Chapter 1

Prologue

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Life and baseball are quite similar.

Both involve countless failures, yet a single swing can change one's fate, and a smooth path to success can suddenly turn into a fall into the abyss due to a single wrong decision.

I was the queen on the baseball field, like in chess.

I could go anywhere and do anything, the most important piece in this game.

But the moment I stepped off the baseball field, I was nothing.

Major League Rookie of the Year, Cy Young Award, League MVP, Gold Glove, Silver Slugger.

What do they mean?

World Series championship ring?

I have a few. But what I hold in my hand now is a cheap ring my ex-wife gave me long ago.

We were childhood friends and started dating when I was in middle school. I think this was a birthday gift I received when I was in high school.

I regret it.

Just, fuck. I don't know.

I went to bed wearing the ring, which had turned completely black.

I want to call her and say I'm sorry.

But I can't even do that, and I feel so pathetic, cursing myself.

What's the point of being good at baseball?

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Maybe because I went to bed wearing the ring, my ex-wife appeared in my dream.

"Hey, Kang Geon-woo. Happy birthday."

It was Yurie from when we were young.

She's two years older than me, but I never called her "sister."

Yurie held out a ring to me.

"Ring?"

"It's not just any ring."

"Then what is it?"

"If Kang Geon-woo makes a big mistake, you can say, 'Yurie, please let me see you one more time,' and it will take you back to before the mistake. It's a magic ring."

I snorted and got a slap.

Hmm. That happened.

When I woke up, I muttered to the ring without thinking.

"Yurie, please let me see you one more time."

...But, it's not a magic ring or anything.

When I said that and opened my eyes,

I was back in the past, when I was a high school senior.

"Mr. Kang Geon-woo, if you choose Oceans instead of the Major League, the club promises to give you the best treatment. You can play in Korea first, and we will support you unconditionally to go to the Major League later. Please believe us!"

...No. Is it really a magic ring?

Back to before the mistake? Does it mean going to the Major League was a mistake?