Genius Pitcher Hides 170Km [EN]: Chapter 21

#20. The Real Deal

‘Kkyaaaa! What do I do! What do I do? Ugh? Min Ye-rin, you idiot. Think! What to do!’

The woman who entered her house after Han Su-hyeok disappeared covered her mouth with her hand and swallowed the scream that was bursting out.

Then, she ran to the living room, took out her smartphone, and made a call somewhere.

– Hello, Ye-rin? How’s the new house? Are you doing well?

“Dad!”

– Jeez! Why are you yelling? What is it? Did a stalker show up again?

“It’s not that! Han Su-hyeok!”

– Han Su-hyeok? Why Han Su-hyeok all of a sudden? Oh, now that you mention it, he’s the real deal. You saw the internet broadcast of his practice game, right? Ye-rin, do you think you might have a chance to meet him? If you do, please get me his autograph.

“No, that’s not important right now!”

– Ah, right. I got a little excited again. Where’s Manager Choi? Hasn’t he arrived yet? Sigh, that’s why I told you to just pick a suitable agency and sign a contract, Ye-rin. Why are you suffering alone? You’re Min Ye-rin, for crying out loud!

“Dad! That’s not important right now! Han Su-hyeok is next door to us!”

– Yeah, if you happen to meet him, please get me his autograph…

“Su-hyeok lives there! Next door to us! I just met him in front of the door!”

– What?

Min Tae-hyeon, once known as the best investment expert in Korea and a famous Warriors fanatic, now working at the best asset management firm in the United States, asked back in a hurried voice.

– Han Su-hyeok lives next door to you? I thought that place was empty?

“I thought it was empty too! I haven’t seen a soul since I moved in, but I guess he came back today. The Warriors’ spring camp is over!”

– Oh my god! The house you moved into happens to be right next to Han Su-hyeok’s?

“What do I do? My heart is pounding, Dad.”

– Man, even I’m like this just hearing about it, how about you? Ah, this isn’t the time for this. Should I go back to Korea? If I leave right away, I think I can arrive by tomorrow morning?

“Will you?”

– Yeah, Ye-rin. I’ll check the flight schedule right away. But do you think that guy will meet us?

“I’ll figure out a way.”

– Okay, then I’ll leave right away.

“Okay, Dad.”

The intentions of the two father and daughter, who can do anything in the name of the Warriors and are among the few real fans left of this team, came together.

Min Ye-rin, a top Korean singer who turned twenty this year, a singer-songwriter who rose to the top in just six years since her debut at the age of fourteen.

The undisputed queen of K-pop, recognized worldwide beyond Korea.

The entertainer of entertainers with 20 million SNS followers.

The most beloved entertainer in Korea in 2026.

That was Min Ye-rin.

‘Su-hyeok is living next door to me…’

Her father, Min Tae-hyeon, was a die-hard Warriors fan from the bone.

Born in the year the team was founded, he had steadily climbed the ranks from a child member. Even while living a busy life as an investment expert, he was the kind of person who frequented Jamsil Baseball Stadium like eating meals.

Such a man got married and had a child, so there was no need to talk about the future.

From the age of five, when she was a snot-nosed kid, Min Ye-rin held her father’s hand and frequented Jamsil Baseball Stadium. And naturally followed in her father’s footsteps to become a Warriors fan.

At that time, the Warriors were one of the strongest teams representing the KBO [Korean Baseball Organization].

They were stingy with investments, but the coaching staff and players were united in challenging for the autumn baseball games every year.

Min Tae-hyeon and Min Ye-rin, the two father and daughter, were happy.

Even after she joined an agency and debuted as a singer, that 행보 [trajectory/path] did not stop.

Even if the Warriors didn’t call her, she would go to them and volunteer to throw the first pitch, and she would compose cheering songs, saying she was inspired by their play.

But then the Warriors betrayed the two father and daughter.

The eldest son of the Ohgang Group, that bastard, took office as the owner and began to run the team as he pleased.

Believing only the words of the people who flattered him from the side, he cut off the pillars that supported the team one by one.

The team she loved began to fall apart. The players who once made her heart flutter began to change uniforms one by one.

And finally, that happened.

Lim Jun-yeong, the young ace who had supported the Warriors along with veteran Lee Man-sik. He wanted to stay with the Warriors even if there was a slight difference in the amount, but he was released as a free agent and joined the Incheon uniform.

A conscientious sports reporter who overcame the lobbying of the Ohgang Group broke a special article.

It turned out that in order to catch Hwang Seong-min and Song Gi-tae, who had also obtained FA [Free Agent] qualifications along with Lim Jun-yeong, they didn’t even offer a contract to Lim Jun-yeong.

‘Crazy bastards…’

Thinking about that time makes my blood boil again.

Giving billions to half-baked catchers and shortstops that other teams don’t even bother with, but not even offering a contract to Lim Jun-yeong, the team’s young ace.

Enraged, Min Ye-rin 박제ed [literally ‘taxidermied,’ meaning immortalized or permanently recorded] the phrase ‘Fucking Ohgang’ on her SNS [Social Networking Service].

The Ohgang Group and several companies affected by them brought up the termination of CF [Commercial Film] contracts and claims for damages, but Min Ye-rin didn’t bat an eye.

She didn’t have any problems making a living without that kind of thing, and her father, Min Tae-hyeon, who had been scouted to Wall Street, pushed her back, saying he would fight using the best law firm in the United States.

In addition, her fans, who numbered over 20 million worldwide, also sympathized and the meme ‘Fucking Ohgang’ spread like wildfire on SNS.

Anyway, from that day on, the two father and daughter decided to forget everything about the Warriors.

They decided to bury all the 애증 [love-hate], memories, and everything else they had accumulated in their hearts.

When the owner who ruined the team said he would sell the Warriors, their hearts ached a little, but that was all.

It was too late to have regrets now, the team had given them too much pain.

But one day, a twist occurred.

A certain investment company acquired the Warriors, which had been talking about disbanding due to repeated failed attempts to sell it.

According to her father, who found out, it was a company founded by a young baseball agent, but honestly, she didn’t have any special expectations. After all, the team was already rotten to the core.

Min Ye-rin and Min Tae-hoon, who were spending their days with such a nonchalant heart, one day heard shocking news.

Han Su-hyeok, the greatest prospect in Korean high school baseball history, and the 괴물 [monster] rookie who threw 165km/h for the first time as an Asian, would join the Warriors instead of the major leagues.

I thought it was a dream. Her father, who was working in the United States, was convinced that Han Su-hyeok would join Seattle, so it was even more so.

Such Han Su-hyeok said. That he would make the Warriors win the championship.

I was so happy, but honestly, I didn’t believe it.

Putting aside the terrible power, there were too many 쓰레기 [trash] stuck inside the team.

But Park Seong-hoon, the owner who acquired the Warriors, was no ordinary person.

After signing Han Su-hyeok, he now put Park Jae-cheol, a former major leaguer, as the general manager and swept away the coaches who were fighting factional fights within the Warriors.

That day, Min Ye-rin and Min Tae-hyeon swallowed soju [Korean distilled beverage] while shedding tears. Vowing to support the Warriors once again.

Two extreme fans who once loved the Warriors like their lives returned to their places like that.

‘I’m going to take a break from activities for a while.’

Min Ye-rin’s exclusive contract had expired.

She rejected all offers from her former agency and other agencies and declared an unconditional break for one year.

Externally, she announced that her creative energy was exhausted, but in fact, she was planning to go to baseball games for a year.

She caught all the guys who were talking nonsense about Han Su-hyeok on the internet and 고소미ed [slang for suing] them all.

And she moved to a place near Jamsil Baseball Stadium.

The security wasn’t as good as the luxury villa she used to live in, but there was no better house to go to baseball games.

She loved this house, which was a 10-minute walk from the baseball stadium and had a clear view of Jamsil Baseball Stadium from the living room window.

It was a little strange that the house next door and the house next to the house next door were all empty, but rather, she was able to spend her days quietly because of that.

But today, she met the person living next door for the first time.

Min Ye-rin thought her heart stopped for a moment. No, it might have really stopped.

Barely holding back the scream that had risen to her throat, she barely got out of that place, showing acting skills that would have surprised a veteran actor who had evaluated that she had no talent for acting.

It’s Han Su-hyeok!

The one who made me decide to return to baseball! The savior who will save the ruined Warriors has 강림ed [descended/arrived] next door to me.

Min Ye-rin closed her eyes tightly with a reverent heart.

Tears streamed down her eyes as she thought about the bright future of the Warriors.

“Invincible strongest Warriors… will win…”

The Warriors’ cheering song that she composed herself echoed softly in the living room.

* * *

‘Ding-dong’

“Ugh…”

I woke up to the sound of the doorbell.

The tears I had shed just a moment ago had soaked the pillow.

I had a dream.

I went back to the time when my mother first took my hand and showed me the Warriors game.

And when I came to my senses, it was my mother’s funeral hall.

It didn’t end there.

Suddenly, I jumped through time and entered the time when Seong-hoon was dying of lung cancer and I was crying in front of him.

In that dream, I still couldn’t do anything.

I was suffocating and my chest was 답답 [stuffy/oppressed], but I had to watch all those scenes without doing or saying anything.

The me in the dream sobbed sadly like a madman.

I cried and cried like the world had collapsed or like a child left alone in a ruined world.

Then I opened my eyes. To the sound of someone ringing the doorbell.

I thought it was all over now and that I could put it back in place, but it seems that the events of that time were still 고여 [stagnant/pooled] in my heart like a lump.

The memories of my past life often make me 힘들게 [struggle/suffer] like this.

When will I be able to be free from these nightmares?

“Um…”

By the way, how long have I been sleeping?

I’m tired just from training, but I was completely knocked down from figuring out information about the players.

Looking at the clock, it’s 2 p.m. I’m supposed to meet Seong-hoon and Jacob tonight, so I still have plenty of time.

But who is it? No one is coming to my house.

With a 의아한 [doubtful/questioning] mind, I looked into the intercom screen and saw a middle-aged man in a suit and a long-haired woman with only the side of her head visible.

“I’m not buying anything. I’m not going to church. I’m not interested in 도 [cults/religious groups] either.”

– Ah! Wait a minute! It’s not that

Just as I was about to kick them out, thinking a little better, I heard an unexpected story from beyond the intercom.

– We’re the neighbors. Hello!

“Neighbors?”

– Yes, this is my daughter, and I’m her father, haha.

I don’t know what he’s talking about. Anyway, he’s a neighbor, right?

But what’s going on? Even if it’s next door, there’s no reason to go around 인사ing [greeting] in these days’ apartments… Have I ever been noisy?

No, I’ve only been sleeping, so that can’t be.

With a 의아한 [questioning] mind, I scratched the back of my head and opened the door.

Then, the two men and women standing in front of the door looked at me with expressions as if they had the whole world.

Who are these people?

“What’s going on…”

“Hello! My name is Min Tae-hyeon, and I live next door! Ah, of course, I don’t live here all the time, I go back and forth to the United States, ah, that’s not important, this is my daughter. Say hello, daughter.”

At the man’s urging, the young woman standing next to him turned her gaze to the other side and nodded her head towards me.

What, why can’t she even look at people’s faces?

“Ah, yes… But really, what’s going on… I’m a little tired right now.”

“Ah! I see. Well… you haven’t even adjusted to the time difference yet…”

“Pardon?”

“No! Then today, just this, I’ll just give you this and go.”

The middle-aged man, his face red as if he was embarrassed by my words, held out a shopping bag in both hands.

“What… is this?”

“A h, housewarming gift. I look forward to working with you in the future!”

“Um…”

“You don’t have to feel 부담 [burden]! Just as a neighbor, with the 마음 [heart/feeling] that I look forward to working with you in the future, haha.”

I don’t know what’s inside, but I took the shopping bag that the man handed me.

The moment I received it, the heavy weight was 풍기고 [emitting/suggesting] an unusual energy.

“Well… I don’t really have anything prepared for the neighbors…”

“Ah, no! Just living here is an infinite 영광 [honor/glory]… 흡 [sound of inhaling].”

“Pardon?”

“Ah, I’m sorry. I said something strange again… Anyway, it’s really okay!”

“Um… then come in and have a cup of tea…”

Feeling like I owed something, words that I didn’t even have in my heart popped out.

But oh dear, I don’t know what these people do, but their expressions changed drastically at my words, and they jumped into the house before I could stop them.

“Oh, this is the 성지 [holy ground/sacred place]…”

“Pardon?”

“Ah, it’s nothing.”

“…Just a moment. I’ll get you a cup of tea. Where did I put the coffee…”

“Ah, wait a minute! We’ll do it. Daughter! What are you doing? Go and make some coffee, hurry!”

At the man’s words, the young woman 벌떡 일어나 [jumping up] ran to the kitchen.

What are these people doing right now?

“Hey, I’m the owner, so I’ll make the tea…”

“No, no! How can you do such a humble thing with those precious hands… What if you get blisters from the hot water.”

“…?”

While I paused for a moment, the woman who ran to the kitchen skillfully made three cups of coffee and brought them to the living room table.

Then, without even making eye contact with me, she 슬쩍 [stealthily/secretly] handed me a cup.

The woman’s hand handing the teacup was 부들부들 떨리고 [trembling/shaking].

“Here…”

“Well, let’s have a drink. Han Su-hyeok. I don’t know if it will suit your taste. Ah, by the way, I haven’t introduced myself yet. I’m definitely not a strange person! Here’s my business card!”

Ah, I’m really going crazy.

By the way… huh, what is this?

Min Tae-hyeon, Vice President of Goldman Sachs?

This middle-aged man who seems to have lost his mind is the Vice President of Goldman Sachs?

* * *