Peaceful Bullpen Life [EN]: Chapter 95

95. Me Too

Fluttering and comfort.

Like a warm iced Americano—two words that shouldn’t coexist, yet clearly could sit together.

“Please eat slowly.”

“Hee! Euhung….”

The meat she hastily grabbed was hotter than expected, and her eyes welled up with tears. She looked so cute that I couldn’t help but laugh, even though I knew it was rude.

“Ugh… don’t laugh.”

“Didn’t you say you already ate?”

“Yes? Ah, yes! I ate….”

“What did you have for lunch?”

“Uh… I think I ate pizza….”

‘Think?’

I felt a sense of doubt, but decided to let it go.

“Hoo….”

“Are you okay?”

“Yes… my palate is a bit burnt, but I’ll be fine.”

Her smiling face is also very cute. However, instead of a big laugh like before, a warm smile appeared.

“You recently caught Park Hae-jin again, right? You’ve met him twice this year and struck him out both times, right?” (Park Hae-jin is likely a famous baseball player in the story’s context.)

“That’s right.”

“Wow… you used to give up home runs all the time.”

You didn’t have to point that out.

The pain in my chest was even more intense because there was no malice in her expression.

“Han-wool, you’re constantly growing.”

“Growing… I need to grow more.”

“More than now?”

“I have to keep going. This isn’t enough, no matter what.”

“Hmm….”

The chopsticks that were between her pink lips came out.

“What’s your dream, Han-wool?”

“Dream?”

“Yes.”

“Well… to win the team championship… and strike out Park Hae-jin….”

“No. Not baseball.”

“If not baseball… in life?”

“Not really….”

With my chin as the point of reference, I looked down and saw overly cooked pork belly. Lips that protruded as if trying to survive alone pushed the blackened meat aside.

“…I don’t think I’ve ever thought about it that deeply. Just living normally and… living well. Something like that.”

“Ah….”

I should have seriously contemplated it at least once.

“It’s actually difficult. That kind of thing. Living normally. Some people are too successful, and others struggle because they’re not good enough.”

“What do you think is the standard for ‘normal’?”

“Well….”

Um…….

“Having a job that earns enough to live on. Meeting a good person. Getting married well. Wouldn’t that be enough?”

I, who hates vague things, was spouting more vague words than any other statement.

“Then what about you, Min-young?”

“Yes? Me?”

She was startled, as if she hadn’t expected the question to be returned to her. Min-young answered while rummaging through the bowl of rice, which was still more than half full.

“I think… it’s similar.”

“Normally?”

“Maybe ‘normal’… is a bit far from it. Rather than living normally, I want to live well.”

“Living well, huh….”

“Not in terms of money.”

Living well, having a lot of financial freedom.

Were they not the same thing?

When I stared intently, my face a question mark, she showed me the answer key.

“To express it more directly, I want to live happily… I guess.”

“Happily. I want to live happily and well.”

“Yes.”

In the bowl of rice in front of me, about half of the white rice remained. It hadn’t decreased significantly.

“…Shall we go out if you’re done eating?”

“Ah, yes.”

Min-young, who was smiling awkwardly, got up from her seat. She opened the bag next to her and quickly took out her wallet.

“No, no, I’ll pay.”

“Eh! I’m the one who asked to eat together, so I should pay!”

“It’s okay, I’ll pay.”

“Boss, please calculate with this!”

“No, please do it with this.”

“I won’t come here again if you don’t do it with this!”

In the end, the white card was inserted into the reader. The brown card sadly returned to my wallet.

“Boss, how long can I park my car here?”

“Are you going somewhere?”

“I’m just going to walk around for a bit to digest.”

“Yeah, well. No one brings a car at this hour, so you can come back slowly.”

“Ah, yes, thank you!”

“What are you doing tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow… I should rest. I probably won’t do anything. Sleep in, play some games.”

“Hee….”

On Sunday night, the area near Konkuk University still had a large crowd.

Couples holding hands, laughing, and matching their steps.

A street vendor diligently grilling chicken skewers.

A person walking busily with earphones in their ears.

We walked around in between, trying to digest the pork belly we had just eaten.

Cold coffee in each of our right hands.

Four feet moving out of sync.

Two gazes looking at the same place.

“Min-young, you have work tomorrow, right?”

“Ah… don’t mention it. I already… ah….”

“How’s work life?”

“Can I swear?”

I wondered what it would be like if the beautiful Min-young swore.

“Yes.”

She probably didn’t expect me to choose the option of ‘yes’ so openly. Her expression changed unnaturally, like a game running on a low-quality graphics card.

“It’s hard. Ah, it’s hard. There’s a project I’m working on these days, and they keep pushing me from above. I really want to go straight home as soon as I leave the front door.”

“Oh dear….”

“Mondays are especially hard.”

“I guess so. Mondays are the hardest.”

“Not for that reason.”

“Then why?”

“There’s no Wonha game.”

Oh my.

“You really like baseball.”

“Of course.”

One corner of Min-young’s smiling face looked a little empty.

“…Shall we go?”

“Yes.”

We briefly stopped by an arcade to play a shooting game.

We also threw small basketballs into a small basketball hoop.

We went into a coin karaoke [a small, private karaoke room] and lightly sang two songs each.

We paused in front of a claw machine and invested 10,000 won [Korean currency, approximately $8 USD] to pull out a tiny doll.

11:40 PM on Sunday night.

With only 20 minutes left until the day that office workers hate the most, we arrived back at the place where we had parked the car.

I turned on the engine and tapped the navigation system to ask for directions to Min-young’s house. The estimated time of arrival was about 15 minutes.

Adding the time to get out of the crowd of people wandering around, it would probably take about 20 minutes.

“Thanks for the dinner.”

“Yes? Ah, yes….”

I glanced at Min-young, pretending to check the right side mirror. She looked out the window, flinched at my voice, and smiled awkwardly.

“I’ll pay next time.”

“Oh… you have to buy me something delicious?”

“Of course. Think about what you want to eat.”

“Anything you want to eat is fine with me.”

“Hmm….”

You’re passing on a difficult choice so casually.

Because the topic of the recently ended conversation was food, all kinds of food poured out in the car heading to Min-young’s house.

Menus we’ve eaten, menus we want to eat, menus we’ve heard are delicious.

“Then, should I ever pack a lunch… ah, no. Just come to my house sometime.”

“Oh my… am I worthy to go to Min-young’s house?”

“Worthy? If it’s you, Han-wool….”

…If it’s me?

“Ah, no. Or, should I take some time to go to… your house sometime, Han-wool?”

“Ah.”

No.

“Ah, um….”

“Can’t I?”

“No, it’s not that you can’t, but, um, wouldn’t you need some Wonha, I mean, some time?” (Wonha is likely a personal nickname or term of endearment.)

“…Are you secretly hiding someone?”

“That’s absolutely not it! Seriously… do you think I’m the kind of person who would do that?”

“Hmm….”

I continued to look ahead to avoid revealing my expression. Even without looking to the side, I could tell that Min-young’s eyes had narrowed.

…I need to clean up like crazy.

“I’ll believe you.”

“Th, thank you….”

Oh my…….

“…When is a good time?”

The words that had been exchanged were briefly cut off, and not long after, Min-young filed a claim.

“Yes?”

“To go to your house, Han-wool.”

“Ah, are you really coming?”

“Did you think I was just saying it? Hmm, I’m a little disappointed.”

“No… it’s not that. Seriously. I just thought I should clean up like crazy, yes… that’s why….”

“I do want to see your house sometime, Han-wool.”

“There’s nothing to see. It’s just a house where a single man lives.”

“Not just any single man!”

If not just any, then what kind of single man?

“Well….”

The word I was expecting came to mind, but I decided to save it for a little while, just a little while.

It won’t be long. It could be within a few days if it’s short, or within this year at the latest.

“It’s the house where my favorite player lives. I want to see how you live at home, how you exercise at home. How you decorated your house.”

Shortly after, you have reached your destination.

Near Min-young’s house, which we had almost arrived at. When the apartment came into view, Min-young compared me to a celebrity. Saying that she was curious about how her favorite celebrity lives, like that.

The moment I smiled at that was the same moment the car stopped slightly next to the entrance of the apartment.

Min-young was hesitating with her right hand on the door handle. I quietly waited without urging her.

“…Han-wool.”

“Yes.”

“…….”

Click―

Perhaps because of the force in her hand, the passenger seat door opened slightly due to the handle being pulled.

“How long have we known each other?”

“Uh… I think it’s been about 2 years….”

“It’s been quite a while.”

Thud-!

Perhaps annoyed by the humid summer air coming in crudely from her right, Min-young closed the door again.

It wasn’t difficult to infer the topic of the story that would follow from the short gap that arose there.

“Min-young.”

“Yes? Yes.”

“I think I know what you’re trying to say.”

“…….”

What words did she want to say from her raised eyebrows and slightly parted lips below?

“A person has to have some sense. If you don’t know after coming this far, you really have a problem somewhere.”

“…But why….”

Why.

I don’t really know the rest of the words. No, to be precise, it’s difficult to choose accurately because there are too many words that can come out.

“Well….”

I chose the one that seemed most likely and continued.

“I like you too, Min-young.”

“Th…!”

It was a confession that wouldn’t be sudden at all, but Min-young showed a very strong reaction. I looked straight into her shaking eyes and said.

“But I’m scared… or should I say, I wonder if someone like me can even date Min-young.”

“Why are you scared?”

“Min-young is… an amazing person. You have a good job and family, as people often say, you’re very pretty, and your personality is really good.”

“But you too, Han-wool…!”

“Ah, it’s not that I’m saying I’m bad. I’m not a person with low self-esteem, I know. I’m someone who makes a lot of money now, and my looks… I don’t think I’m ugly. My personality is….”

Honestly, I don’t really know about my personality.

“But what I’m trying to say isn’t whether a person is good or bad.”

“Then?”

“I am.”

Hoo…….

“I have fun when I’m with Min-young. It’s fun. The things that were hard are relieved just by hearing Min-young’s voice. You said it earlier, Min-young. Happily.”

“Happily….”

“Yes. I’m happy when I’m with Min-young. Then what about you, Min-young?”

“I…!”

“Before or after simply liking me… or it could be a problem after that. Are you happy when you’re with me?”

“…….”

Once the eyes fell down, they didn’t come up easily. All I could directly see were her delicate fingers fiddling.

“…Han-wool.”

“Yes.”

Whatever answer comes out, whatever question comes out. Let’s just assume that whatever words come out are okay.

“I want us to officially date.”

The brown eyes, which had struggled to find their altitude again, were painted with a deep color of certainty.

I didn’t particularly answer. I just smiled. Smiling happily, I was able to hold her hand for the first time in 2 years.