Perfect Agent [EN]: Chapter 48

“How many months would you like?”

“All at once.”

I flinched slightly at the price on the screen.

“Zero, one, two, three, four……”

I wondered if I had miscounted the number of zeros, but I was definitely right.

We ate enough to burst, but it was just the two of us.

“Please sign here.”

A fan?

*I have so many autographs to sign today.*

“Where is it?”

“Here.”

The restaurant employee pointed to the card signature pad.

I overreacted for nothing.

Disappointed, I scribbled my signature coolly.

“Thanks for the meal.”

“It’s nothing. Next time, it’s a full course of beef.”

“Okay. I’ll look forward to it.”

I put my hand on Jung In-gyu’s shoulder.

“Where shall we go?”

“I want to look around the school a bit more; it’s been a while.”

“School? You’re such a boring guy. You still don’t know how to have fun.”

“I don’t know? There’s no one who knows how to have fun like I do.”

“What do you do for fun these days?”

“There’s so much to do……”

“Like what?”

“Is there anything more fun than baseball in the world? I can’t find anything, no matter how hard I look.”

“You haven’t changed at all.”

Jung In-gyu shook his head and burst out laughing.

His legs staggered with each step, as if he was getting drunk.

Thanks to the cold wind blowing in midwinter, I was able to easily chase away the sleepiness that was coming over me.

Then, the road I used to take to school every day when I was in high school appeared before my eyes.

I stopped and stared at the straight road.

“This place seems exactly the same as it used to be. Nothing’s changed.”

I was lost in memories, looking around.

“But this is your first time back to school since you graduated, right?”

“Is it……? I guess it is.”

“You should come more often.”

“I’m busy living my life.”

Even when I was playing for the Jaguars, it was close enough to visit anytime.

I never did.

“How do you feel after 10 years?”

“Grateful… and sorry.”

“What are you sorry about?”

Even after 10 years, the environment in which the younger players trained had hardly changed.

“Have you ever thought about becoming an agent?”

“Me, suddenly an agent?”

Jung In-gyu burst out laughing with a dumbfounded expression.

“I thought you’d be good at it. You’ve studied a lot too.”

He may not have had the experience of playing as a professional player, but his theoretical knowledge of sports was far superior to mine.

Seeing how the younger players trusted and followed him, he seemed capable enough as a coach.

“I didn’t even get drafted into the pros, so how can I be an agent?”

“What does that have to do with it? I’m doing it.”

“You got drafted into the pros and even played in a first-team game.”

“I only played one game. And that was as a defensive replacement for just one at-bat.”

I was brought in in the middle and taken to the hospital in the middle, so to be exact, it wasn’t even one game, let alone one inning.

“Still, that’s something. How can it be the same as not wearing a pro team uniform with your name on it?”

Of course, I knew better than anyone what that meant.

You might think that one game isn’t a big deal.

But for some, that one game has enough value to dedicate everything to it.

For those who worked hard but didn’t achieve that dream, the disappointment would be even greater.

“If you become an agent, you can help the younger players even after they graduate.”

“But even if our kids try to get in there, they have to get drafted first. An agency can’t help kids who are wandering around without being drafted, can they?”

“That’s true……”

“Besides, I’ve never seen any agency-affiliated players among those playing in the second team, let alone those who weren’t drafted. Your company won’t manage those guys, will they?”

That wasn’t wrong.

Oh Seok-hoon was having a hard time in the second team, but he was already considered a top prospect and had experience in the first team.

Park Seong-joo, who was signed later, was in a similar situation.

“That’s not to say I don’t understand companies like agencies. They’re companies that have to make money, but is it possible to manage players with low salaries with the fees they receive?”

Jung In-gyu sighed deeply.

“Hey. There’s nothing that can’t be done in this world. You can create a way to do it.”

A strange sense of anger surged up at that moment.

“Then how are you going to do it?”

“That’s…… I have to think about it from now on.”

Unlike the burning will I had just a moment ago, my voice grew smaller and smaller.

“If you become the boss, I’ll think about it.”

“Me?”

“If you just create a company that can help those kids, there’s no reason not to go.”

*Me creating such a company?*

I was lost in thought for a moment and took a step forward, looking straight ahead.

Before long, I passed the main gate I had seen earlier in the day.

A banner with my name on it caught my eye.

I squeezed my eyes shut to avoid looking at my picture.

“In-gyu, can I ask you a favor?”

“What is it?”

“Tell the school to take that down.”

I pointed to the banner with my head turned.

Jung In-gyu looked up at where my hand was pointing and chuckled.

“Why? What’s wrong with it? It looks good. You’re the pride of our school.”

“I’ll make a new one and send it to you next time.”

Not knowing my desperate heart, Jung In-gyu continued walking towards the training ground we had gone to earlier.

“Forget about that. Go and show off your skills for the first time in a while.”

“What skills? What about that?”

“It’s lucky to have your face on the school gate, you idiot.”

“Ah. Still, that’s not it.”

“It’s cold, let’s go in. Hurry up.”

Without listening to me, Jung In-gyu suddenly started running.

I had no choice but to follow.

We went into the dark indoor practice field.

* * *

Thud-

The sound filled the indoor practice field.

When I opened my tightly closed eyes, the ball Jung In-gyu threw was in my glove.

As a pitcher, his ball rotation was above average.

His speed was also fast.

“Hoo……”

I had casually played catch with Oh Seok-hoon, but this was the first time since retirement that I had received a ball thrown with force.

I still closed my eyes the moment I received the ball, but I also felt that I was much better than before.

“Come to think of it, are you okay now?”

Only after seeing my tense expression did Jung In-gyu ask with a worried look.

“You’re asking a little late.”

“I forgot for a moment.”

I took the ball out of my glove and threw it back to Jung In-gyu.

“Throw it again.”

“I’ll throw it softly.”

“No. Like before.”

I put my glove back on properly with a determined expression.

I also took a deep breath.

“Are you okay?”

“Hoo…… I’m okay. I guess I’ll be okay.”

Jung In-gyu hesitated to throw the ball, fiddling with it with a troubled expression.

I nodded and signaled him to throw it, raising my glove.

“I’m really throwing it.”

“Yeah, bring it on.”

As Jung In-gyu slowly raised his leg, I focused all my attention on the ball flying towards me.

Thud-

The ball was in my glove again.

I took the ball out of my glove and fiddled with it.

It was a feeling of fully feeling the touch of the ball after a long time.

The feeling of the seams wrapping around the baseball was also beautiful.

I grabbed the ball here and there and threw it back to Jung In-gyu.

“You seem okay now?”

“Yeah. I think I’m getting a little better.”

“Do you want to try batting?”

“Batting?”

Holding a glove and catching a ball and standing at the plate with a bat were different levels of psychological pressure for me.

I had tried catching a few times, but I hadn’t even attempted batting yet.

*It seems like it would be too much.*

But in one corner of my heart, the thought of trying again was stirring.

Of course, I was still afraid.

“Let’s do it.”

“Are you really okay?”

I picked up one of the bats that was standing in the corner.

And slowly entered the batting cage.

Jung In-gyu, who had pushed a cart full of baseballs, stood behind the protective net with balls in both hands.

“Tell me when you’re ready.”

I held the bat, stretched out my arms, and took a deep breath.

It was the first time I had stood at the plate with a bat since I retired.

I gripped the bat tightly with both hands.

I took a batting stance and nodded.

“I’m throwing.”

This time, I could feel the tension in Jung In-gyu’s expression as well.

I didn’t hesitate and swung the bat boldly.

Thwack!

The moment the ball hit, a cheerful sound echoed.

But I didn’t feel any impact on the hand holding the bat.

It was the thrilling pleasure that you can only feel when the ball hits the bat perfectly.

I stretched out my arms, finished the final follow-through, and watched the ball fly.

Jung In-gyu, who had finished pitching, did the same.

The ball I had just hit stretched out and hit the top of the opposite wall and fell.

“Wow! What have you been doing all this time?”

Jung In-gyu’s eyes widened and he asked me in a raised voice.

“Throw it again.”

I wanted to feel the sensation I had just felt again.

“Here it comes!”

“Hoo-”

Thwack!

I put strength into the ball, but I didn’t feel the emotion that the first swing had given me.

Whoosh.

Thwack!

Whoosh.

Thwack!

That’s how I ended up swinging as much as I would in batting practice.

Jung In-gyu’s ball flew to the center, making it good for swing practice.

But unfortunately, the same hit as the first one didn’t come out again.

The thought that I might be able to stand on the ground again had to be put back into my heart.

However, I felt once again after a long time that baseball was so much fun.

We spent a pleasant time swinging and catching for a long time.

Except that we had to pick up the huge number of balls scattered all over the practice field as a result.

* * *

The taxi I was in was speeding down the road.

Because it was late at night, there weren’t many cars, so I felt like I was enjoying a car race in the city.

I looked out the window and was lost in thought for a moment.

But Jung In-gyu’s words kept lingering in my mind.

-If you just create a company that can help those kids, there’s no reason not to go.

I had forgotten for a moment.

The reason I decided to become an agent.

Helping players who don’t even know what their talents are to be loved by fans and become hope for someone.

My heart hasn’t changed even now.

Which company can achieve that?

YJ Sports Agency? Or Sky Corporation?

What should I do if I can’t achieve it in either place?

Or could I really create such a company?