episode_0293

[In the end, Park Hee-min descends from the mound here. The next pitcher is, oh, player Patrick? I thought he would come out as the starting pitcher for the 5th round in the rotation, but Manager Park Dae-hoon has made a decision.]

[There’s no choice but to make a decision, right? If we lose today, it’s over. 3 runs in the 1st inning, 3 runs in the 2nd inning, and 1 run in the 3rd inning. The current score difference is 3 runs, but if we allow more runs here, we can’t turn the game around today.]

[Player Kisang-joo’s hit ultimately takes Park Hee-min out and brings in a new pitcher. Now, the next batter is Ji Maeng-ho. The showdown between Patrick and Ji Maeng-ho will continue.]

‘Ha… Is this the end?’

Watching Patrick take the mound, Ju Seung-cheol thought to himself. The score is 4 runs behind, the batter is Ji Maeng-ho. And the incoming pitcher is Patrick, who was announced as the starter for the 5th round.

‘Even if we manage to stop the game today, the chances of winning in the 5th round are slim. Moreover, facing Maeng-ho as the opposing batter… The chances of stopping him are also slim.’

Furthermore, the condition of the AT Thunders today was different from usual. No, not today, but since Woo Kwan-hyung was substituted, their focus had noticeably changed. Starting pitcher Park Joon-hyung, who was throwing impossible pitches at the beginning of the game, seemed to have awakened, targeting the corners of the strike zone, and the batters were consistently getting on base.

Teammates being pressured by the rising momentum of these guys. If they give up a home run in this situation today…

‘No. Let’s not entertain such negative thoughts. There are still 6 innings left where we can turn the game around.’

Ju Seung-cheol tried to push away negative thoughts and focus on the game. In Ju Seung-cheol’s eyes, he saw Patrick practicing pitching.

‘Patrick, are you okay?’

Bang! Bang! The ball hits the mitt. However, the sound was not as cheerful as usual. As Ju Seung-cheol watches Patrick’s pitching, the authorized practice pitches end, and Ji Maeng-ho steps up to the plate.

‘…Ji Maeng-ho.’

Ji Maeng-ho. Personally, a close younger brother with whom he shared drinks a few times, and currently the best hitter in the KBA league. Batting .400 with 60 home runs. He achieved a record that he never even dreamed of, and almost surpassed his father, the person he admires the most.

‘Surely, if it weren’t for the Asian Games, he would have broken his father’s record.’

When Ji Maeng-ho tried to challenge his father’s record, Ju Seung-cheol felt a sense of urgency. He became a baseball player with the determination to eventually surpass his father, but his father’s record was too far away. So when Ji Maeng-ho’s record stopped at the Asian Games, Ju Seung-cheol inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

However, it was only natural that Ji Maeng-ho could surpass his father’s record even in the next season, and the moment he realized that fact, Ju Seung-cheol had to admit it. The player who would surpass his father’s reputation and leave a mark on Korean baseball history was not himself but Ji Maeng-ho.

‘If only Maeng-ho were my father’s son…’

He had been thinking such thoughts while watching Ji Maeng-ho’s batting for more than a day or two. Since Ji Maeng-ho was showing exactly the kind of player he had hoped for. Ju Seung-cheol envied everything about Ji Maeng-ho. Ji Maeng-ho’s batting form, Ji Maeng-ho’s bat speed, Ji Maeng-ho’s power, Ji Maeng-ho’s aim. And even the public evaluation that compared him to his father within just one year of his debut, saying he had surpassed his father.

In fact, Jun Seung-cheol had recognized Ji Maeng-ho long before now. It was much earlier than the present moment when he saw Ji Maeng-ho hitting during his time as a WBC national team representative and instinctively felt that this batter would surpass his father’s reputation. The batter who would surpass the father he had long dreamed of surpassing. The moment he fully realized this fact was when he hit Otani’s pitch, which he couldn’t even touch, with a solid hit.

The next day, while talking to Ji Maeng-ho, whom he considered insignificant, a demon whispered in Jun Seung-cheol’s mind.

‘Why not try using drugs? You want to surpass that guy, right?’

The demon’s whisper to surpass Ji Maeng-ho by any means necessary. This wasn’t the first time such a whisper had come. The first time the demon visited him was back in high school. The despair of always being compared to his father and feeling like he could never surpass him no matter how hard he tried. People looking at him with pity. But most of all, what he couldn’t bear was the looks of disdain from those who saw him in such a pitiful light.

And then that person approached him. The man who introduced himself as someone his father knew from his days as a major leaguer handed him something.

– “Seung-cheol, seems like you’ve been troubled lately. Huh… I don’t usually give this to just anyone. I’m giving it to you because I feel sorry for you. This is a supplement, it should be more effective for kids like you. If it works when you try it, contact me. The instructions are there, so use it discreetly.”

Although that man didn’t explicitly state the name, Jun Seung-cheol instinctively realized that it was a banned substance. And as time passed, on the day he suffered defeat by hitting zero hits in the competition where he played as a starting member, Jun Seung-cheol succumbed to temptation.

– “To surpass my father, this seems to be the only way…”

Jun Seung-cheol carefully kept the substance he received from that man. Whenever feelings of inferiority and defeat welled up in his heart, he looked at the drug to recall the gaze of Ji-a that he saw that day. And Ji-a quit playing tennis until middle school. She said she found exercise difficult and no longer liked it.

Even though Ji-a said she found exercise difficult and disliked it, Jun Seung-cheol knew. He understood that Ji-a’s heart broke when she saw him about to take the drug.

– “I’m sorry, Ji-a….”

That’s how Jun Seung-cheol regained his resolve every time the demon came whispering, looking at the drug. Thinking of his younger sister who had stopped exercising and of his weakened self. Even though the pain of Ji-a’s gaze lingered whenever he looked at the drug, Jun Seung-cheol endured the pain and persevered.

Effort, effort, and more effort. Every time the demon visited his mind, Jun Seung-cheol continued to strive while looking at the drug. Fortunately, his father’s genes, who was a national hero, seemed to have not gone anywhere. In his freshman year of high school, during his growth period, his body grew as the days went by, and his batting skills rose unrecognizably to match that body.

When his father said he also grew during high school, Jun Seung-cheol felt like he was becoming his father, and when he received the Rookie of the Year award that his father hadn’t received during his rookie season, he was so happy that tears flowed.

After his debut, pride grew in Ju Seung-cheol’s heart as he bombarded the KBA. Since debuting at the KBA, he stopped searching for it, drank alcohol, went to clubs, and lived like an ordinary twenty-something, not as Ju Hyeong-jin’s son but as Ju Seung-cheol. As he lived on without remembering where he had stored it, Ju Seung-cheol saw Ji Maeng-ho. The one that stimulated his inferiority complex.

The demon in his mind returned, provoking him. After returning to Korea, Ju Seung-cheol looked at the drugs with a heavy heart. Recovering from his injury, he quit drinking, focused on training like he did in high school. Every time he felt weak, he looked at it, thinking of his childhood when he acted like a fool due to inferiority and the gaze of Jia, and tried even harder.

And then came autumn baseball. He met Ji Maeng-ho at a crucial moment. Ju Seung-cheol knew very well that he couldn’t beat Ji Maeng-ho with skill. The more he trained and worked hard, the further the distance seemed to grow between him and Ji Maeng-ho.

But the game between the teams was a different story; he wanted to win this showdown at least. With his beloved teammates…

Crack!

Such thoughts flew away with the ball. The hit lifted by Ji Maeng-ho was one that not only Ju Seung-cheol but also the other outfielders couldn’t reach.

Thud! The ball hit the scoreboard and dropped. And a tear fell from Ju Seung-cheol’s eye. A 5-point difference with this home run. There was practically no chance of turning the game around. Even if he scored, as long as Ji Maeng-ho was there, the AT guys would surely keep running away like this.

“Yeah, talent probably can’t win in the end.”

The demon inside whispered again.

“How about taking drugs? You wanted to do it in high school too, right? If you take them longer and swing faster, you could hit .400 or even 60 home runs, right?”

That demon’s name is inferiority. Frustration. And his own ugliness. But he feels relieved. Somehow, hitting the scoreboard with Ji Maeng-ho’s cool home run seemed to blow away all the negative thoughts he had harbored until now.

“Hey!”

Shouting, he stepped on second base and saw Ji Maeng-ho pointing at himself with his finger. That sight seemed to scold him for being trapped in inferiority all this time.

“Take drugs? Screw off.”

Ju Seung-cheol answered the demon, picked up the baseball that fell after hitting the scoreboard, put on the team uniform, and threw it to a young fan crying and then laughing.

“But I have no choice but to keep trying, right? To not make the fans cry again.”

This time, Ju Seung-cheol drove the demon away once more. This time, without looking at that drug.

“Damn it, what’s a 5-point difference. Let’s give it a shot.”

He lifted his fallen spirits, watching the young fan laugh.

With renewed determination, Ju Seung-cheol produced big hits every time he faced his turn at bat, once even clearing the fence to chase after AT.

However,

[14:9! Game over! AT advances to the playoffs! Today’s hero is none other than this player! Ji Maeng-ho! Leading the team to victory today with three home runs!]

“Oh, Ji Maeng-ho, you’re truly amazing. Ju Seung-cheol, who showed a fiery batting sense, seemed like he might catch up with AT led by Ji Maeng-ho, but ultimately couldn’t surpass Ji Maeng-ho’s leading AT lineup!”

“Now AT heads to Daegu. They head to that Daegu where tears were shed 21 years ago! Will Hyeon-seong’s pitchers be able to stop the surging AT lineup in Daegu? The strongest spear and shield will clash in Daegu.”

Ju Seung-cheol ultimately could not surpass the AT led by Ji Maeng-ho. A clean defeat experienced individually and as a team. It was such a clean loss that it was rather refreshing. Despite leaving an impressive record of 10 hits, including 3 home runs in 13 at-bats during the pre-playoff period, Ji Maeng-ho was still a few steps ahead of him.

‘Even if I were to play again, could I surpass this record and defeat the fierce tiger? …It’s probably impossible. Yes, Ji Maeng-ho. You are the best in Korea.’

And deep within his heart, Ji Maeng-ho’s name began to overshadow the admiration he once held for his father.

“Hyung, are you crying?”

“Yeah, bro. Tears are flowing because I got eliminated.”

“Why? It’s good, isn’t it? Now you can rest. Hehe.”

“Get lost, bro.”

After the game ended, Ju Seung-cheol found himself in tears in front of Ji Maeng-ho, who was teasing him, but those tears were tears of relief. They symbolized the washing away of the inferiority complex he had felt under his father’s shadow.

“Let’s grab a drink after the season ends.”

“Then a week should do.”

“What nonsense. We’re going to win.”

“Player Ji Maeng-ho! Please get ready for the interview!”

“Yes!”

Upon hearing the staff’s voice from afar, today’s outstanding player and pre-playoff MVP, Ji Maeng-ho, ran over in that direction. His back seemed larger than the back of his admired father, yet there was no sense of inferiority. Instead, he felt the desire to chase after that figure.

‘I’ll catch up soon. Maeng-ho. And since I’ve come this far by winning against myself, go ahead and win the championship.’

With determination, Ju Seung-cheol wiped his tears and headed towards the stands to greet the fans.