The Fallout of a First Pitch

[Today, a massive uproar occurred. Countless baseball fans must be weeping tears of blood, as just days ago, Seo Junwon, the player who led his team to victory, suddenly announced his retirement. Opinions are divided regarding the reasons behind this. Some speculate that the ceremonial first pitch incident during the fifth game caused immense stress to Seo Junwon. Such rumors are circulating, and fans are in an absolute frenzy because of it.]

[What was the ceremonial first pitch incident?]

[You all know what it was. The ball that flew off Seo Junwon’s bat hit someone right in the ahem… jewels, didn’t it?!]

[Who was that person?]

[It’s difficult to mention them directly. We’ll move on, as I’m sure you all know. That person, you see, cannot tolerate being slandered. They’re famous for suing and showing absolutely no mercy.]

[Is their surname Lee, and their name ‘dog’ in Japanese, by any chance?]

[Oh my. This person is dangerous. Let’s leave it at that. For your information, ‘dog’ in Japanese is ‘Inu’.]

Inwoo, watching the internet broadcast, softly cursed under his breath, Damn it. This was the hottest internet broadcast these days, and a long discussion was underway about who was responsible for Seo Junwon’s sudden retirement.

Real-time comments were rapidly scrolling beneath the video.

[->Why can’t they just say Lee O.O?!]

[->Jintae Oppa, your hair looks so cool today!]

[->My friend’s brother’s girlfriend works at Hansung Hospital, and she said Lee O.O made Seo Junwon kneel.]

[->Dude, you can get sued for spreading false information.]

[->I heard it too. They say he was made to kneel and crawl on the floor… OMG.]

[->WTF, did he commit some heinous crime? If it’s true, Lee O.O is just trash.]

[->Lee O.O has always been trash. They say he hits his managers, which is why they change so often.]

Should I just go meet them and actually hit them? Inwoo ground his teeth, typing into the comment section.

[You’re all dead. I’ll make sure we meet at the police station. Just you wait!]

Beneath his comment, replies asking ‘Who is this?’ began to appear. Inwoo turned off the broadcast and tossed his phone aside.

Then, he grabbed his coat.

“Dakyung. Park Dakyung! Let’s go to the police station!”

Dakyung was preoccupied, taking calls a short distance away. Most were from reporters, followed by film and commercial industry contacts.

The calls showed no sign of ending soon. Inwoo sighed and threw his coat onto the sofa. He then leaned back next to it, tilting his head all the way back.

CEO Yang had advised them to wait until Seo Junwon made an official statement, saying that even Seo Junwon’s side hadn’t anticipated such a situation.

[Would the situation be different if I weren’t an athlete?]

[Tell me. Would it be different?]

Ha. Hahaha. Hahahaha. A hollow laugh escaped him. Dakyung approached after finishing her call.

“Oppa, are you okay?”

“No, I’m not okay. I feel like I’m going crazy.”

“Well, CEO Yang seems to have finished talking with the people from that team. But the problem is…”

Dakyung paused, a troubled expression on her face. What else could possibly be a problem at this point? Inwoo wondered.

“Seo Junwon isn’t answering his phone right now. They say he went off the grid immediately after announcing his retirement.”

“He’s really pulling out all the stops, isn’t he?”

“Nothing happened between you two, right? You need to be honest with me.”

“Nothing happened.”

“Really? Cross your heart? Swear on your parents?”

Inwoo flinched. My parents aren’t gambling chips, why does she keep making me swear on them?

When he didn’t answer, Dakyung urged him on with her eyes. Just say nothing happened, quickly.

“Honestly…”

Dakyung tensed.

“We slept together.”

Crack. Her mouth dropped open, and she immediately snatched a cushion from where it lay on the sofa. Dodging the flying cushion, Inwoo sprang up from the sofa and quickly retreated backward.

Dakyung fumed like an enraged bull, searching for something else to throw.

“Hey, just try throwing something else! I’ll sue you too!”

“That was it, right? The night you said you went for a walk!”

“Yeah.”

“I had a feeling, I really did.”

“Sorry. It just… happened.”

This is a disaster. Dakyung slumped onto the sofa, falling sideways. From the looks of it, Lee Inwoo hadn’t given it much thought, but Seo Junwon must have been serious.

While he was a player she admired, her primary duty as Lee Inwoo’s manager was to protect and look after him first. Calculations raced through her mind. Inwoo approached, checking her complexion.

“Dakyung. Don’t die. Oppa is sorry. Do you want to throw things until you feel better? Just avoid my face, please.”

When he offered the cushion, she slapped it away with her hand, then sat up abruptly. Inwoo flinched, stepping back.

“Oppa. You need to contact Seo Junwon.”

Inwoo shook his head. “No.”

“That’s the only way now. Won’t he answer your calls?”

“I don’t know… he probably won’t. Things didn’t exactly end well between us.”

“So, apologize. Say you’re sorry, ask him to release a rebuttal article immediately, and try to appease him.”

“Ugh, no.”

“Right now, the internet is going wild, cursing you out. Do you want your anti-fan count to grow even higher?”

“It’ll all blow over eventually. You know that saying you’re so good at? ‘This too shall pass.’”

Unlike her, who felt her insides burning black, Inwoo seemed utterly unconcerned. Dakyung unknowingly clenched her teeth and snorted.

“I’m telling you this precisely because it doesn’t seem like it will pass easily.”

When Inwoo didn’t respond, Dakyung grabbed his hand, pressed it to her forehead, and pleaded.

“Oppa, please. Please save me.”

“What’s wrong with you, seriously?”

“Please, please. Just ask Seo Junwon to meet you. Persuade him somehow. I don’t usually ask for favors, do I?”

When he didn’t answer, Dakyung’s eyebrows drooped and began to tremble. Inwoo was startled by the sight. When he asked if she was crying, her lower lip started quivering too.

Unable to refuse, he pulled out his phone from his coat pocket. Dakyung then feigned wiping away tears that weren’t even there.

“Call him, quickly.”

He scrolled through his call log and found Seo Junwon’s number. His finger felt heavy as he pressed the digits. A moment later, the call began to ring.

He said he went off the grid, but his phone’s still on, I guess. The call rang for a long time, but it never connected, eventually going to voicemail.

“He’s not answering.”

As he pressed the end call button, Dakyung slumped sideways. Just then, Inwoo’s phone rang.

Dakyung, who had been lying down, shot up again. It’s Seo Junwon! He checked, hardly believing it, but it really was Seo Junwon. Inwoo bit down hard on his lower lip.

“Answer it, quickly.”

Ugh, seriously.

“Tell him you’re sorry, and that you want to meet and talk. Sweet-talk him.”

He sighed. Reluctantly, he pressed the call button and brought the phone to his ear.

“Hello?”

[Yes, speak.]

The voice was somehow cold. Inwoo subtly bit his lower lip again.

“It’s me. Lee Inwoo.”

[Yes… I know.]

Inwoo’s lower lip protruded slightly. Dakyung made a gesture, lowering both hands, a signal to not get angry and to appease him gently. Inwoo pretended not to see her, turning slightly away.

“Did you see the articles? Thanks to you, Seo Junwon, I’ve become the worst scoundrel in the world. I’ve leveled up from ‘national eunuch’ to ‘national bastard.’ Please clarify that it’s not true, whether through a press conference or an interview.”

There was no reply. He checked, wondering if the call had disconnected, but it hadn’t.

“Hello?”

[Yes… I’m listening.]

“I know you have bad feelings toward me. But I never dreamed you’d screw me over like this.”

[It was a planned retirement, and I had informed the team about it since spring. It wasn’t an impulsive decision because of you, Inwoo.]

“Then you should have explained that properly!”

Again, there was no reply.

“Are you listening? Why do you keep cutting off your sentences?”

[I don’t want to…]

“What did you say?”

[I don’t want to… I won’t make any explanations.]

Inwoo moved his tongue inside his mouth. His insides boiled, and every curse word imaginable came to mind. He had felt genuinely sorry for how things ended, harboring a tiny flicker of guilt in his heart.

Now, it all vanished completely.

“So, you’re seeking revenge?”

[Think whatever you want… You never cared about my feelings anyway, Inwoo.]

“Ha.”

[I’m hanging up.]

“Hello?” No sound came through. He checked and saw the call had already ended. “Hey!” Even as he bellowed, there was no reply from the other end.

Inwoo let out a hollow laugh. Seo Junwon’s cold voice was so unfamiliar that Inwoo wondered if someone was impersonating him, playing a cruel prank.

Dakyung, sitting opposite him, had already turned pale. He shook his head at her. It’s no use. Dakyung collapsed back onto the sofa like a tragic heroine.

Junwon bit his lower lip, gazing at the disconnected phone. He had only turned it on briefly to contact his mother, and in that short time, Inwoo had called.

It was unexpected, and he was initially flustered, calling back on a whim. However, the request for an explanation shattered the brief hope he had held.

Picking up his phone, he connected to the internet and saw his and Lee Inwoo’s names simultaneously trending in the real-time search rankings. In a moment of excitement, he instinctively took a screenshot, then flinched in surprise.

Habits, he realized, were truly frightening.

He quickly deleted the screenshot and checked the sports articles. They were all about him: “Sudden Retirement, The Cause?” Beneath the headlines, speculative comments ran rampant.

Non-existent events were fabricated, and words he never said were attributed to him. Most of it was vitriol directed at Lee Inwoo. I knew it, His behavior was never good, If this is true, shouldn’t he be banned from acting? they wrote.

Junwon’s grip tightened on his phone. His intention had only been to bother Inwoo a little, not for things to escalate this much.

He subconsciously pressed the ‘dislike’ button, then left a comment: “Lee Inwoo isn’t that kind of person.” At that moment, his heart whispered to him.

Is he really not? You’ve experienced it yourself, haven’t you? Everyone knows, are you the only one who doesn’t? Think about what he did to you.

Junwon clenched his molars tightly. He put his phone in his pocket, grabbed his coat, and sprang to his feet.

No. Lee Inwoo isn’t a bad person. He’s so warm and lovable. Don’t speak carelessly when you know nothing.