Villain On The Mound [EN]: Chapter 186

The Mound’s Villain – Episode 186

The woman’s name was Sophia.

She was incredibly beautiful, with a figure that could grace any runway.

Her striking blonde beauty, in particular, captivated the attention of nearly every man who passed by.

Indeed, the male customers around her couldn’t help but steal glances.

“I’m a fan,” she said, extending her hand to Ha-sung.

Taking her hand, Ha-sung greeted her in return.

“I’m Jung Ha-sung. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Your performance this season has been amazing. I was captivated by your pitching from the first moment I saw it. I’m so glad to meet you like this.”

“Thank you.”

She was laying on the charm right from the start.

“If it’s not too much to ask, would you like to have a drink with me?”

Ha-sung paused, considering her offer.

Since becoming a celebrity, he’d been approached by many people.

The majority were simply curious and approached him with friendly intentions.

However, a small number had ulterior motives.

Those motives could be innocent, but sometimes they were malicious.

‘If I were my younger self, I wouldn’t have been able to pick up on these subtle cues…’

Ha-sung was only 22 years old.

At that age, he had limited social experience and often found it difficult to read people’s true intentions.

But inside Ha-sung resided an old soul who had already lived a full life.

He could discern subtle signals in conversations and the way people approached him.

‘This woman has an agenda.’

He could tell at a glance that the woman in front of him had a purpose.

It wasn’t that she made any obvious mistakes.

It was simply that his accumulated experiences allowed him to recognize the signs.

That she wasn’t approaching him with genuine interest, but with a specific goal in mind.

‘What could that purpose be?’

The easiest option would be to reject her offer outright.

But if he did, he wouldn’t be able to uncover her true intentions.

So Ha-sung, despite the risk, accepted her invitation.

“Of course. As it happens, I recently received a good bottle of liquor as a gift, so let me treat you to a drink.”

“Oh my! Thank you so much,” Sophia said with a bright smile, sitting across from Ha-sung.

Ha-sung called an employee to bring a glass and poured the whiskey he had received from the mayor into her empty glass.

“This is whiskey that the mayor of Oakland gave me as a gift. I’ve tasted it, and it’s quite good.”

“Oakland… the mayor?”

He could hear a slight tremor in her voice.

She knew that Ha-sung was a successful player.

But she never imagined that he would be connected to a high-ranking official like the mayor.

Ha-sung, noticing her trembling lips, felt his suspicions confirmed.

‘She’s definitely not approaching with good intentions.’

He needed to find out what that purpose was.

“I’m in occasional contact with the mayor. He came by today to give me this liquor because I had expressed interest in it before.”

“Are you… very close?”

“Well, I pay quite a bit of taxes in Oakland. And there’s such a thing as fame, isn’t there?”

An ordinary person might find that statement obnoxious.

But it sounded different to Sophia.

‘This man has this much influence?’

She thought this was turning out to be more complicated than she initially believed.

The plan was to simply sleep with him and be done with it.

Spending the night with a man was just another job for her.

That was how she made a living, so she usually considered it a simple task.

There were often additional requests, but she didn’t usually care much about them.

In fact, she had received requests like this from time to time.

Most importantly, she could earn more money because of the additional options.

That’s why she accepted this job without much hesitation.

‘They never said he was close to a politician!’

The problem was Ha-sung’s relationship with the mayor.

She knew how troublesome it could be to get involved with politicians.

As an escort, she had dealt with many celebrities and politicians.

Celebrities couldn’t take drastic actions, even under unreasonable conditions, because of their public image.

But businessmen and politicians were different.

They would exert all kinds of pressure to protect their social standing.

They were a completely different breed from entertainers.

The difference between having a lot of money and power and simply being popular was like heaven and earth.

‘If this person is close to the mayor, I think I’m getting involved in something I shouldn’t be…’

In the United States, sports stars often have close relationships with politicians.

But Ha-sung was only in his third year since his debut and wasn’t even American.

That’s why she didn’t think he would be connected to the political world.

She realized how short-sighted her thinking had been.

That’s why she received a request with these conditions.

‘She was a stupid bitch.’

Ha-sung could tell from her reaction how clumsy she was.

From her shaking at his few words, he could see how poorly planned this whole operation was.

And soon, a name came to mind.

‘The group I’ve recently been wary of is the paparazzi. Among them, the one reckless enough to plan something like this is probably Hamels.’

It was an easy guess.

It wasn’t a certainty, but he was about 70 percent sure.

There was no need to waste any more time here.

“By the way, Sophia.”

“Yes?”

“I just got a call from my secretary. She said she saw you with a man.”

“Th… that can’t be?”

“She said she saw you getting out of a car with another man before you came to the hotel,” Ha-sung said, raising his phone.

Of course, it was a lie.

But that didn’t matter.

If it wasn’t true, she would likely get up from her seat in disbelief.

Then it would be over.

He didn’t have any feelings for her anyway, and there was nothing to lose by being hated by her.

That’s why it was a card he was willing to play.

But as expected, she didn’t get up from her seat.

Instead, she looked flustered.

That was all he needed to see.

“And I also heard that the man is someone I know.”

“Th… that’s…”

“I’d like to hear why you approached me.”

Her face was etched with fear under Ha-sung’s pressure.

The psychological game was over.

The only option left for her was to tell the truth.

* * *

His suspicions were correct.

She was hired by Hamels.

And he learned Hamels’s true purpose.

“A video.”

It was an outrageous plan.

To try to profit from someone else’s private life.

“You were trying to exploit me to this extent.”

It wasn’t just filming everyday life, but attempting to film very private moments.

Simply for money.

Videos of celebrities engaging in intimate acts are traded for large sums.

Even without a transaction, they could threaten the person and extort money.

In fact, Hollywood stars and Billboard-charting celebrities have been victimized by such videos.

Whatever Hamels wanted, it could have a significant impact on him.

“I can’t just let this go.”

He had already secured her testimony.

He also offered her protection, ensuring she wouldn’t be punished for her involvement if she testified.

He even secured a watch with a built-in miniature camera, which served as decisive evidence.

“The rest of this is not something I should handle.”

Ha-sung immediately contacted his agent, Isabel.

Despite the late hour, Isabel rushed to the hotel.

Unlike usual, she entered the hotel room with a simple expression.

Seeing her light makeup, a stark contrast to her usual glamorous look, he wondered if she was the same person.

As if reading Ha-sung’s thoughts, Isabel blushed and said, “I… I was getting ready for bed, so I only put on light makeup because I had to come out in a hurry.”

“Actually, that light makeup suits you better.”

“Re… really?”

“Yes. The watch is on the table, and the recorded testimony is saved on my phone.”

“Ah!” She hurriedly checked the watch on the table, her forehead furrowing as she examined it.

“There really is a miniature camera built in. Unbelievable…”

“Hamels must have really wanted to get a video of me.”

“He’s a real leech.”

Ha-sung was momentarily taken aback by her harsh words.

Isabel had never spoken so bluntly before.

He could tell how angry she was.

“If Jung Ha-sung wants it, I’ll take care of this myself.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I’ve been an agent for a long time, and I’ve gotten to know a lot of people in various fields. Among them are governors and people who have a big voice in the political world.”

Isabel was a competent agent.

Since agents deal with people, it was important to have a wide network.

With her connections, she could easily take care of someone like Hamels.

“I’ll make sure he can’t approach Jung Ha-sung again.”

She looked genuinely angry, her face showing a firm determination.

“Then I’ll leave it to you.”

Ha-sung stepped back, respecting her resolve.

There was no need for him to get involved.

He would be grateful if she handled it.

“Since you’re here, how did the thing I asked you to do before go?”

“Ah, you mean the members who teamed up with you last year?”

“Yes. If possible, I would like to work with them at the Hawaii camp this year as well.”

Ha-sung was planning to start the Hawaii camp early in preparation for next season.

If he was going to challenge both pitching and hitting, he needed more preparation.

That’s why he had to start training earlier than before.

“I contacted all four of them and got the okay. Everyone readily accepted because the pay was higher than last year.”

“That’s a relief.”

“But we’re still searching for the last person.”

Ha-sung nodded at the words ‘last person’.

That man wasn’t famous yet.

He would become famous four years from now.

A man who would revolutionize hitting in the major leagues before disappearing.

“I’ve never heard of this man named Tony Geier. Do you really intend to hire this man as a hitting instructor?”

“Yes. He is not yet well-known, but his hitting theories are very insightful.”

“I’ve seen his blog, but…”

Isabel also had extensive knowledge of baseball.

But Tony Geier’s hitting mechanism wasn’t easy to understand.

Most of all, he didn’t have any formal qualifications.

She wondered why Ha-sung was so interested.

“He is the man I need for my two-way challenge.”

At Ha-sung’s firm statement, she nodded.

“Okay. I’ll make sure to get a definite answer within this week.”

“Thank you.”

“And don’t worry about Hamels. I’ll take care of it.”

“Then I’ll trust you.”

Ha-sung nodded at her clenched fist.