Episode 6. Spring Camp (2)
Jihun’s father and mother were the quintessential ‘Beauty and the Beast’ couple.
When his mother was an unknown trot singer, she had entered an alley alone at night without even a manager and had nearly been surrounded by thugs and subjected to unspeakable acts.
Just then, ta-da! Jihun’s father appeared and started flinging the thugs around left and right.
She fell head over heels for his manly display and went straight to marriage.
Later, on a TV talk show she appeared on, her answer to the host’s question, ‘What did you like so much about your husband?’ blazed its way to #1 on the real-time search rankings.
—“I fell in love at first sight because my husband is so handsome.”
A composer inspired by her answer gifted her the song ‘Cross-Eyed Woman,’ and with that one song, she rose to nationwide stardom.
After that, she sang many songs, but that was her only hit.
The only song fans wanted to hear from her was ‘Cross-Eyed Woman.’
Jihun’s looks were exactly like his father’s, as if cast from the same mold.
Dad’s genetic lottery, 100%. Because of that, there were times he resented his father.
Jihun’s ideal type was a cross-eyed woman like his mother.
A woman who would look at him and sincerely tell him, ‘You’re handsome. You’re a looker.’
In his life before the regression, he had never met such a woman.
Would it be possible this time around?
Once, after returning from America and before enlisting for Sangmu, while walking in Gangnam, he had received a casting offer for a minor role from a film associate.
—“You’re exactly the face I’ve been looking for. There’s an intense scene inside an elevator. I was looking for a face with enough force to overpower the protagonist. The previous film was such a hit that the sequel needs an even more intense impact.”
For some reason, Jihun felt embarrassed.
‘An intense scene inside an elevator.’
He thought it was a good opportunity, but a pro baseball player couldn’t appear in that kind of erotic film.
He had no choice but to politely decline.
Even after he expressed his refusal, the man was persistent.
—“It’s really because your face fits the atmosphere perfectly. There are no lines, so you don’t need to worry at all. Don’t refuse right away; please think it over and contact me.”
On the business card he received, it read: ‘Deuruwa 2 Casting Manager.’
***
Blocking training with battery coach Bang Yeongcheol; the coach relentlessly slammed balls into the dirt.
Thanks to Jihun’s stable blocking, the ball rarely got past him.
Next was throw-to-second training: quick footwork and stable throws to second.
The battery coach held a stopwatch, measuring his pop time and reporting frequently to Manager Hyeonmyeonghan.
“Pop time is averaging 1.85. That’s top-tier among active catchers.”
Manager Hyeonmyeonghan nodded with a satisfied expression.
During tee batting and toss batting drills, Hyeonmyeonghan watched Jihun’s training from the side with sharp eyes.
It was an incredibly burdensome situation, but Jihun sent every ball he hit straight out to the outfield.
Even during batting practice with the pitching machine, Hyeonmyeonghan continued observing Jihun alongside the hitting coach.
At the infielders’ defensive training ground, coach Mark Defensor’s shouts rang out thunderously.
“Your stance is too high. Bend your back.”
“Don’t wait, dash forward.”
“Get in rhythm with the bounce.”
The interpreter conveying Coach Defensor’s words shouted until his voice was hoarse.
During afternoon training, under the watching eye of the pitching coach, he caught Gu Junhae’s pitches.
Even after a week, the angle on his changeup was still completely flat.
A pitch like this would get hit for extra bases in a real game without question.
It was in a state where it couldn’t even be used as a show pitch.
Pitching coach Go Jinsik clicked his tongue with a displeased expression.
“Junhae, your lifeline this season is the changeup. You need to practice with intense focus. Don’t think you can’t do it.”
“Yes, I’ll do my best.”
There was no confidence visible in Gu Junhae’s appearance as he answered, wiping sweat.
It was painfully obvious that he had no idea what to do.
After catching the pitchers’ throws for about a week, he could roughly gauge the level of the Smiles’ pitchers.
It wasn’t much different from Jang Mancheol’s assessment.
However, Ju Dohyeong’s pitching was unexpected.
True to being a pitcher who had thrown relatively decent stuff in the Smiles’ bullpen last year, his four-seam, two-seam, slider, and changeup all had quite usable movement.
He hadn’t yet caught the pitches of Gung Byeongil, who he was most curious about.
Gung Byeongil was a rookie and currently undergoing a separate training course.
***
After finishing even the night training, in the room alone with Gu Junhae.
By now, the awkwardness had disappeared and they had become comfortable talking with each other.
Having already watched all the action movies Gu Junhae had brought, Gu Junhae spoke to Jihun.
“Hey, kid! What do you think of my pitches? You think they’re complete garbage too?”
This was a tricky situation.
When a senior pitcher asks about his own pitches, it’s hard to tell him honestly that they’re no good, yet it’s also hard to force yourself to say they’re good.
“Your four-seam and slider are good. But to face left-handed hitters, I think you really need a changeup.”
“That’s true. But that’s not something I can just do at will. They say the changeup is a technique, but no matter how much I try, it just won’t work.”
Having finished speaking, Gu Junhae immediately grabbed a towel and threw himself into shadow pitching.
Jihun wanted to help him somehow.
Seeing him work so hard, Jihun felt that if he could just catch the slightest hint, he’d make rapid progress.
Jihun recalled from before the regression, during his time in Double-A in the majors, how the pitching coach had taught young pitchers the changeup.
—“The changeup, you see. It’s a pitch thrown with the feeling of stripping off a woman’s underwear. You got that?”
The pitchers who heard that burst into snickers and laughter.
They looked like they knew what he meant.
Even though Jihun had no idea what that feeling was, hadn’t the angle on their changeups dropped dramatically right after that?
Jihun still didn’t know that feeling.
Because even before the regression, he had never stripped off a woman’s underwear.
Of course, that didn’t mean Jihun was an inexperienced virgin.
The women Jihun had met in America were too aggressive.
“I’m hot. Very hot. Hurry up. Hurry up.”
They’d fling off their own underwear in a flash, then lunge at Jihun before he could even prepare himself, tearing at his underwear—rip.
Jihun’s little one trembled in fear, shed a tear, and gradually lost its strength.
It was the same after returning to Korea.
The women he met at an older age were no less aggressive than the American women.
After showering, the women would come out wrapped only in large towels.
Breathless silence, trembling fingertips, gestures that shook slightly as if shy, low breathing, steadily rising tension and ecstasy.
In short, he never had the chance to feel the fluttering excitement at his fingertips.
This time around, it really needed to work out.
‘Well, if it’s a senior, he’s old enough—he probably knows that feeling.’
Jihun gauged Gu Junhae’s mood and cautiously spoke.
“Senior, I read this in a book. In America, they teach pitchers to throw the changeup with the feeling of stripping off a woman’s underwear.”
Gu Junhae, who had been practicing shadow pitching, stopped and looked at Jihun with a dumbfounded expression.
“Hey! What are you blabbering about when you don’t know anything? You little punk, getting all cheeky.”
Jihun felt stumped.
‘Sigh... Damn. I shouldn’t have said anything. I said it trying to be helpful. This is why the KBO is hopeless. When a junior speaks, you should at least pretend to listen. Ah! I’m just going to the majors anyway. I totally regret this.’
Gu Junhae lay in bed but couldn’t fall asleep, tossing and turning all night in a restless state.
‘Ha! That little punk said something unnecessary, and now I suddenly miss Miseon so much.’
Gu Junhae began imagining passionate nights with his girlfriend.
‘Mmm. How did I strip off Miseon’s underwear again? That trembling sensation, gripping the side with my wrist, easing my strength, and smoothly, all at once—swish! Huh?’
Gu Junhae’s eyes widened as if he had realized something, and he suddenly jumped up, grabbed his towel, and started shadow pitching again.
He practiced for a long while with his face flushed red, then lay back down.
Gu Junhae turned on his smartphone and started texting his girlfriend.
—Gu Junhae: Miseon. Are you asleep right now?
—Miseon: No. Why?
—Gu Junhae: Then can you come up here to Kaohsiung tomorrow right away?
—Miseon: I can, but is something going on?
—Gu Junhae: I need your help practicing my changeup.
—Miseon: Me? I don’t understand what you’re saying.
—Gu Junhae: I’ll explain the details later. Only you can help me. Please.
—Miseon: Okay. I’ll look up plane tickets first.
A certain intense feeling had dawned on Gu Junhae.
If he trained intensely with Miseon, he felt he could surely master the changeup during this spring camp.
The thought that if he could just do that, his second free agency would be more than just a dream wrapped around Gu Junhae’s heart.
***
The next day, before morning training began, Jihun was summoned by Manager Hyeonmyeonghan for an interview.
When Jihun entered the manager’s office, the entire coaching staff was gathered.
This meant it was by no means a simple interview.
After light pleasantries, Hyeonmyeonghan began pouring out serious questions.
“The score is 4:3, leading by one run. Runners on first and second with two outs, and the team’s strongest hitter is stepping up to the plate. The pitcher gave up a home run in his previous at-bat against this batter. It’s a situation where one big swing turns the game around, and you, as the catcher, want an outside fading bait pitch, but the pitcher wants to overpower him. Now, what would you do in this situation? There aren’t any right answers. I’m just asking because I want to know your usual thinking, so please speak comfortably.”
Hyeonmyeonghan posed a question that was anything but comfortable.
The entire coaching staff stared at Jihun with expressions of intense curiosity to hear his answer.
“It would depend on the specific situation, but first, I would go up to the pitcher and tell him to throw this pitch according to my sign, and that from the next pitch on, I’ll put down signs so we can fight head-on without avoiding him.”
Hyeonmyeonghan wore a momentary expression of not quite understanding.
“Could you explain in more detail?”
“Yes. If the pitcher refuses my sign, it means he lacks trust in me. In that situation, there’s no way to stop him from throwing what he wants. If the pitcher isn’t convinced, he can’t put his heart into the pitch. But this is a situation where we could give up an extra-base hit and lose the lead, and a batter who hit a home run in his previous at-bat is definitely someone we need to be wary of. If the pitcher insists and gets hit, he’ll take damage and might even lose confidence in his own stuff. But if he gets hit throwing to the catcher’s sign, can’t he blame the catcher? At the very least, he can preserve his pride. Besides, the batter might make contact on that one bait pitch thrown before the head-on battle and send it right at a fielder.”
Surprise simultaneously settled on the faces of Hyeonmyeonghan and the coaching staff.
Then battery coach Bang Yeongcheol asked another question.
“Have you ever thought about what kind of catcher you want to become?”
“I want to become a ‘catcher who touches hearts.’”
Everyone wore expressions wondering what he meant by that.
“I want to be a catcher who helps pitchers surpass their best and overcome their own walls. To do that, they must keep running up against the limits they’ve set for themselves. And such challenges are accompanied by anxiety and frustration. I want to stand beside them so those pitchers’ hearts don’t waver.”
After a brief silence, this time Hyeonmyeonghan asked a question.
“Who did you learn your catcher defensive mechanics from? As far as I know, Dongil High doesn’t have a coach capable of teaching that.”
Jihun had expected this question eventually.
It was probably what Manager Hyeonmyeonghan was most curious about.
Since he couldn’t tell the truth, he had prepared an answer in advance that could appropriately beat around the bush.
“I practiced by watching videos from your playing days, Manager, over and over again.”
It’s not entirely wrong.
I really did watch a ton of videos, after all.