Genius Pitcher Hides 170Km [EN]: Chapter 33

#32. What Happens When a Person Gets Hit by a Bear

“Su-hyeok, I’m heading straight home. My son says he’s been waiting to have dinner with his dad tonight.”

“Yes, Senior. Go ahead. Jacob said he’s remodeling the practice room today, so we can’t use it anyway.”

“Okay, then what are you going to do? Why don’t you just take a day off and have dinner with my family?”

“No, I’m going to practice a bit more here before going in.”

“Well, alright. It’s a shame, but there’s nothing I can do. I want to tell you to rest for today, but I’m sure you’ll take care of yourself. See you tomorrow, then.”

“Yes, and Senior.”

“Yeah?”

“You were really awesome today.”

“Hey, what did I do? I just happened to get lucky.”

“No. It was the best home run I’ve ever seen.”

“Haha, really? Thanks. It’s an honor to hear that from the home run king. Anyway, don’t overdo it and go in early.”

Senior Jo Seong-oh, who couldn’t stop crying until he finished the interview with the reporter after hitting the walk-off grand slam, was finally composed as he headed home.

He seemed happy to have shown his son a proud moment after a long time; Senior Jo Seong-oh’s face was beaming with smiles.

After-game practice is good, but on days like this, having a warm meal with family is much better, both mentally and physically.

Of course, I’ve never experienced that.

With the personal practice room unavailable due to remodeling, I headed to the empty team practice field for finishing drills today.

“Han Su-hyeok, you were amazing today. I watched the game.”

“Ah, thank you, sir.”

“Alright. I’ll keep patrolling, so let me know if you need anything.”

Perhaps because we won the dramatic walk-off victory in the first game of the opening series, the face of the team manager, who had graying hair, was full of smiles.

Looking back, it was a really wonderful opening game.

I’m not particularly interested in that kind of thing, but the special performance that boosted the morale of the audience and players before the game was great, and above all, the walk-off home run by the team’s oldest player in the bottom of the ninth with two outs was the best.

I don’t know what our team’s final record will be this season, but at least the fighting spirit shown by veteran Jo Seong-oh today will have a huge impact on team morale.

Tock

Tock

Tock

I was lost in thought, correcting my swing with tee batting, which had been disrupted by aiming for something big today.

Everything is good. Today’s game was truly perfect.

But just one thing, that one thing that makes my heart feel heavy at this moment.

The passive play shown by catcher Jang Deok-su.

In fact, the only one who had divided opinions among officials when Song Gi-tae, Han Jin-woo, Jeong Gi-ho, and Hwang Seong-min were put on the trade list was catcher Hwang Seong-min.

It’s not for nothing that the catcher is called the field commander.

The catcher is the one who adjusts the team’s defensive formation, manages the pitcher’s mentality, which becomes unstable from time to time, and conveys the signals from the bench to his teammates.

Therefore, Hwang Seong-min’s career, who had been in charge of the Warriors’ home plate for the past eight years, could not be ignored.

For that reason, opinions regarding Hwang Seong-min’s trade were divided among Seong-hoon hyung [older brother/friend], team manager Park Jae-cheol, coach Lee Dae-jun, and the coaches.

However, the trade was decided based on the judgment that the negative impact he had on those around him was greater than the positive factors Hwang Seong-min possessed.

In the end, everyone in the club had their eyes on Jang Deok-su as the next starting catcher.

Jang Deok-su.

A huge player with good flexibility who doesn’t get injured easily, and whose basic defensive skills are actually better than Hwang Seong-min.

In fact, the game management today wasn’t bad overall.

Unlike Hwang Seong-min, he hardly made any minor mistakes, didn’t let the forkball [a type of pitch] get past him, and didn’t glare at the pitcher.

In terms of hitting, which I didn’t expect at all, he even got a hit against Han Jin-woo, who transferred from our team.

But he made a huge mistake at a crucial moment.

In a situation where an automatic tag could have been made just by putting the glove on, he gave up the home plate to avoid a collision with the runner.

Disqualified. At least a starting catcher of a team should never do that.

“Han Su-hyeok, stop now and go in to rest. It’s getting late.”

“Ah, yes. I’m going to wrap up soon.”

I was mechanically swinging the bat while lost in thought, and time had passed quite a bit.

I smiled in response to the stadium manager’s kindness, finished showering roughly, and started walking down the empty hallway.

But in the distance, I saw someone’s silhouette.

It’s Senior Jang Deok-su.

The biggest in our team, no, the entire professional baseball scene, except for foreign players, it’s hard to find someone to compare him to.

What’s he doing at the stadium at this hour? No, more than that, why is he so cautious with such a big build?

Suddenly, I feel a surge of emotion.

If I don’t say something here, I won’t be able to sleep at home.

Without realizing it, I bit my lower lip tightly and started walking towards where that huge silhouette disappeared.

Thud, thud

The old outfield bullpen that is no longer used and has become a warehouse.

Why is Senior Jang Deok-su heading to the closed outfield bullpen?

With a puzzled mind, I increased my pace and hid behind the wall after spotting someone in the distance.

‘Hwang Seong-min?’

It was definitely Hwang Seong-min standing there.

Hwang Seong-min, who was absent from today’s game due to a toe injury, approached Senior Jang Deok-su.

And the next moment, after hearing the conversation between the two, I couldn’t help but doubt my ears.

“Why are you so late, you bastard?”

“I’m sorry. I was having dinner.”

“Are you happy? Are you happy because I’m injured and you’re playing as the starter? Does the food go down smoothly?”

“No, Senior.”

“Bullshit. You’re grinning from ear to ear. Well, you screwed up so badly at the end, you won’t be the starter anymore, right?”

“······”

“Aren’t you going to answer?”

“I’m sorry.”

“What do you have to be sorry about? The world knows you’re a moron. Anyway, that’s that, why did you hit Han Jin-woo’s pitch?”

“Yes?”

“You son of a bitch. I told you, if you face Jin-woo, just let it go. That poor guy was traded to Busan because of that crazy team manager, are we going to beat him up too? I told you, didn’t I?”

“······”

“You’re not answering? You bastard! I!”

Thwack!

“Clearly!”

Thwack!

“I told you to just strike out when Jin-woo comes out!”

Thwack!

“Ouch, damn it! My toe is throbbing! This crazy bastard is just strong for nothing!”

I didn’t need to hear any more.

With just those few words, I could grasp the whole situation.

Hwang Seong-min, that crazy bastard, was calling out juniors like Jang Deok-su whenever he was in a bad mood and doing this crazy shit.

The injured toe must have been from hitting his junior.

What’s important now isn’t the swearing and violence. No, that’s also a serious problem, but let’s move on for now.

But what? Tell me to just let Han Jin-woo’s pitches go by? To strike out?

A starting catcher of a team is threatening his junior, telling him to deliberately strike out against the opposing pitcher.

It’s an act of betrayal against the team, a betrayal against the fans, and it could even be interpreted as match-fixing.

Crazy bastard.

I can’t stand it anymore. Trade or not, I can’t keep such a bastard on my team any longer.

“Hwang Seong-min!”

“…What? Who’s there?”

Hwang Seong-min, surprised that someone called his name in the stadium where he thought no one would be, looked this way.

I didn’t answer. I just strode forward and stood in front of them.

“Han Su-hyeok? It was you? Just now… did you call my name? A junior calling a senior’s name?”

Hwang Seong-min’s face turned bright red.

It was a mixture of embarrassment at being caught doing something shady and humiliation at being spoken to informally by a junior.

“This is where you’re going to die… Ugh!”

Thwack!

I grabbed the collar of that bastard and slammed him against the wall.

“Listen carefully.”

“Le… let… Keck!”

“You won’t be able to play baseball anymore. Tomorrow morning, everyone in the world will know what you’ve done. The club will release you, but no club will take a catcher who tries to throw games.”

“Who, who… Keck, who do you… Keoheok, let go!”

“I regret letting a bastard like you stay in the first place, so pack your bags and get out of my team right now.”

“My… my team…? You crazy… Keck! Let go!”

Even while being grabbed by the collar and unable to resist properly, he kept muttering something.

I don’t care. The words of a bastard who has been judged as trash are meaningless to me.

While still grabbing the collar of that trash, I turned my head towards Senior Jang Deok-su.

“Senior Jang Deok-su.”

“Su-hyeok.”

I made eye contact with Senior Jang Deok-su, who showed almost no change in expression even in this situation, and in some ways seemed to possess an incredible strong mentality.

Despite Hwang Seong-min’s threats, Senior Jang Deok-su ultimately did not follow his wishes.

But that doesn’t mean he’s innocent.

The problem is that he was hiding this terrible situation all alone.

No, the problem is that he’s been playing games with a loose mindset in this fierce professional baseball scene where victory and defeat are decided every moment.

“If you’re afraid of colliding with other people and don’t want to hurt anyone, you should quit baseball.”

“…Su-hyeok.”

“If you don’t like competing with someone, feel comfortable yielding to others, and always want to be a good person, find another path besides baseball.”

“······”

“The important thing is that baseball is a sport played by nine people together.”

“······”

“Every time you are so considerate of the opponent, avoid collisions, and hesitate, someone on our team has to fill that spot instead. That burden never disappears.”

“······”

“That’s not being kind. You’re just passing your work on to other teammates.”

“…Okay, so let go of Senior Hwang Seong-min first. He’s going to suffocate.”

“…Haa.”

Seeing Jang Deok-su taking care of Hwang Seong-min first, even in this situation, made all the strength drain from my body.

Half resigned, I pushed Hwang Seong-min back and turned back towards Jang Deok-su.

“What on earth are you…”

That’s when it happened.

While I was turned around for a moment, Hwang Seong-min picked up a baseball bat next to him and charged at me.

“You impudent little brat!”

Hwang Seong-min, who seemed to be really going all out now, swung the baseball bat at me.

At that moment, I had a thought.

Is the CCTV here working?

If it’s this much, wouldn’t it be self-defense if I just killed Hwang Seong-min here?

As I was thinking that, I was about to dodge the baseball bat that was flying towards me.

Slick

My body staggered as I stepped on the floor, which was slippery due to the equipment maintenance oil.

It was a mistake.

The baseball bat flying towards me is vividly visible.

Should I block it with my arm? Then I’ll have to rest from baseball for at least a few months? What about the Warriors’ championship?

Involuntarily, I crossed my arms to block the flying bat.

Thud

“What…?”

One huge palm, not feeling like it belonged to a human, grazed my ear and shot forward.

That huge hand grabbed Hwang Seong-min by the scruff of the neck and threw him towards the safety net installed on the wall.

“Keck!”

Thwack

Hwang Seong-min’s body, which had been thrown against the safety net, bounced back forward with a thud.

And a tremendous sound echoed.

Splat!

It was like watching professional wrestling.

Senior Jang Deok-su slapped Hwang Seong-min’s head, which had bounced off the safety net, with his hand as big as a pot lid.

Thud

“Ggrrr…”

Hwang Seong-min spun around in the air from Senior Jang Deok-su’s slap, reminiscent of a bear’s paw, and fainted on the spot.

I had played in the big leagues for 15 years and seen all kinds of monsters, and even exchanged punches with those guys, but I swear I had never seen such an amazing sight.

Wait, is he really dead?

“…Senior Deok-su?”

“Where did this son of a bitch come from, using tools recklessly? Do you want to die? Hey, Hwang Seong-min, aren’t you getting up? Get up before I step on you and crush your head. You bastard!”

“Ggrrr…”

The voice was so loud and scary that Hwang Seong-min, who I thought had completely fainted, wriggled like a bug and struggled to get up from the spot.

Thank goodness. He’s still alive after getting hit by that.

“Aren’t you getting up? One, two, three, I’m really going to kill you?”

“Ggrr, ggrr, ggrrr…”

The closed outfield bullpen where everyone had left.

The only thing that could be heard there was the desperate groaning of Hwang Seong-min, whose soul had been blown away by a single slap.

* * *