On The Rise As A Catcher [EN]: Chapter 55

“I am always grateful as well.”

“Seok-hyeon, how did you take In-hwan to the ophthalmologist?”

“Hyung [older brother or close male friend] said his eyes weren’t feeling great, so since I had some time, I took him to the eye doctor, just in case.”

“You must have been surprised. That In-hwan could be so stubborn.”

“I never imagined it would be real.”

Kim In-hwan adjusted his glasses and went into his room to get his bat.

“Why the bat?”

Kim In-hwan stroked the bat in response to Kim Jeong-ryul’s question.

“I’m going to take a few swings. See if it has any effect, I’ll have to try it with the pitching machine.”

“You’re too eager. It’s your day off, just rest.”

“I’m just going to hit a few and come back.”

Kim In-hwan left.

Kim Jeong-ryul shook his head.

“When he’s like this, he’s such a kid. Seriously.”

Song Seok-hyeon made sure Kim In-hwan was gone before sitting next to Kim Jeong-ryul.

“Sunbae-nim [senior colleague or mentor].”

“What?”

“I have something to ask.”

“Yeah, yeah, ask away.”

“If I get called up to the first team, does my salary go up right away? Based on the first team’s minimum salary.”

“Of course. I think they calculate it by day. I don’t know exactly; my calculation method is different from yours since I’m a FA [Free Agent].”

“So, a salary increase is guaranteed?”

“Yeah. But why all of a sudden? Are you already planning how to spend your money since you’re thinking about going to the first team?”

“It’s not about planning to spend money…….”

Song Seok-hyeon sighed deeply.

“My mother might have to close her supermarket because of her injury. So, I’ll have to earn money from now on. My current second team salary isn’t enough, but with a first team salary, the three of us could make a living.”

“Was she hurt that badly?”

“She wasn’t hurt that badly, but when she got checked up this time, they said she has severe osteoporosis and needs to be careful. The supermarket involves a lot of lifting and carrying things, so it’s dangerous.”

“What about your father?”

“My father passed away early. It’s just me, my mom, and my younger sibling.”

“Oh, so you’ve become the head of the household?”

“Right now… I guess so.”

“Your family isn’t well-off?”

“I’ve eaten into the family finances while playing sports. And the supermarket isn’t doing as well as it used to be… I need to earn money.”

“Do you have enough living expenses for the time being?”

“I think we’ll be okay for a few months. I need to get to the first team quickly.”

“Hmm… you’ve been through a lot.”

“It’s nothing. If I hadn’t been reckless and gotten injured, I could have improved the family finances. Sigh, it’s my fault.”

“Is it your fault you got hurt? Don’t blame yourself. Well… hmm.”

“Anyway, thank you for letting me know.”

Song Seok-hyeon greeted Kim Jeong-ryul and left.

Kim Jeong-ryul stroked his chin.

“That young man, really.”

* * *

The next morning.

Song Seok-hyeon, who had fallen asleep late, was sound asleep. He would have slept without a care in the world if the knocking hadn’t been so loud.

“Ugh, who is it?”

“It’s hyung. Open the door.”

“…Jeong-ryul sunbae-nim?”

“Yeah, open the door.”

When Song Seok-hyeon opened the door, Kim Jeong-ryul was standing there in his workout clothes.

“…?”

Song Seok-hyeon rubbed his sleepy eyes, not knowing what was going on.

“What are you doing? Let’s do some morning exercise. You need to catch my balls, hyung.”

“…Now? It’s not even 7 o’clock yet.”

“The early bird catches the worm. You know? Get dressed quickly. Hurry.”

“Okay… I understand.”

Song Seok-hyeon dressed while dozing off.

Kim Jeong-ryul vigorously rubbed Song Seok-hyeon’s cheeks, who had washed his face with cold water.

“Wake up, you rascal. Let’s go, quickly.”

Song Seok-hyeon exercised with Kim Jeong-ryul from the morning.

They ran two laps around the field, stretched, and even finished long tosses. He caught Kim Jeong-ryul’s balls and finished a short training session of about an hour.

After the morning training, Kim Jeong-ryul gestured for Song Seok-hyeon to come closer.

“Come here.”

As Song Seok-hyeon approached, Kim Jeong-ryul took out an envelope from his pocket.

“Here, a reward for your hard work.”

“…Yes? A reward?”

“You worked hard today. Let’s continue to train early in the morning with hyung. I’m most comfortable with you catching my balls. So, you come out in the morning and catch my balls.”

Song Seok-hyeon waved his hands.

“It’s just catching balls, why a reward? It’s okay.”

“Hey. Take it, you rascal. An adult is giving it to you.”

“It’s really okay…….”

“Tsk, you rascal.”

Song Seok-hyeon received the envelope.

“Thank you.”

The envelope was unusually thin.

As Song Seok-hyeon was about to fold the envelope and put it in his back pocket, Kim Jeong-ryul stopped him.

“Hey, who puts money in their back pocket like that? Are you ignoring hyung’s sincerity?”

“Ah, no. It’s not that, it’s just that I have nowhere else to put it.”

“Then hold it close to your chest.”

“…Yes.”

Song Seok-hyeon held the envelope close to his chest until he got to his dorm.

The staff and players who passed by giggled, asking what was going on.

“It’s Jeong-ryul sunbae-nim’s errand.”

Song Seok-hyeon opened the envelope only after arriving at his room.

The envelope contained three bills.

The color of the bills was neither blue nor green.

“One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand… one hundred thousand… one million…”

Song Seok-hyeon checked the units and rubbed his eyes.

“Ugh, is there something wrong with my eyes?”

He checked the units again.

“…?”

After washing his face thoroughly with cold water in the bathroom, he checked again.

“What is this?”

Song Seok-hyeon took the envelope as it was and went to find Kim Jeong-ryul.

“Sunbae-nim!”

“Ah, geez, you scared me. Ah, it’s hot!”

Kim Jeong-ryul had just finished showering and was drying his private parts with a hairdryer.

“What is it, you rascal? You startled me.”

“I think something’s wrong with this.”

“What is?”

“The units.”

“Right. More importantly, close the door.”

Song Seok-hyeon closed the door.

“No, the units are strange, aren’t they? I think sunbae-nim made a mistake.”

Kim Jeong-ryul put down the hairdryer and wrapped a towel around his lower body.

“I asked for it last night, how could it be wrong?”

“Is it right?”

“Sigh. Sit down, you rascal.”

Kim Jeong-ryul sat the blushing Song Seok-hyeon on the bed.

“I’m not just giving it to you. I’m lending it to you. When you go to the first team and earn money later, pay it back then.”

“Still, this is too much money.”

“It’s a lot of money. But if you consider it as money for a family to use for a year, it’s not that much. Use it to hold out for a year. In the meantime, you just focus on training hard. Then you’ll automatically go to the first team.”

“No… that’s… still, how can you give me this much money?”

Song Seok-hyeon took the money out of the envelope.

A three-piece check.

The check was stamped with ten million won [approximately $7,500 USD].

“This is too much.”

“No matter how good you are at baseball, you’re still a kid. If you worry about being the head of the household at your age, things won’t go well. Your mother will have hospital bills, and your younger sibling will have academy fees, right? How much is your salary that you’re trying to cover all that? Take it. Use it for living expenses and give your sibling pocket money. If you don’t have money in your wallet, you won’t have peace of mind. Working hard and not having peace of mind are different. You’ll get hurt. If you overpace, you’ll definitely break down.”

“Sunbae-nim…….”

“I’ve also received help from you, and we’ll be training together here in the future, so how can I just ignore a junior’s difficulties? I’ll lose face, and I have my pride.”

Song Seok-hyeon’s eyes turned red.

“If you’re that grateful, work hard. Work hard and get me a championship ring before I retire. I’ve already made a lot of money. Now, isn’t wearing a ring the definition of a successful life? So, take that money and train hard. If you work hard and win the championship, I won’t take that money back. How’s that? Does it give you a lot of motivation?”

Song Seok-hyeon lowered his head.

Kim Jeong-ryul patted Song Seok-hyeon’s shoulder.

“I also know how you feel because I was the head of my household. It’s not good to mature too early at a young age. You’ll inevitably bear responsibility when you get older. There’s no need to bear it in advance. Let’s just train hard with hyung.”

“…Thank you, sunbae-nim.”

“And this.”

Kim Jeong-ryul took out another envelope from the drawer.

“Yesterday, when I said I was going to help you, In-hwan also took out money and gave it to me, saying he wanted to help you too. That rascal should have given it to you directly like me, but he’s shy. It looked like he gave about three million [approximately $2,250 USD].”

“In-hwan hyung?”

“In-hwan’s money is worth more than mine. I’m just a rich guy giving it, but In-hwan is giving it to you even though his salary is low. Make sure to thank In-hwan.”

“I can’t accept this money. I already have enough money.”

“Take it, you rascal. It’s not about the money. I’m not giving you the money to spend lavishly. Give it to your family. If you take my money and not In-hwan’s, how disappointed would In-hwan be?”

“Ah… still, this…….”

Kim Jeong-ryul ruffled Song Seok-hyeon’s hair.

“You rascal, take it when you’re given it. You can repay it later on a larger scale. Let’s work hard together and get a ring. Huh?”

Song Seok-hyeon teared up.

Kim Jeong-ryul laughed loudly on purpose.

“Are you crying? Are you crying?”

“Ah, I’m not crying…….”

“A guy crying. Now go, you rascal. I need to finish drying myself.”

Song Seok-hyeon got up from his seat and bowed.

“Thank you, sunbae-nim. I will definitely repay your kindness.”

“Repay the kindness with a ring. Huh?”

Song Seok-hyeon returned to his room with red eyes.

Shaaaaaaaaaa.

Song Seok-hyeon stood under the shower for a long time.

Returning to his desk, Song Seok-hyeon sat in his chair.

Song Seok-hyeon took out a pen and wrote a line in his notebook.

-Let’s repay the faith!

Success as a Catcher

Young gun (1)

The KPBL’s [Korean Professional Baseball League] second team is largely divided into two leagues, the Northern League and the Southern League.

The Southern League included five teams: Daejeon Phoenix, Gwangju Bulls, Daegu Scorpion, Busan Fox, and the National Police Agency.

The traditionally strong team, Daegu Scorpion, had long reigned as a strong team in the Southern League.

In contrast, the Northern League had no clear powerhouse.

Goat, which had the most 1.5-team players, was strong, but the other teams were formidable as well.

Suwon Pegasus, which had won three championships in five years.

Seoul Wolves, which was said to have developed the most promising players among the eight clubs.

Incheon Wales, with its traditional stingy defense.

In addition to these four clubs, there was also a dark horse team…….

It was the Army Sangmu team.

When young and talented players joined in large numbers, they became the strongest in the second league, and when good players left, they quickly fell to the bottom.

Sangmu in 2013 was a cradle of promising players.

Kim Young-gon, a left-handed fireballer who was a national team member and considered the next ace of the Seoul Wolves, guarded the mound.

Hwang Jun-pyo, who Pegasus was grooming early on as a future starter, and Park Sang-yeon, who Wales considered their next home run hitter.

Limited to under 23 years old, Sangmu’s battery [pitcher and catcher] was the best among all ten clubs.

Turning to the lineup, there was also Bang Jeong-wook, the next shortstop for Pegasus.

The center line of Pegasus was considered to be among the top three of all teams in history.

The next candidate for shortstop, the flower of the strongest center line in history.

Thanks to the condition of Sangmu, there were problems with depth, but this year’s Sangmu was one of the best teams in history.

* * *

“Attention.”

The director of Sangmu put his hands behind his back.

The players stood at attention with military discipline.

“You know that the broadcast is coming today, right?”

“Yes!”

“I’m not asking for much. Don’t make a fool of yourselves. I’m not even telling you to win. There shouldn’t be anything that tarnishes my reputation. Do you understand what I mean?”

“Yes!”

“Don’t get excited and make a fuss just because the camera came. If your mind is floating, your movements will be slow. Don’t overdo it. Huh?”

“Yes! I understand!”

“Good. If you do well, the second team games will be broadcast regularly in the future. I worked hard to persuade the higher-ups to make it happen. It’s not just good for me, it’s good for you too. Huh? So, let’s do it properly, properly.”