NOVEL WEB Chapter 1
Chapter 1
Prologue
To be blunt,
Kim Ji-seop was not a good pitcher.
*Whoosh— Pop!*
*Whoosh— Pop!*
*Whoosh— Pooop!*
For starters, his velocity was terribly slow.
The average speed of his four-seam fastball was around 124 km/h.
When he really gritted his teeth and threw with all his might, it barely reached 128 km/h.
To put it bluntly, that’s a speed you’d expect from a middle school pitcher these days.
And it wasn’t like his breaking balls were any good, either.
He had a variety of pitches: curveball, slider, changeup, cutter, and occasionally even a knuckleball.
But none of these pitches had much power, so if he wasn’t careful, they could easily turn into batting practice balls.
His control was quite decent, but no one really gave him much credit for it.
Even with good control, it wasn’t razor-sharp enough to make up for a four-seam fastball that only clocked in at 124 km/h.
There was this atmosphere around him, like if you couldn’t even control a lousy 120 km/h ball, you might as well drown yourself in a puddle…
Ji-seop was that kind of pitcher.
Slow velocity, bland breaking balls, decent control that wasn’t much of a plus.
Because of that, for nearly 10 years, Ji-seop had been hearing the same thing from the people around him.
“Ji-seop.”
“Yes?”
“In my opinion…”
“Yes.”
“I don’t think you have a talent for baseball.”
And then the next line.
“How about starting to study from now on? You could learn a trade, too. I heard your grades weren’t bad when you were in school?”
It might have been sound advice.
No, for most people, they would have given up before even hearing that.
But Ji-seop had lived his life letting such wise advice from others go in one ear and out the other.
Of course, it wasn’t that he simply hated studying.
But more than that, there was one decisive reason for Ji-seop.
*Sigh.*
It all started when Ji-seop was in his second year of middle school.
On the day of a practice match against a nearby school, right before the national tournament.
When he stood on the mound after receiving the ball from the coach,
and when he glared at the batter stepping into the box from the mound,
suddenly,
he heard it.
[…Fastball!]
He really,
heard it clearly.
[If it’s a fastball, I’ll definitely hit it!]
* * *
Ji-seop himself didn’t know how this ability worked.
Nor could he figure out why he had such a power.
But one thing was certain: Ji-seop had the ability to read other people’s minds.
Telepathy.
When this ability first manifested, he could only read the batter’s thoughts on the mound.
But now, after more than 10 years had passed, he had reached a level where he could read someone’s thoughts just by staring into their eyes, even if he wasn’t on the mound.
Of course, the result of what he read was rarely positive.
[Oh, this frustrating fool…]
[What’s so great about baseball, anyway…]
[How long is he going to live like a half-bum…]
Still, it was because of this ability.
The reason Ji-seop couldn’t give up on baseball.
Even if his velocity was slow, his breaking balls bland, and his control a bit ambiguous—
‘I’m a pitcher who can read the batter’s thoughts.’
‘I can read what the batter is aiming for… I’m a pitcher who can read that.’
‘How can I quit baseball when I have such an amazing ability?’
So Ji-seop didn’t give up.
He didn’t give up and continued to find a way to keep his career as a player alive.
When he wasn’t drafted by any Korean professional team, Ji-seop chose to continue playing baseball in college.
After graduating and still not being called up by the pros, he moved to the Japanese independent league.
When he was released from the Japanese independent league, he moved to the American independent league.
And after being kicked out of the American independent league, he applied to the Korean independent league again.
Up to that point, Ji-seop still comforted himself by thinking, ‘There’s still a chance,’ ‘Baseball isn’t over until it’s over.’
“…”
But after being rejected from the Korean independent league, he thought it was really his last chance when he took on the CNBL (China Semi-Professional League).
When he received the release notice from the perpetually last-place team, the Qingdao Elephants, Ji-seop had no choice but to let go of everything.
‘…It’s over.’
The retirement of Kim Ji-seop, the baseball player.
He was 32 years old.
* * *
“A gift, Dad.”
On the third day after being released from the Qingdao Elephants,
Ji-seop, who had returned to his home in Seoul, was placing the gifts he had brought from China in front of his family.
“There are a lot of boxes, but… Hehe, they’re all beer, actually.”
Ji-seop continued.
“China might not be good at many things, but they sure know how to make beer taste great! You know that, right, Hyung? The beer factory in Qingdao was built using German technology, so…”
“That’s enough.”
The one who interrupted his long-winded explanation was Ji-seop’s father, Kim Bong-seop.
“Hey, Ji-seop.”
“Yes, Dad.”
“I’m not really interested in knowing which country’s technology was used to make this beer. What difference does it make if it’s American or Korean technology? What I want to know is…”
Kim Bong-seop let out a long sigh.
“What is my second son going to do for a living from now on?”
Ji-seop knew this.
It was something he could sense without having to stare deeply into his parents’ eyes.
‘Of course… they’re really worried.’
A son who was already over thirty.
A son who had been wandering around trying to make something of himself since he was young… but achieved nothing of note.
A son who had been released even from a Chinese semi-professional league that nobody knew about and had returned home.
Though he was following the typical path of a failure, Ji-seop still had a plan.
“Actually… I do have something in mind.”
When Ji-seop spoke, he felt the heavy atmosphere in the room lighten just a bit.
“You have something in mind?”
“Yes, it’s something I thought of back when I was playing baseball in America.”
In a way, it was because of that ‘plan’ that Ji-seop had been able to keep playing baseball until now.
Most people give up by their mid-20s because of concerns about making a living, but Ji-seop could push on because of that ‘plan.’
And now, at this moment, Ji-seop decided to finally reveal the plan he had been preparing for so long to his parents.
“Nothing more, nothing less, just lend me 50 million won, Dad.”
At Ji-seop’s words, his father, Kim Bong-seop, twitched his thick eyebrows.
“Fifty? Fifty million won?”
“Yes.”
“Fifty million won isn’t a small amount… What do you plan to do with that money? Did you find a good business idea in America?”
Ji-seop shook his head.
“No, it’s not a business. How could I, with no proper friends, possibly meet people and start a business?”
“Then what? You’re not planning to invest in something like coins, are you?”
“Oh, come on, do you think I’m like Hyung? I’m too cautious to dump money into coins like him.”
His older brother, sitting beside his father, glared at Ji-seop, but Ji-seop just smirked and brushed it off.
“Then what is it? What do you plan to do with 50 million won?”
“What I’m trying to do is…”
Ji-seop tried to make the most determined and trustworthy expression as he spoke.
“I want to play poker, Dad.”
“…What?”
Kim Bong-seop frowned slightly, but unfortunately, Ji-seop didn’t think to stare deeply into his father’s eyes at that moment.
“Yes, poker.”
Ji-seop nodded.
“When I got there, I saw that poker in America is like Go in Korea. There are professional players who make a living just by playing poker, and there are leagues where these players compete. Plus, the prize money for those poker tournaments is enormous…”
Ji-seop continued.
“But it costs money to enter those poker tournaments. You have to pay deposits for each tournament, there are travel expenses, and if you think about lodging and meals…”
“So, you need 50 million won?”
Kim Bong-seop interrupted him.
“You’re asking me to lend you money to go to America and play poker?”
“Yes.”
“And you plan to make a living playing poker from now on?”
“If I become a professional player, wouldn’t that be the case?”
“And you plan to pay back the money you borrowed from me by winning at poker?”
“Yes, if I place in a mid-sized tournament, I could pay back 50 million won in one go.”
“So that’s why you came back to Korea…”
Slowly nodding his head, Kim Bong-seop then turned to look at his eldest son beside him.
“Ji-chang.”
“Yes, Dad.”
“Go to the shoe cabinet and bring me a broom.”
Kim Bong-seop continued.
“It seems like your younger brother needs a beating to come to his senses.”
* * *
Exactly 30 minutes later.
Ji-seop was at the apartment playground.
As darkness began to fall, he was alone, creaking back and forth on a seesaw.
“…”
The places where he was hit with the broom throbbed and burned.
As he sat alone, silently enduring the pain, he heard someone chuckling from a distance.
Ji-seop didn’t bother to look up.
There was only one person in the world who would be so happy at his misery—his older brother, Kim Ji-chang.
“Does it hurt?”
His older brother approached with a broad grin.
Ji-seop replied gruffly.
“Hyung, don’t worry about Dad’s health. He hit me with that broom with… so much strength.”
“He’s been a detective in the violent crimes division for over 30 years. Beating you up is nothing to him.”
Kim Ji-chang sat down on the opposite side of the seesaw.
“And you, sometimes you really have no sense, do you?”
“What?”
Ji-seop made a face as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
He might have the handicap of needing to stare deeply into someone’s eyes, but he was still someone who could read minds.
And now he was being told he had no sense?
“Dad’s lived his entire life as a straight-laced guy. He absolutely detests things like gambling, violence, and fraud. And you want to tell him you’re going to make a living playing poker? Is that even reasonable?”
“Well, that’s why I explained it from the start. Poker in America is different from how it is in Korea…”
“Yeah, I get what you’re saying. And for some reason, I even feel like you’d do well in poker.”
But this isn’t the right time.
For the first time in a long while, Kim Ji-chang had a serious expression on his face.
“Dad and Mom… they’ve never once opposed anything you wanted to do. You agree with that, right?”
Without answering, Ji-seop pressed down on the seesaw, making it squeak.
“Thanks to that, you’ve been able to play baseball as much as you wanted until now, haven’t you? So maybe it’s time you did something to ease their worries.”
“What do you mean?”
“Like getting a job, earning a steady paycheck every month… It’s time to show them that kind of life.”
“A steady paycheck…”
When Ji-seop looked up at the sky, this time Ji-chang pressed down on the seesaw, making it squeak.
“Get a decent job and work there for a few months. You’ll save some money, and if Dad sees how diligent you are, he might change his mind.”
“It seems like that’s the only way for now, but…”
Ji-seop clicked his tongue.
“I wonder if there’s any job I can get? Should I start looking for a part-time job at a convenience store?”
“What do you mean, convenience store part-time? What’s the point of all the baseball you’ve played?”
Kim Ji-chang took out a business card from his pocket and handed it to his younger brother.
“Go check it out tomorrow. Since you’re back in Korea… I asked a friend to set you up with something.”
“This, this is…”
Ji-seop stared at the business card his brother handed him.
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