episode_0021

[In the 2002 Korean Series, in the crucial 9th inning where fate hangs in the balance, Lim Ji-hoon, the guardian deity of AT Thunderz, takes to the mound.]

[Player Lim Ji-hoon, who returned to Korea from the Major Leagues this season, is solidly guarding the rear gate of AT, right? We look forward to seeing if Lim Ji-hoon can extend this game to Game 7.]

[Oh, the camera captures President Cheon Sang-yeop of AT Thunderz. Is that his granddaughter next to him? He seems to be praying earnestly.]

[President Cheon Sang-yeop’s love for baseball is well known to all baseball fans, right? Will he live up to the president’s expectations…]

[Leading off at bat is the leadoff hitter, catcher Lee Ki-cheol.]

[Lee Ki-cheol, who ranks second in home runs this season with 37 home runs. A player responsible for one pillar of the Mad Cats’ home run legion, a third-year college graduate with a promising future.]

Crack!

[First pitch hit! Lee Ki-cheol of the Mad Cats produces a double! He shows why he is a superstar in the 9th inning! A hit that is hard to believe from a third-year player!]

[Lee Ki-cheol is a player with excellent swing mechanics. He has proven his worth with a good hit! Although he narrowly missed being the home run king this season, Lee Ki-cheol will likely accept that result. The player who won the home run title this season is the one coming up now!]

[As you said, the player who won the home run title this season with 61 home runs is stepping up to the plate. Mad Cats’ eternal home run king! Mad Cats’ cleanup hitter! Joo Hyeong-jin! Declaring free agency this season, Joo Hyeong-jin is aiming for the Major Leagues as he steps up to bat in a scoring opportunity.]

[This matchup looks promising, right? Last season in the Major Leagues, Lim Ji-hoon had an ERA of 3.27, with 17 holds and 4 saves, better stats than most Major League bullpens. Joo Hyeong-jin will need to surpass this player to succeed in the Major Leagues.]

[Their head-to-head record this season is 7 at-bats, 1 hit. And in this Korean Series, the two players have faced each other twice, with Lim Ji-hoon leading with 0 hits in 2 at-bats.]

[Still, the Mad Cats’ faith in Joo Hyeong-jin will not waver. Not only the coach and coaching staff but also all Mad Cats fans watching this game are hoping for a big hit.]

[Will Joo Hyeong-jin be able to end the 21-year grudge that the Mad Cats have been holding? Lim Ji-hoon’s first pitch!]

Crack! The cheerful sound of the hit resonated through the stadium, engulfing it in a moment of silence. All eyes in the stadium followed the ball Joo Hyeong-jin hit, which drew a beautiful arc and landed beyond the right field fence.

“Wow!!!!”

“Joo Hyeong-jin! Joo Hyeong-jin! Joo Hyeong-jin!”

[Game over! Game over! Game over! Joo Hyeong-jin’s final hit of the season is a massive two-run turnaround that ends the 21-year grudge held by the Hyeonseong Mad Cats!!!! A pride of South Korea! A national treasure batter! Joo Hyeong-jin! He marks the end of this intense battle!!!!]

“Aaah! Joo Hyeong-jin! He finishes the game!”

“Mad Cats! Aaah! The protagonist of this drama is the Mad Cats’ home run king, no, South Korea’s home run king! Joo Hyeong-jin! Joo Hyeong-jin, who resolves the 21-year grudge! Have you ever seen a game like this? The victory that Mad Cats fans have been eagerly waiting for, achieved by Joo Hyeong-jin, the player Mad Cats love the most! He seals it with his own two hands!!!]

“Oh, President Cheon. That was an enjoyable game.”

“Haha, coming all the way to Daegu to see this. I enjoyed it too, Mr. President.”

“Hahaha, a good job on the runner-up finish.”

“Haha, we’ve already won the championship twice. Twice! Congratulations on the 20-year… Oh, it was 21 years?”

“Haha, congratulations on the runner-up finish, President Cheon.”

Flames shot from the eyes of the two chairmen. The two men, who had been glaring at each other, soon exchanged polite smiles and shook hands. It was a childish argument that was hard to believe coming from the chairmen of two leading corporations in South Korea, but men always have a childish side when it comes to sports.

Moreover, if the sports team was their own club, there was no need to say more.

“Uwaaah!”

The conversation between the two chairmen, exuding an air of unapproachability, was interrupted by the crying of a young girl.

“Soyoung, stop.”

“We lost. Sniff, sniff. Grandpa said he would win! He said we would win!”

“Oh dear, Soyoung seems very upset. How old is Soyoung now?”

“She’s five years old. Haha, Soyoung, you’re so good. Pat, pat.”

No matter how formidable they were, in front of the tears of the girl, they were just kind grandfathers. The two men tried their best to comfort Soyoung, the granddaughter of Chairman Cheon, who was crying sadly, but Soyoung’s tears did not stop.

“Oh, oh. Well then, I have a victory ceremony to attend. Thank you for coming all the way to Daegu.”

“Yes, thank you for inviting us.”

“Haha, don’t mention it.”

Hyunseong Group’s chairman, Lee Hyun-hak, left the VIP room first.

“Soyoung, if you keep crying like that, those men will be in trouble!”

When Chairman Cheon pointed to the bodyguards, Soyoung’s tears gradually subsided. After a while, Chairman Cheon wiped his sweat. The stress he had endured had long been forgotten, and only the cute crying of his granddaughter, Soyoung, which wouldn’t hurt even if he looked at it, remained in Chairman Cheon’s memory.

“Sniff, sob, sob. Why are we losing?”

“Soyoung, you’ll understand when you grow up. The world is divided into winners and losers. If there are winners, there are also losers. We may be the losers now, but let’s cheer so that we can be winners next time.”

“It’s hard…”

It was a difficult concept for young Soyoung to understand. Chairman Cheon gently stroked his granddaughter’s head. His eyes and expression were filled with infinite affection for his granddaughter.

He had three children, all sons. And even his children were all sons. To Chairman Cheon, who had the sole granddaughter, Cheon Soyoung, born five years ago, everything about her was adorable.

That’s why he had come all the way to Daegu with his granddaughter without inviting the rest of the family to his only hobby of watching baseball.

“Yes, yes. Soyoung, let’s go eat something delicious today.”

“Yeah!”

As Chairman Cheon carried Soyoung in his arms and went outside, the bodyguards and attendants followed behind him. When the exhausted Soyoung fell asleep in Chairman Cheon’s arms due to his skillful comforting, a middle-aged man appeared in front of Chairman Cheon this time.

“Ch-Chairman!”

The joyful mood Chairman Cheon had while looking at Soyoung was instantly crushed to the ground.

‘What’s so great about winning in baseball that he shows up like this? Tsk tsk.’

“Tsk, Director Kim. Was this why you demanded such a large budget?”

“I-I’m sorry. Next time, I’ll…”

“That’s enough.”

Chairman Cheon passed the middle-aged man with a cold expression that was hard to believe he had just been comforting his granddaughter earlier. Left alone, the man known as Director Kim collapsed with a bewildered expression.

“It’s over for me. Ugh…”

The director of the baseball team, the final position of the group executives. The executives who took on this role either gracefully accepted retirement or led the baseball team that the chairman took a special interest in to victory again and received further attention.

Director Kim was the latter. However, this season, with the AT Thunders suffering a humiliating comeback defeat against a rival group, Kim’s ambition came to an end. Not just a defeat, but denying him the first-ever championship!

Especially, as the rivalry between the AT Group and Hyunseong Group was reaching its peak, Chairman Kim realized that he might not be appreciated for allowing Hyunseong to win the first championship instinctively.

“These bastards. Taking tens of millions of won. These damn bastards!”

In the empty VIP room corridor, Chairman Kim’s desperate cry echoed through the place. Filled with despair, Chairman Kim soon turned that despair into anger. And in his rage, he pounded on the keypad of his mobile phone. It seemed like the keypad of the AT phone he had received as a gift from the chairman would break, but the call went through.

“Director Kim!”

-“Y-yes, sir!”

“You bastards. Get rid of all the high-paid players! Losing to Hyunseong? In a game the chairman came to watch! These damn bastards! If they take money from AT, they should win against Hyunseong, shouldn’t they?”

-“I’m sorry, sir! But when you say high-paid players… what about Im Ji-hoon…?”

“That’s right!”

-“He still has one more year on his contract.”

“Trade him or send him somewhere! That bastard keeps hitting home runs! Ugh!”

-“What about Lee Soo-hyun, who is a free agent this year?”

“Get rid of that guy too! Always getting injured and dropping out! Those players without team spirit have no place in AT!”

-“Ah, understood.”

“And those mediocre guys who just eat money and aren’t skilled should all retire. Fire the coach too.”

-“Understood. Then who would be a good new coach?”

“Do I have to worry about that too? Fine. Thunderz lost because of players without team spirit. Bring someone from the well-disciplined Future Buffaloes side. Someone tough.”

-“Future Buffaloes. Understood. What about the budget for next season then…?”

“Hey, Kim Sang-hoon. Is this the time to talk about that?”

-“…I apologize.”

“That’s it. End of discussion.”

‘Four years left. There are many young and promising players in the team. If we get rid of the old ones who act on their own… Moreover, since the chairman likes baseball, even if he said those words, he will surely provide enough support. If we release the old players and recruit a few free agents, we can show the chairman that we can win. Then I…’

But at that moment, Chairman Kim did not know. That decision would plunge the team into a dark period, and the AT Thunderz would not make it to the fall baseball for the next 20 years.

*

19 years later, 2022.

“Oh, Chief Cheon, have you arrived?”

A middle-aged man with graying hair approached a woman who appeared to be in her early twenties and greeted her.

“Sir, this is a workplace, so feel free to speak comfortably.”

“Oh, I see.”

“Well, there’s a meeting today, so I’ll go in first.”

With a gentle tone that didn’t match her cold demeanor, the woman replied and entered the building ahead. Inside the building, amidst the busy people working frantically, everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at the woman addressed as Chief Cheon as she entered.

“Hello!”

“You’re here early, Chief!”

“Please proceed with your tasks.”

The people who had responded to her in a gentle manner now lowered their heads again in response to her unexpectedly firm tone, overwhelmed by her charisma. As she entered her office, people around started to breathe more quietly.

“Oh, Chief Cheon, you’re still so cool today. You’d look even prettier if you smiled a bit. You’re already pretty enough. I’ve never seen anyone as beautiful as Chief Cheon since I was born.”

As a young man in his twenties spoke from the locker room, a man in his mid-thirties who overheard covered the man’s mouth and looked around nervously.

“Hey, don’t say such things here. But Chief, you are indeed beautiful.”

The appearance of Team Leader Cheon was impressive, like the words of men. Her wavy black hair looked as soft as silk, and her large eyes with double eyelids, beautiful eyebrows, and long eyelashes synergized to enhance her appearance even more. Additionally, her veil-like nose and bright red lips marked the pinnacle of her beauty.

However, her expressionless cold impression made her appear even colder.

“But Team Leader Cheon is truly remarkable. As the first female operations team leader in professional baseball and the youngest operations team leader.”

“Remarkable? Oh, you don’t know much since you’ve just joined, right?”

“What? What do you mean?”

“Young person with the surname Cheon at AT Group. Can’t you feel it?”

“What? Then…”

“Oh, how did you even get here without knowing that? It’s just a golden parachute; you’ll probably become the CEO in a few years.”

“What? Why would a woman be here?”

“The chairman’s family members have taken all the positions, so he gave one to his granddaughter. This place is almost like a curse within the group. The chairman is interested, but there are no results.”

“Haha, that’s somewhat true.”

“Tsk. Those above won’t know why there are no results even if they die, right? That’s why they insert these golden parachutes. Only the fans suffer.”

“Oh? Are you also a Thunders fan, Manager?”

“If not, why would I be here? Geez. Even if my father didn’t drag me to the baseball field… especially when AT wins the game.”

“It will be tough this year too, right?”

“Are you asking for words? Even if they perform well in the first half, what’s the use? They’ll fall again in the second half. This team won’t succeed until the end of the world.”

“Well, we still have to believe in our players.”

“Believe? They can’t play baseball well and just ask for higher salaries…”

At that moment, the door to the meeting room opened, and Team Leader Cheon entered. The two men stopped their conversation upon her arrival, and the young man started making coffee.

“Manager, there are no documents on the desk? You know we have an important meeting today, right?”

“Oh, I’ll bring them right away.”

“Sure.”

“Ah, Team Leader. Have some coffee. I just made it.”

“It’s okay. I’ll take care of my own drink.”

“Ah…”

After exchanging a few words, Team Leader Cheon left, and the two men sighed as if relieved.

“She’s so pretty, damn pretty.”

“Huh, how nice would it be to date a woman like her?”

“Snap out of it. Would a third-generation chaebol date you?”

“Oh, how can you work if you don’t even imagine that?”

“Oh, stop babbling and go find the documents. And just in case, don’t go around spreading rumors about the chairman’s granddaughter attending nearby. If you get caught, it’s your head, your head. Got it?”

“Yes…”