Genius Pitcher Hides 170Km [EN]: Chapter 201

#200. Someone’s Memory

‘They say you die if you do something you never used to do….’

In the top of the 6th inning, the moment Han Su-hyeok’s massive hit soared over the right field fence of Angel Stadium, I felt Min Ye-rin, who was clinging to the safety net, flinch.

Min Ye-rin’s manager, sensing that the moment had finally come, grabbed her sleeve with all his might.

Although this is a Major League team’s home stadium, the IOC [International Olympic Committee] is still in charge of this game.

In amateur games where sportsmanship is important, stricter standards are applied not only to the players but also to the spectators.

If, by any chance, an excited Min Ye-rin climbs the safety net and gets ejected, things will get very complicated.

The manager was determined to stop her antics no matter what happened today.

But something was strange.

“Ye-rin…?”

His employer, who would normally have tried to invade the field whether he stopped her or not, was clinging to the safety net, staring blankly at the field.

I don’t know why, but it’s even more unsettling that she’s not doing what she used to do.

As the manager watched her with anxious eyes, Min Ye-rin didn’t even recognize it.

‘Something’s wrong… Why am I like this?’

From the moment she first entered this stadium, she felt strange.

It was definitely her first time at this ballpark, but somehow everything felt familiar.

The huge parking lot that surrounded the ballpark without a single gap, the huge baseball helmet-shaped sculpture installed in front of the central entrance.

At first, she thought it was because she remembered seeing it in videos or photos, so she didn’t take it seriously.

But Min Ye-rin, who entered the ballpark, was once again confused.

‘Ye-rin, our seats are over here, so… I should ask. Excuse me!’

‘This way, *Oppa* [older brother/term of endearment for a close male friend or boyfriend], if you go around that pillar, it will lead to where our seats are.’

‘What? How do you know that? You said it’s your first time here?’

She had nothing to say.

She took the slightly dazed manager to their seats.

‘Oh… Ye-rin, what’s that in the center of the outfield? Why is there a rocky area in the baseball field?’

‘That’s an artificial fountain.’

‘Huh? What did you say?’

‘Oh… I mean, it’s probably an artificial fountain.’

A scene of water gushing out from there was vividly etched in her mind.

The really strange thing was that it didn’t feel like her own memory.

To be more precise, it felt like she was stealing someone else’s memory?

Everything was getting more and more confusing.

In the meantime, the game started.

Han Su-hyeok, who took the mound, began to dominate the Japanese batters.

From time to time, Han Su-hyeok’s face was caught on the outfield scoreboard.

Min Ye-rin could tell, even if no one else could.

That he was sad right now.

‘*Oppa*…….’

Han Su-hyeok, who had literally crushed the Japanese batters through the 5th inning, stepped up to the plate.

Suddenly, an unknown emotion swirled within her chest.

Min Ye-rin ran towards the fence to get closer to Han Su-hyeok without even realizing it.

Min Ye-rin, who was about to climb the safety net as a habit, suddenly stopped.

Han Su-hyeok’s request not to get kicked out came to mind.

Grasping the safety net tightly with trembling hands, she called out to Han Su-hyeok in a loud voice.

‘*Oppa*!’

I don’t know if that word was conveyed to Han Su-hyeok’s ears.

Han Su-hyeok, who had been standing at the plate without any motivation in the previous at-bat, suddenly changed his batting stance and hit the ball that was falling outside as it was.

With a tremendous sound, the batted ball began to fly powerfully towards the right field fence.

The surprised Japanese right fielder ran towards the fence with all his might, but,

‘Wooaaah!’

‘It went over! It went over!’

‘Holy sh**……!’

With cheers mixed with Korean and English, the ball that flew in a straight line hit the middle of the right outfield stands.

The Japanese pitcher, who had allowed a home run due to a momentary mistake, collapsed on the mound, and water bottles flew from the Japanese dugout.

Han Su-hyeok, who rounded the diamond without any of his usual celebrations, went straight into the dugout.

‘Ye-rin, are you crying? Why are you crying? Is it because I told you not to climb the safety net? Hey, you really can’t do that. I was afraid you’d get kicked out…….’

She felt the broadcast camera pointing at her face in the distance.

To capture the face of a Korean top star shedding tears.

But none of that mattered.

There were times when she felt strange emotions when she saw Han Su-hyeok,

But this was beyond that. It’s hard to even breathe.

Is this what it’s like for someone who really falls in love with someone, as Eun-byeol *unnie* [older sister/term of endearment for a close female friend or sister] said?

A feeling that her chest is churning and her head is throbbing, as if she’s about to collapse.

Min Ye-rin, who had been leaning against the safety net and catching her breath for a long time, slowly returned to her seat.

In the meantime, the Korean team’s attack continued.

* * *

[Korean Olympic Baseball Team Wins Big Against Arch-Rival Japan 10-2, Takes Sole Lead in Group A with 2 Wins]

[Korean Batting Lineup Explodes After Han Su-hyeok’s Home Run in the Top of the 6th, Scores 6 Runs After Two Outs with a Full Round of Batters]

[6 Innings, No Runs Allowed, 14 Strikeouts, Overwhelming Pitching That Cannot Be Expressed with the Word Perfect, Korea-Japan Game Broadcast Live Across the United States via ESPN, American Baseball Fans “Shocking Pitching. Who is That Player?”]

[American Experts Who Had Been Conservative in Their Evaluation of Han Su-hyeok “We Seem to Have Thought Something Wrong. He Was Not a Player Who Needed Verification.”]

[Japanese Manager Hoshino, Who Was Defeated by the Korean Team “There Are Times When There Are Beings Who Raise the Power of the Entire Team Alone. Han Su-hyeok Was Such a Player, and We Were Literally Completely Defeated.”]

[Japanese Baseball Fans “I Can’t Get Angry Unless I Get Hurt, This Is Really Just Laughable. Even Otani Wasn’t That Good. No, No Baseball Player in History Has Ever Shown Such a Force.”]

[American Team Captain Ty Johnson “I Am the Only One in the World Who Can Face Him”]

[Korea Secures 2 Wins in 2 Games, Virtually Confirms Spot in Semifinals… Manager Gu Yong-sik “Regardless of Today’s Game Result, Ryu Han-gyeol Will Start as Planned Against the Netherlands”]

Click

“It’s a bit of a burden.”

“What is?”

“Su-hyeok is pitching so well that it’s strangely burdensome to pitch after him.”

“So you do feel the pressure?”

“What are you talking about, Hyung [older brother/term of endearment for a close male friend or brother] Jun-yeong? You know how chicken-hearted I am.”

“Chicken-hearted my foot, a guy who’s been the breadwinner for his family for seven years……. Anyway, just pitch comfortably. Even if we lose to the Netherlands, we’ll still make it to the semifinals anyway.”

“Hyung.”

“Why.”

“Still, I’m the only major leaguer on this team, so I can’t do that.”

“Hehe, then grit your teeth and pitch like you’re going to die.”

“I’m going to do that anyway. By the way, aren’t you nervous about pitching in the semifinals? Who’s going to come up, looking at it now, it’s either Dominica or Cuba.”

“I’m nervous. If I screw up there and we don’t make it to the finals, the people will all curse like this. If we had just made it to the finals, Han Su-hyeok would have won us the gold medal, but Im Jun-yeong messed it up with his stupid actions.”

“Just thinking about it makes my hands and feet tremble.”

“Hehe, I guess it’s because I have such a great junior, it’s hard for me both on my team and here.”

“What are you talking about? How happy is that, Hyung? I think my rotation is going to get tougher from the second half of the year.”

“Why? Is something going on there?”

“Something’s always going on. Among them, this one is especially big. Our team’s ace is almost half out of his mind because of a divorce lawsuit. What can I do? I have to fill that spot again.”

Im Jun-yeong thought as he heard those words.

Just as each person has their own destiny, perhaps such a destiny exists for baseball players as well.

A boy who single-handedly supports a weak team, perhaps that was a destiny that Ryu Han-gyeol could never escape until he retired.

“By the way… Han-gyeol, what do you think?”

“About what?”

“Su-hyeok. What do you think he’d be like if he played in the States? How far could he go?”

It was just simple curiosity.

When he first heard that he had stayed in Korea to win the Warriors, he was skeptical, but now Im Jun-yeong knew for sure.

That there was not even 1% of falsehood in his junior’s words.

No matter how much he watched Major League games, he hardly saw a player better than that guy.

What would Ryu Han-gyeol, who had actually played in the States, think?

Ryu Han-gyeol, who had been organizing his thoughts for a very short time, said.

“Hyung.”

“Yeah, tell me.”

“In my opinion.”

“Uh.”

“Let’s say aliens from far away in space invaded Earth.”

“What are you talking about, what’s that all about?”

“Listen to the end. Anyway, those aliens say this. If they win a baseball game, they’ll destroy the Earth.”

“…Keep going.”

“If we had to pick a baseball player to represent Earth for that reason, I would cast my vote for Su-hyeok without hesitation. Absolutely, no questions asked.”

“Is it that much?”

“I’m sure. There are guys in the big leagues here who are stronger than Su-hyeok, and there are guys who seem to throw faster balls, and there are all kinds of guys, but still, there’s no human on this Earth who plays baseball as well as that guy. That’s how I see it.”

* * *

There was something wrong with the condition of Han Su-hyeok, who was the core of this baseball team and was scheduled to be the starting pitcher in the semifinals.

Manager Gu Yong-sik almost collapsed on the spot after receiving this report from the coach.

It can’t be. No matter what other players, not even a hair of a problem should occur to Han Su-hyeok.

‘I don’t know why, but it seems like he’s suffered some kind of mental shock.’

It was Im Jun-yeong who first noticed that Han Su-hyeok’s condition was strange after the game against Japan.

Im Jun-yeong reported this to the head coach, and it was eventually conveyed to the manager.

Gu Yong-sik immediately called Han Su-hyeok’s teachers in Korea, Lee Dae-jun and Jeong Yun-seok, to discuss this.

The conclusion that came out of there was one,

If there is no physical problem, just leave it alone, whatever it is, it is best not to touch it.

Following the advice of the two people who knew Han Su-hyeok much better than himself, Gu Yong-sik left him alone. Instead, he took other measures he could take.

He called senior players and asked them not to upset Han Su-hyeok, and asked the support team staff from the KBO [Korea Baseball Organization] to strengthen monitoring.

He took care of all of Han Su-hyeok’s convenience to the extent that it could be called a privilege if someone knew the situation.

But Han Su-hyeok’s mood, once it had sunk, did not improve easily.

Nevertheless, what was really fortunate was that Han Su-hyeok still did his part in the third game against the Netherlands the next day.

While Ryu Han-gyeol, who started as the starting pitcher, held the Netherlands’ left-handed lineup to 2 runs in 6 innings, Korea scored 3 points by tying up Lee Su-yeong’s 2-RBI timely hit and Lee Chan-ho’s sacrifice fly.

In a tight one-point lead situation, Han Su-hyeok, who entered the last at-bat in the 9th inning, hit the ball of the Netherlands’ leading player and San Diego’s starting closer out of the fence.

Ttaa aaaak!

“It’s done! He went! He’s going!”

“It’s over! It’s a home run!”

That decided the game.

4 to 2, Korea’s victory.

It was the moment when Korea, which was initially evaluated as the weakest in Group A, rose to the top of the group with 3 wins and no losses.

Unlike Group A, where there were upsets, the results in Group B, where the host country, the United States, belonged, were something that everyone could nod their heads to.

The United States, with 3 wins and no losses, took first place, and Dominica, with 2 wins and 1 loss, took second place.

Group A 1st place Korea vs Group B 2nd place Dominica

Group A 2nd place Japan vs Group B 1st place United States

The semifinal matchups for the 2028 LA Olympics baseball event have been confirmed.