Perfect Agent [EN]: Chapter 10

I waited for Oh Seok-hoon in front of the Buffaloes’ locker room.

It felt like a long wait, but he still didn’t appear.

While I waited, I ran into other players I knew.

“Senior! What brings you here?”

“I have some business to take care of.”

“Really? It’s good to see you after so long. How have you been?”

“I’ve been good.”

I hesitated to mention that I had become an agent; the words still felt strange.

When my junior asked how I was doing, I vaguely said I was working on a few things.

After that, I greeted several other players leaving the stadium after their 마무리 훈련 [finishing drills].

But Oh Seok-hoon was still nowhere to be seen.

Growing bored and worried that something might have happened, I decided to look for him myself.

I found Oh Seok-hoon on the practice field next to the stadium.

He was swinging his bat in front of the batting machine in the distance.

Thwack. Thwack. Thwack.

The resounding sound of the ball being hit filled the indoor practice field.

Sweat dripped from Oh Seok-hoon’s face and arms.

With each powerful swing, sweat poured down, and he wiped it off with a towel placed in front of the batting machine.

The net in front of him was full of baseballs.

Considering the game hadn’t ended that long ago, he must have been practicing almost non-stop.

Beside Oh Seok-hoon, hitting coach Kim Yong-min watched him intently.

Kim Yong-min was a coach recognized throughout Korea for his systematic hitting theory.

As a player, I had read his books and watched his baseball programs repeatedly, hoping to improve my own hitting.

Although we weren’t close, I had run into him a few times, so I considered approaching him for a conversation.

However, since I hadn’t spoken properly with Oh Seok-hoon yet, I decided to wait.

I stood out of sight and waited for the training to end.

“Your right shoulder is opening up too early. Again.”

“You have to keep pushing through to the end, even after you hit the ball.”

After each swing, hitting coach Kim Yong-min directly corrected Oh Seok-hoon’s body and bat movement by hand.

It seemed he wanted to recreate Oh Seok-hoon’s dominant hitting form from his high school days when he dominated national tournaments.

Before long, Oh Seok-hoon took off his helmet and bowed. The hitting coach gave him some final instructions and left.

Once the hitting coach was gone, I cautiously approached Oh Seok-hoon.

“Seok-hoon.”

“Oh. Senior… I mean, 형 [hyung – older brother or male senior].”

“Did you start training right after the game?”

“I had to. I didn’t get a single hit today.”

Oh Seok-hoon sighed deeply and placed another ball on the batting machine.

“Do you usually train with the coach?”

“Sometimes he gives me 1:1 lessons. But usually, I train alone after team practice.”

Oh Seok-hoon replied, swinging his bat lightly.

Thwack!

The ball flew off the batting machine at high speed, echoing loudly throughout the indoor practice field.

“Oh. Nice swing?”

I wasn’t just saying that.

Even with a light swing, it was an ideal hitting form, demonstrating excellent weight transfer from the lower body and rotation of the upper body.

It was completely different from the unstable form he had shown in the later half of the game.

“Is it okay?”

“Yeah. I can see your swing from when you were in high school.”

“Really? Ha… But why doesn’t this swing come out in a real game?”

I could feel the deep 고민 [gomin – worry/trouble] in Oh Seok-hoon’s expression as he sighed.

“Is training over for today?”

“I was thinking of doing a little more… Do you have something to say?”

“No, it’s not important. I just thought I’d chat with you on your first day. I’ll wait if you need more practice time.”

“No, it’s okay. I’ve already done a lot today. I’ll clean up quickly and come out.”

Oh Seok-hoon put down his bat and began picking up the balls that had fallen on the floor. I helped him.

“형 [hyung], you can rest. I’ll do it.”

“We have to do it together. There are so many balls.”

I knew better than anyone that picking up the balls after training was more difficult and annoying than the training itself, so I couldn’t just let him do it alone.

Only after filling two yellow baskets to the brim did all the balls disappear.

“Thanks to 형 [hyung]’s help, it’s over quickly. Wait a minute. I’ll wash up and come back.”

“Take your time.”

After Oh Seok-hoon left, I was alone in the practice field.

I looked around and found the large sports bag he had been carrying.

The bag contained various equipment needed for the game. Among them, the various types of gloves particularly caught my eye.

A third baseman’s infield glove and a right fielder’s outfield glove.

He even had a first baseman’s mitt.

Since gloves need to be broken in before they can be used in a real game, it was common to use several gloves alternately at the same time.

Oh Seok-hoon had different gloves for each position, and even spares, so the bag was full of gloves.

Hmm…

My head started to spin.

* * *

Oh Seok-hoon and I went to a cafe not far from the stadium.

I was worried someone might recognize us, but fortunately, the cafe wasn’t crowded.

“How’s your condition these days?”

“I’m just working hard… But as you know, the results are so-so.”

I tried to start a light conversation, but Oh Seok-hoon’s expression quickly darkened.

“What’s your biggest concern right now?”

“Concern?”

Oh Seok-hoon paused for a moment, then spoke with difficulty.

“To be honest, I wonder if I can go back to the first team.”

He doubts whether he can survive as a professional.

It was the same thing I saw in Oh Seok-hoon’s information window [referring to a game-like interface the narrator sees].

When he first joined the pros, he was called the next-generation ace and treated like a superstar, but now he’s not even an ace, and he can’t even establish himself in the second team.

Moreover, his 동기 [donggi – peers/contemporaries] were playing in the first team, receiving media attention and fan love.

He couldn’t be happy with a situation so different from his own.

“Don’t worry. I’ll help you.”

“Can I do it?”

“Of course. You have the ability to become a superstar. I’m going to make you one no matter what.”

“A superstar? Me?”

“Then why else would I be here? I came here to make you one.”

Suspicion clouded Oh Seok-hoon’s eyes.

“What do you think is your biggest problem right now?”

“Well, it’s hitting. My batting average is barely above .200.”

“No. The problem isn’t that.”

I shook my head firmly.

“It’s not that? Then what’s the problem?”

“What you need to solve first is your defense.”

“Defense?”

“Yes. You’re even afraid to play in the game, right?”

“Yes…”

“That’s because of your defense. Isn’t it?”

“That’s right.”

Oh Seok-hoon’s voice grew softer.

“Today, your mistake even led to the team losing. In that situation, which player wouldn’t be afraid of the stadium? Everyone’s afraid.”

As I spoke, I was reminded of my own 모습 [moseup – figure/state] from not long ago.

“It was the same for me.”

As soon as I finished speaking, Oh Seok-hoon lowered his head.

Then.

Drop. Drop.

Tears fell from Oh Seok-hoon’s face.

I took a few tissues and handed them to him.

“It’s okay. Everything will be alright.”

Oh Seok-hoon seemed to need some time to collect himself.

“형 [hyung]. Then what should I do now?”

Oh Seok-hoon looked at me with reddened eyes.

* * *

“Ugh-”

As soon as I got home, I threw myself onto the bed.

‘Oops!’

I worried that the loud noise might have been heard in the next room.

After finishing my career as a player and deciding to work as an agent, I hurriedly looked for a place to stay and ended up in a 고시원 [gosiwon – a type of small, inexpensive housing].

It was a newly built place with decent facilities, but there were many inconveniences, so I wanted to find a house and move out quickly.

Fortunately, I didn’t spend much time at home.

After resting at home for a few days, I felt more tired than usual because I had been out and about for the first time in a while.

I wanted to fall asleep in the comfortable position I was in now.

“Ah! That’s right.”

I closed my eyes, but I suddenly remembered that I hadn’t written the report Kim Min-hwan had mentioned in the morning.

I had kept records throughout the game, but I couldn’t write it right away because I didn’t have a laptop.

“I have to do it quickly and go to sleep.”

I got up with my tired body and turned on the laptop.

I hadn’t had to do any document work until now, but I had to get used to it.

“Where’s Word? I should have practiced in advance.”

It had been so long since I had done any document work that I didn’t even know where the programs needed for work were.

First, I checked my email.

When I logged in after a long time, there were over 1000 unread emails.

Looking at the first page, the most recent email was sent by Kim Min-hwan.

The title was 보고서 [bogoseo – report], so it was definitely the email from Kim Min-hwan.

By the way, his ID was powerhitter.

He must have played baseball when he was young, or he has a 로망 [roman – romantic ideal/fantasy] about home runs.

Well, judging by his physique, he could be a fourth batter without any problems.

I should definitely ask him if he played sports when he was young when I get the chance.

I downloaded the attached file and opened it.

Since it was a daily report, there wasn’t much to write.

I took out the note I had written earlier to transfer the information.

But,

“Uh, what is it…?”

I was trying to type while looking at the note, but something was wrong.

Why can’t I click in the blank space?

Since it was my first time doing document work, it was difficult to know right away what I was doing wrong.

The mouse was moving properly, and the clicks were working fine…

I looked at it for a long time, but I couldn’t figure out what the problem was.

I went back and forth on the screen trying to find the problem.

“Ah…”

It was a PDF.

That Kim Min-hwan, that guy, is 진짜 [jin짜 – real/genuine, often used sarcastically].