episode_0096

Panama? What country is this in? I don’t know what country he was in, but his baseball skills weren’t great.

“Jang Woo-joo is cool!”

“The youngest is doing well!”

Because Jang Woo-joo is blocking it. No matter how much I throw at 160, this is a bit… . In the top of the 8th inning, with the score 11-4, Jang Woo-ju, who came on the mound, was blocking Panama’s batting line.

‘Hey, it’s not fun.’

My job today is to lead the cheerleading team on the bench. Couldn’t participate in the game. But it wasn’t particularly disappointing.

‘Mr. Rossby, let’s do it one more time.’

‘also? I think the game will end soon.’

‘I want to catch up quickly.’

Because I had something to do with Rossby. Training with Rossby was more interesting than facing Panamanian pitchers. I learned about this training method two days ago, after the game against Japan.

I was depressed over the loss, and while receiving comforting texts from many people, a thought occurred to me. If I can face the pitcher in Rossby’s memories, wouldn’t I be able to face the pitcher in my memories?

I immediately asked Rossby. Rossby said he had never done it before, but he answered that it somehow seemed possible.

And now.

Otani was standing in front of me. Otani in my memories. Rossby completely restored my memory and created a realistic illusion.

-Just right!

-Whoa!

-Just right!

It’s not easy either. The Otani in my memories is also the Otani. It wasn’t easy to touch the ball without Rossby’s help.

‘Mr. Rossby, please help me now.’

‘hate.’

‘yes? why?’

‘Because the game is over.’

With Rossby’s words, Ohtani’s illusion disappeared and a high ball was seen in the infield. what? I’m not done dealing with Ohtani either. Is it over already?

“Youngest child, you weren’t sleeping, were you?”

“Oh, of course not. “I was meditating.”

“meditation? Why do you do that during the game?”

“As you know, there are times when you feel like this is a big deal. “That’s it.”

“Anyway, he’s an unusual kid.”

While chatting with the weatherman who was given a break today, I went outside the dugout to greet the players who had finished the game.

“Thank you for your effort.”

“Thank you for your effort.”

“Thank you for your effort.”

“effort… .”

Fuck, it’s so fucking annoying to say hello. Anyway, after the annoying greetings, the coach called the players together.

“Okay then, take a shower and I’ll meet you in the conference room. “I have to prepare for tomorrow’s game.”

The coach’s expression looked bright, perhaps because he won the game. Korea’s current record is 2 wins and 1 loss. Although they lost to Japan, they won against Australia and Panama, and the only remaining opponent is China, which has three losses. Advancement to the quarterfinals was almost certain.

Even if they lose tomorrow, unless Australia defeats Panama and Japan, advancement to the quarterfinals is guaranteed. No matter how round the baseball was, there was almost no chance of Japan losing to Australia.

“Then take a shower and meet at 4 o’clock. dissolution.”

“Thank you for your effort.”

Then, should I take a shower and train with Rossby?

*

-“Congratulations on advancing to the quarterfinals.”

When I got out of the shower, I got a call from Kim Won-ho after a long time. I was debating whether to accept it or not, but I could still see it as my only friend in high school. I accepted it.

“What’s going on? “I’m done making phone calls.”

-“I just called. Between us.”

“What is our relationship?”

-“Hey, just friends. Anyway, I was going to call to congratulate you. “It was disappointing against Ohtani.”

“What about Otani? “It was two days ago.”

-“hey! I was also busy with training. But what about Otani? “Is it on a different level?”

“Even if you practice for a hundred years, you won’t be able to do that, right?”

-“Tsk. I guess so. “What kind of splitter are you throwing at 140?”

“That’s right. how about you?”

-“me? Same. Fuck. under… . hey. How about AT during training? Fuck, the youngest here only has to drink water. “You mean there are no drinks?”

“No drinks? What are you talking about?”

There’s no way a professional team would do that if they didn’t have drinks. Even at AT right now, drinks of different colors were piled up.

-“Doesn’t it seem like a joke? Fuck. Beggar, beggar. I just heard it. “It was a really crappy club.”

“For something like that, you received a large down payment, right?”

I think he also received a little over 400 million won… .

-“I was deceived. I was fooled. Does anyone at your club know anything? “Please take me with you.”

“Will Silla send the first round of nominations? Well, why not fuck around for 4-5 years?”

-“Are you crazy? “Salary decreases.”

“Someone who is well-off buys a house and eats it.”

-“under… . Anyway, listening to his voice, it doesn’t seem like he’s downcast. okay. Let’s go to the next game together. “Let’s try some gukdae water too.”

“okay. Hey, but are you still having trouble standing these days?”

Wonho had been suffering from erectile dysfunction for a while after confessing to Hyuna and getting dumped.

-“Why are you talking about that now? Shut up, bastard! “Isn’t this crazy?!”

Pop. young. For your concern.

“Hey, Ji Maeng-ho. “What’s so funny?”

Was I laughing? After finishing the phone call with Wonho, I was about to go back to my room when Joo Seungcheol called me.

“Ah, Seungcheol hyung. “Thank you for your hard work today.”

“Yes, yes.”

Joo Seung-cheol didn’t seem to be in a good mood after the Japan game, but today he seemed to have recovered to some extent.

“Hey, do you have a moment?”

“yes. what.”

“Hey, speak comfortably. comfortable. We’ve known each other for a few weeks now, but is this still an honorific? “It’s cringy.”

Speak informally? It was a welcome sound to hear.

“okay. Seungcheol. why?”

“Ahu! It’s ten years old. “You should get a sentence.”

“okay okay.”

Tsk, that’s not cool.

“Hey, follow me. My brother will buy me coffee. “Let’s talk.”

“okay.”

What are you talking about, going all the way to the cafe? I followed Joo Seung-cheol out of curiosity.

*

Joo Hyung-jin. A hero of Korean baseball.

He set an unsurpassable record in the KBA League, moved to the United States at the age of 30, and performed impressively to the point where he had five seasons with over 20 home runs. In addition, despite the club’s dissuasion, he participated in the Olympics and won Korea’s historic Olympic gold medal. And the legendary player returned to Korea during his retirement season and retired spectacularly, winning the Golden Glove.

Before Joo Hyung-jin, Korea was on the periphery of world baseball to the extent that no Korean had made a name for themselves in the major leagues. There were a few people who advanced before that, but they only got their feet wet for one season.

However, since Joo Hyung-jin opened the way to the major leagues, Korean juniors have been constantly knocking on the door of the major leagues, and players such as Seong Hyun, Kang Han-beom, and Choi Joo-tae have been able to emerge from the major leagues.

And Joo Hyung-jin gave birth to two children. Joo Seung-cheol, the eldest, and Joo Ji-ah, the second.

Joo Seung-cheol and Joo Ji-ah were born as children of heroes and lived their lives enjoying everything they deserved. Joo Hyung-jin even married the most beautiful actress at the time, and their two children completely inherited their mother’s genes. Joo Seung-cheol even inherited his mother’s good looks and his father’s physique.

But would such a life be happy? Joo Seung-cheol was able to answer that question resolutely.

‘It’s a shame to be happy.’

My younger sister, who inherited her mother’s genes and father’s fame and became an iTuber, might be happy, but Joo Seung-cheol was not.

Although he respects his father so much, Joo Seung-cheol’s life was miserable because of that.

Born as the son of baseball hero Joo Hyung-jin, he felt pressure since elementary school. Moreover, because of the variety shows he appeared in with his father when he was young, people recognized Joo Seung-cheol wherever he went, and those eyes felt even stronger when he joined the baseball team.

I liked that kind of attention when I was in elementary school. In middle school, I started pitching because of my rebellious spirit. And when I was in high school, I was frustrated that I would never be able to surpass my father. I wanted to follow in the footsteps of my father, whom I respected, but I felt inferior because I felt like I would never be able to be even a shadow of him.

And the gazes I feel. The burden of disparaging his father when he made a mistake, or even when he didn’t play baseball even when he didn’t make a mistake, was oppressing Joo Seung-cheol.

So Joo Seung-cheol was always smiling. As he always presented himself as a kind person with a smile on his face, criticism of his father gradually diminished, and when he happened to hit a home run, he received praise for being similar to his father. From around that time, friends started to appear one by one.

That was Joo Seung-cheol in his first year of high school. It was too early to be mature.

Joo Seung-cheol’s life was brilliant in the eyes of others, but under the public’s gaze, who felt inferior to his father and had nothing to criticize, Joo Seung-cheol’s insides, wearing a mask, rotted and crumbled.

The only way to heal those wounds is baseball. He builds a reputation greater than his father’s and places his father’s record at his feet. And get recognized. Not ‘Joo Hyung-jin’s son’ Joo Seung-cheol, but ‘baseball player’ Joo Seung-cheol.

That was the way Joo Seung-cheol thought.

To get rid of his father’s shadow, Joo Seung-cheol did anything and was able to do anything. So, asking a question to a junior was nothing to Joo Seung-cheol.

“So, how did you hit Otani’s ball?”

A tone that seems stupid. When my father first came and praised this guy, I wanted to kill him. When I was young, I was resentful of my father who never praised me, and when I saw Ji Maeng-ho, the guy my father praised for the first time, I wanted to strangle him.

However, as usual, Joo Seung-cheol approached kindly. Yes, there might be something to learn from a kid like this. And I was able to immediately realize why my father praised me. From bat speed to launch angle and batted ball speed. Distance. When it comes to hitting, I’m different from other people.

Joo Seung-cheol, who had looked up to his father since he was young and always watched Major League Baseball videos, was able to know that fact right away.

‘Why is this bastard… ! Father’s approval… ! A swing like this… !’

Joo Seung-cheol, enduring his rising sense of inferiority, treated Ji Maeng-ho kindly as usual. Although he seemed a bit like an idiot, there were also many fun things to do while we were together.

In particular, the fact that he openly singled out Ki Ki-joo in the interview was even funnier because it was something he could not have imagined, having been forced to be humble since he was born as the son of a hero.

Just when his feelings of favorability began to overshadow his feelings of inferiority, Joo Seung-cheol encountered a big wall. A big wall called Otani. A feeling of helplessness that seems impossible to overcome no matter what. Joo Seung-cheol was more frustrated than when he felt that he could not follow his father.

But this time I wasn’t frustrated. Choi Joo-tae, a .300 hitter in the major leagues, and Kang Han-beom, who hit nearly 150 home runs in the major leagues. And even though he failed, Ki Ki-joo, who had stepped onto the threshold of the major leagues, was also unable to hit Ohtani’s ball.

‘Yes, I am not lacking. It’s just that Otani is a monster outside the standard. Besides, I’m younger than my seniors, right? I also like the record I am building in Korea better. Seungcheol, don’t be swayed. You are doing well.’

When you are comforting yourself like that, you hear a light hitting sound. The batted ball hit the fence at a speed that was difficult to follow with the eye. Perfect hit. If it had been luck, the batted ball could have gone over, but that line drive hit wasn’t that kind of coincidence.

And the owner who hit that ball was the first Korean player my father praised. It was Ji Maeng-ho.

“hmm… . “It’s difficult to explain.”

Joo Seung-cheol, trying to allay his rising sense of inferiority, sat here to listen to advice. This level of patience to get better at baseball was nothing to Joo Seung-cheol.

“I was just trying to hit it, and the ball seemed to come faster than usual. So I swung the bat faster.”

“What do you mean?”

Ji Maeng-ho’s explanation made me laugh out loud. Does this make sense? Did you feel like the ball was faster so you swung the bat faster? If it were easy, every baseball player would be Babe Ruth, Bonds, or Joo Hyung-jin.

Joo Seung-cheol shook his head at the nonsense.

“Hey, is it because you don’t want to tell me? My brother even bought me coffee, it was too much. Yeah, let’s say so. “Then how did you know it was a fastball in the first place?”

“Hey, you’ll know that when you see it. If you look. I see everything. “If you throw the ball, it’s either a change or a job.”

“… “This is some kind of bullshit.”

My inner thoughts come out in a frustrated mind.

“Well, ordinary people will never know. what. What should I do? That’s the wall of talent. A wall called Jimaengho.”

Joo Seung-cheol was also able to distinguish between a fastball and a breaking ball. Sometimes, on days when conditions are good, the rotation of the stitches may look different. But even if you figured it out, it would be useless unless you were a pitcher with a very slow velocity. Because the moment I made the distinction, it was already too late.

Just not swinging at breaking balls?

“So what you’re saying is that you can tell when the ball is coming?”

“No, when I just threw it. You know, if you make distinctions like that, it will be too late. Just a feeling. And boom!”

Who the fuck is this guy making fun of? I wanted to strangle Ji Maeng-ho. But I wanted to know more about the secret. Distinguish between a fastball and a breaking ball?

If he had that ability right now, he would have put the major league on the line.

No way, this bastard?

“Have you taken any medicine?”

At that moment, Joo Seung-cheol’s eyes became sharp. However, it was such a fleeting moment that Ji Maeng-ho did not notice the look in his eyes.

Something magical that increases muscle mass and regulates hormones. Taking banned substances increases your strength and swing speed, allowing you to hit the ball longer. Then, good eyes will also work synergistically.

What if Ji Maeng-ho, who was born with good eyesight, uses the power of medicine to hit a special ball? There was ample possibility.

“approximately? What medicine? Do you eat some protein? Why do you recommend supplements?”

A pure look in your eyes that says you don’t know anything.

“… done.”

I guess I went too far. What kind of medicine is a rookie… . There is no way Ji Maeng-ho, who is an orphan and has no baseball connections, would take medicine to avoid being caught by the WBC. So is it pure ability? That’s amazing… .

“Anyway, if you know what it is, you can just time it right. Doesn’t your brother do the same? Set the timing for each pitcher and hit the right timing! Then the ball is tight!”

Even though I couldn’t tell what was being said, Ji Maeng-ho’s batting skills seemed real.

“brother. Otani, that bastard is a piece of shit. “The next time I see you, I’ll really crush you.”

Pure eyes and passion for baseball. Joo Seung-cheol was once a boy with such eyes and passion, so I was able to immediately recognize his pure heart for baseball.

“okay. Good luck. Let’s wake up. “The coffee is delicious.”

“thank you. Haengnim!”

“It’s tricky.”

‘Yes, not everyone is like me.’

A guy like Ji Maeng-ho who doesn’t know pressure will never know this feeling. This feeling can only be known to someone who was born as the son of a hero and is in the public eye. If Ji Maeng-ho had felt this way, would he have lived like me?

‘You probably don’t know that.’

He won the Golden Glove for two years in a row, but he had to move on because he knew there were still guys like him left in Korea. Ji Maeng-ho’s skills, which I learned through training so far, were real. If this guy, not him, breaks his father’s record… .

That glory cannot be passed on to someone else. To do that, we need to work harder.

‘Are there still any left?’

… Any way. For the first time in a long time, Joo Seung-cheol remembered something he hadn’t touched since his first year of high school.