The Gift
As I watched our team's at-bat in the top of the first, my mind drifted back to that meeting with the Hooded Woman.
Not long ago—Sunday night, to be exact—I'd gotten home and found her waiting for me right out front.
Aside from those first few times, every meeting with the Hooded Woman had followed the same script.
She would show up, we'd exchange a brief greeting, she'd hand me the pills, and that would be the end of it.
She never answered a single question anyway. Eventually I stopped expecting anything from her… and conversation became unnecessary.
She wouldn't even tell me her name. What was there to talk about?
But this meeting had been different.
We'd greeted each other as usual, I'd taken what she offered, and I was about to thank her and leave when—
"You did well this season."
"…Excuse me?"
"You improved far faster than I expected."
"Uh… r-really?"
A chill ran through me.
I was terrified she was about to say I'd grown enough and she wouldn't be giving me any more pills…
If that happened, I had no idea what would become of the skills I'd built on those pills.
"Are you confident about winning it all?"
"What? The season?"
"That's a given. I mean the Korean Series."
"Ah… yeah, of course I am."
"Good. Go win it. Then I'll give you a championship gift."
"Uh, what kind of…?"
"You'll find out when you win. See you next time."
She said her piece and vanished just like that.
A gift, though… the greed hit me hard.
Even the pills she gave me were already incredible… so what on earth would she hand over with a championship as the condition?
It wasn't like this memory had just randomly popped into my head mid-game. Honestly, it hadn't left my mind for a second since that night.
I felt ridiculous getting this worked up over one little promise of a gift… but what could I do? Telling myself not to think about it didn't make the thoughts stop.
"What are you doing? Let's go."
I'd been spacing out, buried in the memory, and the inning was already over.
"Nervous?"
"About what?"
"Never mind, then."
Like hell I'd get nervous over a game like this when we still had the Korean Series to win.
Everyone was making a huge deal about it being the clincher for the outright title… but honestly, it was just one more game.
We had a massive lead on the Raiders, so no chance of getting caught.
Win today and we take the title. Lose… well, we'd win it tomorrow.
"Weather's really warming up, huh."
"Stri~ke!"
"By the time the Korean Series rolls around—"
"Stri~ke!!"
"—it's gonna be freezing."
"Stri~ke! Out!"
This was bad. I couldn't focus on the game at all. My mind kept wandering off to random places.
"Maybe I should've eaten something before taking the mound."
"Foul."
"My stomach feels weirdly empty."
"Foul."
"Bananas are getting old~ What sounds good~"
Crack.
"Out!"
This was all the Hooded Woman's fault. Why did she have to go and mention a gift and mess with my head like this…
"……You okay?"
"Why?"
"You just seem like your head's somewhere else."
"Do I? I'm pitching fine, aren't I?"
"Well, yeah, but…"
Through five innings: two hits, one run. A little unlucky. The ball had clipped first base and taken a crazy hop for a triple.
But our hitters had already put up four runs, so the game was still flowing in the right direction.
"Ugh, I'm starving."
"…Just grab something and eat it."
"Too much work. And what's even available? Bananas or protein bars, that's it."
"…You're really off today. Suddenly whining about stuff you never complain about. Get your head back here. It looks like it wandered pretty far."
"It'll come back when it's ready."
"Hah…"
I needed to correct myself. I'd thought this was just another regular game, but it was actually worse than that.
I didn't feel like we were going to lose. Honestly, I'd just been throwing whatever Ko Mandeok called, and I still only had two hits and one run against me.
Wasn't the other team supposed to be desperate to take this one? They looked completely unmotivated. Did they even want to win?
Maybe that was why I was half-assing it even more.
And how did that leave me feeling right now…? Bored, restless, and completely over everything.
"Is the Korean Series making regular season games feel like a chore?"
I tried to figure out why I was in this state and landed on that conclusion.
Maybe looking forward to the big games had made the regular season ones feel dull.
"What? A chore?"
"Huh? No, nothing."
Ko Mandeok was staring at me like I'd lost my mind… I'd said out loud what was only supposed to stay in my head.
Top of the sixth. Our hitters tacked on two more runs.
Score: 6–1.
"What even is that gift~"
"Stri~ke!"
"Maybe it's actually a brand-new pill~?"
Crack.
"Out!"
"Something even stronger for next season~"
Crack.
"Out!"
"At this rate I might start throwing 170~"
"Stri~ke! Out!"
Weird. I was pitching completely on autopilot… no, I was so distracted I was just chucking it, and the results were still ridiculous.
"What the hell do you keep mumbling about out there on the mound?"
"Hyung. Someone told me they'd give me a gift if we win the Korean Series. I'm going crazy wondering what it is."
"…And that random crap is coming from where, exactly?"
"I've been stuck on it for days."
"……Who's giving you this gift?"
"A woman I know."
"What? A woman? Did you break up?"
"What are you even—"
"Two-timing?"
"Oh, come on!"
My girl and I were still going strong these days. Two-timing? Please.
Crack.
The final out was called, and I genuinely thought I was going to die.
Ko Mandeok ripped off his mask and came flying at me with tears streaming down his face, and that was the signal—every single player charged the mound.
Infield, outfield, dugout, bullpen. All of them.
I got completely buried. Up until that moment the only thought in my head was how heavy everyone was…
Then I saw the captain and Jo Sangjun crying, and something strange twisted in my chest.
"You really worked hard. I know it wasn't easy for you either. You did so well."
Seo Gyeongmin hugged me and then reached up to wipe under my eyes.
What? I touched the same spot and felt water running down my own face.
What the hell was this? I'd been completely empty-headed all day.
I'd taken the title for granted… so I'd just thrown with a light heart, my mind full of completely unrelated thoughts.
So why was this happening…
Because today's game was on the road, we kept the championship ceremony short. After barely surviving a chaotic round of interviews, we headed to the victory dinner.
There was another game tomorrow, but nobody cared. Tomorrow's game? Not even on the radar.
Honestly, even if we lost 100–0, no one would say a word.
We'd already won the title. That was that.
We rented out an entire barbecue restaurant for the party. And the menu was beef—real beef.
The owner must have been over the moon about the season title, because word was he'd ordered us to completely bankrupt the place.
Judging by the atmosphere, that was exactly what was about to happen.
It was like they'd gathered every single person on earth who was starving for meat…
"I told you to cook it more before you eat it."
"Hey! This is how you're supposed to eat beef."
"There's still blood dripping off it! What do you mean 'supposed to'?"
"People eat beef as tartare. A little blood never hurt anyone. Rare. It's supposed to be rare."
"……"
"He's right. Beef's best when it still has a little pink left."
Ko Mandeok and Hyeon-bin were completely in sync.
"I never should've sat at this table…"
If I wanted even one piece of meat between these two, I apparently had to eat it while it was still dripping blood… Ugh.
I was sighing heavily and fighting for every scrap of meat when the door to our private room swung open…
"Huh? It's the missus."
"Oh! Come on in, hurry! Get in here!"
The person poking her head through the doorway was Han Song-yi.
And right behind her was announcer Yoon Jia.
Han Song-yi and Yoon Jia joined our table.
The two absolute menaces who'd been fighting over every last piece of meat just seconds earlier suddenly turned into perfect gentlemen, like someone had flipped a switch.
They kept sneaking glances at Yoon Jia like they thought nobody would notice.
It was so pathetic it was actually embarrassing.
"Ugh… I seriously don't get those two."
"Why? They're cute, hehe."
"That? Hyeon-bin I can write off as being young… but what's that other guy's excuse?"
The dinner kept going, and after the meat platters had been refilled and emptied more times than I could count, the manager and coaching staff made their exit first.
Not long after that—
"Alright, let's wrap it up. We've got a game tomorrow, right?"
Our thoroughly drunk captain's words got the rest of us packing up as well.
His face was bright red from how much he'd had, and now he was worrying about tomorrow's game…
"Okay, everyone head back to the hotel. Hajin, you… figure it out yourself."
"Yes, sir! Thank you!"
The captain thoughtfully looking out for the only guy who had his girlfriend with him.
Now that was a captain who knew what he was doing.