Peaceful Bullpen Life [EN]: Chapter 93

“Ugh….”

The morning after my victory against Sang-soo, I woke up an hour earlier than usual and sat in my chair.

Ignoring the chair’s creaking protests, I crossed my legs and rested my chin on my hand.

“…Stats.”

Ding-!

Control – Top Tier

Power – High

Stamina – Mid

Four-seam Fastball – 71

Curveball – 61

Slider – 55

Splitter – 55

Changeup – 57

Sinker – 57

Traits

Detachment – Accepts any batted ball or situation with equanimity.

Discomfort – Makes opposing batters feel uneasy when they see the pitcher on the mound.

Comfort – Those who watch me feel at ease.

Random Trait Acquisition! Unlocking this will randomly grant one trait.

Comfort, the most recently acquired trait. To be blunt, the Comfort trait itself isn’t a huge deal for me.

It doesn’t directly buff me. But it seems to have a significant impact on my teammates.

The batter’s trapezius muscles, tight with tension, relax.

The pitcher, whose stride was excessive due to nervousness, regains control.

Like Detachment and Discomfort, it’s subtle, but if accumulated, it will surely return as a significant reaction.

“…Ah.”

I remembered when I got the Comfort trait. If you put your finger on the flashing text in the stat window, you get a new trait with a ‘ta-da!’

Mental preparation.

“Heh heh, haha, huh huh.”

I don’t know how many times I caught my breath. Carefully, very carefully, my fleshy index finger approached the text.

– Ding!

– Random Trait Acquisition!

– Trait – Focus – Increases the number of targets you can focus on.

“…Huh?”

The number of targets I can focus on. Who do I need to focus on?

First, there’s the batter. And then….

“…Is there?”

It’s vague. Too vague.

“Focus…focus….”

My rather long hair fell to the right.

Was I lacking in focus? No, I was pretty good at it.

The crown of my head, which had been pointing to the upper right, moved to the opposite side.

“I’ll have to use it to find out.”

* * *

One win and one loss, like two wins and one loss.

If you set the point of this nonsensical description from Wednesday instead of Tuesday, the plausibility was sufficient.

Shouldn’t I be satisfied with reducing the 2-game difference to a 1-game difference? A person should know how to be satisfied.

The only unsatisfactory thing is….

“Focus…focus….”

“What are you mumbling about?”

Not being able to pitch for two games.

Jun-hyuk’s shutout and Tae-woong’s screw-up resulted in two days of rest.

Gestalt collapse [a psychological phenomenon where the mind groups similar elements together].

I kept repeating the word ‘focus,’ and it felt like I was going crazy.

“Focus. Focus is needed.”

“Is he crazy?”

As I blankly repeated a single word, Gyu-jin hyung [older brother/friend] came and sat next to me.

“Hyung. What is focus?”

“What nonsense are you suddenly spouting?”

“I’m serious right now.”

“Focus is focus. Go ask Dong-gyun to explain it to you.”

“Ah…right.”

A college graduate in his third year, Dong-gyun was the pitcher with the highest score in the 5th starter audition.

Dong-gyun was today’s starting pitcher.

“Ugh!”

A kid whose shouts burst out uncontrollably every time he threw.

“…Ugh!”

Bang!

Still, he throws with a refreshing energy.

I plopped down on a chair in a corner of the bullpen, shaking my legs.

Bang!

“Nice ball!”

I took a moment to appreciate the sounds of the bullpen.

The sound of the ball exploding in the catcher’s mitt.

The catcher’s loud screams.

The sound of the pitcher’s right foot dragging on the ground as he throws the ball.

To me, it’s all like a classic album.

Good.

“How many now?”

“This is…19.”

“Last one.”

“Yes, last one, fastball!”

“Nice fastball!”

Bang!

“Thank you for your hard work!”

Greetings to the partner who helped with the album production,

To the producer who faithfully guided me,

And to the audience who listened to my performance.

Dong-gyun, smiling with relief, picked up a nearby towel. He took off his hat and sat carefully a little away from me.

Why doesn’t he just sit next to me?

“…Dong-gyun.”

“Yes, sunbaenim [senior/mentor].”

Well, I have to go then.

“Do you know what focus is?”

“Ah…I’m sorry.”

“No, why are you sorry?”

“I’m sorry, I’ll focus.”

No.

“No, I’m not criticizing you. I’m just asking. Just.”

“Focus…you mean?”

“Not the dictionary definition. What do you think focus is?”

“Focus….”

Let’s pass on the Gestalt collapse.

Dong-gyun, also fixated on focus, kept muttering focus, focus, focus.

“Isn’t it…being engrossed?”

“Engrossed. Engrossed is good.”

“Just not seeing anything other than what you’re doing.”

“Is that a good thing?”

“Isn’t it a good thing? There are many people who can’t even do what they’re supposed to do.”

“So, are you focusing properly?”

“I’m sorry, I’ll focus.”

Ah, please.

Leaving Dong-gyun, who was making me look like a weirdo, alone for a moment,

Bang-!

Bang-!

I left the bullpen. As soon as I let go of the door handle, I saw batted balls flying coolly to the right-center and left-center fields.

The batter, seemingly pleased with the refreshing result, smiled with relief as he stepped out of the batting cage and greeted me.

“Hehet, hyungnim [term of endearment for an older brother or male friend]. Would you like to see my copied obliques?”

“…….”

Myeong-jin, who reappeared after a full 10 days. He starts spouting nonsense from our first meeting.

“No…it’s okay. I don’t need to see that.”

“That’s too bad.”

He seemed to be in pretty good condition, which relieved me a lot.

“So, yeah. Is your body okay?”

“Yep. There are no problems with batting, fielding, or running.”

“You’ve worked hard…yeah….”

“If you need obliques, just let me know. I’ll copy them again anytime.”

Obliques copied for you!

Myeong-jin, please.

He doesn’t stop talking crazy until he returns to the dugout.

After all the pre-game training was completed and the miscellaneous rituals were performed, the top of the 1st inning began.

Bang!

Myeong-jin made a strong impression from his first appearance in the first team in a long time.

The batted balls had been sharp since practice batting, and he rolled the ball far into right-center field, stepping on third base with a bright smile.

The scene that followed was a common sight when Won-ha’s batting line exploded.

Seong-hyun stole a double, Gi-seong walked, Jin-hyung singled, and then Seung-ju,

Bang-!

“It’s gone! It’s gone!”

“It’s goooooone!!”

A clutch home run.

No red light? Then keep running!

The batting line, which had scored 5 points right from the start, continued to run. Running and running and running again.

7 points.

The batting line, which exploded from the start, gave us a big lead.

Won-ha’s starting pitcher, carrying the burden of good fortune on his shoulders, also showed a good performance.

Bang—

A ground ball to shortstop.

Tick!

A ground ball to shortstop.

“Strike three, out!”

Dong-gyun, who finished the bottom of the 1st inning with 8 pitches, ran into the dugout as if he wanted to go to the bathroom.

The top of the 2nd, the bottom of the 2nd, the top of the 3rd, the bottom of the 3rd, and so on. Most of the flows were similar.

When our batting line explodes, our pitcher gets a break.

The score difference, which had widened to 14 points, eventually led to the unexpected appearance of Visco’s iron wall bullpen.

The strongest bullpen in the league, Visco.

In a way, it’s a paradoxical part of Visco, where each of the must-win pitchers is top-notch in the league.

When we’re getting crushed, the must-win pitchers have to come out and pitch.

This is a very big part. If we nibble away like this, we can easily gain an advantage in tomorrow’s game and the day after tomorrow’s game.

Hey, I want to pitch too.

In the end, I couldn’t pitch today either, and the day ended with an overwhelming score of 17 to 3.

The next day, it was Hyuk-joon’s starting pitching day.

Hyuk-joon shut out the opponent for 7 innings and then pitched in the 8th inning as well.

When I was told to warm up, I thought I was just going to do some catch today…

“Han-wool, let’s go now.”

“Ah, yes.”

A sudden order to deploy was issued.

A double to the first batter, and a walk, including a wild pitch, against the next batter.

I stepped onto the mound, passing Kim Wook, who was standing on 3rd base.

It’s been four days since I last pitched. Maybe it’s because I’m a bullpen pitcher, but the three days in between felt very long.

“Hoo!”

Thanks to that, my fatigue is also zero. All that’s left is to throw with full energy.

Ding-!

[Focused Appearance]

– Finish the inning without allowing any inherited runners to score. (0/1)

– Reward – Changeup +1

Ignoring the text floating above the catcher’s head, I checked how his fingers were wiggling below.

The index finger, middle finger, and ring finger.

I nodded and slightly checked the condition of Bae Deok-hyun, who had entered the left-handed batter’s box.

He was watching me quietly with his bat on his shoulder.

This time, I turned my head slightly to check the runner at the tying run position.

Lee Jung-eun, a pinch runner with a slender figure, was glaring at me instead of the chubby Bang Eun-min.

Bang!

“Ball-.”

The sinker I threw with the hope that a double play would come out didn’t get the call.

Was it slightly off, or too low?

Seeing Gyu-hak’s mouth moving, it seemed he was talking to the umpire about the same issue.

I felt disappointed, but I quickly shook it off and rubbed the ball vigorously with my rosin-covered hand.

When the slippery part of the ball disappeared, I checked the signs with peace of mind.

Instead of the fingers moving, the entire right hand touches his right groin.

A pickoff sign.

I nodded and went into the set position. I quickly turned my body at one, two, three.

Whack-!

“Safe!”

I didn’t really intend to catch him, so I immediately flicked my glove at Gi-seong.

The subsequent sign was, in a way, a pretty bold request. A changeup in this situation.

That means he’s confident enough.

I nodded, calculating that Gyu-hak’s shoulder would be good enough.

The hands that had checked the situation at first base came together.

Slowly, slowly, slowly…….

After the same amount of time as before the pickoff attempt, I felt the movement of the runner on first base, even though I couldn’t see it.

The strange sensation was so awkward that I just took my foot off the rubber.

Woo-woo-woo-!

Ignoring the home fans’ jeers to get hit quickly, I began to unravel the identity of this sensation.

“Focus?”

The head that remembered the existence of the trait quickly turned 180 degrees. If only the head turns, it would be a big problem, so the torso turned as well.

I saw Lee Jung-eun, who was re-fastening his running gloves while stepping on first base.

“Ah.”

I get it. I get it now.

“Play!”

I roughly understand what it means to increase the number of targets you can focus on. No, I understand it well.

Once I caught the feeling, I nodded my head involuntarily.

“Okay, okay.”

I checked the signs again. The changeup sign remained the same.

But the grip going into the glove was the same as the fastball grip. It didn’t change even after going in.

You’re very eager to run. If you get picked off at the right time, you’ll be in big trouble.

Slowly…slowly…slowly…….

I felt Lee Jung-eun moving away from the base little by little. Just a little more, just one more step, I repeated in my mind, and then,

“Ugh!”

I threw a pickoff. I threw it so hard that a shout was mixed in, just like when pitching.

Whack—

The effort of throwing so hard was definitely worth it. The first base umpire made a fist at Gi-seong, who showed his glove after the tag.

“Out!”

Woo-woo-woo-!!

The pinch runner, not very dissatisfied with the ruling, got up without regret and ran straight away.

I clapped my glove and ball together and received the ball that came back to me.

With one annoying presence removed from behind, the batter looked even smaller.

Since the runner situation and the out count have changed, the catcher’s signs will naturally change as well.

Inside fastball.

The direction that had been trying to coax him gently was twisted into a bold direction in an instant.

Despite having a runner on 3rd base, I pulled my left foot back and began the windup.

It’s okay.

Even so, I could feel how the runner on 3rd base was moving. The fear of not being able to see disappeared,

“Kkeueuk!”

I was able to throw a strong ball with peace of mind.

A fastball that landed properly inside. He must have decided to swing, because the bat came out right away.

Bang-!

Still, as a cleanup hitter, he manages to make something similar to a solid hit…but…….

…Huh?

The background is slowly fading out of my vision. Instead, a white baseball fills the space.

Line drive.

Whack!

“Ugh, shit!”

Without even having time to savor the pain in my left palm, I immediately took out the ball and threw it with all my might towards 3rd base without even looking properly.

The throw, which should have been inaccurate due to the lack of vision, was corrected by the trait,

Thud-!

“Out!”

It accurately hit the right hand of the runner who had hesitated. Since hitting it directly would hurt, a layer of the glove served as a pad.

Ding-!

[Focused Appearance]

– Finish the inning without allowing any inherited runners to score. (1/1)

– Reward – Changeup +1

Control – Top Tier

Power – High

Stamina – Mid

Four-seam Fastball – 71

Curveball – 62

Slider – 56

Splitter – 56

Changeup – 58

Sinker – 58

Traits

Detachment – Accepts any batted ball or situation with equanimity.

Discomfort – Makes opposing batters feel uneasy when they see the pitcher on the mound.

Comfort – Those who watch me feel at ease.

Focus – Increases the number of targets you can focus on.

“Yo, Han-wool’s nice play!”

“Hyung, you’re doing it all by yourself!”

As I entered the dugout, the infielders and catcher were saying something, but I couldn’t hear them properly because of the pain in my left palm, which I was only now realizing.

“Is your hand okay?”

“Ah…it hurts….”

The coach, scratching his head, hesitated for a moment before ordering me to leave early. But that wasn’t just leaving early,

“…Ah.”

It was just a trip to the hospital.