Perfect Agent [EN]: Chapter 79

After driving for about 30 minutes from the stadium, I reached the club.

The club’s surroundings buzzed with people eager to enjoy the night.

I parked nearby and was about to get out when a worry struck me.

‘What if people recognize me?’

I needed to cover up as much as possible.

I rummaged around for something suitable, and a hat caught my eye.

The large Buffaloes logo bothered me, but I had no other choice.

I pulled it down as far as it would go and got out of the car.

It’s late and dark; hopefully, I won’t be recognized if I move quickly.

I cautiously approached the club entrance.

I was trying to slip inside unnoticed when,

“Oh, Mr. Kang Hyun-woo? You’re Kang Hyun-woo, the baseball player, right?”

The employee at the entrance looked me up and down and then announced with certainty.

…I hadn’t expected to be recognized so quickly.

“Yes, I am…”

“Oh! I’m a huge fan! I never thought I’d meet you here like this.”

The employee greeted me with a delighted expression and offered a handshake.

I could feel the eyes of the people around me turning toward us.

I accepted the handshake, but I wanted to escape the situation quickly.

I glanced up, hoping to see his information window, but it wasn’t there.

“Please, come in. We should get a good spot for such a distinguished guest.”

“I’m not here to drink…”

“It’s okay. I’ll give you a big discount, so enjoy yourself. I’m really a fan.”

The employee, his voice rising with excitement, gestured for me to enter.

“I’m really not here to hang out…”

The employee tilted his head, confused.

“Can I see So Young-joon?”

“Ah! You’re with So Young-joon.”

The employee clapped once and nodded.

“He’s been here for a while. Should I take you to their table?”

“Yes, please.”

I followed the employee inside.

The further in we went, the louder the thumping music became.

Perhaps because of the darkness, no one recognized me.

After a short walk, the employee stopped in front of a private room in the corner.

“Here you are.”

“Thank you.”

“Have a good time.”

The employee gave me a bright smile and left.

I carefully opened the door.

Inside, several people were drinking.

It was so dark that it was hard to make out faces.

This kind of place wasn’t really my scene.

I scanned the room when…

“Oh? Isn’t that Hyun-woo?”

“Ah, you’re here, Young-joon.”

“What brings you here?”

So Young-joon spotted me first and stumbled over.

He seemed quite drunk already.

“I texted you after the game. Didn’t you see it?”

“What did you send? I don’t check my phone much. What’s up?”

So Young-joon, struggling to keep his balance, grabbed me to steady himself.

“I wanted to talk about agency stuff…”

“Good, people should talk about those things.”

So Young-joon suddenly slung his arm around my shoulder and steered me toward the table.

“First, have a drink. Things go smoother with alcohol. That’s why we need it.”

I pushed the glass away.

“It’s going to be hard to talk here. Let’s meet tomorrow.”

“Why is it hard? Where else can we talk so comfortably, huh?”

I can’t hear anything over the music, and you’re clearly not sober. What could we possibly discuss?

I barely suppressed a sigh.

“Let’s meet at the stadium tomorrow at lunchtime. Is 11 o’clock okay?”

“Sure, let’s do that.”

So Young-joon gave me an okay sign.

“See you tomorrow.”

I patted So Young-joon’s shoulder a few times.

I was curious about what his information window would reveal.

-Feeling good meeting with friends.

-Planning to have drinks with other friends at the club tomorrow.

There was nothing about the game.

Does that mean he’s not even thinking about the team’s major defeat because of his mistakes?

I shook my head and left the club.

* * *

The next day, I headed to the stadium at the agreed-upon time.

From last night until now, my head had been pounding with complicated thoughts.

It was shocking that he went to a club with a game the next day and that he wasn’t thinking about baseball at all.

Especially considering the home fans were cursing the players as they left the stadium because of their terrible performance.

He was very different from the players I had met so far.

I arrived at the stadium with ten minutes to spare.

Since mealtime and team training started at 1 o’clock, time was limited.

I took a seat in the lobby near the locker room and waited for So Young-joon.

Five minutes, ten minutes, twenty minutes passed.

“When is this guy going to arrive?”

It was past 11 o’clock, and approaching 11:30, but there was no sign of him.

Unable to wait any longer, I called So Young-joon.

Ring- Ring- Ring-

‘He’s not answering?’

No matter how long I waited, I couldn’t hear So Young-joon’s voice.

-The customer is not answering the phone…

“Haa…….”

I struggled to suppress my anger and kept trying.

And finally…

-Uh… Hello.

The call connected on the fifth try.

“Hey. Where are you?”

-I’m at home?

“We were supposed to meet at 11 o’clock, weren’t we?”

-What time is it now?

“It’s almost 12 o’clock.”

-Ah, sorry. I went to bed late yesterday.

I felt my anger rising.

“What time does team training start?”

-1 o’clock.

“How long does it take to get here from home?”

-If I wash up and go, it’ll take an hour.”

Even if he left now, he’d have to go straight to team training.

“Haa… Then let’s meet briefly after the game.”

-I have plans after the game today?

“I’m here as your agent right now. Meet me first, no matter what. Or I’ll report it to the company.”

I hung up without waiting for his answer.

No matter what he said, it wouldn’t improve my mood.

* * *

The game that night wasn’t much different from the previous one.

The Buffaloes hitters, led by Oh Seok-hoon and Park Sung-joo, continued their hot streak.

Oh Seok-hoon disrupted the starting pitcher with his speed every time he got on base, and Park Sung-joo steadily scored runs with his timely hits.

In contrast, the Pelicans were in constant disarray.

So Young-joon continued to display shaky defense and offered no support to the struggling pitcher.

At the plate, he repeatedly swung wildly and struck out.

However, in the bottom of the 9th inning, as the game neared its end…

The Pelicans’ last chance in regulation and So Young-joon’s final at-bat.

Crack!

-Oh! He connected well!

-Is it going over? It’s got the distance!

-It’s gone! Home run! It’s a solo shot to center field!

-Bottom of the 9th, and So Young-joon hits a [one-point] home run to close the gap!

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

So Young-joon, who knew it was a home run the moment he swung, watched the ball sail and casually jogged to first base.

He rounded the infield and stepped on home plate to the cheers of the fans.

Although a solo home run in the bottom of the 9th narrowed the score, it couldn’t change the outcome of the game.

The Buffaloes won easily.

I stood in front of the Pelicans’ dugout as soon as the game ended.

Despite my firm words, I wasn’t sure So Young-joon would keep his promise.

Soon after, I saw him emerge.

“So Young-joon!”

He stopped in surprise when he heard me.

Looking at his face, it was clear that he would have headed straight to his drinking appointment if I hadn’t been there.

“Oh, Hyun-woo, you came.”

“Let’s talk here for a bit.”

“Uh… okay.”

He reluctantly stopped.

I subtly touched him to update his information window.

-Excited about the home run he hit in the bottom of the 9th inning.

-Planning to treat everyone at the party because he’s in a good mood.

In a way, he was the ultimate optimist.

Perhaps it was a natural talent to feel happy by not dwelling on his mistakes and only focusing on his successes.

We sat down at a table in the lobby.

“What’s going on?”

“I wanted to check on your condition and see if you had any pain.”

“Did we need to meet for that? I would have answered if you’d asked on the phone.”

His indifferent reaction hadn’t changed.

“How’s your condition?”

“No problem at all. No pain either.”

“Hmm… Is that so?”

He’s fine and has no pain, but his performance is a mess.

“Your batting hasn’t been great lately, has it?”

“Batting? Is there a problem?”

Now he looked annoyed.

“Looking at the recent stats, your batting average is dropping.”

“I’m a shortstop. It’s probably because of the defensive burden.”

“Defensive burden…?”

I almost laughed.

“And did you see me hit a home run earlier? Not many shortstops can hit a home run like that.”

He shrugged, seemingly reliving the moment.

How much meaning can you give to a home run when the score difference was already so large?

“It seems like your defensive errors are also up compared to last year.”

“That’s because I’m a shortstop. The toughest balls come to the shortstop.”

I nodded slowly.

“Why are you asking me all this now?”

“I suspect the reason for the errors is a lack of practice.”

“What did you say?”

His face flushed slightly.

“Mistakes stemming from fundamentals can be corrected with practice.”

“I’ve never been late for team training since my debut. The same goes for spring training and post-season training. How can you say I lack training time?”

“……”

“I know you were good at defense. But outfielders and infielders are very different. You’d understand if you just tried fielding ground balls at shortstop. The difficulty is incomparable to the outfield.”

He checked the time and stood up.

“I have an appointment. If you have anything else to say, do it over the phone. And let’s respect each other’s privacy. That’s not too much to ask, right?”

He patted my shoulder and hurried out.

“No, wait a minute…”

I sighed as I watched him leave.