A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 118

32. A New First Step (2)

Several hours later.

Screams of excitement erupted from the Canons players at a shabby pension in Daebudo, Ansan.

“Wow, this is insane!”

“Hyung [older brother or male friend], be honest. You weren’t a baseball player, were you? You were a poker player, right?”

“Is this the 18th… no, 19th consecutive win? Seriously, is this win rate even realistic?”

There was only one reason.

Jisub was just too good at games.

A 100% win rate in the meat cost game, a 100% win rate in the dishwashing duty game, and a 100% win rate in subsequent drinking games and Mafia games.

Among the Canons players, Jisub had quickly risen to become the ‘King of Games’.

“We messed up. It was a mistake to challenge Jisub hyung to a battle of wits in the first place.”

“That’s right. He’s been reading the manager’s expressions all season. How could we ever win?”

“No, this isn’t a level you can reach in just one season. It’s innate talent. He might be a genius when it comes to reading people.”

The players shook their heads, looking at Jisub.

Since Jisub took first place in every game, he was eventually excluded from all games.

“The championship is yours anyway, hyung.”

That was the word from Lee Subin, the Canons’ rookie slugger.

“We’ll give you the most delicious snacks endlessly, so… please just be our referee.”

“That’s right, hyung! Youngchan sunbae [senior colleague or mentor] has been cheating since a while ago. Please crack down on him!”

“No, Jisub! What cheating?! Those guys are just making ridiculous claims because they can’t win with skill!”

Jisub decided to accept the offer.

The alcohol was starting to kick in, and hanging out with the big guys was surprisingly tiring.

“Hoo.”

As he took a step back and sat down, munching on some semi-dried squid that someone had bought,

Brrr- Brrr- Brrr-

A call came in on the phone in his pants pocket.

The caller was Go Changdeok from the analysis team.

“Ah, hyung?”

Jisub opened his mouth, dipping a squid leg ‘deep’ into a sauce made of mayonnaise and red pepper paste mixed in a 1:1 ratio.

“You’re working hard.”

-No, what hard work.

Go Changdeok, Jisub’s colleague.

He was doing similar work to Jisub that day.

If Jisub had been dragged to the ‘end-of-season party’ hosted by veteran Ahn Youngchan, Go Changdeok was participating in an event hosted by another Canons veteran, Chun Jinwoo.

“Hyung is… Ah, hold on a second.”

Just then, a beast-like roar of laughter erupted from the players, so Jisub quickly slipped out onto the balcony of the accommodation and continued speaking.

“Where are you now, hyung?”

-I just got back to the accommodation.

“Accommodation? Now?”

Jisub raised the phone to his ear and checked the time.

“It’s almost midnight… and you’re just getting back to the accommodation now?!”

At that moment, Jisub thought.

Ah, so that’s why he is the national team catcher, Chun Jinwoo.

It seemed that the end-of-season party wasn’t just about having fun.

Maybe they did some training, calmly reflected on the past season, and talked about the upcoming season.

That’s what I thought… but what’s this?

-Luxury hotels are different. Time just flew by even though we only had dinner.”

“Lu… what?”

-Luxury hotel.

Go Changdeok continued.

-Oh, didn’t I tell you? We had dinner at the hotel restaurant today. The chef there is a long-time fan of Chun Jinwoo.”

“Ho, hotel restaurant…”

-Actually, I have to go out again soon. I’m going to have whiskey with Chun Jinwoo at the bar on the first floor.

“…Whiskey too?”

Jisub could only stare blankly at the semi-dried squid he was holding.

Some people are eating squid with mayonnaise, while others are sipping whiskey in a hotel bar.

Are we allowed to be treated so differently even though we’re employees of the same company?

And almost simultaneously, a question popped into Jisub’s head.

‘Why does it feel like the players prefer Ahn Youngchan’s end-of-season party…?’

That was true.

When the two veterans, Chun Jinwoo and Ahn Youngchan, announced their respective end-of-season parties, the players showed more interest in Ahn Youngchan’s party.

The number of participants alone was over ten for Ahn Youngchan’s side, and only about half that for Chun Jinwoo’s side.

‘Didn’t the players know? That following Chun Jinwoo would mean better treatment?’

As Jisub was thinking that, he heard Go Changdeok’s voice over the phone speaker.

-You don’t have to be jealous of me. You’re going to learn an important lesson from Ahn Youngchan now.

“Lesson?”

What lesson?

When Jisub complained slightly, Go Changdeok chuckled as if he was dumbfounded.

-Jisub, you’re always so smart… but sometimes you really seem to know nothing?

“What do you mean?”

-Why would the Canons players follow Ahn Youngchan? It’s to learn that ajusshi’s [middle-aged man] salary negotiation know-how.

“Salary negotiation… know-how?”

-Wait, you really didn’t know?

Go Changdeok continued.

-The negotiation king of the Canons… the legend of Ahn Youngchan?

* * *

It’s the same with any team.

There are one or two players like that.

Whether the team is doing well or badly, whether their individual performance is good or bad.

Players who receive much higher salaries than everyone expected.

Players who not only take a lot of money but also don’t even blush once with the front office staff during the negotiation process.

Players who can maintain a smooth relationship with the front office even after salary negotiations.

There is a nickname that is only allowed for such players.

‘……Negotiation King.’

In the KH Canons, veteran Ahn Youngchan was said to have that ‘Negotiation King’ title.

There seemed to be a reason why the Canons players gathered at his end-of-season party.

-He tells you the appropriate salary negotiation strategy, taking into account your performance and the team atmosphere, I guess?

“Oho…”

-Hey, what’s so great about a luxury hotel? From the players’ point of view, the most important thing is to get a high salary!

“That’s right, that’s right.”

Jisub was also subtly looking forward to it.

Looking back, Jisub had never had a proper salary negotiation during his active career.

Every season, he was anxiously wondering whether he would be released or not, so how could he have paid attention to things like salary?

‘But this year is different.’

He had done his part as Arthur Freeman’s translator, and thanks to that, the team had broken out of its long slump and even advanced to the playoffs.

With this much, wouldn’t it be okay to expect a fairly high salary increase… that was Jisub’s thought.

In that sense, he thought it was a good idea to participate in Ahn Youngchan’s end-of-season party.

And then, about an hour later.

“Okay, so I’ll start by telling you about the overall picture.”

The highlight of the day.

‘Negotiation King’ Ahn Youngchan’s salary negotiation know-how lecture began.

“You received a call from the operations team. They told you when to come to the club. What do you think is the most important thing to be careful about?”

Several Canons players raised their hands and answered Ahn’s question.

“I heard it’s better to cut off SNS [social networking services] for the time being. If you write something stupid and get cursed at, it could have a negative impact on your salary negotiations.”

“My agent told me not to meet people at all? If rumors spread that you treated someone to a big meal, the operations team might use that as an excuse to cut your salary…”

The players each added a word.

Our ‘one-star instructor’ Ahn Youngchan slowly nodded his head.

“That’s right, that’s generally the case. But in my experience, the most important thing to be careful about in our Canons is something else. That is…”

Ahn Youngchan said, waving a semi-dried squid leg like a baton.

“The lunch menu on the day of salary negotiations.”

“Lunch… menu?”

The players tilted their heads.

Jisub also wondered ‘what this was all about’, but Ahn Youngchan’s face was full of confidence.

“Our front office ajusshis [middle-aged men]… unlike what you see, they’re good at using their brains.”

“Brains?!”

“Some of you may have already experienced it? On the day of salary negotiations, the operations team ajusshis suddenly take you to an expensive restaurant, right?”

A Korean beef restaurant, or a raw fish restaurant that only serves natural products.

Before Ahn Youngchan could finish speaking, a low sigh of ‘Ah!’ flowed from the players.

“Th, that’s right! That happened to me last season! They suddenly told me to go eat Korean beef… and they kept ordering even though I said I didn’t want to?”

“I went to a Korean set menu restaurant that cost nearly 100,000 won per person! They served braised short ribs and seaweed soup with abalone… I thought it was player welfare, but was it not?”

Voices of testimony were heard from here and there.

Ahn Youngchan slowly nodded his head.

“Yes, that’s the front office ajusshis’ strategy. Before salary negotiations, they unconditionally seduce you with expensive and delicious food!”

Ttang, ttang.

Ahn Youngchan tapping the table.

“You guys think about it too? You just ate expensive and good food, you’re full and in a good mood… no matter how dissatisfied you are with the salary you’re offered, it’s hard to suddenly change your expression and get angry, right?”

“Th, that’s true?!”

“Then what should we do?”

The players looked at Ahn with the eyes of baby swallows waiting for food.

The Ahn teacher opened his mouth while dipping the semi-dried squid deeply in mayonnaise.

“It’s simple. Whatever the operations team buys for you… just say you want to eat at the cafeteria for lunch that day.”

“Oooh?!”

“Don’t eat too much either. Only eat enough to take the edge off. Then, your concentration will increase like when we’re playing a game… hmm?”

Ahn Youngchan was giving a lecture as smoothly as flowing water.

It was at this moment that he suddenly narrowed his eyes and grumbled.

“Hey, who’s that? This sunbae [senior colleague] is giving you invaluable teachings… who’s nodding off?”

The players’ gazes focused on the direction Ahn teacher was pointing.

One of them raised his hand and answered.

“It’s Ryu Jangho, sunbaenim!”

“He’s been dozing off since a while ago?”

“Ryu, Ryu Jangho?!”

Ryu Jangho, the team’s best hitter.

The guy who had achieved another career high this season.

“Damn it, leave him alone, leave him alone.”

When you think about it, Ryu Jangho was the only one who didn’t need to listen to Ahn Youngchan’s lecture.

Perhaps that’s why Ahn Youngchan initially seemed to lightly dismiss it with ‘leave him alone’- but-

“…Snore.”

Still, seeing him drooling, he seemed to find that appearance quite hateful.

The Canons’ ‘one-star instructor’ looked around and said one word.

“When you make hangover ramen tomorrow… don’t put an egg in that guy’s ramen.”

“…I understand, sunbaenim!”

“Instead, put a handful of Cheongyang peppers [very spicy Korean chili peppers] in it!”

The Canons players were strangely in sync at times like this.