A Rookie in the Baseball Team is Too Good

Chapter 15.Let’s Work Together (3)

‘Sakhalin Park,’ Vice Chairman Park Hong-ju.

His declaration that he would lead the team to the top of the Korean Series within the next three years seemed to be more than just empty words.

A few days later, after officially taking office as the CEO and acting owner of the KH Cannons, he began making decisive moves to reform the team’s structure.

– Fall baseball? Postseason appearance? I can’t understand people who set such things as their goal.

– Seriously, how can you call that a goal, aiming to finish in the top five out of ten teams?

– My goal is solely to win the Korean Series with the KH Cannons. I’ll do it within my term. There can be no other goal.

Sakhalin Park, who started his term with an interview full of ambition.

He appointed the first foreign coach in the history of the KH Cannons and carried out an unprecedented personnel shake-up in the team’s history.

Following this, he busily worked on extensively renovating the KH Cannons Field facilities, improving the second team’s training grounds, and upgrading the player accommodations.

Of course, the KH Cannons fans watching these moves didn’t view them very favorably.

– Looks like winter’s coming. Judging by all the KH articles flooding in.

– Damn, this team only makes noise in winter. This time it’s different, next year it’ll be different. It’s not like it’s the first time……

– But isn’t it a bit different this time with the acting owner stepping in directly?

– That’s the bigger problem. Does the acting owner even know baseball? A baseball-ignorant person should just shut up and sit quietly, that would be more helpful……

While Sakhalin Park’s active moves filled the online news portals, Ji-seop was steadily preparing to join the baseball team.

He submitted his application as Secretary Yang had instructed, donned a suit for the first time in a while, and went for the interview.

As the year changed and it approached mid-January, Ji-seop, who had been coaching the men at [Superstar Baseball], received a text on his phone.

[Congratulations, Kim Ji-seop!]

[We are pleased to inform you that you, Kim Ji-seop, have been selected as a final successful candidate in this year’s open recruitment for the KH Cannons Spring Training Assistant!]

* * *

The evening after Ji-seop received the notification text from KH Cannons, a celebration party was held at his home.

The party attendees included Ji-seop’s father, mother, older brother, and his brother’s military buddy, Mr. Oh Su-man, who is also the director of [Superstar Baseball].

“Sir, I knew it all along! Coach Kim here, he’s no ordinary guy!”

In front of a table laden with food, Director Oh Su-man couldn’t stop praising Ji-seop.

“Thanks to Coach Kim’s ‘Custom Glove,’ our academy has been flourishing! It’s great, but…… there’s been this nagging feeling in the back of my mind that won’t go away!”

“What’s been bothering you?”

When Ji-seop’s mother interjected, Director Oh Su-man downed the remaining half of his soju before continuing.

“I kept wondering if it’s right for a man like me to hold on to such a remarkable talent. Thinking about the future of Korean baseball, is this really the right path?”

At Director Oh Su-man’s overreaction, Ji-seop’s mother clapped her hands in delight, and his father nodded with a satisfied expression.

Meanwhile, Ji-seop, who was caught in the middle, felt a bit embarrassed and stepped in to stop Director Oh Su-man.

“No, Director. Why are you bringing up the future of Korean baseball?”

“Aigoo, Ji-seop! The director is talking, and…”

Perhaps wanting to hear more of Director Oh Su-man’s praises, Ji-seop’s mother gave him a light slap on the back.

“Don’t ruin the mood with your nonsense. Go to the fridge and bring out more soju. And while you’re at it, grab more lettuce and perilla leaves.”

“…Yes, ma’am.”

Although he was clearly the guest of honor that day, Ji-seop was driven out for ‘not going along with the mood.’

Clicking his tongue, he headed into the kitchen, where his older brother, Kim Ji-chang, was grilling meat in front of the gas stove.

“What is it?”

“More soju and a refill of the vegetables.”

“The soju should be in the fridge, and the veggies are on the table.”

Ji-chang indicated the location of the vegetables with a nod of his chin.

Ji-seop grabbed a bundle of lettuce and perilla leaves and stood in front of the sink.

As he rinsed the vegetables under the gushing faucet, Ji-chang, who had been silently watching him, spoke up.

“What’s gotten into you?”

“Gotten into me?”

“You, who once made such a fuss about becoming a professional poker player…”

Ji-chang placed a piece of meat onto the frying pan and continued.

“When I suggested you join the baseball team, didn’t you say you wouldn’t go unless they offered you a 100 million won salary?”

“…”

“The Kim Ji-seop I know wouldn’t change his mind so easily. You’ve always been stubborn as a mule, haven’t you?”

“That’s true, but…”

Shake, shake.

As he shook off the water from the vegetables, Ji-seop responded calmly.

“Becoming a professional poker player isn’t as easy as it seems. They said you have to achieve a platinum rank or higher on some internet site… but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get past the bronze rank.”

“So you changed your mind?”

Ji-chang snorted.

“Hey, Kim Ji-seop.”

“What?”

“You expect me to believe that?”

Ji-chang pointed at his younger brother with the tongs.

“I’ve been telling you to quit baseball since you entered high school. Was it just me? Dad said it too, and Mom as well… but you never listened to us before you went to China.”

“That’s how stubborn you were. That’s how persistent you were.”

“And you’re saying you gave up just because it was tough to rank up on some internet site? Do you really think that’s convincing?”

Ji-chang’s words hit the mark, digging right into Ji-seop’s thoughts.

Still, feeling like he could trust his one and only brother, Ji-seop decided to reveal just a sliver of what was on his mind.

“…It was the first time.”

“The first time? What was it?”

But he didn’t explain any further.

“Oh, hey! The meat’s burning, burning!”

“What? Ah, damn…”

While Ji-chang focused on the 1++ grade Korean beef ribeye, Ji-seop opened the fridge and spoke up.

“Hey, we’re out of soju. I’ll just run to the store real quick.”

Of course, Ji-chang knew exactly what Ji-seop was up to.

“Hey, Kim Ji-seop! You think you can just brush it off and run away?!”

* * *

Using the excuse of buying soju, Ji-seop slipped out of the house.

As he stepped down to the apartment entrance in his slippers, a faint smile spread across his face.

‘Heh, Ji-chang’s got sharp instincts.’

His brother’s intuition was spot on.

It wasn’t some internet poker site’s ranking system that changed Ji-seop’s mind.

The reason Ji-seop decided to join the KH Cannons was because of ‘Sakhalin Park,’ Vice Chairman Park Hong-ju.

More precisely, it was because of what he had overheard from Park’s inner thoughts during their meeting at the KH Cannons Field’s CEO office.

[Qingdao, this guy… he’s got the potential to become both the general manager and the head coach.]

Hearing those unexpected thoughts.

At the time, Ji-seop just thought, ‘What’s this old man on about?’

Head coach? General manager? Those were positions Ji-seop had never even considered.

But when he heard what came next from Sakhalin Park’s inner thoughts, Ji-seop’s heart wavered in a peculiar way.

[He’s got an eye for baseball, a talent for taking care of people’s hearts… Above all, he doesn’t falter even in the face of failure.]

And then the clincher.

[The Cannons need this guy.]

The Cannons need.

This guy.

Ji-seop had received offers before, but it was the first time he felt genuinely needed.

Join our team, there’s a place for you here.

Receiving timely offers allowed him to continue his playing career into his thirties.

But whenever he joined a team after receiving an offer, he never once felt truly needed.

[Hoo, well at least we can fill out the player roster.]

[Honestly, he’s not much use, but… we can’t ignore our relationship with his agent.]

[Our team lacks batting practice pitchers, so if we give this guy the job, we won’t have to worry about hitting drills.]

To put it simply, that was the first time.

The moment when Sakhalin Park told him to join the KH Cannons.

For the first time in his life, Ji-seop received a ‘love call’ in the truest sense.

A proposal made purely because they needed his skills, with no ulterior motives.

‘I’m… needed?’

The power of receiving a love call for the first time in his life exceeded Ji-seop’s expectations.

His previously firm thoughts about becoming a professional poker player dissipated like smoke from a cigarette.

Even his resolve to make a fortune after quitting baseball dissolved like cotton candy in water.

In place of all those fading thoughts, one firm resolution took hold.

‘Alright then,

let’s do this.’

He wasn’t confident he would succeed.

He wasn’t sure if he even had the skills.

‘Whether it ends up as rice or porridge… If it doesn’t work out, I can always go back to poker, right?’

Of course, as time passed, worries began to creep in.

If he joined as a parachute hire, he’d end up being disliked, and that would be a hassle.

The KH Cannons have been stuck in the bottom ranks for ages, so what big change could his presence make?

‘Heh, but… no backing out now.’

Recalling the only lesson he learned from his brief stint as a prospective professional poker player, Ji-seop headed towards the supermarket attached to the apartment complex.

On that winter night, for some reason, the supermarket’s lights in the distance seemed unusually bright.

* * *

Three days later, at dawn.

Ji-seop was on a bus headed to Yeongsan in Gyeonggi Province.

“…”

It was his much-anticipated first day of work.

Technically, he had experienced a ‘first day’ at [Superstar Baseball], but this was his first time going to work dressed in a suit and tie.

As the bus gradually filled with people dressed similarly to him, Ji-seop felt a strange sensation.

‘Am I really a member of society now?’

The stiff feel of the shoes on his feet felt oddly unfamiliar, and the tightness of the tie around his neck felt a bit awkward.

Perhaps it was the thought of starting a full-fledged office life that made his palms feel increasingly clammy.

However, that tension didn’t last long.

Brrrr-

Brrrr-

Brrrrrr-

Not long after boarding the bus, Ji-seop’s phone buzzed with messages from his family.

– Ji-seop, is it true that you won’t be home until the month after next once you start today? Why didn’t you tell your mom something like that?

His mother, Jin Young-hwa, sent a bunch of angry duck emoticons.

– Ji-seop? This morning, the sun rising in the eastern sky looked especially beautiful? I think the sky might be blessing your new beginning? People often say that work life has no rewards except for salary and promotions……

His father, Kim Bong-seop, sent a message that was unusually long, so long that Ji-seop couldn’t even finish reading it.

– I heard KH’s second team is heading to Jeju Island?

– Bring back some tangerine chocolates.

His older brother, Kim Ji-chang, sent a message that seemed almost unnecessary to confirm.

“…”

Scrolling through his family’s messages with a swipe of his finger, Ji-seop felt a slight surge of energy rising from deep within.

A resolve to do well, a determination that things would be different this time.

‘Yeah, this time… I’ll do well.’

Clenching his teeth, Ji-seop’s gaze caught the faint outline of a stadium in the distance.

That place, KH Cannons Field, where Ji-seop would start his new job from today.