Chapter 70, The Real Korea-Japan Match
Hoshino Yuki calmly prepared himself on the mound.
Japan’s first opponent at the Los Angeles Olympics was none other than Korea.
A Korea-Japan match...
His heart raced at the thought of seeing Choi Seong again after so long.
Hoshino Yuki was currently 8 wins and 1 loss in Japanese professional baseball.
His ERA was 1.24.
Japan considered him one of the pitchers who could grow into an all-time great.
He was already producing numbers more dominant than almost any season by any player.
“I wonder if Choi Seong is doing well...”
Recently, Hoshino had become obsessed with a newly learned pitch.
Because of that, he had not paid attention to other players.
He had especially avoided looking up news about Choi Seong on purpose.
He had focused only on mastering that new pitch.
The reason was simple.
He wanted to beat Choi Seong when they met at an international tournament.
“Wow... this guy is insane too.”
0.70 ERA.
8 wins, 0 losses.
Choi Seong was already dominating his league.
There was a common saying that if you added about one run to a Korean league ERA, that would roughly represent the same performance in Japan.
If so, Choi Seong’s adjusted ERA would still be around 1.70.
Still overwhelming.
“As expected. He deserves to be my rival.”
Hoshino Yuki had been completely defeated by Choi Seong in their first meeting.
But this time, he was confident he would not lose.
His velocity and pitch quality had both improved.
His condition was at its peak.
He actually felt much better than during spring training, when his body had not been fully ready.
“Just wait.”
The moment Hoshino Yuki heard that the Korean national team had arrived at LA Stadium, he ran there.
He was excited to see his friend and rival.
“Choi Seong!”
Hoshino Yuki immediately approached the national team bus.
A large crowd had already gathered to see the Korean players.
Two rising suns of Asia.
Two young stars.
The moment Hoshino Yuki and Choi Seong came together, all attention focused on them.
Choi Seong stepped off the team bus, noticed Hoshino, and approached first.
He lightly greeted him.
His face was still expressionless.
Hoshino Yuki immediately opened a translation app on his phone and spoke.
“Long time no see, Choi Seong.”
“Good to see you.”
Choi Seong answered directly in Japanese.
Only then did Hoshino Yuki remember.
Right. This guy is incredibly good at Japanese.
“I heard both of us are starting today.”
“Right. Let’s see who wins.”
Choi Seong gave a rare grin.
Hoshino Yuki and Choi Seong clasped hands.
At the same moment, reporters appeared from somewhere and began taking pictures of them.
“Yeah. I absolutely won’t lose this time.”
Hoshino Yuki tightened his grip on Choi Seong’s hand.
Choi Seong did the same.
As if saying he had no intention of losing either.
Both of them squeezed firmly.
This game was receiving attention beyond a normal Korea-Japan rivalry match.
Japanese and American scouts had filled sections of the stands with their equipment.
Both Japan and the United States had come to examine me in advance.
America was also interested in Hoshino Yuki.
It was extremely rare for both Korea and Japan to produce rookies with such overwhelming performances at the same time.
Having both appear in the same year was almost unprecedented.
“There are this many people?”
That was not all.
The host nation United States had played Taiwan without selling out the stadium.
It was not an exciting matchup.
America crushed Taiwan 17-0.
The game ended by mercy rule in the fifth inning.
But Korea against Japan was different.
Two young pitchers who looked destined for Major League Baseball were facing each other as starters.
Japan already had several good players established in the Major Leagues.
Korea did too.
It was not like every overseas player was dead weight like Cho Seung-hun.
We even had another starting pitcher who was an active Major Leaguer.
“Wow... it’s completely sold out...”
Foreigners, Koreans, and Japanese fans filled the stadium and cheered for their own teams.
The heat was much stronger than anything I usually experienced while playing in Korea.
Vuvuzelas blared.
Countless languages mixed together.
[Choi Seong vs Hoshino Yuki, Who Will Win?]
[Battle of Historic Rookies, Korea-Japan Match Draws Massive Attention]
[Foreign Media Reacts, Olympics Shaken by Korea-Japan Match]
[Already Sold Out, Korea Achieves What Even the U.S. Opener Couldn’t]
[Choi Seong Already Featured on MLB.com, Popularity Reaches the Sky]
Various articles had appeared.
I calmly closed my eyes.
We had to win this game.
But Hoshino Yuki was stronger than expected.
I remembered him throwing a no-hitter in Japan too.
For some reason, his growth was even faster this time.
[Sub Mission: Win the Korea-Japan Match!]
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Description: Choi Seong is gradually rising toward the position of greatest pitcher in history. However, that reputation is still limited mostly to Korea. Defeat Japan’s greatest prospect, Hoshino Yuki, and show everyone Choi Seong’s value and the strength of Korean baseball!
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Reward: Gain the [Patriot Choi] Potential!
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Failure means only death!
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A sub mission appeared for the first time in a while.
One thing I had learned from these missions was that every reward helped my body tremendously.
Especially as my stats continued increasing, I felt greater excitement and stronger power inside my body.
Because of that, I felt as though I could win any game.
“I’ll announce the lineup.”
Manager Heo Jun gathered the players together.
Our pitching staff was built around me as the number-one starter.
Several other starters followed behind.
Relievers would fill the gaps.
Half the roster had not completed military service.
That meant finishing in the top three was absolutely necessary.
Republic of Korea National Team Starting Lineup
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Starting Pitcher: Choi Seong
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