episode_0271

“Foreign girls do have a distinct smell, that’s for sure.”

“Tsk tsk, not enjoying that? Well, can’t help it, after all, you’re just a monkey offspring.”

“Well, Natasha didn’t smell much. Maybe she uses a lot of perfume?”

During the Asian Games period, while pursuing women from many countries, I noticed that as we moved towards Southeast Asia, the scent of women became stronger. When I first had sex with Natasha, her scent wasn’t strong probably because she used a lot of perfume, but Middle Eastern women smelled like lamb, so I focused on targeting East Asian women in recent days.

“Basic hygiene is a must. I’m not asking for anything difficult. Just put on some perfume or deodorant.”

Eventually, you get used to smells during sex, so I was hoping for a basic level where the scent is pleasant when you first smell it, but Rossby couldn’t understand my feelings.

“Tsk, you don’t know the depth of that flavor; that’s why you’re inexperienced.”

“I also like the smell of sweat. I often don’t shower before being with Hyuna. But foreign girls have a different base, right? It’s just common courtesy.”

Perhaps because Rossby lived in an underdeveloped era, his mindset still seemed primitive.

“Why do you look so serious? Are you nervous?”

“Huh? Nervous about what?”

While having a profound discussion with Rossby about scents, Ju Seung-cheol approached.

“I’m from the WBC; why would I be nervous here?”

“You look tense before the game. Plus, we didn’t even train properly.”

“Forget training. Even without it, we should beat them.”

As Ju Seung-cheol said, we only trained for one day at the baseball field before the first game. China, a strong contender from the East, was clearly trying to restrain us, but that didn’t make me particularly nervous.

“Well, they’re Thai; we should win.”

“It’s not just winning; we should win by a landslide and rest early.”

If we win by a landslide, maybe we could catch Hyuna’s game afterward. The women’s volleyball team had also started their group stage matches.

“Alright, everyone gather around.”

Just then, Coach Lee Geum-hyun called us over.

“Our first opponent is Thailand. Not to underestimate them, but with our full strength, they are the kind of team we should finish off cold with 15 points in five innings. Understand?”

“Yes, sir!”

“We should beat Thailand easily.”

The other players responded lightly. There wasn’t a single player within the team who thought we would lose to Thailand.

“Alright, let’s dominate from the first inning. Okay?”

“Let’s go!”

In a cheerful atmosphere, in the bottom of the 1st inning, our leadoff hitter Kim Dong-jin stepped up to the plate.

And,

Crack!

Kim Dong-jin hit a double with just three pitches, successfully reaching base. Our second batter was Kim Hwan-young, the shortstop of Shilla Triggers. Kim Hwan-young, who occasionally synced well even in the WBC national team, was a shortstop who comfortably handled the keystone combo and had batting skills fitting for the national team.

Crack!

Kim Hwan-young’s hit landed in left field, and Kim Dong-jin, showing off his speed like the stolen base king from the previous year, dashed home.

“Nice!”

“Dong-jin! Great job!”

A light early lead. Watching Ju Seung-cheol step up to bat as the third batter, I headed towards the on-deck circle.

“Mr. Rosby, how’s the pitch?”

“Not even high school level.”

“Is that so?”

“Tsk, rather than teaching you about these pitches, wouldn’t it be more efficient to go watch some girls instead…?”

Rosby muttered quietly. If he had been abstaining from sex at the lodge, he seemed eager to hang out with girls.

“Ball!”

Thailand’s starting pitcher, whose name I couldn’t even pronounce correctly, threw a wild pitch, allowing Ju Seung-cheol to walk.

“Even up close, nothing special about it, right? Seriously, it’s like high school level.”

I thought Rosby meant American high school, but apparently, it was Korean high school.

Crack!

Ju Seung-cheol easily lifted the ball converging towards the center, and the hit flew over the wall like a speeding rope. A two-run homer. Three points in just three batters. The start was good.

“Well, should I also give it a shot?”

Using the bat to stretch out, he stepped into the batter’s box. The atmosphere of real competition that he hadn’t experienced in a long time. Although he didn’t feel the tension he had felt during the season, stepping into the batter’s box after a long time made him slightly excited.

“………! ………! ……….”

Ignoring the Thai catcher muttering incomprehensible words, he looked at Rosby.

“The pitch?”

“A slider.”

“You threw a slider? I don’t think I’ve ever seen one before.”

“The one I just threw had a slider grip.”

“What? That was a slider?”

It didn’t seem much different from a fastball. It didn’t seem to break, so he thought it was around 120 km/h fastball speed, but it turned out to be a slider.

“Should I watch it? Should I swing? Ah, I don’t know.”

After contemplating whether it was pointless to hesitate even against the Thai pitcher, he decided to just step into the zone. The Thai pitcher wound up. Thinking about the timing he had observed from the dugout and on-deck circle, he focused on the pitcher’s hand.

“It’s coming!”

And there it was, the ball arrogantly flying towards him. Without thinking, he swung the bat.

Crack!

“It’s light!”

The ball was so light that it naturally flew over the wall without even feeling like a challenge.

-Ji Maeng-ho! Impressive!

Despite the cheers of the audience praising him, hitting such an effortless ball didn’t bring satisfaction.

“Hey, why the expression after hitting a home run?”

As his teammates finished congratulating him and he sat on the bench with a stiff expression, Kim Hwan-young approached him.

“It feels too easy. I’m worried I might not adapt if it continues like this.”

The Thai player’s pitches were so poor that he had such concerns.

“I hope it stays that way.”

“It doesn’t matter with the senior, does it? We’re just playing for fun anyway.”

With the season ending, Silla’s ranking was fifth after being overtaken by Hanchul in the last game. Since there had never been a history of a fifth-place team breaking through to the playoffs via wildcard, his condition and Kim Hwan-young’s didn’t matter.

“Damn, seriously.”

Knowing this fact, Kim Hwan-young cursed and turned his gaze to the field. The ground that had been empty after my home run was now filled up to second base as Yi Yong-gi and Choi Si-woo, the fifth and sixth batters, successfully reached base with hits.

“Easy. Let’s take it easy.”

Then, with a double straight to Charlotte’s third baseman Kim Jin-beom, slow-footed runner Choi Si-woo also came home, extending the score to five points.

“Why isn’t there a mercy rule for the first inning?”

“Yeah, right. Isn’t there something like a mercy rule?”

As Kim Hwan-young and I chatted while watching the game, the loose atmosphere where no one said anything despite watching the game tilted towards a de facto mercy rule victory in the first inning.

“Alright, let’s score and finish the game early today!”

“Yes!”

“Let’s wrap this up quickly!”

Captain Lee Yong-gi of the national team, who had entered the dugout, motivated the players. Thanks to this motivation, the hitters put in effort, and with two outs in the bottom of the first inning, it was my turn to bat again.

The score was seven points ahead, with two runners on base. The pitcher on the mound had been changed a long time ago.

“If it were a different opponent, I’d mess around with the catcher or something, but playing with these kids makes me lose my enthusiasm.”

“Then I guess I’m not needed?”

“Yes. Just do your thing. Considering the level, it seems like we can do without Rosby.”

Upon my response, Rosby flew off towards the cheering section. He had noticed some decent girls over there earlier.

“Ha, who should I have sex with today? Should I go meet Natasha again? Is horseback riding over?”

Standing in the batter’s box with enough leisure to consider having sex. I apologize to the Thai players, but the skill gap was that significant. Not paying close attention to the pitches from the bullpen or the dugout, I waited with the intention of just observing his pitch.

“Strike!”

A lucky strike. Or rather, the strike zone seemed to have widened due to the home plate umpire. It appeared that the umpire also wanted to finish the game quickly.

“But it’s not my turn at bat. His fastball was around 130 mph, right?”

Although the umpire seemed slightly annoyed, it was not a game filled with intense competitiveness, so I calmed myself and waited for the pitcher’s next pitch. A pitching form different from the fastball he just threw. Clearly a changeup to which I readied my bat in anticipation.

“A curveball?”

A curveball breaking into the strike zone after a long time. Since it was relatively slow for a curveball, I waited for the right timing before swinging the bat.

Thunk!

The ball disappeared over the center field fence. A light three-run homer.

“Does this make it 10 points? Five more to go.”

Calculating the score, I headed back to the dugout. The score difference was so vast that the players didn’t celebrate vigorously. With all runners out and Yi Yong-gi coming back to the dugout after swinging the bat three times.

“Why did you strike out, hyung?”

“Hey, are we playing this game for a lifetime today? At this rate, we won’t even finish one inning. To leave early, we need to get to the fifth inning quickly. I struck out trusting you guys, really. Can we score five runs in the remaining innings?”

Truly a veteran. Calculating until quitting time, he seemed to be thinking of the quickest way to end the game. Seeing that Manager Lee Geum-hyun and the coaches didn’t reprimand Yi Yong-gi for his actions, it seemed like the coaching staff tacitly approved of his play.

“Indeed, Yong-gi is smart. Even with his pitch selection. BQ is good.”

With Yi Yong-gi’s sacrifice, the first inning ended, and the long-awaited Thai offensive came to an end with a whimper due to a triple play. And the second inning began. By the time it was my turn at bat again, we were leading by 15 points, and I crushed a home run, completely shattering the spirits of the Thai players.

“Others, start warming up.”

Having achieved the requirements for a mercy rule victory in just two innings, we rested in the dugout, substituted with other players, and by the end of the fifth inning, the score margin was 21 points.

“I knew it would be like this, but it’s too easy. Sigh. I should go watch Hyuna’s game for some excitement.”

The first Asian Games match turned out to be too easy as expected, draining the excitement.

—

-“Ji Maeng-ho doesn’t seem happy. Can we find out why?”

“Just like not celebrating after winning against a kid, right? That’s me too.”

“Hyung, what’s up?”

“Wow, this guy is so arrogant.”

“Oh, him?”

“Who?”

“Ji Maeng-ho. He’s super famous in Korea right now, don’t you know, hyung? Oh, he went to the Middle East this season, right?”

“I’m not into baseball.”

“But why are you watching then?”

“Just saw it on the news. But is he that famous?”

“Yeah, he’s causing a frenzy in Korea. Handsome and talented.”

“Well, he’s just a leisure player. Damn, some athletes almost die trying to win a gold medal, but these baseball players beat low-level opponents and easily grab a gold medal. Isn’t there any controversy about this guy?”

“Controversy? Plenty. And I heard from a friend who does another sport, this guy hooks up with foreign players left and right. Saw them coming out of different accommodations.”

“A representative of the country comes to the Asian Games just to have sex and leaves. The world is coming to an end. Truly the end times.”

On the evening when the Korean baseball team demolished the Thai baseball team, Ji Maeng-ho conducted an interview as usual, triggering someone’s sense of inferiority. However, the manifestation of that inferiority to the world was a story for a little later.