Chapter 31
Chapter 31
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Translator: Silver Dragon
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: Finishing Camp Begins
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"Sorry. It's not that I don't have feelings for you. But with college entrance exams coming up soon, I need to focus on studying, so it was hard for me."
Thump.
"And... confessing like this out of nowhere in a place like this? What am I supposed to do?"
The choking fear in his throat faded away, and a small flame began to flicker amid the ashes in his chest.
"That doesn't mean I don't like you. Can I contact you after the exams are over?"
Choi Seung-taek's heart started pounding again at Park Ga-young's shy confession.
"No. Tell me now."
Park Ga-young's eyes widened at Choi Seung-taek's words.
Worrying about Coach Han Geun-seong's training had made him overlook this issue too.
Choi Seung-taek wouldn't have much time for dating from now on.
Coach Han Geun-seong's training was insane, with only a brief rest after the November finishing camp, followed by spring camp and then the season stretching on without a break.
In that sense, Choi Seung-taek wasn't a good boyfriend prospect.
"I won't have much time ahead. I won't be able to spend a lot on you. I'm a pro now. If that's okay, nod. If not, shake your head clearly. It's your choice now."
Thump thump thump.
Park Ga-young's face flushed red at Choi Seung-taek's sudden words.
After hesitating, she finally nodded and quickly turned her body forward again.
Park Ga-young felt a pleasant tremor, but she opened her book to study again.
'Kyaaah! What do I do? I nodded.'
Park Ga-young felt like she could die of embarrassment.
In contrast, Choi Seung-taek's mind grew even more troubled.
He had good feelings for Park Ga-young, but knowing their relationship would be rocky ahead made it worse.
With infrequent contact and now a long-distance relationship on top, it weighed even heavier.
Tap tap.
"Wait a sec, Ga-young. I have something to ask."
"Huh?"
Park Ga-young was flustered, but felt she had to answer Choi Seung-taek.
Her slightly flushed face only made Choi Seung-taek's heart more chaotic.
"Ga-young, if something really painful, hard, and scary happens to me, what should I do?"
Choi Seung-taek asked this because just imagining Coach Han Geun-seong's training made his whole body twitch, but Park Ga-young thought it referred to her own past rejection.
'Ah... Why ask me this? It just makes me feel even more sorry.'
"Well... I don't know exactly, but they say time heals everything."
Park Ga-young recited a lesson she'd heard from her older sisters.
"What if that's not possible? What if the hard times drag on for a while?"
"Hmm... You just have to get used to the pain?"
'But not now, right? Since I nodded.'
Choi Seung-taek fell silent, lost in thought.
'I hate it, but it's not a bad answer. If you can't avoid it, get used to it.'
Getting a preventive shot makes the actual illness far less painful later.
Sudden harsh environments feel tough at first, but constant exposure makes them bearable.
Having sorted his thoughts, Choi Seung-taek stood up.
"That seems like the answer. Thanks. It helped a lot."
Choi Seung-taek nodded as if he understood and headed to the indoor training field.
"What? Choi Seung-taek's here early?"
"How's it feel to be a pro now?"
The coach and manager welcomed Choi Seung-taek.
"Great. So I want to train even harder before officially going pro."
"Yeah? You've always been diligent. What kind of training?"
"I'm thinking of focusing on batting practice. I have something to test, so can I just do batting for a long time? You can leave me to it."
Coach Kim Ik-hyeon looked at Choi Seung-taek curiously.
"Sure? Go ahead. You're a pro now, so self-directed training to fix your weaknesses is important."
With Coach Kim Ik-hyeon's permission, Choi Seung-taek moved straight to the batting area.
There weren't many trainings Choi Seung-taek could do right now.
Catcher practice would have to wait until pro, and weight training was tough without good equipment at Suseok High.
Batting practice was the answer, so that's all he planned to do.
'How many swings did they do under Coach Han Geun-seong? About 6,000 a day?'
Among Coach Han Geun-seong's infamous trainings, the hellish fungo for fielders was notorious, but he made them throw and hit a ton too.
To keep up, Choi Seung-taek set a goal of 6,000 a day.
'Just 2,000 for the first day.'
Choi Seung-taek tossed the ball up.
Crack!
Crack!
Crack!
As training began, the system's counter started rising.
After a long session, Choi Seung-taek checked his progress.
'Whoa... That's insane. It's like a speck of dust.'
The pitifully low number only deepened Choi Seung-taek's despair.
After batting all day at school, he got closer to his goal.
Past 1,000, his hands hurt badly, but he kept at it silently.
His hands ached, but strangely, his mind was at peace.
Time passed, and the Phoenix Cup—the last tournament for the high school baseball team—ended.
Choi Seung-taek told the coach he wanted to step down as starting catcher. Seeing his mad batting training, Coach Kim Ik-hyeon had no choice but to give the role to Go Jae-myeong.
No way his hands could handle catching in that condition.
Thanks to the grueling all-day batting, Choi Seung-taek could now hit 5,000 a day.
Beyond that, his fingers wouldn't move well. He couldn't grip the bat, and putting it down required help, so he limited himself.
The Phoenix Cup went well too.
Though no longer starting catcher, Choi Seung-taek played designated hitter and crushed hits every game, leading to big wins.
But they lost in the semifinals to Buma High.
Go Tae-san still had weaknesses, but without Choi Seung-taek catching, he couldn't fully dominate the batters, resulting in a blowout loss.
Afterward, Choi Seung-taek signed with Daejeon MacPhies for a 300 million won signing bonus and 20 million won annual salary.
It was higher than first-round picks, sparking buzz, but his performances in the last two tournaments kept controversy at bay.
Pro baseball hadn't changed yet, as Choi Seung-taek hadn't debuted.
Dae-gu Eagles held their dynasty, winning the 2014 Korean Series.
At the end of October, Coach Han Geun-seong left independent Goyang Ttakkeolux and signed with Daejeon MacPhies.
November came, and Choi Seung-taek headed to Okinawa, Japan, for Daejeon MacPhies' finishing camp.
At the Okinawa training field, one player stared blankly at the sky.
"We're screwed. Totally screwed."
Daejeon MacPhies second baseman Woo Jung-keun muttered. He'd planned family time.
As national team second baseman and key player, the team had excused him.
But late October news canceled everything, forcing him to camp.
"Why the death mask just for you?"
Behind home plate sat catcher Park Gyeokpo.
He'd joined as backup for the weak-catching MacPhies, but the veteran played a lot in 2014.
Great hitter but aging, struggling with form, so he'd planned camp to maintain it.
"Hyung, you haven't tried it yet."
Woo Jung-keun's grim tone affected others.
"Coach is coming."
"Ugh, gotta run!"
At "coach incoming," Woo Jung-keun bolted first.
"Uh... Everyone here?"
"Yes! All present!"
Unusually, tons showed for finishing camp.
Coach Han Geun-seong wanted to check everyone, from vets to rookies.
First-team lineup plus rookies attended Okinawa camp—including Choi Seung-taek.
"Today... we'll ease in. Real deal starts tomorrow."
Players sighed in relief.
First day was always light warm-up by rule, so they thought the rumors weren't that bad.
'No, guys. Don't relax. That's not what he means!'
Woo Jung-keun couldn't relax.
Koreans and foreigners differ on "spicy."
Foreigners see any spice; Koreans mean gut-wrenching heat.
Coach Han Geun-seong's words needed rethinking.
Woo Jung-keun pitied the clueless players.
And pitied himself, knowing what awaited.