Genius Pitcher Hides 170Km [EN]: Chapter 85

#84. Showing What Real Baseball Is

You don’t need deep conversations, all-day hangouts, or sharing innermost thoughts over drinks to understand someone.

Sometimes, simply observing their actions and noticing the genuine moments in their occasional words reveals everything you need to know.

Min Ye-rin, who had been watching all of Han Su-hyeok’s games since he joined the Warriors, focusing intently on him throughout each game, and then replaying his at-bats and defensive plays dozens of times in bed afterward, realized something was off with him today.

She was Min Ye-rin, known for her keen understanding of human psychology and her ability to express it with perfect emotion, a trait that made her a naturally gifted composer.

It was no wonder that she, with her high emotional intelligence and sensitive intuition, and who dedicated over 90% of her waking hours to observing Han Su-hyeok, sensed something that others missed.

Of course, she was still oblivious to her own most important feelings, but that’s beside the point.

‘I can’t feel any emotion from Su-hyeok oppa [older brother or close male friend]…….’

The Han Su-hyeok she had observed so far rarely showed ‘joy’ or ‘pleasure,’ among the basic human emotions of joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure.

In other words, he hardly ever seemed happy or joyful.

While playing baseball, he always seemed angry about something, and sometimes he looked sad while watching other players.

There were fleeting moments when joyful and happy emotions surfaced, but they passed quickly.

That’s why Min Ye-rin felt even more sorry for Han Su-hyeok. She wanted to treat him better, and she felt like she would do anything for him.

Now, she couldn’t even discern whether she liked the Warriors because Han Su-hyeok played for them, or whether she liked Han Su-hyeok because he belonged to the Warriors.

As Min Ye-rin, who had always considered the Warriors one of the most important things in her life, this realization was quite shocking.

But that wasn’t the immediate concern.

‘Why does he feel so cold…….’

It started at the top of the first inning during Daejeon’s attack.

From the moment Falcons’ leadoff hitter Kim Se-jun was hit by a pitch in what was clearly an intentional play, Han Su-hyeok’s expression began to harden rapidly.

Then, during the ensuing double play, when Han Su-hyeok slapped the face of the runner aiming for his ankle with his glove, Min Ye-rin was so surprised that she jumped up from her seat.

She would have usually climbed onto the safety net and shouted for them to kill them all, but not this time.

It was because she couldn’t detect any anger in Han Su-hyeok’s face, the face that would usually be furious.

It would have been better if he had been angry.

Han Su-hyeok’s face was chillingly blank, and his eyes, as he looked at the Daejeon players, contained no emotion whatsoever.

It was like looking at an inanimate object, not a human being, like looking at trash rolling around on the street.

‘Strange…….’

Feeling a strange unfamiliarity in that cold gaze, Min Ye-rin couldn’t take her eyes off Han Su-hyeok.

And soon, it began.

That game, which was like a nightmare for the Daejeon players.

* * *

‘Why does that guy’s eyes look like that?’

Ace Ryu Han-gyeol, who was facing the Warriors for the second time this season.

He hated shaving his head, but he had no choice but to follow the trend due to pressure from the veterans. He looked at Han Su-hyeok, who was entering the batter’s box.

Ryu Han-gyeol, who had a freer spirit than anyone else, felt burdened by the solemn atmosphere in the dugout. He felt like he was suffocating just sitting still.

He felt much more comfortable facing the batters on the mound like this.

“Play!”

The monster rookie who had hit an incredible home run against him in the last game.

He had given up 4 points in the first and second innings, but that was all Ryu Han-gyeol had given up in 8 innings that day. It wasn’t a bad game at all.

But he had been completely defeated by Han Su-hyeok. That day, he had allowed the guy three hits, including a home run, and had been completely humiliated.

Thinking about that time made him feel dizzy.

Fortunately, today he had caught both the Warriors’ 1st and 2nd batters.

Seo Hyeong-ju, whom he had barely spoken to a few times when he was on the team, had improved quite a bit since being traded to the Warriors, but he was still just a kid.

The guy who came out as the 2nd batter, Ahn Chi-wook, was the same. Last time, he had been hit out of nowhere, but today he struck him out.

He felt like those guys were reading his ball distribution, so he deliberately rotated a little differently than usual.

Anyway, Han Su-hyeok entered the game with two outs and no runners.

Kim Se-jun, who had been hit in the face with a glove by the guy a moment ago, had asked him to hit him just once.

‘What a joke.’

In the first place, they were the ones who started it, and he didn’t want to send a guy with stealing ability to first base.

If he aimed for the opposing fielder’s ankle with a hustle play, he would have to take responsibility for it.

Ryu Han-gyeol had no intention of getting involved in such dirty work.

Dori dori [shaking head side to side]

The catcher asked for a changeup on the first pitch.

It wasn’t a bad choice, but he didn’t feel like it because he had been hit a lot with changeups in the last game.

When Ryu Han-gyeol shook his head, a cut fastball sign came out this time.

A cut fastball that flew the farthest away from the right-handed batter and then dug into the zone right in front of the plate.

A ball that was good even if it was a strike, and a ball that was unlikely to be a long hit even if the batter hit it.

Nod

It was a sign he liked.

Ryu Han-gyeol, who nodded his head up and down, began to wind up vigorously.

The ball was thrown from a perfect pitching form that even Big League scouts admired and said would hardly need to be touched even after entering the Major League.

Swoosh

And the next moment, something no one expected happened.

Thud

“Ugh!”

“What!”

“Pitcher! No, 1st, 1st!”

Han Su-hyeok, who had never bunted once since his debut in the KBO [Korean Baseball Organization].

He tried to bunt for the first time. He even attempted a surprise bunt with two outs and no runners.

The infielders, who had moved far back to prepare for a strong hit, and Ryu Han-gyeol, who couldn’t have imagined that Han Su-hyeok would bunt, staggered, and in the meantime, Han Su-hyeok entered first base with ease.

“What is this…….”

Bewilderment appeared on Ryu Han-gyeol’s face.

It might have been better to be hit by a home run.

He felt like he was being played by a black-haired rookie.

He turned his head.

Han Su-hyeok, who went to first base with a surprise bunt that no one expected, was looking at him with cold eyes.

At that moment, Ryu Han-gyeol was overcome by an ominous feeling.

* * *

Thud thud

While stepping on first base, I sent a sign to senior Jo Seong-oh and the bench.

It was a steal sign to run on the first pitch.

The head coach, who was thinking about something for a moment, sent back a sign of approval. Jo Seong-oh also pretended not to notice and sent a sign.

In June, he was given the green light by manager Lee Dae-jun to run whenever he wanted.

The sign just now was just to tell senior Jo Seong-oh to wait a little.

“Play!”

Two outs, runner on first, batter is the cleanup hitter.

It goes without saying, but the most likely way to score here was to expect a big hit from the cleanup hitter.

But no matter how much I told him how to deal with Ryu Han-gyeol, the opponent was a national team ace called a left-handed killer.

If we play the game according to the book, the probability of scoring here is less than 20%.

After calmly assessing the situation, I decided to take a slightly different approach.

I have no intention of relying on that small probability. I want to completely destroy those guys.

Swoosh

There was no check. It seemed like they didn’t think I would run here.

Ryu Han-gyeol, who glanced at me a few times, vigorously threw the first pitch with an expression that tried to hide his embarrassment.

At that moment, I started running without any hesitation.

Tat tat

“Oh! 2nd base!”

The Falcons’ infield, which was already known for its terrible defense, faltered at the unexpected steal.

The catcher threw the ball to second base as soon as he caught it, but the second baseman and shortstop, whose signs were mixed up, postponed covering the base, and the throw rolled into the outfield.

In the meantime, I was able to almost walk to third base.

“Ah…….”

A sigh of helplessness pours out from somewhere in the third base side visiting cheering section.

This is exactly what it is.

If you have time to shave your head, pull up your socks, and raise your spikes at other team players, it’s much better to keep practicing these basic plays.

Well, it’s none of my business anyway. What I have to do now is to show these morons the horror of baseball.

“You son of a bitch, I’m holding back because Seong-oh hyung [older brother or close male friend] told me to…….”

“Don’t hold back.”

“What?”

“I won’t hold back even if Seong-oh hyung tells me to.”

“…….”

As soon as I entered third base, Kim Se-jun, the third baseman who had been hit in the face with my glove, was spouting nonsense.

I cut him off because it seemed like meaningless words would continue to come out.

There’s something strange about the guys who play baseball in this country.

They often bring up the names of their team’s or the opposing team’s veterans.

Because someone told them to hold back, because of someone’s face, did your veterans teach you that way, etc.

The actions of the social people who are over the age of twenty or thirty are still stuck in their high school days.

The only one who can take responsibility for your life in this world is yourself.

If you throw a beanball according to the veteran’s orders, ruin the game, and fall to the minor leagues, you’re the only one who loses out in the end.

If you aim for someone’s ankle and fail, you can take responsibility for it. There’s no need to hide your cowardice by saying that you held back because of someone’s face.

If you’re prepared to be suspended, you can throw a punch, and if you don’t want to, you can shut up and step on them with baseball.

The guys who don’t know that simple fact are useless even if they get old. They can’t escape from playing boss in the neighborhood.

“Play!”

The important thing is that Kim Se-jun is the only one among the Daejeon players who is showing me this much animosity.

Even Ryu Han-gyeol, who is called a national team ace, is clearly losing his composure, and the eyes of the infielders, who made consecutive mistakes during my bunt and steal attempts, were losing their vitality.

The appearance of burning their fighting spirit with their shaved heads before the game has long since disappeared.

The socks they wore up, which symbolized their fighting spirit, only looked like those of a clueless, old-fashioned amateur player.

Ryu Han-gyeol, who barely recovered his mentality, glared at me with a cautious expression and then turned his gaze back to the batter.

Ryu Han-gyeol’s body, which is a bit clumsy for a baseball player but has an ideal physique for a pitcher, slowly gathers strength and moves.

Even before his right foot could leave the ground, I rushed towards home with all my might.

Tat tat