Chapter 86

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Translator: Wjin

Chapter: 86

Chapter Title: Cult of the Savior Shin Tae-hyun

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"Ooh, Shin Tae-hyun... I worship you..."

Shin Ha-yoon suddenly closed his eyes and clasped his hands together.

"What the hell is that all of a sudden?"

"No, it just slipped out because I was so shocked, but there's no way you doped..."

A snicker escaped me.

Well, even I had to admit these stats were underwhelming enough to make someone say that.

No, what should I call this?

"You think you could put up these numbers on drugs?"

"Exactly! So, Shin Tae-hyun! You're actually a god sent down by the prayers of fifty million Phoenix fans, right?"

"The Phoenix has fifty million fans?"

"Including those who've gone up to heaven. Once a Phoenix fan, always a Phoenix fan."

"Isn't that a bit much for the deceased... Forcing them to cheer for the Phoenix even after death."

"Hmm... Yeah, that was kinda insensitive. Anyway! It's only been two weeks, but this is insane, Cha Tae-hyun... You're seriously gonna hit .400 for the whole season, aren't you?"

A .400 hitter, huh.

Yeah, that's basically impossible in modern baseball. Even in MLB, the last one was in 1941, I think. KBO's only had one in history.

So, do I have confidence?

Of course I do.

I can say it with certainty.

I was the guy praised as the absolute best pitcher and hitter in MLB, where the world's top talents gather.

If anything...

".450 is possible too."

"What?"

Shin Ha-yoon's eyes went wide.

What, surprised by this?

My goals aren't this low. When you're playing a game way below your level, you gotta aim high to make it fun.

".450, 60-60, 20 wins as a pitcher with an ERA under 1.00... Throw in a few saves, and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Phoenix winning the championship... Yeah, not so sure about that last one."

Right. This is the bare minimum. I basically got a regression cheat like in webnovels.

Failing to hit this would be embarrassing.

Plenty of guys in the big leagues have done 50-50...

Okay, that's a bit over the top.

My face felt hot.

"Yeah. I think you can pull it off."

"You think I can do this?"

Half of that was said with my brain turned off.

"If it's Cha Tae-hyun, sure. He's my guy."

Shin Ha-yoon grinned and picked up his phone again.

Pad-lip? I'm already immune to that level, but this sycophancy... My anti-magic defense drops every time I see it.

"Heh heh... See? Told you. You're not Cha Tae-hyun anymore; you're Shin Tae-hyun. My friends all call you Tae-hyun God or Shin Tae-hyun. Shin Min-seok dared to touch ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a guy like this... You bastard! You're unforgivable. I'm gonna destroy you."

"You're gonna destroy Shin Min-seok?"

Shin Ha-yoon laughed again and said, Look forward to it!

What the hell did he do to warrant a Look forward to it!?

Hmm...

Eh, probably nothing major.

The three-minute edit video that Shin Ha-yoon crafted over 20 hours, fueled by pure rage, caused an even bigger storm than she imagined.

"...What the hell?"

Back at the dorm, Shin Min-seok checked the internet news and scowled.

Sports sections were plastered with his name. All bad articles.

-Bzzz

-Bzzz

...

-Bzzz

His phone suddenly vibrated nonstop.

Checking it, it was Instagram comment notifications.

Pad-lip, curses, long rants—every type of hate comment flooded in.

"Ha... This is driving me crazy."

He switched his Instagram to private and opened NewTube right away.

"What the hell kind of edited bullshit did that Shin Tae-hyun TV punk put out to cause this mess?"

To Shin Min-seok, it had to be manipulated footage. Otherwise, why would people hate him like this?

One brushback pitch isn't that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠bad, right?

"Bullshit. No manipulation my ass."

Clearly some devil editing to make him look like trash.

As he watched with that thought, cold sweat beaded on his forehead the longer the video played.

The high-five was him playing with a kid?

Yeah, throwing at a guy like that would look pretty shitty.

"I didn't know, fuck..."

Of course, even knowing that, he'd still throw the brushback—that's just who Shin Min-seok is. He knows it too.

But getting hated more than deserved feels unfair.

Shin Min-seok's fingers flew across the keyboard.

A reply hit almost immediately, leaving Shin Min-seok stunned.

Irrefutable logic.

After agonizing, he tried counterattacking.

Only then did Shin Min-seok realize he'd used "I" and panic-hit delete.

But...

"What...?"

"This... fuck!"

"Hey, Tae-hyun. Got a favor to ask."

"Shin Si-woo? Why'd you drop to .100 again?"

"Still .210... No, that's not it. I'm serious."

Yeah, he looked serious. This guy's as positive as Shaun White, but the smile was completely gone.

"What, all your relatives showing up again?"

"That's just normal for home games now. Not the issue. You know Eric Wood's starting tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah, heard. Pulling him up to the third spot means they're giving him one last shot at home."

This was unexpected.

His debut: 3 IP, 7 ER.

Next: 3 IP, 6 ER. Dismal.

I'd have demoted him to Single-A or cut him, but Manager Lee Eun-seok was merciful.

"What can ya do? Paid 1.3 mil for the guy. Manager probably wants to watch one more time."

Fair point.

Even for a golden boy, after eating 1.3 mil, you'd hope for three starts.

But the problem... Personality aside from skill, Eric Wood seemed sketchy.

Didn't he trash-talk teammates thinking they didn't understand English? Slamming his glove was bonus.

I'd rather have Ro-woon... No, Lee Ro-woon starting instead. Better for the team.

Anyway...

"Why Eric Wood? Did he cuss you out in English or something?"

"...Why would a teammate pitcher cuss at the catcher? No. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Eric Wood's shaky, right?"

"Yeah, if he gets shelled again, it's probably farm team then release."

"Right... But we're a battery. Catcher's job is to steady the pitcher's mental. Wondering what to say."

That's the serious worry?

A chuckle slipped out.

"Why laugh?"

"No, just... Even if you're dead last among catchers at .100, eating every curse in the book, it's not all bad."

"...A compliment?"

"Yeah. Compliment."

Not many catchers care for a pitcher who's trash in skill and attitude. I'd have grabbed him by the collar when he slammed the glove.

"And you're better at that stuff than me. So just say what you think."

"Alright..."

"Yeah. I suck at pep talks. Heard I'm an asshole plenty."

Shin Si-woo snickered and pulled out a small memo pad, scribbling something and handing it over.

"Then translate this to English and write it out."

"Use an app."

"Can't bring electronics to the dugout. What if I forget?"

"......Fine."

I roughly translated it to English and handed it back.

"How am I supposed to read this? Phonetic in Hangul."

...Right. For Phoenix's championship, this much hassle is nothing.

"Good now?"

"Okay! Thanks!"

"Hey Eric! Don't worry, your fastball is best, just didn't have any luck..."

Shin Si-woo grabbed the memo and started reading eagerly.

...Eh, whatever. Eric Wood's beyond saving no matter how you slice it.

But damn, good catcher.