The Real Thing
Thunk!
"Damn it..."
The white line cut cleanly between first and second.
The runner on first didn’t stop at second; he kept going for third and got exactly what he wanted.
One out. Runners on first and third.
I’d come out to the mound in the bottom of the seventh with a three-run lead, and I’d already given up two hits.
"Haa... this is going nowhere."
The velocity was there.
But no matter how fast and heavy the ball felt, that didn’t make a misplaced pitch acceptable.
The Vikings were the team we absolutely had to beat today if we wanted the wild card. Our starter had done his job and the offense had chipped in runs the way it was supposed to, but... I was the problem.
"Everything’s drifting middle-in."
"Yes, sir."
"Assume the runner on third scores and get them one by one."
"Got it."
I had a pretty good idea why my pitches were getting hit.
It was probably because I’d barely slept last night.
After Jumi told me that the next target had been chosen, I hadn’t been able to sleep at all.
Every time I closed my eyes, I kept thinking about that day with Miju...
On top of that, I’d been looking forward to whatever skill improvement would be handed to me.
If anyone else heard that, they’d probably call it an excuse, but whatever.
"I knew something was off. My body just wouldn’t loosen up."
Of course it wouldn’t. I hadn’t slept properly; there was no way I’d be normal.
My body felt heavy and limp, and my shoulder was leaden.
I’d even put in extra time before the game, running and trying to get loose, hoping it might help, but it barely made a difference. If anything, it just wore me out more.
So I’d prayed, Don’t call on me today, but that didn’t do a damn thing.
Trying to throw hard in that condition had just tensed my shoulder up.
That was why my command had gone to hell... and why things had turned out like this.
Still, if there was one small blessing, it was that the order had rolled over to the bottom of the lineup.
The eighth batter was waiting in the box for us.
Tae-hwa-hyung patted my shoulder, then climbed down off the mound.
Back in his crouch, he raised his mitt right away.
We’d already decided what pitch was coming.
All I had to do was hit Tae-hwa-hyung’s mitt, which he’d set up tight on the inner half.
"Hoo... loosen up... accuracy over speed..."
I kept the extra tension out of my shoulder and let it fly.
Thunk!
"Nice! From second!"
"Out."
"Out."
The batter came out swinging at the first pitch.
The ball screamed past me, but because it leaned a little toward second base, the shortstop handled it without much trouble.
He stepped on second himself, then fired to first.
"Phew. Fuck, I’m alive."
Somehow, I got through the inning without giving up a run.
We won the game.
* * *
"What exactly are you saying?"
"I said they were coming to us, didn’t I?"
"So they’re coming all the way here?"
"Yeah. You just need to slip out quietly tonight."
"No, I mean... what are you doing bringing that person here?"
"Then what do you want me to do? You don’t have the time! You!"
"Even so..."
Jumi had come to the lodging again today, and she was telling me something unbelievable.
After this Busan road trip, I had to head to Gwangju for another away series. After that, we’d go back to Seoul.
So I’d assumed I’d handle it after we returned to Seoul.
But Jumi was saying that wasn’t the plan.
The woman I was going to meet was coming to Gwangju?
I hadn’t exactly done no thinking about this.
Especially with the one-week limit hanging over everything.
Jumi had told me the effect lasted for a week.
When I first heard that, I thought a week sounded pretty generous, but once I was out on the road, I realized it wasn’t much time at all.
At least, she’d said that once a week passed, I wouldn’t immediately revert to the way I’d been before. It would drain away little by little. That was her exact wording—drain away.
So there was probably something inside my body. Ah, not that it mattered right now...
Anyway, I’d been a little worried about that, but I didn’t think it was a big issue.
I could just say, "I’m not feeling well today."
If I said I wasn’t feeling well, what could the manager do?
And if he still sent me out there anyway... then I’d go. If I got beaten up, I’d still have something to say for myself.
If I told him, "I said I wasn’t feeling well," he’d understand, right?
That was the plan I’d been building. In other words, I’d solved the problem myself.
But now she was saying she was coming to Gwangju.
That just created a whole different problem.
"Did you forget what I told you?"
"What? The part where you said what if she recognizes you?"
"Yeah!"
"So what if she does?"
"You little shit..."
I didn’t want my identity exposed.
Jumi had snorted that nobody would recognize a nobody with no popularity, but you never knew.
These days, women watched baseball too.
If a guy pitching for a pro team was out there rubbing down women’s bodies for money? And getting paid a ridiculous amount while he did it?
If word like that ever got around... I’d be finished. Completely finished.
So I’d been planning to cover my face, too.
I wasn’t sure, but people who did this kind of work usually wore masks and things, didn’t they?
That was what I’d intended to do, anyway.
"If I tell her to come to Gwangju, why would anyone think you’re a baseball player? They’ll just assume you’re a talented masseur and figure you’re on a business trip."
"But still!!"
"I don’t know. The appointment’s already set, so just deal with it."
"......"
I glared at Jumi, irritated.
But the little ghost only looked back and snickered.
"So? You not doing it?"
"...... Fuck."
That wasn’t happening.
I’d already tasted it.
"And she’s paying in cash."
"I’m the one who has to collect the money too?"
"What do you mean, collect? You get paid up front."
"You’re weirdly thorough about strange things."
"That’s Miju’s rule. Up front only. No refunds."
"Well... that’s not bad."
Right. Better to be clear about the money.
No—wait. That wasn’t the point.
"So when and where do I have to go?"
"She’s coming to the hotel where you’re staying. Noon."
"Haa..."
It had already all been decided.
Jumi had only come to inform me, and my protests weren’t going to change anything anyway.
This did feel a little too much like being dragged along, though. I should at least give her a sharp word.
"Next time, tell me in advance too. You need to schedule things around me."
"Sure, sure."
Hmm. That meant it was settled, right?
* * *
With four games left in the season, our team only needed two wins to clinch a wild-card spot.
And if luck was on our side, we could even still chase fourth place.
Of course, that was nothing but a thread-thin hope—something we’d only be able to calculate through tiebreaker scenarios if we somehow won all four.
The schedule had us playing two games in Gwangju before heading home for the final two.
"No need to drag this out. Let’s finish it in Gwangju."
At the manager’s words, we answered with confident agreement.
And we really did have confidence.
Because today’s starter was our ace, Seong-hun-hyung.
And tomorrow, we were sending out Rodríguez, our foreign ace who’d already won fifteen games this season.
Looking at the Jaguars’ current state, having already failed to reach the postseason, I couldn’t imagine us losing.
Once the game started, it went exactly as we expected.
The Jaguars didn’t have much fight in them, and there was no way they could get the better of Seong-hun-hyung like that.
Complete-game win, one run allowed.
We were now just one win away from our minimum goal.
And that night...
"Where are you going?"
"Someone asked to meet for a minute."
"At this hour?"
"Yes. It won’t take long."
"You’re not going out to drink, are you?"
"Absolutely not."
"Then it’s a woman?"
"Huh? N-no way."
The older guy I shared a room with gave me a puzzled look as I got ready to head out a little after 11:30, but I managed to get past him somehow.
It helped that he’d never really been the curious type.
If he’d started pressing me about what I was doing the night before such an important game, it would’ve been a headache.
About ten minutes later...
I saw something slip out from in front of the door.
It was Jumi.
Time was up.
"Get here early."
"Huh? Right."
"And don’t waste too much strength."
"I told you, it’s not like that."
Even as I was about to leave, she had one last thing to say, so she must’ve been annoyed even if she hadn’t said much.
But there was nothing I could do.
It was a schedule I couldn’t cancel, even if I got cursed out for it.
Jumi led me to the floor just below the top level.
Which meant...
"Must be rich?"
"Seems that way."
The place we were heading was one of the best rooms in the hotel.
Booking a room like this just for a bit of time meant the person had serious money.
Jumi said the woman I was about to meet believed she was coming for a massage today.
If she was willing to drop ten million won on a single massage session, then... renting a place like this wasn’t all that strange.
What I was curious about was this:
"Does that really make that much money?"
I’d heard she was some woman who did broadcasts on the internet, like Miju.
I’d have to ask about it later.
At last, we arrived.
I stood in front of the door and took a moment to steady my breathing.
I was nervous.
This was the first time I was properly starting something I’d never even imagined doing until very recently.
Sure, there had been Miju, too, but that had been a situation where we both knew everything.
If baseball were the analogy, that had been more like a practice game.
But this was the real thing—facing someone I didn’t know at all.
"Hoo..."
After a little effort, I finally managed to calm the shaking in my chest.
Knock, knock.
Before the door opened, Jumi slipped inside first.
And then...
"Who is it?"
A thin voice came from inside.
"The person you were expecting today."
"Oh... just a moment."
I heard the latch click open.
Then the door eased open a crack.
Through the gap, I saw a woman in a white robe.
And she looked pretty young, too.
"Wasn’t she supposed to be called unni?"
She looked almost Miju’s age. No—if someone told me she was younger, I’d believe it...
I went into the room and sat down facing today’s client.
Then came the silence.
I had no idea what I was supposed to say.
"You idiot. Are you just going to sit there like that?"
Well, what else was I supposed to do?
"If you don’t have anything to say, then just get started already."
Yeah.
Jumi was probably right.
It would be better than the two of us just sitting there, staring blankly at each other.
"Shall we get started right away?"
"Ah... but did you really come like that?"
"Pardon? What do you mean?"
"No, it just seems like you came without any tools or anything..."
"Ah! This is all I need."
I held up both thumbs.
All I had to do was press and knead with these—what else would I need?
But when I looked at her, her expression turned strange.
She seemed to be thinking, What the hell is this guy?
What was with that, all of a sudden?
"What are you doing? Two thumbs up? What’s got you so happy?"
"Ah..."
Come to think of it, that did look pretty weird.
Without meaning to, I’d ended up throwing a double thumbs-up at a woman I’d just met for the first time.