Genius Pitcher Hides 170Km [EN]: Chapter 20

#19. End of Spring Training

“Lately, even when I sleep, it doesn’t feel like I’ve rested. And even when I do fall asleep, I wake up every few hours from nightmares, Doctor.”

“Oh dear, is something causing you a lot of stress, Mr. Park Sung-hoon? Feel free to talk about it.”

“Yes, if I had to say… it’s work-related.”

“Hmm, dreams usually occur during REM sleep. Dreaming frequently means you’re waking up during REM sleep, which is often caused by stress.”

“Ah… then what should I do, Doctor?”

“First, to help with the consultation, we need to understand your psychological state. May I ask what you do? Everything said here will remain confidential under medical law, so please don’t worry and tell me.”

“Yes… I manage a professional baseball team.”

“A baseball team? Oh… that’s quite impressive. So, what’s been troubling you the most lately?”

“Well…”

He swallowed hard and slowly opened his mouth.

“I’ve had a long-time dream, Doctor.”

“I’m listening. Take your time.”

“I’ve loved baseball since I was a little kid. Fortunately, I had good athletic skills, so I started learning baseball formally as soon as I entered elementary school.”

“That’s fortunate indeed.”

“I was told I had some talent, but when I was in sixth grade, a little kid joined the baseball team, and I couldn’t take my eyes off him.”

“Who was it?”

Park Sung-hoon briefly pictured Han Su-hyeok’s cute appearance from elementary school with his buzz cut.

“I can’t tell you his name… Ah, well, you’ll probably find out anyway. Anyway, that kid kept following me around, and he was so adorable… and even that young kid had quite a talent for baseball.”

“You felt like he was your younger brother.”

“Yes, he was so cute that I kept taking him around after school, buying him *tteokbokki* [spicy rice cakes]… and we even joined the same children’s fan club for our favorite professional baseball team.”

“You must have been happy. Oh, by the way, I’m also a former member of the Busan Titans children’s fan club.”

“Oh… that must have been tough for you.”

“It’s okay. I haven’t looked at the sports section of the internet in years. I didn’t realize you managed a baseball team. That’s why I didn’t recognize you.”

“Oh, that team will have its day in the sun someday… hopefully.”

“Maybe. I hope they win a championship before I die. But if they don’t, oh well. Well, it seems like my consultation is taking over. Please, continue with what you were saying.”

“Yes… Anyway, we were like brothers until something happened when that kid was in the first year of middle school. He had been raised by a single mother, and she passed away.”

“Oh dear…”

“I saw a fierce fire in the eyes of that kid who had always been gentle and only knew baseball… I thought I couldn’t leave him alone, so I talked to my parents and brought him to our house.”

“You did a good thing.”

“It was nothing, I was lonely since I didn’t have any siblings anyway. So, we lived in the same house and worked hard to become professionals, but…”

“What happened then?”

“Yes, this time something happened to me. I injured my knee in the spring tournament in my third year of high school and had to quit baseball.”

“Oh… that must have been very difficult.”

“At the time, it felt like the world was collapsing. But now, it’s okay. To be honest, I wasn’t that talented as a baseball player. I probably wouldn’t have become a professional even if I had continued.”

“Hmm, what did you do after you stopped playing baseball?”

“Yes, I was exempted from military service because of the injury, and since baseball was all I knew, I struggled to make a living around it. Then, due to various circumstances, I ended up managing a baseball team, which was more than I deserved.”

“Hmm, I’m glad I understand a little bit about your life. So, tell me now. What’s making you so troubled?”

“…The fear of not meeting expectations. That’s the hardest thing, Doctor.”

“Expectations?”

“Yes, that younger brother I just mentioned gave up a huge opportunity himself to be with me, saying he believed in someone like me who has nothing.”

“I see. How did you feel when you heard that?”

“To be honest… I felt like my heart was going to burst. I had given up on my dream after the injury and thought I would never dream again, but when I heard that we could be together again, my heart raced like crazy.”

“You must have been happy.”

“Yes, sincerely. How should I put it… It felt like I was reborn?”

“You’ve seized a rare opportunity in life.”

“That’s right, Doctor. I’ll probably never have this kind of luck again in my life. But the problem is… I’m worried about whether I can meet his expectations.”

“Expectations… Mr. Park Sung-hoon, I can’t say for sure since I don’t know everything, but that younger brother gave up a good opportunity in front of him and instead proposed to challenge a new goal together with you, right?”

“Yes, Doctor.”

The director of a mental health center in Songpa-gu, Seoul, known for its excellent counseling and high credibility, said with a kind smile.

“Although I’m not that younger brother, I think I can understand his feelings to some extent. What he wants most is to live with you, Mr. Park Sung-hoon.”

“Ah…”

“Just enjoy it. I can’t jump to conclusions, but perhaps what he wants isn’t wealth and fame, but you, Mr. Park Sung-hoon, and each step forward together with the people around you.”

“…Thank you.”

“Now, stop stressing out and just do what you can do now. Life isn’t that complicated. Just focus on feeling happy every day. Even a Titans fan like me is living just fine, right?”

“Yes, this has been really helpful.”

“Good. Mr. Park Sung-hoon, then I’ll see you at the next consultation.”

Park Sung-hoon, who was about to leave the consultation room with a satisfied expression, suddenly asked as if something had come to mind.

“Ah, and Doctor, I have another concern…”

“Yes?”

“There’s someone around me who keeps asking me for things whenever they see me…”

“Oh dear.”

“And they talk so much that once you get caught up, it’s a minimum of two hours. How should I deal with this kind of person?”

“Is it a relationship you can’t avoid?”

“Unfortunately… yes.”

“Hmm, I’ll think about the over-talker issue and tell you at the next consultation.”

“Thank you!”

Park Sung-hoon, whose expression was much lighter than before the consultation, returned to his office with a smile.

*That’s right, the counselor is right.*

*Considering the heart of the younger brother who entrusted the team to him, this is a happy worry.*

*Let’s just take it slow and focus on what I can do.*

*Even though the budget is limited, the places where money needs to be spent keep increasing, the team’s depth is terrible, and there’s no interest in the unwanted players we need to sell off.*

*If I work hard, things will work out somehow.*

Park Sung-hoon’s mind finally regained peace.

“Team owner!”

Until the manager, who had been talking even more lately, barged into his room.

“…Yes, Manager. What’s the matter today?”

“We need more budget for the celebrity pitching issue!”

“Haa, I said that’s difficult… Can’t we just focus on the people who will do it for free?”

“No, no matter what, there’s a certain level we need to maintain. A Seoul team, especially for the opening game, can’t just bring in a B-list celebrity, can we?”

There was a time when well-known celebrities lined up to throw the first pitch for this team.

Of course, that was a long time ago.

Now, the Warriors are an unpopular team that struggles to even get a decent celebrity pitcher.

Now, to scout a real A-list celebrity, we have to pay a corresponding price.

The problem is the lack of budget.

Out of the 100 billion won in capital that Oh Kang deposited into Iconic Partners’ corporate account, 9 billion won has already been used for the KBO [Korea Baseball Organization] membership fee. And even at this moment, money continues to flow out for team operations.

Based on last season’s financial statements, even if we save as much as possible, nearly 10 billion won will be spent in a year.

Su-hyeok said he would somehow get more money if we run out, but that’s absolutely not going to happen.

I don’t want him to worry about anything other than exercising.

For that reason, Park Sung-hoon was becoming a penny-pincher who trembled at even 1 won in the budget.

“Please understand. There are so many places where money needs to be spent right now…”

“Ah, and why haven’t you approved the influencer marketing proposal?”

“That also costs a lot of money…”

“Haa, really, team owner. I didn’t want to say this, but please sit here for a moment. In the United States, where I used to play, we realized the importance of marketing early on and invited experts in that field to develop it into an independent organization. This can be seen as a collaboration between sports and entertainment, and some baseball players have more recognition than most celebrities… Um, team owner? Are you listening to me?”

“Yes, yes.”

Park Sung-hoon pretended to listen to the manager with a half-resigned expression.

Hoping that he could learn how to deal with this talkative manager at the next consultation.

* * *

“Okay, everyone worked hard. Let’s rest well for three days and see each other again. Absolutely no actions that could cause injury.”

“Yes! Manager.”

“Good, dismissed.”

The Seoul Warriors’ spring training, which had been held in Arizona and Okinawa for the past 35 days, ended successfully.

In the practice games against domestic and foreign teams, the Seoul Warriors recorded 2 wins and 3 losses.

After spending the camp mixed in with other players, things that were not visible before began to be clearly visible.

First of all, let me talk about my condition. I am satisfied in every way.

I had some trouble adjusting to the suddenly younger body after regressing, but after consistently doing the training that Jacob had set up, my balance was quite stable.

Frankly speaking, I feel like I can blow up the KBO alone.

Hmm.

Next, let’s talk about the team…

Some players were better than they appeared on paper, while others were less solid than they seemed.

Some players needed a clear sense of purpose, and I found some players whose skills would increase dramatically if they increased their training volume. And some guys seemed to need harsh mental conditioning.

Of course, my judgment on Song and Hwang hasn’t changed at all. We need to package them well and sell them off quickly.

Anyway, these are things that you can never find out from the outside.

As my head became complicated with these random thoughts, I unknowingly smiled.

Because I realized that I had lost my initial focus.

I thought back to the time when I lost everything and was suffering alone.

The worries I have now are light things that can’t even be called worries.

Okay, let’s go slowly, one step at a time.

If it doesn’t work out, can’t I just hit about 80 home runs and get about 70 saves alone?

“Please take me to Jamsil, driver.”

“Yes, sir. I’ll take you there comfortably.”

I caught a taxi in front of the airport and headed to my still unfamiliar home.

Thanks to the fact that the road wasn’t as congested as I thought because it was a weekday morning, I soon arrived in front of the apartment.

Just as I was getting out of the taxi, I received a call from Sung-hoon.

“Hey, what’s up? We’re going to meet tomorrow anyway, why are you calling?”

– Hey, is that what someone who’s been abroad for a month and a half should say? Anyway, was the flight okay? How’s your body? Is there anything uncomfortable?

“I’m fine. Very. More than that, what’s wrong with your voice? Did you go to the mountain and scream or something?”

– …I talked to Manager Park for three hours and my throat is all hoarse.

“Hehehe, but it seems like you’re not being unilaterally pushed around anymore. It looks like you’ve become able to fight back together?”

– Haa, I was going to just listen and bear it, but he’s asking for 1 billion won for celebrity and influencer marketing expenses. Seriously.

“1 billion? That’s not much. You need that much to prepare for the opening game. Why didn’t you give it to him?”

– Hey! What kind of money is that, you and your mother… Haa, never mind. Anyway, don’t even bring up that guy in front of me. It raises my blood pressure.

“Hey, still, be patient and treat him well. You can’t find a manager like that anywhere else.”

– …Enough about that. Anyway, I was holding on to a tired kid for too long. Go in quickly and don’t think about anything, just rest and see you tomorrow.

“Okay, *hyung* [older brother/friend].”

Although they bicker like that, Sung-hoon and Manager Park Jae-cheol are a surprisingly good combination.

They say you get attached while fighting, and they seem like they’ll become best friends beyond age.

Anyway, it seems like Sung-hoon is under a lot of stress because of money.

Hmm, if it doesn’t work out, I can just go to the major league and work part-time for a few years, so why is he so worried?

Doesn’t he believe me?

I’m confident I can pull in about a hundred billion.

‘Ding’

While I was thinking about something else, the elevator arrived on the 35th floor.

It’s my house after a month. I wonder if anything happened during that time.

Just as I was about to press the password with a calm expression, the door next door opened and someone came out.

It seems that someone has finally moved into the house next door, which was empty when I signed the contract.