The Re-emergence Tryout and the Pillar Pitcher

HW Entertainment, the agency Jung Hyun belonged to, was small. All its employees numbered less than twenty, and the affiliated actors, including Hyun, were only about five. The CEO himself would laugh, saying, “Even most neighborhood grocery stores are probably busier than our company.”

So, Hyun had never expected such luxury.

“Hey, get in!”

CEO Kwon Hyuk-won rolled down the car window and shouted. It was an outdated line, much like the bright red sunglasses he wore. Grinning excitedly, he pressed a button, and the door of the sleek black van opened.

He had guessed it from the gleaming exterior, but when the car’s interior was revealed, he was even more certain. The cream-colored leather seats, untouched by human hands, were excessively stiff.

“CEO, is this, by any chance, a new car?”

Hyun dropped his large sports backpack to the floor with a thud. When he pointed at the car with a raised thumb, the CEO chuckled.

“I splurged and got one, why? Hurry and get in! A car’s coming behind us.”

Where did he get the money? Hyun’s brow furrowed involuntarily, but as the CEO said, a car was approaching from behind. Hyun had no choice but to lift his heavy bag and get into the car. As soon as the door closed, the CEO spoke first.

“Don’t nag too much, okay? Our actor is doing his first variety show! I can’t stand to see him discouraged.”

“……”

“From next month, I’ll even get you a road manager.”

“I’m pretty sure I’ll be eliminated today?”

“Yah, you’re usually such a positive guy, but you always turn into a wimp when it comes to baseball, huh?”

“……No, even if I pass, I only have this one schedule, so a road manager is a bit much. It’s overkill.”

“Hey, are you disrespecting the CEO’s capabilities right now?”

Hyun quietly shut his mouth. Jokes about the agency’s financial situation were only jokes when the CEO made them himself; if someone else did, it was a different story.

‘Even if I starve, I’ll make sure my people never have to say anything regrettable anywhere.’ That was Kwon Hyuk-won, the CEO of HW Entertainment’s motto. If Hyun added anything more, it would hurt Hyuk-won’s pride. Fearing that he might even offer a dedicated stylist, Hyun quickly moved to extinguish the spark.

“The car is nice.”

“Right? Hey, kid! That, you know. That’s a VIP seat. It has heating, cooling, ventilation, and even a massage function, you know?”

The CEO quickly became excited, boasting about the car’s features. He prattled on like a salesperson, mentioning the wireless charging pad, the cup holder with heating and cooling functions, and the stereo speakers, before playing some music. His intention was to let Hyun experience the magnificent speaker specifications firsthand.

A song that suited the clear late summer weather flowed out. It was a melody perfect for a youth drama OST. As the vibrant, sparkling band music played, the heavy vibrations of the drums thumped beneath his feet.

Only then did Hyun realize his heart was beating faster than usual. He pretended not to, but he couldn’t hide the rising anticipation and excitement.

Six years had passed since he quit baseball, which had once been his entire life. Finally, an opportunity had come for him to step onto the mound he had secretly longed for all this time.

“CEO.”

“Huh?”

“Since I’ve decided to go, I’ll do my best.”

“Of course you should. Jung Hyun, let’s try to get a regular spot this time, huh?”

“Hmm, don’t expect too much for that.”

At his smiling remark, the CEO flared up again. Instead of listening to the CEO’s nagging about how a young man lacked spirit, Hyun decided to focus on the song.

“It’s been a long time, my first love.”

“My first time, which was merely terrifying, never beautiful.”

It was a band song he’d never heard before, but the lyrics were fresh. To think there was someone else in the world with a first love as dark as his. He didn’t know if he should call it fortunate, but it was a comfort. It was the perfect song for his journey back to baseball after six years.

Soon, familiar scenery appeared. Even the parking lot stretching along the spacious circular stadium was exactly as it used to be. Hyun suppressed old memories that kept trying to resurface and gathered his bag.

The car stopped near the stadium entrance. The production staff, who were waiting, waved their hands, shouting for them not to get out yet.

“They’re probably going to film the scene of us getting out of the van first. Just wait a bit.”

“Okay.”

“Wow, look at the banner slogan. It’s killer.”

The CEO pointed through the front windshield. Hyun hunched his large body to look outside. Two vivid blue banners fluttered in front of the old, familiar stadium entrance.

<Hit and Run Again!>

Don’t ‘reminisce’ about baseball anymore, ‘re-emerge’!

Re-emergence.

It was too grand an expression for him, who hadn’t even properly debuted professionally. A wave of pressure washed over him, but Hyun steadied his heart.

‘This is just a final farewell. Don’t feel pressured, just do as much as you’ve prepared.’ As soon as he made that vow, a writer who had approached the front of the van gave an okay sign. At the signal to come out now, the CEO turned to Hyun and clenched his fist.

“Hey, Hyun-ah. Fighting!”

Finally, the door opened. Hyun slowly stepped out of the car. The bag on his shoulder felt heavy, grounding him.

When <Hit & Run Again> first started, public reaction was lukewarm.

There was a general weariness towards the recent proliferation of sports variety shows, and it happened to be a time when a former baseball player, who had been actively broadcasting, had his fraudulent activities exposed. The public’s gaze towards a new baseball variety show was cold.

However, <Hit & Run Again> exploited the gap. The majority of the team members were ordinary people, and a survival format was introduced. One person would be eliminated every two losses. It was a somewhat cruel rule.

Instead, the production team spared no effort in their support. In addition to financial and facility assistance, they particularly focused on player development. They recruited star players as mentors, brought in famous coaches and managers, and painstakingly developed a rehabilitation system. It was a message that they would provide high-quality opportunities, so please take baseball seriously.

The public joined the production team’s call. Initially, viewership ratings hovered in the low 1%, but now they were recording the second-highest viewership ratings in the history of cable variety shows.

‘Even though the elimination system is harsh, that’s why people empathize even more. We all struggle to live, don’t we? To seize any opportunity we can.’

Recalling the main writer who had smiled bitterly, Hyun took a deep breath. He tried to calm his desperate nervousness as he stepped into the tryout venue.

The indoor turf field was exceptionally quiet. The atmosphere was stark for a variety show set, and the production team guided them to their places. Hyun was in the second-to-last spot in the pitching group.

The 32 candidates lined up in rows glanced at each other. A few famous players whose names were familiar were visible, but most were new faces. Many more, like Hyun, wore student uniforms or clothes made for amateur baseball teams.

Even so, they must have experience with drafts. There were even numerous young and physically fit players. Hyun felt a gap that would be difficult to bridge by preparing alone without professional expertise.

‘Even with a quick look, passing is impossible, but will I even get to step on the mound?’

His turbulent thoughts were fleeting. Someone carefully poked Hyun’s back from behind.

Turning around, he met the eyes of a young-faced boy. The dark-skinned boy, with wide, round eyes, gasped, “Heup!”

“Uh, you are, by any chance, right? The one who’s been causing a stir lately…”

Because of his clear voice, attention briefly gathered around them. Hyun refrained from speaking, merely curving his lips into a smile. It would be embarrassing to say, ‘Yes, I’m the actor who couldn’t memorize lines and caused a stir.’

“Jung Hyun.”

Even though his profession was acting, he wasn’t used to situations where someone recognized him first. As he smiled awkwardly, the young player quickly wiped his palms on his thigh. His black pinstriped uniform shifted back and forth.

“Wow, I’m Song Him-chan! Please take good care of me, hyung-nim!”

“No, please take good care of me too.”

“But hyung-nim, aren’t you really nervous?”

Calling him ‘hyung-nim’ immediately after introductions. Hyun nodded at the easygoing Song Him-chan’s grumbling. At just that reaction, Song Him-chan started chattering excitedly.

“Hyung-nim, you’re really amazing in person. I didn’t know from the videos because it was dark, but seeing you in real life, your body is completely in active form! Oh, don’t mention it, hyung-nim! Please speak informally. I’m twenty-one. Oh, by the way, hyung-nim, can I ask why you quit baseball? Oh, an injury? Ah, I couldn’t get drafted, and I couldn’t afford to go to college, so I had no choice… Still, I want to play baseball, so I work part-time and get certifications while consistently participating in a baseball club.”

No matter how much he tried to cut off the conversation, it was useless. Even if Hyun answered half-heartedly, Song Him-chan was undeterred.

“Then I watched season one of this program and completely went crazy, and wow, I decided I absolutely had to be on it…”

His rapid-fire words, like rap, stopped abruptly. Sensing an unusual atmosphere, Hyun looked up. Not only Song Him-chan but all the other players had fallen silent.

The lights on the stage at the very front of the stadium came on. The curtain on the platform, set up like a press conference hall, slowly opened.

Behind the black curtain stood the core members of the existing team, mentors for each position, and the coach. Standing in a row, they all bowed in unison and took their prepared seats.

“Hello. To all the players who have participated in the ‘Re-emergence Dreamers’ Tryout1) for <Hit & Run Again>! Welcome, I am Captain Baek Sung-joon.”

The sound of the microphone echoed across the turf field. The participants gathered on the turf field responded with applause and cheers to the deep voice. The captain smiled and waved his hand until the cheering subsided.

“Alright, through today’s tryout, we plan to select 8 players in total: 2 pitchers, 1 catcher, 1 shortstop, 2 infielders, and 2 outfielders. It will be quite a long time, but we hope you all do your best and achieve good results.”

“Yes, understood!”

“And this season, we have specially invited one more pitching mentor.”

For some reason, the seat right next to the coach was empty. The 32 candidates exchanged glances and murmured amongst themselves. Who could it be? Amidst the excited murmurs of speculation, Hyun found himself inexplicably nervous.

‘No way…’

He had definitely confirmed it with the main writer. It absolutely wouldn’t be him. Even as he thought that, his palms kept getting clammy.

“He’s a player whose media exposure is close to zero, even hard to see on the team’s OneTube. It was hard to bring him here. Now, let me introduce him. Average fastball velocity of 152 km/h. He secured a win in his debut as a high school graduate rookie starter and the Rookie of the Year award all at once – a trustworthy left-handed flamethrower!”

The commotion grew louder. Amidst the scattered murmurs, a name he wanted to forget but couldn’t kept popping out. It was the moment Hyun tightly clenched his fists, pretending not to hear.

“The pillar starting pitcher of the Changgeon Dragons, Cha Seok-young!”

Finally, that name was called.

Jung Hyun’s anything-but-beautiful first love strode onto the stage.

1. Tryout: An entrance test to directly assess a player’s skills.