Perfect Agent [EN]: Chapter 121

Desperate Reach (2)

Desperate Reach (2)

Just one day before Michael Scott was set to make his impressive debut,

Seo Seong-min visited the OB-GYN with his wife.

“It’s been six weeks. Congratulations, you’re pregnant.”

“Really?”

Seo Seong-min held his wife’s hand, a smile spreading across his face.

“We can’t know the gender yet, right?”

“Not at this stage. We’ll be able to tell around 20 weeks.”

“Ah, I see. This is all new to me.”

Seo Seong-min smiled awkwardly, his lips stubbornly turned upward.

A moment later, Seo Seong-min left the OB-GYN with his wife.

“By the way, what should we name the baby?”

“Are you already thinking about names?”

“The day we meet our little one will be here before we know it.”

“It’s only been six weeks.”

As his wife, who was focused on him, almost tripped on a raised piece of sidewalk, Seo Seong-min quickly reached out to steady her.

“Oh, careful! It would be a disaster if you fell.”

“It’s not that bad yet.”

“Yes, it is. You have to be careful, no matter what.”

Seo Seong-min adjusted his stance protectively, as if supporting an ailing person.

“I’m going to have to work even harder at baseball from now on. I need to get back up to the first team and play well so I can earn a lot of money and buy our family nice things.”

Seo Seong-min said, holding his wife close to prevent her from falling.

“You’re already doing great. You’re plenty cool enough.”

“My instincts have been sharp lately, so I think good news is coming.”

“Now that I think about it, isn’t it time for you to go to practice?”

“It is. But today is individual training, so the schedule is flexible.”

“Go to practice. Even if it’s individual training, you shouldn’t be late.”

“I’ll take you home first. What if something happens on the way?”

His wife couldn’t help but smile at Seo Seong-min’s enthusiasm.

* * *

Seo Seong-min arrived at the Doubles’ minor league stadium with a spring in his step.

There was no game today, so he planned to focus on weight training.

He changed into his workout clothes and was about to leave the locker room when a younger player hurried over to him.

“Seong-min, the general manager was looking for you. He wants you to go to the conference room now.”

“The general manager was looking for me?”

It wasn’t common for the general manager to meet with a player individually.

Moreover, it was even stranger for him to come all the way to the minor league stadium.

“Yes, he said to come as soon as you arrive.”

“Do you know what he wants?”

“I’m not sure, but… it sounded like he was going to meet with a few players and talk to them.”

“Is that so?”

Could it be that I’m being traded to another team?

If I suddenly have to move to a distant city, my wife would be shocked.

If I’m going to be traded, it might be better to do it quickly, before the baby is born.

Seo Seong-min quickened his pace.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Seo Seong-min carefully knocked and opened the door.

Kim Gyu-sang, the general manager of the Doubles, was looking at his laptop with a serious expression.

“General Manager, you were looking for me?”

“Oh, Seong-min. Come in and sit down.”

Kim Gyu-sang forced a smile and gestured for Seo Seong-min to sit.

As Seo Seong-min sat down, Kim Gyu-sang began the conversation.

“How are you doing these days? Is training going well?”

“Yes, I’m working hard.”

“You’re working hard…”

“I have to work hard.”

He could sense that this wasn’t the real reason for the meeting.

“Seong-min, I’ll get straight to the point.”

“…”

Seo Seong-min swallowed hard, feeling a sense of unease.

Kim Gyu-sang took a deep breath and carefully began.

“It looks like it will be difficult to renew your contract at the end of this season.”

“Yes…?”

“You’ve been a professional for a long time, so you know that we need to organize the roster to sign new players next year. As a team, we had to make a difficult decision. I’m sorry, Seong-min.”

“Ah…”

His mind went blank, and he couldn’t think of anything.

“I’m telling you now so you can make plans in advance. Your salary for this season will be paid without any problems, so don’t worry. I’ll also make sure you have no problems using the training facilities until then, so feel free to use them.”

That wasn’t what was important right now.

“This is too sudden… I wasn’t expecting this at all.”

“If there are any other teams that need you, I’ll let them know before the press release goes out.”

Kim Gyu-sang’s consideration was appreciated, but…

Why do I have to be released?

“I’m showing more stability in defense, and my hitting is getting a little better. Does the team think I can’t play any role at all?”

“Of course, it’s clear that a player like you, Seong-min, is a great help to the team.”

Seo Seong-min was one of the few players who could play both infield and outfield positions.

He was confident that he could perform above average in any position he was placed in.

To survive in the professional world, he had worked incredibly hard on defensive training, far more than others.

Kim Gyu-sang, who couldn’t possibly be unaware of his efforts, had to say what he had to say.

“But…”

He hesitated, looking at Seo Seong-min, and then continued with difficulty.

“To be honest, you can’t say you’re young anymore.”

“…”

Seo Seong-min was already 34 years old.

He was at an age where it was embarrassing to be called a promising player.

“You’re playing a role as a utility player in defense, but the coaching staff has determined that it will be difficult to compensate for your weaknesses in hitting. And there was also the opinion that we should make a decision as soon as possible to open up a path for younger players.”

“Is it… difficult to give me one last chance to show you what I can do?”

“I’m sorry. The final decision has already been made, so… I don’t think it’s possible anymore.”

“…”

“Seong-min, keep training hard. There will be teams that need your skills, so don’t be impatient and wait. It will be okay.”

“Yes… Thank you.”

Seo Seong-min bowed to Kim Gyu-sang and left.

He trudged back to the locker room and sat blankly in his seat.

He sat there for a long time before finally starting to pack his things.

Even though he was still officially a player on the team and had no problems using the training facilities, he felt an invisible wall between him and the other players.

Quietly slinging his bag over his shoulder, Seo Seong-min slipped out of the locker room when no one else was there.

Where should I go now?

* * *

It wasn’t yet sunset, so the street stall wasn’t crowded.

Seo Seong-min went into the street stall and looked around.

A friend saw Seo Seong-min and waved.

Seo Seong-min approached the table where his friend was sitting and slumped down weakly.

The friend quietly poured soju [Korean distilled rice liquor] into a glass.

The two clinked glasses and drank without saying a word.

The friend immediately refilled Seo Seong-min’s glass and carefully asked, “Are you okay?”

“Honestly, I can’t believe it.”

“I can imagine. How can you adjust to that right away?”

“When the general manager called me, I thought I was going to be traded. I never expected to be released.”

Even thinking about it again, it was a shocking announcement.

“You haven’t been called up to the first team this year, have you?”

“Not yet, but I thought it was likely when the roster expands in September.”

Even if he wasn’t called up during the season, he had always been called up to the first team when defensive reinforcements were needed in the second half.

“Did you tell your wife?”

“Not yet. I don’t even know how to tell her this.”

“Ha… I was going to talk to my wife, but I couldn’t bring myself to say it.”

The friend shook his head, as if remembering his own unpleasant past.

Seo Seong-min added with difficulty, “We’re having a baby. Six weeks.”

“What? Really?”

Seo Seong-min nodded slightly with a bitter smile at his friend, who widened his eyes.

“That’s really good news, so I should congratulate you, but… why is the timing like this?”

“Tell me about it.”

Seo Seong-min clinked glasses with his friend.

“So, what are you going to do now?”

“I don’t know… I’ve never thought about doing anything other than baseball.”

Seo Seong-min sighed deeply and emptied his glass.

“Why don’t you go into business with me? If you learn for a few years at my place, you can go out and start your own business.”

“Business…?”

“Business is good, man. If you do well, you can earn more than the salary of an average player.”

I have to do something for the child who will be born soon.

“It’s not about the money, it’s because I still have lingering feelings about baseball.”

“…”

When the topic of baseball came up, the friend listened silently.

“I also have regrets that I can’t do more. I’ve lived my whole life watching only baseball, and it’s frustrating that my career is ending so futilely.”

When he was drafted into the pros, he was considered a promising player.

So, he naturally thought that he would become a star player in a few years.

Although he had gotten not only singles but also home runs in the first team, he wasn’t the player he had expected to be.

“Then, why don’t you go see Hyun-woo?”

“Hyun-woo? Are you talking about Kang Hyun-woo of the Jaguars?”

Seo Seong-min knew him because he was a player who had suffered a major injury during a game.

He had run into him a few times, but they had never met and talked directly.

“Hyun-woo started an agency recently. Go check it out.”

At his friend’s words, Seo Seong-min laughed in disbelief.

“Hey, what agency would take a player who was just released from the pros? You have to have at least one foot in the first team to be accepted. What agency would accept a player like me?”

Seo Seong-min took a sip of soju with a bitter expression.

“No. I saw an interview a while ago, and he said he wanted to help guys like you, didn’t he?”

“What are you talking about? Look at the players who belong to that agency. I think Ji-hoon and Jeong-hwan are there. They’re both first-team players.”

They’re not just first-team players, they’re ace players.

“Subscribe to the channel and watch it later. Would I be lying to you in this situation?”

At his friend’s confident words, Seo Seong-min’s expression wavered slightly.

After finishing his drinks with his friend, Seo Seong-min trudged to a bench and sat alone.

“Hoo…”

I have to go home, but I don’t have the courage to go in.

“What channel did he say it was?”

Suddenly remembering what he had heard earlier, he took out his smartphone.

Then, he went to the channel run by Kang Hyun-woo and started watching the videos one by one.

From videos containing basic information such as warm-up methods to prevent injuries, how to choose a bat that suits you, and how to grip a bat, to detailed training methods that professional players do before a game.

It was content that would be very helpful to amateur players.

-I saw an interview a while ago, and he said he would help guys like you, didn’t he?

Would Kang Hyun-woo really accept a player like me?

What if I just get embarrassed as an old, released player?

Oh, I don’t know.

Is this the time for me to be worrying about this?

I don’t have anything else to lose anymore.

Let’s just go and meet him instead of worrying.

Perfect Agent [EN]

Perfect Agent [EN]

퍼펙트 에이전트
Status: Completed Author: Native Language: Korean
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[English Translation] From the ashes of a shattered baseball dream, a new legend rises! Kang Hyun-woo, once a promising player, is sidelined by a career-ending trauma. But fate has a twist in store. An extraordinary ability is awakened within him, granting him a second chance in a world he thought he'd left behind. Witness the birth of the Perfect Agent, as Kang Hyun-woo navigates the cutthroat world of sports, proving that even in defeat, victory can be found in the most unexpected places. Get ready for a thrilling journey of resilience, strategy, and the unwavering pursuit of greatness!

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