Chapter 42
Chapter 42
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Translator: Silver Dragon
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: Exhibition Game 2
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"Hey! Kyung-ho, you okay?"
The MacPhies' battery coach rushed over to the fallen Jeong Kyung-ho and checked on him.
"Ugh... It hurts so much. From my shoulder to my neck... the pain is intense. Ugh."
Jeong Kyung-ho didn't look good at all.
"Can you get up?"
"No, it's too much... Ah... Ugh."
In the end, the battery coach signaled to the dugout that things were serious. There was nothing they could do about it.
The MacPhies dugout sprang into emergency mode upon receiving the signal from the battery coach.
"First, get the medical team here to check on Kyung-ho right away."
"Got it!"
"And now for the catcher..."
The chief coach glanced at Manager Han Geun-seong. The biggest problem right now was that they had no catcher left.
Having two catchers on the lineup was already the bare minimum.
But with Choi Seung-taek included, they were down three players already, and putting a regular fielder behind the plate instead would raise eyebrows with the other team and the broadcast crew.
What would've been no big deal in normal circumstances had turned into a massive headache with two injuries happening back-to-back.
The chief coach, his head spinning, decided to call Choi Seung-taek first.
'Why the hell am I even on the roster?'
Ring ring ring.
Just as Choi Seung-taek's mind was starting to reel, his phone began to buzz.
"Chief coach?"
Choi Seung-taek quickly swallowed his lamb meat and picked up.
"Yes, Coach."
"Se... Seung-taek!"
Choi Seung-taek knew right away from the chief coach's voice.
The frantic tone of someone scrambling to fix a disaster...
He couldn't ignore it.
"Yes, Coach. I was watching the game. Are the seniors okay?"
"Both are bad. Anyway, where are you at?"
At the chief coach's words, Choi Seung-taek glanced over at Park Ga-young.
'Today's date is toast.'
He couldn't blow off the call—not when it was a slim hope but the team was in crisis. Choi Seung-taek had no choice.
"I'm in Jamsil-bon-dong right now. If I head out, it'll take about five minutes to Jamsil Stadium. Should I come?"
Choi Seung-taek's words were a lifeline.
"Hoo... Yeah. We need you right now. Head straight to Jamsil Stadium as is. How are you even here? Hurry over. Thank God you're close."
"Got it. On my way."
Choi Seung-taek hung up and closed his eyes for a moment.
"Seung-taek. You gotta go, right?"
Park Ga-young, piecing it together from the call, spoke in a worried tone.
"Yeah. Looks like it."
"Then let's go together. I wanna hit the ballpark again. I like that too."
"Okay."
Park Ga-young found Choi Seung-taek a little unfamiliar right now.
'But why does he look so cool?'
They were heading to Jamsil Stadium, with Choi Seung-taek driving ahead in silence, his eyes burning with intensity.
Ever since his senior got hurt, his expression had shifted—and to Park Ga-young, he looked furious.
'What do I do? He's too cool. Must be pissed his teammates got injured!'
Park Ga-young discovered yet another side of him that she found irresistible.
"Seung-taek, you pretty mad?"
"Huh? No, no. Not mad at all."
The moment Park Ga-young hesitantly asked, Choi Seung-taek responded to her with instant gentleness.
'And he's so sweet to me.'
That stark contrast in demeanor made Park Ga-young fall for him twice as hard.
'Whoops, almost let Ga-young see my embarrassing side.'
Truth was, Choi Seung-taek was pissed.
'Fucking assholes.'
Not because of Jeong Kyung-ho's injury, though—just the fact that his hotel date with Park Ga-young was ruined had him fuming.
So it embarrassed him a bit that she'd seen his angry face.
"Ga-young, I gotta rush in, so I can't walk you or anything."
"I'm not a kid, you know? I can find my way into the stadium. Don't worry about me—go on ahead."
Choi Seung-taek arrived at Jamsil Stadium, parked, grabbed his gear, and headed inside.
He quickly changed into his uniform in the dugout locker room and geared up as catcher.
'What a fucking day.'
He stewed over his rage.
Then Park Ga-young's image flashed—sweetly waving him off, urging him to hurry.
His anger doubled.
Screech.
"I'm here. Straight to the field?"
Manager Han Geun-seong jumped when Choi Seung-taek suddenly burst out of the locker room.
"Oh! Seung-taek, you're here! Go right in. No warm-up needed?"
"I'm always ready. Gonna kill 'em all today."
The chief coach shot a quick glance at Manager Han Geun-seong.
The manager started to say something but held back—Choi Seung-taek's vibe was too aggressively charged. Better to watch and see.
Nod.
With the manager's nod of approval to the chief coach, permission was granted. He sent Choi Seung-taek in immediately.
"Good, you're in! One out, runners on first and third."
"Got it."
Choi Seung-taek hustled to home plate and took his stance.
The Sparrows' batter at the plate was their catcher, Nam Yu-gam.
'Haa... How do I even start? Barely any info on this batter? Wait, what?'
Sometimes, when someone's rage hits peak levels, they tap into something beyond their normal limits.
Right now, Choi Seung-taek's fury was at maximum—totally pissed off.
The Sparrows dugout had ordered a double steal to rattle the rookie catcher, but Choi Seung-taek's animal instincts caught the telltale signs that both runners had received the signal.
'What the fuck. A double steal in an exhibition game?'
The moment he clocked the double steal, the safe play was to concede second and go for the batter.
But conservative wasn't in the cards for this raging Choi Seung-taek.
'Grab both. I'm not getting hurt.'
Pitcher Yoon Jeong-jin was puzzled by the unexpected call.
'First and third, and a steal call? Not a double steal?'
As a veteran pitcher, Yoon Jeong-jin sensed something unusual in Choi Seung-taek's sign.
'Pitch out seems risky—pickoff play would be safer...'
But this time, he'd trust the rookie.
'It's just an exhibition anyway. Let's see.'
Nod.
Choi Seung-taek started from the middle, then shifted outward as the pitcher delivered.
Whoosh!
Pop!
"Second!"
Veteran second baseman Woo Jeong-geun bolted for second the instant the runner went, and Choi Seung-taek fired the ball right there.
Text flashed before Choi Seung-taek's eyes, but he ignored it and sealed home immediately.
"Back! Home!!!"
The throw was so perfect—the system called it flawless—that it hit right at Woo Jeong-geun's waist, letting him tag the runner out with ease.
"Out!"
After nabbing the runner at second, Woo Jeong-geun saw the first baseman point home and fired it there.
The ball arrived. Choi Seung-taek whipped his head around and spotted the runner charging home.
Everything felt like slow motion.
'No worries about getting hurt. Bring it.'
He unleashed a brutal home block on the incoming runner.
Thud.
- Ah!! Another massive collision at the plate!
The Sparrows' runner from third sprinted full tilt into home, smashing hard into Choi Seung-taek.
"Ughhh."
Already braced solid, Choi Seung-taek tagged the runner and flung him aside. The Sparrows player ate dirt.
"Out!"
'Coming in like a dumbass? Even without collision rules, that's not how you do it.'
- Wow... Choi Seung-taek is something else.
- Same kind of crash, but worlds apart from Jeong Kyung-ho. He straight-up demolished that runner coming home.
The replay showed Choi Seung-taek's stolen base prevention.
- Here's Choi Seung-taek making the steal prevention play—flawless. Tagged out before the runner even neared the bag.
- Absolutely. Impressive stop. Sparrows went for a slick double steal, but MacPhies' perfect defense snagged both.
- I recall he first got buzz as a defensive catcher in high school. And yeah, he delivers on D.
After snagging two outs the moment he entered, Choi Seung-taek flashed a victor's grin on his way back to the dugout.
"Choi Seung-taek... call him over."
"Seung-taek?"
Realizing the crisis wasn't over yet, the chief coach summoned him.
"Seung-taek! Manager wants a word. Look, to be straight... he kinda wants to hear you say something like 'I wanna play baseball!'?"
'Whoa! That rumor? Outta nowhere?'
"So please. Just once. You know what I mean?"
"Ah... Got it."
Choi Seung-taek took the heads-up and headed to Manager Han Geun-seong.
"Yes! Manager. You called?"
"I specifically told you not to show up at the training ground. Why were you hanging around the stadium?"
'Just on a date with my girlfriend?'
The words rose in his throat, but Choi Seung-taek followed the chief coach's advice.
"I always wanna play baseball."
"You really wanna keep at it?"
"Yes. I do."
"Figured. Alright then. Let's grind."