episode_0332

“Ugh, why complicate things over a simple fight between two people? Can’t they just come to a peaceful agreement? Three teeth were knocked out. Wouldn’t it be better to settle for 600 each at 200 per tooth?”

“What the hell! Do I look like a beggar to you? Playing baseball like a thug! Is that how one should behave in society? Huh? It won’t do if the police get involved!”

“From what I’ve heard, it seems like the thug is on that side… running illegal websites as well.”

“Hey, what’s up with that punk now, Mokarano? Want to end up dead?”

“Ugh, sir. Please don’t call him a punk.”

Against the police’s objections, Kang Ho-cheol turned his head to look at me.

“This… damn Jimaeng-ho, this bastard, doesn’t even recognize his senior!”

What kind of bullshit is this?

“A senior? What senior? Damn it, I’ve never considered you, a thug like yourself, as my senior. Sue me, damn it!”

“You’re the kind of guy who needs to eat humble pie. I’ll make sure you never play baseball again.”

“Sue me, you son of a bitch.”

“Ahem, Player Maeng-ho. Calm down for a moment. Let’s talk again when the lawyer arrives.”

That shameless guy. I should have shut him up completely so he couldn’t speak, but even though he was a thug who had just gotten out of the emergency room within a few hours, Kang Ho-cheol came into the police station and caused a scene.

“Should I really have killed him?”

Honestly, if I had kept hitting him, he might have died, but my weak heart must have been a hindrance until the end. While pondering various thoughts, Kim Team Leader, who had been outside answering a phone call, appeared.

“So, can Player Maeng-ho go in and check? Confirm his identity as well.”

“Um… well, the victim…”

“Hmm… still not here?”

“Yes?”

And with Kim Team Leader’s words, Kang Ho-cheol’s phone started ringing.

“What the hell is this?”

Kang Ho-cheol, looking angry, checked his phone and then, looking surprised, answered politely.

“Yes, hyungnim, no, sir.”

-“You son of a bitch! Where are you and what are you doing, you bastard! What the hell, where are you?”

And with the voice booming through the phone, the police station echoed. Even without a speakerphone, the loud voice reverberating around indicated how angry the caller was.

“I’m sorry, sir. I’m currently in Seoul…”

-“You bastard, do you think I don’t know that? Don’t give me any crap, come down. Come down before things escalate further! You have 2 hours, you bastard.”

“…Yes?”

-“Yes? Yes? This bastard still hasn’t come to his senses, after I helped out a loser like you whose life was going downhill, you dare mess up my path like this? Wrap things up there and get down here immediately. You bastard!”

“Yes? Yes. Understood.”

…What’s going on? After taking the call, Kang Ho-cheol began to prepare to leave his seat in a hurry.

“Where are you going?! What about the settlement?”

“Deal with it yourself, I don’t have time!”

Ignoring the police’s words, Kang Ho-cheol rushed out. He definitely seemed in a hurry.

“Well, it seems like the settlement ended amicably, but can we also go in?”

“Yes? I did mention settling earlier, but we need to determine if it’s assault or battery…”

Despite the awkward smile from the police officer assisting with the statement at Kim Team Leader’s words, soon a man’s voice could be heard.

“It’s not assault, it’s just simple battery. Sang-cheol, it’s just a simple battery case. Settle amicably and finish it that way.”

“Captain…!”

It seemed like the police chief was speaking.

“Kim Team Leader, I’ll take care of this, so you can go.”

“Yes, Captain. Please take care of it.”

“Yes, leave it to me.”

“Player Maeng-ho, please go in. You don’t need to worry anymore.”

Kim Team Leader nodded when he said that, but I was also taken aback by the current situation. It seemed like Kang Ho-cheol had received a call from their boss and left… As I stepped outside with a bewildered feeling, Kim Team Leader spoke in a quiet voice.

“President Cheon has taken care of everything. Well, it wasn’t a clean situation to begin with. If we delay here like this, the police will definitely come to the workplace. What are they thinking, coming all the way to the police station and causing a scene? Those gangsters…”

“S… So President Cheon helped.”

As expected of So-young.

“Yes. By the way, you’re really passionate about baseball. It’s fortunate that there’s a legitimate reason, otherwise it would have been quite difficult if there were allegations of match-fixing involved. Please be careful from now on, Maeng-ho Player.”

“Oh, okay.”

“And there will be reporters waiting in front of the office, just pass by without saying anything. We’ll prepare a script for the press conference tomorrow.”

“Oh… Okay.”

Looking around, the early morning sunlight was shining into the room through the window. I had come here late at night, but it was already dawn; it seemed like quite some time had passed since Kang Ho-cheol woke up until now.

And as I stepped outside, just as Kim Team Leader had mentioned, people were lined up in front of the main entrance.

“Oh? It’s Ji Maeng-ho!”

“Hey! Ji Maeng-ho is out!”

“Darn, there are so many of them.”

I had never seen so many reporters before…

“Player Ji Maeng-ho! Why did you assault a civilian?”

“Please say something!”

Darn… With so many reporters crowding around, I felt like I was losing my mind.

“J-just a moment. I am Ji Maeng-ho’s lawyer. We will hold a press conference tomorrow, please check back then.”

“Just a moment! According to reports, the incident occurred at a bar. Did you assault someone while intoxicated?”

Ignoring the reporters lined up as discussed with Kim Team Leader, as I tried to pass by, a question that couldn’t be ignored reached my ears.

“Many baseball fans are shocked by Player Ji Maeng-ho’s violence. Aren’t you sorry for the fans?”

“Sorry?”

“Yes! Player Ji Maeng-ho received much love from fans after winning MVP last season, but to cause such an assault, don’t you lack self-awareness as a public figure?!”

“For now, I’m not sorry.”

“What…?!”

“Yes? Please explain clearly.”

“I did hit someone. But I don’t regret it.”

“…What are you talking about.”

“Of course, violence is never acceptable under any circumstances. But as someone who loves baseball, I couldn’t tolerate it, so I hit him.”

“Are you saying you did nothing wrong?”

“I did what needed to be done. Anyone else who loves baseball would have acted the same in that situation, not just me.”

“What do you mean? How can you hit someone and still be so confident?”

“I didn’t hit a person. I just straightened out a bastard.”

“What?”

“That bastard, he proposed match-fixing to my close younger brother. I couldn’t stand it. That’s all. I’ll talk more about it tomorrow. That’s all.”

“…Player Ji Maeng-ho!”

“Please tell us more details!”

“Player Ji Maeng-ho!”

I pushed away the reporters holding onto me and got into the car prepared by Kim Team Leader.

“Am I going home now?”

“No. First, go to the team office to talk to the Thunder’s director and the KBA president. Then rest a bit, wake up, and hold a press conference.”

“Understood.”

Driving for a few minutes, I arrived at the club office without realizing it, where the chairman and director of the KBA were waiting inside.

“Player Maengho! Is it true that you caught the match-fixing culprit?”

Especially, the chairman of the KBA greeted me noisily upon my arrival, seeming eager to know the exact situation.

“Yes. I have all the recorded files.”

“I listened to it. But… there was no need to fight like that. It would have been better if you had reported it to us, we could have handled it ourselves…”

Actually, that would have been fine. But I also wanted to teach that guy a lesson. Jun-hoo was as good as introduced to that club by me. Yet he tried to sabotage our team by manipulating him. The sense of betrayal was overwhelming.

Moreover, I never liked that guy from the first meeting. He was disrespectful from the start, calling me “senior” and using informal speech.

“The former and the latter. Which one carries more weight?”

“…Still the former.”

…60:40? Honestly, I didn’t expect things to escalate just because I beat up one thug. In movies, thugs don’t even press charges, right? A petty guy.

“Well, it’s fortunate that an agreement has been reached.”

“Phew, thank you for coming out from headquarters. It would have been difficult for us to handle it alone…”

“No problem. We’re in the same boat. The chairman was very pleased with your performance last year. He was especially happy when you won.”

Come to think of it, right after winning, the chairman of the AT Group did want to meet me, but So-young told me not to go since she would handle it well. It’s still too early for formal meetings or something like that.

“So, Maengho, is the recorded content here true? That this Kang Ho-cheol person approached Jun-hoo suggesting match-fixing.”

“Yes, it’s all true.”

“Sigh… Still, seeing that it was recorded like this, Jun-hoo must have felt something was off.”

“Yes, it’s complicated to explain in detail…”

As I was about to explain in detail, the door to the director’s office opened, and a familiar voice was heard.

“Maengho hyung! Are you okay!?”

“Jun-hoo!”

“Phew, phew. I was being questioned because of that woman and just got here. Let’s sue her for fraud first, oh, hello. Chairman.”

Earlier, he stopped me from hitting that woman when we fought, but now, after some time, it seemed he had come to his senses.

“Oh, Jun-hoo, you came at the right time.”

“Yes, the director asked me to come right away.”

“Shall we hear the details then? Since you are directly involved in the incident.”

“Yes, understood, Chairman.”

“And Maengho, no matter how much you hit the match-fixing culprit, violence is still violence, you know?”

“Yes, I understand.”

“It seems inevitable that there will be internal disciplinary action within the league. Considering the regulations, it’ll probably be a minimum of 30 games. There’s also a fine of 5 million won.”

30 games? Is that on the lenient side? Well, it wasn’t too bad.

“Actually, if it weren’t for the special circumstances like Maengho’s case, it would result in severe disciplinary action, but considering the uniqueness of the situation, if public opinion is favorable, we plan to minimize the consequences. Maengho, in the future, if anything like this happens, please contact the association first.”

“Yes, I’m sorry.”

“Oh, a news article just came out. Ji Maengho involved in violence dispute, the opponent is a match-fixing culprit?”

At the director’s words, I quickly turned on my phone to find the article.

– Ji Maengho involved in violence dispute, opponent is a match-fixing culprit?

…AT Thunder’s Ji Maengho embroiled in controversy over a violence dispute, with the victim allegedly soliciting match-fixing…

-Wow, it wasn’t just a brawl.

-As expected of Maengho, I believed in him!

-Shouldn’t he get an award for this?

From a quick search, it seemed that public opinion wasn’t too negative.

“Hmm, with this level of public opinion, it seems we might be able to reduce the disciplinary action. We will have a meeting internally first. However, that doesn’t mean there won’t be any discipline. Assault is a serious offense no matter the circumstances.”

“Yes, understood.”

“Then Maengho can go. I’ll discuss the details with Junhu since he’s directly involved in the incident.”

“Thank you for your hard work. And Chief Kim, thank you for your help today.”

“It’s nothing. It’s only natural. Oh, and your car has been moved to the parking lot, so you can take it from there.”

“Thank you. Goodbye then.”

After exchanging greetings and stepping out of the office, looking at the morning sunlight, a sense of pain in his hand made yesterday’s incident feel real. …Was he too excited?

“Damn, it’s all peeled off.”

While his skin was indeed peeling, fortunately, it seemed like his bones and ligaments were unharmed.

“This is all because of Mr. Rosby!”

“Why is this guy suddenly blaming me? Is he crazy?”

“Mr. Rosby kept gaslighting me on the side, that’s why.”

“Crazy bastard, that’s just your nature.”

A well-known kind person like me wouldn’t engage in such violent behavior. This is all Rosby’s fault. It was clear that Rosby was manipulating my brainwaves.

“…Bastard. But still, didn’t it feel good to hit him? Hehe.”

“…Well, it did. Hehe.”

As he conversed with Rosby and walked home, they arrived quickly, and a pleasant smell started wafting through the hallway.

“What, you’re already up? Well, it is morning after all.”

Opening the door of the house filled with the aroma of food, loud voices could be heard from the kitchen.

“Mr. Maengho!”

“Is Ms. JoEun here too?”

Seeing JoEun wearing an apron, she seemed to be preparing breakfast. Then SoYoung must be inside as well. Whenever JoEun cooked, SoYoung was always there to assist her.

“Yes! We slept together and were getting ready for breakfast! Nothing special happened, right?”

“Well, of course not.”

Upon hearing our voices, SoYoung, also wearing an apron, walked out of the kitchen.

“Elder sister…!”

Seeing SoYoung in an apron, memories of the events of the previous day and how SoYoung had helped came flooding back, bringing a smile to my face naturally. It truly felt like coming home. Since our parents passed away, I hadn’t experienced this feeling for a long time. It feels like coming home after a long time.

“You’re back?”

“I’m back!”

“…Welcome back.”