episode_0041

“Lion! Hold on!”

“Yes? What should I hold on to? I was trying to go back because it was an out.”

As soon as I heard the declaration of “out,” a heat spread through my head, but I could quickly cool down that anger. Why? Because I can retaliate when defending. Wait for it, first base umpire!

“Too bad. Let’s focus on defense, Lion.”

“There’s nothing we can do. No video review either.”

It was wrong to think I could win today’s game. It doesn’t seem like my error would have a big impact on the game.

“Senior, here’s your glove.”

The junior brought the glove back to me, and I walked back onto the field. Just come to my side once.

*

“Wow, it’s going to be tough to win today, right? The Hwiyun High School guys prepared well.”

“What preparation? Is throwing decent pitches considered preparation?”

That’s what good preparation is. Well, if it were me, I would have fought back.

“Yeah, even in the pros, throw me a good pitch.”

Wonho came in relief and pitched 2.1 scoreless innings, but he couldn’t erase the gloom. After the 8th inning, the score was 9:3. Since my second at-bat, I had walked every time, so I couldn’t even touch the game; it was slipping away.

“Why? Feeling a bit frustrated?”

“Of course, I’m only human.”

No one likes losing, especially athletes. Until now, they thought I wasn’t interested in the team’s victory or defeat, but once we started losing, irritation crept in. Maybe in a group stage, I wouldn’t mind, but in a tournament, losing makes me want to break everything? Especially that first base umpire.

“Hehe, if you had hit that ball over the fence, none of this would have happened.”

“Sigh, that’s true. I should have hit it over.”

While blaming myself for not hitting that ball over, the coach approached.

“Lion, should I substitute you? You probably won’t even get to bat.”

“No, I’ll play until the end.”

Even if we lost the game, I still had something to do. Revenge. The Hwiyun High School guys hadn’t sent any balls my way yet, so I hadn’t been able to pitch, but there was still one defensive inning left.

Thud!

Seeing the high ball soaring into the infield, I grabbed my glove again.

“Mr. Rosby, how should I throw without showing my intentions?”

“What? I’ve never done that before.”

“Hehe, Mr. Rosby, you haven’t tried it, but I will. Feels good, doesn’t it?”

“You’re quite a cheeky fellow.”

“Sportsmanship? Does that sweet stuff still exist these days? Why? Do you dislike it?”

“Well, I regret not thinking like that. Hehe, for a monkey like you, you use your brain quite well.”

Rosby seemed amused by my thoughts, letting out a laugh. A smile filled with excitement at the thought of witnessing a sight he had never seen in over a hundred years of playing baseball. Hearing his laughter, I couldn’t help but laugh too.

Thud!

“Shortstop!”

In the bottom of the 9th, the first batter from Hwiyun High School hit a high ball behind the mound. Ugh. Roll a ground ball!

The shortstop easily handled the ball, and now there were only two outs left.

“Sung Hyun! Send some balls my way too!”

“Got it, senior!”

The next batter was a left-handed hitter. If Sung Hyun, who was pitching now, could create a pitch that pulled towards the body, I might have a chance. Moreover, the current batter was a fast runner, so even if a changeup came, it wouldn’t be surprising, right?

The pitcher wound up. I tensed my legs appropriately and focused on the ball leaving the pitcher’s hand.

Thud!

“Darn, it’s high?”

Although the batter hit the ball towards me, it seemed like the ball would bounce high and pass over my head. I jumped while extending my glove towards the ball.

“Please! Catch it!”

The most earnest prayer ever! Did my prayer work? The ball grazed the tip of the glove. Ugh, I rolled around and found the fallen ball on the ground.

“To the left!”

At Rossby’s shout, I immediately turned to the left and pointed out the fallen ball on the ground.

“Don’t throw it!”

A desperate cry from the first baseman is heard. But what can I do? Ignoring the first baseman’s cry, I found the first base coach a few meters away from the base.

“Dig in…!”

“Swing!”

I threw the ball strongly towards the first base coach. The ball flew quickly and heavily in the direction I wanted, drawing a beautiful straight line.

“Ouch!”

Thud!

A strike? I aimed for the face but saw the first base coach block the baseball with his arm.

“Are you okay?”

“I told you not to throw it!”

Ignoring the first baseman’s words, I ran straight to the first base coach who was hit by the ball. It hurt the same even though he got hit. I felt like watching his expression would ease the turmoil in my mind.

“I’m sorry. Are you okay?”

I saw the pained expression on the first base coach’s face. Pathetic. So maybe I should have judged better? I concealed such thoughts and put on a very apologetic expression on my face.

“Mr. Rossby, is my expression okay?”

“Heh, you could be an actor. How can you make such a remorseful expression instantly?”

“It’s acting. That expression was always there in 1st and 2nd grade, you know.”

Although wearing an elbow guard made the swollen arm less visible, was this revenge successful in its own way? I should have hit his head, so I felt a bit disappointed.

“Are you okay, Mang-ho? You’re not dizzy or anything, right?”

“No, I can do it!”

“He used to be a shortstop but because of the hit by pitch. Oh, I’m really sorry.”

I suppressed the laughter welling up inside me and apologized again to the first base coach. He accepted my apology without understanding my feelings at all. As the trainer came to apply a patch, the bruised and swollen forearm was already visible.

“Tsk, I should have had these thoughts when I was active. If I had broken a few bones, the umpires might have come to their senses.”

“Remember it if you are reborn. The judgment training method invented by Ji Maeng-ho.”

“Hehehe, crazy guy.”

Anyway, baseball is a sport where hard balls are thrown and hit at speeds that ordinary people find difficult to perceive. Such injuries were a common occurrence. After a brief rest, the game resumed, and we managed to get the remaining outs one by one, but we couldn’t score 6 points, and the game ended with a victory for Hwi-yoon’s team.

“Well, there are days like this. Let’s prepare well and win again.”

“Yes!”

“Okay, got it.”

Enthusiastic guys, crying guys, guys silently staring at the ground. People of various kinds were comforting themselves in their own ways after the pain of defeat.

“Hey, did you do that on purpose earlier?”

As I observed the defeated players, Won-ho approached me. Being a first-round pick, Won-ho seemed to feel slightly less pain of defeat than others.

“What?”

“Hitting the umpire’s ball.”

“Are you crazy? If you can pitch like that, why are you batting?”

Sharp guy… But what I said was true. Since I hit your arm after thinking about it, it means it’s not a good pitch for pitching.

“Well, well. The Presidential Cup ended like this.”

“Is it regrettable?”

“It’s both regrettable and good to save my arm. Well, it’s complicated. Now, is the Phoenix League next? After the Phoenix League ends, it’s the rookie draft, and after the rookie draft, are we going pro now?”

“It seems quite regrettable. Hey, if we had enjoyed it for one more year than others.”

“If I hadn’t taken a break from enjoying it, I would be flying around in the pros by now.”

As Won-ho said, most of the guys we saw at last year’s Youth Baseball World Cup were making a name for themselves in the pros. Looking back now, they were just kids, but why did they look so cool back then? It leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.

“With your skills? Very much.”

To erase that bitterness, I spoke to Won-ho again.

“Oh, Joo, Ji-mang-ho, who used to pitch batting balls, has grown up?”

“I was originally a bit taller, kid.”

“Hahaha, what are you saying? You’re still not even 190?”

“It doesn’t matter how tall an infielder is.”

“Do the seniors feel a bit relieved?”

While laughing with Won-ho like that, the third-year pitcher who messed up the game as a starter today came over and started talking. It didn’t look good to see him upset after messing up the game himself.

“Oh, sorry.”

Won-ho apologized, but I didn’t. Why? Because I’m not sorry!

From my perspective, I only had thoughts like ‘Why is this guy acting like this?’ Even though I’m dominating high school baseball, if the score didn’t widen in the first or second inning, I wouldn’t have been so blatantly criticized.

“Then, couldn’t you have played better so we wouldn’t lose? Seub, don’t you need to make some effort to get drafted too?”

“Ji-mang-ho!”

“What, did I say something wrong? Hey! Won-ho shut them out for two innings, and I got on base three times, can’t we smile after the game?”

There were no home runs, but this was a record that could be considered a win against the pitcher.

“That would be nice. Play baseball well.”

What a funny guy? He laughed at me when I was pitching batting balls. His expression darkened as if he was being victimized by my words. I wanted to punch him.

“Couldn’t you play baseball a bit better? Oh, with that level of skill, you can go to college, so don’t worry.”

“Hyung!”

“If it weren’t for me, could we have made it to the Presidential Cup? I created the opportunity, and you seized it.”

Unlike the weekend league where all schools participate, the Presidential Cup is a competition where you have to place within the top three in each region in the latter half of the weekend league. Without me, we probably wouldn’t have been able to participate.

“….”

Realizing that fact, he quieted down a bit.

“Stop it, Maeng-ho.”

“Relax, Seubsae. Anyone watching might think I’m bothering you? Even if things aren’t like they used to be, am I not your senior? Would anyone think I’m your junior? Huh? Mr. Junior!”

“Enough, Maeng-ho. Enough.”

I wanted to say more, but because Won-ho kept stopping me, I had no choice but to stop. It seemed like the coaches were watching us.

In that awkward atmosphere, we got on the bus back to school.

“Why did you say that? Chang-hoon probably wanted to do well too.”

“Would he have done well?”

“What can you do if you can’t?”

“Still, you were given a chance as a starter, right? I persevered while pitching batting balls.”

“Sigh. Forget it. Aren’t you worried about school violence? There was a guy who received punishment for school violence last year and missed the draft.”

“You guys deserve it. For three years, I’ve been ignored, so I’ll put you guys in the school violence category.”

“Heh, idiot. Should’ve stabbed them quickly.”

While talking with Won-ho like that, the phone that was returned rang. What’s this?

– Pilates instructor Yoo Jo-eun: Are you not coming today? I’ve been trying to contact you, but you’re not answering.

That’s right! Today was the day for Pilates. I forgot to mention that I have a game. When I checked my phone, I saw missed calls. I immediately sent a message to the instructor apologizing for not being able to contact her due to the game.

“Who is it?”

“Oh, the Pilates instructor. I forgot to mention that I have a game today.”

“I see. It’s nice to work for a big company. They even provide Pilates.”

“Don’t they have something like that at Shilla?”

“Of course not. It’s a famous team. I heard from seniors that they can’t even drink Pocari freely.”

“Oh, really? Would pros do that?”

“Well, then are you going today?”

“Is it okay to exercise after the game?”

“Just think of it as a cool-down exercise. Pilates isn’t that intense anyway, right?”

“That’s true.”

Listening to Won-ho’s words, it made sense. Besides, I felt sorry for Cheon So-young, who had looked up Pilates classes for me. I quickly texted the instructor on my phone again.

– Me: Is it possible to have a separate class? I apologize once again for not mentioning the game today.

– Pilates instructor Yoo Jo-eun: Yes, I feel a bit uneasy since I’ve received the payment. Are you available after dinner?

– Me: Yes, of course. Should I come after dinner then?

– Pilates instructor Yoo Jo-eun: Let’s meet around 8 p.m. Come to the center.

It’s 3 p.m. now, so I think I can review the game and relax a bit before having dinner and going.

“Her figure does look attractive.”

“Yes, is it because of Pilates? She looks firm and well-toned.”

Her chest is about a C cup, and her hip-up buttocks and pelvic line were killer. Of course, she wasn’t as toned as a professional athlete, but she looked quite good. Plus, her face was somewhat pretty.

Ah, I want to hit on her.

“Why is the monkey acting out of character?”

“I’m not someone who just sleeps around with anyone.”

“Tsk tsk, the volleyball girl must be upset.”

“Huh? We have consensual sex. If she doesn’t like it, she’ll say no.”

“Well, she did give off a mature vibe from her appearance. Hehehe.”

How does Rosby know that Hyuna has dominant tendencies just by looking at her face?

“If I add up all the girls I’ve been with, I could fill an American League roster. If you work hard, you could become like this body too.”

In Rosby’s words, there was both confidence and pride. It seemed more impressive than hitting .400 in the Major Leagues.

Indeed, Mr. Rosby. I will strive to resemble you in the future!