Chapter 48
Chapter 48
Translator Wjin
Chapter 48
Although the Phoenix had virtually secured last place with their repeated losses, the fans were raising their glasses in celebration.
[Yes! 10 straight losses! Last place confirmed, nice!]
[Tae-Hyun the God confirmed to join the Phoenix lololol]
[Upvote if you're happy we're in last place lololol]
[Next year is autumn baseball, and the year after is the championship! Upvote if you're already excited lol]
The gallery was filled with excited fans. They were already completely immersed in the fantasy that Lee Seung-Tae and Cha Tae-Hyun would resolve their 30-year-old wish for a championship.
That is, until the next day when Lee Seung-Tae announced his intention to advance to the Major Leagues.
[Title: Hey, WTF, Lee Seung-Tae is going to the Majors?]
Hey, WTF is this? A news report just came out saying Lee Seung-Tae is thinking about the Majors…. The draft is just around the corner, what kind of thunderbolt is this….
└Stop lying
└It's real, go search for it
└How is this real? WTF
└Hey guys, he just announced his intention, isn't it still unknown? Isn't he just trying to raise his value?
└Read the article, it seems like his heart is just set on the Majors….
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇;
“…What should I do, Tae-Hyun? The Phoenix needs to win the championship…”
At the news of Lee Seung-Tae's Major League advance, Ms. Mi-Yeon had been saying how disappointed she was all throughout lunch today. Well, since I knew she was a huge Phoenix fan, I understood how she felt. Still…,
“You have me, you know. Is there a need to be so upset?”
I had said it with a little more emotion than I intended. At that, Ms. Mi-Yeon's eyes widened, and she clasped my hand.
“Yes. That's right. I have you, Tae-Hyun. I said something unnecessary.”
“Teacher… this is a classroom.”
“I can just let go if someone comes.”
Ms. Mi-Yeon smiled bashfully and squeezed my hand tighter.
Hmm…. Now I felt a little more at ease.
Right. Although I had been a little worked up, Lee Seung-Tae was, objectively, a necessary resource. No, he was essential.
Without Lee Seung-Tae… winning the championship with the Phoenix would be quite difficult. That's how hopeless of a team the Phoenix was.
I needed to ask Lee Seung-Tae about this. If he was really going to the Major Leagues, I had to start thinking of a backup plan from now on.
That was that, but…
“Tae-Hyun, is it good?”
“Of course it is.”
For now, I should just enjoy this moment.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇;
After lunch, during the free training time, Lee Seung-Tae suddenly came to find me.
“Let's talk for a minute.”
I was planning to go find him anyway, so this was good.
Lee Seung-Tae, who had found a bench and sat down, spoke first.
“It's nothing much, but I'm thinking of going to the Majors.”
So it was true…? Originally, in Nemas, Lee Seung-Tae did get an offer from the Major Leagues, but… I'm pretty sure he didn't go.
“Didn't you say you weren't going to the Majors? Did you have a change of heart or something?”
“No, it's not that. I somehow got in touch with Kim Ho-San, and he persuaded me that I should aim for the Majors.”
Kim Ho-San… then it made sense. How many players would be able to resist when the most successful pitcher from Korea was persuading them that they were good enough to aim for the Majors?
“And Kim Ho-San also said that you're going to the Majors too.”
“Pardon?”
For a moment, I wondered if I had misheard. Me, to the Majors? I even tried to retrace my memory to see if that was really the case, but it wasn't.
“It's not true?”
“No…. I've never said such a thing.”
Lee Seung-Tae, who had slightly furrowed his brow, tilted his head.
“Really? He seemed quite sure when he said it.”
“That's just his opinion. I've never said such a thing.”
“Well… even if that's not the case, don't you think someone of your level is good enough to aim for the Majors?”
That… I didn't really have anything to say against that.
“That's true, but… I made a promise.”
“A promise?”
“Yes. That I would show them a Phoenix championship.”
Lee Seung-Tae let out a chuckle.
“A guy who hasn't even debuted is already in a relationship?”
“No, it's not a relationship yet.”
“And you made a promise like that even when it's not?”
“…I just want that person to be happy. That's enough for me.”
Lee Seung-Tae shook his head.
“To put it nicely, it's romantic. To put it badly, you're just a pushover.”
“Then please say it's romantic.”
“Alright, a romantic pushover.”
Just as Lee Seung-Tae, who had chuckled, was about to turn back, saying he had said all he had to say, I called out to him.
“Can't you just go to the Phoenix instead of the Majors?”
Even as I said it, I knew it was a quite an unreasonable request, but shouldn't I at least try to grasp at straws? This was Lee Seung-Tae.
Lee Seung-Tae, who was called the greatest high school baseball prospect of all time. A player who was truly ready to debut in the pros right now and step onto the first-team stage.
If such a Lee Seung-Tae didn't come to the Phoenix, the difficulty of making the Phoenix win the championship would go beyond difficult and become a hellfire.
“Sure. Then I'll just go to the Phoenix.”
“Pardon?”
“What, you don't like it? You asked me to go to the Phoenix.”
No, that was right, but.
“This easily?”
“Is there a problem?”
“No, it's not that…”
“I haven't said this until now, but I'm grateful to you. It's because of you that I can play baseball properly right now.”
My thoughts weren't working well in this very unexpected situation. The fact that he was suddenly going to the Phoenix, and what was this about him playing baseball properly because of me?
“Although it was only for a month… I definitely did something I shouldn't have to Gwang-Hyun. If it wasn't for your pitch then, I might have ruined Gwang-Hyun's baseball career. And my baseball career too…. So, think of this as a repayment for that.”
I don't know. Even if he tried to explain with a somewhat serious face, I still had no clue what I had done. I just nodded. I didn't know if Lee Seung-Tae would really give up the Majors and go to the Phoenix, but for now, it was good news.
And the very next day, Lee Seung-Tae really did announce that he was giving up on advancing to the Majors. And he even mentioned my name.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇;
[The reason for giving up the Majors? My junior, Cha Tae-Hyun, asked me. To aim for the Phoenix championship together….]
└ Tae-hyun the God 😭😭😭😭
└ I was so scared thinking Seung-tae was leaving 😭😭😭
└The fact that he's already thinking about the Phoenix championship is so cool for real. Cha Tae-Hyun, you're definitely getting your number retired.
└You to Tae-Hyun the God…? You bastard?
└Worship Tae-Hyun the God
└The guardian deity of the Hwangnix, Cha Tae-Hyun
└What a relief, the championship won't be delayed by a year for real.
└There's no choice but to worship the great Tae-Hyun, right?
└As a token of gratitude, I've completed the purchase of 3000 Nixon bats promoted by the great Tae-Hyun.
└I just bought 5000 of Tae-Hyun the God's gloves too.
“Wow, Cha Tae-Hyun, your public sentiment is amazing. You could even run for mayor.”
Jin Myung-hwan, who was fiddling with his phone instead of training, chuckled.
“What's the point of having good public sentiment now? I still have a long way to go before I get to the Phoenix.”
“Hey. Still, at this rate, you won't get any hate when you debut.”
It seems Jin Myung-hwan didn't know the team called the Phoenix very well. How could you not get hate there? Even if Babe Ruth came back, he would get hate there.
“That's a place where you get hate if you give up one hit, even after getting five consecutive strikeouts.”
“Hey, isn't that an exaggeration?”
“They even throw chicken if you don't play well.”
Jin Myung-hwan instantly became quiet.
“That's true…. I should probably not go to the Phoenix…”
“Is it just the Phoenix? You'll get hate wherever you go.”
Just as we were continuing our small talk.
“Cha Tae-Hyun! It's been a while!”
The high school baseball broadcasting team came to find me. I had wondered what they were here for since the tournament was over, but they suddenly said they wanted to make a video with the concept of reenacting my old daily life.
To be honest, I didn't know what that had to do with the popularity of high school baseball, and I wasn't in desperate need of money, so I refused.
But the director of the film crew was very persistent.
“It will help with the popularity of high school baseball, but it can also be of some help to you, Cha Tae-Hyun!”
“To me?”
“Yes. I don't know if you've seen NewTube lately, but… some false rumors are spreading. That your past story is fabricated…”
I knew about that to some extent. Because Jin Myung-hwan had shown me the comment section before.
-lol you're falling for this? Does that even make sense? It's obviously a lie.
-For real lol. Trying to make a forced tearjerker with a made-up story lol.
Well, comments like that, saying that the past story I had told in an interview was fabricated. It wasn't particularly strange.
It's natural for bugs to gather when your recognition goes up. There were quite a few of those types even when I was sweeping through the Major Leagues.
“So you're saying we should film a reenactment video. To clear up all these false rumors. Is that it?”
“Exactly! Of course, to be honest, it's more that we just want to make a video of you, Cha Tae-Hyun…”
I knew that. I liked his honesty. Anyway, as I listened, I thought it was quite worth filming. I didn't care if arrows were flying at me. But.
-What the hell are Cha Tae-Hyun's parents doing? Don't they work?
-For real. Why is only Cha Tae-Hyun being pushed around? And his sister, is she not doing anything while her older brother works two part-time jobs?
I was also in a difficult position because I was seeing comments that were slyly dissing my non-existent parents, and most importantly, comments that were even touching on Ji-Hyun.
Now that I was a promotional model for Nixon Baseball, it would be good to manage my image too.
“Yes, let's film it.”
“Really? Thank you, Cha Tae-Hyun!”
“Yes. I'll talk to the coach first, and then I'll go to the meat restaurant.”
“Pardon? The meat restaurant? Um… we're going to make a video with a reenactment actor, so you just need to explain it like you did back then, Cha Tae-Hyun.”
Well, that was fine too, but.
“Wouldn't it be more realistic and get rid of the talk about it being fabricated if I reenact that time myself?”
The director looked at me with wide eyes for a moment, then laughed loudly and gave me a thumbs up.
“Tae-Hyun, are you really on your second life? No, how do you know more about broadcasting than me? Hahaha! That's great. It's a very good idea!”
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇;
The reenactment broadcast was decided to be conducted in a way that I would work as a substitute for one day at the part-time jobs I used to have, and we started with the meat restaurant part-time job first.
I grilled meat and ran over to take orders when called. I was just doing the part-time job as I used to, but the director and staff looked at me with pitying eyes throughout the filming.
“Um… isn't it hard? If you're tired, it's just a reenactment video, so you can stop here.”
There were even staff members who worried about me like this. Well, up until then, they were just worrying about me or looking at me with pity.
“Pardon…? You have another part-time job?”
“I used to work two a day before I joined the baseball team. The meat restaurant until 10, and then the convenience store part-time job from 10:10.”
“No… then when do you sleep?”
“Well… I have to sleep at school. I'm sorry to the teachers.”
When I said I was going to work a part-time job at a convenience store in addition, they went beyond looking at me with pity, and some even wiped away tears.
And so, after finishing the convenience store part-time job as well, the filming finally ended at 4 o'clock. It was in an atmosphere of saying goodbye to the staff after the filming ended when the director approached and asked.
“…Cha Tae-Hyun, I know I shouldn't be asking this question, but I have to ask.”
The director took a deep breath and then exhaled loudly before continuing.
“…When I think about it, I think this question will definitely keep coming up if this video goes out. …Why did you, Cha Tae-Hyun, work so hard all by yourself?”
So, he was asking why I had worked all alone. In fact, I had thought about it during the filming too. That a question like this would be unavoidable.
After thinking for a moment, I decided to take this opportunity to reveal the fact that I was an orphan. Because rumors spread quickly, and I didn't know how far they would grow.
Now that I was a public figure, it was right to draw a clear line.
“I've lived without parents.”
As I spat out a short sentence, the director's eyes and mouth widened.
“So I had no choice but to work. I just worked to live. And I'll say this. Don't say things like why my only family, my sister, doesn't work. I was the one who stopped her from working. It was all my choice. If there are any more comments like that in the future, I will sue them all.”
As I spoke, I unknowingly got more emotional. I hadn't intended to mention suing.
“Is it over now?”
As I asked, the dazed director flinched and opened his mouth.
“Yes…. Um… I'm sorry. I made you bring up a rather heavy topic.”
“No. Well, it's a story I had to tell someday. And as the director said, it was a question that was bound to come up.”
The director smiled bitterly and nodded.
“Yes. Still, with this video, everyone who believed the false rumors about you, Cha Tae-Hyun, will be gone.”
“Then that's a relief. I'll be counting on you.”
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇;
A few days later, Cha Tae-Hyun's documentary was released to the world, and his fan, Shin Ha-Yoon, naturally watched the video.
Not a highlight reel, but a documentary? I wonder what it's about?
At first, Shin Ha-Yoon had watched with interest, thinking it would be something like Cha Tae-Hyun's vlog. However, as the video went on, Shin Ha-Yoon's expression darkened, and the moment she heard those words.
-I've lived without parents.
Shin Ha-Yoon's mind went blank.