Chapter 47
Chapter 47
“Just like usual, it’s like nothing ever happened. Got it?”
At Kim Min-gi’s words, the players around him nodded.
The Marines players had learned through the KBO announcement what Park Si-woo had gone through in Phoenix.
“I should’ve ripped that bastard’s arm off back then.”
Park Hyun-woo’s words were a bit extreme, but most of the players agreed with him.
But it was all over now.
Rather than bringing up something that had already ended, they decided to treat Park Si-woo as if nothing had happened.
“Who’s going first?”
“I’ll do it. I’m pretty good at acting.”
Park Hyun-woo stepped forward confidently.
“Okay. Let’s go.”
With a slightly tense expression, Park Hyun-woo opened the locker room door.
Park Si-woo, looking genuinely happy to see them, met eyes with Park Hyun-woo, whose expression was stiff.
“Oh, you all came together?”
“Yeah. Si-woo. You’re here.”
Unlike Park Si-woo’s warmth, Park Hyun-woo’s tone and smile were mechanical.
The moment he heard it, Kim Min-gi dragged him back.
“I’m an idiot for trusting him.”
Letting out a small sigh, Kim Min-gi looked at Park Si-woo, then followed what his heart told him.
“You worked hard.”
That was the start.
“If something like that happened, you should’ve told me first. I would’ve just—ugh.”
“What were you going to do?”
“Just let it go. Why are you digging into everything like that?”
Lee Dong-hoon and Park Hyun-woo started bickering.
“Si-woo… I’m sorry. I should’ve rushed over right away back then, but I was so shocked…”
“It’s really okay.”
Cha Jae-hoon carefully spoke the words he had been holding in since the bench-clearing incident.
After that, without anyone needing to force it, the team quickly returned to its usual atmosphere.
“You’re starting tomorrow, right?”
“Yes.”
Kim Min-gi nodded.
“Good.”
“But Min-seok hyung didn’t come with you?”
“Min-seok? Hmm.”
After a moment of thought, Kim Min-gi spoke.
“You know his performance’s been a mess lately, right?”
“Yes, I heard.”
Since that day, Song Min-seok had fallen into a long slump.
“If you’re okay with it, go see him later.”
“Okay, I will.”
In truth, it wasn’t just Song Min-seok.
While Park Si-woo had been away, the Marines had become a completely different team.
They had swept the Phoenix in a three-game series.
They already had two wins, and Phoenix hadn’t been in normal condition either.
But after that, the players struggled to focus on their games.
It was Park Si-woo, after all.
Him getting caught up in such controversy—it was only natural.
More than anything, the presence or absence of Park Si-woo changed their mindset entirely.
“Oh, it’s Si-woo today? Then we’ve won.”
Whenever Park Si-woo pitched, they won. No matter the streak, no matter the momentum.
He extended winning streaks and broke losing streaks.
Just knowing he was the starting pitcher gave the players a sense of stability.
Without him, everyone felt uneasy.
In the nine games after his absence, they went two wins and seven losses.
Not only did they lose first place to the Wolves, even second place was now in danger.
“Still… now that Si-woo’s back, it should be okay.”
Even Kim Min-gi, a veteran among veterans, thought that way.
The players could no longer imagine the Marines without Park Si-woo.
“Then I’ll go see Min-seok hyung for a bit.”
“Want me to come? Tch. No.”
A battery had its own way of working things out.
Knowing that better than anyone, Kim Min-gi gave them space.
A moment later, Park Si-woo approached Song Min-seok.
“Hyung.”
“Oh. You’re here?”
Song Min-seok greeted him as if nothing had happened.
“…Why are you watching that?”
If it weren’t for the video Song Min-seok was watching, Park Si-woo might have done the same.
It was footage of Park Si-woo from the past.
From his Phoenix days, and even before that.
“I just felt like I didn’t know enough about you. Even though I’m your dedicated catcher.”
“I only throw knuckleballs now.”
“Still. You said you might throw other pitches again someday. This is for that.”
After a brief hesitation, Park Si-woo told him about Oliver suggesting he try other pitches soon.
“Really?”
“Yes. There’s still about a month, though. You’ll catch for me then, right?”
“…Of course. Even if my arm breaks, I’ll catch it.”
“…No. If that happens, you need treatment.”
“No! Catching your pitches comes first!”
At Song Min-seok’s stubbornness, Park Si-woo smiled.
“Then I guess I have no choice. I’ll really throw it, okay?”
“Wait, even so, isn’t that a bit much?”
“…What?”
Seeing Song Min-seok suddenly turn serious, Park Si-woo quickly realized he’d been played and let out a laugh.
Just as the Marines had missed Park Si-woo, he had missed them too.
The Marines were busy preparing for Park Si-woo’s return game.
Players and staff alike were moving constantly.
They didn’t want to burden him, but this was a game they had to win.
Their recent slump, poor results, and concerns surrounding Park Si-woo’s return from controversy—
One win today could wipe all of that away.
But the Marines weren’t the only ones who knew that.
“The opponent isn’t in normal condition either. If we win today, tomorrow will be easy.”
Lee Min-soo, the manager of the Daegu Aces, who had come to face the Marines on their home ground, gave a single order to his key hitters.
“Don’t just stand there and watch.”
The Daegu Aces were the most Major League-style team in the KBO.
They scored with home runs and stopped runs with defense.
A reform that began over a decade ago had now become their identity.
Though this wasn’t their home stadium, Sajik was also a place where home runs came often.
Of course, hitting a home run off Park Si-woo wasn’t easy.
He had allowed only one home run all season.
Even though his knuckleball could turn into a long hit if it was clipped, no one had managed to do it.
Still, Lee Min-soo instilled confidence in his hitters.
“We have nothing to lose. Swing with confidence. I’ll take responsibility.”
Unlike before, Park Si-woo had already established himself as one of the league’s aces.
Meanwhile, the Daegu Aces were a team gradually improving after rebuilding.
Getting struck out by him or even being shut out wouldn’t be embarrassing.
If anything, it would be valuable experience.
Following their manager’s orders, the Daegu Aces hitters swung aggressively from the top of the first inning.
“Strikeout! He’s back! Park Si-woo strikes out the first three batters in his return game after two weeks!”
“What a mentality…”
Lee Min-soo couldn’t help but admire Park Si-woo’s fearless pitching.
His unshakable mental strength on the mound was famous.
Some even said it was more impressive than his knuckleball.
Lee Min-soo had thought today might be different.
He was wrong.
Still, he continued urging his hitters.
“Keep swinging like that. Don’t expect good pitches if you wait. Swing no matter what.”
And perhaps that approach was working.
As time passed, they began making better contact.
But the Marines’ defense was at its peak today.
Crack!
“Ah, come on…”
A batter who was sure he had a hit could only stare in disbelief as the ball disappeared into Cha Jae-hoon’s glove after a huge leap.
“Si-woo!”
Meanwhile, Cha Jae-hoon confidently tossed the ball back.
But while their defense was sharp, the Marines’ hitters couldn’t score against the opposing foreign pitcher.
It was a duel between aces, so it was natural.
Still, the Marines hitters grew impatient.
“This isn’t connecting at all.”
“Please… just one.”
Park Si-woo was aware of their thoughts.
But he didn’t let it bother him.
“The runs will come eventually.”
Maybe because of everything that had happened recently, he remained composed.
At this point, very little could shake him.
“Hyung. Let’s focus on hard knuckleballs this time.”
“Should we?”
Noticing how big the opposing swings were, they boldly changed their pitch selection.
It was the right moment to be bold.
And it worked perfectly.
“Strikeout!”
The Aces hitters swung helplessly.
When the occasional dangerous hit came, Park Si-woo responded even more aggressively, almost daring them to hit.
“…They’re being drawn in.”
Lee Min-soo kept urging aggressive batting.
But hitters were still human.
With no results and Park Si-woo growing even more aggressive, their swings became hesitant.
“Scoring even one run is this hard…”
A team that could score with one swing at home couldn’t manage a single run today.
That was baseball.
“We need to change the flow.”
It couldn’t be delayed any longer.
At that moment, the top of the sixth inning began with the leadoff batter.
“Joo-hyung.”
If Park Si-woo was the future of the Marines, this player was the future of the Aces.
Ha Joo-hyung.
Drafted the same year as Park Si-woo, he possessed both speed and power.
After recording thirteen home runs and eighteen steals last season, he was already at eight home runs and thirteen steals this season.
At this pace, surpassing last year’s record was only a matter of time.
But even he was hitless today in two at-bats.
“Safety bunt toward third on the first pitch. Can you do it?”
“Yes.”
“With your speed, you can make it.”
They had to use everything available.
“His throws are slow.”
Even though Park Si-woo seemed perfect, he had one small weakness.
His throws.
Perhaps due to his injury, his long throws lacked speed.
But exploiting that wasn’t easy.
“Even getting the bunt down is the problem.”
It had to be placed where Park Si-woo could field it.
Otherwise, the third baseman Rex would get it.
And most importantly, if a player was capable of that, it was usually better to let him hit.
That’s why Lee Min-soo only gave that instruction to Ha Joo-hyung, and only for the first pitch.
“If we get on base like this, we have a chance.”
Steal second, move to third, then bring him home.
Lee Min-soo knew many teams had tried similar strategies against Park Si-woo—and most had failed.
“Now that I’ve faced him, I understand.”
They hadn’t tried because they wanted to.
They had no choice.
“Hard knuckleball again?”
“Yes.”
During the break, I talked with Min-seok hyung about what to do next.
At this point, either knuckleball or hard knuckleball would work.
But today, the hard knuckleball felt better.
Soon, Ha Joo-hyung stepped up to the plate.
We had gone to nearby schools in middle and high school and faced each other countless times.
Back then, I was the one smiling at the end.
But just as I wasn’t the same person anymore, I couldn’t think of him as the same either.
“Outside, hard knuckleball.”
As expected, Min-seok called for the outside pitch.
Like most left-handed hitters, Ha Joo-hyung struggled with pitches breaking away outside.
He had already been beaten twice by it today.
He might try to adjust, but it wouldn’t be easy.
And his choice was unexpected.
“Bunt!”
A well-placed bunt bounced along the line between dirt and grass near third.
Too late for Rex or Min-seok.
I had to field it.
I sprinted, scooped the ball with my glove, and transferred it to my left hand.
And at that moment, a chill ran through my entire body.
This was the grip I first learned when I started baseball.
Naturally, it had become the pitch that defined me.
After the injury, I had no choice but to abandon it.
It had been so long since I held it, yet it felt as familiar as if I had thrown it yesterday.
Without realizing it, my hand had taken the four-seam grip.
At the same time, I saw Ha Joo-hyung sprinting toward first.
There was no time to change the grip.
I had to choose.
Throw it like this, or give up.
One month.
Oliver had told me one month.
Compared to everything since my injury, that was nothing.
I should endure this moment and wait.
But my body betrayed my will.
Or rather, I wanted to throw it too.
Unlike the knuckleball, the sensation of my two fingers brushing over the seams—
Even though my posture was awkward, not even a proper pitching form, the feeling at release was exactly as I remembered.
The ball spun rapidly as it flew toward first base.
And in that moment, I remembered what Oliver had once told me.
If the day ever came when my velocity returned—
Thwack!
“…Out!”
That day would be just like any other.
An ordinary day.