The Day After Four Straight Wins

"…Sojin. You didn't go because you were scared."

Cheon Sojin couldn't say a word.

"I know you struggle around people. I know why, too. But…"

Ihyun hesitated for a moment.

"Let me give you an example. Every year during salary negotiations, you just compile each player's target salary and ceiling figure and hand them over."

"…"

Sojin still couldn't speak. Because everything Ihyun said was true.

Her shoulders trembled slightly.

"And after that? Meeting the players and their agents, actually negotiating face-to-face — that's always on me or the other staff. You just go right back to staring at documents and numbers."

Cheon Ihyun took a breath, then continued, his voice firm.

"But a general manager has to deal with people. It's not a job you can do just by being good with numbers. If you're aiming for that seat, you need to experience people firsthand — whether it's informal gatherings or drinking sessions. Keep avoiding it, and you'll end up avoiding the critical moments too."

Sojin clenched her fists, her whole body trembling. Seeing her like that, Ihyun held his tongue.

After a while, Sojin carefully opened her mouth.

"…I have been trying, in my own way. That's why I went to pick up Doyoon when he first arrived. And I handled all the training facility tours myself after that."

At her words, Ihyun's stern expression softened ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a little.

"How was it, once you tried?"

"I was terrified at first. But the more time I spent with him… it actually became fun."

"What part?"

Ihyun's gentle question made Sojin hesitate. He waited patiently until she found her words again.

"…He was just so easy to read. If he liked something, it showed. If he didn't, that showed too. I never had to second-guess myself around him. So I started to feel comfortable."

But her expression clouded almost immediately.

"…Then at some point, he went cold. Cold enough that I wondered if I'd done something wrong. He'd only give short answers when I talked to him, and it felt like he was avoiding me."

Sojin lowered her gaze.

"So I got tense all over again. Was I making him uncomfortable? Had I messed something up again…? Those thoughts just wouldn't stop."

She added quietly,

"So I… got scared again."

Having laid bare her true feelings, Sojin hung her head low.

Cheon Ihyun simply watched her for a long while. He didn't look particularly surprised, nor did he look indifferent.

He just silently gave her time to sort through her own emotions and thoughts.

"Sojin."

Ihyun's voice was warm. There was no urgency in his expression. He simply waited, quietly, until she could lift her head again.

When Sojin looked up, Ihyun finally spoke.

"When you said Doyoon had the yips and shouldn't be put in games — do you remember what I told you?"

"…Yeah."

"It's the same now."

Ihyun continued slowly.

"If something has changed, you find the cause of that change first. Then you solve it. There's nothing to be afraid of."

Sojin's eyes wavered, just slightly. Ihyun smiled, barely.

"Finding the root of a problem and fixing it… that's what you do better than anyone. This time, though, you're working with a person's feelings instead of numbers or data."

His tone was gentle, but it carried a deep faith in her. Sojin looked down at her fingertips, then slowly parted her lips.

"…But feelings… ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I don't really understand those."

Her voice was thin and fragile. Ihyun nodded.

"That's okay. Of course you don't. Don't try to find the right answer from the start… Just start by wondering, once, why might that be?"

He rested a hand on the desk and tapped it lightly.

"If Doyoon suddenly changed his attitude, it doesn't automatically mean it's your fault. Something might have happened inside him. Or he might just be shaken for a bit."

Ihyun drew his conclusion gently.

"What you need to do isn't get scared — it's take one more step closer, the way you did before. That's the first step in dealing with people."

Sojin was silent for a moment. But then her head rose again, very slowly, toward Ihyun.

"…Okay. I'll try."

Her voice was still small, but the texture of it was different from the trembling earlier.

Ihyun smiled faintly. His expression was steady, but beneath it lay a sincere belief in her.

"Good. That's enough."

The GM's office fell quiet again, but the silence no longer pressed down on Sojin.

…I'm dying.

That was the first thought that hit me the moment I opened my eyes.

My eyelids felt as heavy as wet towels, my head throbbed, and my mouth was bone-dry. I tried to sit up in bed and immediately collapsed right back down.

Seriously… how the hell did I end up drinking that much?

I fumbled around and grabbed my phone.

Ah.

…It was our captain.

I let out a short groan and pulled the blanket over my head.

"Uuuugh… I don't wanna go to training…"

And then—

Ding.

"…What?"

The splitting headache vanished in an instant. The queasiness in my gut, the ache in my arms and legs — all of it cleaned right up.

"Holy shit. Are you kidding me? It even kills hangovers?"

The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠fatigue was still there, sure, but just having my body feel okay again was enough to lift my mood completely.

"Thank youuu… Guess I can make morning workouts after all."

I slowly sat up. My mind was still foggy, but my body was fine. Since I'd pitched yesterday, today was just a light running day anyway. I brushed my teeth halfheartedly, threw on my training gear, jammed a cap on my head, and headed down to the first floor of the dorm.

"Hah…"

I'd arrived about an hour later than usual, so the weight room was already packed.

Hup!

Thud!

Clack-clack-clack…

The second I opened the door, grunts of effort, treadmill whirring, and the crash of barbells hitting the floor all mixed together in a chaotic wall of sound.

And from across the room, a limp, wobbling figure staggered toward me.

"Uuuuugh…"

It was Kang Daegeun.

"Sunbae-nim… I'm dying… My head feels like it's gonna split open…"

The way he was barely propped against the wall, he looked genuinely wrecked.

"Jeez, you reek of booze… How much did you even drink last night?"

"I don't know, sir… I just kept drinking whatever Daehwi-sunbae handed me…"

Then a low, thick voice came from behind us.

"Daegeun. Where do you think you're going mid-workout?"

Kang Daegeun's head snapped up in pure terror.

"…Sunbae-nim…"

Kwak Daehwi.

Clean workout clothes. Perfectly fine face. Eyes that were very much alive.

…This was the same guy who drank with us last night?

This man seemed to exist outside the concept of a hangover entirely.

I asked, stunned,

"Daehwi-sunbae? What are you doing in the weight room this early?"

Veterans like Kwak Daehwi usually commuted from home. They had the money to buy houses, and more importantly, most of them had families — dorm life just wasn't practical.

Kwak Daehwi was no exception. Even on Mondays with team training, he usually showed up around lunch. Seeing his face at the dorm first thing in the morning was unheard of.

Which made his appearance in the dorm weight room on a Monday morning all the more baffling.

Kwak Daehwi said flatly,

"…I slept here."

"…What?"

"Went home late without calling, and the front door was locked. So I crashed in Daegeun's room."

Kang Daegeun practically wailed,

"It's true, sir…! He banged on my door at two in the morning, yelled 'Open up, kid,' walked in, and just flopped onto my bed… snoring and everything…"

I was speechless.

"…In Daegeun's room?"

Kwak Daehwi casually twisted open a water bottle.

"What? The bed looked big enough."

"You took up the whole thing, sunbae-nim… I slept on the floor…"

Daegeun's plea was practically a scream. Daehwi just shrugged it off.

"It's fine. When you're young, you've gotta experience that kind of thing."

"I-I really didn't need that particular experience…!"

Daehwi looked down at Daegeun with something like pity, then turned to me.

"But Doyoon looks fine. Even after drinking that much last night."

I glanced away slightly.

"…Guess the alcohol just sat well with me yesterday."

Daegeun groaned against the wall, muttering,

"Doyoon-sunbae-nim drank the exact same amount I did… so why am I the only one suffering like this?"

Kwak Daehwi answered in a solemn voice.

"Daegeun. What do you think is the difference between you and Doyoon?"

Kang Daegeun hung his head and seemed to ponder it for a long time, then opened his mouth with the look of a man about to throw up.

"I… just don't mix well with alcohol, sir…"

Kwak Daehwi ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠cut him off without so much as a change in expression.

"Wrong."

"…It's not?"

"You're lacking in stamina."

Kwak Daehwi crossed his arms and added with total confidence,

"You're supposed to play full-time next year, right? You gonna handle a full season like this?"

"Sunbae-nim…? What does drinking have to do with stamina…?"

Kwak Daehwi casually ignored him and grabbed Kang Daegeun by the arm.

"Alright, let's go."

"Wh… where— AAAAAH!"

"Workout. Working out is how you sweat out a hangover. Hurry up. We start now."

…He's marked him.

One look and it was obvious — Kwak Daehwi had taken a serious liking to Kang Daegeun. Getting locked out of his house was just a convenient excuse. He'd come all the way here because he wanted to put Daegeun through the wringer.

"Sunbae-nim, please… please…"

"Daegeun, don't cry. Cry and we add another set."

"Sunbae-niiiiim…!"

Good at baseball, quick on the uptake, and even smooth with the seniors. On top of that, he played shortstop — the exact position Kwak Daehwi had manned in his prime.

So from Daehwi's perspective, this kid was the franchise's future — his own successor. Of course he was dragging him around and making him train.

"Doyoon-sunbae-nim… can't you say something, sir…?!"

I pretended to untie and retie my perfectly fine running shoes, pointedly not looking at the Kang Daegeun being hauled away.

Daegeun… hang in there…

I was sighing as I watched him get dragged off to the bitter end when—

Whip!

I felt someone's eyes on me and spun around.

"…?"

But there was no one there.

"…Must've imagined it."

I scratched my head for no reason and got to my feet. Then, as if nothing had happened, I walked over toward the treadmills.