When Min Hyoseop laughed heartily, Baek Seongchan, who was beside him, spoke.
“We came to have a drink with our juniors.”
The moment we saw the two of them, we sprang up and greeted them first.
“How do you do, sir.”
When we greeted him with extremely tense faces, Min Hyoseop burst into laughter.
“Why are you so nervous? Ah, sorry about earlier. I really didn’t think you’d throw a knuckleball.”
Unlike the cheeky first impression he had given, Min Hyoseop acted quite friendly.
“But really, I wanted to see it again. It was my first time seeing a ball like that. It was curving right in front of my eyes, but it wasn’t even a curveball, you know?”
The sudden praise made me feel unnecessarily embarrassed.
“It’s nothing.”
“What? It’s nothing? Wow, look at this punk. He throws a knuckleball and says it’s nothing.”
“No, that’s not what I meant…”
Min Hyoseop stretched out his arm and put me in a headlock.
“Enough, punk. Have a drink.”
With my face lodged in Min Hyoseop’s arm, I said.
“I don’t drink, sir. It’s bad for my health.”
Then Ryu Jaeyul held up a Coke Zero too.
“I’m drinking Coke Zero, so I’m fine.”
Then, speaking on behalf of the flustered Min Hyoseop, Baek Seongchan said.
“I heard you did special training with Donghyeok?”
“Yes. I almost died.”
Then Baek Seongchan laughed loudly.
“Still, you must have learned a lot? There’s no catcher who receives my pitches as well as Donghyeok.”
“If you know that, throw more, Hyung.”
Yoon Donghyeok joined in, having appeared at some point.
“So you came? You said you wouldn’t come because you were tired.”
“I had to check if these two were okay.”
The two Yoon Donghyeok mentioned were Ryu Jaeyul and me.
“Seeing you eating meat, it looks like you still have strength left. Guess I need to train you harder?”
Looking at Yoon Donghyeok, who spoke playfully, I put down my chopsticks.
“My arm is really trembling. I’m barely holding them…!”
“I’m kidding, kidding.”
Yoon Donghyeok, who sat across from us with Baek Seongchan, snatched the tongs from Ryu Jaeyul’s hand.
“I’ll grill the meat, so just eat a lot. That’s the only way you’ll train tomorrow too.”
After pushing the grilled meat toward us and taking out new pork belly, Yoon Donghyeok continued.
“From now on, we’ll divide training into morning and evening sessions, so keep that in mind. I’ve reached an agreement with Coach Ahn.”
How much was he planning to make us train that he even reached an agreement? I was already starting to fear training.
“Understood!”
Seeing Ryu Jaeyul answer so spiritedly, unlike usual, I couldn’t afford to be outdone.
“Yes!”
I had simply answered energetically along with him, yet Yoon Donghyeok and Baek Seongchan laughed.
“I hope you make it up to the first team this year for sure.”
I asked back at Baek Seongchan’s muttering, which was like a soliloquy.
“…Pardon?”
“I’m retiring next year, you see.”
“R-retirement?!”
Perhaps finding my surprised face funny, Baek Seongchan laughed heartily.
“Why are you so surprised? The fans all know already.”
A hint of regret flickered across Baek Seongchan’s eyes for a moment as he smiled.
“My form has dropped, and these days my velocity is falling too. So I was hoping to have a successor soon.”
“Hyung! I told you not to talk like that. Why are you discouraging the kids?”
Yoon Donghyeok’s expression was not good. It was probably because they had been a battery together for so long.
“If you retire, who will be captain?”
“There’s Gangho and there’s you.”
“Neither Gangho Hyung nor I are thinking about it until the year after next. So you keep doing it.”
Baek Seongchan mumbled with a laugh instead of answering.
“Now, it’s a cheerful day, so everyone, drink up!”
I blurted out toward Baek Seongchan, who was raising his glass.
“I’ll go.”
“Hmm?”
It was extremely impulsive.
If player Baek Seongchan was really thinking of retiring this year.
“This year, I’ll go up to the first team, so please wait just a little longer.”
I wanted to send off the finale of player Baek Seongchan, whom I had admired and respected so much, in style.
“I’ll hit 130 and go to the first team. And once I’m there.”
Yes, if it was the end.
“I’ll send you to fall baseball.”
***
Last night, I had spoken so boldly of fall baseball, but today I was lying flat on the floor in a spread-eagle position.
“Ha…. I’m dying.”
At exactly 7 in the morning, Yoon Donghyeok called me and Ryu Jaeyul to the training field.
He had said we’d lightly stretch before breakfast, but he made us run for an hour and stretch for thirty minutes.
After breakfast, Coach Ahn Choonghee joined in, and we practiced leg swings, arm circles, and finding the release point.
While I received pitcher special training, Ryu Jaeyul did squatting practice and drop step training.
Around the time our stamina was completely depleted, we ate lunch and trained again. This time, it was a pitching simulation with Ryu Jaeyul.
Training nonstop like that all day, by the time I came to my senses, dinner time was approaching.
“We’ll do some light stretching after dinner, so come to the indoor training field by 7:30.”
Lying sprawled on the floor, I asked at Yoon Donghyeok’s words.
“…Sir. When you say stretching, it’s not going to be another hour, right?”
“Huh? You got me.”
Smiling calmly, Yoon Donghyeok continued.
“Before stretching, Ryu Jaeyul will do some long toss training, and Chae Gang-u, you have drill training with Coach Ahn.”
Ha.
At this point, it wasn’t special training. Nothing short of hell training.
“See you later, then.”
With those words, Yoon Donghyeok left, leaving me and Ryu Jaeyul lying there all alone.
Ha. To think I’d have to keep doing this from now on.
Of course, it wasn’t as if Yoon Donghyeok could look after us forever.
With only about three weeks left until the season opener, the first team players could only stay at the second team training camp for a few days under the pretext of boosting the players’ competitive strength.
But I was planning to continue this hell training.
Until I made it to the first team.
["It’s hard, right? But you know. That feeling you’re feeling right now—‘Ah, I really pushed myself to the limit. If I just keep training like this, I’ll make it to the first team.’ You need to feel that often. That’s how you really move up?"]
As I was chewing over Yoon Donghyeok’s words, an enormous sound came from my stomach.
Gurgle-.
To think I was hungry again after eating so much at lunch.
No, was it natural since I had trained like crazy?
“…Hey, Ryu Jaeyul.”
“…What.”
“You got the strength to eat?”
“…If I don’t eat, I can’t do evening training.”
“We do need to eat. What if we say we got food poisoning instead?”
Then Ryu Jaeyul looked at me with an expression that said I was pathetic and answered.
“He’ll just say exercise helps digestion, won’t he?”
At the refreshingly clear answer, I squeezed my eyes shut and opened them.
“Yeah, then we have to eat.”
When I forced myself up, Ryu Jaeyul also stood up along with me.
Naturally, our steps were heading toward the cafeteria.
Trudging along listlessly, the seniors threw remarks at us.
“Oh, looks like you’ll really make it to the first team?”
“Aren’t you going to the hospital before the first team?”
“We’re rooting for you! Chae Gang-u! Ryu Jaeyul!”
At the seniors’ playful remarks, Ryu Jaeyul and I just smiled.
We couldn’t bear to whine about how hard it was.
Because having a great senior like Yoon Donghyeok personally look after us one-on-one was an enormous privilege in itself.
Well, I was whining inside that it was so hard I could die, though.
“Ah, I’m dying… Huh? Right. Didn’t you skip your math problems today?”
“I did. Just now while eating.”
“Don’t tell me, on your phone?!”
“Yeah.”
So you had your nose buried in your phone while eating, and you were solving problems?
“I really think you’re out of your mind too.”
“I have to keep my touch. If your pitches get faster, the calculations will get harder too. I have to work hard too, don’t I?”
So the reason you were solving math problems even while exhausted was to catch my pitches?
“…Hey. Ryu Jaeyul. I was just moved.”
I put my arm around Ryu Jaeyul’s shoulder.
“You smell like sweat.”
“Did you have to kill the mood?”
“Save the mood for when you get a girlfriend.”
I let Ryu Jaeyul’s disgusted words go in one ear and out the other.
“Wow, the side dishes are amazing today too.”
I read somewhere that if the food is good, you’ll go anywhere no matter how tough it is.
It’s one hundred percent true.
I had even forgotten that I had been doing hell training just moments ago.
The cafeteria at the ER Hawks’ second team training camp was incredible. The quality was even better than the famous buffet AXX.
Korean, Chinese, Japanese, Western. The menu changed every day, and dozens of side dishes were prepared, not to mention desserts.
With buffets, there are usually some items that taste mediocre, but not here.
The seniors said other second teams weren’t like this. They said it was thanks to our club chairman, who didn’t spare any support, that we were enjoying such luxury, but none of that mattered.
In the end, my conclusion was one.
“I really think coming to the ER Hawks was the right choice.”
As I muttered while piling salmon sashimi onto my tray, Ryu Jaeyul let out a hollow laugh.
“Because of the food?”
“Yeah. Food is the most important thing. Hey, what is food to you?”
“If I eat like you, I’ll end up morbidly obese.”
“It all turns into muscle. And Coach Ahn said we need to build our bodies.”
Both Ryu Jaeyul and I had rather slender builds for baseball players.
Coach Ahn Choonghee had told us to gain weight too.
“That’s why I have to eat.”
Just as I set down my tray full of food and was about to eat.
“Heh heh.”
At the hearty laughter, I reflexively turned my head to see Manager Yun Seonggeun standing there.
“Oh, Manager?!”
Without realizing it, I sprang up from my seat. Ryu Jaeyul, who was in front of me, also jumped up.
“I heard you’ve been doing special training lately.”
“Yes!”
Manager Yun Seonggeun laughed heartily again.
“That’s good. Work hard.”
“Yes!”
Manager Yun Seonggeun nodded and walked away. The coaches followed behind him as he walked slowly.
I had met quite a few managers while playing baseball in elementary, middle, and high school. But there was no one who made me as nervous as Manager Yun Seonggeun.
It was probably because of the aura he exuded from his years of experience.
“Why do I get nervous just looking into Manager Yun Seonggeun’s eyes?”
Then Ryu Jaeyul answered as if asking whether that was even a question.
“Even other pro managers get nervous around him, so it’s natural for us.”
All the people currently serving as managers of other clubs were disciples of Manager Yun Seonggeun.
It had become customary for opposing team managers to come greet Manager Yun Seonggeun during games.
He was amazing.
Both the fact that he commanded players as a manager well past seventy, and that those amazing pro club managers were all disciples of Manager Yun Seonggeun.
“…He’s cool. Manager Yun Seonggeun.”
It was a sincerity that popped out reflexively.
“Cool, right?”
It wasn’t Ryu Jaeyul who said it.
“Huh, sir!”
Yoon Donghyeok stood with his arms crossed, looking alternately at me and Ryu Jaeyul.
“Haha, I told you not to act like you know me.”
Beside Yoon Donghyeok was Baek Seongchan.
“You should at least eat comfortably. What if the kids get indigestion? Gang-u and Jaeyul, you’re training again later, right? Don’t overdo it.”
Thinking again, Baek Seongchan’s character was the best.
“Could it be…”
Baek Seongchan asked me as I hesitated.
“Hmm?”
“Were you an angel in your past life?”
Then Baek Seongchan burst into laughter, and Yoon Donghyeok stared at me as if dumbfounded.
“Seeing you have the energy to suck up too means you still have stamina left. If you’re done eating, let’s train.”
At Yoon Donghyeok’s words, I quickly picked up my spoon.
“I haven’t finished yet!!”
And then I quickly emptied my tray.