Peaceful Bullpen Life [EN]: Chapter 55

Top pitcher and top hitter. National team’s ace and cleanup hitter.

I thought they’d be somewhat close since they play in every international tournament, but seeing the awkwardness between them, I guess not.

“Hyun-jin, what are you doing here?”

“Ah… I came to see you, *sunbae* [senior/elder].”

“Why?”

“…I’m sorry.”

Ah, please. Please don’t bow 90 degrees.

“It’s not about being sorry, what’s going on? Aren’t you starting today?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Shouldn’t you be warming up?”

“Seeing you is more important than that.”

“…….”

Ah. Ah, please. Ah, please, Hyun-jin.

“And… Hae-jin… why are you here?”

“I was just talking with Lee Hyun-jin *sunbae* since he was here.”

“Ah… I see.”

Awkwardness.

The sight of three large men standing silently wasn’t exactly pleasant.

“…Hey.”

“Yes.”

“Yes, *sunbae*.”

“You know what’s behind your head? It’s the back of your head.”

Be more cheerful, ya!

“…….”

“…….”

“What’s on the side of your head is the side of your head.”

“…….”

“…….”

They were despising me. But soon,

“Hahahahahahaha!!”

Hyun-jin laughed so hard his locker was shaking. It was the moment Park Hae-jin added another target to his list of people to despise.

“Haha! That’s so funny, *sunbae*! Where do you get those jokes…….”

“Want to die?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Are you messing with me?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Do you think everything I say is funny?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Is ‘sorry’ enough?”

“No, it’s not.”

Myung-jin, how can you stand this…….

“…I’m sorry. My bad.”

“It’s okay. It happens.”

Still, don’t stop laughing right away.

“Is this what they call social life?”

“That’s right.”

You bastards.

“So, Hyun-jin, what’s up?”

Thanks to my noble sacrifice, the awkwardness had mostly dissipated.

“Ah, I wanted to ask you something. Is it okay?”

“What is it?”

“I’ve been practicing my curveball lately.”

This guy’s main weapons are a fastball in the low 150s km/h range and variations that break right and left.

His three-quarters changeup was a nightmare, especially for left-handed hitters, and his slider worked against both lefties and righties.

“Curveball?”

How much more does he want to add here?

“Yes. But it’s harder than I thought… so I came to you for help.”

“Uh…….”

Why me?

“Why? We have a coach who was famous for his curveball back in his playing days, even though he’s on another team. And you have coaches on your team too. There must be other guys in Dongseong who throw a good curveball.”

“Yes. I asked those people first, but none of their explanations were really helpful.”

“I’m not exactly a great curveball pitcher either, why me specifically?”

All my pitches are average. Based on professional pitchers, they’re just average.

I just get decent results thanks to a lot of different pitches and pinpoint control, but I don’t even have a signature pitch that screams ‘Kim Han-wool’ yet.

Curveball is no different. The speed is between 105km/h and 115km/h. The trajectory itself is quite large because the speed is slow.

It has a big break, but it’s not sharp.

“I heard about it from Hyuk-joon.”

“Why Hyuk-joon all of a sudden?”

“Doesn’t Hyuk-joon throw a curveball starting this year?”

“I think so?”

“Hyuk-joon’s curveball is getting pretty good reviews, and I heard about you in connection with that.”

“What kind of relationship do he and I have…….”

“I heard he got a lot of advice from you. Could you give me just one piece of advice?”

Should I tell this guy from the opposing team? If he gets stronger and becomes even stronger against us, wouldn’t that be a loss for us?

“It’s not like I can’t.”

So what.

“Let’s talk later. The game is about to start.”

“Yes. I thought it was right to tell you in advance, so I came to you first. I’ll make time later.”

“Okay, sure.”

Ah, please.

The guy bowed 90 degrees until the very end before disappearing from sight.

I’m glad there was no one around. If anyone had seen that, there would have been talk about *kkondae* [꼰대, an older person who is condescending or acts superior] or school violence.

It’s already noisy these days because of that.

“You seem close to Lee Hyun-jin *sunbae*.”

Ah, he was here.

“He was a junior at the same high school as me. I don’t know why he follows me like that.”

I smiled self-deprecatingly and headed back to the dugout.

“He must follow you because you’re someone worth following.”

“…….”

I stopped again at the heavy voice from behind. I stood still and looked at him, and Park Hae-jin also met my gaze.

“…Hey.”

“Yes.”

“What do you think of me?”

“Excuse me?”

No. It’s not a confession. Don’t freak out.

“No, just. The old days are the old days. I felt like I’d become a pitcher who’s making a name for himself in Korea. But being between Hyun-jin and you makes me feel like I’m nothing.”

Inferiority?

No, it was pure curiosity.

Hyun-jin and Park Hae-jin were overwhelming presences who didn’t even feel inferior.

Rather, they were figures several levels above, inspiring awe.

I didn’t expect an answer, so I turned around again.

After a step or two, I heard an answer I didn’t expect, or rather, quite wanted.

“I think you’re a good pitcher.”

“That’s enough. That’s all I need.”

I didn’t stop walking this time. Then I heard footsteps overlapping from behind.

“Let’s all have fun. And don’t get hurt.”

Director Kim Seok-ju encouraged the Eastern League All-Star team, completed by my and Park Hae-jin’s joining, with lines that weren’t much different from last year.

Don’t get hurt.

The most important and most absurd thing to say to a professional athlete. I wondered if I was the only one thinking too much, everyone else answered loudly, “Yes!”

“Where have you been?”

“Bathroom.”

“*Hyung* [older brother/male senior], aren’t you pitching today?”

“I don’t know. It’s not like it happens just because I want it to. What about you?”

“I’m a nobody.”

“Let’s just watch the game together, fellow nobodies.”

Seong-hyun, the only one of the three from Wonha Challengers selected as a starter, was going to bat second as always.

Song In-ho, batting first, headed to the plate. It was an All-Star game that no baseball fan could take their eyes off of.

Amid the endless cheers of the fans, Hyun-jin’s practice pitches, who was selected as the opposing starter, came to an end.

Song In-ho struck out cleanly with three pitches and returned, and Seong-hyun entered the batter’s box on the opposite side.

Seong-hyun and Hyun-jin.

Ah, that’s right.

“Come to think of it, you and Hyun-jin are the same age, right? You and Seong-hyun went to the same high school.”

“Yes, yes.”

That’s right. Now that I think about it.

They were freshmen when I was a senior. I don’t think I ever met Myung-jin or Seong-hyun when they were freshmen, probably because they hadn’t stood out yet.

“What were you guys like in high school?”

“What do you mean?”

“What else, playing baseball.”

“We were ordinary.”

“Were there any world-class or major leaguers in high school?”

“What do you expect from us commoners?”

Hmm.

“What about him?”

“Lee Hyun-jin?”

“Yeah. I don’t know much about what happened after I graduated.”

“Lee Hyun-jin is… a total jerk.”

“A total jerk…….”

For Myung-jin, who would say nonsense but rarely use curse words, that was a very strong expression.

“It’s not wrong.”

It was a teammate talking about a close junior, but I didn’t feel like denying it. Literally, it wasn’t wrong.

“No, he should at least show some sign of being sorry if he hits you. I couldn’t go to the Golden Lion flag tournament in my sophomore year because of him. I met him later in the pros and heard a word from him, but the timing was too late. When I think about how I almost didn’t make it to the pros because of him…….”

Over-immersion.

It’s great to be focused on the present moment, but it’s never good if it’s too much. No, the person doesn’t know, but the people around them get tired.

“But it’s been 10 years for me, so I’m trying to let it go now. The broken arm doesn’t hurt anymore. I safely made it to the pros and secured a spot. And I know it wasn’t on purpose. But…….”

Thwack―!!

Wow―!!

It’s going, it’s going!!

Whoa, it’s gone!!

“…Seong-hyun might be a little different.”

The sound of the ball shattering was heard.

Unlike the guy who lives with the word ‘pro’ engraved in his heart, he didn’t run towards first base.

He slowly took a few steps and then started running slowly after confirming the home run.

The bat he threw high fell to the ground after Seong-hyun took a few more steps.

“Did something happen between those guys? They seem to get along well.”

A baseball fanatic and a pro fanatic. Combined, they’re pro baseball fanatics.

At first glance, it seems like they’d be a good match.

“It’s similar to me. Seong-hyun also suffered a bit after being hit by Lee Hyun-jin’s pitch.”

“Where did you get hit? Arm?”

“Yes. Here. It was broken here.”

He pointed to his left upper arm and said.

“Where did he get hit?”

“The head.”

No wonder. Seong-hyun was strangely strong against Hyun-jin. He must have been filled with venom.

Hyun-jin has some control now, but when I remember him as a freshman, he was terrible.

A freshman throwing 145km/h from the start! Wow! I was happy, but I didn’t expect him to give up 11 walks in 3 innings.

Ah, is that why he respects me so much because of my control?

The guys born in ’91 and rookies in the ’10 season were so different from the start.

Before I knew it, Seong-hyun, who had rounded all the bases and entered home, was happy while being congratulated by his teammates.

He took a mascot doll from the Challengers mascot, went out of the dugout again, threw it nearby, and came back in.

“Are you happy?”

“You moronic bastard. Your ball is still trash.”

Woah. That’s pretty strong.

“Hey, play like that in the league.”

“I am.”

“…No, I mean do better.”

It was nonsense, but he nodded because he was in a good mood, and sat next to Myung-jin.

My high school classmates, who were in the same position as me and Woo-seok, were exchanging nonsense and playing among themselves.

Because Hong Seok-jin’s unique ball selection as the third batter took quite a long time, the nonsense between these two was also getting longer.

“Ah, commentator Kang Seong-hyun, the Eastern League scored the first point with Kang Seong-hyun’s solo home run. What do you think?”

“It was a perfect swing. Lee Myung-jin of Wonha should watch and learn. He needs to narrow the angle of his elbow.”

“Stop talking nonsense. Ah, was that a two-seamer just now? Hong Seok-jin strikes out without being able to do anything.”

“Ah, that’s a ba…….”

He wanted to say more, but he swallowed his words because he wasn’t a teammate and was quite a senior.

After Hong Seok-jin was dismissed with a strikeout, the battle between the top hitter and the top pitcher was set.

“Ah, as we speak! It’s the match between batter Park Hae-jin and pitcher Lee Hyun-jin.”

“I hope Park Hae-jin hits a home run.”

“Why do you think so?”

“Because I feel like it.”

“Ah, I see.”

The two people’s nonsense didn’t stop until Park Hae-jin was driven to a 1-2 count.

Even when he picked out one more ball, even when he cut the next ball with an awkward swing unlike Park Hae-jin,

Thwack―!!

“Ah, that’s a good hit! It’s going over!”

“Ah, that’s how you hit it! Lee Myung-jin needs to watch that swing and narrow the angle of his elbow!”

“Shut up, you X!”

Even until he pushed it over the right fence.

Unlike Seong-hyun, who volunteered to be a spectacle for the fans, Park Hae-jin quietly rounded the bases to the point where it felt a bit bland from the viewer’s perspective.

After arriving at the dugout, he received a tiger doll, threw it into the audience, and was talking to his teammate Hong Seok-jin.

Strikeout, home run, strikeout, home run, strikeout.

After the extremely contrasting top of the first inning ended, Hyun-jin went down and Park Dong-il of Sangsu Tigers took the mound.

Woo-seok is visible over there. As befitting the national team’s leadoff hitter, he’s the first to stick close to the plate and gauge the pitcher’s timing.

He must have felt my gaze, he’s looking at me. He’s pointing at me with his finger. Like, be careful today,

You take care of yourself.

I responded by running my thumb across my neck.