Peaceful Bullpen Life [EN]: Chapter 17

Hyun-jin Lee.

After graduating high school, Hyun-jin Lee quickly made a name for himself, achieving 13 wins in his debut year and earning the Rookie of the Year award. In his second year, he continued his dominance with 18 wins and a 2.45 ERA [Earned Run Average, a measure of pitching performance], securing the Best Pitcher award.

By his third season, 2012, he was a shoo-in for the Premier 12 [an international baseball tournament] and has been the national team’s ace starter ever since. No matter what anyone says, he’s the undisputed number one starting pitcher for the national team.

“Have you had dinner?”

…but……

“…Would I have eaten if I was heading straight home after finishing up?”

“I’m sorry. That was inconsiderate of me.”

As soon as I point out his mistake, he immediately bows his head and apologizes.

Two things strike me here. Why the need to apologize so profusely? And why… does he bow at almost a 90-degree angle? Seriously, why?

“Uh… anyway. What’s up?”

“Aren’t you hungry?”

“I am.”

The time is around 10:30 PM. What are the other players doing at this hour? Probably heading home, grabbing drinks, or maybe even hitting up a wild party.

But this guy doesn’t smoke, doesn’t drink, and stays out of scandals… What was it he said in that interview? To the question, ‘What do you do after a game, Hyun-jin Lee?’ he answered that he plans for the next game.

It’s true. I saw it myself.

What else did he say? ‘Senior, I still love baseball so much. It’s fun. I want to keep improving.’ Wow, what a dedicated guy.

“Then, would you like to grab dinner with me?”

His face lights up at the mention of food. He wouldn’t be this happy even if the visual 담당 [visual 담당 is a person in charge of the visual aspects of a group] of a popular idol group asked him out. It’s no wonder rumors are circulating that he might be into men.

“Uh… sure. Let’s go.”

That’s that. National team’s number one starter or whatever, from my perspective, he’s just a junior from the same high school who happens to have a squeaky-clean image.

Plus, it’s been a while since I’ve seen him, so I readily agreed to go eat with him, happy for the company.

“What are you planning to eat?”

“I have a place reserved.”

“…What if I had said I wasn’t hungry? Why would you make a reservation?”

“Then I’ll just eat two servings myself.”

Is he for real?

I headed towards his car parked nearby. Oh, as expected of someone who earns the big bucks, it’s a fancy foreign SUV.

I opened the passenger door of the large SUV and climbed in, feeling like I needed a step stool. It’s definitely nice to have a commanding view from a tall vehicle. Maybe I should get an SUV when I finally buy a car?

After about a 20-minute drive, we arrived at what looked like a high-end Japanese restaurant. I subtly checked the time on my phone; it was around 11 PM. I got out of the car, following Hyun-jin, who parked with practiced ease. As expected of a heavy vehicle, the sound of the door closing was also,

Thump!

Heavy.

“I have a reservation. Lee Hyun-jin.”

“Ah, yes. Please come this way.”

I slowly followed the employee to our seats, subtly looking around. There were no other customers. Could it be……

“Hey.”

“Yes, Senior.”

“Does this kind of restaurant usually stay open this late?”

“They usually close around 10 PM.”

“Then why did they accept us?”

“You can just pay extra.”

“…….”

Is this his way of flexing?

“Okay, well, that’s that…….”

I barely got a word out before chopsticks, a side plate, and a glass of water were set before me. I didn’t bother refusing and took a sip.

“What’s the matter?”

“I just wanted to see you, Senior, after a long time.”

“That’s all?”

“Yes.”

“…….”

What does this guy see in me that makes him so eager? What have I even been doing with my life?

“Excuse me.”

The appetizers that arrived before the meal looked incredible.

I pushed aside my existential thoughts and put a neatly sliced piece of sashimi in my mouth.

“By the way, I was really impressed.”

“About what?”

“About your performance this season, Senior.”

“Me? Ah… I can understand that. Hehe.”

“Do you have any secrets or anything?”

“I just got lucky.”

Which isn’t entirely wrong.

“It’s hard to chalk it up to just luck…….”

He left the rest unsaid, but I knew what he meant. And from a fanboy’s perspective, it would be awkward to bring up my past performance, which was basically the same as badmouthing me.

“I was planning to retire after last year.”

“Retirement… are you talking about retirement?”

“Yeah.”

“Isn’t it too early?”

“Too early? It was already way too late. Think about it. A pitcher with a career ERA in the 6 or 7 range. Doesn’t eat up many innings, doesn’t have good velocity, well… there’s no reason to keep me around. I was only still on the team because of their circumstances.”

“But Senior…….”

“Shh. If you say any more, it’ll just hurt my feelings more.”

“…….”

He actually shuts up.

“I was going to quit, but a team staff member approached me. They said the team appreciated that I didn’t apply for FA [Free Agency, allowing a player to sign with any team]… and they were going to give me a raise next year because of it. So, they asked me to do my best.”

“Oh…….”

“So I tried this and that. Because it was really my last shot. And it turned out like this.”

“Can I ask what you tried?”

He’s standing quite close, which makes me uncomfortable.

“What are you going to do with that information?”

“…I’m sorry. It’s Senior’s personal technique.”

“Ah, no. It’s not that I don’t want to tell you or that I’m being sarcastic.”

“Yes?”

“I’m just curious. What are you really going to use it for?”

“I’m also a pitcher. No matter how well I’m doing now, isn’t it every pitcher’s dream to become even better? And if it’s Senior’s insight that led to such a dramatic turnaround, I’d be even more eager to hear it.”

“Before that. Please don’t use those kinds of expressions, it’s embarrassing.”

“What part are you talking about?”

“…I can handle you calling me ‘Senior’ at the end of every sentence, but ‘insight’ and stuff… it’s too much, man. People will make fun of me if they hear that.”

“B, but……!”

F

He was searching for the right words after ‘but,’ so there was a long pause, and I started having unnecessary thoughts.

“Senior is my idol. How many times have I told you?”

‘Is there a player that Lee Hyun-jin respects the most?’

‘It’s Senior Kim Han-wool from the Wonha Challengers.’

‘Yes? Kim Han-wool…?’

‘Yes. Is there a problem?’

‘Ah, no. Not at all, ha, haha… Can I ask the reason?’

‘Senior should be an example for all pitchers. The reason his performance wasn’t good is just because he was born in the wrong era.’

…….

“I’m just going to assume that’s lip service.”

“No. I’m serious.”

“Based on what? People will curse me if they hear that, I’m telling you.”

Hyun-jin took a sip of water and continued.

“Senior and I only played on the same team for one year. But during that one year, I learned a lot from Senior. If I hadn’t been with Senior for that one year, I wouldn’t be where I am now.”

Ah, please. Please, I get it. I get it, so please stop blushing, it’s creepy.

By the way, what was I even doing in high school? It’s been 10 years already.

“…Just. Do it moderately. Moderately.”

“Moderately?”

“Yeah. Anyway, we’re all doing it to make a living. As a job. To be honest, I don’t have some grand sense of duty like dedicating myself to the team’s victory or giving my life for the team. In the first place, I and the team have a contractual relationship, and a contractual relationship is a business. There’s also the affection that grows from that. But that’s it. I come first.”

“That’s…….”

“You might not understand. And I’m not asking you to. In fact, I hope you don’t understand. I’m just a so-so pitcher in the league, but you’re the national team’s ace. If someone like you takes it easy, it’s a national disgrace, no way. Hey, you need to work even harder than you are now. Okay?”

“Yes, I will keep that in mind.”

How did he even understand that stream of consciousness? I don’t even know what I was talking about.

“We have Hyuk-joon on our team.”

“Ah, yes.”

“When you see Hyuk-joon pitching, it’s refreshing.”

“That’s right.”

“…I just wanted to pitch like that too. So when I tried to do that, it turned out like this.”

I can’t tell him about the existence of stats, so I have no choice but to talk about it in such a vague way. But he nodded as if he understood. Why did he understand?

“Can I ask you one more thing?”

“What?”

“Do you have any goals for the future, Senior?”

“Goals?”

“Yes.”

…Uh…….

“Personal? Or team?”

“Do you have any personal goals?”

League MVP, Hold King, Save King, Best Pitcher Award, Strikeout King, etc., flashed through my mind.

“…Striking out Park Hae-jin.”

My mouth moved on its own and gave the best answer.

* * *

“Are you going straight home?”

“I have to. It’s late.”

I suppressed a yawn and stubbed out my cigarette on the ground. I picked up the cigarette butt and put it in the trash can.

“You worked hard late at night.”

“What hard work? You did it all.”

“No.”

He smiled faintly.

“I had a great time thanks to you today. And, I think I know what it feels like to have a blocked blood vessel 뚫렸다는 [뚫렸다는 is a Korean expression that means ‘to be unblocked’].”

“Did you have a blocked blood vessel?”

“Yes. I’ve been feeling stagnant lately, so I was frustrated, but I think I did well to make time to listen to Senior’s story.”

…What’s his record this year? Isn’t he still pitching in the 1 ERA range? What… was he just holding back until now! Is that some kind of cliché? Hey, even if it’s a novel, it’s too much.

“It’s a relief if it helped. Where are you guys playing tomorrow?”

“We’re meeting Sangsoo at home. Isn’t Senior also a home game?”

“Yeah. But I probably won’t be out for a couple of days, so I’m a bit relaxed.”

“Including last Sunday, isn’t it 4 consecutive games pitched?”

“That’s right. Anyway, I think they’ll let me rest for two days.”

“I understand. Rest comfortably.”

“Yeah, you go carefully too.”

He bowed 90 degrees to the end. I waved my hand and watched his car drive away before heading inside.

I came into my studio apartment, threw my luggage down roughly, washed up roughly, wiped myself roughly, put on clothes roughly, and flopped down on the bed roughly. And grabbed my phone, which is essential before going to sleep.

I opened the most popular portal and clicked on the sports tab, where I found highlights of today’s games and articles summarizing each one. I clicked on the Gocheok game, which was our game.

The article briefly described the flow of the game: where the first point was scored, how someone hit a home run in the next inning to tie the score, then a long stretch of scoreless innings, followed by someone hitting a solo home run to take the lead, only to be reversed by a two-run home run in the next inning, which was given up by me.

In the 8th inning, with a one-point lead of 3 to 2, I struck out three batters (right fielder flyout, catcher flyout) with just 7 pitches and left the mound.

After that, Senior Lee Hyo-jae got a hit, but the inning ended with a double play, and the game remained a win for our Wonha… the end.

As we passed the halfway point of the season, stories about the team rankings started to appear. Among them, the story I was least interested in was ironically the one about the leading team.

As always, the Sangsoo Tigers are winning so overwhelmingly… the topic that should be the most interesting is the most predictable, so it’s the least engaging.

Instead, everyone is watching the fight for 4th place closely. Our Wonha, who finished 6th last season, was 5th last month, and jumped to 5th place after winning against the Gaya Perfectors.

And now, about a month later, the difference in wins with the Visco Runners, who are currently 4th in the league, is just 2 games. And the team we’re facing tomorrow is the Visco Runners. If we sweep the series, our team ranking will be reversed immediately, and our chances of advancing to the post-season will increase significantly.

“…Oh oh.”

Even just thinking about it made me exclaim. While imagining advancing to the post-season by the skin of our teeth, winning the semi-playoffs and playoffs, advancing to the Korean Series, striking out Park Hae-jin, ending the game, and confirming the championship, I fell asleep without realizing it.