Chapter 56

Saltwater flows through my body -4-

#

Among the current Oceans players, only Bae Young-han had experience in the adult national team.

Kim Jeong-yong had been the Korean ace of the Oceans for quite a while. Despite being criticized a lot, he had built a fairly impressive career, but he never had the opportunity to shine because he never showed an overwhelming performance.

Yang Daegun was often undervalued compared to his actual skills, and he happened to be a first baseman. First basemen, who have less defensive responsibilities, are usually the strongest hitters on each team, making the competition fierce.

Last year, there was Park Jeong-shin, the third baseman, but he is now with the Irons.

In fact, Min Seung-gi and Bae Young-han were not particularly close or compatible. Min Seung-gi was close to Park Jeong-shin, who was with the Oceans, and to Jo Yong-hwan, the top defensive catcher in the country, and maintained friendly relations with a few pitchers.

So, when Bae Young-han received a call from Min Seung-gi, he was a bit taken aback.

- Is this Bae Young-han?

It was clearly Min Seung-gi. The phone number and the voice were both Min Seung-gi's.

Bae Young-han chuckled and replied.

"No, it's not."

As soon as he hung up, his smartphone rang again 10 seconds later.

- Hyun-han-ssi.

Bae Young-han smiled and answered.

"Hey, what's up? Calling me personally like this."

- Let me meet Kang Geon-woo once.

"What?"

- Kang Geon-woo.

He couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity. He was already 30 years old.

He had met quite a few crazy people since joining the pros, but this one was a bit much.

The first thing he said on the phone was asking to meet Kang Geon-woo.

"Why?"

But he was curious. Why Kang Geon-woo?

- I'm really in a hurry.

"What's so urgent?"

Actually, it was the first time he had been called "hyun" (older brother).

Bae Young-han found the situation both curious and amusing.

- Hyun.

"Hey."

- I'll give you a free base on balls next time we meet. So, let me meet him.

"Like, throw a beanball or something?"

- ...

"Crazy guy."

- Don't say that. We're on the same team.

"Really? The Olympic national team?"

- The Oceans.

"You beat us with a shutout yesterday."

- I'm going to the Oceans.

"Does that mean you can go wherever you want?"

- If I want to, they should accept me anywhere.

"Such a crazy guy."

Bae Young-han laughed. He knew Min Seung-gi was originally an Oceans fan.

Maybe Busan Baseball Stadium has something that drives people crazy. He himself was changing, too.

He couldn't even remember the last time he had hit a ground ball and run full speed.

"But he doesn't listen to anyone. I don't know if he'll come out just because I tell him to."

Bae Young-han explained what happened last Monday.

The youngest player on the team didn't come out for the voluntary training the coach had ordered, and he got two hits against you.

Min Seung-gi listened silently and then said without thinking.

- As expected...the one I was looking for...

"What?"

- Definitely...not a supporting actor, but a top co-lead...

"What did you say?"

- Haha...hahaha...

"Hey."

- I'll help you add another championship ring next year.

"What crazy talk is this?"

- Just trust me. I'll lead the Oceans to their third championship.

"Hey. There are three people who joke about the Oceans winning. One is you, the next is the coach, and the other is Kang Geon-woo..."

- As expected! I knew it! Kang Geon-woo!

Bae Young-han couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity.

"Damn. I'm really at a loss. Hey. I'll talk to him, but I can't promise anything."

#

"Min Seung-gi wants to meet you?"

When Yoo-ri's eyes widen, I always marvel at how beautiful her eye line is.

I didn't say it out loud. If I did, she might not make that expression. She tends to get embarrassed about certain things.

"Yeah. We're meeting for a bit."

"Tell him to come to the Oceans."

"Should I?"

Seung-gi hyung and the Oceans. Even if I left him alone, he would probably have joined the Oceans.

But thinking about how much has changed since I decided to stay in the KBO, it might make a difference.

"Hmm. It might be a bit of a burden, so just casually ask if he's considering it. Not too obvious, okay?"

She's really serious about the Oceans.

By the way, my memories from when I was younger are a bit hazy.

It might be natural, since I came back to the past and my memories have become more distant.

So, I sometimes look through my childhood records. That's when I learn things.

Like the fact that I thought I was a genius when I was young, but I wasn't, and why I started playing baseball.

"By the way, unnie."

"Yeah?"

"Did you want to be a baseball player when you were young?"

Yoo-ri thought for a moment and nodded.

"Maybe for a while?"

"Just for a while?"

"I also wanted to be an action actress or an idol, and at one point..."

"At one point?"

Yoo-ri hesitated. She looked unsure if she should say it.

"Um..."

"Is it a secret?"

"Not really a secret..."

"Then what is it?"

"Oil king."

"Huh?"

"Becoming an oil king, acquiring the Oceans, and leading them to victory was this unnie's dream..."

Yoo-ri covered her face with one hand and sighed deeply.

She was that serious about the Oceans.

"Do you remember why you started playing baseball?"

"Huh? Baseball? I don't know. Why did I?"

I started playing baseball in elementary school.

In my childhood diary, it says my dream was to be a soccer king, but that changed because of Yoo-ri.

It says I changed my dream to becoming a baseball player because Yoo-ri unnie liked baseball.

It also says that since Yoo-ri unnie would be the Oceans' fourth batter, I would be the ace, and we would win the championship together and the World Cup, and then I would marry Yoo-ri. Reading this, I was speechless.

"Because Yoo-ri unnie wanted to be a baseball player."

"Huh?"

"That's why. And when I was young, I asked you to play with me, but you went to watch baseball."

"Did I?"

"So, that day, I cried for 10 hours straight, begging you to play baseball with me."

This is what my mother told me. Yoo-ri laughed strangely and poked my side.

"Really? So that's why you started playing baseball?"

"Seems like it."

Yoo-ri laughed again, making a strange sound. It's the sound she makes when she's genuinely happy. Heeheehee.

I've always liked Yoo-ri since I was young, but why did my past self act that way?

Thinking about it now, it's a bit mysterious.

Maybe it was just a young kid's annoyance that solidified, but Yoo-ri still married me, so she must have liked me that much.

Thinking about it, it makes me feel warm. I'm sorry for the times I didn't handle our relationship well, but it also means Yoo-ri was as devoted to me. If she didn't love me, why would she have married such a person, and even though we eventually divorced, how did she maintain the marriage for so long?

Yoo-ri did her best. I know the problem was just me.

"Hey. Kang Geon-woo. Why are you laughing to yourself?"

"Because I like you."

Yoo-ri snorted. Then she said,

"Stop answering like that."

"Huh?"

"If you like something, explain specifically why and how you like it."

"Why?"

"Just because."

"Why?"

"Just because. I keep falling for your nonsense, so I'm banning it. Why!"

In that case,

I hugged Yoo-ri and did as she asked.

"Because I like you, and it seems you like me too, so my heart feels warm, and um...I don't know what else."

Yoo-ri didn't struggle. She just looked up at me while being hugged and then buried her face.

"Ha..."

"Why the sigh?"

"Kang Geon-woo, you crazy guy..."

"What did I do wrong?"

"No, you did really well..."

#

Thanks to Bae Young-han's arrangement, I met Seung-gi hyung at Busan Baseball Stadium. Wearing sunglasses, Seung-gi hyung said right away,

"It's not happening this year."

He was always a bit odd. We used to say he put all his energy into baseball, and his mental state was a bit off.

"Huh?"

He clenched his fist and trembled as he spoke.

"Let's win the championship together next year, Kang Geon-woo."

What should I say to that?

Hmm.

"I need to win as soon as possible."

"No way!"

"Huh?"

Seung-gi hyung gulped down water and continued.

"No...no way..."

"Will you come to the Oceans?"

"Yeah. My long-held dream...that's right. Wearing the Oceans uniform and lifting the Korean Series trophy is my dream."

If I didn't know this person, I might have found him rude.

Well,

His way of speaking is like this, so he doesn't have many friends.

I remembered what Yoo-ri said. The Oceans fielders would make errors and double plays, and the team would lose, but Seung-gi hyung was the only one who got angry.

Thinking about it, maybe the Oceans players didn't follow his dream, and he ended up with a fish eye.

Oceans baseball must have a cheap drug-like taste. It seems to ruin many people, so it's definitely true.

"Are you an Oceans fan?"

"Yeah. If I join the Oceans as a free agent next year, we can join hands and lead the team to victory! How about it? Doesn't it sound appealing?"

He's still young, so his eyes and tone are different from the person I know. But did he really call me just to say this?

"Sure, that sounds good. But is that all you wanted to talk about?"

"That's part of it."

"Okay."

"How did you hit my pitch yesterday?"

What should I say to that? Is he telling me not to hit it? The question was strange, so I answered without much enthusiasm.

"Well, I can hit fastballs pretty well."

"My pitches aren't just fast."

"I hit a home run off a fast pitch before."

"I throw a ball that's ten levels upgraded when I pitch at Busan."

It's a bit absurd but funny. So, I just laughed and said,

"I hit a ball that's twenty levels upgraded when I bat at Busan."

He opened his eyes wide when he heard this. It was an unexpected reaction.

"...Is that so? You're that type, huh? I see. Haha. Hahaha."

What is he talking about?

How did he interpret my words?

It was just a joke, so why is he reacting like that?

"I look forward to the day we play together."

He said that and walked away.

As he left, he muttered something.

It sounded like, "Your body also has the blood of the Oceans flowing through it..."

He wasn't usually like that.

I don't know.

He really seems crazy.

I laughed to myself and sent a message to Yoo-ri.

- Me: Unnie

- Me: Min Seung-gi is coming to the Oceans next year and wants to win the trophy with us???

#

The starting pitchers for the fifth game of the Oceans vs. Diamonds series were Kirk Simpson and Nick Aaron.

The Diamonds won the first game, and now it was time for the second starters to face off.

The Oceans fans shouted,

"If we lose today, we all die together!"

There was a bit of unease. Nick Aaron was a new foreign pitcher for the Diamonds, a right-hander with a fastball speed similar to Min Seung-gi's.

Of course, there were some differences, but that was actually a concern.

"Our team has a tradition of not hitting new foreign pitchers' pitches."

"Do we only struggle with new foreign pitchers?"

"Not really."

Nick Aaron's main pitch is a cut fastball. There was a prediction that the Oceans batters would take revenge from yesterday since he doesn't have a big drop curve.

"Our guys hit fastballs well."

"Then what about yesterday?"

"Yesterday was yesterday!"

The stadium can hold 24,500 people. That means, when the stadium is full, 24,500 happiness circuits are running.

They really love baseball. Maybe they love the Oceans more than baseball itself, but that's what it means.

"Did you see Simpson's two-seam?"

"It's not a joke."

"The almond kids are going to lose today."

The Diamonds are often mocked as "nuts" by fans of other teams. But they might be a bit better than other teams.

[This post will become a holy site. Today, Wolfpack and Lee Si-wook will hit back-to-back homers]

- Not too late. Oceans, change your foreign pitcher quickly

- lol lol lol Wolfpack is a machine

- Can't Lee Si-wook and the bullpen switch?

- Who would give up the bullpen for Lee Si-wook?

- Lee Si-wook will explode on another team, for sure

- Against our bullpen, his batting stats will skyrocket

- Where are all the Lee Si-wook fans? lol lol lol damn lol lol lol

- Yesterday was a mess. They were praising his fastball, but he got a triple play yesterday

Sometimes, games happen that baseball fans only imagine.

In the bottom of the second inning,

Wolfpack and Lee Si-wook really hit back-to-back home runs.

- Make it a lottery

- I don't even want a lottery, just a pension lottery

In the top of the sixth inning, Kirk Simpson recorded a six-inning shutout.

In the top of the seventh inning, Park Eun-jae induced one strikeout and two groundouts for a clean hold.

In the top of the eighth inning, Kim Jeong-hyuk recorded a two-strikeout, no-run hold.

And the highly anticipated top of the ninth inning.

"Hyung-oh! Please! Just a little!"

"Just watch!"

"Give it one look! If Hyung-oh gets hit again today, he'll be forced to retire!"

Amid the intense worry of the crowd,

"Strike! Out!"

Jo Hyung-oh

"Strike! Out!"

recorded his first save of the season.

"Strike! Out!"

And it was three consecutive strikeouts.

"Wowwwwwww!"

"Jo Hyung-oh! Jo Hyung-oh! Jo Hyung-oh!"

"Long live the King of Saves! Long live the King of Saves!"

It was a lightning-fast change in attitude.

Jo Hyung-oh did a high-five with catcher Park Eui-hyun while the fans cheered.

"Of course! The guardian of the Oceans! The lock of the Oceans! Senior Jo Hyung-oh! It's an honor to catch your pitches!"

"Hey, don't overdo it."

"No, really! King of Saves! This Park Eui-hyun! I had recording a save with Senior in my bucket list, and I'm so happy I can check it off!"

While Park Eui-hyun was making a fuss, Min Seung-gi was looking around at the cheering Oceans fans at Busan Baseball Stadium with a deep gaze.

And Coach Hugh Breadman shouted to Jo Hyung-oh, who recorded a perfect save.

"Nigga check o yeah!"

Wolfpack, who hit the game-winning home run, made a strange face but didn't punch the coach's jaw with his massive fist. He just muttered to himself, "If my friends knew Korea was your country, they'd be shocked. For sure."

"Oceans will win!"

"Yesterday! Today! Tomorrow!"

"Oceans will win!"

Anyway, the Oceans fans were happily heading home.

Hoping this wasn't just a dream.