The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 5

5. My Life’s Darkest Chapter (4)

“Choi Su-won. That crazy bastard. Still waters run deep, huh? He played it cool for a year, and as soon as the seniors graduated, he went right at it.”

“Hearth.”

“Huh?”

“It’s hearth, not wall. Why would a quiet cat climb a hearth first? [Hearth is a common idiom in Korean meaning to ‘stir up trouble close to home’.]”

“Ah… Oh. I guess you call it a hearth in your town. We call it a wall in my town. Anyway, that’s not the point. I was glad to see you stick it to that senior because I didn’t like how he was acting either, but let’s go apologize right now. No matter how shitty he acts, he’s still a senior. You need to keep playing baseball. If you’re worried about going alone, I’ll go with you.”

Jo Yu-jin.

He’s a little slow, but he’s definitely a good guy. That’s why he always has friends around him.

“No, you don’t have to. I was planning on talking to him separately anyway.”

“Good thinking. Byung-young won’t be able to make a big deal out of it. He needs to keep playing baseball too. He needs to do well in the tournament this time to get into college. And he knows he can’t do that without you. So, he’s probably running laps around the field right now, trying to figure out how to fix this. If you go talk to him first, he might give you some crap, but he’ll probably just end it there.”

He’s limited by his age and experience, which is a shame, but he’s still pretty good at reading the situation. He must have made it through his pro career because he’s got a good head on his shoulders.

Of course, from a distance, it might not seem like a big deal to make these kinds of judgments. But when you’re the one involved, it’s not so easy.

Emotions always cloud your judgment.

That’s why guys need to think twice before jumping into a relationship with a girl. If it wasn’t for that sea squirt bibimbap, I would have… Ah, thinking about my ex-wife is making me depressed again.

Maybe he mistook my gloomy expression? Jo Yu-jin patted me on the back and added,

“Why? Are you getting nervous about going to see him? Man, you really stuck it to him. Honestly, Byung-young was being a real jerk to you. Just watch, he won’t be able to mess with you that much anymore.”

“You knew that, why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“Hey, it’s better to hold back if you can. He didn’t lay a hand on you, even if he was being a jerk. And you’ve been putting up with him and treating him well until now because you felt bad for him or something, right?”

“Was it that obvious that I was being nice to him?”

“Yeah, super obvious. That’s textbook gaslighting. I learned a lot from watching it. He made it seem like you were pushed out because of connections when you were just pushed out because of skill.”

Is that so?

“Hey!! You should have told me that sooner.”

“Take it easy. Of course, I’m on your side if you and the senior fight. But I didn’t want to start a fight when one of you was willing to put up with it. There’s no need to cause trouble, and it’s best for the team if both of you are on it.”

Honestly, that hurt to hear. If I were seventeen, I might have felt betrayed or angry at what he said.

But I’m thirty-four, and I remember him crying his eyes out at the bar after he retired, saying he wanted to play baseball again. I couldn’t get mad at his cold words.

“Do you love baseball that much?”

“Of course. Why else would I be doing this? Who would do something they hate this much? You’re the same way, you love baseball.”

The moment he said that, I blurted out, “Ah.”

“What ‘ah’? Like you didn’t know you loved baseball.”

I remembered.

The first baseball I remember was a rubber baseball I played catch with my dad when I was six. And ever since then, baseball has been my destiny.

That’s almost thirty years. But is it because I’ve been getting paid to play baseball for seventeen years?

People often say that even the things you love become obligations when they become your job. And like that saying, I think I started treating baseball as an obligation at some point.

But, even so, I felt the greatest happiness and joy in those obligations.

To be honest, I was so confused about coming back to the past, and I wondered if I had to do it all again. But now I know.

I’m someone who needs to play baseball.

Yeah, I’m a guy who loved that ball game more than the woman I once thought was my destiny.

Jo Yu-jin is right. I love baseball. No, I love baseball.

Besides, if I don’t play baseball, I have to go to the army…

Despite my realization and gratitude, the words that came out of my mouth were curt, as they usually are when guys are about to say something cheesy.

“No, I’m just good at it even if I don’t try. Who doesn’t like being good at something?”

“Wow, you’re annoying. Are you saying I like baseball even though I’m not good at it? But I can’t deny it, so it’s making me mad. Anyway, since I’ve said everything honestly, please do your best. You’re going to go pro no matter what, but you know I’m not.”

“Stop whining. Honestly, if I had to pick two people on this team who could go pro, it would be you and me.”

Well, he was actually drafted in the third round.

In fact, with the first overall pick being abolished this year and the full draft being implemented, the third round is the same as the second round in the past. Depending on the team, a contract bonus of over 100 million is definitely possible.

But he seemed to think differently.

“That’s only if I can show off my defense in a big tournament. I can catch and I have a good arm, but my hitting is a little lacking.”

“Is that so? What’s your batting average right now?”

“.210.”

“Ah, yeah, you’re right. It’s definitely a little lacking.”

“Wow, I see why the senior was so mad. You agreed with me, but it still feels bad.”

Of course, it’s not that bad.

Catchers aren’t really expected to be offensive powerhouses, so .210 is about average. But the problem is that this is high school league. The guys who go pro, especially the ones who get drafted high, have to dominate the league. You can’t go pro with just an average performance.

Well, I’ve realized that I love baseball, so I guess I can give him a little help. He’ll probably go pro even if I leave him alone, but he’s going to end up crying while grilling pork belly in eleven years.

“Yu-jin, are you going to practice hitting later?”

“Why? Are you telling me to practice more because I can’t swing properly?”

“No, I was wondering if I could give you some pointers.”

“No thanks. I’m not going to ask a pitcher to help me with my hitting, even if it’s you.”

“So, what’s my batting average?”

“…You bastard. Using facts to win is cowardly.”

“You’re going to thank me later, so I’ll say it now. Don’t just bow, do a full prostration [a deep, formal bow].”

“Stop talking nonsense and go see the senior.”

For the record, my high school career batting average is .301.

***

I was very pleased to see the sea squirt man running around the field, covered in sweat and gasping for air.

Maybe the reason I came back was to watch that guy suffer as he ran around the field.

“Haa… haa… What. Haa… haa… You bastard.”

“Okay, breathe in and out. Take a deep breath, and drink this. The coach and manager are over there watching the kids pitch.”

I handed a bottle of cool water to the sea squirt guy, who was drooling all over the place. Well, to be exact, it wasn’t water, it was just tap water in a bottle I had finished.

-Gulp gulp

He chugged half the water and poured the rest over his head. Seeing him like this, he really looks like a merchant pouring water over sea squirts at a fish market.

After replenishing his fluids, he came at me with a vengeance.

“Why? Now that you’ve come to your senses, do you realize how screwed you are? Are you going to get on your knees and beg for forgiveness? Get lost, you bastard. Choi Su-won. So what if you’re good at baseball? You need to have good character. I’m warning you, don’t even think about playing baseball anywhere. I’m going to spread rumors to all your classmates, seniors, and juniors.”

Yu-jin said that this guy was running around the field, trying to figure out how to fix this.

Of course, I was sure that wasn’t the case.

Well, he’s just a seventeen-year-old kid pretending to be an adult, so it can’t be helped.

He probably doesn’t know that surprisingly few people in this world live with common sense and rationality.

There’s no way that jerk Ahn Byung-young doesn’t know that it would be better for his future to apologize to me.

But that’s just how people are. He’s not even a person, he’s just a sea squirt.

“Try it.”

“What?”

“Try it. Ugh, Yu-jin begged me so earnestly to give you a chance, but you’re not even trying to change. What’s that thing on your shoulder for, just to keep your balance?”

“What are you talking about, you crazy bastard!!”

The sea squirt bared his teeth savagely. But the momentum he had when he first came at me had already disappeared.

“Sea squirt, listen carefully. Let’s say you spread those rumors. And let’s say everyone listened to you. And let’s say the coach, the one who gets envelopes from my dad [bribes], believed you and treated me badly. Then what would happen?”

“Uh… what would happen? Your baseball career would be ruined!!”

You stupid idiot.

“So, what about you?”

“What?”

“Sea squirt, if I quit baseball, I can just take over my dad’s business. It’s a shame, because I’m the real deal, unlike you. But how much can you make playing that ball game? Right? I don’t have any regrets. But what about you?”

Ah, of course, it’s a bluff. I have to play baseball.

But will this sound like a bluff to this kid who’s only lived for eighteen years? Who’s only ever played baseball? And who can only dream of a future where he plays baseball?

No way.

“…”

“Hey, kneel. And cry like a fiery man in an old cartoon, ‘Mr. Choi, I want to play baseball, I want to play baseball so badly.’ Then I’ll give you a special pass.”

“…”

His face is full of conflict.

No, that’s not conflict, he really looks like he’s about to cry? Huh? Huh? Man. Wait a minute. Even if your mentality is shattered, how can you not tell the difference between a joke and the truth?

I quickly grabbed the wrist of the guy who was about to kneel.

“Oh, come on. Senior. I’m just kidding. I’m kidding.”

And looking at his tearful, stupid face, I thought.

There was a bit of trouble, but isn’t this the closest thing to the amicable reconciliation ending that Yu-jin wanted?

Well, maybe not.