Genius Pitcher Hides 170Km [EN]: Chapter 155

#154. Does This Really Work?

Back in the days before the internet, people had to meet experts in their fields or search through libraries to find information.

It’s hard to imagine how we lived in such inconvenient times.

The world has changed.

Now, you can instantly find even specialized knowledge that ordinary people don’t need with just a few keywords.

Of course, it’s not all good. There are downsides too.

The biggest drawback is that you have to sort out what’s right and wrong in the flood of information.

Because there are so many fools and scammers pretending to be experts.

In that sense, Min Ye-rin was in great confusion.

Min Ye-rin joined a ‘Meeting for Women with Athlete Boyfriends’.

Perhaps because it was a small group, her membership was approved immediately without any special procedures.

At that moment, Min Ye-rin’s heart started pounding like crazy.

Women with athlete boyfriends…

That simple phrase kept making her heart race.

Of course, it’s unlikely, but she was dizzy with worry about what to say if Han Su-hyeok found out she had joined such a cafe.

Gulp.

Min Ye-rin took a sip of water and barely calmed her trembling and excitement, then typed something into the search bar.

[How to Comfort a Struggling Athlete Boyfriend]

When she pressed the search button, all sorts of posts left by members popped up.

First, she clicked on the post with the most comments.

[Is your boyfriend feeling down these days? I’ll tell you how I did it and it worked! It’s nothing special. Everyone is busy, and frankly, they’re not that interested in sports except for their boyfriends, so it’s not as easy as it sounds to go to the stadium. Just follow your boyfriend to three or four consecutive games. He’ll be 100% touched!]

Min Ye-rin tilted her head after reading the post.

‘Follow him to the games? Isn’t that obvious?’

Except for a few games when Han Su-hyeok was suspended and the days he missed for hospital check-ups and treatments, Min Ye-rin, who watched all the Warriors’ games live, clicked on the next post.

[It’s a bit embarrassing to cheer out loud even if you go to the stadium, right? It’s a little better if you go with a friend, but you can’t bring a friend every time. But sometimes, cheer for your boyfriend in a really loud voice. Your boyfriend’s affection will go up when he hears his girlfriend’s voice when he’s having a hard time!]

Again, she couldn’t relate at all.

Cheer out loud? Is this really a tip?

Min Ye-rin, who shouts Han Su-hyeok’s name until her throat is hoarse every time she goes to the stadium, and who is often chased away by security guards for climbing the safety net, couldn’t relate to this story even a millimeter.

‘If I look a little more, there must be something; this can’t be all there is,’ she thought.

Min Ye-rin moved on to the next post.

[Being an athlete is incredibly difficult, both physically and mentally. Honestly, it’s almost impossible to be good at cooking at our age, right? But these days, you can find recipes on the internet! Why don’t you make a lunch box with reference to that? Your boyfriend will definitely be touched when he eats it!]

‘I know, but I don’t know,’ she mused, feeling a mix of understanding and uncertainty.

This time, something she was already doing came up.

How much she had pestered her aunt, a court cuisine expert, to make food for Han Su-hyeok.

She trims ingredients and makes something every day with hands that have never held a knife before.

The food made in that way is piled up in Han Su-hyeok’s refrigerator.

Of course, it’s still hard to give it to him in person, so she leaves it in front of his house to coincide with his 퇴근시간 [toegeun sigan – quitting time/end of work day].

Is this really special treatment for a boyfriend? Is she doing what she does every day even though she’s not in a relationship?

Min Ye-rin’s head was getting more and more complicated.

Skipping posts with few comments, she found another post.

[It may be a little difficult and overwhelming, but invite your boyfriend’s friends and treat them to delicious food. Even if it’s hard to do it alone, get help from your friends or siblings. Men are social animals. If you save your boyfriend’s face like that, his condition will improve immediately!]

‘I already did this once last time. Pass.’

Is this all there is?

Seeing that even she, who is not in a relationship with Han Su-hyeok, is seeing these things as tips as if she eats every day, she even wondered if these people really have athlete boyfriends.

Just as Min Ye-rin was about to put down her smartphone with a deep sigh, a post at the very bottom corner caught her eye.

[Sometimes women have to be bold…]

Curious about what it meant, Min Ye-rin touched the post with the feeling that it was the last one.

[Men are actually weaker at heart, even though they pretend to be strong. When he’s having a hard time, just hug him silently without doing anything. Sometimes such a small hug can be a great strength.]

Min Ye-rin’s cheeks began to turn red.

* * *

“Um… Su-hyeok oppa [older brother/term of endearment used by females].”

“Yeah?”

“I’m…”

“What is it?”

“Um, maybe…”

“I have to go in now. Ye-rin, can you tell me quickly, whatever it is.”

“I, I, I, I…”

“I? I what?”

Min Ye-rin’s face turned red, and tears began to well up in her eyes.

“What do you think if I wear glasses?”

“Glasses?”

Han Su-hyeok looked at Min Ye-rin with a look of not knowing what she was talking about and replied.

“Why? Are your eyes blurry these days? Glasses would be fine too. I’m going now.”

“Heeing…”

Han Su-hyeok turned away from Min Ye-rin, who was trembling all over with her head bowed, and headed for the ground.

The Warriors lost the game the day before, and the Rangers won, widening the gap between 1st and 2nd place to one game again.

Every day is a series of breathless schedules.

The Warriors, who lost the game despite putting up foreign ace Ryan Stark, put Brooks Parker on the mound as the second starter.

Brooks, who had done his part well enough this season following last season, did his best with every ball for next year’s salary and for the team’s regular season championship.

7 innings, no runs, 4K perfect pitching.

Kim Du-yeong, who took over after him, and Yang Gi-cheol blocked another inning without giving up a run, and the Warriors defeated the Fighters 3-0.

The only disappointing thing was that Han Su-hyeok’s challenge for the single-season home run record was pushed back by one game.

The Fighters, who had to raise their ranking by even one step every year to renew their sponsorship, did their best to win the game, and to do so, they had no choice but to avoid a showdown with Han Su-hyeok.

Although he didn’t gain much other than a one-RBI hit, Han Su-hyeok’s expression was much brighter than when he hit his 55th home run the day before.

“The challenge for the new record was unfortunately unsuccessful. Many fans who were waiting for the home run ball with butterfly nets are also very disappointed. Can we expect it in the next game?”

“I’m really happy that the team won.”

“Yes, I see. Congratulations again. Then, are you planning to bring the team’s victory and a new home run record together in the next game?”

The reporter’s face showed an expression begging him to nod, but Han Su-hyeok’s answer was the same as usual.

“If we can win the remaining games, I don’t care if I can’t add any more home runs.”

“Yes?”

“What I want is the team’s championship.”

“……”

While Han Su-hyeok was frustrating the reporter with such a boring interview, Incheon under Hwang Byeong-ho’s regime once again defeated Suwon, maintaining the gap with the Warriors.

In the process, news broke that Suwon’s second baseman was injured by an aggressive slide by an Incheon player.

Not only Suwon fans but also many baseball fans raised their voices in criticism of Incheon’s aggressive play, but Hwang Byeong-ho did not budge.

“Fans want us to win. A professional baseball team is a group that exists to win. So we are ready to do anything to win as long as we don’t break the rules.”

When Hwang Byeong-ho made these remarks, baseball fans began to curse him even louder.

Is that really baseball for the fans?

It was criticized as being for the director’s career and the greed of the owner who hired him.

The official response from the Incheon club was ‘no comment’.

And the Warriors are now preparing for their last game of the season against the Fighters.

* * *

“Sister! Over here!”

“Oh, Ye-rin! Wow… it’s been so long!”

“How long has it been since you came to Korea, sister! Heeing… I missed you so much.”

“Sorry, sorry, I didn’t realize how time was passing while resting in the United States.”

Han Su-hyeok, who is only one away from the single-season home run title record.

The outfield is filled with butterfly net units to catch the ball.

Min Ye-rin, who should have been mixed in there, was waiting for someone in the reserved seat right behind the catcher today for some reason.

In a very limited human relationship, Min Ye-rin is the only fellow entertainer she can talk to comfortably with.

Korea’s top actress Kim Eun-byeol, who became close like 친언니 [chin eonni – real older sister] and sister after first meeting in a drama she cameoed in when she was a thirteen-year-old kid.

She returned to Korea almost three years after quitting her activities and leaving for the United States, and she found Min Ye-rin, and she was torn between Han Su-hyeok and Kim Eun-byeol, and she had no choice but to set the meeting place at the baseball stadium.

“Sister, you don’t know much about baseball, right? I’m sorry. This is such an important game…”

“Hehe, no. It’s nice to be here after a long time. You know. Yoo-ram’s sister used to be involved in the management of that Fighters team. I used to go to the baseball stadium a bit back then. Anyway, thank you for inviting me. This is a good seat.”

An actress who could be said to be almost 친자매 [chinjamae – real sisters] with Kim Eun-byeol once participated in the management of the Fighters. It was a very short time when the Fighters, who had been wandering around motels for away games, could enjoy the luxury of a hotel.

While the two women were chatting with the joy of meeting after three years, the game finally began.

A foreign pitcher wearing a Fighters uniform went to the mound, and Warriors hitters entered the plate.

Kim Eun-byeol, who only knew simple rules about baseball, watched the game with the fun of chatting with Min Ye-rin.

“Ye-rin, by the way. That brand you mentioned last time…”

“Sister, just a moment!”

“Huh? Why? Are you uncomfortable somewhere? Why are you putting so much strength into your body?”

“No, it’s not like that. There, kyaaaak!”

Min Ye-rin, who was sitting next to her, suddenly started screaming as if she was having a seizure.

Kim Eun-byeol, who was surprised, looked at her. And soon she realized that her gaze was directed somewhere.

There, a sturdy player wearing a Warriors uniform was walking out.

A large and solid physique that seems to be well over 190cm [approximately 6’3″], and a man’s face with delicate and distinct features, contrary to this.

Kim Eun-byeol realized.

Where the cause of Min Ye-rin’s seizure is.

‘Look at this girl…?’

Kim Eun-byeol, with an interesting expression, quietly watched Min Ye-rin.

“Foul!”

“Ball!”

TtaaAAAak!

It was then.

The batted ball soared black into the sky. Then, suddenly, the entire baseball stadium began to go wild as if it were collapsing.

What on earth is going on?

The moment the black soaring ball finally went over the left fence, all the spectators stood up and started screaming.

Kim Eun-byeol, who was surprised, turned her head to the side. To ask Min Ye-rin what was going on.