A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 172

45. Bursting from the Dugout (1)

Kyung Sun-woo, the third-year outfielder, quickly became known as the KH Cannons’ new ‘hit product.’

After getting the green light from the outfield defense coach to choose his defensive position freely, he fully unleashed his signature ‘ramen defense’ [a seemingly effortless and casual defensive style].

-This hit is going to right-center, heading to right-center… Ah, the right fielder was guarding the path?!

-A towering fly ball! The right fielder casually comes down… and makes the catch! Two outs!

-Oh, this time it’s a solid hit! Right field fence, right field fence, right field fence… it’s not going over! The ball lands right in the glove of the right fielder who was waiting in advance!!!

It wasn’t flashy.

It couldn’t be flashy, by its very nature.

He didn’t grit his teeth and sprint, nor did he dive headfirst toward the ball.

“…….”

He just took a few steps, barely moving, and when the ball arrived, he simply raised his glove.

Whoosh- Thud!

He looked almost indifferent, like he had a screw loose.

He seemed like everything was a chore.

At best, Cannons fans would chuckle and call him ‘that weird guy.’

However, fans of opposing teams found Kyung Sun-woo’s defensive style incredibly irritating.

-Ah, what? It’s Kyung Sun-woo again?!!

-Damn it, that Tibetan fox [a sly or cunning person]!

-Hey, Tibetan fox!!! Run a little! At least pretend to try!

-Catching it with that expression makes our hitters look like they can’t hit at all!

-That’s right, it was a really solid hit!!!

Opposing fans nearly lost it every time the ball headed toward right field.

As this situation unfolded, the initially quiet Cannons fans began to speak up.

-Hey, don’t you guys have any shame? Our King Sun-woo is teaching you high-class baseball!

-High-class? That’s high-class?!

-Of course, it’s high-class! King God-woo’s [a playful nickname combining “King,” “God,” and his name] high-class defense predicts the ball’s trajectory in advance!

-Ah, please get off our message board, you gunpowder enthusiasts [people who are easily angered or excited]!

-Don’t want to?ㅋㅋㅋ I’m going to watch our King God Hwang’s defense here, where else would I go?ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-Aish, those guys are really!!!

Some foamed at the mouth, calling him ‘Tibetan fox.’

Some praised him, calling him ‘High-class defense King Sun-woo.’

And some, recalling old times, called him ‘Ra Sun-woo’ [likely a reference to a past event or playstyle].

As baseball fans’ interest grew, stories about Kyung Sun-woo began to appear frequently on broadcasts.

-In my opinion… I think there’s been a lot of communication between the Cannons outfielders.

-Ah, communication between players?

-That’s right. Look now, Kyung Sun-woo is next to Ryu Jang-ho, isn’t he?

The broadcast camera focused on Kyung Sun-woo, who was sticking close to Ryu Jang-ho and talking intently.

-What he’s doing now is… Kyung Sun-woo is asking: How should we catch the next batter? Where should the defensive position be?

-Ah, you’re saying this kind of conversation has influenced Kyung Sun-woo’s recent superb defense?

-That’s right. Constant talking, communicating, and thinking together! That’s precisely why the Cannons have been performing so well since last year!

The commentator analyzed the Cannons’ recent success with conviction.

However, according to what Ji-seop heard later, the conversation between the two at that moment went like this:

“Senior, how about doing a heart-above-the-head celebration every time you get a hit?”

“What?”

“You said yesterday you’re too busy to see your sister-in-law often. You should express your affection more!”

“…….”

“If you’re embarrassed to do it alone, I’ll do it with you! Ah, it would be great to make it a team-wide celebration! Don’t you think so, Senior?”

“…….”

Kyung Sun-woo chattered on, leaving the listener’s mind in a daze.

Ryu Jang-ho was thinking, ‘Should I just move my defensive position to left field?’

* * *

Kyung Sun-woo was becoming known as the ‘Tibetan fox’ among baseball fans.

However, within the KH Cannons team, he was being called ‘a runaway colt’ or ‘a runaway hyena.’

It was as if he’d been holding back, now constantly sticking to Ryu Jang-ho and bothering him.

“Senior!”

“Senior-nim? [a more formal way to address a senior colleague]”

“Ryu Jang-ho Senior!”

When Ryu Jang-ho was doing batting practice, Kyung Sun-woo would be right next to him, his eyes shining brightly.

When Ryu Jang-ho was silent during the game, he’d suddenly appear and ask, ‘Why aren’t you cheering, Senior?’

When Ryu Jang-ho returned after an out with a chance to score, he’d nag, ‘Hey, how can you back down like that!’

“…….”

Frankly, Ji-seop, watching from a step behind, also thought, ‘Where did this guy come from?’ but Ryu Jang-ho’s reaction was surprisingly calm.

He didn’t chase Kyung Sun-woo away or scold him; he just let him do whatever he wanted.

“Jang-ho, should I give Sun-woo a little hint?”

Ji-seop, who had a considerable hand in Kyung Sun-woo’s ‘runaway’ in the first place, felt a little sorry and brought it up. But Ryu Jang-ho just shook his head lightly.

“It’s okay. Isn’t he doing that because he wants to get close to me quickly and learn something?”

Ryu Jang-ho gave a wry smile but offered a mature response.

And he seemed to have his own ‘trump card.’

“If Sun-woo crosses the line, Senior Chun Jin-woo will take care of it.”

Chun Jin-woo was the captain of the KH Cannons this season, as he was last season.

Ryu Jang-ho seemed to have strong faith in the veteran senior known as ‘the heart of the Cannons,’ but-

“Hmm.”

A few days later.

The Cannons’ most senior member completely betrayed Ryu Jang-ho’s trust.

“Hey, Senior! Don’t be like that, let’s try it! A finger heart [a Korean gesture of making a small heart shape with the fingers] as a celebration when you get a hit! Huh?”

“Aren’t you tired of it? You’ve been talking about the celebration for days?”

“Why? It’s for your successful love life, Senior! As I’ve repeatedly said…”

“That’s enough; I don’t do that kind of thing. I don’t like overreacting to one hit. Sit down and memorize the power analysis data, you.”

“……Yes.”

Ryu Jang-ho flatly rejected his junior’s ‘hit celebration’ proposal.

Kyung Sun-woo couldn’t ignore the order to ‘prepare for the game,’ so he obediently picked up the data, but.

Chun Jin-woo, who was sitting on the sofa watching TV, said casually,

“Jang-ho.”

“Yes.”

“Wouldn’t it be nice to try a finger heart once in a while?”

“Y-Yes?!”

Ryu Jang-ho’s eyes widened at the unexpected suggestion.

Chun Jin-woo continued, his gaze fixed on the TV screen.

“I’ve done it once before, and my wife liked it a lot. I don’t think your girlfriend will be any different?”

“Why are you suddenly bringing that up…….”

“Sun-woo is right. You have to express your affection a lot. Especially for you, who are so blunt.”

“S-Senior! Still, how can I do that in front of people…….”

Ryu Jang-ho stuttered and trailed off.

At that sight, Kyung Sun-woo, who had been quiet for a while, slowly smirked.

His eyes were full of mischief. Kyung Sun-woo was about to speak, intending to tease Ryu Jang-ho, but.

“Why, are you embarrassed?”

This time, someone else made the first move.

Jang Dae-woo, the Cannons’ most senior pitcher.

“Hey, how old are you to be embarrassed about that? You’re really something!”

“Hey, Senior! Let’s stop talking about this. There are other hit celebrations, aren’t there?”

Ryu Jang-ho seemed desperate to change the subject.

However, his efforts were in vain.

Starting with Jang Dae-woo, the Cannons players began to tease Ryu Jang-ho.

“Jang-ho, just do it! What’s the big deal about a finger heart that you’re so flustered about?”

“That’s right; if you do it, everyone will just think it’s a hit celebration. No one will think it’s a message to your girlfriend?”

“Okay, okay! I got it! If you’re really embarrassed, we’ll do it together! It’ll be less embarrassing if we do it together, right?”

Ryu Jang-ho was flustered, unsure of what to do as his teammates threw out suggestions while chuckling.

“T-These people are really…….”

The one who dealt the final blow to Ryu Jang-ho was ‘Original Hyena’ Kyung Sun-woo.

“Senior Chun Jin-woo!”

The guy raised his hand and suggested to the captain,

“Why don’t we just make the finger heart our team’s official hit celebration? Then Senior Jang-ho won’t feel burdened either?”

“Oh, should we?”

Chun Jin-woo nodded.

“As expected, our Sun-woo is good at this kind of thing?”

* * *

When Ji-seop heard about the commotion in the locker room, he couldn’t help but tilt his head.

‘Senior Chun Jin-woo… said those words?’

It was a bit unexpected.

Usually, Senior Chun Jin-woo was quite serious.

Jang Dae-woo or Ahn Young-chan might cause a commotion, but he didn’t seem like the type.

“Haha, are you talking about that?”

The next day afternoon, when he asked Chun Jin-woo, whom he met on the field, about the previous day’s events, he laughed and replied.

“It’s a little surprising that Ji-seop is asking about that. I thought you would naturally know my intentions.”

“Your intentions?”

“Yes, I just… followed what Ji-seop tried to do last post-season.”

“Last post-season?”

Ji-seop tilted his head but soon realized what Chun Jin-woo was talking about.

“Cookies… are you talking about cookies modeled after the players’ faces?”

“Yes, that’s it.”

Chun Jin-woo nodded.

“At that time, Ji-seop used cookies to relieve the players’ tension, didn’t you? I was also thinking of relieving Jang-ho’s tension with my girlfriend’s story.”

“Ji-seop also knows, right?”

Chun Jin-woo gave Ji-seop a meaningful look.

“Jang-ho, that guy… has been putting too much effort into it since the beginning of the season.”

“Ah, well, that’s…….”

It was something Ji-seop also knew.

Ryu Jang-ho was scheduled to advance to the major league through the posting system [a system that allows a player under contract to a team in one league to be posted for bidding by teams in another league] at the end of this season.

Perhaps because he felt he had to win the championship before leaving, Ryu Jang-ho was approaching the season with a much more serious attitude than in previous years.

“It’s good to be serious about baseball. It’s also true that it’s having a good influence on other players. But… that kind of tension can’t continue for 144 games.”

If you keep pulling it tight, all that’s left is to ‘snap’ and break.

To prevent that, it was necessary to relieve tension sometimes.

Ji-seop slowly nodded.

“So… how is it? Was the effect sufficient?”

“Effect? Yes, I think there was a considerable effect.”

The Cannons’ most senior member looked back at the players warming up on the field and continued.

“Jang-ho and the other players… are all just talking about the hit celebration, and there was no mention of ‘today’s opponent.'”

Chun Jin-woo emphasized the words ‘today’s opponent.’

Ji-seop, who understood what that meant, didn’t say much.

“Then I’ll leave today’s game to you…….”

“Yes, Ji-seop. Please look forward to it. And cheer a lot!”

Chun Jin-woo slightly bowed his head to Ji-seop, then shouted ‘Okay, everyone, gather around!’ to the players.