Chapter 88, Teaching Them a Lesson
After my brief meeting with Lee Su-rin, I returned to the training ground.
Her smile was still lingering somewhere in my mind, but the moment I opened the training facility's door, all those feelings disappeared.
The air carried the smell of early morning.
Dry dirt, sweat, rubber, and a strange sense of tension.
Every time the soles of my shoes stepped on the artificial grass, they made a sticky sound.
My body was already responding.
Stretching, running, tee batting, and full swings.
I repeated this routine every day, but for some reason, I was even more focused today.
It felt as though a new fire had been lit somewhere inside me.
“Seong, you're training from dawn again?”
Yoon Jae-jun approached with a yawn.
“I started later than yesterday.”
“Seriously, I don't think you're human. We got back late last night, remember?”
“Did we?”
Choi Seong School.
That name had practically become the nickname of our team's training program.
It had my name attached to it, but in reality, it was a small community created by the players themselves.
Yoon Jae-jun worked on his swing path.
Kwon Geon-woo practiced his starting timing.
Go Gyeong-tae worked on the angles of his hits.
And Norman continued trying to improve his unstable control on inside pitches.
We were all working together, and in the process, I was gradually becoming stronger too.
Sweat poured down my body.
Just then, the club's team manager came running over.
“More than thirty reporters came today. There are foreign reporters too.”
“Foreign reporters?”
The club had occasionally arranged press conferences and asked me, as the team captain, to represent the players.
I did not have any major complaints.
The amount of attention baseball was receiving was unusual in itself.
And the more popular baseball became, the better.
“ESPN, FOX, NHK, Tokyo Sports, and five MLB scouts.”
I smiled brightly as soon as I heard that.
That many people came?
After I finished training, the press area was already full.
Camera shutters sounded like falling rain, and microphones were pushed toward me.
“Choi Seong! Your OPS is reportedly 1.500. Does that feel real to you?”
“Are you thinking about moving to Major League Baseball?”
“What's the secret to hitting even better than you did with the national team?”
I smiled briefly.
“When the team performs well, the players perform well too.”
In truth, there were many more things I wanted to say, but that single sentence was enough.
Showing people what I could do was more important than explaining it.
My name was already known throughout the world.
Nineteen home runs.
A .380 batting average.
A .700 on-base percentage.
An .800 slugging percentage.
They were numbers nobody could believe.
“That guy isn't human. He's a god.”
Someone muttered from somewhere in the press area.
Whether I was a god or not, I was still holding a bat today.
General Manager Kim Sang-won quietly opened his office window.
The sea breeze made the documents on his desk flutter.
Operations Team Leader Kim Min-su entered and spoke carefully.
“General Manager, we've received another flood of sponsorship requests today. Glove brands, bat manufacturers, shoe companies, and even offers for overseas advertisements...”
Kim Sang-won put down his pen.
“Reject all of them. The player doesn't have time for that right now.”
“But there's even a dinner invitation from the presidential office...”
“Reject that too. Choi Seong will answer with his baseball alone.”
His voice was firm.
Kim Min-su hesitated for a moment before leaving.
Kim Sang-won turned back toward his monitor.
The sales graph was rising almost vertically.
Team merchandise sales, broadcasting revenue, and even the parent company's stock price.
Everything was moving because of a single name.
Choi Seong.
That name was changing a city and shaking an entire industry.
It had even entered people's everyday conversations.
The expression Let's live like Choi Seong today had become popular.
The phone rang.
It was the chairman of the parent company.
“General Manager Kim, you'll be promoted to executive director after this season. You've worked hard.”
“No, sir. I can't take credit for this.”
“You're too modest. Weren't you the one who brought that player to us?”
Kim Sang-won silently looked at the sky outside the window.
Instead of clouds, the stadium's light towers were shining in the distance.
He muttered in a low voice.
“That kid is more than just a player. He's someone who has awakened the passion this country had forgotten.”
Meanwhile, in Masan.
Masan Wolves manager Seo I-hun was being harshly scolded in the club owner's office.
“We're both teams from the Gyeongnam region! So why are those bastards competing for the championship while we're at the bottom of the standings?”
Manager Seo I-hun gritted his teeth.
“Our player resources are different...”
“Stop making excuses! Win tomorrow, whatever it takes! I don't care how you do it. Just win!”
Seo I-hun's eyes wavered for a moment.
Then the corners of his mouth twisted.
“If we can't win... then we'll at least bring down their symbol.”
Those words soon became an order.
Just before the game, I reviewed some video footage.
The opposing pitchers' release points.
The paths of their sliders.
And the swing timing I had recently adjusted.
Everything was working perfectly.
If I can maintain this form, there's no pitcher I need to fear.
Then I received a message.
Your next game is in Masan, right? Apparently, it isn't going to rain around there.
That's right. Are you coming? You should be busy finishing your studies...
I submitted my leave-of-absence application a long time ago... I'm going to focus entirely on baseball this year.
Really?
Yes! And remember, staying healthy is more important than home runs or strikeouts. Don't forget!
It was a short conversation, but it made my heart feel strangely warm.
I put down my phone and quietly switched off the lights.
In the darkness, I touched the calluses on my palms.
These are proof of the life I've lived.
And I would never let myself get injured.
I made that promise to myself once again.
The game began at Masan Stadium.
Manager Rodriguez continued using the same lineup.
There were no major changes this time either.
The humidity was high, and the excitement in the stands was boiling over.
The regional rivalry between the Busan Oceans and Masan Wolves.
Ever since the Wolves were founded as the ninth professional baseball club, the two teams had fought fiercely.
