in his footsteps.”
After a brief remark, Kim Eun-woo, 9-dan, drew a ball.
Number twelve.
Immediately beside him, his name was posted on the tournament bracket on the wall.
“We also have a special invitee to the National Hand Tournament. China’s Ci Hao, 9-dan.”
With the emcee’s introduction, a man appeared.
Strong jawline, a distinctive wolf cut.
He wore formal attire, but his image was far removed from that of a typical professional baduk player.
‘So that’s him.’
One of the top Chinese baduk players that Park from the Research Group had mentioned.
Ninth-ranked in China.
Yet he could not be judged by ranking alone.
With a difficult temperament, he’d slap his own cheek or pummel his head during matches.
If displeased, he wouldn’t hesitate to throw stones and walk out of games entirely.
The bad boy of Chinese baduk.
But in skill, he was a genius no one could deny.
Had Lu Chuan not publicly called out Ci Hao, 9-dan, on social media over cheating allegations and had the China Baduk Association not sanctioned him,
as always, he would have ranked among the top three in China.
Once Ci Hao, 9-dan, took his place on the platform, a question was relayed through an interpreter.
“If you were to pick a favorite for the championship, who would it be?”
He leaned toward the microphone.
“Me.”
He said it as though joking, but his eyes gleamed with confidence.
“The reason is simple. Jeong Si-hu, 9-dan, isn’t participating.”
The audience stirred.
A provocative remark, far from modest.
But before anyone could feel slighted, the air in the hall grew heavy.
Jeong Si-hu, 9-dan, had announced his absence from the National Hand Tournament due to lingering effects from a traffic accident.
While the organizers expressed disappointment and some players lamented his absence, they couldn’t hide their relief.
That they wouldn’t have to face him.
And I was in the former camp.
‘I wanted to play him.’
Our connections, strangely always thwarted.
A match with Jeong Si-hu, 9-dan, had come to nothing once again.
Ci Hao, 9-dan, lifted the corner of his mouth slightly.
“……As my final word, I’ll do my best to win this Korean tournament so I can properly apologize.”
He set down the microphone and drew his number.
Four.
As he returned to his seat, the Korean players’ eyes lingered on him briefly.
No words were spoken, but their gazes made their displeasure clear.
‘……I’ve received looks like that before.’
Back at the Ciel Bank Championship, the reactions from the Chinese players and journalists.
A feeling that returned, oddly mirrored.
Heat flooded his chest.
And.
‘This is getting under my skin.’
Ci Hao hadn’t singled me out by name.
But his sweeping dismissal of Korea as a whole unsettled me in a way that felt disproportionate.
The host called my name.
“Next, we have Kim In-ha, 9-dan.”
I rose quietly from my seat.
I took the microphone and climbed onto the platform.
“You’ve been showing excellent form lately, capping it off with a victory at the Ciel Bank Championship. We’d love to hear a few words from you.”
A measured request.
I took a short breath to collect myself and looked down at the crowd below.
Countless eyes were fixed on me.
“……It seems some people are under a misapprehension, and I’d like to clarify that first.”
A brief silence fell.
Within that stillness, the attention sharpened.
“Korea is not home to only Jeong Si-hu, 9-dan.”
It’s true that his absence is a loss.
But that doesn’t mean Korea lacks players of the highest caliber.
“I will guard the title of National Hand with everything I have.”
My voice was measured, yet the weight behind my words was unmistakable.
I let a slight smile cross my lips.
“Because I have no intention of letting this tournament become someone else’s celebration.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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