Chapter 3
Chapter 3
Translator: Penny
Chapter 3
“Ha-eun, would you like to try throwing the first pitch?”
When I first heard the offer from my father, I thought it was just his usual joke.
However, seeing him with a slightly less lighthearted expression than usual, telling me more details.
And decisively, the story ended with him saying he didn't particularly want to force me, so the choice was entirely mine.
“Are you… worried about me?”
“Well, if you call it worry, then yes.”
I started to seriously consider what kind of experience it would be for me to be the center of attention for so many spectators.
Come to think of it, being a Virtual Youtuber is also a job where you receive a lot of attention.
I thought it might be a good idea to think of it as practicing the tension I would feel as a Virtual Youtuber in advance.
However, the tension I would feel during the short time on the pitcher's mound didn't have that much of an impact on my decision.
What influenced me the most was the fact that my father was ‘worried about me.’
“…I’ll do it.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really.”
I knew that it was natural for a father to worry about his daughter, but I didn't like it very much.
Could this also be an effect of my past life?
Living a life far from healthy, I had received all sorts of worries, and now I seemed to have an allergy to worry itself.
I felt like I hated anyone, for any reason, worrying about me.
I wanted to let him know, through a perfect first pitch, that there was no need for even the natural worries and concerns a father has for his daughter.
The expression on my face, a mixture of confidence and anticipation for the first pitch, was an extension of that.
“What if I throw too well and get scouted as a pitcher?”
“Come to think of it, the Sehwa Eagles pitchers have been doing poorly lately. Maybe they really will scout our daughter.”
Soon, the familiar lightness returned to my father's voice with a brief pat on the head, and only then did I erase my expression.
And so, it was decided that I would throw the first pitch.
Days of playing catch more frequently and for longer periods than before continued, and before I knew it, the day of the first pitch arrived.
“It’s okay if you make a mistake, just don’t be nervous.”
“Yes.”
I parted ways with my parents, who were looking at me with a mixture of worry and anticipation, and headed to the pitcher's mound with the Sehwa Eagles mascot.
Almost simultaneously, I realized the enormous size of the baseball stadium.
And, for a very brief moment, the attention of so many people would be focused on me alone.
‘Hmm….’
But I wasn't as nervous or tense as I thought I would be.
I seemed to have benefited greatly from thinking of all the people in the stands as viewers who would watch my broadcast in the future.
Right, it's not like they're staring at me intensely right in front of me.
The only difference between the baseball game spectators and my broadcast viewers is whether they see me directly with their own eyes or on a phone screen.
After that, I continued to brainwash myself that I was just doing a very short, about 5-minute broadcast.
I gazed intently at the catcher over there, and then imitated the pitchers I had seen on TV.
-Swish!
I finished the first pitch without any problems with a slightly forceful fastball.
It was just a simple motion of throwing the ball as hard as I could, which I had done countless times while playing catch with my father.
Even when I high-fived the mascot standing right next to me, I thought I had thrown it normally.
Judging from the fact that my mother's digital camera was constantly taking pictures of me, I didn't seem to have any strange expressions either.
However, just a few seconds later, along with the voices of the commentators praising me from the baseball stadium's speakers.
-Clap clap...─!!
“…Huh.”
The cheers and applause were a little louder than I had imagined, filling both my ears.
I didn't know what kind of expression to make, so I pulled the baseball cap I was wearing down a little further.
But I didn't forget to bow to the audience.
In a way, I thought it was a good experience since I had a story to tell on my broadcast in the future.
I didn't think much of it even when I came down from the mound and received praise from my mother, who had a very excited expression, for throwing well.
The unexpected events started after the game.
“Excuse me, just a moment!”
Just as I was about to get up from my seat, a man I had never seen before came up and spoke to me.
Soon, I received a business card.
And, just a few seconds later, I heard a strange story.
“We would like to film a children's nutritional supplement commercial with Ha-eun as the model. I was hoping you could spare some time.”
I don't know why, but I felt like a turning point in my life was just around the corner.
Even though I was only 6 years old.
In a commercial advertising a certain product, the most important thing is the advertising model.
No matter how dazzling the CG and directing are, if the advertised product and the advertising model don't create synergy, the commercial will hardly attract attention.
That was a kind of truth.
It was common sense that advertising professionals knew without having to explain it.
That's why Ha-eun was like a godsend to Kang Eun-tae, who was having difficulties in selecting an advertising model.
What else could you call a child who gave him the conviction he couldn't find even after reviewing about twenty profiles at once, if not a godsend?
[42km/h. A very clean fastball, isn't it? It was a textbook pitch.]
[Her expression is as good as any adult's. She has charisma.]
The stable pitching posture naturally elicited praise from the commentators.
Ha-eun's elegant appearance, which couldn't be hidden even by the slightly large baseball cap, also continued to captivate Kang Eun-tae's attention.
An appearance that could be sufficiently compared to the various child models Kang Eun-tae had seen on commercial shoots.
Above all, the way she calmly finished her greetings and walked off the mound amidst the great cheers of the audience was very impressive.
A quiet atmosphere that couldn't be fully expressed by the word tension, something a little different, also played a big part.
‘I can’t miss this.’
The advertising product Kang Eun-tae is currently in charge of is a children's nutritional supplement from a pharmaceutical company.
It goes without saying that the healthy appearance of the advertising model should be emphasized, as it is a nutritional supplement.
Ha-eun's unchildlike pitching skills will soon become a hot topic.
An appearance befitting an advertising model.
A neat pitching posture that would make you believe she dreams of being a baseball player.
A presence that is not at all overshadowed by the great applause of the audience.
If these three elements are well harmonized, an advertisement that will satisfy not only Kang Eun-tae but also the advertiser will surely be created.
He never thought he would be working at a baseball stadium, which is a bit far from the advertising studio, but what does it matter?
He didn't care about anything else, he just wanted to take that child, Ha-eun, to the studio and in front of the camera.
“Well, there's no need to force her to act by grasping emotions like professional actors. Ha-eun's natural appearance will be the main focus.”
What he wants to capture in the camera is Ha-eun's healthy appearance.
If it were a normal food advertisement, the directing and acting to emphasize the taste of the food would have to be supported, but for nutritional supplements, you have to focus on imprinting the efficacy on the viewers' minds.
The profiles of the child models Kang Eun-tae had seen so far were somewhat bland.
The reason why he hadn't confirmed the advertising model even though the commercial shooting date was approaching little by little was because he couldn't find a model with an image that perfectly matched Kang Eun-tae's idea.
She shouldn't be too cheerful, nor should she be too shy.
The most ideal image Kang Eun-tae wants is the serious appearance of athletes participating in the Olympic Games.
“As you know, most commercials featuring child models are a bit noisy.”
The cuteness, which is an advantage that child models have over adult models, was conceived as a supporting role, not the core of this advertisement.
In other words, he wants to capture Ha-eun's appearance in the camera, which has cuteness but also reveals other characteristics that Kang Eun-tae wants.
“I want to express Ha-eun's calmness as confidence from the nutritional supplement. In the sense that she is confident in the face of any adversity because she has the nutritional supplement.”
Thanks to explaining Kang Eun-tae's thoughts to Ha-eun and Ha-eun's parents as carefully as possible, he was not immediately rejected.
Just as he was about to carefully ask them to give him an answer as soon as possible.
“Excuse me….”
“?”
Ha-eun's mouth, which had been silently listening to Kang Eun-tae's story, opened for the first time.
The question mark slowly taken out from her small mouth was a question that was unchildlike and yet childlike in some ways.
“How much is the advertising fee?”
“Oh, I didn't tell you the most important thing.”
He drew numbers one by one on a pure white memo pad so that Ha-eun, who was a child, could easily recognize them, and told her the advertising fee she would receive.
Perhaps it was because she was a child, Ha-eun's round eyes grew bigger and bigger each time a 0 was added to the memo pad.
Objectively, it wasn't a very large amount, but it was a large sum of money for Ha-eun, who was still a young child, to handle.
Given that the Virtual Youtuber, which is a key part of Ha-eun's future plans, requires a certain amount of initial capital, this proposal was quite a sweet one.
After that, Ha-eun turned her head slightly to her father.
“Can I… earn money like Dad too?”
She uttered a slightly absurd question.
“Then, we need to open a bank account first.”
A simple and clear answer containing the meaning of permission came back.
In response, Kang Eun-tae's hand was extended towards Ha-eun with the meaning of asking for her cooperation, and they finally shook hands a couple of times.
However, no one knew that Ha-eun's value would likely be adjusted upwards due to the article about Ha-eun's first pitch, which was featured prominently in the sports newspaper the next morning.
The fact that an interview with a citizen saying that Ha-eun should be recruited instead of the current struggling Sehwa Eagles starting pitcher would be published at the end of the article was also unknown.
📝 Translator’s Note:
You may notice that certain lines or phrases in this novel appear both in their original Korean (or Hanja) form and in English translation.
This is intentional — these phrases are classical idioms, divine titles, or poetic expressions that carry layered meanings.
To preserve their original tone and authenticity, the raw text has been kept for reference, while the English interpretation is provided right before or after it. This helps convey both the literal and cultural nuance of the original work.
but if you guys dont want tha raw for future chapters or my future other novels u can just text me on discord and say so discord name Mr.Penny