Genius Pitcher Hides 170Km [EN]: Chapter 394

#393. Bloodline

“He’s really something. Is that what they mean by a national hero?”

“To be sure, it’ll be hard for another sports figure to reach that level of popularity and recognition, Chairman.”

“Hmm, the CF [commercial film] deal is still difficult, right?”

“I apologize. I did meet with his agent, but I couldn’t even bring it up properly. It seems he has no intention of filming commercials, either in the US or in Korea.”

“Well, if you only consider his personal assets, he’s richer than me. He doesn’t need the money… Then, should I ask as a brother? After all, he could have been Chun Su-hyeok instead of Han Su-hyeok. Don’t you think so, Chief Lee?”

In the chairman’s office of Oh Kang Group, Chun Do-ha, the second-generation chairman who successfully normalized the group inherited from his father, Chairman Chun Pil-joo, in just over a decade, watched Han Su-hyeok on TV with a smile.

When the unwanted baseball team was sold to a company he had never heard of, led by the former chief of staff shortly after his father passed away,

Chun Do-ha found out: he had a half-brother.

Frankly speaking, he didn’t feel anything special.

He didn’t have much expectation for his father’s morality, and he didn’t have the luxury to care about the baseball team in such an important situation where he had to take over the group’s management rights.

Rather, he was curious. He grew up without any male siblings, so he was just curious about what kind of person his suddenly appeared brother was.

And in less than a year, he found out that his half-brother was the best baseball player in the world.

“That guy’s eyes resemble Father’s. Look at that. You should never make an enemy of someone with those eyes. Chief Lee, you agree with me, right?”

“Yes, the second young master… um, I apologize. Han Su-hyeok’s eyes do resemble the former chairman.”

“It’s okay. What are you sorry for? He’s the second young master, undeniably inheriting Father’s blood, my one and only brother. You can call him that comfortably.”

“I apologize.”

“Ha, Father, really. If I had such a reliable brother, how great would it have been if he had introduced him to me before he passed away. Chief Lee knows, right? How much I sang about wanting a younger brother.”

“Well, at that time… if an illegitimate child was revealed to the world, it would affect the group’s image… Chairman must have been worried about that.”

“I guess so. But look now. Even if he got some flak, the public opinion would have completely reversed by now, right? It’s Han Su-hyeok, not just anyone. If he was said to be from the Oh Kang Group owner’s family, it would have helped the stock price, not been a minus.”

“I agree. But now…….”

“I know, it’s too late to reveal it. For us, and for him.”

A bitter smile formed on Chairman Chun Do-ha’s lips.

He knows.

It’s too late.

Now, revealing everything would mean that both he and his brother have become people with too much to lose. Especially for his brother, who has to care about public opinion, he doesn’t want the title of illegitimate child attached to him.

He’s just resentful of his father for starting all this and leaving the world irresponsibly.

“By the way, Chairman. About the matter you instructed last time.”

“Huh? Matter? What matter? Ah, that?”

“Yes, I discussed the acquisition of the baseball team with the Yoo Seong Group, but the acquisition price was set too unreasonably, so I put it on hold for now.”

“Hmm, that guy is still overflowing with greed. Everyone in the industry knows that he has to dispose of the baseball team because of the shareholders’ opinions, but he still wants to get his money’s worth?”

“Chairman.”

“Tell me, Chief Lee.”

“In my personal opinion, I’m not sure what help it would be to the group to re-acquire the baseball team now.”

“Chief Lee is right. It wouldn’t help the group at all. It’s just, what should I say… I’ve been going to baseball stadiums with my father since I was young, so now that my management rights are stable, I want to have a baseball team again… But I can’t ask for the Warriors back, can I? Su-hyeok would scold me a lot, right? Hahaha.”

“Yes, I understand what you mean. Anyway, please take it that my opinion and the secretary’s office’s opinion is that it is not appropriate to acquire the Incheon Rangers right now.”

“Hmm, that’s what you mean… Then, Chief Lee, how about creating a new one instead?”

“Create a new one? Are you talking about the 11th team?”

“Oh, KBO [Korea Baseball Organization] is determined to go to a 12-team system, right? How about taking advantage of that trend? Where did you say the candidate sites were, Gangwon-do, Jeolla-namdo, Jeju-do, those three places? Then Gangwon-do would be good. Our research complex is there, right?”

“Hmm… It’s not a bad idea, but starting from scratch is not as easy as you think…….”

“No, I saw in the newspaper last time that Su-hyeok said something similar to wanting to create a baseball team in Jeju-do. Then it would be okay to create the 11th and 12th teams at the same time, bundled together. And at the same time, strengthen the brotherhood between the brothers. How’s my idea?”

The chief of staff remembered Chairman Chun Do-ha’s childhood appearance of pestering his parents to have a younger brother.

Only then did he realize why the chairman, who had no reaction when the Warriors were sold, is now interested in the baseball team again.

His interest was not in the baseball team, but in the meeting with his brother that might arise in the process of creating it.

“I understand what you mean. I think it would be better to create a new team full of our group’s colors from the beginning than to acquire an existing team with a lot of money. I will meet with the KBO president myself.”

“Haha, yes. Since I don’t intend to make money with the baseball team anyway, let’s start with the mind of serving the people and using it for group promotion. Then I’ll ask you, Chief Lee.”

“I understand.”

“Ah, and it’s a bit early, but… how about the team name Gangwon Kodiaks? Does it fit our group image well?”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

After finishing the conversation, Chairman Chun Do-ha turned his gaze back to the TV.

There, Han Su-hyeok, who had just finished preparing for the game, was staring at the opposing batter with sharp eyes.

The chairman watched his brother’s game with a pleasant expression, and the chief of staff, who was staring at the scene, nodded slightly without realizing it.

Han Su-hyeok’s firm eyes, which seemed like he would not compromise with anyone and would not yield an inch in what he believed was right, clearly resembled the former chairman.

Looking at the two brothers facing each other across the TV, the chief of staff vowed:

‘Chairman, I will build a bridge with your brother. I will definitely make it happen.’

* * *

Just because it’s Han Su-hyeok, and just because it’s the Warriors that Han Su-hyeok is protecting, doesn’t mean they can win every game of the season.

The Warriors’ winning rate this season has exceeded 70%, but conversely, it means they lose 3 out of 10 times, and Han Su-hyeok himself has come down from the mound without recording a win a few times.

Today was one of those days.

The away series of 3 games against the Changwon Raptors is proceeding so tightly that it is impossible to tell which team will win.

There was nothing special.

It’s just that leadoff hitter Derek Fleming, whose season on-base percentage is close to .470, hasn’t reached base even once today, and Ahn Chi-wook, who has been reliably supporting Han Su-hyeok, has been excluded from the lineup due to a sudden illness.

But even without those two, the Warriors’ power is still formidable.

Above all, the pitcher guarding the mound was Han Su-hyeok, who had never lost in a starting appearance this season.

But,

Thwack!

“Oh, oh, oh! Hey, you, what the hell are you doing!”

“Park Kyung-bae! Get your head in the game!”

“Ugh! At this important moment!”

Park Kyung-bae, a rookie second baseman who secured a starting position this season from a backup member last season, allowed the flow of the game to change strangely when an ambiguous ground ball hit by Changwon’s leadoff hitter in the bottom of the 6th inning escaped Park Kyung-bae’s glove and went out to the outfield.

The Changwon dugout, which had a golden opportunity to get a runner on first base with no outs, instructed a sacrifice bunt without looking back, and that’s how a situation of 1 out and runner on second base was created.

A time-out was requested, and Changwon’s veteran hitter Jang Geun-young, who also knew Han Su-hyeok from the national team, came up as a pinch hitter.

His skills have deteriorated a lot now, but Jang Geun-young, who boasts a career batting average of .300, is still one of the league’s top players in terms of pure contact ability, excluding long hitting power.

Thwack!

It wasn’t a well-hit ball.

Jang Geun-young’s bat was pushed back by the powerful fastball reaching 172 km/h [107 mph], and the mis-hit ball flew towards the center fielder.

In a normal situation, it would have ended as a fly ball 100 times out of 100.

But an inexperienced rookie caused an accident once again.

Seo Jun-seok, a rookie who played as a center fielder instead of Han Su-hyeok, who started as a pitcher, failed to properly identify the landing position of the ball.

“No! What are you doing!”

“Ah… really… what is this…….”

Seo Jun-seok’s glove, which he stretched out with all his might, eventually failed to touch the ball, and the ball, which should have ended as an ordinary center field fly, rolled all the way to the outfield fence.

Han Su-hyeok gave up a score absurdly due to the rookies’ consecutive mistakes.

But he didn’t waver.

He perfectly blocked the remaining innings by striking out the next two batters in a row.

“…I’m sorry. Senior.”

“It’s okay, lift your head. I know it was a mistake. You can do that at your age. You can do better in the future, why are you so discouraged?”

It’s a matter of course, but to the Warriors players, especially the rookie-level players who are playing with Han Su-hyeok for the first time this year, he was like a god.

His great career that smashed the major leagues doesn’t even need to be mentioned, and he’s even the owner of this club.

The juniors despaired at ruining such a great player’s game, and they were able to gain the strength to stand up again with the encouragement of that great player.

Thwack!

“Out!”

The Warriors players, who bit their teeth and rushed in to make up for their mistakes somehow, found that the Changwon pitchers didn’t throw a single strike to Han Su-hyeok, and the Warriors didn’t score easily.

That’s how the 7th and 8th innings passed in an instant, and finally, only the Warriors’ last attack opportunity in the regular innings remained.

[7th batter, 2nd baseman Park Kyung-bae]

As if by a trick of fate, it was rookie Park Kyung-bae, who gave up the excuse for the score with a decisive mistake in the 6th inning, who stood at the forefront of that last attack.

His eyes turned to the manager.

But manager Jo Seong-oh only nodded his head towards him.

There was no pinch-hitter operation. The manager gave him a chance to make up for his mistake on his own.

“Play!”

Park Kyung-bae, who had only gotten one walk without a hit in the previous at-bat, did his best to pick out the ball.

It wasn’t easy to get a hit against the finishing pitcher who boasts the best ball speed among the Changwon Raptors’ pitchers.

That’s why Park Kyung-bae was aiming to somehow pick out the ball and walk to first base.

Paang

“Ball.”

Paang

“Strike!”

A tenacious second-year rookie, and a veteran finishing pitcher who was determined to block this inning and take the win, engaged in a fierce battle that continued until the 8th pitch, and eventually the victory or defeat was decided.

“Ball. Base on balls!”

“Oh! Good, well done!”

“Park Kyung-bae! Lift your head! You did well!”

Park Kyung-bae miraculously picked out a perfect ball that was full on the outside high course, a ball that would have been strange if the bat had not gone out.

With no outs and a runner on first base, it was another rookie Seo Jun-seok’s turn to bat, who was feeling responsible for the score in the 6th inning along with Park Kyung-bae.

The Warriors dugout moved quickly.

Tuk

It was a difficult course ball, but Seo Jun-seok calmly succeeded in the sacrifice bunt, creating a one-out runner on second base chance.

[9th batter, left fielder Choi Min-seok out, pinch hitter Ahn Chi-wook]

A huge roar erupted from the Changwon Stadium away seats at the announcer’s mention.

It was because Ahn Chi-wook, the main gun of this team who was out of the starting lineup today due to poor physical condition, came out as a pinch hitter.

Once an unwanted child of this team, he had grown into the most reliable hitter in such an important chance.

Ahn Chi-wook, the runner-up who is following Han Su-hyeok in all batting categories this season, caused the Changwon finishing pitcher’s mentality to shake wildly, and eventually the unstable mentality even affected his control.

“Ball. Base on balls.”

“Good!”

“Let’s go!”

Four consecutive balls flew in.

A situation of 1 out and runners on 1st and 2nd base was created, and the Changwon dugout requested a time-out.

The Changwon finisher, who had his head down, went down from the mound, and an unexpected pitcher went up to the mound instead.

The Changwon’s foreign ace pitcher, who was injured at the end of the first half and was adjusting his return schedule, was on the mound.

It was a bold gamble to put the team’s ace, who was originally scheduled to start in the next series, on the mound in this situation.

It was a gamble by the Changwon manager, who knew that catching a game in which Han Su-hyeok pitched meant more than just one win.

But,

Thwack!

Even that ace couldn’t stop the Warriors’ momentum.

The intention itself wasn’t bad. It’s just that luck wasn’t on their side.

The ball hit by the 1st batter Derek Fleming in a situation of 1 out and runners on 1st and 2nd base powerfully extended along the 3rd base line.

It seemed like the ball would be sucked into the glove of the 3rd baseman who threw his body with all his might, but the 3rd baseman, conscious of the double play, fumbled the ball, and in the meantime, the bases were filled.

“Ugh! Ouch! Ouch! I’m really going crazy!”

“No, it’s okay! It’s good enough that you blocked it!”

A one-out, bases-loaded crisis created in that way caused the Changwon Raptors players and fans’ hearts to beat like crazy.

[2nd batter, pitcher Han Su-hyeok]

The announcer’s voice, which had no emotion mixed in, sounded like a death sentence.

Everyone’s eyes turned to him.

A monster among monsters who is writing a myth in the KBO following the major leagues, and recently surpassed 1,000 home runs in both leagues.

The victory that had come so close was now far away.

The face of the Changwon ace, who volunteered to pitch for the team’s victory, turned white.

Thwaaaaaack!

With a huge hitting sound, the tower that Changwon had painstakingly built up until now collapsed.

There was no miracle.

Han Su-hyeok, who overturned the game in an instant with a grand slam, went to the mound in the bottom of the 9th inning and finished the game himself.

Everyone who watched the game that day said in unison:

The saying that there is no player greater than the team is now just a relic of the past. Isn’t there a player greater than the team standing tall in front of our eyes?