The Day the Doves Were Caught
Choi Seungtaek had arrived at the hotel where the Busan Seagulls players were staying first.
He had been given permission to head over early after the multiple incidents from today’s game and was waiting in the designated area before the reporters arrived.
The hotel was quite upscale, so there was a special terrace space. Choi Seungtaek was sipping a light hubcha while waiting for the journalists.
Thump-thump.
“Choi Seungtaek, long time no see.”
“Yes! Hello, Reporter.”
The journalist assigned to interview him today was the same Sports Korea reporter who had come before.
“I’ve covered all the events from today, and this might turn out a bit negative. You know what I mean?”
*The implication is that it’ll be hard to write favorably.*
The interview had started off making Seungtaek slightly uneasy.
“Yes, I’m aware.”
Still, Seungtaek answered firmly, and the journalist nodded while preparing the questions.
“Then let’s begin the interview.”
*Hoo… It’s a little tense.*
“Following Children’s Day, there was another bench-clearing brawl today. Why did you climb the mound, Choi Seungtaek?”
It was such a straightforward question that Seungtaek answered immediately.
“The reason is simple. I was hit by the ball.”
“Twice, in fact.”
“Yet you knocked out four players. Even in a bench-clearing brawl, there’s a sense that it went a little overboard, isn’t there?”
The journalist wasn’t planning to side with Seungtaek and pressed the question even more boldly.
*If they aren’t going to cut me slack, I need to appeal to their emotions. I have the moral high ground.*
“Anyone who felt uncomfortable about the fists flying, I apologize. But I felt an immense sense of betrayal, so I couldn’t help but act emotionally.”
“You’re admitting you weren’t rational?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Seungtaek gave a straightforward answer, and the journalist paused briefly.
“Hmm… I see. Then why did you feel betrayed?”
“It’s common in baseball to deliberately rattle the batter, isn’t it?”
“That’s right.”
Since the journalist was a baseball specialist, he gave a small nod.
“The first ball was exactly that. The pitcher intentionally hit me and never apologized.”
The journalist’s face twisted at the words.
“You didn’t even give the customary signal, did you?”
“Yes! You’ll see when you watch the game footage. After the hit, he didn’t even glance at first base.”
“Fascinating story.”
The journalist was checking something. He seemed genuinely impressed by the answer.
*Ah… So that’s his style. He lives for this kind of content.*
“And then he hit me with the second beanball?”
“Yes. It was even more dangerous. The ball was high and fast, and I tried to dodge but still caught it on the shoulder and head.”
“But it wasn’t a headshot from the start, right? Just the shoulder.”
*This! He’s deliberately probing!*
Seungtaek’s mind sharpened at the journalist’s calculated remark.
*I need to act angry.*
“Um… no, that’s not it. Intentional or not, throwing a ball at the head is a terrifyingly reckless act.”
“You’re upset now? You’re clearly emotional. You weren’t like that before, were you?”
The journalist wrote calmly.
*Good. By leaking the wrong information, I’ll look like an emotional person.*
Seungtaek slowly shifted to spilling the false details.
“But why did you feel betrayed? I don’t get it.”
“Ah! I’ll be honest!”
Seungtaek started speaking with a hint of excitement.
“I want to play well and win. Of course, there can be trash talk! But I didn’t! No trash talk!”
“Calm down and speak slowly.”
The journalist noticed Seungtaek’s heightened tone and soothed him slightly.
“Hoo…”
“Yes. Take a deep breath and speak slowly.”
“So! After the first ball came at me, Manager Han told me to throw a retaliation pitch.”
“A retaliation pitch?”
The journalist was getting a short version of the game. But he hadn’t heard the term before.
“Wasn’t there supposed to be a retaliation pitch?”
*Manager Han ordered a retaliation pitch but didn’t throw it? Then something went wrong.*
The journalist’s head spun a little. Normally, a manager’s order for a retaliation pitch was absolute.
Especially for someone like Manager Han, who was the type to even things up in trash-talk situations, it would have been natural to follow through here.
*This is weird.*
“Yes! But I didn’t sign it! I wanted to win fairly and squarely!”
Seungtaek deliberately exaggerated his tone.
“Yet Busan Seagulls threw another beanball at you.”
“Yes! So I couldn’t help but get angry. I was saying we’d settle it with skill, no beanballs! They’re throwing at my head! I should’ve listened to the manager. With all the good it did, he completely turned me into… an idiot.”
Seungtaek dropped a killer line laced with profanity. The journalist watched his reaction and scratched his head.
“I see. So are you being sent to the minors tomorrow, Choi Seungtaek?”
“To the minors? Why?”
Seungtaek asked with too bright a voice, and the journalist looked slightly taken aback.
“Why?”
“Huh? Yes. Why would I be sent?”
“The manager said you didn’t sign for the beanball.”
“Yes.”
Seungtaek answered with perfect cheer, and the journalist’s head spun even more.
“Um… so normally he would have sent you down.”
“Ah! The manager wasn’t going to send me down for that?”
*Huh? Signed but didn’t get sent down? Han Geunseong?*
The journalist scribbled something else and glanced at Seungtaek.
“Hmm… I see. All right. That’s all for the interview. Thank you for your time.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
*Hoo… Even with the wrong information planted, I’m good. My image will take care of itself somehow.*
Seungtaek sighed deeply and returned to his room.
***
After the three-game series with Busan Seagulls, the Daejeon Magpies’ away bus headed toward Gwangju. Inside the bus, Choi Seungtaek reflected on the absurd situation.
*What the hell? How did the mood suddenly change like that!*
After the bench-clearing brawl, the Busan Seagulls team had somehow become united like a scene from a drama.
Riding that wave, they took two wins against the Magpies.
The fans of the Busan Seagulls would now remember Choi Seungtaek as one of their own players.
Seungtaek’s image had worsened due to the repeated brawls, but the follow-up interview had boosted his popularity exponentially.
*The reason for my anger. Is fair play worth a beanball?*
Thanks to the dramatic headline that captured the current situation perfectly, Seungtaek had earned the support of the fans.
***
Choi Seungtaek was now staring out the window, giving up on the whole thing. Through the glass, the toll gate appeared as they arrived in Gwangju.
**Gwangju Pigeons**
The baseball team based in Gwangju Metropolitan City, rooted in the Honam region. Its greatest advantage was the sheer number of nationwide fans; no matter where they played, they could count on enthusiastic support.
Baseball is only fun when there are plenty of fans, so their passion brought an immense buffer to the players.
Of course, the results never matched the hype.
When Seungtaek was thinking about the Gwangju Pigeons, Lee Gun-taek’s expression caught his eye. It looked unhappy.
“Are you all right, Senior Lee Gun-taek?”
“Um. I’m fine.”
Still, anyone could see how upset he was. Seungtaek whispered to the shortstop beside him, Hwang Ganggyeong.
“Why is Senior Lee so upset?”
“Um… you’ll find out when we get there. Just wait. You’ll know once we reach the field.”
Seungtaek didn’t need long to understand.
***
“You bastard!”
A vulgar shout rang out from the stands.
*Wow, that’s what this is about!*
The romantic era of players just spitting out trash talk was still alive and well.
Of course, most fans didn’t do it, but that powerful single line from the cheers left Seungtaek’s mind spinning.
*Even though I’m this flustered, the other side…*
He had heard similar things during his Busan Seagulls days, but he had never seen a fan of the opposing team openly trash-talk their own player like this.
“Senior Lee Gun-taek is from the Gwangju Pigeons, right? It’s just FA drama.”
“Ah…”
*This… the intensity is off the charts.*
Seungtaek kept staring at Lee Gun-taek’s unhappy face.
*But today is the day the doves are caught, right?*
Seungtaek had intended for today to be the day he built a library here. But with this motivation, he wanted to turn it into an even grander library.
“Senior.”
“Hm?”
“Let’s make sure they don’t enjoy the cheering today.”
Seungtaek looked at him with intense eyes.
“Is that easy?”
“It is.”
Seungtaek answered and glanced at Antonio.
“That guy will handle it. He’s squeezing the ball, right?”
Seungtaek had complete confidence. Because today was finally the day that guy would step up.