A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 140

The Baseball Team’s Newcomer Is Too Good – Episode 140

The Baseball Team’s Newcomer Is Too Good – Chapter 140

Chapter 36: He’s Only Good at Baseball (4)

Two days later.

At the [River House] pension on the outskirts of Yeongsan City, the Cannons players gathered.

“Senior Jang Dae-woo, hello!”

“Oh, hello! Hey, you didn’t have to bring all this. Thanks, hahaha!”

The gathering was organized by ‘former Major Leaguer’ Jang Dae-woo.

Having signed a free agent (FA) contract and received his new uniform, he felt obligated to treat his younger teammates.

With spring training camp approaching, he thought it necessary for everyone to gather and strengthen their resolve.

Of course, his real intention was to have a serious talk with Ryu Jang-ho.

“Mr. Kim, leave it to me.”

As the players finished arriving, Jang Dae-woo approached Ji-seop.

“I may look like this, but I’m known as a ‘dating consultant’ among the players. I’ve seen this a lot in the States.”

Jang Dae-woo clenched his fist confidently.

It wasn’t just confidence driving him.

“I thought it was a good opportunity.”

“What do you mean, opportunity?”

“Since joining the Cannons, I’ve eaten and drank with the other guys, but damn it, it’s been hard with Jang-ho. It’s hard to even get a call from him, that son of a…”

Jang Dae-woo clicked his tongue.

“So, I’m thinking of getting close to that baseball idiot this time. If I solve his problem, won’t he respect me?”

He planned to solve Ryu Jang-ho’s love life problems to gain his trust as a senior player.

Ji-seop said, “Thank you,” appreciating Jang Dae-woo’s effort to integrate into the team.

“But have you been in touch with Jang-ho? I think his phone is still off…”

“Don’t worry about that. Young-chan is waiting in front of Jang-ho’s house. Unless he left Yeongsan altogether, he should be here by now… Ah, he’s coming!”

Jang Dae-woo pointed to the entrance, delighted.

Ji-seop turned to see Ahn Young-chan leading Ryu Jang-ho, who looked…unusual.

He looked like he hadn’t gotten a hit in ten games, or struck out in eight consecutive at-bats.

He even looked like he’d been cut from the team.

‘…And he’s never even been released before.’

Anyway, I need to do something.

As soon as possible. By the end of today.

Thinking this, Ji-seop greeted Ryu Jang-ho.

“Jang-ho, long time no see?”

“…Hello, 형님 (hyung-nim) [older brother or respected male senior].”

* * *

The three oldest members of the KH Cannons.

‘The Heart of the Cannons,’ Chun Jin-woo.

‘Former Major Leaguer’ Jang Dae-woo.

‘Top Negotiator of Salary Negotiations’ Ahn Young-chan.

The ‘Ryu Jang-ho Persuasion Plan’ they confidently proposed to Ji-seop was:

① Wait until all the other players have gone home.

② Time it right and sit down on either side of Ryu Jang-ho.

③ Pretend to pour Ryu Jang-ho a drink and give him a stern lecture.

“Jang-ho, we’re telling you this because we care about you.”

“You have to say you like her! People can’t know if you don’t say anything!”

“Go find that girl tonight! And say it! I love you! Let’s date! Let’s get married!!!”

To put it bluntly, the plan these 아저씨 (ahjussi) [middle-aged men] painstakingly prepared ended in miserable failure.

“…”

“…”

“…”

In fact, the beginning went smoothly.

Waiting for the drinking party to end wasn’t difficult, and sitting on either side of Ryu Jang-ho at the right time also went well.

Taking it a step further, filling his empty glass with ‘glug, glug, glug’ soju went well-

“So, Jang-ho?”

“Yes, 선배님 (sunbae-nim) [senior].”

“Well, that’s… that’s what I mean…”

When it came to lecturing Ryu Jang-ho, the three oldest members of the Cannons could only swallow dryly.

Ji-seop knew why.

[So, Jang-ho, this guy… he looks so haggard up close?]

[Damn it, what happened in the few days I didn’t see him? I’m going to end up coddling him?]

[This is going to be difficult. What am I going to say to a dying kid?]

Ryu Jang-ho’s face was more serious than they thought.

The three oldest members of the Cannons were in a dilemma.

They had a role to play, but they couldn’t bring themselves to speak when they looked at his face.

They tried to say something, then stopped, tried again, then stopped, each time pouring more alcohol down their throats.

After two hours of this, the oldest members of the Cannons ended up burying their heads on the table.

“Uh-oh…”

“Ugh…”

“S, save me…”

The 아저씨 (ahjussi) [middle-aged men] were insensible from the excessive alcohol.

The other players had already gone home, leaving Ji-seop and Ryu Jang-ho to clean up.

“형님 (hyung-nim) [older brother or respected male senior], what should we do?”

Ryu Jang-ho looked back at Ji-seop.

“It’s so late, I don’t know if a designated driver would even come all the way here.”

“No, it’s okay to leave them here.”

Ji-seop answered.

“He said he booked this place intending to sleep here… Let’s just lay them down in the corner. It’ll be a hassle if they break a cup or something.”

“Ah, yes, let’s do that.”

The two men rolled up their sleeves and approached the oldest members of the team.

First, they tried to move the oldest player, Chun Jin-woo, but ‘the Heart of the Cannons,’ held by Ryu Jang-ho, began to mumble in his sleep.

“…Jang-ho, you… have to say it.”

Up until this point, Ryu Jang-ho didn’t react.

He just ‘glanced’ at the senior’s red face.

He seemed to be pretending not to know, but the situation didn’t go as planned.

Even after taking Chun Jin-woo away, the other seniors began to ramble in their sleep.

“Jang-ho, you… you like that girl! Can’t you… can’t you tell?”

“Don’t miss her… don’t miss her! You’ll regret it… for the rest of your life? Huh?”

The seniors were spitting out what they had been trying to say all day, only after they were drunk.

“…”

Still, Ryu Jang-ho kept his mouth shut and silently did his job.

After laying down the last one, Ahn Young-chan, he turned to Ji-seop and spoke.

“형님 (hyung-nim) [older brother or respected male senior].”

“Hmm?”

“I came out today because I heard there was a welcoming ceremony for Senior Jang Dae-woo…”

Ryu Jang-ho looked down at the seniors on the floor and continued.

“It seems like today’s gathering… had another purpose?”

“Hehe, is that so?”

Ji-seop chuckled.

“Damn it, I’ve been caught.”

* * *

Everyone had left.

It was almost 3 a.m.

The two men who had survived the fierce drinking party were sitting face to face with a half-empty bottle of soju between them.

“…I didn’t know.”

Ryu Jang-ho spoke.

“I didn’t know everyone was so worried about me… If I had known, I would have turned on my phone.”

“Hey, why bother? The moment you turn on your phone, you’ll be flooded with calls from reporters.”

From the club’s perspective, Ryu Jang-ho’s actions were appreciated.

Rather than receiving calls from reporters and creating more articles, it was better to turn off the phone and disappear.

That way, the reporters’ coverage would focus on the club’s PR team, giving the club time to smooth things over.

“Anyway, well… you must have had a lot of mental distress. Whether it was the physical test results or something else.”

Ji-seop picked up the soju bottle and filled Ryu Jang-ho’s glass.

“You can turn on your phone now. I heard that Yoo-sung and Mirae will announce the spring training camp participants tomorrow morning.”

People’s attention will be focused on that, so there’s no need to worry now.

‘Ah, is that so?’ Ryu Jang-ho nodded, then stared intently at Ji-seop.

“But 형님 (hyung-nim) [older brother or respected male senior]… don’t you have anything else to say to me?”

“Hmm?”

“Seeing the seniors stepping up like that, it seems like everyone knows roughly why I failed the physical test…”

Ryu Jang-ho looked at the 아저씨 (ahjussi) [middle-aged men] snoring and then back at Ji-seop.

“형님 (hyung-nim) [older brother or respected male senior] didn’t say anything.”

“Ah, well, that’s…”

Ji-seop filled his glass with soju and continued.

“The seniors were saying? You’re an idiot who only knows baseball. So, it’s natural that you don’t understand women’s hearts, and they were confidently saying that you don’t even know your own heart…”

Ji-seop looked up at Ryu Jang-ho.

“You’re not that much of an idiot, are you?”

He made a face as if he had seen through everything, but Ji-seop only realized it after meeting Ryu Jang-ho again that day.

That Ryu Jang-ho is not an idiot.

That he knows who he loves and who loves him.

Not only does he know, but he has already drawn up a blueprint for the future with her.

‘I can understand having to have a few kids, but I didn’t know he had plans to have a few grandkids…’

Ryu Jang-ho’s inner thoughts became easier to read as he drank a glass or two of alcohol.

However, there was one thing that Ji-seop couldn’t figure out.

“Everything’s good… but how did you end up breaking up with that girl? What happened three months ago?”

“Th, that is…”

The KH Cannons’ best hitter, who would have kept his mouth shut normally.

But because he had some alcohol in him, he readily gave answers.

“I couldn’t say it.”

“Say what?”

“The words… to go to America together.”

Ryu Jang-ho drank the glass of soju that Ji-seop had poured for him.

“She asked me if we were going to America together next year, if we should start preparing now, with her eyes shining so brightly… But I couldn’t say ‘let’s do it’ until the end.”

“No, why the hell not when your girlfriend says that…?”

Ji-seop was momentarily speechless.

However, looking intently into Ryu Jang-ho’s eyes, he couldn’t guess why.

“You weren’t sure?”

Ji-seop continued.

“You weren’t sure if you could do as well in the Major League as you did in Korea.”