Peaceful Bullpen Life [EN]: Chapter 134

“Seongwon.”

“Yes, Senior.”

Where should I even begin to unravel this story?

Frustrated, I scratched my head.

“You don’t want to do it?”

“No, I do.”

“You said you didn’t want to.”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Then what did I just hear?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“No, no, no. Instead of just saying no, explain yourself!”

“No, I didn’t.”

Sigh…….

Back in high school, the seniors one year above me and my classmates made an absolute vow.

Never engage in unfair practices.

Knowing better than anyone how awful it was to be treated the way Yongho did in the past, we vowed to at least not be like that.

And this vow has remained to this day, even after I joined the pros and reached my 13th year as a professional.

Don’t bother the juniors. It’s a matter of team morale.

This logic evolved further, leaning towards not interfering at all if possible.

Of course, we would help when asked, but unless the situation was truly unacceptable, we would stay put.

However, one prerequisite was necessary for this.

“Seongwon.”

“Yes.”

“Do you think we’re all just playing around?”

The importance of atmosphere.

If you only create a laissez-faire [hands-off] environment, everyone will naturally start playing around. Whether the team’s performance plummets or individual records decline, at least the salary comes out regularly.

Starting in 2015, Manager Lee Hanju, who was appointed to our team, further reinforced the logic I had in mind.

He prioritized players who truly worked hard in the starting lineup, slightly deviating from performance-oriented selection, even if it meant the immediate results weren’t great.

Because of this long-term investment, the Wonha Challengers are now on the verge of achieving good results.

“No, I don’t.”

“Then?”

“……”

How should I deal with this brat who is completely missing the point, failing to properly utilize this great atmosphere that the seniors worked so hard to create?

“Seongwon.”

“Yes.”

“I asked you. Do you think we’re all just playing around?”

“No, I don’t.”

“Then?”

“……”

Damn it, seriously.

“Do you remember when you started pitching last time, when Eunseo and I were waiting for you in the bullpen?”

“Yes, I remember.”

“You went to the bathroom then too, and came back with not much session time left. Right?”

“That’s right.”

“Was it like that that day too?”

“No, it wasn’t.”

“Then what did you do that day?”

“That… I really had a stomachache that day, so I went to the bathroom.”

“Then what about today?”

“I’m sorry. I had something important to take care of today, so I made a quick call. I won’t do it again, I’m sorry.”

Thinking that the story was unfolding reasonably, he quickly bowed his head and spoke.

I usually try to let things go and believe that good things are good, so I would have let it slide, but…….

“So Seongwon, you’re saying it was only today?”

“Yes. I’m sorry.”

“……”

Well, I don’t know about that. It’s not like yesterday disappeared.

“Seongwon.”

“Yes, Senior.”

“Do you know how I found this bathroom today?”

“Yes?”

“Yesterday. Around this time.”

“I… I don’t know what you mean.”

He’s trying to laugh it off and gloss over it, but…….

“You did it yesterday too.”

“……”

“Yesterday, you weren’t around, so I was wandering around trying to find you, and then I needed to use the bathroom, so I came here. It wasn’t intentional, but I heard you on the phone like today.”

“Ah, no, it’s not.”

“It’s not? Really not?”

If he would just tell the truth at the end, my heart would be so much softer.

“Yes. It’s not.”

“……”

Thank you. You’ve made my heart even more resolute.

“Ah, it’s not. Then, can you show me your call history?”

“That….”

“Can’t you?”

“That… isn’t there a personal information law… [privacy law]”

“Ah, personal information law?”

“That’s right.”

“What is the personal information law?”

“That… you see it on TV. You can’t look at someone else’s information without a warrant or something….”

He’s just a kid. He’s really just a kid.

I chuckled and spoke again.

“Ah, so if I get that warrant, I can see your call history?”

“That….”

“I’m just saying this in case, but even if you delete your call history while I’m getting the warrant, it all shows up at the phone company, you know that, right?”

“……”

If he had just sincerely pretended to repent, I wouldn’t have gone this far.

I guess not with this kid.

I decided to just give up on Seongwon.

Since I’m just a team leader with no real authority to do anything directly, I decided to tell the manager. Then the manager would eventually impose a similar punishment to what I had in mind.

As I was about to leave the bathroom with that thought in mind,

“…Senior.”

Seongwon started talking again with a look on his face as if he was about to say something important.

“What?”

“To be honest, I don’t need to train, do I?”

“……”

What is he talking about now?

“Isn’t that what the team atmosphere is like? It’s an atmosphere where you can train freely and get good results. And I’m getting good results right now.”

“So?”

“So, it doesn’t matter how I train now, does it?”

“Ah, so. You’re saying, ‘I’m doing well now, so don’t worry about what I do,’ is that it?”

“No… it’s not that….”

“That’s right. What’s not?”

Sigh…….

“Hey, Seo Seongwon.”

“Yes.”

“Do you even know how that team atmosphere you’re talking about was created?”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know, and you’re just spouting off whatever you want?!”

“……”

Calm down, calm down.

“…Okay. If that’s what you want, do as you please.”

“Yes?”

He makes his eyes round when I say I’ll let him do as he pleases.

“You said not to worry about it, right?”

“Not that far….”

“Seongwon. You’re right. That’s what our team atmosphere is like. That’s the atmosphere that people around my age wanted to create, and we’re getting good results now, so it’s convincing.”

Has he finally realized that something is going wrong?

“But Seongwon. There’s one thing you’re missing.”

“Wait, Senior….”

Seongwon is trying to change his attitude urgently, but the bus has already left. It left a long time ago.

“Instead, you take full responsibility for your actions, your words, and the results that follow. You know that, right?”

“Sen….”

“Take responsibility once.”

I didn’t expect an answer, and I didn’t want to hear any answers, so I ignored whatever voices I heard from behind.

Knowing that I was quite late for the meeting because I was talking to Seongwon, I jogged towards the dugout.

“What were you doing?”

“Ah, just some work.”

“Solved it?”

“I don’t know.”

I was later than I thought, or the meeting ended faster than I thought.

When I joined the meeting, it was over, and most of the people had already dispersed.

I asked Gyujin hyung [older brother/friend], who was standing there for a moment, for his understanding and left first. Then I went straight to see the manager.

“Manager.”

“Oh. Why didn’t you come to the meeting?”

“Can I talk to you for a moment?”

The manager, who was the team leader, looked slightly angry because he didn’t attend the meeting, but

“…Follow me.”

He soon noticed the seriousness on my face and took me somewhere else.

* * *

The very next day.

The manager, who was more furious than I was, immediately sent Seongwon to the minor league.

Suddenly sending a good rookie pitcher to the minor league can feel like a rash decision, so even if they keep the reason for sending him a secret, the story spreads faster than you think.

And a few days later, Seongwon was traded to the Hanseong Winners in a 1-for-1 trade.

It feels a bit rash, but it seems that the team’s executives have also decided that there is no hope for Seongwon.

A rookie starting pitcher who has clearly stood out since his first year out of high school, and a somewhat ordinary underhand relief pitcher who is quite old.

The Wonha Challengers front office was heavily criticized for this trade.

Do you have any sense, what are you doing, why are you really running the team like this, are you in your right mind.

I think I’ve seen all the insults I can get in just one day.

But a few days later,

“…Crazy.”

[Hanseong Winners Seo Seongwon to be booked for drunk driving]

A news article about Seongwon appeared.

According to the article, he was drinking with friends on the way home after a game and crashed into a telephone pole while driving alone.

Fortunately, there were no casualties, and Seongwon himself only suffered minor scratches.

“Wow… did you see it?”

“…Yeah.”

Gyujin hyung, who I met when I came to the stadium, greeted me by telling me about Seongwon’s news.

“No, this guy, really, wow….”

I really can’t say anything.

Thanks to this, this trade is expected to remain the best trade ever. The story that I was impressed by the Wonha front’s foresight has increased exponentially.

“Ah, Senior. Hello.”

“Oh, hello, Hanwool.”

And Son Seokmin, who became another party to this trade. He greeted me with a somewhat dazed expression, as if he had seen the article.

“That… Senior. Did you see the article?”

“I saw it. This is….”

Seokmin must be embarrassed too. His trade partner is in that state.

“Don’t worry too much about it. Senior, you’re a Wonha person now. Let’s win the championship together.”

“That’s true.”

“Is there anything to regret?”

“No, honestly, I don’t care about him. I’m worried about the team.”

“Ah….”

Just like I’ve been with Wonha for a long time, Seokmin has also devoted a similar amount of time to Hanseong.

A player trade is not the same as a used transaction, so you don’t immediately develop affection for the team you’ve moved to.

This is a part that can be understood.

“It just so happens that the timing is like this.”

“I heard he had some problems?”

“Um….”

I don’t know if it’s right to immediately badmouth the person who left to the person who just came…….

“It’s not really a problem. It was just a bit of trouble. You know, not being able to blend in with the team atmosphere.”

“If that’s the case, it can’t be helped.”

So I explained it in a suitable way. Fortunately, Seokmin seemed to understand.

“Have you adapted to the team?”

“I think I’ve adapted to the people here. They’re all good. They’re all nice, and they all work hard. I can see why they’re the number one team.”

“Yes, yes.”

“But it’s a little difficult to adapt to….”

“Yes.”

“Autonomous training? It’s a little hard to adapt to that.”

“Oh, really?”

“When I was in Hanseong, everyone did everything together, but here….”

Following Seokmin’s gaze, which was looking at the stadium, I also looked at the situation on the ground.

Myeongjin is talking to batting coach Yang Taekgyun.

Eungu is playing catch with Seungjin.

Gyuhak and Juho are sitting facing each other wearing catcher’s gear.

After listening to Seokmin’s story, it felt like everyone was playing separately.

“There’s nothing like that at all?”

“Yeah. It’s so much that I wonder if it’s okay.”

“I think our team’s strength comes from here.”

“Atmosphere?”

“Yes.”

Myeongjin was sharing the story he heard from the batting coach with Seunghoon.

Gyujin was approaching Seungjin, who was playing catch with Eungu, and examining his grip.

Junhyuk, who was passing by, was helping the catchers who had gathered for catching practice.

If someone saw it, they could say it was a mess.

But…….

“Once you fall for it, it’ll be hard to get out. The atmosphere here is so good that you won’t want to go to another team again. So you’ll do better and work harder.”

Thumbs up!

I gave Seokmin a thumbs up and smiled confidently.