Chapter 10
Chapter 10
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Translator: Silver Dragon
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: President's Cup Bracket is Out
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The President's Cup bracket had been released.
Choi Seung-taek threw himself into batting practice as usual.
He didn't pay any mind to the blisters forming on his hands.
Batting relied on the power from his lower body, and pairing it with strength training had gradually shaped his form into something solid.
Crack!
"Hoo..."
Crack!
"Nice!"
Crack!
"Great form! Choi Seung-taek!"
"You're making me laugh so hard I can't swing."
"Hey! Don't break my rhythm during batting practice! Again!"
Crack!
"Good, nice one."
Thanks to his steady training, Choi Seung-taek had fully adapted to his returning body.
Crack!
'Damn!'
'It was going great for a bit, but one slip-up and it drops right back down.'
At first, he'd only seen single-digit sync rates, but now that he was getting the hang of it, he was pulling off some pretty solid numbers.
Thud thud thud thud.
"Guys, the President's Cup bracket's out!"
Captain Han Bang-man burst into the indoor training area and shouted at the top of his lungs.
Everyone training there heard the news loud and clear.
"Should we go check it out?"
"Yeah, let's do it."
Choi Seung-taek tidied up his spot with Kim Min-jae, who had been helping with his special batting practice, and headed over to look at the bracket.
By the time they got back from cleaning up, word had spread, and players were crowding around the bracket.
"Seung-taek and Min-jae are here?"
"Bang-man, how's the bracket look this time?"
"Ours is stacked. If we don't screw up, semifinals should be a breeze."
"Really?"
Choi Seung-taek checked the bracket too.
"Yeah, looks like it. Nothing tough until the semis?"
The draw was incredibly favorable. Suseok High School was in Group A, while the strongest team, Buma High School, was in Group B.
The only team in Group A with power comparable to Suseok was Gwangju Hana High School. All the other powerhouses were mostly in Group B.
'Perfect. This makes things way easier.'
With the bracket out, Choi Seung-taek now had to lay the groundwork to win the President's Cup.
"Uh... I'm gonna head out first."
"Already? Practice isn't over yet."
"I'll come back."
Choi Seung-taek left the bracket area and headed to the dorms. He had notebooks there filled with all the opponent analysis he'd done so far.
'Gotta use these to convince Coach.'
He headed straight for the coach's office.
Knock knock.
"Hm? What is it?"
"Coach, it's Choi Seung-taek."
"Come in."
It was called the coach's office, but it was really a shared space for the coach and assistant coach. The assistant was out guiding practice right now.
There was also a decent-sized sofa for receiving visitors from outside.
The coach looked curious about why he'd come.
"Coach, I have a few requests."
Choi Seung-taek wasn't one to make demands often, so the coach seemed a bit taken aback by the suddenness.
"What's up?"
"From now on during training, I'd like to focus only on batting practice."
"Just batting practice?"
"Yes. After that game against Buma High, I realized I need to change my form. I need time to adapt to the new one."
"Well, you're solid on defense already, so it's not a bad idea. But can you still sync up with the others?"
"Yes. I'm confident."
"Hm..."
Coach Kim Ik-hyeon wore an expression like he couldn't quite figure out what Choi Seung-taek was thinking.
"This is the first time I've dealt with someone like you, so I'm not sure how to handle it."
But Choi Seung-taek knew Coach Kim Ik-hyeon's style pretty well. This hesitation basically meant approval.
'Good. Now for the tricky part...'
"Actually, I have one more favor to ask."
"What now?"
"I'd like to choose the pitcher I catch for in the finals."
"What? You think that's reasonable?"
Coach Kim Ik-hyeon was genuinely startled by Choi Seung-taek's words.
This was meddling in a decision that was squarely the coach's call. But with Choi Seung-taek's string of unexpected moves, the coach had no choice but to mull it over.
"You really want to call all the shots, huh? So who do you want to pair with? Tae-pung's our best pitcher anyway, right?"
"We still need to see. Knowing the numbers is one thing, but confirming it in actual games is another. I think I San qualifies too."
'This kid... How many games has he already played with Tae-pung and San?'
Coach Kim Ik-hyeon was aware of I San's skills. They'd played together plenty already, so he couldn't understand why this was coming up now.
The only guess was some feud with Tae-pung, but personal drama like that shouldn't factor into team decisions.
"What if Tae-pung wants to pitch the finals?"
"If he's qualified, we'll play together."
"And if he doesn't meet your standards?"
"I'll convince him. I'm confident."
"Alright, got it. I'll think it over. Now head out."
'Coach is pondering it. That's a huge win already. Normally, he'd just push Tae-pung no question.'
The board was set. Now he needed to test players in the early rounds of the President's Cup and send the one who could lead them to victory into the finals.
"Yes, sir. Understood."
"What are you waiting for? Go."
Choi Seung-taek stepped out.
'Alright, it's go time. Starting tomorrow, gather intel on opponents, show overwhelming skill, and build influence.'
The round of 32 started on August 11th, so there were still about five days to spare.
Back in the dorm room, Choi Seung-taek felt like he'd done well, but something was missing—a spark of desperation.
So he wrote down the goal the system had given him.
It went beyond just making a pro team—it meant earning real recognition. There was a massive gap between lower-round and upper-round picks.
Money.
Thinking about it, getting picked in the upper rounds was crucially important.
Choi Seung-taek's family was poor.
His mother had raised him alone in a tiny back-alley room in a corner of Seoul.
To escape that life, he needed an upper-round nomination.
In other words, the system's goal was a concrete path to changing his future.
'Right. Getting picked in the lower rounds is a huge success, but the pay isn't great.'
The Busan Sea Gulls had given him his shot at pro ball. But a 20 million won signing bonus plus 20 million annual salary totaled 40 million—barely enough to live comfortably with his mom.
Upper rounds meant at least 100 million.
'Regional teams come with apartments. Even with a capital-area team, we could afford a villa on a jeonse lease instead of that alley room. Mom would have a much better life.'
Choi Seung-taek remembered his time in Busan. He'd only ever gotten offers between 20 and 40 million, so even there he couldn't secure a nice place. But living with his mom versus without felt worlds apart.
With a clear goal and the burning drive to achieve it, his notebook filled up fast.
'No matter how I crunch it, the answer's the same.'
He needed impact. Eye-catching performances in the remaining President's Cup games were baseline.
Park Wan-gyu, the Cranes' second-team manager, had shouted him out, but that was just one opinion. To sway the majority, Choi Seung-taek had to prove it on the field.
His play so far had barely gotten him into pro ball. He needed to dominate the President's Cup to boost his value.
The best scenario? Beat Buma High School. Especially taking down their ace, Go Tae-san—that would be perfect.
Choi Seung-taek quietly closed the notebook. Now it was time to prove it in real games.
Having steeled his resolve like this, Choi Seung-taek felt eyes on him and looked up.
There stood Park Ga-young, gazing at him with a slightly embarrassed look.
"Hm? What?"
"Oh... nothing."
Park Ga-young blushed faintly and turned back to the front.
Vroom vroom vroom.
On the bus heading to the President's Cup, one demon was glued to Choi Seung-taek's side.
"Jealous bastard."
"Of what?"
"Jealous bastard."
"Come on... it's not like that."
"Jealous bastard."
"Ugh, cut it out~."
Choi Seung-taek was starting to get fed up with the looped chant from the demon.
"What? What's your deal?"
Han Bang-man turned around to mediate the situation.
"Well, this bastard Choi Seung-taek. Urk."
Choi Seung-taek clamped the demon's mouth shut and choked his neck.
"Enough. Shut your trap before everyone gets the wrong idea."
"Quiet back there. Want to keep yapping?"
"Sorry!"
The assistant coach's bark saved Choi Seung-taek from further trouble.
"Hoo..."
The bus soon pulled into Mokdong Stadium.
"Everyone off, unpack your gear, and get ready!"
"Yes, Coach!"
Unlike last time, Choi Seung-taek could disembark with some leisure.
The frantic memory from before was washed away, and as a merciful senior, he grabbed a bag and headed into the stadium.
"Senior, we'll take that."
"Nah, I'll carry this one. Grab the others."
"Got it."
This time, they had about 30 minutes to warm up properly, and the opponents weren't tough.
Suwon Information High School. A team with a long name but short history.
Should be doable.
"Alright, lineup call."
"1. Seo Gi-hyeon, 2. Kim Min-jae. 3. Kang Tae-pung. 4. Han Bang-man, 5. Choi Seung-taek..."
'What?'
...
Choi Seung-taek was shocked.
The coach had called his name.
"Not a strong team this time, so I stacked the lineup with you third-years. Do us proud."
"Yes, sir!"
"And especially you, Choi Seung-taek—time to show off that batting practice."
"Yes, sir!"
Choi Seung-taek started warming up.
Crack!
Crack!
He loosened up by ripping line drives in special batting practice.
Finally, he grabbed his catcher's mask and prepared to head out.
He felt eyes on him from inside the stadium.
A strange sense of being watched.
It had started after Park Wan-gyu, the Cranes' second-team manager, mentioned him.
"Whoa..."
Was this a good thing?
Choi Seung-taek quietly savored the aggro.