Chapter 35
Chapter 35
Translator Wjin
Chapter 35
Just after midnight, Lee Si-ha sat in front of her computer in a dark, unlit room.
She pushed back her messy, still-damp hair, unbuttoned a few buttons of her pajamas, then pressed the power button with her toe and carefully set up the potato chips and cola she’d brought, making sure they wouldn't touch the keyboard.
‘So~ perfect!’
Watching games or NewTube for an hour or two before bed. It was a small hobby of the chaebol heiress that others could never imagine, a private time where she could cast off her business face, her formal speech, and all the suffocating expectations.
For now, she left the bag of chips and the cola unopened. They tasted twice as good when enjoyed with the best entertainment.
As soon as she logged onto NewTube, a row of mouth-watering thumbnails appeared. How could she resist when countless videos, all tailored to her tastes, were recommended?
“I really can’t quit this.”
As Lee Si-ha chuckled, a thumbnail with a familiar face caught her eye.
[High school baseball's biggest star, Cha Tae-hyun, declares war for the President's Cup?]
‘Using Cha Tae-hyun as a promotional model was a good choice after all.’
For a baseball video—a high school baseball video at that—to appear in her algorithm, which was mostly filled with anime and games, meant it was trending heavily.
Well, that was that, but now was her precious time to unwind from the day's fatigue, so she didn't plan on watching it.
“Huh…?”
But then… the bat Cha Tae-hyun was holding looked strangely familiar.
“That’s our company’s product…?”
‘Is he promoting it for an interview?’
But in the related videos section, a clip from the first round of the President's Cup also showed Cha Tae-hyun holding the prototype she had sent him.
Click.
Lee Si-ha decided to watch that video for a moment.
In the game footage, Cha Tae-hyun was even more decked out than in the interview.
The bat, the gloves, and even the fielding glove—a piece of equipment players rarely change once they've broken it in—were all products she had provided.
What's more, every time he stepped up to the plate, he seemed to tap his bat twice on home plate, as if to make sure the "Nixon" brand was visible.
“Anyone would think it's his routine…”
Rip
“Huh?”
She was so surprised that she had opened the bag of chips without realizing it.
‘Am I actually enjoying a baseball video?’
She was passionate about the baseball business, but she enjoyed making the equipment, not watching the games, so this was a new experience.
Fizz…
Since she'd already started, she poured herself a cola and slowly got engrossed in Cha Tae-hyun’s video.
·
·
“Hmm… baseball is more fun than I thought.”
Above all, it was satisfying and felt good to see the product she had poured her heart into being used in a video.
Anyway, the video was one thing, but she needed to draw a clear line. Lee Si-ha was the type to strictly adhere to contracts. What Cha Tae-hyun had done, while helpful, was outside the scope of their agreement, so she needed to address it.
She took out her phone and composed a text.
[Sorry to text so late. I happened to see a video on NewTube today and noticed you were promoting our products. Thank you so much, but I'd appreciate it if you could refrain from any promotion outside our contract until we make an additional request.]
‘Hmm… but the promotion isn’t a bad thing for us. Will he be a little offended?’
Lee Si-ha rewrote the text.
[We will calculate and send you a promotional fee for this instance. However, next time, please consult with us in advance…]
Before she could finish typing, a reply from Cha Tae-hyun arrived, and her hands stopped.
[i didn't promote anything]
“Hmm?”
[Ah sorry. I'm not used to using formal language in texts.]
No, that wasn't the problem…
[You can speak comfortably. But what do you mean you didn't promote anything? It was all over the game footage.]
[I just used it because I liked it.]
Lee Si-ha was momentarily stunned. Not because he had immediately switched to informal speech after she said he could be comfortable, but because she hadn't expected him to say he used it because he liked it.
[You liked it?]
Wasn't that just lip service? The baseball equipment market was already saturated with good established products, and custom-made gloves were common.
Yet, a man who had earned a billion won was not only using a prototype from a brand that had just started production but was also praising it?
Of course, she had worked hard on it. It was a business she had staked everything on, no empty words.
But… it was a product that hadn't even been released yet, so she wasn't completely confident.
[No, I'm serious, I used it cuz it's good… Want me to explain why? gg?]
She couldn't help but chuckle at the abbreviated slang. She had been treating this conversation as a serious business matter, but she could feel that he was just chatting like he would with a friend.
Still, it wasn't a bad feeling. A conversation like this.
[Yes. Please do.]
[First off, the bat is a definite pass. The durability seems good, the ball travels well, and the weight is just right…]
[The glove, you can tell you aimed for comfort. It's definitely comfortable, and most importantly, it's light…]
[But if there's one thing I'd improve, it's the color scheme of the glove, it's a bit tacky? And for the bat, instead of the Nixon lettering…]
Lee Si-ha stared blankly at the flood of texts, a smile forming on her face by the end. At first, she had thought he was just saying things to get on her good side… but looking at these texts, that wasn't it at all.
It felt more like a regular customer who genuinely liked the product and was listing things they'd like to see improved.
[Yes. I’ll try to fix those parts.]
[OK, make sure to send me the improved version when it comes out]
Lee Si-ha smiled again as she typed.
[Of course. Just let me know if there's anything you want, I'll send it all to you.]
[Then can you recommend something you're confident in?]
“For the bat… it would have to be the N200, right?”
“The glove? The glove is a bit of a tough one…”
A smile never left Lee Si-ha’s face as she texted. A kind of smile that didn't appear even when she was watching dopamine-inducing videos for a quick pleasure fix.
It was an unfamiliar and fresh feeling, but not a bad one at all. Was it because she'd never had a single friend while chasing success since she was young that a conversation like this felt so fun?
‘I get why my sister texts so much. This is… really fun.’
For the first time in a long time, she was able to text for the sake of conversation, not for profit.
[I'm heading to bed soon. Good night.]
After looking at the text with a warm smile for a moment, Lee Si-ha wrote a reply, with a slight ulterior motive.
[Sleep well. If… you have any more questions next time, feel free to contact me.]
·
·
·
Meanwhile, Cha Tae-hyun looked at his phone, a grin spreading across his face.
“Lee Si-ha, as expected. She’s so generous.”
He had initially planned to say, "That was a promotion, yes! So give me an incentive," but he thought that was a bit much. So he had subtly asked for other products instead, and she had readily agreed to give him whatever he wanted. How could he not like her?
Most importantly, he liked that he didn't have to go buy the equipment himself and that she would send it to him.
“I won’t have to worry about equipment from now on.”
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇;
On the day of the President's Cup round of 16, he came to Mokdong Baseball Stadium again.
“Hey Tae-hyun, did you see the parents on your way in?”
“Were there? I don't know. How do you even know they're parents?”
“You just get a feeling. They have a similar aura to the moms and dads we see every day…”
I don’t have that, Myeong-hwan…
“It's not a big deal, is it? It's not the first or second time parents have come to a tournament.”
“That's true, but there were a lot today. I think since it's the first time Shinjung High has made it to the round of 16 in a while, they probably called all their relatives.”
He had also seen an article saying that it was the first time in 10 years that Shinjung High had made it to the round of 16.
The President's Cup was one of the few tournaments before the draft, and since they had made it to the round of 16 after a long time, the parents' expectations must have been high.
It probably felt like cheering on a son taking the college entrance exam.
“But why did you bring this up?”
“In case you saw the parents and went easy on them out of pity.”
“You think I would?”
I have someone precious cheering for me too.
“I have to play like I always do. Hard.”
“So you’re going to make the parents cry?”
“That’s going a bit too far…”
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇;
My turn at bat, as the 4th batter, came in the top of the first inning. With no outs. In other words, the bases were loaded.
Well, it couldn't be helped. Shinjung High was a relatively weak team that had made it to the round of 16 for the first time in 10 years, and we were a team that had already won two championship trophies this year.
The power gap was significant, so it wasn't strange that the starting pitcher was getting shelled from the first inning.
Standing in the batter's box, I glanced at the stands. In the spot she had mentioned, Ms. Mi-yeon was looking at me and cheering enthusiastically.
I'd never done it, but was this what doping felt like?
Just looking at her once made me feel like I was overflowing with power. To the point where I was confident I could hit it out of the park if I just made contact. This is why they don't allow drugs.
The pitcher wiped the sweat from his forehead and glanced at the stands. I followed his gaze and saw a middle-aged woman with her hands clasped, her eyes closed in prayer.
It was probably the pitcher's mother. If I had a mother, my heart might have softened a little.
The pitcher, having steeled himself, wound up and threw the first pitch.
“Ball!”
A pitch that missed wide outside. It felt more like he had lost control than a deliberate pitchout.
Second pitch.
“Whoa…”
The ball suddenly flew towards my head, and I ducked slightly. If I had reacted a moment later, I might have been hit. The pitcher's eyes and mouth widened in surprise.
I sensed it wasn't intentional, so I raised a hand and returned to the box.
But…
“Dangerously!!!”
Ms. Mi-yeon seemed to see it differently. She shouted loudly and glared at the pitcher with narrowed eyes.
I smiled slightly and raised my bat again.
Third pitch.
He seemed to have lost control again, as the pitch came in low, about half a ball's width off the plate.
I hesitated for a moment. Should I swing at this or not? It was definitely a borderline pitch. But when I thought about what Ms. Mi-yeon wanted, my arms were already swinging the bat.
With what looked like a ridiculous uppercut swing—
Crack!
He had literally "scooped it up."
The pitcher, with a "Why would he swing at that?" expression, whipped his head around to follow the ball. It was as if I could hear him thinking, No way? Why is that going out? Huh?
The ball soared over the center fielder's head, hit the top of the fence, bounced once, and fell over.
I flipped my bat coolly, and…
“Tae-hyun-ahhh!”
…I smiled at Ms. Mi-yeon, who was standing and shouting my name, and started running the bases.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇;
“Wow… his uppercut swing is amazing every time I see it.”
Shin Ha-yoon had started watching all of Cha Tae-hyun's game broadcasts. It had started with "I need to analyze him…," and of course, she still told herself she was watching for analysis.
But if analysis was really the goal, she should have stopped after watching the swing footage she had personally filmed at the Cheongryonggi finals hundreds of times.
Slowly, she had to admit it.
“This is how you get fans…”
The fact that she herself had become a fan of Cha Tae-hyun.
Actually, it wasn't that strange. Shin Ha-yoon was crazy about the Phoenix, after all. There's a good player on the Phoenix?
Then of course she would become a fan. It was more surprising that she had resisted for this long.
Right. It wasn't strange at all.
It wasn't because they went to the same school or because of any romantic feelings… she was just excited about Cha Tae-hyun of the Phoenix as a fan.
‘In the first place… I don’t even have the right to be more than a fan.’
Hadn't she hurt Cha Tae-hyun by believing a groundless rumor? For someone like her, cheering him on as a fan from a distance was the right thing to do.
“Ah, I should make a clip of that just now. For the title… how about, 'This is the Tae-hyun Zone, isn't it?' That should be good.”
Right… a fan cheering from afar.
That should be okay.
After carefully editing the video, Shin Ha-yoon uploaded it to the channel she had created for "analysis," which was now filled with Cha Tae-hyun's hitting videos.