Hit by a Pitched Ball Chapter 8

Yunjae looked at the message and laughed awkwardly. A message with no particular reason to send was troublesome. The longer conversations without any special purpose continued, the more irreversible things would become. But at the same time, he didn’t have the courage to ignore them, so Yunjae replied diligently as well. As a result, over the past few days, the person he’d exchanged the most messages with had become Ha Taebeom.

Okay. Do well.

Ha Taebeom

Wow, seriously no effort lol

What more do you want. The amusement faded. His team hadn’t even played many games yet and was already on a 5-game losing streak. Yunjae ignored the message and turned his eyes back to the screen.

[Hello everyone. This is the 20XX season KBO League game 3 between the GW Buffaloes and the Seongun Dolphins, joined by commentator Kim Jaewoo.]

With the familiar opening BGM, the caster appeared. Yunjae stared at the subtitles scrolling beneath them as they briefly shared expectations about the starting pitchers before the game. It was the Buffaloes’ starter’s record against the opponent.

The player named as the Buffaloes’ starter was in his 4th year, playing his role as the 3rd starter this season. Overall, the rotation from the 1st to 3rd starters was decent. It was just the Buffaloes’ chronic problem—the absence of 4th and 5th starters—that was holding them back again this time. Plus, the poor performance of the relief pitchers added weight to the fans’ sighs.

“Kang Hyeongyu is first. He’d be useful if placed lower.”

Today’s lineup also had nothing particularly noticeable that had changed. Since it was early in the season and no players had been lost to injury yet, that was natural, but considering that last year starting players had been injured one after another from the beginning of the season, it was fortunate.

Yunjae mentally noted the lineup, which hadn’t changed much from the opening game, and unconsciously pressed the button again to change channels.

[BG Wolves’ starting pitcher Ha Taebeom, and as always, catcher Ham Taejin takes the field as the starting catcher.]

It was the home game of the team Ha Taebeom belonged to. Ha Taebeom, who came out as the starting pitcher in the top of the first inning, was warming up after exchanging words with the catcher, looking as relaxed as ever. It seemed the ceremonial first pitch was about to happen, as the mascot costume popped out. The thumping sound of the amplifier echoed through the broadcast beyond the screen like a pulse.

On the day he’d first met Ha Taebeom not as a player, he could understand why he was popular not only with women but also with men. Not just the way he approached him, but the ease revealed in his unconscious behavior toward everyone around him.

His skill at flexibly keeping conversations going and his attitude of never letting even a passing word go unheard were effective in leading people as he intended. His exceptional looks certainly played a part as well.

A celebrity who looked familiar appeared in front of Ha Taebeom as he adjusted his cap. Yunjae immediately went to the news section of the portal site and clicked on sports. An article with the title about today’s ceremonial first pitch caught his eye.

“Hmm…”

With professional baseball riding a wave of popularity, ceremonial first pitches by celebrities and appearances by famous figures had become the norm. Clicking on the article, a photo of an actress sitting elegantly against a white background—likely her profile picture—caught his attention first. She was a rookie actress recently receiving acclaim for her acting in a newly released film.

Ha Taebeom, having stepped back, covered his mouth with his glove, hands on his waist, looking around. His half-hearted demeanor, as if he had no interest in the first pitch, made Yunjae let out an exasperated laugh. Sure enough, the cheering comments on the streaming app were clicking their tongues at Ha Taebeom’s fox-like behavior.

Ha Taebeom had countless nicknames related to his performance. It’s just that the performance wasn’t necessarily limited to baseball. When Ha Taebeom first wore the national team uniform a few years ago, his popularity actually rivaled that of most idol groups.

That year, South Korea hung a gold medal around its neck. It was only natural that the growing interest in baseball and the players’ popularity began to skyrocket. From that point on, players’ market values rose astronomically.

The KBO’s strategy of rowing while the water was flowing came pouring out. The narrow, outdated stadiums began to be remodeled, and popular players appeared on all sorts of broadcasts. Ha Taebeom was one of them. Although he wasn’t as articulate or skilled as veteran players, he had many other weapons.

For instance, skill. Face, physique. And face again… Plus, at a young age, the financial freedom of having already earned a hundred-million-won salary. The problem was his conduct. From that year on, he’d been caught up in scandals with actresses, models, singers—you name it. Of course, not all of them were true, but it was enough to make him a target of interest. Because he’d started it himself.

Even the employee who had painted everything from their phone to monitor wallpaper with Ha Taebeom because they were his fan nodded on this point. Of course, others nodded at the saying, “As long as he’s good at baseball, what more do you want?” Since there was no other player like him these days.

‘Whoa—!’

The actress who completed the first pitch raised both arms high and waved, greeting the crowd. The mascot, wearing a wolf mask and a muscle costume, quickly approached and escorted the actress down from the mound. Only after the ceremonial pitcher disappeared did the camera zoom in on Ha Taebeom standing on the mound.

[Currently ranked first in strikeouts, BG’s starting pitcher Ha Taebeom. This season, he’s made 5 starts with 4 wins, no losses, and a 1.75 ERA. He also showed perfect pitching in the last game against GW. Ha Taebeom set a personal record for the most strikeouts in a single game. Now at the plate is Yeongil Hawks’ Jeon Yuyeol.]

Ha Taebeom, with a listed height of 192 cm, looked even more massive standing on the mound. Though he’d gone to watch games countless times, he’d never actually seen Ha Taebeom standing on the mound in person. But even just on screen, his intimidating physique made his throat dry. It was no wonder his body had ached for days after having sex, and brutally so, with such a monstrous guy.

‘Was it really okay?’

‘It wasn’t just okay, it was good. Why? Was I not good for you, hyung?’

Suddenly, a recent conversation came to mind. Taebeom called him hyung without hesitation. While suppressing any sign of discomfort with the excuse that if he was close with Mingu, everyone was hyung. Yunjae had intently watched Taebeom’s expression as he smiled, leaned his shoulder in familiarly, wrapped an arm around his waist, and clung to him. Wondering if it might just be lies meant not to hurt his feelings. But after meeting a few more times and exchanging messages, there was no such sign. Well, there’s no reason to lie either. Yunjae decided to set aside his unnecessary worries.

In fact, when Taebeom answered that he’d liked it, he’d felt a secret relief.

When he’d averted his gaze without any other way to express it, Ha Taebeom had made a baffled expression, saying, ‘Why does hyung look more serious than me?’ He seemed both incredulous and slightly hurt.

‘Was it really your first time with a man?’

How could he be so nonchalant? The words that had been circling in his mouth finally slipped out.

‘Would I need to lie about something like that?’

‘…That’s true, but it’s not like it’s completely unheard of.’

‘You must have met a lot of strange people…’

Taebeom asked back with a calm expression. There was probably no particular meaning behind it, but feeling a sudden surge of emotion, Yunjae bit back.

‘I don’t think that’s something for you to say.’

At his curt attitude, Taebeom seemed slightly surprised, but then nodded. He seemed aware of the rumors about himself. But Taebeom, as if the unpleasant rumors were nothing special, giggled and found it amusing. Though there were no major scandals, he was a player with a constant stream of minor gossip. Besides his skill, he’d appeared on a few variety shows after international games, so his face was fairly well-known. Sightings of him with women were frequently posted on community boards.

Moreover, the women described by each witness were different. Even without paying attention, such rumors naturally reached one’s ears. So he’d thought this meeting would end easily too. The courage from that day had been possible because he somewhat believed Taebeom’s rumors. His sighs deepened.