On The Rise As A Catcher [EN]: Chapter 73

After getting hit, Song Seok-hyeon signaled an apology to the pitcher.

The pitcher waved his hand, indicating it was okay.

The pitch, aimed inside, drifted to the center of the plate.

He was fortunate that it didn’t result in an extra-base hit.

Song Seok-hyeon looked at Gyeong Su-in, who was on first base, and mentally berated himself.

“I should have just walked him. Ugh, frustrating.”

He realized it only after the hit.

It was greed.

There was no need to compete against the cleanup hitter [the batter positioned to hit after the first two, typically one of the team’s best hitters].

Gyeong Su-in was slow.

Even if they gave up a run, it would have been better to load the bases and aim for a double play.

When winning by a large margin, it’s more important to secure an out, even if it means conceding additional runs incrementally.

Using a large lead to end the game quickly prevents the opponent from having a chance to come back.

The team with a big lead tends to lose focus, while the trailing team becomes more focused.

If the score difference narrows, cracks appear, and another big inning can emerge from those cracks.

Song Seok-hyeon tapped his cheeks and looked at home plate.

The catcher is the field commander.

He can’t be swayed by emotions.

The catcher should only think about one thing:

The team’s victory.

Song Seok-hyeon extended his mitt as Oh Seong-deuk came to the plate.

‘Fastball, inside.’

Even though he gave up a hit to Gyeong Su-in, Song Seok-hyeon didn’t change his pitch selection.

If the hitter is strong, you have to exploit their weaknesses, but if not, you should emphasize the pitcher’s strengths.

Jeong Cheon-un is a sidearm pitcher with a dirty finish [a pitch with unpredictable movement].

If they needed a double play, a sidearm fastball diving inside was perfect.

Thwack!

“Oh Seong-deuk hits it! But this time, the shortstop fields it cleanly and throws to second! Out at second! Out at first! Double play! It’s a double play!”

“The Phoenix scored an additional run, but all the runners are out. This loosens the reins on their pursuit.”

“Song Seok-hyeon’s pitch selection today is really aggressive. Even after giving up a hit to Gyeong Su-in, he called for an inside fastball on the first pitch.”

“It seems like an interesting player has emerged. He’s cautious at the plate but aggressive as a catcher, haha. Isn’t it usually the opposite?”

“That’s right. Catchers usually manage the game conservatively, but Song Seok-hyeon is the opposite.”

“This is fun, this game. The score difference is big, but it’s a really fun game.”

The game ended with a 14-5 victory for the Goat.

They gave up an additional run to the Phoenix, but it ended as a single.

The game MVP was starting pitcher Han Min-seok.

Normally, the baseball sites and Goat fan pages would be going wild.

It was a big win, and Han Min-seok, who had been struggling, showed signs of revival, and the rookie catcher made valuable contributions.

Articles about Song Seok-hyeon should have been pouring out, but there was almost no mention of him.

Choi Dae-gyu’s drunk driving and Lee Nak-gyun and Kang Mun-gyu’s club sexual harassment incident broke out simultaneously.

The names Choi Dae-gyu, Lee Nak-gyun, and Kang Mun-gyu trended, and the Goat’s official website crashed. Fan pages were flooded with criticism of the players.

A bomb had dropped, but Song Seok-hyeon was just grinning, holding his first hit ball.

On the way back in the car, the players belatedly read the articles and sighed.

Song Seok-hyeon also belatedly took out his phone and was shocked.

48 missed calls.

Jeong Mi-nam and Kim Na-yeong, Kim Yeong-seok, as well as his mother, younger sibling, and high school baseball teammates had all called.

“Ah… I didn’t tell them.”

Seeing 12 missed calls from Kim Na-yeong made him feel a chill down his spine.

Rising High as a Catcher

Friends

1 AM.

It was time to unpack and rest at the dorm, but the Goat’s bus was in Jamsil [a district in Seoul].

It was because of a small fire at the Daejeon away game accommodation.

A fire broke out in a guest room due to a guest smoking in the room, causing the sprinklers to go off and the fire department to be dispatched.

It didn’t turn into a big fire, but the accommodation was chaotic.

It was too late to find another accommodation.

Considering the game location was Daejeon, the Goat immediately put the players on the bus and returned to Seoul.

Song Seok-hyeon couldn’t go straight home.

He was bowing his head deeply and apologizing repeatedly at a neighborhood pub.

“I’m really sorry. I didn’t even think I’d be playing as a backup, so I didn’t expect to play.”

Kim Yeong-seok grumbled with his arms crossed.

“For a game like today, I should have gone to watch it live, taken pictures, and gotten autographs. It’s your first professional game. Later, when you become famous, people will ask us if we went to Song Seok-hyeon’s first game, and we’ll look ridiculous if we say we didn’t even know you debuted.”

Jeong Mi-nam chuckled.

“Why are you stretching your imagination so far?”

“Baseball is about records, records. You should take pictures at a game like today, sign the uniform, and sign the ball, then seal it and wait. Later, when Seok-hyeon becomes famous, wow, how much will the price go up?”

“Are you thinking of selling Seok-hyeon’s stuff?”

“It’s not selling, it’s that the value will increase. Who said anything about selling?”

Song Seok-hyeon poured drinks into Kim Yeong-seok and Jeong Mi-nam’s glasses.

“I’m sorry. I was so flustered that I didn’t have time to call you guys. Honestly, I was dazed throughout the game today. Who knew I’d debut so suddenly? Especially as the cleanup hitter… I never dreamed of it.”

Jeong Mi-nam emptied his beer in one gulp.

“I was honestly dumbfounded too, but congratulations on your first debut. I didn’t expect it to be this soon.”

“I know. It hasn’t even been half a year since I was worried about how I’d make a living.”

Kim Yeong-seok took out his phone.

“Let’s take a picture. I have to brag to the department kids.”

“Hey, what bragging? The kids don’t even know my name.”

“Hey, why wouldn’t they know the Goat’s cleanup hitter? Even if they don’t, they should. Let’s take a picture.”

“Don’t brag about that at school. It’s embarrassing.”

“Wow! Are you already acting like a big shot? Look at you acting up.”

“It’s not acting up.”

“Just let me take a picture. My friend is a professional baseball player! The cleanup hitter! I want to brag, and you won’t even help me? How much have I helped you?”

“Okay, okay. Let’s take a picture. I’ll take a hundred for you. Happy?”

“I don’t need a hundred. One good one is enough.”

Kim Yeong-seok went next to Song Seok-hyeon and took out his phone.

Then Jeong Mi-nam slyly stuck his face next to Kim Yeong-seok.

“What’s this lump?”

“Hey, let me take a picture too. Why are you two being so stingy?”

“This has to be a two-shot of Seok-hyeon and me to look good. It’s cramped, cramped. Take it later.”

Song Seok-hyeon snatched the phone.

“Okay, okay. Both of you shut up. One, two, three!”

As Song Seok-hyeon counted, Kim Yeong-seok and Jeong Mi-nam smiled brightly, making V signs.

“Kimchi!” [a traditional Korean side dish of salted and fermented vegetables, often used as a word to say when taking pictures, like “cheese”]

* * *

After the get-together, Jeong Mi-nam and Song Seok-hyeon headed home.

Kim Yeong-seok, who was going in a different direction, had left earlier.

“Na-yeong must be really pissed, seeing as she didn’t even come out today.”

Song Seok-hyeon shrugged at Jeong Mi-nam’s words.

“When I called, she just snapped at me and hung up. She doesn’t answer my calls, and she’s ignoring my texts.”

“With Na-yeong’s personality, it might last a while.”

“Maybe…?”

Song Seok-hyeon kicked a pebble in front of him.

The pebble bounced off the curb and rolled away.

Jeong Mi-nam said with his hands behind his back.

“Are you two going to keep bickering like that?”

“What?”

“You and Na-yeong. Just date already. It’s harder for the people watching. You both like each other, so why are you playing tug-of-war?”

Song Seok-hyeon stopped walking.

“Does it look like that?”

“Don’t you like her?”

“…Is it possible not to like her? She’s pretty, she’s good at studying, and her personality is… well, well.”

“Well, what? With that face and that personality, it’s a given.”

“Even if I like her, do you think Na-yeong and I are a good match?”

“Seriously. What wouldn’t be a good match?”

Song Seok-hyeon turned his head.

It happened to be next to the elementary school they used to attend.

“Do you remember when we had home visits or something like that when we were kids?”

“Uh… did we have something like that?”

“Already got dementia?”

“Hey, I might not remember. But why that?”

Song Seok-hyeon said, looking at the school.

“Even after my dad passed away like that, I didn’t really know what it meant, what it meant to not have a dad. I gradually realized it as I grew up. Home visits and family surveys at school. That’s when I started to feel different from the other kids. Back then, we had intense family surveys. Whether the house was rented or owned, whether we had a car or not, how many ccs [cubic centimeters, a measure of engine displacement] the car was. They asked all sorts of things.”

“Why don’t I remember?”

“Did you get shot in the head? Or are you Son Ye-jin? Do you have an eraser in your head?” [a reference to the Korean movie “A Moment to Remember” where the main character suffers from amnesia]

“I really don’t remember.”

Song Seok-hyeon let out a hollow laugh.

“Well, it might be nothing to ordinary kids, but I cringed every time I had to do that. My feeling was exactly that I wanted to hide if there was a mouse hole. I was so embarrassed I could die.”

“Was that so? Why didn’t I know?”

“How would you know if I didn’t say anything?”

Song Seok-hyeon blinked his dry eyes.

“There was even an aunt who told the kids not to play with me because I didn’t have a dad.”

“Really? She talked like that? So you just stood there?”

“What else could I do but stand there? And it wasn’t just one or two people, there were quite a few like that in the neighborhood. I couldn’t fight them all, and even at a young age, I thought I shouldn’t cause trouble. My mom was already spaced out every day, and if I caused trouble too, I thought there would be a real disaster in our family. So, I developed a strong sense of reality. I also realized that I was very different from you guys. Your father is known as a prominent figure in this neighborhood, and Yeong-seok’s family is a doctor…”

“Hey, I’m hurt. You’ve been thinking like that?”

“That’s just the reality, the reality. That’s why I played baseball like crazy since middle school. Because I thought I was the only one who could lift our family up.”

“…You little punk. You should have told me if you had those worries.”

“It’s okay, it’s okay. Where in the world is there a family without worries?”

Jeong Mi-nam sniffled even though he didn’t have a runny nose.

He didn’t know what to say to his friend’s calm confession.

Should he comfort him, get angry, or make a joke?

They were both too young to have a serious conversation.

“Hey, but what does that have to do with Na-yeong? Is there some kind of class barrier?”

Jeong Mi-nam changed the subject by bringing up Na-yeong.

Song Seok-hyeon started walking again.

“Na-yeong has been a star in our neighborhood since she was little. Not just our neighborhood. There wasn’t a kid in the area who didn’t know Na-yeong. With that face and always being in the top 10 in school, how could she not be famous? You too, Yeong-seok too, and me too, we all liked Na-yeong at least once. She was just… in a different class. She was so unattainable that I couldn’t seriously confess and gave up.”

“…You knew I liked her too?”

Jeong Mi-nam coughed awkwardly.

“I have that much sense. Why wouldn’t I know?”

“So, you gave up?”

“More than that… um… ha.”

Song Seok-hyeon turned around and looked at Jeong Mi-nam.

“Since you two are always trying to hook me up with Na-yeong, I’ll be honest with you. Don’t tell anyone else. Especially not Na-yeong.”

“Why are you being so serious?”

“A long time ago, around Na-yeong’s birthday, I scraped together all the money I didn’t have to prepare a gift for Na-yeong. At that time, I even prepared a letter to confess and even prepared a flower.”

“What? Damn. Haha, what is it. Goosebumps. Have you already confessed? But why are you two like that? Did it not go well?”

“Listen to the end, you punk.”

Song Seok-hyeon lowered his head and looked at the ground.

“I was waiting in front of Na-yeong’s house when Na-yeong’s mother came. Na-yeong’s mother saw my gift. That look in her eyes… um… anyway, it was hard to explain, but it was a very troubled look. Na-yeong’s mother snatched my gift and said she would deliver it for me. The atmosphere was so strange that I couldn’t say anything and just left. But when I asked Na-yeong the next day, she said she only received the gift. There was no mention of the flower or the letter at all.”

“Ah… really?”

“At that time, I didn’t have a clue, so I thought her mother might have forgotten to deliver it, so I tried to call her house and ask her mother. But her mother’s voice, which was usually so kind to me, was different.”

Song Seok-hyeon closed his eyes and recalled that time.

-Seok-hyeon, isn’t this not the time for you to be doing this?

-Shouldn’t you be working hard at exercising too?

-I hope you and Na-yeong remain close friends.

-Seok-hyeon, now is a very important time for you. Na-yeong needs to focus on her studies.

-Seok-hyeon, don’t be upset and listen. Na-yeong has her own path. It’s hard to understand what I mean, but you and Na-yeong have different dreams and different paths, right? Na-yeong will study hard, so you should work hard at baseball and be successful. Okay?

-Auntie really cherishes our Seok-hyeon. Please get along well with Na-yeong in the future too. Promise. You promised?

Song Seok-hyeon only repeated, ‘Yes, yes,’ with his head bowed like a sinner at that time. His face turned red enough to burn, and tears welled up for some reason and wouldn’t stop.

-Isn’t this not the time for you to be doing this… Isn’t this not the time for you to be doing this… Isn’t this not the time for you to be doing this…

Na-yeong’s mother’s words kept swirling in his head.

It was harder to bear the self-pity than the shame.

After his father passed away, his mother supported her two children while sleeping only 3-4 hours a day.

Song Seok-hyeon insisted that he would continue exercising even in their poor circumstances, saying it was his father’s wish.

Thanks to that, his mother spent every day of the year without a single day off.

He was amused by himself for thinking about doing everything like others and enjoying everything.

“So, you gave up because of Na-yeong’s mother? Because she opposed it?”

“Rather than opposition, that’s the reality. I have a brain too, you know. If you think about it a little, it’s obvious. If you were me, would you want your daughter like Na-yeong to be involved with a family without a father and with a declining fortune? Besides, I was from the sports club and was on a path to ruin in high school. So, what kind of soft first love would I be talking about?”

“Hey, why are you so self-deprecating…?”

“Call it reality awareness. It was a luxury to hate anyone. Man, I’m the head of the family. How can I take responsibility for someone else’s precious daughter if I can’t even take responsibility for my own family?”

Jeong Mi-nam frowned slightly.

He felt a surge of anger, but he couldn’t criticize Na-yeong’s mother.

Normally, Na-yeong’s mother was gentle and took care of Seok-hyeon, Mi-nam, and Yeong-seok like her own sons.

If someone other than Song Seok-hyeon had told the story just now, he wouldn’t have believed it.

“Why do you have to think about taking responsibility when you’re just dating? You’re getting ahead of yourself, you.”