Chapter 32
Chapter 32
Translator Wjin
Chapter 32
"Today's game featured truly phenomenal records! I'm so curious who the MVP will be. Let's meet today's MVPs right now!"
The camera turned to where the announcer pointed, and there stood Cha Tae-hyun and Kim Chang-hyun together.
"Yes! Today's MVPs are two players. It seems it was too difficult to decide between these two players today, so it was decided as a joint award."
└ Acknowledge.
└ It was a Naruto-Sasuke level confrontation, acknowledge.
└ 5 consecutive home runs, a perfect game. This is truly a joint award, lololol.
"First, we'll hand the microphone to Player Kim Chang-hyun. Please share your brief thoughts."
"Um... it's my first time starting in such a big stage, especially in a final game... and to win... what should I say... it feels a bit overwhelming..."
Kim Chang-hyun suddenly lowered the microphone, raised his head, and blinked. His emotions had welled up without him realizing, and tears welled in his eyes.
From afar, the Hyeoksan High baseball team had to cover their mouths to suppress their quiet laughter.
└ Phoenix Kim Chang-hyun, don’t cry… I’m crying too.
└ Ugh, those damn Phoenix fans act like everything belongs to them, lol.
└ Volcanoes Kim Chang-hyun, don’t cry… this hurts.
└ But I'm kind of envious... we also need to pick up players like Cha Tae-hyun or Kim Chang-hyun since we're not very good at baseball.
└ ?
"It seems Player Kim Chang-hyun is quite emotional. And understandably so."
The announcer waited for a moment, letting Kim Chang-hyun compose himself before he picked up the microphone again.
"Player Kim Chang-hyun showed truly astonishing growth this time. How were you able to achieve such growth?"
"......First, it's my effort. It might sound a little arrogant, but I can't help but mention the consistent effort I've put in. Ah... if there's a secret, one recently appeared."
The announcer gasped excitedly at the word 'secret'.
"You have a secret? This is truly curious. Could you tell us?"
Kim Chang-hyun chuckled, then looked at Cha Tae-hyun next to him and said, "My secret is practicing pitching against the best batter. Player Cha Tae-hyun next to me helped a lot. Whenever I asked, he always came and faced me."
└ It's you again, brilliant Tae-hyun?
└ Damn it, it's Tae-hyun again. I have no choice but to worship him...
└ By any chance, can we borrow Cha Tae-hyun for just one month for Phoenix? For our Phoenix pitchers to face him, hehe.
└ No use even if Cha Tae-hyun comes. He'd probably just coax us to go hang out in Seomyeon.
└ LOL truth.
"Yes, and we heard another heartwarming story. Finally, please share a word with us."
Kim Chang-hyun now looked towards the baseball team and said, "Lee Seung-tae."
"Huh?"
The announcer's eyes widened at the sudden remark, and Kim Chang-hyun said quietly, "Thank you. I will definitely repay this favor."
The veteran camera director cleverly turned the camera towards Lee Seung-tae, capturing Lee Seung-tae's chuckling face.
└ lolol, look at him getting all serious the moment he sees the camera, lol.
└ Lee Seung-tae really has every right to be disappointed, but look at him smiling and not saying anything. He's truly a GOAT in personality.
└ Ahh... our Phoenix's future is so bright.
└ Can't someone just hit my head really hard and send me two seasons into the future? I want to see Phoenix with Seung-tae and Tae-hyun-jua...
"Haha. They're truly a close-knit team. Now, let's proceed with Player Cha Tae-hyun's interview."
"I have someone waiting for me, so I'll just say one thing briefly."
Cha Tae-hyun looked towards the stands for a moment and said, "I'm coming now."
Cha Tae-hyun truly left only those words before disappearing from the screen.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇;
"Director, I have something to tell you for a moment-"
The director chuckled before I could finish my sentence, then looked towards the stands and gestured with his chin.
"Go wash up quickly. Your sweetheart is waiting, isn't she?"
"Excuse me? That's... she's not my sweetheart."
"Haha! Of course she is... I'll explain it well to the kids, so go. A guy who's good at baseball can date, you rascal."
There seemed to be a slight misunderstanding, but I didn't correct him.
"Thank you!"
I washed up as quickly as possible, changed my clothes, and then ran towards the stands. In the distance, against the backdrop of the sunset, Teacher Mi-yeon's face was half-illuminated.
Just seeing her side profile, I didn't know why such happiness swelled within me. I tried my best to calm the corners of my lips, which kept wanting to curl up, as I approached Teacher Mi-yeon.
The moment she saw me and smiled brightly, the corners of my lips finally curled up without any resistance.
"You did so well today, Tae-hyun-ah."
"Right? Honestly, hitting five consecutive home runs is pretty tough."
"Yes! Yes! I know, I know. Tae-hyun is the best!"
Another laugh escaped me at Teacher Mi-yeon, who gave me a thumbs-up.
"As such, I think it would be nice to have a special award today..."
"Hmm... You're right. Indeed, hitting five consecutive home runs is amazing. So, what do you want Teacher to do for you? Just tell me first."
What should I ask for? The baseball stadium date Teacher Mi-yeon had mumbled about in her sleep last time? No, wouldn't a trip just for the two of them be more beneficial? As I was happily contemplating, a black man suddenly appeared and spoke to me.
"I'm truly sorry... I don't want to interrupt your love, but I'm currently receiving death threats... Ah, I forgot."
The black man said something strange, then pulled out a translator.
"You don't need to turn on the translator."
"Oh? You can speak English? Good. It's nothing big... we're just these kinds of people."
The black man handed me a business card. It said 'New York Yankees Scout'.
"You get the gist, right?"
"Roughly."
"Then that's enough. If you're interested, contact us."
"What? Are you crazy, Rick? You're going back so fast? We need to talk a bit more!"
"Jake, this is enough. We've already been rude enough."
"What the hell are you talking about? No! Don't stand there! Ha..."
They appeared out of nowhere, handed me a business card, then suddenly started fighting among themselves and disappeared. …
They're rather eccentric scouts. I casually put the business card in my pocket. I didn't need it, but I didn't want to just throw it on the ground.
Teacher Mi-yeon's face suddenly looked dejected when she saw the business card go into my pocket.
"Are you going to the Majors...? It's not for any special reason... I'm just genuinely curious."
I couldn't help but chuckle at her too-cute lie.
"No, I told you I'm just genuinely curious..."
"Okay. Then, please just give me one hug first."
"Uhm...?"
"Then I think I can make a decision."
It was an absurd request even to me, but Teacher Mi-yeon hesitated, then slowly approached me and wrapped her arms around my waist.
Perhaps from the glow of the sunset, or perhaps from embarrassment, Teacher Mi-yeon's face, as she looked up at me, was flushed.
"...Are you going?"
...I hadn't intended to go anyway. If I had already signed a contract, I might have torn it up after seeing this.
"How can I go when Teacher is holding me like this?"
"Oh, no, it's just that Tae-hyun, you asked me to hug you..."
Watching Teacher Mi-yeon's flustered expression, I gently pulled her into a hug as well. I might have put a little too much strength into it. But it should be okay, right?
Teacher Mi-yeon's arms also slowly tightened around me. For a moment, I savored the warm embrace and her heartbeat, then said, "I'm not going."
Teacher Mi-yeon, who had been burying her face in my chest, looked up again. Was there moisture around her eyes? Did a few tears escape?
I stopped the corners of my lips from curling up again and said once more, "I'm not going to the Majors. So, don't worry about useless things. Why are you crying?"
"O-oh, no, I just asked because I was genuinely curious, it doesn't mean anything..."
"Yes, yes. Then, let's really go eat now."
I slowly tried to pull away from Teacher Mi-yeon, but her arms, wrapped around my waist, pulled me back.
"Teacher...?"
"...It's a five-consecutive-at-bat home run... so we can stay like this for... five minutes..."
Well then... I won't decline.
As I hugged Teacher Mi-yeon again, she subtly slipped her hand into my pocket and took out the business card.
"I'll... throw this away for you,. It's... not needed anyway."
"No... I told you I'm really not going."
"Still..."
"Okay. Instead, one more minute."
"Uhm..."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇;
After spending time with Teacher Mi-yeon in Seoul, I returned home again on the late-night KTX. I arrived home at 5 AM.
It was when Ji-hyun would be sleeping, so I opened the door as carefully as possible. I carefully took off my shoes and was about to go to my room when Ji-hyun's door opened.
"...Oppa, you're home?"
Ji-hyun, rubbing her eyes, met my gaze and smiled brightly.
"Congratulations on your win, Oppa."
"Thanks, Ji-hyun-ah. But go back to sleep. You must be tired."
Ji-hyun shook her head, went to the kitchen, and turned on the gas stove.
"Just a moment, Oppa."
She was already too excited, so I gave up trying to stop her and sat down at the dining table to wait. As time passed, various side dishes started appearing on the empty table, and finally, a bubbling soft tofu stew was placed there.
"You like soft tofu stew, Oppa. You must have had a really hard time, so I wanted to make it for you."
"......Yes."
As Ji-hyun smiled brightly and handed me a spoon, something welled up deep inside my chest. I took the spoon, took a spoonful, and put it in my mouth.
"Is it delicious?"
"It's the most delicious thing in the world."
I hadn't eaten all the soft tofu stews in the world, but where else could I find soft tofu stew that made me this happy with just one spoonful?
Yes. I was just happy. I continued to move my spoon, and when my spoon stopped, the pot was completely empty.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇;
After finishing my morning hitting practice, I came to the lounge, where the team members were making a ruckus, seemingly talking about something interesting.
"Wow... did you guys see it earlier? A super fancy limousine came in..."
"Yeah, I saw it... But the person who got out of that limousine was even more amazing."
"Oh, I saw her too. She really looked like a celebrity... She was blonde, so I guess she's mixed-race."
As I was casually listening to their conversation, Jin Myung-hwan asked me.
"Hey Tae-hyun, did you see her too? She really looked like someone who popped out of a drama..."
His expression, as he stared blankly into space, was a little perverted, to be honest.
"No, I came from hitting practice, so I didn't see her."
Well, I didn't see her, but I could roughly guess who she was from what I'd just heard. It must be Lee Si-ha, the second daughter of Nixon Sports, a huge conglomerate.
Oh, her nationality was Korean, but she lived in America, so she also had the name Lena.
"What? You didn't see her? You poor guy... This time, it's my victory for skipping hitting practice."
...Honestly, he was being a bit dramatic, but if she was the Lee Si-ha I knew, his dramatics were understandable.
She possessed such a beautiful appearance that no man could help but be drawn to her.
There was such a description in Nemas. But, well... she's not really related to me, and there's no need to be interested.
The only reason Lee Si-ha came to Hyeoksan High was for Lee Ji-ho. Her first appearance was probably when she suddenly entered the lounge and called Lee Ji-ho's name, right?
I subtly glanced around the lounge, and Lee Ji-ho was also chatting in a corner, and that scene might be re-enacted before my eyes soon. Thinking that, I felt excited again.
After all, I was a big fan of Nemas. It was like watching a live-action movie of Nemas that no one else could see.
Just then, someone knocked on the lounge door. And it was a very neat rhythm and intensity. Instantly, everyone in the lounge turned their attention to the door. It was understandable.
No one ever knocked so politely on the lounge door. As everyone focused, the door slowly opened. And a blonde woman slowly appeared between muscular men in suits.
Oh...
She was certainly beautiful enough to evoke gasps of admiration. To the extent that the team members' dramatics were somewhat understandable.
Lee Si-ha, with an ambiguous expression that was neither haughty nor arrogant, slowly scanned the lounge. Her eyes, which would normally stop when she found Lee Ji-ho... found him, then passed over him, and met my gaze.
...What?
At that moment, I kept my mouth shut, surprised by the unexpected situation. The corner of Lee Si-ha's mouth subtly lifted.
"Found you."