Villain On The Mound [EN]: Chapter 140

Mound Villain – Episode 140

Ha-seong continued his discussion with Tommy.

“The most important thing is the channel name.”

“Well, if Jung Ha-seong creates it, that alone will be a hot topic. I don’t think the channel name will be a big problem.”

“Do you think so?”

“Yes. In fact, even getting just one media interview would be enough for promotion.”

A smile spread across Ha-seong’s face.

He had been thinking about what Tommy said.

Even so, he asked because he was curious about how well Tommy understood YouTube.

‘He’s a good guy.’

He felt like he should repay Isabel for bringing in someone like him.

“Then what’s the most important thing?”

“Content and editing. Filming content that the public would be interested in is the priority.”

“Like a candidate for the first video?”

Click!

Pressing the space bar on the laptop, the video he took when he bought the Rolex watch played.

“Exactly, something like that. That’s what the public wants. Something they clearly know about but can’t easily do will be popular.”

“Should I go luxury shopping then?”

“That should be saved for later. Since the Rolex shopping video was uploaded as episode 1, it would be good to upload different content for episode 2.”

“That’s true too.”

“How will you give instructions for the editing, Mr. President?”

Before he knew it, the title had changed to Mr. President.

He looked like a nerd, but his social skills seemed pretty good.

“If I had the editing skills to give orders, I would have done it myself. I’ll leave that to you.”

“Then I’ll take care of the editing for the time being.”

“Try to find editing staff if you can.”

“Hey, who would do that? It’s not profitable.”

“It’s not profitable?”

“Well, there’s no real way to make a profit, is there? So most people work for free or get paid very little.”

YouTube was just in its beginning stages.

Some pioneers recognized the potential of YouTube and jumped in, but it was only a small minority.

For the most part, it was just an extension of a hobby.

Therefore, the pay was almost non-existent.

But Ha-seong had no intention of doing that.

“You should get paid properly for your labor. My philosophy is that you should get paid for what you do.”

“Excuse me?”

“I’ll give you a monthly salary. Let’s start with $1,500 and increase it as you gain experience.”

“$1… $1,500?”

That was a little less than 2 million won in Korean currency [approximately $1,500 USD].

It wasn’t a very high amount in the United States, but for Tommy, who came with the expectation of working with a famous player, it felt like winning the lottery.

“I don’t think this YouTube channel will just be a flash in the pan and disappear. I think it will be a promising industry in the future. That’s why I’m trying to get a head start.”

“I… I think similarly.”

“To do that, I plan to secure a certain level of quality from the beginning. To do that, capital needs to be invested.”

Capital was important in content creation.

At first, he was thinking of saving a little on investment, but after talking with Tommy, he changed his mind.

‘This guy seems to know a thing or two about YouTube. I need to secure him early on.’

He couldn’t tell if he knew about YouTube or if he had an excellent sense for content creation.

One thing was certain: it would be quite convenient to keep him around.

“Well, shall we start by writing up a contract?”

“You’re even writing a contract?”

“Of course. You didn’t think we were going to work without a contract, did you?”

In fact, Tommy was bewildered by this situation.

YouTube was mostly an extension of a hobby.

Occasionally, some star streamers made money, but it wasn’t a huge amount.

Above all, it was hard to find a place that paid editors or managers more than a thousand dollars a month.

‘Are they overflowing with money? I need to sign the contract and get paid!’

This was an opportunity for Tommy.

His work had been decreasing recently due to the financial crisis.

It would be beneficial for him to have a fixed income.

He had no intention of missing this opportunity.

“Y-yes, we should!”

“Good. I look forward to working with you.”

The two shook hands.

* * *

Tommy’s abilities were better than he thought.

He edited and uploaded his video footage in just one day.

Since it was still in the pilot stage, the editing didn’t need to be of very high quality.

Even so, the neatly edited video didn’t look much different from what it would be in the future, even to Ha-seong.

‘At this level, it’s much better quality than the videos that are currently uploaded.’

After confirming that the video was uploaded, Ha-seong logged in with his ID and left a greeting.

Then, he turned his attention away from YouTube and went about his schedule.

‘Anyway, it just opened. Who would come looking.’

Smartphones were not yet widespread.

There were users who used YouTube, but it was not yet at an explosive level.

There were no major creators, and it was likely that people thought of it as just a hobby.

‘I should mention it casually in an interview soon.’

He was also thinking about a way to turn the reaction around at once.

He was planning to indirectly promote it by mentioning it in passing during an interview.

There was nothing particularly problematic about it.

YouTube wasn’t big enough to be a problem yet.

But this was Ha-seong’s delusion.

The time it took to realize that was less than a day.

* * *

Internet communities are a sea of all kinds of information.

Hundreds and thousands of pieces of information are uploaded every day, and topics change, attracting people’s attention.

For these people, gossip was always like food that was good to pick apart and taste.

When new news came up, they carried it around as if it were a competition.

And today, thousands of news stories were rising and falling.

-Did you see YouTube?

-Why YouTube?

-Did someone upload something stupid again?

-Jung Ha-seong opened a channel?

-Jung Ha-seong?

-Jung Ha-seong of Oakland?

-Yeah, and a video was uploaded.

-What kind of video is it?

-A video of him buying a watch at Rolex.

-That’s a weird video.

-But what’s different about buying a watch at Rolex?

-Wouldn’t it be different because it’s a luxury brand?

-I’ll have to go see it.

Jung Ha-seong, who has been the most talked about player in the major leagues recently, has started YouTube.

This became a huge issue.

-Are there any celebrities doing YouTube?

-I don’t think so?

-There’s no real reason to do it.

-Yeah, it’s not profitable.

-Aren’t there people who do it as a hobby?

-I don’t know.

During this period, celebrities prioritized TV.

At best, they communicated with fans by using social media.

In other words, they didn’t directly utilize YouTube.

In such times, the opening of a channel by a top major league star became a big issue.

-Oh~ The Rolex store is luxurious.

-Wow~ Look how kind the employees are.

-They have to be kind when you buy something for tens of thousands of dollars, lol [laughing out loud].

-Oh, so that’s how you buy it.

-Wow~ He just splurges on that expensive thing.

-Is this the one he bought when he had the perfect game?

-Yeah, he bought it to give to Trevor.

-Wow~ He buys a Rolex and gives it to his teammate.

-Amazing.

-That’s a major leaguer.

The fans’ reactions were enthusiastic.

Rolex stores exist in most cities.

However, ordinary people rarely have the opportunity to enter them.

In addition, the fact that a celebrity named Ha-seong visited and showed himself buying it live attracted attention.

Those who watched the video did not stop there and began to spread the word one by one.

-Jung Ha-seong started YouTube.

-A video was uploaded, and he visited a Rolex store?

-It’s a video of him buying a watch to give to Trevor in commemoration of the perfect game.

And by announcing the contents of the video, they bought the attention of others.

People who saw the post started going to YouTube to watch the video.

The speed was gradually accelerating.

* * *

Thirty minutes before the game started, Ha-seong checked his condition as usual before his second appearance in August.

‘It’s gotten quite hot. It feels hotter today than when I was in Korea.’

The heat in Korea is also severe, but the United States was no match.

‘Should I go eat some health food?’

Originally, it was common to eat health food in the summer.

Like Samgyetang [Korean ginseng chicken soup] or eel.

But this year, he hadn’t eaten any of those health foods yet, so he felt a little disappointed.

‘I wonder if there’s a place that sells it in New York.’

Ha-seong’s second appearance in August was against the New York Yankees.

The Yankees were likely to advance to the postseason this season with good performance.

‘That Rodrigo guy is still playing well.’

He didn’t like it.

The drug addict was running around without any restrictions.

‘By the way, this guy should be reaching 600 home runs by now.’

If his memory was correct, Alex Rodrigo would achieve the great feat of 600 home runs around the summer of 2010.

Ha-seong, who was a Yankees fan at the time, knew his record well.

It was a big topic in Korea, and above all, it was the time when he first came up to the first team, so he remembered it.

‘But he still has 595 home runs.’

He was puzzled.

In fact, it was because of Ha-seong.

Last year and this year, Ha-seong and Rodrigo met surprisingly often.

And every time, Rodrigo was blocked by Ha-seong and couldn’t make any significant achievements.

The problem was the timing.

A batter’s hitting starts in earnest when he is on the rise.

But every time he was blocked by Ha-seong, he couldn’t get on the rise properly.

As a result, he had not yet reached 600 home runs, which he should have already reached.

‘Well, it doesn’t matter. It would be even dirtier if this guy reached 600 home runs.’

He didn’t want to acknowledge a record made with drugs.

If possible, he just wanted to delay it further.

‘Shall I mess him up again today?’

A smile spread across Ha-seong’s face.

* * *

30 minutes before the game started.

Rodrigo was sitting in his van, not the clubhouse.

“Why isn’t this bastard coming?”

Rodrigo anxiously checked the time as if waiting for someone.

He was supposed to go into the clubhouse soon, but the guy who was supposed to come was late.

The moment he took out his phone to call the other person.

Knock knock-!

He hurriedly opened the door at the sound of knocking.

Creak!

“Sorry, sorry. I’m late.”

“Try to come quickly!”

It was Anthony Bonnie, who had met Ha-seong at the All-Star Game.

Anthony, who got into the car and closed the door, put down his bag and wiped away his sweat.

“Oh… I was going to come early. But the car was crazy jammed today.”

“It’s natural since this body is playing in the game today, isn’t it?”

“There are a lot of people coming to see Jung Ha-seong…”

“What?!”

Rodrigo glared.

Anthony flinched because he was such a large player.

“I’m going to show that young bastard what’s what today. I brought a special one today, didn’t I?”

“The reaction will be immediate. But are you sure it’s okay? This one is effective, but it will be caught in the test, right?”

“You said there’s no chance of getting caught after just three days, right?”

“That’s true. But what if the inspectors show up in there?”

“Don’t worry. That won’t happen.”

Anthony had a puzzled expression.

Doping tests are conducted by the Major League Baseball Secretariat.

It is also conducted by doping program inspectors belonging to an independent organization within the Secretariat.

The targets of doping tests are randomly selected, so there was no possibility of information being leaked in advance.

But Rodrigo was talking as if he already knew.

He had questions, but he didn’t bother asking.

‘The more you know, the more you get hurt.’

He was a smart man.

He just had to mix the drugs and inject them in exchange for money.

“This one may cause some dizziness, but it will definitely increase your power and concentration.”

“Okay.”

As Rodrigo rolled up his sleeves, Anthony began preparing to inject the drugs he had prepared.

In the dark parking lot van, baseball was being tainted.