The Log Bridge (3)
"I live here. Why are you... Ah."
After saying it, Han Min-woo suddenly thought he sounded like an idiot.
Yoon Jae-hyun was Han Min-woo's high school junior.
Living in the same neighborhood was, in a way, completely natural.
"I live here too. Building 109. I moved in three years ago."
"If I knew you lived nearby, we should have come together yesterday. I live in Building 104."
But he couldn't hide his joy. Meeting an unexpected person in an unexpected place—it truly was just that.
Besides, Han Min-woo personally had a good impression of Yoon Jae-hyun.
Why wouldn't he like him?
The number one contributor to lowering his ERA lately was, without a doubt, Yoon Jae-hyun.
Originally having a shortstop like Park Jun-young behind him, only to change to a player like Yoon Jae-hyun—who wouldn't like that?
Moreover, his personality wasn't prickly, he was polite, and fundamentally gentle, so he was the type to be liked by everyone.
"What are you doing right now?"
"I just walked my older sister to the subway station. She asked me to help her carry something heavy to work today... What about you, Sunbaenim?"
"I'm just taking a light walk."
"Huh? Then would you like to walk with me? I wanted to look around here after a long time too."
"Yeah, sure."
From then on, Han Min-woo strolled along the walking path with Yoon Jae-hyun, having various conversations.
With two baseball players gathered, the topic of conversation naturally had to be baseball.
The content was diverse.
Who would receive the MVP this year, who would become Rookie of the Year, which team would win the regular season, whether acting manager Kim Young-seung would become the official manager, and so on.
"How will the second half go?"
Yoon Jae-hyun spat it out casually, as if it were nothing.
But there was no way Han Min-woo wouldn't know the hidden meaning within it.
Probably, it implied the question of whether the Wolverines could advance to the postseason.
"Well..."
Honestly, Han Min-woo was also curious.
Whether the Wolverines could really play autumn baseball.
Gladiators, Lunatics, Crocodiles, Turtles, Albatross, Dolphins.
The teams currently above the Wolverines.
Looking solely at their power, not a single one could be taken lightly. The Gladiators were sweeping up wins with a bullpen as solid as an iron wall, and the Lunatics were shaking up pitchers by taking the first runs with their unique small ball.
The Crocodiles were packed with all kinds of star players, and the Turtles didn't give up runs easily with their characteristic solidity.
Furthermore, the lineups of the Albatross, called the home run factory, and the hot-hitting Dolphins would make any pitcher feel pressured.
'There's not a single easy one among them.'
Despite that, Han Min-woo readily opened his mouth.
"I'm not sure either, but there's one thing I'm certain of. Our Wolverines are just as good a team as those six above us."
"That's right. The Wolverines are a really good team."
Honestly, there were a lot of problems even when the season first started.
But the Wolverines were solving those problems one by one.
The manager who couldn't properly unite the team was sacked, and the pitching staff, which was considered their characteristic weakness, had stabilized.
The huge defensive hole at shortstop was filled, and the team that was once at the bottom of the league was now within reach of 6th place.
'It's completely possible.'
Of course, problems still remain scattered everywhere.
The pitching coach was still at odds with the head coach, and there was no telling when the foreign pitcher who was supposed to form the one-two punch would return. The starting pitching staff was quite aged, and there was still a defensive hole in center fielder Moon Cheol-woo.
Nevertheless, Han Min-woo thought hopefully.
A team without problems? There is no such team anywhere in the world.
Everyone has problems, but they are fighting while covering them up well. They are fighting by hiding their own weaknesses and biting at their opponent's weaknesses.
The Wolverines could do it too.
"Sunbaenim, what are you going to do now?"
Coming to his senses, the sun was already hanging mid-sky.
If they walked any more, they might end up drenched in sweat.
"Well, I don't have any particular plans."
"When I actually get some rest, I don't know what to do."
"Me too. Then shall we go get lunch together? What do you like?"
"I like meat... Oh, hold on a second."
Yoon Jae-hyun, who was speaking, fumbled in his pocket and took out his phone.
On the screen, along with an incoming call notification, the name 'Ha Yoon-min' was floating.
While Yoon Jae-hyun asked for understanding and answered the phone, Han Min-woo's pocket also vibrated.
Taking out his phone, the three characters of the name 'Pi Ki-jeong' were stuck on the screen.
Yoon Jae-hyun, who finished the call, asked Han Min-woo.
"Sunbaenim, could I possibly bring Yoon-min along too? He said he has nothing to do and is just lazing around."
"It seems like even as a 15th-year veteran, being bored is the same."
"Huh?"
To Yoon Jae-hyun, who tilted his head in confusion, Han Min-woo held out his phone.
There, along with a photo sent by Pi Ki-jeong, a message was displayed. It was a picture of Pi Ki-jeong grilling meat while holding tongs.
[What are you doing? You're not throwing balls out of boredom, are you? If you have nothing to do, come over here.]
"Let's just go eat. The senior with the 3rd highest salary on our team said he'd buy us beef."
"...!"
The All-Star Game flowed as usual.
The day before, on Friday, there was an All-Star Friday, which included a fan autograph session and a Home Run Derby.
The winner of the Home Run Derby was Kwon Ji-hoon, the cleanup hitter for the Gocheok Crocodiles.
Showing off monstrous strength, he hit a whopping 11 home runs. It was an unprecedented record for an individual match under the 7-out rule.
On the day of the event, the two teams divided into the Nanum All-Stars and the Dream All-Stars played a game.
-Stepping into the batter's box is the Nanum All-Stars' leadoff hitter, Park Seo-joon.
-Uh... but Park Seo-joon is nowhere to be seen. What's this? The camera director is looking around the mound to find Park Seo-joon... Oh, hahahahaha.
-Hahahaha, he was disguised as another camera director standing in the back! This is quite an extraordinary performance right from the start, isn't it?
└Aaack lolololololololololololololololololol I just spat out my coffee lolololololololol
└lolololololol This is so funny lolol Did they not even consult the broadcasting station? Even the broadcast camera couldn't find where he was coming from at first lolololol
└Real; I did see the staff setting up back there earlier, but did he wait from then on? Shocking.
└lolololololol Isn't that level of dedication insanity? It seems Park Seo-joon has won this year's Performance Award lol
└Why is no one looking at the pitcher on the mound lolololol
└Ahk lololololololol Guys lolol Cheon Seung-yong is coming up as the starting pitcher lolololol
└lolololololololol This year's All-Star Game is complete chaos lolololol
└lololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololol
The baseball players' families also came out to run relay races, and the greatest stars who could never be on the same team threw balls and swung bats together on one team.
Literally a festival.
Although it was an All-Star Game entertaining enough to draw the attention of foreign media, Han Min-woo didn't feel much excitement.
Because for someone who watched it every year, it was neither vastly different nor vastly entertaining.
"Don't you want to go out there too?"
In the middle of it, Han Ji-woo asked this question. His parents' gazes also turned to Han Min-woo.
If he wanted to go out to the All-Star Game?
Hmm...
Sitting on the living room sofa, Han Min-woo, who had been lost in deep thought for a while, shook his head.
"Not really. It's just a popularity vote anyway. It's not a position considered as glorious as in the Major Leagues."
Honestly, it didn't really appeal to him. Even though there were manager recommendations or player votes, it wasn't a position selected purely on skill.
Just looking at the Dream All-Stars, out of the 12 selected by fan vote, 6 were Gladiators players. 4 were Lunatics, and 2 were Dolphins.
Not a single player from the Wolverines and Albatross was selected.
The situation wasn't any different for the Nanum All-Stars. The vast majority were Stingrays players. The only player selected from the Wolverines was Jo Woo-chan.
For franchises with weak fandom power, the fan vote was meaningless; it was just a league of their own.
"And if I were selected there, I'd have to go to Busan and back. It's terrible just thinking about it. Out of the four days, I'd spend two days there, and the other two days just traveling back and forth, so I wouldn't have been able to rest properly."
Moreover, this year's All-Star Game was held at Sajik Stadium in Busan.
If he wasn't careful, he would have gone from Seoul to Busan, returned to Seoul, and then immediately gone on a road trip to Busan.
Even though he was a pro baseball player with a job that involved riding a bus around every nook and cranny of the country, it was a horrendous schedule just imagining it.
-Lee Young-woong pulls the hit! Over the wall! It goes over! With this, the Dream All-Stars take a huge lead!
-He's truly amazing. He's showing exactly why he's been selected as an All-Star for 8 consecutive years.
-Whenever the Nanum All-Stars' Kwon Ji-hoon hits a home run to chase, Lee Young-woong immediately hits a runaway home run. Haha, it feels like watching a Home Run Derby.
The game ended with the Dream All-Stars winning 9 to 7.
The MVP was awarded to the Gladiators' Lee Young-woong without any upsets. Recording 3 hits in 4 at-bats, including 3 home runs and 6 RBIs, he put on an incredible performance.
But the Armchair Baseball 2030 All-Star Game was not over yet.
"Lee Young-woong lived up to his name as a hero again this year. 6 RBIs means he practically played the game by himself, right? What were the Lunatics guys doing?"
"What are you talking about, Mom. If Won Hak-kyu and Joo Beom-jin hadn't gotten on base, he wouldn't have been able to rack up that many RBIs."
"There you go again, saying strange things. What's important is whether there's a batter who can drive them in or not. Put someone else in Lee Young-woong's spot. Then they would've lost 0 to 7 to the Nanum team."
"Your mom is right. Yoo Chang-jin, who started, got beaten up."
"No, that's because Yoo Chang-jin didn't take the All-Star Game seriously. Against the Gladiators this season, his ERA is probably 1.96, right?"
The family sat on the sofa and started arguing.
It was always the same sight. Whenever they watched baseball, they were busy fighting.
Seeing that, Han Min-woo let out a deep sigh.
The Daegu Gladiators hate the Busan Dolphins and the Seoul Lunatics. The Dolphins are regional rivals, and the Seoul Lunatics are a team they frequently face in the Korean Series.
Similarly, the Seoul Lunatics hate the Gladiators and the Wolverines. The Wolverines are their Jamsil rivals, and the Gladiators always steal the championship from them.
Yet, the Gladiators, Lunatics, and Wolverines were gathered in this room.
'Should I go inside first and sleep.'
It seemed like this fight wouldn't end easily anytime soon.
And.
'The Dolphins...'
Han Min-woo recalled his upcoming schedule.
Soon, a three-game series against the Dolphins, his former team, awaited him.