Chapter 48, Desire
I wasn’t afraid.
I hit the ball.
CRACK!
A loud sound rang out.
The ticking sound in my heart became louder than ever.
I had not hit the ball cleanly.
Even so, I tightened my grip even harder.
If the pitch overpowered me here, it would probably become a weak infield pop fly.
In the end, I managed to drive the ball toward the ground.
A bouncing grounder.
But I did not believe this was where it ended.
Full sprint.
That was the only thing in my mind.
I ran toward first base as fast as I could.
The ball had strong spin after bouncing, so it would not be easy for the third baseman to field it.
While sprinting, I checked where the ball was going.
It was quickly moving between third base and the foul line.
Could the third baseman catch it?
If he did, with the bases loaded, someone would easily be forced out.
What would happen?
“Fuck!”
A loud curse exploded from my left.
The third baseman missed the ball.
It slipped through the infield and rolled into the outfield.
I clenched my fist.
The runners from second and third crossed home almost immediately.
The result...
Two runs appeared under the top of the ninth on the scoreboard.
5-4.
I quickly looked toward the bench and raised both hands.
The players erupted in cheers.
A comeback.
A complete comeback.
[Sub Mission: Reach Base as a Pinch Hitter!]
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Description: This is a moment when your team can take the lead. You have been chosen as the player who can create that opportunity. You successfully lived up to the manager’s expectations in your first pinch-hit appearance!
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Reward: Power +1
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A reward notification immediately appeared before my eyes.
“Good job. As expected, you’re the best hitter.”
The first-base coach tapped my shoulder and praised me.
The crowd was already chanting my name.
I wasn’t afraid.
Manager Rodriguez quietly thought to himself.
How exactly is this team winning?
Objectively, their overall strength was still closer to a last-place team.
The general manager had told him they had potential, but from his own objective view, they simply lacked competitiveness.
That was why he had not expected much.
Even a winning percentage above .500 early in the season would have been a major success.
Fourth place, enough to enter the postseason, had seemed like the absolute best possible result.
And yet...
[Busan Oceans Charge to Four Straight Wins!]
[Busan Makes Something Happen, Sweep Against the Dolphins!]
[First Oceans Sweep in Nearly 400 Days]
[The Most Dominant Team Right Now Is the Oceans, Is Busan’s Miracle Beginning?]
[Busan Is Roaring, Citizens Smile at the Oceans’ Miracle]
All kinds of articles were appearing.
Manager Rodriguez translated them through an app, then slowly thought about the reasons for the victories.
Unexpectedly excellent performances from the starters.
A bullpen that had suddenly awakened.
And what about the hitters?
Kwon Geon-woo and Go Gyeong-tae, whom no one had expected much from, had suddenly become the core of the team’s table setters.
Yugam, who had always been mocked because even his name sounded like “regret,” had begun launching unexpected home runs and was developing into a power hitter.
Daniel Sanchez had also done more than enough thanks to his overwhelming competitive spirit.
And at the center of both the pitching staff and the batting lineup...
There was always Choi Seong.
The media had already gone crazy.
Articles poured out about Choi Seong’s personal records and the effectiveness of Choi Seong School.
[Where Did Choi Seong’s Miracle Come From?]
[Exclusive Interview with Saeum High School Manager, How Did Choi Seong Become the Best Pitcher?]
[Both His Hitting and Pitching Are Already Major League Level, Everyone Shocked by Choi Seong]
[Choi Seong School Has Proven Effective, Can Fifth Starter Kim Byeong-hee Create a Miracle in His Debut?]
[Yoon Jae-jun and Kwon Geon-woo, Both Are Thanks to Choi Seong]
Articles covered the news pages one after another.
Manager Rodriguez wondered if anything like this had ever happened in Major League Baseball, Korean baseball, Venezuela, Cuba, or the Dominican Republic.
More than sixty years of his life had been spent around baseball.
He briefly closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, he thought,
“I’ve never seen anything like this.”
Had Choi Seong taken some kind of drug?
It was theoretically possible.
But there was no way.
Was Choi Seong enforcing discipline on the team?
That was also theoretically possible.
Yet from everything Rodriguez had seen, Choi Seong had never forced unreasonable training or created unnecessary conflict.
Who exactly was Choi Seong?
Right now, he was even reducing the coaching staff’s workload by running Choi Seong School.
More than that, whenever he stepped onto the mound or entered the batter’s box, expectation naturally rose.
“I feel like we can win today.”
The reason was simple.
This time, Kim Byeong-hee, one of the students of Choi Seong School, was climbing onto the mound.
Even the players Choi Seong taught started creating a strange sense of expectation.
Choi Seong was changing not only himself, but the entire team.
All through his unique, almost mysterious cynicism.
Four consecutive wins.
In any case, the team continued doing well.
The longer we remained in first place, the quieter the clock inside my heart became.
On Monday, I went out for samgyetang with my parents.
“Huh? Are you Choi Seong?”
I had completely covered my face with a hat and mask.
Yet one of the restaurant ladies serving us still recognized me.
I smiled confidently.
It was not particularly awkward anymore.
I simply did not want to lose my rare time with my parents because a crowd surrounded us while we were eating.
Unexpectedly, my parents reacted even more happily.
“Oh my, you recognized our son!”
“This is our boy! The one whose name is in the news every single day!”
The restaurant lady stopped in the middle of serving.
Then she looked at me with watery eyes.
“Thank you for staying in Korea. If it weren’t for you this season, the Oceans would’ve finished last again.”
“Thank you for thinking so highly of me.”
“No, no, this isn’t the time for that. I’ll go get some paper. Just a moment. I’ll tell my husband too. But this place is popular, so there are lots of people. I promise I won’t make a big fuss.”
She spoke in a warm regional accent.
Thankfully, we were in a private room, so few people were looking our way.
Several minutes later, instead of bringing chicken, an older man hurried into the room carrying a uniform.
The restaurant lady beside him slapped him several times on the back.
“The poor kid finally came out to relax with his parents, and you’re going to let every customer know he’s here! You’re still acting like this at your age. Would you be okay if our kid were in this situation?”
My parents grinned while eating cubed radish kimchi.
“Is this really the time to complain? The kid who’s going to give us our first championship in forty years is here! Please give me an autograph, Choi Seong. No, Player Choi Seong.”
The old man hurriedly brought over the uniform and a board marker.
His hands were trembling.
I calmly signed it.
Choi Seong, No. 30. I’ll work hard for V2.
The uniform carried the old Busan Oceans design from the 1980s.
There was the name of a familiar player on it, along with clear signs of its age.
