Peaceful Bullpen Life [EN]: Chapter 62

Practicing, training, and finishing up games.

The days that could be called routine continued, ignoring my will.

In the midst of these potentially boring days, the fun I could find was the leisure I enjoyed before games, thanks to my position.

Just as I was leaving the smoking room with Youngjin, I heard,

“Hanwool!”

The team’s little one appeared.

“What is it?”

“Ah, today I need to… ugh, the smell of cigarettes!”

“Do you like the smell of cigarettes?”

“Would I like it?”

“I thought you did. You only call me when I come out after smoking.”

“Agh……”

“Come back when the smell fades.”

I waved Eunseo away with my hand.

“I need to talk to you now.”

“What is it?”

“You’re not busy right now, are you?”

She was holding her nose, so her voice sounded nasal, which was quite amusing to listen to.

“I don’t like how you say that as if it’s obvious.”

“But it’s true.”

“……”

“I was hoping you could give some pitching guidance.”

“Pitching guidance? Me?”

“Yes. The person who’s doing the ceremonial first pitch specifically mentioned Hanwool.”

…Why me?

“Hanwool, you’re secretly popular with women, aren’t you?”

“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“Seoyeon specifically asked for you!”

“…Who is that?”

“……”

Eunseo’s face, as she looked at me with pity, clearly said, ‘Seriously?’

“If you say anything about me being old, outdated, or a fossil, you’re dead.”

“Ah, I got caught. But do you really not know?”

“Who is it……”

“Essentric! Don’t you know? Like, like this!”

She hummed a song and flailed her short limbs around, but I wasn’t sure what kind of ritual she was performing.

Either she’s hoping it won’t rain, or she’s hoping for Wonha’s good performance this season, one of the two.

“An idol, an idol. The idol group Essentric. They’re the hottest group these days.”

“I’m not really interested……”

“It seems that way. Anyway, Seoyeon primarily wants to receive pitching guidance from Hanwool. Is it possible?”

“Do I have to go right now?”

“Yes.”

“Okay… Yeah, let’s go.”

The good thing about being a relief pitcher is that you’re relatively free from having to do something mandatory until right before the game.

I followed Eunseo to the indoor practice field inside the stadium.

On the way, she gave me a long lecture about how Wonha Mitube [Wonha’s YouTube channel] and Essentric Mitube would be filming, and reporters would be there, so don’t do anything stupid.

I vaguely acknowledged it and opened the door to the indoor practice field.

After passing through the familiar green nets, one, two, three, I saw a crowd of people.

I saw several cameras and the place was bustling, so I immediately thought, ‘Ah, a celebrity!’

“Hello~!”

Eunseo, who had entered through the net I had lifted, greeted them brightly and approached first. But the gazes of those who were already there were focused on me, not Eunseo.

Oh!

Wow!

Among the many people, there were a few who stood out. They looked like the idol members of that Essentric or whatever group she mentioned.

“Ah, hello!”

The tallest woman among them poked her face out. Her sharp, cat-like face and bright smile made her look quite pretty.

“Yes, hello.”

“Oh my, what do I do, he really came!”

“Sis, calm down.”

“Hey, it’s real!”

“Ah, sis!”

I didn’t know who Seoyeon was, but I didn’t create an awkward atmosphere by asking, “Who is Seoyeon?” I figured she’d come to me on her own.

Sure enough,

“Please take good care of me today!”

It was the tallest woman from before. I subtly checked her attire.

She was wearing a Wonha uniform on top. Her name, Seoyeon, was written on it, and her number was 4. She wore comfortable-looking jeans and sneakers.

I liked her preparedness.

“We’re going to start filming. We’re filming, but Essentric is also filming separately, so if you do anything stupid, you’re in big trouble.”

Ah, Essentric. Not Electric.

“What kind of stupid things would I do……”

“Hehe. I warned you.”

Shoo, shoo.

“I, I’m really a fan of Kim Hanwool!”

“Ah… thank you.”

“You don’t seem to believe me.”

“I believe you. I really believe you. Actually, I knew Seoyeon was my fan even before Essentric debuted.”

“Do you know when we debuted?”

“I’m sorry.”

Seoyeon’s eyes narrowed. I needed to change the atmosphere quickly.

“But why… are you my fan? There are a lot of other good players, you know?”

“Just because! I just think Kim Hanwool is really cool!”

Just because… I feel like I’ve heard that somewhere before.

“Really! Oppa [term used by younger women to address older men], give me my phone!”

She even called out to another cameraman who was filming us. She snatched the phone from him as he hurriedly approached and showed me the screen after a few taps.

“Look!”

Her SNS [Social Networking Service] account had quite a few photos related to Wonha and me.

It seemed obvious that she often came to Wonha games, and the jersey she wore every time had my name on it.

I subtly touched the post dates and saw that it was from 2016. Okay, this alone certifies her as a true fan.

“Um… Seoyeon?”

“Yes!”

Seoyeon’s face lit up as if she was happy just to have her name called.

“Um……”

Pitching guidance… but how……

“Have you ever thrown a ball before?”

“I’ve thrown it a few times.”

“Then let’s see you throw it once.”

“Ah, yes!”

Throughout the practice field, there were target boards commonly seen in golf courses.

She stood facing the target board, took a step back with her left foot, and raised both hands above her head. Then, as her hands came down to her chest, her left knee rose high.

Her pelvis opened and her knee spread out. Then, the elbow connected to her awkwardly opened shoulder came forward, and the thrown ball arrived far above the target board with a ‘thud’ sound.

“How is it?!”

Wow, you throw so well! You can tell you’ve played baseball! That’s what I should be saying.

“Um… um……”

But for some reason, this occupational hazard of mine made me feel overwhelmed.

“Are you perhaps imitating my form?”

“Yes! Is it similar!”

No.

“You can tell you’ve practiced a lot.”

Giggle!

She was so happy to receive a compliment that she went to her team members and clapped her hands together, rejoicing.

“Let’s fix just two things.”

“Yes!”

“My form is a bit… difficult to imitate. Let’s keep it simple. Everyone has a different balance, so if you arbitrarily imitate someone else’s form, you’ll go downhill.”

“Ah… yes.”

“First, the leg. You’re turning out like this now, right? Turn it like this. This butt needs to face that way.”

Initiating.

“No, like this. Move your weight like this, no, no, like this. No. No.”

If she were a guy, I would have just grabbed her pelvis, waist, and knees to give her a feel for it.

But since she was a different gender, I was afraid of causing a big misunderstanding if I did that. And that led to frustration.

“…Feel like your left Achilles is pointing first. Yes. Yes, yes. That’s it.”

First problem solved.

“And the arm.”

“Yes.”

“You’re throwing like this right now, right?”

“M-me?!”

“Check the video later.”

“Oh……”

The so-called Tyrannosaurus throwing method.

“Your elbow shouldn’t come forward.”

“Yes? But you have to throw the ball from the front……”

“It’s not wrong to say you throw from the front, but um……”

How should I explain this?

After a moment of thought, I picked up a ball that was rolling around and stretched my arm out to the side.

“Here. Like this. This isn’t the front, right?”

“Yeees.”

“You throw the ball from the side, from the side. Not from the front. Feel like your left shoulder to your throwing hand is almost a straight line.”

A light demonstration.

Swoosh, bang!

Wow……

Oh!

“You can hit with power if you throw from the side. Try it.”

“Yes!”

I showed her a demonstration, so I hoped she would imitate it at least somewhat.

Moreover, she’s an idol, so her athletic sense honed through dance,

Thud—

It was hopeless.

“Pelvis like this. Yes, yes. Try to turn out like this. Here, what do you call this on the right? Should I call it the front of the pelvis? Yes, feel like you’re throwing the ball with this. Yes, yes.”

‘Exciting! Essentric Seoyeon’s Pitching Guidance! feat. Wonha Challengers Pitcher Kim Hanwool.’

The fans of Essentric who would click on this video would have expected a giggling atmosphere and ‘Oh my, what do I do! Giggling,’ and lines like that.

But the reality was very different.

Giggling? Not at all. Seoyeon’s academic zeal was so great that even the other members and the PD [Production Director] over there who was filming were just blankly watching.

She’s not even going to be a player, but I thought this was enough for a ceremonial first pitch. Even when I thought it was enough and told her that, she didn’t accept it and wanted a little more, a little more teaching.

I couldn’t refuse the sight of her sparkling eyes, so I kept teaching her.

Plop!

As a result, thanks to the definitely changed movement of her body, she looked definitely different from before, when she was making a weak sound.

Only then did she seem satisfied, and she immediately threw away the seriousness from a few seconds ago and ran to her team members, clapping her hands together as before.

After that, a simple interview.

With cameras on both sides, they asked how she felt, how it was to see Seoyeon in person, whether Seoyeon had a talent for baseball, and other miscellaneous interviews came to an end.

Time was slowly approaching the start of the game, so it was time to go back.

“Ah, you worked hard. If you just do as I taught you, the ball will look cool even if you throw it from the mound.”

“T-thank you……”

“Yes. Good luck.”

She’s pretty, though.

I lightly bowed, feeling the dignity of an idol center, and was about to leave when,

“T-there!”

The phone was thrust in front of me.

“…Why?”

“C-could you give me your number?”

“……”

Why?

As I blinked and stared at her phone, she seemed anxious and added an unnecessary explanation.

“Later, if I have any questions or if anything hurts, I wanted to ask you.”

If it’s something like that, I could just say… but I’m very perceptive.

Her sparkling eyes and pleasantly flushed face were a clear sign of affection.

“Ah……”

I scratched my head, thinking of Minyoung. But it felt a little ambiguous to refuse using Minyoung as an excuse.

“…Yes.”

As I typed in my number, I had the impossible thought that it would be good to become that kind of relationship with Minyoung soon.

“T-thank you! I’ll contact you later!”

“Yes, yes. Do well later.”

“Yes!”

Thank you!

Essentric for you!

Giggle—

They did their trademark thing, shouting their slogan with what seemed like disciplined movements, and then returned to a giggling atmosphere.

“Oh. Hanwool, you’re popular.”

“What popularity……”

“But really, reeeally. Did you really not know Essentric?”

“I’m not interested in idols.”

“Why? Don’t all guys like female idols? I heard they memorize them all in the army.”

“I’m exempt.”

Ah.

“Be careful, don’t get into any weird scandals with Seoyeon.”

“What kind of scandal would I get into? There’s a big age gap.”

“Do you even know how old Seoyeon is?”

“No.”

Please don’t look at me like that.

“How old is she? Twenty-five? Ah, twenty-seven.”

“The same age as Eunseo.”

“Ooooh……”

“If you do that again, you’re dead.”

“Anyway, be really careful about scandals. It’s already famous that Seoyeon likes Hanwool.”

“I’m saying, why would a scandal happen to me?”

“Do you think rumors are just rumors for nothing? They make up things that don’t even exist. You know Essentric has a lot of fans, right? If you get caught up in something, you’re really going to go downhill.”

“I know, so don’t make that face. It’s really scary.”

Ah, I really want to grab the top of her head and push her down.

“But why didn’t I know?”

“Know what?”

“That she liked me. Looking at it, it seems like she liked me since before the 16 season. Then she’s a real fan.”

“You don’t know because you’re not interested in the people around you. What have you been doing all this time?”

“Eating and playing baseball.”

“That’s true. Try to do that from now on. You don’t care about anything around you. You’re always thinking about baseball.”

Not really… I’m not always thinking about baseball or anything.

“Anyway, I warned you. Be careful.”

“I know. I didn’t do anything stupid, and I won’t in the future either. Don’t edit it weirdly.”

If you give me an iced Americano, I’ll edit it well for you! Hehe! I shooed away the little one who was laughing and returned to the dugout.

It seemed like the meeting was already completed without me, so the atmosphere was quite chaotic.

“Hey.”

“What.”

“I heard you saw Seoyeon.”

“Yeah.”

“You bad bastard.”

“Suddenly?”

“He’s a bad bastard, I’m telling you?”

What I received upon returning to the dugout was a fierce welcome from my peers. Seungjoo and Hooni led the way, and even Hyung Sunghoon, who was usually taciturn, welcomed me with swear words.

Essentric’s Seoyeon will be throwing the ceremonial first pitch.

After the national anthem, Seoyeon finally appeared.

As expected of a popular group, the stadium was filled with tremendous cheers upon their appearance. Before throwing the ball, she received the microphone from the stadium announcer and gave a brief speech.

“Wonha Challengers, fighting! I hope I can wear the Wonha uniform and throw the ceremonial first pitch not only in the semi-playoffs this year, but also in the playoffs and the Korean Series! Thank you!”

Even though she’s someone who has danced and sung in front of many times more people than the audience here, she clearly looked nervous.

She threw well during practice, but I could see that she made a few mistakes in the actual game. She seemed to know that too, as her face was full of regret.

Still, good job!

I was clapping my hands, encouraging her as a mentor, when,

“Thank you!”

Seoyeon turned her head, made eye contact with me, bowed her head in my direction, and made a heart with her thumb and index finger. I didn’t know how to react, so I just pretended I didn’t see it.

“Did you see that? Did you see that? She made a heart to me?”

“You idiot, why would she do that to you? She did it to me.”

“Do you want to die? It’s obviously to me!”

“Shut up, she did it to me, you punks.”

“Hyung [term used to address older male], stay out of it!”

Thanks to that, a mess broke out in the back.

Yeah, this is what our team should be like.

“Hyung.”

“Why.”

“But what about the autograph?”

Even you……

The question asked by Gyuhak, who was sitting next to me, made me grimace.

“Now that I see it, Hyung, you’re really shameless. Can’t you do something like that for the catcher who always works hard?”

“…Okay. I’m a bad guy.”

This bastard……

Of course, Gyuhak, who should be protecting the home plate from the start of the game, was starting on the bench today.

The starting catcher today was none other than Juho.

A catcher who can show the potential of at least Giseong or even Sunghyun in offense, but loses all his skills in defense.

He calls strikes as balls, misses blocks, and throws to Andromeda [extremely far away].

As for leading the pitchers, there’s nothing special, just a very simple lead.

Play ball!

The starting pitcher to lead this catcher who needs conversion is Hyung Gyujin.

He’s the most experienced and seasoned among the starting pitchers, so it’s a natural match.

Play ball!

A time when the outline of the rankings is becoming clear. A game that is comfortable if it’s comfortable, and uncomfortable if it’s uncomfortable, has just begun.