On The Rise As A Catcher [EN]: Chapter 198

“…Oh, really? Then it’s going to be difficult today? Well, there’s nothing I can do… Okay.”

Hanging up the phone, Song Seok-hyun sighed, a sound heavy with disappointment.

As he stood there, momentarily lost in thought, two female college students approached him.

“Excuse me…”

“Yes?”

“Are you… Song Seok-hyun? Could we possibly take a picture with you?”

Song Seok-hyun scratched his cheek, a gesture of slight embarrassment.

“How did you recognize me so easily?”

“Oh, it’s obvious at a glance! We’re huge fans. Can we take a picture?”

“Yes, of course. Sure, let’s take one together.”

The two female college students eagerly stood on either side of Song Seok-hyun, posing for pictures.

As they started taking pictures in front of the Seoul Station plaza, where crowds were constantly coming and going, more and more people began to gather, drawn by the commotion.

“G.O.A.T. [Greatest Of All Time] fighting!”

“Korean Series Championship! G.O.A.T., G.O.A.T. fighting!”

“Song Seok-hyun! Song Seok-hyun!”

After the sudden, impromptu fan meeting with fans who were clearly fired up with fandom, Song Seok-hyun trudged down the stairs, feeling utterly drained by the unexpected attention.

Standing in line for a taxi, he opened his phone and saw a text message.

-Come to my house. Both of them said they’ll be late for dinner.

Only then did a small, genuine smile appear on Song Seok-hyun’s face, chasing away some of the fatigue.

“Hehe.”

* * *

Song Seok-hyun went straight to Kim Na-young’s house and immediately put down his bag, eager to relax.

Kim Na-young was still tidying up, putting the finishing touches on the house.

“Na-young~.”

As Song Seok-hyun playfully ran to hug Kim Na-young from behind, she gently patted his rear end.

“Why are you acting like such a child?”

“Come here. Kiss, kiss.”

“Hey, stop it.”

“Who cares when no one’s around? Huh?”

The two couldn’t keep their lips off each other for a long, sweet moment.

“You must be tired from going all the way to Seoul Station. Sit down first. I’ll get you something to drink.”

“It’s okay. More than that, when are your mom and dad coming home today?”

“I think they’ll eat dinner out. They told me to make sure I eat well, even if they’re not here.”

“Okay, okay…”

“Anyway, I’m sorry. We even had a date planned for today.”

“No, it can’t be helped. Your parents’ schedule suddenly changed. It happens.”

“I should have been more flexible and said something else, but I panicked. If I had said I was going on a trip with another friend, they might have just let it go.”

“No. Well… it’s okay. It turned into a home date, but isn’t this nice too?”

Kim Na-young and Song Seok-hyun looked at each other and smiled, finding comfort in their shared understanding.

Kim Na-young brought Song Seok-hyun a glass of barley tea and asked.

“Should we order food? Or should I cook for you?”

“Um… I want to eat the food you make. Hehe. Is that okay?”

“Yeah, sure. But you have to wait a bit. I have to start cooking the rice first. I’ll prepare the side dishes while the rice is cooking, so we can eat together.”

“Okay, great. Hehe.”

Just as Song Seok-hyun was wearing the happiest smile in the world, the doorbell rang, shattering the peaceful atmosphere.

Both of them froze, their eyes widening in surprise.

Kim Na-young subtly pointed to Song Seok-hyun’s shoes with her hand, a silent warning.

Song Seok-hyun grabbed his shoes without thinking, his mind racing.

“Go, go to my room! Go to my room first!”

At Kim Na-young’s frantic gesture, Song Seok-hyun quickly slipped into Kim Na-young’s room, hoping to avoid detection.

Only then did Kim Na-young clear her throat, trying to regain her composure, and pick up the intercom.

“Yes?”

-Na-young, is that you? It’s Seok-hyun’s mom. I brought some food, can you open the door?

“Yes? Yes, yes. Yes. Just a moment.”

Kim Na-young opened her door as soon as she hung up the intercom, a nervous expression on her face.

“Your mother is here.”

“Huh? My mom?”

“Yeah, you didn’t tell her you were coming to my house, did you?”

“I didn’t. I told her I had plans with my teammates today.”

“Okay. Just stay here. Don’t move from here.”

When Kim Na-young opened the door, Song Seok-hyun’s mother came in carrying a pot, her face beaming with warmth.

“Mother, how did you come here?”

“Your mom was worried about you, so I came to bring you lunch. I made spicy braised chicken, you like spicy braised chicken, right?”

“Yes, I love it.”

“Okay, good. Then take this. Eat this with rice. I was going to call you to our house, but I thought you’d be busy studying and it would be a hassle to go back and forth. I thought it would be perfect for lunch and dinner, so I brought it over.”

Kim Na-young took the pot and bowed repeatedly, expressing her gratitude.

“Thank you. Thank you, Mother.”

“Eat well, and you can return the pot to your mom later, so don’t worry about it. Okay?”

“Yes. Oh, Mother, have you eaten?”

“Yes. I ate a while ago. Thank you for worrying about me. Okay. Take care of yourself, okay?”

“Yes. Goodbye, Mother.”

Only after Song Seok-hyun’s mother left did Kim Na-young breathe a sigh of relief, the tension leaving her body.

She returned to the house, opened the lid of the pot, and fragrant steam rose up, filling the room with the savory aroma of the dish.

Kim Na-young smelled the spicy braised chicken and smiled, her mouth watering.

“Looks delicious.”

Kim Na-young scooped rice, prepared the spicy braised chicken and side dishes, and then headed to the room, ready to share the meal.

When she opened the door, Song Seok-hyun was engrossed in reading something in one corner, a look of amusement on his face.

“Your mother left. She brought me spicy braised chicken to eat.”

“Oh, spicy braised chicken. I wanted to eat it this morning, but I couldn’t because I left early. That’s great. Shall we eat?”

Kim Na-young looked at the book Song Seok-hyun was reading and her face turned red with embarrassment.

The old green cover was a book she knew so well – a relic from her childhood.

“Hey! Don’t read that!”

Song Seok-hyun held up Kim Na-young’s elementary school diary, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

“This? Why? It’s interesting?”

“Hey, give it back!”

“It’s more interesting than most novels! It seems our Na-young has liked me since she was young. Hehe. There are a lot of fun things here.”

“Hey!”

Kim Na-young lunged at Song Seok-hyun, trying to snatch the diary back.

Song Seok-hyun held his arm high to protect the diary, keeping it out of her reach.

“Hey! Give it back quickly!”

“Just a little more reading. It’s so much fun.”

“Give it back!”

As the two playfully bickered like that, Kim Na-young ended up stumbling into Song Seok-hyun’s arms, their laughter filling the room.

Song Seok-hyun, relenting, handed the diary back to Kim Na-young and hugged her tightly.

“You’re so cute.”

“Hey, don’t read things like this. It’s mean to read a diary!”

“Okay, okay. I won’t read it anymore.”

Hugging Song Seok-hyun, Kim Na-young looked up at him, her eyes sparkling.

Song Seok-hyun was already looking down at Kim Na-young, his gaze tender.

They were just hugging, but they both swallowed hard, a sudden wave of desire washing over them.

The two kissed, a passionate embrace that led them to fall onto the bed without either of them consciously initiating the move.

The rice that had just come out of the rice cooker and was still steaming hot gradually became cold rice as the two remained lost in their own world, not emerging from the room for a long time.

* * *

Screech.

It was late in the evening when Song Seok-hyun opened the front door and entered his house.

His younger brother, Song Cheol-hyun, had not yet returned from school, and Song Seok-hyun’s mother was dozing off on the couch.

“I’m home.”

Song Seok-hyun’s mother woke up at the sound of Song Seok-hyun’s voice, her eyes fluttering open.

Song Seok-hyun’s mother rubbed her eyes and came out to the living room, a concerned expression on her face.

“You’re home now?”

“Yeah.”

“Did you have fun?”

“Yeah.”

Song Seok-hyun’s mother looked intently at Song Seok-hyun’s face and tilted her head, noticing something amiss.

“Did something happen? You look tired.”

“No. I’m okay. I’m not tired.”

“Really? Didn’t you play too hard today?”

“Yeah. I’m okay.”

Song Seok-hyun was about to head to the bathroom when his legs suddenly gave way and he staggered, nearly falling.

His surprised mother tried to rush to his aid, but Song Seok-hyun raised his hand to stop her, trying to downplay the incident.

“I just slipped for a moment. I’m okay, Mom.”

“Really? Are you really okay?”

“Yeah.”

Song Seok-hyun took a long, hot shower and then came out of the bathroom, hoping to wash away his fatigue.

His mother offered him red ginseng, a traditional Korean health supplement, but Song Seok-hyun shook his head.

“I’ll eat it tomorrow. I’m too tired today.”

“How much did you play? Okay. Go to bed early.”

“Yeah. I’m going to sleep first.”

As Song Seok-hyun went into his room, his mother sighed, her worry evident.

“Is he that tired?”

Song Seok-hyun’s mother ate the red ginseng that Song Seok-hyun had refused and watched TV, trying to distract herself.

As she was idly fiddling with her phone while watching TV, Song Cheol-hyun came home, his arrival breaking the silence.

Song Cheol-hyun had a black plastic bag in one hand, its contents a mystery.

Song Cheol-hyun looked at the shoes placed neatly at the front door and asked his mother.

“Is hyung [older brother] already home?”

“Shhh. Hyung is already sleeping.”

“Hyung? At this hour? The person who usually sleeps at dawn, what’s going on?”

“I know. He must be tired.”

“What did he do today?”

“How tired would your hyung be? It’s his first season. He must be stressed and tired. It’s the end of the season, so it must be even harder, right?”

“That’s true, but… Oh, Mom. And this.”

Song Cheol-hyun handed over the black plastic bag, revealing its contents.

“Peaches. It was hard to get them because it’s not the season.”

“Okay. Thank you, son.”

“But why did you suddenly ask for peaches? You don’t usually eat peaches, Mom.”

Song Seok-hyun’s mother answered while washing the peaches, her voice thoughtful.

“I fell asleep for a moment today and had a dream of walking through a peach orchard. The peaches were so big and plump. I just drooled and woke up without eating them. So I texted you.”

“What’s with the peach dream?”

“I think I haven’t been eating enough fruit lately. I used to eat fruit every season while working at the supermarket, but I haven’t been able to eat seasonal fruit lately, so maybe that’s why.”

Seok-hyun’s mother cut the peaches and put them on a plate, arranging them carefully.

“Here, eat.”

“Okay, I’ll enjoy it.”

The two bit into the peaches one by one, savoring the taste.

“It’s a bit so-so because it’s past the season.”

“Let’s eat them in season next time. Seasonal fruit is the best after all.”

“I was going to wake Seok-hyun up for a moment to give him peaches, but I’m glad I didn’t.”

“It’s a rare thing. Hyung is tired too.”

“Hyung gets tired too, why wouldn’t he? Is the cleanup hitter position something anyone can do? Besides, he’s a catcher. How often does a catcher become a cleanup hitter?”

“Mom knows more about baseball than I do. You know it better.”

“Because he’s young, the other team’s players must have been giving him a hard time. He must have been holding back a lot. There’s hazing everywhere you go. Since they’re athletes, the hazing must be even worse.”

“Is there anyone who would haze hyung?”

“Why not? There’s hazing everywhere.”

The two were eating peaches but soon put down their forks, their appetites waning.

Song Seok-hyun’s mother wiped her mouth with a tissue, a look of disappointment on her face.

“This really doesn’t taste good. Son, I’m sorry. It doesn’t taste good at all. I just made you suffer for nothing. I had a pointless dream.”

* * *

Song Seok-hyun woke up close to noon the next day, his body heavy with exhaustion.

Song Seok-hyun was sleeping so deeply that his mother had to shake him awake, her concern growing.

“What’s wrong with him? He slept for more than 12 hours. Wake up now.”

“Uhhh… okay.”

Song Seok-hyun barely managed to raise his limp body, his movements sluggish.

He opened his phone and sent a text message to Kim Na-young, his fingers moving slowly.

Kim Na-young replied almost immediately, her message echoing his own feelings.

-I don’t have any strength in my body either. My mom is making a fuss saying I have the flu.

-Me too. I don’t have any strength in my body.

-Are you okay? Can you play in today’s game?

-Yeah. I have to play.

-I should have been a little more careful yesterday…

-Sorry… Are you very tired?

-I can rest, but I’m worried about you.

-I’ll be okay when I go to the stadium. The adrenaline will kick in.

-Do well today. I’ll be cheering for you on TV.

-Yeah. You get plenty of rest today too.