On The Rise As A Catcher [EN]: Chapter 199

-I don’t think resting just today will cut it. I feel like I’ve been through some drill sergeant stuff. I don’t think I’ll be able to walk for a week.

-……I’ll try to restrain myself a bit next time.

-Will you?

-……It’ll be tough, but I’ll try my best.

Song Seok-hyun got up from the bed.

His legs wobbled, but he grabbed the desk to avoid falling.

“Aigo. Aigo, I’m gonna die.”

Song Seok-hyun dragged his wobbly legs out of the room.

Rising High as a Catcher

Iron Man Song Seok-hyun

Thwack!

Thwack!

Away game against the Wolves.

It was an away game, but it was a match between the Goats and the Wolves, who both use Jamsil Stadium as their home [Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul, South Korea].

The only difference was who got to use the ground first.

After the Wolves players finished training and vacated the field, the Goats players began their training.

Away teams inevitably have tighter training schedules compared to home teams.

Coaches and players alike are well aware of this, so away team training is limited to conditioning, injury checks, and warm-ups.

Even if the players were sluggish or showed poorer performance than usual, it was generally accepted during away team training, but today was different.

“Isn’t it weird?”

“So, I’m not the only one who thinks it’s strange.”

“It’s different from usual.”

“The ball’s not extending enough. It lacks that sharp edge.”

The balls hit by Song Seok-hyun barely made it past the infield.

The ones that did travel further were mostly fly balls resulting from mis-hits.

The coaches’ expressions hardened as they watched Song Seok-hyun’s batting practice.

The most concerned was battery coach Kim Tae-woo.

“Seok-hyun, hold on a sec. Come over here for a moment.”

“Yes?”

“Oh, my.”

Coach Kim Tae-woo took a closer look at Song Seok-hyun’s face and was startled.

“Hey, why is your face so pale?”

“Yes? Oh, am I? Sorry…….”

“He’s all droopy, completely droopy. Are you okay? Are you sick? Is there something wrong?”

Coach Kim Tae-woo raised his voice, and the other coaches approached one by one.

“What? What? Is Seok-hyun not feeling well? Hey! Coach Yoon! Check Seok-hyun’s condition.”

“Maybe he has a stomachache? Let’s see. Does he have a fever?”

“Hey, hey. What are you doing? First, get Seok-hyun into the shade. His face is gone, gone. Why are his eyes like that? Are those dark circles or eye patches?”

Song Seok-hyun was practically dragged off the field by the coaches.

The Goats team wasn’t the only one watching this.

The Wolves coaches and players also saw the coaches surrounding Song Seok-hyun and exchanged comments.

“Looks like Song Seok-hyun’s in bad shape today?”

“You think so too? He doesn’t look good, right?”

“Is his stamina depleted?”

“Suddenly going downhill like that probably means an injury. I think he’s injured, injured.”

“Is Song Seok-hyun going to be out today?”

“Maybe he’ll be out for this entire three-game series?”

While the Wolves team was lost in happy daydreams, Song Seok-hyun sat side by side with the conditioning coach.

Conditioning coach Yoon Jeong-il lifted one of Song Seok-hyun’s arms and repeatedly bent and straightened it.

“How’s your arm? Is it okay?”

“Yes, it’s fine.”

“Does your shoulder hurt?”

“My shoulder’s fine.”

“Catchers can have issues with their hip joints……. Is it the hip joint area?”

“No. My hip joint is fine too.”

“Then? Is it really a stomachache? You don’t have a fever.”

Song Seok-hyun shook his head weakly.

“I’m really okay, I’m just a little tired. On my day off, *cough, cough*, I did a little dieting. *Ahem*.”

“Dieting? At the end of the season? Are you crazy? You should be gaining weight; what’s with the dieting? How much fat do you even have? Oh, you idiot. How much did you work out to be like this?”

Song Seok-hyun’s eyes wavered.

“About, about…… 3~4 hours?”

“3~4 hours? What kind of workout did you do? Running? Cycling?”

“Yes, yes. Something similar to cardio, no, that, that, that bodyweight exercises, no. No. I did conditioning training.”

“What’s wrong with him? He’s stuttering, and he’s usually not like this. What kind of conditioning training do you do for 3~4 hours? Didn’t you forget that you’re supposed to cut it short within 20 minutes at most?”

“I’m sorry…….”

“So, what kind of conditioning training did you do?”

“……I did a variety of things in a complex way, so I can’t really pinpoint it.”

“Seriously, you’re something else. Everyone’s struggling to death at the end of the season, and you’re working out in the midst of it. As expected of the cleanup hitter. Our Seok-hyun is different, different.”

“No, no. It’s not like that. It’s not……. Anyway, I’m sorry.”

“Sigh, what can we do? You ended up like this trying to work hard. So, is your whole body sore?”

“I think so. I feel a bit achy like I have the flu.”

“Take it easy, take it easy. Geez. No matter how good it is, too much is too much, you know.”

Song Seok-hyun trembled and lowered his head.

“I’m sorry…….”

“This is a big problem; no wonder you looked so out of it. I don’t think you’ll be able to play in today’s game. How about you? Can you play today?”

“I’ll try to play.”

“No, not that. If your usual condition is 100, what is it today? It has to be at least 60 to even play as a substitute. Is it over 60?”

“……If you round it up, I think it’ll be 60.”

The conditioning coach burst out laughing.

“Rounding up, my foot. Just say you’re having a hard time. Why are you pretending to be okay?”

“I have no excuse, Coach.”

“Aigo, just rest for now. I’ll go talk to the manager.”

“Yes.”

Song Seok-hyun leaned against the bench and slowly caught his breath.

His hands and feet were still trembling slightly.

He licked his dry lips and blinked his eyes when Kim In-hwan came and sat next to him.

“Are you okay? You didn’t look good even before.”

“I’m okay.”

“Your face says ‘today, tomorrow’?” [Implies he looks like he’s on his deathbed]

“Haha.”

“……Are you mocking me?”

“I was laughing.”

Kim In-hwan massaged the back of his neck.

“You can’t play today, can you?”

“It seems like it’ll be a bit tough.”

“This is a disaster, a disaster. I’m not in great shape today either.”

“Why, hyung [older brother/senior]?”

“I’m…… well…… anyway. I’m not in the best condition.”

“Hmm?”

Song Seok-hyun questioned him with a silent gaze, asking what he meant.

Kim In-hwan quickly avoided Song Seok-hyun’s eyes.

“Aigo, it’s an important game today, and this happens again. I’ll have to step up today.”

“Sorry, hyung.”

“Don’t be sorry. Hoo, let’s go, let’s go!”

Kim In-hwan tried to get up but his legs gave out and he collapsed to his knees.

“…….”

“…….”

Kim In-hwan didn’t even look at Song Seok-hyun and nonchalantly touched his shoes.

“My shoelaces are untied.”

“They’re tied tight.”

“The other side is untied, the other side.”

“That’s also ti-”

“Okay. Well tied.”

Kim In-hwan immediately got up.

“Alright, then, Seok-hyun, fighting! Cheer up, Song Seok-hyun! Aja, aja!” [Aja Aja is a Korean phrase used to express encouragement or fighting spirit]

Kim In-hwan quickly left the spot.

The players returned to the bench one by one and stood around Song Seok-hyun.

“I heard you collapsed during training? Amazing. A guy who succeeds is different for a reason.”

“It’s because a guy who’s already good at baseball trains when others rest; that’s why he gets even better. He wouldn’t have just trained today, right? If he trained to the point of collapsing on his day off, he must have done even more on regular days. Amazing. Wow, Song Seok-hyun. Is this the effort of someone who’s reached the top?”

“If that’s the case, we can’t even envy Seok-hyun. He trains so hard he pukes blood even on his days off; would we ever do that?”

“Is it because he’s young? He’s amazing. I don’t have the stamina to do that.”

“A star isn’t just anyone.”

Before Song Seok-hyun could even say anything, the players surrounded him and showered him with praise.

The praise started with the story of him collapsing from training, and soon it escalated to stories of him training until 4 AM every day, and that he always holds a hot beanbag to strengthen his fingers, and so on. In less than five minutes, he was being hailed as Iron Man Song Seok-hyun, who trains his entire body every day without rest.

“No, that’s not it…….”

“Look at how humble he is. This is what it takes to be called a star. How humble. We didn’t even know he was working this hard.”

“So, our team has a genius of this type. Wow, I’ve only heard of guys who are good at baseball and work incredibly hard; this is the first time I’ve seen one.”

“You have to be this good to be good at baseball.”

“That’s not ittttt.”

Song Seok-hyun’s small echo didn’t return.

Rumors travel faster than birds.

In less than 10 minutes, the rumor about Iron Man Song Seok-hyun reached the ears of reporters.

Before the joy of discovering a news story, the reporters sincerely poured out praise.

“Wow, as expected. He’s not a genius for nothing.”

“So, he’s been training like that every day without sleep?”

“What is that conditioning training, anyway? I heard it’s so hard that you’d die if you did it for just 20 minutes a day?”

“There’s that. You can think of it as something similar to military training. He did that for half a day. No wonder he’s worn out.”

“Half a day? Military training? What is he, a special forces soldier?”

“That’s how he trains, so he becomes a star at twenty. Would he become a star for no reason?”

“Can you do that kind of hard training every day?”

“That’s why he becomes a star. To become the top player at twenty, you have to be different from others. His natural stamina and ability are amazing, but his diligence is truly the best I’ve ever seen, the best.”

“A genius who works hard, Iron Man Song Seok-hyun. Good title. I’ll go with this today.”

If the rumors reached the ears of the reporters, it was already more than enough time for the rumors to have circulated among the Wolves.

The Wolves players didn’t praise or admire, but they stuck out their tongues or shook their heads.

The most shocked person was Jang Dae-hee.

Jang Dae-hee, who was standing there as if he was about to cry, quietly headed to the restroom.

“Anyway, Song Seok-hyun will be out today, right?”

“Yes, I think so. He overtrained, so even if he comes back tomorrow, there will be some impact.”

“It’s such a shame. If he had come to our team, we would have immediately secured the league championship. Hoo.”

Wolves manager Jang Tae-seop searched with his eyes for Song Seok-hyun, who was surrounded by players and out of sight.

“Song Seok-hyun works so hard, but I don’t know why the kids these days are so weak. Sigh. A star isn’t just anyone. They all have star syndrome. Tsk, tsk.”

“…….”

“Good. Today, with Song Seok-hyun absent, is our chance. Let’s grab the Goats by the ankles in this three-game series and aim for second place. Get the kids in order.”

“Yes, Manager.”

Song Seok-hyun’s absence was a bad thing for the Goats team and a good thing for the Wolves team.

The most disappointed among them were not the Goats players.

It was the Goats fans who came to see Song Seok-hyun.

The fans who came to see the home run show of Song Seok-hyun, who had become a superstar in Jamsil, were disappointed and angry at the news of Song Seok-hyun’s absence.

A three-game series against their rival Wolves in Jamsil.

For the team’s cleanup hitter to be out at a crucial moment, whether to go to first place alone or fall to second place, was like a bolt from the blue [an unexpected and shocking event].

The fans’ disappointment was immeasurable, but one article that soon appeared comforted the fans.

[Iron Man Song Seok-hyun, a Man Who Lives Only for Baseball 24 Hours a Day]

The article, written in less than 20 minutes at the scene, immediately appeared on the internet.

A man who has been doing hellish training every day from midnight to dawn after the game.

A man who is number one in both natural talent and effort.

A humble man who has been hiding his efforts until now without showing them off.

The team’s cleanup hitter, who has been taking on the most difficult position of catcher for the team and has been doing intense training every day without complaint, collapsed.

Nowhere in the article was there any fact-checking, but the important thing was not the facts.

From the child fan who followed his father to the elderly fan with white hair, to the energetic male fans and female fans.

The hearts of the fans wearing the Goats uniform and sitting in the Goats cheering section were one.

“Song Seok-hyun! Song Seok-hyun! Song Seok-hyun! Song Seok-hyun!”

“Song! Seok! Hyun! Song! Seok! Hyun!”

Song Seok-hyun, who was cowering in one corner with a face that had been completely drained of his soul by the players, blinked his big eyes as he watched the fans chanting his name.

A cheering sound that was more than loud, even overflowing with a sense of tragic beauty.

It was before the game even started, but the Goats fans were already excited beyond elation.

Only Song Seok-hyun, the person involved, tilted his head, not knowing what was going on.

“Are they telling me to come out……?”

It was a day when only a guilty conscience made his shoulders shrink.

Rising High as a Catcher

In the Name of the Vanguard

The players from both teams lined up as the game began.

The caster and commentator introduced the lineups and records of both teams, predicting today’s game.

“The Wolves will inevitably be more advantageous. The Goats are currently tied for first place, but if you look at the team’s organization, the Wolves are better. If there’s anything the Wolves lack compared to the Goats, it’s that their cleanup is a little weaker, but even Song Seok-hyun is out today, isn’t he?”