The Prodigy Who Rejected the Major League Chapter 20

Episode 20

 

Early the next morning,

I woke up as usual.

I went to school, finished my running and workout routine.

The only difference was that it was Sunday, so after training I returned home and enjoyed the breakfast my mother prepared.

“Goodness! Oh my goodness!”

My mother kept exclaiming, ‘Oh my!’ as she read the sports newspaper.

Our family had subscribed to physical sports newspapers ever since I was little. We received every sports daily published in the country.

Whenever there was even the tiniest article about me, my mother would cut it out and scrapbook it. I had a feeling this reaction had something to do with that.

“Seongjun! Hey! Oh my! You’re on the entire front page!”

She called me over in a flurry. Moments like this, you go immediately.

 

◆ High School’s Top Prospect Song Seongjun Decides to Stay in Korea… Enters KBO Rookie Draft!

◆ Top Prospect Song Seongjun Chooses KBO Despite Astronomical MLB Offer!

◆ Shocking Twist! Top High School Prospect Song Seongjun Remains in Korea Despite ‘$4.5 Million + α’ Record Offer

 

Those headlines, seriously… Haha.

“‘Shocking twist’ feels like a bit much, doesn’t it?”

Why was I the one feeling embarrassed reading the headlines?

“It is a shocking twist! Five million dollars is the kind of money KBO free agents get!”

Right. My mother was practically a baseball scholar.

Back when she and my father were dating, he had been a die-hard soccer fan. She was the one who dragged him into the abyss of baseball.

Why call it an abyss?

Well, if I’m still playing baseball even after my second regression, that makes it an abyss, doesn’t it? Or not?

Still, baseball was what I did best and for the longest time. There was no reason to choose a different path. Maybe I was a coward and didn’t dare to try something entirely different.

But this time, I was trying to live in a meaningfully different way. I could already see signs of that. So far, I was satisfied.

Anyway, every sports paper’s front page was covered with my story.

“Mom, maybe it’s better if you don’t come to the stadium today.”

“Hmm. Probably. I’m not like your father… I get scared just seeing a microphone.”

Excuse me? That’s not what I’ve observed.

Still, I respected her decision.

“Why shouldn’t I go?”

My father emerged from the bathroom after washing up, having apparently caught the tail end of our conversation.

“We were saying maybe it’s better not to go cheer at the stadium today.”

“The stadium? Yeah… that makes sense.”

Even he said the attention today might be excessive.

“I was going to go grocery shopping with Hyunju. Do I need to cover my face completely?”

Sister Hyunju was Seunghye’s mother.

“Come on… it won’t be that bad, right?”

Wasn’t that overdoing it?

“You really don’t know anything. Right, honey?”

“Yeah. Do we have sunglasses? If not, use mine. And tell your sister-in-law to prepare properly too.”

Husband and wife truly are one body and mind.

Anyway, I would have liked to relax at home since it was the weekend, but we had a game this evening. I needed to leave early to prepare.

Originally, my parents had planned to come up together to watch me play at the stadium. But today seemed like it might be too much for them. It could get uncomfortable.

I had not expected this level of attention.

“Since I’m grocery shopping with your sister anyway, how about we invite her family over and have dinner together here while we watch the game? You can have a drink.”

“Sounds good. I wonder if your brother-in-law went fishing today.”

“He’s home. I already checked.”

My mother never objected to my father drinking. To begin with, I had never seen him drink excessively.

Anyway, it seemed there would be another party at our house tonight.

Isn’t this happening a bit too often lately?

Still, I wasn’t tactless enough to actually say that out loud.

But suddenly… I didn’t want to go to the stadium. Haha.

When you gather often and eat together like this, you start to get used to it.

Before my regression, living alone in the United States, how did I even manage cooking and eating by myself?

“Son, do well in your game.”

“Yes, I will.”

“Come on, get in.”

My father offered to drive me to school.

 

***

 

When I arrived at school, everyone was already there.

“What? I’m the last one?”

“You are the last, but you are not late,” Choi Minsu said with a grin.

That guy seemed to be smiling more and more lately. Haha. Not that it was bad. I liked it.

As he said, there was still time before the assembly. But with my arrival, everyone was gathered.

“Everyone’s working hard.”

The Bonghwang Tournament was the final national competition of the year.

Because of that, many schools gave more opportunities to first- and second-year players.

We had already won the President’s Cup.

With that achievement, the coach felt less pressure about results and had intentionally been giving younger players chances in earlier games.

The students were not unaware of that signal. Naturally, they worked even harder.

Other schools were similar.

If a team already had results secured, or if players were called up to the national team, vacancies opened.

Our school had only me called up to the U-18 Baseball World Cup team, but schools like Busin High and Insan High had three players each selected.

When players left, substitutes gained opportunities.

“Everyone here?”

“Yes!”

“No one missing?”

“No!”

“Then get on the bus.”

We boarded the school bus.

Departure~!

 

***

 

On the bus, everyone closed their eyes to sleep. We were sleepy, and buses naturally make you drowsy.

While our school bus steadily headed toward Seoul, around lunchtime, people who normally followed baseball began spreading the news of Song Seongjun staying in Korea.

 

◆ High School’s Top Prospect Song Seongjun Decides to Stay in Korea… Enters KBO Rookie Draft!

 

┗ It’s happening! LOL

┗ I can’t believe this is real!!!!!!

┗ Oh! Nice!

┗ Does that mean Hawks take Seong Jinseong now?

┗ Villains locking in Shim Taehun then? LOL

┗ Oceans might be in play, too

┗ Everyone gets pushed down a round? Haha insane!

┗ Hawks massive win

┗ The real winner is BaySuns LOL. Both top tiers fled to the U.S. They were stuck with Seong Jinseong, and suddenly, the top tier appears out of nowhere, LOL

┗ Honestly, Song Seongjun is better than the two who left… he can pitch and hit LOL

┗ Recently, no one who went straight to the U.S. has succeeded. Going anyway would be crazy

┗ Thought he would obviously leave. Guess someone around him persuaded him

┗ But wasn’t he hesitant from the start? Even when $4M was mentioned, he never said he was going

┗ Heard it was up to $5M. Was he waiting for more?

┗ $5M??? That’s more than our team’s FA Yeom Jangbaek lol

┗ Ah… Yeom Jang… ah… Yeom Jang… aaaaaagh

┗ Smart decision. Going to the U.S. at a high school age isn’t easy

┗ But $5M is tempting, no? That kind of bonus means the team would treat you like gold

┗ True. Bonus babies get different treatment. Others went for mediocre amounts and didn’t get proper development

┗ $1M is big in Korea but peanuts to MLB teams

┗ So 1 Seongjun, 2 Jinseong, 3 Taehun?

┗ Seongjun! Dominate Korea, then go to MLB!

 

***

 

On the way to Seoul, traffic slowed a bit, but we arrived at the stadium without major issues.

At Mokdong Baseball Stadium, three games are played per day.

8 a.m., 10:30 a.m., and 5 p.m. for our game.

Since there was no midday game, the stadium was empty.

Thanks to that, we could rest comfortably for a while before gradually warming up under the coaches’ direction.

We saw the Cheongtap High players, our Round of 32 opponents, entering the stadium.

After finishing our training, we switched out.

“Sunbae!”

“What?”

“The Cheongtap guys. They’re all staring at you.”

“Hey, that’s your imagination. Staring at what?”

I said that, but they were definitely glancing this way.

My eyesight was too good… even when I tried not to look, I could see everything.

“But seriously, Sunbae. How do you reject five million dollars?”

“Live alone in America for thirty years. Then you can reject it.”

“Huh? What does that even mean? You’re eighteen!”

“Right. And you’re seventeen.”

???

He still looked completely confused.

Well, the amount was huge. Hard to process.

Maybe I needed a more age-appropriate excuse.

“Sunbae, do you have some kind of local boy fantasy?”

Oh? Local boy? That’s good.

That was a solid excuse.

“Huh!? How did you know?”

I exaggerated my reaction and asked back.

“It’s obvious. What other reason is there to reject five million? Like Won Chain sunbae! Like Gu Janguk sunbae! Retiring as one-club men! There’s nothing cooler than being a franchise local boy!”

Honestly, as Minsu kept talking, he looked increasingly intoxicated by his own speech.

This kid definitely had a bit of middle school syndrome.

“So! If BaySuns hadn’t had the first overall pick this year, you would’ve gone to the U.S. without looking back, right?”

Huh? No?

That wasn’t it.

It just so happened that the BaySuns were in last place when I came back.

Even if it were another team, it wouldn’t matter.

And in the rookie draft, I cannot choose the team anyway.

But instead of shattering my junior’s fantasy, I gave him the answer he wanted.

It does not cost money to play along.

Besides, I discovered he was surprisingly tight-lipped. It was still a mystery how he managed to keep quiet about seeing me hit 150 km/h in our first bullpen.

“Yeah. Franchise local boy romance is insane.”

“Exactly! Right, Sunbae!”

Truthfully, I had once envied the franchise local boys.

Before my regression, when I was struggling in the minors, I saw how differently fans treated a franchise local boy.

I envied that deeply.

If I had been white, a hometown prospect for the club, would I have been treated like leftovers?

“I envy you, Sunbae!”

And now, Minsu was saying he envied me… face flushed and excited.

Looking at him like that, I suddenly felt guilty.

I could not even remember whether he made it pro in my previous life.

With his current performance, probably not.

His defense was solid. But his bat was terrible.

If he stayed like this next year, he would not go pro.

Ah… this feels bad.

“Sunbae, what’s wrong?”

“Oh. Something got in my eye.”

“Hey, don’t rub it. Wait a second.”

Despite his big frame, he ran off quickly and returned holding something.

Artificial tears.

“My eyes are big too, so dust gets in them often. If you put this in, it works instantly.”

He shoved the drops into my hand.

Ah, this brat.

“Minsu.”

“Yes, Sunbae.”

“You said you train at a batting academy every vacation.”

He knew his bat was weak. He was trying hard.

“And you do night training at school too.”

Every night, he was swinging.

But if it was not working…

Maybe a different approach?

“Have you thought about using that time for training instead?”

Of course, not forcing him.

Everyone is different. I cannot take responsibility for his future.

But it helped me tremendously.

At least I could show him there is another method.

“You mean that MLB-style training you do?”

“Yeah. Swinging the bat hard is not bad. But you already practice a lot during the day. Maybe trying something with a different direction?”

As always.

The choice is his.

“It’s sudden.”

“Of course it is.”

“Can I think about it? I’d like to talk to my parents.”

“Of course. If you follow me blindly just because I said it’s good, that’s worse.”

He nodded.

Then he asked what kind of person the trainer was, his parents would want to know.

“Sunbae, where did your trainer work?”

“LA Dodgers. Player training department. I think… seven years?”

“Wow! Dodgers?”

His tone had completely changed.

“Oh! So he was with the Dodgers.”

He nodded repeatedly.

“I will definitely tell my parents!”

“Uh… okay.”

I knew the Dodgers had the largest MLB fanbase in Korea.

But still.

Is “Dodgers” some kind of magic word or something?