Genius Pitcher Hides 170Km [EN]: Chapter 393

392. The Time to Speak Up

I never thought it would get this extreme.

That was the sentiment that summed up the reactions of Korean baseball officials and fans after the first half of the 2040 KBO [Korean Baseball Organization] League season.

We expected it to some extent, but we never imagined it would be this overwhelmingly dominant.

With Han Su-hyeok’s return, the addition of big-league-caliber foreign players like Derrick Fleming, Jose Carlos, and Eric Barkley, and the spirited performance of veteran players who had been on a downward spiral for the past few years, the Warriors dominated the league with a staggering record of 55 wins, 4 draws, and 21 losses in the first 80 games, a winning percentage of 0.723.

And that wasn’t all.

Han Su-hyeok, the team’s owner, the previous season’s Major League MVP, and Cy Young Award winner, terrorized the KBO in the first half as a batter with a batting average of 0.457, on-base percentage of 0.586, slugging percentage of 1.102, 47 home runs, and 97 RBIs, and as a pitcher with an ERA [Earned Run Average] of 0.32, 13 wins and no losses, and a WHIP [Walks plus Hits per Inning Pitched] of 0.41—numbers that would be unbelievable even in a comic book.

It was only natural that Han Su-hyeok received over 80% of the total votes, an overwhelming 4.2 million votes, in the KBO Dream All-Star team’s outfielder category, where approximately 5 million votes were cast.

As the first half, marked by the Warriors’ and Han Su-hyeok’s dominance, came to an end, the teams that would challenge for the fall baseball [playoffs] slowly began to emerge.

1st place: Seoul Warriors

2nd place: Busan Titans

3rd place: Suwon Commanders

4th place: Seoul Magicians

5th place: Incheon Rangers

6th place: Daejeon Falcons

7th place: Changwon Raptors

8th place: Gwangju Jaguars

9th place: Daegu Buffaloes

10th place: Seoul Fighters

The most notable was, of course, the Busan Titans in second place.

With Park Jang-yeol, who is almost the only dual-threat player besides Han Su-hyeok, two star hitters brought in from the Rangers and Magicians, and a new foreign pitcher who replaced Hector Santiago, who was hit by Han Su-hyeok and sidelined for the season.

The Busan Titans, with all of these elements in harmony, proudly secured second place with a winning percentage of 0.592, the best in the team’s history.

Following closely behind were the traditional powerhouse Suwon Commanders, the Magicians who initially aimed for the championship but were repeatedly thwarted by the Warriors, the Incheon Rangers who were criticized for problems with their manager selection, and the Daejeon Falcons who were considered to have had bad luck with their schedule in the first half, all forming the mid-tier group and fiercely battling it out.

As the mid-tier battle for the fall baseball cut-off was so intense, various rumors spread throughout the baseball world leading up to the All-Star break.

The Fighters, having given up on the season, were putting up their starting players as trade bait, the Daejeon Falcons’ owner smashed the general manager’s head (figuratively, implying a severe dressing down), the Incheon manager collapsed again due to old age, and so on.

As always, the biggest interest was in how much each team would fill their gaps with the trade deadline looming.

Of course, there was an exception.

The Seoul Warriors, who were considered to have a complete roster already, perhaps the best team in history, prepared for the second half by consolidating internally without any significant moves.

Han Su-hyeok, who showcased left-handed pitching and left-handed batting in the All-Star game divided into Dream All-Stars and Sharing All-Stars, was selected as the MVP [Most Valuable Player] with overwhelming support, and all teams were given a two-day break.

For the Warriors’ first game of the second half against their Seoul rivals, the Magicians,

Han Su-hyeok, Min Ye-rin, and Ahn Chi-wook boarded a flight to Jeju Island ahead of everyone else for the first three-game series of the second half, which would be held in Jeju Island as a special event, and to take care of pending matters using the break.

* * *

“Oh my, welcome. Did you come straight from the airport? Have you eaten?”

“Hmm.”

“Mom, don’t use the dialect. I told you, they can’t understand it. And aren’t those people outside the house uncomfortable? Why are so many gathered here?”

“Oh dear, look at me. I’m sorry. No, I told you to speak casually, right? I’m sorry. You came all the way here to rest, but there are too many eyes watching, aren’t there? Everyone was begging to see the face of our town’s savior… I’ll go out and tell them to go home. Just a moment!”

Yerye-dong, a quiet rural village located in Seogwipo, Jeju.

It was Ahn Chi-wook’s hometown and the location of Han Su-hyeok’s villa.

In this village, far from the city, Han Su-hyeok was truly a VIP among VIPs.

He was a great baseball player and a wealthy man, but beyond that, he was a hero who saved the town from being recklessly exploited by Chinese capital.

Of course, from Han Su-hyeok’s perspective, it was merely something he did for a friend who was worried about a trivial matter, but from the recipients’ perspective, it was an incredibly grateful act.

After Han Su-hyeok bought land here and said he wanted to live here after retirement, teaching his juniors, the Yerye-dong area became a kind of sacred ground.

Winter training grounds, various training facilities, and baseball museums were built one by one on the outskirts of the village, and after it became known that Han Su-hyeok’s hand had touched this place, it became a must-visit attraction for domestic and international tourists.

The villagers, who had no other source of income besides tangerine farming, were able to live a more prosperous life by doing business with those tourists.

So, there was no need to explain what Han Su-hyeok meant to the townspeople.

“The town is nice. Quiet, and the air is clean. It’s by the sea, but it’s not very humid.”

“Yeah, this town is a bit like that. It’s perfect for farming.”

“Hmm.”

After finishing a dinner filled with the sincerity of the townspeople, Han Su-hyeok, Min Ye-rin, and Ahn Chi-wook left the house for a walk.

Jeju’s night, where there were hardly any streetlights and only moonlight and starlight, yet it was bright enough to walk.

They made eye contact with the townspeople every time they walked, but thanks to Ahn Chi-wook’s mother’s earnest request, no one approached them directly.

“Hey, Han Su-hyeok. If you go that way, you can take a walk around the village along the stone wall path. If you keep following that path, you’ll come back here. Don’t forget the way.”

“Where are you going?”

“Oh, I’m going to meet some friends since I came to my hometown. Hang out with Ye-rin. See you at home tonight.”

He said that, but Ahn Chi-wook was giving Han Su-hyeok and Min Ye-rin some time alone.

For these lovers who hadn’t been able to spend much time together since the season started, to have some quality time like this.

“Oppa [term of endearment for older brother or boyfriend], I really like this town. I’m glad I came along.”

“Yeah, I only bought the land. This is my first time actually coming… The town is nice.”

“Are you really going to come and live here after you retire?”

“Yeah, at first I thought about just living in Seattle… but I don’t think so anymore.”

Min Ye-rin knows that Han Su-hyeok decided to stay in Korea because all the people he cares about are on this land.

He doesn’t show it much, but he cares about them a lot.

“The land Oppa bought starts from that museum building…….”

“Well, you can assume I bought all the land that caught my eye there.”

“…That’s amazing.”

“Well, the Chinese guys had already done all the work to buy it, so I didn’t need to persuade the landowners separately, and I just bought it all at once.”

“Oppa.”

“Yeah?”

“I think I like the countryside more than the city too.”

“Huh?”

“I really like tangerines, and I’m more physically fit than I look, so I’m confident I can do farming.”

“Hmm.”

“I’m also a good swimmer. I haven’t tried diving, but I think I’ll be good at it.”

“Um, Ye-rin.”

“Just, just saying. Let’s go in now. Let’s have just one beer and go to sleep.”

On the way home, Min Ye-rin’s face, lit by the moonlight, was slightly flushed.

In that moment, the times he had spent with her flashed through Han Su-hyeok’s mind.

And he realized.

That the time had come, that he needed to take courage for the sake of his grateful lover who had been by his side for so long.

Let’s walk towards the same place, let’s overcome any difficulties together.

That the time to say that was imminent.

“Oppa, just one picture of me here. I don’t know if it will come out well at night? But it’s so pretty.”

That night, on a rural night road in Jeju with not a single streetlight, Han Su-hyeok realized.

* * *

“On behalf of the 700,000 citizens of the province, I once again welcome Han Su-hyeok’s visit to Jeju, and we will continue to actively support and encourage Han Su-hyeok at the provincial level…….”

The governor of Jeju’s encouragement speech, which drained all the energy from your body just by listening to it, and the three-game series between the two Seoul rivals, which began with a ceremonial first pitch, began in Jeju.

“I think we need to build a baseball stadium first? If we build a stadium here, can we hold at least a few games regularly a year, hyung [term of endearment for older brother or close male friend]?”

“Hmm, should we look into it?”

“Yeah, please look into it. Even if there isn’t a professional team, this is a bit much.”

Han Su-hyeok, looking at the Jeju Sports Complex Baseball Stadium located in the middle of Jeju City, which was woefully inadequate for hosting professional games, said to Park Seong-hoon.

Park Seong-hoon, who had flown to Jeju Island with the intention of taking a half-vacation away from his busy team management, recalled what Han Su-hyeok had said a while ago.

‘I’m just saying this in case… you haven’t heard any talk about creating a new team yet, right? It’s been a few years since the KBO said they wanted to create 12 teams and have a two-league system, right?’

‘Well, I think they’re looking into it here and there, but it’s not easy to create two teams at once. You can think of it as just the searching stage for now.’

‘Really? Then what if the creation of one team is confirmed? Would the process speed up a bit then?’

‘Huh? Did you hear something? Where are they creating a baseball team?’

‘I was thinking of creating one myself.’

‘What are you talking about? You already have the Warriors, and you have another one in the United States, and you’re going to add another one here?’

‘Yeah, it just occurred to me, Gangwon-do and Jeju-do don’t have baseball teams affiliated with them. Since I already bought land in Jeju-do, I thought it would be fun to try it out.’

‘Hmm, I wonder if it’s possible to own two teams in the same league……. Let’s put that aside for now, what are you trying to get out of it? Hey, the Jeju-based professional soccer team fails every time. The market here is too small.’

‘I told you, because I’m bored.’

‘You’re going to do something like that because you’re bored?’

‘Yeah, I have to spend some money anyway. Even if I spend that much money, my balance keeps growing and I can’t handle it. I’m not going to start a business, and this is what I’ve learned, so I might as well create another baseball team since it’s come to this.’

‘Lucky bastard… you have so much money that you’re going to do that.’

‘Hehe, anyway, please look into it.’

What Han Su-hyeok just said, asking if they should build a baseball stadium in Jeju first, was probably an extension of what he had said before.

Cooperating with Jeju Island, which has infinite trust in Han Su-hyeok, to build a new baseball stadium, holding regular games there a few times a year, helping high school players in the province, and slowly promoting baseball in Jeju in that way…….

‘Wait, this might not be impossible…….’

The businessman’s sense, which had been built up over more than 10 years of running a professional baseball team, told him.

It might be better than he thought, and considering Han Su-hyeok’s wealth, which allows for unlimited investment, it could be a good business in the long run.

Just as Park Seong-hoon was engrossed in planning a new business,

Thwack!

A huge sound of impact echoed, Han Su-hyeok, who had hit the ball, raised his hand and circled the diamond, and the people of Jeju, who were seeing professional baseball for the first time in a long time, shouted Han Su-hyeok’s name until their throats were torn.

It was the moment when Park Seong-hoon’s thoughts, which had been somewhat negative about creating a new team, began to lean slightly towards approval.