Chapter 27: But she’s not really a heroine or a distribution person

“Coach.

Do you know Uehara, the supervisor in the marketing team?”

“Yeah.

I’ve seen her a few times in the staff room.

Why?”

The debt Su-hyeon felt she owed Dae-joon.

It was the fact that he hadn’t introduced her to any women all this time.

“She’s in charge of me right now, and she said she broke up with her boyfriend recently.

I wanted to set you two up.”

“Really?

I’d like that, but would Uehara be interested in me?

I’m a foreigner, after all.”

“Don’t you know that Korean men are popular with Japanese women?

Just meet her without any pressure.

I’ll set up a natural meeting.”

Dae-joon, who had come to a foreign country with Su-hyeon but hadn’t had time to feel lonely because of work, began to feel a flutter in his heart.

“Hmm, okay.

Even if it doesn’t work out, it wouldn’t be bad to have a close coworker.”

“Right?

I knew you’d like it.

Aki is a beauty.”

Dae-joon tried to change the subject to hide his embarrassment.

“You have a start tomorrow, right?

Pay attention to what we talked about before.

I’m counting on you.”

“Yes.

I think there’s something there, too.”

The SoftBank Hawks were in 2nd place in the league with a 19-13 record and a .594 winning percentage.

The problem was that they were being dominated by the 3rd place Seibu Lions, with a 1-6 record against them.

After the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd starters were hit hard in the three-game home series in early April, Dae-joon was still struggling to find a clue.

‘I knew it.

Those dirty b*stards.’

In the bottom of the 1st inning, after giving up 2 runs on 3 hits and 1 walk, Su-hyeon regained her composure from the 2nd inning.

She had changed the signs immediately after being hit in the 1st inning.

It would be difficult to change signs during a game in a normal situation, but Su-hyeon and Watanabe’s binary sign system made it easy to change signs every inning.

“Watanabe.

From the 2nd inning, switch the signs for fastballs and breaking balls.

I think they’re reading our signs.”

“No way?

…So that’s why our pitchers couldn’t get it done against Seibu.”

Stealing signs is a futile act if there’s even a slight problem in the process.

After being completely shut down by Su-hyeon from the 2nd inning through the 6th with 0 hits and 10 strikeouts, the Lions seemed to have given up on stealing signs and attempted a counterattack.

But it was too late to attack the already fired-up Su-hyeon.

Seibu Lions 2-5 SoftBank Hawks.

Winning Pitcher: Jeong Su-hyeon (5 wins, 0 losses, 7 innings, 4 hits, 2 walks, 2 runs, 11 strikeouts)

Home Runs: Koby Mayo (1st inning, 2 runs, Seibu), Jose Osuna (3rd inning, 1 run, SoftBank)

“Are you just going to let this go?”

Dae-joon, who had anticipated the sign stealing, had no intention of making a big deal out of it, and Su-hyeon was angry about that fact.

“The NPB still hasn’t adopted the pitch clock or PitchCom.

Maybe our team is stealing signs too.”

“But…

it’s unfair.

It feels like we lost 3 games for nothing.”

Dae-joon had come to realize something while working in Japan.

To these people, baseball meant more than he had thought.

No official would stand idly by while a mere foreigner tarnished the name of baseball.

“You can just win 3 more games, Su-hyeon.

Against Seibu, if possible.”

“That’s what I’m planning to do.”

Exactly one week later, Su-hyeon kept her promise to Dae-joon when she faced the Seibu Lions again at home.

SoftBank Hawks 3-1 Seibu Lions.

Winning Pitcher: Jeong Su-hyeon (6 wins, 0 losses, 8 innings, 3 hits, 2 walks, 1 run, 8 strikeouts)

Home Runs: None

It was the 28th day after the no-hitter.

Su-hyeon had secretly hoped that the red moon something-or-other would be activated again, but her period didn’t start.

‘Should I take birth control pills in the fall to match my pitching days?

I can’t forget that high, it’s true.’

When she was actually slaughtering opposing batters with Boing Boing (EX+), she felt pangs of conscience, but as the memory faded, Su-hyeon missed the taste of the dopamine she had felt at that time.

“Senpai, haven’t you been slumping too much in May?

You give up runs every time you pitch.”

“Hey, if I kept pitching like I did in April, I might get caught by the CIA.”

Kiriyama was the same as ever after the kiss incident.

It was as if they had made a promise, but they never talked about it.

But there are things you can know without saying them.

Especially between men and women.

“Let’s go get dinner, Shota.”

“Yes, senpai.”

On a day off after pitching, Su-hyeon was having a meeting with Uehara.

Today’s agenda was the discussion of the commercial love calls that were pouring in for Su-hyeon.

“Since it’s during the season, it’ll be difficult to schedule a day for filming, but there are plenty of commercials that use existing footage or photos.”

“That’s true.

Maybe it’s a good idea to do a few before my performance drops further?”

Whether she filmed or not, it was obvious that she would be criticized if her media exposure increased during the season.

But Su-hyeon was no longer looking forward to the end of the season.

Since she thought it would all be over if they won anyway, she had a strong desire to try everything before then.

“Commercials are Su-hyeon’s personal matter, so the team doesn’t really have a say in it.

Since you don’t have an agency at the moment, the inquiries are coming to me.”

“Agency…

do you know any good ones, unnie?”

“Sorry, Su-hyeon.

I don’t know much about that either.

Sometimes the people who come and go look like yakuza, which is scary.”

Su-hyeon also didn’t have a good image of management companies.

Even during her time with the Chickens, she never got to film a single TV commercial.

They just took a cut of everything in the middle.

“Unnie, I’ll think about the agency a bit more.”

“Okay.

Are you hungry?

What should we eat for dinner…”

“Oh, right.

Unnie.

Do you know Kim Dae-joon, the assistant pitching coordinator?

He’s the one who joined the team with me.”

“Hmm?

I’ve seen Kim a few times.

Why all of a sudden?”

Ta-da-

As planned by Su-hyeon, Dae-joon opened the cafe door and entered at the perfect timing.

“He’s the coach who made me who I am today, my benefactor, my older brother, and my father figure.”

“Hello, Uehara.

I didn’t know you were with Su-hyeon.

Excuse me.”

Dae-joon, who had dressed up as much as he could.

“Hello, Kim.

It’s the first time we’ve met outside.”

“You didn’t know I was coming either, Uehara.

It seems we’ve both been had by Su-hyeon, haha.”

Perhaps because of his confidence in his looks, Dae-joon was even telling smooth lies today.

“Is this okay?

Unnie.

You and Coach are both very important people to me, so I really wanted to introduce you two.”

“I don’t know if this is okay.

What have I done for you, Su-hyeon?

I’m embarrassed.”

I was planning to spend this evening alone with Su-hyeon.

Uehara Aki’s plan was thwarted by none other than Su-hyeon herself.

Of course, she was disappointed, but that didn’t mean Uehara resented Su-hyeon or lost her manners towards Dae-joon.

After all, her feelings for Su-hyeon were her own.

And she knew that this situation was a result of Su-hyeon’s affection for her.

A woman who knows how to gracefully accept a man’s love.

A well-bred woman, a so-called Yamato Nadeshiko.

Uehara Aki was such a person.

“What do you mean you haven’t done anything for me, unnie?

You’re my only Japanese friend.”

“Thank you.

I didn’t know, but Kim, you’re tall and handsome?

On-nee will try her best, if only for Su-hyeon’s sake.”

“Hehe, you have to.”

Dae-joon watched Su-hyeon and Uehara whispering to each other with a happy look on his face.

The way Uehara Aki looked at Su-hyeon.

It was the kind of look he thought he might have when he looked at Su-hyeon.

A human being who was born to be loved, hard to believe she existed in reality.

Dae-joon thought that Su-hyeon was like the sun.

Shining brightly on her own, but unreachable by anyone, including himself.

Once each on the road and at home, Su-hyeon pitched against the Nippon-Ham Fighters, finishing the May schedule.

Nippon-Ham Fighters 6-0 SoftBank Hawks.

Losing Pitcher: Jeong Su-hyeon (6 wins, 1 loss, 5 innings, 6 hits, 2 walks, 4 runs, 4 strikeouts)

Home Run: Brent Rooker (3rd inning, 3 runs, Nippon-Ham)

Already facing Su-hyeon for the third time, the Nippon-Ham batters had become somewhat immune to Su-hyeon’s pitches.

The first loss of the season finally arrived.

SoftBank Hawks 2-5 Nippon-Ham Fighters.

Losing Pitcher: Jeong Su-hyeon (6 wins, 2 losses, 5 innings, 7 hits, 3 walks, 3 runs, 6 strikeouts)

Home Runs: Mannami Chusei (5th inning, 2 runs, Nippon-Ham), Ishiyama Keiichi (7th inning, 2 runs, SoftBank)

In her fourth game of the season against Nippon-Ham, Su-hyeon ended up as the losing pitcher again.

Against the Fighters’ batters who had become accustomed to Boing Boing (EX), Su-hyeon was not showing the same dominance as before.

2 wins, 2 losses, ERA 3.60, 25 innings, 20 hits, 9 walks, 10 runs, 29 strikeouts, WHIP 1.16.

Considering the pitcher-friendly, hitter-starved nature of the NPB, Su-hyeon’s May report card could be considered failing for a foreign player with a $1.5 million salary.

Dae-joon and the coaching staff, as well as her teammates, thought Su-hyeon was in a slump.

Even the cheering fans were gradually turning their backs, saying that this was what happened when she appeared on TV shows.

‘That’s just how men are.

No matter how good something is, they get tired of it quickly if they see it all the time.’

The person in question, Su-hyeon, wasn’t worried at all.

Because June was approaching.