Peaceful Bullpen Life [EN]: Chapter 25

Clack, clack—

“Alright everyone, look this way!”

Clack, clack—

“This time, let’s try a fighting pose! Ah, perfect!”

Clack, clack—

“Could we get a provocative pose, just one time!”

Clack, clack—

October 5th, evening. Somewhere in Busan, it was media day, held on the eve of the semi-playoffs.

KP Stars, who finished the regular season in 3rd place, versus the Wonha Challengers in 4th.

Representing KP Stars were Coach Kim Seok-ho, team captain Kim Seong-soo, and Lim Jae-hyuk, their expected ace starter.

Facing them, our Wonha Challengers had Coach Lee Han-joo, team captain Lee Seong-hoon, and… me.

Me?

Yeah, me.

I, who was a benchwarmer pitcher until last year, not only started this year as the team’s secondary setup man, but got promoted to primary setup, and even surpassed Hyuk-joon, Gyoo-jin hyung [older brother/friend], and Lee Hyo-jae sunbae [senior colleague/mentor] to become the pitcher representing the team.

I’m deeply moved. No, what word can even capture my current feelings?

In reality, media day isn’t all that special.

You talk about your impressions of the season and your determination for the upcoming series, and the time flies by surprisingly fast. Add in some wit from the coaches and players, a few interviews with reporters, and two hours vanish.

“First of all, I want to commend Kim Han-wool. All of our team members worked hard this season, but I think Han-wool here worked the hardest. If Han-wool was the same as last year, wouldn’t our team be the same as last year too?”

That was our coach, Lee Han-joo’s overall review of the season.

Ah… I don’t know what to do with myself…….

Compared to the opposing coach’s rather lengthy interview about their defense and batting, it was quite short and made me keep bowing my head in embarrassment.

“Wouldn’t the key be the starting lineup? Lee Hyo-jae will inevitably be physically burdened, so Han-wool has to take on some of Hyo-jae’s role, but he’s also human, so he gets tired. I think the burden on the bullpen will be less if the starters can go deep into the games.”

“I think it’s Han-wool too. From a defensive standpoint, it’s very comforting to have Han-wool. Despite what the coach said, I hope Han-wool keeps pitching well.”

When asked to pick a key player, the coach pointed to the starting lineup, but the implication was ultimately about me, and Seong-hoon sunbae pointed directly at me.

I didn’t expect even Seong-hoon sunbae to say such a thing, so my eyes widened. As I glanced to my left, the host called my name.

“Then, following the words of the two of you, what does Kim Han-wool himself think?”

“Uh…….”

I couldn’t hide my slight embarrassment and picked up the microphone.

“Yes. I don’t think our team is one where we can single out a key player. I think Wonha’s strengths shine when all the players mesh together perfectly. But I also have to survive in this world, so I’ll just say it’s me.”

Hahaha—!

Ah, I think I handled that pretty well.

It seemed to be a funny remark, as not only the reporters but also the three members of the opposing team laughed.

“Of course, it’s Kim Han-wool. Actually, our team didn’t score a single point against Kim Han-wool this year. If our team wants to win, wouldn’t it be easier if we get the starters out quickly and tire out Kim Han-wool a bit? Hey, Coach Lee Han-joo knows that too.”

“Me too, Kim Han-wool. This year… how many times did we meet? I think we met about four times, and it was all routine outs. I’m really grinding my teeth.”

These were the words of opposing coach Kim Seok-ho and Kim Seong-soo, the team’s fourth hitter and captain. It was their answer to the question of which player on the opposing team they were most wary of.

Lim Jae-hyuk, who was scheduled to be the team’s number one starter, chose Gyu-hak, who had a pretty good sense of hitting in the second half, leading to a somewhat unexpected reaction.

Afterwards, we briefly watched a teaser video about the semi-playoffs, about 2 minutes long, produced by the KBO [Korean Baseball Organization].

With majestic background music playing, cool scenes from each club were interspersed, uplifting not only the players but also the reporters and viewers watching the media day.

I was surprised that my part in the Wonha video was bigger than I thought.

After that, quite informative interviews followed, such as stories about each team’s coach’s first game starters, what they wanted to say to the opposing team’s players, and advice they could give to them. And finally,

“Then, what is your prediction for this semi-playoff score?”

Um…….

“Of course, we will win 3 to 0.”

It’s quite a sensitive question.

“I also think we will win 3 to 0.”

No, is it only a sensitive question for me?

“I think we will win about 3 to 1.”

The three people representing the opposing team all predicted their own team’s victory. Not even going to 3 to 2, an evaluation that they would overwhelm the other team, no matter who looked at it.

This was a very natural thing to say in this kind of setting, an expression of confidence in oneself and one’s team.

“I’m expecting to win about 3 to 2.”

In contrast, our coach predicted our precarious victory. Next, Seong-hoon sunbae,

“I will win 3 to 0.”

He made an unreasonable move. Soon it was my turn.

“Well, both teams have great confidence, what do you think, Kim Han-wool?”

To be honest, I think KP will win. 3 to 1.

As I awkwardly smiled and scratched my head at the difficult question, the atmosphere became strange.

“Can I be honest?”

“Yes, yes. Of course, you can.”

Seong-hoon sunbae seemed to have expected me to say something nonsensical and pinched his forehead.

“The coach said 3 to 2, and Lee Seong-hoon sunbae said 3 to 0, so I’ll pick 3 to 1.”

I didn’t specify who would get the 3.

“Well, a ‘pick’ statement has come out!”

“But more than what the score will be, I have something I want to say.”

“Yes, yes. What is it?”

“Even if our team loses in the semi-playoffs, even so, next year will be different, and the year after that will be different again. This series is not that important. In three years, we will win the Korean Series [championship series]. I’m looking that far.”

Clack, clack—

At the sudden reaction, the sound of reporters pressing their shutters exploded.

Seong-hoon sunbae knows my personality well, so he expected that I would say something strange, even if he didn’t know what I would say, and he was still pinching his forehead as before, and our coach was looking at me with wide eyes as if he was hearing it for the first time.

“Oh, in a way, this is an even more amazing provocation.”

“Wouldn’t it be too long if we added explanations while presenting various stats?”

“It’s okay. The reporters here probably want the story to end like this.”

Oh, he has a good sense.

At the words of the host, who also works as a caster for a broadcasting station, some reporters visibly flinched.

Thanks to this, the somewhat noisy atmosphere calmed down, the schedule in the script was over, and short personal interviews with the attendees continued.

I got two questions before the sixth reporter raised his hand at the caster’s announcement that he would only take 10 minutes.

“Is there a reason why your performance has suddenly improved this season, unlike last season? If possible, I would like to hear the secret as well.”

“As you all know, my stats were very… unimpressive until last year. That’s why I didn’t apply for FA [Free Agent]… but the club actually raised my salary even more and trusted me.”

Suddenly, I remembered the conversation I had with Young-jin over coffee.

“So let’s do it for one more year. If it doesn’t work out after one year, there’s really no choice but to retire. So I worked hard and fortunately, I got good results. The secret is that I got a lot of help from Hyuk-joon.”

“You said earlier that this season is not important, and that a few years later is important. I would like to hear a further explanation.”

“I think the strength and weakness of our team is the age of the players. I’m only 29 years old, so I’m practically a senior member of the team. Wouldn’t it be a great experience to advance to the post season and play in even one game at that young age?”

Come to think of it, the two people who came out here are the oldest members.

“Because they are young, they will absorb everything quickly. The basics are solid in terms of defense, so I feel more relieved. The batting will explode someday. Just like I was buried in the team and exploded this year.”

They must have thought it was just an expression of confidence.

The reporters began to write down their thoughts on the rather serious lecture.

After the seventh and eighth reporters passed, I was nominated for the third time when the ninth reporter’s turn came.

“I know that Kim Han-wool can apply for FA rights again at the end of this season. Combining what you have said so far, is a contract of 3 years or more already agreed with Wonha?”

What…….

At the reporter’s inappropriate question, the reporters began to buzz, and Seong-hoon sunbae and our coach, as well as even the opposing team’s players, frowned at the rudeness.

If I left it like this, the atmosphere would get a bit rough, so I quickly grabbed the microphone before the commotion got bigger.

“No. I *want* to sign a contract. I want to stay in Wonha if possible. Everyone has seen my performance this season, so other teams will probably be very interested in me. In that sense, Lord… no, owner, please take good care of me.”

I got up slightly from my seat and even bowed my head, and the tense atmosphere relaxed.

Ah, I had a great sense of timing.

The atmosphere of ‘haha’ was created again among the reporters at the gag, and the coach took the microphone and finished the question with the wit, ‘Reporter who asked the question just now, it’s thanks to the reporter if Han-wool stays in Wonha’.

After that, the remaining one question was for all the players who were there, asking them to talk about the variables they were thinking about.

The opposing coach talked about his team’s batting slump, and the opposing captain and first starter talked about our team’s batting.

Our coach instead pointed out the slump of his pitchers, and our captain picked out the improvement of the opposing pitchers, and when my turn came, I answered that it was me collapsing. Because that one word can imply quite a lot.

After that, the media day ended with the host’s closing remarks, and the reporters were busy taking pictures of the two coaches shaking hands.

The media day is over. The current time is around 8:50 PM.

Let’s go to the dorm, eat, and sleep. Let’s go to bed early, wake up early, and prepare for tomorrow. I don’t know if I’ll be playing tomorrow, but let’s do what we can. With that in mind, I left the venue.

However, my heart, participating in the post season for the first time in 10 years of my professional debut, did not let me sleep easily. Various delusions and imaginations continued to dominate my mind.

‘What if we win? What if we win the Korean Series?’

I kept going on with delusions that would end up being a happy circuit even if I thought about it, and only after seeing my roommate Lee Hyo-jae sunbae tossing and turning did the delusions barely disappear from my head.