Forced Retirement
Na Hyunsu's ankle was wrapped in a cast, and bouquets of flowers and fruit baskets sat piled up—clear evidence that plenty of visitors had already stopped by.
"Why are you here? Here to mock me?"
"What else? Just felt like coming."
I bit into an apple slice from the tray above the bed. I half-expected him to complain about me eating his food, but Na Hyunsu stayed silent. Ah, right—he couldn't move anyway.
"Look forward to it. Next time, I'll smash a bat right into that face of yours."
Na Hyunsu still didn't seem to grasp his own condition. He was still looking down on me.
"Torn ACL."
"ACL...?"
Yeah. That was the face I wanted to see.
"At least a year of rehab, and the aftereffects are brutal. Costs a fortune, too. Way more than all the bribes your mother sent the coach, wouldn't you say?"
"You bastard! How the hell are you gonna pay for this?!"
"What can I do? I was just trying to throw a fastball inside with everything I had. The ball just happened to slip off my fingers and fly straight at you."
"Bullshit! You were aiming for me from the batter's box too!"
"So? Got any proof? Do you?"
I showed him a file folder.
"What the hell is this...?!"
"Smoking in high school, smashing soju bottles over the heads of soju shuttle kids... and drunk driving on top of that? Wow."
"Drunk driving? I was on an electric kickboard back then..."
"That's still drunk driving, you idiot. You know electric kickboards count as two-wheeled vehicles, right?"
Injury, school violence record, drunk driving. The perfect target for Korea's bloodthirsty media that lived to tear people down. A textbook three-step retirement package.
The source? Kim Sihu's legal team. As expected from a chaebol, they'd gathered everything—CCTV footage, victim testimonies and evidence that Na Hyunsu's parents had tried to bury.
"Ah, your connections won't work here. You know who this is, right?"
"...I know. Kim Sihu."
"Haha, I was a little surprised it wasn't the captain. So you were the first-year captain?"
Even in this situation, he still hadn't read the room.
"The uniform... wait, I forgot to wear it today too."
"Whatever. I remember you. The only shameless bastard among all the kids who moved near Haneul Middle School just to apply through the local quota system and then tried to join the baseball team. Yeah, I remember you clearly."
Na Hyunsu probably already knew. If he'd played baseball in middle school, he would've known Kim Sihu had GL's law firm backing him.
"Anyway, that Kim Sihu is watching my back. And compared to the dirt I've got on you, you've got nothing. Plus, you've got one leg that's basically useless now. You won't even be able to walk properly, let alone catch. Even if you somehow switch to the outfield, your defense won't be good enough for a starting spot."
"......!"
"Rehab costs a ton, and even if you miraculously return, everyone saw how a first-year threw a fastball right at you. No one saw you hit any of my pitches. Who the hell would start you? In short... your playing days are over, you idiot."
The anesthesia must still have been lingering—he wasn't reacting much. If he was just going to sit there like that, there was no point in coming all the way here. Or maybe not. His lips were trembling. He was terrified.
"Must feel unfair. Probably pissed off too. But every time you feel that way, remember all the players you bullied and tormented just to protect your pathetic pride."
"........."
"And if you or anyone connected to you lays a finger on me or any of the players I've been involved with, I'll make sure you can't even show your face in Korea anymore. So behave."
"Wait, you're sure I'd help you unconditionally?"
"Of course. You're my teammate, after all. (The one I gave free gear to and got the legal team to support and did all sorts of other things for.)"
".......Ahem."
What the hell, why was he blushing? He had a fiancée. A blonde, ridiculously pretty one.
Anyway, I left Na Hyunsu staring blankly into space and headed for the door. Kim Sihu spoke up.
"Nothing else to say?"
"Nah. That guy's not a player or a teammate. He's not even a person."
My connection with Na Hyunsu ended here. The lingering discomfort and unpleasant feelings could stay here too.
"Seojun, you okay?!"
"Yeah. He didn't even hit me."
"It wasn't just the bat—you got hit in the head with a dead ball too! That bastard Na Hyunsu... how dare he target you!"
"Well, he got what was coming to him, didn't he?"
"Ah, and thanks for helping, Sihu."
"It was nothing. I just did what needed to be done. Definitely not because you're my boyfriend or anything, so don't get the wrong idea."
Right now, I had someone firmly on my side.
...
...
...
On the bus ride home, I checked my phone. Most people thought I'd gone to the hospital because of the dead ball to the head, not because I was settling things with Na Hyunsu.
Coach Kim messaged that I didn't have to play tomorrow's game and could skip school on Monday if I brought a doctor's note. Yang Uijin whined that the pitching staff would collapse without me. Even Jeong Taehun sent a chicken gifticon with a message telling me to eat well and rest.
'Taehun, you're the best.'
-KakaoTalk!
"How do these guys even know I got hit by a dead ball... And this brat Hani is sending her injured brother on an ice cream errand?"
I figured the Seoul High players must've seen the game highlights and texted me. When I opened YouTube, Ain was streaming the highlights of the Haneul High vs. Munhwi High game for some reason.
Then that scene played. Na Hyunsu getting hit and collapsing exactly where I'd aimed.
'Hmm... looks like public opinion is on my side.'
That was enough. I wasn't some psychopath who threw revenge pitches at opposing players just because I felt bad. I only counterattacked because I was attacked first.
The stream ended with Ain wrapping up after I caught a fly ball, chatting briefly before signing off.
When I watched the game highlight reel for a summary, the commentators had covered for me from the start.
'......Who knew pulling my cap down to hide my smile would help this much.'
If the camera had caught me smiling...
[Rookie pitcher L who throws 160, throws a fastball that takes an opposing player's life after getting into an argument?]
A sensational headline like that would've already been floating around.
When I got home, my family rushed out to worry about me, proving they'd watched the game. That evening, we had salmon, said to be good for bones, and plenty of cheese.
"What?! There's no Melona!"
"There's a convenience store right in front of the house. Go buy it yourself."
"Eeeeeeeek...!!"
Of course, I didn't go buy the ice cream. If she wanted it, she could go get it herself. Why was she ordering me around?
And much later, I found out that the small-to-medium enterprise run by Na Hyunsu's parents had suddenly gone bankrupt. Apparently, they'd been cutting costs and embezzling while dealing with GL Group, even manipulating stock prices... and got hit with the iron fist of justice from GL Group's legal team, causing the company to vanish overnight and leaving them out on the streets.