The Invitation
Not long after the series against Colorado ended.
I had finished practice and was sprawled out resting when Buxton came over. It was the kind of thing that happened several times a day, so I paid him no mind and focused on my rest—until he suddenly started grilling me as if he were angry.
What he said was completely out of left field.
"Kang! Why don't you ever invite us?"
What the hell was this nonsense?
Coming out of nowhere and asking why I never invited them…
I racked my brain trying to remember if I had ever invited anyone to anything, but of course I hadn't.
"Speak so I can understand. English is hard enough as it is—what are you talking about?"
Once Buxton filled in the missing context, this was what he had been trying to say.
He'd heard that Korean players often threw barbecue parties with their close teammates. So why hadn't I invited them? Something along those lines.
My bewilderment only grew.
"Who the hell told you that…"
As the words left my mouth, I started to get an idea. Who would say something like that?
I figured it had to be Ho-min…
"…You heard it from Y-Yua?"
Good grief.
I never would have guessed it was Yua.
That quiet, well-mannered Yua had been spreading this behind my back?
As Buxton recounted everything he'd heard from Yua one by one, it was clearly about samgyeopsal. Talk of kimchi and wrapping meat and vegetables all together in one bite—yeah, that was samgyeopsal.
I found out later that Yua had simply been talking about the meat he'd eaten with a Korean player from his previous team. And it was something from a long time ago.
In other words, Yua had just happened to mention Korean samgyeopsal during a conversation.
So what was all that about parties and invitations from Buxton?
"This bastard…"
I was starting to think I'd fallen for one of Buxton's schemes. No wonder it had felt weird how he suddenly came at me like that.
Having Buxton and the friends I hung out with these days over for some samgyeopsal at home wasn't that hard. Honestly, just buy some meat and veggies and throw them on a grill—that was all there was to it.
The only thing was, I didn't live alone.
"I'll ask my wife first. I need her permission too."
If I lived alone, I wouldn't care who came over, but we had a lady of the house, after all. Honestly, I didn't think Han Song-yi would refuse.
That was the conversation Buxton and I had before the game.
Then, after the game, as I was getting ready to head home—
"I got permission!"
Buxton shouted out of nowhere with a big grin on his face.
How was I supposed to know what he meant by that?
So I asked.
"What? What are you talking about?"
"Song-yi! Song-yi invited us!"
"······????"
Han Song-yi did what?
Turns out, right after talking to me, this guy had contacted his girlfriend. His girlfriend got that call and then contacted Han Song-yi, and it seemed they'd even set a date.
I'd heard that Song-yi had been going to some kind of gathering for the players' wives and girlfriends lately, and that she'd gotten close with some of them there. Especially Buxton's girlfriend and a few others—apparently they hung out a lot…
When I used Song-yi as an excuse, Buxton had used his girlfriend to get the word to her in advance.
Anyway, that was how things stood for now…
The problem was that nearly every player on the team was gathered right there.
"Party?"
"At Kang's place?"
"When? What kind of party?"
"Hey! What about us?"
It was like a whole pack of ghosts who'd died without ever going to a party had possessed them. Absolute chaos.
Eun-hyung in particular came right up to me and even double-checked if we were really having a party.
Why were they doing this to me…
I'd just been thinking of grilling some samgyeopsal at home—what the hell was this…
"Hey! Everyone quiet down!"
I managed to quiet the voices coming from every direction.
They all shut their mouths and just stared at me with sparkling eyes. With looks that said, You're not going to invite us?
Was I really that close with these guys?
Sure, I hadn't deliberately ignored or pushed anyone away, but there weren't many I'd been particularly warm with either. Looking at them now, though, you'd think we were all best friends.
"I'll ask my wife first. I have no idea what kind of promise that guy made, when, or how. So just wait. Okay?"
That roughly settled things for the moment.
The problem was that a party at our house now seemed like an established fact.
That night, as I told Song-yi about what had happened, I mentioned that the entire team might end up showing up.
"Ahahahaha."
She laughed her head off for a long while, finding it hilarious.
"Perfect. Should I film it and upload it? People will love it, right?"
Lately Song-yi had been saying she was bored at home, so she'd taught herself video editing and was uploading videos to YouTube one by one. She'd said her subscriber count had grown quite a bit and seemed to be putting real effort into it—and today she was excited that this would make a great video.
"What about preparations?"
"Preparations? Is there anything special?"
"······Are you sure? It seems like a ton of people are coming. Girlfriends and wives too, apparently."
"If it seems like too many, why not just book a place and invite them there? It doesn't have to be at home. If we ask Jack, he'll set something up, right?"
"Jack? Oh…"
Right.
Why had I thought it had to be at home?
We could just rent out a restaurant. Then they'd handle all the prep and help out, so Song-yi and I wouldn't have to worry much. I'd been fretting over nothing.
Plus, our all-purpose Jack. If we asked for help, he'd probably come running right away.
"Are you really okay with this?"
"Yeah. It's fine. Tell them all to come~"
"······"
Why was she so excited?
Was she really that hungry for content?
Well… a video of Red Sox players gathered around grilling samgyeopsal… that would definitely make some waves in Korea.
Things got big.
Really, really big.
The rumor spread through the entire team.
When Buxton had excitedly shouted that day, there had been so many players around… and not just players, but other staff too, so everyone found out in no time.
Honestly, at first I asked carefully. If they wanted to come. Not at home—we'd rent a restaurant and just grab a meal. Want to join?
But not a single person said no. Everyone said they'd come.
Why? Weren't they busy? It was a day off—weren't they going to rest?
Among those who accepted my invitation was Gordon Perry.
"Things turned out this way, so we're thinking of having a meal all together… um, do you have time that day?"
I asked awkwardly… but Gordon Perry nodded right away without even thinking. As if he'd been waiting for it.
Good thing I asked, or it would have been a disaster…
And our grandpa of a manager, plus the coaching staff too.
On top of that.
"This Korean-style barbecue…"
"I'll be there!"
The locker room staff. The ones commonly called clubbies.
"Just how many people is this?"
"······What are you going to do?"
"Did I know it would turn out like this? Why is everyone saying they'll come?"
"You invite them saying you'll buy the meat, of course they'll come. You think anyone's going to say 'I don't want your invitation, I'm not going!'?"
"······Haah~ I'm going crazy."
At this point, even Buxton, who'd started the whole thing, seemed flustered. He probably never imagined it would get this big.
Originally, this guy had just been thinking of a light get-together at home with the usual group. If that was the case, he should have said it somewhere without people around…
"It's okay if I bring my girlfriend, right?"
Son of a bitch.
Was that the issue…
Time passed, and finally the day arrived.
The day of the party? that I'd unintentionally become the host of, with Song-yi who was just thoroughly enjoying herself.
Cameras for recording were set up all around the restaurant, and we'd already informed everyone invited today. That Song-yi did YouTube and might upload today's video there. Of course, we said we'd blur the faces of anyone who didn't want to appear, and everyone was okay with it.
Looking at the restaurant now that it had come to this, it was a bit absurd.
"This is just a company dinner. Feels like a Korean company dinner."
"To these people, isn't it all the same? Party or company dinner."
"Is that so?"
A restaurant we'd rented for the entire day because of the huge number of people coming. Of course, we'd been able to book it with Jack's help.
Looking at all the vegetables and grills set up in advance, it was hard to tell if this was America or Korea. Especially since it was a Korean restaurant, with Korean staff among the employees, there was no awkwardness at all.
A little later the door opened, and the first to enter were Buxton and his girlfriend Ellie.
Unlike Buxton, who'd come in casual clothes, his girlfriend Ellie was wearing a dress that showed off her figure.
I wasn't sure if that was okay.
We were eating samgyeopsal—a dress… that would be uncomfortable. The meat smell would cling to it a lot too…
While inviting people, someone had asked about the dress code, and I'd told them to dress comfortably… Should I have told everyone overall?
I'd thought, Who would dress up to eat meat? but apparently that was my misconception.
Come to think of it, Song-yi had dressed up quite a bit today too. She'd said she was the host, so she couldn't just throw something on, and I'd gone along with it…
Song-yi and Ellie hugged each other and exchanged greetings happily.
And after them came Yua. And Yua's wife.
As expected, compared to Yua who'd dressed casually, his wife had dressed up quite a bit.
"Don't tell me all the women coming today are going to be like this?"
Spot on.
Without exception, the men came casually dressed. The women came fully done up.
"Is this okay to put out as a video?"
A blonde woman in full makeup and a tight-fitting dress wrapping ssam and dipping green peppers in doenjang.
"······Ah well, whatever."
It'll work out somehow.