Chapter 83
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 83
Chapter Title: A New Phoenix and Tense Batteries
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“What, I’m not really into enforcing strict senior-junior discipline... Coach Seo. But isn’t this a bit much? It’s not just lax—it’s nonexistent.”
The manager clicked his tongue as he looked at Phoenix’s golden boys.
“Still, they don’t cause any trouble and get along fine. They’re a little scatterbrained...”
That’s true enough.
Just think back to yesterday’s Winners locker room vibe. Being this free-spirited beats being suffocatingly rigid any day. At least there’s no thug like Shin Min-seok around.
“Yeah. Over there, our Phoenix captain Lee Sang-jin does a decent job looking after the juniors—”
“Ooh, Lee Jun~ Eternal No. 2 ghost~ Ooh, Lee Jun~ He’s destined for second base forever~.”
A sigh escaped the manager’s lips as he was about to praise him.
The so-called captain was making up songs to tease his own teammate.
“Coach Seo. Cha Yun-myeong’s here. Looks like he’s pretty shocked... Can’t blame him. Anyway, keep an eye on him. I’ve got a call—gotta step out.”
“Yes, sir. See you later, Manager.”
“Alright, hang in there, Coach Seo.”
The manager left, and Coach Seo gathered the players.
“Everyone, focus up. Starting today, Cha Yun-myeong joins us at Phoenix. He’s the second oldest after Gun-hyuk, so show some respect, especially you, Ro-woon.”
“Y-Yes...?”
“What do you mean ‘yes’? You’re the problem. Si-woo said you were mumbling something during a game last time—‘Baseball is murder’? Cut that nonsense.”
Pfft! Hahaha! Laughter erupted from all around, and Ro-woon yelled at Shin Si-woo, his face beet red.
“Shin Si-woo...! How could you betray me? Aren’t we soulmates in the battery?!”
The manager’s face was burning too.
“Ha... Yun-myeong, bear with us. Our kids are a bit unique.”
“No, it’s fun.”
“Really...? That’s a relief. Let’s see... Who should show you around the stadium today...”
The head coach scanned the players.
Lee Su-ho was the most reliable, but he wasn’t with the pitchers. Where’d this guy go?
“Tae-hyun, take good care of things today. I’m counting on you.”
Speaking of which, he was next to Cha Tae-hyun in the fielders’ group. Forget about Cha Tae-hyun...
Ro-woon was obviously out.
Maybe Gun-hyuk?
He was hardworking and great with fans—one of the few sane guys in the bullpen.
“Gun-hyuk, can you show Yun-myeong around today? Please.”
“Yes, sir. Got it.”
Kim Gun-hyuk pulled a drink from the vending machine and handed it to Cha Yun-myeong.
“Ah, thank you.”
“No need to be so formal. Just call me hyung.”
Cha Yun-myeong nodded with a smile.
In Winners’ rebuilt pitching staff, he’d been the oldest. Having someone to call “hyung” like this felt fresh—like his early pro days. Not bad at all.
“What do you think of Phoenix? Pretty quirky, huh?”
“Definitely. But this vibe isn’t so bad.”
Kim Gun-hyuk grinned and patted Cha Yun-myeong’s back.
“I agree. And you came to the right place. It’s the best gig for old-timers like us.”
“Really?”
As Cha Yun-myeong looked at him with subtle anticipation, Kim Gun-hyuk launched into why Phoenix was the ultimate workplace.
No senior-junior bullying, sharp coaches, solid pay... That part made sense.
“And the fans? Super easy to please. Just pretend to try hard, and they eat it up. I’m almost forty, and they call me Phoenix’s unbreakable shield. Sounds good, right?”
“...Haha. Yeah, it does.”
Training on off days, back-to-back outings like meals... And shedding a tear on a blown save? Fans lap it right up. That tilted his head a bit.
Isn’t that just obvious?
Good guy or sly fox...?
Either way, Cha Yun-myeong felt Kim Gun-hyuk was a genuinely great senior and brother figure.
No hazing for being from another team, just straightforward kindness without pressure.
“Time to head to practice, but one last thing.”
“Yes, hyung.”
“Don’t sweat anything.”
“Pardon...?”
Kim Gun-hyuk said quietly.
“You’re catching a lot of flak.”
Cha Yun-myeong smiled wryly.
His image with fans had gone beyond bad to rock bottom.
Senile old man, trash barely worth last-place scraps, only merit being the Cha name like Tae-hyun... He was lumped in with the GM and manager, getting every insult in the book.
“I got it too. Old guy showing up when retirement’s on the horizon. But I told you—the fans here are kind. They rage at first, but do your job—just enough—and they love you. So what I’m saying is...”
Kim Gun-hyuk tapped Cha Yun-myeong’s chest with his fist.
“Do well. Prove it. There’s a reason you’re at Phoenix. Fans will love you like fools.”
Cha Yun-myeong nodded with a smile.
The new nest was still strange and full of unknowns, but at least he had one trustworthy senior now.
“Oh, and one last tip: Avoid the outfield as much as possible. Aim for the infield... especially Tae-hyun’s side. Our keystone duo is rock-solid this year.”
“Got it. I’ll try that.”
“Yeah, Yun-myeong. Let’s old-timers stick it out and suck Phoenix dry to the bone. We’re already shameless—let’s mooch a bit!”
No idea why it ended like that,
but he really liked this senior.
“Yes, sir! I’ll suck it dry till forty!”
“That’s the spirit! Perfect!”
“Ugh... Finally done.”
Shin Ha-yoon pushed her chair back and stretched. Glancing at the clock: 2 p.m.
When normal people would be buzzing with energy at work, her eyes were bloodshot with fatigue.
“Didn’t think it’d take this long...”
After Winners’ game yesterday, she’d cursed Shin Min-seok endlessly, but her anger hadn’t faded.
Unable to let it go, she’d edited the video to make him look as trashy as possible.
Well, he did act trashy, but she amped it up.
Obsessively tweaking to bury him, she’d pulled an all-nighter.
“Perfect... I’m satisfied. Heh... Time for karma, Shin Min-seok?”
No matter how good the edit, no recognition means buried. But she was confident there.
[Shin Tae-hyun TV]
Subscribers: 77,217
Her channel, digging deep into Cha Tae-hyun edits since high school, had hit 77k subs. No way it’d flop.
Plus, perfect timing after the all-nighter.
[Missed Call: Tae-hyun-ie]
Her half-closed eyes snapped wide at the notification.
“Argh! Damn Shin Min-seok—I even missed Tae-hyun’s call!”
Come to think of it, no congrats message for the cycle hit and three straight complete shutouts either.
Shin Ha-yoon stared at her bed.
Editing since 6 p.m. yesterday—20 hours sleepless.
Her body yearned for it like a magnet,
but
“Gotta send congrats, even if late.”
She turned and headed out.
Out of the room, but what to do?
Opening the fridge on habit, she saw cake ingredients her sister bought for a friend’s birthday.
“Make a cake? Doesn’t seem hard.”
Minor issue: it’s sis’s stuff. But sisters share freely.
She fired up the tablet with today’s Winners-Phoenix Game 2.
“Yeah. This’ll keep me awake.”
Imagining Cha Tae-hyun’s joy, Shin Ha-yoon rallied.
“Hum de dum~ Phoenix Cha Tae-hyun~ Homerun! Homerun! Homerun!”
Before the game, Winners’ manager pulled some high-level psych warfare.
“There was an unfortunate incident... But I don’t think it was entirely Winners’ fault. We feel a bit wronged. We’ll wash it away with a win.”
These guys are straight-up shameless, no cap? Lmao
They don’t even rewatch the broadcast? It was 100% Shin Min-seok’s fault yesterday, right?
Everyone knows that manager’s a boomer. Thinks Tae-hyun God was just playing with kids and calls it trash talk lol
So what if it’s trash talk? Just play well, tsk tsk
Fans saw it as shameless, conscienceless boomer nonsense. But really? No way.
No such person exists.
High-level psych war for sure. Provoking in a mental game like sports helps a ton.
“Winners bastards got crushed. I, Lee Sang-jin, am locked in for 4-for-4 homers.”
“You bet. This is Shin Si-woo saying I’ll make their foreign pitcher bawl home!”
Our team was already fired up—proof of effect.
Well, not just us with a touch of hype.
“We must beat Winners today, got it?! Lose, and I ain’t going home!”
Not “can’t”—“won’t.” What madness is brewing?
One look at fans’ sharp glares showed the pride on the line.
So winning big today seems best all around...
—Crack!
[Great pull on the inside fastball! Winners’ bats are swinging freely! Proving their win-or-bust confidence!]
Even Su-ho hyung, Phoenix’s guardian deity, can’t dominate every inning.
That’s baseball.
Round ball, unpredictable, full of variables.
Even a big-league legend sweeping MLB doesn’t no-hit all KBO season.
So.
—Crack!
[Another hit! Winners’ bats hot from the first. Lee Su-ho doesn’t look sharp today.]
[Oh! Now a walk! Bases loaded, no outs again. Lee Su-ho’s control is off today...]
Su-ho hyung giving up 3 in the first and still filling 1st/2nd? Not weird.
“Hey! Lee Su-ho, get your head straight!”
“Damn, did he drink last night or what?!”
Dunno. Su-ho hyung I know doesn’t touch drinks. Just an off day.
This is the game’s turning point.
More runs here... Fans might not go home. Pride against Winners crushed too.
Bad for team vibe. Need good momentum for the title—no way.
“Su-ho hyung! Velocity’s fine—just ignore control and pound the zone! Think infield hits—we got you, Andy and me!”
Stares sting, but ignoring won’t flip the mood.
“Thanks!”
Su-ho hyung grinned back and fired to the next batter.
I said ignore control, but...
—Crack!
...not right down the middle!
The liner rocketed off. Furious Winners runners sprinted like mad.
Watching, I felt relief—we’d cleared a big hurdle.
High enough to snag...
Why run?
I tracked the ball, timed my leap, stretched the glove.
Snagged it clawing out, checked second on landing.
Batter charging second met my eyes, freaked, turned back—but
too late.
My throw sailed leisurely to second,
“Ooh shit! Tae-hyun Kimchi Soup-level catch!”
Andy snagged it and rifled to first.
Batter to first halted mid-stride, jaw dropped.
Makes sense—inning-ending double play’s rare.
What can ya do?
Blame the front runners who bolted on a grounder.
Anyway...
Su-ho hyung’s mentally reset now?
Glanced at mound: Su-ho hyung gawking like Kirby, mouth agape.
Then shuddered like gathering energy...
“...Damn! Cha Tae-hyun! I love you!”
Screamed his weird new catchphrase and charged.
This...
...means headlock incoming.
I shoved Andy toward Su-ho hyung and bolted for dugout.
“What! Su-ho, calm down! What’s wrong?!”
“Andy! I love you too! Hahaha! My precious keystone duo! Why’d you take so long?!”
“No! No! Su-ho! This is disgusting! Get off!”
```