On The Rise As A Catcher [EN]: Chapter 88

“Me?”

Kim Jeong-ryul and Peng Hye-ri looked at Song Seok-hyun.

“Ah, yes. I understand.”

“Okay, Seok-hyun. Go help her out.”

“Romi, should I go with you?”

“No, unni [older sister]. Seok-hyun said he’d help, so I’ll go with him.”

Song Seok-hyun, caught off guard, left with Yoon Romi first.

Kim Jeong-ryul watched them walk away, lowering his voice.

“It seems like Romi really likes Seok-hyun.”

“You think so too, oppa [older brother]?”

“Yeah, it’s obvious. Romi was the one who texted Seok-hyun first last night.”

“Really? Romi first? She’s not usually like that.”

“Seok-hyun called me in the middle of the night, asking what to do.”

“Seok-hyun is so innocent.”

“They seem to match well, don’t they?”

“But… aren’t they still too young? He’s just turned twenty.”

“It’s only a four-year difference. Isn’t that a perfect age? Four years apart. They say compatibility doesn’t matter with that age gap.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah, compatibility is subtly important. Four years apart. Good, just right.”

Kim Jeong-ryul took a sip of his coffee, watching Peng Hye-ri’s reaction.

Peng Hye-ri looked down, avoiding Kim Jeong-ryul’s gaze.

Four years.

It was a coincidence, but that was also their age difference.

* * *

“They seem to match well, don’t they?”

Yoon Romi said, looking at Kim Jeong-ryul and Peng Hye-ri reflected in the window.

Song Seok-hyun nodded.

“Yes, they seem to match well.”

“I thought you were ignoring me yesterday because you didn’t reply.”

“Ah, that’s…”

“Have you really never had a girlfriend before?”

“No. It’s not that extreme, but I haven’t seriously dated anyone.”

“That’s right. You’re a complete newbie, aren’t you?”

“No, I’m not.”

“Cute, haha. You’re really cute.”

Yoon Romi stared at Song Seok-hyun.

Song Seok-hyun looked away.

“Let’s go to the hospital quickly. Should I call a taxi?”

“Let’s take our time. I don’t need to go to the hospital.”

“Yes? Why?”

“I don’t have any luggage. I just made an excuse so your oppa and unni could have some quality time together.”

“Ah… that’s what it was?”

“You really need to be more perceptive. Can’t you see your oppa and unni are using me as an excuse to go on a date? You should slip away in situations like this.”

“I’m not really good at this kind of thing.”

Song Seok-hyun scratched the back of his head.

“Then I guess we can go home now.”

“What’s the rush? Weren’t you here to visit me?”

“That’s true, but…”

“You came to cheer me up, but you’re leaving already?”

Song Seok-hyun couldn’t find an answer and rolled his eyes.

“Let’s go to a cafe and have a cup of tea. How about that? You have time for that, right?”

Yoon Romi didn’t wait for Song Seok-hyun’s answer and walked ahead.

Song Seok-hyun couldn’t leave the limping Yoon Romi behind and followed her.

“Take it easy. You’ll get hurt.”

Yoon Romi’s lips curved up at Song Seok-hyun’s words.

Rising Star Catcher

Destiny

“Here you go.”

Song Seok-hyun picked up the coffee and cake and returned to his seat.

Yoon Romi took out her phone and took pictures of the food first.

“Looks delicious! Right?”

“Yes, it looks delicious.”

“Shall we eat?”

Yoon Romi cut a large piece of cake and ate it.

“Mmm, delicious. Do you want to try some?”

Yoon Romi cut a piece of cake and held it out to Song Seok-hyun.

Song Seok-hyun was momentarily flustered, but Yoon Romi held the fork right in front of his mouth.

“Hurry.”

Song Seok-hyun opened his mouth and took the cake.

“How is it? Delicious, right?”

“Yes… it’s delicious.”

Song Seok-hyun mumbled, looking around.

The cafe was packed with people after lunchtime.

“But… um…”

“Call me nuna [older sister]. Nuna.”

“Yes. Um, nuna. There are a lot of eyes watching. If you do this to me, it’ll be difficult for you.”

“Why? I’m wearing a hat. Who would recognize me?”

“Still, there might be people who recognize you. Wouldn’t it be troublesome?”

“There might be people who recognize you, but no one will recognize me.”

“I’m not that famous. How would anyone recognize me?”

“Then what are you worried about? Are you afraid of getting caught?”

“It’s not about getting caught… I’m just worried that there might be strange rumors about you.”

“What kind of rumors?”

“Um… scandals…”

“With you? Dating rumors?”

Song Seok-hyun’s face turned bright red.

“Why? Would you be upset if you had dating rumors with nuna?”

“No, no. It’s not that I’d be upset.”

“Then it’s fine. What’s wrong with nuna and dongsaeng [younger sibling] eating and drinking coffee together? Right? Aren’t you overreacting?”

Song Seok-hyun was at a loss for words.

Was he really overreacting?

The only close female friend he had was Na-young.

His relationship with Na-young was more like friends than a man and woman, which made him even more confused.

Na-young feeding him cake?

The thought alone made his hands and feet curl, but he wondered if he was being too sensitive.

“See, look. No one recognizes me.”

Yoon Romi suddenly took off her hat.

Song Seok-hyun was flustered and couldn’t say anything.

The people in the cafe were busy with their own things and didn’t pay any attention to Yoon Romi.

“See, you’re just being too dramatic. Look.”

“Well, I guess so. Sorry.”

“What are you sorry for? I thought you were inexperienced, but it’s true.”

Just then, Yoon Romi’s phone rang.

Yoon Romi looked at the phone and got up to go outside.

Song Seok-hyun was left alone, waiting for Yoon Romi.

After a while, Yoon Romi returned to her seat with a sullen expression.

“What should I do? My mom and dad are home now. I think I need to go home now.”

“Ah, really? Then you should go.”

“Sorry. I just sat down.”

“It’s okay.”

“I’ll buy you something delicious next time. Let’s eat together then.”

“Yes, yes. I understand. Should we get up now?”

Song Seok-hyun returned the tray and left the cafe with Yoon Romi.

Yoon Romi sighed.

“Next time, let’s go to my favorite dessert cafe instead of here. It’s called Sunshine Brunch, and I really love their croissants. Have you ever had a matcha croissant?”

“No. I don’t really eat those things.”

“That’s good. Let’s eat together next time. I eat their croissants to cheer myself up when I’m feeling down. They have black tea, matcha, and chocolate. They have everything delicious.”

“Yes, I understand. Please wait here for a moment. I’ll get a taxi.”

Song Seok-hyun was able to get a taxi quickly.

Before leaving in the taxi, Yoon Romi opened the window and waved her hands.

“Thank you for today. Goodbye. I’ll contact you later.”

“Yes, go in safely.”

Yoon Romi chuckled as Song Seok-hyun bowed politely.

“Hey! If you’re so formal, it makes me look like a mean senior!”

Yoon Romi rolled up the window and sat back.

The sunlight coming through the window illuminated Yoon Romi’s face.

Yoon Romi smiled brightly, showing her teeth.

“Hah.”

After parting with Yoon Romi, Song Seok-hyun sighed first.

He was so nervous that his head was spinning.

His heart was pounding, wondering if people would recognize Yoon Romi.

“I don’t have much time left.”

Song Seok-hyun looked at his phone and quickened his pace.

His schedule was tight today, as it was a long-awaited day off.

Originally, he was planning to rest until the morning and catch up on his delayed appointments until late in the evening.

Thanks to Kim Jeong-ryul, he had wasted time until lunchtime.

Thanks to that, he had no time to catch his breath and hurried along.

* * *

“Hello.”

After parting with Yoon Romi, Song Seok-hyun headed to Ilshin Middle School.

He had no personal connection to Ilshin Middle School, but it was the school where Coach Lee Gi-seong, who had recommended Song Seok-hyun to go to GOT [Guardians of the Team, a professional baseball team], was coaching.

“Wow, you really came back successful. Haha.”

Coach Lee Gi-seong hugged Song Seok-hyun tightly when he saw him.

“I’m sorry. I should have visited more often, but I only called.”

“No, no. I’m grateful that you came like this. I’ve been watching your games every day. You’re doing well. You’re doing really well.”

“Thank you. It’s all thanks to you, Coach.”

“It’s not thanks to me. You’re the one who did well. Rather, I’m benefiting from you. The kids are going crazy because I said I know you. Haha. Sign autographs later. Got it?”

“Of course. Absolutely.”

Coach Lee Gi-seong called the Ilshin Middle School players and introduced Song Seok-hyun.

Song Seok-hyun was awkward and didn’t know where to look, but the young players looked up at Song Seok-hyun with admiration.

“See? You guys didn’t believe me. I told you I knew Song Seok-hyun, right?”

The young players looked at him curiously but hesitated to approach.

Song Seok-hyun paused for a moment, then shook off his awkwardness and greeted them first.

“Hello. Nice to meet you.”

“Hello.”

“Speak comfortably, comfortably. I’m still not a great player, but thanks to the coach, I was able to enter the pros. The coach is my benefactor.”

“Hey, don’t call me a benefactor. Haha.”

“So you guys should listen to the coach. He’s a really good person.”

At that moment, one of the young players raised his hand.

“Um… I have a question.”

“Yeah, what is it?”

“How can you hit home runs so far?”

The child who asked the question was a head shorter than his peers.

His hair was cut short like a chestnut, and his eyes were sparkling, making him look cute and making you laugh just by looking at him.

“The secret to home runs… that’s my secret.”

“Can’t you teach me? I want to hit home runs too…”

“Haha, okay. I’ll tell you. I’ll only tell you guys.”

Song Seok-hyun looked at Coach Lee Gi-seong.

He was asking the coach for permission as he was coaching them personally.

“Okay, shall we hear the home run secret of the GOT’s fourth batter?”

When Coach Lee Gi-seong gave his permission, Song Seok-hyun lowered his voice and said to the children.

“The secret is…”

Song Seok-hyun paused for a moment as he spoke.

If he told the young children about batting theory in detail, there was a high possibility that they would not understand.

Since he was very young, he had been looking at baseball books with Jung Mi-nam and Kim Young-seok and memorizing most baseball theories.

When he was groaning from injuries in high school, he searched the internet with Kim Young-seok and encountered new baseball trends early on.

Song Seok-hyun’s batting form was different from the usual batting form because it was a form that incorporated the theories he had built up since he was young, his own experience, and his intuition.

Even if a professional player had a weak theoretical foundation, they could quickly understand what Song Seok-hyun was saying, but middle school students lacked the theoretical and experiential foundation to understand.

Too much is as bad as too little.

His story could give the young friends a bias.

If middle school students, who still lack strength, were to narrow their strides, hip turn, and pull-hit with a full swing, they could ruin both accuracy and power.

“Um… um…”

As Song Seok-hyun hesitated for a long time, the young players looked at Song Seok-hyun.