On The Rise As A Catcher [EN]: Chapter 7

Song Seok-hyun nodded.

“I don’t think I can play baseball in Korea. The only option is to build a career in Japan and come back.”

“……Sigh, you don’t have any connections in Japan.”

“Do I need connections to go? If I wait here, will they use me in Japan? I need to go there and work part-time while I wait.”

“You’re tough. Aren’t you looking at a minimum of 2-3 years if you go?”

“It won’t be easy to get into a baseball team, and even if I do, it’ll take time to build a career, so it’ll take at least a year or more.”

“Even if it’s as a developmental player, do you really want to go that far?”

“That’s just a few years. If not now, when will I do it? Didn’t you see Kim Young-hoon’s interview at the Phoenix League [a minor league in Korean baseball] this time? He said he regrets giving up baseball when he was young and having that time wasted. It’s much better to be late than to give up.”

“Did you tell your mother?”

“……Not yet. I’m preparing now and will go next year, so there’s still time.”

“Will your mother allow it?”

“I don’t know. Whether she does or not, I’m going.”

“You will?”

Jung Mi-nam stared at Song Seok-hyun with surprised eyes.

“You’re going to ignore your mother’s words?”

“I will this time. It doesn’t matter whether Mom stops me or supports me.”

“……What on earth happened?”

Song Seok-hyun looked out the window instead of answering.

“The sound of rain is nice. I feel sorry for our President Jung Mi-nam, but I’m glad it’s quiet today.”

“I’m glad it’s quiet too, you rascal. And I’m not president yet.”

“You’re going to be president soon anyway. Congratulations in advance, President Jung. Ah, then your father will be the chairman?”

The two laughed.

“You need to have fun before you go to Japan, but if you keep hanging around here, will you have time to play? You should do everything you want to do before you go to Japan. You need to tell the kids too.”

“Are Young-seok and Na-young even in their right minds because of the college entrance exam? After the exam, they’ll want to have fun too. I don’t want them to worry about me and watch my every move. I’ll just hang out for a few days before going to Japan. I’m also short on time to study Japanese before going to Japan.”

“Young-seok and Na-young will be sad.”

“Let them be sad. Once they start their campus life, will they have time to think about me? They’ll forget soon enough because they’ll be busy having fun.”

“Hey, don’t say it so coldly.”

“I realized something while going through this. Adults are so cold and calculating. They don’t hesitate to cut you off if they think they’ll lose out. No one took my side. At first, I felt wronged, but now I accept it. Adults have to be calculating. They have to be cold.”

Song Seok-hyun said.

“I’m also practicing to be an adult. Na-young and Young-seok are guaranteed to go to prestigious universities. You’re a young president. My life is different from yours. If I don’t want to fall behind you guys, I really have to work hard, right?”

“Song Seok-hyun, is that what you’ve been thinking all along?”

Song Seok-hyun chuckled.

“Don’t put on airs. Don’t frown. You have to accept reality. My family doesn’t have money or connections. Right now, I’m a high school graduate from the sports club with no skills and no college education. Honestly, isn’t that the path most people take to become gangsters? If I want to take care of myself when others become gangsters, I have to work hard. I have to work really hard. Going to Japan is no big deal. Even if I have to go to the moon, I’ll go and do it.”

“Does it have to be baseball? There are other paths you could take.”

“There’s nothing else right now. And I can’t keep relying on you.”

“Relying? Don’t say that between friends, it hurts.”

“There are many things to be hurt about. I’m always grateful to you. But being grateful is different from taking care of my own business.”

Ding.

The door opened and customers rushed in.

While the part-timer was taking customers, Song Seok-hyun got up.

“Don’t worry about me. Why are you so worried? Everyone works hard. I’m working hard too.”

“If you go to Japan, I won’t see you often. That’s why I’m sad.”

“Sad? We’re friends, right? It’s not like we’ll never see each other again if I go to Japan.”

“Sigh, that’s true, but… It’s just sad to think about being apart after being together all our lives.”

“Oh, stop it. Are we a couple? You’re giving me goosebumps.”

“I was your battery [baseball term for catcher]. I was your wife. Are you happy to abandon your wife?”

“Get lost. Hehe. Ugh, creepy. Are you going to stay here? Aren’t you taking customers?”

“Okay, let’s go. Let’s work, let’s work!”

As the rain grew heavier, no more customers came.

Song Seok-hyun hit batting balls in one corner.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Each time he hit the ball as if hammering, a home run exploded.

Song Seok-hyun put down the bat and took a moment to catch his breath.

Clap clap clap.

“Wow, your form is perfect?”

Song Seok-hyun turned his head at the sound coming from behind him.

It was the man who had come as a customer earlier.

“How can a part-timer have such good form? Have you played baseball before?”

“Ah… yes, yes. I was in the baseball club and I’m about to graduate.”

“Oh, really? But you’re working part-time here? Do you have time?”

Song Seok-hyun licked his lips.

“I didn’t get drafted anywhere…”

“You didn’t get drafted anywhere? Your form is very good? And you have good power.”

“Thank you for the compliment.”

“No, no. I’m not just saying that, it’s really good. Can I ask your name?”

Song Seok-hyun hesitated for a moment.

“Song Seok-hyun. Song Seok-hyun from Woojin High.”

“Song Seok-hyun from Woojin High, Song Seok-hyun from Woojin High… Why does it sound familiar? I think I’ve heard of it. Woojin High is a hot high school these days. Ah, Song Seok-hyun from Woojin High! I remember now. That bonehead…”

The man smiled brightly, then froze.

Song Seok-hyun silently turned his gaze elsewhere.

The man smiled awkwardly and took out his wallet from his pocket.

What came out of the wallet was a business card.

“Ah, it’s not that, I’m this kind of person. I used to play baseball too, so I asked because Seok-hyun’s form was unusual.”

Song Seok-hyun took the business card.

The business card read Lee Ki-sung, coach of Ilshin Middle School.

Rising to Success as a Catcher

A Benefactor

“I’m the coach here at Ilshin Middle School.”

“Ah, hello.”

Song Seok-hyun bowed his head.

“I just became a coach recently, so I don’t really know much about student baseball. I feel sorry for Seok-hyun.”

“……It’s okay. It’s alright.”

“But just by looking at you, you have good form and a sturdy build, but you haven’t been contacted by anyone?”

“Yes, that’s how it is.”

“Are you sick anywhere?”

“No. I’m not.”

“Weren’t you the starting catcher at Woojin High?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Why haven’t you been contacted if you were the starter at Woojin High? Haha, that’s strange.”

“……It’s because I’m lacking.”

“So you’re working part-time here? Not going to college or anywhere else?”

“Yes, for now.”

“Hmm, I see…”

Lee Ki-sung stroked his chin.

He looked like he had something he wanted to ask, but he didn’t ask any further.

“Anyway, it was nice meeting you.”

“Yes, please go in.”

After talking to Song Seok-hyun, Lee Ki-sung returned to his group. As soon as they saw Lee Ki-sung, the group quickly handed him a bat.

“Why did it take you so long to go to the bathroom? Hurry up and hit.”

“Hyung [Korean term for older brother or male friend], if I hit, it’ll throw off the balance.”

“Just hit it and talk. We’re losing right now.”

“I was a pro until this year. This is cheating.”

“Hey, hurry up and hit it. We don’t have time. We’re losing.”

Lee Ki-sung’s group stayed for about 30 more minutes and then left the store.

While paying, Lee Ki-sung asked Jung Mi-nam at the counter.

“I saw earlier that you seemed close to the part-timer over there, are you friends?”

“Who? Seok-hyun?”

“Yes, you seemed close. Or am I wrong?”

“That’s right. We’re friends.”

“Your friend is a former player. Or is he still active?”

“How did you know that?”

“I talked to him briefly earlier. But he said he hasn’t been contacted by anyone. If he was the starting catcher at Woojin High, I wouldn’t think there would be a problem with his skills, what happened?”

Jung Mi-nam glanced at Lee Ki-sung.

Lee Ki-sung smiled and took out his business card from his wallet.

“I’m the baseball coach at Ilshin Middle School. I’m asking because I’m curious. And he’s also a baseball junior [someone who played baseball].”

“Ah, you’re a coach.”

Jung Mi-nam took the business card and put it on the counter.

“Seok-hyun is good. He just didn’t get to play in many games, but he’s good. But the games he played as a catcher were too short…”

“Why short? Was he injured?”

“No. It’s just… he made a big mistake during a game and was completely marked after that. Seok-hyun changed positions to catcher in his second year of high school and played in official games in his third year, so he only has a few official games. He has a short career as a catcher, and the rumors aren’t good, so he hasn’t received any offers from anywhere.”

“Wow, I saw the article too, but they didn’t use him because he made one mistake? The coach is being too harsh.”

“The coach was against it at first, but the principal and even the board of directors made a fuss.”

“Even so, he’s just a high school student, he can make mistakes, but to abandon him like that, wow. Tsk. I’m embarrassed. So childish.”

“That’s what I’m saying. It wasn’t even Seok-hyun’s fault in the first place. The pitcher threw the wrong ball, but the pitcher at the time was Jang Dae-hee. Dae-hee’s father is a famous person, so everyone couldn’t say anything and took it out on Seok-hyun. Even if Seok-hyun was at fault, it was too much, but he wasn’t even at fault. He’s a saint. I wouldn’t have been able to stand it if I were him.”

“Ha.”

Lee Ki-sung turned his head and looked at the cage where Song Seok-hyun was.

Song Seok-hyun was holding a mitt and catching a ball.

“Is he training like that over there?”

“……Yes.”

“Can he even train with that…”

“He can’t just do nothing, so he has to do something.”

“Sigh.”

Lee Ki-sung shook his head.

“Does he have any intention of playing baseball? Does that friend still want to continue?”

“Yes, he does. That’s why he applied as a developmental player, but he was rejected in the documents.”

“Even as a developmental player?”

“Yes.”

“These days, they mainly pick college graduates as developmental players, but to be rejected in the documents is too much.”

“It would be less unfair if he could at least take a test… That’s why Seok-hyun is even thinking of going to the Japanese independent baseball league. He has no place to go in Korea.”

“A young student going all the way to Japan? His will is commendable, but it won’t be easy to get into the independent baseball league.”

“He said he’ll go anyway. There’s nowhere else to go in Korea.”

“Hmm.”

Lee Ki-sung put his hands behind his back.

After staring at Song Seok-hyun for a while, Lee Ki-sung lowered his voice and said.

“Does he really want to play even as a developmental player?”

“Yes, he’s in a position where he’s begging for a chance. What’s the point of training hard if he can’t even take a test?”

“Wow, that’s too much. He needs to take a test.”

Lee Ki-sung looked at Song Seok-hyun one more time and then left the store.

In the store where even the customers had left, only the sound of Song Seok-hyun hitting the ball echoed.

* * *

“Congratulations, congratulations. You worked hard.”

“You worked hard, guys!”

While Song Seok-hyun was spending his time wandering, the college entrance exam ended.

Song Seok-hyun, Jung Mi-nam, Kim Na-young, and Kim Young-seok held a toast with cola at a pork cutlet restaurant in the city. The restaurant is usually crowded, but today it was packed with students wearing school uniforms.

“Na-young, did you do well on the exam?”

“So-so. Young-seok, how about you?”

“I think I did okay.”

Jung Mi-nam asked Kim Na-young and Kim Young-seok.

“Aren’t you guys going to grade it? Everyone grades it first.”

“What’s the point of grading it when it’s already over? I must have done well.”

“As expected, Na-young. So confident. How about you, Young-seok?”

“I don’t care what university I go to. It’s just engineering anyway.”

“Hey, college is important.”

“Engineering is all the same. I probably got a score that’s good enough to get into a university in Seoul.”

“Wow, you’re annoying. Other kids would hit you if they heard that?”

“There are two older guys here, who would mess with us?”

Song Seok-hyun frowned while cutting his pork cutlet.

“Why am I an old guy too? Anyone can tell I’m a fresh high schooler. It’s just that Young-seok looks really young.”

Jung Mi-nam got angry.

“Hey, Song Seok-hyun. Are you distancing yourself from me at a time like this?”

“Mi-nam, we have to be honest with each other as friends. Your face and my face are on different tiers. I’m at least Gold or Platinum. You’re Bronze. Not even Silver or Gold. Bronze, Bronze.”

“It’s all the same, but you’re acting like a big shot.”

Kim Na-young muttered.

“It’s not all the same.”

Jung Mi-nam looked at Kim Na-young as if he was dumbfounded.

Kim Na-young shrugged her shoulders.

“It’s all the same, not all the same.”

“Are you an announcer? Why are you pointing that out?”

“Just saying.”

Song Seok-hyun picked up three pieces of pork cutlet and put them in his mouth.

After chewing a few times, the pork cutlet quickly disappeared.

“Anyway, congratulations. Na-young and Young-seok, you two just have to play now. Right?”

Kim Young-seok said.