A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 264

67. My Precious Baby (1)

Next day, morning.

The weather in St. Petersburg, Florida, was wonderful.

The sky was as blue as if paint had been dissolved in it, and the pouring sunlight was exceptionally warm.

A gentle breeze blew from the beach not far from the hotel, and a few white seagulls leisurely flew along with the wind.

If a fragrant cup of coffee were added, it would be a moment beyond ‘perfect,’ but…

“……Damn it.”

In that wonderful atmosphere.

On that beautiful hotel terrace.

Jisub was sitting on the cold floor, grumbling and complaining.

“Nothing’s working out?”

What was bothering Jisub that morning was a pair of slippers.

Why, don’t people in Florida wear sandals or slippers all year round?

Thinking that when in Rome, do as the Romans do, he bought slippers on the way back to the hotel the night before.

They certainly looked very sturdy at the time, but as soon as he put his feet in them that morning, the strap snapped with a ‘pop’.

“…….”

He went to the store where he had bought the slippers when it opened, but was told that it was a discounted item, so exchanges or refunds were difficult.

He was told that repairs were possible, but it would take at least a month because the item had to be sent directly to the head office.

With the situation like this, Jisub had no choice. He had no choice but to trudge back with the slippers that had become rags in just one day.

It was a good thing that he was able to borrow some glue thanks to the hotel staff’s consideration; otherwise, he would have been quite upset.

“Hey, I bought it because it was supposed to be a brand name item…….”

Smear, smear, smear.

While applying glue to the part where the strap had fallen off, Jisub thought.

Good brand, but terrible quality.

Looks good on the outside, but the inside is substandard.

Thinking about it that way, these 50-dollar slippers at a bargain price were like-

‘John Llama Taylor, I guess.’

While pressing the fallen strap firmly onto the glued part, Jisub gave a bitter smile.

‘He’s a good person, but not practical, and the title of the owner’s son sounds good, but in reality, his card is suspended and his account is frozen……. Perfect, perfect.’

Fortunately, Jisub’s hand skills were above average.

Since he was a child, he had been taming gloves, repairing spikes, and sewing up torn baseballs.

Thanks to this, Jisub was able to finish repairing the slippers in no time.

“Wow, this is amazing?!”

Jisub’s skills seemed to be quite excellent.

When Jisub, who had finished the repairs, went to return the glue, the hotel front desk staff opened their eyes wide and gave him a thumbs up.

“Your skills are amazing! They’re practically new slippers!”

“Sir, do you work for a sports brand?”

“The slippers would thank you too! You saved them from going into the trash!”

More than half of the compliments were the typical Florida fuss, but Jisub didn’t feel too bad listening to them.

The Florida weather was starting to get humid, and wearing slippers made him feel much fresher than wearing shoes.

He was glad he had resisted the urge to throw them away, and he was proud to have salvaged something that was about to go into the trash.

Above all, he had the feeling that he had made a good start ahead of his first mission here in Florida.

‘Hehe, I wish John Llama could be fixed and used as easily as these slippers…….’

Thinking that to himself, Jisub left the hotel and immediately took out his cell phone and dialed John Llama’s number.

-Ah, Kim?

As Jisub had expected, John Llama’s voice was full of timidity.

-I’m sorry. I don’t think I’ll be able to meet Kim today because I have something urgent to do. I’ll send you the meal expenses you gave me last time later…….

This was also the reaction Jisub had expected.

But Jisub had a decisive word to entice this hopeless owner’s son.

“It’s okay. I can submit my resume to the club by myself. But the reason I called you today is…….”

That’s right.

The real decisive word.

“Someone I know is trying to buy one or two Tampa Bay Rays season tickets, but the website says to call for inquiries. I was wondering if you, Mr. Taylor, would know the specific method…….”

-Se, season tickets?!

John Llama’s surprised voice was heard over the cell phone speaker.

-Did you just say Tampa Bay Rays season tickets?!

* * *

John Llama Taylor, whose card was suspended, whose account was frozen, and whose Future Strategy Planning Division, full of delicious tea and snacks, was even facing dissolution.

According to Professor Kevin Pryor, there was only one way for him to escape this desperate crisis.

-Jeffrey Taylor [John Llama’s father] told John Llama to sell him season tickets. The 50 season tickets that were allocated to him this year.

The proposal was that if he sold all 50 season tickets within a week, his card, account, and Future Strategy Planning Division would be normalized.

If he failed to meet that condition, he was warned not to even think about coming home again.

-John Llama must be feeling the heat by now. This is the first time his father has been so adamant.

So that’s the card he pulled out.

Slyly hinting that he was interested in Tampa Bay Rays season tickets.

Then John Llama would think, ‘What a windfall!’ and come running with his eyebrows fluttering.

He would ask the owner’s son who came running, ‘Why are you in such a hurry?’ and naturally discuss countermeasures.

Jisub had prepared all his plans in this way. In fact, John Llama sent a reply saying that he would be at the meeting place within an hour, but-

“Oh, Kim! You’re here!”

To put it bluntly, Jisub met John Llama that day a full five hours after he first called.

“I’m sorry. I really have nothing to say. To make a guest wait this long, I’m not usually the kind of person who makes such a mistake…….”

That’s right. John Llama had postponed the appointment several times that day.

At first, he asked if he could postpone it by about 30 minutes, then an hour, and then another hour.

As a result, the meeting was much later than the scheduled time, but Jisub didn’t particularly want to make an issue of it.

“No, you don’t have to be so sorry. I was the one who insisted on waiting when you suggested postponing the appointment until tomorrow.”

In fact, at this time, Jisub was more concerned about why John Llama had postponed the appointment.

‘Yeah, is that important now?’

First of all, John Llama’s facial expression, who had come to greet Jisub, looked strangely comfortable.

He kept bowing his head, saying he was sorry, but when you think about it, that’s an action that’s hard for someone who’s about to be burned.

‘That’s not all…….’

His appearance of taking the lead, saying that he would treat him to a great meal as an apology, was also somehow strange.

Doesn’t that make sense? His card was suspended and his account was frozen, so how could he treat him to a meal?

“…….”

Something was strange, but Jisub kept his mouth shut to watch the situation.

It was the moment when Jisub, who couldn’t stand his curiosity, opened his mouth and stood in front of the restaurant that John Llama had taken him to, saying he would treat him.

“Wait a minute, Mr. Taylor.”

Jisub said, pointing to the sign in front of the restaurant.

“This looks like a very expensive restaurant…… Are you okay?”

“Are you okay? What do you mean?”

At this point, Jisub decided to reveal what he knew.

“I heard from Professor Kevin Pryor yesterday. Mr. Taylor, I heard that if you don’t sell 50 season tickets within a week, you’ll be in big trouble…….”

“Ah, Professor Kevin Pryor! Well, I guess the professor would know about this.”

John Llama with an awkward expression.

And his expression changed to gratitude towards Jisub.

“So Kim said he would buy season tickets to help me? Ah, wow! I didn’t even know…….”

“That won’t work!”

John Llama said firmly.

“I wasn’t going to drink alcohol if possible today, but I think I’ll have to get a good one.”

He continued.

“Season tickets aren’t cheap, but you’re willing to buy them for me! It’s not polite not to treat such a grateful person to a glass of good wine!”

“No, I’m not saying I’m going to get a drink…….”

“Kim, you don’t have to worry.”

It was at this moment that John Llama looked at Jisub with the most confident expression in the world.

“Because I’m already on my way back from selling all the season tickets.”

……What did you say?

* * *

10,000 dollars per ticket, about 14 million won in Korean currency [approximately $10,500 USD].

That was the price of the season tickets that the Tampa Bay owner told his son to sell.

If he sold 50 of these, it means he made sales of 700 million won in Korean currency [approximately $525,000 USD] in just a few hours.

“……How did you do it?”

Jisub, who had entered the restaurant, couldn’t help but ask John Llama.

“I heard that you usually have a hard time selling even one or two tickets. But how did you do it in just one day…….”

“Haha, Kim! Aren’t you looking down on your school senior too much? I’m a graduate of the MBA program at Fort Myers University!”

John Llama was standing at the restaurant counter, choosing the wine to treat Jisub to.

“I can’t reveal the details because it’s a trade secret, but I’ll just say that it was a sales method based on strict economic principles.”

“Economic principles?”

“Yes, Kim will probably learn it when he starts taking classes in earnest. The process of finding the right balance between supply and demand.”

Looking at the wine that the waiter brought out, John Llama continued to speak very proudly.

His appearance was so flawless that Jisub even thought for a moment.

‘What, did I misjudge him?’

John Llama Taylor, maybe he’s the kind of person who does things when he has to.

He’s the owner’s son, so maybe he learned something from his parents while growing up.

‘If he’s really that kind of person, I might need to review the plans I’ve set up…… um?’

And the next moment, Jisub clenched his right fist without realizing it.

‘Let’s go with this!’ He looked into John Llama’s eyes as he turned around with the wine bottle.

‘Damn it, that bastard…….’

John Llama, who was smiling brightly, unaware that Jisub had seen through his true feelings.

“Let’s go with this today! It’s a really deep-flavored wine! There’s nothing better to drink as a toast on a happy day like today, right?”

The very moment John Llama finished his introduction and was about to hand the bottle to the waiter.

Jisub felt a stiffness in the back of his neck and said in as calm a voice as possible.

“Mr. Taylor.”

“Yes?”

“I won’t say much.”

Jisub continued.

“If you don’t want to be kicked out of your house forever tomorrow, go out right now and collect all the season tickets you sold today.”

“Yes?!”

Even though he was a good-natured person, John Llama frowned at this moment.

“What are you talking about? Collect the season tickets? I worked so hard to sell them!”

He even raised his voice slightly.

“And aren’t you going too far! Kicked out of the house? Kim, you don’t know how I sold the season tickets…….”

“I know, that’s why I’m telling you.”

They say there’s a fire in your stomach.

Jisub continued, feeling that way for the first time in a long time.

“You were having a discount sale. Season tickets worth $10,000 each for only $1,000.”

No, logically.

“A 90% discount sale before the season even starts……. Are you really trying to see the owner collapse with his hands on the back of his neck?”

“Ah, no, how did Kim know that…….”

The guy, who was worse than a pair of slippers, blinked in surprise.