Chapter 23: Home stadium debut

You can’t buy friendship with money.

But without money, friendship is hard to maintain.

That was why, during his time with the Chickens, Su-hyeon often treated players with lower salaries to meals whenever he had the chance.

Since coming to the Hawks, aside from the 3rd army dinner, there hadn’t been many such opportunities.

But Su-hyeon didn’t miss the chance when a good excuse presented itself.

The person who had embarrassed Su-hyeon by talking about a pre-game joke in a hero interview.

Kiriyama Shota was with Su-hyeon at a motsunabe restaurant in the city.

“Hey, why did you say that there?

And on live broadcast.”

“What’s wrong with that?

Everyone was laughing, and the atmosphere was great.”

Kiriyama was more than just optimistic; he was extremely self-absorbed.

It’s a fitting personality for a future ace, I guess.

“Won’t people think I’m too easygoing?

I heard Japanese people are notorious for their dirty jokes.”

Fortunately, I haven’t experienced it firsthand yet.

“Dirty jokes to a senpai?

There aren’t many guys with that much guts.”

“Why?

What’s wrong with me?”

Su-hyeon was about to ask, “Don’t I look like someone who would be sexually harassed a lot?” but she stopped herself.

Kiriyama wasn’t an idiot.

It was obvious to anyone at a glance.

“Well, senpai is good at baseball and gets a high salary.

Here, people don’t say things like that to people they think are above them.”

“Oh, is that how it is?”

No wonder it’s completely different from the stories I searched for before coming to Japan about studying abroad experiences.

It wasn’t because I only met good people.

“And senpai has a strong aura, I guess.

You’re not someone people can treat carelessly.”

“Hey, you used a difficult person like that on a broadcast?”

Despite Su-hyeon’s attack, Kiriyama was just laughing, happy as a clam.

What’s so funny?

“Oh, it’s all boiled.

I’ll serve it for you.

Give me your bowl.”

Even while focusing on the motsunabe and serving the food into the bowls, Kiriyama didn’t stop talking.

“It’s hard to approach you, so I wanted to create an opportunity.

I’m reflecting on my disrespectful behavior.”

Huh?

What’s with this atmosphere?

That’s not it, is it, Kiriyama?

“It’s okay.

According to what you said, people will think I’m even more difficult after hearing that I’ll cut off your d*ck?”

“Yes.

They’ll think, ‘This person is no joke.

If I mess with her carelessly, I’ll get it back double’?”

Kiriyama’s words couldn’t be taken as absolute truth.

But based on her experiences so far, it seemed to be true.

Su-hyeon decided not to dwell on the hero interview incident any longer.

“But you said you wanted to create an opportunity, what kind of opportunity?”

“I wanted to get closer to you, senpai.”

…No way, Kiriyama?

“I made my 1st army debut early, you know.

But the older guys were all like kids, it wasn’t fun.”

After finishing serving the food, Kiriyama looked up at Su-hyeon and said.

“And then a senpai who’s just one year older joined the team.

And I thought, ‘Oh?

This is the one.'”

“What, are you saying I’m like an old man?”

As Su-hyeon received the bowl from Kiriyama, she also looked into his eyes.

“Yes.”

“You little punk.

Don’t they use bats in Japanese baseball these days?”

Again, Kiriyama started laughing, finding something so amusing.

“Look at you now.

Would a 21-year-old woman say something like that?”

“Is it okay for a 20-year-old man to act up?”

The back-and-forth flowed naturally.

Even without alcohol, their conversation continued without interruption.

“We both have our home debut next week.

Shota, are you nervous?”

Without realizing it, Su-hyeon was already calling Kiriyama by his first name without any honorifics.

“What’s the point of being nervous now?

Worrying in advance won’t make me less nervous.”

“Oh, so our Shota does have the emotion of being nervous.”

Ignoring Su-hyeon’s sarcasm, Kiriyama continued.

“So, senpai, shall we make a bet?”

After the three-game series against the Orix Buffaloes, the Hawks headed to Chiba.

A three-game away series against the Chiba Lotte Marines.

The schedule had the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd starters, who had struggled in the home series against Seibu, pitching in order.

Assistant pitching coordinator Dae-joon was racking his brain because of these three.

“Kim, have you found anything today?”

“Well.

Not yet…”

Dae-joon, along with pitching coordinator Hoshino, had a fire under their feet.

If the trusted starting rotation continued to struggle, it was clear that the season would be a failure.

They had been working overtime for the past few days to find the cause, but it wasn’t easy.

“Coach, hisashiburi!”

“Oh, Su-hyeon, you’re here?”

“Aren’t you working too hard?

It seems like you don’t even have me in your sights anymore?”

Su-hyeon was expressing her feelings of being neglected.

“What’s there to worry about with a pitcher who has a Sawamura Award-level pace?”

“Still, you should always check on me.

You never know when the pitching balance might get messed up.”

Since she couldn’t disturb the busy Dae-joon, Su-hyeon immediately brought up the reason for her visit.

“Yeah.

Icing is one thing, but if the area gets bigger, it’ll get a bit cold, right?

I’ll think of a way to maintain your body temperature.”

“Thank you.

It’s always you, Coach.”

After finishing her business, Dae-joon stopped Su-hyeon as she was about to leave.

“Su-hyeon.

I have a favor to ask too.”

Dae-joon’s request was about the three struggling pitchers.

The 1st starter, Landon Knack.

The 2nd starter, Iwai Shunsuke.

The 3rd starter, Livan Moinelo.

Dae-joon’s request was for her to observe these three pitchers and see if there was anything unusual about them recently.

“Yes, I understand.

Their pitches just looked good to me.

You must be having a hard time, Coach.”

“I have to earn my keep.

Don’t worry about it too much, just let me know if you find anything.”

The first game of the season between the Marines and the Hawks.

The Hawks’ 1st starter, Landon Knack.

He was a former LA Dodgers prospect who failed to establish himself as a starter in the Major Leagues.

This year, at the age of 32, he accepted a one-year, $5 million contract with the SoftBank Hawks and came to Japan.

An average 153 km/h four-seam fastball.

A classic pitching design with a slider, change-up, and curveball.

Plus, the control to get strikes with all his pitches.

There are cases where a pitcher with a slightly ambiguous hexagon shape in a higher league becomes a pitcher with a large hexagon shape in a lower league.

The Hawks invested a large sum in Knack, hoping for such an outcome.

Whoosh-

Thwack!

“Swing, batter out!”

-The Marines’ lineup is helpless against Knack’s pitches.

That’s his 13th strikeout of the game!

-He’s a completely different person from the last game.

Knack has regained his good form from his debut.

Knack was pitching so well that it was hard to understand what Dae-joon wanted her to look for.

7.2 innings, 3 hits, 0 walks, 0 runs, 13 strikeouts.

Following Knack, the winning combination of Noguchi and Bednar was activated, and the Hawks won the first game of the series.

The second game was started by the 2nd starter, Iwai Shunsuke.

Last year, he was the Hawks’ homegrown 1st starter, but he was pushed to 2nd starter with the arrival of Knack.

He was a franchise star.

-Iwai is also doing well today.

Was the opponent just bad last time?

-Well.

It’s hard to say that the Lions’ lineup is better than the Marines’.

We’ll have to see as the season progresses.

Following the victory in the second game.

The third game was also won by the Hawks, thanks to Livan Moinelo’s strong performance.

The SoftBank Hawks swept the Chiba Lotte Marines, achieving a delightful 5-game winning streak.

They rose to 2nd place in the league with a season record of 8 wins and 6 losses.

“Coach, there was nothing strange about any of them.

You saw how well they all pitched in the three games, right?

I don’t think you need to worry.”

“That’s right.

I guess it was a needless worry.

Anyway, thanks.

Su-hyeon.”

Monday, after the 5-game winning streak and before the three-game home series.

Su-hyeon was scheduled to pitch in the second game of the three-game series against the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles.

The first game was a narrow 2-3 loss for the Hawks.

Starter Murakami’s pitching wasn’t bad, but he didn’t get any support from the offense.

The season record was 8 wins and 7 losses, still in 2nd place in the league.

Finally, the day before her first home start.

An uninvited guest visited Su-hyeon’s body as she went to bed early to adjust her condition.

The start of her period.

‘Sigh, I should be used to it by now, but it still feels gross.’

That was Su-hyeon’s impression of the menstrual blood that gushed out unexpectedly and uncontrollably.

It was supposed to be two days from now, why today of all days.

Should I start taking medicine?

Fortunately, there was almost no pain, and it didn’t interfere with her activities.

But wearing a tampon and an extra sanitary pad was unfamiliar to Su-hyeon, who was a man.

The biggest problem was that this was her first time pitching on the first day of her period.

From the second day on, the flow was lighter, so it was fine, but she couldn’t help but worry about potential leaks.

There’s nothing I can do.

I’ll just have to go to the bathroom every inning.

I even added a guaranteed start clause to my contract, using my period as an excuse.

Taking a day off on a pitching day because of my period was something Su-hyeon’s pride wouldn’t allow.

During the pre-game warm-up, there were no particular physical abnormalities other than a slight heaviness in her chest.

The spectators were already entering the stadium, and the giant scoreboard that filled the outfield began to light up.

– Starting pitcher, number 17, Jeong Su-hyeon!

The crowd cheered as Su-hyeon’s photo and video filled the scoreboard.

The excitement for the first-ever female baseball player, regardless of whether they were home or away fans.

“Superstar senpai, they say the weather will be nice today.”

Kiriyama spoke to Su-hyeon, who was preparing to take the mound.

On days with good weather at Fukuoka Dome, there was an event where the roof of the dome was opened if the home team, the Hawks, won.

The content of their bet was that the person who opened the roof of the dome on their pitching day would win.

“Really?

Then I’ll win.

My condition is at its best today too.”