Chapter 38
Chapter 38
Marines’ third starter, or rather starting today as the fourth starter, Lee Dong-hoon arrived at the stadium.
“Whew… the air feels different.”
It was just a matter of his start being delayed by a day.
Yet, even after coming to this stadium thousands of times, it still felt strange.
“Phew. I just have to do my part well.”
Right now, the atmosphere in the Marines is better than ever.
With 15 wins and 8 losses, they are half a game behind first-place Gwangju Wolves, sitting in second.
Even though Danny Jones lost his debut game yesterday, nothing had collapsed. His performance promised more for his next start, and he was clearly capable of being a third starter or more if he adapted properly.
The same went for Lee Dong-hoon.
Fourth starter Lee Dong-hoon carried a weight all his own.
People only said he was lacking compared to the top domestic starters, but among fourth starters, there was no one who could rival him in the KBO.
Lee Dong-hoon knew this perfectly, yet somehow today, he felt like a rookie.
“…Shall I do it one more time for old times’ sake?”
Eventually, he pulled out his phone for a routine he hadn’t done in a while.
But in the end, he couldn’t press the button and went looking for someone instead.
“Ah, Danny.”
Although it wasn’t the person he was initially looking for, Lee Dong-hoon greeted Danny Jones and studied his face.
The dark circles under Danny’s eyes showed just how much he had suffered yesterday.
“Of course. It was his first game; he probably really wanted to win.”
At the same time, Lee Dong-hoon realized.
“Si-woo is necessary, after all.”
If luck had been even slightly on Danny Jones’s side yesterday, he would have been the winning pitcher. Now, Lee Dong-hoon needed that same luck.
“Have you seen Si-woo? He should be at work by now.”
“Hmm. There he is.”
Turning around at his words, Lee Dong-hoon saw Park Si-woo coming out into the hallway.
“Ah, thanks. Hey, Si-woo.”
Lee Dong-hoon quickly ran over to Park Si-woo and held out his phone.
“You haven’t been doing this lately, right?”
“Today, I was a little nervous. Okay, thanks.”
Soon, Lee Dong-hoon went to the bullpen and carefully checked the results, his cheer echoing through the hallway.
“What did you do?”
“Oh, that? It’s nothing special, just a routine.”
“You did someone else’s routine for them?”
Park Si-woo smiled sheepishly.
“It’s kind of like a fortune thing. Lately, my luck’s been good.”
“…Luck?”
“Yes. Danny, you can ask me if you need it too.”
Danny just looked at Park Si-woo silently.
“Hmm. I was just joking.”
“…Still, it would be nice if it worked.”
The home three-game series against Seoul Friends, whom we had met at the season opener.
Seoul Friends were a strong team.
They had lost to Gwangju Wolves last season and missed the playoffs, but they were a strong second-place regular-season team.
Their cohesion made their lineup even stronger, putting them in a fierce third-place battle against Seoul Falcons.
Meanwhile, Daejeon Phoenix, originally third, had slipped in the rankings after Choi Myung-joon’s injury.
Maybe that’s why people say baseball changes every year.
Of course, it’s still early in the season, and the current rankings might not hold.
Still, our team atmosphere was excellent.
“Time really hates us. The day that senior becomes a fourth starter has finally come.”
“A little early, right?”
“If it had come even a bit sooner, I could have teased him more.”
Senior Park Hyun-woo clicked his tongue in mock disappointment.
Not only Park Hyun-woo, but other seniors also expressed their feelings in their own ways.
For players who have been with the team a long time, Lee Dong-hoon pitching as the fourth starter had a special significance.
Of course, that didn’t necessarily mean the game would go smoothly.
“Darn it. On days like this, the bat always sucks, right?”
Senior Kim Min-ki muttered as he sat beside me.
That included himself too.
Today, Kim Min-ki went 0-for-2.
The two hits he managed were hardly solid, and that was it.
“Hmm. Still, I have to do something today…”
“Take it easy.”
“Noticeable, huh?”
Kim Min-ki, embarrassed, soon grabbed his bat.
“Recharge it. My energy’s drained.”
Sometimes, he came to me with requests like this.
He didn’t really do much.
Just holding the bat for a while was enough.
“Thanks. Already feels different?”
Kim Min-ki swung a few times and nodded as if satisfied.
I didn’t know what changed, but that’s how baseball players are.
If something, even a superstition, helps them play, they’ll do it.
After Kim Min-ki left, Danny came over.
“What did you do?”
“Oh, it’s similar to what I did for Lee Dong-hoon earlier.”
“Luck?”
“Yes. Something like that.”
Danny nodded but didn’t seem to take it very seriously.
Of course, if something this small could really make a difference, every player would rely on me…
-Wham!
“Did it go?”
Players left the dugout to watch the hit, and Kim Min-ki raised his hand.
Hmm, it would be awkward if a home run came at this timing.
“Si-woo! You’re the best!”
Kim Min-ki was fine with that, but
“…amazing, huh?”
Danny’s gaze was serious.
In situations like this, pretending it was a coincidence wouldn’t work.
The best thing was to stay quiet.
…But how long is he going to stare?
Danny Jones gently brushed the hair of the exhausted, sleeping Hailey.
“Thank goodness.”
After yesterday’s incident, he had earnestly asked Ona-eun to keep it secret.
Luckily, Ona-eun kept her word; no one spoke of it.
Back home, Danny laid Hailey on the bed and took a moment to look at her peaceful face.
He kissed her forehead and then sat on the sofa, recalling the day’s events.
“It was strange.”
The sight of the team’s most senior members, Lee Dong-hoon and Kim Min-ki, searching for Park Si-woo, and then everything going well after Park Si-woo did something…
Lee Dong-hoon pitched 6 2/3 innings, allowing 2 runs, and Kim Min-ki hit a game-winning home run, finishing 2-for-5 with 4 RBIs.
“Gale said something similar too.”
Park Si-woo was the biggest source of luck for him.
Of course, he knew it wasn’t purely coincidence.
Still, Danny, curious, even used a translator to look up information about Park Si-woo.
The results were astonishing.
“…That knuckleballer really was Si-woo?”
The knuckleballer who got Eden Kelly was Park Si-woo, and he hadn’t even been throwing knuckleballs for long.
He had switched teams over the winter, and although his original team, Phoenix, had been struggling, the last-place Marines had completely transformed.
At the center of it was Park Si-woo.
“Thinking about it, I could even come to Korea because of Si-woo,” said the GM.
By this point, it was too entangled to dismiss as mere coincidence.
“If this is true, then Hailey too…”
Hailey was only six.
It would be horrible if a child who barely knew the world blamed herself for everything.
And as a father, to watch that helplessly…
“…I don’t want her to think that anymore.”
The next day, Danny went straight to find Park Si-woo.
Fortunately, finding him was easy.
“Danny? What is it?”
“…Si-woo. I have a favor. But first, I need you to listen to our conversation.”
Danny started a long explanation.
Once Park Si-woo listened seriously, Danny smiled awkwardly.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to talk about this.”
“No, so what’s the favor?”
Danny finally opened his mouth after a brief pause.
“Remove the shadow of misfortune that follows Hailey.”
“Gale, are you really the same age as Danny?”
“Uh, yeah. Probably. We were drafted the same year.”
I knew Gale’s age—26, not much different from mine.
Danny’s age was about the same.
I had assumed he was much older, which made sense considering he had a child.
Hailey was six, meaning Danny became a father almost immediately as an adult.
But Danny only learned of Hailey’s existence last year.
His high school girlfriend had kept Hailey a secret and had her give birth without telling him.
Danny learned about Hailey in the worst possible way—her mother had died.
No one else could take care of Hailey, so Danny was contacted, and that’s how they first met.
“At first, I thought it was unfortunate. I got Hailey when my own situation was unstable. But that little girl comforted me.”
Danny’s expression at that time was probably unforgettable.
However, there was a problem.
“Hailey would cause chaos whenever she saw baseball.”
Through psychological counseling, Danny finally found the cause—her mother’s gambling.
When her mother lost, she blamed Hailey, leaving deep trauma.
So every time Danny had to bring her to the stadium, it was hard for her.
Danny couldn’t focus on the game either, and his performance suffered.
As they kept losing, the vicious cycle repeated.
“That’s why I chose Korea. Hailey really loves K-pop. There was a big mistake in the middle, but thanks to you, Si-woo, we were able to make up for it.”
Luckily, Hailey adapted quickly and found stability.
But Danny’s debut game was the problem.
“…I was too hasty.”
Believing Hailey had improved, Danny invited her to his game, and they lost.
“I… I was really stupid.”
He had been too focused on overcoming Hailey’s trauma quickly to consider the consequences.
Fortunately, her condition didn’t worsen, but it couldn’t continue like that.
That’s why he asked me for help.
Danny’s favor was simple: if we won the next game, I should call out Hailey’s name.
And, if possible, when Danny pitched, he wanted Hailey to watch his game with us.
It wasn’t a difficult request.
If anything, I worried it might be too easy.
So we called in an expert.
“…Yes! Leave it to me!”
Ona-eun, the player closest to Hailey and experienced in such matters, eagerly volunteered.
“First, we need another player to act…”
“Acting? You came at the right time.”
Senior Park Hyun-woo confidently joined.
Now we just needed Danny and Hailey.
Soon, Danny and Hailey arrived at the designated place.
They waited outside, then entered at Ona-eun’s signal.
Senior Park Hyun-woo looked at me.
“This is our Marines’ symbol of luck, Park Si-woo, isn’t it?”
…It’s ruined.
Acting? Anyone listening would think a total amateur was performing.
Surprisingly, it worked.
The interpreter carefully explained in case Hailey didn’t understand, and her eyes sparkled as she looked at me.
“Hello, Hailey. Long time no see.”
“Hellooo…”
“Did you come to cheer for me?”
Hailey hesitated and shook her head.
Glancing at Park Hyun-woo, she acted convincingly this time.
“With Si-woo, I’m not afraid of any misfortune or bad luck.”
For a while, it was a repeated pattern.
I’d talk to Hailey, Park Hyun-woo would suddenly link it to luck, then repeat.
“Goodbye, Hailey.”
In the end, Hailey didn’t say she was cheering, but Ona-eun was confident.
“This is enough. Hailey is a really kind and smart girl.”
The pre-work was done.
All that remained was for me to win tomorrow and thank Hailey.
And that was the biggest challenge.
“Eh? Isn’t that the easiest part?”
“Yeah, just do it as usual.”
…Ugh.