Peaceful Bullpen Life [EN]: Chapter 47

“Hey, Hyuk-joon.”

“Yes?”

“You have tofu on the back of your head. Do you know what that is?”

“…Yes?”

Myung-jin stroked the back of Hyuk-joon’s head and said,

“It’s the occipital region [the bone at the back of the skull]. Hee hee……”

“……”

“Then, do you know what the tofu next to you is?”

“Ah, hyung. Please… please……”

“That’s the temporal region [the sides of the skull]. Hehehe.”

“Aaaaargh!!”

I had a nightmare. I shot up in bed, breathing hard, and looked around.

It was such an intense nightmare that it woke me up instantly, even though I’m usually a light sleeper.

That bastard Lee Myung-jin. I’m going to smash his occipital bone.

“Hoo……”

Ah, it was just a dream. A hopeful dream, at least.

I picked up my phone. One of my new habits these days is checking the league standings as soon as I wake up.

Sangsoo, Dongsung, Visco, Gaya. The top four teams remained the same. Wonha was three steps below Gaya, and Sungwoon was one step below that.

“Let’s see……”

I’m not interested in Sangsoo and Dongsung. The game difference with Gaya remains at 3 games.

Even though we took a winning series with a 2-1 record against Sangsoo in the weekend’s 3-game series, the game difference remained the same.

Right, we won the first day with my 3-inning plus, and we lost the next day cleanly.

It was difficult to let the two bullpen seniors, who had pitched three consecutive games in the previous weekday series, rest for only one day and send them out again. It would have been burdensome to make me, who had pitched 3-plus innings the day before, pitch again.

Yesterday’s starter was just… a rookie from the minor leagues who only had the *name* of a 5th starter. It was a half-abandoned game.

And in Sunday’s game, Hyuk-joon, who pitched again, cleanly blocked them for 8 innings with 2 runs allowed. Although Senior Kyung-seok allowed a home run, the difference from the 5 points we had already gained was significant.

In the end, even after acquiring the Comfort trait, I still haven’t been able to use it properly.

Too bad.

Still, I’ll be able to see some strength in the Gaya games starting tomorrow.

– Your love is……

“Ah, damn, you scared me.”

Only then did my phone’s alarm go off. It was the first time I checked the time since waking up. 10 AM.

I woke up a few minutes earlier because of Myung-jin, who was spouting nonsense in my dream. That’s good, but the process is terrible.

Seriously, I’m going to smash his occipital bone soon. I braced myself and quickly went to wash up.

I washed up neatly and shaved quickly. Thanks to the haircut I got a while ago, I fixed my hair with wax and looked in the mirror.

“Damn, I look good.”

I also put on some nice clothes. Since I’m tall and have broad shoulders, clothes look good on me.

Humming, I got into my car and headed to a restaurant in Gangnam [a wealthy district in Seoul known for its upscale dining and entertainment].

“I have a reservation for Kim Han-wool.”

“Yes, this way, please.”

It’s not a super fancy restaurant, but it’s not a terrible one either. Just a delicious place.

I sat down at the table I was guided to and took out my phone. I wondered how people in this day and age could live without a phone, but I was also a person of this day and age.

The time I was supposed to meet Min-young was 12 PM. It’s 11:47 AM now.

Since I had some time left, I skimmed through the internet, which I couldn’t finish earlier. I checked the information from other stadiums in the headlines and then moved on to individual rankings instead of team rankings.

…I can look, right?

Feeling a strange sense of guilt, I clicked on the holds tab. A list of players with many holds appeared, but I was at the top.

Since I started, I touched my name itself on the far left, and my performance this season came up.

28 games, 42.1 innings, 2 wins, 0 losses, 17 holds, 6 saves, 47 strikeouts, 21 walks, WHIP 1.09.

“Oh……”

I’m showing my qualities as a special bullpen pitcher this year as well. The first year of my FA [Free Agent] contract. At this point, wouldn’t it be praised as a beneficial contract?

I nodded my head in satisfaction and then pressed the home button on the search bar instead of the home key on my phone. My name briefly appeared in the real-time search terms on the main screen of the search engine.

Huh?

“Ah, you came early.”

But before I could properly check it, Min-young appeared, and I had to put my phone on the table.

“No, I just arrived.”

I gave her a polite response.

Once the party gathered, an employee approached. The order was completed with a short request for what we had reserved, and then we were alone again, and the conversation began to bloom.

“Aren’t you tired?”

“Friday was a bit tough… but I feel better after resting for two days.”

“I still don’t understand why Han-wool is staying in the middle [referring to his role as a middle relief pitcher].”

“It’s comfortable. Mentally. The position of closer is not for me.”

Strictly speaking, the closer’s daily schedule was similar to the starter’s weekly schedule. Except for very special cases, the times they go out are fixed.

But the middle is different. Nothing is fixed. There is a framework of when to send them out, but the cases where it is followed are less than you think.

Don’t ask if I can go out, just tell me to go out. I’m always ready.

A famous quote from a legendary pitcher.

I don’t throw the ball with that much noble sense of duty, but rather, I understood it in my own way.

If you tell me to go out, I’ll go out.

That suited me well.

“Ah, and I saw the article!”

“Yes?”

“Yes?”

When I asked back, she asked back instead.

“Don’t you know that Han-wool is currently #1 in the real-time search rankings?”

“Ah… I think I saw it briefly just now. But I didn’t check……”

“Hehe……”

Min-young gave a sly smile.

“Then check it out yourself. I think it’ll be better than me telling you.”

What is it? I feel uneasy. Did I have a scandal? Or am I involved in something?

I picked up my phone again in a daze. As soon as I turned on the search engine, my eyes went to the top article among the articles that appeared when I touched my name.

[Wonha Challengers Kim Han-wool, donates 30 million won [approximately $25,000 USD] worth of baseball equipment to his alma mater with baseball equipment company Rolling Stones.]

“Ah.”

My hand quickly touched the article.

There is a 100-year-old American baseball equipment company called Rolling Stones, and so on, and so on, and so on, and so on, so they donated 30 million won worth of baseball equipment. That’s roughly the content.

Whether I should say it’s fortunate or natural, the comments were very good.

Just light……! From comments like that, there were also people who became interested in the company called Rolling Stones.

For me and for the company, it was a situation where we each enjoyed an image that was more than the amount we donated…….

“I told you not to talk about it……”

“Yes?”

It’s burdensome.

So I explained the whole story.

The article didn’t say anything particularly wrong or distorted, but there were omissions, so I explained the situation at the time, adding details in between.

And why I told her not to talk about it.

“Um… I think it’s better to be known?”

But Min-young’s thoughts were different.

“Because Han-wool is donating like that, wouldn’t other players also donate to their alma mater or to students in need? Or even if it’s not necessarily another player, other baseball equipment companies might donate.”

Seeing my fingers fidgeting in embarrassment, Min-young smiled and continued to speak.

“Then the students who receive the equipment will play baseball more comfortably, and they will get better grades, right? Then, of course, the quality of future Korean baseball will be much more elegant, right? The future players who get such good grades will donate again, and the future players will donate again!”

…Clap, clap, clap.

I stared blankly at Min-young with my mouth wide open.

“Min-young, you like baseball more than I do.”

“I probably don’t like it as much as Han-wool does.”

“I don’t like baseball, I just hold on to it because it’s a way to make money. I think I’ve already transcended the stage of liking it.”

“Still, you can’t even hold on to it if you don’t like it.”

I saw an angel. A pretty angel.

“Ah, so……”

Somehow, thanks to the donation story, the flow of the story seems to fit together quite well. I picked up the shopping bag that was carefully placed next to my right foot and put it on the table.

“This. It’s a gift for Min-young.”

It’s called a shopping bag, but it’s just a paper bag similar to the ones you buy at a dollar store. And the contents aren’t that great either.

“T, this is……”

From my point of view.

“A, are you gi, giving it to me?”

“Yes, it’s a gift.”

“……”

An old baseball glove with a lot of dirt and cracks all over it. But for my fans, what could be a better gift than this?

“Oh, what should I do……”

“No, don’t cry.”

She’s really about to cry. Please don’t do that.

Many fans want to have the equipment that their favorite baseball player actually uses.

Whether to receive it and keep it.

Or whether a person who plays baseball as a hobby will receive the player’s energy and play their own baseball.

Or whether to sell it on the used market.

The decision is up to that person, but Min-young here was someone who would belong to the first type of person.

“Ah, this. I have to hide it from my dad.”

“Yes? Why?”

“If my dad sees it, he’ll definitely ask me to give it to him. Ah, what should I do? He’s someone who comes into my room without hesitation, so even if I decorate it somewhere in my room, he’ll see it and ask what it is.”

“Oh……”

I didn’t think of that.

“Th… I’ll give your father a signed ball soon… something like that……”

“Yes… I guess I have to.”

It seemed like she received too big of a gift and couldn’t handle it.

Seeing her carefully put it back into the shopping bag while maintaining its original shape, I thought it would be fun to play catch with Min-young if I had the chance later.

“Would you like to play catch with me sometime if I have the chance later?”

That thought jumped out on its own.

“Yes?”

“Ah, no.”

“Yes!!”

“…Yes.”

Forcefulness.

The look in her eyes, which even felt resolute, made me feel a bit scared.

“Then are you going down to Daegu today?”

Finally, the food came out.

Pilafrice [a seasoned rice dish], steak, and pasta.

Min-young immediately took the pasta and mixed it around, and I took the steak and started cutting it into bite-sized pieces.

After about a minute of preparation for eating, the two happily moved their forks and spoons.

“Right. Now it’s the series with Gaya.”

“If it’s three games……”

Come on, no way.

“We can sweep them!”

“……”

Please.

“I’ll try my best……”

“Han-wool, Kyung-seok, and Eun-gu can all pitch, right?”

“Right? I’m resting for three days today, and Eun-gu has rested for about five days. Kyung-seok can probably pitch for about an inning, but I don’t think they’ll push him too hard.”

“And Gyu-jin is starting!”

“Yes, yes.”

“We have to win!”

Why do I feel such determination from her?

It seems like she has more of a competitive spirit or obsession as a fan. The feeling of that aura reaching me wasn’t bad.

“Then, in Han-wool’s opinion, what place do you think we’ll get this year?”

“Um……”

I put down the pilafrice that was heading towards my mouth and pondered.

Full brain operation.

“…4th place?”

“Like last year?”

“Yes. But wouldn’t it be a more comfortable 4th place than last year?”

“Heh… and then win in the semi-playoffs?”

“We have to win. Win and go to the playoffs. Go to the Korean Series. Win in the Korean Series too.”

“Korean Series Championship!”

“We have to.”

Last year’s semi-playoff media day, I called for 3 years, but shouldn’t we shorten that period a little, or as much as we can?

I wanted to make the person in front of me smile happily.

Effort.

It’s still a long way off. It’s been a year and a half since I received the system’s help. Even though I’ve received quite a long time, and thanks to that, I’m maintaining the top performance in the league, there are still many shortcomings.

In other words, there are more parts to develop, and those parts will never be small.

First of all, the Gaya series that will start tomorrow. It was time to test the newly added Comfort trait right away.