Perfect Agent [EN]: Chapter 193

I woke up early the next morning and was shocked when I checked my smartphone.

There were hundreds of missed calls.

With a strange premonition, I immediately accessed the sports page of a portal site.

From the first screen, articles featuring So Young-joon and the Pelicans’ team logo were all over the place.

└Is the general manager out of his mind? Doesn’t he know So Young-joon is a necessary player? Who does he need on the Pelicans right now?

└Yesterday’s clutch error was a big deal, but isn’t this going too far?

└Honestly, it’s true that So Young-joon made a lot of errors in important situations. The most important thing for a shortstop is defense. No matter how well he attacks and hits home runs, if he gives up a run with an error, the psychological damage will be even greater.

└But if you look closely, the number of errors itself isn’t that high. It’s just that the impact was big, so it’s more memorable.

└That’s the problem, lol. He made a lot of errors in important situations.

Reading the articles, it was an interview with Kim Seok-won, the Pelicans’ general manager.

It seemed like he was using yesterday’s mistake as an excuse to talk, but isn’t this going too far?

Even so, this kind of article wouldn’t have caused this many calls to me.

Reading the following article, I could clearly understand the reason.

Below it was So Young-joon’s interview.

└Ha… he wants to leave to win a championship.

└He probably has three years left on his FA [Free Agent] contract. He’s definitely leaving at least then.

└If So Young-joon leaves, won’t the Pelicans be hopeless?

└If he leaves right away, it’s a no-brainer. They’ll be in 10th place by a wide margin, not just barely. It’s dizzying just to imagine it.

└The good thing is that they’re already in 10th place, so there’s nowhere else to fall.

└They’ll have to reinforce the team somehow. Unless they’re thinking of disbanding the team, they’ll splurge on free agents, right?

└There’s a rumor that free agents don’t want to go to the Pelicans. If you transfer to the Pelicans, there’s almost no chance of winning a championship.

└They’ve drafted first overall almost every year, but where are those players now?

Reading only these two articles, both the Pelicans and So Young-joon gave strong-toned interviews.

Watching So Young-joon’s interview and video, I could immediately feel that he wasn’t hiding his emotional reaction.

Considering that he had said he wanted to transfer even during the last salary arbitration process, it was perhaps natural for him to become emotional after seeing General Manager Kim Seok-won’s interview.

I immediately called So Young-joon.

Beep- Beep- Beep-

I waited a long time, but the call didn’t connect.

He might not be awake yet, or he might be too preoccupied to answer.

If so, there’s no choice. I’ll have to go and meet him in person.

* * *

I hurriedly moved to the Pelicans’ home stadium.

When I arrived, it was almost time for the game to start.

I was planning to meet So Young-joon after the game and talk about the interview.

I took a seat in the stands and watched So Young-joon warming up on the field.

I couldn’t see his expression because he was far away, but he wasn’t talking to his teammates as usual, and he was just focusing on training without any special actions.

So Young-joon’s name was still listed as the 4th batter and shortstop in today’s game.

-In yesterday’s game, the Pelicans led well, but unfortunately, they lost due to a mistake at the end.

-It’s very disappointing. The mistake came at a time when it really shouldn’t have happened, so they missed the victory they had almost secured.

-We’ll have to see if the Pelicans can avenge yesterday’s defeat in today’s game.

“Play ball!”

The game started with the umpire’s call.

Bang!

“Strike!”

Bang!

“Strike!”

Unlike yesterday’s game, the Pelicans’ foreign pitcher on the mound showed an outstanding performance, as expected of the best pitcher among the team’s starters.

Whoosh-

“Strike out!”

Bang!

“Strike out!”

The Pelicans’ starting pitcher was cleanly and steadily increasing the out count.

-Two consecutive strikeouts! The Hawks’ batters are swinging helplessly!

-These are the same players who were hitting so freely in yesterday’s game. It feels like they’ve become completely different players in just one day.

-As expected, it seems that the saying “baseball is a pitcher’s game” isn’t just for show.

Whoosh-

“Strike out!”

He showed a clean pitch against the third batter.

“Pelicans! Pelicans! Pelicans!”

The Pelicans fans seemed happy as if they had everything with just a three-up, three-down inning.

Bottom of the 1st inning.

The Pelicans’ attack.

The preceding 3rd batter succeeded in getting on base with a walk, making it 2 outs with a runner on 1st base.

And So Young-joon stepped up to the plate.

-Now it’s So Young-joon’s turn at bat. He made a decisive contribution to the team’s defeat yesterday by making a mistake in an important situation, right?

-Moreover, General Manager Kim Seok-won gave a slightly strong-toned interview. So Young-joon will want to show his worth.

-Players are human, so they can’t avoid making mistakes altogether. Yesterday’s game is already over, so I hope he can quickly forget it and show a good performance in today’s game.

So Young-joon’s eyes were shining more fiercely than ever.

The pitcher threw the first ball,

and So Young-joon’s bat immediately swung with all its might.

Clang!

The batted ball hit by So Young-joon’s swing made a refreshing sound and flew away quickly.

At the same time, the runner on 1st base ran towards 2nd base with all his might.

The flying ball passed over the 3rd baseman’s head and bounced without crossing the foul line, rolling further and further away from the left fielder.

-The batted ball fell perfectly on the line! And it keeps getting further away. The course is really perfect!

The batted ball was rolling almost to the left corner of the outfield fence.

While the 1st base runner was passing 2nd base and heading to 3rd base, the Pelicans’ 3rd base coach, after checking the position of the batted ball, vigorously turned his arm and signaled him to run all the way home.

The left fielder, who had run a long distance, struggled to catch the ball and threw it to the shortstop who was standing as the cut-off man.

However, the 1st base runner was already almost at home base.

Meanwhile, So Young-joon had余裕 [room to spare] arrived at 2nd base.

“Waaaaah-”

“So Young-joon! So Young-joon! So Young-joon!”

The Pelicans fans couldn’t hide their joy.

It was the moment when he hit a cool long hit in a situation where the team needed it, but So Young-joon, with a stiff expression, quietly took off his equipment and handed it to the coach without any ceremony.

-The Pelicans are taking the first point in today’s game as well! They’re succeeding in seizing the initiative with a clean hit from the 1st inning.

-As expected, it’s clear that So Young-joon is the player who leads the center of the Pelicans’ batting lineup, no matter what anyone says.

-Do the Pelicans really not need a player like this?

Top of the 4th inning.

It was the Pelicans’ defensive inning.

Clang!

Clang!

Clang!

With the Pelicans leading 1:0, the Hawks’ consecutive hits exploded, and the Pelicans faced a bases-loaded crisis.

-It’s one out, bases loaded. The Pelicans’ starting pitcher blocked them perfectly until the 3rd inning, but he’s facing a crisis as the batting order has made a full rotation.

The Pelicans’ infielders were playing a close defense to prevent runs from being scored in the event of a ground ball.

Bang!

Tic!

The Pelicans’ pitcher and the Hawks’ batter were fiercely engaged in a mental battle.

And he threw another ball with all his might,

Clang!

The accurately hit ball stretched out at a sharp angle.

At the same time, So Young-joon instinctively threw his body and stretched out his glove towards the ball.

Whack!

The ball was sucked into So Young-joon’s glove.

Moreover, even though there was an impact as his body fell to the ground, he held the ball in his glove without shaking.

Then, he jumped up and checked the 3rd base runner.

He didn’t throw it because the 3rd base runner immediately returned to 3rd base.

-Wow! So Young-joon has shown another amazing defense!

-It would have been really difficult to catch it because they were playing a close defense in the current situation. He’s catching it with great agility.

-Now that it’s two outs, it seems like they can give the pitcher a little leeway.

Whether So Young-joon’s good defense gave the pitcher strength, he succeeded in inducing a ground ball right away and finished the inning without giving up a run.

Not long after, So Young-joon’s turn at bat came again.

Anger could be felt in his swing as much as in his fierce eyes.

Crack!

The batted ball stretched out and eventually went far beyond the center of the outfield.

“Waaaaah-”

“So Young-joon! So Young-joon! So Young-joon!”

-So Young-joon is hitting it over today following yesterday! He’s firing a home run for two consecutive days!

-He’s sweeping up RBIs [Runs Batted In] in today’s game as well. He’s really scary these days!

So Young-joon didn’t show any special actions while going past 1st base and going to 2nd base.

Even while passing 3rd base, he was running forward without any ceremony with the 3rd base coach.

Even after stepping on home base and entering the dugout, he only gave a formal high-five, and his lips didn’t move even a little.

Since So Young-joon had always shown actions close to spectacles, this situation felt quite unfamiliar.

Even while the game was in progress, articles about So Young-joon were being uploaded in real time.

Because of his different appearance from usual, even more articles were pouring out.

└Looking at So Young-joon’s expression today, it seems like his heart is completely gone.

└This time, the salary negotiation didn’t work out, and the general manager is interviewing like that, so would he want to play the game?

└But looking at what So Young-joon is doing these days, it seems like the trade size will be quite large, so is it possible? The opposing team will have to send out a starting-level player as well.

└So Young-joon’s agency representative is Kang Hyun-woo. He’s the one who made the trade for the left-handed 필승조 [pilseungjo – a winning combination] bullpen.

└By the way, if So Young-joon leaves the Pelicans right away, is there a resource to replace him?

└Absolutely impossible. Unless a starting shortstop and 4th batter suddenly fall from the sky.

└Ah, please don’t go. If you leave, I really won’t be a Pelicans fan anymore.

└Everyone says that, but they end up watching again. There’s no choice, just give up.

└I’m going to go to the stadium, meet So Young-joon, and ask him.

└Do you think you’ll be able to persuade him by doing that, lol.

└I have to do something, really.

The Pelicans were able to win today’s game thanks to So Young-joon’s performance.

As soon as the game ended, I moved to meet So Young-joon.