Chapter 26: Decision to break up

SoftBank Hawks 2-0 Rakuten Golden Eagles.

Winning Pitcher: Jeong Su-hyeon (3 wins, 0 losses, 9 innings, 0 hits, 1 walk, 0 runs, 17 strikeouts)

Home Run: Watanabe Riku (2nd inning, 2 runs, SoftBank)

CONGRATULATIONS

No-Hit No-Run

Achieved a no-hitter

The Hawks’ victory song played.

As the crowd sang along.

Su-hyeon was soaked in champagne sprayed by her teammates.

“Congratulations, Jeong!”

“Su-hyeon, you did it!

You were amazing, really!”

“Good job, Su-hyeon.

Congratulations.”

Intoxicated by the atmosphere and the scent of champagne on her lips, Su-hyeon was looking for one man.

There he is, Kiriyama Shota.

“Senpai, what did I tell you?

It’s better to talk to me than to keep your mouth shut, right?”

Anyone would think you were the one who threw a no-hitter.

Pop- Pop pop pop- Bang- Pop pop-

The fireworks that were only half set off earlier resumed.

At the same time, the roof of Fukuoka Dome began to open very slowly and clearly.

“Hey, can I consider myself the winner of the bet?”

Kiriyama thought.

14 consecutive strikeouts and a no-hitter.

And the expected results of facing the Rakuten batters tomorrow, who would be furious today.

Even if tomorrow never came, the outcome of the bet was clear.

“Yes, senpai won.

Make a wish.”

“Okay.

This is my wish.”

Su-hyeon approached Kiriyama, stood on her tiptoes, put her arms around his shoulders, and.

Kissed him.

Sadly, as expected.

She felt nothing.

“If you’re going to keep doing that, can I touch your chest?”

“You crazy punk.”

Only then did Su-hyeon remove her lips from Kiriyama’s.

The 40,000 spectators gathered at Fukuoka Dome began to cheer without knowing what was going on.

As the roof of the dome opened, revealing the sky like a camera’s aperture, the red moon hung very low.

Su-hyeon didn’t dislike Kiriyama’s bold advances.

In fact, she honestly liked him.

But Su-hyeon’s body didn’t respond.

Nomura Hiroyuki, a downgrade of Ohtani Shohei, who had nothing likable about him except for his looks.

The thrilling feeling she had received from that Nomura didn’t come back.

After the fireworks show, the hero interview began.

– From the broadcast booth, 14 consecutive strikeouts and a no-hitter!

Today’s hero, or should I say heroine.

It’s Jeong Su-hyeon!

– Thank you.

– There are a lot of questions piled up here in the script, but I think everyone is more curious about this.

What was that kiss a little while ago?

– We made a bet before the game.

It didn’t mean anything.

-You lost the bet even though you threw a no-hitter?

– Oh, I won.

But I was going to cut off Kiriyama’s d*ck, but I gave him a generous pardon.

In addition to the fact that Kiriyama’s interview a few days ago had become quite a hot topic.

Su-hyeon’s kiss, which had no sexual feeling at all.

People were getting a sense that they roughly understood what the flow of this was, even if they didn’t know exactly.

– So, in conclusion, you two are not in any kind of relationship, is that right?

– Yes, that’s right.

-That’s a bit disappointing.

I’m fine with it, but I wonder if Kiriyama is disappointed?

Hahahahaha-

– I see.

Because of the sudden kiss, we almost forgot, but what was that intentional walk in the 9th inning with one out?

-I didn’t think I could get the opponent, Higashikata, out.

I thought winning was more important than the record.

One out in the 9th inning, on the verge of a perfect game.

Pinch hitter Higashikata Keigo came in to face Su-hyeon on her 96th pitch.

Against Higashikata, Boing Boing (EX+) was not activated.

When Su-hyeon signaled for an intentional walk, pitching coach Saito rushed to the mound.

“Su-hyeon, are you misunderstanding something?

He’s a right-handed batter, but he’s a career .250 hitter, and you want to walk him in this situation?”

“Yes, Coach.

Please.

Otherwise, I think I’ll give up a home run.”

“I didn’t want to bring this up, but you do know you’re in the middle of a perfect game, right?”

“I know.

I don’t care.”

It was a stubbornness that was hard to understand.

But there was nothing he could do to force a pitcher who didn’t want to throw.

One out in the 9th inning, runner on first base.

Su-hyeon induced a ground ball from the next batter, ending the game with a double play.

– Do you have any regrets?

You essentially gave up a chance for a perfect game yourself.

– No.

I don’t have a single regret about my pitching.

Because, we won, you know?

She could have gotten Higashikata out.

But if she had, she would have definitely surpassed 100 pitches.

She didn’t know what would happen if she continued to throw while enduring the pain in her chest, but she didn’t want to take any chances today.

– Lastly, please give us a word about your future determination.

I had thought that it wouldn’t be so bad to continue living like this.

People who liked me just for breathing.

I could feel everyone craving my affection.

Even if I achieved only 10% of what I did in my previous life, I could receive 10 times more love.

But.

Today, Su-hyeon realized.

The owner of this body hadn’t disappeared and remained somewhere in her subconscious, still asserting herself.

Perhaps Kiriyama wasn’t Su-hyeon’s type.

My body doesn’t want the person I want.

And I don’t want the person my body wants.

This isn’t my life.

I have to go back.

Su-hyeon made up her mind.

-We will definitely win the Japan Series this year.

Thank you!

– It was Jeong Su-hyeon!

SoftBank Hawks 3-2 Orix Buffaloes.

Winning Pitcher: Otsu Ryosuke (1 win, 1 loss, 1 inning, 0 hits, 1 walk, 0 runs, 1 strikeout)

Home Runs: Masaki Tomoya (1st inning, 1 run, SoftBank), Jurickson Profar (4th inning, 2 runs, Orix)

SoftBank Hawks 7-1 Nippon-Ham Fighters.

Winning Pitcher: Jeong Su-hyeon (4 wins, 0 losses, 7.1 innings, 5 hits, 2 walks, 1 run, 8 strikeouts)

Home Runs: Ishiyama Keiichi (4th inning, 3 runs, SoftBank), Ogawa Kei (4th inning, 1 run, SoftBank)

After the no-hitter, Su-hyeon pitched in two more home games, adding one win and finishing April.

4 wins, 0 losses, ERA 0.73, 37 innings, 2 hits, 8 walks, 3 runs, 55 strikeouts, WHIP 0.54.

Even in the pitcher-dominant, hitter-starved NPB, Su-hyeon was awarded the April Pacific League Pitcher of the Month.

And to commemorate Su-hyeon’s award, the SoftBank marketing team started to move again.

“Su-hyeon, are you okay with this?

Even if it’s the owner’s ఆదేశ, I wonder if it’s okay to do this during the season.”

After the YouTube filming, Uehara Aki had been gradually opening up to Su-hyeon, having meals together from time to time.

The fact that her relationship with her boyfriend wasn’t going well these days also played a part.

“It’s okay.

If I say no, it’ll be difficult for you, unnie, right?”

“That’s true, but our chairwoman isn’t that narrow-minded.

You don’t have to force yourself.”

The schedule Uehara brought was an appearance on a live morning show on a Fukuoka local broadcast network.

It was an opportunity to expand Su-hyeon’s recognition beyond young baseball fans to the older generation.

The broadcast began.

Of course, it started with baseball talk, but this topic inevitably came up.

“Su-hyeon, by the way, what was that kiss?

I was surprised when I saw it on TV.”

Footage of Su-hyeon’s kiss scene played.

It’s kind of ridiculous when I see it with my own eyes.

Kissing a man, I must have been crazy.

“In Korea, it’s just like a greeting.

I guess it’s not like that in Japan?”

“Really, Su-hyeon?

Hey, manager!

Get me a plane ticket to Korea right now!”

The studio burst into laughter at the host’s banter.

Well, even this laughter is all scripted.

“It was Jeong Su-hyeon.

Lastly, let’s enjoy watching Jeong throw a pitch.”

Su-hyeon stepped onto the pitcher’s plate set up in front of the studio and threw a ball at a target installed on a net.

Thwack!

“Asa-ichi ban!

Have a no-hitter today too!”

“Su-hyeon seems to be a natural on TV.

She’s so calm even with so many cameras around.”

“I’m a former model, you know.

This is nothing.”

The more time Uehara Aki spent with Su-hyeon, the more she was drawn to Su-hyeon’s charm.

Even though she was a woman, Su-hyeon’s personality was more determined and unreserved than a man’s.

To Uehara, Su-hyeon was someone she increasingly wanted to rely on.

“Su-hyeon.

I know you said it wasn’t Shota, but are you currently not seeing anyone?”

“Yes, unnie.

I don’t like men.

Hehe.”

Hooooooooooo?!

Su-hyeon, reallyreallyreallyreallyreally???

My shell is like this, but my insides have been switched, so I can’t have a normal relationship.

Su-hyeon answered by compressing that long story into a few words.

But that thoughtless answer made Uehara Aki start to have a huge misunderstanding.

“I’ve been having some worries lately.

I feel like my boyfriend isn’t the same as before.”

“Why are you worrying, unnie.

Men are all like that.

Dump him before he dumps you, you know?”

“But he hasn’t done anything wrong, how can I do that?”

“Does love have to end because of something wrong?

It can end even if things are going well.”

Uehara’s misunderstanding deepened with Su-hyeon’s last words.

“When you become single, let’s hang out more.

I’ll introduce you to some good people, unnie.”

The convenience of the human brain, which only hears what it wants to hear.

Ignoring the part about introducing her to good people, Uehara was fixated on Su-hyeon’s words about hanging out more.