The soft rumble of the bus engine mixed with the rhythmic clink of golf clubs resting beside Sung-won. His fingers wrapped tightly around the handle of his old 7-iron, the one he had just used to hit the cleanest shots of his life. Outside the window, the late afternoon sun bathed Seoul in gold, but inside, his thoughts were already miles ahead.
He opened the System.
[Super Golf System: Beginner Mode]
Stats:
Strength: 6
Swing Accuracy: 7
Mental Focus: 5
Stamina: 3
Passive:
Perfect Swing Foundation (Lv. 1) – Injury resistance +30%. Swing fluidity slightly improved.
Skills:
Ball Trace Vision (Lv. 1) – Cooldown: 9m 12s remaining.
Upcoming Goal:
Set your training path within 48 hours.
Suggested Path: Elite Golf Academy Application TrackTarget: Seoul ProVision Golf Academy Entrance Trials – 90 days remaining.Required Handicap: <5Entry Path: Regional Tournament Victory + Instructor Recommendation
He let the information sink in.
Seoul ProVision.
A name he'd only heard in whispers during his first life. In that timeline, it was just a fantasy—something the rich and already-gifted aimed for. He was too busy hauling boxes during the day and burning out as a pizza delivery guy by night to even dream of it.
But now?
The System had dropped a cheat code into his life.
And he wasn't going to waste it.
Back at home, he locked himself in his room, laptop open, clicking through highlight reels from ProVision hopefuls.
The first video that caught his attention featured a boy named Seo Do-hyun—elegant and icy. He wore a white glove on his left hand and hit every ball like he was performing a ballet routine. Each swing was textbook. Each drive effortless. A recent junior champion from Busan, sponsored by TitleTech, and already rumored to be training for international junior championships.
Then came Rika Moriyama—a Japanese prodigy. Her irons were unreal. On screen, she landed six consecutive balls within three feet of the pin from 150 yards. Her expression never changed. Calm. Calculating. Lethal. Her name had already reached Korean headlines, and her potential was being compared to LPGA stars.
But the one that stopped him cold was a grainy, vertical phone video of a boy training alone under stadium lights.
Choi Jin-tae.
Thick arms. Low center of gravity. A face that barely showed any emotion as he wound up and unleashed.
The ball soared so far it vanished into the night sky—and then bang!—hit the back net, a section reserved for testing long-drive pros.
Comments flooded the video.
"That kid's 14??""Monster.""He trains with national team seniors.""Power Index ranked #2. Only behind that freakin' German-Korean hybrid kid.""I heard his dad was a KLPGA champion. Golf's in his blood."
Sung-won exhaled slowly.
There were levels to this.
And he had barely scratched the surface.
[New Mission: "Rise to the Top – Step 1"]
Objective: Qualify for Seoul ProVision Academy Entrance TrialsDeadline: 90 DaysConditions:
Achieve handicap under 5
Win a verified regional junior competition
Secure recommendation from a Class-A certified coach
Reward: Unlock Advanced Skill TreeFailure Penalty: System growth locked for 12 months
"Under 5 handicap… in ninety days," he muttered, almost laughing.
That kind of progress normally took players years. But with the system enhancing his swing mechanics, minimizing injury, and feeding him tactical data… maybe it wasn't impossible.
Still, he needed help. Real coaching.
He grabbed his old cracked phone and scrolled through his contacts until he found the number.
Coach Baek Jong-su.
Retired from the semi-pro circuit. Ran a rundown driving range. Not flashy, but old-school. Tough. Real.
He dialed.
The call picked up on the second ring.
"Who is this?"
"Coach Baek? It's me. Sung-won."
There was a pause. "Sung-won? Damn. Haven't heard your name since… What, last spring?"
"Yeah… Listen, I want to train again. Seriously. I want to go for Seoul ProVision."
Another pause—longer this time.
"ProVision, huh. You think you can hang with those golden-spoon brats?"
"I'm not going there to hang with them. I'm going to beat them."
That did it. Baek chuckled. "Now that's the cocky little swing punk I remember."
He turned serious. "Alright. Show up tomorrow. 6 A.M. sharp. One mistake, one skipped session, and I toss you out. Understood?"
"Understood, Coach."
The next morning, the air was crisp, laced with dew. Sung-won arrived ten minutes early, gear on his back, a nervous energy pulsing through him.
Coach Baek was already there, sipping from a thermos of black coffee.
"Warm up," he grunted. "Five laps around the range. Then we start."
Sung-won blinked. "We're running?"
"This ain't country club training, kid. You want to swing all day? You need lungs. Legs. Stability. You fall over from fatigue after 30 balls and Jin-tae will eat you alive."
As Sung-won ran, the System activated.
[Endurance Protocol Triggered]
New Temporary Buff: "Muscle Memory Sync – Level 1"Effect: Training benefits increased by 10%Duration: 6 hoursCooldown: 24 hours
Back at the tee mat, Baek watched closely as Sung-won pulled out his driver.
"Show me what you've got. One swing."
Sung-won exhaled, planted his feet, adjusted his grip, and swung.
Whack!
The sound was clean, crisp. The ball sailed high and true—slight draw, just as he'd visualized.
Baek's eyes narrowed. "That… wasn't bad. Cleaner than I expected. Who've you been training with?"
"No one," Sung-won lied.
"Bull. Your hips used to collapse on contact. That swing was tight. Controlled."
The coach smirked. "Whatever. I like it. You might actually stand a chance."
That day marked the beginning of a new phase in his life.
Six days a week. Mornings before school. Nights reviewing pro swing footage. Running drills. Core workouts. Muscle control. Repetition until his hands blistered.
Each day the System adjusted.
Micro feedback on spine tilt. Balance alerts. Swing tempo analysis. It was like training with a ghost team of biomechanical experts—inside his own mind.
By the end of the first week, Sung-won had dropped his handicap from 16 to 13.
Not enough.
But he had 83 days left.
And he was just getting started.
Somewhere in Busan, Seo Do-hyun played 36 holes in the rain without missing a green.In Tokyo, Rika Moriyama meditated after six hours of short-game training.And in Seoul, Choi Jin-tae crushed 50 balls into the dark sky until the range lights flickered out.
The monsters were preparing.
But so was he.
This time, Sung-won wasn't running from fate.
He was swinging straight at it.