Chapter 37 – Episode 37. Cheon So-Yeong (3)

“Maengho, have you lost some weight?”

While riding in the car, Cheon So-yeong spoke to her first.

“Ah, take it easy. You are older than me.”

“Age has nothing to do with it. I am a club employee, and Maengho is a club player.”

… Cold is. But did I lose weight? I wouldn’t feel it very much.

“Do you look like you’ve lost some weight?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t know….”

Have you lost some weight? Well, these days, exercise, sex, and the amount of food haven’t changed, but my lifestyle has changed, so I thought it might be. But how did this woman know that I had lost weight?

“By the way, can you see the weight loss? I don’t think you can feel it when you look in the mirror.”

“I am always watching with interest. Maengho is our precious primary nomination.”

Now I know very well that this interest is not the interest of watching the opposite sex. Still, my heart trembled slightly at the words that he was watching me with interest.

“Is Ji Maeng-ho the type to lose weight in the summer? In fact, the part that rookie players who went up to pro baseball from high school struggle the most is physical fitness.”

“I do not know? Actually, this is the first time I’ve played as a starter, so I’m not sure if I’m physically lacking, right?”

“It could be. Compared to the pros, high school competitions are more spacious. But for a pro who plays six games a week, it can be a big problem.”

“No problem. Didn’t they say there was nothing wrong with the medical test?”

Apparently it was. There were no injuries in particular in the medical test I took right after the nomination ceremony. Or maybe this woman… ? You want to cut my down payment? As for her down payment, since she doesn’t get commissions from SY agencies, she likely did.

Besides, if Rossby’s story is correct, the ghost that haunts this woman is Besley Rickey, who used her talent to rob players’ salaries.

“That doesn’t mean you’re thinking of cutting the down payment, which was determined by a verbal contract, right? An oral contract is also a contract. I will tell Lawyer Chung everything.”

“Poo. Fierce tiger player, AT is not the kind of company that slaps the contract money of rookies. You make fun of jokes. Well, it might have been the case if I had gone to Shilla or Hancheol.”

A smile bloomed on her face after a long time. A smile I hadn’t seen since the first day I saw it. … You are much prettier because you smile

“Do you know what our AT Thunders nickname is?”

“DTD?”

DTD, Down Team is Down. The team to go down was a term that meant going down. If I had to choose just one word to represent the AT Thunders, I would choose this word without hesitation. Strangely, the team that maintained the top ranks in April and May started to fall in June, and then plummeted in July and August.

It didn’t look any different this year.

“…….”

It took an instant for that beautiful smile to be erased. The atmosphere suddenly became chilly and I felt cold sweat running down my back. Is it because she is also a woman possessed by a demon?

“Please refrain from talking about such things in front of me. No, not even in front of other players or staff at AT.”

“… Yes.”

She was a cold woman by default, but she was much colder than usual now.

‘Why are you so angry? If anyone sees it, they’ll think AT is fine.’

Well, because I like AT so much, I must have gotten a job at AT Thunders after graduating from Seoul National University. Somehow I understand a little bit. Thanks to these fans, I was able to go to the place where professional baseball works.

“Sorry.”

Is this how you treat your fans? I’m not that sorry, but as a pro player, you should also have this attitude of respect for your fans.

“… It’s okay. More than that, what I want to say is that we treat our players so well that AT’s nickname is Welfare Hall. So you don’t have to worry about the down payment.”

“… Wasn’t it a senior citizen’s home?”

It was another feature of AT to capture and use old players or high-level players for expensive money.

“…….”

… Write. Did I say something wrong again?

“Player Ji Maeng-ho….”

She took a deep breath in and let out the words she had been holding back.

“… You are quite careless.”

“… Sorry.”

After spending time with Rossby, the words inside came out occasionally. It’s all Rossby’s fault.

“Anyway, let’s do a physical fitness test today. Are you okay?”

“Yes. I am confident.”

I wanted to take this opportunity to show Chun So-young my male side. Because she was always confident in her stamina.

No, since I am more confident in my weight than my physical strength, should I try a weight test? How many deadlifts did you get? I think it came out around 250 the last time I measured it. She must be more male like this?

*

‘I felt it from the time I answered at the nomination ceremony, but I don’t have a very good personality. No, in fact, she had felt it since the juniors filled the equipment in the Blue Dragon.’

Soyoung sighed inwardly as she glanced at Maengho, who rolled her eyes beside her. She has to focus on driving, but Ji Maeng-ho made it difficult for her to focus on driving.

‘Still, it’s fortunate that this road is quiet. Ha…. It’s not like I drew a discard card.’

In fact, I have seen many players with poor personalities, except for Maengho. She said that if So-Young wanted to know, there was nothing she couldn’t find out.

In Soyoung’s opinion, among baseball players she thought she had good character, there were only a handful of them on her hands.

A player who ignores fans, a player who cheats on his spouse, a player who has a woman in every away region because of an affair, a player who travels abroad to gamble away every off-season. Even a small number of players who manipulate the match.

To So-young, Maeng-ho looked like a player who would go that way even if he took the slightest wrong turn. It was the same way she only replied to women on Stargram. Because such a story was already circulating on AT’s fan site.

‘Certainly our fans are a bit passionate. Thanks to that, I can learn information I didn’t know.’

AT Thunders enjoyed strong popularity in Seoul during its heyday in the 1990s. Since such a club completely collapsed in the 2000s, the fans had no choice but to be angry, and they had a twisted affection for the players.

That’s why they put stricter standards on players.

I can’t do that player because he’s replying to women (replying only to female fans). That player can’t because he has a bird’s chest. That player can’t be cocky. He can’t because he’s not trying. You can’t lose all your stamina through training. I can’t because I’m a brat You can’t play baseball like the boy. You can’t swing it. You can’t just hold the bat. You can’t throw a fastball. You can’t just throw a swinging ball.

Of course, the most fundamental cause was just not being able to play baseball. Since the names were decent players, the fans always looked for the cause in external factors.

Even Ji Maeng-ho could not avoid such standards. AT fans already knew Maeng-Ho Ji better than the club.

‘Then, isn’t it wrong for Ji Maeng-ho to be arrogant and to answer questions about women? I’m just going to add something that I don’t noticehaha.’

I laughed inside at the thought, but when I saw the maengho calmly standing next to me, the laughter disappeared.

‘What if this kid is of a high potential level like the other players? My stats are still the same, and I’m losing weight even though I’m in season.’

The AT Thunders have been naming many prospects while moving from bottom to top. However, very few of them survived from the first team. Most of the players who failed had their own reasons, but the most common reason was the kind of people like Ji Maeng-ho who thought they were anything.

At the age when you will grow the most, your abilities remain the same and you are losing weight means that you are not managing yourself. So-yeong thought that the cause was Ji Maeng-ho’s mind. Maybe it’s personality, or maybe it’s arrogance.

‘Maybe the fans were right.’

Most of the players who come to the pros are players who say they are out of high school. There were not one or two cases where such players were so arrogant that they could not adapt to the professional world.

Soyoung had a dream. The AT Thunders dream of winning. Corporate successor, grandfather’s health, fan heart. Although mixed emotions were combined, So-Young desperately wanted the AT Thunders to win.

And to make that dream come true, Ji Maeng-ho is needed. The current ability level of 35 is a player who can provide the basics, but there are already many players like that. The players you need to win are game changers who can change the game.

We needed players who were at least 50. If Ji Maeng-ho was as conceited as he is now, there was a high possibility that his stats would remain at 35.

Soyoung wanted Maengho to win AT. And as a baseball fan, he wanted to see a Korean hitter with a potential of 80 command the major leagues.

‘I have to lead this kid!’

Seeing Maeng-ho sitting in the passenger seat, So-yeong made a firm resolution.