Chapter 8 – Episode 8 Practice Match (2) -(Modified)
Jerk, jerk. You can feel the sensation of dirt under the spikes. It is hard. And nice to meet you. Even if it’s a practice game, how long has it been since you stood at bat….
‘Don’t say shit, just focus.’
‘I know.’
Again, Rossby did not allow me to indulge in sentimentality. I slowly started doing my routine, which I hadn’t been able to do in a while.
I swept the leg guard once and put my hand up to smell the gloves. The disgusting smell of rubber clears the mind. And two swings. I don’t know since when, but my batting routine I did every time I entered the game.
Doing this routine made me realize that I was back in the plate.
Standing on the mound is Kim Won-ho. The guy was laughing. Maybe it’s been a while since you’ve been laughing at me like that? It’s been a while since I’ve known Wonho’s ball.
‘That bastard. Splitting.’
‘Stop talking and tell me what to pitch.’
‘Okay. Don’t forget that bastard ate your first love.’
‘… Not yet!’
‘I’m sorry. That’s enough to eat.’
Shit…. Kim Won -ho, who became Hyuna’s daughter, and Rosby who scratched me with it are all chew.
‘Four-seam.’
Rosby, standing behind Kim Won-ho, sees the grip and tells him the type of pitch. And Kim Won-ho winded up and the ball flew.
Pa-ang!
A fast ball in the latter half of 140km/h makes a light sound when it comes into contact with the glove. I instinctively looked at the referee.
“Strike!”
The coach, who was watching the referee, calls out a strike call. A sharp four-seam digging toward the knee. Even if I hit it, I wouldn’t get a good ball, right?
‘Can I hit it even if I tell you?’
‘I just saw the first ball, right?’
‘Gills….’
‘Can you tell me where it is? Just give me a rough idea of where the catcher’s glove is.’
It wouldn’t have meant much if Kim Won-ho had poor control, but Kim Won-ho had good control as he was the ace of the team. It’s not like I’m not a candidate for the 1st nomination for nothing.
‘Body, four-seam. This bastard is really looking at you like a dick?’
Same ball twice in a row? Just like Rossby said, it seemed like Kim Won-ho was looking at me like a dog. Can you hit my ball? A pitcher is a ball combination that seems to contain the unique pride of living organisms.
If it was me in the past, I wouldn’t have been able to hit it even if I plugged it in like that. Because I didn’t even feel the game. But now it’s different. The batting sense that Rosby has wielded so far remains in my hands.
Kim Won-ho’s left leg rises, and his right hand, which was in the glove, is hidden behind his back this time and is sprayed toward me at lightning speed. At that familiar but unfamiliar timing, I instinctively swung the bat.
Ta-evil!
‘Caught!’
The ball flew away with a cheerful sound from the bat. The moment the ball hit, I ran at full speed toward first base.
“Run! Run!”
At the cry of a junior who was watching the first base coach, he stepped on the first base and turned wide to head to the second base. The second baseman and shortstop stood still, looking out into the outfield. Has the consignment arrived yet? I glanced at the outfield and saw that even all the outfielders were stationary.
‘Hey! Stop running!’
“Wow! Ji Maeng-ho! Ji Maeng-ho!”
“What is Maengho hyung?!”
Only then did I hear the sound of the ground. A raucous dugout as opposed to stationary fielders.
“Hey. Are you taking any medicine today? What is patta? Let’s eat something good together.”
Looking at me at second base, Kim Won-ho jokes with me. It was strange to see a guy who would have wrinkled his face if it wasn’t for the practice game or me laughing and joking that his friend came out after a long time and said he had hit a home run.
“Drugs suck.”
After expressing his strange feeling with his middle finger, he slowly ran back to the base.
“Nice home run.”
After he hit the home run, he gave the coach a high-five, realizing he had hit a home run.
“It seems that the betting has definitely been elaborated? Look. You have basic power, so if you hit it comfortably, you will get a long hit.”
If you knew that well, why not suggest it to the director?
“Ah…. Yes.”
I sat down on the bench after giving a casual reply to the head coach who thought he had hit a home run thanks to his coaching.
“Boy. How many years have you hit a home run? Aren’t you happy about that?”
“Ah…. I still can’t believe it.”
“Okay. This can be happen. But don’t be arrogant just because you hit a home run in a practice game. Understand? Now, shouldn’t you go to college or somewhere?”
“Then, please use it as a starting point.”
“If it’s like today, I’ll tell the director well.”
“Thank you.”
Head coach…. This kid is also a kid similar to the director. Even though he clearly knows my situation, he only talks about it. Marley said she hated her sister-in-law even more, and she also hated the head coach who pretended to be a great coach.
Well…. Is it because you got revenge on the director? When I thought of that, Hyejin noona suddenly came to mind.
‘That bitch had a good sense of rice cake. Maybe monkeys are pretty good toohehe, I should have tried it once while on active duty.’
At Ross-B’s words, he thought about having a fight with Hye-jin’s sister at the director’s house, but her lower legs seemed to be bleeding.
‘Mister. Let’s focus on the game.’
‘What is concentration? Ji thought of it first.’
‘… Hmm.’
While chatting with Rossby, the next batter was lightly out and the offense and defense were switched.
“Maengho. Let’s just focus on defense. Can you do well?”
“Yep. I’ll do my best.”
“No, no. You don’t have to work hard, you have to do well. Understand?”
“I get it.”
It’s disgusting to pretend to give advice now…. Leaving behind the head coach’s nagging, he went back into the field with his glove.
*
“Maengho. It is a replacement.”
“Already?”
When I came in after my second at-bat, the head coach informed me of a replacement. In the second at-bat, I backed off with a bum hit, but he hit the ball so well that he went to the front of the fielder, but my hitting feeling was fine.
There shouldn’t have been any mistakes on defense… ? Since he had been a candidate for a long time, he was terrified by the head coach’s words.
“Today was good. But I have to try the other kids.”
The head coach soothes me, perhaps sensing my uneasy expression. I can run more….
‘You monkey. Just having a practice match….’
‘It’s still uneasy, though.’
‘If the coaches weren’t idiots, they would have appealed to you enough.’
‘No matter how much I think about it, it’s because I look like an idiot.’
‘…….’
If it wasn’t for the idiots, there was no way they would let me rot for three years.
“Maengho. I know you’re excited because you’ve been playing for the first time in a while, but let’s take care of your expression. Aren’t we doing club activities?”
Shit guy…. When I didn’t let go of my expression, the head coach hardened his expression and said,
“Sorry.”
I quickly bowed my head and apologized. At my apology, the head coach relaxed his hardened expression and spoke softly again.
“The director is also looking good. You don’t have to show it all like that today.”
“All right. I think I’m a little excited.”
“Okay. Go to the bathroom and wash your face.”
“Yes.”
At the head coach’s words, I took off my batting gloves and left the dugout. I felt like I was about to shed a little tears to see him withdraw from a match he entered.
‘Don’t be lazy! Ah, this is why I hate kids.’
‘But it’s been a long time since I’ve been running…. I tried to control it as much as possible…. It’s not going as well as I thought.’
After my parents passed away, I made my body while undergoing rehabilitation training at the hospital and endured it while pitching a batting ball. I didn’t want to leave like this.
‘Now it begins. It’s just one step further. Are you going to make it like this every time?’
‘What if this is the end? I’m trying to be confident, but it doesn’t work out.’
‘This fucking bastard. Do you think this body’s heir will end like this? Does that make this Rosby a bitch? Right?’
‘That’s not it….’
‘Under. What should this moth do this baby? Be confident like you did when you cut that bitch! You bastard monkey! Baseball is mental! Mental!’
I somehow laughed when I saw Rossby trying to placate me with an exaggerated gesture I hadn’t seen before. Did you become attached after being together for about half a year?
‘Thank you for comforting me.’
‘Comfort is Niimi.’
“Crying, laughing, and various things?”
“Why again?”
“Why are you suddenly polite?”
Out of habit, I thought I was talking to Rosby and used honorifics, but it wasn’t Rosby who was talking to me.
“Are you Hyuna?”
“Why did you come to the game today?”
It was Hyuna. She had the illusion that under the clothes Hyuna was wearing, she could see the body she had seen then. Was she obviously depressed?
“Are you not answering? Are you ignoring people now just because you have a game?”
As Hyuna’s foxy eyes rose, she looked at me.
“What are you ignoring? But don’t you train?”
“I came out for a while because it was break time.”
“Did you come to see Wonho?”
“… Huh? What are you talking about?”
“No, you like Wonho.”
“Radish… , What are you talking about, Joe, you like it!”
Hyuna was obviously embarrassed by my words and stuttered her words.
“Do you have any proof?”
Our school is a school that strictly prohibits dating. There was nothing good to look back at the rumors, so Hyuna came out strong.
“If you do that at school, everyone knows.”
“… Do you go around like that?”
“Don’t go around like that at school.”
Hyuna’s eyes shake.
If I said more, it seemed like I would just say what I had seen, so I answered that and quickly left. No, maybe I said everything?
‘Why doesn’t she chat with that bitch?’
‘… Iknow, right.’
After hearing Rossby’s words and thinking about it, it seemed that ever since she watched that video, she didn’t seem to feel any of the pounding or tickling that she had felt before.
‘Love is so fleeting.’
It seemed that she would love Hyun-ah for the rest of her life, but she thought of someone other than me, and seeing her masturbating, she rather fell in love… ?
For some reason, I felt like an idiot for avoiding her Hyuna.
‘It’s a good attitudehehe. Love is a luxury for people like us.’
‘What are people like us? Don’t weave it together. ‘Cause I’m in a bad mood.’
‘A guy who fucks and eats other people’s wives pretends to be clean. You’re a piece of trash.’
‘…… That’s Rossby… !’
‘Yes? Did you threaten to kill me if I didn’t eat it? The guy who rubbed his dick in excitement.’
There was nothing to refute. Because what Rossby said was true. If I had been in my right mind, I would have refused no matter how much I made the atmosphere like that.
‘Okay! That’s it! But, what happened? Let’s enjoy life, we only live once. Look at me Isn’t it because I can’t enjoy it properly that I became a ghost and follows you?’
‘I guess I lived while enjoying it enough?’
‘That means it’s still not enough.’
‘… If I don’t want to be like Mr. Rossby, I’ll have to do my best.’
‘Okay. Let’s eat that year somedayhehe.’
Rossby was right. It’s only one life anyway, so it’s right to enjoy it. While playing baseball, which I loved.
‘Okay. Let’s live like that.’
‘Suddenly half words… ?’
‘What! Saying let’s enjoy life, do I even have to use honorifics to ghosts?’
‘You foolish monkey! Are you making a tee without ami and abby?! Shall I pull out my intestines and jump rope?! Or grind it in a blender… ! …… ! ……………………… !’
As soon as I started talking, Rossby started swearing out of the ordinary, as if it had been aegyo until now. It was a double desire that I couldn’t understand, no, I didn’t want to understand. Shit, wasn’t there no honorifics in foreign countries?!
‘Sorry! Sorry!’
‘Okay. I mean, a young laborer. Let’s do it well. Got it?’
‘… Yes.’
The double desires that seemed to come from hell ended only after I apologized.