The Warm Kiss That Lightened the Weight of the Road
Choi Seungtaek was in a hurry.
He rushed toward the car.
As expected, Park Gayoung was already waiting for him in it.
“Gayoung-ah!”
“I’m coming as fast as I can. It’s freezing—my blood’s about to freeze solid.”
Park Gayoung pouted a little, her voice still carrying that sweet, slightly pouty tone she used when she was teasing him.
“Sorry.”
But the next second she burst into a bright laugh.
“Aigoo, what’s there to apologize for? Let’s hurry.”
“And then I have to head straight back to Daejeon.”
“Really? Oh dear… I kind of figured that was coming.”
Park Gayoung’s expression turned a little sad, and Choi Seungtaek felt a pang of melancholy just looking at her.
“Then I should get going right away? Should I take a taxi?”
“No, it’s fine. I still have time to drop you at your house.”
Choi Seungtaek helped Park Gayoung into the car and drove her to her place.
“Seungtaek-ah.”
“Hm?”
“You were really cool today.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. You were cool during our date too, and on the field. Especially when you hit that… home run? The crowd was calling your name, chanting it loud. It felt like my whole day brightened up just hearing that.”
Warm.
Choi Seungtaek felt the heavy, gloomy cloud in his chest lift for the first time all day.
*As I thought… being with Gayoung always makes me feel better.*
But the feeling was stranger than that. His chest felt strangely hollow, like something important had cracked open inside him.
“Gayoung-ah, I miss you.”
“Hm? What do you mean by that?”
Park Gayoung looked puzzled at his strange words.
“I’m seeing you right now… and I still miss you.”
“Oh. Oh, I see. You’re making me shy… keep going.”
“Hm?”
“More. Say that again. It feels really good.”
Park Gayoung was clearly enjoying Choi Seungtaek’s awkward compliments. Her cheeks were flushed, but her eyes sparkled with delight.
“I struggled so much in Okinawa. But now it’s even harder. I want to stay with you every day, but we have to be apart. That’s what’s making me so down. The drive to Daejeon alone will be even gloomier.”
“Hmm…”
Park Gayoung fell into deep thought, staring out the window. Before she knew it, they had arrived at her house.
“Ah? There’s Mom.”
Park Gayoung unbuckled her seatbelt at the sight of her mother.
“Really? Me too, I’ll—”
“No, you stay in the car. You have to leave right away.”
“But—”
“Just a second before you go.”
Choi Seungtaek reached for the door handle, but Park Gayoung stopped him. She turned to him, rose on her toes, and pressed her lips gently to his.
*…Her scent is so sweet.*
His heart pounded wildly.
Time stretched for a long, breathless moment. Then Park Gayoung slowly pulled away, her cheeks burning red.
“Seungtaek-ah, this way you won’t be sad on the drive to Daejeon, right?”
“I don’t think I’ll feel sad at all.”
“Then… I’m leaving! You be careful too when you get home!”
“I will.”
Park Gayoung jumped out of the car and hurried toward her mother.
“Mom! I’m back!”
She looked shy, rushing over like she was in a hurry to hide her face.
Choi Seungtaek, watching her, unconsciously bit his lower lip. The sweet taste of her kiss still lingered on his tongue.
* * *
The next day at Daejeon Baseball Stadium, Choi Seungtaek was finishing his warm-up.
Today’s exhibition game against the Gangdong Falcons meant all the players were out on the field from morning.
As the Falcons’ warm-up period approached, Choi Seungtaek headed for the dugout to rest—until someone called his name.
“Hey, Choi Seungtaek. What are you doing alone?”
Choi Seungtaek turned and saw three senior players walking toward him.
“Ah! Seniors. I was just resting.”
Lee Gun-taek, the center fielder and leadoff hitter; Tae Pyung-yang, the first baseman and third batter; and Woo Jeong-geun, the second baseman, had come looking for him.
“You can’t do that. You’re a rookie, but you’re the starting catcher in the first team now. What’s your plan?”
“I’m… not sure.”
“You should be talking to the pitchers. What’s the matter!”
A playful edge colored the seniors’ voices.
They had come to make friends with the new starter catcher and ease the pressure of suddenly stepping into the big leagues.
*As I thought… veterans still have the best instincts.*
The thought had barely formed before Lee Gun-taek dropped another question.
“Hey, Seungtaek, I’ve got something to ask you.”
“Yes! Ask me anything!”
“I saw the draft highlights. When you got picked by the Magpies your face looked really down. Did you hate coming to Daejeon that much?”
*…What?*
The mood instantly turned sharp.
*Wow… how am I supposed to answer this?*
“Just a second—I’ll show you.”
Lee Gun-taek pulled out his phone and played the clip.
Choi Seungtaek’s expression was plain to see: sullen, almost sullen.
*This… how do I even explain this?*
The seniors stared at him with piercing eyes.
*He needs to answer carefully…*
Back then Choi Seungtaek had already known Manager Han Geunseong was coming to Daejeon, so his face had been tight. But since Han hadn’t been hired yet at the time, explaining it was impossible.
Saying it was because of Manager Han would have been a lie—Woo Jeong-geun had been there during the Crane dynasty and would see right through it. Defending the Magpies would raise questions from the team’s core, Captain Tae Pyung-yang.
“Ah? Why won’t you say? You really hated coming to Daejeon?”
“Uh… not exactly.”
*Think of something everyone can relate to!*
Then Choi Seungtaek remembered the one button that always worked.
The final option was the perfect self-destruct.
“That day… I got dumped by a girl.”
*I Was a Car.* The magic line that could make any guy laugh.
“Wh-what did you say?”
“You what? You expect me to believe that?”
The ridiculous answer left both Lee Gun-taek and Woo Jeong-geun howling with laughter.
“Just a second—this needs verification. Do you have any pro friends?”
“No… none.”
The instant Choi Seungtaek said “none,” he felt a bad premonition.
“Senior high-school top scorer? Then Seoul… Kang Taepoong! Wasn’t he the first overall pick?”
*What… what now? He doesn’t know about that?*
“Hey! Is there a rookie named Kang Taepoong here?”
Tae Pyung-yang yelled loudly toward the Falcons.
“Yes!”
“Send him over here!”
“What is it?”
“We senior high-school friends need to chat!”
“Understood! I’ll send him right away.”
In the distance, Kang Taepoong was jogging over.
*Oh no… it’s over.*
Kang Taepoong’s face was far from friendly. The first-rounder had heard Choi Seungtaek had received a three-hundred-million-won signing bonus while he had only two-hundred-and-fifty-million, so he had no desire to talk to the new Magpies catcher. Being dragged over made his mood worse.
“Eh? Did you call for me?”
“Yeah! You two know each other, right?”
“Yes! That’s right.”
“Good. Seniors.”
Kang Taepoong felt the awkwardness of the situation immediately.
Choi Seungtaek was glaring with narrowed eyes in pure tension, while the three seniors closed in around the newcomer like a wall.
“You remember the second-round draft, right?”
“Uh… vaguely.”
“Then Choi Seungtaek… got dumped by a girl?”
“Eh?”
Kang Taepoong’s face went blank for a second.
The look of pure ignorance earned him an immediate glare from Tae Pyung-yang.
“You’re lying right in front of a senior like me?”
“No, not that at all…”
*He really doesn’t know!*
Then Kang Taepoong suddenly remembered something and burst out laughing.
“Hah! Wait, wait— so that’s what it was! Hah!”
“Ah… I get it now. Ah…”
Kang Taepoong was laughing so hard his whole body shook.
Choi Seungtaek looked completely broken.
“Hahaha. Sorry, sorry! So that day… Min-jae and Bangmani were teasing you, weren’t they? It was because you got dumped, wasn’t it?”
“What? Really?”
“Yes! Manager Han called for Seungtaek and they were the ones playing around with him. I didn’t know the reason then, but it makes sense now.”
Lee Gun-taek and Woo Jeong-geun doubled over laughing again.
“Seungtaek really looked off that day too. Remember how he was punching his bed like he wanted to destroy it? That explains everything.”
“Hahaha. Spot on! Seniors, let’s stop asking. Poor Seungtaek.”
“Yeah. Kang Taepoong, you did great answering. Thanks. Go back now. The seniors over there are all waiting for you.”
“Understood! Seungtaek-ah, hang in there. Hahaha.”
Watching Choi Seungtaek’s ruined expression, Tae Pyung-yang tried to comfort him.
“Seungtaek-ah, I’m sorry! Don’t get too depressed! There are plenty of girls in this world! And you’re handsome too!”
“I’m fine.”
“Want me to introduce you to some girls?”
“I have a girlfriend right now.”
“Wooow!”
“Yeah? Who is she?”
“The one who dumped me.”
Suddenly interested, the three seniors leaned in.
“What? Then you should have told us sooner.”
“Whoa, the story’s interesting!”
“Tell us everything!”
When men gather, the first topic is always women.
Once the seniors focused on Choi Seungtaek’s words, he felt a little flustered.
“Um… what do you want to hear?”
“From the beginning to the end! I’m dying of curiosity.”
Choi Seungtaek let his mind drift to the sweet memories with Park Gayoung.
* * *
A few days later, after all the exhibition games ended, Choi Seungtaek was watching TV at home.
“Hello, I’m the new anchor for Baseball Together—Kim Ha-eun.”
“Hello, I’m the analyst for Baseball Together—Cho Byung-hyun.”
The flagship cable show was in full swing.
While it wasn’t as deep as live commentary, it was entertaining enough that Choi Seungtaek still tuned in occasionally.
“Analyst Cho Byung-hyun, the season is almost here. Any predictions for team rankings?”
“Well… the top spot will probably still belong to the Daegu Eagles.”
“There’s talk of several big FA signings leaving Daegu, but will they stay dominant?”
“Daegu’s not worried. They can’t be stopped by the loss of one starter and one reliever.”
Cho Byung-hyun spoke firmly.
*That’s true. Back then stopping the Eagles was almost impossible… except for that one impossible problem.*
“Then where do you see the cellar dwellers ending up?”
“It’s tricky. I think the Daejeon Magpies will finish last.”
“You’re saying the new Paras team won’t be the cellar dwellers, just the Magpies?”
“Yes.”
The analyst paused, then explained.
“First, the Magpies’ pitching staff is weak…”
*That hurts.*
Choi Seungtaek had to swallow that one himself.
“And the infield is weak. Especially the shortstop and third baseman’s errors—more than usual in exhibitions. You can’t ignore that.”
“Tsk.”
“Also, everyone in baseball talks about the importance of the center field line.”
The analyst highlighted the Magpies’ outfield.
“Look at the center fielders. They’re suddenly decimated by injuries.”
“Ah! You mean two players got hurt in one exhibition game?”
“That’s right. Thank goodness Choi Seungtaek filled the gap, but a catcher leading a full 144-game season is too difficult a position.”
“But I remember Choi Seungtaek hitting .500 with a home run in exhibitions. Isn’t that good enough?”
“There were several promising rookies, but most of them couldn’t hit .300 in the regular season. Exhibitions and real games are different.”
The screen showed the batting averages of several rookies in exhibitions versus their projected regular-season stats.
Only one out of ten succeeded.
“If Choi Seungtaek bats full-time and hits over .300, he’d be worth ten billion won in signing bonus money.”
*Chet.*
The facts kept coming, and Choi Seungtaek’s mood soured.
*…The analyst is hitting facts hard.*
Exhibitions had gone well, but he had seen this exact scenario play out many times. He couldn’t deny it.
*Still, the other players are doing fine…*
But the analyst wasn’t finished.
“Interestingly, the catcher position might actually be the most balanced right now. The real problems are at second base and center field.”
“Eh? Second base and center field?”
“From what I heard yesterday, Jeong-geun is out with a wrist injury, and Gun-taek is sidelined with a torn labrum… excluded from the first-team roster.”
Choi Seungtaek’s mind flashed back to the two seniors he had laughed with only days earlier.
A horrifying thought.
*This can’t be happening. The season starts in two days…*
Two days before opening day, the Magpies had already lost their #1 and #2 hitters.
---
The drive to Daejeon felt heavier than ever, but for the first time Choi Seungtaek didn’t feel completely empty. He kept replaying Park Gayoung’s kiss, the way she had looked at him with those sparkling eyes, the warmth of her body against his. Even the weight of the contract, the pressure of being the White Sox’s starter catcher, even the Pitch Clock that had thrown his routine off—it all felt manageable now. He had a reason to come back. A reason to fight harder. A reason to win the championship and finally make it home to her arms.