Chapter 124 – Episode 122. First Away Game. (One)

“So you won’t see me for three days now?”

“I have a schedule, but I can’t help it.”

“Chi, I’m going out for a drink on Sunday too.”

Soyoung’s expression looked dissatisfied. Maybe it’s because she can’t have sex on Sunday and Monday.

But she couldn’t help it. Rosby and I are bound together by a contract. Because to appease Rossby, she had to have sex with her in So-Young’s absence.

Still, when you see that he came to prepare breakfast, he is a really nice person.

“Ah, Joo Seung-cheol is calling, so I have to go. Well, when I get to know you, I’ll try to persuade you to come to AT during free agency.”

“Is he going to come to AT? I’m going to advance to the majors. How famous is Seungcheol Joo? My dream is to go to the majors and hit 200 homers that my father couldn’t record.”

“Okay?”

“Yeah, I came to the interview.”

“Then I can’t help it. Do well at work.”

“Yeah, fierce tigers train hard too.”

After So-Young went, I was getting my baseball gear ready to go to work, when her cell phone rang.

-Jia: Oppa, can we meet for a moment?

It was Gia. It wasn’t strange since we exchanged numbers, but I had something to contact you from this morning… ? Maybe he fell for my charms toohehe.

‘Ha, Ji Maeng-ho, you sinful man.’

‘… I’m sorry.’

Rossby, who had come to my side at some point, cursed at me, but I decided to accept it because it was my original sin of attracting women and making men jealous.

‘Well…. But I don’t have time right now.’

-Me: Not now. I have to go to work.

It was heartbreaking to be rejected, but it was inevitable. I left a message of rejection with tears in my eyes. Jia must have been looking at her cell phone when she got a call right away.

-Jia: Then can I know when the time is?

-Me: I’m busy this week because I’m on an expedition.

-Jia: Yes? I can’t help it. Let me know when the time comes

-Me: ㅇㅋ

Under…. I made another woman cry like this. Really, I can’t help it. How torn is the heart of a man who has to leave behind a woman’s tears….

However, because I was a man who knew how to balance work and love, I was able to leave for the baseball field without any regrets.
*

As expected, it’s clear that you’re avoiding me…. Joo Ji-ah saw Ji Maeng-ho’s message and fell into negative thoughts. Ju Ji-ah is also a baseball player’s family. Even if they were going away, there were few players who went to work this early.

Even if I go to Busan, which is the furthest away, I don’t leave my house at 8:00 in the morning.

‘As expected, my brother was caught taking medicine. That’s why he avoids contact with me as a family member…. Under…. You must hate our family. You may suspect your father…. I have to do something Before Ji Maeng-ho reports….’

Jujia quickly looked over the KBA’s schedule. The next home schedule for the AT Thunders is this weekend series. Before that, he must choose whether to meet the fierce tiger and clear up the misunderstanding or keep his mouth shut.

‘Under…. What is this because of Joo Seung-cheol? How much money is in the bank account… ?’

Even if they argue, an oppa is an oppa. No matter how wrong he did, blood was thicker than water, and he wanted to protect his older brother, who knew him even if he was ugly.

*

“Hey, why are you here now?”

“Seniors…. I’m sorry, but why are we the only ones here?”

Fuck. I went to work early in the morning, but the only person who came out was the weatherman. What?

“The youngest is gone. If you come, you should come. Before we go on an expedition, let’s swing some pada and go. Any complaints?”

“Yes… ?”

No way… ? Did you cheat on me I’m sure the weatherman told me to come early yesterday because I had to go on an expedition…. But why didn’t Soyoung say anything? I must have known when it was time to go to work….

So-young liked my training, so she must have known, but she didn’t say anything.

“Don’t you know that Maepak (Mad Cats Park) has a small stadium, so you have to raise your stats here to recover the stats you forgot in Jamsil? Did you catch two big balls over the weekend too?”

“I did.”

“If it was hawkish, it would have been passed. He has to keep that feeling. Do you know what I mean? He blames himself for not being able to pass it, and then he’s in a slump right away.”

“… Haven’t I ever done that?”

“Damn it, you know everything, dude. Because I was like that when I was a rookie.”

“…….”

“Why are you doing that? Aren’t you coming soon?”

“… Seniors.”

“Yes?”

“Wouldn’t it be a little different if I trained alone? Shall I call another?”

“Okay? Were there any more kids to come out and train at AT sooner?”

“Yes.”

I couldn’t die alone. I quickly searched my phone and dialed Yoon Seong-tae’s phone number.

-“… Hello? What is it, at this hour?”

A low voice as if it had just happened.

“I’m sorry brother. Come to the club quickly.”

-“… What? Why all of a sudden?”

“Oh, I don’t have time to tell you. Come soon Hang up.”

“Oh, should I call Yoon Seong-tae too?”

“Yes. He also likes to train.”

“Good. Ha, I should have checked how the kids were doing during the spring camp, but I watched it too briefly because I was being taken to the national team. But I called because I know that you train hard. . Aren’t there any AT kids who stay and train in the morning and at night? When I’m in season….”

“Yes Yes. Let’s go quickly.”

The meteorologist started to put a motor on his mouth again. I quickly hung up before the wake-up call got too long and walked to the practice range.

‘Yes, fuck. It’s not bad to train from morning. It reminds me of high school and I like it.’

So-young and Jo-eun both went to work anyway, so there was nothing to do. Training wasn’t bad either.

And after 30 minutes. When I was practicing my swing after stretching, I heard a loud sound outside the training ground.

“Oh, it’s been a long time since I called you? The other seniors didn’t even answer.”

Yoon Seong-tae, who built a magpie house on his face and ran without taking his eyes off it, appeared at the training ground.

“Ah, Sang-joo Sang-nim called me because he said he would play some bats before going on an expedition.”

“… Pup.”

“You’re not cursing Sangju-senpai right now, are you?”

“Ah, is the seongtae here?”

“Hello, senior. See you later.”

The view is crap. After responding to Seongtae’s small voice with his middle finger, they exchanged friendly glances.

“Actually, Sung-tae also likes to train. Especially something like Fungo.”

“…….”

“Hey, I wanted to train Seong-tae too, but couldn’t come out because the seniors noticed? Actually, when I was a rookie, I noticed when I went to work before my seniors and tried to train. But fungo is a little different, let’s start by lightly practicing batting. But you like fungo? I’ll make a special mention to the defensive coach.”

“… Thank you.”

“No, as a senior, of course you have to do it. Are there any other kids coming out?”

“… I do not know.”

“Oops. I can’t help it. Then Seong-tae, you are stretching. Maengho and I are going to practice swinging. Let’s hit the pitching machine when you feel better. OK?”

“All right.”

*

“So you’ve been training since this morning?”

“Yes.”

It was a mountain beyond a mountain. An excursion bus. Woo Kwan-hyung was sitting in the seat next to me.

“It is good to be young. Under…. I used to be like that too.”

“Senior is still in good spirits.”

“Thank you for your words.”

Under…. If you’re going at night, you’ll be able to sleep at least. It’s daytime, so I can’t sleep. Fortunately, though….

“So it is. What do you think is the most important part of batting?”

“Oh, I just like the trajectory of the swing and things like that….”

“No, there are many ways to create the trajectory of that swing. Either rotate your back completely or use your wrists. Well, stuff like that. It’s like that, but each batter has a batting form that suits them. In fact, in the major leagues, we try to get the swing as fast as possible….”

It was that he did not sit next to the weatherman. The weather manager kept talking about batting as if he liked Yoon Seong-tae, who had come to practice early in the morning.

I knew it because I had been through it throughout the WBC period, but the story of baseball that came out without a break from the weatherman made people’s minds confused.

‘Phew, I’m still glad.’

I don’t know why Woo Kwan-hyung sat down when the seat next to me was empty, but he seemed very fortunate to have escaped the nagging bomb of the weather warning. As usual, I entered the eye tube with an apple pad.

My only hobbies other than baseball and sex. Lookbook. What kind of video will be uploaded today? The moment I tried to press the subscription channel with anticipation.

“Certainly, kids these days are different. Did you turn it on to watch baseball videos on the bus?”

“… Yes?”

Shit, no matter how senior you are, you have to keep your manners! Just like a man looking at someone else’s cell phone in the next seat on the subway, Woo Kwan-hyung’s eyes were fixed on my apple pad.

“Oh, until a few years ago, there was no such thing, and everyone was sleeping or talking, but these days, maybe it’s because technology has developed, but there are kids like you who study even on the bus.”

At Woo Kwan-hyung’s words, I looked around. Most of them were sleeping with an eyepatch on, but I saw a few players watching baseball videos wearing wireless earphones, as Woo Kwan-hyung said.

“Well, from your point of view, even Hyun-seong’s pitchers are all pitchers you’ve never seen before, so you probably want to study them. I’ll tell you which ball to throw, so take it easy.”

The eyes that are expecting something from me. From the moment I came back from the WBC, no, from the finish camp, I had no choice but to turn on the baseball video with those eyes that had strange expectations for me. Video of each team’s pitchers that So-young requested from the club’s power analysis team.

Woo Kwan-hyung gave a surprised look at the videos collected by each player. In those eyes, I played the video of Choi Joong-hun, who was predicted to be selected for today’s game.

“Oh, Choi Joong-hoon. You were in the national team together with Joong-hoon, right? Well, today’s selection is Choi Joong-Hoon, so you should know a little bit about it.”

“… Yes.”

Fuck….

“Jung-Hoon throws a ball that is difficult for left-handed hitters to hit. For a left-handed hitter, the slider is very difficult to hit. Feel like coming out of your back? But if you listen to right-handed hitters, they say that the slider is strangely easy to hit.”

Come to think of it, this person was also the type to talk a lot when baseball was talked about, right? He was usually reticent, but his passion for baseball was still a great human being.

Haha. Is that so… ?”

I wanted to tell him to stop looking at my apple pad, but no matter how much I was, I had no reason to say such a thing to Woo Kwan-hyung, who is a great senior with a 20-year age difference.

How can I do that to a human being with an age difference of less than 10 years from my father? It was difficult for me, a Confucian man to the core.

‘Fuck, when are you going down to Daegu….’

I had no choice but to analyze the opponent while holding on to my spirit that was getting away from the nagging of the weatherman from afar and the voice of the friendly Woo Kwan-hyung from close by.