The Filial Son in His Second Life Is the Home Run King

Chapter 13 of 16

Chapter 13

Chapter 13. Contract

Ding.

[Choi Jiwan: So you need this much attention to become the second overall pick? The internet is on fire, lol.]

[Han Yuseong: So this is why I'm only third overall... I've learned something today.]

[Kang Jihoon: Stop making a big deal out of it.]

[Choi Jiwan: Are you sulking because you're the first overall pick but nobody's paying attention to you? Hey, are you sulking? LOLLLLL.]

[Kang Jihoon: You're noisy as hell.]

, Kang Jihoon has left the chat room.

, Choi Jiwan invited Kang Jihoon to the chat room.

[Choi Jiwan: Where are you going? Running away? Guys, he's running away, LOLLLLLLLLL.]

[Kang Jihoon: I'm going to train, so shut up.]

[Choi Jiwan: Does our Jihoon train while staring at his phone screen?]

[Han Yuseong: lol]

[Han Yuseong: (emoji fanning the flames)]

"What kind of chaos is this?"

Immediately after the draft ended, Choi Jiwan had taken the lead in creating a group chat with several drafted players.

When he said, right in front of Kang Jihoon, that he wanted an autograph from the future Rookie of the Year, I genuinely thought he was insane.

No. Maybe he really is insane...

Choi Jiwan was probably the only person capable of teasing Kang Jihoon like that.

His social skills were truly unmatched.

Before my regression, we had never been especially close.

So I had expected him to approach me with competitive words.

Instead, he was unexpectedly clean about everything and held no grudges.

Especially after seeing the swing on my final home run, he said he was impressed and asked me several questions about how I trained.

Watching him act like that,

I could understand why he later became famous as such a great hitter.

This feels strange in its own way.

Before my regression, I obviously had never been invited to a group chat like this.

I had gone from being a low round pick nobody cared about to someone future stars approached first.

It made me proud.

But I could not be satisfied with just this.

I should become the kind of player Major Leaguers approach first.

A player who became satisfied with his current position could never continue moving forward.

I put down my phone and started training again.

"Sports drink for whoever finishes ten laps around the field first! Start!"

"You bastard, that's cheating...! Include Kim Minseok too!"

"Huh? Look at these guys who are going to make a ton of money acting shameless. Hey, wait for me!"

After the dreamlike time passed, Kim Musin returned to his ordinary life.

As always, he went to work.

As always, he returned home afterward.

The magical moment had ended, and ordinary daily life had begun again.

Still, whenever Musin secretly looked at the articles about his son that he had saved,

he could feel the overwhelming emotion from that day again.

The sight of his son confidently answering questions in front of countless people.

The moment he saw his son wearing the Hawks uniform, the team he had supported his entire life,

he felt as though he owned everything in the world.

Of course, many people questioned the decision to draft Nahan.

, The Hawks front office has finally lost its mind. Passing on Han Yuseong for Kim Nahan?

└ People are going to mock this as Han over Kim for the next ten years.

└ Ten years? You're generous, lol. One year will be enough.

└ Three years of garbage and one good tournament, and the Hawks front office instantly bites!! This is ridiculous!!

└ The Hawks just did Hawks things, lol. Enjoy the situation.

└ This seriously isn't right...

└ If you screw up again this year, get ready for protest trucks. You guys are hopeless.

Just like the man Musin had met during the first Bonghwangdaegi game had said,

it was true that many people still thought his son lacked something.

But Musin believed in Nahan.

If it's you, I'm sure you can change all those doubtful eyes.

And it was not as though everyone was confused by the selection.

There were definitely people who viewed Nahan favorably.

, If you watch this, you can kind of understand why they used a first round pick.

└ His swing definitely has no unnecessary movement.

└ His career numbers are worrying, but I think he's still a pick worth being excited about.

└ Passing on Han Yuseong hurts, but considering the team's situation, I guess they had no choice. Look at the team's third base depth.

└ Agreed. How old is Kim Taeyoung now? Why does he still have to play third? At his age, nobody would think it's strange if he became a designated hitter.

└ After watching Cheolmin's ballet swing, seeing this cleanses my eyes.

While Musin grinned at the articles and comments, someone approached him.

It was Choi Minseong, an employee who had joined the company a year earlier.

As someone with an easygoing personality, he immediately started a conversation.

"Deputy Manager, did something good happen?"

"Ah, no. I was just reading the news."

"What article? Huh? Deputy Manager, do you like baseball too?"

It turned out Minseong was also a Hawks fan.

He did not simply watch baseball.

He joined online communities and attended games to cheer for the team.

He was a fairly passionate fan.

"Actually, there was even a time I cursed from the stands after Jeong Cheolmin struck out and almost got yelled at."

"...Isn't that just being a hooligan?"

"Come on. Who watches baseball without swearing?"

"You aren't entirely wrong."

In any case, thanks to years of exploring the internet, Minseong knew far more Hawks information than Musin did.

Short player interviews posted on social media.

Scenes showing players' daily lives.

He knew all of them.

Musin was not good with the internet, so outside of news articles, he knew very little about Hawks related content.

Naturally, the online communities Minseong described caught his interest.

"Um, how do you join one of those communities or cafés used by Hawks fans?"

"Deputy Manager, you haven't joined one? Want me to help?"

"I'd appreciate it, but... won't young people dislike having an old guy joining spaces they use?"

Minseong waved his hands with a laugh when Musin spoke worriedly.

"Don't worry about that. There are plenty of older people in communities these days. First, I'll show you how to join the official fan café."

Following Minseong's instructions, Musin joined a Niver Cafe.

Minseong carefully explained how to write posts and leave comments.

"All right. When you first join, it's an unwritten rule that you post a greeting."

"Unwritten rule?"

"Ah, basically... something everybody naturally follows."

"I see."

"Press the write button here, then choose Introduction from the category. Yes, exactly like that."

Following Minseong's instructions, Musin slowly wrote his first post.

[Hello. New Member Greeting.]

, I've supported the Hawks for twenty years, and I'm a fan of Kim Nahan. Nice to meet everyone.

└ ?

└ Take your bait somewhere else;;

└ I'm already pissed that we wasted the first pick on some random guy, stop mentioning him.

└ The world's ending, lol.

└ How is someone's username actually "KimNahanDaddy," LOL. This is true madness.

└ First time I've ever actually cursed out loud after reading a fan café post... Is this guy insane?

Musin frowned at the intense reactions.

Minseong saw the post and burst out laughing.

"Deputy Manager, you're a Kim Nahan fan?"

"Of course. He hits home runs well."

"Hmm... Actually, public opinion about him isn't very good right now. A lot of people think we should've selected Han Yuseong or Choi Jiwan. So if you don't want to argue, it might be better not to talk about Kim Nahan."

Musin's eyes narrowed at Minseong's words.

The world was still judging his son harshly.

He knew it was probably a label Nahan would have to carry until he proved himself in the first team.

But as a father,

and also as a Hawks fan,

Musin did not like it.

If he's joined the team anyway, shouldn't people support him and hope he succeeds?

Suddenly irritated, Musin wrote another post.

In a place filled with people looking suspiciously at his son,

he wanted to be the one person standing completely on Nahan's side.

[Isn't Kim Nahan Already an Excellent Player?]

, He has a good body and strong power. I think he can bring much needed strength to a lineup filled with contact hitters.

└ Seriously, why are you doing this;;

└ (Post Author): Because Kim Nahan is objectively a good player.

└ Fact, Kim Nahan, who destroyed the Bonghwangdaegi, has a three year high school career slash line of 0.255/0.301/0.410.

└ (Post Author): But you need to look at how his numbers have steadily improved. His potential for growth is limitless.

└ Maybe this is secretly a genius anti fan trying to make Kim Nahan look worse?

└ (Post Author): I'm genuinely a fan of Kim Nahan.

└ This guy refuses to lose even one sentence...

└ (Post Author): Everyone, please support our Nahan.

└ Living up to the username, lol. Are you actually his dad?

└ (Post Author): That's how much I care about Kim Nahan.

└ Nothing anyone says damages him. Is this the legendary Tai Chi defense?

That day,

Musin spent the entire day fighting keyboard battles with members of the fan café.

Later, "KimNahanDaddy" would become a famous name in the community.

Of course,

Nahan had absolutely no idea.

Several days passed after the draft.

I had cleared a major hurdle, but I continued my normal routine as though nothing had happened.

Still, one matter could no longer be delayed.

It's about time I answer the offers.

Michael Kim and several other sports agencies had given me proposals.

It was time to answer them.

Besides Michael's company, several famous domestic agencies had also reached out.

Maybe they had somehow noticed that Michael had contacted me.

In any case, there seemed to be many people interested in my potential.

"Still, Michael contacted you first. Why don't you talk with him before everyone else?"

That was Mother's advice.

I also felt that was proper business etiquette.

After finishing training that afternoon, I immediately contacted Michael.

[Me: Hello. This is Kim Nahan. I'd like to discuss the detailed terms of the contract.]

[Michael: If you're available this evening, I'll come immediately. Your parents should be present when we sign the contract anyway.]

[Me: Then let's meet this evening. Our home address is...]

I had already discussed everything with my parents.

So there was no problem inviting Michael to our home.

Around 8 p.m., Michael and my family sat around the kitchen table and began talking.

Tap.

"Ah, thank you, ma'am."

Michael took a sip of the coffee Mother had given him before speaking seriously.

"I imagine many agencies besides mine have contacted you."

"Yes, that's right."

I calmly nodded.

Telling him openly that many people wanted me was also a way of increasing my value.

Michael nodded at my answer.

"That's what I expected. Unless someone is blind, there's no way they wouldn't recognize Nahan's potential."

After saying that, he immediately removed documents from his bag.

He said he disliked talking in circles.

After going through the pages briefly, he drew a line through one section with his pen and wrote a new number.

Then he handed the contract to us.

"I've removed every clause that could unfairly disadvantage the player, so please check it carefully."

While Father thoroughly examined the document, Michael gave a small smile.

"And I'm the first agency you've spoken with seriously about signing, correct?"

"That's right."

It was true that I was already leaning heavily toward Michael Corporation.

There was a reason players hoping to reach the Major Leagues competed to sign with him.

The company was an expert at managing everything outside baseball so the player could focus entirely on playing.

Since I had decided to become the best,

they seemed capable of giving me proper support.

Of course, separate from that, the contract still needed to be examined carefully.

After a while, Father whispered to me while looking through the pages.

"Take a look at this percentage."

Father pointed to the commission rate offered by Michael Corporation.

Normally, an agent handled negotiations between a player and his club.

In return, the agent received a percentage.

The standard rate was generally between seven and ten percent.

Unless someone was a professional baseball player, they usually would not know or research information like that.

So it made sense that Father, an ordinary person, found the number confusing.

But I had spent decades as a professional player.

Six percent.

Michael's condition was extremely generous.

The contract had originally said ten percent.

Apparently, he had just changed it to six.

It was an almost excessively favorable offer for someone who had only just graduated from high school.

Seeing our eyes turn toward him, Michael nodded.

"Since you put the other agencies aside and chose to speak with me first, I should show some sincerity too. You're discussing things more seriously with us than anyone else. So I adjusted the commission rate in your favor. And..."

"Six percent of what Kim Nahan will earn in the future will hardly be a small amount anyway."

He added that confidently.

It was almost as though he firmly believed my success was guaranteed.

If someone else saw it, they might think his confidence was absurdly excessive.

For some reason,

that confidence made me smile.

"There really don't seem to be any strange clauses. If you're satisfied, then you can sign..."

In truth, I had already known from the beginning that nothing was wrong with the contract.

I had seen contracts like this countless times before my regression.

If Michael gave me one more guarantee,

I would be comfortable signing immediately.

"I'd like to add one condition to the contract."