Genius Pitcher Hides 170Km [EN]: Chapter 261

Genius Pitcher Hides 170km – Episode 260 (261/412)

#260. He’s a Monster

“What do you mean, sir? Are you saying the permit might not go through?”

– Shh, isn’t that a coffee shop? Keep your voice down! Are you trying to advertise?!

“No, that’s not it, but, ugh, how can you say that now? We’ve already started buying up the land. What am I supposed to tell the Chinese side?”

– Ahem, you’re saying dangerous things. Why are you asking me that? You’re the one who started the project. I just gave you a few words of advice as someone older and more experienced. Anyway, don’t call me anymore. I’m going on a training program next week and won’t be back for a year, so don’t bother looking for me. Goodbye.

“Sir! Sir!”

A man in a coffee shop in Jeju City stared at his smartphone with a blank expression after ending the call.

He wondered why the guy who had been so friendly and promised to take responsibility for the development permit had suddenly changed his tune.

Although nothing was confirmed yet, the thought of this project falling through made his head spin.

How much money had he pocketed acting as a go-between for the Chinese resort company and Jeju Island?

If things went wrong, he might be torn limb from limb by the Chinese investors.

With trembling hands, he found a contact on his smartphone and dialed.

“Damn it…….”

No answer. No one was answering.

The people who had been making big promises to help with this project were all ignoring his calls, as if they had agreed to block him.

Local congressmen, provincial assembly members, retired public officials, local power brokers—it felt like they had all cut him off.

“Why…….”

The man looked around with a dazed expression.

It was supposed to be a done deal.

The last piece of prime real estate near the Jungmun Tourist Complex in Seogwipo, a site with some landscape preservation issues, but a place where an entertainment complex could be built immediately if the provincial office looked the other way.

How much behind-the-scenes work had he done to buy it? He had even signed sales contracts for some of the land.

And now they were saying it couldn’t be done?

He couldn’t figure out the reason, and the man’s mind became increasingly troubled.

Just then,

A news report on the TV in the corner of the coffee shop caught his eye.

– Next up is sports news. Park announcer, who comes to mind when you think of a sports star representing Korea?

– Isn’t that an obvious answer? I think anyone you ask would give the same answer, right? It’s Han Su-hyeok, who is showing top-notch performance in the KBO [Korean Baseball Organization] and now in Major League Baseball, isn’t it?

– That’s right. It’s about Han Su-hyeok. We have some interesting news from our broadcast team dispatched to the site, right? This morning, Korean time.

– What news is it?

– It seems Han Su-hyeok talked about his life after retirement, and he said he wanted to live in Jeju Island. And while he’s living there, he expressed his intention to establish a practice field, an academy, and a baseball museum for students in Jeju, which is often considered a baseball backwater.

– Wow, that sounds great just hearing it.

– Right? But it seems like he’s already taking action, not just talking about it. He said he has started buying land in the Yerae-dong area of Seogwipo through an agent.

– Oh, that’s something the local residents would welcome.

– That’s right. As soon as this news broke, the governor of Jeju Island and local congressmen all came forward and said they would provide all administrative support for Han Su-hyeok’s arrival in Jeju.

– Haha, but isn’t it a little early to be talking about retirement when Han Su-hyeok is only in his early 20s?

– That’s right. I was curious about that part, so I asked, and he said he would just lease it to the surrounding farmers at a low price and use it as farmland until he retires.

– He’s a player with good character as well as skill. Wow, by the way, buying that much land must cost a fortune… Even for a superstar, it wouldn’t be possible with just his salary, would it?

– Our reporter, Ko Dong-sik, asked him slyly, and he said he made a little profit by investing in a good stock.

– It seems Han Su-hyeok has a knack for investing as well as baseball. Anyway, we’re happy to deliver good news from the morning. This was KBC 9 o’clock News.

* * *

Currently, there are only three Korean players playing in Major League Baseball, including me.

Of course, there seem to be a few more players in the minor leagues, but that means I can only easily meet two of them in the majors.

Ryu Han-gyeol and Lee Chan-ho, who play for the LA Angels.

After the three-game series against the Cubs, we were preparing for a four-game series against our division rival, the LA Angels.

And I was having a hard time shaking off the two of them, who were sticking to me like glue.

“Su-hyeok, be honest. It’s not that hard to ask you to teach us about the stock market, is it?”

“Yeah, Su-hyeok. If you don’t want to teach Han-gyeol hyung [older brother/friend], just teach me, huh? I’ll treat you big time.”

My buying land in Jeju Island was reported on KBC public broadcast news, and an unexpected thing happened.

When they wondered about the source of funds for buying a large amount of land in a neighborhood famous for being expensive in Jeju Island, I just replied that the investment had turned out well without much thought.

It’s true.

The research institute I have a stake in—no, the battery manufacturer that it has become—reportedly supplied its first shipment to an American automobile company last month.

Perhaps that’s why the first dividend that was deposited a while ago was truly surprising.

There was an extra 0 attached to the amount I had expected.

At this rate, it’s not just the Warriors’ operation that’s a problem; if I do well, I might be able to run a Major League Baseball team, or so I thought.

Then I heard a strange story.

Mr. Ahn Chi-wook’s parents, who had been sending me food since I was in Korea,

I called them with a light heart to express my gratitude and heard the story.

Some Chinese development company or something kept coming and bothering them to sell their land.

They had been farming there all their lives and planned to continue to do so, but it seemed like it would be difficult.

I am a person who is clear about favors and grudges.

I always repay those who reach out to me first, even if it’s something small.

As soon as I grasped the exact situation through Mr. Min Tae-hyun, I immediately asked him to purchase the land.

And I called Ko Dong-sik, who was following me around, and did an interview.

I said I was thinking of going down to Jeju Island to live after retirement, building a baseball academy and practice field there, and helping amateur prospects.

It was natural that the Jeju Island Office expressed its welcome with open arms, and all the problems surrounding Ahn Chi-wook’s hometown were solved in an instant.

Am I really going to go down there and live, running an academy?

Well? Maybe, but that’s too far off.

Until that time comes, whenever it may be, I just hope that the people who lived there will continue to live there, farming.

And what if the time really comes when I make something like that, and they want to keep living there?

Then I can just buy more land next to it.

I’m someone who doesn’t have to worry about a few bucks like that anymore.

“Han-gyeol hyung.”

“Why? Are you going to tell me?”

“Do you need money? Hyung, you get paid a lot. But if it’s not enough, I can lend you some?”

“What? Ha, hey, forget it. If you don’t teach me, that’s fine. Why would I borrow money from a junior who’s getting paid the minimum wage? Anyway, if you change your mind, let me know. Got it?”

Hmm, the stock I invested in won’t be fun to get into now.

And if you really need money, I can lend you as much as that hyung’s salary is…….

Never mind.

Anyway, in that situation, the fourth game of the season against the Angels began.

* * *

Regardless of the size of the Anaheim area, when considering only the scale of the team’s investment, the LA Angels clearly belong to the big market.

Nevertheless, the reason why this team is not considered a strong team is that they spend that money in strange places every time.

Albert Pujols, who is considered one of the greatest hitters of all time, Mike Trout, who was called the best hitter of the 21st century, and Shohei Ohtani, who proved that he can pitch and hit in the big leagues.

The fact that this team has only won the division once in the 2010s and 2020s, despite having such top players, is proof of the team’s terrible management.

To sum it up, the reason why this team couldn’t produce results even after spending money is that they went all-in on acquiring sluggers.

Not to mention Pujols and Trout, Ohtani is also a player who leans towards the hitter side when looking at his career.

Anyway, after all those players retired, the Angels’ investment direction is gradually changing.

Instead of concentrating the budget on the best stars, they are buying up several mid-level players and putting more weight on the pitchers.

Bringing in Ryu Han-gyeol and using him well as the 1st and 2nd starters, and signing Lee Chan-ho at a low price to make up for the team’s lack of batting lineup, can all be attributed to the changed investment trend.

The Angels manager, who is leading the team that is gradually normalizing and challenging for a playoff spot, was in serious trouble.

“Terry. How is our starting pitcher doing?”

“That guy is always consistent. He’s good. Of course, not good enough to catch Han Su-hyeok, though.”

“Damn it, it’s still so unfair. Putting Pujols aside, if we had only had Trout, we could have brought that Han Su-hyeok to our team.”

“If that were the case… the Korea 3 would have taken us to the playoffs.”

“That’s right, Ryu Han-gyeol and Lee Chan-ho are doing much better than expected, and if we had that guy on top of that… Sigh, well, let’s stop thinking about useless things and check again. Even if we get hit by Ty Johnson, we should never face Han Su-hyeok head-on. He’s a crazy bastard who hits a home run in about one out of every two games. Let’s avoid him for now.”

It wasn’t just the Angels players who were wary of Han Su-hyeok.

The online community where Angels fans gathered was even more serious.

└I have a good idea, listen carefully.

└I don’t know what nonsense it is, but I’ll listen. Tell me.

└I heard that Koreans have a deep affection for people from their hometown. As soon as the game starts, Ryu Han-gyeol throws the ball at Han Su-hyeok’s head. Surely he wouldn’t beat up someone from the same hometown, would he? Then we can exclude that monster from the game.

└I prepared this video for idiots like you. [KBO Han Su-hyeok Bench Clearing Collection.MP4]

└What is this?

└It’s a video of Han Su-hyeok smashing Koreans in the KBO. For reference, the moron who appears in the first video is Han Su-hyeok’s senior who transferred from the same team. Listen carefully, that cheap trick won’t work on him. If you do something useless, you might lose our ace.

└Damn it, he’s really a monster. 23 home runs in 46 games? And the batting average is still 43%?

└That’s not all. His performance as a pitcher is even more amazing. He won all 8 games he started. 8 wins and no losses, and the only runs he gave up were 3 unearned runs. That means his ERA [Earned Run Average] is 0.

└Holy shit…….