Perfect Agent [EN]: Chapter 204

204. How to Be Good at Baseball (3)

Huff. Huff. Huff.

I stopped the car that was about to leave, panting.

“Just a moment!”

“Oh? CEO Kang Hyun-woo?”

The three people got out of the car with surprised expressions.

“Could I talk to you for a moment?”

“With us…?”

The three looked at each other and tilted their heads.

This must be completely unexpected for them.

“Yes, there are a few things I need to ask you.”

“Well, sure.”

“Shall we move to a quiet place nearby to talk?”

“Yes.”

They nodded, looking bewildered.

I found a cafe nearby, and we all moved there.

Soon after, I sat facing the three of them in a cafe.

I brought the ordered drinks and placed them in front of each of them.

Six pairs of eyes were fixed on me, wondering what I was going to say.

“Are your children currently playing baseball?”

“Yes, of course!”

The expressions of the three people brightened simultaneously.

*Why is that?*

*It’s not something to be so happy about, is it?*

“Was my child’s game okay?”

The mother on the left asked with an expectant face.

“The game… Ah!”

*Ah, they might think I’m about to offer to sign them to the agency.*

I felt bad for giving them false hope.

That’s not what I was going to talk about right now, but I felt like I couldn’t just pass by without saying anything.

Actually, I didn’t even know whose mother she was, but I should say something positive.

“Of course. If they continue to train in the right way, they’ll definitely see good results.”

“Oh ho.”

Even though it was just a small comment, her expression seemed a little more relaxed.

I moved on to the story I wanted to ask about.

“But how are the children training in baseball? For example, do they attend any academies, or are there any other training methods?”

“Are there any kids who *don’t* go to academies these days?”

The mother in the middle nodded.

“What do they teach at the academy?”

“Pardon?”

She tilted her head, looking at me as if she didn’t know why I was asking such a thing.

“I’m just curious about how student-athletes train these days. Hahaha.”

I tried to break the awkward atmosphere by laughing awkwardly.

“Ah… The training itself isn’t much different from what they do at school. But the big thing is that they use professional equipment to analyze things in detail. And they can get 1:1 [one-on-one] coaching, which they can’t get at school.”

It was such an obvious story that there was nothing special about it.

*I have some expectations for the growth effect.*

*I think the cost is too high; it’s a burden.*

*I’m worried about whether it’s right to get it.*

The first two things, expecting a growth effect or the cost being too high, might not be special.

If that ‘special’ character meant 1:1 coaching, then it would be understandable.

But the fact that there was still something that said, ‘I’m worried about whether it’s right,’ bothered me.

There’s no reason to worry about whether getting 1:1 coaching is the right thing to do.

I needed to dig a little deeper.

“It must cost a lot to get private lessons outside of school, right?”

“That’s right. There are so many things that cost money. If you add it all up, it’s probably the most expensive part of baseball training,” the parent on the right sighed deeply and replied.

“It wasn’t cheap when I was in middle and high school either, but what costs the most these days?”

“There are a lot of things you need at school, but there’s also a lot of money that goes into academies. If you add them up one by one, it’s not cheap.”

“So, the most expensive thing is the 1:1 coaching fee?”

“That’s right.”

Hmm…

*Are they really worried about the 1:1 coaching?*

I felt like there was something else, but I couldn’t figure it out at all.

“Since we’re here… Can I ask you something, CEO Kang?”

The mother on the right carefully opened her mouth.

“Of course.”

“The academy is telling us to get a shot that will help improve our skills. Is it really effective?”

A shot?

*What is she talking about?*

“What kind of shot are you talking about?”

“They told us to get a shot that would help improve our performance.”

“How does it improve performance?”

“They said that if you get the shot, your velocity and power will improve.”

“Is there such a shot in the world? If there is, it would be doping [the use of prohibited substances to enhance athletic performance].”

“They said it’s a new drug that the academy made, and it won’t get you caught for doping.”

*What is this?*

*Ah, could it be?*

A conversation that flashed through my head came to mind.

*-CEO, Coach. But, can your velocity increase by more than 10 km/h [kilometers per hour] in a month or two?*

*-It’s hard to get that much better so suddenly. Unless you’re using drugs, there’s no way.*

Could that story that Choi Woo-jin told me a while ago really be happening?

I thought it was just a ridiculous rumor.

“Is there really such a thing?”

“Of course. This academy hasn’t been around for very long, but that’s what made it famous. Right now, only people who know about it are sharing it.”

The mother on the right lowered her voice and said.

“So… the academy made the same offer to all three of you?”

“Yes, if it only improves my son’s performance, there’s no reason to refuse…”

She trailed off for a moment, then carefully continued, “To be honest, the cost is too much of a burden.”

“How much does it cost?”

I couldn’t help but swallow hard as I waited for an answer.

“It costs about 3 million won [approximately $2,500 USD] per shot.”

“Pardon? 3 million won?”

My voice rose without me realizing it.

“I wouldn’t mind if it was just one shot, but they say you have to get it regularly, so the cost is not cheap.”

“Regularly?”

*I’m worried about whether it’s right to get it.*

*Ah!*

The ‘special’ character is talking about the shot.

If I think of the rest of the ‘special’ characters as shots, then the puzzle is finally solved.

“Where is that academy located?”

I was able to get the academy’s name and address from them.

I asked a few more questions related to this and finished the conversation.

* * *

As soon as I finished talking with the three parents, I went straight back to the office.

And I turned on the computer and searched for the place I had heard from them.

Victory Baseball Academy.

It was located on the outskirts of Gyeonggi Province, and it was a name I had never heard before.

Looking through the search results, it didn’t seem like it had been in business for very long.

Even though I’m in the baseball industry, it’s hard to know all the private baseball companies in the country unless they’re well-known.

The name of the person running this place is Lee Han-seung.

I’ve never heard of the name, so it doesn’t seem like he’s a former professional player.

A baseball academy doesn’t necessarily have to be run by a former professional player.

Rather, there were many cases where people from other fields incorporated newer and better methods.

But, contrary to my expectations, the introduction on the website didn’t seem to be particularly different from existing baseball academies.

Knock.

Jung In-gyu opened the office door and came in.

He came at the right time.

“Oh, In-gyu. Take a look at this for a second.”

“What is it?”

Jung In-gyu approached with a curious expression.

“Do you know anything about this baseball academy?”

“Baseball academy?”

Jung In-gyu, who had approached, scrolled down the screen and read the explanation.

Then he stopped when he saw the representative’s name.

“Oh, Lee Han-seung? Why does that sound familiar?”

Jung In-gyu put his hands on his temples and tried hard to remember.

“Do you know him?”

“Who was it? I think I’ve heard of him.”

He paced back and forth for a while, racking his brain, then snapped his fingers and said.

“Ah, that’s right! Lee Yeon-seok!”

“Lee Yeon-seok? Wasn’t Lee Yeon-seok a professional player in the past?”

Lee Yeon-seok was a senior who was also a professional player, but he wasn’t a player known to fans because he had hardly played in the first team.

There was quite a big age difference between us, and the period of time we overlapped as players was very short, and we were on different teams, so we had hardly ever met.

“That’s right. That senior.”

“But why is Senior Yeon-seok coming up?”

“As I recall, I heard he changed his name?”

“Ah, really?”

It wasn’t widely known, but he quietly announced his retirement due to an unsavory incident during his playing days.

In the first place, he wasn’t a famous player, and it was a time when SNS [social networking services] wasn’t as active as it is now, so it could end so quietly.

“It seems like he’s running a baseball academy after retiring.”

“Do they get shots at school these days?”

“Shots? Are you talking about painkillers?”

“No, I heard there’s a shot that improves performance.”

“Hey! There’s no such thing in the world.”

Jung In-gyu burst out laughing as if he was dumbfounded.

“The only shot that improves performance would be doping, right?”

“Of course. If there was something that could improve performance without getting caught for doping, you’d have to get it no matter what. Wouldn’t you be stupid if you didn’t get it? But if there was such a thing, wouldn’t it have already been known to all the athletes?”

“Right?”

Suddenly, I felt a chill down my spine.

“But why are you suddenly asking that? Is someone going to develop such a drug?”

“No, I heard that this academy is telling people to get such a shot.”

“What? They told you to get something like that here?”

“Yeah.”

When I nodded, Jung In-gyu stopped all his actions for a moment.

“But no matter what, would an academy that trains players tell them to get a drug that could cause problems?”

Jung In-gyu tilted his head and asked.

“That’s true. But I remembered what Woo-jin said last time. Isn’t it too coincidental to just call it a coincidence?”

“Ah, that’s right. You’re right. We talked about that a while ago.”

Jung In-gyu nodded as if he remembered the conversation from a while ago.

“In-gyu, do you want to go with me? To this academy.”

“You want me to go with you…?”

“You don’t have anything particularly busy right now, do you? Let’s go together.”

I felt like I shouldn’t go here alone for some reason.

“W-Well, should I?”

Jung In-gyu hesitated and nodded with difficulty.

“Okay, pack your bags. Let’s go right now.”

I grabbed the car keys, took Jung In-gyu’s hand, and left the dorm.

* * *

After driving for about an hour, we were able to arrive at the place the navigation was pointing to.

When I got out of the car with Jung In-gyu, there was a place that looked like a baseball academy in front of me.

Victory Baseball Academy.

It was definitely the place we were trying to find.

“But In-gyu, do you remember that senior’s face?”

To be honest, the pictures were all old, so I wasn’t confident that I would recognize him even if I saw him.

“It’s been so long that I’m not sure, but I think I’ll know him if I see him.”

I felt a little relieved to be with Jung In-gyu.

“Hoo- Let’s go in now.”

Jung In-gyu and I carefully opened the academy door and went inside.