A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 104

At the Threshold of Autumn (1)

The scorching summer had passed.

It was already mid-September.

“……”

Around 8 PM, Ji-seop sat alone in a *kalguksu* [Korean noodle soup] restaurant in the city.

“We’re three people… Do you have a table?”

“Of course, we do! Come on in!”

Even though the sign wasn’t properly displayed, the place was quite famous as a *mat-jib* [local foodie hotspot] in the neighborhood.

It was a bit late for dinner, but customers were still flooding in.

Ji-seop, occupying a four-person table by himself, couldn’t help but feel self-conscious.

“Excuse me! Can you… take our order now?”

“Ah, I’m sorry. My companions haven’t arrived yet.”

“Oh, okay, no problem. Wait for them to come and order together.”

The restaurant lady coolly nodded and walked away, but Ji-seop felt like he was sitting on pins and needles.

He anxiously kept glancing at the entrance when his phone vibrated.

– Hey, are you here?

The voice came through the speaker.

It was ‘Sakhalin Park,’ Vice Chairman Park Hong-ju.

“Where are you, Vice Chairman?”

Ji-seop grumbled.

“I’ve been here for an hour already! You said you’d be here in 10 minutes… What happened?”

– Ah, about that!

I’m sorry about that.

Vice Chairman Park Hong-ju continued, sounding not at all sorry.

– It might be difficult for me to have dinner with you today! These old folks are grabbing my pants and telling me to stay for dinner…

“Are you saying you can’t come?”

Ji-seop was a bit dumbfounded.

“Well, you could have told me in advance…”

– Hey, do you think I have a choice? I have to please these old folks to get advertisements for the team!

That afternoon, Vice Chairman Park Hong-ju had gone to meet with representatives from local *hyang-to* [hometown] companies.

Even the mighty ‘Sakhalin Park’ needed to maintain relationships with local businesses to secure advertisements.

– You understand. Now is the time to work hard and earn money.

Sakhalin Park continued.

– Imagine if our Cannons win the Korean Series this time. Do you know how many places we’ll need money? We have to raise your salaries, give out winning bonuses…

“Vice Chairman, we’re 4th in the league.”

Ji-seop gave a bitter smile.

“Even if our ranking is confirmed as it is, we’ll have to play in the Wild Card game first… Isn’t it a bit early to be thinking about winning the Korean Series?”

– Hey, why are you so lacking in spirit? There’s no such thing as impossible for the KH Cannons! Once a man draws his sword, he should aim for the championship! Isn’t that right, everyone?

As Park Hong-ju confidently declared, people’s voices could be heard through the phone speaker, saying, ‘That’s right, that’s right!’

The representatives of the Yeongsan area businesses seemed to be completely swept up in Sakhalin Park’s incredible energy.

The acting owner was personally trying to attract the necessary advertisements for the baseball team.

Waiting for over an hour was a bit unfair, but Ji-seop soon nodded slowly, saying, ‘I understand.’

“Then I’ll assume we’ll meet next time, Vice Chairman. But please, just a little bit of alcohol.”

– Okay, okay!

Sakhalin Park seemed a bit apologetic at Ji-seop’s request to ‘drink only a little.’

– I’ll set up another meeting soon! Let’s see each other then!

“Understood, Vice Chairman.”

With a ‘click,’ the call ended.

Ji-seop felt slightly drained as he began to gather his bag from the seat next to him.

‘It’s a bit much to occupy a four-person table alone… Should I just eat somewhere else tonight?’

He felt bad for taking up the table for an hour, but that seemed like the best option.

Just as he was about to get up from his seat, trying not to catch the restaurant owner’s eye.

“Oh… Kim Ji-seop?”

A voice called out to Ji-seop from behind.

Ji-seop turned his head, his eyes widening.

“Ah, Manager Cha?”

It was Scout Team Manager Cha Jong-min.

KH Cannons’ self-proclaimed ‘car maniac’ and the scout in charge of promising players in the Chungcheong area this season.

“You came to eat *kalguksu*?”

Manager Cha Jong-min approached Ji-seop and continued.

“If you haven’t ordered yet… would you like to have dinner with me?”

It was what Ji-seop had secretly hoped for.

* * *

Boil, boil, boil.

Two servings of *kalguksu* were served in a large *yang-pun-i* [stainless steel mixing bowl] that resembled a washbasin.

As they were about to divide the portions with plates and ladles, Ji-seop’s first words to Manager Cha Jong-min were:

“I didn’t get a chance to congratulate you.”

“Yes?”

Manager Cha Jong-min looked at Ji-seop, pausing with the chopsticks he was about to pick up the noodles with.

Ji-seop scooped up the *kalguksu* broth with a ladle and continued.

“I heard from the team leader. You’ll be in charge of the Seoul area starting next season.”

It was a story that came out shortly after the rookie draft ended a few days ago.

This rookie draft was said to be an ‘all-time drought of promising players’ due to the overseas advancement of major players.

Many teams were having difficulty securing promising players, but only the KH Cannons were being evaluated as having picked good players in large numbers.

‘The Chungcheong area that other teams didn’t pay attention to… I heard they secured a lot of good players there?’

It was Manager Cha Jong-min’s achievement.

Manager Cha Jong-min, who was evaluated as the best in the team for his ‘eye for players.’

It was the result of him thoroughly ‘getting a grip’ and diligently running around the Chungcheong area.
The scout team leader, greatly encouraged by the results, decided to put Manager Cha Jong-min in the Seoul area starting next season.

“There are many schools, and many promising players… I heard the Seoul area is like a golden opportunity for scouts.”

Ji-seop continued.

“Being put in such a place… doesn’t that mean you’ve been recognized as the ace of the Cannons scout team?”

“Ace, my foot! Don’t flatter me like that. It makes me dizzy.”

Manager Cha Jong-min indifferently pulled the *kalguksu* noodles with a ‘slurp.’

“What does it matter if it’s the Seoul area or the Chungcheong area? My salary is the same anyway… It’s not like I can drive a better car than I do now.”

‘There he goes again with the car talk.’

As Ji-seop was quietly laughing to himself, Manager Cha continued.

“Isn’t the important thing the proper development of the players we pick?”

Manager Cha’s expression was quite serious as he said that, so Ji-seop looked at his face with a fresh gaze.

“Including Shim Seong-jun… the players I picked up from the Chungcheong area this time are really good guys.”

And then, the following words.

“Ji-seop, please pay some attention to them.”

“Me?”

Ji-seop tilted his head.

“What can I do…”

“Oh, come on, not this again?”

Manager Cha Jong-min chuckled.

“You saw it last time, right? Everyone was scrambling to get home game tickets because of one word from you.”

Manager Cha was one of them.

“Can just anyone receive that kind of treatment? It’s only possible if you’re recognized and trusted by people.”

“……”

“If you, Ji-seop, show interest in the rookies we picked this time, it will be a great help to them.”

Manager Cha said very firmly.

“Even if you just say one word to the manager, ‘He’s working hard,’ or say one word to a veteran like Cheon Jin-woo, ‘Please keep an eye on him’… Either way, it will be a great help to them.”

He really picked them as good players.

So please take care of them.

Looking at Manager Cha, who was asking with a serious expression, Ji-seop thought to himself.

‘You’ve changed a lot, Manager Cha.’

When they first met, he was a ‘salary thief’ who had no interest other than getting rides in the players’ imported cars.

But now, he was a scout who found players even in the ‘all-time drought of promising players’ and sincerely wanted their growth.

‘This kind of person will be in charge of the Seoul area starting next season….’

Then next season’s draft should be something to look forward to.

Wouldn’t a lot of good prospects come to the KH Cannons?

As he had such expectations, Ji-seop took a sip of the *kalguksu* broth with a ‘slurp.’

“……Hmm?”

It was right after that that Ji-seop tilted his head slightly.

“Manager Cha.”

“Yes?”

“You… you should buy a new one?”

Ji-seop pointed to the sleeve of the hoodie that Manager Cha was wearing.

“The sleeves are all worn out.”

It wasn’t just the sleeves.

There were fuzzballs all over, and the hood string was frayed.

He didn’t know how many years he had been wearing it, but it seemed like a hoodie that should have been thrown away a long time ago.

Was Manager Cha so focused on cars that he didn’t care about the clothes he wore?

“Ah, I know. It’s a bit old.”

Manager Cha shrugged it off with a chuckle.

“Actually, I was going to buy a new one… but I decided to hold out a little longer. The team will be giving out new hoodies soon anyway.”

“New… hoodies?”

“Yes, the post-season is starting soon, isn’t it? Then, of course, they’ll come out.”

“Ah.”

Only then did Ji-seop realize what Manager Cha was talking about.

‘He must be talking about the hoodies commemorating the advancement to the fall baseball season.’

Fall baseball. Post-season.

Once all 144 regular season games are over, the short-term battles begin for the Korean Series championship.

Since the games are played in chilly weather, the team usually provides the players and team staff with one or two new hoodies.

“Other team scouts often wear them… I’m a little jealous of that?”

You know because you’ve received them too, right, Ji-seop?

Manager Cha leaned towards Ji-seop and said.

“The clothes they give us during spring camp are not very good. But the ones they give us during the post-season are different. They’re warm because they have fleece lining, and they’re soft and smooth, as if they use good fabric…”

It didn’t seem like he was just jealous because the clothes were good.

That was something you could tell without having to look ‘closely’ into Manager Cha’s eyes.

A good quality hoodie that you can only get if the team does well, so you have to advance to the post-season.

For Manager Cha Jong-min, who had been working for the perennial bottom-ranked team KH Cannons, even one hoodie must have been special.

“So… when is it coming out?”

Our hoodie, I mean.

Manager Cha Jong-min asked, his eyes sparkling.

“By now… shouldn’t the schedule be out roughly?”

The KH Cannons’ autumn was fast approaching.