Chapter 64, A Fast Dismissal
Choi Seong’s player-of-the-game interview caused a huge controversy.
[Choi Seong, “Park Pil-seong’s Pitching Changes Were the Problem”]
[Choi Seong’s Bold Opinion, “I Could Manage Better Than Park Pil-seong”]
[Choi Seong’s Three-Minute Bombshell Interview, “Park Pil-seong Is Ruining Players”]
[Choi Seong, “I Feel Sorry for Kim Beom-jin, Manager Rodriguez Is a Good Person”]
Articles like these appeared one after another.
Then more reports followed.
[What Is Happening Inside the Daejeon Hawks Dugout? “Park Pil-seong’s Verbal Abuse Is Severe”]
[The Tyrant of the Daejeon Hawks, Park Pil-seong, Insiders Say, “He Becomes Terrifying During Games”]
[Hawks Players Stay Silent, Neither Confirm Nor Deny Questions About Violence During Games]
[Hawks Front Office Insider Speaks Out, “Park Pil-seong Abuses His Authority Over Players”]
Manager Park Pil-seong saw the articles and threw his phone.
“That fucking bastard!!”
He shouted inside the manager’s office, unable to calm down.
The articles were turning him into a complete rabid dog.
How was he supposed to deal with this?
The owner had already called several times.
Park Pil-seong had ignored every call.
And what were these additional internal accusations?
First, he made a call.
“Bring Kim Beom-jin here.”
Park Pil-seong summoned Kim Beom-jin.
He intended to check whether there was some connection between him and Choi Seong.
But Kim Beom-jin did not come alone.
Lee Byeong-hwan, the team’s cleanup hitter and captain, entered with him.
“What are you doing here?”
“I’m the captain.”
“I know you’re the captain. Why the hell are you here?”
Lee Byeong-hwan quietly sighed.
Park Pil-seong glared.
“The owner ordered it. From now on, every player meeting with you must have the captain present.”
“...What?”
“And he wants to know why you aren’t answering your phone. He said you need to answer it right...”
“Are you talking back to me?”
Lee Byeong-hwan did not look surprised.
Instead, he stared directly at Park Pil-seong.
“The owner is coming here soon.”
“What?”
Park Pil-seong looked coldly toward Kim Beom-jin.
Kim Beom-jin’s shoulders trembled slightly.
No matter what actually happened, it now looked as if Kim Beom-jin had betrayed him.
Kim Beom-jin could not help feeling confused.
Why would Choi Seong suddenly defend him when he did not even have Kim Beom-jin’s phone number?
“This is basically a player coup against the coaching staff. Captain, can you handle the consequences?”
Lee Byeong-hwan frowned.
“Manager, what coup? The owner and general manager hold the actual authority over us.”
Park Pil-seong stared at him in disbelief.
Then pointed a finger.
“Looks like you’ve lost your mind trying to protect one rookie. You think you’ll keep playing after this?”
“Who knows?”
Park Pil-seong immediately raised his fist at the vague answer.
At that moment, the owner entered the room.
He was Jeong Seung-il, owner of the Daejeon Hawks and chairman of the parent company.
“Ahem. Owner Jeong Seung-il. Hello, sir. I’m sorry I couldn’t answer your calls.”
Park Pil-seong instantly bowed at a ninety-degree angle.
His hands trembled slightly.
Was this really serious enough for the owner himself to appear?
The parent company had always loved baseball.
The team finished near the bottom almost every year, but they never stopped investing.
People often called them a saintly front office.
They also had another reputation.
“Manager.”
With a single word, the atmosphere inside the room turned dark.
Jeong Seung-il possessed overwhelming authority.
Everyone fell silent under his presence.
“Y, yes...”
“Why did you do it?”
Park Pil-seong’s hands trembled after only a few words.
“I’m sorry. I’ll manage the people under me better. Especially because there seems to be a traitor inside...”
Park Pil-seong glared sharply at Kim Beom-jin.
Kim Beom-jin’s shoulders flinched.
“Ha... You really don’t understand. Mr. Park Pil-seong, why did you do it? Do you really think this is only about Kim Beom-jin?”
Park Pil-seong’s shoulders shook again.
“Why did you mess with our first-round pick? And why are you trying to make the team play dirty baseball? Did I ever demand immediate results from you? Don’t you understand what that would do to our club’s image?”
Park Pil-seong had no answer.
In truth, when the owner hired him, he had never demanded anything extreme.
When Park Pil-seong stayed silent, Jeong Seung-il continued.
“We already know what has been happening inside the team. Violence during training, orders to hit batters, constant verbal abuse. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is already talking about opening an investigation.”
“...What?”
Park Pil-seong looked shocked.
“We’ll guarantee the rest of your salary. Leave immediately. I’ve already stopped the government side from getting involved for now.”
“I, I handled everything through proper methods! This is a coup against me, and it’s also character assassination!”
Park Pil-seong protested.
Nothing changed.
Jeong Seung-il smiled.
“Manager, do you never want to work in baseball again? Do you want the ministry to tear you apart publicly, then end your career completely? We treated someone like you this well, so be grateful and leave.”
Everyone looked surprised at the suddenly disrespectful tone.
“Leave. Unless you want an article this afternoon humiliating the front office and every player on the team.”
Park Pil-seong’s face turned red.
Still, he could not argue.
An interview from someone outside the team had caused the ministry to start moving?
In only one day?
“I’ll correct things. No... I’ll think about it.”
Jeong Seung-il pulled a contract from inside his jacket and handed it over.
“Decide now. The team will operate under the head coach as acting manager.”
“Ha...”
Park Pil-seong tightly closed his eyes.
Then he picked up a pen and signed.
“Your remaining salary for this year will be deposited within fifteen days.”
“Yes...”
All strength disappeared from Park Pil-seong in an instant.
“This actually happened?”
I had only spoken honestly about what I remembered from my previous life.
But the interview became a much bigger issue than expected.
I read countless articles.
Manager Rodriguez unusually called me over.
“Good boy.”
Unfortunately, after that praise, I received a thirty-minute lecture.
The main points were simple.
Do not provoke opponents too much from now on.
