On The Rise As A Catcher [EN]: Chapter 15

Kim Young-suk accepted the shopping bag and opened it.

“Shoes? Sneakers?”

“It’s nothing much. I bought you a pair of Converse. You’re going to OT [Orientation Training] and stuff, so you need to dress up a bit. I don’t know much about clothes, and you always wear those ratty sneakers. Wear these instead.”

“No… you shouldn’t have… It’s not even my birthday.”

“I’m grateful. Things have been going well thanks to you. They say you laid the groundwork for Jung-ryul’s slump recovery.”

“Really? Did it help?”

“Yeah, it worked. My relationship with him has gotten better too. We’re even going to training camp together. It’s all thanks to you. I’ll treat you big time later.”

“Whoa, awesome! It really helped?”

Kim Young-suk’s eyes sparkled.

What could be more pleasing to Oh-deok than having his abilities recognized?

The resentment of buying baseball books while getting nagged at home every day vanished in an instant.

“I’m going to visit that coach during this training camp. I want to learn properly.”

“Hey, hey. Sit down. Tell me everything. How did you fix his slump?”

“What’s the rush?”

“Just tell me the details. What happened? I’m dying to know.”

Song Seok-hyun explained Kim Jung-ryul’s current situation.

“He’s past the underhand toss now, and he’s pitching overhand more than 70% of the time. He’s hitting the ball properly, and his control is good. He hasn’t done live pitching against batters yet, but he’s definitely different. There’s a meaningful change.”

“Wow. So he fixed his slump?”

“He’s still fixing it. But if things go well like this, I think he’ll be able to fix it completely.”

“Wow, then that’s helpful for you too, right? If Kim Jung-ryul does well, he won’t just leave you alone. He’ll give you a push, right? Kim Jung-ryul is a pretty big name in GOT [Giants of Titans baseball team].”

“He’ll probably pull some strings for me, right? He’s famous for being a good guy, and he’s gotten pretty close to me this time.”

“Yeah. That’s why he’s taking you to training camp with him. Anyway, congratulations. Does this mean you get a free pass to the first team?”

“Free pass? I’m still just an undrafted rookie. I have to get rigorously tested in the second team to even think about going up to the first team. Still, it’s much better than being stuck in rehab forever.”

“Yeah, that’s great. It worked out well. Even if it’s not easy to get to the GOT first team, if you’re that close to Kim Jung-ryul, he might connect you with someone later through his connections, right?”

While the two were talking, Jung Mi-nam and Kim Na-young showed up.

The four of them giggled as soon as they gathered.

“Is it just the four of us again this Christmas Eve?”

“When are we ever going to be eight people?”

“You two are going to college, right? You can have a campus couple. Wow~ Next Eve, it’ll just be Seok-hyun and me?”

“Hey, why am I included? I might not be able to see you guys from next year either.”

“If you were going to get a girlfriend next year, you would have already. Liar.”

Kim Na-young clapped her hands twice.

“Let’s not do this and go inside. I’m going to freeze to death talking here!”

* * *

-Your memory~ Your love~ Becomes a thorn~ Piercing my heart~.

The four people’s final destination was a karaoke.

While Jung Mi-nam and Kim Young-suk each grabbed a microphone and sang passionately, Song Seok-hyun went to the bathroom.

“How is it over there? Is it manageable?”

Kim Na-young, who was in front of the bathroom, asked.

“You scared me. Why are you there?”

“I was just about to go to the bathroom too.”

“Go ahead.”

“I’m asking if it’s manageable over there.”

“It’s manageable. Right now, the problem is that there’s not much to do.”

“Hmm.”

Kim Na-young crossed her arms and scanned Song Seok-hyun up and down.

“Okay, I’m glad you’re doing well.”

With those words, she headed to the bathroom.

Song Seok-hyun shrugged.

“How boring.”

The four people chatted for the rest of the time at a cafe and then dispersed.

On the way home, Song Seok-hyun and Kim Na-young walked together.

As the two were nearing their neighborhood, snowflakes fluttered down.

“It’s going to be a white Christmas tomorrow.”

At Song Seok-hyun’s words, Kim Na-young took her hands out of her pockets.

“It’s been snowing a lot lately.”

“Yeah.”

Kim Na-young stretched out her palm.

Small snowflakes landed on her palm.

“Are you going straight to training camp?”

“I think I’ll go next week.”

“Do you come back in February?”

“Late January or early February?”

“What do you do after that?”

“Usually, we go to spring camp. But not everyone goes. The first and second teams both go, but in many cases, they select from the second team. In my case, I probably won’t be able to go to spring camp. I’ll be in Korea.”

“Then is that bad?”

“If you can’t join spring camp, you can’t catch the manager’s eye, so it’s not good.”

“Baseball isn’t easy either.”

“Is anything in life easy?”

Kim Na-young looked at the snowflakes fluttering onto her palm.

“I guess not. Nothing’s easy.”

Kim Na-young’s eyes went to Song Seok-hyun’s hand, which was walking ahead. Kim Na-young hesitated for a moment and then put both hands in her pockets.

“Ah, Na-young.”

“Huh?”

“When is your acceptance announcement? Next month?”

“Yeah, around the end of next month.”

“That’s around the time I’m coming back to Korea. We should have a party then, right?”

“What party? We’re just going to have a meal.”

“You’re already sure you’re going to pass, right? Hehe.”

Song Seok-hyun was about to go home after seeing Kim Na-young off.

Kim Na-young grabbed Song Seok-hyun, who was about to leave.

“Wait a minute.”

Kim Na-young left Song Seok-hyun outside and went into her house to bring something.

“Take this.”

“What is this?”

What Kim Na-young handed over was a worn-out prayer beads.

“It’s a prayer beads I got from a sacred place. I’ve been wearing it, and it’s supposed to grant wishes.”

“Were you Buddhist?”

“No, no. That’s not important.”

Kim Na-young put the prayer beads on Song Seok-hyun’s arm.

“Wear it. It’ll help.”

“I’m not the type to wear something like this. You know that.”

“Then at least carry it around. I wore this and did well on my exams.”

“Aren’t you just good at them anyway?”

“Anyway, just do it!”

Song Seok-hyun put the prayer beads in his padding jacket pocket.

“Okay. Thanks. Thank you. I’ll use it well.”

“Contact me often even when you go to training camp.”

“Yeah, I will.”

“Go in.”

Kim Na-young disappeared quickly into the house, just like when she went to get the prayer beads.

Song Seok-hyun fiddled with the prayer beads.

“She likes wishes.”

After a short vacation, Song Seok-hyun finished preparing for training camp with Kim Jung-ryul.

Two companions to join Song Seok-hyun and Kim Jung-ryul were also decided.

One was Kim Hyung-suk, a pitcher from the rehab group.

The other was Kim In-hwan.

A hitter with the best power in the league, perhaps the best of all time.

Success as a catcher

Left-handed slugger Kim In-hwan

“Hello! I’m Song Seok-hyun!”

Song Seok-hyun bowed 90 degrees to Kim In-hwan.

Kim In-hwan silently held out his hand.

“Okay, please take care of me.”

Kim In-hwan was about the same height as Song Seok-hyun, but his shoulders and arms were a size or more bigger.

He had an extraordinary physique, but his face was just a typical model student style that you often see on the street.

If you just glanced at his face, you wouldn’t be able to imagine Kim In-hwan’s body.

“Hyung-suk and my personal trainer will be leaving tomorrow. Everyone packed their passports, right? Anyone who leaves their passport behind will be sent back immediately.”

“Yes, I packed it well.”

“Okay, we’ll be spending about a month together, so I called you together to have a meal today and get to know each other. Is that okay?”

Kim In-hwan and Kim Hyung-suk didn’t say anything.

Song Seok-hyun answered in a loud voice.

“Yes! That’s great.”

“Good. Then let’s eat a lot of Korean food before going to Japan. How about Cheonggukjang [fermented soybean stew]?”

* * *

The four people ate Cheonggukjang and then went for a second round of Samgyeopsal [grilled pork belly].

It’s amazing that they went for a second round with just food and no alcohol, but there was no sense of discomfort even though each person ate more than two servings.

“Then I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow.”

Kim In-hwan and Kim Hyung-suk left first.

Kim Jung-ryul put his arm around Song Seok-hyun’s shoulder.

“You worked hard today, trying to set the mood.”

“Huh? No. It’s okay.”

“Please understand. In-hwan is originally shy and doesn’t talk much. But he’s a kind and good guy, so don’t be intimidated. He’s just big, but he’s a softie, a softie.”

“Yes, I’ll do my best.”

“Hyung-suk didn’t want to go, but I insisted on him coming, so he’s being grumpy. It’s not because he doesn’t like you or anything. Do you know what I mean?”

“He didn’t want to go?”

“He was originally about to retire. But his pitches are still good. The problem is his injuries. I thought it would be better if he rehabilitated in a warm country, so I held onto him.”

In December, the club starts organizing the roster.

The fact that he’s still on the roster now, ahead of January, means that they still have a glimmer of hope.

If he can’t join spring camp or if there’s a problem before that, he’ll naturally be subject to being cut…….

“Both of them might be a bit prickly and complain, so just ignore it. It’s not because of you, so don’t be intimidated.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“Okay, then prepare well. See you tomorrow.”

“Yes, go in.”

Kim Jung-ryul left first.

Song Seok-hyun remained alone, looking at the dimly lit second team stadium.

* * *

It was the blink of an eye until Japan.

The boarding process just took longer.

The four people arrived in Japan, unpacked their luggage at the accommodation, and headed to the practice field.

“I couldn’t find a good place because I was looking for it in a hurry. But even so, it’s not the worst, but somewhere between upper-middle and middle class? How is it? Is it okay?”

Kim Hyung-suk, who was the same age as Kim Jung-ryul, nodded.

“This is good enough.”

“Today is the first day, so let’s just warm up lightly, look around here, and go back. We need to adjust to the time difference.”

Kim In-hwan and Kim Hyung-suk didn’t react much to Kim Jung-ryul’s joke.

Song Seok-hyun also missed the timing to laugh and looked elsewhere.

“……Shall we take a look around the stadium first?”

Dinner was soba [buckwheat noodles].

After having a meal at a restaurant that was famous in Okinawa, the four people returned to their accommodation.

To commemorate his first overseas trip and overseas training camp, Song Seok-hyun left the accommodation again and strolled through the streets.

He took pictures of the streets and stopped by a convenience store to buy snacks.

On the way back, fiddling with the convenience store plastic bag.

He ran into Kim In-hwan, who was leaving the accommodation.

“Senior, where are you going?”

Song Seok-hyun bowed.

Kim In-hwan nodded.

“I came out because I was feeling stuffy and wanted to take a walk. What about you? Did you come out on an errand?”

“Ah, this?”

Song Seok-hyun lifted the bag.

“No. I was just looking around because I was curious about this place.”

“Really? Is it your first time abroad?”

“Yes, it is.”

“Um…… I see. Have you been around a lot?”

“No. I don’t know this place well. I thought I might get lost, so I’m just on my way back from the convenience store.”

“I see…….”

Kim In-hwan didn’t say anything else.

Song Seok-hyun waited for Kim In-hwan’s answer and then spoke first.

“Senior, then I’ll go in first.”

As Song Seok-hyun was about to pass Kim In-hwan and go to the accommodation, Kim In-hwan called out to Song Seok-hyun.

“Shall I show you around here? I’ve been here often.”

“Yes?”

“……Is it burdensome?”