Perfect Agent [EN]: Chapter 85

Reunited Fate (3)

“No way?”

The pitcher, his face contorted in anger, stormed toward Park Sung-ju, yelling at the top of his lungs.

Park Sung-ju, looking genuinely surprised, stopped his run toward third base as the pitcher’s shouts continued and began walking toward the pitcher.

A tense atmosphere gripped the stadium.

Just as the pitcher and Park Sung-ju were about to collide, Unicorns fielders quickly intervened, pulling the two players apart.

Immediately, players from both the Buffaloes and Unicorns, who had been in the dugout, rushed onto the field.

The players from both teams swarmed onto the field, initiating a chaotic brawl.

It was the first bench-clearing of the season.

“Ooooooh-”

“Park Sung-ju! Park Sung-ju! Park Sung-ju!”

The spectators were divided, Buffaloes and Unicorns fans alike, each voicing their support.

Fortunately, direct physical contact was mostly avoided as other players restrained the pitcher and Park Sung-ju.

However, the pitcher, still unable to calm down, continued to shout incomprehensible words at Park Sung-ju.

“Since he’s a player who’s just come to Korea, I guess he’s unfamiliar with bat flips.”

“The club must have warned him, but is he still upset? It’s really just a minor celebration, in some ways.”

As someone accustomed to similar celebrations, I didn’t fully understand why foreign players reacted so sensitively.

“In the U.S., they’re much more accepting of it than before, but hot-tempered players still can’t stand it these days.”

“Indeed, seeing how they hold it in and throw beanballs [a pitch intentionally aimed at the batter] in games months later in the U.S., it’s amazing how different the culture is, even though it’s the same baseball.”

“Compared to the U.S., Korea is much milder.”

“But, is that pitcher really going to throw a beanball at Sung-ju in the next at-bat?”

I suddenly felt worried.

“Well… judging by how sensitive he was to the bat flip just now, there’s a possibility, isn’t there?”

“It’s one thing if it’s just a warning pitch, but I hope he doesn’t get hit and injured.”

I felt a cold sweat running down my back.

The bench-clearing ended only after the Buffaloes and Unicorns teammates managed to calm down the pitcher and Park Sung-ju.

Park Sung-ju stepped on third base and home base, returning to the dugout.

The score on the scoreboard now changed to 1:0.

I was worried that a beanball might be thrown at the next batter, but fortunately, the game continued without incident.

The Unicorns pitcher seemed shaken for a moment after the bench-clearing, but he regained his composure and threw the threatening pitches he had shown in the beginning.

Rather, as if energized by the bench-clearing, the Unicorns batters strung together consecutive hits, reversing the score to 1:2.

Top of the 4th inning, 2 outs.

The batting order had come around again, and it was now the 3rd batter, Oh Seok-hoon’s turn.

So far, Park Sung-ju’s home run was the Buffaloes’ only hit.

The other batters had been unable to make solid contact and were out.

“It seems like they’re mixing in breaking balls [pitches that curve or change direction] since the batting order has gone around once, and since the breaking balls are also top-notch, it won’t be easy to attack.”

Lee Joo-hyuk shook his head, writing down the details of the at-bat with the 2nd batter.

“We’ll have to trust Seok-hoon’s eye.”

Thwack!

“Strike!”

Thwack!

“Ball.”

The battle with Oh Seok-hoon was intense.

Each pitch the pitcher threw seemed to have his soul in it.

The speed was there, but he didn’t throw a single easy pitch.

They were all courses that barely caught the strike zone or missed it.

Tick.

Even if he managed to make contact, it was difficult to send the ball inside the foul lines.

“How can he throw 7 pitches without a single one being even slightly centered?”

“It seems like they came with a thorough strategy for Seok-hoon. If they had tried to compete too easily, he would have already gotten a hit.”

However, Oh Seok-hoon didn’t give in easily either.

He flinched at the exquisitely breaking ball that came right in front of the strike zone, but held back.

“Walk!”

In the end, the battle that lasted until the 9th pitch was a victory for Oh Seok-hoon.

Although there were two outs, he succeeded in getting on base for the first time since Park Sung-ju’s home run.

Since Oh Seok-hoon was fast, it was clear that the pressure on the pitcher would be much greater.

And Park Sung-ju walked to the plate.

As Park Sung-ju stepped into the batter’s box, the bench-clearing from the previous at-bat came to mind, and the atmosphere on the field subtly changed.

“Park Sung-ju home run! Park Sung-ju home run!”

“Strikeout! Strikeout! Strikeout!”

The spectators were sending even louder cheers than before, reveling in the heightened tension.

However, I was worried that the pitcher might throw a dangerous beanball, and my heart was pounding.

The pitcher, after receiving the catcher’s sign, glanced at Oh Seok-hoon on first base and immediately threw the ball.

“Huh?”

The ball that left the pitcher’s hand was flying towards Park Sung-ju’s body.

Park Sung-ju, as if unafraid of the flying ball, didn’t move at all and stood his ground.

Thwack!

“Ball.”

It flew very close to his body, but didn’t hit him.

It was a clear warning pitch, thrown on purpose.

“Oooooh-”

The Buffaloes fans began to boo.

Park Sung-ju swung his bat a few times, only slightly raising the corners of his mouth.

The pitcher, receiving the ball from the catcher, prepared for the next pitch as if nothing had happened.

And this time, he threw the ball without the slightest hesitation.

Thwack!

The pitcher’s ball flew close to Park Sung-ju’s body again.

“Ball.”

Two consecutive warning pitches.

Eventually, the umpire called the Unicorns interpreter and went to the mound to issue a warning.

“Oooooh-”

The Buffaloes fans’ booing grew louder.

2 balls, 0 strikes.

The ball count became unfavorable while throwing warning pitches.

The score difference was only one point at 1:2, and if he gave up a walk here, he would have to send the fast Oh Seok-hoon to second base.

Even for a pitcher who can throw good pitches, it would be a burdensome situation.

“Oooooh-”

The pitcher exchanged signs with the catcher amidst the Buffaloes fans’ booing.

Then, he threw the third ball with all his might.

The moment the pitcher released the ball, I could tell that it wasn’t a warning pitch flying towards his body this time.

Park Sung-ju also seemed to sense this, and confidently swung his bat.

Clang-

“Oh!”

“It’s going! It’s going!”

The moment the ball hit the bat, all the Buffaloes fans naturally stood up from their seats.

Lee Joo-hyuk and I did the same.

“Home run!”

“Waaaaaah-”

The stands erupted into a frenzy once again as the third base umpire signaled a home run by twirling his finger.

Back-to-back home runs.

Moreover, it was a home run that reversed the 1:2 situation to 3:2 in an instant.

The pitcher shook his head and took off his hat as he watched the ball sail over the fence.

Park Sung-ju, who had sensed that it would be a home run as soon as he hit the ball, didn’t move from the batter’s box at all while the ball was flying.

Only after the ball went over the fence and he completely confirmed that it was a home run did he slowly start running towards first base.

This time, after throwing the bat far away, he repeatedly raised and lowered both hands, inciting cheers from the fans.

“Waaaaaaaaah-”

The Buffaloes fans responded with even louder cheers than before.

The pitcher, who had barely put his hat back on, saw this and his eyes flashed with renewed anger.

The pitcher took the glove off his hand, threw it at Park Sung-ju, and charged like an enraged bull.

Park Sung-ju, who was about to step on first base, also ran towards the pitcher as if he had been waiting for it.

“Oh, oh?”

The Unicorns infielders who were nearby hurriedly ran to try to separate the two, but it wasn’t easy.

This time, a direct collision between the two players occurred, resulting in a much more intense physical fight than before.

Not only the players from both teams in the dugout, but also the pitchers in the bullpen had to rush onto the field.

Because both players were so big and strong, it took several teammates to finally pull them apart.

And even after that, a tense war of nerves between the two teams continued for a long time.

In the process, some players showed aggressive reactions.

“Oooooh-”

“Park Sung-ju! Park Sung-ju! Park Sung-ju!”

The Buffaloes fans chanted Park Sung-ju’s name unilaterally.

Only after the coaches came out to mediate did the heightened emotions gradually subside.

The players from both teams returned to the dugout and bullpen one by one.

As the situation was resolved, the umpire pointed at Park Sung-ju and the pitcher, declaring their ejection.

“Oh, ejection?”

“It was the pitcher who threw the warning pitches, though?”

Even I, who was watching, felt a little wronged.

Both team managers ran out and appealed to the umpire, but the umpire’s decision did not change.

The situation was completely resolved only after the two players were ejected.

The game continued and eventually ended with the Buffaloes’ victory.

Park Sung-ju’s last home run became the winning run.

* * *

As soon as the game ended and we arrived at the dorm, Lee Joo-hyuk and I sat down together and filled out the tryout application.

It was possible to register on-site on the day of the test, but we wanted to register in advance in case of any unforeseen variables.

The form wasn’t that difficult.

We just had to fill in simple personal information, position, and baseball-related history.

“Only a week left.”

“It really feels real now.”

“If we just manage our condition well, we’ll have good results.”

I patted Lee Joo-hyuk on the shoulder.

“Then, can I go down and train more?”

“Of course. Let’s go together.”

Lee Joo-hyuk and I left the room together.

As we were passing through the living room and about to go down to the underground training facility, we heard the sound of the front door password being pressed.

Beep beep.

The door opened and the people who came in were Oh Seok-hoon and Park Sung-ju.

“We’re here.”

“You’re already here. You worked hard today too.”

I patted Oh Seok-hoon, who came in first, on the shoulder.

And then I shifted my gaze to Park Sung-ju, who was behind him,

“Sung-ju, is your face okay?”

Park Sung-ju’s face was still red and blotchy.

“Senior, that guy is incredibly strong.”

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Who do you think I am? Of course, I’m fine.”

“That’s really a relief.”

Seeing Park Sung-ju, who looked like a sulky child, made me chuckle.

“Did you see me hit a home run? I hit two today.”

Come to think of it, he hit two home runs today.

The bench-clearing was so impactful that it was more strongly remembered, though.

“Sung-ju, you were really cool today.”

Lee Joo-hyuk said, raising his thumb.

“Hehe. Thanks, I’ll have to do better.”

Park Sung-ju replied, raising the corners of his mouth as much as possible.

While we were talking, the sound of the password being pressed was heard once again and the door opened.

Beep beep.

The person who came in next was Go Ji-hoon.

“Senior, you’re here?”

“Yeah. I’m a little tired, so I’m going up to rest.”

Go Ji-hoon offered only a short word with a serious expression and immediately went up to the second floor.

I could feel that something was uncomfortable from the way he walked.

Just in case, I lightly touched Go Ji-hoon’s body as he passed by.

-The pain is not disappearing even after receiving hospital treatment.

-He is not able to adequately handle the training required for his next start.

Looking at the information window, the moment when he was in pain while playing catch a while ago flashed through my mind.