A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 91

The New Recruit is Too Good – Episode 91

#The New Recruit is Too Good – Episode 91

Chapter 26: How to Increase Views (1)

All-Star break, last day.

Ji-seop was at the headquarters of [Perfect Swing], a baseball bat company.

Mr. Gong Hyun-baek, the head of the sales department at this company and Ji-seop’s senior from university, had suggested they have lunch together.

“Ah, Mr. Gong, the department head?”

[Perfect Swing]’s headquarters, located on the outskirts of Seoul.

When Ji-seop entered the lobby and stated his purpose, the receptionist made a troubled expression, saying, ‘Sss.’

“Oh dear, I’m so sorry. Mr. Gong is in an important meeting right now…….”

Meaning he would have to wait to see him.

Ji-seop nodded slowly.

“Don’t worry about it. I arrived a little earlier than the appointment time.”

“Ah, is that so?”

The receptionist’s expression brightened.

“It’s hot today……. Would you like to wait on the sofa over there? I’ll get you something to drink.”

Then, the receptionist asked about the type of drink, ‘Coffee? Green tea?’

Ji-seop waved his hand, saying, ‘It’s okay,’ and went to sit on the sofa the receptionist pointed to.

Then, Ji-seop looked at the promotional materials of [Perfect Swing] that were plastered all over the wall, one by one.

‘In just a few months……. The number of sponsored players has increased quite a bit?’

On the wall of the first-floor lobby, large photos of players using [Perfect Swing]’s bats were displayed.

Until recently, there were hardly any professional players using them, so it felt like a world of difference.

How could [Perfect Swing], which was once a ‘nobody,’ have changed so much?

It wasn’t hard to guess the reason.

‘It must be…… because of this photo?’

A photo posted in the most conspicuous place in the center of the wall.

The main character of the photo was Cheon Jin-woo, the veteran catcher of the KH Cannons.

A commemorative photo taken on the day he was traded from the Yuseong Warriors to the KH Cannons.

‘Right, after this photo was published in the article…… I heard that there were many inquiries from various places?’

The fact that Cheon Jin-woo brought [Perfect Swing]’s bat that day was entirely due to Ji-seop’s advice.

So, it was fair to say that the increase in [Perfect Swing]’s customers was thanks to Ji-seop.

‘Hehe, I think I can get a nice meal from Senior Gong today?’

What should I ask him to buy?

Should I go for Western or Chinese?

While thinking about that and looking at the baseball bats on display as samples, it was then.

“Oh, of course! Korean baseball has to do well for our Perfect Swing to succeed, right?”

A voice as light as a feather was heard from inside, and then a familiar face appeared in the lobby.

Department Head Gong Hyun-baek, Ji-seop’s university senior.

‘Is he coming out now?’

Ji-seop was about to greet his senior.

But he soon changed his mind.

Department Head Gong Hyun-baek had company.

“Mr. Gong, were you telling me to put that last statement in the article?”

“Oh dear, was it that obvious?”

“It wasn’t just a little obvious. Anyone could tell that’s what you meant…….”

A woman who looked to be in her early 40s.

Ji-seop’s eyes narrowed as he looked at her.

‘Why does that person……. look familiar?’

Judging from the conversation and the unusually sharp look in her eyes, her job seemed to be a reporter.

Was she a baseball reporter?

Had he met her during the interview with Arthur Freeman?

While Ji-seop was lost in thought, Department Head Gong Hyun-baek and his party were saying their goodbyes.

“Then, I’m trusting in our Reporter Hwang Young-joo. Thank you for your help.”

“The pleasure was all mine. Thank you for your time today, Mr. Gong!”

Hwang Young-joo.

Hwang Young-joo, huh?

Ji-seop, who overheard the name of the group, tilted his head slightly.

* * *

A feeling that something wasn’t connecting.

That was exactly how Ji-seop felt at this moment.

‘Hwang Young-joo, Reporter Hwang Young-joo…….’

It was a name he had heard before.

Since becoming Arthur Freeman’s translator, Ji-seop had been meticulously checking the articles posted online.

He felt like he had seen articles posted by someone named ‘Hwang Young-joo’ a few times.

‘Her face is familiar too…….’

Since becoming Arthur Freeman’s translator, Ji-seop had been attending all of his press interviews without fail.

So, he had seen her before.

A woman in her early 40s, with a bobbed hairstyle and an unusually sharp look in her eyes.

‘Hmm…….’

He knew the name and recognized the face.

But the two didn’t seem to connect.

Ji-seop realized the reason for that strange feeling right after he faced Department Head Gong Hyun-baek.

“It might be because of her nickname.”

“Nickname…… you say?”

“Yeah, I heard it from our staff……. Apparently, the baseball team people never call that Reporter Hwang Young-joo by her real name.”

Have you ever heard of it?

Department Head Gong Hyun-baek opened his mouth.

“They call her Hwang-jo-mi…… or so I’ve heard.”

“Hwang-jo-mi? Reporter Hwang-jo-mi?!”

Ah, that’s right!

Ji-seop slapped his knee without realizing it.

“That’s right. I think I definitely heard her called Hwang-jo-mi earlier.”

It felt like something that had been blocked was now open.

However, that didn’t mean that all his questions about her were resolved.

“But the name ‘Hwang-jo-mi’……. I thought it was her real name, but it was a nickname?”

“Oh, come on! You should know that better than I do!”

Department Head Gong Hyun-baek smiled at Ji-seop.

And the next moment, Ji-seop could guess why the baseball team people didn’t call her by her real name.

“Hwang Young-joo, the reporter who’s crazy about views……. They shorten it to ‘Hwang-jo-mi’ as a nickname, I guess.”

“…….”

“She has an excellent knack for selecting topics that people are interested in, and she also has a talent for eliciting problematic statements from interviewees.”

Of course, if it had stopped at this level, she wouldn’t have been labeled as ‘crazy about views.’

“Ji-seop, you know this too. The articles that appear on the front page of portal sites [major Korean news websites]……. these days, they’re all selected by AI.”

“That’s right.”

It was a phenomenon that arose as the influence of portal sites grew.

Which articles to put up and which articles to put down.

If a person were in charge of this, there would be room for various controversies, so they simply entrusted it to a neutral AI.

“But it seems that Reporter Hwang Young-joo knows what kind of articles AI likes.”

“She knows AI’s preferences? How?”

“How would I know? What the secret is.”

Department Head Gong Hyun-baek shrugged.

“There’s a rumor that you should use a lot of arrows in the title, and there’s also a rumor that you should include player salaries. Well, I don’t know the details…….”

The key is this.

Department Head Gong snapped his fingers and made a ‘click’ sound.

“Whatever the reason, articles written by Hwang Young-joo of Sports Hanseong always make it to the top of portal sites!”

“Hehe, that’s quite a talent.”

Ji-seop gave a bitter smile.

“I can guess why the baseball team people are uncomfortable with Reporter Hwang Young-joo.”

“The baseball team would naturally be uncomfortable. But for people like us, she’s an indispensable existence.”

Department Head Gong Hyun-baek smacked his lips.

“If we put a few ads in the newspaper, an article introducing our [Perfect Swing] baseball bats will be at the top of the portal site……. It’s too good of an opportunity to miss, right?”

It seemed that this was the reason why Reporter Hwang Young-joo appeared at [Perfect Swing]’s headquarters that day.

* * *

That afternoon, Ji-seop had lunch with Department Head Gong Hyun-baek after a long time.

Of course, it was difficult to see it as just a simple lunch.

Ji-seop, who was in charge of translating for the KH Cannons’ coach, and Gong Hyun-baek, the head of sales at [Perfect Swing].

Because they were in a relationship where each side knew exactly what they wanted, the lunch became a place to exchange information.

“If that’s what you’re saying……. then we should assume that Kim Jang-hyun’s condition is unlikely to recover?”

“That’s what we should assume. Judging by the fact that he keeps reordering bats……. it seems he hasn’t found his batting balance yet.”

Like this, they would obtain information about the condition of players from other teams, and

“There’s a rumor that a new baseball team will be founded in Yeongsan City. I heard that there will be a press announcement soon.”

“If there’s a school in Yeongsan City that has baseball facilities……. it can only be Seongjae High School, right? Hmm, it would be better to get ahead of the game.”

Like this, they would pass on the information they had.

“Ji-seop, thank you again today! The bat you mentioned…… I’ll definitely deliver it by next week.”

“Thank you. Thanks to you, our Cannons’ second-string players will be able to breathe a little easier.”

“Hey, don’t mention it! If the second-string players use our bats…… it’s good for securing customers in the long run, right?”

“Ah, so it works out that way again?”

“Of course! There’s no such thing as a free lunch in the world.”

Ji-seop turned around after finishing lunch with his university senior.

He was leaving the [Perfect Swing] headquarters building and was about to take out his cell phone to search for the route back home when.

“Mr. Kim Ji-seop?”

A voice heard from behind.

Ji-seop, who raised his head without much thought, could feel cold sweat running down his spine for the first time in a long time.

“Mr. Kim Ji-seop…… is that right? You’re working as the KH Cannons’ coach’s translator.”

It was Reporter Hwang Young-joo.

The very person whose name ‘Hwang-jo-mi’ was more familiar to Ji-seop.

She, who he thought had left this place a long time ago, suddenly appeared in front of Ji-seop.

“I’m Hwang Young-joo from Sports Hanseong.”

Reporter Hwang took out a business card from a metal case and handed it to Ji-seop.

“I don’t know if you remember my face? I’ve seen you a few times during Director Freeman’s interviews.”

“Yes, I remember.”

There were so many reporters that you could trip over them if you went to the baseball field, but this was the first time he had faced one face-to-face like this.

Moreover, since the other person was someone who was said to be ‘crazy about views,’ Ji-seop had no choice but to accept the business card with a nervous expression.

“But…… how did you know I was here?”

“Ah, there was an interview here.”

Reporter Hwang continued.

“I was organizing an article in the car……. and Mr. Kim Ji-seop passed by in front of me? With Perfect Swing’s Department Head Gong Hyun-baek.”

“So you’ve been waiting until now?”

“Yes, I happened to have an article I was preparing.”

An interview article with Mr. Kim Ji-seop.

Reporter Hwang smiled brightly.

“The home run race that happened a while ago……. Mr. Kim Ji-seop threw the batting balls, right? For both Ryu Jang-ho and Lee Soo-bin.”

“…….”

“The only batting ball pitcher who has produced two home run kings!”

Whether she knew that Ji-seop was staring ‘intently’ into her eyes or not, Reporter Hwang Young-joo continued to speak fluently.