Chapter 8

Chapter 8. After the Bonghwangdaegi (1)

"The champion of the 51st Bonghwangdaegi High School Baseball Tournament, Seongsin High School."

As the announcer called our name, cheers spread through the stadium.

Even the Dongsin High players, who had suffered a painful defeat, applauded.

Standing here beside the photo zone felt strange.

Before my regression, forget winning the tournament, we were eliminated in the Round of 16.

When I compared that team with this one, only one thing had changed.

Me.

And yet that alone had been enough for us to win the championship.

That was simply how teams worked.

Sometimes, signing a single powerful hitter in free agency could suddenly turn a team into a championship contender.

A batting lineup was like a living organism.

When an outside factor entered, the result was not simply plus one.

It could become plus two.

Or plus three.

Sometimes it created even greater synergy.

After announcing the champions, the announcer began announcing the winners of the individual awards.

"Most Valuable Player Award, Outstanding Pitcher Award. Seongsin High School, Kang Jihoon."

As expected, the MVP and Outstanding Pitcher Award went to Kang Jihoon.

He had appeared in five games, pitched 33 innings, struck out 48 batters, and recorded a 1.09 ERA.

And that was after allowing three runs in the championship game.

He had also hit above .400 as a batter.

No one complained about him receiving the Most Valuable Player Award.

Of course, neither did I.

If I were choosing, I would have picked Kang Jihoon as the MVP too.

Besides, the MVP was not the only award.

"Most Home Runs Award, Batting Award, RBI Award, Hits Award, Outstanding Contribution Award. Seongsin High School, Kim Nahan."

As I stepped forward to receive the awards, even louder cheers erupted than they had for Kang Jihoon.

People naturally loved the sudden appearance of a new star.

Everyone already knew Kang Jihoon was good, so him sweeping awards was expected.

But not me.

Before the tournament began, I had been considered nothing more than a strikeout machine with one tool, power.

Not only had I completely overturned that evaluation,

I had also helped lead the team to the championship.

I thought I deserved the praise.

My final numbers for the tournament were 17 hits in 24 at bats.

Thirteen of those hits were for extra bases.

Eight were home runs.

My slash line, batting average, on base percentage, and slugging percentage, was 0.708/0.724/1.958.

I'm not even the protagonist of some baseball novel. Even I have to admit these numbers are crazy.

The moment I stepped in front of the presenter and received the certificate,

Ding.

[Sub Quest 1 Complete]

[Reward will now be granted.]

The quest window congratulated me too.

"That's a little unfortunate. A lot of people are saying that if Kang Jihoon had performed just a little worse as a hitter, Kim Nahan might have been the Most Valuable Player. You did very well."

"Thank you."

The presenter said that while offering me a handshake.

It would have been nice to win MVP.

But honestly, I did not care that much.

My goal from the beginning had been the Most Home Runs Award.

After taking a picture with the presenter, I returned to my place and checked the quest window.

[Main Quest 2. Erase Page 15 of the Diary]

[Failure Penalty: Regression will be canceled.]

[Quest Time Limit: 20D 7H 13M]

[Success Reward: Star Quality I]

[Success Probability: 90%]

[Success Probability changes in real time depending on Kim Nahan's actions.]

It worked. I can really see it now.

The success probability, which had always displayed only question marks, finally showed a number.

Now that I had obtained every piece of information, it finally felt as though the real quest had begun.

I also liked that the probability was not fixed.

If I did well, it would increase.

If I did poorly, it would decrease.

So I really did need to perform well in the Bonghwangdaegi.

Seeing such a high success probability also felt pretty good.

Objectively speaking, I had produced excellent results.

Of course the probability would be high.

Still, seeing the actual number gave me a strong sense of satisfaction.

It felt as though my tournament performance and all the effort I had put into achieving it had been recognized.

I was slightly disappointed that it was not 100 percent.

But I was not too worried.

I had definitely left a strong impression during the tournament.

And I could already see how I might fill that remaining ten percent.

But more than anything...

Wasn't the best part being able to see Father standing from his seat and applauding with all his strength?

From the field, I could see Father looking at me with a huge smile he could not hide.

Seeing Father happy.

That was the true reason I had returned to the past.

Just wait, Father. This is only the beginning.

I smiled more brightly at Father than ever before.

For him, I could even become the Major League season MVP.

After the award ceremony and the photo session,

I finished a short interview with reporters and sent Father a message.

[Me: Father, everything is finished.]

[Father: I know. Let's eat dinner.]

[Me: Okay. Are you in the parking lot?]

[Father: I have plenty of time.]

Tomorrow was Sunday.

Maybe that meant he did not need to return home early.

More likely, he wanted to spend a proper evening with his son after such a long time.

He could have simply said it honestly.

But answering in that blunt way was very much like Father.

Just as I left the stadium and headed toward the parking lot, someone approached me.

He wore a cap, sunglasses, and even a mask.

His face was completely hidden.

"Excuse me. Kim Nahan, could I speak with you for a moment?"

"Who are you?"

"Ah, it's nothing strange. I run a small sports agency."

He introduced himself as a sports agent.

That was faster than I expected.

After my performance in this tournament, I had expected one or two agencies to approach me.

I had played well enough for that.

Still, I had thought they would contact me after I returned to school.

This approach was far faster than expected.

"I'm supposed to have dinner with my father right now. I don't think I have time."

The man actually sounded pleased by my polite refusal.

"Oh, really? That's perfect. May I join you?"

Even with the mask covering his face, I could almost see his shamelessly cheerful smile.

He had just met us, yet he was asking to join dinner.

What exactly was he relying on to act like this?

Still, for some reason, I felt uncomfortable simply refusing him.

Sports agents normally don't dress like this.

An agent was not a celebrity.

There was no reason for him to completely hide his face.

If he was dressed like that, it probably meant he was sensitive about revealing his identity.

And if that was the case...

There was one possible scenario that came to mind.

Someone meeting players immediately after the tournament while being careful not to reveal his identity. Could he be...

I had no evidence.

But I had always had pretty good instincts when it came to things like this.

More importantly, the experience I had gained during my professional career whispered to me.

Take this man to dinner.

"Give me a moment. I'll ask my father."

"Of course! Please ask him comfortably."

Ding.

[Me: Father. Someone from a sports agency wants to come with us. Is that okay?]

[Father: ?]

[Father: Is he famous?]

[Me: Probably. I'm not certain.]

[Father: Bring him if you want.]

I laughed at his casual answer.

The man must have guessed what answer I had received from my smile.

He shouted excitedly.

"All right, let's go!"

Sizzle.

Father, the mysterious man, and I sat around the grill in a private barbecue restaurant.

"Since I'm suddenly joining you, I'll pay for dinner!"

The excited man had brought us to a barbecue restaurant in Seoul.

This is insane. One serving of pork belly costs 100,000 won?

Father's eyes twitched when he saw the menu.

"He seems like a good person."

"...We don't know that yet."

"Son, there are no bad people among those who buy you delicious food."

Was this really the same father who always told me to be more careful than anyone around strangers?

"Father, you wouldn't blindly follow some strange man just because he offered you candy."

"If it's pork belly that costs 100,000 won per serving, I'd follow him. What are you talking about?"

"Besides, if someone came looking for you immediately after the tournament, isn't it obvious why?"

Father added that.

It seemed he had thought about the situation in his own way.

He was probably just expressing it jokingly.

The man quietly listened to us whispering.

Then he removed his cap and mask.

The moment I saw his face, I had no choice but to nod.

As expected. Just like I thought.

In the end, Father's guess had also been correct.

The man stood and politely introduced himself.

"Hello, sir. And hello, Kim Nahan. My name is Michael Kim."

Michael Kim took two business cards from his pocket and respectfully handed them to us.

[Michael Kim]

[CEO, Michael Corporation]

Michael Kim.

One of the three biggest figures in the baseball agent industry.

So there really was a reason he hid his identity.

Michael Corporation was one of the largest sports agencies in the country.

And its CEO had personally approached me.

Kim Minchan, a Hawks legend who was currently playing in the Major Leagues, was also Michael's client.

Michael had such a strong reputation for identifying future stars that some people even called him the "Western Shaman."

I even remembered other agencies trying to hijack players after discovering Michael was interested in them.

That was probably why he had hidden his face so carefully despite the hot weather.

Father loved baseball too.

Once he realized who this man was, his expression stiffened.

He probably could not believe it either.

"I sincerely apologize for requesting such a sudden meeting, and for doing it in such an impolite way."

Michael stood and bowed deeply to both of us.

"But the moment I saw Kim Nahan play, I simply couldn't hold myself back."

"...Even so, there was no reason to rush this much, was there?"

Father asked.

He was right.

There were still three weeks until the draft.

And I was not in a position where I could immediately enter Major League Baseball.

Michael nodded.

"Perhaps you're right. However..."

He continued with a firm look in his eyes.

"I prefer signing people who appear on my radar as quickly as possible. That's the secret behind how I became famous in this industry."

If that was simply his way of doing business, there was nothing strange about it.

Still, I had one question.

Why me?

It was true that I had dominated the Bonghwangdaegi.

But objectively speaking, there was still a real possibility that it had only been a fluke, a temporary burst of performance.

There were plenty of professional players who shined for one season and disappeared.

So what exactly made him trust a high school student like me enough to make this offer?

Michael kindly answered the question Father and I were both thinking about.

"As you know, Mokdong Stadium has TrackMan, equipment that analyzes baseball data."

That allowed players and pitchers to be analyzed far more accurately.

For example, you could measure a pitcher's fastball spin rate.

You could see whether his release point was consistent.

You could measure his extension.

It produced detailed data.

"I looked at Kim Nahan's data. Exit velocity, launch angle, batted ball distribution. All of it was excellent."

He took a sip of water and continued.

"Sabermetrics, data, all of that is good. But putting those things aside, I simply had a feeling. A feeling that Kim Nahan will definitely succeed."

He spoke with blazing eyes, then flipped the meat.

Sizzle.

"Among the players who gave me this kind of impression, not a single one has completely failed. Some became ordinary players, but none of them failed."

Just like the rumors said, Michael seemed to have extremely sharp instincts.

In the end, I really had become a KBO season MVP in my previous life.

So his prediction was completely correct.

But he had sensed it after seeing me in only one tournament.

Michael was definitely no ordinary person either.

"Hmm. In any case, Michael Corporation can promise Nahan the best treatment possible."

Salary negotiations.

Tax management.

Commercial appearances.

"And if you want, we can also find the best trainers available to help with your development."

He confidently added that there was probably no agency that could offer me better treatment than his.

"If you're interested in signing with us, please contact me using that business card. After that, I'd like to have a proper discussion with both you and your father."

After dinner, Michael apologized once more for taking our time and left.

Father and I got into the car and headed toward the lodging.

Inside the quiet car, both of us fell deep into thought.

"What do you want to do?"

"I'm not sure. What do you think, Father?"

"Well, we'd have to look at the contract first... but he didn't seem like a bad person."

Even though club front offices called him a devil,

he was famous for doing everything he could for the players he represented.

There was no real reason to reject him.

At least, not unless he had hidden something strange in the contract.

"Do what you want. My role is just to complain if I see anything strange in the contract."

"Okay. We still have plenty of time, so I'll think about it."

"Good."

After that, Father and I became lost in our own thoughts.

"......"

The silent car continued down the road.

Eventually, we arrived at the lodging and got out together.

Father nodded and patted me on the back.

"You worked hard."

I thought he would praise me for winning the Most Home Runs Award.

Maybe he was still a little embarrassed.

But that was fine.

If Father was too embarrassed to come closer to me,

then I could slowly move closer to him.

That was one of my goals in this life.

"Ah, hey, what are you doing?"

I stepped closer and hugged him.

I could feel his hands moving awkwardly in the air because he did not know what to do.

Eventually, Father slowly patted my back too.

"I'm always grateful, Father."

"Why are you suddenly saying something like that..."

He cleared his throat before continuing.

"You did well becoming the home run king. That swing on your last home run was impressive."

Did Father know?

That swing was something we had created together too.