A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 70

20. A Good Day for Watching Baseball (1)

It had been almost two months since the baseball season started.

After finishing the last three-game series of May with two wins and one loss, they had a day off.

The sky was cloudless, the weather was warm enough for short sleeves, and even the air quality was ‘excellent’.

It was the perfect holiday afternoon for a picnic, but—

On such a nice day,

Ji-seop was at Mokdong Baseball Stadium in Seoul.

‘……Damn it.’

To be clear, he wasn’t there for baseball team duties.

Even though the baseball team was incredibly busy, they made sure to take a day off once a week.

“…….”

Originally, Ji-seop had planned to visit his family home in Seoul to spend the day off.

He wanted to see his family after a long time, eat delicious food, and get some summer clothes from the closet as it was getting warmer.

However, about an hour after getting on the bus to Seoul, Ji-seop received a message on his phone.

-Emergency.

It was a message from Ji-seop’s older brother, Kim Ji-chang.

-Mom just talked to Aunt Busan on the phone.

-It seems like you’re getting set up on a blind date?

-Do you want to go on a blind date? If not, you better not come home today.

-Mom is determined to get you married this year.

-Please take note for your work.

After receiving his brother’s message, Ji-seop scrapped his plan to spend the holiday at home.

‘No, what blind date…….’

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to get married.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to date either.

It was just that he had been wandering around in his 20s, and now he was finally settling down and starting to work.

Dating and marriage still felt like a distant future for Ji-seop.

‘Going home will only get me nagging from Mom……. Where can I spend some time?’

While pondering, he decided to go to Seoul Mokdong Baseball Stadium.

He remembered that the National High School Baseball Tournament was being held there.

‘Yeah, watching little kids play baseball with a cold can of beer……. That’s a good way to spend a holiday too.’

Ji-seop wasn’t feeling too bad when he bought the ticket and entered.

When he heard that the final game of the tournament was being held, he even thought he was lucky.

But what.

“Wait a minute…… is that true?”

Ji-seop’s face hardened at the unexpected news inside the stadium.

“You’re not running the concession stand? It’s the final of the national tournament……. Is there really not a single place open?”

“We’re not open. So what if it’s the final? How many people come to watch high school baseball these days? If we open a store on a day like this, we’re bound to lose money.”

That was what the stadium security guard said.

“If you need to buy something urgently, go to the subway station over there. There’s a convenience store there.”

“The subway station? Isn’t that quite a distance?”

“It’ll take about 15 minutes.”

“Ah, yes…… thank you.”

He bowed his head and stepped back, but Ji-seop couldn’t hide the bitter smile on his face.

‘Hehe, what should I do?’

Should I just bear it and watch the baseball game?

Or should I walk to the convenience store near the subway station?

‘If I look closely at the stands, there might be one or two people from our team……. But they probably don’t have beer either, right?’

A holiday plan that keeps getting twisted.

Clicking his tongue, he scratched the back of his head when—

“Oh, Coach Kim? Isn’t that Coach Kim?!”

A voice came from behind him.

Since no one called him ‘Coach’, Ji-seop ignored it at first,

“It’s Coach Kim! Coach Kim! Coach Kim Ji-seop!!!”

He was so surprised to hear his full name that he turned around.

“It’s been so long! Why haven’t you called me?”

“Ah, no…….”

A person he never expected to meet here.

Ji-seop smiled brightly for the first time that day.

“Aren’t you CEO Oh?”

The person who spoke to Ji-seop was Oh Su-man.

He was the president of ‘Superstar Baseball’, a social baseball lesson center where Ji-seop used to work.

* * *

The only reason CEO Oh Su-man came to Mokdong Baseball Stadium that day.

It was because his alma mater had advanced to the finals of this tournament.

“It’s been almost 30 years. It’s been almost 30 years since our Seongjae High School made it to the finals. That’s why alumni living in Seoul have all come to Mokdong!”

Of course, no matter how strong their ‘love for their alma mater’ was, they couldn’t have a hot cheering match without a glass of beer.

Thanks to this, Ji-seop, who had slipped into the Seongjae High School cheering section with CEO Oh Su-man, was able to get a glass of beer he had been hoping for.

“Drink, drink it all up!”

“Oh, thank you.”

Ji-seop quickly emptied the beer in the paper cup.

CEO Oh Su-man refilled Ji-seop’s cup and opened his mouth.

“Actually, I had a little bit of hope. I was hoping I could see Coach Kim’s face if I came here today.”

CEO Oh continued.

“People from the baseball team are very interested in high school baseball, right? The rookie draft is just a few months away.”

“Hehe, you must have thought a lot about me?”

Ji-seop felt better after a glass of beer.

When he winked and joked, CEO Oh smiled and said, “Are you even saying that?”

“When Coach Kim was there, it was the heyday of our Superstar Baseball. We sold a lot of gloves, and we got a lot of inquiries for personal lessons…….”

Sitting at a desk in the morning making ‘custom gloves’ and teaching baseball to middle-aged men in the afternoon.

Ji-seop slowly nodded, recalling the days that felt like a distant past, even though it was only a few months ago.

“I miss that time, but I don’t regret letting Coach Kim go.”

CEO Oh patted Ji-seop on the shoulder.

“Anyway, one person from our Superstar Baseball came out, right?”

“Hey, what person.”

Ji-seop waved his hand, feeling embarrassed, but CEO Oh made a serious face.

“Coach Kim is now on TV? He’s stuck next to the Cannons manager. Then he’s a person. We have to see him as a person!”

That’s right, that’s right.

CEO Oh nodded.

“I’m not the only one who thinks that way. Our lesson members talk about you all the time. They say our Coach Kim looks good on camera, and they’re amazed that someone they know is on baseball broadcasts…….”

Ji-seop felt strange.

He had almost forgotten about his Superstar Baseball days, but the people there were still talking about him.

He was grateful that they still remembered their short time together, and on the other hand, he felt sorry.

“I’ll visit you sometime.”

Saying this made it sound a little less credible.

“I think I’ll have some time off after the first half of the season during the All-Star break……. How about I visit you then?”

“Really?”

CEO Oh was delighted.

“I’d appreciate it if you did! The lesson center will be turned upside down. If our Coach Kim comes to visit, haha!”

As if he couldn’t keep this news to himself, CEO Oh took out his phone and started sending messages to the lesson members.

Ji-seop watched CEO Oh and sipped the remaining beer in his paper cup.

That was when it happened.

Thwack!

A strong hitting sound echoed through the ground.

As the fielders fumbled to catch the ball, the runners on the bases ran with all their might.

The first base runner went to third base, and the batter went to second base.

With two outs and runners on second and third, the reactions of the two teams’ cheering squads were mixed.

Wow!!!

Wow!!!

The cheering flags fluttered vigorously, and a hot shout erupted from Myeongju Cheonnam High School on the offensive side.

“Come on, let’s cheer up!”

“We need to make noise in times like these!”

Seongjae High School, CEO Oh’s alma mater, was trying hard to lift the depressed atmosphere.

Cheongo! Cheongo! Ah~ Cheongo!!!

Seongjae! Seongjae! Seongjae! Seongjae!

The atmosphere of the two teams’ cheering squads, which had been so different, showed an even more distinct difference in the next moment.

“…….”

The next batter in the waiting circle slowly began to walk to the plate.

Cheongo! Cheongo! Aaaah~ Cheongoooo!

The momentum of the Cheonnam High School cheering squad became as hot as if oil had been poured on a fire,

Seongjae! Seongjae! Seong…… Seongjae!!!

The atmosphere of the Seongjae High School cheering squad gradually subsided as if cold water had been poured on it.

“Who is it?”

A charisma that lifted and dropped the atmosphere of both teams’ cheering squads just by entering the plate.

Ji-seop, who was subtly intrigued, crumpled the paper cup and looked at CEO Oh sitting next to him.

“Who is the batter coming out now……. Why is everyone making such a fuss?”

“Hmm?!”

CEO Oh, who received Ji-seop’s question, blinked and tilted his head.

“No, Coach Kim……. Weren’t you here today to see that guy?”

“Yes?”

“Shim Seong-jun from Myeongju Cheonnam High School.”

CEO Oh continued.

“I heard he’s likely to be a first-round pick in this draft?”

* * *

Shim Seong-jun, shortstop for Myeongju Cheonnam High School.

Right-handed thrower, left-handed batter. 183㎝ and 93㎏ [approximately 6’0″ and 205 lbs].

Only this much information was available in the tournament pamphlet purchased when entering the stadium.

“It’s a little funny for me, a Seongjae High School alumnus, to praise a Cheonnam High School player……. But anyway, that guy is good at baseball, right?”

That was what CEO Oh said.

“His shortstop defense is clean, his shoulder is good. Above all, the way he supports the ball and hits it……. In my opinion, he’s as good as any professional player.”

That’s strange.

CEO Oh tilted his head to one side.

“Coach Kim, you really don’t know? You’ve never heard of Shim Seong-jun?”

“Well, I don’t remember…….”

Ji-seop shrugged.

“Maybe I heard it and forgot.”

“Well, if you’re a manager’s translator, you’ll have a lot to worry about. The scouting team checks the rookies. Right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Ji-seop couldn’t reveal the internal affairs of the team, so he glossed over it.

However, he was also wondering about this situation.

‘That’s strange? If he’s likely to be a first-round pick……. There’s no way I wouldn’t have heard his name.’

It was true that a full-fledged scouting meeting had not yet been held.

The meeting, which will be attended by the manager, general manager, and the entire scouting team, is scheduled to begin in June.

But whether it’s the Cannons people or other team people I meet occasionally.

We often talk about the upcoming rookie draft.

But it seemed that the name ‘Cheonnam High School shortstop Shim Seong-jun’ had never come up in those conversations.

‘Then there are two possibilities.’

One possibility is that Ji-seop heard it but doesn’t remember, as he told CEO Oh.

And the other is—

‘Contrary to the rumors, the pro team scouts may not have been paying much attention to Shim Seong-jun.’

Thoughts led to thoughts.

‘Then why aren’t the pro scouts paying attention to Shim Seong-jun?’

Does he have a history of injuries?

Or does the player himself intend to go to the major leagues?

If not, does he have a history of being involved in unsavory incidents such as school violence?

‘No, if there was such a problem, it would have been more widely known…….’

Just as Ji-seop was tilting his head, a ‘thwack!’ sound came from the ground.