Chapter 375 – Episode 367. Lucky Day. (3)

In the top of the 8th inning, when I came back to bat, the score was 14:8, a 6-point difference. Naturally, Hancheol’s chase team member, Kim Young-gyun, was on the mound to suit the situation.

A right-handed pitcher with a velocity in the low 140s. He had a slow ball, so if it were me these days, he would have been a difficult pitcher to hit, but for some reason I felt good today. Does it feel like the hitting timing has found its place as I keep hitting home runs?

Usually, when batters fall into a slump, the slump ends when the hit ball becomes a hit, but in my case, it felt like the slump ended when the hit I hit in my first at-bat became a home run. Moreover, the number of home runs I hit today was 4. The condition was better than ever.

In other words, he is fully prepared to aim for a home run in his fifth consecutive at-bat.

‘As long as you don’t filter me out.’

“Strike!”

As a result of watching the first pitch, the ball he threw falls within the strike zone. Fortunately, since I came out as the leadoff hitter in the inning, it doesn’t seem like they have any intention of skipping me.

‘Well, if we chase now, I guess I’ll want to show something. They’ll want to catch me and leave a good impression on the coaches.’

Coaches probably don’t want a pitcher who runs away from a 6-run deficit. The position of the guy who wants to hit a home run and the guy who wants out are aligned.

‘It’s a slider.’

How was this guy’s slider? Since he couldn’t remember much, he decided to watch one more thing. Because I didn’t want to break my record of 5 home runs in a row by hitting a ball I had never seen before.

“Strike!”

And his slider bends sharply and enters the zone. He may be a chaser, but as a first-team pitcher, he has a secret weapon, and his secret weapon seems to be this slide.

‘So you threw it in the zone?’

Well, since he wasn’t throwing an ace-level slider, just seeing it once was enough to determine the timing of the bet.

‘Fastball.’

Not throwing a slider here means not looking at the game right away. As I expected, his fastball comes straight towards the body.

Perfect!

“Foul!”

Still, since I didn’t know, I kept the ball count by kicking the guy’s slow fastball. If the umpire was an idiot and struck out and lost the record, it would not have been as unfair as that, so balls coming near the zone had to be cut like they are now.

Perfect!

Perfect!

Perfect!

How many did you remove that way? Finally, the guy took out his sword.

‘It’s a slider.’

‘Okay.’

The winner is the body. For that purpose, I have been persistently targeting the body with fastballs. Perhaps the idea was to keep throwing only fastballs to the body to draw my attention and get a strikeout by throwing a slider to the body at completely unexpected times…,

Ta – evil!!

… As long as Rossby was around, there was no unexpected timing for me. This hit also disappears quickly behind left field. Just like the other balls I hit today. And the sound of cheering.

-Ji Maeng-ho! Ji Maengho! Ji Maengho!

Thus, the first game of the series against Hancheol ended with our victory, breaking Murakami’s record of five consecutive home runs.

“Today’s Distinguished Player! As everyone expected, this is Ji Maeng-ho, who set a record of 5 consecutive home runs! Ji Maeng-ho! Hello!”

And of course, today’s Distinguished Player was me, who hit home runs in five consecutive at-bats.

“Hello. AT Thunders, this is Ji Maeng-ho.”

“Ji Maeng-ho had 5 hits in 5 at-bats in today’s game. He set a new record of 5 runs, 5 home runs, 5 home runs in a row, and 10 RBIs, setting a great record! In addition, the record of 10 RBIs by one batter in one game is a new record for the most RBIs in one game. How do you feel?”

“It’s so good. Actually, I had a lot of worries because I felt like I wasn’t hitting the bat well, but today I hit a home run, and it felt like I was hitting it well, and I feel perfect about hitting home runs in 5 consecutive at-bats and hitting 10 RBIs.”

“Oh, is that so? Then, a home run in the last at-bat. “You already set a record of four home runs in a row, were you conscious of it?”

“Yes. I was conscious of it.”

“Normally, there are not many players who are conscious of such a great record…”

“If you are afraid of being conscious because you are afraid of records, how can you achieve records? Haha.”

“As expected, it’s a great feeling of confidence. Ji Maeng-ho.”

“And who was Hancheol’s pitcher who gave us the game-winner? Well, the name is…”

“… “Are you Kim Young-gyun?”

“Yes, ah. Kim Young-gyun. Thank you to that pitcher. To be honest, there are more than one pitcher who avoids competition because they are afraid of becoming a victim of their records. I can’t believe you compete like this. Thank you. Will it be the same for Hancheol’s players, who can be said to be our rivals? I hope we can have a match like that tomorrow as well.”

“Yes? What do you mean?”

“The record for consecutive home runs has not been broken yet. Tomorrow, I will leave my name in the record of home runs in six consecutive at-bats, setting a new record for home runs in consecutive at-bats.”

“Wow, Ji Maeng-ho’s new record is announced! Are you really looking forward to tomorrow? Confidence…”

“As long as you don’t avoid competing with me. I am always confident.”

“Oh…”

After answering a few trivial questions, I returned to the locker room and was greeted by several players waiting for me.

“Brother! I’m really thankful today!! How can I repay the kindness that erased my defeat? . “If you don’t mind, may I pay for your drinks today?”

In particular, Junhu, who was beaten to dust as a starting pitcher today, was stuck using a strange way of speaking. What he said meant that we should drink together today,

“Fuck off, bastard. “I have a game tomorrow too.”

I flatly refused.

“Ah… When did you ever care about something like that? . No, it is also Meng Hao. It’s really cool to see him concentrating on the game. “I hope you hit home runs in six consecutive at-bats tomorrow.”

“Do you want to rummage?”

I had to eat with Joo-hee, but I couldn’t drink with a person with no fundamentals like this. As I came out of the shower, I received a call from Joo Seung-cheol on my cell phone.

“If this is the case, can we meet in the parking lot?”

After confirming the contact, I left the stadium, and there were fans lined up on their way home from work who were excited about today’s victory.

“Aaaaah! Mengho oppa!!!!”

“It’s Ji Maengho!!!”

“Excuse me! Ji Maeng-ho came out!”

“Meng Hao! “Please give me an autograph!!”

‘Sseuup, I don’t think it was like this usually. There are too many.’

Plus, it felt like everyone was just waiting for me. I guess the 5 consecutive home runs today were strong. The road to the parking lot felt quite long today.

“I’m here…” .”

“Can I sign your back?”

“Please take a picture!”

“Yes, please come next to me.”

“Meng Hao, I also take pictures.”

“Photos, trouble.”

“Why did you take a picture of that woman…”

“Sorry. There’s a jinx where if you take a picture with a guy, you get a double play. “You understand because you’re an AT fan, right?”

“Yes…”

By the time I had provided fan service to the fans gathered on their way home from work, it had already been nearly two hours. And of course, there was no sign of Joo Seung-cheol in the parking lot where we arrived.

“Oh, fuck. “It’s so damn hard to eat even once.”

Still, when I looked at my phone, I saw that it had the address Joo Seung-cheol had sent me, so I calmed down my anger and went to the address Joo Seung-cheol had given me, and found a restaurant that looked luxurious. Looking at the private atmosphere inside, it seemed like a place where many famous people came.

“Wow, Seungcheol is also a famous person.”

My heart is pounding. Did Joohee see my performance today? I think it was an all-time great performance today, but did it look very sexy? The fingertips holding his door tremble.

‘Whoa…’

After taking a deep breath, I opened the door and entered, and saw two familiar faces in real life and one familiar face from what I had seen on TV. And the face was like an idol, a fist-sized face with harmonious facial features, making it a visual that aroused admiration.

“Hello. “This is Ji Maeng-ho.”

“Hey, why did you come so late?”

Seungcheol Joo, who welcomes me,

“Oppa, are you here?”

Ostrich. And…,

“Hello. Nice to see you. “This is iBlack’s Joohee.”

… Mr. Joohee.

‘Wow, your voice is good.’

“Meng Hao, I thought I was starving to death while waiting.”

“Ah, bro. There are a lot of fans.”

“Fan service is unavoidable.”

“I should have at least had a drink.”

“I don’t drink during the season anymore. And they can’t drink it because their comeback is coming soon. That’s right, Younghee.”

“Huh. Drinking a lot made me gain weight… We also don’t drink alcohol during our promotional period. When we get steamed, it shows right away. That’s right. “Is it Joohee?”

“… Yes.”

What? You don’t drink alcohol? It’s easier to go for the second round if you drink a little bit… While thinking about this, I looked at Joo-hee’s face and saw that her complexion was not that good.

‘Are you uncomfortable because you regret not being able to drink?’

That’s what I thought, but there was something strange about the way he seemed oddly passive and uncomfortable. When I talk to them, it feels like the flow is interrupted. Seungcheol and Leah were leading the conversation, so the atmosphere wasn’t tense or anything, but I instinctively felt that something was wrong. Still, I was eating because it felt good just to eat while looking at my face.

“Sister, I’m going to answer the phone for a moment.”

Joohee picked up the phone and went out of the room.

“Leah… Joo-hee, what’s wrong with you?”

“Ah, brother. That is…”

“What? Why do you care about Joohee?”

“Ah, brother, try to stay out of it.”

“That… I guess Meng Hao came late and wasn’t in a good mood.”

“… Huh?”

“Ugh, sorry. He said he was always hungry even at the baseball stadium…”

“Didn’t you eat something at the baseball stadium?”

“Well, the comeback is just around the corner…”

It was late to eat. Normally, all you would have to do is eat first and drink until I come back, but Seungcheol doesn’t drink during the season, and they also don’t drink because their comeback is coming soon.

‘Fuck, even if it’s twisted, it’s twisted tightly. For some reason, I felt lucky in the stadium today.’

She worked extra hard on her pitch to make a good first impression, and that seemed to have worked into her handshake. She felt like my first impression of her was the worst. Fuck.

“Sorry. “I didn’t know it would turn out like this.”

“Hey, why are you apologizing? Why? Maengho, did you come out on a blind date?”

“Ah, bro!”

“Why are you screaming?”

“Well, no. It’s done.”

“Still, today’s 5 consecutive at-bats were great. Under… I wanted to show my cool side in front of Younghee. Anyway, Ji Maeng-ho has no sense.”

She wanted to snap that she didn’t have an older brother, but she didn’t say it out loud because she felt like she needed to save her close older brother, Gao, in front of her girlfriend.

“No! Brother, you were great today. “You did a good job too.”

‘Fuck. After… Should I just go?’

When I saw the two people bickering, I wanted to jump out of my seat, but regardless of my first impression, there was still a chance.

‘Okay. You said your ideal type is someone who is good at their job.’

“The meal was delicious today. That’s right, Joohee.”

“Yes, sister.”

“Now that I’m active again, I won’t be able to eat things like this for a while.”

After the meal, before they got into the car in the parking lot, I mustered up the courage to talk to Joohee.

“Hey, Joohee…”

“Yes?”

“Could you please tell me your number? We are close friends.”

“Ah… Yes. Here, my cell phone…”

“And did you enjoy today’s game? I hit a home run in 5 consecutive at-bats today…”

“Ah… I don’t know much about baseball…”

“Ah… Really?”

“Yes. When I was young, I only heard of Joo Hyung-jin…”

‘Fuck! ‘Younghee!’

When I looked at Leah after hearing that she didn’t know much about baseball, Leah rolled her eyes and avoided my eyes.

‘Fuck! If I had known this would happen, I would have come earlier!’

A person who doesn’t know much about baseball goes to the baseball stadium and doesn’t eat anything, but the game ends late because it’s a batting contest, and even if the culprit is late to his appointment…, I felt like I would be annoyed too.

-Leah: Oppa, I’ll introduce you to a really nice guy later. In fact, today too, a seat was suddenly created. There are a lot of people around me who say they like my brother. There are quite a few people watching baseball. I’m really sorry. Actually, Joohee is still young, so men aren’t really interested in her. Really, you know I’m always grateful, right? Ah, I originally didn’t think much of it today, but Seungcheol oppa said that we should just eat. I’ll really make a nice spot for you later. Did you know that Sehee keeps saying she wants to see her brother? My brother is also a really attractive person. Joo-hee, really, how can you not recognize someone like your brother? Anyway, I’ll try to create a really nice spot!!! Sorry!!!

On the way back home, a long text message arrived from Leah, but I didn’t really believe it.

And apart from that, it came as a shock to me to say that I don’t know much about baseball, but I know Joo Hyung-jin. If you look at my records, I was already a player who surpassed Joo Hyung-jin and bombarded the KBA league, but I couldn’t beat Joo Hyung-jin’s popularity.

So far, I’ve only met women who know me, but I saw with my own eyes that there were many women who didn’t know me, so the only answer was for me to try harder.

So that even bitches like Joohee who don’t know baseball know my name.