Perfect Agent [EN]: Chapter 149

149. Hidden Gem (1)

With the FA [Free Agency, referring to the period when a player can sign with any team] negotiations concluded, I finally had some breathing room.

The important tasks I needed to complete by the end of the year were mostly wrapped up.

Oh, right, there’s still the salary negotiation with the Pelicans and So Young-joon.

It shouldn’t be a big problem as long as it’s settled before spring training starts.

But to prepare for the next season without any worries, I needed to make a decision as soon as possible.

I should go and settle things with them directly soon.

Having finally put down the heavy burden of the FA contract, I indulged in the luxury of sleeping in for the first time in a while and didn’t leave my room until it was time for lunch.

I took the prepared food and sat down at the table.

“Senior, are you going out again today?”

Oh Seok-hoon asked, peeling a banana as he sat next to me.

“I’m going to watch some baseball.”

“Baseball at this time of year?”

“Today’s the day of the high school baseball championship game.”

“Ah, that’s right. But didn’t you graduate from Jinhan High School? I heard they made it to the finals this year.”

“Yeah, In-gyu is a coach there now, too.”

“I want to see Coach In-gyu, too.”

“You’ll get to see him as much as you want now.”

Once this championship game is over, he plans to fully participate in our agency’s activities.

If Jung In-gyu focuses on managing the players, we should be able to provide much more intensive training and recovery than we do now.

“By the way, there’s this one high school player who’s been amazing lately.”

“Soocheon High School’s Ahn Bum-seok?”

He’s a player who’s been constantly mentioned whenever I see high school baseball news these days.

“That’s right. He’s only a sophomore, but his fastball is already over 150 km/h [approximately 93 mph], right?”

“I watched a video of him pitching a while ago, and it was no joke.”

Even though he was a player on Jinhan High School’s opponent team today, I was looking forward to seeing how well he would pitch.

“It might be tough to face him in a game, but I still want to go up against him once,” Oh Seok-hoon said with an excited expression.

“I heard there’s even talk of him going straight to the major leagues.”

“Well, I guess that could happen. If a high school student gets an offer from the major leagues, it wouldn’t be easy to turn down, right?”

“You and Seong-ju should go to the major leagues too.”

“I want to give it a shot if I can.”

“I’ll start preparing for it now, so you just focus on the games.”

I didn’t tell him that I was already in specific discussions with Sky Corporation about entering the major leagues.

I was worried that he might become too conscious of it and overdo it.

“You’re already preparing? There are still two years left before I become a free agent, right?”

“At the very least, you have to declare it a year in advance for American scouts to take notice and watch you. We should start preparing little by little.”

“Wow. The major leagues are exciting just to imagine.”

Oh Seok-hoon clutched his pounding heart.

“Seok-hoon, you just need to keep doing what you’ve been doing. I’ll take care of the rest.”

“Yes, I’ll keep working hard.”

“But where did Seong-ju go?”

He’s always stuck to Oh Seok-hoon like glue.

I couldn’t find him the whole time we were talking.

“He said he was feeling restless and wanted to sweat a little.”

“How long has he been gone?”

“He said he was just going for a light run, but…”

Oh Seok-hoon looked at his watch and opened his mouth in surprise.

“It’s already been over two hours.”

“Seok-hoon, go and get him to take it easy. No matter how restless he is, he can’t be running for two hours.”

“Yes, I’ll bring him back right away.”

While I was talking to Oh Seok-hoon, Lee Joo-hyuk came out.

“Joo-hyuk, have you eaten?”

“Yes, I ate earlier.”

“Then shall we get going?”

Lee Joo-hyuk nodded, so I got up, put my tray in the dishwasher, and said, “Seok-hoon, I’ll be back.”

“Be careful.”

Lee Joo-hyuk and I left the dorm with Oh Seok-hoon’s farewell.

Then we headed straight to the stadium where the high school baseball championship game would be held.

* * *

After driving for about an hour, I could see the dome stadium.

Several team buses, probably carrying the players, had already arrived in the parking lot.

There was still a lot of time left before the game, so there weren’t many spectators yet.

Lee Joo-hyuk and I parked the car in the parking lot and walked to the stadium.

Soon after, Lee Joo-hyuk and I were waiting near the Jinhan High School locker room to meet Jung In-gyu.

But we couldn’t find him.

It’s a bit awkward to go into the area where the players are training before the championship game.

‘He might be busy before the game…’

I was thinking of just going back.

“Director Kang!”

A loud voice calling me came from behind.

I turned around and saw Jung In-gyu, wearing a Jinhan High School uniform, approaching.

“Coach Jung, it’s really hard to see your face [meaning it’s rare to see him].”

“I’m more 정신없다 [jeongsin-eopda – extremely busy/ 정신 jeongsin means spirit, soul, mind and 없다 eopda means to not have] than usual.”

I greeted Jung In-gyu with a friendly fist bump.

“Joo-hyuk, it’s been a while.”

“Coach, how have you been?”

Jung In-gyu and Lee Joo-hyuk also shook hands and greeted each other.

“How’s the game today? Is everything ready?”

“I’ve done everything I can before the game. Now, I just need to respond well during the game.”

Jung In-gyu looked at me and Lee Joo-hyuk alternately and answered confidently.

“I heard the opposing team’s starting pitcher is Ahn Bum-seok, so it won’t be easy.”

“I’ve been watching videos of him to analyze him, and he’s really good. If he’s that good in high school, he’ll be even better as a pro.”

Jung In-gyu shook his head.

“Do you think there’s a way to attack that player?”

“I’ve analyzed him from various angles with the hitting coach and passed it on to the players, but if Ahn Bum-seok is on his game today, I think we’ll just have to wait for him to reach his pitch count limit quickly. When he’s in good condition, even pro players might have a hard time hitting him.”

In the past, they would have made the ace pitcher throw a complete game in the championship game, even if it meant pushing him too hard.

But now, it was impossible to do that because of the pitch count limit regulations created to protect high school players.

“Still, we’ll get to see Jinhan High School’s championship celebration today, right?”

“I have to make it happen no matter what. It was so hard to get here.”

“It’s still amazing that you made it to the finals.”

Jinhan High School didn’t have a definite ace pitcher like Soocheon High School, so it must have been even harder for him as a coach to manage the team.

In short-term games like tournaments, one ace player often changes the momentum.

From that point of view, it also meant that the Jinhan High School coaching staff’s player management was excellent.

“And I’ve already talked to them about being able to join the agency right after the championship game today.”

“Really? Then you can take charge of our players’ training from winter?”

“Of course. From now on, I have to help our agency’s players achieve good results next year. I heard you’re going on a training camp soon. It costs a lot of money, so I have to make sure it’s worth it.”

Jung In-gyu’s eyes sparkled.

“If you join us, we can really make this training camp worthwhile.”

“I’m already preparing a training program in my spare time. I’m going to talk to each player individually soon to figure out their style and what they need before making a final decision.”

“Our coach is so passionate that I’m already looking forward to it.”

“Of course. Our company’s director is working harder than anyone else for the players, so I have to do my best too.”

“Thank you so much.”

I felt a little more at ease because it felt like another reliable colleague was joining us.

“I have to go in now. I have to take care of the kids’ preparations. You didn’t forget to come later, did you?”

It was a request to cheer on his juniors after the game.

“Don’t worry, I didn’t forget. Go and do your best.”

“Okay, see you later. And you too, Joo-hyuk.”

Jung In-gyu said goodbye to me and Lee Joo-hyuk and went into the stadium.

I turned my head only after watching Jung In-gyu go in until the end.

“Joo-hyuk, let’s go up now.”

I headed to the stands with Lee Joo-hyuk.

* * *

Now I was sitting in the stands, just waiting for the game to start.

We had arrived early, so there was still a lot of time left before the game started.

In the meantime, I was going to think about whether there were any players I was looking forward to watching as they warmed up.

I couldn’t check all the high school baseball games, so I needed to focus more when I watched the games directly like today.

There would be several players who would be playing on the domestic professional baseball stage in the near future.

I started analyzing with Lee Joo-hyuk while watching some of the players prepare for the game.

It was much easier to see the players’ movements by referring to the data that Lee Joo-hyuk had prepared in advance.

I was talking to Lee Joo-hyuk for a while when…

“Are you Director Kang Hyun-woo?”

I turned my head at the sound of someone calling me.

“Yes, I am.”

I greeted him naturally, but it was a face I had never seen before.

“I’m Kim Jin-sung, a PD [Production Director] from MBS Sports.”

“Ah, hello.”

I had met the head of the MBS Sports Bureau not long ago, and now I was meeting another person from the same company here.

But what does a sports PD suddenly want from me?

“I see you came to watch the game today?”

“Yes, I can’t just sit still when there’s a baseball game.”

“I didn’t know you were so interested in high school baseball.”

“Well, it’s the root of Korean baseball. I should always be interested.”

Kim Jin-sung nodded as he listened to my answer and then threw out a word.

“If you don’t mind, could you give me a short interview?”

“An interview? Sure, why not.”

There was no reason to refuse a broadcast appearance.

If fans who know me and our agency become interested in high school baseball, that alone would be valuable enough.

As I followed Kim Jin-sung, I was able to arrive at the sports booth.

Several staff members were busily preparing for the broadcast.

The caster who would be broadcasting the game saw me and greeted me.

“Thank you for responding to my sudden request.”

“It’s an honor to be invited.”

While I was greeting the caster, a staff member fitted my microphone.

“We didn’t plan this, so we prepared in a hurry.”

While the caster was speaking, another staff member handed me a questionnaire.

“You’ve already prepared?”

I slowly read through the questionnaire.

“Please feel free to have a conversation with the thought that you are giving good advice as a senior to young middle and high school players.”

“Yes, I understand.”

I organized my thoughts while looking at the questionnaire while the filming was being prepared.

Most of the questions were asking for my opinion, so it didn’t seem too difficult to talk about.

After a while, Kim Jin-sung PD approached me.

“Director Kang, we’re going to start now, are you ready?”

“Yes, I’m all set.”

Kim Jin-sung, hearing my answer, nodded and shouted loudly to the other staff members.

“We will now begin recording!”