A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 103

28. Priceless (4)

His father, Kim Bong-seok, volunteered at an orphanage.

Thirty kids were visiting from that very orphanage.

Ji-seop felt he couldn’t just stand by.

“Oh, Ji-seop! What’s wrong?”

“Could we buy a bunch of snacks? Something the kids would like.”

“Hehe, do you think the store would run out of snacks? All that stuff piled up over there is snacks, isn’t it?”

He visited the store he knew and bought snacks by the box.

He also bought plenty of drinks, wet wipes, and travel tissues in case the kids spilled anything.

When he reappeared in the stands with all the stuff, the childcare teacher stared at Ji-seop, wide-eyed.

“Oh my, what is all this?”

“Baseball… isn’t a very engaging sport for kids to watch for a long time.”

Ji-seop handed a 10,000 won bill [approximately $8 USD] to the part-timer who helped carry the items and began to speak.

“You have to keep giving them things to eat and drink… That’s how the adults taking care of them can relax.”

He had once heard this from Go Chang-deok, a colleague who was also the father of a daughter.

Ji-seop continued.

“I’ve contacted the marketing team. They’ll probably bring commemorative T-shirts before the end of the 5th inning. You can hand them out to the kids.”

“You really didn’t have to go to such lengths…”

The childcare teacher looked a little embarrassed.

Ji-seop shook his head.

“Don’t feel pressured. The team provides this service when groups from elementary schools come to watch.”

“Ah…”

“If you had told me you were coming in advance, I would have gotten you hamburger sets… We’ll have to do that next time.”

“Thank you.”

The childcare teacher bowed slightly.

“Thanks to Inspector Kim Bong-seok and Ji-seop… the kids will have a great time.”

The childcare teacher looked back at the children, who were excitedly tearing open snack bags.

“We don’t have the resources to give the kids experiences like this… Thank you so much.”

“You’re welcome.”

The idea came from his father.

He had simply used the programs provided by the team.

Thinking that, Ji-seop waved his hand dismissively and continued.

“We take applications at the beginning of the year. Schools and orphanages in Gyeonggi Province… If you apply, we can create opportunities like this as much as you want.”

“Ah.”

“I’ll tell my father when the application period comes around. Please apply then. I feel good seeing the kids happy.”

Ji-seop took the empty snack box.

“Then I’ll head down. The game is about to start…”

“W-wait a minute!”

The childcare teacher called out to Ji-seop.

“I heard from Inspector Kim Bong-seok… that the tickets for the kids today were brought to Ji-seop by the Cannons players… Is that right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

To be exact, there was also Manager Arthur Freeman and front office staff like Deputy Cha Jong-min and Deputy Kwon Dae-woong.

But there was no need to reveal such specific details, so Ji-seop nodded.

“The players collected them, but… why do you ask?”

“Ah, well…”

The childcare teacher held out her phone.

“Could you send me a list of the players who gave the tickets later in a message?”

“A list?”

At that moment, Ji-seop realized he was a ‘baseball team front office’ person to the bone.

He momentarily hoped that the orphanage teacher would post a ‘good deed story’ on an internet bulletin board.

If a good deed story was posted, one or two media outlets would turn it into an article, which would help the team.

However, the heart of the teacher who cared for the children was much warmer than Ji-seop’s, who was extremely realistic.

“I was wondering if we could send a thank-you letter.”

She gave a slight smile.

“Our kids… are surprisingly good at writing.”

* * *

Ji-seop had forgotten for a while.

The story that the orphanage children would write and send thank-you letters.

It wasn’t that he didn’t take the childcare teacher’s words seriously, but rather that the KH Cannons’ game schedule had been so tight since then.

After playing a 3-game series in Yeongsan, they went straight to Busan. After playing a 3-game series in Busan, they went back to Daegu.

It was a hectic schedule even for a normal business trip, but with the fierce competition for rankings in the second half of the season, it was truly mind-boggling.

-This hit doesn’t go far! The left fielder is ready to catch it almost in place… Catches it! KH Cannons gets their 27th out!

It was one day during that busy schedule.

To be exact, it was the very day that the KH Cannons finished their 3-game away series in Daegu with 2 wins and 1 loss, narrowing the gap with the 4th-place Dongjin Generals to 0.5 games.

After finishing the manager’s interview translation and getting on the team bus, Ji-seop could sense a strange atmosphere among the players.

“Hahaha, now that I hear it, it does look like it! It’s a drawing of the senior’s batting stance!”

“Right? I don’t know how old the kid is, but… they captured the key points really well!”

Usually, the players would lean back in their seats and fall asleep as soon as they got on the team bus.

Having already played over 100 games, even players with steel-like stamina were bound to be exhausted.

But for some reason, on this day, they were each holding a piece of paper and laughing.

“What is it?”

Ji-seop asked as he sat down.

“What’s so funny?”

“Ah, this? It’s a letter.”

Ryoo Jang-ho answered.

“The manager gave it to us a little while ago. He said it’s a thank-you letter from the kids at an orphanage to the players…”

“Orphanage?”

Only then did Ji-seop recall the childcare teacher’s words.

He took the letter from Ryoo Jang-ho and began to read it.

“The kids wrote the letters well.”

Ryoo Jang-ho said.

“There’s a story about how they had fun watching baseball thanks to us, and a story about how they want to become baseball players in the future…”

“Hahaha, is that all?”

KH Cannons’ veteran catcher, Chun Jin-woo, chimed in.

“They even drew a picture of me. It’s me hitting a home run in the game that day.”

It seemed that the letters weren’t just for the players who had given Ji-seop the tickets.

The orphanage children had sent thank-you letters to all the KH Cannons players.

Of course, the childcare teacher’s influence had played a role to some extent, but as he read the carefully written letters in crooked handwriting, Ji-seop’s heart also felt warm.

“This orphanage… is it the one you mentioned a while ago, hyungnim [older brother or respected male figure]?”

Ryoo Jang-ho said to Ji-seop.

“You said that the tickets we gave you… were used by some orphanage kids to come watch the game, right?”

“Yeah, that’s the one.”

Ji-seop nodded.

“The orphanage teacher said she would write us thank-you letters… and she really sent them.”

In fact, it wouldn’t have mattered if she had just said that and forgotten about it.

From the beginning, Ji-seop hadn’t placed much significance on that promise.

But receiving the thank-you letters like this made him feel strange.

He was grateful for the children’s hearts, and he also felt like he should have taken better care of them.

Thinking that, Ji-seop returned the letter to Ryoo Jang-ho.

“Take good care of it. It seems like the kids worked hard on the letters.”

“Of course. How could I treat these letters carelessly?”

Ryoo Jang-ho nodded and took the letter.

It was the next moment that he looked at Ji-seop with a fresh expression.

“Hyungnim is really… amazing.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Think about it, hyungnim. How many times have I gotten tickets for people because they asked me to?”

It was a common occurrence.

Something that every professional player experiences.

“But even though I’ve gotten tickets for so many people… this is the first time I’ve received this kind of thank-you.”

Ryoo Jang-ho smiled and fiddled with the letter.

The orphanage children’s crooked handwriting seemed to please him very much.

“How is it that even when hyungnim gets just one ticket, you get such unexpected rewards… It’s amazing. Wouldn’t you think I’m amazing if you were me, hyungnim?”

Ryoo Jang-ho smiled at Ji-seop.

“I’m not the only one. Everyone who received thank-you letters today is probably thinking the same thing as me.”

“Well… does it really work that way?”

Unexpected thank-you greetings.

Just as Ji-seop, feeling embarrassed, was scratching the back of his head.

Brrr- Brrr- Brrr-

The phone in his pocket rang.

“…Hmm?”

The caller was,

Ji-seop’s father, Kim Bong-seok.

* * *

“Yes, Father. It’s me.”

Ji-seop called his father immediately after arriving at the away team’s lodging that night.

It wasn’t appropriate to have a private conversation on the team bus.

Of course, he could have just answered if it was a simple matter, but the story he wanted to share with his father that day was a bit awkward to tell others.

“Thank you, Father.”

Ji-seop said.

“Thanks to you, your son received a lot of praise today. People were saying, ‘This is the first time I’ve received such heartfelt thank-you letters after getting just one ticket.'”

As Ryoo Jang-ho had said, the Cannons people seemed very touched by the orphanage children’s thank-you letters.

From veteran catcher Chun Jin-woo to Manager Arthur Freeman and the front office staff.

Everyone had thanked Ji-seop, saying, ‘Thank you,’ and ‘This is the first time I’ve received such thank-you letters.’

“I was wondering what you were going to do with thirty-six tickets… As expected, you had a plan, Father?”

-What plan.

Kim Bong-seok’s voice over the receiver was still gruff.

-Actually, it wasn’t my idea either. I was originally going to give them to my junior officers… but Senior Kang Myung-gil came up with the idea.

His father’s senior, Kang Myung-gil.

He had suggested giving the tickets to the orphanage children.

Since he could go see it anytime, he suggested giving the children a good experience this time.

-And… I’m the one who should be grateful.

His father continued.

“…Yes?”

-You idiot, do you think your father wasn’t worried?

Could a guy who had only thrown balls his whole life properly navigate social life?

Could a guy who had always been released finally find his place?

-I was so worried… but I felt relieved when I saw it this time.

His father’s voice sounded like he had put down a heavy burden.

-Seeing so many people trying to get tickets for you… it means you’re getting quite a bit of recognition in the baseball team.

“Hey, who do you think I am? Did you think your son wouldn’t be able to get that much recognition?”

Ji-seop had just chuckled at that.

But the next moment, Ji-seop quietly closed his mouth at the voice coming from the receiver.

-You must have gone through a lot.

“…”

-There’s no such thing as a free lunch in social life. Getting that much recognition from so many people means you must have worked even harder.

His father’s warm voice.

Ji-seop couldn’t say anything for a while.

He felt like his heart was swelling with his father’s recognition.

He also felt a little sorry that he was only hearing these words now, after turning thirty.

Perhaps that’s why the words Ji-seop could return to his father weren’t very long.

“…It’s nothing.”

Ji-seop took a deep breath and opened his mouth.

“It’s all… thanks to you watching over me, Father.”